...And a Pestilence of Gods... (The Twisted Earth)

By Timothy Linnomme

Welcome to the twisted earth that arises from the wreckage of a global war, a place where the modern exists with the anachronistic, where fiction is dogmatic fact, and where facts are often disavowed with a vengeance. The Chusann Empire is a product of the new reality versus an exception. The Chusanns strive to gain the fabled place of Hyannisport to gain the favor of thier gods

It starts with a chance meeting between two couples; while the Eagleton’s are of high society, the Schwerin’s are lower class workers. They are of little consequence though in the scheme of things; it is their sons who define this tale. Both sons will eventually seek freedom from the lot they have been given in life, but divergence now occurs due to their vastly different perspectives and economic standing.

Hiram Schwerin enters a hell beyond all belief as he is forced to mine the darkrock that powers the empire lands. As his life is defined by the years of age he attains, cruelty is heaped upon cruelty until even the Conductor’s whip brings him no pain. Eyes as hard and cold as can be plot only freedom from where he toils and vengeance upon his tormentors in no merciful way. Confronted with the knowledge of a plethora of religions from those established long ago to any number of modern day perversions of that concept, the belief in any God rings hollowly upon his ears, but the thought of freedom never is fully gone from his mind...it will only be a matter of time until his tormentors pay dearly for the hatred they have brewed...

Eric Eagleton aspires to be one of the Hoovers, protectors of The Chusann faith and the front line against her enemies within and especially without. A Hoover’s work involves various confidence levels and the solving of dossiers. As his life is also defined by his age, he learns that what he aspires to be is nothing but hollow lies and propaganda created by the Chusann priests...

The Chusann society is itself controlled by a nefarious cabal whose real motivations spell doom for The Hoovers upon its attainment. Eric is young enough to be resilient and old enough to take action, but it remains to see if he is wise enough to survive the coming war, because war there assuredly will be.

While Eric can violate protocols and consort with Traders, a type of person The Chusanns ban from their demesne, all that Hiram has is some purloined books that circulate through the cages and the beatings that often come for possessing them.

The truth comes at a staggering cost to both Eric and Hiram but they both reach an understanding that transcends their regimented existences. In a society plagued with a pestilence of Gods and false icons, freedom may be the only thing that has any value...provided you can survive to enjoy it...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Timothy Linnomme
• Release date: May 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476457871

Timothy Linnomme

Life is essentially what you make of it and I have found writing fiction is not only challenging, it can be a lot of fun (and a lot of work!) I write in an adult vein and I am neither worried about sacred cows nor do I shy away from the dark side of homo sapiens. I have worn a lot of hats over the years and I like to think each new experience has something to teach as you grow and flourish from the input. I currently live in NW Ohio.

Book preview

The Twisted Earth

Volume One:

..And a Pestilence of Gods...

Timothy Linnomme

Contents Copyright Timothy Linnomme 2010

Published by Timothy Linnomme at Smashwords

This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to people or places living, existing or deceased is purely coincidental.

Visit http://www.timothylinnomme.net for a full listing of titles and the latest information including up and coming releases!

Table of Contents

Six

Twelve

Seven

Thirteen

Eight

Fourteen

Nine

Fifteen

Ten

Sixteen

Eleven (Part I)

Seventeen

Eleven (First Revolt)

Eighteen

Twelve

Thirteen

Nineteen

Fourteen

Twenty

Fifteen

Twenty One

Sixteen

Epilogue

Divergence

267 AD (After the Dark)

Oscar Eagleton surveyed the party from a slightly elevated area. Things were going quite well; it was necessary to have these sorts of parties once a year so that the working rabble felt appreciated. As much as both he and his wife detested this part of these gatherings, it was necessary for appearances. He and his wife would have to mingle with the working rabble; they knew that any they spoke to would marvel at being singled out for conversation.

"Come along, Edith; we need to dispense with this odious task as soon as possible. The sooner it is done, the sooner we can go back to our real friends."

 Edith and Oscar Eagleton swept grandly into the crowd, greeting some by name and others with only a nod. Their children were ensconced in a play area with their peers. Eric and Caroline were meant to be neither seen nor heard at least until they were a bit older. Edith refused to have any more children after Caroline; she considered the physical cost to be repugnant. It also had interfered with her socializing to maximize her position in high Chusann society. This night, Oscar and Edith decided to go for broke; they would choose a couple at random and engage them in prolonged conversation! That would be sure to make the news tomorrow; it would also keep the working rabble occupied for months to come.

Oscar saw the perfect target; though the male looked rather banal, the woman was rather pretty in a commoner sort of way. The woman had a little boy by the hand; the three of them didn’t look very comfortable in this surrounding. Oscar gave a mental sneer; these were true working rabble. The man’s clothing fit him in a very ill fashion though the woman at least tried to look nice. The boy she had by the hand also was very banal in appearance. Oscar dragged Edith over to where the couple was and introduced themselves to the two of them.

I am Oscar Eagleton and this is my wife, Edith. How are you doing this fine evening?

The woman looked as if she was taken aback, but he man quickly replied. I am Ergen Schwerin and this is my wife Vanessa and our son Hiram. To be honest, I rarely go to parties that are this fancy; I kind of get the feeling that I don’t fit in here.

If you only knew how truthful that statement was, Oscar thought. He kept his revulsion to himself though; now was not the time to disparage, but to build up this little man to make them think they were important in some way. Where is it that you work, fine sir? Oscar choked down the bile rising in his throat.

I assuredly am not a fine sir; I am a clerk in the Chusann records office, my wife is a seamstress.

At least they weren’t land laborers, Oscar thought; if that were the case Oscar might not have been able to keep his composure. I am a Chusann functionary. I deal directly with the Chusann priests. Some days it is a lot of toil, dealing with all of their regulations you know.

Oscar laughed while his wife tittered. You have a fine young boy there, Ergen; you have any idea what he wants to do as a career when he reaches career day?

Vanessa laughed rather quietly. Hiram is only four years old; career day is a long way off though if he chose to follow in his father’s path, I wouldn’t be that disappointed.

Oscar and Edith made an effort not to roll their eyes. The working rabble was what they were in large part because they never challenged themselves and set goals. Oscar saw this as no different of a case. He and his wife had done their duty; the appropriate people had observed him conversing with the rabble, so now he could move along and converse with those equal to him in standing.

Well, Ergen and Vanessa, it was nice meeting you, but the wife and I have so many others we wish to meet tonight. Good luck in your future as loyal subjects of the Chusanns!

As fast as possible, Oscar and Edith drifted away. Soon they were back in the elevated area along with some of their peers. Oscar wiped his hand on his slacks; he spotted a Chusann high priest with his consort and moved in that direction. Edith was quick to follow; she saw the possibilities in increasing her status by conversing with any who were now clustered around the high priest.

*

What did you think of those two, Ergen?

I don’t know, dear, it seemed to me that he felt like he was forced to speak to us. Look at who that high priest is with; why can’t the pervert find some adult male instead of a kid?

Vanessa shushed him. That is not a good topic for discussion. There are Hoovers here! As if on cue, two Hoovers walked by them silent as could be. The Hoovers were dressed alike; black suit and shoes and tie offset by a white shirt. One was speaking into a radio while another was copying something down in a notebook of sorts. Hiram spoke up.

Daddy, who was that strange man?

Ergen laughed. See, Vanessa, Hiram thinks that man was strange too. Ergen shook his head. "Why in hell do we have to live with this shit? That man and his wife thought they were so much better than us; I bet that asshole never had to do an honest day’s work in his life!

Vanessa pleaded with Ergen to keep his voice down; they didn’t want to be overheard. Maybe it is something we can discuss, dear; I assuredly don’t want Hiram exposed to the priests and their perverted practices." She ruffled Hiram’s brown hair in a sort of protective gesture.

269 A.D. (After Dark)

Hiram remembered with striking clarity the last time he had cried. This didn’t mean he had lost all feeling or emotion; it only meant that he didn’t cry because it was pointless to do so. He sat in his cage numb with shock; he only had a partial grasp of why he was here. He closed his eyes for a moment to block out the banal scenery he saw, from the cages next to his to the hard packed dirt on the floors…

It was a regular day for Hiram and his family. His father, Ergen, worked hard at his job while his mother, Vanessa, worked equally as hard sewing, keeping the house in order and tending to Hiram and his little sister, Emilie. The Schwerin’s weren’t of the higher classes, but they had a pretty good life. As any good Chusann subjects would do, his parents were ardent believers in the Gods that controlled their lives. The Chusann priests were central to society and they let no one ever forget it. Hiram was in school when he was given a strange assignment: ask your parents why you were named as you were.Hiram’s father was quick to answer the question.Your mother liked the name Emilie, so that’s why your sister is so named: Emilie Brigitte Schwerin. Schwerin is a good almane name, I am glad your mother accepted it. Your name is Hiram Evil Schwerin. That middle name is pronounced ay-feel, not as how the folks here would pronounce it. Your mother refused to let that be your first name, so your first name comes from a hardworking man my father knew.Hiram wrote down this information for school the next day. When it came his turn, he proudly repeated the information his dad had given him. His middle name drew gales of laughter from his classmates along with harassment on the playground. When he got home that day holding a reprimand from a teacher, he wasn’t punished too harshly by his parents. Hiram was somewhat disheveled and sported a black eye, but the eight year old he fought with was in worse shape. No one teased him about his middle name after that incident.He heard his parents talk about something named Keddy when they thought he was asleep; Hiram couldn’t make sense out of what they were saying, but it seemed that each successive day he heard them speak, it seemed like they were more and more worried. He heard words like ‘edict’ and ‘filthy fucking perverts’. He had used that ‘F’ word once before rather recently; it earned him a slap in the face from his mother. He was more surprised than hurt by the action; he was told never to use that word again. Other words he understood quite well; his parents were considering ‘moving’ to have something called a ‘free life’. What on earth did that mean? How exactly could a life be free or otherwise? Hiram knew life came out of mommies when daddies were around, but no cost had ever been mentioned in the process. Another thing was weird; mommy and daddy had always said they wanted to visit Harburg at some point, but now they were talking about ‘getting past Harburg’. How were they going to visit Harburg then? By this time, most would have stopped courting the confusion that simply not knowing brings, but Hiram couldn’t stop. This was so much more interesting than the monotony of school. One night a funny looking man arrived at their dwelling. He smelled different then his parents; there was a sharp and disagreeable stench about them. Hiram decided he didn’t like the man.The man sat and talked with his parents in low voices so Hiram couldn’t hear, but his parents put a large pile of money on the table for the strange man. Hiram knew what money was; school did have some things to teach after all. Once Hiram had discovered books though, he had found his niche. The bookhold was one of his favorite places to be. After they had talked to the strange man, his parents didn’t talk very much afterwards, so Hiram stopped eavesdropping.

Hiram remembered going to bed that night just like many times before. He remembered nothing different about going to sleep that night after he had used his tooth stick as instructed. He went to sleep with a myriad selection of dreams in his head….

*

He was awake now, but the sky still was dark. He was sleepy, but he came awake quickly enough. His father had stirred him awake.

Hiram, get the small case with things I have packed for you. It’s time to go.Where are we going, daddy?

I don’t have the time to explain now; we have to leave.

Hiram got up and dressed. He noticed that his parents hadn’t admonished him for not combing his hair or washing his face. His father had two large folding cases in his hands while his mother held Emilie. Ergen cautioned them to silence as they emerged from where they lived to the rear of their dwelling. It was dark outside though a little sliver of light from the moon made it not totally stygian in blackness. Hiram felt the cool breeze on his face as he looked at the myriad points of light that twinkled in the sky. He had been told that they were just like the sun but much farther away.

He heard a noise; a man was driving a wagon of sorts with two animals pulling it. The stranger tipped his hat to them.I’m Pierre Raffin. Are you my passengers? Ergen answered in the affirmative and started to introduce himself, but Pierre cut him off.

All you are to me, mister, is a way to make more jack, nothing more or less. Get yourselves into the back of the wagon, cover up, and keep quiet. As they did so, Pierre marked something down in a writing book.You may want to keep the jewelry hidden. There are all sorts of people out and about these days.Hiram wrinkled his nose at the odors that assailed him in the wagon. Though there were some smells he recognized, others were unfamiliar. Most of them were highly disagreeable. He had a lot of questions to ask, but he was capable of abiding by rules if the need arose. His father always said to him that rules allowed people to live together in harmony most of the time. Despite the nasty smells coming from the wagon, Hiram dozed off to the gentle rocking and swaying of the conveyance.

Hiram awakened not sure where he was for a moment. It all came flooding back to him now. They were on some sort of wagon that smelled funny and they were stopped. He heard some voices coming from the front of the wagon. That was probably the driver. Thus secure in knowing, Hiram fell back asleep.

*

Pierre was a trader; folks of his kind scavenged from whatever ruins could be found and sold or traded the proceeds. Even through the slovenly dress and dirty appearance, one could still see evidence of his lineage; even after all the years he had spent in this area; his English still had a slight accent from being born north of even this place. He drove down the paved roads, one of a numerous number of conveyances, until he came close to Harburg. It was some sort of command post and they were stopping everyone. He kept his cool though. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done this before. Lots of people wanted to get away from Chusann controlled lands and they were willing to pay and pay dearly to escape. In a short matter of time, it came his turn to be inspected.

Name?

Pierre Raffin.

Where do you live?

I’m a trader; I don’t have a home.

Where are you bound, Mr. Raffin?

Wherever I can find something to scavenge I suppose. Why all of the questions?

We have had a spate of people fleeing Chusann lands; we can’t afford to lose any productive workers; mining darkrock takes its toll. Both Pierre and the guard laughed.You have a good day, Mr. Raffin!

I shall at that. Pierre shook the reins and his horse team went back into motion. Pierre didn’t have far to go before he was accosted by several other guards on horseback. Pierre pulled over yet again, but something was different about this time. A knowing look flickered between Pierre and one of the guardsmen. As Hiram found out that day and countless times in the future, there were all sorts of people out and about; most of them were not to be trusted. It was one of the harshest lessons Hiram had ever learned and it served him well. As Pierre pocketed a sack of coin, the guards ripped the cover off of the back of his wagon.

Hiram was shocked awake by a lot of noise. Harsh hands grabbed him and pulled him from the wagon. He saw his father struggle with the men, but they beat him down. He saw his mother flee as fast as she could, but it was of no use. Two large dogs immediately assailed her and knocked her onto her back. The dogs worried free what she was holding and savaged it until it was nothing but some bloodstained rags. So died his sister, her life yet barely begun. Ergen was held by several of the men. His father used that forbidden word when he yelled at the trader.You fucking turncoat! We paid you in good coin to leave!Pierre seemed completely unperturbed.These people paid me more good money so that you would stay. Pierre counted the money.It’s short; what gives?One of the guards appraised Pierre with a jaundiced eye.You said there were four, but the dogs got a little bit excited. You get paid for three regardless; a baby doesn't count. Pierre made as if to complain, but faced with several guards who had hands on their weapons, he decided fair was fair. The one who first spoke had more to say.I wonder how you live with yourself from day to day; you are nothing but something that skulks around at night when the lights go off. At times it pains me to deal with scum like you.Pierre answered back,But I am scum with yet more jack. Make me rich and you can call me whatever you want!The guard was disgusted.One day your traitorous ways will come back to haunt you; it will be someone like those three you just now betrayed.Pierre snorted in derision.Where they are going, I will have nothing to fear. Pierre drove off laughing after he replaced the cover on the back of his wagon.

Hiram was confused, but his treatment rendered him silent. Mommy was wide eyed and not saying a word, even when daddy tried to comfort her. That wasn’t for long. He and his parents were thrown into a cell with almost no light. They shortly came and dragged off mommy. Hiram heard screams for a while later but had no idea what they meant. He watched his daddy weep.

*

The penalty for attempting to leave The Chusann Empire is death! Let it be so entered! The Deputy High Priest made the notation in his ledger.Ergen and Vanessa Schwerin are to be executed in the amphitheater! Joseph Lowell was a trusted Chusann functionary. He had slowly worked his way up into the ranks of the Chusann hierarchy until one day several years ago he was appointed as a Deputy High Priest. He was in awe that he had climbed so high, but he took deliberate steps every day to make sure he was indispensable to The Chusanns. At times it could be an extra workday, at other times it was doing a favor for the elite. He doubted that he would ever get a high priest position, but he was happy where he was. As befitting his rank, his residence was in the outskirts of Harburg, a truly lofty place to dwell. The ultimate goal of the Chusanns was to eventually make their way to the fabled residence of Hyannisport; this awe inspiring and legendary place was where the Keddys once lived. Every year they moved closer and closer to their goal; it was hard going at times. The land on the path to this fabled place was ill in many respects. He remembered how many had died building the amphitheater well north of here. That was also where they had the darkrock mines; darkrock kept Harburg’s inhabitants warm in the winter and cool during the summer.Mining the darkrock took its toll on those who wrested it from the earth; many slaves died while working the mines. Even though The Chusanns had some of the best Ginners around, accidents always happened. The mine near the amphitheater was one of the largest they had going once the Ginners sealed the leaks and pumped out the water. It was a matter of pride to the Chusann empire that none who were assigned to the mines ever left alive. Even the ones too old to work anymore were hidden away from sight, their own prison area still concealed in the maze; when they died, their corpses were tossed into the furnace fires, never to be seen again. It was only a matter of time before the Chusanns would once again look upon the hallowed residence of The Keddys as their ancestors did. With a stroke of a pen, Hiram Schwerin was sent to the darkrock mines, after he had attended his parents’ demise.

Hiram had lost track of time where he was. The place he was kept was warm and dank smelling with all sorts of things that crawled around. He hadn’t seem mommy since that one day they took her away; they took away daddy shortly after. The light flooding in when they opened the door to his cell blinded him for a moment as tears came to his eyes. He was roughly dragged put from his cell and then was loaded aboard another sort of cell, but this one was bigger and he could feel it moving. The larger size of this place was offset by the fact there were more people here. Some even looked to be around his age. He stared into the eyes of the other people when he had enough light to see. It was strange that even though a lot of the people didn’t look that old, their eyes spoke different. Hiram wondered if he looked like that. The fact was that he didn’t look like them…..yet; it would take some years to temper him and turn his curious blue eyes into chips of cold and murderous agate, a reflection on his inner mind that had been assailed and the vengeance he would one day exact…

The trip in the moving cell took some time; by the time it was over, Hiram was glad to be out of there. Since there were no toilet facilities, the cell became a toilet, and by the time the trip was done, it smelled like one too. To make matters even worse, some of the people with him began to smell very bad, even worse than the toilet smells. This wasn’t saying that his destination was any better, because it really wasn’t. Once he was pulled from the moving cell, he was moved down a dimly lit corridor to a heavy door. Once inside the door, he was made to wait on a very uncomfortable bench in a large place along with others. Hiram was one of the few not chained in some way. He wondered why the people were constantly staring at him and shaking their heads, but he put it out of his mind as best as he could. He remembered the night they were betrayed when he could feel the cool breeze on his face and see the twinkling stars in the firmament. He managed to separate the betrayal from the vision so as he could regard them in separate fashion. Pierre Raffin. That was one name he intended to never forget.

He and the others with him were moved yet again; this time it was to some seats in a large sort of auditorium. Most of the seats were filled in this place and there was a lot of background noise. Hiram looked up and saw some sort of shiny looking structure that looked down upon the auditorium. He swore he could see people moving behind the shininess, but he wasn’t sure. When the lights dimmed and focus was placed upon the flat area in the center, he was made to look in that direction. The flat area was elaborate looking. In the center was a wagon with no top made out of metal. There were four people in the wagon, two in front and two in back. There was a vacant spot in the back seat. Towards one end of the flat area was what looked to be a mound of grass that was skillfully worked into the flat area so as to look like it belonged to the scene that had been constructed in this place. Another area a good distance away from the wagon was a bridge in the middle of a pool of water. A wagon was on the bridge, but it looked as if it was ready to fall into the water. Finally, even that area went dark as lights focused upon a raised dais and the group of people there. As if on cue, the amphitheater crowd went silent. There were several people up on the dais. At another time, Hiram would have thought their dress to be odd, but not at this point. While the males wore a long sleeved white shirt and red pants, the females wore the same sort of shirt but with a red skirt. Both males and females on the dais wore highly polished boots. It was one of the men who first stepped forth and spoke to the crowd.

Long ago it was known that there was a power that came from these lands, but at first it was hard to discern what it was. A screen behind the speaker showed some pictures of devastation and ruin, blasted buildings interspersed with people looking in not much better shape.It was our glorious founder who discovered what that power was and strived to be worthy of its magnificence! The pictures of the wreckage ceased, to be replaced by an image of a well-dressed and clean cut male. As Hiram remembered, their hair and teeth were perfect looking.It was our first High Priest, Abel Menforth, who realized that the power arose from those the Gods anointed…..The Keddys! More images of well-dressed and visually perfect men and women flashed across the screen.It was Joe Keddy who was their father, so shall blessed he be, but it was his sons that truly were of the Gods! The first of Joe’s sons perished in battle, the second son rose to power but those who were evil sought to deny the Keddys their rightful place! And so John Keddy was struck down, but not before he had arisen to his proper status! Robert Keddy also sought the path to power, but evil yet struck again! Not to be discouraged, it was Ted Keddy who strove for power, and after an arduous journey, so did he become exalted! He slew the evil Kopechne and thus gained his position of status!Picture after picture appeared on the screen behind the speaker.And the Keddys did look down upon Abel and saw that though he was pious in his belief of the godhood of the Keddys, he had not proven himself to be worthy of their consideration. So the Keddys set Abel to a task: in the ruins of a city is a place called Hyannisport; gain and hold this sacred place that is akin to Camelot and us if you wish for The Keddys to deem you worthy to worship us. Until that time, protect us well and let naught besmirch our sacred name!There was a commotion from the rear area of the podium. A person was brought out into the glare of the lights. Hiram was wide-eyed; it was his father. One of the other people on the podium began to speak.This one here, Ergen Schwerin, has chosen to transgress upon The Chusanns by attempting to flee the chosen lands! By his very act, he profanes the sacred memory of those who once were Gods over their demesne!

 The crowd roared its disapproval, but Hiram didn’t join in.Father! I am over here! Hiram repeated that phrase over and over again, but he didn’t think he was heard over the noise.When one of the guards saw Hiram yelling, he belted Hiram in the face.Shut up, bitch!Hiram was mistaken though; somehow Ergen had heard him and was looking at his son. Ergen mouthed something to Hiram before he was covered with a mask that looked like the guy in the first picture. Hiram repeated the picture of what his father said for a long time before he realized his father had said ‘avenge me’.The mask looked ridiculous upon the prisoner, but it seemed to fit in with their ritual.So as this person profanes the memory of The Keddys, so let him be taken from this earth in the way the second Keddy died. Ergen was dropped into the vacant space in the back seat of the wagon and for the moment, he was forgotten.Another person was dragged out onto the podium. It was Hiram’s mother. This was too much for Hiram to take; tears flowed freely down his face and not even another slap from a guard could make him stop. His mother was without any clothing and bound in such a way she couldn’t cover herself from view. She was covered in grime and dirt and blood. The area between her legs looked like red ruin while severe lacerations crisscrossed her chest. She hung her head as if to admit defeat. The main speaker pulled her head up by the hair, forcing her to look ahead.This one also profanes the sacrosanct memory of The Keddys and the sacrifices they made for us. So selfish was she, her daughter died untouched by the blessings of the Chusann religion! She not only insults the memory of The Keddys, she committed murder against her own child!Hiram screamed out ‘Liar!’, but it was of no effect; he couldn’t hear over the commotion so it was unlikely he would be heard. They dragged his mother to the car suspended on the bridge, but boos and hisses from the crowd gave the Chusann priests pause.So you deem her to be so unworthy that she doesn’t deserve to perish as the evil Kopechne did? The crowd roared in agreement. The guards dragged Hiram’s mother over to a metal covering in the floor. When two guards opened the cover, the roar of flames could be heard from the depths. A priest raised up her head using her hair. Hiram’s mother spat at the priest, hatred in her gaze. The priest almost decapitated her with the cut he made with his knife. Even as he did so, the other priests were tipping the body into the furnace down below.Such as this can’t be honored, and so does she now walk in the fires of Hell! The crowd cheered. The crack of the rifle shot could still be ascertained over the noise. Hiram’s father jerked once from the impact and then lay still in the wagon. Hiram could feel the gazes on him from other prisoners in the group. They knew, he thought, they knew. In the space of a few heartbeats, Hiram no longer had any parents. The noise of approval from the crowd was quickly being supplanted by gasps and even some screams. Before the crowd could get too out of control, a bunch of males and females showed up at various points in the amphitheater. They covered all of the exits along with the podium and flat area. They all wore black suits with white shirts and black ties and looked important. They were speaking into things they held in their hand while they appeared to analyze the murder scene. Several were scanning the area of grass by the car while more were interviewing the priests that had carried out the ritual. They wrote things down in a small sort of writing pad.  Several of the black suited people suddenly moved off of the stage at high speed, but the show was essentially over. Other black suited people emptied the audience area of the amphitheater in an orderly fashion. That would be the last time Hiram would cry, but a void cannot remain a void forever…

Hiram caught snatches of conversation relating to the ceremony and the death of the person in the car. They speak of him as if he was nothing, but he was my father! Hiram thought. There was no more room for thinking, though. Unlike most of the audience, he didn’t get to leave here in a wagon because he was no longer free. Back through the waiting area Hiram went, but before they exited that area, the guards opened up a door in the middle of the structure. A rather austere hallway led over to another building that was much larger in size. This building held a number of people, but they all looked like the one who had a hold of Hiram. At the far end of the building was another single door. When Hiram entered through there, he saw nothing but seven more doors. While five of the doors were directly across from his vantage point, the other two were set back and at an angle. There were three other doors at the top of three separate flights of stairs. The guard dragged Hiram through the leftmost door that was directly across from his vantage point. Once through that door, the scenery had radically changed.  The floor here angled downwards at a gentle slope. Hiram heard all sorts of noises. In a room off of the hall, Hiram heard screaming and the sound of a lash. The floor here was no longer smooth; it was hard packed dirt. The guard finally stopped some distance beyond the door where the person was getting whipped. The hard packed dirt floor here was some sort of catwalk currently patrolled by two guards. Wherever the catwalk wended, there were cages on either side. There were people in those cages! Hiram made a halfhearted attempt to break away from the grip of the guard, but his attempts were laughed at before he received a smack in the head. He heard a cage open; with very little difficulty, he was pitched through the opening to land heavily on the hard packed dirt floor. A moment later, something landed on top of him. The sound of the cage door closing seemed as onerous as a final judgment would have been.

Get up from there; you need to get settled and find a space in the cage or else they will choose one for you.Hiram winced as he got up, rubbing a bruise on the back of his shoulder. The thing that hit him after he had been pitched into the cage was some sort of bundle. There were four others in the cage with Hiram. Two of them were around his size; they were Augustus and Matty.  The other two were somewhat bigger. Ronald was the one who told him to get up while Carl just sat there where he was not making a sound. The bundle contained some clothing along with a bar of soap and a tooth stick. Hiram was glad to have the change of clothes since his stank to high heaven. Hiram was hungry and thirsty, but he decided not to say anything just yet. Shortly after Hiram found a place to lie in the cage, his cage door was opened.  Two guards stepped aside for a man dressed in a more stylish fashion.

I see we have a new bitch in the cage! What’s yer name boy?My name is Hiram and I am not a female dog!The person grabbed him by the arm.I see we are going to have his first lesson not even after an hour has elapsed. Bitch, I am Conductor Previn, I orchestrate the pain around here! With your fucking attitude, you and I will spend a lot of time together! The man dragged Hiram to the room Hiram saw before.Take off his shirt; he won’t need it anyways! Once he had Hiram strapped to the wall, the whipping ensued. Hiram was in shock rather than pain at least first off.You speak to me with respect, boy, or you will feel my whip on your back! Hiram got a good whipping that day. He didn’t even cry either while it was happening or afterwards; Hiram was through crying.

Six

Hiram’s back still hurt from the whipping he had received a few days earlier, but he would be damned if he was going to show any weakness to his tormentors. Meal time was three times a day and consisted of water and a rather tasteless sort of mush; it filled the belly though.  Hiram was quick to catch onto the routine in the cages. The cages had to be kept neat and clean. Your teeth also had to be kept clean; failure to do so resulted in a whipping. Ronald showed him a viewing box that on occasion became active to disseminate some news. That was how Hiram found out that the man who had shot his father had been caught. Even more perplexing was further news that someone had killed that very same man only two days after they were caught. What Hiram couldn’t figure out was who was caught doing what? They had tied up his father and dumped him into the metal wagon and then they had cut the throat of his mother before they dropped her into a furnace. And who exactly were the Hoovers? Ronald had called those suited men and women Hoovers. He tried to ask more questions about them, but Ronald was silent on the matter.Matty and Augustus were somewhat talkative, but they didn’t seem to know much about the goings on here. One morning after Hiram had eaten, his cage door was opened yet again. This time only one guard entered. Conductor Previn was with them but another man was there with them too. Hiram didn’t like how this other man looked. The man was rather fat and his clothes were too small for his frame. The sickly looking white flesh that poked through his clothes looked more like suet then part of a human.  Hiram also didn’t like how they looked at him or Matty or Augustus. The man’s eyes were almost shrouded in folds of suety flesh as they looked around.  The man laid a bejeweled hand upon Augustus. Augustus had dark blonde hair which was naturally curly with eyes of a gentle blue in color; Matty and he had generic straight dark brown hair; while Matty also had brown eyes, Hiram’s eyes were a clear and deep blue. Perhaps that was why Augustus had been chosen by this man. It was simply another puzzle Hiram had to figure out if he could. Augustus left the cage; that was the second to the last time Hiram ever saw Augustus. Even after the man left, things weren’t done yet. The Conductor was speaking to the guard.Should the kid be a crawler or a rock monkey?The guard snorted.We can always find enough crawlers; all we have to do is conduct a sweep. He should be a rock monkey.The Conductor nodded agreement as he looked at the people in the cage.Your friend Augustus has been chosen! He shall be trained to be a Chusann Priest and forge onward to the holy site of Hyannisport! Do your job well and it may be you who is next chosen! The Conductor grabbed Hiram by the arm.Come on, brat, its time you worked for your keep! Hiram stayed silent. He felt he was already learning.

Hiram was dragged along to a door at the end of the catwalk area. This door was on the opposite end from the one he had emerged from earlier. Once the door closed, Hiram felt the wash of heat as he was pulled down a roughhewn dirt path. He heard a lot of noise as he approached the end of the hall.  There were lots of people down here working. One adult and two kids around his size were put into carts and lowered into a hole. As they were lowered into the hole, another cart would come up from the hole loaded with rocks in addition to the adult and two kids. The rock was dumped on the floor into large piles. Adults then shoveled the rocks into bigger carts. Once a cart was full, the loaders gave it a shove to move it down a track. Once a cart moved, a strange cart arrived to connect itself to the first cart. This strange cart had a pole balanced in the center of it and two handles, one on each side. As two people worked the strange contraption, it moved, taking the cart of rock along with it. When the strange cart returned, it didn’t have the cart of rocks attached to it. Hiram wasn’t given too much time to ponder the operations in this area because he was dragged along a side tunnel. This area was also noisy, but not from humans. Here were many big carts of rocks in one area. Hiram watched as more and more carts were brought to this area. At another end of this area there was another strange sort of wagon. This one blasted out a lot of smoke and had some humans inside of it. When that wagon moved, it would take several carts of the black colored rocks with it. Hiram was dragged through a gap in the big carts and brought over to three people near his size.This one is named Hiram; he’s gonna replace Stevie as a rock monkey. You better train him well; if I or any other Conductor sees any darkrock lying on the ground when the bell tolls, you ALL will get a beating! He left Hiram with the other three youths.Matty was one of the three. Hiram got on the job training with a vengeance as cart after cart of rock showed up in the area. The moment a cart stopped, there was always some spillage of rock on to the ground. The rock monkey’s job was to clean up all the spilled darkrock. In order to do so, a rock monkey had to be quick on their feet not only to gather up the fallen pieces of rock, but to avoid getting crushed by an ore cart. Hiram was willing to pull his weight, but try as they might, a Conductor had found some darkrock on the floor after the ending bell. Hiram and Matty both got a severe whipping; they were whipped until they bled. Ronald showed him how to decrease the agony of the whipping by raising the shirt off of the back. That allowed the wounds to scab over without getting stuck to the shirt. Ronald was a loader while Carl worked a crawler team with two kids.  At the end of the day, the slaves were forced to shower, because The Keddys always were clean and immaculate looking. The water made it hard to get clean at times though; sometimes it was brown and stank. When they were returned to their cages, a clean change of clothing always awaited them. Augustus was replaced by someone named Kevin. It was hard to tell how old Kevin was because they were rather scrawny in size. Kevin became a crawler. When Hiram asked about what the crawlers did, Ronald silenced him.

You will live a lot longer if you work above the ground, Hiram.

That was all he had to say on that matter. One day all five of them were let out of their cages to go to someone called a dentist. This person poked and prodded their teeth and cleaned them. He and Matty had no cavities, but Carl had one. Hiram heard him scream as the Conductor whipped him unmercifully for the transgression. One day after a hard day’s work collecting darkrock, Hiram went to his cage after his shower. He and the other rock monkeys had left the floor clean this day, so he wasn’t expecting a whipping. It didn’t matter; he was taken by the guards to the Conductor who tried to indulge Hiram in friendly conversation.  Hiram had let his guard down only for a moment; that was enough to get a severe whipping. As he lay in his corner of the cage that night, Hiram didn’t cry; his blue eyes began to take on a hardened cast as he imagined his hands around the throat of that Conductor…or any other Conductor he could find. Those thoughts were the only good thing he had felt for what already appeared to be a long time…

Twelve

Eric Joseph Eagleton, you come here right this instant!

Eric quickly put down the book he was reading and got up from the chair. He was twelve years old and he knew by heart his mothers’ tone of voice. If she used all three of his names, he had better get there as fast as possible and be as respectful as he could be. He swiped his blond hair out of his eyes as he went into the living room. The house they lived in was palatial; there were so many rooms that some of them weren’t even used. His little sister, Caroline, giggled at him as he passed her by. He finally made it into the living room area. His mother and father were there holding the days mail in their hands. Oscar Eagleton was a high ranking functionary in Harburg while Edith Eagleton was a social climber by trade. Because of her husband’s position, the Eagleton’s lived in a wealthy section of Harburg with a whole coterie of servants and such to make sure they didn’t have to come into contact with the working rabble. Edith looked rather upset while Oscar was simply silent.

What is wrong, mother?

Until Eric found out exactly what was going on, the utmost respect was the safest path.His mother shook a large envelope in front of Eric’s face.

What is this application doing ion our mail? It is addressed to you!

Eric looked at the envelope. It was from The Hoover Institute.I sent away for that application. I intend to complete it by career day.

Edith became even more flustered.What will our friends think? You should be more than happy to follow in your father’s footsteps. He makes good money as a Chusann functionary!

Eric paused for a second. Why wasn’t his father saying anything? As far as Eric was concerned, he was on his own. Think of it as a test of sorts, he thought.I looked over the careers available to me and I found none of interest except becoming a Hoover. Without the Hoovers, Chusann society would simply not function. They are the backbone of support that is required for an orderly society.

 Edith looked at Oscar.It is your brother that put him up to this! You have to try and talk some sense into him, Oscar!

Oscar finally decided to speak.John is coming over tonight for supper. I will discuss the matter with him at that time. Oscar looked at his son.Are you sure that this is something that you wish to undertake? I am told that Hoover training is hard and there are serious consequences for failure to complete the training.

Yes I am, Father.

I think your friends are over here to play. You can go with them. There will be a lot to discuss tonight, so enjoy your time while you can.

Eric and his friends were down in the basement. The day was rather rainy outside, so he and his friends made do with what games were downstairs. Since his family was in such high standing, the distractions available to Eric were many indeed, from prime scavenged goods to the