The Flint Knappers - Chapter 2

You might think that sleeping your first night in a strange new world would be problematic. Not in my case. Maybe I was just exhausted from the jump but I slept like a baby. When I did wake there was sunlight streaming through the thatch roof of my makeshift shelter and a rustling sound was coming from outside not too far away. I sat up in surprise once I realized I wasn't alone and carefully peered out the front. It was some kind of furry mammal about the size of a large dog. It had coarse brown fur and seemed to be searching intently for something in the grass. It was making a soft grunting sound that to me seemed like it was rather enjoying itself. I sat quietly inside my little hooch watching it, not sure if I were in danger. After a few moments I decided that it was just looking for something to eat. It must have heard something in the distance because it raised it's head up and looked around for a moment before going head down again on it's search for breakfast. It was clearly some kind of boar although it looked sort of like a large capybara so I couldn't be sure. It had tusks like a boar at least. I was startled again when it began to squeal all of a sudden. Apparently it found what it was looking for and I realized the sounds were a sort of guttural expression of glee. It was munching down on something and I couldn't help but wonder if I might like some too. I would need to spend some time today taking stock of anything that could pass as food but given how verdant this place was I had no worries about starving. More importantly was to be careful not to east something poisonous or otherwise harmful. One of the lessons we learned in training was to watch what the animals ate and more importantly what they didn't. And stay away from any red berries until you know for sure they're safe. When you do eat something new you should do it methodically. First simply touch it to your lips and wait for any reaction. Bitter is generally bad and if it makes your lips numb don't eat it. If you get past that then do the same but just on your tongue, don't swallow. If you're still not dead after all that then you can venture a few bites and wait at least a half an hour. If you're still not dead or sick than you're probably ok to eat to your hearts content. Beyond this series of safety checks you need to think about the overall nutritional balance and try to get as much variety as you can safely.

As I'm reviewing all of this in my mind the boar-thing was startled again but this time decided it was better to run than keep eating. I wondered if I should be worried for myself but I could see no perceptible threat. I carefully exited the hooch while checking in all directions, including up, for any sign of threats. All clear. I should start looking for some breakfast for myself as I had a busy day ahead of me. I smiled as I thought of the boar all dressed out and hanging in a smoker. If I can find some eggs I'll have them with bacon. Now we're talking! Talk about the comforts of home. All in due time.

I still had the berries I picked up yesterday so I thought that would be a good place to start. After all the safety checks I decided they were safe to eat and soon realized why the birds liked them so much. They were absolutely delicious. They had a texture like blueberries on the inside but with a really sweet taste of a sugar cookie. They were juicy too so would provide some degree of hydration.

I took some time while eating my breakfast to review my mission parameters. Back on Earth we had no way of knowing if the world we would jump into would be familiar or some bizarre alien landscape. We always worked around a set of assumptions that we could only hope would hold true. We referred to these as "Premises" so as to help instill confidence. We joked about how it was like whistling past the graveyard but fortunately for me at least the main premises had turned out to be correct. First premise: where the conditions for life exist life will be found. Second premise: the Fibonacci sequence is universal. Third premise: entropy is a universal constant. There are others but those were the most important. The net result of those three being true should mean that survival is possible as long as basic precautions are taken. You would still have no resistance to many environmental pathogens so the first two weeks would have to be spent acclimatizing carefully. This has always been my greatest personal concern so I spent extra time training in herbalism, first aid and pharmacology. I notice as I'm eating the berries that my energy level is increasing noticeably. It's as if they have some sort of stimulant effect without making me feel anxious or jittery. I really need to fashion some way to start writing all this down. That will be one of my priorities today.

The forest around me is full of sounds of life. I can see a family of some type of squirrel playing in the trees. It's a full on menagerie all welcoming the day. It seems like a garden paradise but I know better than to let my guard down. No ecosystem ever existed that didn't have predators and a pecking order. Am I the apex predator or just the next meal? I think the first thing I'll do after breakfast will be to make a fire hardened spear. That will hopefully suffice until I can make an at'latl and a bow. As time permits I will try to find a source of flint or obsidian for making points and blades. The berries are great but I will need a source of protein. And cordage. Having rope is handy for all sorts of things. Snares will be great for catching small game and some rope will come in handy for a thousand other things. The shelter I made yesterday would be fine for a while but I want to get started on something more permanent right away.

Scouting is important but will need to be done methodically. There's no one to come rescue me if I have a mishap. I can remember my instructor emphasizing this point. It's important to keep your wits about you and not get stir crazy. That's why only the most psychologically stable are allowed to jump. It's not unlike the way NASA selected it's astronauts for missions really except our selection process is even more rigorous. And of course our little club is a well kept secret. Every government on Earth has been trying to infiltrate and investigate since they found out about us back in the 80's. It's been a game of cat and mouse ever since but we've got our little ace in the hole and it's been enough to keep us just out of their reach. They know about the tablets but they still haven't made the connection with that information and the caves in India. As far as they know the statues are just some hokey-dokey relic of an ancient religion. Boy, if they only knew. If they ever figure that part out the project could be in serious jeopardy. Every detail you need to activate the portal is explained in the Mahabharata but without the esoteric teachings to go with it would just seem like superstitious nonsense.

Well, I'm going to take a look around for something that will serve as a crude ink. There's a small bush nearby with a few dark purple berries. Those should be perfect. I may need to boil the juice down for a bit to get the right consistency. I have already found a few feathers lying on the ground so I should be able to start taking notes by mid-day. I'm smiling as I think about how back home a tablet computer with stylus cost me close to $400 and it only lasted 6 months before the battery died. I don't think this new stylus system is going to have that problem.

Read Chapter 1
Read Chapter 3

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