Dystopyum (The D-ot Hexalogy Book 1)

by Chris Finkelstein

  “Hey mom, did you bring our guns?” Jan asked.

  Martha stopped what she was doing, and said, “I have them over there,” pointing her knife to a table on the other side of the cargo area. “They’re under that table.”

  Jan went over to see what they had, which was a shotgun, a rifle, and two pistols. “None of these will stop an ela,” he said.

  “An ela?” Martha responded. “Did you see an ela?”

  “Yeah,” said Jan, “It looks like it’s following us. I heard they can’t get into the boats.”

  “Would you bet your life on that?” Martha asked. Then she said, “We need a bigger weapon than those on this boat.”

  “Here, I got what you need!” Bill Standish, a long-time LERN member, had a state-of-the-art Mach3b automatic assault weapon. It was their biggest model, and carried bullets that weighed a quarter pound each. He could barely lift it.

  Jan walked over, and asked, “Can I hold it?”

  Bill said, “Sure. Actually, you can just have it. I don’t know how to use it, or even lift it. My brother-in-law is an NOV Hunter. He helped himself to whatever they could grab at the armory, and gave it to me for the trip.”

  Jan was amazed at this person’s generosity. Then he said, “I guess we are all family now,” grinning at Bill. He looked at Martha and asked, “Can I give him one of our guns?”

  Martha turned and looked at the weapon Jan was carrying, and said, “Of course, he can have any one he wants.

  Bill chose the shotgun.

  “Want to watch?” Jan asked as he turned to go back up on the deck.

  “No thanks, maybe next time,” Bill said. He had not been able to sleep yet, and was heading back to the bunks, which were located towards the rear of the boat within the big space they were now standing in.

  Jan went back up to where he had been fishing, but the ela was not there anymore. He sat down and studied the weapon. “This thing is marvelous!” he said to himself. “I can’t wait to use it.” He fired off some practice rounds, and it felt as if a contiss had kicked him in the shoulder. After a while, he went back inside and took a nap, having had restless sleep the night before.

  Later in the evening, Jan was out on the deck with Rebecca and Rachel. Martha was resting below. It was much quieter now, and the air had developed a light mildew smell. Clouds began to cover the sky, and it became very dark. They were talking about the baby.

  “I was thinking seriously about having an abortion,” said Rachel. “I still can, considering where we are. There is at least one doctor here.”

  “There is no good reason here to interrupt the flow of life,” Rebecca said, continuing, “If anything, the one inside you has all the reason in the world to be born into our new life!” She had become fond of Rachel, and with the turmoil of the last day or so, a bond had developed. They were becoming comrades. Rebecca knew Jan so well that she believed there was no way he could have an affair and be able to hide it. Besides, Rebecca was not actually interested in having a baby of her own right now. “We will be a family, and we’ll all help with the baby,” she said to Rachel.

  Jan was distracted, mesmerized by the dark hillside. “Do you see that?” he asked the girls, as he pointed into the night at a spot offshore. “See all of those shiny things? Those are eyes. We are going to eventually walk off of these boats and into that.”

  They tarried a bit longer on the upper deck. Others had gathered there as well, and they were all talking about the trip. After it had become very late, Jan, Rebecca and Rachel went downstairs to sleep for the night.

  The fleet of boats continued in the same way for three long, relatively quiet weeks. There was plenty of work to do for most of the travelers. Fishing, cleaning, cooking, eating, feeding the contisses, and more cleaning took up the days of most people.

  The only real concern regarding predators was that the elas were increasing in number in the river. Still, it held true that the elas could not raise their heads high enough to be able to come close to getting into the boats. The travelers did become more cautious, using the rowboats or lifeboats less often because of a couple of ela scares. The people were becoming weary of consuming fish, and the contisses were not eating as they should have. They would occasionally stop and hunt, but really could not spend the time, as they all wanted desperately to get to their destination, the Platac city further south.

  Three weeks had passed, and they were getting closer to their destination.

  Dr. Kalep and his supporters made a strong appeal to go on land now, as they would be getting close to the ocean within a week. They were becoming more concerned about the big ocean creatures that could swim up river and wreak havoc with the boats. The group could not afford to lose even one boatload of people and supplies.

  When word got to Jan’s boat, he thought about it, and then he heard the Guide say, “It would be better to stay on the river for the next three days.”

  When it appeared that no elas were nearby in the water, Jan got into a lifeboat, and rowed up to the command boat. This boat carried the leaders of LERN. On his way over, he was gratified to see how clear the river water had become. The stench of the NOV’s sewage and industrial dumping had dissipated over the past couple of weeks.

  When Jan boarded their boat, he found Ziba, Dr. Kalep, Winoni, and Jasma with her son, Asa, all on deck. They were all standing there outside, talking and planning. There were a number other people mulling about on the deck as well.

  Asa was a few years older than Jan was, and he stood lean and tall — nine feet and six inches to be exact. Asa was dressed in tight thin ela black leather with silver buttons and accessories. He liked to wear an unusual headdress that was a replica of ancient ones worn by the earliest Aletian kings. He thought it made him look knowledgeable and deep. It had long shiny strands of well-preserved thin pale yellow nerves that had been stripped from elas. The strands were tough, numbered in the hundreds, and the entire thing fitted his head snugly, with the strands falling down just past his shoulders.

  When Jan came walking up to them, Ziba said, “Jan, what a nice surprise! I believe you have already met Dr. Kalep.”

  Dr. Kalep studied Jan for a moment, just as he always did with people. “Hello, son, I’ve seen you at the meetings, and working around the boats here. Great job with the vaccine lab!” He looked at the others and said, “Do you see the innovation that freedom brings? They flew!” He smiled and extended his hand, which Jan shook.

  “Hello sir, thank you,” Jan replied. Still on task, Jan looked at Ziba and said, “I heard that we are going to depart for land today. I think it’s too soon.”

  Dr. Kalep looked shocked, and Ziba got nervous. She said, “Jan, dear, we have been debating this all night. Dr. Kalep and his advisors insist that this is the safest way.”

  Dr. Kalep, bristling at the contrary opinion, asked, “Are you an expert in these things? What makes you think that we should stay in the river, vulnerable to any creature big enough to tip us over for a snack?” He put his hand on his stomach. He had stomach problems, worse than most others with similar ailments. He had a stock of concentrated yama enzymes, which helped with his digestion, but he was going to run out eventually. The only two medical doctors here had not brought much in the way of enzymes, but they did have pharmaceuticals that could give relief. He preferred the enzymes, and they were expected to be easier to reproduce at their destination than the pharmaceuticals.

  Jan glanced at Ziba and Jasma with a look that said he knew something, but could not say it. They both appeared to understand that something was up, but said nothing.

  Jasma had been waiting to tell Jan something she felt was interesting and perhaps important. She had found the Platac scriptures that she mentioned to him earlier. In them was a definite reference to an important figure that had a “white crest”, and it said something about liquid gold. Like others, she felt that there was something quite special about Jan.

  Jasma spoke up. When Jasma talked, people had to listen
. She had funded over half of the supplies for the escape, and she had many loyal friends. “Perhaps we should wait an extra day,” she offered.

  “This has already been settled!” countered Dr. Kalep. “We’ve been over this again and again. It’s settled! We are deboarding this afternoon, once we reach the bend in the river.”

  Jasma said, “You don’t understand, Dr. Kalep, we have reason to believe that Jan has certain — gifts.”

  Now Jasma’s son chimed in. Asa was unsure of this Jan character right from the start. Now his mother was calling Jan “gifted”. Asa did not like that at all. He walked up to Jan and said, “You’re nobody! You don’t belong here. Go back to your boat with the little people.”

  Jasma was shocked at her son’s behavior, and barked, “Asa!”

  Asa just returned a snide look to his mother, then gave Jan a sneer, and backed off. He was not interested in LERN, however he had no choice but to follow his mother into this blunder, as he called it. He certainly wanted no part of the workload.

  Jasma said to Jan, “I believe it has already been settled, Jan. These people do know what they are doing, and their best advice is to get off of the river before a tragedy befalls us.” She paused, wanting to change the tone, and attempted to help Jan mix with the others. “Here, let me introduce you to Commissioner Cush and his wife, Ushu,” Jasma offered. Asa left the group and went on his way.

  Commissioner Cush was not a LERN member, but his wife Ushu was. The only reason Cush was here was because his other wife was as treacherous as an ela, and was extorting him because of bribes she discovered Cush had regularly been receiving for legislative favors.

  He had been eavesdropping in on his LERN wife Ushu’s phone calls, and found out about the escape. Cush kept it to himself until the night of the escape. He had a hoard of gold coins that he brought to the wildlands, knowing it would be useful eventually. He could not imagine Ushu abandoning him, leaving him alone with the shrew wife. He blocked Ushu from leaving when the call of the escape came, which he had also intercepted. Cush confronted her with his knowledge of the LERN escape, and insisted that she take him with her. Now, here he was — another nonLERN stowaway.

  Cush was not very friendly to Jan. When he asked Jan about his background, he discovered that Jan’s father, Griswolt, was someone he had seen a number of times, as Cush had oversight of Griswolt’s superiors. Cush appeared to dismiss Jan as lower class, and went on over to another group there on board to continue his own planning.

  When Jasma and Jan had a private moment, she whispered, “Jan, dear, I want to show you something I found last night. Follow me,” and she led him down the stairs below the upper deck. Jan followed as Jasma went to her private room, and when they got there, she caught Asa getting into her hard alcohol. “Asa! Get up on board, now!” she demanded.

  Asa scowled, and angrily stared at Jan, demanding, “What’s he doing here?”

  Jan was staring right back asking himself the same thing about this bilgat freak with the weird hat and shit attitude.

  “Well, it is really none of your business, but we have studies to go over,” replied Jasma.

  The last thing Asa wanted to do was be around love-lovers talking their nonsense. He left and went back up on the upper deck.

  Jasma poured herself a drink, and asked Jan if he would like one. Jan declined, as it was early in the day. Jasma retrieved some papers from her beautifully sculpted cream-colored gendra bone desk. Her posture changed, and she was now behaving very secretively and her voice turned to a whisper — simply out of habit.

  “Here, I found this Platac scripture,” she said, and handed it to Jan. Jasma elaborated, “My great grandfather was able collect these from the confiscated homes of Platacs purged from the NOV a hundred years ago. It may be my imagination, but it reminds me of your crest, and of what Ziba said about you.”

  The page of metallic paper was very small, just about eight inches long and four inches wide. The sentences were incomplete as the left side was torn off, but the words there read:

  “…will be known by the sign

  …molten gold running down like

  …his spotless white crest. He will bring back the

  …and the white dragons. He will follow a guide, he

  …and we will be reborn, free, for a generation.

  …will come. All souls will sleep

  ...this world, to stir our sleeping souls, in preparation for…”

  Jan was puzzled. “And you think this applies to me?” he asked Jasma incredulously. “It doesn’t make any sense,” Jan said as he, by habit, copied the words down on another piece of blank paper lying there on the desk.

  “I don’t know, but I can spot a D’otian with destiny written on him, and I must say I see it in you my dear,” Jasma said as she once again reached up and stroked Jan’s crest, letting her fingers run along the outlines of the irregular vertical yellow streaks. Her eyes fell on his, and Jan saw the same hungry look he had learned to recognize. Her hand ran to his big shoulders, and then lightly down his arm. “You know,” she said, purring like an emui, “I can help you out here. I can help find the perfect place for you.”

  Oh, no, not you too, Jan thought. He wisely and gently took her hand, holding it, and answered, “Thank you, Jasma. I don’t know about all of this, but I think I have some similar writings of my mother’s that I want to compare to what you’ve given me.”

  His statement brought the conversation back to the intellectual side of Jasma. The amazing possibilities did indeed intrigue her. After a bit more conversation, Jan eventually departed. His mission to convince them to continue on the river for a few more days had failed. He went back to his boat, and told those there to get ready to depart the boat soon.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Land Ho!

  I

  t was about mid-day, and those in the lead boats had all the others stop. They had found an ideal place to deboard the boats, and start traveling by land, south-southwest. The river continued directly south.

  “This should not happen,” the Guide said. “You will begin to lose people to the wild animals tonight.”

  Jan just sighed, “They wouldn’t listen to me,” he said.

  “Now you know how I feel,” said the Guide.

  Jan had asked Martha for her original Platac scriptures. The reason Martha had them at all was because her great-great grandmother’s husband was a Platac, and writings had been handed down through the generations. Martha’s great grandmother and child should have been executed by the NOV along with all the Aletian half-breeds at the time the one-hundred-year poison was released, but she looked very Aletian, and was able to survive because of that. Some of her fellow siblings were not so lucky, and had been rounded up in horrible ways, executed, and discarded as cheaply as possible. When the numbers became overwhelming, the Aletians simply dumped them alive, into spent quarries and then buried them, thousands at a time. Some of the captors had started digging them up shortly afterwards to use their skin for lampshades and such, but apparently, there was a limit to what some Aletians could accept, and the practice ceased. What scriptures Jasma held was from one of the unfortunate ones.

  Jan was thumbing through his mother’s old pages. They were well preserved because they were made of very thin agrist paper, which lasted almost forever, as long as it was not torn or otherwise abused. Martha’s collection had expanded, and there was a lot to go over, then he found a similarly worded scrap of paper that looked interesting —

  “of the White Dragon. His crown will be of…

  thin rivulets, with no other markings on…

  laws of old and the green animals…

  will hear God’s Teacher…

  Then the end of all who walk this world…

  for ten thousand years. The White Dragon will again return to…

  the end of D’ot, Judgment Day.”

  Jan could not understand it, but it did look similar to Jasma’s piece of scripture. He held his handwrit
ten copy to the right, and then the left of his mother’s torn paper, side by side. His face fell with astonishment. The words seemed to make a little more sense now —

  “…will be known by the sign of the White Dragon. His crown will be of …molten gold running down like thin rivulets, with no other markings on… his spotless white crest. He will bring back the laws of old, the green animals… and the white dragons. He will follow a guide, a servant of God…and we will be reborn, free, for a generation.

  Then the end of all who walk this world…will come. All souls will sleep, bound to D’ot for ten thousand years. The White Dragon will again return to… this world, to stir our sleeping souls, in preparation for …the end of D’ot, Judgment Day.”

  “I still don’t understand anything about this! It’s all just a bunch of symbols, and I’ve seen a lot of that in other writings. It’s all gibberish!” Jan complained to himself, frustrated.

  With sudden motivation, he put his mother’s scrap of scripture in his pocket. “I’ve got to show this to Jasma,” he said to himself. He wanted to catch Jasma before she had her belongings moved from her boat. Jan found himself rowing the lifeboat back over to Jasma’s boat. He got there, and she was on the upper deck, coordinating plans with Dr. Kalep and others as usual. It was so nice to be out in the open, in the sun, without fear.

  “Jasma, I found something!” Jan exclaimed, as he walked hurriedly up to the small group.

  Dr. Kalep did not look happy to see the young upstart who had countered him earlier. Jasma, on the other hand, had all the time in the world for Jan. “What did you find?” she asked, curious and surprised at Jan’s unusually excited demeanor.

  “I found this,” Jan said, and he pulled out his mother’s scripture, along side of his copy of Jasma’s parchment.