Chapter 2

I woke up in a lot of pain. When I looked around, I saw that I was not where I was supposed to be. I was laying on my side. The small tractors that we installed in the cabin but never used now held me in position. I was bleeding and I could feel the dampness in my clothing. I must have moved because the darkness called me back.

When I awoke the second time, my mind must have got my healing reflex working but I was weak and still in pain. I could not get free. I tried to access the computer with my mind then my voice but it was not working. There was oddly no response.

"Vilchjo! Would you see if you can deactivate the tractors?"

"Hello Michjo. How are you doing?"

Vilchjo was bright but sometimes, like now, very stupid. "I'm hurt and need to get out of the chair and get to the med unit."

"I will try to get you out but I might be able to get one of the med drones to come here."

"Try both, please."

Vilchjo must have been working but I wondered on the time it took him to get the drone to come near. It acted less intelligent too. I directed its operation through Vilchjo until the pain started to disappear.

Vilchjo said, "Put your hands down to support yourself. I can remove the tractors."

I put my hands down and told Vilchjo I was ready and I promptly fell. The pain was not too bad because of the analgesic. I had to get my clothing off to see the damage and to get treated. When I stripped I found how cold it was. Cold was something I hardly ever felt, except when going to or from a bus and when skiing. At the latter time it was only my face and hands.

My body was bruised and I must have some sort of concussion because I was not thinking right either. The computers on the command vessel must have deemed it dangerous enough that they held me to my chair and used the ejection capsule. This is where I was now. This capsule had a simple computer but I was not able to access it.

When my mind started to work more, I thought of the black hole. There were thirteen different methods of ensuring that it did not get loose. If it did, I would be bathed in energy that would burn me up or just irradiate me. The planet would have about seven years to live before it was completely consumed by the singularity.

The med unit was working diligently and I turned on my side to let it work. It must have been an hour later that I was done and much colder. I had it go over me seven times just to make sure. My own healing power was pushed to do some of the fine details.

I stood on the wall and tried to get my world to stop spinning. I was very cold now and looked around and found some utility clothes. The drawers were stuck from the damage to the pod. There should have been none. I was at least lucky enough to find that I was able to open the drawer for the clothing. It was difficult getting into it but I felt much warmer.

The command unit was very similar to the ones operating on Luna and the two planets. This ship had actually been to Luna but it had to have a booster to get it that far. The tractors and repeller only got us so high. I had to get Vilchjo to interface with the equipment to get the doors to the airlock open.

The wind hit me first. It was cold. The Appalachian Mountains had some snow even in Georgia. When I gazed around, I saw much more snow than I had seen before I crashed. The area around the levees and dam had none. Could the ejection capsule have thrown me to some other area? Why was it so cold?

"Vilchjo, would you be so kind as to find where we are?"

"I have been trying to do that Michjo. I cannot link to any of the satellites. Beampower is nonexistent. I can only find natural occurring radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum and the same is true in the pionic spectrum."

"Your receiver's must be damaged."

"That was my first assumption but there is work going on in the command unit at the present time. This I am able to dtect."

"What is the status of the singularity?"

"There is a danger that the containment vessel will fail."

"Shit. Did you make a distress call?"

"I have and so has the command vessel. We have found no response."

I was frightened for the safety of my fellow humans and surprisingly not very much for myself. "Is there anything we can do to assist in preventing this catastrophe?"

"Nothing at all. There is now a sizable radiation hazzard in the area. The computers and the drones are doing everything possible."

I thought to myself, what could have happened to destroy all long range communications? No rational answer came. Vilchjo cut into my thoughts and said, "We are being observed."

"Where?"

Vilchjo listed the points and the number of people. Why didn't they come and offer assistance? I asked Vilchjo the question and he had no answer either. I had very good eyesight but I could not see them. I looked around and could not see the command unit. Vilchjo gave me the direction and range. I was not up to the hike of fourteen kilometres especially since there was a high ridge between us.

In the end it was too cold and I went back into the pod. It was out of the wind and I knew that it would get much colder before any form of rescue came.

I ate from the emergency rations and drank distilled water while thinking. The food had warmed up automatically and I held the packet to me to get any escaping heat. My core temperature must be rising but it would take a while before I was better. Hypothermia was something I heard of but never from people that had experienced it. Soon I had to put on more of the emergency clothing and wrapped my shirt around my head and ears.

I tried harder to open the drawers because there were blankets and other survival materials. The material of the container was ceramic and it was under a lot of strain right now. No human would be able to get some of those drawers open unaided.

My eye caught what should have been a straight line. It was far from straight now. Ceramic could bend with enough force applied to it but this looked to have been warped. I tapped the material and then the area around the drawers. The second area was damaged by shock while the first seemed to have flowed like hot plastic.

I worked on this for a few minutes but saw no solution to how this happened apart from the obvious crash. When I got no further I thought about what I had seen outside the pod.

Global warming was supposed to make this area warm but it was so cold. Come to think of it, the mountains had a lot more snow on them than I had seen before. Another thing, the ground was not saturated with rainwater. All of this area should be this way.

The pod had its own repair unit and it was busy on the computer. I must have fallen asleep and awoken again. A few hours later, the computer awoke. It knew nothing more than we knew and I directed the device to assist the repair unit in correcting the problems present. I ate another warmed meal just to get the heat inside me.

When I went outside, I saw that it was dark. A wall of trees that I had seen in the distance now reflected light. Again there was nobody around.

"Do we have a drone, Vilchjo?"

"There is a simple one that may monitor this area. It is being worked on presently."

"Anything new from the command vessel?"

"The danger has lessened but only somewhat."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Possibly. People are investigating the command vessel and there's a danger to them."

"Is the external audio unit functioning?"

"Yes it is but the people do not seem to understand."

I had to think on this and then said, "Are the computers able to get a sample of their speech?"

"Yes Michjo. Oddly the best match is that of the Muskogean language."

"What would a back-to-nature group be doing that they would not do as they were asked?"

"I'm sorry but I have no idea, Michjo."

"I have worked hard here and found that those in this area are in a dialect of the Ahniyvwiya tongue called Tsalagi."

"Cherokee?"

"Apparently that is the case. They are hesitant to come too near our vessel but it is surmised that they will come in time."

"Can the computer express the danger in all of the Tsalagi dialects?"

"This has been done with no success."

If there was some group of Cherokee that reverted all the way to their roots then they might respond to some of their religious myths or perhaps even the Christian or Buddhist myths. Then again, religion was not a good way of dealing with people. If there were Cherokee then there should be the Creeks too though I had not heard of them acting this way when we worked here months ago.

"Tell the computer on the command unit to ask them to come and see me, Vilchjo."

"I will do so, Michjo."

I remembered my camping and searched around in the dark for wood to burn. A while later the drone was ready and it was sent to see the source of the light. I had nothing to light the fire with so I went inside and huddled into all the clothing I could find. I heard that people lived through much worse conditions but I always had the right clothing. Usually beampower was available to heat my clothing, footwear, headwear and handwear.

My thinking was clouded by the cold and running around in the snow with shoes that were so low that snow struck the skin was foolish.

Vilchjo fed the images from our drone directly into my mind as opposed to using the holographic screen he could produce. Some people that obviously looked like Native Americans were now spying on my position while more sat around a fire. In the distance and hidden in the trees was a hide tent sheltering a seven more people while they slept.

I directed the probe to get in close and I saw something strange. It was not that some shaved their heads bald or just left a strip running from the front to the back. They were scarred and — not nice looking. I had to think on this. Genetic modification had not been restricted to plants and animals but humans had employed it too. The Pack's abilities made everyone look at least fairly symmetrical. Some of these people had scars on their faces that were obviously caused by disease and accidents. I gasped when I saw one person talk because their teeth were discoloured and some were missing. I had never met anybody like that in any Pack country. The back to nature groups never went to this extreme.

When I worked in other countries I saw some of what I was seeing now. The pack helped those people at least to get good dental care and medical attention to take care of disease. Though some leadership in some countries did not want this for their people, they could not do much because the Pack would inform the citizens of what their leaders wished to see.

These people not two hundred metres away must be one of those back to nature groups but this did not seem right.

I worked on the problem with Vilchjo for quite a while but we had little data to go on. In the end I had to accept the facts. I had either slipped through the dimensions to some sort of parallel world or I went back in time or possibly both.

Reports came from the command module that the singularity was still in danger of leaving the containment vessel but less so as time went on. This made me less apprehensive than the fact that I may never see my friends and family again. I was a physically strong man but as the import of what happened to me got stronger, I began to weep.

I must have slept again because Vilchjo called, "Michjo, you are required to get up. People are coming near."

I knew that this meeting was important as any explorer coming to the shores of North America. Vilchjo sent the images to my mind and it looked like they were not ready to talk just yet.

The crew and I had met with the natives from my time or world. I knew only a few phrases in Tsalagi, the Cherokee tongue. There were three main dialects. Two had almost disappeared but 'over-the-hill' was the most common.

Vilchjo helped me with more phrases so I could meet these people. There was no way I could function alone so we worked out a workaround. I would send my thoughts where Vilchjo could read them. He would find the best translation and send them back to me so I could vocalise them.

I had to pee and I could not get at the lavatory in the pod because of the damage. I ate and drank quickly before I stepped out into the frozen land I had arrived in.

The airlock was cycled and I walked out with a bare head and bare hands to show I had no weapon, for I had none. A stun pistol was in one of the damaged drawers but I would not want it now anyway.

As I walked around the pod I waved at the Cherokee that were now hiding and I called out to them, "Come, I mean no harm. There is much to talk about." I found a bush and opened three layers of utility clothing to stain the snow yellow. I hoped this natural act would relieve them of some of their anxiety.

I washed my bare hands in the snow and shivered. It was at least ten minutes later that two older males got up and three younger ones stayed behind with bows in their hands. Bows were for hunting and spears and tomahawks were for war usually.

Though the Cherokee were farmers they were still warriors. The information I gathered about them showed that they lived to fight and go into battle. The natives had slaves before the Europeans arrived but it was the Cherokee that treated them like family. Other natives cut off a foot so a slave could not run.

The two men stopped four metres in front of me. They were frightened as indeed I might be in their position. Back in the trees I had seen one man with a musket so I could guess the time period. This had to be from the mid 1600s to the present day in my life. The upper limit was probably around 1850 when they were common. I wanted to lead this if I could so I said, "Welcome to my small home. Would you like something to eat?"

Instead of replying to my question, one person spoke. I recognised some of the words but it was Vilchjo that had to feed me the data to what they said. "Who are you and how did you get here?" My pauses to translate might appear to be a chance to contemplate his words.

"Let us start with names. I am called Michjo."

The two did not like this and I could feel their displeasure. One said, "I am Feather and my brother is Diving Hawk."

I had to speak slow so Vilchjo could ok my phraseology. "I am glad to meet you Feather and Diving Hawk. My people have customs where we are polite to each other and we seldom come to anger. We have not had a war or even a small battle in a great many years. We help those that ask for our help. Our land is very different to what you know."

I knew that this was not something to be proud of for a native. They lived to fight and hunt. The best game were other humans.

I had thought of helping these people and it was easy to think of what they needed besides the obvious healthcare and a proper diet. "The white man comes from a world that has many strange ways. They are very powerful. My people have even greater power but choose to not use it unless there is a great need."

It was hard to lie but I had to do it. I knew enough history of this time period to make some good assumptions. "The white man trades gold coins, brandy, whiskey, cloth, guns or beads for your land. This must already have started. As more white men come they will push the red man further and further away. The red man in the east will be pushed here and they will take your land. The time will come when the white man will set aside land and give this to the red man. When the white man finds riches beneath the land, he will push the red man off to another land.

"Eventually the red man will live in a small area and live on what the white man chooses to give. You must know that the white man's whiskey is liked by many red men. The red men crave this so much that they abandon the ways that fed their families for many years."

"In all this time the white man asks for slaves. The red man attacks a village and carries the captives off to die in the far south. The white man likes this because there are fewer men to stand up to them. Soon they will come to a village and burn it down with all the women and children in it. You could still fight to show that you are men but do not play the white man's game. Your people will lose and so will every red man born."

I got down to the present and said, "I have come from my land through the sky. I wish to give you some of my ideas so you may judge what is right and what is not."

The fear was lessening and I could sense that they believed me. Nothing I said was a lie. The white man had gone through this area for the musket to have been acquired. If the natives had dealings with the white man then the natives were losers. Upon the Cherokee's first meeting with white man, three quarters of the natives died of diseases they had no defence against. Whiskey was one of the white man's greatest weapons.

Diving Hawk spoke now. "How can this thing fly? It has no wings."

"That is true. My people understand the power that pulls us to the land. They then found a way of blocking that. My craft can float like a canoe on the water. When I came here, there was an accident and my great canoe started to break apart. I fled in a small canoe and came here."

"Where is your great canoe?"

I turned and pointed then said, "On the other side of the ridge."

"Did you cause that noise and bright light?"

"I must have. The accident released some power and my canoe fell."

"Can you make your little canoe fly?"

"It was damaged too but in two double hands of days, it should be able to fly again."

The two men backed up and whispered together. The three with the bows did not like what was being said but did not argue overly much.

Diving Hawk came back and said, "Will you come to our village? Others would like to hear your words."

"I will come. My great canoe will take much longer to repair. There are red men there that were asked to come here and talk to me. Will you allow them to talk?"

They were upset now and he said, "No! That is the land of the Creeks."

He was angry and upset so I said, "My words are for all red men."

My jaw was quivering. Diving Hawk said, "Why do you not wear warm clothes?"

"My clothes are in the great canoe. I have very little in the small canoe."

"Then let's hurry to our village."

"Let me get some gifts."

I went back into the pod and took out some packs of ready to eat food. These kind would heat up by themselves in a few minutes and I would love to just hold them. A med unit was a necessity. There was some ceramic tableware that I would not need more than one set of.

I emerged and the doors shut. Diving Hawk and Feather had looked inside while I made my choices. I could feel their consternation. They did not understand anything they saw, especially the chair that was hanging from a wall.

Walking was better as I produced some extra heat. I had to kick myself because I could heal my body and should be able to produce more heat as long I I ate enough.

The snow was not deep but it hit my bare ankles. I tried to ignore the discomfort. It was an hour and a half of running to get to the village. It had a stockade around it. This showed that there were occasional battles. Inside were some seventy smaller structures and one long building of boughs, grass and mud. It was partially submerged into the ground. Women with hair down to the ground as well as children stopped to stare at me. I ignored them and concentrated on the man. Being friendly with another man's wife was bad in this time. Dogs were everywhere and I knew they were used for protection and as pack animals. From the drone's data I assumed the village would hold six hundred people.

The Cherokee culture was very progressive. The women owned the land and the houses. Divorce was as easy as throwing the husband's possessions out the door. The women had an equal voice in most things but were the authority when marriages were worked out. Most marriages were polygamous just like in my time. The men worked in the communal garden at harvesttime. They hunted all the time but mostly in the winter. This was why I saw few adult males.

Diving Hawk spoke rapidly to an older man and it took a minute until I was introduced to Spirit Walker. The man said to me, "Come into my home."

"Thank you Spirit Walker."

There was a small fire going and more wood was put on it. I was given a position near the fire and directed to sit on a deer hide. I had to guess that this was a council house. It began to fill up and I was glad to see the women come in too.

Spirit Walker talked rapidly to the others then said to me, "Tell me about your great canoe that flies through the air."

"I can do that best by saying what I have done in the past with it." Spirit Walker nodded and I began to tell what I had done in other countries. This was not understood so I was loaned another dear hide and I drew a map of the world. The men were incredulous at the scale.

A lie had to be perpetuated and I put in the land of Mu that had sunken beneath the waves many thousands of years ago. Research had shown that most of the red men had come from this land and spread out all up and down the coast of North and South America. The seafaring nations may see this map some day so I drew the country small and made up of many islands.

The map was used to explain where I went. The fact that the command ship and the drones could pick up giant rocks was not believed. Canals were explained until the men got the idea. Rerouting a river they understood too but they did not like this idea at all. I figured it had to do with their religion or possibly I was rivalling their gods with my power. Cleaning waste was understood but they wondered why I did this. The word poison they understood but not the quantities involved.

I switched over to constructing with benasso. A village built then buried they could fathom after a long while since it was similar to the building I was in. Building vertically, they could not see at all. The Cherokee were farmers. They may not have much problems with droughts but they understood the idea.

"When the land is shaped just right, a strong wall is built across a river. Some water is allowed to continue but some is held back. Eventually the water rises to the top of the wall and falls over. When crops need water and there is no rain, this water that was held back, can flow into the fields."

"What if you do not need this water?"

"We have made a lake. Fish are encouraged to live there and have young. The white man makes a great — " The Cherokee may not have seen a wheel yet. "Have you see the wagons used by the white man?"

Spirit Walker said, "I have gone toward the rising sun and found the white man uses a thing to carry himself and what he wants to carry."

"This thing is very important to you. Roads are important too. The part that turns around is called a wheel. A very great wheel that is very wide is put near the wall of water we have made. The water flows over the wheel and makes it turn with great power. You can use that power to grind grain or cut wood into thin strips."

They did not understand so I was loaned still another hide and drew a spillway and a wheel. They did not understand the power of the water until I had one man hold a spear tightly and I used one finger to push it to one side. The man turned though he fought me bitterly.

"My great canoe uses many ideas that will be new to you. To understand these ideas is to study 'science'. This new word is just a way of understanding the world around us. It can be simple like the way a stick seems to bend when put in a stream. It can be very hard in other ways. The way my great canoe floats in the air is one of the greatest and I am willing to share this with you. The ideas are built on many less great ideas so nobody here would understand. Perhaps the children of the children here would know."

Spirit Walker said, "You cannot tell us how your canoe floats on air but tell us how it moves."

"That is also a great mystery."

"Tell us about your gods. They must be great indeed."

This was bad. Religion was a very serious matter to everybody alive at this time. "Our gods helped us like parents. We grew strong and moral. The gods pulled back like an old grandmother and just watch us. If we are helped further then we will not learn. We fumble and fail. When we find a better way of doing something, we feel good because the gods did not show us. Our gods do not wish to be acknowledged. They are content to just watch and smile."

"What is your land like?"

"This will be difficult for you to understand. My great canoe is a tool, the same as your canoes." They seemed to get the idea of a canoe being a tool. "My canoe allows me to go fast and to pick things up. It keeps me warm and I cook my food in it. A tool that does that sort of thing is called a 'machine'. There are many types of machines. They take the power of a man and make him much stronger.

"Some machines make homes for each of us. A small machine makes cloth very quickly. Others carry us to the eastern sea in the time it took me to walk from the gate around your village to here." They were amazed at this but also incredulous.

"We do not trade with each other the way you trade with other red men. I make pictures, sing and play music. People give me whatever food I want. I do not have to sing to be fed because the people are happy to give away what they make. They have a great pride in what they do and we thank each other for what we are given."

"You could take all the food!"

"There is so much food, that I would have no place to put it. We can get anything we want just by asking for it. A long time ago some sick people tried this. They soon saw that there was no need to sit on a mountain of food."

The people usually talked about what I said when I paused but this time a message was relayed to Spirit Walker. "What of your women?"

"We are much the same but also very different."

"How is that?"

"The women of your village are your equals in many ways. They make the meals, take care of the children and work in the fields. The men hunt, fish, make war and help in the harvest when everybody is needed.

"In my land the people are much more equal. Your customs may include the rule that a man may not carry water." I saw that this was true. "Our customs are different. Men and women do all the work whether it is in the fields, in the kitchen or even hunting. Men raise the young but women do more of this. When we vote on important matters, each person's vote is the same as any other.

"We play sports and men are usually stronger. Some sports are played together the way your people play lacrosse with the women. I have played lacrosse for four years. I wrestle but not know the way you do. I also kick a soft thing down the field and the other team tries to take the ball from me but hands are not allowed to be used.

"In my land we have the freedom to do what we want. Most learn from wise men for up to two double hands of years." They did not understand this at all. "My great canoe is difficult to understand and many years have to be spent in thinking."

There were more questions but I was hungry again. I was much warmer but not the way I should be, the fire helped but I think it was my body burning more fuel that did the most good.

I changed the current topic by saying, "I'm not used to the cold you have here and need to eat much more. I have some gifts for some of you. Some are of food. Will you share a meal with me?"

Spirit Walker had to think and said, "I will eat with you."

"My food will surprise you. The containers have a place for a small fire that burns without flames. The food is already cooked but the fire will warm it. My people do not believe in magic. Only people that do not understand what really happens would think this is magic. It is all science."

When they grasped this idea, I handed Spirit Walker a food packet. "Please watch what I do. Do not be frightened by it getting hot." I pealed back a tab and pulled it out of the package and then layed it down. I wanted to hold it to gather the heat but it was better the way I was doing it.

In less than a minute, a seam opened and water vapour escaped. There were a lot of exclamations at this. I handed Spirit Walker a cutlery set and I said, "These are a gift from me to you."

He did not thank me but just watched the water vapour rise. The smell came to me and made my mouth water even though it was not like fresh food. I picked up the hot packet that would usually sit on a table. I used a fork and a spoon to show how they worked. I then used the fork and knife to cut some meat.

Only when I was done did Spirit Walker look ready to try. He had difficulty grasping the tab but the rest was easy. Everybody in the council house watched what happened and then smelt the different aroma that eventually arose. The bottom was very hot but he continued to hold it. He took only a small sample of the food but then had larger portions.