Background
Ayala joins Archie as he digs shelter. They discuss the impact of the discover of the Hufacs, and their interaction with the world.
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End of last chapter:
Archie nodded and turned toward his digging spot. Before walking off, he glanced over his shoulder at Ayala.
"Third degree," he said.
"Black belt?"
"Yes."
Ayala smiled as she joined Koko.
"He's not so bad now, is he?" Koko asked.
"I never said he was. I just didn't like the way he tied me up like an . . ."
"Animal?"
"Yeah."
Ayala's eyes flicked up at Archie as though looking to see if he had heard the remark. He didn't look their way, but Ayala was sure he had hesitated a fraction of a second from digging. She couldn't help but wonder what he really thought about her and her people, and, when it came down to it, if she really cared?
Chapter 21:
"Well, hello," Archie said. He stood upright in the hole he was digging. "Are you two finished weaving the mat?"
"No, I helped Koko gather supplies," Ayala replied, "but by the time we were finished, Sani had the still up and going. He sent me to help you."
"Did he have another shovel in that backpack of his? I wonder how he got so much in that raggedy bag. He's definitely a better packer than I am."
"Me too. Of course, I didn't get the chance to pack one..."
"Yeah, sorry about all that. I couldn't just leave you behind."
"No, and I'm glad you didn't, though I was pretty upset at first."
"You wanted to rip my liver out."
"I never said that."
"That's because there was a gag in your mouth, but I could see it in your eyes."
"If I didn't say it, you can't prove it. Anyway, Sani didn't have another shovel. He sent me with a sharp digging stone. He says they were quite popular in caveman days. I was nice and didn't ask if he knew from personal experience."
"Ha, ha! Good idea. Hop on in here. It's nearly finished. I have it about as deep as we need, although it needs widening at the bottom."
"Why the bottom and not the top?"
"More dirt on top will act as a better roof and insulator. It'll also give Koko and Sani less area to have to cover with their mat."
"And the whole thing won't fall in on top of us?"
"Not if we keep to the damp area with our digging. It's the same principle behind tunneling in mines."
"But mines have beams to support the ceiling."
"True, when they're needed. Sani could tell us more about it, but I do know that for small areas, it's not necessary. We're just widening out a sleeping area, not digging to the next county."
"I'll take your word for it. You have built all the others so far."
"Yes, I did, but I appreciate the help and company. I can't believe Sani let someone help me this time."
"He said you're less angry."
"I wasn't angry, before. I was uptight, and Sani was trying to teach me some life altering lesson about patience."
Ayala giggled, and dropped into the hole with Archie.
"I guess, we were both uptight," she admitted.
"Yeah. Good thing we're past all of that."
"Right."
Ayala flashed an impish grin, and began digging at the sides of the wall. She loved the way the earth felt as it peeled away with her stone. She wondered if that's the way the Ant Kin felt when they were digging in their gardens. She took a handful and squeezed it between her fingers.
Archie looked over at her and grinned. "You look like a kid playing in a sandbox."
"I guess I'm sort of like a child, aren't I? A stranger in a strange world?"
"There's nothing wrong with innocence. I find it refreshing."
"It won't last long, will it?
"Probably not."
Ayala stroked the damp soil with her stone, letting the soft granules cascade down her fingers and onto the ground. As she dug, she thought about her current condition, and her fears about the future. She pressed her cheek against the cool soil as though to let the earth absorb her worries.
"What are we going to do with all this soil we're collecting?" Ayala asked.
"We'll scatter it around in the plants so it's not so obvious where we are. We'll do that when we're through digging."
Archie grabbed handsful of the dirt, and added it to the growing pile outside the hole. Hiding the evidence was his least favorite part of the hole-digging experience, but it was necessary to maintain security. It was this rookie mistake that had led to their discovery the first day of the escape.
"What was it like growing up in a normal world?" Ayala asked.
Archie turned around and focused on his companion. Her hands were caked with soil, her exquisite face, streaked with signs of toil. But, her eyes were alive with adventure and delight. He smiled, and she smiled back.
"Normal world," he repeated as though mulling the term over. "I wish I knew. My father worked in medical research until I turned seven, and then became a United States Senator. If we weren't traveling to D.C. to keep Dad company, or enduring one of his many social events, we were trying to live life without him. There were times I dreamed of having a conventional life."
"And the rest of the time?"
"I spent planning my own rise to presidency." Archie laughed, his rich voice echoing in the hole.
"Well, at least you were busy."
"That I was, and there were moments of normalcy. I mean, like when my father took us camping, or went with me and my brothers to Taekwondo. It was then he seemed less a public figure, and more an everyday guy."
"Do you get along with him?"
"Most of the time. My mother says we're a lot alike."
"Like me and Koko?"
"You two are similar only in appearance."
"I've heard that before. So, how is my digging?"
Archie looked around the hole. She had created a sort of alcove in the area she was working on. It was neat and compact.
"Is that your own apartment?" he asked.
Ayala waved a hand toward the niche, and shrugged her shoulders. "It wasn't intended to be, but I kind of like it. Can I leave it?"
"Sure, I should have thought of doing it sooner. It'll give you ladies a place to tuck away."
Ayala continued to widen her nook, digging with all the passion of youth. She seemed content to have found something she could control in her vastly changing world.
"What was your life like before I got here and messed everything up?" Archie asked.
Ayala paused and looked up. "Oh, not nearly as exciting as yours. We arose early in the morning, ate, played with the little ones, went to work, came home, ate again, played educational games with the children, and then went to bed. Nothing more."
"Do you miss it?"
"I won't lie. I could use a real bed about now."
"I hear that."
"Be honest with me, Archie, now that you know the truth about me and Koko, what do you think of us? Do we look more like animals to you?"
"You look no different than you did the first day we met. You're a beautiful young lady who is healthy, kind, and curious. You've nothing to be ashamed of, except, maybe, a bit of dirt on your nose."
Ayala laughed and brushed the soil off with a hand dirtier than her face. All she managed to do was smear it across her face. "I don't think that helped she said."
"Not so much, but you're still beautiful."
"Then why do I feel like a freak?"
"Well you're not. You don't look any different from anyone else."
"But what if I did? Or what about Koko's baby? What will your world do if it's born with paws and a snout?"
"I wish I could answer your question honestly, Ayala. I mean, prejudice of all kinds is rampant, but I think that, as a whole, society is doing better. The entrance of your people into it will rattle things up a bit, but I believe we'll adjust and learn to live together."
"You make it seem easy, but I know it can't be. I have a feeling we're going to come off as lab rats--a fact that may be more attractive to you, the son of a scientist, than to me, the subject."
"I'll be there right beside you. I promise I won't let you face my people alone." Archie reached out a hand and touched her shoulder. She shrugged, but didn't move away.
"I grew up trusting everyone," she said, "and now I don't know who to have faith in."
"What about me?"
"I don't think I'm quite ready to do that yet."
"Fair enough."
Archie turned around and continued digging. His small shovel moved through the virgin soil as easily as beach sand. He had no idea what the future held for any of them, except they would never be the same again. This was going to be a bigger news story than if he had stumbled across a spaceship complete with live aliens. These strangers were homegrown.
Author Notes
A special thanks goes out for the artwork, "through a hole" by Joelgraphuchin.
A note on the purpose of the animal DNA discovery. This book is intended to be Science Fiction and Fantasy, but it has an underlying theme. There have been groups of people throughout time that have been treated as less than human, even experimented on in some cases. it's also to bring up any discrimination against other groups of people. It happened in the past, and is still happening today. The poor, ethnic groups, sexual orientation, mental illness, people from other countries, etc. There is a lot of different types of experimentation where we try to "cure" what we don't understand. It is my intention to use a fantasy environment to teach cultural tolerance, while telling a yarn. Thank you to those of you who look beyond the story.
Summary of the book so far:
Archie Franklin is a United States Senator from the State of Texas. He's also the President's son.
He was traveling the west, scoping out New Mexico for a committee he was on, when a deer ran in front of his Ferrari and caused him to crash.
He was rescued from the desert by a group from a cult-like village called Hokee. In this town, the people are part of an experiment to improve the human condition by taking orphans and raising them isolated from many of the modern conveniences that make mankind weak.
The children, as young as 5, are placed in houses named after animals, but otherwise taught animals are dangerous and unclean. Each "house" has a particular job in the community based on the attributes of the representative animal.
The leader, Leander, chooses what children are brought to the village. He doesn't want anyone to know about the compound so they can maintain isolation. Archie is now a prisoner, but has befriended a young lady, Koko, whose husband has come up missing, and is assumed imprisoned in a penal mining colony.
Working against odds, the two hope to escape and protect Koko's unborn child. Having babies at stage one of the experiment is forbidden by the scientists in charge. Teens are sterilized at puberty to avoid pregnancies, but occasionally one will be conceived. Standard operating procedure is to perform an abortion, but Koko is willing to fight against all she's grown up to believe to give her child a chance at life.
Now, Archie, Koko and Sani have escaped the complex after the old miner, Sani, set off an explosive distraction. On the way through a fence, they ran into Ayala, Koko's "sister" who tried to stop them. In order to ensure her silence, they tied her up and took her with them.
After traveling all night, they stopped at dawn to dig a shelter under the sand. Covering themselves with a blanket they wove from plants, they are resting from enemies and the heat of the day.
Archie and Koko begin to read a book Archie rescued from Hokee before they left. It is the story of the experiment called The Humanity Project.
These are the 12 houses of Hokee:
Hawk: Where Leander Jr. lives. They are the strict rulers of the compound, answerable only to Leander Sr..
Cougar: The strong arms of the Hawks. They dish out whatever punishment is required, even to sending miscreants to another settlement they have up North in the mines.
Coyote: The one Archie and Ayala are in: Job: Teachers and professors. Allowed more knowledge of the "outside world".
Ant: Considered unclean, these people tend meat and fur animals outside the village
Tarantula: Architects, and menders
Donkey: Transportation and communication
Wasp: Prepare and serve food
Deer: Sports and entertainment
Hare: Make and distribute clothing
Rat: Childcare
Snake: healthcare
Buzzards: Clean up crew, maintain sewer and custodial chores
General Summary of the Book:
Young Texas Senator, Archie Franklin, finds himself marooned in the desert with a group of people who are more than they appear to be on the surface.
Hokee: Name of the village Archie is held in. It means, "The abandoned."
Characters:
Archimedes (Archie) Franklin: High energy, main protagonist, who is, also, a Senator from Texas, and son of the President of the United States, Andrew Franklin.
Ayala: Female head of household in the house Archie finds himself imprisoned.
Andrew (Andy) Franklin: President of the United States, and father of Archie.
Koko: Ayala's best friend in Coyote House, close as sisters, born on the same day.
Todd: Koko's husband
Sani: Old man. Used to be a miner up north. Another trapped refugee from the desert. An ally in the quest to escape.
Leander: Head scientist in charge of the structure of Hokee. His son, Leander, is in charge of daily operations.
Junior: Leander's son, who lives in the Hawk house. He's personally a coward, but rules Hokee with an iron fist.
Others to be listed as they appear in the book.
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