Chapter 21

She ambled over, and asked what was the trouble with the machine.

John explained, “The place where the wheel hubs meet the axles have been rubbing to the extent that the axle squeals loudly, almost like an animal in pain. We provided a temporary solution with water, but it needs something better.”

Cramona added, “The noise hurt my head.”

Raka put a finger to her lips as she thought, then came up with, “Something slippery, to make the wheels turn more easily on the axle? I should have thought of that before now.”

John suggested, “That is what I was thinking, Raka, something like oil, but oil will dry out after a while, like water but longer. We need something a bit more solid, less liable to evaporation from the heat of the rubbing. In the old days in my homeland, we used what we called grease, but I don’t think we have that here.”

Raka considered, “Let me think. Slippery ... like soap? Perhaps an almost-solid soap will do the job, or ... wait a moment, how about honey wax; you know, the honeycomb that the honey comes in; it has a soapy texture. I wonder if that would work?”

John asked, “How about you try soap on one axle and beeswax on the other, and test them in use?”

Raka replied, “I am fine with that idea. I’d like to know what works best, for if it is the soap, that will be another reason for our clients to ask for more soap. Anyone can collect a honeycomb and use the wax from that, but soap is our own specialty product.”

John offered, “In that case, if there is not very much difference between the two, why don’t we just use the soap and tell those who obtain our bi-cycles that soap is used on the axles to help them run free; not mentioning an alternative?”

Raka stared at him, then declared, “That’s sneaky! We tell them that soap is how you help your axles to run well, then they ask for more soap?”

“Exactly,” said John. “We simply tell them that is how we keep the axle running well. We don’t have to inform them of any other possible method, do we? That was a standard way of telling folk about a new product – a trade item – in my homeland. You make an item using a few readily obtainable materials, give it a fancy new name, and declare it as something special and great; ignoring how purchasers might make their own version very easily if they did their research. My thought is a simplified variety of the same idea. No-one is told lies, just not informed of other possibilities.”

“But they can make their own version?”

“Of course they can if they think of it, just like they can make their own version of our soap. Of course, knowing which ingredients to use for making soap, in what quantities of each, and how it is warmed to a particular heat for a particular time, is something they would have to spend a lot of time studying and experimenting for themselves. These are all time-consuming factors that persuade clients it is easier to trade for our soap than to work out how to make their own.

In the same way, they are free to test other substances to discover what works on the axles instead of soap. As before, it takes time and effort to explore the possibilities, so just using our soap is the most obvious and best choice to make. They might try all sorts of answers and not find anything as good as our soap for the task. All you have to do for us is find what consistency is best for greasing the axles.”

Raka mused, “True. Not everyone will think about honeycomb wax, I know. That material may be more in their minds as a good fuel to burn as a candle in a small half gourd, not as something slippery for an axle; assuming they had even heard of an axle never mind heard one squealing!”

John ended their conversation with, “Right. I’ll leave you to your tests, but give preference to the soap if it makes good sense. Pregnancy still going well, I hope?”

“Yes. Fine. Now that you are here I won’t have to worry so much about Gomla, Gimla, and Gerva. Mind you, they are in their mid-teens, so births should not be much of a problem for them. That age group always has the best outcome according to your books, provided the baby is in the correct birth position.”

John agreed.

“I’ll stay here until all three have safely delivered their babies, then I have to return to the Mountain tribe and abdicate in favour of the best local for the job. As Chief of the tribe, I married him to his four loves when I was last there, once I had persuaded him that not every childbirth causes the death of the mother. The poor man was terrified that because his first wife, his great love, died in childbirth, the same would happen to any future wife. He is clever in many other ways, but his mind was so affected by the death of his first wife that he failed to be cognisant that most births must go without a problem; how else would there be so many children around?”

“This is the man you want to make Chief of their tribe? This mental defective?”

“Yes. He just has a blind spot about childbirth, through the trauma he experienced. His new wives will show him they are not scared of births, but they are impressed at his commitment to his late wife; they will expect the same commitment to them for he already loves them.”

Raka hinted softly, “You made sure that they would have the best help available by the time of a birth, I hope?”

“Yes. I shook his hand, and at some point kissed each of his women on the cheek, so that should be enough to transfer enough medical nanites as a starter for assistance at all future births in that family. The little buggers are getting quicker at setting up home in any human being, as far as I can make out. There appears to be some sort of hive mind developing among the nanites.”

Raka asked, “What is this thing, hive mind, John?”

“Have you ever watched an ant colony or a bee hive?” John asked in return.

“I’ve seen them, but so what?”

“An ant colony or a bee hive is set up by many individual ants or bees, but what they build is much more organised than one single animal could create, or even imagine. They work together as a team and build their complicated structures as if one mind was directing the teamwork. This would be impossible for just one or two individuals, so it is the large group that develops this ability to organise and run a colony; that arising ability is what is called a hive mind.”

“So you think your nanite invisible machines are doing the same thing?”

“It appears to be the case, based on the evidence of their work. Every time they heal someone, it seems to take them less time than previously. My damaged shoulder was fine within two or three days. I expected it to take a week or so, even with their help. It looks like they are twice as fast as they used to be, and that is without them being able to read any medical books on the human body.”

“But you were reading some medical books, weren’t you?” Raka queried.

John frowned.

“Yes, I was, but what has that to do with them? Oh ... you imagine they see in my mind what I read, and learn from that information? That is a strange concept to propose.”

Raka smiled brightly, but said only, “Have you any other suggestion as to why and how they could learn so fast?”

John frowned even more as he considered this unexpected challenge.

“No, I haven’t. Raka, astonishing as it might seem, your concept is the most rational explanation that I have encountered so far. Without it, they would have to work from within the body and learn how it works on their own. Despite the basic data that must have been downloaded to them, it is almost unbelievable that they worked out the human body’s workings on their own, so that picking stuff out of my brain seems slightly more acceptable to me. It is still a weird idea.”

“Glad to hear that my contribution is worth it, my dear husband. I suggest you go now and chat to your impending mothers; you have neglected them recently.”

“Oops, sorry. I knew I had to go see them; I got diverted.”

John hurried to where the three women were lying down, or were supposed to be lying down. Gerva was walking back and forward, holding her distended belly in front of her. John went and put his arms round her and give her a comforting hug. She liked that, but complained, “This is all your fault, John! Here we are, all three of us, facing childbirth together because you fucked us all within a day or two of each other. If you had not been in so much of a rush to take us and fuck us, we could have staggered this event.”

“Your argument is fine, Gerva, but not every woman takes at the first fuck. It can sometimes take months of regular loving before a woman gets pregnant. You ladies all happened to become pregnant quickly. Even then, you might have been a week or two apart in delivery times. Babies are not as predictable as adults are.

When do you think you will deliver this one?”

“Unless I am lucky, another day at least before I get birth pains close enough together. I am just getting the occasional niggle so far, not a proper contraction. For the moment, it is more uncomfortable than painful. Gomla and Gimla are almost doing everything together.”
“I had better go to them, in that case. Hang in there, little one!” He kissed her to let her know he loved her and their baby to come, then moved over to the others.

Gomla was sleeping, in between contractions, as best she could. Gimla had no such respite, as her contractions were farther advanced.

John knelt down by Gimla, and placed his palm on her sweaty face.

“How goes it, my sweet?”
“Damn sore, but I knew it would be this way. Every woman has this experience with her children, so it is not unexpected. You men are lucky not to have to go through this every year or two.”

“I am aware of that, Gimla. My heart and mind still feels your pain, knowing you’re going through this for my baby, for our baby. We will rejoice together, when our child is in your arms, Earth Mother willing.” As he spoke, he regretted making it seem as if there was a chance she would not survive.

“I feel it moving from time to time, John, so the baby is still with us; just needs to get through the next few hours of passing into this world.”

“Does Gomla feel hers as well?” John asked anxiously.

“Yes, she curses it for kicking her, but the kicks show it is in the birthing position. Sheila told me my baby is positioned correctly as well.”
“Excellent! You are first in the queue, I am sure. I will try to be here to hold your hand when you start to push out the little nuisance.”

“He or she is not that little. It feels immensely large, but Sheila said it is a normal sized baby. I don’t know what ‘normal’is supposed to be. Sheila sits and reads a book about childbirth as she is sitting with me or the others. Is that normal, to do that?”

“Perfectly normal, my love, both the reading up and the baby size. Your brain cannot hold all the information you need, unless you have studied for years, so having a book to consult is a great help for the less practiced. If I was here the same way, I would be reading the same book. The book helps you spot anything not normal, and tells what to do about it.”
“Oh. So the book ... Aaagh!” she scrunched up her face with pain as a contraction hit. John asked in concern, “Has your birth canal started to open?”
“Not yet, but with the contractions speeding up, I expect that to happen soon. What was I talking about, my love?”

“The usefulness of the book on birth.”

“Oh, yes. Does it say much about getting the baby out of you?”

“Not a lot, as that is mostly down to you pushing down and expelling the baby bit by bit until it is fully out, then we wait for your placenta and umbilical cord to follow the baby.”
“I heard some women talking about that. What are these things?”
“The cord is the link to the baby from your body while it is inside, and the placenta is the connecting pad between the cord and the uterus, the container where your baby grows inside you. We have to wait until it all comes out, to ensure your continued health.”

“Sounds like you have already read the book!”

“I did read a similar one, years back, but we also got talks from someone who knew the subject inside out, so could talk about it and answer our questions.”

“Eh? You were a midwife?”

“No, I was a soldier, but I took a course on birthing a baby as part of our army medic training. We were a special team that had to know almost everything there was to know about soldiering, and that included helping a local woman have her baby in safety despite fighting going on around her.”

“That was a weird kind of fighting!”

“It was an effective style of fighting, but one of the other methods was avoiding fighting at all, based on doing a lot of watching the enemy. It is my favourite technique. Persuading an enemy formation to leave the field of battle is preferable to killing them or having deaths and injuries to your own forces.”

“John, you are trying to divert my attention from the baby, aren’t you?”

“Of course. That was one of the suggestions for helping a woman become a mother; make her forget her troubles for a while!”

“You can do that with me again, when I have another contraction, but best of all is having you beside me as I bring our child into the world. Numa was upset that you weren’t there for her or for Noma.”

“I know, and I have apologised to them profusely. I had no control over events at the time, so was unable to be there for them, but I am here for you three ladies, all being well.”

Gimla enquired, “John, are we going to have more children?”
“I certainly hope so, Gimla my dear. I want my children to be tribal leaders eventually, and yours will be some of them.”

“You expect all of them to be boys?”

“No, like Numa, I eventually expect all of them to become Chiefs, whether they are boys or girls.”

“Wow! My daughters as Chiefs?”

“Why not? We will teach them how to be Chiefs, and that includes giving power to their tribes. A Chief is there to represent his or her tribe, to act for it, not rule it by force. That is what I want to instil into our children: leadership.”

“I can go with that, John. Nmfff! Another contraction.”

“I think you should lie down again, my love. I’ll be back once I am happy that Gomla is doing fine.”

He moved to the sleeping, slightly snoring Gomla and laid a tender hand on her swollen belly, running it over the curve down towards her birth canal. This was enough to wake her.

“That’s nice,” she murmured, then opened her eyes to see who it was.

“John! You daft sod! You woke me up when I was very comfortably asleep, damn you.”

“Sorry, Gomla. I was admiring your belly with our child inside, and couldn’t resist caressing you both with one hand. You are a beautiful woman.”

“I bet you say that to all your women.”

“I do. Gomla, love, they are all beautiful to my eyes, so it is no trouble to say that. How are you getting along with our baby?”

“Hmm ... not bad. I had a few contractions but nothing near continuous yet. Gimla is ahead of me, so she will be first. Gerva is the laggard among us.”

“I have spoken with Gerva and Gimla, so it is your turn. Is it all right with you if I spend most of my time with Gimla, as she is nearing her birthing time?”

“Yes, she deserves the attention. If I want you, I know how to find you: I’ll shout.”

“Thanks. I have to apologise again to Chief Numa for not being with her and the baby. Apologies are worth repeating, I find.”

John did just that, but when she heard that he was expected to be with Gimla and Gomla and lastly with Gerva, she relented.

“These three deserve your close attention at the births as much as I and Noma did not get, so go be with them. Tell them they have my blessing and sympathy at the pain part, and my approval of their joy when the baby is finally here. It is your task to help them through that birth experience, John, for it is hard at the time. Do your best to protect them from death.”

John was no sooner back with Gimla than her contractions speeded up. The pain noises attracted Raka and Sheila to her side, as self-appointed midwives for the family. John questioned, “Not Vickie?”

Raka told him, “Vickie gets the next part of the job, as this may take many hours. She will take over being midwife, with Jean as helper, when we need a long break. The poor mother-to-be doesn’t get a break, so we help her with drinks from time to time, and some soft soup if she gets hungry. We also have to help her shit or piss as the occasion demands, as birthing puts pressure on your bowels and bladder. Both need to be as clear as possible during the birth.”

“You are giving me a lot of detail, Raka, aren’t you?”

“John, you started this whole process, so you should be made aware of what you are putting these women through. You have the father’s responsibility to assist these young women at this time in their lives.”

John surrendered again.

“Yes, dear.”

He found himself also needing to visit the latrine, then later volunteered to assist in carrying Gimla to the latrine and holding her while she voided her wastes. Raka wiped her clean and John kissed Gimla, accepting his support mode, then kissed Raka for her help.

After a couple of hours or so, the birth canal began to open, and the baby’s head slowly appeared. John was reading the instructions, and Sheila and Raka telling Gimla when to push her hips to help expel the child. John anxiously watched for any entanglement with the umbilical cord, but it was clear and eventually the baby slid out of Gimla and into Sheila’s waiting hands.

The child let out a yell of protest, so that was a good sign. Raka checked the baby over to ensure that all the necessary parts were present and correct, and in this case the male parts were not there; it was a girl.

“John, here is your first daughter!” Raka told him excitedly.

John leaned close to Gimla to say, “You have given us a daughter, Gimla. How wonderful!” He added that phrase so that she would not imagine a daughter was any less than a son. “A special daughter - my first one. Can we call her Prima or Primula? Which would you prefer?”

Gimla panted as she was already beginning the slow process of expelling the afterbirth.

“Give me a moment...” she panted, and looked over at Sheila, who was collecting the afterbirth as it came out. “How is it coming, Sheila?”

“A few minutes more at least; don’t push; let your body do it naturally, Gimla my dear. This is not as painful as the birth.”

They waited until the afterbirth was expelled and Sheila was checking for any excessive bleeding.

“Gimla, you lucky begger! You have practically no bleeding. Your body is doing very well. I hope I am this lucky when my time comes.”

Gimla smiled weakly.

“I am still damned tired, Sheila. Now, John, what was it you were saying?”

“Oh, yes. A name for the baby. I don’t know if you had plans, but I was going to suggest Prima or Primula, as both mean a first daughter.”

“I had thought of Amarna for a girl, but Primula sounds great. We can name our second daughter Amarna, if I have another daughter in future.”

“Fine by me, Gimla. Ladies, this little girl is named Primula, meaning first daughter.”

Sheila came in with, “Primula is also a plant genus of showy flowers. They got that name because they were among the first flowers to appear in the spring, so the name is doubly apt. Hopefully this little girl will become a showy flower as she grows up.”

Gimla tiredly laughed with pleasure. “I like it, Sheila. Thanks for telling me the story.”

John told Gimla, “Well done, wife. That birthing was awesome! I don’t know how you women manage to put up with birthing many children for the sake of the species.”

Gomla called out, “Raka! I think I am getting to a faster contraction rate. What do you think my timing is going to be?”

Raka stood to reply, and called back, “I wish I could be certain, Gomla, but it varies by the woman. You could be through it all in a couple of hours, or be in for an all day drag; who knows?”

Gomla said to her, “Either way, I am waddling to the latrine to empty my body wastes before I go any further. Someone give me a hand to hobble there.”

John volunteered to assist, in a repeat of Gimla.

“I am here, Gomla. I am getting expert at helping my wives to shit and piss before birthing.”

Gomla giggled at the words. “Then you’ll definitely get plenty of practice, John,” she promised.

She was more stable on her feet than was Gimla, so they managed well.

John told her in more detail how easy Gimla’s birthing had been, saying, “I am hoping that you and Gerva do as well. You are all brave women to go through this extremely testing time. This is just as brave as a warrior facing an enemy in battle.”

Gomla was pleased at John’s encouraging words and actions.

“Stay with Gimla and her baby for a while longer, dear. She will like it, as will her daughter; babies love being cuddled. I’ll get someone to call you when I need you beside me.”

“Thanks, Gomla. I will do as you suggest. Gerva is at a very early stage, so she should be fine by herself, unless you want her beside you to talk about forthcoming babies.”

“Good idea. Bring her over here and we can commiserate together about the labour pains.”

John grimaced, but did as asked, then returned to Gimla. She was sitting up, the baby cuddled at her breast, so John leaned down to give her a kiss and say, “How goes it now, my lovely?”

“Surprisingly well, John. I am tired and sore, but this baby at my breast makes me feel so much better than I should.”

“Endorphins,” said John, then realised this word would not mean anything to her. “Your mind reacts to the birth and to the baby taking milk from your nipple, releasing substances into your body that act like painkillers. They numb your soreness and make you feel better, making you calmer as well.”

“Oh. That is clever.”

“They are perfectly natural, Gimla darling. We just don’t realise they are there, most of the time. The body is a wonderful thing, doing wonders every day without us noticing anything except the results. The nanites I brought with me in my body have probably added to the effect, thank the Earth Mother.”

“Well, thank your little nanites, John. It was good of you to bring them.”

“Again, I had nothing to do with it. The people who sent me here were responsible for that. They wanted me to remain healthy for long enough to achieve what they wanted. That didn’t work for them, but it worked for us, and it is steadily spreading. If the Europeans ever manage to invade our continent, we should be able to resist their diseases this time.”

“What are Youropeeans, my love?”

“People from a faraway land, Gimla. We will never meet them in our lifetimes, so nothing to concern us or our children’s children.”

“You sound like you have much fierce thinking in you, and act as a true and dangerous Shaman at times, John. It can be scary listening to you.”

“Gimla, nothing I do should ever scare you, for I will never do anything to cause you harm. People who try to harm us, however; that is a different matter, like the pirates I encountered at the fisher village. They should beware of me and my people, my tribes.”

Gimla raised her lips for another kiss, and got it at once.

“You are good for us, John. I am more and more glad you rescued us and decided to marry us. Numa had good judgement about you as a worthy man to be wife to; right from the start. Primula is my best way of saying thanks to you.”

“Primula is a wonderful thank-you, Gimla. I hope to see more of these thank-yous in future.”

“I know you mean from all your wives, but I hope I will give you sons and daughters over the years, my love.”

John grinned at the sentiment.

“I did not imagine in my younger days that I would end up as a much-married and happy father of so many children, Gimla. I am truly blessed and will always appreciate you all.”

She smiled in delight.

“We are also blessed, John. These six women you brought from the Mountain tribe? Have you fucked babies into them yet?”

“It is too early to tell, my dear. One of them, Cramona, assisted me with my tree felling operations. She kept asking for more and more loving while we travelled, so I think she will possibly be the first to show pregnant. She is certainly keen on the possibility and likes to practice the effort frequently.”

Gimla grimaced, “She may change her mind when her belly swells to an immense size and she has trouble moving around.”

“It is a trouble I am fully aware of, my sweet, but you are now holding the fruits of your labour. Was it worth it?”

“It was, for my little daughter is a great treasure for me to hold.” She cuddled the now sleeping baby closer, and sighed in contentment.

“Now all I need is to heal up and stop being sore down there so I fuck again.”

John told her, “Based on how Numa and Noma have recovered from their births, it should take less time than you expect. Having the nanites in your body speeds up healing of all kinds, so I expect recovery from birthing will be no different.”

“I hope you are right, my darling husband. Do you want to hold Primula for a short time?”

“I’d love to do that, Gimla; hold my sleeping daughter! I hope she doesn’t wake with the movement.”

The baby was passed over, and John held her ever so gently, as if she was fine china that might break if handled roughly. He sighed happily; this was his daughter, his first daughter!

For some reason, it felt different from holding either of his sons. Perhaps a girl child smells slightly different from a boy child. He did not care, simply enjoyed the feeling. He looked down at her face, and saw how wrinkly it was. He commented on it.

“Gimla, her face is all wrinkly. Is that normal?”

“Yes, dear. All babies are born looking like that. Their faces slowly fill out over a few days and then you will see a chubby baby face. Boys and girls look much the same at this age. I am amazed that you are so knowledgeable about some matters, and so lacking in others.”

“It must have to do with paying attention. With the two baby boys, I was so struck with wonder at their new existence that their faces didn’t enter my thoughts at all. I must be getting more used to becoming a father, but it still amazes me that these are my children, the offspring of our joining all these months ago.”

Gimla giggled, “You enjoyed the joining, as I remember; enjoyed it a great deal.”

John stared back at her, daring her to demur as he challenged, “We will enjoy more joining once you are fit and healthy again, Gimla; won’t we?”

“You want to make me pregnant again, darling John? With another daughter, or a son?”

“I don’t care which. Our children are our children, and I will love them at all times, even when they do silly things. Between us, we will teach them how not to be silly, and show them how to be good and reliable adults to lead our tribes in the future.”

Her eyes widened and she stared at John in awe. “You are looking that far ahead, my love?”

“It is wise to look ahead, Gimla. I chose a new Chief for the Mountain tribe primarily for his ability to look ahead. He has been developing food crops to feed the tribe in the future when meat animals may be in short supply.”

“But there are always meat animals to kill and eat!”

“There are now, Gimla, but as our tribes grow, with more mouths to eat the meat, there will come a time when the supply of meat will be exceeded by the food demands of hungry humans. Either we reduce our predation on the animals or domesticate some of them, or we develop alternative foods. Gomoro is already working on the last option. We may have to work on all options. If we can persuade some of the animals to live near us and breed enough, we can consume their meat when we need it. We humans have to learn not to be greedy in the many many summers to come.”

“My Shaman husband speaks again. He will always be a good husband for us all.”

The next day was dawning before Gomla finally opened up and the baby’s head started to appear. Everything seemed fine until someone spotted the umbilical cord wrapped round the child’s neck.

It then became a panic to loosen the cord and slip it safely over the baby’s head before the child started to take a breath. Raka grabbed the baby, ready to encourage this, and when it at last took a breath, checked to see if its breathing and skin colour seemed normal. Thankfully both were, and the panic subsided.

Gomla had not known there was a problem until all the helpers suddenly rushed to atttend the baby, and she became frightened that she was going to lose her child. John was at once by her side when he saw Raka’s actions.

“It is going to be fine, Gomla. There was a problem about the cord being wrapped too tightly, but Raka and Sheila got it sorted. Your baby is all right.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Oh. I didn’t look. Raka? Do we have a boy or a girl there?”

Raka took a moment to check. “He has his boy bits, and his lungs are working well, so I think you can say it is a boy.”