The Humanarium

by CW Tickner

  ‘What type of technology?’ Harl asked, thinking of the weapons Gorman had given him.

  ‘I don't know all of it,’ Damen said, ‘but we do see some. Many are weapons, much like the sword you carry. Others you also have, such as the air cleaners, although none now need to use the mouthpieces. The Enlightened say that at one time every person needed one, but each generation seemed to need them less and less, until the need died out.’

  ‘Fascinating,’ Sonora said. ‘Gorman had managed a similar feat but within his own lifetime, thanks in part to a healer’s skill.’

  She paused and Harl thought she was remembering Gorman. Instead, she spun around and tore the sword from its sheath as the others in the group ditched packs, dropped stretchers, and pulled out their spears and bows.

  A buzzing sounded overhead and Harl turned as a pair of hivers dropped from above to land on the back of two hunters. Instinctively, both hunters bent double and flung the creatures to the ground. Sonora stamped a foot down on the nearest, holding the writhing body down as a bulky woman drew a dagger and plunged it into the abdomen. Sonora swept her blade down in an arc to sever the insect’s head.

  Harl strung an arrow and turned to the second hiver. It was already a pin cushion of feathered shafts and twitched feebly as Damen strode over to it and plunged his spear down, skewering its yellow and black body. It shuddered once more and then fell still.

  ‘A scouting party,’ he said. ‘Keep your eyes peeled for the rest.’

  When no other hivers appeared he shrugged and trudged on through the mud.

  Uman jogged over to him.

  ‘Perhaps we should inform the Enlightened, Damen?’ Uman whispered.

  ‘It was only a couple of hivers, Uman,’ Damen said, his words were boastful, as if reassuring the entire group. ‘We can deal with the rest, if they dare come at all.’

  ‘It’s not the hivers I mean,’ Uman said, his voice dropping even more. He inclined his head meaningfully at Harl and Sonora.

  ‘Of course,’ Damen said, realising what he meant, but his deep voice still carried to Harl. ‘Take Yorol and Ingor and tell the Enlightened of the newcomers.’

  Harl felt unease as he shouldered his equipment again. Just what were they walking into?

  Chapter 34

  The original seeds have returned with the assurance that Gilvark and his team can duplicate the ones he kept. The price is high but worth it. The open day is drawing near.

  The ground under foot became softer as it levelled out ahead of them. Water pooled along the worn trail and small streams threaded their way across the path. Every now and then Harl would misplace a foot and it would slide out from under him, almost forcing him to do the splits. Each time laughs and jokes about tearing his manhood apart would erupt from the group and even Sonora was smiling when he caught her eye.

  When Uman returned, there was a worried look on his face. He jogged right up to Damen, panting from effort.

  ‘The Enlightened ones do not believe the tale,’ he said, bending over double to rest his hands on his knees. ‘They even suggested that the technology was stolen from them and are planning something for our arrival.’

  Damen turned to Harl and Sonora.

  ‘Is this true?’ he asked.

  ‘Of course not,’ Harl said, indignant at the accusation. ‘Do you honestly think we would create such a story?’

  ‘No,’ said Damen, ‘I do not. I saw your face when you told the tales and I witnessed the remains of your old land. It is unjust that you have been judged so. My orders will most likely be to hold you as prisoners until we reach Delta.’

  Harl’s face darkened at the treachery.

  He was about to protest when Damen froze and stared up into the canopy of grass behind Harl. The hunter’s face contorted into a vicious scowl as he tore his short sword from its scabbard.

  ‘Above us!’ he roared.

  Harl turned to find four hivers balancing on the tops of the stalks above them. They must have tracked the group, silently skittering over the tops of the stalks as they kept pace.

  They swept down towards the nearest men. One hiver veered off at the last moment and then dive-bombed Harl. He threw himself to the muddy ground as pincers raked the air above him. The hiver spread its wings, flapped them to change direction, and landed on Damen’s back. Its spindly legs scrabbled to gain purchase as the big man flailed around trying to dislodge it.

  Harl sprang to his feet and leapt forward. He grabbed the creature’s squirming abdomen and yanked hard. The hiver tightened its grip on Damen and tried to bite down into his neck. Harl roared and slipped one arm right around the creature and yanked it loose. Its claws shredded Damen’s jerkin as the creature was torn free.

  The hiver hissed and screeched as it writhed in Harl’s arms. It was the size of a calf and he let go to throw it aside, but it twisted around to bite his face. A rock cracked his heel and he fell backwards, holding the creature at arms length as he landed on his back. He tried to get his feet under it to kick it off but its squirms made it impossible. The claws cut his arms, tearing the skin like a knife. His arms buckled under the onslaught. It was winning, inching closer and closer, hissing, snarling, screeching.

  A jolt shot through Harl’s arms and the creature spasmed. Its head rolled clean off, leaving Harl holding the abdomen in both hands as it spewed blood all over him. The legs continued to thrash and scrape at his chest for a few heartbeats more, before death reached them, and they curled inwards in defeat.

  Yellow blood gushed out over Harl from the severed portion and he continued to hold it as he looked up at his saviour, Sonora, standing over him. Gore dripped from the melting-blade she held casually in one hand.

  ‘You can let go,‘ she said.

  Harl tossed the hiver body aside and rolled away from it. He took a few deep breaths and then stood and wiped the gore from his face as he looked around at the carnage.

  Damen had been cut across his back but seemed not to care as he scanned the stalk tops for more threats. Elo was sitting nursing a nasty gash on her arm as the others finished the creatures off. Sonora rushed to her, grabbed her arm and plucked the water skin from the woman’s belt before washing the wound clean. Elo looked at her, astonished. Sonora had dispatched the hiver attacking Harl with ease, and was now coated in its slick yellow blood and acting as if nothing had happened.

  None of the others had been seriously hurt. They looked defiant and calm as they cleaned weapons or casually boasted of the fight. Harl’s eye was drawn again to Sonora as she bandaged Elo’s arm with some cloth, but he found Damen staring hard at him.

  Had he done something wrong? He tensed, ready for action, remembering the talk of taking them prisoners.

  ‘You saved my life,’ Damen said, stepping around a carcass as he came towards Harl. He was nearly a full head taller than Harl and tilted his head to look down at him. ‘I would not have made it if you had not pulled it off me. I should have been more alert after the last two.’

  ‘I did what I had to do,’ Harl said, stooping to retrieve his fallen bow. ‘Even as a prisoner.’

  ‘I owe you a blood debt,’ Damen said, snatching the bow from the floor before Harl could reach it and then holding it out to him. ‘And it is one I hope to repay. Do not worry about being a prisoner either. I’ll do no such thing. You may leave now if you wish.’ He gestured to the surrounding land and glanced at Sonora. ‘We’ll not hold you when you have shown only friendship and bravery.’

  ‘Where would we go?’ Sonora asked, looking around them at the alien landscape.

  ‘That I cannot say, but you are welcome to stay with us until we reach Delta if you want to,’ Damen said, scratching at his beard. ‘But I cannot guarantee your safety. The crimes they accuse you of are bad, but as much as I can, I will stand by you.’

  ‘And I,’ Uman said, giving them a confident smile and an unpractised wink.

  ‘We’ll go to Delta,’ Harl said, glad to have allies in whatever came. ‘We’ve no
choice, and I do not think we can survive out here indefinitely. These Enlightened will have to see reason, at least with the news we bring about the others still trapped inside. They must help us.’

  ‘It will be a struggle, Harl,’ Damen said. ‘There is no definite proof other than seeing the bodies and soil, and I do not believe they will accept your explanation.’

  ‘Would they not consider that proof?’ Harl asked

  ‘We are not Enlightened, Harl. If they do not want to accept it, they won’t. There is little we can do to sway them.’

  ‘We have to try,’ Harl said.

  He was not sure how he would do it, but he knew these people had to be shown the cruelty behind the Aylen.

  As they pushed through the stalks, the mass of sandy-coloured rock that was Delta rose above them. Signs of habitation were scattered along the worn path which Damen led them down. Bones, broken arrows and trampled vegetation lay to the side of the path and, at times, Harl saw patches of cleared land, possibly used for crops, now fallow and empty except for the weeds that had invaded in the absence of a farmer.

  A dense wall of felled grass stalks appeared ahead of them. They had been tied together and balanced upright in a ring to form a barrier. A boarded wooden gate blocked the road and two men lounged to either side, spears in hand as they chatted away. One spotted them and jumped up off the wall.

  ‘Hold!’ he ordered, stepping forward. He was dressed in leather armour fashioned from some outlandishly furry creature. ‘You have them, Damen?’ he asked when they got close enough for him to recognize the group.

  Damen strode up to the man, leaving Harl a few steps behind.

  ‘They came freely with us, Inam,’ he said. ‘I have given my word to their safety.’

  ‘That is not for you to decide,’ Inam said.

  ‘Nonetheless,’ Damen went on, ‘I will escort them to the Enlightened ones and save you a journey into the caves.’

  Inam paled and nodded, calling for the gate to be opened. It swung out after a moment and they entered Delta.

  Beyond the gate, the ground was formed from large, dusty tiles of smooth rock. Harl took them to be man-made and judged that once, long ago, they had been meticulously placed. But many were now split and broken and the cracks had become a home for shooting weeds.

  Two-story houses made from the same brick material were scattered to either side of the roadway. The buildings were sandy coloured to match the rock around them and their roofs brimmed over with trees and plants that hung over their sides.

  The path led directly to the base of an overhanging cliff. The cliff was staggering in size. It rose so far overhead that it dwarfed even the height of Harl’s home-world. The overhanging rock jutted out across the land into the forest around, casting a deep, ominous shadow over a set of carved steps that seemed to lurk in the gloom. They led to a cave opening in the face of the sandy rock, but it was too dark to see much of what was inside, just a bricked-lined entrance that was supported by pillars, as though holding the whole of the rock up by themselves.

  They walked through the main part of Delta’s central street towards the steps. People were bustling around them, paying little attention to another group of hunters returning. Harl was amazed at how similar and yet how different the people and things around them were. Some things he recognised right away, metal forges, tanners and fletchers, but others he had little idea of. The sound of repetitive roaring came from a few buildings lining the road. Each one was fashioned from crude bricks with chimneys pouring out white smoke. It curled in a mass beneath the overhang before billowing its way out into the open air and rising into the sky.

  ‘What are they burning inside?’ Harl asked Damen as they passed the first of the closed up buildings. ‘Doesn’t the smoke attract the Aylen?’

  ‘They are machines that use steam from boiling water to move things.’ Damen said as though reciting the words from a book. ‘The water is heated using coal and the rising steam is squeezed into a metal container, which in turn pushes or pulls something. I don’t fully understand, but the result is the ability to move objects, mostly metal, to perform a task. In this case the machine inside is making clothes. As for the Aylen, it is only done for short amounts of time and our lookouts give us enough warning.’

  ‘It’s a loom?’ Sonora asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Damen replied, ‘but it is many looms together, that way we do not need a lot weavers to make clothing for ourselves. Just one or two people can produce as much as fifty individual hand weavers make in a day.’

  Harl was amazed at the revelation. It seemed impossible that a machine could replicate the work of a skilled pair of hands. And how could that one machine replace so many?

  ‘How does it work then?’ he asked, unable to remain ignorant.

  ‘I know a little, mostly from my father,’ Damen said ‘and it would take a long time to learn, but if you like I would be able to teach you. But it would be easier to learn from those who work the machines. Few Enlightened take an interest in steam power, but we have used it since before the split. In many cases, our knowledge even exceeds that of the Enlightened. It’s the weaving machines that are their purview, though. We had only ever used steam power for pumping water and milling our corn into flour, but then the Enlightened adapted their weaving machines to work with our power source and the results were incredible. I don’t know how half of it works, though, even the steam engines. I know the theory behind it all, but I would not be able to craft one of the machines or operate it without supervision. The same steam principles allows us to heat our cave system and pump water up from the depths below.’

  He pointed to another of the smoke-belching buildings. Its sides were riddled with pipes running in and out of holes bored through the brickwork. ‘That is where we draw up water from the deep well.’

  This made Harl think of one aspect of this new world he hadn’t considered.

  ‘How deep until the bottom?’ he asked. It had to be a long way compared to inside the containers, but he just couldn’t picture it in his mind..

  ‘The well goes down over two hundred meters, as the Enlightened teach it,’ Damen said. ‘That’s nearly two hundred and fifty of your paces, I would guess, but there is no bottom, not that we’ve found yet.’

  ‘What is down there at such a depth?’ Sonora asked.

  ‘Rock and water,’ Damen said. ‘Those two mostly, but seams of iron or coal can be found down there as well. We use the coal as fuel for the steam engines to power machines that dig the hole deeper and return finds from below.’

  ‘A perfect cycle,’ Sonora said, obviously impressed.

  ‘It’s not perfect,’ Damen said, ‘but it works.’

  Chapter 35

  The duplicated seeds have arrived. I now have hundreds of varieties to test inside the tanks.

  The smoke cleared as they moved away from the buildings. People still bustled around, some pushing carts, others busy at their stores shouting out offers to those passing by. Harl found it fascinating. He had never seen so many people in one place and it felt more alive than anything he had ever seen. But at the same time he found it unnerving. The crowded nature of the place pressed against him. He found it bizarre that a sense of claustrophobia began to threaten him. How could it when this world was so big compared to his own? It was just ridiculous. But it was the people, so many of them, all crowded around, rubbing shoulders, shouting, working, there was just too much going on.

  As they passed the last of the engine buildings, most of Damen’s hunters bid them farewell and slipped away to the scattering of smaller grass-topped huts behind the main street, leaving only Damen and Uman to escort them deep under the overhang.

  Harl climbed the steps towards the main entrance and marvelled at the brick archways supporting the pillars either side of it. They must have taken a great deal of skilled labour to round off so well, unless some of their strange technology could produce such precision.

  Damen halted at the entrance. A soli
d metal gate stood in a recess below the archway. It blocked entry and was dented and scratched all over, as if hacked at by the claws of savage creatures or a dozen men wielding swords.

  Damen noticed Harl running his fingers down the rusted scratches.

  ‘We shelter inside when the hivers come in great swarms,’ Damen said, moving to a small metal box mounted at head height next to the gate.

  To Harl’s bewilderment, he pressed a button and spoke to it.

  ‘Gathering party, number fourteen. Damen,’ he said and stood waiting as if it was completely natural.

  To Harl and Sonora’s utter astonishment, a vibrating metallic voice blared back directly from the box.

  ‘You are welcome, Damen son of Terman,’ it replied. ‘You may enter and proceed directly to the Enlightened meeting chamber.’

  Before Harl could speak, a hissing noise issued from the gates and they swung open of their own accord. A gust of steam billowed out from behind the door.

  Damen saw Harl and Sonora staring in shock at the box.

  ‘It’s called a speaker,’ he said. ‘It links to other distant ones using a power called electricity and allows us to communicate. You’ll learn more in time, or we’ll be here until tomorrow with me trying to explain it.’

  Two guards ushered them into a rock-walled corridor. It was very rough near the entrance but became smoother the further in they went, eventually changing altogether. Metal panels took over, studs and rivets holding the panels in places. There were patches of rust in places, but it was obvious that they were well-maintained and only the years of use had tarnished them.

  Damen and Uman stayed in tow as the guards fell into step behind them. The corridor led straight ahead. There were no fire holders on the wall to light the way, so when the gates hissed and swung closed, Harl was surprised not to be engulfed by darkness. Instead, light beamed down from the ceiling at intervals where bright tubes as long as a man had been attached. They lined the way towards a junction at the far end of the metal sided corridor, and it took him some time to realise they reminded him of the light from the roof of the world back home, only in miniature. Had the humans made the same form of light as the Aylens who kept them in the tanks? If so, it proved once again that the gods were false.