Extreme Difference

by D. B. Reynolds-Moreton

  ‘Sandy would like to look at the hot gas vent you use for your excellent cooking, that’s if you don’t mind.’

  ‘I don’t mind,’ Mop replied, still a bit huffy, ‘it’s over here.

  As they drew near a recess in the cave wall, a faint hissing noise could be heard. Picking up a piece of dirty rag, Mop took hold of a stone plug and withdrew it from a hole at the back of the recess. The hiss was now more of a deep whistle, and Mop stood back to let Sandy look into the exposed hole.

  The roundish hole went in about half a metre, and then expanded out to form a small cavern of its own. A small slit in the floor of the cavity emitted a stream of high pressure gas, only visible because of the shimmer it imparted to the surrounding air.

  ‘It’s very hot.’ Mop warned. ‘You’ll burn yourself if you touch it.’ she added as an afterthought.

  ‘Have you got a long piece of metal I could use for a moment?’ Sandy asked, reaching one hand out behind him in anticipation.

  Mop rummaged about for a moment in one corner of the cavern, returning with a metre long strip of metal which she gently placed in his outstretched hand.

  ‘Be careful,’ she said, sounding concerned, ‘it’s very hot in there, you could easily burn yourself.’

  Taking the proffered strip of metal, Sandy pushed it into the opening, being careful to let only part of the hot gas stream impinge on its end. Withdrawing it a few moments later, he ran his finger along the beads of condensate which had been deposited on the metal strip, and touched it to his tongue.

  ‘That’s water!’ he exclaimed, ‘you’ve a water supply here you didn’t know about. That’s not hot gas coming out of the vent, it’s steam. If we can cool it sufficiently, it will condense into water droplets.’

  ‘How did you know it was water vapour?’ asked Nan, puzzled by Sandy’s ability to be so certain of his discovery.

  ‘It’s not water vapour,’ Sandy replied, ‘it’s steam. Water vapour is like a mist, you can see it, and it’s not usually very hot. Steam is very much hotter, and is invisible. What made you think it was gas?’

  ‘My predecessor said it was gas, so I took his word for it,’ a somewhat contrite Nan answered back, ‘it’s hardly my place to query his knowledge of things, he was a very clever man.’ he added defensively.

  ‘Obviously,’ Sandy commented, ‘but it’s only when you query things which are taken for granted, that you find out the truth.’ He paused for a moment, deep in thought, wondering if it was wise to disclose his idea for water production, and what effect it might have on the rest of the group.

  ‘We could certainly do with more water,’ said Nan, breaking the uneasy silence, ‘but how can we get it without getting burnt by the hot gas?’

  ‘If we had some metal pipes, we could let some of the steam go through them, and water would collect on the cold surface and run out into a container, but the difficulty would be keeping the pipes cold.’

  ‘The main difficulty is the pipes, we don’t have any.’ Nan sounded disappointed at the thought of the extra water supply suddenly disappearing.

  Sandy looked into the hot cavity again to see where the steam was going, as it didn’t come into the main cavern.

  ‘There’s a hole in the roof of the cavity, like a chimney, and by now it’s so hot the steam can no longer condense in it. If we could divert some of the steam into another cavern, it would condense onto the walls, and we could collect the water, allowing the cavern to cool down again every so often.’

  ‘There’s a cave next door,’ Mop suggested, ‘but we don’t use it, as it is so cold. We keep it blocked off with a cover, or we’d all freeze to death.’

  Sandy looked at Nan, and he nodded.

  The next door cave had a small opening covered with a dark brown piece of cloth, stuck to the rim of the hole with what looked like pitch. Whatever it was, some of it transferred to Sandy’s hands as he tried to pull the cloth away from the opening, and Mop giggled at his failing attempts to remove the offending compound.

  She was right, the air in the cave was certainly chilly compared to the tunnel they were standing in, and when Sandy squeezed through the hole he found out why.

  ‘There’s a strong draft blowing from a hole in that corner, and it seems to go out of a hole in the top of the cave. Don’t know why it should be so cold though.’

  ‘How will we get the hot gas in there?’ asked Nan, still a little hesitant about the project, ‘it’s solid rock between the two caves.’

  ‘Perhaps we can knock a hole through,’ said Sandy, ‘and then make up a piece of pipe to connect up the steam supply,’ he paused before adding, ‘I think it should work.’

  They put the fabric cover back over the entrance to the cold cave, Sandy getting some more of the black sticky stuff on his hands, much to Mop’s amusement.

  ‘I’ll put your idea to the rest of the group when we have our evening meal.’ said Nan. ‘I’m sure they’ll be pleased to have an extra supply of water.’

  ‘Wouldn’t count on that,’ Sandy replied, as the men made their way back to the main cavern, ‘it’ll mean they might have to wash, and I can’t see that going down very well.’

  Sandy wanted to know just how hot it was outside during the day, so they went to the entrance of the cave complex, the radiating heat from the baking sands reaching them when they were still three metres from the opening.

  ‘My God, it’s lethal out there.’ was all he could think of saying. ‘But why is it so hot, surely it can’t be just the sun?’

  ‘I fear it is, but it does have one benefit, no one else can go out either, so that only leaves a short time in the early morning and late afternoon for raids, so we don’t have to keep watch all day. At night, it’s too cold, the sand freezes and you wouldn’t last more than a few minutes.’

  ‘If it’s that cold, how come you and I didn’t get frozen to death when you came to get me?’

  ‘Ah, that’s because it was near dawn time, and the temperature goes up a little then. The Great Light only comes to leave people at dawn, otherwise they would be frozen by the time we got to them.’ Nan was on home ground again, talking about things he knew well, and his self confidence returned.

  The rest of the time before the evening meal was taken up showing Sandy some more of the cave complex, the store rooms for their pitiful little collection of raw materials, and a crude weaving loom used for their garment manufacture.

  When the others had all trooped in for their evening sustenance, and the greasy bowls had been passed around and the contents consumed, Nan mentioned the possibility of the new water supply.

  Sadly, little enthusiasm was shown for this major breakthrough in their survival potential, two of the men mumbling something about going against the natural order of things, and the old elder wouldn’t have allowed it. When asked by Nan to be a little more explicit about their beliefs, they backed down, scowling at Sandy whom they considered to be the instigator of the blasphemy.

  Ben was asked about the possible supply of metal to make a connecting pipe to go between the two caves. He thought there might be some, but if there was not enough, a quick raid on their neighbours would probably solve the problem.

  ‘You mean, if you don’t have something you need, you just go and take it from other groups?’ asked a somewhat shaken Sandy.

  ‘They would do the same to us.’ Ben replied defensively, and the others chorused their agreement. While the others argued the finer points of thieving, Sandy questioned Nan a little deeper on the supply of materials from the Great Light, and when it might be expected.

  ‘There’s no set time,’ he replied, ‘it just comes whenever the Greater Powers decide to give us something.’

  ‘And that’s only their rubbish.’ Sandy added. ‘Lets face it, they’ve never given you anything in working order, have they?’

  ‘No, that’s true, but it’s a test for us to make something useful from what they have graciously given us.’

  ‘Face facts,’ said
Sandy, ‘they’re only giving us their junk, and they’re probably glad to get rid of it.’

  ‘Anyway, I’m not happy about raiding other groups for materials, can’t we have a look at Ben’s supplies, there might well be enough bits and pieces to make the tube.’

  ‘I don’t think it’s up to you to decide if we raid the others,’ said Nan, feeling his authority was slipping again, ‘it’s been going on for as long as I can remember, and it’s part of our life.’

  ‘That doesn’t make it right. Surely the more we raid them, the more they’ll raid us, so who wins in the end? And what about casualties in the meantime? I would have thought your life here was tough enough, without adding unnecessary punch-ups with your neighbours to it.’ Sandy was losing patience with the older man and his bizarre ritualistic beliefs.

  Ben saved the day by coming over to them, and suggesting they visit his store to see if there was anything which would meet their needs, as he was not too sure what they wanted.

  On the way, Sandy asked about the gas lights, and how they were fuelled, but Nan did not seem conversant with the operation, and suggested he ask Ben when they had sorted out the pipe requirements.

  The materials store was a positive gold mine of bits and pieces, and Sandy earmarked those items he thought necessary for the water condenser.

  Nan suggested they visit Mop’s kitchen to get a better idea of what had to be done, and Sandy took a long metal bar and a lump of some hard material he found at the bottom of a pile of odd chunky shaped pieces of metal, to make the break through hole.

  Luckily, Mop was off doing something else when they arrived, and Sandy got to work right away with Ben, taking it in turns to hold the metal rod, while the other hit it with the hard mystery lump. Just before they broke through the intervening wall of rock, they made a useful discovery.

  Ben had insisted he do the major part of the hammering, and getting a bit tired, his aim faltered. The hammer lump only grazed the metal bar instead of hitting it squarely, and the subsequent shower of sparks caught them all by surprise.

  Ben dropped the lump, Sandy dropped the bar, and Nan was already in the cave opening, ready to flee even further if the need arose.

  When they realized that none of them had caught fire, and it seemed safe to pick up their tools again, Sandy suggested they try to duplicate the fireworks display.

  Leaving the lump on the ground, as it seemed most likely that was where the stream of sparks were coming from, Sandy swung the bar, just grazing the lump of mystery material. This time they were ready for the sparks, and were not disappointed at the display.

  ‘You have made fire,’ exclaimed Nan, ‘so now we won’t have to trade for it when our lights go out.’

  ‘Making a shower of sparks is one thing, getting it to set fire to something is another matter.’ Sandy said gently, not wanting to down Nan’s new found enthusiasm. ‘I expect we’ll find a way to do it though.’

  The breakthrough to the next cave soon followed, and it was now just a matter of fabricating a length of pipe to transfer some of the steam into the chilly chamber to generate a new supply of water.

  ‘The end which goes into Mop’s cooking cavity will have to be made such that we can swing it out when she wants to cook,’ Nan remarked, ‘and we’ll have to warn her not to touch the pipe, as it will be as hot as the steam it carries.’

  Sandy noticed Nan had used the word ‘steam’, instead of hot gas as he usually did, and considered he had at last begun Nan’s process of re-education.

  Ben was quite happy to be left with the job of hammering the bits of sheet metal into a pipe, and making a jointed swivel end for the connection into Mop’s cooker, while Nan and Sandy returned to the cold cave to remove any dust and rubble from its floor.

  They were fortunate in that the floor level in the cave was a few centimetres below that of the outside passage, so if there were no leaks in the side walls, quite a lot of water would accumulate in the shallow well before it ran out into the tunnels.

  Sandy was allocated a sleeping cave, in which he could also keep his possessions, not that he had any at the moment.

  He retired for the night, exhausted, but his mind was still in a whirl after what had happened in one short day.

  ‘Three more days at this pace, and I’ll be a gibbering wreck.’ were his last thoughts as he gratefully slipped into a deep sleep on the smelly bed of rags which passed for a bed, for the time being.

  He was shaken awake next day by Ben, who was in a state of great excitement. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was, and Ben looked hurt by the lack of instant recognition.

  ‘What’s the time?’ he asked, rubbing his sore eyes.

  ‘Don’t know what you mean,’ Ben replied, ‘I don’t think we have any time here, at least not that I’ve heard of.’

  ‘Oh God. Alright, what part of the day is it? How long have the others been up?’

  ‘They’ve been up since dawn, it’s now nearly midday. Nan said to let you sleep on, but I thought you would want to see the steam experiment set-up before we try it out.’

  ‘Damn right I do.’ Sandy replied, heaving himself out of the pile of disgusting rags he had cuddled all night.

  ‘Lead the way, Ben, I’m a bit wobbly on me feet this morning.’ Sandy staggered about like a drunk, after a night out he was unable to recall.

  ‘Probably lack of food.’ Ben said cheerfully.

  ‘Oh, that’s what you call it.’ Sandy remembered the last greasy offering. ‘I had something else in mind.’

  Mop greeted them with her usual hopeful smile, mainly directed at Sandy, on whom it was totally wasted.

  ‘We’d like to try out our water maker.’ Ben said, doing his best to smile at the unlovely heap before him.

  ‘Go ahead, Benny, I don’t need the hot hole for a while, it’s a cold midday meal today.’

  The look on Ben’s face at that cheery news said it all, and Sandy wondered what frightful concoction she had dreamt up to tickle their taste buds this time.

  Mop disappeared down the tunnel, either disappointed that no one had taken advantage of her charms, or on some culinary errand for the evening meal. Sandy was in two minds as to which was the least formidable option.

  Ben removed the stone plug from the steam cavity, and swung the jointed pipe into the hole. It was a perfect fit, and he went up several notches in Sandy’s estimation.

  ‘There’s a deflector on the end, so most of the steam should be guided into the pipe.’ he said cheerfully. ‘Can’t say I like the sound of it though.’

  The pipe vibrated like a tin snake with a severe case of the shakes, accompanied by a shrill whistling noise as the steam was bent off its normal course up the vent hole, and into the transfer tube.

  ‘Let’s see what’s happening in the cold cave.’ said Ben, hurrying out of Mop’s kitchen and into the tunnel.

  ‘Yes, let’s.’ said Sandy, ‘after you.’

  ‘Who’s going to open the cover and take a peak inside?’ asked Ben, with a grin.

  ‘I’ll give you that honour,’ said Sandy, ‘I got messed up with that filthy black stuff last time, it took ages to get off.’

  Ben grinned again, and took a small metal blade from somewhere about his person, and gently prised the fabric cover away from the rim of the hole.

  The gas lamp in the tunnel shone directly into the hole, and there the light stopped. A thick white mist swirled energetically about in the cave, totally obscuring the opposite wall and any other details.

  ‘Put the cover back for a short while, and then turn the steam off, after that we’ll see how well it’s condensing.’ Sandy was well pleased with the experiment so far, but would the water be drinkable?

  They went back into the kitchen, and Ben picked up something from the table and began to chew.

  ‘It’s better raw, I don’t know why she bothers to cook it, it only makes it tougher and all the flavour is lost.’

  Sandy didn’t dare ask what he was chewing,
his stomach was feeling a bit delicate as it was.

  Mop came back in with a bowl full of plump glistening yellow berries just as they were about to leave to check the mist cave.

  ‘We’re just going to see if we have any water.’ said Ben, vacating the room in a hurry. As Sandy went to follow him, Mop came alongside and coyly pressed half a dozen berries into his hand, giving him a long slow wink.

  The cover was prised back, and most of the mist had cleared revealing several little puddles on the floor next to the wall of the cave, and multiple runlets of moisture trickling down the walls to join them.

  ‘Well done Ben, it looks as if we have a new water supply, although the first few lots will have to be used for plant watering until all the dust has been washed off the walls. I’ll just see what it tastes like.’

  Sandy bent down and dipped a finger into one of the nearest puddles, and then put it to his tongue.

  ‘Not too bad, a bit metallic and gritty, but that should clear after a while. Let’s give the good news to Nan, although I'm surprised he’s not here to see the trial. Oh, by the way, Mop gave me these just now,’ and he showed Ben the berries clutched in his other hand, ‘would you like some?’

  Ben did his knowing little grin while taking half the berries.

  ‘She’s got her eye on you, I think she’s a lot younger than she looks, so if you’re not feeling energetic, watch out!’

  They hurried past Mop’s kitchen, giving her a brief wave as they went, and headed for the main assembly cavern.

  It was empty when they arrived, so they both sat down to await the arrival of the others for the now late midday meal.

  ‘Tell me about the gas guns,’ Sandy began, ‘Nan mentioned them yesterday, but didn’t say very much about them.’

  ‘Not much to tell really. It’s just a metal tube with a bulbous container on the end. We fill it with a mixture of air and gas, push a round stone in the end of the tube and then seal it with a bung of material. If anyone threatens us, we just point it at them and flip the little lever at the end. It goes bang, and the stone flies out of the other end. If we’re lucky, it hits them. It frightens the hell out of them anyway, and they usually run off, especially if we point it at them again.