Background
Archie and the others end their day of rest as the prepare to march into the night once more.
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Ayala smiled and closed her eyes. On one side, she could feel her sister resting against her, gentle snores wafting in shared air.
Koko was the main reason Ayala endured this ghastly journey. She had never considered the possibility of giving birth, herself. Her people were taught procreation was vulgar. . . reserved for the uninformed masses, but Koko was her sister, and the baby she carried, a part of her as well.
On the other side of Ayala was Archie -- the enigmatic senator and President's son. He wasn't touching her, but she could feel his comforting closeness. Maybe, he was right. . . maybe she and her people were more human than animal. The book he read to them didn't say just how much of their DNA was animal. It could be a few nucleic acids in a vast chain of thousands in their chromosomes.
She would have to believe in that possibility and hold onto it like a lifeline. Animals had always been her enemy. It was hard to dismiss an idea her entire life had been built around. She was glad she wasn't alone with the knowledge, though. Misery, she decided, does indeed, love company.
With a deep sigh, Ayala joined her companions in uneasy slumber. Protected from the sun's brutal rays, they rested beneath the cool earth.
The hot desert sun etched a path across the sky, but Archie and his companions slept on, oblivious of its sojourn. Finally, as the celestial giant dipped low on the horizon, two figures emerged from the primitive shelter. They spoke together a few minutes, then one lit a small fire. The other scurried about gathering food and fuel.
"What does the earth tell you about our pursuers?" Archie asked as he rejoined Sani. "Are they drawing close?"
"There has been no rumor of them since we passed the road."
"They couldn't have given up."
"No, my guess is they plan an ambush later. They probably figured where we're heading when we didn't go to the authorities."
Sani stirred the coals of his fire, certain no one would be looking for smoke. He set a deep metal bowl in the center and let it get hot.
"So you think they'll be in the mines?" Archie asked. He sat on the ground beside his mentor and traveling companion. He handed him a sack of food items he had gathered.
"I'm almost certain of it," Sani replied. He leaned back and put his feet up to the fire as though they were cold.
"What's our plan once we get there?" Archie asked. Unlike Sani, he had no desire to warm his feet, so he sat back a few feet from the old man.
"I told you, there's a hidden army on our side."
"You told me a fairy tale about leprechauns."
"Tommyknockers."
"I stand corrected, but, Sani, you can't expect me to believe in miners' superstitions. It might work on the girls, but I'm a man of the world."
"So, you can believe people have animal and human DNA mixed, but not that I have friends with unusual powers?"
"One is science, and the other fantasy. Please tell me you have real people waiting to help us."
"Old Sani has many friends. Have a little faith."
Sani clapped his hands together as though ending the conversation. He looked around, his eyes settling on Ayala and Koko, who were easing out of the shelter. "Well, ladies. Good evening."
"Good evening," Koko said. "Is everyone hungry? We have some travel cakes and a bit of greens I collected while we walked last night."
"Bring the greens, but save the travel cake. Archie and I have prepared our evening meal. Have a seat."
Ayala and Koko sat on stones around the fire. Ayala leaned her head toward the bowl and sniffed. "Smells good."
"Yes," Sani said. He reached in the bowl with a stick and pulled out a blackened cricket. The girls watched in horror as he popped it in his mouth and began crunching.
"Tell me that isn't supper," Ayala gasped.
"They're good for you," Sani said. He handed one to Archie, who couldn't mask a grimace as he shoved it into his mouth.
Archie had eaten insects before on hunting trips with his father and brothers. It was part of the elder Franklin's idea of survival techniques. He still didn't enjoy them, but wasn't about to let the old man show him up in front of the women. Besides, he knew their food supplies were running short, and their journey was not.
"Taste it," Sani said. He handed a small, well-cooked one to Ayala. She held it precariously in her hand. Should she eat it and gain the respect of Sani, or throw it and scream? She looked at Archie, who nodded encouragement.
To heck with it, she thought. If Archie could do it, she could. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of thinking her weak. She opened her mouth and poised it over her lips.
"Ayala, don't you dare," Koko warned. "It's. . . it's. . . unclean."
"No more than any other meat you eat," Sani said.
Ayala closed her eyes, and bit down. It wasn't bad. She put the rest of it in her mouth and chewed. Good thing she was hungry.
"Well, you three can have my share." Koko threw a hand to her mouth in revulsion. "I don't mind eating stewed cactus or even munching on desert greens, but this is really too much. I can't wait to get to civilization where I can get something normal to eat."
"You may find the food where we come from a little different than what you're used to," Archie said.
"How's that?" Koko asked. "You don't eat gross stuff like bugs do you?"
"No, but our food is often over-processed and ripe with chemicals."
"Why?" Ayala asked.
"I don't know. I guess it's because we're too rushed to grow and prepare things properly."
"No wonder Leander says your people have become weak. You need to slow down and do things right."
"Maybe that's one of those things your people can teach mine." Archie popped a roasted scorpion in his mouth, carefully biting beneath the stinger.
"It'll be my pleasure," Ayala said.
Archie smiled. He was glad to see Ayala thinking positively about the future. He just hoped things would go as smoothly with his father as they all needed.
Ayala closed her eyes and shoved another insect into her mouth.
"Well done," Sani said. He smiled and patted her on the back.
"I think I'm a cannibal," Ayala giggled. "I have some friends who are in insect kins. I'm not so sure they would appreciate me eating their relatives."
"Worse," Koko said. "Wait until they find out they're related to them."
"True. I guess that makes me feel better about us being part coyote. At least we're mammals."
"Yes, coyotes are wonderful animals," Sani said, "but we've now wasted all the time we can afford, my dear children. Koko, eat some of our food stores to keep up your strength. The rest of us will finish the insects. It's time we headed for the mountains. It'll be dark soon, and we need to be well down the road before it does."
The group nodded and did what Sani suggested. Debate was fine when there was time, but, as a group, they trusted Sani's ultimate authority and wisdom. Short of half an hour, they finished eating, and gathered their belongings.
As they began, yet another march, each person was given to their own reflections.
Koko thought about her husband Todd, and longed for the moment they reunited. Ayala thought about babies, and how eager she was to hold Koko's in her arms.
Archie reflected on how very like his father Sani appeared. He was wise, loved nature, and never seemed disturbed by anything happening around him. Archie hoped he'd remember Sani's example when he returned to his own leadership position. And Sani's thoughts? Who knew what was in his mind? The others just followed him with child-like trust into the unknown.
Author Notes
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 are a lot of different types of experimentation where we try to "cure" what we don't understand. It is my intention to use a science fictional 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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