The Event Series (Book 3): The Archive and Beyond

by Thomas Larson

  March 27th

  (Tom) We are still good with the farm, a little water intrusion onto the crop fields, and actually that is a good thing because it will renew the soil, or so says Lincoln. The levee has not been tested yet, so that is good.

  Wait and watch, that is all we can do.

  I felt the baby move.

  March 30th

  (Tom) There must have been something up north that was holding back the water, just when we figure it was over and the water levels had dropped almost back to normal there was the wave, it was a wall of water about 15 feet high that hit the Oxbow. It was clogged with logs and parts of houses and even some small cars. We think it came through in the early morning. Margo and Cody saw the devastation and changes to the river and surrounding area when they went out for their morning check at the lookout. They raced back to the Archive and we started toward the farm.

  Lincoln and Teckla were trapped we couldn’t get to them in time to get them out of the farm area. We could not even get close enough to see the farm; the Oxbow was hopefully an island now. But I did not have a good feeling.

  One of the interesting things about floods is that they can dissipate rather quickly. Within about 12 hours of the initial onslaught, in this case, the water level was dropping. By 4 in the afternoon it was down enough so we could make our way onto the Oxbow by crossing a small shallow part of the river and get to the farm.

  They made it, the levee held, for the most part. They took a little water, about a foot deep in the enclosure, but the wall of water broke on the levee and if anything, with some of the material that it dropped, added to the strength of our barrier dam.

  I think that was it, that was nature shooting its flood load at them and they survived.

  On a side note, there were 3 bodies that washed up on the levee. There are still people out there. We have no idea where they were from, or what kind of a community or group they were with. Because the bodies were pinned in the rubble, they turned, so that showed that they were fresh kills. McManus pointed out their clothing, they were military.

  April 2nd

  We are all on a little bit of an alert, the floaters, the military floaters, were they from Fort Knox, on a mission to get us? Or maybe just some random people in military garb, we have a few of us that wear it. And if they were here to get us, are there more to the group?

  The Major and I talked about it. The thought is that it is just a random thing. Maybe a few stragglers from somewhere near the river and they could have been from way up north. His feeling is that if there was going to be an attack on us by General De Soto and his people it would come from the south. Also, the De Soto people would have had the cure and not changed.

  I talked to Margo and Delany about it. They are going to do some scouting.

  Lance, Sgt. Brown and Fred are all down helping Lincoln and Teckla get things back in order at the farm. Sgt. Gilbert is back to operational after the wreck, and he and Taylor will be heading back down there today to help out and move back in.

  I found Molly sitting with Lucy today, looking west. She was just staring and did not notice me as I walked up. I sat down next to Lucy, she looked at me.

  ”I know Lucy, she is a seer, I don’t know how, or why, but she sees things, senses things,” I said, scratching Lucy’s ear.

  Lucy just looked at me.

  “Hi Tom!” Molly said in that kind of high pitched voice of hers.

  “Hi Molly, what are you doing?”

  “Just sitting, watching, listening?” she replied.

  “To what? Or for what?” I asked.

  “Nothing, nothing right now, but sometimes there is a woman, out there, that way, that talks to me,” she said, pointing west.

  “Oh, and what does she say to you?”

  “Mostly that it will be okay, that things are good, and be happy.” She replied.

  “A woman?”

  “Yes, an old woman, with a cat, and a white sweater.”

  “Oh.”

  “Come on, let’s play ball with Lucy,” she popped up; the trance and the moment were gone.

  April 10th

  Not much to write, we are going to start getting a little garden set-up on the top of the Archive, it will be for small crops like tomatoes and peppers. Lincoln and Teckla are planning out the fields for the area of the Farm at the Oxbow. That will be more corn, beans, cabbages and squash.

  Asuna had some tummy stuff this morning, from the baby.

  Although we brush and floss regularly, I had a filling fall out. For now it isn’t too bad because of an old root canal, but I will have to see Doc Barkley, maybe he can fill it again, or it will have to come out.

  April 17th

  It has taken a couple of days to wrap my head around this. I am dying. I have a cancer, from what the Doc says it is a very aggressive one and there is nothing he can do about it. Even in the old days with all of the medical stuff of the day I would have at most a few months to live. How could just a little tiny white tumor in the mouth be so bad. He called it melanoma, which I always thought was skin cancer from sun exposure but this is on the roof of my mouth.

  I have sworn him to secrecy, and I have yet to tell Asuna. I also have to tell Margo. This is not going to be easy. I am going to hold off for a little bit.

  Part of me wants to just keep quiet about it and do the best I can until the pain is really bad, then just wander off into the sunset.

  May 1st

  I need to hold on for another couple of months to see my child, Asuna and the Doc are thinking early to mid-July. I must hang on. The pain is not bad, an occasional twinge, but not too bad.

  “Have you told her yet?” asked Doc Barkley, but he knew the answer.

  “No, I want to, but so far everything is still pretty normal, and until I start showing signs I think it would be better to keep it quiet.” I replied.

  He was giving me an exam, we did it every couple of weeks on the down low, just to try to keep track.

  “What do you think caused it?” I asked.

  “It could be anything, too much sun, you were a smoker years ago, radiation or even when you and Asuna were in space.” He answered.

  Until that moment I had not thought about the idea that Asuna might also be faced with a similar exposure if it was from when we were on the Sky Crystal.

  “Doc, I, you check Asuna a lot, because of the baby, right?”

  “Yes, and I have seen no symptoms in her.”

  I felt better.

  May 5th

  After talking to the Doctor the other day I spent some time thinking and realized that I had to tell her, I had to lay it out there. If our roles were reversed I would want to know.

  After dinner tonight was a hard time.

  “Asuna, sit down, I have to tell you something.” I began. I saw tears well up in her eyes.

  “ You’re leaving me because I am fat and disgusting.” She sobbed.

  “What? No, that is not it. You are beautiful, and I love you more than anything.” I replied, this went off track quickly.

  She stared at me, I loved that face, and I am going to so miss it.

  “Asuna, I, we, shit……..I’m dying.”

  Silence as it sank in.

  “Tom? What do you mean?”

  “I, I have cancer, it is killing me!”

  So much for the sugar coating and soft approach.

  Then, it was tears, for us both, the sobs filed with ‘its not fair’, ‘how long’ and all of the rest. One never really thinks about your own death very much until it is staring you in the face.

  We talked about how much time I had, and what to expect. I told her the best I could from what Doc had told me. I may have stretched some of it, the amount of time and what it would be like in the end, but I was mostly truthful, optimistically truthful.

  May 6th

  Asuna and I relived it all again today when I sat down with Margo. The hurt in her face, the sadness, it was tough. I know that Cody will help Margo, and be with her,
and get her through this. But it was still brutally painful.

  I am not sure what will happen with Asuna, I can only hope the baby will help. I wish I could be there to help, to watch him grow up, for me to be there for Asuna and the baby as I was for Anne and Margo so many years ago.

  It goes back to something that I had thought about before, many times before, is it better to die quickly, suddenly or have time to think about it and gently embrace it. I don’t know, it is a topic I will consider for a while, hopefully a long while, but I don’t think it is meant to be that long.

  May 15th

  Well, everyone knows, and they are actually being pretty good about it now. I am not being asked constantly “How are you doing?” “I am dying, how the heck do you think I am doing?” would be the answer that I would likely want to give, perhaps a little more colorfully. But actually, I have come to a sense of peace on the whole thing. We all die; I just hope it is not too painful for me. I know it is going to be painful in a different way for Asuna and Margo. But at least their pain will ease with time, and then when you think about it, really, so will mine.

  June 1st

  So far, so good, it is getting closer to time for Asuna to have the baby, I am feeling good and I am thinking I will make it. I have not ‘progressed’ as quickly as the Doc thought I would. That is great news. Too bad the QUalz are not close by, I bet they would be able to help me.

  I spent the afternoon working in the veggie garden, hoeing and weeding. I am not going to just sit around feeling sorry for myself. I have time, and time is precious. I just thought back to an old country song, not that I was ever a big country western fan, but the one by Tim McGraw hit home, ‘Live like you were dying’. It is what I must do.

  Asuna and I sat by the fire tonight with the rest of the clan, it was a beautiful night, warm, and we all just enjoyed the moment together. Lucy sat next to me on the other side. I sense that even she knows what is going on.

  June 10th

  Gratitude, it is something that you learn, but never more than when you wake up in the morning knowing that you have only a small number of them left. I have no idea how many, could be 10, could be 100, but you appreciate them more, you make them sweeter.

  I was laying out near the garden. I looked at the sky, soaking it in. How long has it been since I just looked at the clouds, the shapes, a dragon, a frog, and a just puffy cloud. As I lay there, Lucy came over and lay down next to me putting her head on my stomach. Molly is important to her, and she protects her, but today I think she decided that I needed my spirit animal more.

  I dozed off and sadly scared the heck out of Asuna who came to find me for lunch. I think when she saw me sleeping she thought the worse.

  I talked her into joining me looking at the clouds for a bit. It was hard for her to get down but she did. We cried.

  June 28th

  It is hard to write every day, about the same stuff, to rub my nose in what is happening. I am grateful for where I am and have come to the realization that my life has been good. I have only one last task that is on my to-do list, bucket list, and that is to see the birth of our child.

  We have picked out names for him, well, if it is a boy it will be Thomas Akira after me and Asuna’s father. If it is a girl, Asuna Akiri. The Akira/Akiri translate to brightness because it will have brightened both our lives, and hopefully stand as a beacon of light for the future.

  July 1st

  I am at a loss; I have seen the most wonderful thing, ever, the birth of my daughter. She is a mushy, funny looking thing, all babies are, but there is a beauty to her, Asuna Akiri. It was a long labor, and now, it looks like we have a least a little chance of moving on and keeping humanity alive.

  The fact that she was conceived and born normal has lifted the spirits of the clan.

  I so badly want to see her grow up.

  July 9th

  I fell asleep in the chair out by the fire pit this afternoon, I find that my energy levels are not what they once were. I tire easily, and am getting a little forgetful.

  Molly woke me up; she and Lucy were standing there next to me.

  “Tom, don’t be sad,” she said

  “Molly, I am not really sad, I am tired, and see where my future goes.”

  “But not all of it, there is some you don’t know.”

  “The woman in the white sweater?”

  “Yes, she tells me, Akiri is important, and in the end, you will be back, with the others.”

  Then she popped back to that high pitched voice, “Tom, can you play with me, and Lucy, please?”

  It was hard but I got up and threw the ball and ran a little.

  We did fire pit tonight, Asuna, Akiri and I. Jan thinks she might be pregnant. Life goes on.

  August 4th

  It has been a year since we returned to the clan, so much has happened. So much has changed. Margo and Cody are doing a great job with Augustus; he is just over a year old. Akiri is doing well, looking less mushy all the time. She looks like her mother.

  My energy levels are going down, I am tired, my joints hurt, not really bad, but it is not getting better. I talked to Doc Barkley today, he was not surprised by the changes, he expected them sooner.

  “How long Doc?” I asked.

  “Do you really want to know?”

  “No, not really, but well, when it gets really bad, can you…..”

  “Yeah, I will my friend.”

  August 12th

  My energy levels have been down, but today I feel pretty good. Akiri is not feeling well and Asuna is doing for her. I think that it is a great day for a little walk. I am going to head out to the Lookout, I want to see the valley. I will be back by the afternoon.

  First Son Note: this was the final entry of Tom’s hand written journal. It appears that he did not return from the walk. In a few scraps of papers that were partially consumed by insects it appears that he fell to his end at the Lookout. It was speculated that he may have fallen in exhaustion, or he may have intentionally jumped. It is not known. In looking at Test Subject #1’s remains it was clear that he was badly broken from the fall.

  To back up in time just a little, we, and I am going to call us a ‘Clan’ as it seems to be the term that TS #1 used to refer to his collective / hive, have been on this planet for 107 days, in that time we have found what was referred to by Father as Test Subject #1 and Test Subject #2. We have also found the remains of 15 other individuals of assorted sex, age and color. Besides the Test Subjects, the most interesting was one that appeared to be called Augustus. He was a male, with an estimated age of 50 years. He was the only one of the group who was not placed in one of the refrigerated drawers in a room marked ‘Morgue’.

  It is our guess, our belief that he was the one who put the individuals, or at least some of the individuals into those drawers. He was sitting in a chair in an area adjacent to the ‘Morgue’ which was called an Infirmary. This appeared to be a medical treatment room of some type, although it was by our standards very primitive and could explain the deaths of many of those in the ‘Morgue’.

  In his lap, Augustus had had a metal box, 30 x 38 centimeters. It was encased in plastic, a thin film like material with some type of sealing strip on one side. It has resulted in the papers that were inside the metal box to be undamaged by moisture or by consumption by some unknown life form. Lance, our Lance believes that the eaten papers were part of the diet of creatures called ‘cockroaches’.

  The pages were hand written and detailed the existence and going to sleep of many of the members of the group. In some cases the exit to sleep was peaceful, in others painful, and a few violent. The notes themselves seem to have been started about 10 years prior to the death of this Augustus person. There are long gaps in the writings, lunar cycle (months?) and in two cases a gap of a full solar cycle. There is record of the progression, or better, decline of the community over the final years.

  In the end, the final few pages, he speaks of his being alone, lonely and eventu
ally despondent. He appeared to decline at the greatest pace after one called Akiri went to sleep.

  The Medical Officer of our group has determined that Augustus ended his own existence by means of a single projectile wound to his cranial area. But I will go into no more detail and allow the record he created speak for itself.

  We sorted through the papers and scraps that were left in a pile by Augustus. Much of it had been damaged by time, moisture and gnawing. There were a number of sketches that appear to have been created by Margo. They were varied from images of individuals named as Cody, Delaney, Lance and others. It is remarkable how much many of these sketches appear to be very similar to some of us. First Daughter and I are very much intrigued by the images of Tom and Asuna, Test Subject #1 and #2. They were older, yet there is something in their eyes, and it is haunting.

  But in addition to the images of individuals there are diagrams of creatures, insects, small animals and I am guessing that two of them are of Lucy and Elizabeth, large, beautiful, graceful creatures.

  (Augustus) March 17th, 2056

  It has been a long haul for us. As our numbers dwindle, I find that I am compelled to record the events of what has happened to our group. I have been able to review some of the earlier records, Tom’s Journal and some of the written documents and notes left by others.

  I was born before the Aurora, or so I was told. My early years were told to me by my mother, Margo. She was actually not my mother, but she adopted me when my mother died. I was never really told how she died, but then, I was only in my first year when it happened, so I never knew her. Margo was all I had back then and for many years. Cody, her mate was my father; again, my real father had died from a sickness that hit the Archive. That is what we call this place, the Archive. I visit my real parents sometimes; they are in the other room. I did not know it until I was told in my 20s that my mother, my real mother, Heather, had committed suicide. She had become despondent at the loss of my Dad, Steven, and left this world behind.