Paul, Gretchen, and Brinley had no idea what she meant by her illustration.
Seeing their confusion, the Artemis made a decision. “You are like children before their first hunt. Your eyes are empty of wisdom. So I will give you two choices. You can be escorted back to the place where you entered my homeland and depart. Or you can have a role in a search and information gathering hunt. If you do assist in…”
“Or we could just walk away,” Paul muttered by way of interruption. “We do have our guns and our own things.”
The Artemis’ eyes grew very hard and intense. Her stance changed. Her nervous tension was gone, and her breathing became slow and deep. “Yes, that is a third option. You would not survive to the top of the stairs, but it is your choice.”
“Please forgive my friend here. We are all very tired and exhausted from the lack of sleep and stress of our ordeal. We mean no threat to you or your people,” Brinley quickly said.
“You are no threat to us, our people, or to me,” the Artemis replied. “I will now finish outlining your three choices. You may, as this one said, just walk away, to your death. You may be escorted safely back to where you entered our homeland and depart. Or you may participate in a search and information gathering hunt. If you chose to be part of the hunt and provide assistance, upon your return then all our museums, educational facilities, infirmary, and artificial intelligence systems, including TSI-1008RF which manages our Reproduction and Fabrication Center, will be available for your use for a three day period. After that you will depart from our homeland by whatever route you chose, but you will depart.”
Before Paul could say anything, Gretchen pushed him back with her arm and said, “We will be part of the hunt.”
“I agree,” Brinley stated just moments later.
All eyes turned to Paul.
“Of course I am going where Gretchen goes,” Paul said in a flustered way.
“Very well,” the Artemis stated. Her body relaxed, but the nervous mannerisms were back. “You have this entire day to prepare. You may eat, or drink, bathe, or even sleep.” She stared hard at Paul. “The hunt will leave before dawn tomorrow. I will consult with Diana on who to anoint as the Longinus for this mission.”
“Thank you,” Brinley said diplomatically.
“You will now return up the stairs while I consult Diana. The people in town will know of your limitations and that you are to be part of the hunt. They will offer whatever hospitality you need.”
“Do we just tell them you said so or what?” Paul asked.
“Diana will make sure the proper people are there to assist you. They already are aware of it.” She turned and walked directly in front of the statue. She knelt down in the grass at the exact spot where the statue’s spear was pointed.
Paul, Gretchen, and Brinley walked back toward the stairway to leave the grove of beautiful and peaceful oak trees.
7 the hunt
At the top of the stairs were three children each holding a basket.
“Diana has provided for you,” the youngest child said and handed a basket of fruit to Gretchen.
“Thank you,” Gretchen said. The young child scurried off.
“Diana has provided for you,” another child said and handed a basket of baked goods to Brinley. He then rushed away as well.
“Diana has provided lodging for you,” the third child said. “That house is available today for your use.” She pointed at one of the houses. It was round and white like the rest, but had accent colors of maroon. A wide horizontal stripe and symbols which none of them recognized. The door was standing open. After pointing to the house, the child ran away.
Other people were standing around and watching, but did not offer anything more.
“I suggest we all go inside the house,” Tiffany said as the orange automacube rolled up to them.
“Good idea,” Paul said. “I need to eat and sleep.”
“Paulie, we all need to eat and sleep,” Brinley said. “I think we need to speak privately as well.”
“Diana will be listening,” Paul stated sarcastically.
“Paul, do not mock their religion,” Gretchen snapped. “We need their assistance, and your attitude is not helping us earn that.”
They entered the house. Lights came on inside the house. The air was a bit musty with a tangy odor of disuse. They pulled off their backpacks, and unbuckled their belts, setting their gear down by the door.
The interior consisted of one large nearly round room, and a small toileting area separated by a sliding door. There were four beds, a table and chairs, a food preparation area with oven, sink, and cooking surface. Windows were in three places on the circular wall, each had shutters on the inside of the windows which could be closed to seal out the light.
Paul filled a cup with water from the sink, and drank it down. He grabbed a piece of fruit, then spread himself out on one of the beds. “This is better than under a tree with some horrid beasts waiting to jump down on us.” He bit into the fruit. It was red colored with a light pink interior. It was crispy and juicy when he chewed it. He ate it down to the few seeds at the center, and licked the juice off his lips.
“I monitored the entire conversation,” Tiffany stated. “I agree with your decision to participate in this search and information gathering hunt. I conjecture that I will not be allowed to accompany you on the hunt. I will be able to contact you three via the communication links.”
“At least we still have those.” Brinley sat on one of the beds and ate some of the food as well. “I am not sure if we will get to use the Reproduction and Fabrication facility here, but this seems like our best chance.
Paul was snoring.
Gretchen looked at Paul as he slept. “He has the right idea, at least this time. If we are going to be off on this hunt, then I really need to sleep as well, but first I will eat something.”
Brinley and Gretchen both ate their fill of the tasty breads and fruits. They used the toileting area, and then reclined on the beds. It was not long before all three were asleep.
“I will be on guard,” Tiffany stated, but the sleeping people did not hear.
Some hours later, well after the sky tube was dark, there was a knock on the door.
“Gretchen? Paul? Brinley? There is someone here,” Tiffany said audibly.
The people groggily awoke. The view out the windows was very dim, it was night. Paul stumbled up and out of bed, as Tiffany activated a light on the wall of the room. He was first to the door. He was rubbing his eyes and massaging his back.
Oda and Sibat, the hunters were standing there. A light had come on which illuminated the doorway.
“Hello?” Paul said as he looked at them. The night air felt cool and carried a hint of some kind of flowers. The sounds of insects and birds seemed overly loud. It was a different kind of night than what he was used to on Inaccessible Island.
“Did you get the sleep you needed?” Sibat asked with a chuckle in his voice.
“Actually, I did. Thank you. No new and weird beasts trying to kill me.”
“You did not have beasts where you grew up?” Oda asked in a mocking way.
“Actually, no.”
Sibat and Oda exchanged glances. Sibat said, “Free Rangers I suppose do not see much of animals, except for rats which are everywhere on the Vanguard.”
“We did not grow up as Free Rangers. Well, I guess Brinley did, but Gretchen and I did not,” Paul replied. He was unsure how much to share. Before he could say more, Gretchen interrupted him.
“Is it time for the search and information gathering hunt?”
“Yes, I am the Longinus,” Oda said and showed the golden medallion which now hung around her neck. She then tucked it inside her tunic.
“Why did you get selected?” Paul blurted out. “Sibat did that job yesterday.”
“I am the Longinus for this hunt. The Artemis willed it for us. We two are the only hunters who would accompany a dishonored one on a hunt,” Oda replied.
<
br /> “Yes, I am well aware you think of me as dishonored,” Paul replied.
“To help you overcome that, Diana has provided you with honorable weapons.” Leaning against the outside of the house were three spears. “They just arrived through the gravity manipulation conduit. They were manufactured specifically for you.”
Unlike the wooden handled spears that both Oda and Sibat carried, these new spears were entirely made from permalloy. They were mostly black in color with different colored spearheads and butt knobs. Oda the Longinus handed the longest of the spears to Gretchen.
“This was designed for you by Diana. It is yours to keep.”
Gretchen’s spearhead was a deep red color. It was a bit over two meters long, and had a double edged blade the shape of an oval with a sharp cutting edge. As she felt the shaft she could tell it was textured to provide an excellent grip. It was weighted in such a way as to be easily maneuvered. The spearhead glistened in its sharpness, and the butt of the spear was flared to a circular knob the same color as the blade.
The Longinus then picked up the next spear and presented it to Brinley. The actions had a ritualized flavor about them, and from Brinley’s experience, in trade deals with other groups; she recognized the importance of this ceremony.
“This was designed for you by Diana. It is yours to keep.”
Brinley’s spear was shorter than Gretchen’s but had the same hunter to spear ratio. The spearhead was a brilliant green color and was half-rhombus shaped. The three points, one on the front and two to the sides, were very sharp. Her spear’s butt plate was also a knob of matching color.
“Thank you,” Brinley replied. “I hope to use it honorably.”
Both the Longinus and Sibat grinned broadly upon hearing Brinley’s words.
“This was designed for you by Diana. It is yours to keep.” The Longinus then handed the last spear to Paul.
He accepted it and nodded. The spearhead of Paul’s weapon was triangular shaped and was white colored. The blade was the widest of the three weapons. Taking a cue from Brinley, Paul stated, “I will work to be honorable in the hunt.”
Sibat snorted as he glanced at the stack of gear near the door.
“Yes, I am bringing that stuff too,” Paul retorted.
“I expected nothing less,” Sibat said.
Paul defiantly strapped on his belt which held the holstered firearm. The others followed suit, all under Sibat’s watchful eyes. Brinley checked her belt and found that she had the holstered handgun, and the organic disruptor weapon which was concealed in an innocuous looking pouch. She wondered how dishonorable that weapon would be in the eyes of the hunters, but refrained from asking.
Gretchen checked the items on her belt, making especially sure of the medical kit and the pistol Willie had made. The equipment she carried, both on her belt and in her backpack, would be needed when they reached the Reproduction and Fabrication facility. Hopefully, the data sticks could be repaired, and perhaps copies made of the fusion packs and other items.
Oda motioned for them to step outside. As Gretchen, Paul, and Brinley followed the orange automacube rolled behind.
“There is no need of a maintenance automacube on this mission, no matter the extent of its enhancements or modifications,” The Longinus stated and put up her hand to call a halt to Tiffany’s progression. “I have arranged for a mechanical technician to come and make repairs to this automacube.”
“I understand,” Tiffany replied. “There was damage from the chimpanzees.”
“I am thankful there was not damage to the chimpanzees,” Sibat stated.
“As Longinus of this hunting party, I give the parameters of our mission. Our objective is the Inflow Lake. The Artemis had been troubled by debris that has floated down from there. She suspects there is a rogue hippo.”
“You may need to explain what a hippo is to our fledgling hunters,” Sibat said. “They did not grow up with animals you know.”
“Oh dear, yes. Hippos are a large and in some ways one of the most fierce of the animals living in D Habitat. They wade in and around the lakes, and can be very protective of their places. The hippos will actively defend their territories and people can be seriously injured and killed when a hippo becomes angry. There have been odd things found floating in the river. That is an unusual occurrence, but can be a sign of a rogue hippo which is disturbing the order of things. Therefore, our mission is to search for the hippo which did that, and if possible remove what is irritating it. Two or more male hippos may just be forcefully fighting for dominance. Should that be the case, we will not intrude, unless one has gone rogue and is killing the other hippos. A female hippo may be defending her babies, and that will be a different matter. If that is the case, we will warn the few farmers and fishermen who live in that area. They will need to avoid where the mother hippo and the young are residing.”
“Could it be that this hippo animal has become infected and is like a Roe?” Paul asked. He unconsciously put his hand on his holster, the other hand holding his new spear.
“That would be a very bad situation,” the Longinus replied. “I have never heard of a hippo becoming infected, nor has there been any sighting of other infected animals, but to be fair and honest to your question, it is a remote possibility. If that is the case, then we will dispatch any and all infected animals.”
Sibat looked mischievous. He chuckled as he mocked, “Yes, the hippo might have opened a bulkhead door and gone for a stroll out of the habitat. Then upon its return would not one of the fishermen have reported the large glowing orange eyes of a Roe hippo? Perhaps just the two glowing eyes peering up above the waterline? Or one of the riverside farmers would have seen the Roe hippo lurking in the fields, or even looking in a window at night?”
“Farmers and fisherman? You even mentioned a technician, right?” Paul asked, trying to ignore the taunt. “I thought everyone here was a hunter.”
“Such naïve thinking. People in our land are free to choose the career they wish. Our schools educate our children in the ways of Diana, so all are knowledgeable about hunting. A well rounded person begins as a hunter and ends as a hunter. In between, we do many other tasks for our people. Not all pursue hunting at all times. Without farmers we would have no fruits, vegetables, or grains. Fishermen utilize the spear in an honorable fashion in gathering food. There are many other careers which people have,” the Longinus answered. “Just as the habitat consists of many different kinds of plants, insects, and animals all working together, so too does our human biosystem consist of many different people working together in all the ways needed.” The Longinus was clearly getting irritated by Paul.
“So how do we get to this Inflow Lake?” Gretchen asked trying to steer the conversation away.
“We start by walking!” Sibat said. “We follow our Longinus who will lead the way. We have already sent a message to a fisherman up the river. From him we will get our swimming equipment.”
“What?” Paul exclaimed. “I cannot swim. I do not want to go in the water at all.”
The Longinus blew out a long breath of air. Then she said, “You can follow along on the land while the rest of us swim out and do the search.”
Gretchen spoke up, “I cannot swim either.”
Sibat looked at the Longinus. They exchanged uncomfortable and awkward looks.
“We will make it work. The hunt does not always go as planned,” the Longinus said. “We will use a boat to travel out to investigate what is happening. Diana will provide a boat for our use.”
When Paul heard the term boat, he shuddered a bit, remembering the children he had seen as they had been dragged under the water. ‘Was it a hippo thing that got those children too?’ he asked himself.
“You look very pale,” Sibat said. “Fear not, I will be there to help you.”
Gretchen wrapped her arm around Paul. “I understand,” she whispered to him. “I feel it too.”
The hunting party departed through the streets of Barnaul. The
powered lights were on, and the illumination from the windows and street lights made the passage through the city easy. Not too many other people were out before dawn, but those few who were greeted Oda and Sibat with respect, but looked with mixed emotions upon Paul, Gretchen, and Brinley.
Outside the town, in the dimness of the night, they saw cultivated fields, and orderly well tended orchards. The Longinus and Sibat set a steady pace along the pathway. While they walked they used their spears as a sort of walking cane. They placed the butt of the spear on the ground in cadence to their strides. Paul, Gretchen, and Brinley tried that with their own spears, but it was difficult to get the rhythm to flow smoothly. The hard packed soil under their feet was firm and solid.
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