An Invitation to Visit, A Short Journey South, Heading Home…
Following the last meal, the trade delegation gathered in the garden to enjoy the evening cool and a last visit together before Blackie and Julie left for Southmost. An older couple entered the patio area and many of the other hostel guest acknowledged them. Sarita realized she also knew them from when her sister had trained as a First Night Guide. They spoke to several people but headed directly for the trade representatives.
“I am not certain of what title to use to address you, Sarita, but Don and I need to talk to you, and we have heard you are getting ready to return to Refugio,” the woman said.
“Lady O’Cauley, Lord O’Cauley, please join us,” Sarita rose and then introduced the couple to the rest of the group. “These people lead the organization of First Night Guides, and I met them when my sister and her husband were tested and allowed to work. I know Sera Marta has said the women in Refugio want to see if we can do something like this among our people.”
“That is the reasons we came,” Mona said. “We received a charming invitation from Lady Morales to come and help train some guides for Refugio, but we need more information to understand if it is even possible.”
“Sera Marta is my father’s senior wife and my stepmother,” Megal said. “We don’t use the nobility titles in Refugio. Please, you are among friends, can we be on a first name rather than titles?”
“Of course, I am Mona, and this is Don. You must be Megal and of course we know Tony and Sarita, but who are these?” Mona said as she turned to Blackie and Julie.
“These are Port ship captains, Blackie Okapi and his wife Julie Hornby,” Sarita said.
“And as much as I would love to stay and talk,” Blackie said. “We are leaving on the early air ship for Southmost. We’ll say good night and see you in Trade City next week, if the winds are right.” Megal and Sarita hugged their friends as they left. Tony begged off as well. He had an early meeting with some people about trade items. The two couples settled around a small table under the sunshade at the side of the patio.
“We need information from you about manifestations in Refugio,” Don said. “We have rumors and not much understanding of what really happens.”
Sarita looked at Megal and mentally asked him if he was ready to talk about what happened or if it would be like before. He smiled and let her know her love had made it easier.
“You must understand that what Megal and I experienced was not normal,” Sarita said. “Megal can explain what the usual situation in Refugio is, but it is changing. My manifestation was forced in Port. I was raped.”
“I can tell your powers were not damaged as other women have been,” Mona was shocked. “Please, how did you avoid damage?” Sarita explained how she was given the drugs that caused her to lose control of her body, but not of her mind.
“I was aware of my thoughts, so I used the trance skills to fight off the control of the man who mounted me. That trance should be taught to both men and women for everyone’s protection. Force is not common, but it should be known that the trance helps.” She then explained how she taught the man how to block mental intrusions. He had justified the rape because he could not build a block. After Sarita showed him how, he apologized for what happened, and was grateful that he would not need to rape a woman again.
“What is this drug?” Don asked.
“It is made from a native fish and is used to suppress psy powers when a powerful user needs to be controlled. I saw them use it on a child who was abused and manifested his power much too early. I understand he is being treated by the healers.”
“The drug is one of the things that Port will be trading with Utopia once the agreements are finalized,” Megal said.
“I can see how this would be a useful drug to have on hand, but can it only be sourced from fish?” Don said.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Sarita said. “I know how you feel about using animals but until we have the means to understand the chemistry behind the drug and make it from other things, it will be necessary to use the fish.” Don was not happy but knew there might be a time when it was possible to be totally vegetarian on Higgins World.
“Megal, we have heard that couples rarely know each other when they manifest, and it is usually very bad for the woman” Don said. “It that always the case in Refugio?”
“Part of that is true. Few hidalgo couples ever meet before the marriage ceremony. As for the damage to the woman, that is what was thought, especially by the men, but it was not true. We are finally learning the truth,” Megal said. He explained how the women had learned the trance controls and few of them were injured. “I have to admit that few of them have the anamcara connection that a joint manifestation can provide, but it can be developed as Sarita and I have discovered.
“My own manifestation was a horrible experience, one that will haunt me until I join the ancestors. My brothers forced me to rape a young girl and she died from her own manifestation. She would have had very powerful psy powers and the uncontrolled release caused her heart to stop. I am an empath, and I felt her pain and her death.” Sarita took his hand and he felt sympathy from both the visitors.
“Unfortunately, many of our women are damaged because they are essentially raped on their wedding night by men who either don’t understand or believe they are doing great damage to someone they should care about. My older brother and his wife died that way.”
“You said things are changing,” Mona said.
“Yes, the women are tired of pretending they are damaged and have demanded the men recognize they are mostly undamaged,” Sarita said. “It took a major revolt by the women and many of the men are still stunned by what has happened. If the couples learn to control their manifestations, no one need be injured.”
“Well, it seems what we need to teach is the trance, but is the role of guides needed?” Don said.
“I say yes,” Megal said. “The men expect the woman to be damaged and that needs to be overcome. Both the couple need to be aware of the way the psy powers can work together or need to be controlled so they are not antagonistic. Sera Marta has talked with Sera Rita about how your system works and they believe it can be done in Refugio. You will be welcomed.”
“Do you have room for two more on your ship?” Mona said.
“We will make room. It will be a bit crowded since we are sailing on a coastal ship, but we will manage,” Sarita said. Megal explained the arrangements that needed to be made and said he would let them know when Blackie and Julie would have the smaller ship back to Trade City.
“I will let my stepmother know you will be traveling with us,” Megal said as the older couple left.
***
“That went better than I expected,” Megal said as he and Sarita walked to their room. “I was able to talk about it and control my emotions. Your mother was right, time can heal.”
“I hope the O’Cauley’s can get the men to cooperate,” Sarita said. “When two people are working together with compatible powers, so much more can be done.”
“Something that Lord Donnell said is so true. When we change things, we can either make things better or cause chaos. If there is leadership, we can avoid the chaos, I think.” Megal said. “We must remember to let Sera Marta know about the guests’ dietary needs.” The couple made their evening report and then, exhausted, fell asleep.
***
Blackie was surprised at how different the small ship looked. The hull was re-caulked, and Master O’Malley’s workers had rubbed it with something that made the wood shine.
“Did you paint the boards?” Blackie asked the yard master.
“We found that an oil from these green fruits acts to help waterproof the wood.” He pointed to some ugly, large fruits hanging on the trees along the edges of the water. “One of the children discovered how nice it looks when it is polished, so we just put them to work on that part of the project. Gives them an idea of what working for the family will be like. Most of ship building is hard work and you want them to know how it goes.”
“And busy children are less likely to get into trouble,” Julie added.
“Right you are, Captain.” The Port crew was ready to get back on the water. The supplies Lady Rourke had given them were quickly loaded. Two of the crew members had developed relationships with people in the community but worked to find replacements among the O’Malley family. Both of the newcomers needed to be taught how to sail but learning by doing was best with these skills Blackie commented. The winds were on shore during the day, so they waited for the warmer winds to blow the small ship out of the harbor.
“Did you know that because Terra has a moon, the surf rises and falls and can be predicted? I found that in one of those documents we sorted. The GC explorer remarked on how different it is here. The writer said it was something any settlers would have to adjust to,” Julie said. “Our surfs depend on the winds which is a rare phenomenon according to the writer. Someone mentioned that if we could map the wind patterns, we might have a better idea of when the surf come and go.”
“Would make sailing easier,” Blackie said. “Looks as if we are going to have a good wind to get to Trade City. I’ll have the far speaker let Megal know.”
***
Julie had stressed that the new settlement was going to need a lot of saws and axes. Those items took time to create and the forges that could make them were few in Utopia. Megal’s inquiries back to Refugio showed the metal workers there were willing to step up production but would need extra credits for the extra work. One of the products Julie had mentioned that could be traded from the new land was charcoal. They had heard from the Refugio iron workers, and they were willing to accept loads of charcoal as credits for the axes and saws. All that was needed was to work out a trade value. Megal realized there had to be some standardization of value and remembered the comments about metric measurements. Perhaps there were other ways to determine the value of work. He was not sure who might know but put it on his list. His list kept getting longer and longer.
***
Megal had left Sarita working in the document sorting room and walked out into the garden around the work building. People were moving around in the morning cool anticipating the heat of midday. He needed a quiet place to work on his notes. He had so many things he had saved to discuss with his father. As he sat in the small park, a group of Rangers approached.
“Lord Morales, we would like to speak with you,” said a young man said. Megal saw Douglas Stewart among the group. He was laughing.
“I warned him Megal, I really did,” Doug said.
“My apologies, Ser Morales,” the Ranger said. “It is habit. Doug warned us that you don’t like titles.”
“He is squad leader this quarter and those are the rules,” Doug said. “Can we walk over to the fountain area and talk?” Megal was puzzled but saw no reason to object. As he walked with the small group of men and women, he realized that the noise of the fountain would make it harder for anyone to eavesdrop on the conversation.
“Ser Morales, the Rangers who were working on surveillance of the renegade camp and the ones who were with you on the expedition have told us they were impressed by the way you lead,” the squad leader said. Megal could tell the man was very nervous but did not interrupt him. “There are many of us who want to make changes here in Utopia, but we don’t see our leaders moving in that direction. We got some things changed with the election we had but the prince is slowing things down more than we want. We have been told that the rules may be different in the new settlement. How many people will be allowed to join that group?”
“Get to the point, that was not what we wanted to ask,” one of the women spoke up. “What he is too scared to say, Ser Morales, is are you going to lead that settlement?”
“No,” Megal said. “I must return to Refugio because my father is ill, and I am his successor. The people from Port control the settlement. From what I have been told, it is going to take at least a year to get it ready to settle.”
“So, Captain Blackie might be the leader?”
“I doubt that,” Megal said. “He will be needed to bring supplies to the new settlement. I am not sure who will be directing the effort, but many of your people have experience with clearing a new farm, perhaps someone should volunteer to help with the planning.”
“There you go Murphy, you are always talking about what a mess your uncle made of the new fields at 26. If you can do better, you should volunteer.” The woman Ranger said.
“I have given them my name, and I intend to resign as soon as they announce the ships are leaving. I don’t see the changes we want happening so getting a fresh start in a new place is a chance I can’t pass up.”
“And what does your wife have to say about that?”
“It is mostly her idea because we had so much trouble getting permission to marry. Her father had other ideas, but we had already realized we were anamcara even if we hadn’t manifested.” The woman Ranger gasped. To defy parents was rare but to find a heart friend without manifesting was highly unusual.
“And, yes, we were both virgins when we finally got permission. Lord O’Cauley told us that we were not the first couple he had found that were so psy compatible we knew it before manifesting.” Megal added this information to his much too long list as something to discuss with the O’Cauley’s on the voyage to Refugio.
“How many of you want to go to the new settlement?” Doug said to the group. The side glances gave way to almost a universal show of hands. “This is going to be a problem, Megal. It is going to be a serious problem.”
***
Megal spent several days talking with people who had sent him messages. Most were concerned about how Utopia was being run. Very few were worried about sticking to the Charter. The survival of the settlement was the first thing mentioned. He recognized many of the issues because they were also happening in Refugio and Port. His folder of notes was getting unwieldy, and his concern was growing. Something radical had to be done if humans were going to survive on Higgins World.
The winds were with the small sailing ship and word came that Blackie and Julie had arrived in the Trade City. After topping off the water tanks, they would be ready to sail for Refugio. Sarita let the O’Cauley’s know, and they began having final meetings to finalize many of the agreements. Megal had not met with the prince since his offer to remain in Utopia. He called on him last.
“Lord Johnson, I will have the far speakers notify you when the Council of Houses approves of the changes to the trade agreement. I do not expect there will be objections to it,” Megal said.
“Good, because I have been notified that the need for sulfur is now critical,” Sean said. “We need it for treating soil and for something to do with the paper production.” The prince looked tired. There were rumors that the talk of moving to the new settlement was causing unrest.
“Lord Johnson, several people have approached me to discuss moving to the new settlement. I am letting Captain Okapi and his wife make the final decisions as they will be in charge of transporting the settlers,” Megal said. “I am concerned because many of these people don’t seem to understand how primitive the conditions will be for at least the first one or two years.”
“I suspect the only ones who realize what it will be like are the ones whose families have set up new farms,” Sean said. “I am concerned that so many of our young people want to leave.”
“We have noticed that,” Megal said.
“It is almost an entire generation,” Sean said. “Many families will not have workers to complete their responsibilities at their farms. We can’t afford to lose this many people.”
“Have you considered talking to them to see why they want to leave?”
“Oh, I understand why, but there is a majority in the Assembly that is fighting to stop even the changes we voted in and won’t even consider the other things the younger people want to vote on.”
“If I might suggest something, get the families who have established the new farms, like the one we worked with on the coast to talk about how much work it is. I think it might discourage some of the volunteers,” Megal said. “We are making many changes in Refugio just as you are. Some of the older men are upset with them but since the women are leading the change, if you want to get fed, you had better cooperate,” Sean laughed and told Megal he hoped they would have a safe trip and that his father would continue to heal.
***
Sean met his spy, late in the afternoon. The spy reported that the large ship was back in Southmost and had been drawn up out of the water for maintenance. The smaller ship that had brought the Port captains and the child needing help was repaired and gone. The Port sailors had loaded it and sailed to Trade City where they would pick up the trade delegation and sail.
“I knew all of that,” Sean said angrily. “What is Ser Pesch doing? What information has gotten out about what has been found in the documents? Anything?”
“Lord Johnson, Pesch has been meeting with many representatives of the farms but because we are in the first year of the rotation, they can only promise to have things to trade.”
“That too is obvious. What are your people hearing among the people who came for the Assembly?”
“Very little, my lord, it is harvesting time, and the young people are scattered helping in the fields. Most of the chatter is about how poor the harvest is just like every rotation year. There is some discontent that we have not yet abandoned the rotation, but I have reported that before. Many who have talked of changes are now talking about going to the new settlement.”
“I was afraid of that, but I needed to hear it. Thank you.”
Sean sat a long time after the man left. He had agreed to stand for election as prince for one reason and one reason only. The change made to get that done had begun changes he had not anticipated or liked. As the light faded, he slowly left the office. He realized now what needed to be done. If his beloved country was to survive, change must come, even if it was not what he had originally wanted.
| ← Chapter 31 | Chapter 33→ |
Should you want to read the whole story…
Book One
Book Two
Amazon.com: Surviving Higgins World: Change or Chaos? eBook : Gibson, Patricia : Kindle Store