Civilization

by Stephen Drake

  “Did you know,” Murdock restated, “that his plan was to try to kill me and steal everything he could?”

  “If you aren’t strong enough to protect your stuff, then you deserve to lose it,” Wagner yelled defiantly.

  “No, I didn’t know,” Tutt said with a smirk.

  “And do you condone it?” Murdock asked quietly.

  “It is my opinion,” Tutt began, “that you are the biggest impediment to humans smoothly conquering this world and making it our own. Any actions that remove the impediment are welcomed, by me.”

  “So, you’re saying that you sanction Wagner’s actions?”

  “Yes, that’s what I said.”

  #

  “You all heard what your leaders said,” Murdock said to the crowd of Tutt’s followers. “Tutt, either knowingly or unknowingly sanctioned Wagner’s actions. Those actions were an attempt on my life, and theft of my property, and the kidnapping of Annie and Heather. I require a solution, from the rest of you, to fix this.” Murdock returned to his own group and said nothing else.

  “What are you expecting?” Declan flashed.

  “I’m expecting them to come to a solution that they can live with,” Murdock responded.

  “Even if that solution isn’t what you want?” Declan flashed.

  Murdock looked at him blankly. “And what is it that I want, exactly?”

  “You mean you don’t want revenge?” Declan flashed, incredulous.

  “I want to be done with this whole affair. I want to be left alone to live as I prefer. That is what I want,” Murdock responded.

  #

  It took those following Tutt some time to come to a solution. They were all standing outside the mine entrance facing Murdock and his people.

  “We have decided,” the chosen spokesman started, “that we agree with Tutt and Wagner.” There was an air of contempt in the entire group.

  “So, just to be clear,” Murdock started as he walked toward them, “if I were to tell you all to get out of my mine, you’d leave?”

  “Well, no,” the leader said after thinking about it for a second or two.

  “And why not? By your logic, none of you, either individually or as a group are strong enough to protect it. I can walk in and take it over and none of you can stop me. So, I’m entitled to it, correct?”

  There was a lot of grumbling amongst the people in front of him.

  Murdock spoke after letting them a stew little: “Just as a final vote, anyone who backs Tutt and Wagner, can join them in the mine entrance. If you don’t agree, then form up outside the mine.”

  As he watched, Murdock saw roughly half the people divide and enter the mine. The rest milled around outside.

  “Anyone else?” Murdock asked trying to prompt them into making the choices final. “Make your choices and be certain.” A few changed their minds; some outside went in and some inside left. “Okay. That’s it,” Murdock said as he stuck two long spears into the ground on either side of the entrance. “As fair warning, those inside the mine cannot leave. Those outside can enter, but the entrance is strictly one-way. This is only temporary, as I am planning a more permanent solution.”

  As he spoke, one of those individuals inside the mine tried to leave and fell, unconscious, half inside. His fellows dragged him back inside.

  “What are we supposed to do?” a man asked with a look of panic on his face. “The mine has the only food source and water source in the area.”

  “The rest of you can go wherever you want. That way,” Murdock indicated a direction toward the farmers, “are the farmers. I think they would be glad to have more individuals, especially those with metal working experience. Over that way,” Murdock indicated a rough direction to the huge cave, “Keith Rogers’ group may welcome you back, but I wouldn’t count on it. Regardless, the mine is closed.”

  “But what about those left inside?” someone else asked.

  “I can re-open the mine,” Murdock responded. “All you need to do is go inside and kill everyone in there.” He looked sternly to the rest. “Do that and I’ll re-open it.”

  “You can’t ask us to do that,” someone said, shocked. “That would be murder!”

  “Isn’t that what you want me to do? You want me to ‘take care of the problem’ for you. I’m refusing, so you can take care of it yourself. I’ll wait a little while for you to accomplish it, but not long. I’m heading home.”

  After waiting an hour, Murdock entered the mine alone. As he walked around, he collected all of his equipment, which was on his cart at the time it was stolen, and reloaded it. As he made his way to the exit, he saw Tutt and Wagner.

  “I’m missing several hides so, in exchange, I’m taking a wok and the biggest kettle I could find,” he said to the two men. “Either of you have a problem with that?”

  “I have a problem with you,” Wagner seethed.

  “Sorry to hear that,” Murdock said with a slight smile and a glare.

  #

  As Murdock was staring at him, Wagner began to feel a pain in his chest and a pressure around his heart.

  What is this? I am young, too young to be having heart problems, he thought. Is Murdock causing this? That’s impossible! The pain worsened and Wagner fell to the stone floor of the mine.

  As suddenly as it started, the chest pain ended.

  #

  “A little something to remember me by,” Murdock said, his expression unchanged, as he left the mine.

  27

  Before winter, in the year of Tutt’s incarceration, Murdock erected a twenty-foot high block-wall of granite. The wall completely surrounded the mine holding Tutt, Wagner, et al. Murdock knew they would tunnel out eventually, but they would have to tunnel more to get out of the walled in area. In various places around the wall, he placed engraved stones. The stones were all the same and gave the warning: “Behind this wall are the most despicable people alive. Call them anything you want, but to me pirates, thieves, and murderers seems to fit the best. Leave them. Everyone else will be better off.”

  #

  After enclosing the mine, Murdock refused to leave the “Oomah Plateau”, as he called it, for anything except escorting one of his tribe, or helping Doctor Harris and Annie.

  He had named the mountain that housed the Oomah warren as “Mount Oomah” and no one dissented. Also, he referred to the different plateaus as “the stairs of Mount Oomah”. He thought it great fun, when at the farmers group and heading home, to refer to it as “climbing the stairs of Mount Oomah”. No one else seemed to think it funny or even amusing, but he was Murdock and, in their opinion, was entitled to call it whatever he wanted.

  He hunted and fished with anyone and everyone, from his tribe, who wanted to go. He trained his tribal members in both woodcraft and martial arts, so those who chose to venture off the plateau would be able to handle any threat.

  In the year before the next group of newcomers and being unaware of the means for determining the position to land, Murdock moved both previously landed pods to the stream on the same step as the medical facility. He spent the rest of the year wondering if it would do any good.

  #

  Annie and Doctor Harris had decided to build a medical “facility” at the base of the second step from Mount Oomah. Murdock and Declan had helped them design and build a stone building, roughly the size of Declan’s home, which used to be the community building. They had decided to locate it at the site Murdock had camped when he first met Emily.

  After two years of work, the complex consisted of a two-story block house of granite, on the roof of which was a filter system for a small portion of the river that was diverted for the medicos use. Part of the house extended under the ridge face. This was surrounded by a twenty-foot high granite wall with a small doorway that only allowed people to enter single-file, and thus made it defensible by a small force.. The walled area was large enough to encircle the house and the yard, with a sizable garden inside it.

  Roy White, the parame
dic who had been living with the Rogers’ group, had decided to join Harris and Annie. He brought with him all the medical supplies that Rogers had and, in turn, collected all the medical supplies from the farmers.

  #

  Heather chose not to join Murdock’s tribe. She had decided, after spending another winter on the Plateau, to join the farmers. She had taken a shine to Alvin Jones and had decided to live with him on the outskirts of the farming community. They worked on taming a few deer for draft animals.

  Most of those who had resided in the mine and didn’t agree with Tutt’s ideals found their way to the farmers and started a small metal working operation to benefit them.

  #

  Reyes’ group had chosen to be completely cut-off from the others. Murdock abided by their choice and avoided them and their territory. He also instructed his tribal members to do the same.

  #

  Either from damage to her ovaries or melancholy over the loss of two of her children, or both, Mei Lee failed to conceive for three years and was plagued with despondency.

  #

  Declan and Emily had two more children before the next transport arrived; Roslynn, born a year after Maureen, and Gordon, born early in the spring before the next landing. Emily helped with the tending of the community garden with Mei Lee, Andy, and Chun Hua. Declan spent his time with Murdock or working on his pottery. He had managed to fire his own bricks and built a large functional kiln.

  #

  Declan Griffen was sitting at the table located on the roof of the “Harris Medical Facility”. It was a nice morning and he had a pleasant trip from his home to visit his friends and fellow tribesmen.

  “Have a nice trip, Declan?” Doctor Harris asked as she handed him a plate of venison, carrots, and onions with some barley-bread toast.

  “I did! Thank you! And before you ask, everyone is fine,” Declan responded as he pulled out his six-incher and wiped the blade on his leather pants-leg. “Em is as beautiful as ever and the girls are growing like weeds. Gordon will get there in the next six months.” As he ate, he flashed mental pictures of his family to the Doctor.

  “How’s Mei Lee doing?” Harris asked as she sat at the table with a plate of toast for herself. “Has she improved at all?”

  Declan frowned while he chewed. “Not really,” he flashed as he took another bite. “Murdock has said nothing and Beron won’t comment, but I think their relationship is very strained.”

  “I was thinking of visiting,” Harris started, “just as a friend, and to use the spa. I worry about them. They’ve had a hard time of it.”

  “You know, this is pretty good, for hospital food,” Declan said with a grin, trying to change the subject to something more pleasurable.

  “Thanks,” Harris said with a small chuckle and a slight grin. “Annie will be glad to hear you still like her cooking.”

  “I thought you made this,” Declan said, shocked.

  “Declan Griffen, you know I have difficulty boiling water! Annie and Roy do all the cooking. I do what I can in the garden.”

  “How are things going with him?” Declan asked.

  “About like it was when Heather first came to our tribe. Annie and I try to make a point of vocalizing as much as possible, so he doesn’t feel left out. We both tend to sub-vocalize when we communicate telepathically, so we try to not do it around him.”

  “Been working on your levitation?” Declan asked.

  Harris chuckled. “When we first built this place, there was no need for stairs. Annie and I just levitated ourselves up to the second floor or the roof. Since Roy joined us, that has come to a halt. We actually had to re-learn how to use steps.”

  “Well,” Declan started after a few minutes of silence, “I’m here to inform you that the next pod is due any day now.”

  Harris looked shocked: “It’s been five years already? I guess I’d lost track of time.”

  “Murdock has said he would send out a message to those of us who can communicate telepathically, when the pod is on its way down. He did move the other pods towards the stream on this plateau. He’s hoping it will help direct the next pod to land somewhere close to here and away from Mount Oomah.”

  “Hopefully, it’ll work and we can avoid any culture clash. Trying to explain the Oomah to outsiders is difficult at best. To newcomers, it’s impossible.”

  “Yeah, you and I know all about that,” Declan chuckled as the words triggered a memory.

  Harris chuckled as she remembered her own skepticism. “Where are you off to next?”

  “I have to check on a possible mount that Heather and Al are working on for us.”

  “I’d think Murdock would have taken care of that himself.”

  “The whole affair with Tutt and Wagner has soured him on strangers. Not that he was all that sociable to begin with.”

  “Sociable is not how I’d describe Murdock even in the best of times,” Harris chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy, but he can be very . . . unyielding.”

  Declan became serious. “The funny thing is, I think of Kevin as my best friend, except for Em, of course. Murdock’s best friend is Beron. I know that and accept it, but I don’t think it’s all that healthy. He needs more human interaction.”

  “Good luck convincing him of that,” Harris responded seriously.

  “I’m suspecting that Beron is teaching him things while he’s in the ‘sharing state’. Seven or eight days ago, I saw Murdock drop a deer from more than a hundred yards.”

  “That’s nothing new. Murdock is a phenomenal shot with a bow.”

  “He didn’t use a bow or arrow or even a spear.”

  “So, how did he do it?” Harris asked.

  “I don’t know. When I skinned it out, I saw nothing that would point to a cause of death. I think he just stopped the heart or pinched something off from the inside. It scared the hell out of me to see it all happen and Murdock was so . . . callous. I’ve seen him show more remorse before when hunting, but not now.”

  “So, you’re thinking that all the sharing he’s done with the Oomah has changed his mental make-up?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think humans were meant to have that kind of power. Who can stop him if he goes completely off the rails?”

  “I think you’re being overly dramatic,” Harris said. “Murdock is one of the most level-headed people I’ve ever met. I think what you’re witnessing is the stress of losing a child and what that can take from you on top of the stress of trying to set so many on the path of survival. Everyone has placed a heavy burden on him and he feels it. Add to that, there are even more landing soon. My advice is to watch him and, if appropriate, question him about some of his actions and how it relates to his mental state.”

  “So, I’m over-reacting?” Declan asked.

  “I think you’re someone concerned for a good friend, and that is a good thing.” Harris grinned at him a little.

  “Well, I have to push on. Be sure to tell Annie about the impending doom of ‘newcomers’,” Declan chuckled.

  “Already have. Take care of yourself and your family,” Harris said as she bid farewell to her friend.

  He used to be a patient and now he is a dear friend, Irene thought. Then a thought hit her and shocked her. I’ve never had this many good and true friends. I don’t think I had any, on Earth.

  #

  Beron gave the notice to Murdock who, in turn, sent out the notice telepathically to everyone who could perceive his thoughts. The new arrivals were on their way.

  #

  Doctor Harris, Annie, and Roy were sitting out on the roof of the Medical facility when Irene and Annie received the message. They both stood and looked up at the quickly lightening pre-dawn sky. Shading their eyes with a hand, they looked up at what appeared to be a hole in the sky; and it was getting larger.

  #

  Declan was saddling his new mount when the message came. He stopped and looked up seeing the huge hole in the sky and whistled to himself.


  “Dancer, either that is one huge ship or a meteor is coming,” he said to his mount as he watched it descend.