Chapter 32

“So I have to wait and see if I get more contractions?”

“Yep. Do you want Raka or Jean to come and stay with you for a while?”

“Can’t you do that? Don’t leave me waiting, you bastard!”

“I won’t, Vickie. It is just that I can be called away at short notice, so I would like someone else to be here to look after you if that happens to me.”

“Oh. Well, in that case, ask Jean to come to be with me. Sheila is out for now, and Raka does not know the way we used to deal with childbirth back home. Jean will be able to commiserate with me as well.”

Jean was soon located and agreed to partner Vickie for a while, to see if her labour was indeed starting. She bemoaned the lack of a timepiece.

“If we had a watch we could time Vickie’s contractions, to see if they were speeding up or slowing down; that slowing sometimes happens for a while, and makes labour much longer.”

“A watch? I don’t think such an item is amomg the storeroom contents. It would have to be a mechanical watch anyway, for all the electronic watches in our time took their timings from satellites in orbit, or from national time centre radio signals which again we don’t have. I can’t imagine any of those fuckers that sent us here thinking of a mechanical timepiece for us to work to. That would be too much to ask.

Maybe Raka could devise us a timekeeping mechanism? If it could even measure time to the minute, that would be far better than guessing how much time has elapsed. All we have just now is the position of the sun during the day. A water clock is feasible, but pretty inaccurate with the materials we have available.”

“A sundial then? Would that work near the equator?” Jean enquired.

“In theory, yes. There may be technical changes that have to be made to the dial and gnomon for it to be accurate, due to the angle of the sun. We should have something to explain it in the library we have in the dark.”

They moved to be beside Sheila, and Jean heard the latest: Sheila’s baby girl. She was delighted with the news, and John told her Sheila was sleeping after the birth, and the baby was being well looked after.

“That’s great. And how are you managing, Vickie? John says you might be starting labour early.”

“I am waiting to see if the first signs are genuine, or if it is a false labour.” Vickie explained.

“Ah, yes. When did you have the first twinges? How long ago?”

“Ten or fifteen minutes, I think. How far apart should they be if it is a real start?”

Jean though back to what she knew. “Pretty slow to start with, I think. Expect it to be about every twenty minutes at the beginning, and fairly mild and not very long in duration with each contraction. I thought you knew about this, Vickie?”

“I thought I did, but when it came to reality, either my memory fails me, or I hadn’t paid enough attention at the time; it was long ago. We don’t have childbirth classes here; perhaps we should set that up for the future. We can learn from a book; there is bound to be one in the library, and the local midwives can add their knowledge from experience.”

“Good thinking, Vickie. That should be worth exploring, especially if we can teach the local birthing women to read English; then they can read whatever maternity manuals we have got stashed away.”

“That will take a fair amount of time, Jean. It might be quicker to have a class of English learners, then read the book aloud when they have enough English to understand. Teaching them to read is another layer of difficulty on top of just learning to use English.”

“We’ll sort it out in the end, Jean. There is no rush. I forgot to ask how your own pregnancy was coming along.”

Jean shrugged.

“So-so. I have been healthy all through my pregnancy so far, but I have a while to go yet. What surprises me is that despite John adding more and more wives, I haven’t felt jealous or upset. I thought I would be furious at him having fun, fucking all these additional wives when he has the rest of us bearing his children, but nothing: no worries at all. Isn’t it weird?”

“I know what you mean, but John thinks it is down to the medical nanites making us all co-operate with each other as the best medical strategy for healthy babies. Chief Numa says she encourages him to have more wives because of the status it confers on him, but I wonder if it is the nanites again doing their best to have more children born. As medical nanites their target of good health would require no fighting between John’s women, so the beasties would do what they could to prevent such conflict. It would make logical sense if they have a general aim of a healthy population growth based on John’s seed.”

This made Vickie think harder, and she saw what Jean meant.

“It could very well be that it happened as you say. Either way, Numa’s status aim or the nanites aim for healthy population growth would be valid. I found the same; unconditional acceptance at my John having wives here then adding me to his collection, and all of us happy to bear his children. It could not happen without some kind of intervention, and I would go with the nanites being responsible.”

“In the final effect, the results are satisfactory for all of us; we are happy to be John’s wives and mothers of his children, aren’t we?”

Vickie found no reason to differ.

“You are right. The biggest boost has been in our general health. With the medical nanites helping, none of us are liable to get seriously unwell. The only danger is physical trauma from a blow of some kind, and most of the time we are not exposed to such dangers. John is fanatical about protecting all his wives from harm, from what I have seen and experienced. He even does his best for any and all women he encounters.”

“Yes, he is peculiar that way; but I am glad he is like that.”

John suggested, “I’d better get back and see if Sheila is still sleeping.”

As he spoke, Vickie gave a gasp of pain, and exclaimed, “Damn! That was another contraction. Am I going into labour now, Jean?”

Jean shrugged. “Perhaps. Wait until you have a couple more, then we may be more certain. They could still stop if it is not the real thing.”

John said to them, “Keep me updated on Vickie’s progress, Jean. I am nearby, so I can be there in a moment. I’ll come back if Sheila is still sleeping.”

They allowed him to leave, and he left them to continue their talk about contractions.Sheila was still asleep, but starting to stir. Raka advised him to wait and not bother her just yet; for she was still exhausted from her labour.

A little later, the perimeter guard gave a shout to the other guard at the cave, and she went down to assist, while the next scheduled guard took her place early at the cave mouth. There was a silence for a few minutes, then both guards were seen escorting a family group towards the cave mouth. The guard at the cave mouth alerted others, and they went to assist the group, who seemed very tired.

Chief Numa was alerted about the newcomers, and she was sat in her Chief’s throne when the visitors appeared in front of her.

The perimeter guard informed Numa, “This family are seeking refuge, Chief Numa. They say they are escaping from fighting to the north.”

The group seemed to be composed of a grandmother, her two daughters, and their children.

Numa was surprised at this being to the north, for all previous conflict had been to the south. She sought more information.

“Strangers, tell me more. What is this conflict that you are escaping from?”

The old lady assumed the leadership of her group.

“Chief, There are two tribes near each other where we come from. They have long disputed the boundary between them for gathering berries and fruit, and for hunting game, but it boiled over when one Chief insulted the other Chief by accusing him of cheating over the boundary. In his anger, he declared he would enforce the boundary line, and from that day there have been fights in and around the boundary. It has now got to the position that they are fighting without any real reason, just fighting to defeat the other side.

The husbands of my two daughters have both been killed in this fighting, so we fled in case the warriors would start killing women and children in their fighting frenzy. May we seek refuge with your tribe, if only temporarily?”

Chief Numa declared, “Any family in your position is welcome to stay for a while, to rest and recuperate. How long is another matter which we will attend to later. Guards, see that this family are fed and watered, and given a place to sleep. When you have done that, inform the High Chief that I would have a discussion with him.”

“Yes, Chief Numa.”

Just as they were about to move, the grandmother asked, “Chief Numa, are you a woman?”

Grinning, Numa replied, “A woman, a wife, and a mother, Grandmother, as well as being Chief of this tribe. Does it bother you?”

“No, Chief. It is merely surprise, seeing a woman in charge of a tribe.”

Numa told her, “I am not alone. The Farfarers tribe also has a woman Chief.”

“Amazing. May I hear more, later?”

“Certainly, revered grandmother.”

The new group moved off with their escort, going first for food and drink. One of the warriors was diverted to locate High Chief John and inform him that he was wanted by the Chief.

He was quickly by her side, keen to show that Chief Numa’s desires were accomodated.

“Chief Numa? You asked for me?”

“Yes, John. A family of newcomers have arrived, bearing unfortunate news. Somewhere to the north of us, two tribes have got into a tussle over a boundary line and it has become a source of fighting and killing. Is this the sort of event where you can intervene, or should we all stay out of it?”

John ran his hand over his chin. “That depends on the details. Can the newcomers tell me more?”

“They are all women, so it would probably be what they have heard, rather than direct experience, but feel free to quiz them. They are getting fed and will be allocated a sleeping space, so wait until they are settled, dear.”

John did so, and ambled over to chat while they sat and commiserated over their lost men.

“I am High Chief John, and Chief Numa has asked me to speak with you. I heard that two of you lovely ladies had lost your husbands. What happened to them?”

The one nursing a baby explained, “My husband was sent to help guard our boundary, and he was shot with an arrow where he stood. The arrow came from the trees on the other side of the boundary, but no-one was seen so there was no way of demanding retribution. This left me on my own with my children, so mother helped out. She has long been a widow, but with assets; my father had possession of a salt quarry, so she took it over when he died of a sickness.”

The other woman had a similar loss.

“My husband was in a band of warriors who were sent to deal with encroaching foreigners from the other tribe. There was a battle, and my husband was one of those who died. I had to move in with my sister and mother until the Chief made a ruling that for the tribe to survive, it needed access to any salt that was available, and use it for trade with other tribes, so we were left without the salt quarry. Without that, we had nothing, and the tribe was no longer strong enough to look after widows, so we left to seek another tribe that would take us in for a while.”

The women’s mother added, “We expect that we will all have to become concubines in order to survive. That is all that a destitute widow woman with children can hope for, other than be made a slave to some man.”

John was horrified at their situation, and assured them that they were safe in this tribe for now. Nothing would be demanded of them, he promised. That seemed to allay their fears, so he switched to getting relevant facts out of them.

“Ladies, I may make a visit to your tribe, so how do I get to it?”

The two younger women turned pale, and one said, “We didn’t make a note of the way we were going, as we did not expect to return. We just headed in this general direction, and found your tribe at the end of one of the tracks.”

Grandmother just smirked, then spoke.

“I know roughly where we are now, so I can point you in the right direction to get back to where we started. But do you really want to go there? It could be very dangerous for you.”

“Revered grandmother, fear not for me. I have faced worse than two tribes having a boundary spat. Just point me in the direction I should go, and the distance I should travel.”

“If you want to take the risk, take the track to the next tribe north of here; where there is a larger tribe in the process of moving site. They were too busy with moving to accommodate us. Do you know the tribe?”

“I do. That would be the Farfarers.”

“Use that line and take whatever track goes that way for two days, then a track that veers to your left. Take that until you pass a temporary camp that has been abandoned. Keep to whichever track goes towards the right for half a day, then you can start asking locals about the two tribes that are fighting. They will give you the heading you need, but may advise a safer route of approach. Use your judgement from there on.”

“That’s it?” asked John.

“That’s it. I may be a bit vague in places, but that is the best I can do with my aged memory.”

“I thank you, grandmother.”

John was rapidly memorising the instructions, going over them again and again, trying to make them solid in his brain. The only parts he was worried about was the left and right directions; it was easy to get confused. She may have got them wrong, or he might memorise them wrongly.

The women watched John switch off from them for a while and wondered what he was doing, so they were relieved when he returned to apparent normality.

“Are you all right, High Chief?” one of the younger women asked.

“I am fine, lady; just thinking hard,” he assured her. “Can you tell me what got all this conflict started?”

“We are just women; we don’t get told what is happening or why. That is what the men do.”

“Understood, but there must have been gossip about the action. What was said?”

“The stories said it was about the boundary between our tribe’s territory and that of the next tribe along. There seems to have been arguments about who was doing what on which side of the boundary. I think the idea was that someone was hunting or collecting on our side, or we were doing the same on their side. Either way, the argument flared up like a big flame in the fire, and got out of hand.”

“Any idea whose fault the fighting was?”

“No. Everyone assumed it must be the other tribe. Why not? You don’t expect your own side to be at fault, do you?”

“Ah, if only that was reality! Unfortunately, every side blames the other side, no matter what the true facts are. Political opinion – what the people believe – is based more on public belief and perception, rather than truth. The leaders feed them whatever belief suits the leaders at the time.”

“You are saying that truth does not matter?”

“I am saying that truth does not matter to the leaders. They need the support of the people, so they announce whatever gets them that support. Occasionally that will be the truth, but often it is inconvenient to admit to the truth; that is when a leader will pick up on a belief held by some people, and push that belief as if it is true; not stating it as true, just saying he supports looking into that idea. It doesn’t matter to the leader whether it is true or not, as long as he gets the attention and probable support. He seeks power or wants to retain power, whatever it takes to attain that end.”

The older woman commented, “High Chief, you are wise beyond your years. You have a knowledge of mankind’s foibles that few can match. We were told that you are a Shaman as well as High Chief, so that may explain your insights.”

John smiled at her.

“Oh, if only that was so, my lady. However, possessing titles merely reflects a willingness of a people to grant you these titles, or accept you as worthy of them. Titles by themselves do not confer insights on anyone. Like many other human achievements, insight has to be earned by action.”

“Well, you’ve got it; that is clear. What do you intend to do about the two tribes?”

“I don’t know yet; perhaps nothing, if they are that stupid to get into a fight over a small matter. Let them kill themselves off, then some other tribe will take over from both of them.”

The grandmother was horrified, and let him know.

“You are condeming many women and children to death, if they don’t have a man to look after them and keep them safe!”

John was rocked by this accusation, but recovered.

“Why don’t the women control their men, telling them that if they continue to fight for little reason, they won’t get any sex for a while? That would make the men come to their senses, wouldn’t it?”

“Eh? The women couldn’t do that!”

“Of course they could. You are thinking of women as being useless, unable to do anything without a man to tell them. The women in Numa’s tribe would be able to do that in a flash; they know their power as women. In this tribe women have more or less the same choices as men, or haven’t you noticed that?”

One of the two young mothers blurted out, “It is true, Mama. The women here are not like at home in our tribe. They are treated by the men as important and worth listening to. Some of the women are even warriors, but I am sure they wouldn’t involve themselves in a border dispute like our tribesmen did.”

John told the grandmother, “It is indeed true, grandmother. I have a number of wives, but when they tell me I must be here for a special event, I listen to them and do as they say. Often they pretend to ask me, but it really is an instruction in disguise.”

The older lady took on a broad smile.

“You do what they tell you? All the time?”

“Not all the time, but I have to argue my case if I want to leave for a while. They have to approve my plans, especially Chief Numa as she is my first wife and is in charge of the others.”

“That surprised me: a woman Chief.”

“Once you accept that women and men should be treated the same, any post becomes available to a woman. To some men, this proposal is a threat, but only if they do not believe they are themselves competent. A man who knows he got his job through his abilities to do it, will not be afraid of a woman being offered the same chance. If she is capable of doing the job, then where is the objection? Chief Numa is a very capable Chief; you can ask anyone here and they will aggree.”

“Despite the fact that she is your wife?”

“She is my wife and the mother of our son. Women have the wonderful ability to be a wife and mother, yet still succeed in another occupation. I am sure you are conscious of that, but so far have done nothing about it, due to the old traditions of your tribe. Here, traditions are rules we make now; rules that are relevant to today’s circumstances.”

“You may be right, High Chief, but for now, the women in our tribe need protection, both from the enemy tribe and the stupidity of our men. Will you see if you can settle the dispute without more violence?”

John grinned.

“Ah, the task of the conciliator! Getting two opposing sides to agree is almost impossible. What you have to do is to get them to accept a deal where they can each tell their own tribe that they won. Both leaders need the same result, so the deal has to have an apparent win for tribe A on one aspect, while tribe B gets a win on another aspect. Each will point to their own win and ignore what the other tribe gets to say.”

“That sounds like a devious way of getting them to agree to a deal.”

“Nothing devious about it, dear lady. If one tribe can say ‘We got a deal whereby if one of our men strays over the boundary, WE are the ones who will punish him, so that way we can be lenient. The other tribe can say the same about their strays, and both sides are happy. They could have worked out that sort of deal right at the start, but few leaders think ahead to where their policies might lead.”

“Won’t someone notice that the win is exactly the same for both?”

“Possibly, but why would they mention it to anyone else. It suits everyone for the tribe to have apparently gained over the other tribe. Nobody wants to hear anything to the contrary.”

One of the young mothers asked, “Can you get them all to listen to you, High Chief? You are an outsider, after all.”

“That is the point of an arbitrator: He has no involvement in the dispute, so can be seen as a safe pair of eyes to look at the problem without bias.”

“So will you try to help?”

“I must think on this before I can make a decision. As with any major problem, you need to look at all the possible outcomes before deciding on one answer. There may be more than one viable answer, so I have to work out which gives the best result for both sides and the surrounding tribes as well. I have other responsibilities at present, but I will keep this question in my mind.”

“Thank you, High Chief.”

Sheila was awake, but drowsy. She had asked to hold her baby, but had been told she was not yet awake enough to be able to do so in safety.

“John, tell them to give me my baby? There is nothing wrong with her, is there?”

“Nothing, Sheila, or they would have told me. You are just not fully compos mentis, my dear. Give it a little longer, and you will be able to hold her with confidence. Do you mind if I get to hold our daughter for a little?”

“No, that’s fine, John; but remember I want to hold her and nurse her. My boobs are bursting with milk for her, and she will be hungry.”

John moved to the birthing woman, and asked to hold the child.

“Certainly, High Chief. She is ready for a feed, but I don’t think the mother is quite up to it yet.”

“She should be soon, in my judgement. If I hold the baby, can you talk to Sheila and make your own assessment?”

The baby was handed over, and John cuddled his new daughter close to his chest. A little hand stretched out, seeking a tit, so John told the child, “Soon, little one. Mummy is as keen to feed you as you are to be fed. It won’t be long.”

A minute later, the birthing woman was back to John.

“High Chief, I think your Sheila is ready now. Her anxiety and the pressure in her breasts have combined to make her more awake. She should be safe to feed the child, but I will stay close until I am sure that there will be no difficulties for either of them.”

John volunteered to carry his daughter to her mother, and the birthing woman accepted this, but wanted to supervise the changeover to the mother. She fussed over the position of the baby in her mother’s arms, ensuring that the child was secured to a tit, instructing Sheila to remember she had two breasts and that the baby should have use of both; not to let the girl stay on one all the time.

Sheila glowed as her baby suckled, and beamed at John.

“Darling, this is what I always wanted, deep down: A loving husband and a baby to love. Now that I have one baby, I am sure I will want more.”

John bent and kissed her lovingly.

“I am overwhelmed, Sheila. I never expected this to happen when you first arrived here, but you are now a loving wife and mother, just like Numa and the others with babies. Thank you Sheila.”

Sheila looked down at her hungry daughter sucking assiduously, and smiled at the babe. Then she spoke to John again.

“Darling, I know that you have so many wives to love, but if they all get the sort of love I feel from you, we will all be happy. When you need to go somewhere on behalf of the tribe, I will not complain as long as you come back to us again.”

“I have to tell you that Vickie seems to be starting labour very early, so I must go see to her and reassure here of my backing.”

“Then go, John. She needs you, just like I needed you.”

“Thanks, love.”

He headed back to where Vickie was sitting gingerly. Jean was with her.

“Well, ladies? How goes things?”

Vickie told him, “If I have another contraction in the next minute or two, it looks like it will be the real thing, dear. Jean told me what she had read about false labour, and it doesn’t continue for long. This is starting to look like it is continuing.”

John got down on his knees in front of her and put his arms round her upper body. “I’m here for you, Vickie. So is Jean.” He kissed her lips gently, and she responded the same way.

“You always know how to get round me, don’t you? I’m going to work hard producing your child, while you get the enjoyable bit at the beginning.”

“Vickie, how many times have you wanted sex and got it to your satisfaction, all through your pregnancy? You have had plenty of fun sex all the way through. I can’t take over the birth for you, I admit, but that is not my fault: it is the way we are made. I’d love to experience it, from what you girls tell me about becoming a mother, but perhaps it has to do with female hormones and such, so that it is probably impossible for a man to feel how you ladies do when becoming a mother.”

Vickie conceded, “Perhaps afterwards, but these bloody contractions are getting more and more painful, John. You wouldn’t like to have to cope with that, I assure you.”

“From what Sheila said, the medical nanites will keep the pain down to a tolerable level. You ladies need the pain, so as to be constantly aware of progress, but the nanites have their target of keeping us healthy, and so will want to prevent you feeling too much pain.”

“Are you going to stay with me throughout my labour, John?”

Then she took another gasp and exclaimed, “Ow. That’s another one arrived. Jean, is it starting?”

Jean told her, “Yep. Looks like you are on your way. Prepare for a rough ride for the next 12 to 24 hours, honey. It becomes more painful as you get towards the end; pushing the baby out.”

“Yeugh! Are you going to be with me, John?” she asked again, not having had an answer yet.

“That is my intention. After the baby is born, if everything is fine, I have promised to visit the two warring tribes and try to knock heads together and get them to see sense.”

“What warring tribes?”

“The women and child that have arrived here were escaping a conflict between two adjacent tribes. They are squabbling over border encroachments and killing each other instead of sorting the problem through negotiation. The two younger women are widows from that dispute, coming here for refuge.”

“Two young widows? I hope you don’t intend to add them to your stable, stud. You have enough babies and pregnant wives as it is. You don’t need more.”

“I know that, Vickie my love. I have no inclinatons in that direction. I just want to do what I can to help.”

“That’s my man; always wanting to help other folks.

John grumbled, “The trouble with helping others is getting them to believe you’re not helping them, just guiding them along as they decide for themselves what to do. It’s tricky to manage that balancing act.”

“Anyway,” said Vickie, “Go back to Sheila for now and fuss over her and her baby for a while; she will like that. I hope I’ll get the same later on.”

Smiling his thanks, John kissed her farewell and went back to Sheila, who greeted him with a welcoming smile, the baby being rocked in her arms.

“What’s the situation with Vickie, John?”

“It seems she has started labour much earlier than expected, but babies decide when they want to arrive, don’t they?”

“They do. Have you thought of a name for our daughter yet? I have a hankering for Phoebe, if that is not too up-market.”

“Phoebe? That sounds a delightful name for a girl. Does it have a special meaning, Sheila?”

“I know it as a genus that includes laurel trees, but the original ancient Greek meaning was something like ‘bright’, if my memory serves me right.”

“Sounds very acceptable to me, Sheila. Phoebe she is, then.”

Sheila looked down at the baby cuddled in her arms.

“Hear, that, baby? Your name is Phoebe; a special name for a special girl.”

John leaned down close and looked at the baby’s face to speak to her. “Hello, Phoebe. I’m your Daddy, and I love you.”

The baby’s crinkly face became even more crinkled as she tried to see the person who was speaking. Her eyes widened, but otherwise she made no reaction.

“John! She is too young to be able to take such things in and make sense of them. She has just been born, as you well know!”

“Hah! It is never too early to start teaching my children, Sheila. I want to be a hands-on Dad to my kids, and be around for any time they need me.”

“Of course, just as you are always around for your wives! Tell that to Numa and Noma!”

“Okay, okay. I admit I haven’t been able to be here all the time, but like any Dad who has to go to work, my responsibilities take me away at times. I can’t simply stay at the cave all the while, much though I would like to do so.”

Things settled down again, and Sheila explained about how sore she had been during the birth, but saying it was less pain than she had expected.