living_history (living_history) wrote in the_colony, @ 2010-07-14 06:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 10, bridget mackenzie, john james searle, | bridget and searle |
Week Ten - Saturday
Characters: Bridget and Searle.
Location: Somewhere in California.
Summary: Bridget and Searle help set up camp at the end of a long day, chatting mostly about their future.
Rating: PG.
Taking an all-day drive with the colonists had been more stressful than Searle imagined it would be. Maybe it was because of what they’d left, the losses they’d just taken, or something subconscious inside of him, but when they parked for the night and the order was given to set up camp, Searle felt instantly better out in the fresh air.
Once everything was unloaded that they’d need for the night, Searle grabbed a tent and dragged it to an open space so he could start setting up. Thinking about it like a camping trip, the journey west could seem like fun.
It was the end of their second day of traveling and Bridget was happy to get out of the truck and stretch. She just wasn’t used to all day driving anymore and it showed. Of course, her body was a bit different than it had been the last time she’d been on the road as evidenced by the bulge in her midsection. At least she wasn’t so large yet as to be uncomfortable or unable to pitch in on the driving and camp set up, as she would have been if they’d waited until spring.
She spotted Searle and went over to help him with the tent. “So, tired of the road again yet?”
“Yeah,” Searle admitted, but with good spirits and a smile. “I forgot how tired it makes me and how there’s so little to do sitting in a car all day. But I do like camping.”
“I always enjoyed it, too.” Bridget confided with a grin as she helped him spread out the tent and prepare to set it up. “I’ve never understood people who don’t like to go out and spend some time outdoors.” It was a bit more dangerous now of course, and likely to get more so as the animals of all sorts expanded their numbers over the next few years including predators, but as long as the humans were well armed they ought to be all right.
“Me either. It’s going to be so different for kids growing up, not even knowing what electricity is.” Searle grabbed the stakes that were going to keep the tent down and began to place them. “They’ll be outside all the time since there’s probably not going to be much to do inside anymore.”
Bridget looked at him for a moment, realized he was serious, and started to laugh. “You really think that? Not going to be much to do inside? There’ll be plenty that needs doing, and people did things inside for fun before electricity too. Kids just won’t be able to spend all day indoors watching tv or playing computer games anymore. They’ll have plenty of chores to do besides schoolwork, but they’ll be more active than kids were when we were little.”
Chores, let alone plenty of them, didn’t seem like much fun, and Searle wrinkled his nose. “Guess we still have board games. I’m good with being outside, anyway. I can say I invited lacrosse. You can write that down in a history book.” The sour expression turned into a grin.
“Well, since I don’t think anybody knows who was the first person to come up with what turned into lacrosse, I suppose I can fudge it a little.” Bridget winked at him and inserted one of the rods that went through the top of the tent. “But people found plenty of ways to have fun before electricity came along, we just have to get used to it again. Backgammon and chess have been around in one form or another for thousands of years, to give you two examples.”
“You’ll have to teach me how to play backgammon sometime. I’ve never played it before.” Searle helped steady the tent so Bridget didn’t have any trouble with the rod, then grabbed another one.
“I know there were wars and stuff, but before electricity and factories and everything, was the world as violent as it is now?” Searle had been wondering since the raid, and he figured Bridget would know best.
“Now? As in ‘now, after civilization as we knew it collapsed’, or now as in ‘21st century before the fall’?”
“Collapsed,” Searle said. “Like ... did people attack other groups for the things they had?”
“Yes,” Bridget said simply. “Though it depends on when we’re talking about. When there’s some kind of strong organization calling the shots in an area, be it a tribe, kingdom or modern state, that sort of thing doesn’t happen so often. Our entire country could be said to have been taken like what you just said. White settlers wanted the land the Indians had, and were able to take it from them due to better numbers and technology, along with diseases that wiped out a lot of the native population.”
“Kinda like what happened to us with the swine flu. I wonder if people in other parts of the world had more resistance to it.” Searle had only thought about the rest of the world on one or two other occasions, the most recent of which had been with Nevaeh not too long ago.
Bridget paused for a moment and shook her head sadly. “If they did, they were in very isolated areas. No group had better resistance than any other, this was a virgin field epidemic. Something like what happened the first time the Black Death came through Eurasia, only worse. Back then only a third to half of the population died near as we could tell.”
“Do you think we’re still carrying the virus?” Luc probably would have known better, Searle couldn’t help but think, and he hid his frown by bowing his head to tie a part on the tent.
“Probably not,” Bridget shook her head. “It burned through ninety nine percent of the world’s population in a matter of months. Something like that wouldn’t be able to survive in its original form for long, it was too efficient at killing its hosts. Everyone who is still alive either had a natural immunity or is carrying antibodies to help fight it off.” She resumed her work on the tent. “Doesn’t mean it won’t come back at some point, but most likely it won’t be anywhere near as bad. It won’t travel as fast either, not with planes, trains and automobiles soon to be just memories.”
That was good news, and actually it gave Searle some peace of mind - even if what Bridget said wasn’t entirely positive. “You’re smart,” he told her, and meant it. Bridget wasn’t the only one with answers, but Searle trusted her thoroughly and she was a comfort to him.
“Nah,” Bridget felt her sadness lighten and she grinned at the teenager. “I’ve just been studying history a long time and I’ve got a garbage pit memory: ‘useless’ information comes in and never leaves whether I want it to or not.” She inserted the second rod and the tent began to stiffen into its normal domed shape. On the other side, Searle helped complete setting up the tent’s frame.
“I wish I was like that. A lot of the time, when I’m reading, I forget stuff right after I read it. Good thing I don’t get graded anymore.” Except, when he couldn’t remember something while discussing his reading with Bridget, sometimes it was embarrassing.
“Oh believe me,” She shook her head wryly, “there’ve been plenty of times where I’ve tried to remember important things or information on a topic that didn’t interest me very much and come up blank. It isn’t as if I have a photographic memory or anything.”
“It’s okay, anyway,” Searle said, while walking around the tent to make sure it was completely set up, “once we get settled down in a place again, we’ll be able to make another library. Derek and I could build one if we can’t find somewhere already standing to put the books.”
“That’s something for longer down the road,” Bridget suggested as she watched him double check the tent. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find something to make do in the short term.”
“Who knows, maybe we’ll find a group that already has a working farm.” Searle was hopeful for that. “We might get set up sooner than we think.”
“That would be nice,” Bridget nodded. “Rather than have to make everything from scratch would be a big boost for us, especially if we joined up with another group.”
“It’d be safer with a bigger group.” Searle also nodded. “Want to help me set up another tent?”
A glance about showed the others still hard at work at setting up camp, but there were still a few tents to set up. “Sure, the sooner we do that the sooner we can think about eating.”
“Let’s do it fast.” Searle went to get another tent. “I’m starving.”