Genesis - Chapter One
It was the first decade following the hundred year winter, the nuclear winter that followed the holocaust precipitated by man that laid waste to the surface of the earth. It polluted waters, the air and contaminated the soil making it as barren and desolate as any planet man had ventured to before. There wasn't a place on the face of the planet that had not been touched, affected by what man had wrought on humankind. All had been destroyed and left to decay through that time span of the hundred year winter. The massive concrete, steel and glass canyons that man had built, the endless rows of suburban dwellings and the those that were unfortunate enough to be caught by the maelstrom that was rained down from the skies were destroyed, life was ended and it seemed that only time survived when it was finally over with. Only those who were fortunate enough to be shielded by layers of concrete, steel and earth, those that commuted in the underground rail system or who worked in communication complexes deep under the bowels of the city, the ones who made their living by extracting minerals from the earth or those who worked the massive information storage banks buried deep in the sides of mountains survived. Of those that survived there were only a handful that had the knowledge to survive under such bleak and dire conditions, that knew how to purify the water to make it potable or the seek out from the massive subterranean storage bunkers, food that had been stored for such a disaster. There were even fewer that had the ability to bring together those that were left in small pockets scattered around the planet living out a subterranean existence into one cohesive mass that could end the feudalism and the tribal mentality that followed.

Government no longer existed for any country, even though such contingencies had been prepared for, it was clearly evident that man cannot predict what man would or could do after such a scenario played out. Even the most devoted military leaders broke from their ranks in order to survive. Taking with them the tools of destruction that seeded the hostilities in that time already past. Of the leaders that were ushered into the massive underground bunkers soon were systematically executed by their subordinates in rushed war crimes trials trying to bring some sort of meaning to the devastation. Accountability had to be placed in order to feel some sort of closure and justice meted out to those they felt that were responsible for the atrocities that ended man's existence as he knew it.

Out of the Ruins

It is said that out of the ruin will rise leaders. That out of destruction leaders are born and will set order to chaos and right the wrongs of their predecessors. That one will take up the plight of those left to survive and lead them to bring them together from all the corners of the world and that all will be as one. The past will be left behind as will the prejudices and hate that once blinded mankind, the hates and prejudices that set the wheels of destruction into motion, that one who will teach them to see beyond what a man is and teach him to see who he is and that each is beneficial to the other. The one that was not ordained nor spoke of by prophecy, but one chosen by those that survived, one that they see could lead them to a better life and not just a day to day existence. One that would teach them see far beyond what their eyes could see and plant the seeds of Genesis.

Micah was in his twenty second year, born eighty eight years into the nuclear winter he spent all his life in the subterranean dwellings that bore into the earth like ant's tunnels. Not as spartan an existence as his parents or grandparents had had it when they were young, there were those in his tribe that had knowledge of many crafts and were passed on and improved upon from generation to generation. Masons, smelters of metals, chemists, iron workers or as talked of from many years before, black smiths. There were those who knew how to create and generate power from their wastes, there were those whose families were agronomists who could raise crops to feed and sustain them throughout the hundred year winter and there were those who's families knew how to heal the afflicted and mend their breaks and bandage their lesions and abrasions. There were scholars, the ones who taught them to read, write and cipher. All these crafts came together within his tribe and their combined knowledge made life in Micah's time comfortable. He felt fortunate to be living at the time he did, to be born near the end of the hundred year winter. He could remember the stories told to him by his father, his uncles and grandfathers of how after a span of one hundred years man would be able to leave their lives underground behind and start living beneath a sky and sun he had never known. To breathe air that had not been recycled and filtered, to eat food not grown by artificial methods to drink water not obtained by the dehydration of plant matter. To actually feel wind on his face that was not created by ventilation systems.

His head always full of questions after thumbing through ancient periodicals looking that the pictures of the earth before the great holocaust that destroyed it, wondering what life was like then with grasses, shrubs, trees, flowers, insects and animals. Always being warned by those around him old enough to remember what their grandparents had told him that all life ceased to exist on that day, that all was barren and lain waste. That the earth would be sterile and that nothing would grow as it did before. Many stories were told about what might be, that if anything did survive it would have mutated into something that would not even resemble of what it originally was, that there could have been some who left the shelter of their homes underground too soon and have mutated beyond what we would see as human. Of all the stories that he was told, the one that he could not stop thinking about was one his grandfather called Genesis.

Genesis was a project thought of by a group of scientist long before the holocaust and was to reseed the earth in case such a catastrophe ever occurred. Deep in the earth at a place called Scoffs Vaults in the Arctic were the seeds of every known plant life on earth, seeds that could be used to replant the earth and make it sustainable again. Frozen, suspended in time these seeds could be taken and thawed to be sown again in the earth to help regenerate life and the atmosphere that sustains it. Every plant seed imaginable was contained deep beneath the surface just waiting to be germinated and sprout new life on the barren planet.

He dreamed often of finding these vaults and seeing the pictures that he would spend hours looking at come to life. Most he would talk to of his dreams laughed at him and scoffed him for having such a ridiculous notion, that they were only stories told by the old ones to entertain them. But there where a few that shared his dream, that believed in Genesis, that they believed man before not only possessed the knowledge to destroy but to create, to repopulate and to bring to life a barren land. They were surface dwellers before, not them, but their grandparents and their knowledge had not been lost, left to wither in time to be forgotten. It was still fresh, viable and more than just mere entertainment for children. They believed that the planet could and would heal itself again and that the people that sought shelter below it's surface would again dwell above ground as they did for thousands of years before. Hadn't the earth survived devastating catastrophes before? Extinction of species only to heal and be repopulated, that species learned to adapt and survive through evolution? They speak of mutation as if from some horror story when in fact it is nothing more than evolution accelerated in order to adapt.

It was with those close few that Micah would confide in about his dreams. To find the Scoffs Vaults and the seeds that could bring new life back to earth. And with these few he would talk about how to effect such a plan, who with him would go and how they would go about doing it. He knew he would need many things in order to bring to pass such a grandiose plan, and that the knowledge and trust of more than those he confided in. Cartographers and agronomists where the first that came to mind, to possess the seeds is one thing, but to know where and how to plant them is something totally different. This was his first order of business he proposed.

The Meeting - Chapter Two

Micah started spending hours in the libraries amassed in underground archives, researching maps and climates that would support the various plants then seeking out agronomist that could decipher the keys to the maps, more important, seeking out the one agronomist that would be sympathetic to his cause.

For two years Micah spent in his research, learning much but still lacking much of the knowledge that he would need in order to bring his plan into fruition. It was one these visits to the libraries that he met Nilah. He had noticed her there before, always in deep study, but never did know what it was that she was reading. Many people visited the libraries to read and pass time, this could be no different. She cold be there just to be reading and not really concerned at all about what she was reading. Maybe just trying to escape the boredom that seemed to afflict a lot of the people now.

He was looking for information on American Flora and the climatology they required when he happened to look to his right and there standing next to him was Nilah. She had just retrieved a book published by National Geographic on tropical plants. She turned her face to his, smiled then walked away. His gaze followed her back to her chair as she sit down and started to thumb the pages. He didn't know how long he had been staring at here when she again turned her face to his and smiled again, laying the book in her lap. He found himself walking over to her and sitting down in the empty chair next to her's.
"Hi, my name is Micah." he informed her.

"Hello Micah, my name is Nilah." she returned, still smiling.

"I didn;t mean to be staring at you, but I noticed that you were looking at a book on plants. Not too many people bother with these books any longer." he continued his conversation.

"I like looking at them, reading about all the different plants and flowers. I get so tired of seeing all the gray and brown I am surrounded by. If it weren't for green paint, I don't think I would know what a plant would look like." Nilah said half laughing.

Micah looked intently at her at that moment, Nilah bowed her head blushing.

"I enjoy it also. To think of diversity of life that once covered the planet and then to think of the millions of years it took for it to evolve." he started saying before Nilah cut him off.

"And how quick it was gone." she stated sadly. "Wouldn't it be nice to live in such a world? To see flowers blooming, to taste fruit? Did you know how many different types of fruits there are? That in every part of the world that there is fruit unique to it?" Nilah exploded with enthusiasm. She had yet to meet anyone who shared what she felt before, not really sure Micah did or not, but still she found she could not contain herself any longer and had to let out all those thoughts that had been pent up for so long. She remembered trying to talk to her mother, father and siblings about it, but was either shrugged off or told it would be best to occupy her mind with something productive, that those books just contained dreams now and that the earth would never be as it was before. To settle for what she had now and be thankful for it.

Micah could see in her eyes her enthusiasm, her desire to get out of this cold stone and steel tomb he had felt it had become.

"What does your father do Nilah?" he asked.

"He is an agronomist." she answered, "It was from him that I have learned to appreciate plants and how they are used to benefit the earth and man and now he is passing that knowledge on to me so that I can continue in what he is doing. But you now Micah? Sometimes I feel there is more that I could be doing, I mean something much more important than just doing what my father is doing. Please, don't get me wrong, what he does is very important, but my brothers and sisters are doing it too and I just feel as if there is more to be done."

Micah couldn't believe his ears, it was like manna from heaven when he heard her telling him this.

"So you understand soil composition and fertilization to grow plants?" Micah asked.

Nilah went on to explain to him that plants are no longer raised in soil, that a gel and agar medium is used to grow plants. They were fed a compound of minerals from other decaying plant matter and from the rock slag produced from the mining operations. Some plants were hydroponically raised in a water fertilizer solution, but only those that require more water such as lettuces and other leafy greens.

"Micah, have you ever seen a farm before? I mean the way plants are grown today?" Nilah asked.

"No I haven't, funny though, with all the interest I have in plants you would think I would have seen one before." he answered.

"Well, would you like to? Would you like to see my father's farm?"

"Yes I would, I would like that very much." he answered. "What does your father raise?"

"Farmers here only grow two or three different kinds of plants. My father grows bean sprouts, spinach and asparagus. The bean sprouts and asparagus are grown in the gel and agar medium and the spinach is grown hydroponically. Some of the farmers here grow in only one or the other." she continued. "Micah, have you ever had a pomegranate, a cashew or pistachio?"

"No, no I haven't." he answered Nilah.

"Oh, you are in for a treat then, my father has several dwarf trees of each and they have fruit now." she said excitedly.

He and Nilah made plans to meet early the next morning in the East Inner Common Area and to go from there to see Nilah's father's farm.

The next morning he found Nilah waiting for him sitting on a stone ledge that had been carved into a bench against the wall. She was swinging her feel looking down at them as he walked up to her.

"Been waiting very long?" Micah asked?

"No, not really, I am used to getting up early to help father out. I told him I was bringing you to see the farm, that you were very interested in plants and growing them. He seemed very pleased with the idea." Nilah informed him.

The Farm

They walked in silence for most of the way, not really saying anything outside of what each did as a daily routine. Micah was still unsure about trusting Nilah with his dream, his plan, outside of his love for plants he kept those thoughts to himself. Soon he found himself being led down passageways unfamiliar to him and not as well lit as other parts of this subterranean community. Just as in the surface communities, farms were on the outskirts or as here, on the outer ring. In the design of this community, there was a central hub or common area that measured a quarter of a mile across with sixteen one mile long tunnels radiating from that to three rings, the inner ring, the middle ring and the outer ring. In the central hub was the market, civil offices, medical plaza and judicial offices. All farms were located on the outer ring. At the point to were each tunnel terminated or crossed a ring was another common area, in these common areas were other shops or trade, such as the various unions or guilds, education, libraries and recreational centers. They had met in what was called the East Inner Common Area, which was the first common area on the inner ring of the tunnel heading due east. It was designed on the aspects of a compass with each tunnel named accordingly to it's position. The next common area on the east tunnel would have been East Center Common Area. Off the radiating tunnels were lesser passages that connected to areas designated for maintenance, storage and public gatherings. These were also used as shortcuts and it seemed Nilah knew them very well. Before long Micah felt lost, as if he was in a maze.

"I never knew these places were even here." he said to Nilah.

"These are places opened up by the miners and then once mined out or found not to have anything of any use were turned into shops, production areas and public areas. For someone born and raised here, you didn't get around very much." she remarked.

"All my friends live near the inner ring, I never had a reason to go any further." he said.

"Don't you have any sense of adventure?" she quipped.

Micah thought to himself that if she only knew what his plans were.

After about an hour they had reached the outer ring near the East North East Tunnel. Nilah took his hand and led him down a passage way lit with bio-luminescent lights. Lights that gave off just enough light to see your way. They were developed by the chemists and were easily recharged and proved to be very efficient in less traveled areas. Bio-luminescent lighting was also used during the "twilight" hours as to mimic night time below.

He and Nilah came to a large metal door, similar to those on ships before the great holocaust, called bulkhead passageways and also operated in the same manner with a central wheel you turned to release the cocks that held it shut. As she opened it a stream of very bright light poured out, Micah found himself shielding his eyes from it. Slowly as his sight adjusted to it he let his hand down. What lay before him was something that amazed him.

It was like a cylinder that had been cut in half length ways. To the central apex of the ceiling was approximately 25 feet from the floor, 60 feet across and 250 feet deep. The walls and ceiling were lined with a metal coated mylar sheeting that reflected any light back down towards the plants. The lighting was metal halide with reflective canopies to direct the light's energy to the plants. They were spaced at every four feet on a grid pattern and level with each other. Along the two outer walls were shallow vats ten feet wide and twenty feet long with a rotating paddles of clear acrylic attached to stainless still wheels at each end. The acrylic paddles were the length of the vat with holes running down the center of it. In each hole was a spinach plant with it's leaf above and the root mass dangling below it. The wheel slowly turned, immersing the roots in the liquid to keep them moist and the plant fed without causing rot from sitting in water all the time and each getting it's equal share of nutrients and light as it rotated. There were two rows of these vats down each side. In the center were flats made of the same clear acrylic divided off in one foot squares. In each square was a gelatinous substance with a slightly yellow tint to it and in these flats were raised the bean sprouts and asparagus. traveling down the length of the flats was a stainless steel tube that was set just a few inches higher than the asparagus with misting nozzles on it and on command from sensors placed inside each of the one foot squares the tube would travel down and add nutrients as needed. Micah was astounded. He did not even realize this existed. He knew that the food he ate was farmed underground, but the method of farming never crossed his mind. Standing there in awe he never noticed the figure that walked up and stood next to him.

"Micah." he heard Nilah say.

Shaking his head he turned towards Nilah to see a man in his mid forties standing next to her.

"Micah, I would like you to meet my father Zachariah." she continued, "Father this is the boy I was telling you about, Micah. The one I met at the library."

"A bit more than a boy Nilah." her father started. Holding his hand out to Micah, "Nice to meet you, I have heard quite a bit about you from Nilah since you two met."

Shaking his hand Micah returned, "I am very pleased to meet you sir. I must say though that I never realized what was involved in farming, how complicated it is."

"Nothing complicated in it all anymore. All the guess work has been taken out. The dependency on the weather, the sun and the season has been taken out of the equation. It is all controlled now for maximum production. I control it's sun, it's rain and it's food and I can farm 24 hours a day year round. A lot has changed since my grandfather and his father farmed above. Those were what we call dirt farmers now." Zachariah explained to Micah. "Have a look around, Nilah said you enjoyed plants and horticulture, not too many do. They like to eat, but they don't concern themselves with the mechanics of what it takes to get it to the table."

"Come Micah, I have something I want to show you." Nilah said taking his hand and pulling towards the back. They neared one corner and setting between the wall and the end vats were nine large clay pots, about 25 gallons each with a small tree growing from each. "These are the trees I was telling you about. she continued. Three of the trees had fruit about the size of his fist and a bright crimson color. Three more trees with an orange\yellow fruit on it with a dark half moon shaped nut on the end of it and the last three trees growing in clusters of three to five shells of a blond color and some split revealing a green nut. She explained each tree to him. With that she reached out and picked a pomegranate and walked over to stainless steel table. Picking a large knife from a magnetic strip on the back splash of the table she split the pomegranate in half. From it oozed a thick red jelly like fluid that encased a dark brown seed. The inside was riddled with these. She held one half over a bowl and tapped it with the butt of the knife letting the seeds and juice spill out into it. She then began to quarter the halves until she had emptied the hard shell of it seed and juice. Picking up one of the seeds, she pressed it to Micah's lips.

"Don't eat the seed, just suck the fruit off it." she instructed him.

Micah had never tasted a pomegranate before and the tangy sweetness flooded his mouth with a sensation he had never known.

"Do you like it Micah?" Nilah asked him smiling.

"Oh yes, I like it very much. I have never tasted anything like it before. he exclaimed. "Why doesn't your father sell these at the market?"

"He raises them for family only. He is not licensed to grow them for market." she told him. "It takes too many resources to raise them commercially or so we have been told by the Board of Agriculture."

They ate the rest of the pomegranate in silence. Micah savoring it as he sucked the sweet nectar from each seed. He then tried in turn the cashew and the pistachio nuts. Nilah had pulled them from a roaster for him and they ate them warm.

For the rest of the afternoon Nilah showed Micah around the farm and the various processes involved in raising the plants. From seedlings grown in an artificial media, transplanting to harvest, Micah was shown the complete operation that she called her father's farm. As she was walking him back to the East Inner Common Area she handed Micah a small linen back, in it were several pomegranates, pistachios and cashews for him to take with him.

As they entered the common area Micah turned to Nilah and holding both her hands in his looked at her. "I had a wonderful time today with you. I am kind of sorry it has to end already." Micah started, "I was amazed at what I saw and with your knowledge of plants. You are not like any of the other girls I know, they are only concerned on who they will be going to the next dance with or what they will wear to attract a boy and what they are willing to do to keep him, but you, you are different."

"Thank you Micah, I hope that was a compliment." she said shyly.

"What are you doing tomorrow Nilah? Can we meet at the library again? he asked.

"Sure, after I finish helping my father I can meet you there." she said smiling up at him.

He bent down and kissed her on her cheek, "Tomorrow then, I will be at the library waiting." then turned around and walked away leaving Nilah flushed, her hand pressed to the cheek that Micah had kissed.

When he arrived home he showed his parents the gifts that Nilah had given him and told them about each and about Nilah's father's farm. They listened intently to Micah, each looking at the other with a sense of relief hoping that Micah had gotten the silly dream out of his head and was ready to focus on his future. That evening his mother had added the nuts to the dishes they ate and made a dressing from the juice of the pomegranates for their salad.

That evening lying in his bed Micah had made the decision that we would tell Nilah of his plan.

The Secret is Told

The next morning found Micah sitting in front of the library before the subterranean morning dawned. Basically all this was was a gradual increase in the artificial lighting used to simulate the passage of time below and to give the internal body clocks something to orientate itself on. From his vantage point he could see in four directions, it was in one the convergence points of the inner ring. It was in north tunnel or the North Inner Common Area. It was full illumination when he finally saw Nilah casually making her way towards him, she had already spotted him and purposely slowed down. Micah noticed that she was carrying another one of the canvas bags that she had put the nuts and fruit in the day before and was hoping that she had bought more of the same with her.

Nilah sat down next to Micah and asked if his parents had enjoyed the pomegranate and nuts she had sent home with him.

"Yes, they enjoyed them very much. "Mother added them to our dinner last night and father ate the rest later that evening while reading." he answered, "She wanted me to thank you for them."

"Here, I have more for you, this time it is a gift from father. Seems you made an impression on him yesterday." Nilah said smiling.

"Maybe that will change Nilah after we talk today. I have something I want to tell you." Micah said with a slight disdain, "Your father's opinion may change drastically after you hear what I have to tell you."

With having said that, Micah stood and held his hand out to Nilah, she slipped her hand in his and together they walked across the common area to the library. Once inside, Micah went immediately to the Flora\Horticulture section and selected a volume that he often looked at. Flora and Fauna of the World published by The National Geographic Society. Sitting next to her he laid the book on the table between them.

"Have you ever looked through this book?" he asked.

"No, not that I can remember." Nilah replied.

"There are thousands of plates that show all the flora cataloged from around the world. I never before could have imagined how many different species there were at one time. I would have loved to have seen it, to be a part of it." Micah started slowly turning the pages as Nilah looked and listened. "There were food plants, so many more than what we know here and medicinal plants and herbs that were used to heal and to season foods. There were trees Nilah, magnificent trees that reached for hundreds of feet into the air. Farms that grew trees for building dwellings and look Nilah, trees that bear fruit, so many different kinds of fruit one can only imagine what they would taste like. If ever I have the chance Nilah, I would love to be able to taste them all."

"You know that is impossible Micah, the land above is barren now and sterile, we have been taught this in school. After the Great Holocaust there was nothing left alive above, it destroyed everything." Nilah pointed out.

"No Nilah, it didn't destroy everything." Micah informed her.

"What do you mean Micah? How do you know it didn't? Have seen for yourself?" Nilah quizzed him in a confrontational tone.

"My grandfather told me Nilah, he used to tell me about something that scientist did many years before the Great Holocaust in case something did destroy all life on earth, a contingency plan they developed so that the earth could be replanted again. They called it Project Genesis." Micah explained.

"Project Genesis? Oh Micah, I had heard the same stories from my grandfather. You know Micah, that is all they were don't you? Just stories. It would be such a massive undertaking to think that a group of men could collect seeds from every plant around the world. It is a fairy tale, that is all it is Micah." Nilah spoke laying her hand on his arm.

"It is not a fairy tale Nilah, I have found articles on it in the library, a place called Scoffs Vaults they stored seeds collected by scientists, botanists, farmers and horticulturist from all around the world. They sent them there, they were frozen and placed in deep underground vaults vacuum sealed. Every country participated in it Nilah, it is there." Micah continued explaining to her.

"So what is it is true? What good is it going to do you? These Scoffs Vaults are thousands of miles from here I would imagine and how would you get there? You can't travel above ground, you wouldn't survive." Nilah said trying to convince him that it was a silly notion.

"We are 112 years since the Great Holocaust, I heard father saying to mother not too long ago that soon they will be sending scouting parties above ground to search for life. They are training men for it now." he returned.

"All they will find is barren rock and dust Micah, nothing more." Nilah said sarcastically.

"Nilah, something has to be alive, I have read many articles about certain lichens, mosses and ferns that can take very high doses of radiation and survive. And there is an island in an ocean called the Pacific that even after the land had been burned and scoured by a volcanic eruption that trees and plants grew again from it. Think about it Nilah, the earth has suffered many catastrophes in it's life and it has always healed itself and survived. Even when they thought that all was extinct there was still life, surly there still has to be pockets of life left, places that were not affected as much as others." Micah continued his argument.

"Maybe there was, but how do you plan to find these places? How do you plan to find the vaults? Who is going to believe you? There are too many unanswered questions Micah, too many things that could go wrong, no Micah, there are just too many variables, too many negatives." Nilah said half to Micah and half to herself.

She is thinking now Micah thought to himself.

"What if I were to tell you that I have a few friends that believed the same thing? Some with the skills we would need to find the vaults and the seeds." Micah pushed a little further, planting his own seed now in her mind.

Nilah sat in silence, flipping the pages of the book, a far off look in her eyes. He could tell that he had her thinking, that his dream was beginning to work on her, still though she did not know what he had in mind. Micah was hesitant about telling her the rest of his plan, he wondered if he had told her enough for one day or if he should go ahead and tell her everything and get it over with. Nilah glanced up at him and saw in his eyes that he believed deeply in what he was telling her.

"You said that there were others?" Nilah asked quietly.

"Yes, friends of mine that believe in the same thing. One named Samuel studied cartography in school, he is very good with reading maps and legends and with drawing maps too. Once we locate exactly where the Scoffs Vaults are, he will be able to lead us there." Micah started explaining.

"Micah, you are going to need more than someone who can read and understand a map. How will you survive once you are above ground? Once you have the seeds, how will you know where to plant them or how to plant them? Again, too many variables to consider Micah, too many possibilities for failure." Nilah retorted. "You will need someone with knowledge of planting them, know where and how to plant them, someone that understands climates and just not global climates Micah, but micro climates within climates. Did you even know that there are some plants that cannot even survive a few feet out of their climatic range? And that range could be as small as a few hundred square meters. A dream is one thing Micah, but actually undertaking such a mission and accomplishing it is another thing altogether."

"Aren't you an agronomist Nilah?" Micah asked, "Do you not know these things, understand them? Do you not create these living conditions?"

"Oh no Micah, you are not proposing that I go along with you are you? No, no, no Micah, I could not do that. I have told you that there are too many variables and too many possibilities to fail doing something like this. It would be crazy of me to even think of doing something as far fetched as what you are thinking." she stated shaking her head.

"What am I thinking Nilah? All I have done is told you about these things and that there were others that believed the same things too." Micah told her.

"It is quite obvious what you are thinking Micah, even a blind person could see it. You think that you can find these vaults and the seeds and then replant the earth. Micah one thing you have not thought about though is that you are mortal, this can never be accomplished in your life time. It is too great of an undertaking for just one person." Nilah trailed off, still leafing through the pages of the book.

"What you have failed to think about, what you have failed to realize Nilah, is that if I have had these thoughts, these dreams, that there are others out there that have the same too. Are you honestly that naive to believe that we are the only ones that survived the Great Holocaust? Do you not think that there were people in those vaults at the time it happened Nilah? I am not so foolish as to think that this is something I could do alone. I know that it will take time and people, many people and a lot of time, but we can get it started Nilah, we can plant those seeds of hope in other people with the same dream. It is not as far fetched as it sounds and it is not impossible. The only possibility of anything failing here Nilah is not to do it, then we have failed altogether." With saying that, Micah disappeared down an aisle.

Nilah sat there in silence, letting what Micah had said sink in. She turned the page and there she saw a pomegranate tree in fruit, the caption below it said, "Also known as the tree of life."

A few moments later Micah returned and laid an old National Geographic periodical in front of her. It was turned to an article called "The Seeds of Life." She stared at it for a moment and then looked up at him.

"Go ahead and read it, then tell me about the fairy tales you were told as a child." Micah challenged her.

Without say a word, Nilah started reading the article. When she had finished she looked over at Micah, he had been looking the the book he had shown Nilah when they first arrived.

"Do you really think this can be done?" Nilah asked.

"Yes I do." was all Micah said.

"Micah, we have much to plan for and much to prepare for and not a lot of time to do it. How do you propose that you will do this? Find these Scoffs Vaults and once found, how to get the seeds to where they need to be?" she asked him smiling.

A Plan is formulated

"If you are waiting on Jeremiah and Race to show up Micah, they won't be here today." Samuel said dryly.

"What do you mean they won't be here Samuel?" Micah questioned turning his gaze away from the door and to Samuel.

"They have joined with the Scouts and have gone to the Training Sector to start their training with the other recruits that will explore and bring back information from the surface." Samuel continued, "I was rejected for physical reasons and I so wanted to go with them Micah."

"Yes Samuel, I understand that, but you knew they would not accept you, why did you try?" Micah questioned.

"I know, I know. I was just hoping that it may have been different, that they would need people trained in cartography and would want a current topography contour map. A lot of things can change in a hundred years Micah and I am sure there will be updates needed for the current maps." Samuel went on.

During the time Samuel and Micah were talking three figures had entered the room, they stood silhouetted in the doorway. Micah turned as he saw Samuel's eyes shift and focus on the three figures behind him.

"Sarah, Stephen, Dane, I am happy you could come. I met someone the other day and I have invited her here. I want you to meet her." Micah said as he greeted them.

"Ah, a new love interest Micah?" Dane joked, "You know how that will make Sarah feel. You know how upset she gets when she feels threatened."

Micah looked at Dane with a sarcastic glare, "Sarah is like my sister Dane, stop trying to be funny. We have some things to discuss today, time is not with us any longer and we need to get some things settled and plans in the making or all we have been discussing is for nothing."

"Are you talking about Genesis again Micah?" Sarah asked.

"No Sarah, I am not talking about Genesis, I am making plans to see that Genesis is carried out, that is why we are here today. Being light Race and Jeremiah will mean a loss, but I think that it can still be done." Micah continued, "We have been needing an agronomist and I think I have found one that is just curious enough to help us. Even though Jeremiah was good at horticulture, I think what this person brings to the group far surpasses what he could offer."

"What about Race's skills Micah?" Dane asked, "What are we going to do about replacing him? We will need a chemist to analyze the water for contaminates and for quality."

"Dane, concern yourself with our safety and security on this journey, that is your only priority. I will do what I can to talk with Race and see if there is a test that one of us could perform in the field to see if the water quality can support life. He said one time that there were agents when mixed with reagents that could tell us what we needed to know and were simple to use and understand. I am assuming that he would be using the same tests in the field." Micah informed him.

"Micah, we can plan and plan and plan, but without getting out of here they are not of much use to us." Stephen finally spoke, "You know as all of us do, that they will not let us leave just because we have a plan, no one is permitted to leave. How do you plan on that? I would think that should be our first plan of action."

"I have been thinking about that and I feel that maybe Race and Jeremiah can still assist us in that. It is going to have to coincide with the Scouts leaving on their reconnaissance mission. Some how we are going to have to leave when they do, either unnoticed or hidden in their equipment, that is where Race and Jeremiah will come in. With their help I believe we can pull it off, but it is going to be tight and it will have to be well executed." Micah explained.

"Oh, go unnoticed? All of you will stick out like kindergarten children in a group of high school
students." And to go out with the equipment, have you even thought how you are going to get the equipment you will need or were you just planning on traveling with your wits?" came Nilah's voice.

Micah smiled, "Nilah, I am pleased that you came, I was wanting the rest to meet you and for you to get a better understanding of what you and I spoke about the other day. Every one, I would like for you to meet Nilah, her father is an agronomist. I visited his farm earlier this week and saw first hand the skills involved in the raising of plants."

"What my father's methods are, are a far cry away from what you have in mind. He's is now a science, the easy way to grow plants and I believe he told you that the equation has been refined and redefined on how to raise them. All of the guess work and dependence on nature has been taken out. Every thing is not grown in mediums and by hydroponics in a controlled environment. What you will encounter is the way his father and his grandfather and their fathers before them grew crops."

"Yes, true, but the basics are still there Nilah, you understand a lot of what we lack and I know we can find the information we need in the libraries or rather the information you will need to know." Micah stated.

"We, me? Since when did I become a part of we Micah? You just asked me here to meet the others that shared your dream, your idea. I still think that there is not much hope of it succeeding. As I said, too many things to go wrong." Nilah countered.

"Before you start planting your seeds of doubt, let me at least introduce you to the rest of the group first and we will go from there." Micah said, "First is Sarah, she is an Environmental Specialist, trained in air, soil and water quality and conservation, she has also trained herself in the old art of meteorology. She can read the weather signs and patterns and forecast such as the surface dwellers before the Great Holocaust."

"It is nice to meet you Sarah." Nilah returned, "But the art is old and of no use to us here below and you do not know if the old ways still apply above since the old times. The Great Holocaust changed many things, the weather then was dependent on climates and areas of specific mass to generate weather, how do you know those things still exists?"

"They may not exist Nilah, but certain patterns will remain the same, such as jet streams in the upper atmosphere and axis tilt, seasonal changes. I know for a fact that there is a hot and cold season above, these I have witnessed from the instruments we have here now. Some things we have been monitoring since being down here, with wind speed and direction, temperature, barometric pressure, humidity and precipitation being part of what we have been recording from the surface. I have access to this information." Sarah politely informed her, "And depending on the time of the year these have remained constant and patterns predictable."

Micah smiled as he watched Nilah's expression change, "Over there is Samuel, the cartographer I was telling you about. His specialty is reading and drawing maps, interpretations of the land contours and map legends, he can also draw maps and is skilled at surveying and surveyor's tools."

Samuel smiled and cocked his head towards Nilah, she smiled and nodded in return.

"Here we have Stephen, he is a trained mechanical engineer in design and fabrication. He will assist in ways to irrigate where needed, design and fabricate equipment we will need. He is very good with his imagination too, with solving problems and implementing plans to resolve any issues we may encounter." Micah continued.

Stephen smiled and nodded to Nilah, she returned the same, this time keeping her thoughts to herself.

"Last but not least is Dane. He will provide our security and our safety. He is trained in egress and in survival. He can also read maps and can reconnoiter areas ahead for us to find the safest possible passage. He is trained in self defense and defensive tactics. He will also be our provisions officer." Micah concluded, "Any questions?"

"Yes, quite a few. But the one that comes to mind now is what do you bring to the table Micah? What special skills or knowledge do you possess that will benefit the group? Or is having a dream enough?" Nilah asked sarcastically.

You could see the anger in Micah's eyes when Nilah asked her question. He did not look at her, but instead focused on a point behind her trying to calm himself. When he gained his composure he look Nilah in the eyes, "What do I bring to the table? You have a right to ask, after all I would hate that you throw your lot into a dream. I am a bio chemist. My specialty in this field is flora and fauna. Understanding a plant's genetics, it's specific molecular structure. Taking this information to design a stronger more productive plant in order to come up with ester compounds for medical use, agricultural applications and in providing fuels with compounds that react when mixed that do not generate noxious carbon wastes. We are not a rag tag group of dreamers. We are lucid, trained people specializing in our fields. We have been training since children to do what we do, but down here we are limited. There is only so much we can do, only so far we can go and we know that there is something much greater above us and there is something we can do that would benefit not only our little subterranean community, but benefit everyone that has survived the Great Holocaust. We know that if we have this vision, there are others in far places that have them too. You think we go alone in this? We know there will be others we will meet on the way that will join in with us, that will help and assist us to see that they do their part to restore what was destroyed. Nilah, we were not meant to just survive, we were meant to live. To feel the sun, the wind and the rain. Here we do nothing but exist, we live a routine, not a life. This is not something that we have just thought of, it is something we have been planning for our entire lives. I have known each one of these people all my life and we have always shared these thoughts. It has gone beyond a dream Nilah, it has become a passion."

Nilah pulled her eyes away from Micah's and stared down at the floor. "I am sorry for the way I spoke Micah. It was not meant how it sounded and if I offended you, I am sorry. It is just this idea you have is a very big project and one not to be taken lightly. There are so many variables as I have tried to explain to you before. What you see and read in books is not what is there now. Everything has changed and no one has recorded any of it. You do not know what will encounter, what you will come up against. Yes, here everything is predictable, but that is our life. The guess work is gone, you know what you are up against each day and if a problem occurs, it is easily resolved. It has become part of our habit now, our character and what would happen if that was suddenly disrupted? If you encountered something out of your norm, have you thought of such problems?"

"You are talking suppositions now, scenarios that have not played out. We know we walk into something unknown, but not uncharted Nilah. We realize things will not be as they were before, but the building blocks are still there, the foundation to do what we need is still intact. We also know that we will encounter obstacles that we are not confronted with here. With our collective talents and experience I think we will be able to overcome them. This is not some child's dream Nilah." Micah said defending his position.

With that the room went quiet. Nilah scanned the room and at each she paused and looked into their eyes. She knew then this was just more than some dream, she could see the resolve in their eyes. She looked at Micah again, seeing him standing there she could see his determination to see this through or at least try and accomplish it. "You are really going to attempt this I see." Nilah said in a whispered tone. Shrugging her shoulders she continued, "Then if Race and Jeremiah cannot help you get out of here, I know of a way, so I guess we should start making plans. Have you thought of what you will need, what equipment and supplies to carry?"

A smile went across Micah's face, "We have been thinking and talking about the things we will need. We know our equipment requirements, but beyond that we thought that what one did not possess to help another one of us would. Strengths depending on strengths so to say."

"The most important thing is that you bring no more than you can carry. You won't have mag-carts to carry your equipment for you. Food, what will you take to sustain you? You can only carry so much dehydrated food and water, how do you know you will find anything to eat and that which you do find, how do you know it will be eatable?" she continued questioning them, "The biggest threat is going to be exposure, not only to the elements but from the radiation left behind. One hundred years was only a good guess at best and in the lower areas where the air is stale and where movement is minimal the possibility of exposure is even greater, no winds to carry the dust off. There will be areas where the wind could not carry it over mountains and the dust will be in drifts, have you thought about that? What if the rains are still heavy with radioactive dust, what type of shelter do you plan on staying in?" She had them thinking now, you could see it in their faces.

"How do you plan on showing us a way out? There are only three points to exit and those are heavily guarded." Dane asked Nilah.

"There are several points, one at every farm and those are not guarded." Nilah explained.

"They are monitored, they may not have someone there physically, but they are monitored from a central location." Dane interjected.

"When they are in need of repair it is weeks before anyone comes to check on them and weeks before they are back to fix them." Nilah returned.

"It seems we have a plan B or plan A, but at least a plan is starting to take shape and that is further than we have got in a long while." Sarah said smiling.

"I wouldn't call it a plan, just an idea for the moment." stated Nilah, "Nothing concrete."

"What are these places used for Nilah?" inquired Samuel.

"For rock debris from mining and expansion. They are loaded onto mag-carts and then into air-locks. The debris is then raised to the surface and dumped." explained Nilah.

"In the air-locks, is there a point of zero vacuum or is it just stabilized with the outside air?" Dane asked.

"I don't believe there is a vacuum, a few men go in the air-locks with the mag-carts to insure that they are all dumped and to check for contamination, I believe it is just a precaution not to let any possible contaminates escape to the inside." Nilah continued, "They do however wear hazmat suits when in the air-locks."

"Are the suits stored near by or are they worn back to there work areas?" Micah continued the groups questioning.

"They are scrubbed and then stored in near by lockers Micah." Nilah answered, "But why do you want to know this?"

"We are going to need some sort of protection and as we do not have any hazmat suits of our own, except for Sarah, we will need them." Micah said in return.

"We are going to need something for prolonged use Micah, those suits are just to be used in the air-locks and I do not think they would hold up to conditions outside. They are made from a tyvek material with a latex coating. We are going to need something much more rugged and substantial." Sarah informed him.

"Then we need to come up with something Sarah, that I will leave in your capable hands, see what you can find. If we can fabricate them or if there is something available." Micah instructed. "Nilah, I am going to ask that you see about staples, food provisions and water."

"What would you like for me to do Micah?" Stephen asked.

"You and Sarah get together and see what you two can come up with for portable air filtration, something that we each can carry in addition to our equipment." Micah requested of him.

"And?" Dane put in.

"You and Samuel start studying the maps and make copies of ones we will need. Find the best possible route to the vaults. Each one of you know your own equipment requirements, so I will not get into that now, just remember Nilah's suggestion, take only what you can each carry and nothing more." Micah ended with, "So let's all get out of here and start doing what we need to do, timing is going to be important now, whether we leave with the Scouts or via one of the hatches at the farms, it is going to have to coincide when the Scouts leave."

Nilah and Micah sat in the Central Common Area talking in hushed tones after the group had broken up. Nilah was watching the mag-carts go whisping by as silent as the cushion of air they seemed to float on. Actually they were not as complicated as they seemed. Beneath the surface were iron plates that were coiled in copper wire that had a small charge applied to them to create a magnetic field, underneath the carts was affixed a permanent magnate. The electromagnets beneath the surface were controlled from a central location and to move the carts, the polarity of the magnetic field was "flipped" so to say, causing the cart to be propelled in a controlled direction. Traffic Control monitored and moved the carts where needed utilizing a series of sensors that each had it's on specific frequency and a series of reflectors placed through out it's course. The sensors acted like addresses and the reflectors prevented collisions at intersecting routes. Each cart was fitted with Light Emitting Diodes or LED's that shot a beam of light aimed at the reflectors, that beam of light was then redirected down the intersecting routes and picked up by sensors on the carts, then depending on the priority of it's cargo continued on or was halted to let another cart pass. They were all unmanned. The carts themselves were composed of a light weight titanium and aluminum alloy that once molded did not need a rigid frame structure or carriage to rest on. The brackets for the mounting of the permanent magnates were molded into the underbelly of the cart. They were light enough that they could be handled by one man or easily carried by two. They could hold tremendous loads and were controlled easily. At this point in time they were only used to move materials, produce, wastes and emergency equipment, they had no transit system in place for public utilization, but that was in the plans also. Micah hated the thought, it evoked a sense of permanence and he could not see himself living a subterranean existence.

"Micah, how much time do we have to plan this?" Nilah asked quietly.

"Scout training takes two years and then another six months of preparations before they actually embark on their mission. Not a lot of time Nilah." Micah answered.

Two Years Later - Chapter Three

"I am happy to see that we have not spent the time given us idly and that your efforts have been rewarded. I have been speaking with Stephen and Sarah about the Portable Air Filtration System or PAFS as they have named it and it looks as though we have a very workable solution. Stephen, Sarah, please show and explain to us what you have come up with." Micah sat down and let Sarah and Stephen have the floor.

In Stephen's hand was a canvas pack about fourteen inches across, 20 inches long and six inches thick and was of a variegated browns and grays in color. As Stephen held it up, Sarah explained its function.

"What we have developed is a very simple but effective air filtration device that is electro-mechanical in operation. The pre-filter is a course fiber polymer coated with a fine mineral oil, this protects the low voltage induction fan. Air drawn into the system first passes over a series of graduating micron filters starting at 10 microns and going down to .5 microns. From there it passes through an activated carbon filter to absorb any dissolved gasses. After passing through this filter it goes through a water submersed diffusion tube where any suspended particles are trapped. In the water will be two conductors running at length along the bottom, a small amount of current will be applied to attract and trap any metals at the molecular level. The air that you exhale will be heavily saturated with moisture and will not be expelled back into the atmosphere, science has taught us to re-filter air to extract the moisture and unspent air and recycle it. The water refined in this system will pass through an osmosis filter to be used at potable water in an emergency situation. We estimate that we will recover approximately 90% of the moisture in this method. As I said it is electro-mechanical, so in the very base of the pack, isolated from the filtration system are two 9 volt rechargeable lithium batteries that will act as the main source of power with two spare batteries along side. The recharging system is a photovoltaic cell that is on the front of the pack that will supply enough voltage to recharge the batteries with a full charge in 4 to 6 hours. The batteries themselves without being recharged will run the entire system for 24 to 32 hours continuous duty. Each person in the group will be fitted with one and the pack will be customized as to the specific needs of the user's mission and equipment required. It is light and compact in design and we feel will suit our needs as best as we can ascertain." after explaining the system, Stephen handed the the pack to Micah who in turn passed it around to each member to weigh and try on.

"Samuel, Dane, please tell us what you have found out and how we will arrive at our destination." Micah asked the two.

Samuel stood, cleared his throat and began, "Dane and I have spent hundreds of hours studying the maps available as to the location of the Scoffs Vaults. They are located above the Arctic Circle in a mountainous region of Northern Norway. Looking at the climate maps of the area it is at subfreezing temperatures year round. We have mapped out two courses, one a more direct route, more or less that would take us on a northern heading across Canada and over the North Polar Ice Cap and directly into Norway. This as I said is the most direct route and probably the most dangerous. The second route we have mapped would take across the United States in a north western track through the southwestern edge of Canada and then up through Alaska and across the Aleutian Islands, once an ancient land bridge that connected the Asian Continent to North America. What is dependent here is frozen seas between the islands. Having Sarah look at those local climate maps and based on current weather conditions and recording conditions over the last one hundred years, she feels there is a very good possibility that the arctic ice mass extends south of the Aleutian Islands and our chances of traversing this flow very favorable. From that point we would head southwest down through China and then across Russia until reaching a point southeast of a city named Moscow, at which time we would head northwest and cross into Finland, then Sweden and finally into Norway. This second route being the longest is the more favored and safer route of the two. Very detailed maps of these areas exist and old routes that date back to thousands of years in Asia are shown on them. The added advantages will be the fact that the team will get an idea of the various climates and lay of the land, the soil composition, water that is available and the possibility of meeting others who have survived the Great Holocaust with the same ideas that would be sympathetic to ours. We will be able to note the location of these tribes on our maps and denote with symbols as to whether they are friend or foe."

Then Dane spoke, "My mission is based on the possibility that we will not be meeting any sympathetic ideologists, but rather hostile tribes trying to survive and based on that thought and to gain respect and passage it was requested that I come up with very persuasive non-lethal defensive weapons. There are two I will deploy, the first being an ammonia compound agent propelled from rechargeable compressed air guns. This will be sprayed directly in the aggressor's face to irritate the eyes and lungs. The ammonia will not be a strength of a lethal dose, just an irritant that will cause the aggressor temporary grief. It will have the ability to shoot a stream over 100 feet accurate within a few inches of target or create a mist cloud you can envelope yourself in like a shield. Your PAFS should protect you from any harm when inside the mist cloud. The second is a stunning system that will be deployed from the same gun used for the ammonia compound. It consists of two darts of sharpened titanium able to pierce even the thickest of clothing. These darts will be attached to two very thin wires that will travel with it. Upon piercing the aggressor's skin the first jolt of 30,000 volts will be sent automatically without user intervention, any additional application of voltage will be triggered by the user until the aggressor is subdued or incapacitated. The darts are retrievable and reusable. The system is easily managed and reloaded. The rifles are made of titanium with disposable CO2 cartridges that will pressurize the ammonia compound canister and be used to propel the darts. It is totally silent in operation and will not give away your position. Each gun will hold four CO2 cartridges and each group member will be supplied with a cartridge belt that will hold 100 CO2 cartridges. Power for the stun darts will be supplied from two lithium batteries inside the butt of the weapon. These are rechargeable and easily replaced in seconds. You will be supplied with two extra batteries to be carried in a pouch attached to your web belt. In addition each member will given an infra red detector that will detect heat sources and can be calibrated to that of the heat given off by a human being, it will report back to you the direction and distance of the source. The last thing I have developed is this helmet. It will provide four basic functions. The first is communication with the rest of the group on our own frequency and with the capability to scan for other frequencies. Second is radiation protection for your eyes and face with the gold metal coated visor in the down position. The metal is thin enough to be transparent, but thick enough to shield you. Third is night vision. We may be required to travel at night due to adverse conditions or to maintain our anonymity while on our mission. The fourth is a heads up display of the current conditions around you as well as specific readings from the equipment you will be using. Each helmet is fitted with a processing chip and 4gb of memory and the power source will be a rechargeable lithium battery attached to your web belt. One thing, the visor is designed to fit over the PAFS mask and create an airtight seal once in the down position. One more thing, in case you are detached from the group, there is an electronic tracking signal that automatically is activated once you are out of verbal communications distance, it is good for a 5 mile radius, so if lost, sit and do not move from your position. Once someone is close enough a LED on your helmet will start flashing to indicate your position. Never be without your helmet."

"What is the communications perimeter Dane?" Nilah asked.

"Approximately a 1000 foot radius and can receive reflected or bounced signals." Dane answered, "The perimeter is expanded by a few hundred feet on a flat plain."

"Will anyone besides the person wearing the helmet know once they are out of communications range?" Nilah continued her questions.

"Yes, everyone in the group will receive a message that a certain member is not inside the com loop." Dane answered her.

After a few moments of silence and the passing around of the equipment that Dane had designed to each member, Micah stood, "Sarah, have you found something that we can use to protect us from the elements or any bio-chemical threat?"

Sarah stood with a one piece jumpsuit style garment in her hand. "I believe what I have here will do more than just suffice our needs but provide a certain level of protection from things other than the elements and other issues you were concerned about when you handed me this task." Handing the suit to Samuel, "Please Samuel, if you do not mind, I need a model." Sarah waited until Samuel had donned the suit before continuing. "What I have come up with is a three layer jumpsuit that should prove to go beyond being acceptable for our needs. The outer layer is a carbon and mylar fiber fabric that is extremely tough and durable. It will not rip, tear or puncture without extreme pressures being exerted upon it. It is patterned in the same design as the PAFS and will blend in with most surroundings and once the one wearing it is completely still, they should be virtually invisible to other human eyes. The middle layer is a mylar fabric coated in a reflective metal to provide a radiation shield and to reflect external heat back out. The inner layer is made of cotton to act as a wick, provide warmth and to keep you cool and dry depending on the current weather conditions. It is completely quilted so each layer is attached to each other and they all move as one piece. Sewn inside are sensors that monitor your respiration, perspiration, body temp, blood pressure, pulse and heart beat. The suit's outer fabric is so tightly woven it is waterproof and wind resistant. It has a tight cowled neck that attaches to the helmet's matching sleeve, once the two are mated they become one piece. There are connector contacts on the outside of the cowl neck and matching assemblies on the inside of the helmet sleeve that provide the contact point for the display in the visor. One thing Dane failed to mention is that your PAFS will also hookup to your helmet so it too can be monitored or diagnosed for any malfunctions without taking it off. Controls are touch sensitive and are placed on the right side of the helmet if your PAFS needs any adjustments. The gloves are of the same material makeup and have a double zipper, flap over flap in insure there will be no leakage from the outside. The boots and laminated with the carbon and mylar material and the metal coated mylar to a 1/8 inch thickness and are mid calf high, the legging of the suit uses a velcro band with the same flap over flap design to ensure against leakage. The souls are of a silicon and carbon compound with a 1/16 inch lead shield encased in the soul of the shoe to protect from any ground source radiation. Even though the density of the silicon and carbon souls should have proven to be dense enough to protect you from any radiation, the embedded lead shield is an added precaution."

Samuel stood there completely suited up with helmet, PAFS, weapon and web belts for the rest to see how it fit and wore and how the peripheral equipment attached. He commented that is was very light, not in the least uncomfortable and he did not feel hot or constricted.

"Dane, do you think you could add some pin cameras to the rear and sides of the helmet and do something to the visor to magnify the field of view like binoculars would? This would give us a distinct advantage and cut down on equipment we would have to carry." Micah inquired.

"I believe that is doable Micah and I will incorporate three 1.75 inch screens in the heads up display." Dane answered.

"Nilah, I believe you have something you wish to show us now?" Micah asked looking at Nilah.

Nilah stood up holding pouches made of the same material and makeup of the suit Sarah had designed. She opened one and pulled out a mylar foil pouch approximately 6 inches square and one inch thick. "This is what will sustain us and provide nourishment as well as additional supplements we will require. It is vitamin fortified and contain specific minerals to help retain and maintain your strength and body mass. It consists of dehydrated vegetables, solid fats, minerals, supplemental vitamins, sugars from beets and corn. One packet when re hydrated with water is enough to sustain six people. It is very palatable and each packet is vacuum sealed then injected with nitrogen gas to preserve it. She then produced another smaller packet approximately 2 inches square. This is more of a treat than anything. It is pomegranate and honey. When mixed with one quart of water is a beverage high in vitamin C and E and contains strong anti-oxidants. The honey provides more sugars and additional natural minerals. It will aid in curbing severe dehydration and heat stroke. Each member will be given four pouches, each contain six of the food pouches and six of the drink pouches. Between the six of us we have enough to sustain us for one hundred and forty four days based on one meal a day. Longer if we encounter friendly tribes who will invite us to their table. Another thing each will carry is a medical pouch. It will consist of bandages, gauze, tape, scissors, wood and plastic splints and depressors, anti-bacterial ointment, needles and sutures, butterfly clamps, tablet pain relievers and smelling salts. Mine and Micah's will contain adrenaline with syringes to administer a dose if needed."

"Thank you all for your efforts and contributions to the group and to the mission. Now for mine. What I will provide to each member is a hand held computer. It will be loaded with all the flora and fauna that is cataloged in the Scoffs Vaults and it geographical habitat as well as its growing requirements and climatic requirements. Another it will be loaded with is all the maps Samuel and Dane have meticulously procured and digitized. These are topographical terrain maps, geographical maps, political maps and climate maps. I have also loaded programs on each specific to your mission so as when you are conducting your tests and research formulas and equations can be worked and stored. There are six USB ports on each so that any equipment that needs a program to run can be utilized. This can also become a integral part of your suit and support systems and in any conflict you can attach the system to your suit and by using voice commands call up any heads up displayable program as well as monitor your vitals statistics. The maps can be called up on the heads up display if needed and it will show your current position and direction and a suggested route to take. With the cameras incorporated it will also show you anyone by location on the map as well as members via the com system so you will know who around you is part of the group and who isn't. Another feature is that it will sync with the infra red heat detection system that Dane developed and let you know if it is human, animal or anomaly. With that being said I only have one question left of each of you, what we have seen here today, are those the only ones that exist or have you outfitted each member in the group?"

Each answered in turn that they had fabricated and customized enough to outfit each person in the group. Dane was the exception as Micah's request had to now be developed and added to the helmet.

"With that I think it is time that each of you start gathering together the equipment specific to your mission. Look at it and then take away anything that would seem redundant or may go unused then look again. Remember, you will be responsible for what you need to take along, do not expect another member of the group to bear your burden." With that being said, Micah dismissed them with a notice that they will meet again in two weeks to finalize their plans.

The Decision is Made - Chapter Four

"You afraid Micah?" Nilah asked in a hushed tone.

"Of course I am. It would be foolish of me if I weren't Nilah." He answered.

"You know, I have mixed feelings about all of this. I mean I am excited at the possibility of actually seeing what is above us, but afraid of leaving the safety here and of what we may find." She said, her eyes refusing to meet his.

"What do you mean, what we may find?" He asked turning to Nilah.

"You know, the stories we heard as kids. Animals or maybe even people who managed to survive above, but being changed, morphing into something totally different from us or what resembles us." She said in a whisper.

"I honestly don't know what we will find, if we find anything at all. It could be just like you said it was, barren and sterile. Or was that more to convince yourself than me?" He asked trying to look into her eyes. He noticed her hands were trembling and he laid his on her's.

"Micah, my grandmother used to tell us stories to keep us away from the air-locks about hideous monsters that used to be humans that would feed on human flesh, that there are packs of wild animals roaming the earth now that hunted humans and scavenged on the dead they found and their progeny feeding on them until the entire surface was covered in cannibalistic packs feeding on one another. That even the plants that survived would cannibalize their own to survive." She said in a quaking voice.

"Then you have nothing to worry about Nilah. With all the cannibalizing going on I would think that after one hundred and fourteen years they have pretty well devoured each other." He tried to assure her. "And even if we encounter something or someone that was hostile, with the defenses Dane has designed and fabricated for us, I think we are well prepared for the worst. Remember, first we have to be found and I think the camouflage that Sarah developed will conceal us well."

Nilah rested her head on Micah's shoulder, "I am not going to back out of this Micah if that is what you are thinking. I just think it is only natural that we have fears, it will keep us on our guard."

"Just as long as your fears do not develop into paranoia everything will be fine." Micah said.

"We better get going, I am sure they are waiting on us." Nilah said sliding off the bench they had been setting on.

When Nilah and Micah entered the room all were present and checking their gear and equipment. Most mumbling to them self or just making comments out loud.

"This is a good sign, none of you got lost finding this place." Micah laughed, "I had Nilah pick it this time, I wanted someplace none of us were familiar with to see if you could use the map program on your hand helds."

"Worked like a charm Micah." Samuel stated, "It led us right here."

"But where is here?" Dane asked laughing, "I never knew we had such places here."

"It was just a test to see how the program performed, nothing more than that. As far as where we are is not important, it is where we are going that concerns us now." Micah said in a serious tone. A hush fell on the room. "Going out with the Scouts is now out of the question. I have been talking with Race and Jeremiah about the possibility of being concealed amoung them or in the equipment. Race said that security was so tight that everything is checked, investigated and then checked again. He is sure we would be discovered before we made the final breach to the outside. So it looks as if we are going to have to go with Nilah's plan and leave by one of the debris hatches near the farms."

"Personally I like that idea better any way. It gives us the chance to set out own time table and leave when we want." Dane spoke up.

"No it doesn't Dane. Our departure will still be dependent on their departure and it will have to coincide with it to the second. That will be the time that security will be focused on that one point of departure and no where else." Micah stated.

"Have you heard when the Scouts will be leaving yet?" Stephen asked.

"Race said he believes they will be leaving in three days. All preparations is pointing towards that and they have stepped up their briefing. His unit 1st told them to be prepared to leave on a moments notice." Micah informed him.

"We need to start making our final preparations to leave." Nilah said, "Where I chose for us to meet is not used for anything at present and no one comes here. We will stage ourselves from here, we are less than a hundred feet from one of the air-locks I was speaking about and fortunately as of the day before yesterday the repair beacon started flashing, so we have some time to work with. We will store our equipment here, suit up here and leave out the debris hatch on mark with the Scouts leaving."

"How will we know exactly when they are leaving?" Sarah asked.

"Simple, we will know the moment everyone else down here knows. It will be news and worthy of the full attention of the media and it will be broadcast, we will watch it on the hand helds." Micah stated, "As for the day, Race promised to let me know one day before they leave, so that could be as early as the day after tomorrow."

"So this is it?" Stephen said to no one in particular, "Funny how all the time before this point it seemed the day would never arrive and then suddenly it is here and you wonder if you have prepared for everything."

"Stop double checking yourself, we have been over everything many times, discussed and rehearsed to the point we can do it in our sleep." Micah said a bit sternly. "Be prepared to leave at any time, do not leave anything behind that may give a clue as to what we are doing or where we are going. At this point consider anyone around you subject to suspicion and if you have any questions or concerns now is the time to voice them."

Everyone stood in silence, each scanning the room looking at the others. Samuel started shuffling his feet after a few moments showing his anxiety and anxiousness to get this project started. "I say we should just all stay together until it is time for us to leave. That way we can go over the mission and make sure we have done our homework and also make sure we are all together when it is time to leave."

"That is not such a bad suggestion Samuel." Micah said, "But that is something that would have to be agreed on by the group. It would ensure that we left when we are supposed to and that we were all accounted for. What do the rest of you think of Samuel's idea?"

"I'm up for it." Dane said.

"I think maybe we should just meet back here later today, all of us go back home and make sure we have tied up any loose ends. We do not know at this time how long we will be gone and I am sure once it is discovered there will be an investigation and as Micah said, we should make sure we leave nothing behind that might betray us or the mission." Stephen offered.

"Then we will put it to a vote." Micah suggested, "All those in favor that we remain together until we depart, raise you right hand, all those who appose, raise your left."

Not one left hand was raised when the simple vote was counted, but you could see the ambivalence on their faces. The time had come and all their planning and testing was now going to be put to the test as well as their courage and resolve to see this mission through. It had become more than a thought now, more than a dream. It had finally surfaced to the realm of reality where it had lain, being nurtured, fed until it had finally come to fruition. The time for Genesis had come.

Micah stood in silence, smiling to see that all were on board and ready to set out on what could possibly be the most historic event since Darwin's theory of evolution. "I see we are all in agreement. We have passed our first crucial test as a team. I suggest everyone go home and meet back here after evening twilight when there are fewer eyes watching, when everyone is inside for their evening meal or relaxing. If anyone should ask, you are going to the libraries, take a route that would have them believe you. I am not going to set a specific time you should return and meet back here, each of you should know when it is safe for you to leave. This will not raise any suspicions."

Nilah and Micah stayed behind after everyone had left. "Are you not going back home?" Nilah asked him.

"No, my parents are used to me staying out, they think I live at the libraries, so it will not be unusual for them if I am not there for the evening meal." Micah answered, "What about you? Aren't you going home?"

"Yes, I will be going shortly, but I won't be long. I will be back within the hour. I think my nervousness may give them a reason to start questioning me and I do not want to have to lie to my parents. I just soon get this started." Nilah answered in return.

Day of Departure Arrives - Chapter Five

It was almost 8pm when they had all returned. Everyone was going over their PAFS, suit and equipment making sure everything was set to go. Samuel could not resist suiting up and checking out the various functions. He was very impressed with the night vision and the heads up display. He was calling up the various maps and double checking the navigation program Micah had installed on his hand held computer. "Well, the program is accurate within a few centimeters, you can't ask for any better than that." He said half to himself.

"You will be even more pleased Samuel when you find that I installed a pinging device in everyone's helmet that will interact with your maps in the heads up mode." Dane smiled and winked at him.

"Wouldn't the com system take care of that?" Asked Samuel.

"No, the com system is a closed loop for communications between each team member and is isolated from the rest of the functions. It runs independent so as not to fail or be interrupted due to another program trying to sync with it. It assures connectivity with each other." Dane informed him.

"Then what about the infra red detection, does that not provide the same function?" Samuel continued to ask.

"Yes, in a sense it does, but it has to be turned on first. The pinging device will always be activated and live. Just another assurance everyone is accounted for." Dane continued, "Another plus is that each ping is unique to the member, and I have associated their name with the frequency, so instead of getting their frequency setting, you will see their name."

Samuel smiled and patted his helmeted head. He felt that maybe, just maybe they had a chance of pulling this off. That feeling was getting infectious, it seemed as though everyone was feeling a bit more assured with the mission and the possibility of its success.

Dane and Micah were going over the weapons system. "I went ahead and installed a transceiver into each rifle and added a program to the heads up. It will let you know weapon readiness. We can instruct the others later how it functions and that when the weapon is set in the firing position and safety is off, it automatically appears in their display. The program can also talk to the weapon as to distance to target, wind direction and velocity and if they made contact with target. It will automatically adjust itself to the variables sent to it from its program." Dane told Micah, "It will also utilize the voice command system when selecting which deterrent device is needed."

"Any fail safes added?" Micah inquired.

"Yes, as long as a team member is wearing their helmet, they cannot be fired upon by the weapon. If a hostile should happen to gain control and the weapon's transceiver in the butt of the rifle is more than six inches from a team member, it is disabled. There is also one more thing Micah, each weapon has been encoded with the user's ping frequency so another may not fire another's weapon. If the two frequencies do not match, then the weapon will disable itself." Dane concluded.

"Good, I see you thought of some things that will ensure accountability and personal safety. Thank you Dane for your foresight." Micah rested his hand on Dane's shoulder and squeezed.

Nilah had suited up, she was just securing the velcro flap that covered the zipper when Micah walked over. "How does it fit?"

"It fits well, very comfortable. The undergarment Sarah supplied us with feels almost like a second skin." Nilah said.

Sarah was close and overheard the conversation, "It does more than prevent chaffing from the suit. It has carbon nano tubes woven into it, those tubes are routed to a nano carbon manifold and to that a series of nano pumps that receive its mechanical movement from body movement. There is a coolant that is pumped through the nano tubes that will maintain and assure a constant temperature and level of comfortability no matter what the climatic weather conditions are. If it is cold, you feel warm, if it is hot, you feel cool. I got with Stephen and we worked on it together, an after thought so to say. It is also integrated with the suit's support system and can be monitored via the heads up."

"That is excellent Sarah, we will not have to worry about extra clothing in the colder climates. This resolves a lot of issues that was starting to worry me." Micah beamed, "Again, an excellent contribution to the team."

Stephen was over in a small recess fidgeting with something as Micah walked up. "What do you have there Stephen?"

Stephen was so involved in what he was doing, he never noticed Micah walk up behind him, he jumped when he heard him speak. "Micah, please announce yourself before walking up behind someone. You have had that habit since you were a kid and it is still just as annoying now as it was then. And what I have here is a sled compiled of carbon or to be more accurate, molded from carbon, not compiled of carbon fibers Micah, but one solid piece of carbon. It is light weight, strong, durable and easy to push and guide. The design is based on the Alaskan Eskimo's design, except this model does not utilize runners it glides on its belly so to say. On the rear, once the sled is moving, the driver can stand on the rear deck and to steer it all that needs to be done is shift your body weight. It glides over everything, any surface and all terrains."

"Good Stephen, again someone has thought ahead, it never entered my mind that such a piece of equipment would be needed." Micah reached down to feel the sled and noticed that just that bit of pressure caused it to move. He then grasped it and tested its weight only to find that it felt as if he was picking a balloon up off the ground. "This is awesome Stephen, good job on this one."

"Micah, Sarah and I got together and designed three tents. They are of the same material as our suits and fold to a flat square 16 by 16 inches and approximately 6 inches thick. Poles are also constructed of carbon and hollow, in all each tent weighs a little under 2 pounds. Also Nilah made another 144 food packets that are stored in reusable containers that we can use when we reach the vaults to store the seeds in. Dane will be able to bring along extra CO2 cartridges in case we need them, plus extra ammonia compound concentrate. He also developed a concentrate made from the capsaicin of very hot peppers that he said he found the formula to in books at the library. He said that the information he read said that it was a very effective deterrent and was not harmful to the receiver other than being an irritant to the eyes, skin and respiratory system. I also designed and fabricated carbon acrylic covers for the openings that can also double as shields. They are virtually nondestructive, can withstand the impact of high velocity projectiles at close range and clear, so once behind them no part of the body will be exposed and you have a clear view of field. They are molded and formed to fit the aerodynamic contour of the sled"

"How many sleds do we have?" Asked Micah.

"There are three, but there are six shields. The three extra shields mount to the sled in front of the driver as windshields." Stephen answered.

Dane walked over and laid the extra supplies he had bought with him near one of the sleds. Micah looked over at him, "When were you going to tell me about this new capsaicin spray you came up with?"

"It just slipped my mind Micah with everything else going on, I have not even tested it yet, so I really do not know just how effective it will be. Could be nothing more than a spice to flavor the soup with." Dane answered without looking at Micah.

Sarah followed Dane and laid three PAFS next to an empty sled and looking over at Micah said, "Just in case Micah, you never know, we could damage one of ours and need a replacement, it would much quicker than trying to repair them."

"Agreed." Was all that Micah said.

Stephen then divided the provisions equally between the sleds so if one was lost, they had another outfitted in the same manner. No matter what Micah thinks, redundancy is a proven fail safe Stephen thought to himself.

It looked as if everything was going according to plan and the few extras that the team thought about gave Micah a sense that everyone was of the same mind, to see that Genesis did not fail. He felt as if they acted as one now, a symbiotic mass that was dependent on the other, yet thinking as one. He noticed Nilah was folding a piece of green cloth and stuffing it into one of the pouches on her web belt. "What do you have there?"

Nilah turned looking a little surprised, oh just something that I made. I thought I would show you later."

"Go ahead and show me now, there might not be time later." Micah requested.

"Okay. You might think it was silly of me to do this, but I felt that we needed something to identify us, a standard." With that Nilah unfolded the piece of green cloth she had been folding. It was a flag with a field of emerald green, there where six golden yellow wheat stalks, displayed in a fan pattern, each representing each member of the team and below it in white letters GENESIS. "The green represents life and fertility, the wheat is meant to represent the food of life, that which sustains man and the white in the lettering represents a new beginning, an unpainted canvas."

Micah reached down and pulled the flag up holding it by it's top two corners looking at it. A smile went across his face as he turned to the rest of the team, "Look everyone, we have a flag, a banner, a standard that represents us, that unites us and our cause."

Nilah blushed hearing Micah's words. At first she thought it was a silly idea, but now after hearing Micah, she felt she did right, that is was important to have something that represented their cause, something to remind them each time they looked at it what it was they were struggling for, striving to achieve. Nilah reached behind her and grabbed hold of a large canvas bag and set it on her lap, "I brought with me something for a celebration meal. Please everyone, come." She set the contents of the bag out, there were pomegranates, pistachios, cashews, tofu with chopped nuts mixed in, tofu with vegetables, rolled spinach leaves stuffed with a red sweet chutney like mixture, bread and pomegranate juice to drink. It did not take long until everyone devoured the last of what she set before them. Then she handed each a small glazed flaky pastry like sweet, "It is called baklava, it is made with a layered crust and between each layer there is a pistachio and honey mixture. My mother taught me how to make it. We eat it during the High Holidays*."

*The High Holidays are what they described Christmas and New Years as. It is a week long celebration starting on the 24th of December and ending on the first day of the new year. It is a communal celebration with everyone participating and sharing food and sweet treats that each family would make from a recipe that had been passed down through their family. There was music, singing and dancing, magic shows, acrobatics and talent shows, this also was a time to give thanks for the previous year and set resolutions for the coming year. Gifts were given to each, usually something hand made and simple. Only the main common area was decorated and a few decorated their windows or balconies that faced the Central Common Area. But it was the time of year everyone looked forward to and preparations for the celebration always started the first day of December.

"I think we should all get some rest, we have a long and hard journey ahead of us, we will need all of our strength and be mentally ready for the arduous mission we are about to embark on. Until we hear from Race I think we should not wander very far from here if at all. Try and stay close and ready at all times. As for leaving, we will all leave at the same time instead of in groups of two as originally planned. The fewer times the hatch is opened and least amount of time it is open will help ensure that detection will be minimal, if detected at all. Seeing how the air-lock is due for maintenance and repair, they may think it is nothing more than a faulty sensor. In either case, I do not want to take any chances this close to leaving. The men will man the sleds and they will be flanked by Dane, Sarah and Nilah. I want a course of direction Samuel before we emerge from the hatch, I do not want to stand around waiting for a course to be plotted. The sooner we put distance between us and the settlement, the sooner we can concentrate on our mission." With that Micah sat down against the wall and bringing his knees up rested his forehead, the rest followed his lead and either rested against the wall in the same fashion or stretched out on the floor to get some sleep.

It was some time before the subterranean dawn when Micah received a message from Race; "Micah we are scheduled to leave today at 10:00am. I am sorry to give you such short notice, but they just told us after morning revelry when we were leaving. Good Luck Micah, I wished I was going with you. I hope our paths do not cross above, look south not to see me."

Micah stood up and woke the rest of the team members, "Final equipment check, we will leave at 10:00 this morning. Make sure everything is secure in the sleds, that your systems are functioning properly. Samuel, plot a southwesterly course, I want to take the Aleutian route. Dane check each team member's weapon and helmet, make sure all is good to go and ready. Sarah, make sure that the PAFSs and suits are functioning properly and the contacts are okay. Nilah, you get with Stephen and go over each sled, make sure we have everything distributed evenly. Stephen, before I forget, find me something, a pole I can put our flag on, also, how are the sledders going to secure their weapons?

"The weapons lock across the handles, just rest then in the cradle and push down until you hear a click, to release, press down, push forward and pull up and the weapon is released. Simple but secure and will not come unlocked from bouncing or vibration. As for your pole, there are three carbon poles on each sled attached on the right side and they are telescopic to 25 feet, near the rear of the opening next to your right foot you will see a receiver and near the top of the sled on the right side rear of the opening you will find a spring latch that will secure the pole to the sled. Micah, one more thing I want to show you, I was wanting to wait and try it out first."

"What is it Stephen, we have a little under six hours before we leave, tell me, I do not want any surprises on the outside." Micah told him.

"I made a parasail for each sled. It works like a kite, catches the wind and will pull the sled across the ground. When I was doing some research I came across something similar to this that they used to use on ocean going vessels to reduce fuel consumption and to cut back on emissions. I simplified their design and did a few modifications to fit and work with the sleds." Stephen informed him.

"Okay, I can understand why it wasn't explained earlier and why we would need to be outside to test it. If it works Stephen, I can't tell you how much this is going to help us and if the decks are wide enough that two can ride." Micah said excitedly.

"Two will not be able to ride on the rear deck, you would lose your steering capability, but one could ride inside with the shield raised about 30 degrees." Stephen said.

"What about the equipment?" Micah asked.

"Come look Micah, the food canisters store towards the front in a compartment. The CO2 cartridge belts attach to the inside wall, the tent can be used as a cushion. All of this was thought about with everyone else's needs in mind. The sleds are 8 feet long and 28 inches wide, a sitting person can sit comfortably inside and have room to maneuver is needed to. The parasail has it's compartment molded to the inside top of the sled, the carbon fiber ropes are coiled and hang from the side as well as the structural support system for the sail." Stephen concluded his explanation.

"The PAFSs? What about them?" Asked Micah.

"Store forward and the legs rest on them." Stephen said, "Everything has been thought out Micah for this trip."

Micah winked at Stephen, "Famous last words, eh?"

Sarah called out to Micah, "It is 9:30 Micah, we should be staging at the air-lock now."

With that Dane went ahead of them to scout the passage, five minutes later he was back. "Empty, everyone is either at the north lock or in their homes watching it on the screen."

It took then less than 10 minutes to reach the air-lock. Micah looked at the control, nothing needed to open it, no security badge, no keypad, no recognition system, nothing but a green and red button. Micah reached out and depressed the green button, the door silently slid open. They entered with Dane going in first being followed by the sleds and the girls trailing looking back to see if anyone was watching. Once they were all in the hatch the lined up on the conveyor in single file, Micah went back and pressed the red button and the door shut. On the inside was an amber button that said SECURE and EXCHANGE, he pressed it and the magnetic seal on the tunnel entrance locked it down, it started a set of pumps exchanging outside air with inside and then the top hatch opened and the conveyor started moving slowly bringing them to the surface. It looked to be a little over 500 feet from hatch to hatch at 35 degree angle and the ascent was slow going.

"Well if we are to be detected it will be because they beat us to the top." Dane said over his shoulder.

Nilah kept quiet, her eyes fixed on the light coming from the outside, she could not believe that this was the first time she had ever seen it. It was bright, dazzling bright. Then Micah's voice broke the silence.

"Visors down, protect your eyes and you face." Micah ordered. He was the last to lower his visor and as he did so Dane had reached the top and stepped off to the side. The upper platform was approximately a 25x25 foot solid stone surface floor, one piece. Once all had reached the top, Micah walked forward and looked about. Here and there were piles of stone rubble, dirt with dust being whipped up by the wind. He could see rocky crags about 300 feet in the distance. Looking down at the ground he searched for signs of anything, prints of shoes, any sign of life, moss, lichens, grasses or ferns. There was nothing. It all looked dry and barren. He looked back over his shoulder and down the conveyor belt, he knew that once they were out and the hatch closed, there was no turning back.

"Well, you going to stand there the rest of the day or are we going on an outing?" the voice was Samuel's, you could here the excitement in his voice.

Micah held up his hand and then waved them on. He was the first to step out onto this new world. He was followed by Dane, then Stephen, Samuel, Nilah and Sarah, all six stood in silence looking about them. Even though all about them was just an illuminated roofless version of where they just came from, it held them in awe. After a few moments Micah spoke again. "Everyone okay? Anyone experiencing any difficulty with their PAFS or any other of the equipment?"

One by one he heard their response, everyone was okay and all systems functioning properly.

"Everyone do a quick systems check, call up you diagnostics on your HUD, check flow rates, check body stats and then lets get away from here. Micah then walked back and reached around inside the door and depressed the red button, the door closed with a whisper.

Once all the checks were completed Dane spoke out, "Samuel, have you plotted a course?"

"Yes I have." He answered.

"Good, then let's get out of here and put some distance between us and this place." Dane continued, "I'll take the point, Micah, you next, Samuel you follow Micah and Stephen, you take up the rear. Activate your cameras and bring them up on your HUD. Sarah, Nilah, you flank either side of Samuel. Let's move on out of here. Simon, give us some direction."

"Nav Systems up everyone." Came Samuel's voice over the com system, "We exited the southeast number 7 hatch, we will take a southern course for approximately 3.5 miles and then a southwesterly heading. If you look ahead you will see where the rocky crag drops off, there is a gradual decent heading directly south, that ladies and gentlemen is from where we will begin our journey."

It took a little getting used to the HUD and walking, it constantly would pull their vision to the display and they would find them selves not paying attention to the surroundings. The sleds performed just as Stephen said they would and glided across the surface with little or no effort on the driver. The suits were comfortable, tailored and did not restrict their movements in any way. The PAFS functioned just as Sarah said they would and the air actually seemed sweeter than the air they were used to breathing down below. The air recycling system and moisture evaporation recovery system were working as designed. The sensors in the helmet that monitored the air outside them had not been activated yet, not even the radiation detection system. In their excitement, they had forgotten to call it up.

When they reached the outcrop of rocks they looked down and found that they had actually been slowly traversing down the side of a mountain. They were looking due south and they could see for hundreds of miles, what they saw took their breath away. Even though there were no trees or shrubs growing, there was in the folds and valleys and glens swaths of greens. The deep lush greens of mosses, the soft greens ferns, the icy greens of soft brackens and the rocks were painted with lichens of every color you could imagine, shades of green from a deep blue green to a bright lime green, yellows, ochers, rusts, reds, browns and grays painted the rocks. They could see the paths of creeks and streams, their waters from cerulean blue to turquoise, foaming white where it bounced over rocks and round bends. Nilah could not believe her eyes, never in her life could she have even dreamed of such a place. You couldn't see Micah's smile under his PAFS mask, but it was there. He was taking it all in, trying to imagine what it looked like before the Great Holocaust, before man destroyed it. In his mind he could see the trees, hear the birds as they sang in the branches, the crickets chirping and the frogs croaking. He could imagine life all around him at that moment. Samuel was dumb struck, which was rare for him. All he could do was take it all in. Dane was restless, he felt exposed and wanted to get down in the valley and in the concealment it offered. His responsibility for the group's safety was not taken lightly and he wanted them down off this mountain as fast as they could travel. Stephen didn't know what to make of it. Being a mechanical engineer he could not really understand anything of what he saw. Nothing that he could use as far as he could tell, but he did think it looked beautiful and would make for a nice picture to hang on a wall.

"Let's get down this mountain before night comes." Dane said, "I would like to think we made some progress today instead of being tourist and taking in the sights."

"Dane is right, we need to get going and cover some distance. I would like to make camp down there among the rocks in the valley." Micah said. "Stephen, you said that we could have someone ride in the sleds earlier, let's get them fitted and Nilah and Sarah situated. I have a feeling that it will be hard to keep up with the sleds once we start heading down the mountain."

With that Stephen set about getting the sled covers adjusted to the 30 degree angle and locking them in place and then had Sarah and Nilah slide in them in a sitting position. Taking their weapon and sliding it down the left inside wall to a set of brackets to hold it. Once situated Micah gave the command to move on and down the mountain they went. The going was easy and with the addition of adding Nilah and Sarah to the payload, it still did not take any effort at all to push the sleds. With one foot on the deck and the other to push with they proceeded down the slope of the mountain. They reached a short springy moss about 200 yards down the slope and they felt the sleds pick up a little speed, they could actually place both feet on the deck and glide. Stephen had designed a drag break that was foot controlled that when you applied pressure a row of short titanium spikes would dig down into the ground and slow you or bring you to a complete stop. It did not take them long at all the master the fundamentals of the sled's basic functions, how to steer, drive or propel and stop it.

As they continued deeper into their descent, the mosses started getting thicker, lusher and deeper, to a height of about 8 inches, which reduced friction on the sled's underbelly and increased their speed. The aerodynamic design seemed to channel air beneath the sleds and actually give them some lift in the mosses. They also found that if they bent their knees a little and lowered their center of gravity the sleds would pick up speed. This in the future would prove to be very beneficial to their safety.

It took them a little over 2 hours to reach the valley. They had not had the chance to look behind them since they started and in doing so realized just how far they had come. It was a very big mountain range that extended north and south as far as the eyes could see. It was the Appalachian Mountain range that ran from northern Georgia in the south, up through the state of Maine in the far northeast corner of the United States. They had just descended a mountain in the Blue Ridge range in Kentucky. The view of the mountain was magnificent and clouds had crowned it's peak like some majestic king. "Micah, is that where we come from?" Asked Sarah.

"Yes it is Sarah, yes it is." Answered Micah. "Okay, that was the easy part everyone, I don't think Scouts will come this far and if they do, I don't think they will cover the ground as quick as we did. I think we should break for camp someplace close to water and then look around. I would like to set down and look around me."

They mounted the sleds again, this time Sarah and Nilah opted to walk, the moss that carpeted the ground was soft and made walking easy. Soon they started coming to the ferns they had spotted from on the mountain ridge, they started anywhere from 8 inches high above the moss to over 3 feet high and the deeper they went into, the taller the ferns started to get until they were reaching heights of 10 to 14 feet with a space of about 20 feet between crowns at their base. The fronds created a canopy of green and it filtered the sun light and tinted a pale green. The floor of the fern forest seemed to be covered in a thicker branching moss that was about 4 inches high and when you walked on it gave a citrus odor. It was a very pale, almost translucent green in color and light seemed to be reflected through it. Every now and then they would spot a short plant, it was about 12 inches talk with woody stems and spaded leaves that grew in clusters on it branches. They leaves where mottled with a lighter green and were shiny or waxy looking. Some had small clusters of white flowers with long yellow stamen. Small wasp like flying insects went from flower to flower, they took no notice of the group as they went about their business. Soon they could hear the rushing of water as they neared a stream, they followed it's sound until they came to a break in the ferns and found the stream they had heard. It was crystal clear and looked to be shallow. The stones on the bed of the stream were rounded and smooth and were of the same make as the mountain. "It's beautiful." Nilah said.

"Sarah, check the water for contaminants and heavy metals, see if it is okay to drink and then check the air quality, see what, if any the radiation levels are and for any gasses." Micah asked her.

"Already on it Micah and running the tests now." She replied.

"Micah, just turn on your environment sensors on your helmet, check the air yourself. Mine says no radiation, nitrogen and oxygen levels are good, much better than what we breathe below and no harmful gasses." Dane said over the com system. With saying that, Dane reached up and unhooked his PAFS mask and took a deep breath. Everyone stood and watched him, holding their breath as they waited. Dane smiled, "Never had a sweeter breath of air in my life." With that they all in turn released the latches on their masks. They were breathing free of their PAFS now and powered them down to conserve the batteries. "Do not be without your PAFS at any time, you never know if we will encounter pockets of bad air or not. Better to be safe than dead." Dane instructed.

In a few moments Sarah had completed her tests of the water. "Micah, I have finished the tests, no heavy metals, no traces of mercury or any other contaminants, soluble or solid, nitrite and nitrate levels good and sodium below what we drink. It is drinkable Micah."

Stephen was already setting up the tent. The design he had chosen would accommodate all six of them easily. It was a triple dome design with a single opening in the center dome. It had a floor and windows with a sewn in nylon mesh to allow for ventilation. It stood 84 inches high in the center and would retain heat and with the inner wall being a reflective coated mylar it would reflect light. Once he finished setting up the tent, he gathered the sleds near the opening. On the front, the nose of the sled was a molded ring, he slid a carbon rod in the hole and drove it into the ground, this was to anchor it in case the wind picked up enough to blow them away or into the water. Once finished with the sleds he went and set up the cook area, it was an aluminum and titanium alloy that was sheeted, once unfolded it created a free standing box, closed on three sides with a slotted shelf about 2/3 of the way up that had a box tray beneath it. He slid out the tray and there were two disks about 6 inches in diameter side by side that were raised about 2 inches above the surface and about 1/2 inch thick, he lifted these to reveal beneath each of the metal disks was a depression about 4 inches deep into each he placed a can with a purple jelly substance in it and then took a quartz striker and lit them. They produced a blue flame. He replaced the metal disk, which act as heat diffusers and then slid the tray back beneath the slotted shelf. "Kitchen is ready if anyone would like to make our evening meal." He yelled out.

"I can take a hint Stephen." Nilah said smiling as she walked up with two aluminum pots and a large collapsible jug filled with the stream water. She measured out two quarts in each pot and set them on the stove surface. She then opened one of the mylar pouches and took the cake out. it was deeply scored down the middle and broke evenly into two halves, she then placed each half into each of the pots. Measuring out two more quarts of water into a container Nilah emptied a packet of the pomegranate drink powder in it and stirred it until it was dissolved.

"Mmm, something smells good Nilah." Sarah said as she walked up the the makeshift kitchen, "What epicurean delight do we have in store for our evening meal?"

Laughing Nilah answered, "A re hydrated tofu based vegetable soup with pomegranate drink. Nothing I am sure you will want the recipe to I am sure."

"Oh I don't know, you never have tasted my cooking." Sarah answered smiling. "So tell me, how do you feel about all of this? I haven't really had the chance to sit and talk to you since you were introduced to the little group."

"I think my being here says a lot. At first I thought it was just a boy's dream that he had carried with him through out his life and maybe infected a few of his friends with it. I mean you grew up with him and his dream, he just laid it in my lap and said "Here it is Nilah." so it took me a while before I could see his vision. Do I think it is possible? Of course I do. After all man destroyed the earth which some I am sure thought was impossible, so why can't man also give life back to the earth? Start giving back what it so recklessly took from it. The earth is not really that demanding, all it needs is to be respected. If Micah succeeds in his quest to do what he has set out to do, I hope that man has learned his lesson and that he cannot take advantage of what has fed and clothed him since his inception on the planet. One thing he has proven, that earth is fragile and life, all life lives in a finite world where each is dependent on the other. That you cannot take from one without another suffering. It is the way of things and it will always be that way. We will never know earth as it used to be, but we can at least get a glimpse of how wonderfully diverse it was before man intervened to make it in his mind a better place."

"I have read a lot on how the earth can heal itself though. That given time it can restore itself, create its own balance if given enough time." Sarah interjected.

"Man was given that ability at one time too Sarah. He too could heal himself without the intervention of modern medicines. The body had the ability to fight off and resist sickness and infection and could actually become self immune over a period of time. But man in his greed and in his thoughtlessness created pollutants that spawned new diseases and sicknesses that he could not fight and heal himself from what he had done to himself. Sarah, don't you think the earth is the same as man, a living, breathing, life giving organism? Just like your body, you can only abuse it for so long until you reach that point you cannot correct what you have done and you just wait for the end to come. Even thought the Great Holocaust was a horrific tragedy, there is a great lesson to be learned here, probably the greatest lesson man will ever learn. That you cannot keep taking without giving back and that you cannot keep thinking that what was once taken for granted will always be there. Man learned to accept the death of man as a fact of life, he realized that we are all mortal beings with a life span or in some cases was able to end a life, to accelerate another's demise, what he never realized that the weapons he created to end another's life would not only end his life, but that of every living thing around him. We have been given many chances in the past to correct the things we have done that had an adverse affect on our lives and this planet we call home and he used band aids as a mother would on her child's knee from a fall. We had the technology, the means and the man power to correct these things, but we chose to ignore it and let it fester until it was so poisoned it was beyond healing and we let it die. Again man has been given another chance to redeem himself and try to set right what we did wrong. If these Scoffs Vaults still exist, if they are still there and intact and have not been contaminated by what man has done, we have that chance. It could be the last chance we have. You want to know how I feel about this, about what we are doing? I feel that we really have no choice but to try. Even in our safe abode underground our resources are limited and we are just waiting for the inevitable end. Because end it will, sooner or later and if we do not do something now, there may not be a tomorrow." Nilah concluded. "Soups on, you go call the rest and I will get the servings ready."

First Night

It was early summer and the sun was still up and bright after they had finished their meal. Silence seemed to hang in the air just as the sun. Whether it was from their first meal away from home or the sights around them, no one spoke. Soon Samuel stood without saying a word and started walking off toward the stream. He had taken a specimen bag with him and soon disappeared in the fern forest, all eyes following him.

"Samuel, try not to stray too far." Came Dane's voice over the com.

"I'm not going any farther than the stream Dane. I just want to take a closer look at it, maybe see if there is something else alive besides all these ferns and mosses." Samuel replied.

Micah stood and stretched. Looking around him he took in the lushness of the ferns and started thinking to himself. "Algae, fern, moss were some of the basic simple plant life that first covered the earth, the building blocks to more complex species of plants. So if the basic structure survived and we have also seen evidence of woody plants, then maybe there are other forms of plant life that survived the Great Holocaust." Tuberous plants might have been protected he went on to think. Micah was deep in thought when Samuel's voice broke the silence.

"Hey everyone, I think I have found something you may want to see." Came Samuel's voice, sounding like an exited school boy on an outing.

"What have you found Samuel?" Micah asked rushing back to camp.

By the time Micah had reached the others Samuel was already setting out his specimen containers on a large flat rock. Two had insects in them, one had some sort of aquatic crustacean and the last had a small reptile like creature in it. Stephen showed no interest in all what he had found, Nilah, Sarah and Dane were picking up the jars and examining Samuel's findings. Micah bent down on his knee and was looking at the jar Nilah was holding. In it was a small tan colored reptile with brownish orange blotching, a rounded snout or nose, padded toes and a short fat tail. Micah's eyes shifted to the jar Sarah was holding, in her's was a small amount of water with a small piece of aquatic plant and clinging to it was a small clear crustacean about 4cm in length with a row of legs that seemed to move or rather vibrate in unison with each other, then a pair of telescopic eyes that seemed to move independent of each other, there were two claw like pincers in front that it would grasp with and there were a pair of antenna like feelers between the eyes. In the two jars Dane was looking in, the first he recognized right away, a cockroach, but smaller, more compact and well armored it seemed. In the second jar was 5 insects, all the same. About 2cm in length, ruddy red in coloring, had a sectioned body and six legs. It also had the antenna like feelers between it's eyes, but it's eyes were not telescopic, but large ovals fixed to the head. It had two very large pincers on the front of the head. "Take a picture of them and then do a search of it with your hand held computer Samuel. I downloaded all the flora and fauna I could find, maybe these will be in there too." Micah suggested.

Samuel took a picture of the five insects in the jar and then did a search on what he had found, the following results were returned;

Fire ant

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Suborder:	Apocrita
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Solenopsidini
Genus:	Solenopsis Westwood, 1840

Species

S. conjurata
S. daguerrei
S. fugax
S. invicta
S. molesta
S. richteri
S. solenopsidis
S. wagneri
S. xyloni
many more, see text

Fire ants are a variety of stinging ants with over 280 species worldwide. They have several common names including Ginger Ants and Tropical Fire Ants (English), aka-kami-ari (Japanese), and Feuerameise (German).

Appearance

S. conjurata worker

The bodies of fire ants, like all insects' bodies, are broken up into three sections: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen, with three pairs of legs and a pair of antennae. Fire ants can be distinguished from other ants by their copper brown head and body with a darker abdomen. The worker ants are blackish to reddish, and their size varies from 2mm to 6 mm (0.12 in to 0.24 in). These different sizes of the ants can all exist in the same nest.

Solenopsis sp. ants can be identified with three body features - a pedicel with two nodes, an unarmed propodium, and antennae with 11 segments and a two segmented club.

Behavior

A typical fire ant colony produces large mounds in open areas, and feeds mostly on young plants, seeds, and sometimes crickets. Fire ants often attack small animals and can kill them. Unlike many other ants, which bite and then spray acid on the wound, fire ants only bite to get a grip and then sting (from the abdomen) and inject a toxic alkaloid venom called Solenopsin, a compound from the class of piperidines. For humans, this is a painful sting, it hurts, a sensation similar to what one feels when burned by fire—hence the name fire ant—and the aftereffects of the sting can be deadly to sensitive individuals. Although fire ants do not typically seek out and attack the face, they are as likely to attack an exposed and vulnerable face as any other body part. The venom is both insecticidal and antibiotic. Researchers have proposed that nurse workers will spray their brood to protect them from microorganisms.

Fire ants nest in the soil, often near moist areas, such as river banks, pond edges, watered lawns and highway edges. Usually the nest will not be visible as it will be built under objects such as timber, logs, rocks, pavers, bricks, etc. If there is no cover for nesting, dome-shaped mounds will be constructed, but this is usually only found in open spaces such as fields, parks and lawns. These mounds can reach heights of 40 cm (15.7 in).

Colonies are founded by small groups of queens or single queens. Even if only one queen survives, within a month or so the colony can expand to thousands of individuals. Some colonies may be polygynous (having multiple queens per nest).^[1]

Roles

Queens

A queen is generally the largest individual in the colony. The primary function of the queen is reproduction; she may live for 6-7 years and produce up to 1,500 eggs per day. Many fire ant colonies will have more than one queen.

Males

Mate with the queen ant in order to produce eggs. But soon the male dies off.

Workers

The workers are sterile females who build and repair the nest, care for the young, defend the nest, and feed both young and adult ants. The worker ants also go find supplies to build the nest.

Introduced species

For more details on invasive subspecies, see Red imported fire ant.

Although most fire ant species do not bother people and are not invasive due to biological factors, Solenopsis invicta, commonly known as the Red imported fire ant (or RIFA) is an invasive pest in many areas of the world, notably the United States, Australia, the Philippines, China and Taiwan. The RIFA was accidentally introduced into the United States due to a South American cargo ship coming to an Alabama port in 1918, but now infests the majority of the Southern and Southwestern United States.

In the US, the FDA estimates that more than US$5 billion is spent annually on medical treatment, damage, and control in RIFA-infested areas. Furthermore, the ants cause approximately US$750 million in damage annually to agricultural assets, including veterinarian bills and livestock loss as well as crop loss.^[2] Since September 2004, Taiwan has been seriously affected by the red fire ant.

The US, Taiwan and Australia all have ongoing national efforts to control or eradicate the species, but, other than Australia, none have been especially effective. In Australia an intensive program costing A$175 million has, at February 2007, eradicated 99% of fire ants from the sole infestation occurring in South East Queensland.

Samuel's happened to be S. conjurata. He then scanned the crustacean and started a search on it, the following results were returned;

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Infraorder:	Caridea
Family:	Palaemonidae
Genus:	Palaemonetes Heller, 1869

Species

See text.

Habitat

Palaemonetes sp. can be found in shallow bays, lagoons, and even freshwater lakes and ponds. These animals spend most of their time swimming on the bottom feeding on settling detritus. By scavenging for food they contribute to recycling nutrients in their ecosystem.

When startled, the shrimp can use their tails to jump away from perceived danger.

Reproduction

These shrimps are dimorphic. Females may carry a large clutch of eggs attached to the swimmerets.

Species

Palaemonetes pugio
Palaemonetes paludosus
Palaemonetes vulgaris
Palaemonetes kadiakensis
Paleemonetes varians Common ditch shrimp

So it had went with the remaining specimens that Samuel had captured and bought back to their camp. The reptile turned out to be a gecko, a common house gecko Hevnidactylus Fenatus, but Micah was more interested in the aquatic plant that was with the crustacean. He took a digital image of the plant and did a search for it. It was a ling stemmed plant with leaves that were spaded growing directly from the stem and resembled a feather cluster. The leaves grew in whorls around the main stem. The results returned told him it was called Anacharis, originally from Brazil it had been imported to control algae in the US and was sold as a tropical plant for aquatic hobbiest. It could grow 2 to 5 inches a day under favorable conditions and in the southern parts of the US was considered a pest plant at one time in many rivers and lakes where it found conditions favorable. "This is a find Samuel, this aquatic plant. It shows that plants can be very adaptable to many climates and conditions. I am hoping the further south and west we go we will find more evidence for this plant's adaptation and many other plant species that were able to survive in some manner in the water." Micah commented.

"But what about the other specimens I found, aren't they just as important Micah?" Samuel interjected.

"Of course they are Samuel. But could they exist without plant life? Without a food source or host to hide in and reproduce in? Many insects and other creatures live within the microcosm of the plant, some never leaving it during their entire life. The gecko for example feeds on the ants and other small creatures found within the rocks and ferns and may never leave due to having an adequate food source and shelter. The crustacean may never leave the clump of plant as it not only is host to microscopic life that it feeds on, but also a place, a host to lay its eggs in. So Samuel, without plants you would not have life." Micah explained.

"Okay, understood Micah, that one is dependent on the other and without one, the other cannot survive." Samuel agreed.

The sun had started to set low in the western sky. It was shades of vermilion, orange, yellow with it fading in the east to a sky of deep indigo. This was the first sunset any of them had ever witnessed in their life. They sit transfixed as the colors played off the clouds that were being swept away by a southerly wind. "Look at the colors the sky has turned." Nilah said in a low awe struck voice, "Never have I seen such a wonderful sight in my life." What she did not realize was what they were to see once the sun had disappeared, with what it was replaced with in the evening sky. So slowly as the sun sank below the western horizon like pin points of light the stars began to reveal themselves. Without the night sky being polluted with lights from the past, even the dimmest stars shone like gems against black velvet. The Milky Way painted it luminous band across the night sky filled with billions of stars and planets. Forgotten stars reappeared to make their presence known to the band of six. All sat in silence, staring off into the vast night sky. Never in their imaginations could they have ever dreamed of such beauty.

"Just think, men have traveled there before." Stephen said, "I have read in the old books that men have went to space, had actually lived among the planets in what were called space stations."

"Yes Stephen they have." Nilah confirmed, "A lot of the technology that my father uses on the farm was because of the research that was performed by their scientist back then. They had at one time even explored the idea of living on one of the planets and creating what are called biospheres to live in. Controlled environments with plants to help generate oxygen and control pollutants generated by them. To feed them, clothe them and sustain a livable atmosphere."

"Did they ever do it?" Stephen asked, "Did they ever colonize another planet?"

"No, not that I know of." Nilah answered, "At least I have never heard stories or read where they had. All I know is that they researched the possibility."

"They had at one time created a biosphere on earth and that scientist actually took part in a living experiment at one time." Micah continued the dialogue, "They went into the controlled environment and actually sealed themselves off from the outside world and depended solely on what they could produce within the biosphere. Their plans were to stay for one year, but after six months they abandoned the project stating more research was needed to make it a viable concept."

"From what my father told me all they had really created was a big greenhouse." Nilah said.

"A greenhouse?" Stephen said puzzled, "What is a greenhouse?"

"Oh, a greenhouse is a large, medium or small structure they used to build to grow plants in a climate or environment they were not accustomed to. Someplace they could control the temperature, humidity and growing conditions. A lot of farmers used them, they were called Hothouse farms back before the Great Holocaust. My grandfather used to tell me about his uncles and family that grew certain vegetables and fruits during seasons they were not known to grow. Some farmers did nothing but grow their produce in these Hothouse farms." Nilah explained, "They were constructed of many things, from glass, plastic to polyethylene sheeting with ventilation to control temperature and irrigation systems to water and feed the plants a liquid fertilizer."

"Something for a mechanical engineer to design." Stephen said smiling.

"You may get your chance." Micah said.

Sarah and Dane were oblivious to the others conversation. They were hypnotized by the stars and stared quietly up at the evening sky, every now and then pointing to some distant star, but not saying a word.

"We should try and get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow and I would like to make as much ground as possible." Micah said in a suggesting manner.

Dane offered to pull the first watch of the evening and found a comfortable spot against a moss covered mound of earth and leaned back against it. They rest retreated inside the tent and settled in for the night. Dane continued staring up at the stars and a feeling that he was just a minuscule part in this vast universe crept across him. Before they left the subterranean life they had lived, their universe was well defined. It was finite, nothing like what he was looking out on now, he now saw the infinite. He saw further now than he had ever seen before, further than his eyes had ever seen, further than his mind could ever see he thought to himself. What a wonderful place the world could have been if man would not have been so greedy, so pugilistic and blind. They could have come together to create a world all could have lived peacefully on as one. But he knew men had their limitations when it came to their prejudices. Someone always had something another wanted or thought their way was better. They took what they wanted, imposing their will on another without thought or remorse for their actions. It was the way of men back then. Greed drove them, it was rooted in them. Not just greed from want, but greed of their ideologies and beliefs. Even in his contained world it was evident man had not put the past behind him, he had yet to learn the lessons he should have. So many fought among themselves, arguing over the slightest deviation of what the other thought was best for the whole. They stilled used the old archaic government system, everything getting tangled up in the bureaucratic red tape and the pointing of fingers when something failed or was not implemented properly. The only thing that seemed to work was the justice system, that had been improved on. Trials were quick and with limited resources and space, justice meted quickly. It was usually banishment to the outside. He used to wonder how long anyone could survive on the outside based on the stories he had been told growing up. In the beginning he imagined they did not survive, that they quickly succumbed to the harshness of what the Great Holocaust had left behind. But looking around him now, breathing air that was not filtered again and again, drinking water that had not gone through some chemical process to purify it, he wondered now how many had survived banishment. That though bought him out of his dreaming and set him on guard. They could survive and they could be out there now watching them. All of a sudden he felt as if he were being watched and he felt the hair on the back of his neck raise with that thought. The rest of his watch was spent peering out into the darkness and shadows of the fern forest.

The next on watch was Stephen, Dane went to wake him from his sleep but was surprised to find him laying there with his eyes open. "Didn't you get any sleep?" Dane asked.

"Some, but I cannot stop thinking of the things we may see, what was left behind. I am hoping to see some of the engineering and the mechanics that drove the technology then." Stephen said.

"Well, it is your watch, you can sit and think all you want, but keep your eyes and ears open. You do not know what is out among the ferns." Dane cautioned.

"Did you see anything?" Stephen asked sitting up.

"No I didn't, but that does not mean there isn't something out there Stephen. Just be on your guard and yell out if you see or hear anything. Do not take your helmet off, I will sleep with mine on, you sense anything, do not hesitate to call me." Dane instructed him.

Dane's paranoia had its effect on Stephen and he sensed that maybe Dane had seen something he wasn't quite sure about. It was not like Dane to say something just to put a scare into someone and he never spoke out of context when it came to another's safety.

Stephen stepped outside the tent and stretched, adjusted his helmet, picked up his weapon and took a walk around the perimeter of the camp. He checked the alarms Dane had set up and then sat outside the glow of the bioluminescent lights Dane had placed at strategic points around the camp. He spent most of his watch as instructed, but checked the perimeter more often than Dane had. Still his mind wandered as he thought about the pictures he had seen in the libraries of the past accomplishments and wondered if there were any remnants or evidence left behind. The great dams that were built to generate electricity and control flooding, hydroelectric dams they were called and the locks that were built to raise the levels of water to permit ships to navigate rivers and canals. To be able to breach oceans via man made water ways. The buildings that reached high into the skies that seemed to defy gravity's pull on them to bring them down. Vehicles able to traverse man made concourses across the land or to lift to the sky in flight. These were certainly marvels he thought. None that could be used in the world he came from, but they were engineering feats that defied some of the basic laws he had been taught in physical mechanics. Maybe he was taught these things because they had no place in the underground world he came from. Everything was considered for a closed environment and the sustainability of it. He thought of the possibilities this world had to offer now.

Watches were set on four hour intervals. Between Dane and Stephen the night had passed and Stephen watched the sun rise over the eastern horizon. The rest of the group was waking, walking out of the tent yawning and stretching, shaking the sleep out.

"Anything out of the ordinary last night?" Dane asked Stephen to one side.

"You mean beside not being in my own bed and being in a strange place, not recognizing anything?" Stephen asked, "No Dane, nothing out of the ordinary. Were you expecting there to be?"

"No I didn't." Danes returned, "It is just as you said, we are not where we are used to being, so we should be careful and keep a wary eye open for anything." Dane did not convey his thoughts about what he had been thinking during his watch, he did not want to cause any undo worry among the group.

"Lets get things packed away and get on with the day." Micah said loud enough for all to hear. And with that camp was broke and stowed away on the sleds. "Samuel have you plotted today's course?"

"Yes I have Micah, we will take a 10 degree course southwest for the day. I do not see anything that would obstruct our heading for the next few days." Samuel answered.

Day Two - Chapter Six

The day was warm and there was a southeasterly breeze blowing as the headed out that morning. The second day into their journey started very pleasant and the talk was about what they had seen already and wondering what lay ahead of them.

"You think we will meet any others who made have survived the Great Holocaust?" Dane asked Micah.

"Our families survived it." Micah answered, "It would be foolish of us to think that no one else did."

"You think they could be hostile?" Dane continued asking.

"We may be seen as a threat to them Dane. Not that they would be hostile, I think it would be more of a defensive posture." Micah continued, "I mean is a group of people suddenly appeared at one of our gates, do you think they would be greeted with open arms?"

"No, I seriously doubt they would be." Dane said, "But I wonder if there are others out here who were cast out from their tribes, banished, not living in a protected shelter. Ones who may prey on others like scavengers or parasites. Maybe even enslave them."

"I see you let your mind wander off into some pretty far places last night during your watch Dane." Micah said looking at Dane out of the corner of his eye.

"No, I am just facing facts Micah. Think about it. We are here now, others before us have been banished and some recently. The ones from long ago do not worry me, I am sure they did not survive. It is the recent banishment's that I am concerned with. And I am sure we are not the only tribe that use banishing as a punishment. Those have the greatest possibility of survival. There is good water and fiddle heads are every where for eating. Even we eat the fiddle heads Micah." Dane argued.

"You may have a point Dane. But let's keep it between us for the time being. I do not want everyone so worried about what we might encounter and lose sight of our objective. Keep your eyes and ears open and report back to me anything out of the ordinary. Between us Dane, understand?" Micah said looking hard at Dane.

"For now Micah, but I have to consider everyone's safety and if that means making them aware of something we should have thought about before we left, then I will do it." Dane shot back.

As the day progressed the ground grew steadily more level and they had slowed a little, but the sleds were still easily pushed across the mossy surface. It was midday before Micah called for a rest and some nourishment. With that Nilah had mixed up some of the pomegranate juice and passed it around. Ferns were still the dominant species of plant life, but interspersed they had started noticing other small plants. Micah referred to them as beginner plants, plants that would be the predecessors to larger plants as they evolved.

"How do you know they just aren't what they are?" Nilah asked, "Just shrubs."

"They could be just that." answered Micah, "But look around you Nilah, tell me what you see."

"Mostly ferns." Nilah answered.

"Exactly, mostly ferns." He reiterated, "That was just how it was when plant life first started on earth after the algae. Simple plant forms, ferns, mosses and lichens."

"But we have seen much more than that Micah. We have seen woody plants and flowers and I have smelled the scent of onion. Onions were not one of the first plants forms. I have read about wild onions Micah. They grow in the moist soils near water." Nilah said.

"I didn't say time was thrown back to the beginning, all I said was that it is mostly simple plants forms that have made a come back. I am sure many species of plants survived, it is just finding them. Right now those are the three dominant ones." Micah tried explaining, "The first to establish a hold on earth in the beginning were the first to re-establish themselves. I just find that very intriguing. Back when plant life was first established on the planet, conditions where very harsh. Only algae was the oxygen producer then and the atmosphere was not stable then. There was the carbon dioxide plants needed, but there were sulfur based gasses, acidic rains and a very steamy humid atmosphere. It was more like a soup."

"Well this is not the beginning, this is a new beginning. A lot of the basic building blocks were already present, a lot already was established. I think that the Great Holocaust did something else besides destroy life, it cleaned the slate so to say. It cleaned the air of all the impurities that polluted it, it scoured the ground of the impurities man infected it with. The chemicals he dumped and the waters he killed. The only thing good he ever did was end it the way he did. Now life may have another chance. It may have sterilized the land, but only to a certain extent, deep inside, deep down life still lived on, in the dirt, under rocks and deep in the bottoms of the waters. It lay dormant until the soil was right, the air was right, until the seasons returned and then it came up from where it slept. I feel we have only seen a small part of what is under our feet, that there is even more waiting, waking and when the times comes it to will come forth and flourish as it once did. Micah, we have actually witnessed life besides the plants around us and under every rock, in every crack and crevice I feel there is yet more life we have yet to see. This is nothing like the beginning, nothing like it at all Micah, it is a rebirth of life." Nilah said with a deep felt conviction.

"You are looking at this from a romanticist's view Nilah. You have this dream conjured up in your head that has become more of a living fairy tale." Micah scoffed, "This is something we need to take serious if it is to succeed."

With that Nilah started laughing, "What was it you had Micah, tell me. Was it not a dream? Was it not something that lay deep inside of you waiting to burst forth? Aren't you the one to talk Micah, telling me that I see this as a living fairy tale. Now you act pious as if you are leading some great expedition. You are acting as if this all hinges on you. As my grandmother used to say, it is as if the kettle is calling the pot black. Wake up Micah, you are the one dreaming now. I have just opened my mind to the possibilities, I do not expect to save mankind by doing what we have set out to do. Look around you, the earth is healing itself, given enough time it will not need our help, if help is what you want to call it. All this has shown me is that the earth does not need man's intervention to recover from what man did to it."

Micah looked at Nilah, embarrassed as if he had just been scolded. He knew she was right, but he found it hard to admit to himself. He knew the reason each one of them was here and he also knew that he had a lot to do with it. Maybe it was a dream, maybe he was sleeping right now and soon would wake up in his own bed. He could not find the words he wanted to say to Nilah at that moment, but the evidence was there, all around him it was flourishing, bringing forth new life. He still felt deep within him that there was more to be done though, that there was more than just what they were seeing. It could be hundreds of years before the earth was completely healed, restored to the way it was and whether Nilah wanted to believe it or not, there were some plants that without help would never return, that would go extinct and be lost to pictures and text in old books. He had to at least try, he knew this, he felt it deep within him. If they failed not to then how would anyone else try? How would anyone else know?

After their midday rest they set out again. Even though the land seemed to level out, they were actually in what are called rolling hills west of the Appalachian mountain range and staying on the course that Samuel had plotted for them their trail was taking them down towards what was known as the Mississippi Basin. They had yet to encounter any other signs of human life so far, not even the remnants of life before the Great Holocaust. In some places they had encountered places that seemed charred, burnt by some great fire, but no dwellings or the foundations of past communities. Off in the distance, more of a due westerly heading Samuel spotted tall spire like columns reaching skyward. He set his visor to magnify and tried to bring it in closer. "Micah, what do you make of that over there to the west?" Samuel asked.

Adjusting his visor, Micah looked towards the direction that Samuel had pointed out, "I can't really tell from this distance, but it looks worth investigating. Would it take us too far off our course to head in that direction?" Micah inquired.

"No, not really, it would still be in the same general direction that we need to go and we can always re plot our course, I figured there would be deviations and I have made allowances for that." Samuel answered.

With that the group headed in the direction of the columns Samuel had spotted. They were much further than they had realized. The rolling hills they were traversing were very deceiving as to distance, lower hills hidden behind taller ones and ravines they found they had to take alternate routes around. It made the going even slower and before long the sun was showing in the sky that is was late afternoon. "You think that we will reach them before dark?" Samuel asked.

"I don't know, it is not as a direct route as it looked to be. We will keep going for a few more hours, maybe we can reach it. If not, I am sure before noon tomorrow we will be able to see what it is." Micah answered Samuel.

As the land dropped more and more the ground seemed to be a bit more spongy, wetter underneath foot, which made propelling the sleds much easier. The spires were getting closer and they could now make out horizontal limbs coming from the spires. "Trees! Those are trees." Micah almost yelled.

"No Micah, those are what are left of trees." Nilah said bluntly. "Standing dead still."

"Still we can see something of a past life and maybe more once we get there. Decaying matter replenishes the soil with nutrients, there could be something more than all of this fern and moss we have been surrounded by." Micah countered.

"Maybe, we will see when we get there. But I do still think as I did earlier Micah, we have to open to the possibilities." Nilah reminded him.

"I have thought about our conversation earlier Nilah and I know that what we are seeing belies what is really here. What can still be to discover. That beneath the decay and the ruin that there is still life waiting to spring forth again. I have realized that what you were saying holds truth, but I also feel that if there is something we can do, we should do it or at least try." Micah said agreeing with her.

"Micah, do you think we should start looking for a place to camp for the night?" Came Dane's voice over the com, "Sun is starting to get low and I do not really relish the thought of traveling at night." Dane had been thinking about his thoughts the previous night and wanted to set up a perimeter before dark.

"Not yet Dane. I think we have a few more hours worth of traveling we can do yet. I want to try and get as close as possible to those trees before we make camp." Micah replied.

The trees had all but disappeared from sight as they made their way west and Samuel was wondering if maybe there was a malfunction in the equipment. He started tapping his helmet and turning the HUD on and off, not really paying attention to where he was going when he and the sled started a rapid descent down a steep embankment. He tried the brake and digging his heels into the soft ground but found all that did was cause him to either change course or be pitched forward against the back of the sled giving it even more momentum. He tried yelling out but the words seemed to get stuck in his throat, he looked over his shoulder and saw the rest of the group staring down at him with horrified looks on their faces. The were shouting something to him and pointing ahead of him. He turned to see a stream ahead of him that was about fifty feet wide, he felt terror creeping up in him. He did not know how to swim, none of them knew how to swim and all he could think of now was drowning as his friends looked on. Through all the commotion, he heard Stephen's voice through the com, "Samuel, step on the deck and hold on tight, you are going too fast to steer the sled, just hold on as tight as you can and do not step off." Seconds after hearing Stephen's voice the sled came to the stream, but instead of running into the water and flooding, it glided across the surface of the stream like a skater on ice. Before Samuel knew it he was on the other side of the stream coming to a very easy controlled stop as he met the bank and slid about half way up the length of the sled. By this time the rest of the group was making their way towards Samuel laughing and applauding his safe landing on the opposite side of the stream. They could see his sense of relief in his face, that look of terror being replaced with a shaky grin.

"You made it Samuel." Dane said laughing, "Now show us again so we can do it too."

"Funny Dane, you're a regular comedian. I did nothing you have to take notes on, just stop paying attention to where you are going I am sure you can repeat what I did without any complications." Samuel said sarcastically.

"Turn around Samuel." Came Micah's voice, "You have led us exactly to where I wanted to go."

With everyone looking behind Samuel on the opposite side of the stream, Samuel slowly turned around. What stood before him made his jaw drop in awe. All he could do was let his head fall back as his gaze slowly went up. They were the tallest things he had ever seen. The skeletons of a dead forest stood before him, towering above him. He had leaned so far back he found himself toppling over and laying flat on his back, still gazing up at the tops of these giants.

"They must be over a hundred and fifty feet tall." Sarah said, "Some maybe even taller. Can you imagine what this place was like when there was leaf on the limbs? What are they Micah?"

"They are great pine trees. At one time these covered the slopes of the hills and mountains, mixed with hardwood trees and flowering shrubs they called rhododendron bushes interspersed with flowering trees called dog woods. The leaves were like needles and they would fall and carpet the forest floor. They would use the sap from the trees to make many things from glues to waxes and scents. They were cut down to make lumber, wood products and paper. It was called Forestry and the men were called lumber jacks that harvested them. Once they would harvest an area, they would replant what were called saplings to replenish the forest leaving the branches and needles behind to stop erosion from rain and to provide nutrients to the young trees. It was treated as a science, the harvesting of trees. It was one of the few things that men did back then to try and put back what they took from the land. Even this was a slow regrowth program and it would take sixty to eighty years before the trees reached maturity." Micah explained.

"Look, inside the line of trees. Those are not ferns growing." Nilah pointed out.

Stephen searched along the shore of the stream looking for a rock of the right shape and weight. Bending and picking up a cylindrical shaped rock of about 2 pounds he went back to his sled and retrieved one of the braided carbon ropes. Tying one end to the rock he let the rock hang down about 2 feet and started swinging it back and forth in a pendulum motion until it had it swinging in a full circle. Once he had the weight where he wanted it, he let loose of the rope and it shot out in a high arc out and over the stream landing about 5 feet into the shore line. "Samuel." Stephen yelled out, "Tie the end of the rope off to one of the trees close to the shore. Tie it up about 4 feet."

With that, Samuel retrieved the rope and headed to the nearest tree and tied the end around the trunk about 4 feet from the ground. On the other shore Stephen took the other end and tied it to the eye on the front of his sled. After this he then tied the other sled in tandem behind it and then tied a length of another carbon rope on the back of the second sled. Instructing Sarah and Nilah to sit in the sleds and for Dane and Micah to stand on the rear decks he told Samuel to start pulling the rope toward him. With those instructions given, he then told Dane and Micah to push off into the water. He held the rope that was tied to the last sled taut to keep the sleds from drifting down stream as Samuel slowly pulled them to his side of the shore. Once on the other side he told them to untie the first sled and then to tie the rope into the front eye of the second sled, he then pulled the empty sled back to him. He untied the rope on the read of the sled, coiled it and put it away then eased the sled into the water. Setting himself in it he then instructed them to pull him across. Soon all six were on the same side of the shore looking into the the dead forest.

"Micah, what kind of plants are those growing near the dead ones?" Nilah asked.

Micah started walking towards the nearest one and turning with a smile on his face said, "They are pine saplings. I can tell by the needle shaped leaves. They look just like the ones in the books back in the libraries."

Nilah smiled and thought to herself that maybe their work would not be as hard as they had first thought. The planet was regenerating, re-birthing itself in a new cloak of green. She watched Micah as he went from sapling to sapling, checking their size and smelling their fragrant needles.

"Come look, pines are not the only things growing here." Micah said, "There are other things growing too, they look like seedlings from other trees." He started scanning the leaves of the small seedlings and doing a search on them in the database on the HHC. One came back to be Quercus alba or the White Oak. The next was Quercus rubra or Red Oak and the last one he scanned came back as Quercus palustris or the Pin Oak. All common to the eastern United State as far south as Texas. "This are some very good discoveries. I would not have imagined we would start seeing the hard wood trees."

Dane and Stephen got busy setting up camp as Sarah went to the water to perform her quality tests. Nilah went and retrieved the pots and food for the evening as Micah and Samuel did a little close in exploring of their surroundings.

Micah's and Samuel's walk found them among the greats trees beneath the lifeless canopy of the out stretched limbs that seemed to reach towards each other in a futile last attempt to be pulled from their death. The shadows cast on the ground from the late afternoon sun made the ground from the bare branches look eerie like skeletons, tangled bones from a lost battle. It was very quiet as they slowly walked along, avoiding the lower branches that seem to reach for them. Samuel could feel the solitude, the quiet, "Do you think this place will ever be like it was Micah?"

"What do you mean?" Micah asked him.

"I mean will life ever be like it was here? Will animals and birds ever come back once the forest has returned?" Samuel asked making his question clearer.

"Life is returning. We have all seen that. But if you are asking if the animals and birds that once made their homes here will return, I cannot answer that. We have seen no signs of anything like birds or other ground dwelling animals. I am not discouraged, we have only been gone for 2 days now. That does not mean that there aren't any that survived, it just means we haven't seen them yet." Micah answered.

"I have read and seen pictures of the birds and animals that used to inhabit the forests and I would think how wonderful it would be if I could hear them, see them as they flew or climbed into the trees. There are recordings you know of the sounds birds make in the Great Library back home. I used to listen to them. It would be nice to actually see and hear them. It is sad to think that they may never return." Samuel said in a sad tone.

"Don't give up hope Samuel. We have not traveled far from our home yet and there is so much to see and discover in the days to come. Each new day brings more for us to find. I was not very optimistic when we first started out but from the end of the first day I have seen things that I thought would not come back and this second day has given me even more hope that there is yet much more to discover. The signs have proven that the earth can heal itself and produce life again." Micah said encouragingly, "Now let's get back to camp before they end up eating everything and we go hungry tonight."

"Right behind you Micah." Samuel said, feeling better. Micah is right, there are many days left before we come to our journey's end and much left to see. He set his resolve then that he would not worry about not seeing what was, but wait and see what is to be.

As they entered camp, they saw that everyone was sitting around the camp stove talking in low voices among themselves. Nilah was the first to see them on their return, "Well, was there anything you found that you would like to share with us?"

"It is as you see it. There is some thicker growth further in and some of the pines that have come back are over 6 feet tall in places and seem to be healthy. But they still have a long way to go before they resemble anything of what was here before." Micah answered.

"Then you two come and eat, it is ready now and we were just waiting on you two." Nilah said.

Their meal was ate in silence, with an occasional comment about the day and their trek in the morning. Dane was the first to finish and stood up looking around, "Well seeing how Stephen and I pulled last nights watch, I think it is only fair that you and Samuel take tonight's." Dane said looking at Micah, "The summer nights seem short and I think four hours each should see us through to day break." Upon saying this, Dane went down to the stream and rinsed out his dish and then returned it to Nilah to be put away. After doing so, he looked around the camp again, checking the perimeter that he and Stephen had set up and started back towards the group. "Wake me if there is anything suspicious looking, I am going to go and get some well deserved sleep." He said as he entered the tent.

"I don't think you will see anything out of the ordinary. The quietness gets to you after a while and the shadows plays tricks on your eyes. But all in all, last night was uneventful. You can hear the scurrying of some small creatures among the mosses and rocks, but nothing to be worried about." Stephen explained from the night before, "I think my imagination made me think there was more going on than there really was, but after a while you realize that there is nothing out there to harm you."

"Thanks Stephen, I will keep that in mind. You should go get some rest too. We have a long day ahead of us and we will all need to be on our toes and alert as we get further from home." Micah said, "Samuel, which watch would you like, the first or second?"

"Doesn't really matter to me Micah. It is all the same. I would like to study the stars tonight. I have read where a long time ago they used to navigate by the stars at night. They would use them as markers in the night sky to guide them and the mariners would set course by them to sail across the great waters." Samuel said.

"Then you will be happy to know that I have loaded on you HHC the constellation maps. They are from both the southern and northern hemispheres and are very exact. They too are maps that we may have to use on this journey. I was hoping you would find some use for them." Micah informed him, "So I will let you take the second watch so that the stars will be even more abundant for you to view. Go get some rest now and I will wake you when it is time."

The Watch

Micah, as Dane had done before retiring, walked the perimeter and checked each trip wire and motion detector. After satisfying himself that everything was secure he looked around for an advantage spot that would give him a 360 degree view and be able to see the camp and the surroundings. He found a rocky knoll near the stream that was about 30 feet high and with cover he could conceal himself in if the need arose. Climbing to the top, he surveyed his surroundings. He could see the camp, the tree line and the stream side and far embankment. He could even see over the embankment if he stood on a large flat rock atop the rocky knoll. Climbing off the flt rock he looked for a spot to get comfortable in and found a spot he could rest his back against with stones on either side to rest his arms on and rocks in front for protection, then settled in for his four hours.

The night was quiet and the wind that blew that evening was cool and kept him refreshed and alert. He filled his thoughts with the coming days and was mentally going over their objective. He would like to get across the great western mountains before it would get cold again and then cross the Aleutian chain when there was enough ice to support them. He did not realize though that that part of the northern trek was covered in ice now year round and more than thick enough to hold many times their weight. He needed to concern himself more with his southerly passage over the Rocky Mountains. At the higher altitudes he will find many obstacles barring his way, not just deep snow, but new glaciers that were forming in the deep vales of the high altitudes. Readying to carve and reshape the terrain on their slow decent down. His best option would be to stay to the south, north of the great deserts of the west and traverse the western side of the mountains, but he would not realize this until much later in their journey. He stood up and walked about the top of the knoll looking in all directions. Once seeing nothing to be alarmed about, he returned to his spot and settled back in continuing his thoughts. He had estimated that they were making about 40 miles a day and mentally calculated that if all went well they should reach the Aleutian chain in about 60 days. Hopefully he thought, their going would be uneventful and without being spotted by other tribes that survived the Great Holocaust. But in the back of his mind he knew that sooner or later they would come into contact with others that had found shelter and survived the devastation of the past.

He checked the time on his HUD and soon found that he needed to go wake Samuel for his turn. Standing and stretching, taking one last look around he descended the rocky knoll and headed towards the tent. Everything looked in order as he walked through camp. He checked the sleds and their contents to make sure everything was secure and then ducked into the tent. Samuel was laying near the entrance sleeping soundly. He knelt down and shook Samuel awake. "Your turn old boy." Micah said, "Nothing happening, everything is quiet. I found a rocky knoll near the stream that is a good advantage point to see all around, even over the far embankment of the stream. Take your watch there, you will be concealed and sheltered."

"Thanks Micah." Samuel said as he pulled himself up stretching and yawning, "I think the hardest will be staying awake."

"You just be sure you do stay awake. Go wash your face in the stream and then head up to the knoll, the climbing is easy." Micah instructed him, "There is a cool breeze blowing that should keep your eyes open. Wake everyone as soon as it starts to get light. I want to leave out early."

"No problem Micah, I will stay my watch and wake you if needed." Samuel assured him, "I am sure it will be as quiet as it has been. Get some rest."

Samuel headed to the stream and washed the sleep from his eyes and took a cool drought of water. It tasted sweet and clean. Much sweeter than the water he had been used to drinking below. Standing up he spotted the knoll that Micah had told him about and headed towards it. The climb up was easy and soon he had found the spot where Micah and took his watch and as Micah did, settled in and looked around. All he could see were the shadows of the night. The forest looked foreboding with the the star light casting ghoulish shadows against each other. He shuddered, feeling as if they were trying to grab him and pull him withing their dark depths. He pulled his eyes away and looked up into the night sky. It was beautiful. Never could he had of imagined that there were so many stars in the heavens. He pulled out his HHC and searched out the constellation maps and studied them, looking up into the sky as he came across constellations shown in the northern hemisphere. He had located the Big Dipper, a part of the great constellation of Ursa Major or the Great Bear and the Little Dipper, Ursa Minor or the Lessor Bear. The Little Dipper contained the Northern Star, one used long ago to navigate by and prevalent in the northern hemisphere, also known as Polaris, it is the closest start to the North Celestial Pole and deviates little from its place in the heavens. It was considered a fixed position. He spotted Orion and the Belt of Orion, three bright stars in alignment at Orion's waist. He looked at the beauty of the stars and thought about man in the past with their dreams of space travel. Orion, the Great Hunter, on his shoulder rests Betelgeuse or Beetlejuice, standing out in it ruby red brightness. At his foot sits Rigel, a sapphire blue bright star. second only to Betelgeuse. The Great Nebula or Orion Nebula is secure within Orion's safety, a nursery of stars made up of a four star cluster known as the Trapezium where new stars are born. Samuel was lost in this celestial show being displayed before his eyes, the wonderment and beauty touching him deep and setting off his imagination in many directions, but it was the smell of smoke that pulled him from this play in the heavens, bringing his senses back to earth.

Leaning forward, he lowered his visor and set the magnification to maximum and started scanning the surrounding area. Deep in the forest he could see a glow coming faintly from behind a stand of the dead giants. It was smoke from a fire, they were not alone, but what was going through his mind was had they spotted them yet? Did they know about them? Were they waiting to ambush them or sneak in on them that night? So many questions had entered his head. Staying low, he made his way to the edge of the knoll and climbed down. Still in a crouch, he made his way towards the tent to wake Micah and Dane. Waking Micah and first and then Dane he motioned for them to come outside. "Something in the forest." Samuel said in a whisper.

"Besides your imagination Samuel" Dane asked.

"This is not my imagination Dane, I smelled smoke and when I looked towards the woods I could see a glow coming from behind some trees. Someone or something is out there." Samuel defended his statement, "Come to the lookout and see for yourself if you do not believe me."

"Calm down Samuel before you wake the others." Micah whispered to him, "Let's go and see what this is you saw."

With that the three of them headed to the rocky knoll and climbed to the top. Setting the visor's magnification on high they peered into the forest in the direction that Samuel had pointed. Dane and Micah both saw what Samuel had seen, there was definitely someone or something out in the forest.

"Micah, I think we need to investigate this. We do not know if they are a threat to us or not and I would like to have an advantage over them and make sure that we are not compromised in any way. Let Samuel stay back at the camp, we will wake Stephen and then spread out in a linear line so to keep or com systems intact. I will lead point with you next and then Stephen, Samuel will anchor at the camp and keep an eye on Nilah and Sarah." Dane said, formulating a plan.

"Samuel, go wake Stephen, do not alarm the girls. Tell him to come here." Micah told Samuel.

"You think there is cause for worry?" Micah asked Dane.

"I don't know. That is what I would like to find out. I do not want to take any chances." Dane said.

Soon Samuel returned with Stephen and Dane then explained to him his plan. The four of them climbed back down the knoll and across the camp heading towards the forest. Reaching the edge of the trees, Dane turned to Samuel, "Stay just inside the perimeter and stay concealed in case this is some kind of ploy to lure us out. If you see anything, do not hesitate to use your rifle and use the tazer darts to bring them down. If there is more than one then call, Stephen will be closest and will come from behind them, Micah and I will follow."

Then, keeping to the shadows, Micah, Dane and Stephen headed into the forest, soon disappearing into the shadows. They had set their night vision on, an advantage they hoped the others would not have, if there were others. Going slow, at the first 1,000 feet Stephen stopped and found a fallen tree to hide behind as Micah and Dane continued. The glow was becoming much closer as Micah stopped at the next 1,000 feet and found a place he could conceal himself and then Dane continued on. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, feel it in the tips of his fingers. Crouching very low as he neared the glow, he saw that it was a fire and he turned up the volume of the headset built into the helmet. He could hear voices now.

"Where you think they are headed?" the first voice said.

"Does it really matter? They have food and supplies, that is all I care about." came the second voice.

"You think they have noticed us?" the first voice asked.

"Nah, I don't think they have. But we need to be careful, we do not know what sort of weapons they have." the second voice answered.

Dane quickly sent a text using his HHC to Micah and instructed him to forward it to Stephen too. "Come up here, hostile, they are aware of us, tell Stephen to come too."

Withing fifteen minutes, Dane, Micah and Stephen were together just about 20 feet from the perimeter of the hostile camp. Using their HHC, they communicated via text messages. Dane had instructed them that they would surround the camp in close quarters and use the tazers to subdue them. Once in place they were to signal ready. They were not to reveal themselves, but get close enough so that they would not miss, only two were to fire saving the third man for backup in case something went wrong. Micah was chosen as the backup man. Surprise was their key element here. The two hostiles were not aware that the group knew of their presence. Slowly the three made their way to their positions, once in place they sent text to each other and started closing in, tightening their circle. Thinking they were alone the two did not take notice and the Three used their loud voices to cover their approach. With the forest floor being covered in the dead pine needles, this suppressed the sounds of their foot steps even more. Stopping in less of ten feet of the camp another text was sent that all were ready and waiting for the go. Dane raised his rifle taking careful aim on the first hostile and then Stephen covering the second they pulled the triggers almost simultaneously, unleashing two titanium darts each, packing 30,000 volts of electricity. They both hit their marks mid chest and the two hostiles hit the ground as if they had been struck by lightning. They writhed on the ground, their spittle foaming from their mouths as Dane pulled his trigger again and sent another 30,000 volts down the wires. This made the hostile's back arch and his eyes roll back in his head and then collapse. The second one's entire body was trembling and convulsing when Dane said over the com to hit him again with another 30,000 volts. Stephen responded and pulled the trigger again. The second man soon lay as calm as the first.

"Micah, keep me and Stephen covered, we are going in to check them and retrieve the darts. If they move, fire." Dane instructed Micah.

"I have you covered, be careful." Micah answered.

Slowly Dane and Stephen approached the two bodies laying still on the ground. They looked to be breathing. Stephen produced two lengths of the carbon rope and started tying the two hostiles up while Dane recovered the darts. Once the two were tied up Dane pulled out his flashlight and started looking about the camp. They each had fashioned clubs made from tapered branches with a hole bored through the thick end, to this they had inserted and secured a stone the protruded from each side of the club. They had bored a much smaller hole cross wise through the thick end that bore through the stone and had a wooden peg drove through it to secure the stone in place. They had also fashioned them each a spear made from a long stout slender pole they had scraped and smoothed with a binding of leather at its balance point. The tip looked to be fashioned of flint and was about 10 inches long and chipped to a razor sharp edge. Dane gathered these up.

Micah entered the camp once he saw everything was secure and joined Dane and Stephen near the fire. Looking down at the two men Micah noticed that they were bearded. One of them wore clothes made from leather that had been pieced together to make a tunic and trousers. he wore a military style web belt with wire loops attached to it. There was a pouch that looked to be something to carry water in, this too looked to be made of leather. On his feet where boots, the kind used my military, but were about mid calf high and they laced up. He wore a simple metal helmet with a liner in it. The second man was same in appearance, but wore green fatigues. They looked fairly fresh and showed no signs of any real wear. He too had a web belt, but there was a scabbard on his with a knife still in it. He reached down and pulled it from the scabbard and examined it. It was very sharp and about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. There was a finely honed edge on one side of the blade and the other side was serrated. Looking around the camp he spotted to dull green backs with aluminum frames resting against a large boulder. He walked over to them and inspected their contents. Several coils of climbing rope, a wet stone, a pair of old binoculars, some assorted pans and utensils in one pack. In the other he found hooks for fishing and nylon line along with a change of clothing, this was military camouflage, a shirt and pants, a camouflage ball cap, a folding knife with a locking blade, a pair of sunglasses, some assorted pieces of cloth and some pieces of flint. Tied to each were sleeping bags.

"Micah, come here, I want to show you something." Dane said.

"What is it Dane?" Micah asked walking up.

"This one here." Dane started. pointing to the one in the green fatigues, "He was banished last year, I recognize his face. He had broken into one of the food stores and also was found guilty of other crimes. The most serious was beating a man almost to death over some stolen food he was selling him."

"Right now that is not the biggest of our worries." Micah started, "What are we going to do with them now? We can't take them with us and we can't just leave them tied up here either."

"Why not?" Dane asked, "They were going to do harm to us and steal our food and supplies. I think just leaving them here tied up is justified. If we let them go, who is to say they wouldn't follow us and try again some other time."

"Leaving them tied up would be no less than killing them Dane. That would make us no better than them. There has to be another solution." Micah argued.

"I do not want to take them back to camp Micah. That I will not do and they cannot come along with us. We would have to feed them and watch out for them. No Micah, we need to leave them hear as they are, take their weapons and leave them the rest. If they untie themselves, fine, then they are on their own and behind us." Dane argued back.

"Listen to what I suggest." came Stephen's voice, "We set them back to back and tie their hands together, one's right to the others left then slip a length of rope between them and ties that to each side. We leave their feet untied. Take a length of rope and tie at their forehead, their heads together. Then at head high on one of the trees we take a piece of the sharpened flint they have and stick it into the trunk. If they want out, they will figure out how to get the piece of flint and cut their bindings. By the time they do, we will be far away."

They agreed with Stephen's idea and re secured the men and took their weapons with them. The sun was just breaking the eastern horizon when they entered camp. Samuel came to greet them and asked if everything had went well.

"Samuel thank you for your diligence on watch last night. You saved us all from peril. We found two, one was banished from our tribe last year, the other we do not know who he is, but they had planned on attacking us and stealing our food and supplies. We managed to over power them thanks to Dane's mastery in weaponry and his plan of attack. All went well without any harm to us." Micah quickly explained, "Now wake the girls, we need to break camp and leave, plot us a course out of here as fast as you can. I would like to stay a few yards inside the tree line as much as possible and still stay on our course."

"I will see that it is Done Micah." Samuel responded and then left to wake Nilah and Sarah.

Soon camp was broke and packed in the sleds, the group headed out, still on their southwesterly heading.

Remnants of the Past - Chapter Seven

It was mid morning when they had topped a hill. They were still just inside the tree line of the forest they had come upon the day before. The pine needle carpeted forest floor made their journey comfortable and easy for the most part. Dane was in the lead with the sleds following in a tight line behind. As Dane topped the hill he held up his hand to motion the others to stop. They watched a she lowered his visor. Dane adjusted the magnification and looked off in the distance. He thought he had seen another stream or possibly a river off in the distance, but he could not be sure. It was gray in color, but he could not see any motion to its surface, sill it was winding its way around the hills as if taking the easiest course it could find.

"What is it Dane?" came Micah's voice over the com.

"I don't know, I think it may be a large stream or river ahead, I can't really be sure. I can't tell if it is flowing or not." Dane replied, "It has a gray color, nothing like we saw with the creek or the stream. Wait where you are, I am going to investigate it."

"Call if you need help." Micah said.

Dane set off down the hill and into the open expanse of moss covered ground. Keeping two very large trees as markers he headed toward the gray ribbon he had spotted from the hilltop. He had crested a smaller hill when below him he saw his river. He walked down to it to find it wasn't water at all, but a paved surface made of small stones bound together with some sort of black semi solid substance. Down its center were broken faded yellow line and on each edge on this surface was a solid white line, it too faded. There were cracks and pits in the surface. "This is some sort of transportation system." Dane said to himself aloud, "These are roads." He had finally realized. He had seen them before in the books. These had been used in the past for their vehicles to travel on. But the pictures he had remembered seeing did not show them in such a state of disrepair. He quickly returned to the rest of the group to tell them of his discovery.

"We could use it to stay on our course." Dane was telling them, "They mark these routes with numbers, if Samuel can find them on his maps we could use them to navigate by. We could complete our journey using them."

"Not on all of it." Micah said, "Just like the rivers, they usually took the path of least resistance and can add miles to our journey. I had thought about this before we left but soon realized that we need a more direct course in order to make it in time or the shortest amount of time. For the time when it benefits us to travel such course we can do that, but if a more favorable course means to leave it and go across the country, then we will have to do that. Also think of this Dane, we may not be able to have the advantage of concealment on these paved routes as much as our surroundings offer us now. We pretty much blend in and go unnoticed for the most part."

"I think for the time being we should utilize this and try it at least. It could help more than we think. It does not hurt to at least try. We do not have to travel its surface, we can stay close to the trees on either side as we go. Just use it as a trail." Dane suggested.

The rest of the group seemed to agree with Dane and wanted to see this from their past. With that, Micah conceded to their wishes and they headed off into the direction of the road.

Before long they had found themselves staring down the length of this gray ribbon laid down long before they were born. Stephen took more of an interest in it than the others did and knelt down to touch it as if studying its composition.

"So what exactly is it we are looking at?" Sarah asked.

"What we are looking at is called pavement Sarah." Stephen answered, "Many years ago men used to commute great distances between cities. They carried cargoes and traveled for recreation. These roads were constructed as a means for them to travel to those places."

"I figured that part out Stephen for myself." Sarah said, "But what it is exactly? I mean the pavement as you call it."

"Oh, that." Stephen said smiling, "It is composed of a combination of things, but its basic components consist of crushed stone and a mixture of petroleum compounds when mixed called bitulithic, it is what binds the stones together, when mixed with the crushed stone they call it asphalt."

"I liked Dane's description much better." Sarah said, "It is like a river without movement. Yours sounds so cold and mechanical."

"It was mechanical and a very dirty job, nothing romantic about it." Stephen started, "Big machinery graded and leveled the land then paved over a permeable substrate to permit movement and drainage. They used larger machinery called earth movers and bulldozers to cut through the land, to level hills and carve out a path. The bed as they called it was then prepped with a liquid lime solution that was injected by boring holes into the bed to stabilize it, then a base made from a mixture of chalice and small aggregate was spread and compacted, this was the permeable subsurface on which they would lay the pavement. The pavement was considered a live system, which meant that it could move, expand and contract with varying temperatures and movements of the earth. This too was applied with what was called a paving machine and it would lay down an exact amount of the asphalt mixture to maintain a uniform width and thickness through out the process. Then that too was compacted with machinery that had great steel rollers that also cooled the hot asphalt mixture with a spray of water on the surface. It was quite an undertaking to construct a road and if you think of it, an engineer's mark of quality when completed."

"Well that was quite informative Stephen, but still I think Dane's description was much better." Sarah laughed, "It was much shorter."

"Whatever Sarah, you asked and I answered." Stephen replied sarcastically.

"I think we should get moving and forget the lesson for now." Dane interjected, "Let's move to the tree line, we will travel parallel to the road and use the trees for cover."

The group not set their course in a more westward direction and continued their journey. They were passing road markers, those that gave the remaining distances to various towns and cities. They found this a little confusing as they had no real conception of distance coming from a closed environment and boundaries were well defined. But here on the surface it seemed there were no limitations to distance. They traveled now in silence, each lost in their own thoughts and imagination.

It was well after the noon hour as they were walking along the line of denuded trees when from the distance they heard a rumbling sound coming from the west. As if on queue the group silently disappeared into the dead brambles and limbs and the shelter it offered. Squatting down behind a berm just inside the tree line the group stared off in the direction of the rumbling sound that seemed to be approaching fast. Soon they could see a small cloud of dust coming up from behind the low hills that the asphalt river ascended then disappeared over it's crest. It wasn't long before they saw the source of the rumbling they had been hearing, it was some sort of vehicle, strange to them. It looked boxy, archaic almost. Only something they had seen in pictures, like dinosaurs long extinct. Their eyes were transfixed on this behemoth as it rolled noisily along the asphalt like some armor clad warrior going into battle roaring its presence. They could feel the vibrations the machine made and deafening sound seemed to drown out all other noise around them.

Continued...