I had just really started to get good with my blowpipe when we received a visit from the colonel. They had really revamped the shuttles, and no holes showed anywhere when the shuttle hovered over our hut. The colonel, and three of his boys, slid down the ropes. I hurried forward to meet them.
“Carl!” the colonel said, saluting me. I saluted back, and he said, “I would appreciate it if you would give my boys a bit of a tour,” he said. “They can report to you on the latest developments, which I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear. Have them back here by sunset.”
I saluted again, and turned to his boys, “Come!” I ordered, and led them inside. In a couple of minutes I had them dressed in spare loincloths and we set off toward my shelter. They looked rather miserable in the wet, and I had to work hard not to laugh.
“Wow!” Jonathon said, as I pushed aside a branch, allowing him easier access to the branch we were climbing across. “This is incredible! You remember the desert planet we were on last?”
I laughed, “This sure is different,” I agreed. “So, what’s the news?”
“The news… oh, yeah! We’re going to get soldiers!”
“Really? When?”
“Soon, in a week or so. Muslims!”
I gave him a dirty look and he had the grace to blush. His family was from Leeman’een and they were often rather prejudiced against other religions. “Rihahlans, then,” he said. “Anyway, they’re coming next week.”
“What are they going to do?” I asked, reaching out my hand to help Benjamin, his smallest brother, who was looking a bit nervous at having to cross a bit of a gulf.
“Fight, obviously,” Jonathon said. “Dad’s going to divide them into units of a hundred each and assign each unit to one of our pathfinder families.”
“So Carl will get to live with a hundred families?” Benjamin asked.
“Rihalans don’t have families!” David, the middle brother, scoffed. “They are all men, at least their soldiers are.”
“No mothers?” Benjamin asked, wide eyed.
“Nope, not while they’re soldiers. They just come out for five years, and they are all soldiers. Every single Rihalan boy, once he changes, has to come for a five year stint as a soldier. Then they go home and get married, and have kids and all.”
Jonathon and I looked at each other, knowing what David wasn’t saying. The Rihalans, when they went back, would go back, usually, to two wives each.
“So, what will they do with us?” I asked, again.
“Fight!” Jonathon said, again. “With stunners and your new blowpipe things. We have them for a whole year, and they are going to slaughter Bnentarri. They will just live, eat, and kill.”
Jonathon sounded excited, and, indeed, there was a hint of something in his voice so, on the off chance, I said, “…and you are going to just sit back and watch?”
He blushed, “Well, no, that is the rest of my news. My dad… he’s asking your folks if we can come live with you for a while.” He seemed embarrassed and rushed on, “It isn’t easy fighting with shuttles, here,” he said, “the fighting needs to be on the ground, so, well, we were wondering if we, my brothers and I, could come live here, with you. Benjamin will go back and forth, more, but David and I, we’re hoping…”
He broke off and glanced at me. Did he think I wouldn’t like it?
“Great,” I said, nervous myself, although I didn’t know why. “Hopefully Uncle Andrew and Adlephe will say it’s OK. Hey, here’s my base. I have several blowpipes, maybe we can kill some Bn’s.”
We tried shooting for a while, but they were too nervous, or active, for anything to come nearby, so I decided to take them on a ‘tour’ of my flower garden. I hadn’t realized how poor they were at climbing, tho! It took us easily an hour to get high enough to even see the flowers.
“Wow!” Jonathon said, again, as he and I held Benjamin between us. Benjamin clung tightly to us and kept looking down, which you seriously didn’t want to do when climbing. I had told him and told him, and Jonathon had even switched him, but he would keep doing it. It was the first thing we would have to do when they came for real.
Suddenly we heard the noise of a shuttle and, looking off to our left, saw the shuttle that had brought the colonel and the boys coming back down. Jonathon looked as if he would start down, but I stopped him. “There’s no way we can get there fast enough.”
“He… he said he would leave us here if your folks said it was OK,” Jonathon said. “But I thought, I thought we would have a chance to say goodbye.”
“Well, you’re soldiers now,” I said, seeing he was about to cry. “Soldiers don’t worry about saying ‘goodbye’ to their folks. It’s probably getting about time to get home, though, for evening meal and sleep. We’ll be getting up early for hunting, you all need to train.”
It took us fully two hours to get back to the house, and that was with me carrying Benjamin on my back. We made it just before sunset. “Carl! Boys!” Adlephe said, waddling over to greet the boys. “Dinner is just about ready, wash up!”
The boys had eaten with us often enough, so our ‘sink’ wasn’t a great surprise, and they had even slept with us before, so the shower and hammocks and all they were used to. Benjamin slept with Jonathon in the other hammock, and David slept with me. I noticed that he had a hard time getting to sleep. Probably homesick. He would have to get over that.
~~~
“Carl,” Adlephe said to me, the next evening. The boys were over in the showers; I had showered and was over watching Adlephe cook. Beetle stew tonight, although the boys wouldn’t know that as the shells were all strained out. “Don’t you think you’re being hard on them?”
“No.” I said. “They need to learn fast, the Rihalan come in a week, and we will need to show them what to do. You’re going to have a lot to do, cooking for all of them,” I said. “Do you think they will give you a helper?”
“No Rihalan will be allowed in the hut,” she said. “And I will only be able to go outside with you or Andrew.” I looked at her, and she finished explaining. “We don’t allow Rihalans to get around any of our women,” she said. “And I have to be all covered up, head to toe, whenever I am around them.”
“They can’t do that!” I said, disgusted.
“They can. Indeed we did most of it when we signed them up. But that is my problem, not yours. Andrew is going to make me a ‘sun room’ so the baby and I can get sun. Kind of like a porch where I can dress normally, but ‘inside’ so we obey their rules. But there have been problems, in the past, so you and the boys need to be watching out for me.”
My heart kind of jumped when she said that, but it almost seized when she said, “And your wife, of course, when she comes.”
I hadn’t forgotten that my wife was coming, of course, but I sort of almost had. “Did you hear any more?” I asked, nervous and then, at her look, got more nervous still. “You did!” I accused her.
“I wasn’t going to tell you,” she said. “I didn’t want you all nervous. She’s coming in the same fleet as the Rihalans. The Colonel said he will place soldiers with other families first, so poor Jill can have a couple of days, at least, with just you and not a bunch of perverts running all around, and having to stay inside.”
“So…?” I asked.
“About a week from now,” she said, answering the unspoken part of my question. “Go back to your trainees, now,” she commanded. “And get your mind off your wife.”
“Yes, Adlephe,” I said, thinking to myself how impossible that was!
“Dinners not quite ready,” I said. “Let’s work on making darts. Benjamin, get some flowers out. David…”
“Rihahlans” So that’s the CF-politically correct term for those who currently wish to be called Muslims (formerly Mohammedans or Moslems)? Or are these truly different, possibly followers of a later-than-our-time Islamic prophet named Rihahl, perhaps, who altered Islam a bit? Altered to make them civil toward other, capable of living peaceably with non-coercive fellow monotheists, so ‘Muslim’ is indeed a slur to these folks? (Like calling modern Christians Crusaders.)
“would go back, usually, to two wives each” Well, with ALL men going to war (more generous than tithing, so they get more slack in other ways, no doubt), if they suffer a 50% attrition rate, but their birthrates are about the same for boys and girls, there will be 2 women for every surviving man.
Looks like one of the bonuses the Rihalans get is coercing those around them to dress and act according to their beliefs, instead of tolerating cultural and religious differences. I don’t see how that is different from current Muslims, except that CF has perhaps agreed to such a contract in exchange for getting 100% of the males instead of 10%. Then again, this is the common-but-illogical “social contract” theory, where Aliyah and the others have *definitely*NOT* voluntarily signed any such imaginary ‘contract’, but rather the CF is coercing them to behave according to a contract CF signed on their behalf whether they agree or not.
“so poor Jill can have a couple of days, at least, with just you” So, Beth-any’s name was Jill at one time?
“bunch of perverts” No strong feelings there, at all. Completely justified, no doubt, so this should be interesting! My guess at her motivation: only self-aware perverts would force women to cover all traces of femininity, since they know that they have no self-control otherwise. At least they admit it. And it makes a little sense, too, since these are otherwise eligible men (if women, we’d call them nubile), forcing themselves to stay celibate for 5 long years. They *are* vulnerable to temptation.
>>“so poor Jill can have a couple of days, at least, with just you” So, Beth-any’s name was Jill at one time?
Yes, sigh 😉
>> 100% of the males instead of 10%.
100% for a short term contract, not life. The Rhialans (which is the name of their planet, btw) almost never become part of the CF for life.
“100% for a short term contract, not life” True, but volunteers for short-term count as much as lifers or convicts or culls, don’t they? Maybe they don’t. Maybe their commitment counts as a prorated part of the 10% of their planet? If, say, 20 years is considered a life-time commitment (a career soldier), then 5 yrs could count as 1/4th of a person, 10 yrs as a half. Short-term may seem like a weaselly way out of the commitment, but when at war, 5 years may be a life sentence. It still looks like a big planetary (or sector) commitment (net 25% with my suggested math), but very much on their terms, in return. Thus coercing the behavior of others around them.
>>only self-aware perverts would force women to cover all traces of femininity, since they know that they have no self-control otherwise.
Actually the theory here is that any showing of flesh by women is, according to their religous theory, permission for rape. The social/cultural issues between these two groups are very problematic.
“showing of flesh by women is… permission for rape.” That’s a strong statement. I can’t imagine any wife permitting her husband to rape another woman, no matter how the other woman behaves. The wife’s contractual property rights in her husband’s body should be sacrosanct. They obviously see it differently, dividing a wife’s property by two at least (each man taking two wives), more likely eliminating them altogether.
Are you saying this is actual Muslim theory, or your world’s Rihahlan theory?
I think my theory is kinder to them. They essentially admit their extreme weakness to the point of claiming that baring flesh is tantamount to seductive behavior that is irresistible to them, and thus an aggressive offense. I can see why a man’s pride wouldn’t want to phrase it that way, of course, but I’m an outside libertarian not too concerned with their feelings, only aggression against property.
Thanks for all the comments, Randy. Not much time to make changes now. More next week. And you are definitely getting into territory in the book where I will be making a lot of changes and additions.
>>“100% for a short term contract, not life” True, but volunteers for short-term count as much as lifers or convicts or culls, don’t they? Maybe they don’t. Maybe their commitment counts as a prorated part of the 10% of their planet? If, say, 20 years is considered a life-time commitment (a career soldier), then 5 yrs could count as 1/4th of a person, 10 yrs as a half. Short-term may seem like a weaselly way out of the commitment, but when at war, 5 years may be a life sentence. It still looks like a big planetary (or sector) commitment (net 25% with my suggested math), but very much on their terms, in return. Thus coercing the behavior of others around them.
Wow, you lost me Randy.
Volunteers for the CF are inducted as 5,10 or life committements. They are inducted into the Army, Fleet, or Colonization force (or smaller branches). The colonization force only accepts ‘life’ recruits because, of course, colonizing is for life… you move to the new planet, create your farm/mine/city etc., have children, and this becomes your new home.
Short termers can only be used in short term areas: Thus soldiers, fleets, or possibly miners (but not usually, only certain mining situations would work for five yearers, for example. All Riyalahns become Army soldiers, battling Bn, on the ground, in the areas where there is a lot of combat. This committement was seen as basically balancing the committment of the other planets but, in the end, many more Riyahlans die.
Oh, and remember that it is 100% of 50% of the population, as no Riyalhan women are ever inducted.
“Volunteers for the CF are inducted as 5,10 or life committements.” So, you’re saying they are equivalent so far as the planet’s 10% quota counts? Then what motivates someone to volunteer for anything but 5 years? The bonus? The exemption? Perhaps at 5 you get neither, at 10 you get a small bonus, and at life you get a large bonus and an exemption to pass along? This would probably vary a lot from planet to planet. Each comes up with a system it can live with, so long as CF gets its tithe, right?
I guess my question is from CF’s perspective, why would they consider a 5 year term equal to a life commitment?
Did my math lose you? Or my logic? I’m just trying to reason out how on earth (in space?) the CF would agree to coerce all females in the vicinity of a Riyalhan to dress and behave a certain way. The Riyalhans must have made a fantastic deal with CF to win that kind of consideration. A 5X planetary commitment (with your simple math of all males, 5 years counting as good as life) compared to other planets is the only thing I can think of. Maybe they threatened to go to war against the CF if CF refused the deal? NT caved famously, but perhaps Riyalhan did not, but rather made an incredible counter-offer that reinforced their self-image of superiority galaxy-wide.
>>>The Riyalhans must have made a fantastic deal with CF to win that kind of consideration.
Oh, I get you.
The Riyalhan problem was a big one for the CF. Loath to let any planet escape their duty to the CF and mankind as a whole, they were almost more loath to let the Riyalhans into ‘the system’.
The Riyalhans as a result of this deal end up as definite second class citizens in the CF. You have seen the changes they ‘insisted’ on… the dress of women around them (usually avoided by transporting them in sealed off sections of a ship with no women crew in that section), their form of joining, etc.
But the lack of life recruitment means that there are no Riyalhans anywhere in the upper echelon of any force. They don’t even have their own officers, but are officered by New Genevans, New Spartans, or Newtonians, mostly… cultures strong enough to basically snarl (or sneer) back in the face of Riyalhans culture. And they definitely have no generals, admirals, or the like.
The end situation is basically one where both people think they got the best end of the stick. The R get to preserve their dress, their isolation, and their polygamy, etc. The others get a bunch of cannon fodder… troops they can use in the most difficult and dangerous situations with no one even thinking of objecting.
>>what motivates someone to volunteer for anything but 5 years?
Actually very few people volunteer for five years, or even ten. Any non-lifer is, basically, not part of ‘the system’. They are kind of second class citizens in the CF. Remember the huge bulk of the CF are colonizers… people who go to another planet, get given land, crops, etc. and raise their kids there. Picture settlers in the west.
Indeed that might be a good metaphor: “We are raising a force to go settle Kansas. You can go as a citizen, landowner, patriarch… or a temporary five year farm hand.”
The five or ten year recruit, when they come back, has ‘served his time’ but has to re-integrate into a society that has left him behind. He comes back with a wife and a couple kids but no job.
The lifer, on the other hand, has a life-time job (as a soldier or ship crew) and raises in rank and power in his society along the way.
>>Each comes up with a system it can live with, so long as CF gets its tithe, right?
Yes, each planet negotiates with the CF. Many of the other planets have wildly different systems. For example:
Newtonia
Newtonia holds a strict lottery when the couple is first assigned at puberty, with children being assigned life-roles, which includes assignment to the CF.
Halycone Island
Halycone has a bizarre recruitment system that is, basically, completely financial. Basically exemptions are bid for and those not exempt are ‘recruited’. These recruits, which are always 50% male and 50% female due to the system of auctioning, are then sent to a two month ‘matchmaking’ party where they match up and, at the end of the party, join the Colonization Force en masse.
The exception, of course, is the normal prisoners and the culls matched with them. Hallycone has a rather relaxed legal system, however, so there don’t tend to be many of these.
The finances paid for the auction go half to the Colonization Force and half to the families of those recruited.
New Grenwhich
All second children, males and females, are automatically recruited into the CF. Marriages on NGw are arranged, with the will of the child taken into account to differing extent depending on the family and social class.
>>“Rihahlans” So that’s the CF-politically correct term for those who currently wish to be called Muslims (formerly Mohammedans or Moslems)? Or are these truly different, possibly followers of a later-than-our-time Islamic prophet named Rihahl, perhaps, who altered Islam a bit? Altered to make them civil toward other, capable of living peaceably with non-coercive fellow monotheists, so ‘Muslim’ is indeed a slur to these folks? (Like calling modern Christians Crusaders.)
The term ‘Rihlahans’ (however I end up spelling it 🙂 ) refers to people from the planet Rihlah, which is populated largely (but not completely) by Muslims. What the issue was here was that the term used (Muslim) was a religous one instead of a cultural/planetary one… a use of language frowned upon by the more liberal or moderate planets (Newtonia, Hallycone, New Texas) but often ‘slipped into’ by the more religously based planets (New Geneva or the Catholic planet whose name I forget… Hargrave, I think).
Muslim Planet Rihlah (Journey)
The planet Rihlah has a culture that most of the other planets find extremely offensive, and they were approached almost last in the formation of the alliance, with some suggesting that they should be completely ignored. However the New Spartan representatives were most insistent that all planets be included, so, in the end, a way was found.
All male citizens are required to serve five years in the Colonization Force army upon reaching a certain age of puberty. No women are recruited, and recruits all form their own units which, basically, have no contact with women. These units perform adequately, although not up to the standards of some other planets recruits. Their units are usually officered by New Genevans, who share some, although by no means all, of their cultural assumptions.
Rihalah is the only planet which encourages polygamy and returning recruits, those that survive their five year stint, find wives immediately on their return according to some family based system that is not clear to outsiders, and rarely talked about. As many units have a fifty percent or greater casualty rate, most Rihalahn men gain at least two wives.
Rihalah is occupied almost completely by Muslims (the few non-Muslims have their own system for recruitment and service). No Rihlahns serve in any service except the army.
Rhialan geography, ironically, is rather different from the deserts that most of them came from. Instead the planet Rihalan consists of mostly cold, wet, islands similar to Ireland.
Muslim clothing is extremely modest for both men and women. Men prefer very light colors, mostly white, and women darker colors. Men and women largely wear headcoverings as well, of different types.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_say_journey_in_Arabic