1
It was Wednesday, September 29, 2123. Ben, Lloyd and Eva were returning from a reconnaissance of Warren, the small outback town where Lloyd and Eva used to own a sprawling cotton farm that was being managed by their twin sons, Leon and Russell. They discovered that the farm was destroyed by the impact of a two-mile-wide piece of comet debris. This was promptly followed by a catastrophic flood caused by the whole Pacific Ocean surging clear over the top of the Great Dividing Range, the low mountain range that runs down the whole east coast of Australia. On the east side of it is the narrow, coastal plain. On the west side is the great outback.
After the initial shock of realizing that their sons and their families were gone forever, Eva and Lloyd rapidly refocused on their immediate situation and on the path ahead.
As they sat in Ben’s intergalactic cruiser, on the return journey to their camp in Watson’s Bay, they chatted about the state of affairs post the global cataclysm.
‘We are establishing a settlement in Noosa,’ Ben explained. ‘Most of us surf, you see, and it’s perfect for that there. Also, it is the prettiest of places.’
‘We’ve been to Noosa,’ said Lloyd, ‘haven’t we, darling?’
‘Oh yes, Ben, many times. Lloyd loves to drive the Aston up there. He hates flying.’
‘That’s true,’ Lloyd agreed. ‘I hate any form of public transport.’
‘I think it’s a phobia,’ she said.
‘Well, sweetheart, call it what you like, but I would prefer not to spend the last thirty seconds of my life inside a plummeting sardine can, surrounded by two hundred lunatics screaming, aaaahhh, I don’t want to diiiiiie!’
‘See what I mean, Ben?’
Ben, who had an amused grin on his face, replied,
‘I think that I would have preferred to have done the trip in the opulent luxury of an Aston Martin any day. Who’d want to ride in a tub with a bunch of sweating tourists?’
‘There you go, darling, a man of my own heart.’
‘You men and your cars … you are all the same.’
Ben changed the topic.
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‘I was thinking about inviting my mother to your camp. Would you mind very much?’
‘Your mother? Why, not at all,’ Eva replied. ‘Please invite her. We’d love to meet her.’
‘Yes, we’d love to meet her,’ Lloyd agreed.
‘How do you intend to invite her?’ Eva asked.
‘Telepathically,’ Ben replied matter-of-factly.
‘Oh yes, of course,’ she said glancing at Lloyd.
‘Her name is Ambriel, but all her friends call her Brie, like the cheese. She is a full-blood Rama. My father is a full-blood Earthling, like you, and I am a fully-telepathic, hybrid Earth-born.’
Lloyd and Eva glanced at each other again. They were both highly intelligent academics so they coped quite well with the mild mind-spin they were experiencing.
Lloyd quipped,
‘You’re not in Kansas anymore, precious.’
‘I am beginning to realize that,’ she replied.
‘I doubt whether Kansas even exists,’ said Ben.
2
Immediately upon their return to the Watson’s Bay camp, Eva grabbed a bucket and knife and set off towards the rock shelf beyond the western edge of the narrow beach, saying,
‘After a hundred years, the rocks should be jam-packed with juicy oysters.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ said Sophia.
The Sydney Rock Oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, is an oyster species endemic to Australia. It is found in bays, inlets and sheltered estuaries all around the coast. They are usually found in the intertidal zone to three meters below the low water mark. They are available year-round with peaks from September to March when they are considered to be in prime condition, although some people like the flintier, less salty flavor they have during the winter. They are particularly abundant in Sydney Harbour.
Alex asked Lloyd, ‘How was the flight?’
‘The flight was incredible, Alex, but the farm was blown out of existence by a two-mile-wide piece of comet. There was nothing left but a huge crater.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
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‘Yes, well, it happened a hundred years ago … so I suppose … I don’t know …’ He sighed deeply. ‘I tell you what, though, one thing has become plainly obvious to me.’
‘Oh yeah? And what is that?’
‘We are totally on our own, Alex, totally on our own. There was no sign of any kind of civilization … anywhere.’
Adam, who had just come over after speaking with Ben, overheard the last statement made by Lloyd. He joined into the conversation.
‘Actually, you are far from alone. You know us, and we know the Rama, and please believe me when I tell you that the future looks decidedly brighter than the past.’
Lloyd and Alex were slightly taken aback by that statement.
‘Ben has contacted my better half, and she is coming to join us. I am sure she’ll lift your spirits substantially.’
‘Thank you for that, Adam,’ said Lloyd. ‘My spirits are lifting already.’
‘As are mine,’ said Alex.
‘We’ll have to start thinking about lunch,’ Lloyd suggested. ‘How long will your wife be? Should we wait for her?’
‘She’ll be flying down from Noosa. She’ll be here by dinner time.’
Half an hour after leaving, Eva and Sophia returned with a bucket full of oysters. As it was around about lunchtime, they all enjoyed a few oysters with some crackers and pickles. After lunch, Eva grabbed two fishing poles and headed off down to the water, faithfully followed by Sophia.
‘We can use the oysters for bait,’ she said. ‘I’d like to see them resist that.’
Sophia was rapidly picking up Eva’s addiction to fishing and generally catching anything from or around the water. Also, they genuinely enjoyed one another’s company.
3
Ambriel’s ship glided into Watson’s Bay out of the setting Sun. They all stood and watched it park itself next to Ben’s ship. She walked down the ramp carrying a walnut cake and a wicker basket full of fruit that was brought over from Rama. Everyone introduced themselves to one another after which they all sat down around the fire on the beach. Alex and Lloyd were astounded by her youthful beauty and natural poise.
‘I hope you are hungry,’ said Eva. ‘We are having linguini marinara.’
‘Not to mention the odd glass of bubbly,’ added Lloyd as he popped the first bottle.
‘This is cause for celebration.’
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‘How many bottles did you bring, Lloyd?’ Adam asked.
‘Alas, just a few, but only my best vintages.’
‘He would have needed the Queen Mary to bring his whole cellar,’ said Alex.
‘Wait till you sample our Grange,’ added Eva.
Ben attended to the packing and passing around of the Mana pipe.
The two spaceships, levitating silently a foot above the water on the edge of the beach, glowed in a soft, orange light, which subtly pulled everything around them out of the darkness. Mecca was visible floating in the bay, as was the crescent moon with its companion, Venus, hovering in the west above the last vestiges of faint purple light. And as if by magic, as if in a transcendental dream, this whole universe reproduced itself, albeit upside down, in a perfect mirror which occasionally shimmered like liquid mercury.
September nights in Sydney could still require a jumper. They warmed themselves around the fire. Alex momentarily lost himself in a tangent of thought.
‘God, if these aren’t the three most beautiful women I’ve ever seen …’ He noticed Ben and Ambriel smile and look at each other.
‘Don’t let me drink too much,’ said Sophia, ‘you know what I’m like.’
‘Ahh, don’t worry, darling, how much trouble could you get yourself into on this beach.’
‘I am a very cheap drunk, you know, Ambriel.’
Everyone laughed. Ambriel replied,
‘I think Alex is right, Sophia. Tonight feels very special, very special indeed.’
Later in the evening,
‘Three families and three ships … and a whole planet,’ said Lloyd in a voice full of uncertainty.
‘Perhaps just one family … and many planets.’ Ben replied.
There was a pause. Suddenly Lloyd rose to his feet with his glass in his hand and announced,
‘I would like to propose a toast.’ Everyone stood up. ‘To the family.’
‘To the family,’ they all repeated in unison.
After they sat down again, Eva let everyone know that,
‘Lloyd loves his toasts. How about another bottle, honey?’
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Alex remembered, ‘I remember once when, I think that it was pretty late into the night, it was the medicine faculty dinner, Lloyd gave a toast to the cadavers in the anatomy lab.’
Everyone laughed heartily. Lloyd tried to explain,
‘I was fairly much under the weather by then and I am surprised that you even heard me from under that table, Alex.’
‘Boys, boys, what will our guests think?’ Eva pleaded.
‘No more bo…boddles for me,’ Sophia announced.
Everyone laughed themselves silly. That evening, with the aid of Lloyd’s ‘bubbly’, tomorrow and yesterday were completely forgotten. There also seemed to be no agenda, and no timeline to get it done. It was as if Adam’s old quip, I have nowhere to go and the rest of my life to get there, had finally manifested into reality.
4
Adam, Ambriel and Ben spent the night sleeping in a tent that Ben brought. They set it up next to the others on the grassy clearing just above the beach.
Next morning, Ambriel awoke to the smell of coffee. As she opened her eyes, she heard the sound of water splashing and the cracking of sticks. She looked out through the tent opening and saw Eva and Sophia swimming in the water and Lloyd breaking twigs and placing them on the fire.
Breakfast was walnut cake, which was generously laced with Mana.
‘This is absolutely delicious, Brie,’ mumbled Sophia with a mouthful of cake. ‘You must give me the recipe.’
‘It is a pretty straight walnut cake, Sophia. The only special thing about it is the Mana that I put in it. That, as you know, is for health and longevity.’
‘I brought some books that you guys might be interested in,’ said Lloyd, ‘although I have to go to the boat to get them.’
‘Go after breakfast, darling,’ Eva suggested.
After breakfast, Adam and Ben expressed a desire to have a closer look at Lloyd’s boat. They all jumped in the dinghy and motored over to Mecca. Lloyd tied up to the side and climbed up on deck. He invited them aboard. Once everyone was aboard, he said,
‘Look around while I go below and try to find those books.’ Lloyd disappeared through the hatch.
‘She’s a fine vessel,’ said Ben.
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‘Built her myself,’ came the reply from deep within the cabin. A few minutes later, he reappeared holding about half a dozen picture books, saying, ‘Got them.’ Noticing Ben and Adam’s clear admiration of his boat, he added, ‘She’s not just pretty, you know, but seaworthy as well. I’ve had her in a few nasty blows over the years.’
‘There are a couple of boat builders on Rama I am good friends with that would love to see your boat, Lloyd. They are total devotees of sailing, although they tend to build and sail Polynesian-style, ocean-going catamarans.’
‘You don’t know how trippy that sounds, Ben.’
‘You don’t know how trippy your boat looks, Lloyd.’
Lloyd was taken aback by that statement. In one instant he realized that time and evolution, and unimaginable technology, never changed some fundamental constants, like the wonder and joy of a hand-crafted timber sloop. He realized that it was a fractal constant, like a surfboard, like a singularity. He thought, ‘Why did I just think of a surfboard?’ He glanced at Ben. Their eyes met. He experienced a flash where he was flying at infinite speed towards a point, but the point never got any closer. Then he experienced another flash where he flew towards a boundary between black space and white space, a sharp line, and it didn’t matter how close to the boundary he got, it never seemed to lose any of its sharpness. ‘A fractal constant.’ He understood it all in a fraction of a second. He saw a subtle smile appear on Ben’s face. He smiled back, understanding, and said,
‘Thank you, Ben.’
5
Back on the beach, Lloyd read out the titles, then passed the books around.
‘Wild Food Plants of Australia by Tim Low. Self Sufficiency and Survival Foods by Isabell Shipard. The Bushfood Handbook by Vic Chericoff. This even has a bit in it about the commercial bushfood industry. Bush Tucker by Tim Low. This and Vic Chericoff’s are my favourites. Grow Your Own Bushfoods by Keith and Irene Smith. This is the one to have if you want to grow some of the Australian native bush-tucker plants yourself. And last, but not least, Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual by Bill Mollison. This is the bible of permaculture, which covers everything that we need to know to thrive in a world without fossil fuels.’
Ambriel, Adam and Ben were visibly impressed.
‘We plan to build a greenhouse in Noosa and grow vegetables in it,’ said Ambriel.
‘We power everything with gravity engines that turn our water pumps and light our
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lights, but this, this is fantastic, this permaculture and natural wild foods. In many ways it is what we have on Rama. Much of the food we need grows wild there and we just fly over and pick some.’
‘Did dad show you his lev-pack while we were away?’ Ben asked.
Alex and Sophia shook their heads.
‘No, I never got around to it,’ Adam replied.
‘You should, dad,’ Ben suggested. He then told them a flying story. ‘There is a community on Rama that lives completely like wild birds in their levitation suits. They live in the trees and fly everywhere for their food and whatever else they need. They hardly ever come down to the ground except, I’m told, to go swimming. They mainly live in the tropics, in the ancient rainforests. They are known as the Ilf. They are total vegans who live mainly on fruits, nuts, berries, wild herbs and all types of unusual things like flowers and such. To tell you the truth, they are very secretive and mostly what is known about them is on hearsay. Very little is known about them.’
‘They have evolved into a strange and mystical breed,’ Ambriel continued. ‘They are like an extreme version of your hippies that you used to have on this planet. One has to be lucky to spot one because they don’t like to be seen. It is said that they are the happiest of all Rama because they basically never work. Their whole lives are like a living fantasy, filled with wonderful adventures. And at nights, they sing songs and tell each other ancient, mystical tales. If you ever find yourself in the rainforest after dark, you will hear it echo with their ethereal harmonies. It is also said that they are the most creative and artistic of all telepaths. Some individuals, who were lucky enough to be told a story by an Ilf, were so enraptured in wonder afterwards that they were unable to find a method to relate the experience to anyone else.’
‘I think you were right about Kansas, Lloyd,’ said Eva.
‘Do you know any Ilf?’ Lloyd asked.
‘Just one family. They befriended us long ago in order to trade with us.’
‘Trade you say?’
‘Yes. Our family has been making sails for generations …’
‘Er, that’s gravity sails,’ Ben butted in.
‘And what do the Ilf trade?’ Eva asked.
‘Fish,’ Ambriel and Ben replied in unison.
‘Ahh, I love my Barra when I can get it,’ said Lloyd.
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‘Er, not the swimming kind of fish,’ Adam explained with a smug smirk on his face,
‘the drug kind; no arms, no legs and no brain.’
‘Aaaaaaaah,’ Lloyd replied as he glanced at Eva, Alex and Sophia.
‘It’s a very powerful drug used for deep healing and initiations,’ added Ambriel. ‘We value it highly and the Ilf are the only people we know that know how to make it.’
‘It’s supposed to be like LSD on steroids,’ Adam quipped, ‘although I wouldn’t know because I’ve never had any.’
‘Nor are you likely to, darling,’ added Ambriel. ‘The mind expansion that occurs on Fish would literally fry a non-telepath’s nervous system and leave him either dead, or a babbling bozo.’
‘That is what happens to me after my second glass of champagne,’ said Sophia.
6
That afternoon, Adam demonstrated his levitation backpack to the crew of Mecca.
He allowed them all to have a go with it. Everyone found it quite easy to adapt to. Lloyd and Alex even flew it across the harbour to the opposite shore and back. Sophia mainly hovered just above the ground around the camp, saying that she didn’t like heights, and Eva surprised everyone by precision-landing on Mecca, picking up a couple of bottles of Grange, and returning to the beach.
That evening, after dinner, they all sat around the fire sipping the Grange, all in a highly excited state about flying around in Adam’s lev-pack.
‘I want one,’ said Alex. ‘I’ve just got to have one …’
‘That was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done!’ Lloyd exclaimed.
‘I didn’t think it was so exciting,’ said Sophia.
Alex laughed, ‘It’s pretty hard to get Sophia excited. About the only thing that really gets her going is a shoe sale.’
Everyone laughed.
‘We know the guy that makes them,’ said Ben. ‘He’s like our best friend and he lives with us.’
‘His name is Zeke,’ added Adam.
‘And this lev-pack thing never runs out of juice?’ asked Alex. ‘It just keeps lifting forever?’
‘Forever,’ replied Ben.
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7
Later in the evening, as Lloyd popped the fourth bottle of Grange, Sophia, who was a Lebanese Maronite Christian, asked Ambriel,
‘Brie, sweetheart, do you believe in God?’
Ambriel thought for a moment, then replied,
‘As much as I believe in myself.’
Alex overheard the question and butted in.
‘Precious darling, there are only two pitfalls in social intercourse, politics and religion.’
‘I agree,’ added Lloyd. ‘If you want to start a war with someone, just ask them about their ruddy religion.’
‘Have you heard of Jesus Christ?’ Sophia continued unfazed.
‘Can’t we talk about something less incendiary,’ pleaded Alex.
‘Like the Nazis, for example,’ suggested Lloyd.
‘I don’t mind answering,’ said Ambriel. ‘ Everyone has heard of Jesus Christ.’
Sophia asked,
‘Does your God have a name?’
Ambriel smiled and replied,
‘A Rama child would never call his father by his name.’
‘Do you have churches and religions?’
‘No. Each Rama, when they are born, receives a teacher who remains their teacher for life. Each teacher may have many students, but each student only has one teacher.
That is how truth is passed from the old to the young amongst my people.’
‘Well, darling, Alex observed, we don’t have any churches and religions anymore, either, because they all went up in smoke a hundred years ago.’
‘And good riddance to them all!’ exclaimed Lloyd.
‘I’ll drink to that,’ Eva added and held up her glass.
Everyone paused momentarily, glanced at each other, and remembered the millennia of death and carnage in the name of competing religions.
Sophia, who had lost two brothers in a religious war, passionately declared,
‘Allah yehereon kulahom.’
Thus, they all toasted the death of organized religion.
…….
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