Chapter 3

Looking at the computer screen, Grant read the message that had popped up:

The intelligent and calm interactions of your group has impressed us. Hopefully, this information will give your group a head start in your new world.

1. There are no parallel time-lines or universes, but the universe has a tendency to keep major things balanced or corrected. That is part of the reason you are here. Some negative changes have already occurred and this is a pivotal point for the future of the world.

2. The paradox mentioned makes good story plots, but you can not cease to exist because an ancestor was killed or couples failed to connect. You are, and that doesn’t change.

3. You are expected to slowly introduce change and improvements that will one day drastically alter the conditions of your original time line. We suggest that you work with various downtimers to introduce these changes into society and limiting your presence to only a few. Eric looks very similar to the brother of one of the plantation owners whom you will soon meet, and will be a key point of contact to the downtimers. John and Sioux can be his faithful Cherokee companions, as he has lived in the upcountry wilderness for many years. Using Eric, others of you can flow in and out of the community with little reaction.

4. All your lives will be extended far beyond what is normal, though the children will age normally until they reach twenty-five. This does not mean you are immortal, as you can still be killed by a bullet, a wound or a snakebite not properly treated, or a broken neck from falling off a horse.

5. There will be additional uptimers added to your group as we deem necessary, and two will be discovered this evening by your patrol to study what is known as the King’s Highway and the surrounding area. You will also begin to interact with the local downtimers on that same patrol. The two tonight are not needed by you at the moment, but Beth will be needed to save their unborn baby.

6. A forty by sixty bunker will need to be constructed at the south-east edge of the forest. Once Charles has prepared the site, materials will be delivered. We suggest that weapons and explosives not needed at the present time be stored in this bunker. In the future, additional weapons and munitions, along with other needed supplies will appear within the bunker. We do want you to reuse your brass as much as possible, but we will maintain a supply of powder, primers and bullets.

7. Many of you are without partners, and some partnerships will naturally form among you. Many others will find appropriate partners among the downtimers. Society may not agree, but there is nothing wrong with multiple partners who willingly unite to strengthen the family and the group.

8. Beth, in your vehicle, you will find many medical supplies, including a combined vaccine for yellow fever, malaria and small pox. Knowing your nature and concerns we have also included most of the standard childhood vaccines of your day. You will have full instructions, including how future batches can be produced.

9. There are also antibiotics, several pain medications, a universal anti-venom, and a supply of something similar to sodium pentothal for an anesthetic. These can be replenished in the future, but use them wisely. There are also basic instruments you will need for differing medical requirements. Your girls should not be concerned about the clothes that were removed to make room for these items, as those clothes would no longer fit them within a few days.

10. John, in the equipment shed, there are several drums of a pesticide similar to DDT, but without the harmful effects to nature. You will have to determine the best way to disperse the chemical without being seen. There are also drums of a herbicide that again will not damage man or the environment.

11. The Internet connection is being maintained, but restricted. Emails and messages from either direction are suppressed, as well as any uploads. Also, any new information added to the Internet beyond this week will also be suppressed. It will be as if a snapshot of the entire Internet was made, except that changes from the past will be updated, along with updated information on existing data. There will be several sites for differing movies for entertainment, but they will basically be limited to movies that were released prior to your departure, but that doesn’t mean that as you change history, these movies can’t adapt. If the War Between the States could be avoided, then movies about that war would be meaningless.

There may be more of these messages in the future, but at the present, they will all flow one way. We monitor you enough to sense needs, but we don’t want you to depend on us to make decisions. It’s your world, so choose wisely.

Good luck to all of you.

Oscar

“Wow,” exclaimed Sam. “I feel that God just said ‘Let there be light’ and handed us the light switch.”

Grant nodded, and said, “From the mouth of babes. That seems to pretty much sum up the situation.”

Sam took a pin-up pose and asked, “Are you calling me a ‘babe’?”

Michael replied, “Sam, have you looked in the mirror since we’ve been here. I think you’re well on your way to that description.”

“Why thank you, kind Sir. Now if I can just get rid of these braces.”

Barbara stated, “They should be gone by tomorrow night.”

“I can’t wait, yet I understand that at the moment there are more important issues to be dealt with.”

“Does anyone else have any comments concerning this revelation?” asked Grant.

He looked around the room, and everyone shook their heads to say no.

After giving everyone else time to speak, Bobby Johnson said, “I don’t usually say a lot, but I have to be honest and say that I was worried about the future of our country and this world. I don’t know if we can really change things, but I’d gladly give up my scholarship and pro aspirations to be a part of this. I also think we’re blessed by God for giving us such a wise and compassionate leader.”

“Hear! Hear!” replied the rest of the group.

They moved back to the living room and Grant was grateful for the time to wipe the tears from his eyes.

Once everyone was settled, Sioux stepped to the front, and said, “As most of you know, my name is Sioux, as in the Indian tribe. From my name and features, you can probably guess I’m a full blooded Lakota Sioux. My job is to assist Grant and my husband where possible, as well as to command the kitchen and the stables, and speaking of the kitchen, I’m going to need some help shortly to prepare dinner for this group.”

At that point Sioux pulled John to the front, and said, “This is my husband John Ross. He’s a member of the Cherokee tribe and has a rather important ancestor. He is, or was, a Marine hero in Afghanistan. I haven’t checked yet, but if things are consistent, his badly damaged shoulder has been restored. John has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Grant says he’s a genius with both hardware and software. We’ve one daughter, eight month old Tiena, who should be awakening from her nap shortly.”

Mike Samuels stepped forward as John and Sioux sat down. He pulled Jenifer to join him.

“We’re Mike and Jenifer Samuels. In case you need help in telling who’s who, I’m Mike.”

This caused laughter throughout the room and helped settle things down after their shocking computer message.

“Now, I’m a retired Navy Chief, as are my two compadres, Brad and Jerry. My job is dealing with our boats and I’m glad to have Cal’s assistance. Jenifer was a senior at the Medical University of South Carolina preparing to be a nurse practitioner, and I’m sure that Beth will be just as happy to have Jen’s help.”

“You got that right,” proclaimed a very happy Beth.

Brad and Barbara Tyson stepped to the front and Barbara introduced the couple by saying, “This is my husband Brad Tyson, and I’m Barbara. Brad is a master machinist and can make almost anything you can design. It doesn’t hurt that he has a machine shop here that would rival one found on an aircraft carrier. As for me, I’ve twenty years experience as a dental technician, which is why I was able to tell Sam that I’d be able to deal with removing her braces. Finally, we’ve two grown boys who are both serving in the Navy. We’ll miss them of course, but they’re now free to live their own lives, as are we.”

Jerry and Pat Allen followed the example of the others and stepped to the front, and Pat said, “We’re the Allens. I’m Pat and this is Jerry, and yes, he’s the husband.”

Again there was laughter, as Pat was taller and outweighed Jerry.

She continued, “As Grant explained earlier, I’m a history teacher and have focused on this time period and this location. I suspect I’ll now be helping to make history, not study it. Jerry and I also raise champion Labs, which reminds me that I need to check on them.”

“I did while I was out,” responded Jerry. “They were all in good shape, though they miss their Mommy. As for my job, I’m the one who has to deal with the practical side of the radar, sonar, and building the electric motors we’ve been experimenting with.”

As the couple sat down Grant spoke from the sofa. “Sioux, could you thaw some of your great chili for supper?”

“It might be faster to make a fresh batch.”

Barbara stated, “Sioux, I can help.”

“Sam and I can help also,” added Alicia. “We’ve both have had a lot of practice chopping.”

“I can help if you need me to,” proclaimed Bobby.

When most of the group looked at the young man skeptically, he answered back, “My family owns three restaurants. You don’t think I know my way around a kitchen?”

Sioux grabbed the young man’s arm, and said, “Come on, but I really think you’re trying to get in good with the girls.”

“Well, Momma didn’t raise no fool,” he answered.

Grant gathered everyone not involved with food preparation and explained, “From what we’ve just learned, I think we need to do some planning and preparation. Beth, since the message implied that your services might be needed as early as tonight, I’d suggest that you get some help and empty your vehicle. We’ve enough empty bedrooms for you, your girls and an infirmary.”

“You’re not going to put me in yours?” Beth flirted.

“I might eventually, if you were so inclined. Our ages and temperaments seem to match up, and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t find you attractive. Watching you bond with my daughter didn’t hurt, either.”

“Wow, you sure don’t hold things back.”

“Beth,” interjected John, “Grant is the most unpretentious, plain spoken man I’ve every known. If he says it, it’s the truth.”

“That statement might not be true in the future as we have to deal with our new world. It will still be mostly true to our friends and allies, but we’ll have to be thoughtfully deceptive to our enemies.”

“I think that would be a given,” Beth responded, “but please never consider me an enemy.”

Grant gently squeezed her hand, and said, “I don’t think you have to worry about that. Now, get started on your stuff, and you can interrupt Sioux to show you what rooms to use.”

“Sioux?”

“Yes, for the moment, she’s the woman of the house, and I wouldn’t dare disrupt her plans and sense of order.”

“Okay, but she and I are going to have some serious discussions.”

Beth gathered Michael, Charles and Zeke, and headed for her Navigator. Jenifer checked with Sioux regarding the rooms and headed down the hall.

After she left, Pat said, “I think that woman is ready to take over the woman of the house role from Sioux.”

Grant chuckled, and said, “I think you’re right, but I won’t surrender without at least a five minute fight. I don’t want her to think I’m a pushover.”

That comment caused the rest of the room to laugh.

Grant pulled a large laminated chart of the area from a stack of tubes and spread it out on one of the work tables.

“Mike, we need to slowly note all the changes to the coast we can, including depths. We know that the Inter-coastal Waterway is gone, but there may be new ones that we need to add to the detail.”

“That makes sense, Mike responded. “With this as a beginning, we can have the only really valid charts of this time period.”

“I can help,” added Cal Peterson, “as revising and updating charts was something we had to do all the time.”

“So can I,” interjected Drew. “I build and fly ultralights as a hobby. With your lightweight electric motors and my digital camera, I can silently get us details of the area that no one would believe.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” responded a very pleased Grant. “Of course we’ll still have to chart depths.”

Eric looked up and grinned, saying, “If there’s a market for seafood, we can use oyster, shrimp and fishing boats with depth finders to do that task, as well as to help provide cover for much of our coastal activity.”

Pat responded, “I don’t know if there’s a market, but we can create one. We’ve a ton of recipes these people have never seen and Sioux has a fairly complete herb garden. It might take a while, but we’ll have these people eating out of our hands.”

Pat’s grin helped them to realize that she was a punster, and the groans that followed added to her delight.

Grant grinned back, and said, “I had a job for you, Pat, but after that pun, I may have to change my mind.”

“I’s be good, massa.”

Grant shook his head at the actions of the woman before he suddenly had a revelation.

“Thanks, Pat, for the reminder that we can throw all that political correctness crap out the window. We can be respectful, but we don’t have to worry about some group or other jumping down our throats when we use the generic phrase to mean both men and women. I hope eliminating that mess will be one of the results of our efforts.”

Nodding, Pat added, “Respect and honest equality, both between the sexes and the races would have eliminated the backlash that led to what you refer to as political correctness. Most of us women understood the generic term such as chairman to be inclusive, but once the ball of change started rolling, everyone pushed it as far as they could.”

John added, “I once had a philosophy professor who said that man’s natural reaction to something that he sees is wrong, is to back as far away from it as possible. The end result over time was that man tended to bounce from one extreme to the other.”

Pat looked thoughtful for a moment, before she said, “I’ve got to contemplate that idea some more, but I find the basic theory to be absolutely enthralling. Now, Grant, back to your original idea of a project for me.”

“I want to know what plantations are where, as well as their boundaries. In addition, please color-code them red, blue, yellow, orange and green.”

“The red and blue I can easily follow. What are the others?”

“Yellow is totally neutral and just want to be left alone. Green is yellow leaning toward the blue, and orange is yellow leaning toward the red.”

“That makes sense. Anything else?”

“I’d like to know what crops are being grown and where, the approximate number of slaves of each plantation, how their slaves are treated and how socially active are the owners.”