Chapter 31

“Raka!” came an anxious shout from Vickie. “We need you!”

Raka whirled, her eyes taking in the picture of Vickie holding Sheila, who was bent over with a worried look on her face.

Vickie called out, “I think Sheila’s waters have broken.”

John demanded of Raka, “What can I do, Raka?”

“Get Chief Numa on to it. She’ll organise everything. I’ll get things started.”

She left John, and headed over to Vickie and Sheila. John went in the other direction, to where he had last seen Numa. He found her standing at the cave mouth, staring out towards the west.

“Numa! It looks like Sheila’s waters have broken. Raka is on it, and Vickie is with her, but she says you know what to do.”

Numa turned to stare at John, her attention elsewhere.

“What? Oh, an impending birth? Right, I’ll get helpers organised. You can help me by keeping an eye on the horizon.”

“Eh? Okay, if you want. What am I looking for?”

“Stupid man! Use your eyes; a smudge on the horizon. What is it, and is it dangerous? Let me know later.”

She hurried off to deal with Sheila’s sudden fright, leaving John squinting towards the western horizon.

Was it the volcano again, he wondered? Squinting, he tried to obtain a better look, but all he could see was a cloud hanging over or in front of the mountains near the far coast. At this immense distance, the whole thing was tiny and unclear, and only because they were higher than the forest. The only way you could even see something was occurring was the indistinctness of the volcanic peaks in the far distance.

He pondered the possibilities. A new eruption; the same volcano erupting more; a forest fire; perhaps a pyroclastic flow, if such an event could be seen at such a great distance. A pyroclastic flow normally happened when an ash cloud collapsed under its own weight and fell down on the steep mountain slope; but that was usually on the side pushed away by the wind. That was likely to be on the west side, the one facing the coast.

In his estimation, the only one of these possibilities which might reach this way was a forest fire, but the chances of a forest fire propagating so far was unlikely. The ground and the trees were too damp in this equatorial climate; the moisture levels should restrict a fire, not accelerate it.

Another possibility was a fire much nearer than the coastal mountain chain, but what cause could there be to start a fire that would be self-sustaining here, or sufficient to produce tall clouds of smoke? Was the prevailing wind in the right direction to be a threat? Had the prevailing wind changed direction? Had a meteor strike happened over there without anyone noticing it? Normally there would be a fireball that would engender excitement, but that would depend on the size of the meteorite. A small fireball might not be remarked on, if it came directly to the ground, as opposed to streaking across the sky.

Perhaps waiting to see what happened next was the best choice for the present. He wished he could see better, and that stirred a new thought: was there a telescope aming the contents of the store-room, or was that too far-fetched an idea?

Inside the extensive cave, Sheila had been carried to the childbirth area - in effect the maternity ward – and was being attended by several women, among them Vickie who wanted to appear in charge. The local midwife, by now inducted into the new knowledge of labour procedures was saying, “Now that her waters have broken, the contractions should come faster, helping the birth along.”

Vickie intruded, trying to appear knowledgeable, “In an ideal situation, that is so, but every woman is unique. Faster birth is the more likely result, but not necessarily so. We can only hope that your prediction is correct, for Sheila’s sake.”

The midwife argued, “Well, what we want to know is how far apart the contractions are coming. That is our only guide to progress.”

Vickie nodded, “Sure. I’d go along with that. Have you had a contraction come since your waters broke, Sheila?”

“Not yet,” she admitted. “Be sure I’ll tell you when one comes!”

There was silence for a little while, then Sheila demanded querulously, “Where’s John? I want my baby’s daddy here.” Then she paused and said apologetically, “Sorry, Vickie. The daddy of both our babies, is what I meant.”

“I know, Sheila. I understand. You just want him here for part of your labour, for you to hold when you need his support. He can’t hang out with you all the way through, but we can give him a shout when you need him to hold you if things get sore. I know that’s what I will want.”

“Thanks, Vickie. I just want him here from time to time, so he can hold my hand at the right times. I am a little bit afraid of the probable pain.”

“Yeah, though I asked Numa and Noma about the pain levels, and they said it was a lot less than they expected from other women’s experience. They said the other three found the same. I think John’s medical nanites must do something; possibly release more endorphins than the body produces naturally during childbirth. You know about endorphins, don’t you, Sheila?”

“I do. They reduce pain and boost the pleasure circuits in the brain. Do you think this will make me feel pleasure while giving birth?”

“No idea on that, Sheila, but they may act as an anti-depressant at a minimum, making the birthing a lot easier to put up with.”

“I hope that is what happens. I can’t imagine being in pain and loving it! Can you get John to come to me now, to give me a kiss and cuddle before I get too sore with the contractions coming fast?”

“Sure. Give me a couple of minutes.”

She found John at the cave mouth, looking pensive, about to turn and investigate the store-room in the dark.

“John, dear, Sheila needs a touch of TLC from time to time during her labour. Can you give her a kiss and cuddle for now? She is feeling rather apprehensive about it all.”

John’s thoughts of the storeroom search were banished by new priorities.

“Oh. I should have thought of her that way, shouldn’t I, Vickie? You will want the same when your time comes as well. In future I must make a point of giving you girls all the loving you need at such a critical time.”

He leaned in to give Vickie a hug and a kiss by way of apology, adding, “Sorry, pet.”

“That’s nice, John. You are a good husband to us; I keep having to remind Sheila about that basic fact. I am sure she realises it internally, but she has trouble with it in her words. She curses you at times for getting her pregnant, despite her having been enthusiastic at the start, before I even got here. I don’t think she means it seriously; it’s just her frustration getting to her.”

“Vickie, you and she can curse me all you like during labour pains, and I will take it gladly. You deserve to be able to vent your pain and frustrations on me. Numa was not happy that I was away when her baby came, and she let me know in clear terms how she felt about it: it was all my fault. I don’t want to have that repeated by you or Sheila or Raka, or any of the others in future.”

Vickie smiled back to him.

“Nice to know you have learned that lesson, darling. It is hard work, birthing a baby, and doing it on your own is tougher than doing it with your man close beside you, holding your hand for you to squeeze when the contractions hit.”

“I know, I know. The message is loud and clear. I had better get to Sheila now, for stage one.”

He hurried inside and over to the birthing area to be with Sheila. She was sitting on what looked like a cushioned stool. When she saw him coming, her eyes lit up.

“John! I need you here, my love. My waters have broken and I have just now had my first contraction since it happened. I need a cuddle, and your warm lips on mine. Stay with me for a little while, please.”

“Happily. I like the idea, Sheila. We’ll work together on our baby, though I may not be able to be here for every minute of your labour, my love.”

“I know, John. As long as you are here when I call for you, and when the baby is about to come out, I’d like to be holding your hand tightly. I am a tiny bit afraid, for it is new to me. I am also a bit afraid I might die.”

“I’ll do my best to fit in then, Sheila,” said John. He sat down beside her and put his arm round her shoulders to give her an assuring hug. She sighed with pleasure.

“Thanks, John. I never expected to become so needy. I was always a tough woman in the past.”

“Your hormones change you, my dear. They are preparing you to become a caring mother, so you are experiencing some of the effects. It is perfectly normal to feel this way. My childbirth course in the army told me this.”

“It seems odd to me; soldiers learning about childbirth.”

“We learned all sorts of things, Sheila. Most of them are completely useless in this era.”

Sheila liked the idea of diverting her mind. “What sort of things are so useless?”

“Radio operation, maintenance and repair; communication codes; enemy battlefield weapons and their capability; collecting potable water in an arid environment, navigation by the sun and stars, and so on.”

“Ah. Not so helpful here, I agree. I am glad of the childbirth course, though.”

“So am I, though I try to allow the womenfolk to control the childbirth process. I merely make suggestions when it seems apposite, which is thankfully not often. The nanites are a great help, so you are not likely to die.”

“The local women seem fairly competent as practical midwives, even if they don’t know the technicalities and complications very well. Vickie, Jean and I have picked up a lot from our home line experiences. Women talk about their childbirth experience, you should know.”

“So I have heard; just as you women talk about everything else!”

Sheila giggled. “We always have you men to talk about, John.”

This light-hearted banter went on a little longer, until Sheila suddenly jerked as the next contraction arrived.

“Ooof!” she exclaimed, and John grabbed her hand as she tightened up.

As the wave of pain left her, she told him, “That was bad, but not as bad as I had anticipated. If they are all like that, I think I can put up with it. It is with it happening more and more frequently; that is the real bugbear!”

John said nothing, but hugged her tighter and lovingly kissed her cheek. Vickie gave him an encouraging smile, adding, “That is what I want when I get to this stage.”

John looked up at Vickie, and smiled back. “I am getting use to this responsibility, Vickie. The last three were more used to birthing a child without the father around, but you modern Americans have grown up with the expectation of the father being present at the birth. I suspect Numa had talked with one of you and got the point; that is why she was pissed off at me being away when she had Geraldo.”

Vickie admitted, “I was the one who told her, John; but I am not sorry I did. I think you should be there for all your children’s births, if at all possible.”

“I agree, my love. It is a wonderful experience for any man, and I get to experience it over and over: great!”

As he spoke, Raka came close to tell Sheila, “Your succession of birth helpers is all arranged, Sheila. One of the ladies will be with you all the time, with others on call if and when needed.”

Sheila smiled to her. “Thanks, Raka.”

John spoke to her.

“Raka, in your exploration of the store-room, did you run across such a thing as a telescope? It is a long tube about as wide as your clenched first, and as a long as my forearm.”

Raka scrunched up her face as she thought back.

“Nothing like that, John. The nearest I can think of was a funny thing with two connected metal tubes about as long as your hand. What is a telescope anyway?”

John explained, “It is a sort of machine for seeing distant objects as if they were closer to you. The word telescope is made up of two shorter ones: tele, meaning distant, and scope, meaning to see; so, distant seeing. I think what you found is a pair of binoculars. That is another made-up word like bi-cycle; bi for two and oculars meaning eyes. In this case, bi-oculars got altered to binoculars: two eyes to see with. It is like two small telescopes, one for each eye.”

“So that is what I found; a binoculars?”

“As they are a pair of mini-telescopes, it is known as a pair of binoculars, Raka. My home language is very odd, as it was made up of words from many different languages over a long period of time; many many generations. It is just as well that my nanites convert all my words into your language except where there is no equivalent. Does your language have a name, by the way? I have never asked that question.”

“A name for our language? Not that I know; it is just our language. You told me before that your home language was English. Is that the language you are talking about now?”

“Yes. As well as being a combination of words from other languages, even its name is odd, in that while the name English comes from the country called England, that originally was Angle-land, from a tribe called Angles who had moved from another land across the sea and settled in a new land, alongside other tribes. Of all the tribes, this one became the dominant one and gave its name to the country.

Isn’t that all peculiar?”

“Not to me, it isn’t. We made our own tribe, and now we are part of a grouping of tribes. Should we call ourselves a country, with the name of one tribe as the name of the country?”

“Difficult to do that, Raka, as we started as ‘John’s tribe’ and then changed it to ‘Numa’s tribe’. None of it suits as a country name.”

“I suppose not. Possibly we should make up a new name for our country.”

“Possibly, but what then is ‘our country’? Does it include other tribes that are not connected to us, or just ones like the Farfarers and the Mountain tribe and the fisher village?”

John could see complications ahead, and tried to simplify matters.

“Let’s just kick a few names around, and see what is preferred by everyone?”

“Like Johnsland?” Raka suggested.

“Or Numia,” John countered.

“Hmmm...” Raka thought about this.

John switched back to the binoculars.

“Do you recall where these binoculars were, that you found in the storeroom?”

“Uh ... not exactly. I remember them as being in a box, as it had a picture of the binoculars on the outside to tell you what was inside the box. There were also symbols in your writing, but I couldn’t read that. The box was on one of the shelves, if I remember rightly. My mind sees it on the left side as you look towards the back, but I can’t be more clear than that, John. I don’t even know if it was on a high or a low shelf.”

“That’s enough for me to make a start in finding it. I need to get it today, so that I can sort out what Chief Numa sees on the horizon.but I also need to be with Sheila as she has her baby.”

“John, your search, including the time to get to the store-room and back, should not take very much time. How about I stay with Sheila while you do that? The start of her labour is a better time than when she is about to deliver the baby.”

“True. Let’s speak to her about that, Raka.”

They returned to beside Sheila, who had just had another contraction.

“Sheila my love? I need to get a tool from the store to help Chief Numa. Do you mind if I go for it now, while you are at the early stages? Raka promises to be with you just in case. I should only be half an hour, all being well.”

Sheila told him, “Very well, but in exchange for a kiss that says you love me.”

John obliged that demand, gladly letting her know his feelings for her, and then he set off for the darkness again. Days before, he had appropriated a small electric torch to light his way, which speeded up the transit through the dark.

Once he had the door open, he began his search. It took him longer than he expected, as the box was on the right instead of the left. Perhaps Raka had picked it up, looked at it, then placed the puzzling object on the right rather than on the left where it had been sitting.

No matter what, he had found the box. It was a pair of Avalon 20x50 Outpost binoculars, and he was impressed. Normally the maximum was 10 times, but this offered 20 times, offering better views of distant objects; not quite telescope standard, but near enough.

He didn’t have time to see if there was more than one pair, but just having a single pair was a boost to his distant viewing. If he could get Numa to try them, adjusted to her eyesight, that would get him back in her good books. Not bothering to open the box, he tucked it under his arm and proceeded to get back to the maternity section of the cave, and see how Sheila was getting on.

He needn’t have worried. Raka told him Sheila was doing fine and had just had another contraction.

“The frequency of contractions is either just the same, or slightly speeding up, but no additional pain, so she is bearing up well. Give her another kiss to thank her for her progress.”

John did that, and Sheila pulled him close for another hug.

“It is going well, John darling. I’ve stopped cursing you for getting me this way. Now I am looking forward to our baby coming into the world.”

“Great!” John told her. “I am that way too.”

“Did you find what you were searching for, John?” Sheila wanted to know.

“I did. It is a high-powered pair of binoculars. It means I can now look at the horizon and try to determine what before seemed just a smudge of smoke that Chief Numa wanted to know more about.”

They chatted a little more, until another contraction hit, and Sheila’s whole body reacted to it. As it eased off, Sheila grabbed John’s hand and squeezed it hard. He knew what this was all about, and just let it happen.

Once more in control, Sheila told him, “Go get Chief Numa and show her what can be seen through the binoculars. You need to do that before dusk.”

John agreed to do that, but pointed out, “Dusk is pretty short at this latitude, Sheila, but I am sure we have enough time to get it done satisfactorily. Give me between half an hour and an hour, as I have to demonstrate to Numa how to use them.”

Sheila commented, “Time is a bit more fluid here. All these months ago I arrived without a watch, and still I have to guess at the elapsed time. Raka seems to be good at it, the way she can tell me my contractions are coming faster. I hope that is so, and she isn’t just assuming they will come faster!”

“The locals have good judgement of the passage of time, Sheila. They take clues from the environment all through the day, without having to think about it. Movement of shadows also give them clues, like a sundial used to do. I’ll be as quick as I can manage.”

He went to where he had left the binoculars, picked them up, and went searching for Chief Numa. She turned out to be back at the cave mouth for another look at the distant smudges.

“Numa, I have something that can help us with seeing the smoke in the distance.”

“Oh, what?”

“A device that was in the store-room. You look through it, and you can see a distant object as if it was much closer. Let me demonstrate it.”

He focussed the binoculars on the smudge in question, and adjusted it to be sharper. It did look like smoke, but a smaller patch than he expected. He handed the instrument to Numa and told her how to look through the lenses. He had to ask if the image was sharp to her, and if not, how to adjust it to improve.

This took a little while, then she had trouble finding the smoke, as she was not pointing the lenses in the perfect direction. Slowly she got the hang of it, and exclaimed when she found the smoke.

“I see it! There is a patch of smoke, but a lot less than what was there before, I am sure.”

John said, “Yes. I think the fire is dying down, but it has lasted for quite a while so must have been intense where it started. It must have begun either with a bolt of lightning or the impact of a small meteorite. The weather seems not very conducive to lightning, so a meteorite impact is more probable.”

“John, what is a meteorite impact?”

“Sorry, Numa. I forgot you don’t have as muck knowledge as my time did. There are rocks of various types way up in the sky, far beyond the clouds. They are travelling round the sun, just as our planet does, and occasionally one will come into our atmosphere and burn up. That is what shooting stars are: meteors – as we call them when in the air, usually burning up before they can hit the ground. Sometimes one does hit the ground, if it is travelling in the right direction and speed, and causes an explosion and often a fire when it does, as these rocks are moving at a very fast speed; faster than anything you have ever seen. Ones that land are meteorites.”

“If it causes a big explosion, why is it not spreading the fire and smoke?”

“The ground and the trees and undergrowth are all damp from the frequent rain, so that dampness slows down the fire and eventually stops it. In a dry country, the fire would spread rapidly as long as it had dry fuel to burn.”

“I see. So, a hot rock comes down fast, causes an explosion and fire, and slowly the fire goes out?”

Yes, except that it doesn’t start as a hot rock. Above the sky it is very cold. Coming through the air at a very fast speed causes it to heat up dramatically, and when it lands, the impact causes even more heat, resulting in the explosion and fire.”

“How big would this rock be, John?”

“The one that probably caused that fire was probably not much heavier than me. Bigger rocks cause bigger explosions and leave large holes called craters. There is one that landed in the northern continent that has a crater so big you would take half a day to walk across from one side to the other. Such big craters are very unusual.”

“Will the rock be at the bottom of the hole?”

“Probably, but it may have broken up on impact. The bits of rock that survive to hit the ground are then named meteorites, just to identify them as bits that landed. Some are simply rock, some are mostly made of the metal iron, and some are mostly softer rock with carbon in it. Carbon is what most living things are partly made of.

If it is an iron meteorite, it might be worth going to the spot and digging it up. Iron will become important in the distant future.”

Numa queried, “Must you do that soon? This is not a good time for Sheila.”

“No! I didn’t mean that. Any time in the future will do, as long as it is before the jungle takes over again, so no rush. Sheila will have my attention, just as the other three did. I have learned not to be away when a baby comes.”

“Promises, promises. You will find it impossible to keep to that intention, John. You may want to, but at times a baby will arrive before or after the expected time. As long as we know you want to be there, we can live with what happens. You have so many wives that you might find yourself never getting away from here, as there will almost always be a baby due before very long. You do realise this basic fact of life, John?”

“I hadn’t thought about it, but you are right, Numa. You always are so practical, but I love you for it. You keep me straight.”

“As your first wife, I have that responsibility, and I take care of it.”

“Yes, dear,” he said with a smile. She patted his cheek and said with a smile, “I’ll be able to be fucked soon, and get another one started...”

“I look forward to that privilege, Numa. A Chief with babies is most impressive: I’d call her an achiever!”

“Hmm...” was all she said, not understanding a pun.

John ventured, “With Sheila’s baby arriving, should we delay the marriage ceremony? What if it arrives when the ceremony is happening?”

Numa thought for a moment, then answered brightly, “Then we hold the ceremony near Sheila! She can be part of it as an observer, but if the baby starts coming out, we put the ceremony on hold, so that you can hold her hand as she expels the child.”

John’s mind boggled at the idea of marrying two women while another wife is having his baby. He wanted to object, looking for an excuse.

“Surely the two ladies will not want the ceremony interrupted, and so we should postpone it a day?”

“John, a first baby takes longer than later babies. Sheila could be in labour for a full day if she is unlucky. That could be just as bad then. No, if Ranga’s mother and aunt get here in time, we can have the ceremony during the morning if Sheila’s timing is as I would expect.”

“When do they plan to be here, Numa?”

“Sometime during today, is what I expect.”

“Fine. I hope Sheila has a shorter labour than you seem to expect.”

“It varies, but most first time mothers take longer. Get used to it, baby daddy; you have plenty of wives either pregnant or going to be shortly; most of them first babies.”

Numa beamed proudly as leader of this burgeoning family.

John asked if he could go back to Sheila, and Numa approved that option. He was there to see her grimace as another contraction arrived, so he hurried to hold her steady from behind, then grabbed her hand to comfort her. She sighed with relief as he did so.

“Thank God you are back, John. The contractions are gradually speeding up, but the pain level is manageable. The midwives here say to expect at least half a day of labour.”

“Yes, Chief Numa says the same; the first one is normally the longest to come out, so you can look forward to shorter labours in future.”

“In future? You want me to have more kids? Go through this again?”

“Certainly; that is, assuming you want to have more than one child, Sheila.”

She sighed dramatically.

“I suppose so. Having seen your other babies, and this one to be here soon, I am getting motherly feelings already, so I think I will be happy to have a few more. Just give me a break between them, John.”

“If you breast-feed, I understand that you won’t get pregnant for up to a couple of years. That appears to be the norm here from what I have seen. I expect we will be the same, for we are all humans.”

Some time later, the arrival of Chief Maranga and widow Bertha was announced, so John excused himself from Sheila, so that he could join in Chief Numa’s welcome to them. Numa had summoned Ranga to meet her mother and aunt, both of them carrying a light pack each.

Ranga knew to permit her mother to be welcomed by Chief Numa after the official welcome to Chief Maranga, a Chief to Chief ceremony. John stood back as the consort of Chief Numa, and waited while the Chiefs exchanged greetings and Bertha was greeted as mother and sole parent of the bride. As soon as this was over, Ranga rushed into a hug by her mother. They held each other tightly, Ranga beaming her delight.

After Bertha had stepped back to have a good look at her almost full-grown eldest daughter, she announced, “I have brought you clothes to wear for the ceremony, Ranga. As a Chief’s daughter, you have to be properly attired for the marriage ceremony.”

While she was speaking, Maranga moved to John, to give him a passionate kiss, and as close a hug as her protruding belly would allow. She whispered to John, “She finally persuaded you?”

John whispered back, “She learned about birth control herbs, and that lost me my last excuse.”

Maranga nodded with a knowing smile, and John turned to welcome his future mother-in-law.

“Bertha! Welcome. Ranga and I wanted you to be here to witness this important ceremony, when our families and our tribes are matrimonially linked by Ranga’s marriage to me. The time of the event is planned for tomorrow morning. Jeeka’s marriage to me will be included in the same ceremony unless you have objections. It can be postponed if needed, but both young women feel it would be nice for them to go through it together. They are quite excited about it.”

He eyed Bertha as he spoke. She reacted with aplomb.

“Not a problem, High Chief. I don’t know who Jeeka is, but if my daughter desires it, then that is what it will be. It is the right of a woman to decide on such things now, by the rules of High Chief John.”

“Thank you, Bertha. Please go with Ranga and talk things over, including the clothing you mentioned. I must consult with Chief Maranga.”

Bertha collected the two packs and went off with Ranga to a more private spot. John got together with Maranga. Once they had kissed and hugged again, John asked her, “How are things going in the tribe? Any problems? I can come over if you need me.”

“No problems at all. The women of the tribe keep me informed of what the men are thinking, and if any of the men have a gripe, I get some others to have a quiet word of warning about behaviour, and it gets settled that way. I have done nothing officially, but I retain full control.”

“Very well done! A female spy network, eh? Good thinking!”

Maranga smiled, saying, “Women love to talk, John, but they are also good at listening. You don’t get gossip if you don’t listen! The gossip comes back to me, so I know who is saying what. Numa probably does the same.”