by Louise Moss
Gerald had been not requested a planning meeting, neither had he or any of the Primitives shown a desire to communicate with him.
The Primitives forgot about Hagan. They spent their days attending to the animals and the plants. In the evenings, they met in one of the houses. Pete had made a set of wooden Scrabble tiles which they sometimes played. Other times, Richard would lead the singing in his fine baritone voice.
One day Emma, Christine and June sat by the lake with Emma’s Aurora and Christine’s Shapsu. It had been Emma’s dream, in the days before they lived outside, to have a picnic one day beneath an Umbu tree whose branches spread out above the mass of roots that grew above the surface, providing shade. She had studied the Argentine Pampas at school had thought often of lying beneath the tree with a dark-skinned gaucho … The Umbu tree they had planted was growing well, but it was not yet big enough to sit under.
Leaving Aurora with Christine she wandered over to where the wild garlic grew near the vault to collect a few leaves. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a bundle against the wall. It looked neither like a human or an animal. What animal could it be anyway? The only animals they had taken from the vault were cows and goats. The bundle was too small for a cow and too big for a goat.
The rag covering slipped, revealing a sight worse than anything she’d ever seen. Hagan and Zorina had been bad, but this was hideous: a thin, haggard face with bulging eyes, pointed chin and claw-like bony fingers. It was the witch of her nightmares when she was young.
She hurried back to the lake to report what she had seen. Gathering up the children, they hurried in the direction of the farm to find the others.
Emma was afraid. Something was changing.
The signal was weak but Hagan had heard the woman calling to him when she was still some distance away. Disorientated by hunger and thirst, she had made for the vault instead of the dome. He waited until the Primitive had gone before he appeared before her.
“Come, I will help you,” he said, slipping his hands beneath her arms and gently helping her to stand.
Once they were inside the dome, he sealed the door and laid her on the bed. She was very weak, but was able to take a little food and water.
“You are safe here,” he said, sending out waves of strength. “I am so pleased to see you. I thought all my people were dead.”
“My name is Helkos. There are only a few of us left, living in the mountains. The food supply has nearly gone, so they sent me to find help.”
“How far away are they? We have much food here.”
“I saw plants growing that I have never seen before and a strange creature carrying something. She was tall, her body stood straight, and her face was symmetrical. She is not like us.”
“I will explain later, but we must leave soon. One of the creatures who live outside saw you and has gone to tell the others. It is not safe for you to stay.”
“Can you help us?”
“Yes. What do you need? We have everything here.”
“We need food. That is most urgent. I do not know if my people are still alive.”
“You have water?”
“Yes, enough water.”
“How long have you been walking?”
“Two periods of darkness.”
“I will gather all that we need while you rest here.”
Hagan called up a transport pod and trailer and went in search of supplies to take with them. The hydroponic halls were looking a little bare, as he had transferred most of the crops into the open where they would thrive better. He took some large sheets from the storerooms and filled them with beans, tomatoes, chicory, cucumbers, peppers and carrots and two large loaves of bread and dragged it to the entrance of the vault.
Focussing his mind on the humans, he located them searching the woods and gardens, and heard Gerald say, “I must go and talk to Hagan.”
Helkos was sitting up, looking a little better. “We must hurry. They are searching for you.”
Once she was inside and the plastic sheets were loaded onto the trailer, they moved away at speed, on a course that led behind the vault where they would not be seen.
“What would they do if they found me?” Helkos asked.
“I cannot be sure, but they can be dangerous and violent at times.”
The pathway of Helkos’ thoughts as she had roamed, searching for signs of life, was faint, but it was all that was needed to track the scent and follow it back to where she had come from.
Back at the dome, the Primitives discovered a pile of leaves outside the door to the vault.
“It looks as if Hagan has removed some of the plants from the vault,” Gerald said. “I don’t understand. Why would he do that?”
“It must have something to do with that creature,” Emma said.
“What exactly was she like?”
“I didn’t see much of her.”
“Try to remember,” Christine said. “It’s very important. What was she wearing?”
“Just a pile of rags. She reminded me of Zorina when we first saw her. Ugh, do you remember that awful smell?” Gerald nodded. “It was like that, only worse.”
“Did you see the face?”
“Only a little. It was covered in warts; horrible it was. She looked like a witch.”
“Hagan thought everyone was dead, but perhaps they weren’t. Perhaps a few people survived after all, and one of them has made their way here,” Gerald said.
Emma shivered. “Does that mean…?”
“We walked for fifteen or twenty miles that day,” and we didn’t see anybody,” Michael said. “If there is anyone surviving out there, they will be a long way away.”
“They can’t have gone far, especially if the creature could barely walk.”
“What about that pod thing?” Pete said. “He could have fixed up a trailer, loaded up the food, and be a long off by now.”
“You could be right,” Gerald said. “In fact, that seems the most likely explanation. But where would he go? The creature could have stayed here with him.”
“Do you know if there are any other people alive, apart from your group?” Hagan asked.
“I have heard rumours, but have seen no one else. What about you?” Helkos said.
“There is a town a little way from the clinic, but nobody survived the virus. I have found no other survivors and believed everyone was dead.”
“Who was the creature that I saw?”
“They are Primitives, Earth people, from two thousand years ago who do not possess the functions passed on to us by our Kudlu Ancestors. They connect only through speaking, a process that is very slow.” As they travelled towards Helkos’ home, Hagan explained the Leaders’ Plan and all that had happened to him at the clinic
“It must have been difficult to live amongst them,” Helkos said.
“Yes, it was.”
“You look a little like them. You stand straighter and your skin is smooth.”
“It is because I eat the new foods. You will be like this one day.”
“I hope so. I would like that.”
They had arrived in the mountainous regions, where cliffs of rock blocked out the sky and the wind blew the bare mounds of earth, shifting and shaping them. The pod slid along a valley where the river, reduced to a narrow trickle, flowed down towards the sea. Up ahead was a small dome where a handful of people waited at the entrance. Hagan had arrived just in time: their life energy was draining away fast.
The pod slid into the dome and came to a standstill by a fountain. Moving quickly, Hagan helped Helkos out of the pod and unloaded the food. The group ate ravenously.
When they had eaten their fill, they reached out to Hagan, welcoming him, drawing him into the circle. He sent out red waves to wash over them and restore their energy fields.
When they fell asleep, Hagan took the pod and explored the surrounding area.
On one side, the craggy mountain range stretched up, impenetrable; on the other, low hills were strewn
with rocks and boulders. Hagan set a course to where he thought he had seen another dome, and came across the former food factory and warehouse. Helkos and her family had managed to survive on the reserves of food stored here, but now the place was empty.
The complex was the size of a small town and the buildings towered many times higher than the clinic. He could live here and house the hydroponic system here until he had treated the soil and it was ready to be planted.
Returning to Helkos, he explained that he had to go back but would return with the means to grow their own food.
***
The Primitives had been searching for Hagan and the unknown visitor for over an hour but could find no sign of them. “Let’s go back and have dinner,” Pete said. “I’m starving!”
“I don’t know why you’re bothering to look for him,” Michael. “I’m glad he’s gone. It couldn’t have come soon enough for me.”
Emma put a large bowl of mushrooms—which they’d finally managed to grow after a few false starts—onions and lentils on the table, along with a fresh green salad, potatoes and bread. Susan had tried to make butter several times, but had had no success because, she said, the milk wasn’t creamy enough.
June picked at her food pensively. There was something at the back of her mind that made her wonder whether it was her fault Hagan had taken off so quickly, but she couldn’t remember anything that would have caused it.
Emma was just reaching out for another potato when Pete cried, “There he is. Didn’t I tell you.”
June jumped up as he entered the dining room, almost colliding with Emma in her haste. Hagan looked as if he was about to turn and run. Pete shot over to June and pulled her back, saying, “Don’t hassle the man. Come and sit down.”
“Would you like something to eat?” Gerald asked. Hagan shook his head. He could think of nothing worse than eating with these Primitives. He kept his distance as the others fired questions at him until Gerald held up his hand.
“No questions,” he said. “Let Hagan tell us what he wants to say in his own way and his own time.” The room fell silent, and Emma gently placed bowls blackberries, blueberries and grapes on the table, trying not to make a noise.
Hagan began, “The person you saw was Helkos, one of my own people.”
“I didn’t think—” Susan began, but Gerald hushed her.
“She came from the mountainous area where a small group survives, but their food supplies have ceased. Helkos came to find help.”
He paused but nobody spoke.
“I went back with food from the vault. When I arrived, the people were near to death. I have come to tell you that I will be returning to that place to live with my own people.”
“Of course, we will do all we can,” Gerald said.
Michael and Susan were whispering together as June said in a strained voice, “I thought everyone was dead.”
“Yes, I too.”
“Susan and I have been talking lately about moving on,” Michael said. “We’ve always wanted to leave as soon as we could.”
“Yes, you told us on that first day,” said Gerald.
“I thought you were settled now,” Emma said.
“I’m never going to settle for this. I want to be my own boss with a farm like we had in Wales.”
“What are you suggesting?” Gerald asked.
“We’ll go with him. We have all the expertise they need. These people can work the land in exchange for food. Provided they work hard, nobody need go hungry. It’s a generous offer under the circumstances.”
Hagan had not foreseen this. He should have known the Primitive would try to gain control of the food supplies in this way.
Whether it was body language, telepathy, or something else, it didn’t matter. Gerald knew why Hagan was silent.
“You’re making it sound as if food is a weapon, a means of taking control,” he said.
“Michael meant it could be a cooperative, not a food bank with us in charge of who gets what,” Susan said.
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying,” said Michael. “Hagan, you could represent your people if you wanted. We’d meet up like we do here and plan things.” Nobody looked convinced.
Hagan saw that he had made an error by allowing these Primitives to make many of their own decisions. He had failed to control them and had lost touch with the Leaders’ vision. It was time to put that right. “The Leaders entrusted the plan to me. Only I may make decisions.”
Emma blinked nervously and Susan looked anxious.
“If we don’t help you, your people will die,” Michael said carelessly.
Hagan stood up as the others all started talking at once and went outside to connect with Helkos. He heard her voice clearly among his thoughts. Helkos! Is everything all right there?
Yes, the people are much stronger, but you are troubled.
The Leaders entrusted the work of restoring the planet to me. If I leave the Primitives alone, they will take control and destroy those who do not do as they wish. I have made too many mistakes; I have allowed the Primitives too much power. That was never the intention of the Leaders.
Hagan laid out everything in his mind for Helkos. wrapping her thoughts in his until, with the help of the rest of the group, they found a solution together. I will tell the Primitives.
We will be there with you.
Hagan returned to the dining room where Gerald was saying, “What would you need to get started?”
“No animals yet, but plants and equipment,” Michael said.
Silence filled the room as Hagan sat down a little distance away.
“My people and I have decided,” he said.
“You’ve spoken to them?” June asked. Hagan nodded. Pete seemed about to ask him how, but had second thoughts.
“Michael and Susan, you will leave the dome. You will be allowed to set up a farm near the town. Any spare food will be collected and stored for distribution to those that need it, if they can be found.”
“You can’t tell us what to do,” Michael said. “Besides, Susan’s pregnant. She can’t leave here.”
This was news to the rest of the group and they wondered how true it was. Hagan examined a scan of Susan’s brain; tissue shrinkage confirmed it. He cared nothing for this Primitive’s child, but he had a duty to protect it.
Hagan’s people were waiting. They desired only peace and harmony, but this Primitive needed to be stopped.
The group watched in horror as Michael was lifted from his chair by invisible hands, hovered for a moment in mid air and fell to the floor where he lay, his body crumpled. They sat stunned for a moment before rushing to his aid; all except Gerald, who stared at Hagan’s eyes, glowing in a way he had seen only once before in another. Baestel.
“Please stop,” Gerald said, but already Michael was standing up, shaken but otherwise unhurt.
“We did not wish to hurt you, but we will not allow a Primitive to control our land or tell us what to do,” Hagan said.
“What on earth happened there?” asked Pete. “Is the man ill?”
Gerald spoke. “You’ve just seen a small demonstration of what Hagan and his people can do if they choose. I have learned a little of their powers, enough to know that we can’t begin to understand. If they wished, Hagan’s people could destroy us. But they have never sought power, their only desire is to work together for the good of all. I have never seen Hagan angry before.” Emma nodded. “He has been very tolerant of us. We’ve acted like we always did in the past, grabbing land from the people it belonged to and calling it ours. We’ve acted as arrogantly as we did then, expecting Hagan to fit in with our ways. We thought we knew everything, but we know nothing. Look what we did to the earth. We’re not the guardians of the planets, we’re the destroyers.”
The room fell silent. Susan hung her head, sobbing quietly. Eventually Pete asked, “What started him off? Michael was just trying to sort out a plan for helping those starving people.”
“I think it was whe
n he said that he would let them have as much food as they needed, as if it belonged to him,” Gerald said.
“It’s only a way of speaking,” Susan said. “Michael didn’t mean anything by it. I can’t go to a strange place. How can I have my baby by myself?”
“You may stay here until the child is born, then you will join Michael.”
The Primitive would not be alive by then. Nothing grew outside the small area that the Primitives had managed to farm and to his knowledge, there was no drinkable water in the town. He believed that the water source that supplied the town had long since silted up.
“To continue, the group of survivors will live with me in the dome.” Hagan said.
“They’re going to come here?”
“What about the plans for the farm?” Richard asked.
“You will continue to farm the land under my instruction.”
“But you don’t have the experience,” Richard said.
“All the information in your memory banks has been stored in the system.”
“What do you mean?”
He means,” Gerald said, “that everything we know, he knows.”
“What?”
“But how?”
“What are you talking about?”
The noise was deafening.
“When did this happen?”
Emma hung her head and sobbed. The nightmare was starting again.
“Silence!” Hagan cried, and it seemed in that one word that he had the power and strength of several men. “You are needed to breed only.”
Emma rocked backwards and forwards, sobbing “No! No!” Gerald held her tightly. He was the only one who could contain the situation quickly, before it got out of hand. He spoke quietly, intensely. “These people have technology that we cannot understand, but I know Hagan speaks the truth when he says our memories are stored in a system somewhere. I also know that his people are peaceful. We have driven them to take desperate measures. We are the intruders here. We were too busy feeling superior to these people to understand them. We have behaved badly. In reality, we are refugees from another country.”
“It’s like that racial hatred they had in our time,” Pete said.