Chapter 6

Days and weeks passed as spring became summer. Seamus learned more about the forest each day as he put all of his attention into the roving patrols he made. He didn't spot the preset positions when he went out the first few times, but after his father showed him some of the various positions that had been prepared so that the people who lived in the cabin could mount a guard force he learned to see them. Every few days one or two new people would wander into their camp, and by the time another month had passed there were enough people that they had an around-the-clock guard force. Rocky, who he thought had abandoned him, was once more his constant companion, sharing his bed and guard shifts.

More than once, while the community was growing due to refugees, he heard his mother complain that Heinlein had been right to say that it was foolish for mankind to have all of its eggs in one basket. Another complaint she often made was that the people who had advocated zero population growth had failed to consider the possibility that there would ever be a disaster that eliminated most of the human race. One morning in particular he heard his mother curse the fools who had been willing to fight over the earth and its resources rather than concentrate on expanding into space. "One meteor strike of any size could have done this, let alone the fact that we have been at war with ourselves..." she was saying to one of the women who had recently arrived as he headed out to his guard post.

As time marched forward more men than women showed up. After a while it became evident to everyone in the community that this would continue to hold true. Seamus noticed that when the ratio was about two men to a woman the women held a meeting. After that the women all met with the men and said, "Gentlemen, we seem to have a problem. There are more of you than there are of us. We want your input on the issue. Our proposed solution is that we; that is each woman, will accept more than one man as our partner. The question is this; will you be able to live with that without going to war against each other?"

The resulting discussion was long and loud. After the meeting it seemed as if there were a lot of hurt feelings and everyone walked on eggshells for a while. Then suddenly the bunks that the newcomers were using were abandoned as the people formed groups of three or four and moved into the other mine shafts near where Seamus' family had settled. One day as he was sharing his guard duty with Rocky and Rachel he asked about what had happened, "I didn't know you cared about that, after all you seem to be happy with Rocky," Rachel replied.

"Huh? What does Rocky have to do with anything?"

"I guess that you didn't know that half the women here, and all of the men are jealous of you 'cause you don't share your bed with anyone except Rocky."

"Huh? Rocky is a dog, why does anyone care about me sleeping with her? As for the other, sure I'd like a girlfriend, but I don't really know if I'd be willing to share with another guy."

"But Rocky won't let any other guys near her and since all of the women, except for me, have to accept more than one man, everyone is jealous."

"Why don't you have a couple of men?" Seamus asked.

"'Cause your Mom told everyone I could go at my own pace and made it stick."

"I guess that's 'cause of what Julius and his gang did to you?"

"Yeah, I don't know if you knew about it but he hurt me pretty badly."

"More than just hitting your face I think..."

"Yeah, your Mom isn't sure I'll ever be able to have a baby..."

"That isn't too bad is it?"

"It wouldn't be except that everyone says that people are killing each other in the city, in every city as far as we know..."

"How do you know that?"

"I've been helping monitor the shortwave..." Rachel paused a moment as if to think and then went on, "and interviewing people as they come in."

"I don't understand why you and Dad keep talking about listening to the radio. I know he said that it seemed like some cities were hunting for people who were broadcasting but what does that have to do with us?

"You'd have to ask your Dad about all the particulars, but I'm pretty sure that your Dad and Mom think that if the powers-that-be in the cities keep trying to suppress the people and keep them from realizing how shaky the whole of civilization has become then there will be a worldwide civil war. But more to the point, I think, is that they think that because of the way most people are dependent on technology there is a good chance that all of humanity will become extinct."

"Extinct? Why would anyone think that? There are more than six billion people on earth."

"It is a possibility that I doubt anyone else has considered very much. But consider this: what would happen if the enclave your parents have set up here were the only humans left on the planet?"

"I dunno..."

"I thought your mother was just being critical of you when she said you were willfully ignorant!" Rachel snapped, cutting off Seamus before he could say anything else.

"What do you mean?"

"Seamus this is the third time, at least, this morning that you've responded to something I said as if you have no idea of what I'm talking about. I can understand being ignorant about the world or about dogs a little but aren't you trying to learn anything?"

"I do want to learn things but no one tells me anything!" Seamus managed to nearly shout and whine at the same time.