ftp.ee.pdx.edu/2014.02.ftp.ee.pdx.edu.tar/ftp.ee.pdx.edu/pub/frp/Archives/1304

Internet Message Format | 1995-12-21 | 14KB

Path: usenet.ee.pdx.edu!cs.uoregon.edu!news.uoregon.edu!inquo!vyzynz!news1.cris.com!cdc2.cdc.net!news.internetMCI.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!not-for-mail
From: [e-mail] (Alan Schwartz)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: STORY: Riverworld, Chapter 12: A Moment of Rest
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: 13 Dec 1995 13:55:41 -0500
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 322
Sender: [e-mail]
Approved: [e-mail]
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <4an7jd$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net

For more information, see:
    http://mellers1.psych.berkeley.edu/~alansz/rw-pbem/

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Riverworld Turn #12: A Moment of Rest
Day 32


            *  *  *  *

Josephine stretched, arching her back. Out of the corner of her eye,
she noticed some of the men eyeing her dark form.

She looked at Jeanne and smiled, speaking in French.

Josephine: "You are, indeed, very brave.  It was wise for us to have
        sent you into the walled city."

She nodded knowingly to Florence, her pleasure obvious.

Jeanne sat between the two women, her spirits high as she grinned at
them and chattering in French.

Jeanne: "Well, ladies, our first raid was quite successful. It went
     better than expected, no? It seems that several of our
     companions recognize the new fellow, can you tell me who he
     is?"

Smiling, she introduced herself to Friend, Tjar, Hypatia, and the
boat's captain by tapping her chest with a forefinger and saying
"Jeanne la Pucelle".

Charles had relaxed visibly when they arrived at the grailstone. When
he removed his grail after the noon firing, he heartily dug into the
meal of bratwurst, sauerkraut, and thick black bread that it produced.
Eschewing the cup of beer, he lit up a cigar. Freud appeared overjoyed
by the meal.

Shaw sat quietly as he ate, listening to the conversations around him,
but offering few words of his own. His eyes passed over each member of
the group in turn.

When the others' attention was elsewhere, he carefully extracted the
dreamgum and tobacco from his grail, intending to stash it aboard his
boat.

Jeanne ate sparingly from her grail, and finally held up some of her
food to the others.

Jeanne: "There are others who may need this more than I; please take
     it. We are bonded now by more than just the mere coincidence
     of waking beside each other. We are a band, and must think of
     the good of the whole above our individual desires."

Charles: "Good Lady Florence, would you please do me the honor of
      translating the words of our fellow travelers, into the
      language of Rome, for me? I would be most grateful."

At Charles' request, Florence agreed to translate between Latin,
French, and English for the party, shrugging apologetically at Shaka.

With the butt of her spear Jeanne drew in the sand a schematic of
Temuchin's compound as Josephine had described it from her arboreal
perch.  Charles and the others added details from their memory.

Jeanne: "He will, of course, be wary now. It will be harder to assail his
     stronghold."

She turned to the others who were within the walls.

Jeanne: "What are his forces like? Can you estimate a number?"

Glenn shrugged, uninterested.

Jeanne looked at the metal-bladed scythe in Shaka's hands, and pointed
to it.

Jeanne: "Are there others like that in the compound?"

Her eyes on Charles, Florence spoke, first in Latin, and later in the
other languages of the group.

Florence: "My companions, it is not by chance that we all have been
       brought together in this place.  While some may argue
       whether this is heaven or simply the Roman Catholic
       purgatory, it is clear that we have been brought together
       by the Lord's design, and there is much work to be done
       here.

As she spoke, Freud looked vaguely uncomfortable.

Florence: "As our dear Jeanne has so fervently spoken, we cannot stand
       idly by whilst monsters such as this Temuchin degrade and
       enslave others in defiance of God's will.  We are living
       testament that perseverance and faith in God will shine
       over evil.

Florence: "However, our small group is not enough to carry the day.
       We must seek out others who share our vision, and are
       willing to march as soldiers of the Lord against the dark
       forces."

She turned to Tom beseechingly.

Florence: "Good Captain, we thank you yet again for your intervention
       in our time of need.  Do you know of any goodly peoples on
       this part of the river who would be willing help help us in
       our mission to carry out the work of the Lord to stop the
       persecution of others and help those in need?  We beseech
       you to carry us yet further in this quest."


Shaw: "You'll need allies, yes. Alas, it's been some time since I put
       in and got to know the natives of either bank. Did you not
       speak of a helpful village south of the compound?"

Florence seemed to consider that a moment, and shook her head.
Florence: "We need to seek out a settlement of others who share our
       beliefs, who are willing to stand up for the rights of
       others, and are willing to march against those who do not.
       For this, we need the services of this good Captain and his
       vessel, or we must fashion our own transport.  I suggest we
       rest well today and tonight, and head out upRiver on the
       morrow."

The others seemed inclined to stay put, and after lunch, each set
about to rest and recuperation. Charles excused himself and sat by the
river, collecting his thoughts. Freud and Glenn chatted quietly, as
did Hypatia and Tjar.

Shaka took the scythe to the other side of the grailstone, out of
sight of the others, and began to heft it in his hands, testing its
balance. He tried a clumsy swing, and then spun around to look at
Jeanne, who stood watching him.

Nodding at him, she put down her spear and held out her hands for the
scythe. Shaka considered her carefully.

Resurrection had come hard to Shaka. He had awakened on Riverworld a
man of rage.  His last living memory was his own murder by his
step-brother, following a year of woes which had pressed heavily on
his mental health.  Growing paranoia had culminated in the treacherous
blow, killing him and leaving many things undone.

But the paranoia had nearly left him, and though the barriers of
language and culture made communication difficult, he was freeing
himself from the rigid societal norms of his culture.  On Earth, the
gestures that he made were for others to interpret, be they great
feats on the battlefield, or the choosing of wives.  Here, he was
starting to realize, he could do things solely because he wanted to.

He remember nothing of any earlier resurrections; that mystery
remained still unsolved. Then this new group, mostly short whites,
except the black woman, so unlike the women of his time. He liked the
group, because he was so different from them. The man Charles was a
great warrior, and perhaps this new man, Tjar, but Shaka knew himself
to be greater than either. As he could not speak their language, he
could not lead them yet. But he could learn from them, beginning with
the woman warrior whose bravery he could acknowledge and understand.

He nodded in return, and handed her the scythe.

Gingerly, Jeanne took the scythe and swung it in the motions she'd
learned on her parents' farm in France, cutting the blades of
grass. After one great swing level with Shaka's chest, she returned
the weapon to the African.

Shaka nodded again, and began to practice swinging the scythe, first
haltingly, and then with greater and greater dexterity and power.
Grinning widely, he sparred for a time with Jeanne, and the two
concluded laughing with battle-joy.

Charles came around the grailstone, looking for Shaka. He found Shaka
and Jeanne practicing with their weapons against one another.

At the end of the bout, Jeanne knelt on the ground, and motioned for
Shaka to join her. He watched as she passed her hand downward from her
mouth to her midriff, and then across her chest from right to
left. She pointed skyward, and said "God." He nodded, and replied,
"Unkulunkulu", when Charles approached, and spoke in Bantu.

Charles: "Hello, friend and great warrior."

Shaka: "Hello, warrior-friend. No fight here. Good rest."

Charles pointed at the scythe. "Good weapon."

Shaka nodded.

Charles: "Brave group, good weapon. Return there and fight."

Shaka shook his head and muttered in Bantu before indicating
the land around them.

Shaka: "Unkulunkulu"

Shaka: "Unkulunkulu good here. Danger there. Stay."

He shook his head again, and walked off to explore the land around the
grailstone. Jeanne and Charles looked at one another, and Jeanne
crossed herself again. She didn't notice whether Charles did as well.

The group gathered together again for dinner, and their grails
produced veal parmigian, spaghetti, garlic bread, and chianti, a new
experience for many of the lazari, but not an unwelcome one.
The unfiltered Italian cigarettes garnered less enthusiasm.
They lit a fire, and reclined lazily.

Josephine ate without interest, mainly sipping the red wine, and
growing sleepier. When she and Shaka began considering the dreamgum
the grails had produced, Charles stood up and spoke.

Charles: "Before we retire, we must choose guards who will watch the
      camp, and stoke our small fire.  I for one, will not be
      caught with my britches down a second time.  I suggest 2
      guards, each watch, and perhaps 3 or 4 watches for the
      night.  We will all get less sleep, but we will awaken in
      the same spot.  The women should not be asked to guard, but
      we are short people, so I can only ask from among all of us,
      for volunteers to be guards."

He looked over to Shaka and spoke a few words of Bantu, "guard camp
night." Then he held up two fingers together, three times. He drew a
picture of the moon between two suns, and divided the space between
the suns into three segments. Pointing to the last, he pointed to
Shaka. "You guard best, you guard last."

Shaka nodded expressionlessly.

Florence: "My Lord, we all are capable of watch, and I am willing to
       take the first."

Jeanne: "And I the last, with Shaka."

Florence pointed to the first segment, and Jeanne to the last.
Tjar volunteered to join Florence, and Shaw and Charles took the
middle watch.

Florence and Tjar armed themselves while the others bedded down for
the night.

Tjar: "A fine night after a fine rescue. How wonderful it is to breath
       the fresh air of freedom after the stink of captivity!"

Florence nodded patiently.

Tjar: "That Jeanne, a fine woman, courageous. And Charles, a damn fine
       man. Even Shaka...barbaric, but a lion, a lion. Did you hear
       how he faced that bastard Temuchin?"

It was a long watch for Florence, and she slept heavily when it was
over, and Shaw and Charles stood at guard.

Standing the second watch, Shaw and Charles spoke quietly in Greek.

Shaw: "The group seems to respect you. Were you a king?"

Charles: "I was Charles of Aachen. I ruled the Holy Roman Empire."

Shaw: "You were well-known in my time. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Charles: "And you? You dress like the Ottomans, but have fair skin."

Shaw: "I spent much time among the Turks, and learned many of their
       ways."

Charles expressed interest, and the two men spent their late night
hours conversing about the history of the Ottoman Empire. Shaw learned
much about Charles' time, and Charles relished the opportunity to
learn what had happened after his death.

Near the end of their watch, however, Charles changed the topic of
conversation.

Charles: "Shaw, have you...died here yet?"

Shaw: "No, I've managed to avoid that, though I hear that you can
       attend your own funeral if you're very lucky. Why?"

Charles: "When I woke up, two days ago, with these others...
      I have no memory of the resurrection before. It's all a
      blank, and yet I have skills and knowledge from a month by
      the River."

Shaw: "That is strange. Did the others report the same thing?"

Charles: "No one else has said anything. But we've been busy."

Shaw: "I'll say."

They woke the last watch and went to sleep.

Awakened, Jeanne and Shaka stood guard over the camp. They spent most
of their time teaching one another words for common objects in Bantu
and French. Jeanne pantomimed a French fable about a drunkard, and
Shaka gave his impression of the other members of their party. The two
stifled their laughter as the sun rose again.

The group woke again. As Josephine stretched langorously, Jeanne
burst out laughing. Glancing quickly at Shaka, and blushing furiously,
she apologized.

Jeanne: "I'm sorry. It's...just such a beautiful morning."

Josephine chased the younger woman to the River where they bathed and
splashed. They were followed by Hypatia and Florence; later the men
too availed themselves of the water before they sat together over the
grail's breakfast, and Tjar stood and opened his arms expansively to
take in the group and the land around them.

Tjar: "My friends, we have the core here of a new nation, based on the
       ancient and time-honored principles of democracy and
       fairness. It is our solemn duty to try to establish a new
       nation... a new America.. on the shores of this great river. By
       our endeavors we can make a nation ten times as strong as that
       of this brute Temuchin... and, once strong, can begin to
       liberate those who suffer under tyranny such as that.  Who here
       is with me?"