Isle of Woman (Geodyssey) Read online

  That was exactly what Blaze had been considering. If such a branch were taken away from the fire, would it keep its own bit of fire with it? He didn’t know, but he thought it might. So he looked for another burning branch, and found it, and picked it up. Then he spoke. “Camp.”

  Ember looked disappointed. She set down her branch, ready to return. Then she saw that Blaze was not setting his branch down; he was carrying it with him. “Oooo!” she repeated, thrilled, and picked hers up again.

  They carried the two burning branches back to the camp. Not much was happening there; most folk were out foraging or hunting. Then they went on beyond, where some animals grazed. There were several buffalo, a flock of large birds, and an elephant. Ideal prey!

  Beyond the animals was the gully, invisible from here and deceptive in its shallow origin, but a trap at its deep far end. The wind was blowing toward it. Blaze knew that the fire liked to follow the wind. If this worked—!

  “Fire,” Blaze said. He put his stick down on the dryest mat of grass he could find. Smoke went up, but nothing else happened. The stick had died down, and the fire in it was weak. It didn’t like to be away from its burning field.

  Ember set her stick beside his. Then she got down on her hands and feet and put her face close. She blew. What was she doing?

  Ember blew again, and again. She gestured Blaze to do the same. But he hung back, perplexed.

  More smoke went up, and there was a crackle from one of the sticks. The fire was coming back to life! He realized that she was making a wind for the fire, and the fire liked it, so it was responding. He had never thought of that.

  Now Blaze got down beside Ember and added his breath to hers. The ends of the two sticks got hotter, and the smoke increased. Ember took some straw and put it on top of the sticks, and blew again.

  The fire expanded, creeping in a bright line across the sticks. He could see its minute progress, and realized that Ember did too. She had the same sharp vision he did, that it seemed that most other people lacked. He adjusted his blowing, to get the maximum effect on that glimmering bit of flame.

  Suddenly there was live fire, blazing up. They had done it! They had made the fire return from its hiding place within the wood. Now it was spreading into the dry grass. The wind fanned it, and it laid back its ears and dug deeper, getting brighter. The two sticks, too, were blazing up again, restored by the fire around them. They liked this, for they were back in a burning field.

  The animals winded the smoke and began to get nervous. Blaze saw that they would move away to the side, avoiding both the fire and the gully. “Here!” he cried, picking up his stick and running to head them off. Ember followed with her own stick.

  They got ahead, because the animals remained uncertain and were milling around rather than moving purposefully. Animals weren’t as smart as people. They put down their sticks and blew on them again. This time it was easier, and the flame came more readily. In a moment they had another fire starting.

  The animals veered away from it and finally headed into the gully, the seemingly safe place. Then the watching men jumped up, calling to others: “Hunt! Hunt!” The hunt was on.

  Blaze looked at Ember and smiled. She smiled back. They had done it! They had brought the fire and used it to make the animals go into the trap. The band would eat well for a long time, after this hunt was done.

  It might have been this way. But such use of fire would have been a sometime thing, with Homo erectus, dependent on fortunate circumstances. Mostly they had to hunt the old-fashioned ways. Bright individuals like Blaze and Ember might have had inspiration, but the more conservative adults were slow to catch on, and slower to change their ways. It has ever been thus.

  At this stage there was no concern about the welfare of the animals. They were there to be hunted. They looked out for themselves.

  CHAPTER 4

  * * *

  ISLE

  Homo erectus spread out and became acclimated to various regions of the world. In Africa he evolved into modern mankind between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago. Exactly when and how this occurred is unknown, and conjectures differ. One conjecture is the aquatic hypothesis, one form of which is presented here. The theory is controversial, and anthropologists may be bitterly divided on the subject, but it does explain some things that otherwise seem almost inexplicable.

  At the northeast end of the Great Rift Valley in Africa is a triangle of lowlands cut off by the mountains of what is now Ethiopia, the Afar Triangle. Within this is the Danakil depression. In the past this was once Danakil Island; at this time it may have been merely a shore region cut off from the rest of Africa by mountains and barren lands. We shall call it the Isle of Woman.

  The full-blown aquatic hypothesis has mankind settling the region between four and eight million years ago, when there is a gap in the fossil record. Thus man developed in a place that has not been carefully explored for such fossils. Changes in climate over the millennia required man to adapt to new conditions, and increasingly he had to go to the water for food and protection that was inadequate elsewhere on the island. At those times when the island rejoined the land, or became a lowlands coastal area, groups of men went back out into Africa and down the fertile highway of the Great Rift Valley, accounting for the abrupt appearances of the advancing forms of man. Australopithecus afarensis, found in that Afar region perhaps by no coincidence; then Handy Man, Upright Man, and Thinking Man, all found along that valley.

  Intriguing as this is, it is not the case in this narration. There is a question whether there really is that much of a fossil gap, because the line of man may have diverged from that of the pygmy chimpanzee only five million years ago. Many aspects of the nature of mankind can be explained by other means. Instead we have here a more limited variant, wherein the human being evolved as a strider on the plains of Africa until perhaps 200,000 years ago. At that time one shore-dwelling contingent was trapped in the Afar region, and it was this isolated group that suffered the shifts of habitat and life-style that led to anatomically modern man. The women had been foraging increasingly in the water, and wading into it to avoid danger on the land, and now this trend intensified.

  The time mankind spent in the water led to some dramatic and some subtle changes. Much of the rest of the body hair was lost, and subcutaneous fat substituted for warmth, making this the fleshy “naked ape. “Because increased mass and fat helped survival in cool water, women became larger than they had been, and more solid in the lower portions. Their legs and. hips may have been what by today’s standards would seem ludicrously corpulent. Babies became chubby. Mankind still had hot chases on land, so he developed sweating as a cooling mechanism. This meant that he never strayed too far from freshwater sources, such as springs or rivers, either.

  With increasing brain size, the human head expanded in proportion to the body. Babies were born with larger heads, making birthing more difficult, and they took longer to become self-sufficient. This increased the importance of the mother, and of the family unit. More adaptations were necessary. These continued at the region that may have defined the present physical nature of man: the Isle of Woman. Perhaps it was, more than figuratively, the birthplace of mankind.

  EMBER was out in the morning with several other girls and a woman, foraging for oysters in a distant bay. When they filled the woven basket on the beach, they would carry it back, and the tribe would have roasted oysters that evening. They took turns diving down in the shallow water and feeling carefully for the hidden creatures. One girl always watched while the others dived, because these waters were not necessarily safe. If a shark came, she would give the alarm and they would scramble out to the beach.

  Ember had just found a good oyster, using her sharp vision, and she brought it up—to hear an alarm of another nature. “Man! Man!”

  Of course that meant strangers, because the men of the tribe needed no cry of alarm, and in any event would have been called by name. Two of them. This could be good news or bad news,
depending on the origin and intent of the men. Some tribes stole women from other tribes, and it was hard to do anything about it without risking ugly fighting.

  Ember stood beside Clamshell, a girl of thirteen whose breasts had bulged voluminously in the past year, signaling her readiness for mating. Ember’s own breasts were more modest, but of course she was only twelve and they might grow some more. She peered up at the men on the beach, feeling the facial tic starting just when she least wanted it.

  Both were shaggy in animal cloaks, their beards giving them a ferocious appearance, but it was evident that they were young. They carried wood spears and stone knives. They might be hunting, but if so, they had to leave, because this was the local tribe’s territory.

  “Who?” the matron Crabshell demanded challengingly. She was Clamshell’s mother, and she accepted trouble from no women and not many men. She was of course standing chest-deep in the water, as were the girls. If the men tried to enter the water, all of the women would swim quickly away, screaming for help. Men could generally swim faster than women, because they had longer arms and more muscles on them, but they would not be able to catch up before the men of the tribe heard the screams and came to the rescue.

  The taller man tapped his chest. “Tusk,” he said.

  The shorter one followed suit. “Scorch.” Ember saw that he had what looked like a bad burn on one arm, for which he might have been named. It was ugly, but he seemed to be able to use the arm well enough.

  “Why?” Crabshell demanded next.

  For answer, each man lifted his cloak, showing his penis. That was answer enough: they had come looking for women. That made them considerably more interesting to the girls. Normally a man showed his penis only to other men, or to the woman with whom he meant to copulate. In this context, it meant that either of these men was willing to do so with any of the women here, which meant in turn that both men were single and hoped the girls were too.

  Crabshell nodded, unsurprised. “Wait,” she said to the men. Then she turned to face the three girls. “Clamshell. Ember.” She pointed toward the village.

  The two girls swam to shallow water, not directly toward the men, then stood and waded on out. The men remained where they were, but watched closely. Clamshell, aware of this, stepped out on the beach and shook herself clear of some of the water, causing her flesh to ripple from chest to buttock, giving the men a good view. Ember found herself embarrassed, and made no such display. Perhaps if she had had Clamshell’s flesh, she would have done so. As it was, she was conscious of the slenderness of her hips and legs, a disadvantage when the water was cold. Often she had to go to the village fire for warmth, or get under a cloak, instead of standing comfortably in the water. Fortunately her fascination with fire compensated, and if anybody objected, Blaze stood up for her. Since Blaze had become the keeper of the fire in the last two years, no one else could object.

  They ran toward the village. Now Ember had the advantage, for her slender body could run more lightly and swiftly than Clamshell’s full one. Even when she was carrying her oyster. Clamshell also had to hold her breasts in her hands to stop them from bouncing and banging uncomfortably, and that handicapped her running. Soon she was breathing hard and falling behind, while Ember was just getting pleasantly warm. She slowed to accommodate her friend, having made her point in the usual way. Of course when it came to impressing men, Clamshell had a future, while Ember didn’t, yet.

  They reached the village. This consisted of several shelter domes fashioned of stones, sticks and bones, with animal skins stretched over the tops. In the center was the hearth, where Blaze kept the village fire burning. Other boys fetched in wood for it, but Blaze saw to it that the wood was properly used. He never let the fire go out, not even when it rained, for it would be a difficult chore to fetch more fire. They would have to get it from a neighboring village, which would mean giving up something of value, or find free fire burning out somewhere. That was almost impossible after a rain. So Blaze had a structure he used to cover the central part of the fire, keeping the rain off, and he knew just how to tend it so that it survived. Sometimes Ember helped him, for she loved the fire too. She loved Blaze; he treated her well despite her inadequacy of body. She smiled at him as they approached, and handed him her oyster. Had they been mated, this would have been his due; as it was, it was another signal of their closeness. She didn’t care about the mark on his forehead, and he didn’t care when her cheek twitched; they shared a keen vision for details, and knew what counted and what didn’t.

  “Man! Man!” Clamshell cried, relaying the news. “Penis!” She made a finger at her crotch, pointing down, in the standard signal for maleness. Because she had done it as well as saying the word, others knew that she had seen the penis herself.

  Oho! That got everyone’s attention. There were men showing penises, looking for women to mate with. The men of the tribe were interested, because any men who found mates here would join the tribe and strengthen it. The single women were interested, because some of them might find men now. The women with babies were interested, because soon there might be more like them. The children were interested, because this was a rare occasion. Even the nursing babies, gripping the long hanks of their mothers’ hair as they floated in the water, seemed interested for a moment.

  Four men gathered. Ember led them back, for she knew where it was, and there was no point in having Clamshell try to do it. Ember could run almost as swiftly as a man.

  She brought them to the place where the two foreign men waited. The men talked. Then the two visitors were escorted to the village, where things were already being set up for the occasion. First ritual food was served: bits of roasted ox meat. Only a token, not a meal—but hunger wasn’t the point. When the visitors ate with the men of the village, they were bound to do the village no harm, and the villagers would not attack them. It was peace between them, for this occasion. If their business together did not work out, the visitors would depart peaceably.

  After the food, the visitors stated their business: “Woman.” As if that had ever been in doubt.

  The elder men of the tribe nodded. This meant much more than merely acquiring mates. The visitors would have to join the tribe. They would have to prove themselves worthy, for the tribe wanted no liabilities. Each of the village men had come similarly to the tribe, joining its women and assuming its identity. Once they made this commitment, they would hunt and fight for this tribe, not the one from which they had come.

  But they would join only if they found mates here. The head tribesman stood and faced the nearby water, where all six eligible girls stood chest-deep, their breasts making the water curve around them. The headwoman signaled, and the girls waded out to stand at the edge of the sand. Ember was at the end of the row, being the least endowed. Indeed, at this moment she was glad of it, because she didn’t want to mate with a man yet. She preferred to remain a girl longer, and keep her friendship with Blaze. In fact, she wished she could mate with Blaze, and not just because he had green eyes like hers; but they both knew that that was impossible. Not only would he have to find a woman of another tribe, at age twelve he was too young. Ember had matured faster, as girls generally did, so she was now a young woman while Blaze remained a stripling boy. It would be several more years before he was ready.

  She saw the eyes of the two men studying the girls. The eyes lingered longest on Clamshell, unsurprisingly. They hardly touched Ember.

  “Turn,” the chief said. Then they turned, showing their backsides. Ember knew that she was similarly deficient from this vantage. Her feelings were mixed. She felt bad because her body was not full-fleshed, yet hopeful that she would not be chosen. Of course a girl could turn down a man’s suit, but that was not a good thing to do, for men did not come by that often. A girl who waited too long might never be chosen, because younger girls would become more attractive, and that could be disaster.

  Tusk spoke. “Yes.” He was satisfied that one of these women was for him. />
  “Yes,” Scorch echoed, and the girls turned back to face the men. He too had found his woman. But the matter was not yet done. Who were the ones? Ember wondered apprehensively. Surely neither man would have chosen her. But now she remembered that both had seen her run, so knew her health and capacity in this respect. If they were choosing by endurance instead of appearance—but of course she could decline, if she had to. Probably she wouldn’t have to.

  The headwoman made a down signal to the girls, and they squatted on the beach, watching the proceedings.

  The headman turned to the men. “Prove,” he said.

  Tusk stepped forward. “Strong,” he said, lifting his right arm to show his muscle. Indeed, he looked strong.

  Aha! They could use a strong man. The headman looked at the standing villagers, who now formed a considerable throng; everyone was interested when newcomers joined the tribe, and when girls found mates. Even the young men who would in due course be leaving to find their own mates: the new men, once they were part of the tribe, would share their information about the available girls of their tribe, and what abilities that tribe might be looking for. That could make a big difference to someone like Blaze, who was not muscular but who could handle fire. Sometimes a tribe would make it easy for a newcomer, or would arrange to have its most attractive women available, if it really needed someone with a particular skill.

  The headman glanced around and caught an eye. He nodded, and Logroller came forward. He was strong from hauling in logs for shelters and for burning in the central fire.

  The two men lay on the ground and bent their forearms up at the elbows. Arm wrestling was popular among men, though Ember had never understood why. They put their hands together and slowly increased pressure. At first Logroller had the advantage, but then the youth and muscle of the other man began to tell, and the balance went the other way. But as it seemed that Tusk would win, it stopped, and they disengaged without finishing.