There is One of Everything in the World

There is One of Everything in the World

A.T. MacDonnacha

Little Boy Blue Productions

Pro-Cathedral House

Abbey Gate Street

Galway

Ireland

978-0-9574294

Copyright © 2012 A.T. MacDonnacha

All rights reserved.

Little Boy Blue illustration – William Wallace Denslow

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Little Boy Blue Productions. Published by Little Boy Blue Productions at Smashwords.

E-book ISBN 978-0-9574294-0-6

LITTLE

BOY

BLUE

PRODUCTIONS

Chapters

Prologue

One

A Jaunt in the Sea

Two

Home, Sweet Home

Three

The New World

Four

The Navigator

Five

Planning Maps and Mapping Plans

Six

A Moral Dilemma

Seven

Setting Sail

Eight

A Grand Adventure

Nine

Devil Dogs

Ten

Svalbard

Eleven

The Land of the Goms

Prologue

I

So many people had been lost to the swirling seas that in the few highlands that were still safe, people scrambled to build boats. They fought over the materials that remained – sheets of metal, plastic, wood and anything that would float. All the systems had been hit so nobody really knew the extent of the flooding, but there was no mention of peace or calm anywhere.

Many of the boats that were built leaked or took in water from the waves of the open seas. Others floated around filled with corpses as disease took hold caused by bacteria and poor diet. Poor diet was not an issue on some of the boats, where food and water had long since run out.

Most had tragically presumed that they were only a few days from land and supplies. Some found land and water but there was little food available in the highlands and they had to move on again. Their bodies weakened slowly and their minds opened to the slow realisation that they would not make it to land again. Those that were lucky died quickly with the smell of the sea in their nostrils and open blue skies in their eyes.

But some survived.

II

Everything was destroyed. Everything that held connections to the past was destroyed by the sea.

The people that survived the Great Floods were so traumatised by the events and so anxious to survive that all their energy went into ensuring they had food and water and very little time was spent on passing on the history of their lives. They did not see how stories of electricity and the like would help their children survive, especially when there was little chance of reproducing this knowledge into usable information.

When the floods receded, the systems were damaged beyond repair, even if they could find the people and the materials to get the systems working again.

If they had the people and the materials, there was no electricity in any case and that affected everything. Any available fossil fuels, such as gas, oil and coal, had been long used up in the years before the Great Floods. The last remaining source of energy, nuclear power, had been abandoned after a series of natural disasters had caused devastation on a vast scale through damage to nuclear power stations.

The people that survived the floods and the disease were ill-equipped for life after the floods. Many struggled with basic concepts of agriculture and housing in the few areas that were not flooded or rife with disease.

Many were unfit physically and lacked determination to do well or the spark to begin a new life in the mess they considered their lives to have become. Many were not ready for a physical life and some could not do the work needed to source food so they became hungry and less able and eventually starved and died.

Others expected everything they needed in life to come to them and they were more inclined to argue with others than look for food. Groups that argued were inefficient and did not collect enough food or water. They were not strong enough to compete with other groups and they became reduced in numbers.

The strong ones that fought for food did not always have other competences and abilities, such as the ability to locate a dry place to live, knowing to vary their diet or to cook certain foods to combat bacteria.

Many died from the diseases that spread from the corpses covering the countryside after the floods receded in the highlands.

"All changed, changed utterly:

A terrible beauty is born."

Easter, 1916, by W.B. Yeats

One

A Jaunt in the Sea

Pull the sail in, Baboogen! Pull it hard, shouted Haiyugen. Okay, that's it. Now lean over here.

Are we going back to the island? shouted Baboogen across the wind.

Of course we are, Baboogen, answered Haiyugen.

Haiyugen and Baboogen were lost at sea, at least three days from the island on which they lived. They were on a raft without any navigation instruments other than the stars in the sky, which were no longer in the positions Haiyugen expected. Haiyugen had tried reading the stars since he knew what the stars should look like from the island. He had never had any need for navigation, but he tried it anyway. He knew the constellation that looked like a man jumping with his arms and legs spread out should be facing him when he had his back to the island. Unfortunately, he had no idea where the island was and he could find at least five constellations that looked like men jumping.

Being lost at sea would not have worried them so much, except that as far as they were aware, the only people still living on the planet were living on the island they needed to get back to. They were, in fact, more than lost.

They were as lost as anyone can be because they thought their island was the only inhabitable place in the world. 

Baboogen was less lost than his father, Haiyugen, because he trusted in his father's ability to find their home again. Haiyugen, however, was struggling to keep up with his son's opinion of him. He had long reached the stage where inner strength kicks in and his optimism was nearly spiritual at this stage. Whatever about being spiritual, Haiyugen's optimism about reaching his home again was definitely not realistic.

According to the history that Haiyugen and Baboogen had been taught on their island, rising water levels had wiped out all but the highest lying parts of the world in the Great Floods. Disease and starvation had wiped out large masses of population that huddled together to avoid the flooding. This had happened many, many years ago, but the story of the Great Floods was taught to the children of their island on a continuous basis. A code had evolved on the island among the first settlers and it governed everything they did, but in a way designed to make society work best for everyone involved. It was a code for survival. 

The thoughts of Haiyugen and Baboogen were far from history and such matters at the moment. They had slept in turns for the last three days, but there was no sleep for either now. The swells and winds were rising in an imperfect union, and gusts were blowing them into the waves. They had tethered themselves onto the raft so that if either fell overboard, they would not be taken out to sea. Being lost at sea would bring about the kind of permanent loss that neither could countenance.

Baboogen smiled at Haiyugen and shouted above the crash of the waves, Are we there yet?!

Haiyugen laughed and replied, We're on our adventures, Baboogen. When we've had our fill of adventure, we'll go home.

This had not been the plan to begin with, but Haiyugen felt stronger after announcing the forced change of plans as if it was the best plan for both of them. Maybe this would suit them more than hanging around in the jungle of the uninhabited side of the island, trying to reconcile their differences with the society that was everything to them. The other islanders had sent them off to sort themselves out, which was as close to jail as was possible in their society.

To break up the boredom of wandering aimlessly around the jungle, Haiyugen had decided that a trip out around the bay would be a good idea. It did not seem quite as good an idea after three days at sea.

We're free now, Baboogen, said Haiyugen, smiling at the young, salt-encrusted face of his son.

Haiyugen felt an intense pride in Baboogen's belief in him. He was not sure if his heart was beating stronger because of that or because of the storm.

Free from what, Dad? asked Baboogen.

Free from the island. Free to do what we want, answered Haiyugen, surprised at the question.

I'd like to be on the island now, said Baboogen.

Don't worry at all. We'll be there soon. Okay, you can let the sail out a bit now. That's it, nice and gently.

The pair got back to the work of sailing in the difficult conditions and so the night passed, with their work interspersed with fits of sleep, only to be woken by a wave crashing down on the raft. They were lucky that the water passed quickly through the logs of the raft, but it was a harsh night for both of them and not much more conversation passed between them. 

The next morning, the two woke to a relatively calm sea and a rising sun, which seemed to be breathing life into their worn, hungry bodies.

Baboogen, fetch the line! shouted Haiyugen with the exuberance of a man who was happy to be alive.

Baboogen crawled into the small cabin and took the line, the jar of worms and the hooks down from a shelf. He brought them out to Haiyugen, who was standing beside the mast, checking the sail and its threading.

Here it is, he said, holding out the line to Haiyugen.

You thread the hooks and put the bait on them, said Haiyugen. Just make sure the knots are good. We can't afford to lose any hooks.

Baboogen worked at threading the hooks, whistling while he worked. There was a certain natural euphoria between them, having survived the storm and woken to the paradise of a calm, almost transcendental ocean and a warming sun.

Haiyugen checked the line that Baboogen had made and tightened a few of the knots. Baboogen grumbled that they were already tight, but more out of habit than out of being upset.

Okay, you're the fisherman today, Baboogen. I'm going to make some drinking water and get the fire ready for cooking the fish.

The islanders were adept at making drinking water since water supplies occasionally ran low on the island in times of drought. Every family had a distillation pot, which they filled with water carried from the sea to the house. The pot was placed over a fire and the resultant steam was captured and cooled with cold seawater being passed through a hose, which ran along the top of the pot. The result was a steady flow of drops of clean drinking water down a spout on the side of the pot.

Haiyugen had brought a portable version of one of these pots on their journey across the island. Realising the danger of being without drinking water out at sea, he had used more logs on the raft than they needed. He had not intended to travel far, but he took plenty of wood anyway. Once the initial firewood was used, Haiyugen chopped pieces off the spare logs and let them dry in the cabin. The wood was placed on some large, flat stones they had brought to prevent the raft from burning. Enough heat was retained in the stones to cook the fish they caught, while the drinking water was being prepared.

I've got one, shouted Baboogen. No, two... Wait, it's really heavy - can you help me?!

Haiyugen moved over quickly to ensure the line was not lost and to ensure that Baboogen was not pulled off the raft. The line was tied around a piece of wood, which Haiyugen took carefully from Baboogen.

It's okay, I have it now, he said.

There are loads of fish on it or maybe it's a shark!

Haiyugen laughed and continued reeling. The fish struggled less now and it was easier to reel them in.

I have them! he shouted to no one in particular.

Haiyugen slowly pulled four fish onto the raft. They were beautiful looking fish, a parrotfish, two cod and a fine sized lemon sole, which Haiyugen recognised by the orange patch behind the fin on the side of the body of the fish. Lemon sole was not a common fish on the island, but they caught some occasionally.

Parrotfish was a staple of the island diet, as were many other types of fish. The islanders found that a lot of the local fish was an excellent accompaniment to bread and potatoes. Since the local fish was so full of flavour and often did not even require any sauce, it was popular with fishermen and workers who could not get home for lunch. To ensure the fish served to workers was as fresh as it could be, a business had been developed at the island's port where a group of women cooked some of the daily catch in a small, wooden building. The building was completely open on the side of the sea, partly so that the women could see when the fishermen were coming, but mainly so that they would have a view of the sea as they chatted and prepared the fish and bread. When there was a big catch, they smoked some of the fish in a shed behind the wooden building. This smoked fish was used for lunch for the workers when storms prevented the fishermen from going out to sea or when the catch was not as bountiful.

Seeing the parrotfish reminded Haiyugen of the friendly banter that went on in the wooden shack. He was lost in thought for a minute, until he realised Baboogen was staring at him.

We've got good eating here, Baboogen! he said, getting to his feet.

Haiyugen lifted the line into the middle of the raft, with the fish still on it. He was making sure none were lost because it was not always so easy to catch fish. The fish flopped about on the raft as he laid them down, with ever lessening energy as the effort of trying to breathe through their gills wore them down. They managed a few more energetic flips before Haiyugen eased their suffering with a firm knock from a piece of wood.

This is great! said Baboogen. I just put down the line and we have food a minute later, without any work at all!

You nearly fell in! exclaimed Haiyugen.

"Ah, that was only a bit of work. There was no real work to it."

Fair enough, Baboogen. I think you mean that there was no work you didn't enjoy in the job. That's the secret of making work easy. Roll up the line there so that we don't lose it.

Baboogen rolled up the line, whistling a tune without any obvious tune to it. He was happy enough that he didn't feel the need to bother making a song with his whistling, so he just whistled and smiled the easy smile of a boy who knew his father had everything under control.

Hey, Dad! shouted Baboogen in the direction of the hut.

What? answered Haiyugen.

This is fun.

Haiyugen poked his head out the door to look at Baboogen. When he saw his relaxed, smiling face, he answered, Yep, it sure is.

Haiyugen returned to gutting the fish, but he felt that something was changing in Baboogen and in Baboogen's relationship with him. As he worked, he got lost in thought about how Baboogen was developing and went to say something to him. Then he thought better of it and continued preparing the food.

Suddenly, a thought struck him in a more superficial way, like light drops of rain from a sun-shower falling onto warm skin – maybe the reason Baboogen was so relaxed was because his father was so relaxed.

Haiyugen paused for a long moment and thought that this was possible. It was difficult for him to process this new thought at first, since he always saw himself as being separate from anyone else. Baboogen looked quite different to Haiyugen, with brown eyes and brown hair whereas Haiyugen had fair hair and green eyes, but they were very similar in a lot of ways. They were both headstrong and athletic and they were not afraid of an adventure. Haiyugen did not always see the similarities and he had often said to his wife that his son must be from her side of the family. The times when Haiyugen thought he and his son were least similar were when they locked each other in a piercing gaze when they found something unimportant to argue about. Haiyugen did not realise that this was when they were most alike.

Since Haiyugen was often tired when he arrived home from work, it was too rare that he and Baboogen managed to find their more positive similarities.

Haiyugen did not really know what he was doing to become more relaxed, but he felt, for the first time, that this journey that he and Baboogen were on might lead to somewhere good. He was not even sure what would constitute somewhere good. However, he knew that this casual peace between him and his son was a gift from the heavens and he intended doing what he could to preserve it. Haiyugen knew that it was the natural order that life between parents and children would not run smoothly, but he felt that he had reached some level of understanding with his son that he could tap into, in times of crisis or celebration.

Haiyugen shouted out the door to tell Baboogen to put the pan on the fire. He had just gotten back to