May 25th, Cycle 1
Weekly Status Report of First Son: We are doing well, the climatic conditions are perfect. The area is green and lush with vegetation. The members of the Clan are becoming almost reckless in their activities while enjoying the warmth of the daily solar shine. We, of course, are careful to apply anti-radiation gel to prevent harm or damage by the solar rays.
During the week we have seen more and more of the eyes at night. We have also seen fauna during the day, both on the ground and also in the air. I have recognized some of them from the images that the one called Margo had created; there was a coyote, a mountain lion and a raven. I wonder if I could befriend one or all of them. I am particularly drawn to the one called ‘coyote’.
The Twins came to me yesterday. They have determined that it would be wise for us to visit a place spoke of in the journals. They said that they believe that we should make the trip to a place called Stack Three. I remembered it. It was at a religious place, at Montgomery-Fulton, there was a woman there, Hilda, I think. She was a wise woman that had shared and guided the holy ones of the Predecessors.
I asked them why we should do that and all they could say was that we needed to; it was part of the plan.
“What plan?” I asked but they couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me more.
I spoke with First Daughter about it tonight, and also Lance. Both were intrigued by the idea.
June 1st Cycle 1
Weekly Status Report of First Son: The Clan has discussed going to this Fulton place as the Twins have suggested. The discussion was mostly whether we should all go, or should it be just some. Margot and Delta, being protectors, think it unwise for us all to go. Sending a small group first to check it out and determine that it is safe was their idea.
Lance and First Daughter think it is an all or nothing; we all jump into the pods and fly up there. The others were split down the middle.
Then their eyes came upon me.
“Well, it is a mystery as to what we will find. And yet I am intrigued. I am going, even if it is alone. But I am going to do it like they, the Predecessors did. I am going by land vehicle; truck is what they called them. I want to follow their footsteps.”
That caused a stir to be sure. The Twins smiled at me, and First Daughter was staring intently at the side of my face, eyes glaring.
“And how are you going to go by land vehicle, they are all over fifty of the Earth rotations old, and you have no fuel for them,” said Lance, a little peevishly.
“I have talked to Francis about this, and he feels that the engineers can make power units operational from materials that we have scavenged from the transport pods from the food production units. If combined with one of the old solar panels it would power an electric system that would make them mobile,” was my reply.
“You want to strip the power units out of the transport pods and put them into earth vehicles? And how do we survive if we have to get off this planet with no consumables?” Lance was not happy.
“First off, we only need to use 6 of the 13 pod power units we have removed. We can fit four or five of us into each truck, which leave 7 units we can re-install if we need to try to get off this world. And what we would be taking out of the pods does not really impact space flight, so we could still escape, but not for long. Father had no intentions of us getting off this planet. It is where we are supposed to be. He never told me why, only that it was supposed to be.”
Silence. We all had a lot to think about. I had not previously shared that information about not leaving with anyone other than First Daughter.
Over the next few days there was a lot of talk about being trapped on Earth and the potential trip. But it was when Francis actually came rolling around the corner in the first improvised truck, an old silver KIA Sorrento that had belonged to Tom, and then Margo from ages ago that following in the footsteps looked like it would occur. It changed a lot of minds.
The actual task of setting up the vehicle had only taken two day. If we all focus on the task, we can be ready to go for this Fulton-Montgomery in two weeks.
In the end, the adventure is on. We will be like the old ones, we can do this.
June 8th, Cycle 1
Weekly Status Report of First Son: With everyone pitching in we have completed putting together 4 of the 6 vehicles that we will need to this trip to Fulton-Montgomery. As the work progresses, there has been discussion and a level of excitement as to what we can, or will, find at this Holy Place.
One of the issues that we will face on this trek is food. Unlike our predecessors we do not consume the flora and fauna; we have our diet of protein and yeasts/fungi. Nicholas and the Food Service Staff have determined that we can put together a form of the meals in glass containers. The containers are from the past and are called Mason Jars. He feels that if we pack the jars and then radiate them the contents will be safely edible for a period of 3 to 6 lunar cycles. That should allow us plenty of time to make our visit and return to the Archive.
As the Readpad called ‘Winston’ is now operational again and has past data on this planet, it was able to supply us with route information and time needed to make this trek, I think it was referred to as a ‘Pilgrimage’.
I had a frightening moment two days ago. I had gone to sit by the place where we hold our nightly fire gathering. In the course of it, while sitting, I fell into repose. I awakened with a start as I felt someone was watching me. Before me was a fauna, a coyote. It was just sitting there, staring at me. It looked at me curiously, tipping its head from side to side. It almost seemed like it wanted to talk with me. Odd, I was not afraid. It stared at me for several minutes and then got up and turned and started to walk toward the wooded region around the camp.
“Wait,” I said to it, and in my mind I had the thought, “not yet new one, you are not ready.” Did it speak to me? I do not know.
I told the story at Fire Gathering tonight and much to my surprise others shared similar experiences. Lance told me that in his dreams an equine had come to him, Margot, the protector told me that she had been out scouting and had been watched by a large tan cat. Matthew and Tina told of encounters they had experienced in either real time or in dreams.
We looked to the Twins, Chris and Helen, but they gave no insights, merely said perhaps we should just be thankful and wait, the messages will come.
June 17th 2075
Weekly Status Report of First Son: I am two days late with my report. I and the others have been so busy with preparing for the trek, or as the Predecessors called it, a Pilgrimage, that I have put it off. This is the first time in my tenure that I have done so. It is a habit I will not develop.
We have all the transport trucks set and loaded. We have food for two weeks and had added several water cleansers to our inventory. First Daughter suggested taking some of the bedding supplies with us but we will not be on the trek that long and will find such things at the Holy Place. In the end we did add a few cloth bed covers called ‘blankets’
We will leave in the morning, at sunrise. It was the way in which the Predecessors would go on these treks.
First Daughter has assigned the individuals to the land vehicles we have converted.
In truck #1, A large red Ford Truck: First Daughter, Margot, Cody, Chris and me.
In truck #2, a large Green GMC vehicle: Joseph, Elissa, Teckla and Francis.
In truck #3, a small, what was called a camper: (Medical) Barkel, Carleen, Markus and Michelle.
In truck #4, another camper type vehicle (Food): Nicholas, Grace, Ethan and Chelsea.
In truck #5, A large black Dodge pick-up truck: Matthew, Tina, Stewen and Hester.
In Truck #6, the silver KIA: Lance, Delta, Tyler, Alexander and Helen.
When First Daughter set up the assignments she did so to put strength in the front and back of the column, I think that is the term that would be used here, to add to safety. Although we have seen or met no harmful creatures one can never be too careful, that seemed to be a watch
word for the Predecessors. I wonder if there are still those things, the Infected, the Changed or Zoms, as they were called, that are still roaming about.
It also gave the most secure location for the medical and the food supplies for the trip. And finally, she put one of the twins at the front and one at the back to maximize their skills at ‘sensing’ things.
There was a sense of excitement at the Fire Gathering tonight.
June 18th 2075
Based upon the conditions of the paved travel ways we found that what we thought to be a simple 4 hour trip ran much longer. The flora has disturbed and broken up the travel way and in places made it almost unpassable.
Our initial belief of obtaining speed of the limit recommended (65 MPH) on what was referred to as I-90 was less than half of that mostly due to frequent stops to clean debris. This simple trek was not going to be as simple as we had considered. But I am actually finding it exhilarating. I am a Predecessor.
We found our first major hurdle to the trek was actually at the edge of what was referred to as the Hudson River Valley. There were two bridge structures that crossed the divide. One appeared to have twin rusted steel beams that were laid on large rectangular blocks that were spaced ever three or so measures (feet?). The distance to the river below was several hundred measure units and as I looked down through the gaps in the bridge, I felt funny, almost light-headed. I did not like this passageway.
The second bridge structure that ran parallel was missing a large section of the span. That one was not passable at all. We could find no way down into the valley by the bridges that would allow our vehicles to move to the valley floor.
After some discussion, it was Joseph who suggested that we seek a crossing further north. He recalled that in one of the journals there had been mention of using that to cross into an old urban area called Albany.
We tried it and found that we were able to cross over what was called the Menard Bridge and preceded into the city. It appears that in the denser civilized urban areas the flora has not had as much success in taking over. But it also appears that the lack of upkeep of buildings had taken a toll. Many of the buildings have experienced decay, broken windows and damage due to water and atmospheric conditions. In some cases, we have seen what were referred to as ‘sky scrapers’ have crumbled and fallen to ruin.
I had wanted to seek out a place that was spoken of in the journals. It was called the Waterviet Arsenal. But we will have to forgo it on this occasion. We had planned to be at the Holy Place by 14:00 hours, and we are now just clearing the city at 16:00. We will not make it to the Holy Place until at least 20:00 at this pace and we may be forced to actually stop for the overnight. We had not planned for this.
We still might have made it, the distance was not that great, but when we reached a bridge that was designed to cross the river (Erie?) at an urban center called Amsterdam, we found the bridge was not viable, it was still standing but crumbled and we feared that it would collapse should we try to use it.
Dejected, we decided that the wisest course of action was to settle in for the night and try to start up again in the morning. We circled the trucks.
We had made a miscalculation in believing that we would find a place to stay when we reached the Holy Place. We had not brought repose materials, headrests, and pads. We had to either repose in the trucks or on the ground. Most chose inside the trucks. I tried the ground. It was not wonderful and I gave up after about midnight admitting defeat and softness.
June 19th 2075
I was awakened this morning by the avian fauna, they began to make chirping and peeping sounds as the sun began to lighten the sky. For me it was not possible to shut out the noise. I was not the only one who suffered this.
Joseph had taken time last evening to study alternative routes to get to the Holy Place. The options were to move on to Syracuse and try to cross there or to return to Schenectady and cross there and follow a travel way numbered 5. We knew that the bridge in Schenectady was intact, but Syracuse may or may not have an intact crossing.
Lance had some passive aggressive commentary on the lack of ability to just fly over the river and that had we taken the transport pods we would be at the Holy Place.
Having not been afforded my typical 7 hours of repose I was a bit on the edgy side and was not happy at the sniping by Lance. But he did have a point. Yet, this plan, this following the Predecessors seemed to be the right thing to do, we were on a pilgrimage as they called it, so we were fine.
I remember a snippet of a dream from last night, that coyote was staring at me, and in my mind I could hear or sense him laughing at me.
June 20th 2075
We reached the Holy Place today at 11:00 hours. It is a surprising place. Unlike many of the areas that we have seen, this one seemed unaffected by the passing of time. The grass areas around the main building which was called the Fulton Montgomery Community College Library were short; it almost appeared that they had been intentionally kept that way. The paved area after we left the main travel way was not infected by flora. I think it was like it might have been in the time when the Predecessors still controlled the surface.
“We are here, and it is in time,” said Chris as we climbed out of the red Ford. As I did, I noticed that the keys, an archaic security system for such vehicles were still in the little slot on the steering device. It held a little tag with a name on it, ‘Coyote’, odd.
The Library, Stack Three, the Holy Place, it was not what I expected, it was plain, a simple cement cube with windows. In some ways it reminded me of the Archive but it rose above the ground, not buried into it. It had what seemed four levels based on the stairs that were visible through the windows in front.
As we arrived at the doorway, I started to reach for the handles to open the door.
“No, we must wait!” said Chris and Helen in unison.
I stopped short.
“Why?”
“Because it is not time, she will open the door for us when it is time.” They replied in unison.
It was not long and I was shocked at what came to the door, it was not the old woman that was described as frail, old white sweater. No, this was a young woman, about our age, maybe a year or two younger. She was pretty, and slender.
“Hello! I am glad you are finally all here, it has been a long time since there have had visitors!” She said with a smile. “I am the Keeper of the Stacks.” In her arms was a scruffy black and white cat.
“I ah, but Helen, I thought it was Helen who….” I stammered
“No, I have that job now. But let us move inside, I have lunch prepared as per orders. I hope that you will enjoy it,” she said as she turned, set down the cat and held the door ushering us in.
Hesitantly we followed, all but the Twins; they were through the door in a flash. They knew something.
We followed the Twins into a dining hall; it was similar to the one that was back at the Archive. But in this case, the tables were set into a triangle with 9 place settings per side. Each setting had a covered plate of food and utensils. There was also a glass of a dark red, almost purple liquid. At each place setting was a name tag. We sought our names.
At my table there was in the middle a tag for “Molly”, I am guessing that was the woman we just met. First Daughter and I were on her left and the Twins were on her right. Lance and Delta were next to the Twins, Margot and Cody were seated next to us. The others all filled in around the triangle.
The one called Molly stood up and so did Chris and Helen. We all followed suit. I was so confused.
“My friends, Young Ones, welcome. I am Molly; I am here to act as a preparer, one who will help you start your new path.” She said. “Raise your glasses and let us toast the New Way.”
Let me say as a side note this was not what I was expecting, and before the meal was over, and after we were left in shock and surprise as to what we heard, saw and learned.
“To the New Way,” we said in unison, although there was a confused
tone in many voices.
The wine, she called it, was a sickly sweet drink, it smelled funny. Molly turned to the Twins, “Does this meet your taste?”
“Yes, Perfectly!” replied Chris.
“Well then, let us eat, you may sit,” Molly said. And after she did she uncovered her plate. We followed suit, it was what we expected, spaghetti with a red thick liquid on top. The Twins dug in with relish, it was almost as if they have had this before, and were actually fond of it.
I picked at mine at first, curious, a little nervous, I had never consumed anything but the larva/mushroom blend. Once I had the first taste I, well, I liked it. We all did, and by the end of the meal there were no plates with uneaten portions. A thing called bread was on the table and Molly and the Twins used pieces of it to sop up the remaining liquid, we followed their lead.
At the end of the eating Molly got up and began to collect the plate, Nicholas and Grace began to help and within minutes the table had been cleared of all but the glasses of dark red liquid.
Molly spoke, “As I said, welcome. I have been tasked as greeter and preparer. I know that I was not what you expected, you had figured on an old woman and a cat. That woman, Helen, would have been here, but she has another task. But that is all over now. And the cat, Sylvester, he, well, he is a cat, he is not concerned. They are wonderful creatures that teach us what is important.”
With that the Twins stood up. Chris spoke, and we were shocked. “First, let me assume my proper form, Helen, Molly, you may also do so.”
Before our eyes there was a shimmer and then suddenly, three QUalzians, the short small lizard-like creatures that had raised us stood before us. I recognized the neck ringlet of KHriz, the First Hatched and the ringlet of his mate, HYlon. I was uncertain of the third at first, because to human eyes all QUalz seemed the same yet there was something familiar about this one.
The third QUalz sensed my recognition and said, “Yes First Son, I am RRqil mate to Krezz, who you called Father, may his sleep be peaceful.”
What does one say, what does one think. I was at a loss.
The Event Series (Book 3): The Archive and Beyond Page 36