Chapter 9

Millie started out, "As you just heard and may have already known, we found some more ruins upstream from the original path. That's why we're here. Some of you have walked over and looked at where we've been working. They have been instructive in two ways.

"First, we have been trying to date whatever happened to the civilization that was here. Second, we wanted to make some more educated guesses about how long ago that time was. There was a third point and that was the type of people and civilization that existed.

"Fred will tell you some about what happened and how long ago. That's his specialty and he's good at guessing even without some of the sophisticated laboratory tools available to help and verify. Here's Fred."

Fred stood and began to speak. "The first thing I can tell you is my guess at age. My examination suggests great age, probably a thousand to fifteen hundred years, probably more. This means that there was a civilization on the North American continent in this world at about the time of Christ. I cannot tell you how long it had existed but for many hundreds of years perhaps a thousand or so. There were signs that renovations had occurred at least twice in the town's history.

The second thing I found is that they did it to themselves. The ruins resulted from a vicious fight with weapons nuclear in their power but utilizing some other type of force. The metal does not appear to have been melted from nuclear fires but sliced from a beam-type weapon. The cuts from that destruction are clean, sharp cuts almost laser-like in their neatness with scorch marks on each side of the cut. There were signs of explosions but they also seemed to be chemical in nature. In other words, there was a fight and it was nasty.

"I'm going to ask Millie to tell you what she knows of the people who lived here and how they lived."

Mille stood again. She said, "My emphasis over the last ten or more years has been what kind of people lived in a place and how that living occurred. What I am going to tell you is an educated guess. I don't have enough information to be more exact.

First, I have analyzed the bones we have found. These people died violently and with little advance warning. Second, they were highly visual. For instance, we use color to help us easily identify road signs and the like. Most of their signage revolved around color to tell them the message completely.

"First, the bones suggest that these people were probably Neanderthal in origin. They are advanced for Neanderthal but, nonetheless, that was their origin rather Cro-Magnon like us. I have not seen any bones that would appear to represent people like us. Either they did not exist or didn't exist in this area. My personal opinion is that they represent Neanderthals who had evolved into what we would call modern times. That didn't happen on our world. Therefore, based upon that and Fred's time analysis, we are not on our earth but in another dimension.

"Second, what can be determined from their style of living does not suggest a civilization that evolved in the same manner that ours did. I think these people ate plants and meat like us though there is nothing to substantiate that. The signage is more rudimentary but colorful. That is also suggestive of some of the latest research regarding Neanderthals. That makes for some subtle but noticeable differences between how their civilization operated and how ours operates. It appears that they had castes or typing in their civilization and that the differences were defined by color. That is my best guess.

"Their daily lives were involved with eating, sleeping, and working like ours. I think they must have had a distribution system but I haven't found any evidence of it. If we had time, I think we could find farms outside the town. Again, I don't know. Geography seems to have played a part in how and where they located their centers for commerce. At least that's my belief. We haven't found any roads or what might have been formerly cleared paths. What, if anything, they used for currency is a mystery I haven't solved yet. They seemed to live closely together in the town with low attached dwellings. I think the eating facilities were communal rather than separated by families. That's a guess because we haven't found any in our efforts. The housing we found didn't contain kitchens.

"That's my report. To me, it raises more questions than it resolves. However, it gives us a glimpse, though very dimly, into the lives of these people." She paused.

"There is one other thing and I think Fred would agree. After this disaster, fight, or whatever, no one came to take over the land."

She sat and Ted stood up. "Millie, Fred, thank you. What you have described strongly suggests that we are in another dimension and that this world or our part of it is deserted." He looked around.

"Folks, we may not have strange people but we do have strange animals. We have been incredibly lucky but John says there are too many of these deer for there not to be some serious predators. I agree that there have to be some hunters. If any of you have experience with bows or crossbows, please talk to John sometime tomorrow. Todd is going to make more and they will be our defense in case of an attack.

"Unless there is some objection, we will stay here tomorrow and the day after. This will allow Todd to work steadily with his helpers to get us some arms. Thank you for listening and good night."

People dispersed to their various chosen spots for the night. Ted and Eve had picked a spot on the way over to the digging site that was fairly private. As had become their habit, they walked holding hands to their place and lay down. They had only been there a moment when they heard noises of people coming toward them. It was John and Nancy.

Ted said, "Well, at least you gave us warning. When was the last time you were that noisy walking in the woods?"

Nancy said, "We wanted to talk to the two of you and our camp is this way, too. That was John's big feet making the noise. He didn't want us to surprise you." She grinned, as did John.

Eve giggled and said, "Well, you're here. It would be good to talk a bit in private."

John said, "I think Millie and Fred made it clear. This is an alternate earth or dimension. What they found is not our history. However, it does seem to match our world fairly well geographically."

Eve said, "That's true, John. It seems a little hillier here than our world but I couldn't bet on it. Of course, there are some differences in the plant life."

Ted said, "I think you two have something specific in mind. What is it?"

John and Nancy looked at each other in the dim light. Nancy inclined her head at John. He said, "Okay. Here it is. We need to move still faster, both scout and main parties. I feel like a broken record but we have a lot to do before winter. I have been and remain worried."

"What would you suggest?" Ted asked.

Nancy said, "We would like the scouts to be a larger party with the plan of moving forward leaving signs for the rest to follow as we have been doing. The goal would be to find a place to spend at least the winter. Once found, that party would start building. We're thinking fifteen or twenty pairs not to include Millie and Fred. Their studying needs the slower pace of the main party.

"There are hunters who are learning the bows and crossbows. They can take point and shoot your suppers. We need vegetables and fruits and, like squirrels, need to store food for the winter. Cindy can smoke meat but we need the rest of a proper diet before we have problems nutritionally. We haven't seen much and will have to search for them."

John said, "With a quicker party making a determined push, we could be somewhere in the range of Jim and Jeanette's farm southwest of Indianapolis in under two weeks. That would give us time to build and time to try to do something about vegetables and fruits."

Eve said, "You're getting ambitious."

John replied, "No. I'm getting scared. We've been lucky thus far. We need to do better than rely on luck."

Ted said, "So your thought is to take a larger group, find a place, and start building?"

"More than that, Ted. We need a more balanced diet or, even if we have plenty of meat, we will be malnourished. Nancy knows more about this than I do."

Ted said, "You've convinced me. I guess we need to ask for volunteers in the morning to go with you. I would like to go with you, too, but I don't guess that's going to work. I think we can find plenty to go with you and still leave enough people able to assist those who need it.

"Nancy, you will be happy to know that your widow pair is doing quite well.