Victim of Circumstance (The Time Stone Trilogy Book 3)

by Robert F Hays

  “Been done,” Kevin replied. “Localized gravity reversal. Reverse the gravity and just float up.”

  Michael laughed. “Ok then,” he said. “Tara, you get some rocks and turn them into an anti-graviton emitter, and Kevin, you make a galvanometric shield from tree branches. If we can do that, we’re sure to win the top orienteering team award.”

  “Do that and we’ll win the Bailey-Nobel prize for physics,” Kevin said.

  Michael sighed. “Guess we’ll just have to walk around it.

  “Yes, but which way, left or right?” Kevin said.

  “Right,” Colin said. “It’s downhill. More chance of the gully flattening out, but it’s too late to do that now, sun’s going down.”

  “Look,” Tara said. “It’s another team.”

  “Where?” Michael said, looking up.”

  “Way back there,” she pointed behind them. “They’re climbing that little hill we had so much trouble getting up.”

  “I see them,” Kevin said. “And they found the path.”

  Michael thought back on the hill they’d climbed a couple of hours before. “How’d they find the path? You can’t see it unless you’re on top of the hill.”

  “Damn,” Kevin said. “It looks like Doherty’s team.”

  “C’mon,” Michael said. “This ravine’ll stop them too. I don’t want to spend the night anywhere near them.”

  They took off at a slow jog along the edge of the ravine. Minutes later, the ground sloped and the ravine spread and became shallower.

  “We can cross here,” Kevin said.

  They made a left down the slope then climbed the other side with little effort.

  “Camp here,” Michael said and all three dropped their packs in unison.

  “Let’s not light a fire until it’s good and dark,” Kevin said. “We do not want to attract Doherty’s team here.”

  Michael looked up at the sun slowly sliding behind a hill. “By the time we’ve got it going, it’ll be dark enough.”

  * * *

  The fire snapped and crackled loudly as a green twig exploded and scattered a few glowing embers. Remnants of the evening meal were unceremoniously dumped into the flames and sleeping bags rolled out.

  “I do not care if it does work,” Tara said. “I’m not washing my plate with dirt.”

  “You wash the dirt off with water after,” Michael replied. “That’s how the pioneers used to do it when they ran out of soap.”

  “I still do not care. If I run out of soap, I’ll just wrap my dish in plastic and not use it again.”

  Kevin laughed. “I’d do it. It’d be better than eating from my dirty hands.”

  “3V time,” Tara exclaimed. “What did you bring? I’m dying to see it. A 3V without a viewing room would be great.”

  “When will it be on the market?” Kevin asked.

  Michael pulled a flat device from a pouch on his backpack. “Mr. Montoya says he’s having trouble with the war priorities commission. They say it’s a luxury and war material manufacture has to come first. Only about a hundred prototypes have been made. But, my father thinks the holdup has nothing to do with the war. The brother-in-law of the head of the war priorities commission owns a big company that makes galksite. That’s what the walls of a 3V viewing room is made of. A viewer that doesn’t need a room would put him out of business.”

  “Typical,” Kevin said. “Just about once a week my father says something about someone sticking money in their pockets from the war.”

  “What did you say about it using a rock as a speaker?” Tara said.

  “Yep. Put it on a rock and it makes the rock vibrate.” Michael leaned down and placed the device on a piece of flat sandstone. “What do you want to see?”

  “What do you have?” Kevin said.

  “Under the olive tree?”

  “Seen it.”

  “‘Mica’s valley’, ‘The Battle of Kerrin’, ‘Usella the Great’, ‘The Doll and the Piano’…”

  “The Aftermath?” Kevin interrupted.

  “No!” Michael exclaimed. “I hate that damn thing.”

  “I liked it,” Tara said. “It was interesting to see how your family got here from the twenty first century.”

  “Well, the kid that played me sucks. He made me look like a wimp.”

  “You were only eight years old,” Tara replied.

  “Seven, and I wasn’t as big a wimp as he played me.”

  Kevin looked up. “Did you really see your brother shoot that man in the nuts?”

  “Yes, I was right behind him.”

  “What did he do after he was shot in the nuts? I mean, that was the end of the scene when that rifle went off. Did he yell and scream and stuff?”

  “Well, he rolled around on the ground and yelled a lot of things in Spanish. We didn’t know he was one of the good guys.”

  “Boys,” Tara said in disgust. “Enough of shooting people in the nuts. Let’s watch Mica’s Valley. A 3V about the colonial days would be great atmosphere way out here.”

  “Ok,” Michael said and leaned down to slip a disk in the device. A clear area on the other side of the fire flickered. The air seemed to buzz with multicolored fireflies. Slowly trees came into focus and three dimensional text appeared displaying the credits. The rock under the device hummed then music played. Michael turned his backpack and laid his sleeping bag against it, sitting down to use it as a backrest. “Should I fast forward past the credits?” he asked.

  “Please do,” Tara replied.

  Michael reached for the device on the rock and paused as a sound behind him caught his attention.

  “What the hell?” came a voice from the direction of the sound.

  Michael turned to see Doherty and two other boys standing at the edge of the small clearing.

  “Damn rich kid,” Doherty sneered. “How much did that little toy cost?”

  “It didn’t cost anything,” Michael instantly replied. “It’s a prototype from Montoya Electronics. I was asked to test it to see how rugged it was. It’s not against the rules of the land navigation course.”

  “Well, some people get everything,” Doherty said in a petulant tone. “They don’t give fancy gadgets like that to poor people like me.”

  “How come you’re walking at night?” Tara said. “You do know that’s quite dangerous.”

  “Hey, we’re a lot more competent than butt holes like you three.”

  “And how did you get here so fast?” Kevin said. “That gully back there is too small to be on the map. How did you navigate around it?”

  “That’s our secret,” Doherty snapped.

  Michael looked him in the eye and smiled. “Sounds like we’re not the only ones out here with gadgets.”

  “What the hell are you raving about, rich kid.”

  “To get here as fast as you three did, I’d need a navigation satellite link, an ultrasonic ground radar unit, and some sort of infrared sensor.”

  “Bullshit,” Doherty said. “We just know what we’re doing. You don’t.”

  Chapter 10

  The day was warm. Small clouds moved slowly under a light breeze. Colin felt sorry for Farren. He couldn’t see the beauty of the late summer scene.

  There were more people in the streets than the previous morning. The Rangers were told it was market day. Farmers and sheep herders from all over were starting to gather in the town square.

  The meat and produce sellers stayed open all week. Lack of refrigeration meant that people had to buy food almost daily. The ones that occupied the town square today were selling durable goods, hardware, tools and cloth.

  “You don’t have to sell your things,” Farren said. “You’re our guests. We’ll provide for you.”

  “We can’t expect your people to give us everything,” Colin said. “That’s why we brought trade goods. There’re also gifts we wish to buy for people who’ve helped us the most.”

  “And lemonade,” Ken said.

  Colin turned to see K
en and Yuri who each held a handle of the handcart. “Maybe a gift for a woman?”

  Ken gave Colin a sour look.

  Farren laughed. “You’re all the unattached women here talk about. They discuss many ways to catch your attention. What’re your ages? I’ve been curious about that.”

  “We are… uh…” Colin stuttered.

  “Twenty eight sun highs,” Ida said.

  “Really?” Farren said. “That old and still two of you are unmarried?”

  “Where we come from most are unmarried at our age,” Colin said.

  “When you see the beauty of some of the available women here, maybe you’ll change your custom,” Farren chuckled.

  “I may agree,” Colin said. “I haven’t yet seen an ugly woman.”

  Farren smiled. “You’ve only been close enough to see a few. Today in the market you’ll see many more.”

  Colin grimaced. He realized he had made a mistake with the comment. How could he see many women when he had only been within grunting and sniffing distance of a few?

  “Come,” Farren said and snapped his fingers. “I’ve got permission from Tomlin the cloth merchant for you to use his stall. No one’s buying sun high cloth with sun low coming on. He’s waiting for the factories to produce heavier material and won’t be here today.”

  They made their way through the early shoppers to a bench set up with a canopy.

  “Here it is,” Farren said and snapped his fingers over it. “The selling will begin soon. I’ll come back later to see how you’re going.”

  Farren walked off. The Rangers proceeded to unload the handcart and lay the merchandise out in an organized fashion.

  “How do the people know what we have?” Yuri whispered.

  Colin looked up at the butcher who had a stall next to them. His bench was packed with various meats and sausage. “Wait until the rest start selling and we’ll copy them.”

  “Everyone here seems to be just standing around waiting for something,” Yuri said.

  A bell sounded and the entire square burst into activity and noise. Colin looked up and saw the bell on top of a large post near a fountain that centered the city square. The people started moving and the merchants snapped their fingers over the merchandise and shouted.

  “I guess that’s what they were waiting for,” Colin said.

  They all looked at the butcher who was snapping his fingers over stacks of meat. “I have fresh pork rump!” he yelled then moved his hand and snapped again. “I have pork sausage from Meclis farm, seasoned with garlic and thyme!” he moved his hand and snapped again. “I have leg of lamb.”

  “So that’s the way it’s done,” Colin said then turned to Yuri. “Go for it.”

  Yuri reached out and snapped his fingers. “I have uh… knives?… uh… sharp ones?” he called, moved his hand and snapped again. “I have hair brushes and combs!”

  A passing customer turned to face the table. “Did you say you had combs?” he said.

  “Yes,” Yuri said and snapped his fingers close to them. “Right here.”

  The man felt the three combs on the table and picked one out. “How much is this one?”

  “Two dollars,” Yuri said.

  “You have good prices,” the man laughed and reached in his pocket to retrieve coins. “You’ll do well here. I haven’t seen you before. Where are you from?”

  “We’re from across the dark,” Yuri said. “We’re Pellans.”

  “You’re the people from across the dark?” the man said in a loud voice, sounding impressed.

  A young woman turned and stepped up to the table. “Which one of you is called Yuri?” she asked excitedly.

  “That’s me,” Yuri said.

  The woman grunted at him then sniffed the air. “I was told you were handsome and they were right.”

  Yuri jumped to the other end of the table and snapped his fingers. “Can I interest you in some fine jewelry?”

  “I don’t need jewelry, I’m not married. Maybe, as a courting present from you?” the woman said in a flirtatious voice.

  Colin pulled Ida aside. “The guys’ll do ok here. You and I will take off and explore.”

  “What’ll we look for?”

  “Anything and everything. We need to expand our knowledge of the culture. What they wear, what they do for fun. Find out how they dispose of their garbage and what they throw away and record everything.”

  “Ok, so I’m to look for garbage bins and take pictures.”

  “You got it.”

  * * *

  Colin took a right turn down a small residential street. He had walked through the factory district and watched the weavers at their looms and the wood carvers hollowing out bowls by hand. He was amazed at the precision of their work all done without the aid of sight.

  “Ho Bye,” came a voice from behind Colin.

  “Ho Bye, Colin,” Colin replied.

  Bye sniffed the air. “I thought I recognized you,” he said. “Your people are difficult to find. Do you bathe every day?”

  “Yes we do,” Colin said.

  “That’s why,” Bye said. “Our people bathe once a week. They do it on Saturday night so they’re clean for church.”

  “Our people used to bathe once a week,” Colin said. “But that was in my great-great-grandfather’s time.”

  “We must look ugly to you.” Bye said.

  Colin smiled. “No, I think you look more natural. As I told you, we’re soldiers. We live very close together so being clean is important to us.”

  “You also do it so you cannot be seen by an enemy,” Bye said.

  “That too.”

  “Would you like to come to my house for a lemonade?

  “It’s a warm day, I would like one,” Colin said, trying to conceal his suspicion that Bye had ulterior motives.

  * * *

  Bye’s house was dark inside. Colin had to put on his night vision glasses. It had the same plain walls as the house they were living in. At one end of the main room were bookshelves stacked high with paper.

  “Have you been in a war?” Bye asked cautiously. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you alone to ask you that.”

  “No, but my father was also a soldier and he was in several. Being a soldier is a family profession. My grandfather was a soldier too. Grandpa was at a war in a place called Vietnam.”

  “What was the cause of the wars your father fought in?”

  “The last one was due to a terrible family called Stutchman who wanted to live as kings with the people as their slaves. They were rich and powerful and took my father’s house as their own.”

  “Did they have followers?” Bye said.

  “They employed people who were as cruel as they were to keep the rest in slavery.”

  “That’s a good reason for war,” Bye said. “I’d like to hear more about your people.”

  “And I would like to learn more about yours.”

  “Your manner of speech is very much like the Pentacosts from across the dark,” Bye said. “Are you sure you don’t know of them?”

  “Uh…” Colin said and paused, trying to figure out what speech mannerisms Bye was referring to. “It’s possible we know them by a different name.”

  “Do your people closely follow the Holy Bible as the Pentacosts do?”

  “As I told you when we first met, our laws and culture are based on the Bible.”

  Bye smiled. It was interesting to Colin. Even though the people couldn’t see them, facial expressions were still the same. Frowns and smiles gave the Rangers a great advantage. The people didn’t know they were giving away their emotions.

  “You have talked of things your people have that are superior to what we have. I’m hoping they’re the result of God and man and not sorcery. The Bible says: ‘Thou shalt not suffer a sorcerer to live.’” Bye walked to a stack of papers on a table and flipped through them. “That passage is here if you care to read it.” Bye pulled out a page and handed it to Colin.

  Colin g
ot the instant impression that he was being tested. He looked down at the page in brail. “I’m sorry, I cannot read this,” he said.

  Bye’s face brightened as if he was pleased to hear of Colin’s illiteracy. “Please pardon the mess,” he said. “I haven’t cleaned up in a while.” He proceeded to sort the papers on the table.

  Colin now had the chance to look around. He quickly wandered to the bookshelves and ran his hands over the stack of loose leaf documents. He knew that works written in brail were many times larger than in print. The paper had to be a lot thicker and the lettering much larger. A book the size of the Bible would come in many volumes. “Is all this the Bible?”

  “That and other Godly works.”

  There were five shelves and the top was six inches short of the ceiling. Colin looked up and saw more documents stacked on top under the ceiling. He stood on tiptoe to reach up and touch them. They were covered in a thick layer of dust as if they lay undisturbed for many years.

  “How did you learn your trade of war?” Bye said.

  “We have instructors.”

  “I take it they can read.”

  “Oh yes, they pass the training on to us.”

  “Only twenty here can read, the ministers of the faith, the chief council, holder of the law and teachers of speech.”

  “In my town many more can read than twenty,” Colin said then noticed Bye’s face drop. The information obviously bothered him.

  “You’re a soldier? To be a soldier you must love war,” Bye said.

  “No, quite the opposite. I would not like to go to a war.”

  “That’s a little inconsistent, isn’t it?”

  Elder Hansel suddenly appeared at a door to another room. “No it isn’t,” he said. “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”

  “General McArthur,” Colin said.

  “You know of the quote?” Hansel said. “I have three books on the military and one is about him. Our people seem to have come from a common culture.” Hansel snapped his fingers. “Come, come. Maybe you can shed light on one of my books.”