Shame of Man by Piers Anthony
But no matter how far they went, no open forest appeared. All the other groves were occupied. They couldn't even get trees to camp in for the night. Or food; there was nothing but grass visible on the plain.
Hu looked more closely, and found some colored stems. Be and Le joined him, eagerly digging out the tubers. They weren't the same kind as before, but they would do. LI joined the others, tasting one tuber. Soon everyone was scrambling to get the roots they located. It wasn't a great meal, but it was better than nothing. Hu realized that it couldn't have been done without his understanding about the colored stems. But he wished he could have found something better to eat.
Meanwhile Bl pondered and came up with something. They would make a tree formation on the plain, with the women and children in the high center and the men around the low outside. No animal could attack without first encountering a man. Of course neither Hu nor the other youths felt comfortable on the ground, but they had no choice. Each took his position nearest the woman he had teamed with, and faced outward. Hu saw It and Vk on either side of him, conforming to the array.
But in a moment LI nudged him. He turned, and she turned, offering her posterior. It was her way of thanking him for the protection. In a moment, compelled by the sight and smell, he was into her and feeling the marvelous pleasure. Then she clasped Le and went to sleep.
Be joined Hu, snuggling close, and again he drew comfort from her support. It would have been lonely indeed without her. The need to protect her gave him courage.
They were lucky. No bad animals came in the night.
In the morning Bl decided that there might be better food out beyond the range of the bands in the groves. Now that they had found that they could survive in the plain, they were free to find that food. So they went directly away from the forest, loping along on all fours, making good progress.
They did find a berry patch. They plunged in, picking and gobbling the sweet berries, most of which were ripe or almost ripe. Beyond the first patch was another, so they went to it and ate their fill. Hu found better berries, which he shared with Be and with Le. They were juicy enough to slake his developing thirst.
Soon LI approached and offered him sex. Again his body did what it knew, gratifyingly. Then LI took his handful of berries and ate them. Dazed again by the experience, he was glad to give them up. Sex was a new aspect of his existence, more wonderful than he had ever realized it could be.
At night they camped again, making their pretend tree. This time Bl searched out some stones and piled them near. Hu, remembering how effective stones had been against the hyenas, found some of his own. They might not be very useful in the dark, but he felt safer having them.
On the third day trouble threatened: a herd of elephants. These were huge beasts that no one wanted to approach. They usually didn't bother anyone who wasn't bothering them, but this was not reassuring when there were no trees near to use for escape.
But when they looked back toward their home forest region, there was Bb's band coming after them. Bb must have figured that if one band was able to survive in the field, then others could do it too. And perhaps the other males wanted to take over the females who had joined this band. Now that Hu had discovered the joy of sex, he didn't want to give it up, and he knew that Jo and Bl felt the same.
Bl considered, and made another bold decision: they would go toward strange distant trees they saw on the horizon. None of them had been to such a region, but of course none had been this far out in the endless plain either. They were learning new things. Maybe this time they would find a suitable unoccupied grove.
But the closer the band got to the trees, the less like trees they looked. They seemed to be small hills rising out of the plain. This was not promising. But Bb's band was still following, and the elephants were ranging near, and coming this way, so there was nothing to do but flee.
In two days of inadequate foraging they reached the hills. They turned out to be merely the line of trees growing on the bank of a dry river channel, and most of them were dead. But there were bushes with berries on them, and a few live trees with fruits. The youth It managed to sniff out a damp spot in the riverbed, and when he scratched out the leaves and dirt, water seeped in, so they could drink. Things were looking better.
They rested and feasted again. But then they encountered a lion. Suddenly the entire band was jammed into whatever trees were close. The lion ignored them. It was sated with a recent kill, not hungry, but suddenly they knew they had to get well away from this region. They had to find a safe haven.
There was nowhere to go but down the river channel. If lions came, they could scamper for safety to the dead trees there. Meanwhile they were able to eat some of the berries along the way. Maybe the channel would even lead to more reliable water.
But the channel wended its way slowly through the plain, remaining dry. There were no good trees here. After a while even the dead ones stopped, and there was nothing but grass and bushes. If it weren't for the berries and roots, they would have been entirely desolate.
Yet they still couldn't go back. They could see the pursuing band, and trees would not protect them from that, because the other youths could climb just as readily as their own people could. Their only chance for reprieve would be if they went where the others couldn't find them, or didn't dare go. The most fearsome thing was the barren plain ahead.
So Hu reasoned, and it seemed that Bl did too, because he nudged Jo in the direction of the bad plain. Jo hardly seemed eager, but headed on toward it.
By evening they were still nowhere. The dry river continued interminably. All it offered was a bed strewn with rocks. What use were they, when no bad beasts were attacking?
But there were many shrubs here, rich with their fruits and berries. They were of strange types, but tasted good, and their juice served to slake what thirst Hu and the others had. This was a good place for eating. If only it had more trees, and no frightening plain, it would be ideal.
Behind them the enemy band was relentlessly following. However, the gap between them would not be closed before darkness, and the others would not pursue them in the night.
They made piles of stones to throw, though they wouldn't be much use when no one could see. Still, it was comforting to have the stones ready. They settled down to sleep.
Next day they moved on more swiftly, wanting to find water and escape the pursuing band. They made good progress, but their situation didn't seem to change. The riverbed wound through the endless plain, and the band behind followed. However, the distance between them was getting greater. Hu thought it was because the others couldn't forage as fast or well, because his own group was eating most of the ripe berries first. Even so, Hu and the others were hungry; there just weren't enough berries.
They kept moving, day by day, getting used to it. Hu's knuckles had been getting sore from unaccustomed use on the ground, but he was learning to walk more lightly on his front feet. As long as they followed the dry river, they knew they were going somewhere. Maybe it would be a good place. Certainly where they were now was not; they never found enough berries or grubs to properly sustain them, and all of them were getting lean.
The riverbed broadened. The rocks diminished, being covered over by caked mud. That was easier to walk on, but what would they have to throw if a lion or hyena came?
Hu moved out of the channel, to see if there were more rocks there. There weren't; there was nothing but some old sticks. What use were they?
But when they camped again, Hu wanted something ready to throw. So he foraged for sticks, and made a pile of them. Bl noticed that, and did the same. Then the others did too. Wood might not be as good as stone, but it was better than nothing.
In the distance herds of big animals were grazing. They weren't predators, so probably would not bother the travelers, but the absence of protective trees made them nervous again. There was still no water, but It was getting excited, as if he sensed some near.
Next day the caked mud start
But more important was the plain. The grass was being replaced by marsh, and in the marsh were bushes with many berries. Not scattered patches, but a vast expanse: more than they could ever eat. They spread out and feasted. They had not found safety, but they had found food. At the moment, that was enough.
After they were full, they had time to think about things. There was food here, but no hiding place. Hu hated the fearsome wide openness of this region. If only there were some trees!
Bl considered the situation, and made their decision: they would remain here with the food. They all knew that they could not go back the way they had come, and there was nothing but plain ahead. So they made their camp, as before, in the form of a tree, with the males outside.
The enemy band caught up. But it, too, was distracted by the plentiful berries, and its members gorged themselves. So there was no immediate threat from that quarter. Still, part of Hu's concern, which he was sure the others shared, was about that other band. It was best to keep it away. With that in mind, he gathered as many sticks as he could find, and the others did the same.
But the first trouble came from a different direction. A herd of grazing beasts had been moving closer, and one day they came directly toward the two people camps. Several bulls came first. They were huge, with massive flat horns. They were not predators, but they were dangerous.
The great beasts moved on through, glaring menacingly. Hu and the others put down their front feet and loped out of the way. So did the folk of the enemy camp. But one bull, annoyed, turned on that camp. Suddenly it charged, catching one person by surprise. She tried to flee, but was struck by the bull's shoulder as it passed. She screamed and fell, rolling across the bushes. Hu recognized the voice: it was Ss!
The bull turned, searching for her. Ss did not get up and flee; she lay there, whimpering. None of her group went to try to help her. In a moment the bull would trample her, and she would be dead or badly injured.
Hu was in motion before he realized it. “Help!” he cried, making the scream of supplication. He ran three-legged toward Ss and the bull, carrying his stoutest stick with one hand.
In a moment he was there. The bull loomed huge and terrible, about to gore the trembling Ss. Hu lifted to his hind legs, shouted defiance and bashed it on the flank with his stick. The beast seemed not even to feel it. So Hu struck again, this time on the shoulder. Still the bull took no notice. It was intent on Ss, orienting its massive head and horn.
Then there was another person, with another club. It was Bl. He swung his club not at the bull's solid torso, but at one of its legs. This time the bull reacted. The head swung toward Bl.
And a third person was there: Jo. Jo clubbed the beast on the side away from Bl, striking at another leg. The bull made a squeal of rage and turned back—and Hu smashed it on the nose.
He thought that would really enrage the animal. But the bull just stood there a moment, blinking as if confused. Then it stepped forward. Hu threw himself to the side, but the bull was not pursuing him. It walked on to rejoin its herd, having forgotten the three of them.
Hu looked for Ss, to make sure she was safe. But she was gone. She had gotten away while the three of them distracted the bull, and now was back with the enemy band. She had shown no appreciation for their help, though they might have saved her life.
Hu, Bl, and Jo walked back to their own band. Vk and It were standing guard, protecting the group while its dominant males were occupied. The women and children were staring at them. Then Hu realized what they had done: they had attacked and driven off a monster beast, out in the open. They had fought, using their sticks, and won. Just as they had fought and beaten the dominant male, acting together. It was a good feeling.
Indeed, this desperate band of chimps had taken the first step, perhaps literally, toward becoming human. They had used the chimp abilities of standing briefly erect, using crude tools, and coordinating with others of their kind to defend themselves against a menace. Unable to flee or hide, they had stood like men and fought. These were keys to survival on the treeless plain, where they could not otherwise oppose creatures who would attack them or prey upon them. At first such activities were haphazard, but they became routine with repetition. It was necessary to stand erect in order to use weapons effectively, and they had to use weapons because their own teeth and claws could not compare to those of more specialized animals. They stood to fight—and later to move, because it was hard to carry weapons when moving four-footed. Thus the bountiful but exposed garden was the crucible that forged early mankind.
We shall call it the Garden of Eden.
CHAPTER 3
* * *
RIFT
Four million years ago the global climate had become warmer and wetter. The forests of central Africa were expanding again—but so were the lakes. The Nile River, perhaps occasionally blocked by lava flows to the north, backed up, and once-tiny Lake Victoria expanded, and the marshy region around it spread. The creatures who had lived in the Garden retreated as the climate changed and their habitat was squeezed. The Flood was not sudden, and neither developed nor retreated in forty days; in fact it was several million years before Lake Victoria achieved its present size. But its effect was nonetheless decisive: mankind had to move on, periodically. This was probably not the Biblical flood, but it is tempting to credit it as the first of a series of water movements that helped define the species. The plain and Garden had shaped mankind considerably, but water was destined to reshape him, in due course.
Mankind's life-style had changed somewhat since he came to the Garden. At first men had to stand to defend themselves by wielding clubs with their hands. They had to keep their clubs with them, because if a lion or other predator came there was not necessarily time to hurry home for weapons. Thus it became easier simply to stay on two feet, and to develop the odd art of striding. In the course of two million years mutation and natural selection fashioned a creature who balanced habitually on his hind feet. Indeed, men grew proficient at this, and learned to extend their range so that they could stride for long distances without putting down their weapons or loads. This led to a crude but effective technique for hunting: They simply cut a wildebeest or other prey creature out of the herd and strode after it until it dropped from fatigue. Then they clubbed it to death. No science, no special skills, just endurance and single-minded pursuit. Thus mankind's legs grew big and strong, with distinctive buttocks, but not his brain. He was Australopithecus, or the Southern Ape, and . he resembled a furry chimp with long legs and short arms. His hands had become adapted to holding sticks rather than climbing trees, and he no longer knuckle walked.
But with the expansion of the marsh, the “beests” moved elsewhere, and hunting grew harder. Mankind had to find a new hunting and foraging ground. He did it the old-fashioned way: by following the herds. But sometimes this led him to strange new lands.
THE beests were grazing in the jerky way they had, turning one way and then another with seeming randomness. They were not the easiest creatures to hunt. But one of them represented a lot of good eating, and the berries were thinning. It was time to run one down.
Bil made the signal, identifying the beest to go after. It was a fairly fat young female who was grazing foolishly far from the main herd. She would be easy to start.
Joe hefted his club and walked slowly forward, so as not to spook the herd. It was possible to get fairly close to beests if no sudden motions or noises were made. They were rather stupid animals. But if the herd was spooked, there would be no stopping it. Once they cut out the cow, the herd wouldn't matter, so long as it spooked away and not toward them, but this first part was critical.
Bil followed Joe, moving as carefully, just far enough behind so that the two could close the gap swiftly if they had to. The cow continued
Vic and Iti followed, silently. After them came the women: young Fae, old Lil, and the others, interspersed by children such as Bee and Lee. They formed a long line that quietly stretched between the beest cow and the herd. The stupid creature still hadn't caught on.
Now the men turned and started walking toward the cow. The women and children did the same, keeping the line intact. They remained silent. They wanted to spook the lone beest, but not the herd, if possible.
At last the cow became aware. She lifted her head, alarmed. She knew these weren't her kind. Her first instinct was to run to rejoin the herd. But there were people between her and the herd, so she hesitated. If she simply charged through the line, they would not be able to stop her, especially if she picked a section with children. But the cow did not know that; all two-legged creatures were the same to her. So she walked away from them, and from the herd. Ideal!
They followed her. She retreated farther, growing more nervous. She could have galloped around the line and they could not have caught her, but she didn't know that either. They weren't charging at her, or making noise, or even moving very quickly; they were just advancing slowly and silently. So she retreated at the same rate.
By the time the beest realized that she was getting well away from the herd, it was almost too late, for the herd was moving in another direction, not liking this strange line of people any better than the cow did. She could still break into a run and crash through to them, but she still hesitated, and decided to retreat some more.
They followed, at a faster pace. She could spook now; the herd was safely away. But she kept thinking that she could somehow avoid them by taking a few more steps away. That was her undoing.