0.0.0.0 Would Our Legacy Survive?

by Richard Graupner

  ‘They felt that protection was required before the village itself was built, as we had beaten off numerous attacks at the first village from a number of renegade groups thanks to the walls we had built. Those renegades, however, had taken a toll on those who ventured outside the walls as we had still been in a relative infancy with respect to our bush craft – our ability to move successfully and undetected in the bush. With a lack of food in the new village area, one of the first things they did was plant vegetables and fruit trees. This was done by the women, while the men cut trees, dug holes, and built the walls. At night, they pulled thorn bushes in with them for protection as they retreated into caves. They disguised the caves by day, trying to prevent sight of them by any undesirables.’

  ‘The ruse worked well except for once when they were found out by the nose of a dog with a group of renegades. The bows and arrows we had, and still have today, were very effective and the group survived the night, losing only one man. That morning Harry and a few others were due at the new village site with supplies. Seeing the situation on their arrival, Harry and the others did not hesitate. Caught between our two groups, the renegades were all killed, protecting the secret of the area a little while longer and providing a very welcome breathing space before the next group found us. Sadly, Harry and two others of our group were also killed in the fighting. They, along with the young man killed in the night, were the first to be buried in the graveyard of the village. It may seem sort of savage now, but the group simply could not waste valuable time and energy burying the renegades, and so they were simply put into the river where the natural predators such as the crocodiles had rebounded into their natural habitats. This was another of those events that I and the other learned ones were protected from.’

  ‘My father worked long hours even at his age, not simply doing the planning and directing but also planting, using his pendant to select the spots and showing the ladies how to determine the golden ratio and use it in the vegetable beds. I believe he saw in the expansion of the village the opportunity to increase our chances at survival. In this, he remained adamant that we be careful not to court disease. It was the one thing, he had said repeatedly, that could undo all the hard work done up until that point. Splitting the community was one way of reducing this risk. Before they had finished with the initial wall of this village, he had identified the third village, travelling out with the scouts one last time to evaluate what they had found.’

  It was fully dark now, and I could feel the evening chill surreptitiously creeping into the rondavel, closing around my exposed ankles.

  ‘Dad was seventy-seven when he passed over. I am sure he would have lived longer in different circumstances, but he at least was able to see this village finally populated and settled just months before he went. He died working, collapsing quietly in the vegetable gardens he loved so much. Mom was heart-broken but stuck by her duty of teaching not just us, but many of the younger children as well. She was a natural at this and was still teaching the day before she quietly passed in her sleep about a year later.’ I was crying openly now, my mind unable to still the muscle spasms that shook my whole body. It was some time before I managed to compose myself enough to continue. ‘They are buried at the base of that beautiful tree I always sit under. It was their request – no crosses, no memorial, just a tree.’

  As she squeezed my hand, I remembered a sudden realization I had while walking between the villages. Thomas was about twenty now, having been borne the day after my father died. He was always close and had always offered to be my guide and protector from the moment he was able to. I had always felt a close affinity for him and always suspected my father was still around, looking after me.

  What had also come to me was that Angela was also born, although in another village, at around the time my mother had passed over. Could it be? Naturally, I could not tell the two of them my feelings, but I felt confident my intuition was right.

  Continuing, I said, ‘You pretty much know the rest. We have, over the last twenty years, endured reducing attacks from the renegades as disease and fighting between them ravaged their numbers. We started the third village, and within these villages only myself, Jim, Yvonne, and Sam remain of those who had experienced life before the Fall. I am the oldest by some six years, the others having been younger but old enough to retain the memories. We will be passing over in the next few years, but we all feel that we need to start the expansion now, to ensure the continuation and growth of the community before we go. The universe has now blessed us with this opportunity, and in our hearts, we know that it will be alright, as long as we act now, and act wisely.’

  My thoughts wandered off, thinking of the opportunity that we had been presented. The process had begun, and I knew I would have to tell Angela sooner or later what Yvonne, Sam, Jim, and I had discussed and agreed. I knew she would not approve and would try to stop me, but it just made too much sense not to do it.

  What had been bothering me for some time now before the visits to the other villages, was the fact that I did not seem able to be as happy and content as the rest of the villagers were. It seemed, from discussions with the other three, that as we still carried the memories of the past as to what life had been before, we possibly could not help unconsciously comparing it to life now, resulting in this getting in the way of fully accepting the now. We felt therefore, that we may well be a partial restraint on the villagers with respect to them being able to fully express their happiness and contentment in life.

  As a consequence of this and our advancing age, we had agreed that we would be the first volunteers. We would move into the town with the small group and begin the process of directing them, as we had done with the current villages. We would need help, naturally, but this must be limited as far as possible initially to ensure no cross-contamination of disease or excessive risk to the initial villages. We would use the scouts to contact other small renegade groups, spacing their arrivals at the town sufficiently far apart to allow time for assimilation and change.

  There would be those who would fight us on this decision, but we had made up our minds. At our age, and with the knowledge imparted into so many new people, it made good sense for us to take the risk, and not the younger ones in the community. I knew in my heart it was the right decision, and I fell asleep knowing that Serena and I would get along just fine.

  Afterword

  Allowing my mind to simply develop the story, with limited editing or rearranging of the story line, was for me a journey into the unknown. The questions beg: Would I really have made those decisions? Would I have reacted in that manner?

  In an arena such as a global catastrophe, we will not be able to avoid discovering just how thick or thin the civilized veneer of mankind is. Would how we react simply be dependent on the particular set of circumstances we face? How many of us would be strong enough, and able enough, not to simply degenerate into Stone Age man? Many of the situations outlined in this book appear to verge on the savage, to be void of the civilized approach we seem to expect today. But in the context of the respective situations, are they?

  We like to think today that we are beyond decisions that compromise others, decisions that would be detrimental to others, yet we do it every day of our lives. You think not? Then consider the simple, seemingly innocent ones such as sport competitions, where we teach our children at a young age to work hard at defeating someone else, to make them feel less than perfect, perhaps damaging them their entire lives depending on how their support personnel behave. What about job promotions, social interactions, and so on? Think about it. If the system is able to get people to work harder through this competitive approach, how much more valuable and productive are the slaves?

  The decisions taken in the story seem brutal at times, but in reality, what are the options? In the comforts of our homes and armchairs, it is very hard to be pragmatic in our thinking on this topic. I am certain we would all l
ike to believe we will be able to rise above those dishonourable decisions. In all honesty though, I suppose not one of us will know until, and unless, we are actually placed within those situations. Is this not an interesting conundrum? We will not be able to find out how we would react until such a situation arises, which essentially means the end of the world as we know it. Who will be there to record it, to allow it to be used in a potential future civilization? Will it matter anyway, as history has clearly shown we simply do not learn from the past mistakes of others? We are mankind, after all, and our egos rule.

  Finally, in even attempting through the trials and tribulations of the characters in the book to set up a free and more democratic lifestyle, the need for control and rules again rears its head. The challenge in this is to have a set of behaviours, rather than rules, to govern how we live. Simply put, if we lived with love, respect, and caring, would we need the gargantuan set of laws we have today? Spend some thought on this, as it seems that laws and regulations have stolen our humanity from us, allowing us to conveniently hide behind these supposed bastions of civilized society, thus avoiding the responsibility of making decisions with our hearts.

  Namaste.

  Note to the References

  Although I have mentioned numerous other works within this book, works which have influenced me and my outlook on life immensely, these are by no means the only authors in this field of alternative thinking and ways of life. I would challenge you to follow your feelings, not your logic, when you explore these fields. Listen to the universe around you with respect to people suggesting books to you, or a particular title that simply catches your attention. The journey of exploration is wonderful, but be prepared to have many of your current paradigms challenged. Just understand though, that each of us will take what we need from life, including from literature, and not one of us will have the same experience, feeling, or conclusion. Is that not a wonder of our diversity, the diversity that would be our strength if we were simply to allow it to flourish? Fear not the unknown, but embrace the wondrous treasures which lie within.

  Richard Graupner

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