Chapter forty-three

she's a big cat
big cat walking
big cat
big cat talking like that
cuz she knows she'll get her way
" Big Cat" from the New Genesis CD by akamardukson

For the first time, they started to make weapons.

After the dogs, they had an encounter with a Tiger, a bear, and more dogs. Even a house cat attacked one time, leaping out at Jane and scratching her face. Patrick killed it. Jane stayed mad at him for 3 days.

The animals were everywhere. Damian figured they had all migrated here and came up against the waters, and couldn't go any farther.

Damian and the others had reached the harbor. As expected, there were plenty of abandoned sailing vessels. The plan was to spend six months here honing their sailing skills before they attempted to cross the ocean. They took a boat out everyday.

They started making and carrying spears and knives after the tiger attack--if it really could or should be called that. The big cat looked half starved even with the great concentration of prey around. When she stalked towards the Iowees, the cat didn't seem to know how to attack. Damian could tell by the cautious way she moved forward that if not for starvation, she wouldn't have approached any of them at all. The Iowees were screeching like sirens and the cat kept looking behind to ensure her path to escape was unencumbered. Damian watched calmly from his hut as Chako, and Michelle approached the animal. He saw the tall woman calming Chako down, and everyone else was relaxed by watching her demeanor.

The big cat started backing up, but was still unwilling to run yet. Michelle was cooing to the tiger while Chako stayed beside her. Steve stood back and watched, but he was alert, as was Bruce and Patrick. Finally Michelle took one step too close and the big cat turned and fled.

Wasn't exactly Cudjoe was it?" Steve said.

"It was tame." Michelle answered.

"Think it'll be back?" Chako asked. He was soothing the Iowees.

"Probably."

"Then why didn't you let us kill it? If it hurts Firsthe and Firstshe--"

" It was just hungry."

"They are all just hungry."

"No, I mean... it's tame. If we feed it, we probably can keep it around like a pet. It won't hurt anything."

"Now why would we want to do that?" Patrick walked up with Feifong and Bruce.

"Because why kill a beautiful animal like that if you don't have to?" Feifong asked.

"Because it was going to eat Firsthe and Firstshe." Bruce answered his woman.

" And what about Chandra and Jane?" Patrick asked. "You want them out there walking in the woods with that thing lurking around?"

"I don't want them out there at all, right now. Too many wild animals around." Damian said. "At least not without some kind of protection," he added quickly, sensing Chandra's ire.

"By gide, then thit settles it." Steve said, sounding like a mush mouth Englishman. "Wee feed the cot, and wee make wippons to keel all the bod enemas. Ah wee ah-greed theen?"

The grouped laughed. Michelle looked up at him with her eyes beaming adoration.

"Alright, we feed the cat." Chako shook his head, still chuckling and put an arm around Ada.


**************

They named the cat, which was female, Sheba. She was obviously once someone's beloved pet, not only that, but spoiled almost beyond toleration...and deeply in love with people.

It was now unclear if, even despite her obvious hunger, she wanted to eat the Iowees or play with them--like she does now. From sunrise to sunset she shadows the Iowees and Damian figured it might be because she once belonged to people with small children.

The cat took swiftly to Chandra too. The only time she would leave the Iowees, was to follow Chandra when she went on her forays to find useful vegetation.

Both Chandra and Jane carried spears  but Damian had a lot more peace of mind knowing Sheba was with Chandra than the spears. Chandra had long ago discouraged him of the idea that he or some other man should shadow her when she went out. She never minded company but she didn't want a keeper.

Most of the animals avoided them if they could. The biggest danger was the hungry dogs who ran in packs but even they weren't much of a threat now that they all were carrying spears. When one them was in trouble with the dogs, it only took minutes before they had help. The women could hold  the dogs off with the spears as well as the men.

Damian felt they were now ready to pit their maritime skills against the ocean. The vessel they chose to sail in was a mid-size schooner with three collapsible masts. They had practiced a lot in the ship and it was sturdy and easy to maneuver. In this part of the world the waters and winds were always calm, so they knew their success handling the boat was not a true marker of their abilities . They had no real idea what kind of conditions they will encounter the farther they got from the coast.

As was their habit before they went to their separate spots for sleep, the group sat in discussion. There was a lot more verbal communication because the soldiers still hadn't developed the ability to read thoughts. Damian was at loss as to why. Not even Steve had anything to put forward to explain it.

Chako had taken to sailing, like a fish to water. He was good at it and like anything you are good at, he loved it.

" I think we just might make it across that ocean, after all." He said wistfully, wishing now that he had done more to assuage Alonzo and Tiararay's fears rather than encourage them.

"Well, it's not going to be as easy as just sailing up and down, close to the shore, but we are prepared. It's been done routinely before. I see no reason why we can't do it, and if conditions are as calm all over world as they are here, all we'll really need is stamina and a sense of direction. We should be fine, but the first rule of any endeavor is to not be too overconfident."

"Overconfidence is not a problem with me, Damian." Bruce said. "I have to tell you, I'm nervous as hell about this." Feifong squeezed her lover's hand.

The big cat sat between Chandra and the Iowees like she was people too.

"What about her?" Steve asked. Aren't cats supposed to hate water?"

"That's not cat." Feifong said. "That's people."

The Iowees laughed with delight.

"You haven't seen her on the boat yet, Steve?" Damian laughed.

"Yeah, but I thought the cat was Chako because it looked from here like she was steering."

Chako threw a playful air punch in Steve's direction.

"What about supplies? The greens don't keep too long and we have a lot of water to cross."

Steve answered Patrick. "We have a map, listing every Island and land mass between here and the South Atlantic. We should be fine on that score."

"You think we'll ever start eating meat again?" Bruce asked.

"You ate meat?" Steve said, then adding, "Only if you change your name to Abel and start speaking in tongues."

"And who are you supposed to be, Steve?" Bruce retorted--"Cain?"

"He was a vegetarian, wasn't he? Right now, we're all Cain. Let's just try not to start speaking in tongues, alright? So we don't start gutting big cats, small sheep and each other."

Sheba yawned widely.

"What's Sheba going to eat?" Firstshe piped in her tiny little voice, surprising everyone so much that they openly stared at her. She visibly shrunk within herself.

Everybody started babbling at once to answer her. The gist of it was that they will pack some meat in one of the steel containers on board and drag it along in the water behind the boat.

" Wonder if god will get too mad if we turn the cat into a vegetarian." Steve said.

" She can't live on veggies. " Firsthe giggled, seemingly emboldened to speak by his companion's bold leap into the waters.

" Why not?" Unlike the others, Steve talked to the little Beings in the same tone he used normally. "If Elephants, Giraffes and Gorillas can be vegetarians, why can't other large animals."

"It's something we can try later." Damian said thoughtfully. "But we'll feed her what's she's used to until we're settled in Africa."



" You don't believe in god do you Steve?" Jane asked bluntly. He and Jane didn't talk much to each other since the night they made love, but they had developed a good relationship that didn't require conversation, courtesy or even acknowledgment of each other.

"I'm a Scientist."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Yes I did. What about you, do you believe in god?"

"Of course."

"Then explain something to me Janie, because all my life I've been puzzled by this. Your people are first generation, white South Africans, right? I want to know how people can believe so much in a god who is supposed to be good, just, and vengeful-- and at the same time commit so much evil. Do you believe in the hell thing or not?"

She didn't answer. Damian and Ada, both knew Steve. Has known him for a long time. Damian smiled tightly, knowing a diatribe was brewing. Ada leaned forward. Steve launched:

"You remember how miserable it was outside during the heat waves before the big breach? Can you image living inside of a real fire forever and being unable to die? Your people claim to believe in eternal damnation, yet you have lived like gods for two centuries among people you have robbed, slaughtered and tortured by the millions.

I don't care whether your Ancestors considered them "real people" or not, they were still living, thinking Beings--just like the Iowees, yet every sin, inside and outside the book, was committed against them without respite for three hundred years.  And you want to come off on some superior tip to me about believing in god? No, I don't believe in god because god is what incurious people like you believe in. I believe in whatever created all the beauty and goodness in the world, and whatever that is, cant be this thing that people have been calling god while murdering, enslaving and stealing.

And that's because, I have never in my life treated anybody with one ounce less consideration than I would have wanted for myself and my love ones, despite what anybody or anything says. I come from a line of mostly dirt poor people, who keeps themselves separate from the world... people who had always lived like they thought they were being watched and judged--not in pretensions and their bellies. Seems to me, I'm not the one who doesn't believe in god."

"You're not being fair, Steve." Tears were in her voice and eyes.

" Am I being truthful?"
.
"I've never hurt anyone and neither have my parents."

"Did you or your parents ever atone;apologized for what your grandparents did? It's not like it wasn't documented, or was ancient history.
I'm a Scientist Janie, and I know what the Aids epidemic in the Southern part of Africa was. It was a vengeful act of biological sabotage against entire groups of people. Or do you think it was a coincidence that Southern Africa was the stronghold of Western domination of Africa? A stronghold that was steadily being dismantled by liberation wars.

Thousands of white Missionaries and so called world health organization workers knew the time frame of the start of the Aids epidemic. They may have been unknowingly used, but they had brains, and they had to have at least asked themselves questions. But did you ever hear of any of them atoning in public by simply raising the question? Any white, South African?

Can people, who do, benefit from, or remain silent of such atrocities, really believe in hell, Janie...or God?

Steve stood up. "I'm going to bed." He turned and left the gathering. Michelle stood up and followed him.

A heavy silence fell over the group before Damian said to the sobbing, Jane:

"He wasn't really directing that at you, personally. I've known Steve for a long time and I've heard that rant a few times.

"He had no grounds to talk to her like that." Patrick said bitterly. "She was raised in Massachusetts."

"Maybe he should have talked to you like that instead." Chako said. "You never took in a word he said did you? All you could be; feel...after all that passion and truth from the man, was insulted over the way he spoke to your woman." Chako stood up. He looked at Jane. "Like Damian said, that wasn't meant just for you." He turned and left. Ada looked at Jane sympathetically and followed Chako.

Jane was muttering I'm sorry, to no one in particular.

"Go to bed." Chandra said to her. She looked at Patrick. "Tek she home."

Janet, Bruce, Feifong, Chandra, Damian, all stood up.

"Be ready everybody," Damian said loudly, "we're setting sail tomorrow."