Dystopyum (The D-ot Hexalogy Book 1) (25 page)

What they viewed was amazing. Although they weren’t sure where
the center of the city was, they could see structures not far from them that
were bigger than any the NOV ever had, other than the NOV capital
temple. These structures were very different, though. Like the mansion
that Dr. Kalep coveted, many had long, slowly sloping graceful lines,
stretching upwards for up to eight stories or more. One looked like a
gigantic elongated screw. They had never seen so much elaborate
architecture. Back in the NOV, everything built aboveground was square
and plain — nothing like this. There appeared to be brass designs inlaid
into some of the buildings, and most had some type of artistic lean to
them.
“Dr. Kalep must feel like he’s died and gone to heaven,” Jan exclaimed. He smiled broadly, as he surveyed the surrounding network of
roads and structures. They were still not truly visible because of the all the
sand accumulation, but he had developed an eye for it, along with others.
Jan had been a bit sullen the past couple of days, and Martha was
happy to see him smiling for more than his usual short moments. She did
not know that something was nagging at him.
Jan had not been able put his finger on the feeling, but it was there.
Fear and foreboding was on him for no good reason — but then again,
the
NOV. That’s what’s probably bugging me,
he realized
. I feel like they’ll
come after us. I don’t feel like I’ll ever be able to shake it.

Lep had told him that eighty percent of the population would likely
die within three years.
Lep said The NOV may never recover. There’s a
good chance that they will leave us be, but I just can’t accept that, yet.

Everyone was beginning to mill around, waiting on word of what was
next. The planning committee had decided that the safest way to start was
to move into a few big buildings as soon as possible, all neighboring each
other. They prepared to send out two groups of scouts, mostly hunters, to
canvass the area and report back, with maps and photographs of their
travels.

Drs. Kalep and Brader would be with the group scouting eastward.
Dr. Scrib went with the scouts going west-southwest. The east of their
position led towards the river mouth and the ocean, while the southwestward direction went into the western part of the city and south from there.
Winoni assisted with Kalep’s group and brought a few miners along with
some equipment that would help dig out the way to the entrances of
structures of interest. They all rode on contisses or in wagons.

Everyone else just stayed where they were and waited. The area had
been secured well the night before. After doing his or her respective
chores, most settled down for an early evening. The one’s remaining in
Winoni’s wagons broke out the tuba again. They all had a very nice day
and evening, singing, dancing, and there were the stirrings of romance in
the air. Buz and Tama spent a few hours together, and Jan saw Jasma with
a bottle of yama wine in her hand, cornering a hunter that was taking a
break.

When it was beginning to get dark, Dr. Scrib’s group came back first
from the southwest, bringing photos of a well-laid road structure. The
most remarkable thing they found was a magnificent temple. Its peak was
made of solid gold, and it was structured like a tall, narrow four-sided
pyramid, but once again had the sloping, inward-leaning concave lines on
the westward edge. It had multiple smaller duplicate outbuildings attached
around it, asymmetrically placed, with pointed tops of varying heights,
which peaked out lower than the primary peak of the central pyramidal
structure.

Shortly thereafter, Dr. Kalep’s group returned from the eastern area.
They brought with them a wonderful surprise — the skeleton crews that
had been waiting in the three boats that had indeed made it safely all the
way down to the river’s mouth. Those boats would certainly be useful,
and they made plans to go back and get the rest. Everyone was happy to
see them back safely.

Kalep’s group was stirred with tales of fantastic structures. “We were
able to enter one, and it went up high enough to see the ocean!” he said
enthusiastically. “We have so many places to choose from, I can’t
decide!” He was now laughing hysterically.

Decide they did, though. After careful descriptions and study of the
maps, they all decided that they would go east, toward the ocean, to a
section of city that the hunters said would be easy to defend. Animals
would not be so much of a problem as thought, because they had been
unable to penetrate the predator-proof construction of the Platacs. Once
inside the few buildings they had entered, Kalep’s group found they were
relatively clear of debris and sand.

Like everyone, Ziba was enchanted by the photos and descriptions.
“Let us thank God for our new lives in — New Aletia!” The ones around
her joined in, shouting, “God bless New Aletia!” and the chorus spread
down the line to the very end of the caravan. New Aletia was born on this
day.

he New Aletians worked very hard, and the days passed
quickly. They had chosen to occupy three buildings adjacent to
one another, relatively close to the ocean. One had been a
grand office building at one time. Next to that sat what once

With a little tweaking, Winoni’s crews were able to connect generators they brought with them to the wiring in the apartment building first,
for the families. Then Winoni did the same for the other buildings. The
sewage system was simple and relatively intact. Plumbing was a big
problem, but they were able to take advantage of a water main that came
straight from a defunct reservoir next to the river. It took two months to
clear and clean it all, but they now had water. The water pipes in the
buildings were made of almost pure agrist — they had not cracked or
corroded, but connections were a problem. The few plumbers they had
worked around the clock, repairing leaks as they arose. Winoni was able
to have his people recondition the fixtures and toilets. The parts needed
were being made in the machine shop he had set up in the office building.
In about three months, most units had electricity and water available, with
working bathrooms. The storage areas were found, and revealed stocks of
many necessities, light bulbs in particular being happily discovered. Half
of the bulbs did not work, but rather than divert Winoni’s resources to the
task of manufacturing them, teams of scouts were chosen to dig into the
neighboring buildings, scavenging what they could.

At first, the colonists were awestruck by the beauty of the decorative
walls inside the hotel and office building, along with the wondrous arched
hallways filled with remarkable paintings and other works of art. In time,
however, most folks seemed not to notice the art as much, and some
youngsters had written graffiti on a few pieces, which others took down to
try to restore.

It took about six months to reach the point that they possessed an
oversized perimeter cleared of most dangerous animals that inhabited it.
They used the blogs they captured, their “predator alarms,” on not only
the trip, but also here in the city as well. The people divided up the
chores, which they fulfilled for the most part. Digging out streets and such
was a never-ending task.

In the beginning, the yama fields in the ocean were easy to harvest.
The overgrowth of yama, unharvested for one hundred years, had crept up
to the shoreline from a crevice that ran miles out into the ocean. This
yama field was not far to the south of where the river met the ocean. By
the time that six months had passed, they saw that they were using it up
quickly, and would eventually need to go out to deeper into the ocean to
harvest yama.

Winoni had his mini-smelter working. He had found an old mineral
processing plant near the southern end of the city, and set it up there. It
would take time to get it up and going, so in the meantime they melted
down scavenged metals — this was much easier than mining and
processing raw ore. He still needed raw ores though, chromium and nickel
for certain, in order to produce the best alloys for the particular job.
Winoni needed these ores to refine, smelt and machine certain parts
needed to get the grinders and such at the plant going.

A group of hunters found old mines not far from the plant, but they
remained unexcavated for now. New Aletia had few skilled miners in the
group. Nothing along those lines was operational yet, and Winoni had
expected to be the master hero when it came to providing invaluable
devices, parts, and machines here. Instead, he had become the master
‘bitcher’, due to his unending frustration with what he felt was close to
zero production. He spent all his time telling newbies what they were
doing wrong. Martha joined in with Winoni’s team, having more mining
experience than most, but the starting was still very slow.

Jan was standing outside one day, in the courtyard that was set before
the apartment building. He was scratching at his leg. His sores were
becoming more numerous, and Dr. Bilge, the one health-care doctor that
had survived thus far only stocked a basic antibiotic ointment for sores.
Everyone was getting more sores. The doctor said that it was because
there were different strains of organisms in the city, for which their
immune systems needed to adjust.

In addition, many people needed enzymes. Enzyme extracts from
yama were difficult to produce, and required sophisticated resources.
Winoni did not yet have the time to build a laboratory to manufacture
such. Therefore, stomach and other digestive problems were abounding.
Dr. Kalep had finished the last of his enzymes months ago, and was in
pain daily. He had succumbed to adding raw splint bile to his daily
regimen, but it was harsh, and gave an aftertaste like vomit.

Jan had lately been helping Dr. Kalep’s surveying team. He found it
interesting to see the varieties of architecture, and with Dr. Kalep’s input,
he got a lot out of it, and developed a high appreciation of the Platac
culture.

He was now thinking about what Rebecca had said about the yama.
They were finishing their stock of the old dried yama they had brought
along with them. The fresh yama needed to be cured, dried, and processed
properly, which took time. Winoni was also consuming the fresh yama for
use in the hydrogen generators. These were huge aquariums filled with
yama. The hydrogen they produced was collected and cooled to a liquid
for storage. They needed it for the electrical generators, stoves, and the
vaccine module’s temperature control system.

The clouds of oxygen bubbles released by the concentration of yama
in the ocean served to help somewhat with sores for those who dared to
go in and bathe there. Nobody had seen a molick yet, but there were many
hazards besides that ocean creature.

Pladises had started to infiltrate the apartment complex somehow,
causing nasty red stripes of infection on the residents. For now, they
focused on filling whatever cracks there were in the walls of the
underground complex.

Jan looked out towards the ocean and thought again how warm, clean,
and clear it was when he was up close. It was not at all like his family’s
trips to the dirty beaches and seawater that bordered the NOV. He
scratched another sore.

He was outside, waiting for Rachel and Rebecca to come up from the
apartment, along with Jo, Jan’s one-month-old baby boy.
Rebecca came up with the baby. “Rachel is still with Dr. Kalep’s
crew helping with the city mapping.” It was her first day.
Rebecca continued, “They still haven’t found a theater yet, and she’s
obsessed with finding one,” she said.
“She’s homesick,” Jan replied. Rachel had been in a funk, even before the baby was born. “If I have to hear her say, ‘There’s nothing to do’
again, I’m going to volunteer her into the mines,” Jan joked, chuckling.
Other than assisting Dr. Bilge for the occasional emergency, Rachel
was usually home with Jo, unless someone was home while she was able
to go out.
Rebecca cooed into the baby’s face, and giggled at the baby’s reaction. “Who’s a good boy?” she said, over and over.
Jan looked at her and smiled, thinking,
she’s a gem. She loves Jo as
much as Rachel does.
For a moment he regretted Rebecca did not have
her own baby now, but quickly put that thought out of his mind.
“What’s Mom doing in the apartment?” Jan asked Rebecca.
“Scratching and bitching, as usual,” Rebecca replied, as the thought
caused her to scratch at one on the side of her neck. “Everybody’s
complaining about these damn sores. I think it’s starting to really get them
down.”
“You know, you’re right,” said Jan. “Even Jasma’s been in a foul
mood lately. She not only has more sores now, there’s something that’s
eating away at the scales and skin of her left foot.”
Rebecca agreed, “I know. Since she and Ziba had that falling out last
month, they both look miserable. I haven’t seen them together at the love
circles.”
Jan and Rebecca started their way towards the beach, which was
about a thirty-minute walk away. They took turns holding Jo. Along the
way, Jan mentioned the meetings. “Why are so many people skipping the
love-circles? It’s only once a week, but some folks haven’t been there for
months now.”
“I don’t know,” said Rebecca.
“I think it’s because there’s no NOV here,” Jan said.
“What do you mean?” Rebecca asked.
Jan felt that he could see it, easily, “Now that they believe there’s no
enemy of love, they’re not compelled to practice it. They’ve become less
interested in the love-circles because they don’t need them as a defense
anymore.”
He heard the Guide.
“They don’t know that their need to channel love
is greater than ever here,”
and continuing,
“Enemies can be invisible as
well as visible. There would be no NOV without the dragon, and each
person here has brought the dragon with them — everybody.”
Jan felt a sudden chill, knowing the Guide meant him, too. He said to
Rebecca, “We need to push now, to keep the love-circles going, and it’s
time to try to talk the non-LERN people here into attending, if not to just
watch. We must keep this routine. It’s our way, and it is because of our
way that everyone here was saved. It is because of this discipline that we
are the kind of people we are.”
Rebecca turned her head to Jan and said, “That sounds a little like the
NOV to me, I’m sure it’ll sound that way to the people you want to force,
and others. Maybe you should talk to Ziba about it.”
They were heading for the yama fields. Rebecca had become a quick
expert in yama. Although he had passed by briefly before, this was Jan’s
first opportunity to spend some time close up. When they got to the
beach, Rebecca handed Jo to Jan, and ran ahead of them in the dazzling
fine white sand to the water. When Jan got there, she was knee deep in the
salty water. There was a steady breeze from the west, blowing much of
the hyper-oxygenated air seaward. The waves were gentle. Fortunately,
the water was pristine. With the white sand under the water, one could see
if a “bad” fish was coming from a distance. They were just on the edge of
the yama field. It coated this part of the bottom of the ocean in a relatively
thin strip that grew thicker the further it was from the beach, following
and dropping into the ocean’s crevice from which it came. One could see
that Winoni and company had already harvested big sections. Here, it was
about six inches thick. Rebecca knew it would be low tide now, which
made it unbelievably easy to grab with one’s hands.
Rebecca waded into the yama, bent down into the water, and came up
with her hands cupped, full of fresh stuff she just pulled from the bottom.
The water was bubbling all around her with oxygen from the yama she
was standing in. She came up out of the water grinning from ear to ear.
“Here,” she said, sticking out her hands, “Smell this!”
Jan did the obligatory smell, and realized, “It smells wonderful!
That’s what fresh yama smells like? It smells like, what?” He took
another sniff and said, “It smells like when it rains or something. There’s
a little fishy smell in there too, I think.”
Rebecca held the spongy substance to her face, and then just sunk her
face into it, smelling it up, and going, “Mmmmmmmm.” She looked up at
Jan, and asked, “Doesn’t it smell ‘healthy’?”
Jan asked, “What’s fresh raw yama taste like?”
Rebecca said, “Not too bad, it is kind of fishy. Want to try?” She held
out her hands again. The yama was very white, but had dark speckles
imbedded in it.
“Why not?” Jan said and he plucked off a good-sized piece. He took a
bite of it, and quickly spit it out, making an awful face.
Rebecca was holding a blank expression hard when Jan bit into it, but
not now. She started laughing, and said, “I did the same thing!” Then she
noticed the baby that Jan was holding. “Jo’s turning red!”
Jo was indeed turning red. Jan had noticed a different feeling, and
Rebecca, with a flash of insight said, “It’s the oxygen! It’s really high
here.”
Jo’s scales had not taken on color yet, and his hyper-oxygenated
blood was showing through them. “We need to leave,” she said, concerned.
“He
seems
OK,” replied Jan, “But you’re right, we should go. I think
it makes me feel good, actually.”
Rebecca brought the double handful of yama home to play with in the
kitchen. Jan carried Jo as they walked back to the apartment. When they
entered, Martha was there, listening to Rachel, who had also just returned.
Rachel was talking about a new move by Dr. Kalep to start expanding the
population to outlying areas.
“He really wants that mansion we saw coming into New Aletia,” Jan
said. “Kalep is OK, but he seems used to getting his own way.”
The earlier conversation on his mind, Jan said, “Mom, I’m thinking
about talking to Ziba about promoting more participation in the lovecircles.”
Martha perked up and exclaimed, “I’m so glad you brought that up!
What I’ve seen over the past few months concerns me. Nobody’s going to
the meetings! Do you know that there was another murder last night? Tas
was drunk and beat Jerba over some stupid thing, and she shot him in his
sleep!”
Rebecca was shocked, and Rachel just shook her head. Rebecca said,
“Now that they have an unlimited supply of yama, tuba costs nothing. I
keep seeing more and more people drunk all the time.”
Jan said, “Me too. We need to stay centered on something, and it’s
LERN that got us here. I believe that the love-circles keep us practicing
what we would otherwise forget. These things won’t happen as often or as
much!” He looked determined and said, “I’ll discuss this with Jasma first,
and try to get her back talking to Ziba again.”
After a while, Jan left for the hotel next door, and climbed the stairs
past the seventh floor, where Ziba had taken over half the floor for herself
and her staff. Winoni had not been able to make the parts needed for the
elevator, which he said were low on a long list of needed items. Jasma,
her son and her staff occupied the entire top tenth floor.
When Jan reached the top floor, he went to her suite and knocked on
the door. Jasma’s son Asa answered it. “What are
you
doing here?” he
sneered.
Jan’s thoughts instantly went from promoting love to seeing this
keesh on the floor bleeding. He intuitively put his foot in the way, as Asa
tried to slam the door on him.
“Who’s there, Asa?” Jasma called out.
With no easy option, Asa stopped his effort, and reluctantly opened
the door. “Him,” he said disdainfully, showing her the open door.
“Oh Jan, how nice of you to stop by, please come in,” Jasma cooed.
She had a glass of yama wine, and an inviting smile. She gave a stern
look to her son, “Asa!”
Asa got out of the way, and let Jan in. He then left for his own suite
down the hall, closing the door not too quietly behind him.
“Please, Jan, have a seat.” Jasma motioned to the couch beside her.
Jan could see that she was a little drunk, and figured it could get ugly.
He walked over to her and said, “Jasma, I don’t have a lot of time —”
“Don’t be silly, dear,” Jasma interrupted, “We have all the time in the
world,” and she looked like she really meant it.
Jan smiled. Then his expression turned to the serious, “We need to
talk, and you have the power to make this happen.”
Jasma was a bit surprised at Jan’s bluntness, and his complement
caused her to start paying attention to what he had to say. She listened to
him as he made his case about promoting the weekly meetings, and in the
end, she agreed completely. She got up, and walked towards her one
cleared big window. Jan followed.
“It’s Dr. Kalep, she said with exasperation, “If we make any attempt
to create any rules, or organize, he gets angry. He always says, “Once you
start with rules and laws, there is no end! We all become prisoners again!”
She tried to imitate his theatrically aggravated voice, and did a cracking
good job at it. It struck Jan as hilarious, and they both laughed hard, then
settling down.
“Well, it seems to me, we need Ziba,” Jan said, testing Jasma, while
she was in a light mood. He really did not know what the fallout was
over, but he was about to find out.
Jasma’s face became stern. Then her expression softened, and she
said, “Ziba and I don’t see eye to eye on things.” She apparently thought
that statement settled it, but she was dead wrong. She looked again at Jan,
and could see he wanted more.
Jasma sighed and said, “She insulted me, in front of my guests! She
said I was drunk, and acting, well — improperly.” Now Jasma looked
hurt.
“Maybe
she
was drunk, and didn’t know what she was saying,” Jan
offered.
Jasma drew a deep breath, and slowly let it out, gazing out the window, into the horizon that held the glittering blue ocean below it.
“Perhaps,” she said, lost in some thought. She snapped out of it, and said
thoughtfully, “It would be helpful if she
were
on our side in this,” and she
turned and came closer to Jan, taking his arm.
Jan put his hand on hers and said, “Let me talk with her, and see if
she’ll be willing to meet with you, to discuss this.”
The thought of actually meeting with someone of Ziba’s lower class
after such an insult was anathema to Jasma, and Jan could see it.
“Do it for LERN,” he said, with utmost earnestness, and Jasma gazed
off again. The thought triggered her loyalty to LERN, which had been so
well developed that she found herself automatically saying, “Yes,” and
she looked at Jan with tender eyes, “I must forgive — for love’s
epiphany.” Her eyes widened, and she looked past Jan, and said, “It’s
been too long.” Then she stared off again.
“I think you’ve had too much wine,” Jan grinned, and he gave her a
peck on the cheek, “I’ll go talk with Ziba and try to arrange something.”
Jasma glanced out the window again, and her expression changed to
one of shock, “Oh my God! Hunters!”
“So what?” Jan said as he went to the window and looked. “What’s
the probl —” His words were cut short, and he said the same thing.
“Hunters!”
They weren’t LERN’s hunters, who were mostly sports hunters.
These ones were definitely not LERN. They were professionals, from the
NOV’s Hunter Stations. They were decked out in full wildlands suits,
poison proof. Their respirator air filters would be reliable for a month at
best, and they could have a stockpile of them.
“They’re waving a white flag!” Jasma observed.
Jan said, “I’ve got to go.” Then he said, “If you see Ziba, try to ignore
her attitude until I get back, OK?”
Jasma made a face for an instant, but then quickly focused on the
Hunters again. “It looks like there are two or three hundred of them!
There are a lot of little ones too!”
Jan made a quick exit, and ran down the long stairway to the lobby.
Others in the hotel who had a high enough view to have seen the Hunters
had spread the word already. They were gathering in the lobby and
everyone there was terrified. Ziba was already down there as well. Jan
saw Ziba, and said, “I have to go!” Then he remembered, and said, “I was
talking to Jasma about something that we need LERN to do, and she said
we needed you.”
Ziba’s face went tense the instant that Jan mentioned “Jasma”, but
dropped to confusion when she heard the last part of Jan’s statement.
“I’ll talk to you later,” Jan said, mind racing, and he ran out the front
door.
They have a white flag, and they have brought children, what’s
going on?
He was wondering.
Maybe —
“They want to join you,”
the Guide said.
“They want to join us!” Jan exclaimed, realizing what was happening.
The hunters were walking up from the river mouth, and their guns were
down.
It took Jan about ten minutes of sprinting to meet up with them. Word
had spread back at the city, and everyone there was very, alarmed and
frightened. “The NOV is here!” became the quick spin. Many of them
squeezed into the hotel’s upper rooms to be able to see as they watched
Jan make his way to out the Hunters.
Asa and Sak were grudgingly impressed by Jan’s seeming bravery,
watching out of Asa’s window in the hotel. It would be good for both of
them if Jan was taken out by the Hunters, but would be a dire foreboding
of what was now upon them all.
Jan’s heart was pounding from the run — it would have been racing
anyway. He could see them clearly now, and he believed strongly that
they would not fire at him. One of them, the one holding the white flag,
handed the flag to another, and ran up to meet Jan.