Devolution

Desperately hoping that her friends had been released as well, Veena followed the perimeter fence around from where she had been set free. Still shaken and frightened she forced herself to keep moving, straining for some sign to cling to that she was not alone and would be okay.

Comforting to her was the fact that the men who held her had not sexually harassed her nor harmed her in any way apart from the injuries she had suffered in the initial scuffle in the dark. It was a woman’s worst fear to be taken by a group of strange and menacing men and held captive at their mercy. She had heard all the stories from the anarchic times before the war, and of the heinous crimes committed against women during the decade long conflict so these were on her mind when she awoke. Finding herself in a small featureless room, her thoughts had quickly began to prepare for an horrific experience, worse than anything she had encountered in her young life, but by some chance the men had left her alone. They only asked her questions and did it without menace. Perhaps they believed her when she said she didn’t know anything-it was the truth after all-or perhaps they were under orders not to hurt her. Whatever the reason she was grateful, but the terror she felt squeezing her heart when she first realized the predicament she was in remained with her though many hours had passed and now she was free.

Finally, after a long meaningless walk, she thought she recognized a particular clump of trees but as she approached found it was only her imagination, wishful thinking. On and on she walked, unaware of time, pushing beyond and through the extreme weariness which tugged at her. When she felt the last of her body’s strength was about to depart and dump her useless and spent on the dirty ground, she saw 3 sitting motionless in his hoverchair, framed by the emerging light of dawn.

A second wind surged from within and she ran the short distance to his side, calling his name. On the second or third call he heard her and responded by raising his hover chair and turning it towards her. Smiling, he moved in her direction, and had he been standing on his own legs she might have knocked him down with the speed she was traveling, but she slowed and they embraced in a moment where the world stood still and they had each other. A tangible relief.

Still in a dangerous situation, they both felt now they could handle it because they were together. They were no longer alone.

Veena was clinging to 3 and crying on his shoulder as the relief she felt swamped her. When she eventually pushed herself away from him, they remained holding hands and looking at each other for a few minutes before they both turned away in awkward discomfort. Veena knew how 3 felt about her and did not want to embarrass him nor misinterpret what was going on, so she made light of the hug.

‘That’s enough,’ she said letting go of his hands and stepping back. ‘People will think there’s something going on between us.’

3 took the hint and said, ‘People?’

Then they laughed together but the laughter only masked the tension of the moment. Veena knowing what she knew and not wanting to hurt or mislead 3, and 3 himself frustrated by the strong feelings which he could barely contain and which had just for that brief moment while they embraced been able to find some satisfaction.

He broke the awkward silence first, saying, ‘Do you think they let Joshua go as well?’

‘Do you think they had him in the first place?’

‘What do you mean?’ asked 3.

‘I mean he brought us here and had already left us by the time the lights went out and we were jumped and attacked. I think he knew what he was doing and they, whoever they are, were probably expecting him.’

‘Expecting us,’ corrected 3.

Veena nodded and looked around as if hoping Joshua would suddenly appear and everything would be all right again.

‘You don’t think he knew what was going to happen to us, do you Veena?’

The pause was alarming. ‘No,’ she said.

‘You don’t sound sure.’

Deciding to change the subject, he asked, ‘Should we wait for him or look for him?’

‘I think if we wait a little while, he’ll find us.’

In the silence that followed, 3 wondered about Veena not trusting Joshua and realized she had good cause. Although they had been friends for a long time and had always gone to school together and hung out together, this was different and since the first time Joshua had gone to meet the Carrier recruiter in the city, he had acted suspiciously and out of character. Understandable though it was, it was nonetheless unsettling for 3 and Veena to feel like a wall had been built between them and Joshua.

He had on many occasions already during the mission regretted his decision to join Joshua, and believed Veena felt the same way. However, there was no backing out now, they had to continue and hope they would survive and that Joshua would complete his mission and they could return home. 3 dismissed thoughts of home fearing they would only lead him to build false hopes about a nostalgic place which no longer existed.

Watching Veena wander aimlessly around the small clearing in which they were waiting, 3 again found himself wanting her. Depending on his mood, whether he wanted to allow himself to fantasize or not, 3 could overcome the impossibility of such a union and be buoyed by the prospect, or realistically admit it would never happen and chide himself for his foolishness. She liked him as a friend, even loved him but how could her feelings overcome his physical appearance and blossom from friendship to romance? How?

‘Sorry to keep you guys waiting,’ called a familiar voice concealed somewhere near to them.

When Joshua appeared smiling through a clump of brush and stepped into the clearing, 3 wanted to glide straight to him and wipe the smile off of his face with a strong physical rebuke. How dare he be so cheerful? Veena spoke for both of them.

‘What the hell are you smiling at? Do you know what they did to us?’

‘They didn’t hurt you, did they?’

‘No,’ said Veena, ‘but that’s hardly the point is it?’

Joshua reached out to place a reassuring hand on Veena’s shoulder but she shrugged it off. Graciously 3 allowed the gesture and consequently drew a withering look from Veena for failing to support her.

‘They had to find out if I had compromised the mission by revealing anything to you two. They had doubts about the wisdom of me taking two friends as traveling partners given the closeness of our friendship.’

‘Former closeness,’ added Veena.

Smiling again to further annoy her, Joshua said, ‘Don’t be like that, Veena. You guys didn’t have to come with me, but I’m glad you did. I explained the situation to you both, very clearly before we left. It’s a bit late to be complaining about it now.’

Veena was getting angrier by the second; each word of Joshua’s was another bundle of dry twigs tossed on the fire of her rage.

‘I must have missed the part,’ she began, ‘when I was going to be attacked by an unknown group of men in a darkened hallway of a building in the middle of no-bloody-where and then held captive and interrogated.’ She looked at 3 for some moral support and then back at Joshua. ‘Did I miss that part did I?’

Joshua appealed to 3 with a quick look, but he didn’t want to get involved in an argument. He was no mediator and besides, Veena had a valid point. He knew her well enough to know that when she was fired up by what she perceived to be an injustice, particularly against herself, there was no mollifying her. Experience had taught him it was best to back off. Joshua appeared to realize that himself when he backed away a little and held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry. Maybe things have gotten a little out of hand.’

‘Not a little,’ interjected Veena.

‘Okay a lot. Things have gotten out of hand. But now we have to get going. We need to get to the nearest town and get ourselves some transport into Sydney.’

‘Sydney?’ said Veena and 3 in unison.

‘Are we somewhere near Sydney?’ asked 3.

‘Nope.’

‘Well how far and what’s this town we have to go to first?’

‘I don’t know the name of the town but I have good directions on how to get there. I have my orders,’ said Joshua. ‘Let’s go!’

Two hours later, foot weary and parched, they arrived at the small town which the hand painted welcome sign advised them, was called Narrendra. The fast walk through the increasing heat of the morning in the desert had been completed mostly in silence interspersed with the occasional chat about the good old days or some abstract theorizing in which Joshua and 3 liked to engage. Not once was the previous incident mentioned and 3 suspected that was the way it had to be. With each successive stage of their journey completed, the memories of it were left discarded like a shredded tire on the side of a freeway.

When they found they had a three hour wait for the next bus traveling east, they decided to go the local hotel and have something to eat and drink.

In a dark corner of the large open pub beyond a couple of full-sized pool tables sat a man who would have looked out of place had anybody besides the bartender noticed him. Billy Wilson had of course given the stranger the once over before filling his order for bourbon and cola, then watched his back as the man walked to an inconspicuous place in the hotel to drink it. He mainly served beer here in Narrendra, and someone ordering something exotic like bourbon and cola was disconcerting. Billy was on the alert. Lately there had been more frequent visits by people who obviously did not belong, and he didn’t like it at all.

Now as he mused on the purpose of the visitor’s presence in his hotel another odd group came in: weird only because of the presence of a Newtonian. Billy had never seen one in real life, in the flesh. None of the tribe lived in Narrendra or any of the surrounding towns. In fact they were known to have a distaste for the dry and barren interior of Australia, preferring to be closer to the water and cooler temperatures. He knew of their experimental genetic engineering and of their claims about the end of the world and their belief that they needed to adapt, physically to survive in the new age which would feature a landscape dominated by water.

Technology had reached such awesome heights that Billy never doubted the ability of the Newtonians to deliberately mutate into sea creatures. However he did question their motives and the foundation upon which they based their plans. Never having met one or spoken to one, Billy was naturally wary of these strange looking beings, and seeing one come into his bar out of the blue filled him with a whirlpool of emotion. Priding himself on being a reasonable man who gave everyone a fair go, the wise old bartender allowed curiosity to quash fear and suspicion. He lifted his hand to catch the eye of the Newtonian who was accompanied by two others, both of them looking equally uneasy. I’m a publican, said Billy to himself, it’s my job to make people of all races feel comfortable and welcome, and, he added as a cheeky afterthought, and to sell them a beer.

The girl standing beside the Newtonian saw Billy’s hand waving and gestured to her friends that they should go over to the bar. As she approached, Billy supposed she was an Adonite due to her sculptured and well proportioned body and lovely skin. Her smooth energetic gate carried her confidently to the bar where she smiled at Billy and introduced herself first and then her companions.

Billy Wilson was what society called a misfit, but here in the outback he was not alone. Although the tribal distinctions had become accentuated and even encouraged by government policies in the cities, many people in the rural areas thought it all a load of bull. Why, they argued, do we want to highlight our differences and not try harder to get along together? Like most people his age Billy had witnessed the end result of assimilation policies throughout the world. Trying to force people together had only forced them apart. Unity in diversity had always been a fragile myth in Billy’s opinion. He was a simple man who reckoned you should take each person as they came and do your best to get along. Live and let live.

‘Pleased to meet ya,’ said Billy extending his hand to Veena first then Joshua and lastly 3. The last shake was the longest as Billy gave 3 a good hard looking over.

Ever perceptive, 3 graciously allowed the intrusion. ‘Never shaken the hand of a Newtonian before, eh?’

Billy smiled broadly and released 3’s hand. ‘Are you all cluey like that?’

‘Can we have a drink, please?’ asked Veena.

Billy checked them all again and wondered if he should be asking for identification. They looked over sixteen and carried themselves with the confidence of older teenagers but Billy had seen plenty of bold youngsters try to get away with all sorts of things. Pushing the mini thumb scanner across the bar towards them, Billy said, ‘Sorry folks, but its routine especially for visitors to my pub.’

The trio took it in turn to press their thumbs into the scanner and all received green lights to drink so Veena and 3 subsequently ordered beer while Joshua asked for water. Billy happily drew two schooners of Victoria Bitter, and then the water for Joshua who he had pegged as a Deist.

‘So,’ said Billy slipping into his customary role as a friendly barman, ‘What brings you three to Narrendra?’

Both Veena and 3 turned to Joshua before they answered so Billy did likewise expecting the answer to the question to come from him.

‘Traveling.’

‘Yes, just traveling,’ echoed 3.

Throwing a casual point towards the other stranger in the corner, Billy asked, ‘Is he a friend of yours also? Another traveler?’

‘Don’t know him’, said Joshua without even looking at him. ‘We’re heading back to Sydney on the next bus so we just came in for a quick drink.’

Billy thought the young Deist was unnecessarily defensive, but said nothing.

‘We don’t want any trouble.’

Stepping back from the bar, Billy threw his hand up in an exaggerated gesture of surrender. ‘Me neither mate. Me neither.’ He put his hand down and said, ‘Enjoy your drinks. Let me know when you want another, that’s if you do. Cheers.’

‘Cheers,’ said the three of them in unison as Billy walked down to the far end of the bar to serve another customer.