Civilization

Chapter 2-1-1

2

Murdock didn’t go far. He returned to his campsite and sat by the fire; watching the others while they milled about. He saw them talking among themselves and staring at him.

“Who does he think he is? Trying to tell us what to do!” he heard a few of them say. I’ve been here before, Murdock thought and chuckled to himself.

“I don’t trust him!” he heard the man who had granted his request to come toward the pod. “Something inside me says he’s dangerous!”

Murdock chuckled again to himself. He had removed his bow and quiver of arrows and laid them on the ground next to his spear. After drinking some more water, Murdock decided to recline on the grass.

“He doesn’t look dangerous to me,” he heard someone from the shadows of the pod. “He just looks anachronistic, rough, and uncivilized!”

As he lay there listening, he heard a dozen of them heading to the stream. “Where’s the pump? Is there a cup? Aren’t there bugs in the water? How are we supposed to get the water?” Murdock was smiling openly at what he heard.

“How’s it going?” Mei Lee flashed.

“They’re as ignorant as the first pod,” Murdock responded, shaking his head and grinning. “It’s quite entertaining.”

“You be careful. There are a good many more of them than the first pod.”

“How sweet of you to worry,” Murdock responded softly and smiled, “but these…these people, and I use the term loosely, are no threat to me. They’re more of a threat to each other. From what I’ve seen so far, they’re well on their way to total destruction.”

“How so?”

“They’re all out for themselves. No teamwork. No concern for the next hour, let alone the next thirty days.”

“How are we supposed to get water?” a woman asked standing a few feet from him. It had startled him that she managed to get that close without him noticing. I’m getting too complacent, he chided himself. I need to be more aware.

“There are several ways,” he responded coolly, “only one of which is to suck it up by putting your face into the water.”

“What? That’s so…uncivilized and unsanitary. You really should have cups for visitors.”

“This ain’t no damned resort, lady,” Murdock scolded through clenched teeth. He was quite angry at the woman’s arrogance. “If you can’t figure out how to get water out of the stream, there’s a cliff about twenty miles that way.” Murdock pointed downstream. “Go throw yourself off it before you do some real damage!”

“How rude!” She stomped off toward the pod in an obvious huff.

He sat up and looked to the sun. He judged it was late morning. He dug out a piece of the smoked venison and started nibbling. As he did so, he glanced over toward the pod and saw that most of the people were outside. As he finished the small piece he was nibbling on, Murdock took up the spear and got to his feet. He walked purposefully to the edge of the shadow of the pod.

“Attention,” he yelled in his best commanding tone. “Attention. Can I have your attention?” A few people were meandering toward him. “I need to have everyone’s attention for a few minutes!” More and more of them were heading toward him. “Quiet, please! I need everyone’s attention!” He waited for the majority to stop talking and pay attention. They all seemed to be very slow in responding. Once it was somewhat quiet, Murdock cleared his throat.

“First, I have a couple of announcements. The boundaries are the terrace edge,” he pointed upstream to the terrace, “and the cliff,” he pointed to the cliff across the stream. There was a deep rumble coming from the crowd as they murmured their displeasure. “Anyone caught breaking those boundaries will be dealt with severely!”

A big man stepped forward slightly and Murdock recognized him as the one he had talked to first. “Who the hell do you think you are?” the man asked in a bellowing tone that everyone heard. “You can’t tell us what to do! We go where we want! We don’t answer to a petty dictator!” Several members in the crowd yelled their backing of the man’s speech.

“I’m sorry,” Murdock yelled back to be heard over the murmuring crowd and smiling sarcastically, “if I gave you the impression that this is a discussion or a negotiation. It isn’t! Your petty dictators are in your midst right now. They just haven’t made themselves known, yet, but they will, sooner or later, they always do. Let me be crystal clear. When I said dealt with severely, I meant dead. The only exceptions are by my orders. No one has more authority in this matter than I. You’re free to utilize the land downstream from the terrace ridge. That should be sufficient for anyone!

“Second, anyone with the following skill set, come over to my left. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, or anyone with any medical training,” a few started meandering over to his left. “Hunters, fishermen, outdoorsmen of any kind,” a few more meandered. “Butchers, woodworkers, potters,” two more started for the group that had already been called out.

“Third, you’ll need to cajole, appoint, elect, or draft a spokesman, or spokespersons. I want to deal only with someone, or a group of no more than three, who speaks for everyone. That’s all, for now!” Murdock turned to the few that had queued up to his left and motioned them to follow him as he walked over to his campsite.

“I want the fishermen and hunters first,” he said loud enough for the small group to hear. Three men approached. “That stream has fish in it, but there may not be enough to feed everyone fish every day. That way,” he pointed toward the river, “about twenty or twenty-five miles, is a river with more and bigger fish in it. The fish on this planet are very rich and will stretch further than you’d think. If you look around, there’s plenty of deer sign. The animals here are a lot larger than you think they should be. You don’t want to waste anything. You’re going to have to brain-tan hides for clothing and other uses. Like the fish, the venison is quite rich and will go further than you’d initially expect.” He handed a couple of them some of his smoked venison and they sniffed and tasted gingerly. Only one thought it was good. The other two handed theirs back. “You two are going to get mighty hungry!”

“How big are the deer?” asked the one who appreciated the venison.

“They run, roughly, the size of an elk. One of your first jobs should be to teach basic woods-craft to as many as you can. If you see any bears, go the other way. You’re not to touch, harass, hunt, shoot, or molest any bears in any way at any time. To do so will exact a swift and severe retaliation. When you unload the storage bins, make sure you get a good inventory. I want to know what you have for weapons.” He had stopped talking to them and taken a drink. They knew he was finished with them.

“Medical personnel?” he asked, and three people came forward. “What kind of practice did you have?” he asked the first man.

“Paramedic,” the man said.

“You?” Murdock went to the next person, a female.

“G.P.,” she said haughtily. His eyes widened with interest.

“You?” he asked the last person, another female.

“Practical Nurse,” she answered.

“We’re sorely lacking in medical personnel and medical facilities, so you three are going to be worth your weight in gold, so to speak. I will personally see to it that you have housing and are fed well. I’ll also get the others to contribute. When I’m finished with the rest, Doctor, I want to talk to you privately. When the storage bins are emptied, you three should take charge of any and all medical equipment and drugs. Anyone gives you any grief, you tell them to take it up with me.” All three went back to the pod with a smile.

“The rest of you need to find people familiar with certain skills. All woodworkers, farmers, and potters. Anyone with those types of skills is what you need. Ignore lawyers and politicians, they’re useless. When you get around to emptying the storage bins, make sure the craftsmen take charge of their tools, if any, and I want to be notified immediately.” The rest left when it was evident that he was finished talking to them.

After everyone had left him, Murdock was trying to figure a way to get the doctor to the cabin to examine Mei Lee and be available when she went into labor. As he sat there, he heard the others having the discussion of selecting spokespersons. Murdock got that déjà vu feeling again.

It took several hours for the others to elect three spokespersons. It shouldn’t have taken that long, he thought. It isn’t that complicated. That’s what happens when you get a bunch of people together to make a decision. I knew I should have just picked three and let the rest choose from them. Murdock had noticed that it was getting to be rather late in the day, so he invited the doctor over to his campfire while he caught, cleaned, and cooked a couple of fish. By the time they were eating, it was already quite dark.

In the course of their dinner conversation, he had found out that the doctor, Irene Harris, would first talk to the practical nurse to see if her skills, experience, and judgment were what they should be. If she were found lacking, the doctor agreed to examine his wife.

“And how were you going to pay for my services?” she asked. They had been sitting across from each other and their faces were lit by the campfire. As soon as she spoke the words, Murdock’s pleasant expression turned cloudy.

“What did you have in mind?” he asked cautiously.

“Gold, silver, any precious metals, precious gems,” she said in an offhand manner as she continued to eat.

Murdock said nothing for some time. He just sat there looking into the flames. “Will those things keep you warm in the winter? Will they fill your belly when you’re hungry?” he asked finally. She could hardly hear his questions; he spoke so softly.

“I could buy those things with whatever passes for money here.”

“Housing and food aren’t worth anything then?” Murdock asked.

“They are, but they don’t come close to the remuneration my skills will require. I am the only doctor, after all!”

Murdock sat there quietly looking at the doctor’s expression. He could tell she was serious as she was looking quite pleased with herself.

“Well, then, Doctor, I’ll be sure to remember that before you examine any of my family. Should you run across me when you’re hungry, I’ll be glad to remind you to pay cash!” Murdock stood his anger apparent by his expression. The Doctor stood reflexively and turned to run as he grabbed her by the back of her collar. His other hand grabbed her clothing at her Gluteus Maximus. “You have officially worn out any and all welcomes!” he said sternly through clenched teeth. Murdock then tossed her about thirty feet. He stood there watching her as she landed with a satisfying thud and seeing her get up slowly before he returned to his campfire.

After the doctor left, Murdock had some difficulty getting to sleep. I’m tired of dealing with these people, he thought. I want to head home. He had been worried about Mei Lee, as he knew she was close to delivering. He did make telepathic contact with her and maintained it until he went to sleep.

Murdock woke up the next morning at daybreak, as he usually did. He had eaten his breakfast and was waiting for some time when the others finally got around to showing signs of life. He picked up his bow, quiver, and spear and walked, with purpose, into the shadow of the transport.

“Those selected as representatives will come to my campfire as soon as possible,” he commanded and then walked back to his camp to wait impatiently.

He didn’t have to wait long before the practical nurse was heading his direction. Murdock watched as she approached.