Human Destiny

By H. B. Waldegrave

The book is more along the lines of an adventure story, with some main characters, with unusual ways of communicating with men and women in ways they couldn't grasp, also he understood animals as well and could communicate with them while growing up in North-western Queensland at the turn of 1900's.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Mar 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664103337

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 by H. B. Waldegrave.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 01/18/2021

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Contents

Prologue

Do I understand, said Lim San, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Human Destiny, holding himself rigidly erect. that Languor has refused our request? He frowned as he glanced around at the Illustrious Council Members, and his God-like appearance, from his luxurious snow-white hair to his golden sandals, was discerning enough – his displeasure only enhanced this, as all the members knew that the old Tibetan Lama was annoyed – very annoyed.

He has not refused to go, Excellency! said Zantra, the Deputy Chairman, his black face showing his concern. It is only that he thinks it unwise at this stage, but let him speak for himself.

I am very pleased to hear that! said Lim San, relaxing. Very well – show him in!

Languor faced the Council without trepidation, he knew that he had displeased the Chairman, because he had doubted the Council’s decision – but he had his reasons.

Now, Languor, said the old Chairman, looking sternly at the younger man. "you say that you do not want to go down to Earth, as we have requested! Is that true?

Not quite, Excellency. Replied Languor, calmly. I just do not think the time is right.

Please explain. Why do you think this?

It is much too early, went on, Languor. These people are not yet ready. In another 100 years of Earth-time, they may be. You wish to send me to the island continent of Australia – some of the oldest land in the world. I have been studying this land, and it has a new civilization forming, and has still to reach Nation-hood,

These reasons are noted, replied the Chairman, nodding his head. but we are the best judge, and we need someone to help our man there. He is in the South, and is already sowing the seeds of Nation-hood. We want you to go North, where two totally different lifestyles are finding it hard living together, as each has something to offer the other, but they are drifting apart. They need some sort of go-between who is accepted by both, and we want you to go voluntarily, of course. Will you go?

Of course, Excellency! replied Languor. I never thought to do otherwise. It is just that I thought it unwise at this stage of human development. Too soon.

Very well, my son, The old Lama was now smiling. and I am very pleased. Your thoughts are understood. You will go almost immediately."

May I ask how you will accomplish my arrival there?

You may, my son. And it has already been arranged. The Secretary has all the details, and he will explain. You must remember that the people of Earth have to accept you, and everything has to be done, to custom. If you were too unusual this would not go well, as in the past our representatives have not been accepted. Your abilities will come gradually. Lord Arkor, what are the arrangements?

The Lord Arkor rose to his full seven feet, looking very majestic, with his black hair and heavy beard, together with his deep brown skin, accentuated the Saffron robe of office, and he turned to Languor.

The arrangements are quite simple, Languor, he said in a deep rumbling Bass. Just before the turn of the century, a woman of the outback is having a baby, and we will see that you join the Human Race through this woman. We cannot, however, give you the full use of the powers that you have here, for that would be too unusual, as the people of Earth have always destroyed what they don’t understand. Right from birth you will have telepathic control, and animals will understand you – your powers will develop as you grow. That is up to you - we rely on your judgement, and you will find that it will be necessary to hide these abilities – to use them discreetly. The place we have chosen for you to start is where to races – the old and the new – meet, and your assignment is not an easy one, and if you fail in the allotted time, we will understand, If, some headway is made in bringing people into the right way of thinking and doing, we shall all be very pleased.

The Lord Arkor sat down, and the Chairman turned to Languor.

Does the assignment appear interesting, my son? he asked.

Thank you, Excellency, - and indeed it does! I look forward to the challenge. I thank you also Lord Arkor, and the Councillors.

Very good! said Lim San smiling. We will recall you when we desire a rapport, on your progress, and the means of communication will be through the astral plain. It will be less noticeable by the people of Earth. Are you ready to start?

I am ready, Excellency!

Good luck, my son! This meeting is adjourned,

Chapter I

Outback Interlude

Old Inkata sat, resting in the fulness of his years, and waited. Time now held a serenity of purpose, and he knew the waiting was nearly over, and as he looked back through his mind’s eye, he knew that the passing years had been preparing him for this moment – the arrival of the first Spirit Man-child since the Dreamtime. Compared with the past, the next sunrise was not far away, and this made him happy. He had chosen to rest under a big bowled gum tree, because of its strength of character, as it had been there for many more years than he had been alive, forcing an existence on the rocky outcrop. The top-most branches were stark in death, as they pointed high into the sky, giving evidence of a tenacious spirit coping with a relentless Nature. The terrible droughts that came to the North, had taken their toll, but the lower green branches signified a defiance that Inkata admired.

He wanted to gain the strength the big tree could give him, so that he could return to the place of his birth. He sat straight-backed, beneath the spreading lower branches on the steep rise before the Watson’s home. His gaze went over and above the crude cabin, to watch the changing sky patterns, and as the setting sun was behind him, and the strange cloud shapes forming, as the monsoonal season was here, and the glorious colours painted in the heavens. Suddenly darkness dropped down – coming quickly as it does in the tropics, and the stars he had seen for his lifetime seemed brighter this night, and he felt as though he could reach out and touch them. There was no moon, and this only accentuated the brilliance of the diamond-studded firmament – to old Inkata, this was a good omen, as it meant that the small things in the vastness of creation had a clear passage to the life they must follow – to the fulfilment of their destiny. It was an inevitable cycle with all living things, and to function properly needed no impedance.

As the hours passed, the old man remained motionless, as his four young warrior companions had long gone to sleep on the flat rocks below him, seeking the warmth from the sunny day while it lasted, and this amused Inkata. The young ones had a lot to learn, and he knew they would wake as soon as the cool of the morning reached them. These young men of his tribe – his grandsons – had been especially chosen, to help him on his mission – and to witness this special happening, and he needed their strength, for this would be the last journey he would make in this life-time.

He was going blind – he knew that - and he would need their help for the return journey. To the banks of the river the White man called the Gregory, as it was there, he must die, so that his spirit could return to the earth from whence it came. There was a quiet movement beside him, and a hand was gently placed on his shoulder, and he knew it was one of his companions.

Old One, the young warrior spoke softly, almost reverently, please tell us why we wait."

Without turning his head, the old man replied.

Why do you ask? he said, it is not yet daylight.

We know you have not slept, and we worry about you.

You worry for yourselves, as you would like to be with the tribe. Is this not so?

First, we must think of you, but we would like to be with the tribe. Also, we think you should be there.

You are right, but I must wait for the coming of the Spirit Man-child – a white child in the Gunya below, he will come just before sunrise. It has been foretold.

Why is it that you have to wait?

To hear him and to see him before I die – so that I will know that he has come. He may be a great help to our people, and that is important to me.

But he will be a White Man!

Yes – a white man so different that he not be understood by his own people. Perhaps he came too soon.

If his people do not understand him, how will he help our people?

He will know how to do that, as he comes from The Dreamtime!

While old Inkata sat on the rocky outcrop above the cabin, another vigil of a different kind was taking place inside it. Through the same seemingly endless hours of the night, William Watson was also waiting, because he too, was waiting for the arrival of a child – his child. He was a tall gangling Englishman, who’s sad face and stooped frame revealed many years of hard toil in a torrid land, and almost ceaselessly he paced about the ant-bed floor of the corrugated-iron cabin, all the time wondering why his wife. Martha, was so quiet, and peaceful. Every so often his deep blue eyes strayed to the bedroom door, and he was also very worried, as his wife was expecting a baby any minute, and the nearest doctor was in Cloncurry – almost 100 miles away!

And under his wife’s direction, he was supposed to help deliver the baby! He frowned as he continued pacing. To offset the creeping hours, Watson tried to evaluate their situation. He had asked himself numerous times, ‘why had they come to this place?’, but the answer was never forthcoming. Martha had told him that it was fate – that they had come there for some reason. Life was like that, she had said, and that everyone faces the same situation at some time in their lives. There were everlasting decisions to make – and very often the wrong ones!

But whatever was decided had to be faced as best one could. The England he had left was now a long way behind, with almost a decade in this sun-drenched land had been hard, but the years had been happy ones. And that was because they were doing things they liked, together. He had never regretted leaving his native Yorkshire, with its cold winters, and, more often than not, drab summers. Time had passed so quickly that it seemed only yesterday when Martha McRae had come to his father’s Accountancy firm, in response to an advertisement by the York Hospital Board. He smiled to himself as he remembered how he had been immediately attracted to her.

It was not just for her physical beauty, for she was quite good looking, but it was something inside her – an inner strength – that had drawn to her like a magnet, and this inner power had prompted all her decisions, and had brought about the present situation. Her tenacity of purpose had dictated it was the time to start a family, and these decisions of hers verged upon drastic at times, but were seldom, if ever, wrong ones, and it was something which he would never understand. He remembered how amazed he was that she should think of such a thing, as he thought it unwise – especially being so far away from medical attention, such an event should have. He had often wondered if the uncanny ability of her Scottish forebears had anything to do with this, and it was this trait that had made the Scotsman a great pioneer and empire builder. He rose from the chair, where he had taken a short rest, and put some more wood on the fire, which he had kept going since sundown, so that the two kettles of water were always hot.

As he paced the floor again, he surveyed their meagre possessions, and he felt inadequate, as he thought that it is not a fit birthplace for their child – it just didn’t seem right! Then the insufficiency began to fade when he thought of how much of themselves, Martha and he had put into this home. Why should he be ashamed of their efforts? Greater men and women, than his child may turn out to be, had been born in worse places than this! Since they had arrived in 1892, they had worked hard for everything. As dwelling go it was a rather makeshift cabin, which had started as one room, and gradually been added to – the last section being made of rough bush timber, thatched with Turkey brush. Because land in far North-western Queensland had been opening up when they arrived, and they managed to secure a selection of 2,000 acres, as they had arrived with very little else, except a great desire to make something of it.

Luckily there were two big cattle stations bordering their selection – and from these they received assistance, the Kennedy’s of Calton Hills were particularly helpful, and Charles Wills, further to the West on May Down, was instrumental in getting them started with stock. The wild Aborigines of the area had been troublesome during their first three years – but for some unknown reason the Watsons had never been bothered. Some of the native stockmen from these stations helped Watson in getting a good well dug, and this was done by the Aboriginal’s uncanny ability for finding water in almost impossible places.

The Watsons knew that a good water supply was most essential in this hard land – even more precious than gold. A soft cry came from the small bedroom, to break in on Watson’s reverie.

Are you there William? called Martha, in the soft lilting brogue of the Highlands.

"Yes, my dear, replied Watson, moving quickly to the room.

I’m here! Are you all right?

Yes, she spoke with some difficulty. I’m fine – it is – near – the time, our baby – will come soon. Have you - plenty of – hot water?

Yes, I’ve had the fire on all night! I haven’t forgotten anything you told me.

She smiled at him, and he took her hand in his, as he remembered how she had maintained strict control over her own confinement – procedures up to and after the birth. He was more than grateful for her knowledge of medicine and nursing practice, as he would have been in dire straits, had it been otherwise, but most of all he was glad of her trust and love for him. He sat on the bed, watching for signs of pain, but with eyes closed, and a beautiful half smile on her lips, she seemed to be resting peacefully.

What time is it? came the soft voice.

Not long till dawn. Are you in pain?

No, Will dear, I’ve had no pain at all, yet I know it will not be long. I hope it’s a son.

I hope so, too, but I don’t mind either way, as long as you’re all right.

Oh, yes – I’m all right! He’s very gentle with me – and I know – he wants to come now. Have you – everything ready>

Yes – everything is ready!

I’m going to – help him – come now!

For the next half-hour, Bill Watson was very busy. He never noticed the time, but the light of the sun was just appearing, on the Eastern horizon, when the baby came into the world.

Make him cry – darling! gasped Martha. Give him – a smack – a slight smack – on the bottom!

Watson did this, and his son gave a lusty cry, then Martha smiled and relaxed back on the bed. Watson continued with the job at hand, finishing with the tying of the umbilical cord, while outside, on the rocky outcrop, in the still of the morning, old Inkata and the four young men also heard