A New Life

"I personally believe you two and Mr. Johns have the best chances of being successful. Some of the others from earlier in the 19th or 20th century will survive very well but they do not have the knowledge and drive to jump start civilization as I expect you to do. We have tried to select colonists who will turn away from the military side of civilization. We would hope weapons—especially weapons of mass destruction or warfare—will not be manufactured on this world.

"Even those who brought fire arms only brought a minimum number and even less ammunition. Once again, you have the largest supply of ammunition of any of the settlers, although those of earlier years have weapons that can use the old black powder which is very simple to manufacture. I have high hope for your success. I want to assure you we will keep watch over you, but I am afraid I cannot foresee any event in which we will contact you or provide assistance. We may, at some later date, provide you with a small additional delivery but that is still in the discussion phase. Good luck."

With that Simon and Paula turned to their wagons, climbed board and began their trek toward their new home. They had selected a spot above the high water mark where one of the smaller streams joined with the larger one flowing down the valley. The pictures showed what they thought to be a cave in which they hoped to shelter for a short time until they found a place to set up permanently. The proposed location of their home was sheltered by a large bluff from the north so should not be subject to cold winter winds.

It took almost all day for them to move to their temporary home. This was because the shuttles landed them several miles away in order to stay out of sight of the village at the foot of the valley. When they arrived it took some work to clear a trail so the wagons could drive to the base of the cliff where the cave was, indeed, located.

They immediately fell in love with the area. Barring any unforeseen circumstances they would probably build their home within a few feet of this location. Just across the larger stream was a nice area for their crops. There was a lot of pasture up the smaller valley the little stream flowed from that could be used for the few animals they had. The scenery was beautiful and the setting peaceful.

After they arrived and unhitched the draft animals they unloaded their young animals from the wagons. One of the first tasks the next day would be to build pens for the pigs and a shelter for the chickens. They also had their barely weaned Australian Sheppard puppies that would need some sort of shelter for a short time. After that they had to get a crop in, plant a garden and build their new home. The next few months were going to be very busy.

On the third day after their arrival Simon and Paula were working in their fields. He was plowing and she was picking up rocks and using a sledge to haul them out of the field. If the rocks were large enough Paula carefully stacked them along the edge of the plowed section using them as a partial fence to keep animals out of the garden. The smaller rocks were set aside for possible future use in building their house or other construction projects. So far they had nearly three acres plowed. Simon was almost ready to hitch up the small horse drawn disc to prepare the seed bed when he saw two rapid shafts of light spearing down through the clouds toward their new home. To Simon the light shafts appeared unnatural. They seemed to be much too regular and dense to be natural sunlight. He debated going to see what was going on then decided he could not spare the time.

Later that evening they decided the workday was over and began walking toward their home. When they neared the ford across the stream Simon heard what he was sure were voices coming from near their home. A few steps later he heard rocks rattling and the voices once again. He looked over at Paula and pulled his pistol. Although they had found nothing threatening since they arrived he and Paula always went armed just to be safe. He said, "It sounds as if we have company. Maybe someone from the village has seen our work and decided to visit. Let's be careful until we make sure they are really as peace loving as our friends think."

Paula pulled the .22 Mag pistol she carried and faded into the gathering darkness. Simon stood listening for a moment then moved slowly and carefully down the path toward their camp and future home. Soon a young man and girl came into sight. They were wandering around the camp and playing with the puppies. All at once Simon let out a yell. "Sherry, Tom! How did you get here? Oh my GOD. I thought you were dead."

At his shout the two young adults stopped and turned toward him. They stood staring at him as he rushed toward the camp. Simon quickly placed his pistol back in his holster and ran to his siblings. He bent forward and pulled them into a tight embrace. Sherry was crying and kept repeating over and over, "Simon, it's really you! I can't believe it. I went to your funeral and saw them bury you. I just couldn't believe that space man when he told me he was taking me to my brother." She broke down in tears and had to stop talking.

About that time Paula walked up and wrapped her arms around the three siblings. After a few moments Simon pushed away from the group hug and said, "Tom, Sherry, this is my wife Paula. Paula, this is my youngest sister Sherry and my brother Tom."

After the greetings were over Paula moved to the fire pit and prepared supper. While they were eating their evening meal and for some time afterward the siblings continued catching up on each other and their family until the end of the Earth. They were all too keyed up to go to bed even though they were all exhausted. The main topic during the meal was their family and friends. After the meal was eaten Simon asked, "How in the world did you meet Professor Sheripati and get him to bring you here?"

Sherry did all of the early talking, but Tom finally found his voice and said, "We don't know for sure how we got here. We were listening to the TV with Mom and Dad waiting on the missiles to hit. Dad said he knew the plant where he worked was on the target list and it was just a matter of time before they came. We really didn't have any place to go to get away from the bombs so we all decided to stay together as a family. We watched the TV and they showed a missile approaching the town. We moved to the door and turned toward the plant. There was a large flash of light from the direction of the plant. We could see the mushroom cloud beginning to grow and we saw the destruction approaching when all at once, boom, we were gone and inside this huge ship. Some men came and took us to a place they said was a medical exam room. We woke up this morning and a man told us he was taking us to a new planet where we could live with someone who knew and loved us.

"We really didn't know what to think about that. I tried to ask questions but he wouldn't answer them. He said tell them Professor Sheripati said Merry Christmas and to give Simon this letter when we got here."

After Tom told them what he knew of their rescue Simon opened the letter from Professor Sheripati. He read quietly for a short time.

My Friends:

If you are reading this letter you know I took one more opportunity to save some of

the last remaining humans from your Earth. As we were breaking orbit I was viewing

your home taking pictures of it for you. We did that for each of our colonists and have

presented these pictures to them. In your case, Simon, I saw your two young siblings

on your patio with your parents watching their destruction rush toward them. At the

time I didn't even think of the possible consequences of my actions. I quickly energized

our transmitters and pulled them onto our ship. I must tell you however, that I did not

take this action totally in the dark. We did much research on your younger siblings

while we were investigating you to see if you qualified for our program. We found no

evidence they were fated to expire at a young age therefore they were not considered

for our program. I must tell you, however, that they meet all our selection criteria as

did you and your wife Paula with that exception and, of course, the lack of education

that would have been remedied as they aged.

Having taken the chance and beamed them up I had to decide what to do with them.

They did not have any equipment or preparation for them to live alone in this new

world so I couldn't ethically require them to strike out on their own. My only option was to place them with another of our colonists. Of course, since they were your siblings morality demanded I send them to you. You also are much better prepared to care for them than any other colonist so they are now your responsibility.

Good luck my friend. Teach your siblings well. I wish you many happy years in your

new home.

Your Friend,

Alisandre Sheripati

After he read the letter Simon passed it to Paula. He then looked at the pictures of his home and parents as they faced their death. He next looked at the picture of Paula's parents and home before passing them to her also.

After she read the letter Paula passed it back to Simon's siblings for them to read. Tom finished reading it and said, "Cool. One of your professors was a space alien! Did you know it? What was he like? Did he tell you anything about this?"

Simon replied, "Yes, Tom, it turned out one of our professors was technically an alien. Well, really, three of our professors were aliens but we didn't know that until just before the end. When we completed the fall semester of college just before we died Professor Sheripati told Paula, our friend Don, and me that we were going to die and he then gave us the chance to come here if we wished. He would save us and place clones in our place if we agreed to become a colonist. We didn't see any other choice so we took his deal."

"Wow. So that's why you were so weird that Christmas. Mom and Dad talked about that a lot after you died. Mom always thought it was because you had a premonition of your death especially after your girlfriend died just after Christmas. I guess in a way you did didn't you?" Tom stopped talking for a moment and looked over at Paula then continued, "That was you wasn't it?" Paula nodded her head yes but said nothing.

Simon looked over at his brother and sister with pride and apprehension. They were two well set up young people. He had trouble realizing that chronologically Sherry was now 20 and Tom was 18 years old. In terms of living their lives they were actually his age now. When he 'died' he was 6 years older than Sherry and 8 years older than Tom. Now he and Sherry were almost the same age and Tom was only two years younger than he was.

Simon said, "Yeah, Tom, I was thinking about my death that Christmas. After Paula's mother called to let me know she died just like the professor said she would I finally completely believed everything he told me. From that point on I KNEW I was seeing you all for the last time in my life. You have no idea how hard it was to go on. At one time I decided I would hide at home and try to avoid my fate but I didn't. I was already head over heels in love with Paula and if what the professor said was true I knew not only could I not avoid death by changing my actions but I would be here with Paula again when I died."

Simon looked around the clearing for a moment then continued, "Well, Paula and I have had a long and exhausting day. We have to get some sleep. I don't know how to tell you this but things are going to be rougher for you than you have ever had it from now on. We have already grown to love this new planet and what we think our life will become but it is a big change from what we knew back home. You are going to have to work very hard with us for us to be able to survive and prosper. Your whole body will be a mass of pain until you get used to the work we do to survive here. I'm afraid there are no labor saving devices now and everything is more difficult and takes a lot longer than we're used to. Also, we can't run to the store for something we want. There are no stores here that I know of and even if there are, we have no money to buy things with. If we need it and don't have it we either have to build whatever it is or do without. We'll fill you in more fully tomorrow as we work but for now, we need to get some rest."

Paula smiled at the two new arrivals and said, "Sherry if you'll come with me I'll try to find something for you guys to use for bedding." She moved over to the cave where the wagons sat beside some of the items that had already been unloaded. After rummaging around in their belongings for a moment she pulled out some bedding for Tom and Sherry.

Sherry took the bedding from her new sister in law as Paula said, "You two can sleep anywhere you want but I suggest you lay out your beds over there." She pointed to a spot on the other side of the fire back in the cave from where she and Simon slept. There was a small amount of sand and some vegetation in that location from an earlier bed Simon made before they decided they would rather sleep in their current location. After that she rapidly found her own bed and snuggled up against Simon. None of the young people slept well that night. Simon and Paula were up at dawn as had become their custom. They were deeply involved in preparing a large breakfast by the time a groaning and complaining Sherry and Tom crawled from their hard beds.

While the women cleaned up after the meal Simon took Tom around to take care of the animals. He also harnessed two of the Clydesdales and hooked them to the equipment they were going to use that day.

While he was helping harness the horses Tom said, "You're joking, right? We're not actually going to use HORSES to work today are we?"

Simon looked at Tom in surprise and said, "Yeah, we are. I told you last night there were minimal labor saving devices here on this new Earth. Didn't you believe me? There is nothing in existence on this planet that uses motors or engines of any kind. The original inhabitants are stagnant in a pastoral society living on small plots of ground or in small villages. They don't seem to have any ambition to advance farther. We have no pollution, no manufacturing of any type, no congestion and, best of all, no wars or conflicts of a major nature. All the modern conveniences we have are what we brought from our Earth. We were not allowed to bring any motors or engines of any type. We were limited to tools and medical items in use prior to 1930 when our benefactors believe our technology and society began taking a wrong turn. After we get our year's food planted we have to build our house. We have about three acres plowed now and we are going to disc and plant it beginning today. After that we will plow more land so we can grow the extra food we will need since your arrival."

"You're kidding, right? We're actually going to do all the work around here by hand and with HORSES? That's a bunch of crap."

"Well, Tom, it's that or we starve. What would you do? I had a choice of doing this or dying when I was 19. What would you suggest? I can tell you it is going to take all of us to grow, hunt and preserve enough food to live through the winter. In our spare time when we're not working in the fields or preserving food we have to build our house and prepare for the winter. We will have to hunt for our food until our herds increase in size. You and Sherry are going to cause us to need a lot more food than we planned on so we will now have to plant more and hunt more food. In case you forgot, you showed up with nothing and Paula and I have to provide you with the means to survive. You are my family and I don't begrudge you that, but I will need your help to do everything."

"Man. I've never done anything like that before. How do you do all that?"

"Well, it may come as a surprise to you but I've never done it either. All I know is what little I learned helping Gramps when I was a kid and what I learned in college and on the net while I was trying to decide what we needed to bring with us. I'm still finding easier ways to do the work we are trying to do."

The family, now increased to four, went to the field and resumed work on the garden. As they worked Simon and Paula filled Tom and Sherry in on everything they could think of about their new situation. Sherry seemed excited about the future. Tom was almost surly. He complained about the hard work and the fact there was nothing to do. They did get more work done with the extra help but they didn't do twice the work they normally did.

Finally evening came and quitting time rolled around. Paula and Simon normally stopped in the stream on the way back to their camp and took a bath. This evening they did the same as usual and began bathing. Sherry watched for a short time then jumped to join them. Tom stood on the bank watching and complaining about having to bathe in the stream and do everything by hand.

All at once Simon reached his limit. He said, "Damn it, Tom, shut up. This is our home now. We have to make the most of it. If we work hard we can eventually have some of the conveniences you seem to want. Hell, there are some things I would like to have here that we don't, but there's no use complaining. Would you rather be dead? You would be if you weren't here. Now quit feeling sorry for yourself and get in here and clean up. We still have to do the chores while the women prepare supper. We'll talk more about what we need to do while we eat supper. We have a long day again tomorrow."

Simon and the two women finished their bath and walked back to the house. They left Tom on the bank glaring at them. While Paula and Sherry prepared supper Simon cared for the animals. Tom finally showed up when they were almost half done eating their meal. He stomped over and picked up his food without saying anything to them. It did appear as if he bathed before he came to the camp. Simon thought about asking him if he put the soap and towels back in the storage containers they kept them in but decided it wasn't worth upsetting him.

Sherry was an immediate asset to the group. Tom, not so much. He did work with them but grudgingly. Basically he acted like a typical old Earth teenager. He needed to be told everything to do and he did not work at what Simon considered a good speed or put out maximum effort. Since they had two more hungry bellies to feed Simon doubled the size of the garden he initially planned to grow. It took about one third of the seeds they brought to plant it. If it failed for any reason they still had two more tries before they had to think about something else.

Thankfully, Paula managed to obtain a book from their benefactors showing pictures of almost all the flora and fauna of the new world. The book was pretty complete, listing plants and animals that were edible. The book was divided into two sections. One section contained flora and was broken down further into edible and non-edible plants. The other section was for animals. It, too, was broken down in edible and non-edible wildlife. There were annotations in each description of an item telling them whether the edible item was good or just something that could be eaten in desperation. The book also gave simple instructions on preparation of the edible items.

After the garden was planted the next project was a more permanent place to live. This was actually a two tiered project. Simon saved much of the sod taken from the second half of the garden. They hauled it and stacked it in front of the cave to make a wall. They left a door in the center with two windows, one on each side. The family was going to live there until such time as they finished a permanent dwelling then they would turn the cave into storage for root vegetables, canned goods and other semi perishables. Simon intended to build a shelter just outside the cave for the animals after the house was done. This would then complete their little farmstead and he could move on to projects to improve the quality of their life. Again, grudgingly, Tom helped with the sod wall. Simon was beginning to despair ever finding a way to reach Tom.