An older woman came over and asked what they’d like to drink. As none of the group had ever had a drink on Hayek, they didn’t know what to ask for, so Thep asked for a beer menu. The woman laughed pleasantly and pointed to a chalkboard hung by the door. “There’s the beer menu. Take a minute and look at it, and I’ll be back to take your order.
She was back in less than two minutes. “Well, what’ll you have?”
The group had decided on a pitcher each of the pale ale and a brown ale.
“Great. I’ll be right back with them.”
As she left, one of the girls from New Hampshire, Eileen Finerty, exclaimed, “Wow. She never even asked for my ID. That’s a first.”
Jordan explained to her that there was no drinking age on Hayek, hence no need to check IDs.
Eileen thought about it for a couple of seconds. “I knew that. I guess it never really sank in until now.”
The waitress returned with the two pitchers and eight pint glasses. “Enjoy. I’ll keep a tab going for you until you’re ready to pay.”
As none of them were required to be anywhere the next morning, other than the proposed trip with Luke to Milton after breakfast, the group stayed out quite late and consumed much beer.
Matt picked up the tab, saying he had sufficient funds to cover it, but that he expected payback in the near future. Then he and Nicole disappeared into the night while the three remaining roommates made their way back to their cabin.
Bill was still too wound up from the day’s activities, so he decided to grab his tablet and do some reading to wind down. He automatically connected to the Wi-Fi and checked his email first. Nada. Pretty much as he expected. When you don’t really know anyone on a planet, it’s pretty futile expecting they would email you.
He decided to do a little more research on his new home, particularly since Luke had left him feeling quite ignorant. How the hell was I supposed to know Hayek had universities? he thought. It’s not like there’s actually much about Hayek’s demographics and culture covered on Earth. Most of what Bill saw on the news on Earth related more to wars, crime, and celebrities rather than news of other planets.
He found a website that described the geography of Hayek, showing the major and minor settlements and the transport systems between them.
It turned out that the west coast was the most heavily settled, with some settlements on the east coast, and in what he knew on Earth as Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It looked like most of the population was settling in the more temperate climates.
What he knew as North America was called Ti’icham. South America, he saw, was called Suyu. The entire Eurasian continent was simply called Eurasia, rather than being broken down between Europe and Asia. Africa was still called Africa. Antarctica was still Antarctica, but Australia was Nura. Bill was again puzzled by the fact that some names remained the same while others were different, particularly since he couldn’t identify where the different names came from.
He noticed that places with native names remained the same, but those with European names were changed, other than places in Europe. He recalled that Mt. Rainier was called Mt. Tahoma here, and that Luke came from Tahoma, where the city of Tacoma existed on Earth.
The continents were broken down into cantons, based mainly on climate and bioregions, rather than some esoteric line drawn on a map. Cascadia, to his west, extended along the Pacific Ocean encompassing that part of Ti’icham that consisted of a marine west coast climate. On Earth, that would have been from Northern California to Alaska. Bill was currently in Yakama Canton, what was known on Earth as the Columbia Basin Plateau, a dry plateau in the rain shadow of the Cascades.
He still wasn’t sure about the whole concept of cantons but figured he would learn more about it later, as it was becoming quite late and he was now feeling the effects of the excitement of the change, the long day, and (perhaps) the beer.
The door opened and in stepped Matt, looking quite happy, and slightly inebriated.
“Yo, dog,” he greeted Bill.
“Hey. How’d it go?”
“Totally awesome. She digs me,” Matt said.
“So, when’s the wedding?” Bill asked.
“Not soon enough,” said Matt. “Hell, I’d marry her today if she would agree.” All the alcohol Matt had consumed had made his Memphis drawl even more pronounced.
Bill chuckled at that. “Fell a bit hard, did we?”
“We most certainly did,” Matt agreed, heading up to his room.
Bill followed, putting his tablet to sleep and making his way upstairs.
After brushing his teeth and using the toilet, Bill crawled into bed for his first night’s sleep on Hayek, and within seconds was sound asleep. The adventure had begun.
5
Bill awoke early the next morning, as was his habit. Unlike the day before, though, he had managed to sleep past 5 a.m. Quietly, he went downstairs, found a coffee maker and coffee, and started a pot brewing.
While he was in the kitchen waiting for the coffee to finish, he heard a noise. Looking out, he saw Jordan exiting his room. To put it mildly, Jordan looked like something the cat dragged in. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was matted.
Jordan entered the kitchen. “Coffee?” he croaked.
“Almost done,” Bill said. He looked in a couple of cupboards until he found some mugs and pulled two down.
When it looked like there was enough coffee in the pot, Bill pulled it off the burner and filled Jordan’s cup and then his own, then replaced the pot under the filter.
“So, when are we meeting with Luke?” Bill asked.
Jordan grunted while taking a sip of coffee. “Don’t ask me anything in the morning. My brain doesn’t function until the second cup.” He abruptly turned away, walked back into the main room, and plopped down in one of the chairs.
Bill thought that was a bit rude, but made his way to the sofa facing Jordan anyway.
After the first cup Jordan started perking up. He still didn’t speak but went back for a second cup. Upon his return to the main room, he managed to utter a few words.
“Sorry, dude. My brain truly does not function in the morning without coffee. What did you say?”
“I asked when we were going to meet Luke.”
“Not sure. Gimme a couple minutes and I’ll check my messages. I’m sure he sent us a time and place.”
Eventually, Thep and Matt joined them. Both men made a beeline for the coffee, returning to the main room with cups in hand.
“Okay. I’m almost human. Lemme check my email,” Jordan announced, setting down his cup on one of the end tables, then going to his room for his tablet. “We’ll join Luke for breakfast at the dining hall, then head out at 9:00,” he said, after reading his messages. “He says dress cool, ‘cause it’ll be hot as hell.”
After finishing a second cup of coffee, Bill went to take a shower.
He wasn’t surprised to discover that the showerhead was a low-flow type, with a button that would allow him to turn the water off at the head temporarily, rather than with the handle. The purpose was to allow the user to get wet, turn the water off and lather up, then turn the water back on and rinse off. Since Bill had been doing that for years, it was natural to him.
While he was showering, he saw a squeegee hanging on a hook on the wall under the showerhead. He knew immediately what that was for. “The Colonel” had instilled in him the need to squeegee shower walls to minimize mold growth.
After his shower, he was glad to see the mirror above the sink hadn’t fogged up too badly. It’s probably because of the dry climate here, he thought.
He took a battered mug and shaving brush out of his toiletries kit. The mug had old, used soap chips that Bill used instead of shaving cream or shaving soap, why spend the money when old, used soap chips worked just as well and didn’t cost any extra? He shaved quickly, then put his supplies in the medicine cabinet, making sure they were all on the same shelf, leaving room for Matt’
s toiletries.
He dressed in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt, displaying the pale complexion of a western Washington dweller—the aqua tan, as they called it. He knew a guy from Sitka, Alaska, who referred to it as the Beluga tan.
He grabbed his tablet on his way downstairs, then opened his new email account and saw the same message that Jordan had read aloud to them.
While he waited for the others, he decided to do some more research on Hayek, this time looking at educational systems. He was surprised to find out that not only were there universities, colleges, and trade schools scattered about, but there didn’t seem to be any public schools. It appeared that all education on Hayek was private. He even found several online venues for learning, all the way from elementary grade level up to post-secondary. Looking more closely at Milton, he saw numerous schools, most of which seemed to specialize in specific programs, and most offering tailored education.
Wow, he thought. That must be great. What I would’ve given to go to something like that, rather than taking all those b.s. classes in high school and college.
It was then he realized just how bad the monopolized educational system he grew up in was. Here he was, on a planet that valued competition and free market systems, extending that to their educational system, and he could see just how much variety there was. He wondered, though, how good it was. He made a note to ask Luke when they met.
Jordan was, again, the first to join Bill, followed shortly by Matt, and finally, Thep. The four left the cabin and made their way to the cafeteria.
When they arrived, they found Luke already seated, eating a meal while chatting with the two women from lunch the day before, plus Nicole. Bill wondered if Matt had had a hand in that, and asked him.
“I might’ve said something to her,” he admitted, smiling and waving at Nicole when he saw that she had seen him.
After grabbing trays of food, the four men joined Luke and the three women. Matt made sure he sat next to Nicole.
“You guys ready to explore?” Luke asked.
“Damn skippy,” Matt said. The rest just nodded, most with mouthfuls of food.
“Great. As soon as we’re done, we’ll head out. Now, the first thing to understand is that the culture here is a lot different than what you’re used to. Don’t be surprised to see things here that you wouldn’t see on Earth. The most shocking thing to most Earthers is the fact that most Hayekers are armed.”
That raised some eyebrows, particularly among the women.
“Why is that?” Nicole asked.
“Well, a couple of reasons. First, since there’s little law enforcement like you’re used to on Earth, people are used to protecting themselves. That means that people also help protect each other. Also, since we’ve still got a healthy predator population that hasn’t learned to fear man, people need to protect themselves from nature. It’s also part of our culture. While we may not use pistols all that much, all of us practice monthly with our rifles or peeders for the Militia.”
“What’s a peeder?”
“A Personal Defense Weapon or PDW, but we just call it a peeder. It’s what’s issued to Militia members who aren’t basic infantry, like doctors, nurses, truck drivers, you name it. There’s also a version we carry when exploring. Some of you’ll be getting one, along with your rifle, when you start Militia training tomorrow,” Luke said.
“Is that where we have the mandatory meeting regarding living on Hayek?” Thep asked.
“Yep. You’ll get a little taste of it today, but tomorrow the real understanding begins. Remember, when we go out, be nice. As Heinlein said, ‘An armed society is a polite society.’”
After the meal, Luke led the group outside. As they walked to the skytrain station, they chattered like a bunch of excited children on a school outing. In a way, they were.
The morning was still cool, but it was apparent to Bill that it was going to be another hot one. He was glad he was wearing shorts but was slightly embarrassed by his Seattle tan, or lack thereof. Most of the others in the group had a start on a tan, except for Jordan and Thep, who had natural tans due to their heritage.
The wait for the skytrain wasn’t long. When it arrived, the train disgorged a motley collection of cart-hauling men and women, most of whom were in their late teens to early twenties, all of them looking slightly confused. Bill guessed correctly that they were fellow Probies just arriving.
Luke shouted to the new Probies, “In-Processing is just next door. Show your ID card to the security guard at the gate, go through the gate, and turn left.”
The small group of explorers entered the skytrain, and soon were traveling along the same route Bill and Matt had taken the day before. Two stops later, they got off at the City Center station.
Luke spread his arms out, and said, “Welcome to Milton!”
Turning back to the group, he added “Now, before we go wandering, here’s another tip: pay attention to signs as you enter stores to see what type of payment they accept. Some only take gold or silver, some’ll take electronic transfers, and some are willing to take bank certificates.”
“What’s a bank certificate?” Jordan asked.
“Well, it’s sort of like the money you’re used to—it’s a paper certificate that’s backed up by gold. Here, let me show you.” Luke pulled a wallet from his back pocket. Opening it, he extracted a single colorful piece of paper and passed it around.
It was similar to the Canadian currency Bill had used on his occasional trips to Vancouver, British Columbia. It was colored with a transparent streak bisecting it, with a watermark visible. In big letters were the words 1/20 Gold Ounce and Backed by the Parallel Credit Union. There were images of the Corps of Discovery symbol on one side and a herd of mastodons on the other.
“Much easier than carrying gold or silver, and a bit more private than using your card,” Luke said as Bill was inspecting the certificate.
After they had all looked at it, Luke put it away in his wallet.
“So, remember, check for signs about payments, don’t gawk, don’t steal anything, and be polite. You’re not only new to Hayek, but you’re also representing the Corps of Discovery, so act like it.” Luke smiled.
Bill was able to see more of the city center, now that they were stopped for more than a minute. It was actually a square, much like one would find in most small towns scattered across the American South. A large park-like setting, several acres in size, was surrounded by streets laid out in a grid pattern. Those streets adjacent to the park had the tallest buildings Bill had seen on Hayek so far, some as much as five stories, but most around three or four. Most of the buildings appeared to be a mix of retail on the bottom floor, with residences above.
On the street were a number of vehicles, but only a couple of different types, including a couple of the aircars he and Matt had seen the day before. Bill saw a couple of new-looking Jeeps like the one he saw on base and a number of small cab-over pickup trucks that had a bikini top over the bed. One of the pickup trucks that passed the group had several passengers sitting on benches which ran along the sides inside the truck bed.
Thep said, “Hey, just like a baht bus.”
“What’s a baht bus?” Jordan asked.
Thep pointed to the truck. “A pickup truck that’s been converted to carry passengers. They usually run along a fixed route, but deviate a bit to help the passengers. We call them baht buses because it used to only cost a baht to ride them. A baht’s the currency of Thailand,” he finished, shrugging.
“We call it a Kenji,” Luke said. “They’re made by Kenji trucks over in Tahoma. Other than taxis and the skytrain, they’re our main source of mass transit. You’ll find them all over Hayek. On Earth, you call them jitneys.”
“Hey Luke,” Bill asked, “what’s with all the old Jeeps I see running around?”
Luke laughed. “Old? Most of those Jeeps are pretty new. They’re also made in Tahoma. As a matter of fact, I worked on the Willy’s assembly plant for a couple of sum
mers, and part-time when I went to school.”
“You’ve got a Willy’s Jeep plant here?” Bill asked.
“Yeah. Funny story about that. One of the founders was a real Willy’s Jeep fan, so when they got enough gold to open Parallel, he went over to Asia and bought an entire Jeep assembly plant and brought it here and named the company Willy’s, keeping with the tradition.
“Probably the biggest difference between the new Willy’s and the old one is some of the modifications. As you can see, most have roll bars, but what you probably don’t see is that they’re diesel, not gas. They’ve also got air conditioning, heating, radios, and adjustable front seats. Other than that, though, they’re pretty much stock. The Corps uses a lot of them for overland surveys.”
“It sounds like Tahoma’s got a lot of manufacturing,” Thep commented.
“One of the biggest manufacturing cities on Hayek,” Luke said. “It’s because Tahoma has great access to the oceans, but is still protected from most bad weather. Other cities are springing up around Hayek, mostly around resource-rich areas, but most people prefer to live in the temperate zones.”
“Enough chit-chat. Let me show you Milton,” Luke said and took off down the street.
The streets were macadam, with macadam sidewalks between the street and the buildings, but there were also broad areas between the sidewalks and the streets that were vegetated. The plants looked natural to the area, not the unnatural transplants Bill was used to seeing. Looking around, he saw no Scotch broom visible—the yellow flowering plant was an invasive mainstay of Washington State, growing on every highway median and shoulder, it seemed. Most of the trees were an oak variety that Bill had seen before, but wasn’t sure of the exact type. He saw the same type trees in the town square, but there they were much larger and obviously much older.
As they walked along, they saw numerous small cafes, with tables on patios that extended out into the sidewalk. They passed a small grocery store, one that reminded Bill of pictures he had seen of early 20th century America—with large bins of fruit and vegetables on display outside. A small Asian woman came out of the store carrying groceries in two canvas bags, with a couple of paper bags sticking out of one of them. Apparently, plastic bags weren’t in much use on Hayek.
The Corps of Discovery Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3: A multiverse series of alternate history Page 6