Through the Gate: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 1

by L J Dalton Jr

  He was led to a hut, and from gestures of the leader, he figured out that he should stay in the hut. The hut had three chairs, a table, a small chest and a bed. Paul took off his day pack and looked at the contents. Lunch, a couple of fossils, rock hammer, notebooks and pencils but not much else. In his pocket he had a buck knife, a wallet and some money. There was a watch on his wrist. Besides the clothes on his back, that’s all he had. He sat back to think, he was confused and worried, but not frightened. Just when he was starting to get hungry, someone came to get him.

  Paul was led into the same building as he’d been in before. He assumed this was a communal dining hall. As he looked around, he saw about two hundred people. Most of them looked to be from their twenties into their early forties. There were a few teenagers, and a few babies and toddlers. There were more women than men and only two older people a man and a woman. He was led over to the older couple and they were introduced. He got the man’s name as Moru and the woman’s as Norea. He sat by them and they smiled at him. As the food was brought out, they pointed to each thing and clearly pronounced the name of the item several times. Paul realized that his language lessons had begun.

  That night it took him a long time to go to sleep, but he got up with first light. There was a basin and a bucket of water in the hut. He used it to wash up and then put his clothes back on. Moru showed up and took him to breakfast. As the night before Moru and Norea, who Paul thought were husband and wife, pointed out items and named them. Paul repeated them until he had them firmly in his mind. The old man led Paul around the village. The first stop was the cattle pens. Paul quickly checked and there wasn’t a bull in the pen, so he climbed in. Moru, clearly surprised, followed him although more slowly. Paul looked at the cattle and examined them. He didn’t do a full health check, but he saw that they were well cared for. When he saw women come out and start milking them, he assumed that they were dairy cows. They didn’t have the distinct look of dairy cows back home; he’d categorize them as generic cows. As he walked around, he’d point at some part of the cow and say what it was in English. Moru would provide the local word which Paul would repeat.

  The day went on like that. Paul would examine some farm animal and Moru would provide the local words. They took a break to eat the mid-day meal and then they were back out. Part way through the day, Paul called a halt and indicated that he wanted to go back to the hut. Once there, he got out his notebook and a pencil. He went outside and sat down on the ground in the sun and started to write down each of the words he could remember. He wrote them out phonetically and the corresponding English word. He didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t know how to get home. So, he’d best learn the local language. Maybe then they could tell him how to get back to Minnesota.

  As Moru was walking home, the village leader Arkin came up to him. “Well grandfather how is our guest doing and what do you make of him?”

  “Arkin, I know that this is my last summer, but what an occurrence. This Paul as he calls himself, is clearly from the home world. I started to show him the animals and he jumped right in with the cows and looked them over. He’s a man very familiar with farm animals. He asked what we called the different parts of each of the animals.”

  “Do you think he was a farmer back on the home world? And what do you think he’ll do when he realizes that there is no way back?”

  “No, he’s not a farmer, not with those hands. I can tell he knows a lot about animals though. I don’t think he was that impressed with our animals. Not that they aren’t well cared for, just that they may have better ones back where he comes from. As to your second question. How would you feel if you suddenly found yourself in strange place, where you didn’t know the people, the customs and couldn’t speak the language? Also, I think that he expects that he’ll be able to find his way home.”

  “Well, as to the last, I’m glad we aren’t the ones to have to tell him that there is no way back. Once he learns enough of our language it will be up to the people in the King’s court. What a way for the new king Harold to start his reign. What’s he doing now?”

  “Last I saw him he was sitting in front of the guest hut writing. I think he’s writing down all the words he learned and what they mean in his language. This is no simple man.”

  “No, as rare as it is for somebody to step through a gate, none in written memory have been simple people. I expect that an escort from the Duchess at Great Falls will arrive to take him there and then on to Nordport. We should probably get him another set of clothes. Thank you for looking after him Moru.,”

  The next few days went the same way. Paul would follow Moru around and learn new words. One day he found a new set of clothes in the hut he was using and then Moru showed him the bath house. Paul was extremely grateful for the little things. He had clean clothes and he was clean. Somebody took his clothes and the next day he found them neatly folded in his hut. After four days, he knew about 200 nouns in their language, no verbs or anything else. Just nouns. At the end of the fifth day, eight men rode into the village. One he realized was a villager, probably sent to get these men, who were dressed in uniforms. The uniforms were a blue coat with maroon pants and turned up hat like the Aussies wore. Each of them was armed with sword, a flint lock pistols and flint lock musket in a holder attached to the saddle.

  The village leader, who he now knew was Arkin, greeted the leader warmly. He called Paul and Moru over and introduced the leader as Wiktor. The man smiled at Paul and shook his hand. They talked and Paul surmised that in the morning he’d get on a horse and go to someplace called Great Falls. He guessed it was a city. The soldiers seemed nice enough, so Paul wasn’t particularly worried and was hopeful that he’d get some idea where he really was and how to get home. The next morning, they brought him a horse that was already saddled with a bed roll tied to the saddle. His belongings were put in saddle bags. He said his goodbyes and they were off.

  Paul thought that he understood that it would take two days to get to where they were going. He was glad he knew how to ride, have grown up in rural Minnesota, but he was out of practice. The first night, his legs and rear end let him know how out of practice he was. The men he was with laughed and then gave him a bitter tasting drink. He drank it hoping that it would help the soreness. Right after a diner he stretched out on his bedroll and was out like a light.

  The next morning, most of the soreness had gone and he was very appreciative. He guessed that the bitter drink was the reason that the soreness had gone away. After eating, they mounted up and rode on. Paul thought that they were getting close to a large city. The road had been a dirt track, now the road was wide enough for two large wagons to pass each other with no problem. The roadbed itself wasn’t stone but appeared to be hardened clay on top of some sort of substrate. The road was slightly domed so that water would run off and into channels that paralleled each side of the road. The area was getting more open and he could see more villages. As they continued on, they passed more and more people, some on foot, some mounted and some driving wagons. None of them paid any real attention to Paul and his party. At the top of a rise he got his first look at the city.

  It sat on the south side of a great river that easily rivaled the Mississippi or the Nile. There were fields of grain and other crops on the flood plain of the river. To what he now knew was the west, about 20 miles away, was a great waterfall. The water rushed over the cliff and plummeted at least six hundred feet to the valley and river below. The city itself looked like it had thirty to forty thousand inhabitants. Surprisingly there was no wall around the city. There was a citadel in the middle of the city with high walls and what looked like a palace inside it. A large road ran west to east along the river’s bluffs. On the other side of the River a road ran to the North another ran to the Northeast and finally a third road ran west. Paul realized the great waterfall meant a road couldn’t run to the west on this side of the river.

  Paul looked around as they rode up a wide avenue towards the citade
l. The streets were relatively clean, except for the horse manure. It looked like the citizens didn’t drop their garbage and night soil in the street. So, the place didn’t stink to high heaven. Some of the houses weren’t particularly grand but he didn’t see any slums. He noticed the same thing as at the village. More women than men, fewer young people and old people. This was a bit puzzling.

  They entered the citadel through the main gate and came to a large courtyard. Wiktor dismounted and indicated that Paul should come with him. The horses were led off. As they entered the palace, Paul noted that it was very nice, but not opulent. There were some guards armed with pikes, swords and flintlock pistols, but not a large number. The guards were dressed in blue with dark maroon pants, just like the men he’d come with. They eyed Paul but did not seem hostile at all. Soon they came into a large room. There was a woman, who looked about forty sitting on a chair on dais. To her right a little lower down sat a man and to her left another woman. Paul guessed that this was whoever ruled the city or the area. He wasn’t sure which, yet he was sure this was someone important. Wiktor bowed from the waist and Paul did the same.

  The woman started to speak. “Wiktor is this the stranger from the home world?”

  “Yes, your grace, his name is Paul of the house of Jorgenson. “

  The woman then turned to Paul and spoke. All he understood was 'Hello Paul'. He picked up her name, it was Morgania. She indicated the man to her right, apparently his name was Burtrum. He nodded and smiled at Paul. When the other woman was introduced as Diania, she smiled and nodded. Paul returned their greetings the best that he could.

  Morgania then turned to a man standing by the dais. He was in his early forties and looked distinguished. “Frankon, I’m going to put you in charge of Paul. He’s had a great shock suddenly stepping through a gate to Cornu. I’m sure he didn’t mean for it to happen, but there is nothing to be done now and he can’t go home. This will eventually dawn on him and he’ll suffer great distress. Your job is to teach him our language as fast as you can. The faster he learns, then the faster he can learn our customs. I’m sure he doesn’t understand that Burtrum is my husband and Diania is co-wife with me. Although I imagine he might guess about Burtrum.” That brought a chuckle from Burtrum and Morgania smiled at him.

  Then she continued. “I’ve sent a bird to King Harold to let him know that he is here. I’m sure that he’ll want him in Nordport. I think it best if you and your wives accompany him. Your children are grown, so that should not be an issue. I don’t want him to be shuttled between too many people until he becomes settled. Your experience, knowledge and even temperament are exactly what’s needed.”

  “Yes, your Grace. It would be my pleasure.”

  She then turned to Paul and started to speak. All Paul picked up that the man he she was talking with was named Frankon and that he was going to take care of him.

  Four Years Later.

  Paul sat in his study and reflected on the last four years. He’d learned the local language, Landian, and was now fluent in it. Although the soft vowels of his Swedish Minnesota upbringing betrayed that he was not a native speaker. The ruler of the kingdom, King Harold, was enthusiastic about what Paul wanted to accomplish, which was to breed better farm animals. Starting with draft horses, milk cows and sheep. He’d granted a large track of land just northwest of the capital where Paul had established an agricultural research station. The king’s Chamberlin, Earl Rornin, had obtained the necessary breeding stock to start the program.

  He’d also learned the customs of the land. Many of the customs were dictated by the somewhat unique biology of the humans on Cornu. The predominance of women, the long lives and the low fertility rate. All of these flew in the face of what Darwin predicted and what Paul believed to be true.

  Perhaps the most shocking thing to Paul was the sexual mores of the society. What went on here would cause a Lutheran Minister to have a heart attack. Paul had thought himself somewhat experienced, which for a man in 1920’s America, who’d been in Paris, he was. On Cornu, he found himself to be a babe in the woods. Besides what a good Minnesotan would consider libidos running wild, there was very little cheating that went on. Wives and husbands apparently kept each other satisfied. Infertility and impotency were handled quite rationally.

  An impotent man was destined for the priesthood. This was a combination priest and social worker in the largely benign semi-monotheism practiced in the northern kingdoms. Impotency was relatively rare so there was a shortage of priests outside of the major cities and larger towns. Women who did not have a fertile period by the time they were seventeen Cornu years were deemed to be infertile. These went on to become companions. Companions provided sexual services to men traveling without their wives. It was an honorable profession, and nobody on Cornu thought that people should go without sex for a long period of time. Paul mentally blushed, when he remembered his first encounter with a companion. King Harold had kindly sent him one while he was adjusting to life on Cornu. It was an education in the sexual mores of the kingdom.

  Paul was writing in his journal and was reviewing what he’d already written

  This Journal recounts my observations on Cornu. It may help the next person who steps through a gate to adjust more quickly to their new life.

  First there are thirteen months in the Landian calendar. They are Bethe, Luise, Noina, Ferine, Saille, Utahe, Duire, Tinne, Coile, Moine, Gorte, Negtal and Ruise. Each week is seven days long, with the seventh day being a day of rest. The days are Luan, Mart, Celdon, Deldon, Aion, Sathon and Domlach. Every five years a day is deducted from the month of Bethe, because the year is not quite 392 days long. The day seems to be shorter as well, by about 25 minutes.

  The next thing that you need to know about is the ‘Choosing’. This is a fever that young people get between eight and nine years old. Now, almost all the children survive it. In the past, apparently there was a higher death rate. I experienced it some four weeks after I arrived on the planet. Mine lasted almost two weeks. I am convinced that this has something to do with the changes in human biology on Cornu. I also suspect that it weeds out young people who carry severe genetic defects as well as making other changes in human biology. What effect it will have on me is yet to be determined.

  The most distinguishing factor between earth and Cornu is the differences in human reproductive biology between the two places. On earth women have frequent fertile cycles that seem to run in phase with the moon. Men are normally highly fertile and couples that have sex at a reasonable frequency have little trouble conceiving. It is the odd couple that has that trouble. The ratio of male to female births is almost equal with a few more male babies being born than female babies. Also, libido seems to fade with age, although that is not always the case. Men and women age and lose function over time and a sixty-year-old is not nearly as vigorous as a twenty or thirty-year-old.

  Cornu is different. First women are fertile only twice a year. That is a time of frantic sex drive that ensnares their partners in the frenzy. Men seem to have a lower fertility as well. My supposition is that the potency of their sperm is lower, but at the moment I have no evidence of this. Women usually have only two children and sometimes only one child during their life. They are fertile much longer than on earth. They have fertile periods into their sixties. Although they rarely get pregnant at this age. The upper age limit seems to be their late forties or early fifties. The result is that the birthrate is barely above replacement rate for the population. This means that the population grows very slowly. On Cornu the ratio of boys to girls is highly skewed towards girls. While there is no accurate census taken, it appears that for every one hundred boys born, one hundred and fifty girls are born. This estimate may be off, but it is very close to the mark. That disparity means that multiple wives are not uncommon among the better off males in the society. Having more than two wives is almost unheard of and discouraged except in unusual circumstances. Except in the south where there are harems for the nobility.


  The life span on Cornu is quite a bit longer than on earth. It is not unusual for someone to live into their hundreds. Yet until the last year of their life, they are vigorous and lose almost none of their vitality. It would be quite easy to confuse someone in their early hundreds with someone in their late forties. The end, when it comes, is a quick decline. People have time to say their goodbyes and there is no lingering illness where people wait years for the mercy of death.

  As the Cornu year is longer than earth’s it is important to remember that people may be older in earth years than in Cornu years. Most girls get their first fertile period around fourteen or fifteen Cornu years. At that time, they are secluded because of the great sexual tension it engenders. Luckily it only lasts three or at the most four days. Girls become betrothed when they are about sixteen and married at seventeen. This in earth years is closer to seventeen for betrothal and eighteen for marriage. Men are usually betrothed in the early twenties. Betrothal lasts a year. During the time of betrothal, the only thing that is not allowed, is intercourse. Apparently, all other activity of a sexual nature is considered normal.

  One thing that is very unusual is the almost instinctual realization of attraction between two people of the opposite sex that are suitable partners. This includes what is apparently genetic compatibility but amazingly personal compatibility as well. There is little notion of romantic love here. What is paramount is that somebody would make a good life partner. The genetic compatibility is, I believe signaled by pheromones. It is known that animals give off pheromones to attract mates. It was not believed to be something that humans had. My experience on Cornu seems to fly in the face of that. I also think that it also plays into the very high libido that everyone on the planet seems to have.