Chapter 8

Laura.

It had been several weeks since Entoch and I had returned to the village. I had built a make-shift lab in the shaman's hut using my built in surveying tools. I had several pieces of lab equipment at my disposal. I was also using my nanites to manufacture more potent medicines for my village. Once I healed some minor infections I had smoothed over most of the mixed feelings about me. Many of the people welcomed me as a god sent to them.

Entoch and Shanor had become my two lab partners, gathering herbs for me and learning from me what medicines worked. I was not much of a warrior but I had designed a bow and arrow for both of my new friends. They were almost ready to reveal their new talents to the tribe. Shanor had been most exited at the prospect of becoming a hunter. She was proving to be a renaissance women as she had a real skill for medicine. She caught on much faster than Entoch. I also noticed what seemed to be a growing romance between the two.

Because of my close ties to the two children, I had injected Shanor with nanites to monitor her. Both children would be impervious to illness at this point and, in an emergency, I could locate them. I had shared some of my secrets with Shanor also. The abilities I had seemed like magic to her yet she promised to keep it from the rest of the village. At night I didn't sleep, instead I worked on equations trying to determine if I really was back in time, or simply another dimension. I was also trying to rebuild the gaps in my memory. Much of the knowledge I had was now gone, but my ability to multi-task seemed to make up for the loss. Still it was disturbing to find a new item or weapon hidden in my body that I seemed to have forgotten about.

Ogna was acting as the head man of the village until Entoch reached the age of manhood. Entoch seemed in no hurry to take on that role as he was pleased with exploring with me and Shanor. It had been decided that the village would try to open trade with the strange ones. I would be the envoy to them leaving Entoch and Shanor to be the temporary healers for the village.

I had discussed my hope of finding copper with Ogna explaining to him that he could make better weapons. I even gave him the concept of a shield to protect against spears. Both ideas where well received as some times tribes would fight over hunting land. He thought the shield could also help on dangerous hunts. I was hoping to push the village along with small improvements to their technology and health. I knew Neanderthals would one day be extinct. If it was up to me it would be because of interbreeding and not death. Most I had met where intelligent and peaceful people with the exception of the shaman.

The tribe was eager over the prospect of trade and many people spent their time working on trade goods from animal skins to small flint tools. I had started a morning class with the children of the village teaching them the basics of math, nothing too hard, just something to help them trade. I also started to introduce the concept of reading. I had explained how useful it would be to pass notes, or keep records. It didn't sink in until one of the elders, whose memory was fading, mentioned that she could not remember some of the stories her mother had told her. When I explained that we could write things like that down so we would always remember she was excited and spread the word.