By Kandi J. Wyatt
When the elders told Jaakko to bring back evidence he’d gone as far into the wastelands as anyone had ever traveled, he hadn’t expected this. He’d envisioned discovering an ice succulent like his father had before him—a notable accomplishment which would allow him to vote with the elders and might even get Adda’s attention—but the wind had picked up three lunar steps ago. After his last rest, the clouds had obscured both moons, leaving him blind. Pure happenstance had led him stumbling to this rectangular cave.
A faint humming, much softer than the howling of the wind outside, reached his ears as he stood in the sheltered alcove. He crept forward, and when the room lit up, he squinted and blinked several times. A light whiter than the lamplight he was accustomed to and yellower than the moons shone from the high ceiling, revealing round tables and tall-backed, cushioned chairs, unlike any in the colony. The place reminded him of the stories old Eetu told when storms raged outside.
“Welcome, weary traveler. Take a load off.” A voice sputtered to life, growing in volume and clarity as it spoke.
Jaakko jumped and looked for the other person—a welcome relief after seven steps of no companionship—but he was alone. Light flickered like snow against one wall, then formed into an image of a brown-bearded face.
“I’ll have coffee ready in just a moment. Go ahead and sit down.” The face shifted, showing more of the man, who held out his hands and motioned to the chairs spread in a semi-circle before the wall.
Watching his step, Jaakko wove through stands and tables laden with various metal boxes, like the wooden ones in Kaarle’s workshop. He sank into a seat, and dust billowed up from the leather, sparking a coughing fit. Something whirred beside him. Jaakko leapt from his place when a section of the table opened and part of it moved toward him, grinding to a halt and revealing a steaming ceramic cup. A strange odor tickled his nose.
“Now that you have your coffee, you can listen to my tale.”
Gathering his courage, Jaakko sat back down and took off his fur mittens.
“I’ve been waiting for you to arrive. It feels strange talking to the monitor, but I trust this message is getting out to the world—or what’s left of it.”
The face on the wall shifted. Jaakko blinked and glanced around, making sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. It was like a wonderful artist had reproduced the room in vivid detail on the opposite wall, except a man not much older than himself relaxed in the same chair he was in. He shivered as if centipede legs had crawled up his spine.
“As I sit here, I can only hope that the oncoming disaster will be brief, and out of it mankind will rebuild. For that purpose, I’ve been tasked with showing you where to find the blueprints. Come with me.”
He stood, walked to the counter—just like the one across from Jaakko—and bent down. The man on the wall pushed a lever, and a flat section popped out. Jaakko glanced at the real counter, then back to the wall’s strange images as the flat section came to life, like the wall itself had done, revealing drawings of various shapes and dimensions.
“Here is what mankind needs to start over.” Sadness filled the man’s face. “I hope for your sake that the files are intact. They are under GENESIS.” He paused, then spelled it out. “May you find what you’re looking for.”
With a final wave, the man disappeared, leaving Jaakko alone once again. Taking a deep breath, he gazed at the counter where the man had stood, then he gathered his courage and approached it. Again the uncanniness of the similarity between reality and the image of the man on the wall struck him when he discovered the lever. He pushed and pulled, but nothing happened. Then he tried turning it. The counter groaned. The same metal box glowed and rotated upward, revealing a section with buttons labeled with individual letters—each slightly different than how he’d learned to form them, but recognizable all the same.
“Ge-ne-sis.” He sounded out the word, as he punched each letter.
“Genesis retrieval authorized,” a female voice said from the box.
Jaakko didn’t have much time to consider how a box could speak before glowing letters and words appeared on it, and another device clattered. With a final click, the thinnest parchment he’d ever seen lay on the counter. He picked it up, afraid it would crumble in his fingers, but instead it held firm, though dirt from his thumb marred the white sheet.
On it was a drawing labeled “GENERATOR”—whatever that was. Another parchment appeared where the first had been. This one held complex words he didn’t bother trying to decipher other than generator and energy. Piece after piece made its way to the stack. Jaakko shook his head and turned around. A dusty leather case with a clasp, perfect for carrying his find, rested against a chair, and he tucked the parchment inside.
For two lunar steps, Jaakko waited for the storm to pass and explored the home of the ancients. After the third rest, he paused in the doorway, hoping for a final message, but none came. Was it his imagination, or had the humming faded? Should he check into it? He shrugged. The leather case held everything he needed. Without it, who would believe that he’d found evidence of the ancients—that they’d spoken to him? No one. The parchment would be the best proof ever brought back to the village.
This case held the evidence he’d gone farther into the wastelands than any other initiate. He’d get Adda’s attention, maybe eventually be one of the elders himself. Adjusting his scarf over his nose, he headed back out into the world he knew and understood, into the cold.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Great story Kandi!!
Thanks!
Love the “thin parchment” that might “crumble.” Haha!
Glad you liked that.
I like that he’s oblivious to what he’s found.
I thought that was appropriate.
You’ve created an interesting world here. I wonder if any of the elders will take more interest in Jaako’s find than he did? ;-)
Whether the elders will, I’m not sure, but eventually, yes, others will take an interest and the world will change.
Oh goodness, the poor man has no clue XD
You made me laugh with your comment. No, he doesn’t.