TheTraveler - book 1 Read online

  I then asked the doctor if he would like a smoke.

  He said, "no thank you. I have sworn an oath to not smoke or drink until my four years are up to the community. I may be called upon at any time and must be at my best. There is no one to take over for me here so I can't incapacitate myself in any way."

  I said, "yes, this stuff will make you drowsy. But we have a cure for that, it's called fire water powder."

  He said he had never heard of it and asked what it was. So we took him inside, to the small bar, and broke some out.

  Owsee said, "it's like bean juice in the morning but with a bigger kick."

  Owsee put some in a small glass of water for him and some in small glasses of bud liqueur for us, then we drank it down.

  Owsee then put some on the bar and said, "taste it."

  The doc put a wet finger to it, then his tongue, and said, "it's not bitter, but my lips feel a little numb."

  "Try it this way," Owsee said, and he made some lines out of the pile, then we snorted them up. Before long we were all feeling wide-awake.

  "You're right," said the doc, "it does have a bigger kick than been juice. With this I could get drunk and wake up again."

  And I said, "well, it will keep your eyes open but you would still be drunk. If you want to go from all fucked up to sober you need detox water."

  Owsee, "yes, detox water. I think we have about two cases. It's hard to come by but it works."

  The doctor asked what it does and I said, "it takes all the bad things out of your body and works in just a few minutes."

  Owsee, "you can go from drunk to sober in just five minutes with detox water. But it's hard to get at it puts a strain on your body, you can't use it every day. And I will only hand it out if there is a great need."

  Doc, "sounds like great stuff, but it is no reason for me to break my vows."

  Owsee, "you're absolutely right. Don't let us be a bad influence on you. After all, we are not doctors, we are storytellers. And everyone knows the best stories are told by old men with a pipe in one hand and a drink in the other."

  "Old man," I said, "speak for yourself."

  Owsee, "I was, and I said the best storytellers."

  I said, "I can live with that, after all I count myself as a writer first."

  Owsee then said, "something sure smells good from the kitchen."

  Kitty, "it needs to bake. Did the doc tell you I'm having twins?"

  I said, "yes, that's wonderful."

  Kitty, "sorry it's not quintuplets."

  I said, "two is just fine to start with. Have you looked in the walk-in freezer since you have been home?"

  Kitty, "no, why?"

  Owsee, "we caught some fish for you, go see how many are in the freezer."

  So she went downstairs, and when she came back she said, "well I guess you did go fishing. What did you do, bomb the lake then net the fish?"

  I said, "no, we got bombed in the lake while netting the fish."

  Kitty, "well we won't run out of fish for some time."

  Owsee, "and that's only half of what we caught . We sold the rest to the restaurant."

  Kitty, "when you men go fishing you don't kid around."

  "Do you like to go fishing?" I asked the doc..

  He said, "yes, but I don't get to go very often."

  I said, "the lake is just behind us. It's close enough for someone to get you if need be, and Owsee has a boat."

  Owsee, "yes, you are welcome to use it anytime."

  Dr., "well maybe after I get settled down a bit. The first month I will be trying to get to know everybody, and see how they are doing. Because we are two hours from the nearest clinic, I bet there are many people that have been putting off seeing a doctor. It's best I see them as soon as I can. Once I have given everyone a checkup I will think about fishing."

  Owsee, "and that's why we need a doctor here. Not because people are sick, but to keep them well."

  We sat and talked as our supper baked. The smell just about had us drooling.

  Then Kitty said it was done and she cut it into four pieces and put it on plates for us. It looked, smelled and tasted like pizza. To think, I spent 30 years of traveling through space to fine my favorite food out here on this planet. I told Kitty this was like a food I liked back on earth. She said that was good and that she had a number of things she wanted to try.

  After supper we sat on the porch for time, then the doc said he needed to get some rest. Kitty said she was tired too but was not ready for bed. I said I wanted to go see if Goo da wa had made any progress with the thermal energy converter, and Owsee said he wanted to go see as well.

  Kitty said, "you two go ahead, I just want to sit here for a while."

  So Owsee and I went to the cave. Goo da wa had a few customers and looked as if he was enjoying himself. We asked how the T.E.C. was coming. He said he had all the parts put together but wanted to wait until tomorrow to test it.

  I noticed Goo da wa had two overhead projectors going at the end of the bar. One had the alphabet on it, the other a short poem. Three men were working on sounding out letters and words.

  I asked Goo da wa what was going on and he said, "we are learning how to read. I plan to change the poem each day. They come for the words and pay for the brew, but I will need more poems than I have, I will give you a cut of the profits."

  I said, "no need for that, you are welcome to as many poems as I can think of. I'm just glad it's working for you."

  Goo da wa, "and I want it to keep working. Paying for words is the way these people run their lives, and soon you will be the hottest thing on the market. I want in on the ground floor, I'm sure Owsee will agree that your poems are worth paying for."

  Owsee, "he has got you there, I keep telling you your stories are going to be worth a lot. Before long people will be coming from the city, two hours away, to see what the poem of the day is. And they will not just spend their credits here, they will spend in the town as well, everyone will benefit from this."

  I said, "I know you have a grand vision, but right now all I see is a few locals learning to read."

  Owsee, "that's right, just a few for now. But it will grow like a fire, I'm sure of it."

  I said, "well, your fire would grow faster if we had some paper to write on. At the moment all we have is those projectors to work with, and you can't walk around with one of them under your arm."

  Then Goo da wa said, "look at this." And he pulled out a piece of paper with a sticky side to it. He slapped it on the wall and made a letter “A” on it with some charcoal.

  Owsee, "yes it's sticky side."

  Goo da wa, "they use it to catch flies, but what if it had no sticky side to it?"

  I felt it and said, "paper, don't you get it Owsee its paper."

  Owsee, "okay so its paper. Now what do we do, stick it on the walls and right on them?"

  I said, "first we need to find out who makes the stuff, and get a lot of it with no sticky side. I don't think I can explain to you how big this is. With paper words can travel far and wide. Before long, people all over your world will be learned to read. One day they will say it all started here, in a place called the poet's lounge; when a fad called reading took the world by surprise and found its way into everyone's home."

  Owsee, "you know, I think he's finally getting excited over something."

  Goo da wa, "and all it took was a piece of paper."

  He then handed me a small mug of bud liqueur. I drink it right down without thinking and Goo da wa said, "oh dear, that was."

  Owsee, "I know what that was. I better get him home before he can no longer walk."

  I said, "don't worry about me, I feel fine."

  Owsee, "you will not in five minutes or so, let's go home."

  I said, "okay, I'll see you tomorrow Goo da wa, goodnight."

  Goo da wa, "goodnight teacher."

  “Paper day”

  Day 7

  I remembered the walk home and saying goodnight to Kitty
on the porch, then walking into the bedroom, but not taking off my boots. Yet in the morning, there I was in bed without my boots.

  I could smell fish cooking, so I put my boots on and went to the dining room table.

  I said to Kitty, "is anyone else up yet?"

  Kitty, "not yet. There is fresh juice on the table."

  I said that sounded good and poured myself a glass. Owsee and the doctor soon joined me as Kitty put breakfast on the table.

  Kitty asked what everyone was up to today, and the doctor said he was hoping to do some physical examinations. I said Owsee and I were going to find some paper.

  Kitty, "and what do you do with this paper?"

  I said, "you're right on it, but you don't need a projector to read it."

  Kitty, "that sounds handy."

  I said, "yes, it will be."

  I asked Owsee how many languages are spoken on this planet?

  Owsee, "well let's see now, there is the word of the world that everyone learns in school, and then there are four main languages with up to five variations; dependent on where you live."

  I said, "do you learn them all?"

  Owsee, "no, we learn the word of the world and our local language. As for the others some use their wrist translators, it's also a timepiece."

  I said, "can the wrist translators hold one more download, like English?"

  Owsee, "I think so, why?"

  I said, "because I plan to give a free download of my language to everyone that comes into the bar. This way they will be able to enjoy listening to a poem. It may help encourage others to learn to read. Your people have very good memories so it will be easy for them to learn."

  Owsee, "that's true. Most of us learn hundreds of stories, just because it is what we like to do."

  I said, "and with paper people can read what is written, anywhere, anytime. This is how I'm going to record my stories, so people can either learn to read or wait for a storyteller that can."

  Dr., "well it all sounds very promising, and I'm eager to see how it turns out, but for right now I must get to work."

  He thanked Kitty for the meal and left for the clinic.

  As Owsee and I cleaned our plates, Kitty said, "I need to be off as well, see you later."

  Owsee then said to me, "okay, how do we find this paper?"

  I said, "we start at the hardware store."

  So that's where we went. The man there said he got his sticky paper from a farmer that lived an hour down the road. He gave us a name and directions to his house.

  I said to Owsee, "do you think we should take my ship to save time?"

  He said, "I know this man, and if we try to land near his place he will shoot at us. But I do have something faster than the old transport, it's in the barn."

  So we went to the barn, and in one corner under a tarp was a homemade hot rod of sorts.

  Owsee, "I built it when I was young. You can drive or fly it, but it's safer to fly because it's so fast. So fast that that old man will not be able to shoot us down."

  I said, "you always seem to have the best toys."

  We got in and closed the glass dome. He drove it outside then hit the thrusters and deployed the wings. We were a hundred feet down the road and fifty off the ground before I could even say, "that's a kick."

  Owsee said, "she kicks like a son of a bitch, but she is the fastest thing I have ever built, hold on."

  And he kicked it into a supersonic, I heard the boom. The hot rod started to shake a bit as he said, "I better drop it down a bit or we will overshoot the place."

  Soon he saw what we were looking for and cut the booster. We then made a wide glide down to the road at 90 plus miles per hour.

  As we pulled up to the place an old man sitting on his porch said, "Owsee wa sphere, you're lucky I didn't shoot you, swooping down on a body like that."

  Owsee, "you never could shoot straight, besides, I'm too fast for you."

  Old man, "did you come on business or should I just shoot you now?"

  Owsee, "we want some of your paper before you give it the sticky side."

  Old man, "before you say, it's in the bar." He pointed as he got up to walk with us, while saying, "flying cars that should be on the ground and sticky paper with no stick, you're up to no good I can just feel it."

  Owsee, "every time you see me you say I'm up to no good."

  Old man, "and was I right?"

  Owsee, "of course you were."

  Old man, "you see. What do you want with no sticky paper anyway?"

  Owsee, "we are going to write on it."

  Old man, "sounds like you're up to no good to me. There it is, how many rolls do you want?"

  Owsee, "we can fit three. How much do you want for them?"

  He said, "50 credits a roll."

  Owsee, "twenty-five."

  He said, "35 and you promise never to fly over my land again."

  Owsee said it was the deal.

  We paid the man, loaded up the flyer and left.

  Owsee just had to dive over his house as we left, I swear I heard a shot.

  When we got home I was glad he left the barn door open, because even with the brakes on full we didn’t come to a stop until we were well inside.

  He opened the hatch top and said, "not bad for something built by a teenager."

  I said, "and you still drive like one."

  We unloaded the paper and I said, "now I need ink and a quill."

  Owsee, "I can get ink, we use it to die clothes, but my translator has no word for quill."

  I said, "we can use the tail feather from a large bird."

  Owsee, "I can get that, how many do you want?"

  I said, "at least three or four to start with, more later."

  Owsee, "I'll get the ink and quills while you cut the paper, but first we should celebrate getting home in one piece."

  I said, "I'm up for that, but don't you think we have been doing a lot of celebrate in this past week?"

  Owsee, "you're right, I have been a bad influence on you."

  I said, "it's not that, it's just that I like to slow down a bit from time to time."

  Owsee, "you're right, how about just a beer to cool off with?"

  I said, "a beer sounds good to me."

  Owsee, "okay, you figure out how to cut the paper and I'll get us some beer."

  There was a tall vice at the corner of one table. I put a short pipe in it and hung the roll of paper there, so I could poll and lay out a sheet on the table. On the other end of the table I drove a nail on either side and ran a thin wire between them. Pulling the paper to the size I wanted, I gave it a quick tug up, and it cut just right. I had just finished it when Owsee came back with the beer. I took the mug with one hand while cutting a sheet of paper with the other.

  Owsee, "that's pretty clever, and it didn't take long to make."

  We drank our beer, then Owsee went to get the ink and tail feathers while I cut more paper.

  By the time I had just 50 sheet done I needed another beer, so I went to the house. I decided to have rum with a pinch of fire powder in it as well. Then it was back to the barn to cut more paper.

  After another 50 sheets I sat down with my beer and lit my pipe. I began to think about how time seems to drag when Owsee is not around, or anyone else to talk to for that matter. I guess those three weeks in space by myself made me appreciate the sound of others.

  But before long my twins will be born and I doubt there will be much alone time, or quiet, after that. So I guess I should just try to enjoy the silence while I can. I thought to myself, children that grow up in just one year, ah, that must be one intense year. I took the 100 sheets of paper and the roll to the house, and put them on the porch. Then I went inside to make myself another drink, while thinking to myself about what I said to Owsee about partying too much. I know that kitty doesn't like to see me drink too much. Maybe it's because she thinks I may not be able to defend myself if danger comes my way, but I can't let it bother me. I need to live in t
he moment but plan for tomorrow, like Owsee. He always seems to have just one more plant up his sleeve.

  As I walked back out to the porch with my drink I could see Owsee coming. He held up a bottle of ink and a handful of feathers. I raised my mug to him, then waited until he got closer before I said, "you found ink?"