LOST AND FORGOTTEN: Book 2 The Secret Path

by Maurice Barkley

  Our attitude was hopeful as we began, but in reality, we expected very little and that’s what we got. I tried my best to remain positive and in good spirits, but it was tough when the high points were giant ants and dusty deserts. After two days, we lost sight of the lake and lost track of the row numbers, but luckily we had YDRII to keep tabs on such things. Raw hands from crawling over and shoving around chunks of blasted stone were all we had to show for our efforts. I did notice with pleasure that my muscle tone was improving along with my skin tone. Eventually, we began to come across a few functioning portals, but they lead to places that were either poisonous or as hopeless as the planet Dust. In all that stretch of time, we never got beyond the dome at the other end and sometimes not even that far based on the reading from Moses’ probe.

  Since there was no day or night on Nexus, we established a twenty-four hour routine. The one activity that made the span of time tolerable was the evening meal followed by a drink, a cigar and conversation.

  The most startling revelation during one of our after dinner talks was that Moses had a library of images. They were both still and moving, from his time in ancient Egypt, but they were all stored back on Ganymede. I thought to myself that Amisi would be doing back flips when I hand her that disk or chip or whatever.

  It went that way for many days and then we had a breakthrough. We discovered another portal that showed promise. The readings were all Earthlike except that the gravity was about 92% so we made ready to pass through.

  “Hold on a sec,” M2 said, pointing at the ledge of the control panel. “Another scrap of the red cloth.”

  He picked it up and handed it to M1 who said nothing about the find, but tucked the scrap away in a pocket. “Amy, do you want to leave a Kilroy message here?” he asked.

  She only hesitated a moment before realizing his intent. “Good idea, but I’ll do it when we come back.”

  I silently agreed. This was more than a coincidence. It looks like someone had passed this way since the disaster, and like Amy leaving the Kilroy message, has left these bits of cloth to record their route. This was disturbing. I could tell M1 was silently seething and wondered when he or Alice would confront Moses about this.

  CHAPTER 20

  There was a second portal in the new dome, but it was a pile of rubble so we turned our attention outward.

  As Moses worked the door, Harry had his nose practically squashed against a window port. “Holy firecrackers kids, get outside fast. You gotta see that sky. You might not believe your own eyes.”

  We all did a fast exit. We all stopped. We all stood with eyes wide and mouths open.

  “Oh, God,” Amy gasped. “This can only be an artist’s dream. It’s just too incredible.”

  I could only agree. The entire sky before us was blue with a few clouds, but the gigantic background was what held us enthralled. Filling half of that great dome was the image of a Saturn-like gas giant. The effect on us was beyond big, beyond overwhelming, and beyond our imaginations. We saw its many rings and small moons. It seemed to move, but like our view of Jupiter, I knew it was an illusion created by the awesome sight.

  The rising sun was low on the horizon at our backs. Our long shadows lanced out toward the craggy foothills of a mountainous region, glowing yellow in the morning sun. Billowing clouds capped the more distant peaks. Everywhere we looked was the visual material for a masterpiece on canvas and we did look everywhere for several minutes. That was all we could do. The sight filled our minds to overflowing.

  Harry broke the silence. “At least fifty gazillion bucks,” he muttered. “I could make fifty gazillion bucks. People will kill to get here.”

  “I agree, Harry,” Amy said, “but how can this be? I mean, how can this planet be so close to a gas giant?”

  “I have heard of these planetary configurations,” Moses said. “They are relatively rare and usually unstable, but this one looks to be quite habitable—even desirable. You might refer to this as a satellite of the gas giant. We are standing on one of its moons.”

  “Night and day must be goofy,” M2 said. “I’ll bet they don’t really have a dark night more than half the time.”

  “YDRII could create a proper calendar,” Moses said, “based on the orbit and inclination of the gas giant and further based on the orbit, inclination, rotation and other factors of this globe. But I see no need for such information at this point.”

  We turned our attention to the surrounding landscape.

  “Reminds me of some paintings I’ve seen of ancient Roman or Greek ruins. I said.”

  The vegetation was lush and wild, but here and there we could see parts of buildings emerging from the undergrowth. Those we could see were skeletal in appearance as their tops were missing.

  Alice looked puzzled. “We’re not looking at the bombed and burned out ruins of a city at war. Instead, we were seeing the result of a long ago abandonment. Great age and weather are the forces pulling down those structures. Damn, we’re a hundred years too late. There might be clues here, but I’m not optimistic. YDRII, what does your scan say?”

  YDRII had just returned from an elevated reconnaissance. “There is abundant organic life, including humanoid, but I can detect no active technology. I do sense some dormant electronics, but I cannot determine its nature.”

  M1 consulted with Alice and M2. “Although this place doesn’t look too promising,” he said, “it’s too fascinating to ignore. There’s a much higher hill less than a mile to the west. We can get a better view of the surrounding country from there.”

  Moses pushed the dome door shut then demonstrated the proper way to reopen it. “Push down on the handle and turn it a quarter turn to the left,” he said, “then pull up, turn it back to its original position and pull the door open. All dome doors work the same unless there is a specific danger.”

  Though we were carrying full packs, it was a pleasant hike over the rolling landscape. It felt more like a stroll through a large park rather than the serious business that brought us to this place. Moses had mentioned that every planet had its own peculiar odor, but the air on this planet smelled more like Earth. Every so often we would pass the stump of a long decayed building. This at one time could have been the outskirts of a large town or city.

  “You know, Amy said, “I don’t mean to sound too mercenary, but if I had the lease on this vacation planet, I could make several fortunes.”

  “You really want to be a business person?” M2 asked.

  “Nah!” she replied, “I just want a lot of money so I can do more of what we’re doing. I don’t want this to end—ever.”

  “Listen kiddo,” Harry said, “I’ve been a schemer and a calculator all my life. Imagine the things I had to do to keep Nora and me together all these years. I know all the tricks of scrounging, negotiating, bribing and extortion. I’m here to tell you that regardless of what we do in the future, our money worries are over.”

  When we reached the top of the new hill, we dropped our packs and got busy with our binoculars.

  “A lot more of the same,” M1 said, and I had to agree.

  “Quite beautiful, though,” Alice said. “Amy, do you have a name for this world?”

  “Too soon,” she said. “I don’t have a feel for it yet.”

  North, east and south was more of what we had already seen. To the west, I caught a glimpse of a wide river and beyond, the craggy foothills of the glowing yellow mountains stood out in sharp relief.

  “Look to the southeast,” M1 said. “Just over that dark tree line I see some smoke.”

  We all turned our glasses in that direction and saw some thin wisps floating up and drifting slowly south.

  “I make it about three miles,” M2 said. “If the woods aren’t too thick, we can be there in about an hour.”

  “That’s what we came for,” M1 said. “Moses, you’ve been rather quiet. Do you agree?”

  “I think you all are functioning properly. If YDRII or I see anything substantial, we will
speak up.”

  “Okay, gang,” M1 said, “load up and let’s go see who is sitting around that campfire. I know we’re going to keep looking at that sky, but try not to stumble.”

  The tree line we entered was the edge of

  a thick forest of mature pine-like trees with lots of dead branches and litter on the forest floor. In all, it took us just over one hour to negotiate that bit of real estate.

  I was bringing up the rear when I heard M2. “Son-of-a-gun, it’s an old-fashioned farmstead, right out of the history books.”

  A low fieldstone fence marked the border between the forest and the farm. We had stopped at the edge of a large field of wheat-like grain, almost ready for the harvest. It was one of several fenced in fields within view. Each had different crops except one given over to pasture where I saw some animals that were cows, but not cows. At the far edge of the pasture, a group of thatch-roofed buildings clustered together.

  YDRII reported that there were several intelligent beings in the structures, but none nearby.

  “This could be the seventeenth century in America,” Alice said. “Moses—any observations?”

  “I do have an idea, but I hope I am wrong as it reflects badly on my own class. We will discuss it at a more convenient time.”

  “Okay,” M1 said, “I think it’s time to go meet the folks down on the farm. Moses, will YDRII be able to translate for us?”

  “While you have been talking,” YDRII said, “I have listened to their conversations. I do have extraordinary hearing, you know. Their language is a simplified corruption of the original. I can provide instant translation. When they speak, it will be as though they are speaking English and vice versa. I think they are experiencing some sort of trouble or difficulty, based on what I have heard.”

  “Since there are no natives nearby,” Moses said, “I’ll once more have YDRII rise up a few hundred feet and take another look at the countryside.”

  YDRII quickly zipped skyward, paused for a matter of seconds then floated back down to attach himself to Moses backpack.

  “There are only more farms, small patches of forests and much open country as far as I could see. There are no cities or even large villages. The roadways are not much more than dirt paths. I did see a river three miles to the west and a railroad another three miles past the water.”

  “A railroad?” M2 said. “I love railroads.”

  “Beats walking,” Harry said, “especially if they have an observation car.”

  We picked up our gear and, not wanting to trample the crops, moved to a fence line that would lead us to the farmstead.

  As we walked along I explored the atmosphere with my now more sensitive nose. “My, the air smells just terrific.”

  YDRII said that he had done an analysis and could detect only a little residue from the burning of fossil fuels and pieces of trees.

  “I smell cow crap,” Amy said, “but I’m a country girl and I like it.”

  “Yeah,” M2 said, “crap is crap, wherever one wanders.”

  Although YDRII assured us there were several humanoids within the farmstead, the place looked deserted as we approached the first building. They all had thatched roofs with walls that looked like some form of stucco. The one we reached first was rather small and was the source of the smoke we had seen from the distant hill. There was no chimney, just a hole in the thatch near the peak. In addition to the smoke, we heard a metallic hammering.

  “I bet a nickel that this is a blacksmith shop,” Harry said.

  He didn’t get any takers and in seconds we reached the wide open door. The interior was dark, but not too dark to see a small, powerfully built man laboring over an anvil. Each blow on the glowing rod he was shaping resulted in a shower of bright sparks while behind him a forge glowed white-hot. Large leather bellows stood nearby; ready to pump air into the furnace. On either side was a jumble of partial fabrications and raw material.

  His concentration on the task was such that it took him several more blows before he realized that he had visitors. He froze with his hammer raised over his head, then slowly set aside the glowing rod and placed his hammer on the anvil. His approach was steady, but cautious. There was no smile on his face nor was there a frown.

  As he stepped from the doorway, he glanced at the sky and made a small gesture with his right hand. It looked like he was pinching out a candle.

  “The taxes are not due until after harvest time,” he said, while looking at the much taller Moses. The two looked to be of the same race.

  “We are not here to collect taxes,” Moses said. “We are simply passing travelers.”

  “I do not understand,” the small man said. “The only ones that ever came here were the ones who collected the taxes. We never travel; there is no place to go except to the next farm and the one beyond that. It is all the same. Do you travel to no purpose?”

  “Curiosity is our purpose,” Moses said. “We wish to see how people live in different places in this world.”

  “This whole world is the same everywhere is it not?” the blacksmith asked. “Perhaps it is not the same where the tax collectors live, but we may not go there. I do not even know where it is, but I have seen the beast of smoke and the path of rails that they use to take away what they collect. Do you live with them? We have not seen them in recent years. Do you know what has happened to keep them away?”

  “No,” Moses said, “we come from a very far place, but we come to learn and would talk to you and the people who live here.”

  “This is most strange,” he said, “but you and your odd looking companions are welcome.”

  As long as our new friend was so talkative, Moses kept asking questions. “Where is the path of rails?”

  “Six farms to the west and it runs both North and South.”

  “Is it in constant use?”

  “No. We only used to see a small beast of smoke at harvest time. There are old tales of a great howling beast of smoke in the great forest to the south, but I know of no one who has seen it. I do not even know if there is a great forest to the south. We here place little faith in the old tales.”

  “Do the tax collectors bring anything to trade? Do they provide you with material or services?”

  “Never have they brought us anything—they only take, but the amount is within reason.”

  “Do they provide protection?”

  “From what?”

  “People who would steal from you or harm you.”

  “We protect our own property and people. As I said, the tax collectors only take.”

  “I see, but where do you get supplies such as the metal for your forge?”

  “From the old places. You must have seen many of them as you traveled. Other than the metals, everything you see here we have made ourselves.”

  “Why is it that you tolerate the tax collectors since they do not benefit you in any way?”

  The blacksmith frowned. “The best way to forget a bad thing is to never speak of it.”

  Moses thought for a moment. “My people believe that to remember a bad time will serve to keep it from happening again. Your people must know what to look for and avoid.”

  Our new friend was quick to make a decision. “Once, many lifetimes ago,” he said, “our ancestors did refuse to pay and the punishment was severe. A shining light from a staff burned buildings and fields and some of my kin perished. We find it much easier just to pay. We are very happy that they stopped coming.”

  Moses looked at us with eyebrows raised. We had no questions for the blacksmith.

  “Could you take us to your farm leader?” Moses asked.

  “I do not know,” he said, while scratching his beard. “At this time most everyone is at the gathering house. His young daughter was bitten by a forest doon and has a bad infection in her leg. They are trying to decide if they should cut it off. Either way I think the girl will die, it is always so. I don’t know that anyone there will care to talk to you just now. Perhaps if you return
in a few days, the remembrance will be over and then they would welcome you.”

  “When was she bitten?” Moses asked.

  “Two days past and our treatments have only made it worse. The girl is a misfit. She is not content to do her work and stay on the farm. Often she would wander off into the forest and we would not see her for many days. She says she wants to know what the rest of the world is like and so she explores until hunger drives her back. The leader and his wife dearly love the girl, but they despair of her future.”

  Moses turned to us. “It is not my intention to interfere in the lives of these people, but if we help the girl they might reward us with valuable information. I know we can help and I think we should. What do you say?”

  Alice spoke for us all. “Go to it, Doctor.”

  Moses turned back to the blacksmith. “I think that we can help the young girl if you will allow us to see her.”

  After a thoughtful pause, the man replied, “I do not see how you could make matters worse. Come with me.”

  CHAPTER 21

  The blacksmith led us further into the farmstead and paused before one of the larger structures.

  “Wait here,” he said. “I will go and talk to the leader.”

  When he went inside, we had nothing to do other than to look around at the sky and the other buildings. They looked well maintained, and although the ground was bare earth it was all swept clean. The only living thing in sight, other than the pastured animals was a dog-like creature that peered at us from the corner of a nearby hut. I had an urge to whistle at it, but decided not to because for all I knew a whistle was its signal to kill strangers.

  A short time later our new friend emerged from the large hut and motioned us to follow him back to the dim interior. It was essentially one big room with curtain dividers, arranged party house style to expand or reduce different areas. The place was clean and smelled of wood smoke, spices and cooking. These people had little, but everything I had seen spoke well of them.