Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning with a painfully sore body and a lingering headache. I could have done without either. The stresses on my body over the last week or so had started catching up with me. I knew I was going to have to take it easy until I had fully recuperated. That was the cost of using nanos, since they had to get their fuel from somewhere.

Groaning, I shrugged aside my discomfort. I got up and started getting dressed. There was a lot that I wanted to accomplish today, and I knew I wouldn't get half of it done. I was feeling hungry, so the first thing I did was start a fire in the crude stove I had created in the cave.

'Stove' is probably the wrong word to use, however. In truth, it was little more than a fireplace. Considering the cold climate here, it had been one of my highest priorities when I first came here. Luckily, primitive explosives were fairly simple for the replicator to make in small amounts, so I was able to blast a small flue for it through the roof of the cave. I was glad that I had decided to do the 'redecorating' before moving everything into the cave, since the creation of that flue had been horribly messy. As ugly as the process was, though, it did work.

With the fire in the stove quickly heating up, I went deeper into the cave. It sloped down, deeper into the ground, the further back into the cave I went. When I got to the end of the passage, I came to an opening that I had covered with several thick, blanket-like skins, creating a crude semblance of a thick door. I pulled the skins to the side as I ducked through the opening. I was glad to feel the crisply cold air, since it meant my experiment had worked.

Food storage in primitive conditions was probably the most critical of my worries when I decided to come here. Because no survey ships had been within sensor range in literally eons, I had no idea what kind of climate I was working with. Even my geographical information was relatively obsolete, though I had a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Salting and smoking were options, but they only went so far. Canning helped, but I didn't know what kind of vegetation was available, and starting up a farm large enough to support myself wasn't something I particularly wanted to contemplate doing by myself. Refrigeration was what I finally decided on, though it came with certain risks. I decided to plan with a worst-case scenario: a temperate climate, with little vegetation or resources.

Permafrost is when the ground, and everything under it, is frozen the majority of the time. A cave under the permafrost layer essentially becomes a freezer, since it would remain naturally cold. Unfortunately, the climate, though cool compared to Earth standards, wasn't quite cold enough to create this effect in the region I had chosen. Fortunately, while not to the level that it would happen naturally, the climate did leave the area close to what I was looking for. I had been in even more luck to find a cave that had a room several meters below the ground level. I had used the thick furs to, in effect, seal the room and keep the temperature more stable. The other part of the puzzle was in the back of the room, against the wall furthest from the door.

I had taken cooling technology that was designed to cool industrial or military grade lasers. Around it, I had built a box of dense metal. The machinery inside continuously cooled the metal of the box. Conduction caused the air to exchange heat with the metal, and the heat was then dumped into an underground river that I had tapped into. This effectively caused the temperature of the room to drop to whatever temperature I set on the box's controls. In this case, it was set slightly below the freezing mark.

The cooling unit, because of the dense materials it was made of, had taken a couple of weeks to create in the replicator. The more complex the molecular structure (not to mention the electronics of the device itself), the more difficult, time-consuming, and power-intensive the process of creation became. In fact, it had only been finished the morning I went on my ill-fated observation trip to watch the hunters.

This was gross overkill for the environment, since the cooling unit had been planned for a temperate climate where it would constantly have to work to provide the necessary refrigeration effect. Since the climate was much colder than my worst-case scenario, it was able to keep the cave cold with relative ease. I suspected that it only had to run a small fraction of the time, between spikes of activity. That suited me fine, since that would alleviate my energy concerns. That was one of the other issues I was worried about.

I only had very basic power generation, in the form of the solar generators I had placed on top of the ridge that the cave burrowed into. When the energy consumption of the grossly inefficient replicator was removed from that, there wasn't much power left. While I eventually intended to queue up the creation of a better energy source, such a project would take weeks or months for the replicator to finish, depending on how I eventually decided to bring it about. As such, the project languished near the bottom of my 'to-do list'. That wasn't likely to change, either.

After connecting to the device and checking the logs, I was satisfied that the cooling unit was functional and efficient enough to work under the power limitations. In fact, it left me even more energy than I had expected, which I could easily use for other things.

Happy with that, I moved over to the only other thing in the room: the remains of a small roe deer that I had killed. Even though the meat was frozen, I was able to use one of my knives, because of its incredible sharpness, to cut a couple of steak-sized chunks. After having done that, I dragged the rest of the corpse closer to the door where it was a bit warmer, so that it could thaw out a little.

Satisfied with the equipment here, I took my breakfast with me back to the main cave area. By now, the fire in the stove was hot, and the stove was ready for cooking. I put the deer meat on a metal rack placed above the fire, just for this purpose. The meat soon began sizzling in a very satisfactory way.

While that was in the works, I checked the replicator to see how its project was coming. I wasn't surprised that it was done. I was happy to pull out the coils of insulated wiring. I quickly accessed the replicator's control program, and set it to start working on its next chore.

I set the coils to the side for now, and then tended to the deer meat that was cooking. I would probably start installing the wiring later, even though there was nothing to connect it to as yet. It was for the low-energy lighting units that the replicator was presently fabricating. They probably wouldn't be done for a day or so yet, but once they were, it would be nice to be able just to plug them in.

When I checked on my breakfast again, I found that it was done enough to suit me. I sat down and ate my simple meal, while thinking through my list of things to do.

Unfortunately, it was a long list. Items were being added to it regularly, as I thought of new ideas.

I decided my first priority was to finish my bed, since it was barely big enough for me right now. We would need more room when Enyi joined me. Thankfully, that was just a matter of digging an extension and adding to it from the roll of modular foam padding I'd brought with me. The door would be next; not that I expected a lot of company way out here, but the idea of some predator waltzing through those furs to escape bad weather and finding us sleeping just didn't do much for me. Perhaps more importantly, the warm cave would draw in vermin seeking to escape the cold, and my food stores were just too accessible for them this way. After that, I planned on tacking those new power cables up on the wall with some simple brackets I'd made, then applying a layer of clay from the nearby stream over all but the electrical sockets. Once I attached the lines to the solar cell feed at the main battery, it'd be easy to just plug in basic lighting units as the replicator produced them.

Those three projects would probably be enough to keep me busy until dusk. I had plenty to do beyond that, but it could all wait until after Enyi had joined me.

I finished eating, and threw the remnants into a large pot I used for trash. When it was full I would dump it a significant distance away from the cave. There wasn't much point in going out of my way to attract scavengers. I washed my hands and got a drink from the sink.

However, before I began all of that, I needed to do my routine chores first. I unpacked my bag and went through everything, checking carefully for any damage before repacking them. I inspected the ammo cartridges, replaced the food I'd eaten, and cleaned all of the equipment. I even put in a fresh change of clothes. The guns went back into their locker, where they would be secure until I was ready to leave again. Satisfied that everything was ready for me when I headed out, I got started on my 'to do' list.

It took me most of the day to finish, just as I had predicted.

The bed extension was relatively easy, but making a crude door with crude tools wasn't a fun job. Running the cable wasn't particularly hard, but using the clay to seal it against the walls of the cave was a messy job. All in all, it had been time-consuming and mind-numbing. Without much to do, my mind wandered while I worked. I was a little surprised that most of my mind's wanderings had to do with Enyi. Even before my mad dash to the dubious safety of this place, I had been focused on my duties for a long time. That had left little time for more pleasant excursions. As a result, it had been a long time since I had enjoyed a relationship with anyone which could be called more than a fling.

Even so, my mind eventually got back to some of the more important issues I was facing. There was no doubt that I had won some serious points with the three men that seemed to run the tribe. Unfortunately, I didn't know much about the culture of the area, much less the politics of this particular tribe. I didn't particularly want to join the tribe, so that wasn't a concern. But I did want to maintain a certain level of contact with them. I would want to trade with them, and they could also provide a lot of security against other tribes.

I felt that the shaman, Ghan, was a major key to that security. It was hard to tell what the effect of religion on any Genesis society would be, as it was never very consistent from society to society. That said, I got the feeling that religion had a fairly important place with this tribe. It was very likely that a large part of my status, would be decided by Ghan. I certainly hoped that recovering his idols, whatever they were, had gained me enough brownie points to get my foot in the door, with him. It was certainly a major disadvantage that I didn't know much about the religion, so I was going to have to tread very carefully until I had more information. Hopefully, Enyi would be able to provide that information before I stuck my foot in my mouth.

The other part of the puzzle was Hegen. He was obviously the driving force behind the tribe. Considering what I had seen in their camp, he was a strong leader. From what I had seen of the man, he was very intelligent. More importantly, he had great wisdom. If for no other reason than to help his daughter, I thought he would support me, for the most part.

However, he obviously was either unable or unwilling to exert totalitarian control over the tribe, since Roud and Ghan seemed to be involved in every important decision. I had nothing to support the theory, but I suspected that their support was critical for maintaining control of the tribe. If they broke off their support, there would likely be a bloody struggle for leadership. Fortunately, the trio seemed to be fairly good friends, and thought with one mind on most subjects.

By the time I was done with my work, I was caked in sweat and clay. I decided that I would rather swim in the stream than bother with a bath. Even though the water in the stream was cold, I took the time to enjoy a nice swim. I wanted to clean myself off and to relax from the stresses of the last few days. I felt more alive now than I ever had in the past. The technology that I had been used to was nice, it allowed many options and provided many things, but there was something missing from the experience. Mankind had grown up in and with nature, and there was a connection there that we couldn't deny. Oh, we could grow and prosper without it, but its absence diminished us overall.

I headed back to my cave as the sun was setting. The fading light set an introspective mood, which I supposed was appropriate for my last night alone out here. I fixed another portion of the deer for supper, but I couldn't help but think that I would be glad for the variety of forage a native woman would bring to my diet. I had to chuckle at that thought. However, as much as I loved meat, there could definitely be 'too much of a good thing'. It was ironic that the variety of foods that I had never cared much for in the past ended up being one of the things I longed for most in my new society.

After dinner, I went outside to relax while watching the night sky. The stars filled the horizon in huge patterns. Undoubtedly the natives had named constellations after whatever mythology it was that they followed, but I didn't know what stars and patterns they'd stressed. I couldn't help but think of the generations of my ancestors that had dreamed of reaching those stars. The irony of being trapped on this planet, gazing longingly at the stars, wasn't lost on me.

My weariness caused me to yawn, which I took as a sign that it was time to catch up on some of my sleep. My head had barely hit the bed before I fell into slumber.

Even though I had gone to bed tired, I managed to wake up relatively early. In the time since I had come here, my body had synched with the slightly longer days here. It had only taken me a few days to regain the pattern of waking before the sun rose. A lifetime of habit apparently couldn't be broken by something as trivial as moving to a new planet that considers Stone Age technology modern. Go figure.

I fixed myself some breakfast, which I ate outside as I watched dawn break. It was a vision of tranquility, and was something I had never truly appreciated before I came here.

I finally roused myself from my thoughts, and checked my pack to make sure I had everything. In addition to the pack, I put the holster with my defense gun on my belt, as well as my knives. I went ahead and brought my quiver and bow, just in case. I left my hunting gun, though, since I didn't think I would need it.

Satisfied that I had everything I should need, I left and started walking towards the camp. Since I wasn't in a particular hurry, I set a leisurely pace. I took time to take in the environment as I walked. The seasons on this planet were a little longer, and winter tended to be longer than any other season. It was late in the autumn season at the moment, and it was starting to get colder. As a result, the trees and bushes were starting to look bare, while more and more of the wildlife were headed towards their winter retreats. The result, even though not as spectacular as spring would likely be, was well worth taking a look at.

I was also mentally mapping out the area, since I figured that I would be doing a lot of traveling to and from the native camp in the foreseeable future. It never hurt to know the area, particularly since I was enjoying the fresh air anyway. Even though I had begun to trust them a bit more, I still knew very little about the natives. I didn't think it would come down to that, but it was possible that knowing the area could be crucial to my very survival.

Even with my lackadaisical pace, I eventually made it to the camp, which was well into its day. The camp was buzzing with activity when I arrived. There were several new tents on the outskirts of the camp, which surprised me. I couldn't imagine that they had needed to expand the living arrangements of the camp in the day that I had been gone. I shrugged it off, figuring I would find out what it was about soon enough.

There were dozens of people working when I reached the center of the camp. Obviously, the hunters had been busy, since there were several animals that were being cooked. It was traditionally the women who cooked in these societies, but apparently there was enough to do that a few of the younger men had been recruited to help.

I couldn't help but notice that there were many people here I didn't recognize from my previous time in the camp. I hadn't spent a lot of time here, nor had I been carefully noting everyone. Still, I saw a number of people I was sure hadn't been at this camp before. It had to be more than a coincidence. I didn't know why there were so many faces, but I hoped it wasn't anything I should be concerned about.

I noticed a lot of men working near some crude barrels of something, which made me curious. I nonchalantly came closer, and had my suspicions confirmed when I caught the smell. Apparently, the natives had discovered how to create mead. I chuckled at a mental image of how everyone was going to be feeling in the morning, while my nanos had purged the vile alcohol out of my system

Since there wasn't much I could do to help out without slowing whomever I was 'helping', I gravitated towards the fire and waited to see anyone that I recognized.