Chapter 19 Measuring Cups And Spoons

They were slow to get going the next morning. Good breakfast, but the creature comforts were minimal there, due to the raid from the goons of PE Corporation of their comfy home in the first cave, that had stripped it of everything. Geodon had not worked so hard to get this third cave nicely equipped, not knowing if it would get raided too. If the PE folks were picking their brains, then they would likely find out about this location too, and break into it too. Thus why work so hard to make it comfortable. Besides, he had not had much time to re-equip it. At least Nansella was back almost fully helping, as her memories continued to dribble back in, when stimulated by what she was seeing that now was familiar again.

Nansella asked what the mind intruders were likely to do when they discover that she had been able to recover some of her memory, despite the intruders having erased the memories including of her relationship with Geodon. He said that question had been in his worries too, but had not come up with an answer. It was possible that those who used a technology related to the "sharp poke" sensation that was followed by erasure of memories related to the physical and intellectual property the intruders stole from the victim, and also seemed to be able to do some puppeteering of their targets too; such people probably are ready to deal with any who manage to recover enough to resent the abuse done to them and their lives. Maybe that was what the town prison was for, holding folks who had done that. It was real paranoid kind of stuff and therefore not likely to be considered credible by most people even if told to them; and besides, that knowledge would be erased easily by the intruders. It was an "absolute power" kind of thing, and proverbially that led to absolute corruption. It kind of fit PE management or maybe just one segment of the planet-running corporation. And they were stuck on this planet for the rest of their lives.

They had enough food for two more days here, so they discussed how they would like to spend the time together, since it was likely that when then got back to town, one or both of them would have the memory of their relationship erased, and they might not be so lucky to be able to recover next time.

Nansella said that she wanted to explore the rest of the lava tubes, go on another boat ride, and make some spoons. And much mutual comfort time together in between. Geodon agreed with all of this.

With a picnic lunch packed and two fully charged flashlights, they headed up the lava tube towards the fork. This was getting familiar to both of them, yet even so, the sense of being lost in space and time while walking along in there, still felt quite strange. They reached the Y; then on impulse they chose to explore a little way up the stem of the Y, a place where they had not yet gone. And was probably the first time any living things had been there. It looked much like the other lava tubes except had a somewhat larger cross-section. Same smooth shiny walls of the flattened circular shape. Then they came to another fork in the tube. This one looked like it had gone off toward the direction of the vast lake, but they did not have the light resources to explore that direction. They were only using one flashlight as it was, not wanting to repeat the experience of being without a flashlight far from home. So they turned around there and returned to the original Y in the tube, and soon were up in the sunlight after climbing the debris pile remaining from the collapse of the lava tube's roof there.

Geodon scanned full circle there, but found no identifiable landmarks other than the tops of the two pylons off in the distance. Nansella suggested that this place might be useful as a secondary hideout, since it had cover, sunshine and water. And it had three ways for access, none of them easy. Geodon suggested that they could use the ultrasound process to build a room just inside the lava tube beyond the opening, and run wires from a solar cell array set out above here to provide a small amount of electricity to it. They could gradually bring supplies to it over time, preparing it for a hideaway. Even with supplies, though, it could be only a temporary place to be. They set a target to enable it to be able to support the two of them for two weeks. Nansella filled one of her emptied lunch containers with water from the pool of water below, to take back for analysis of its usefulness for drinking. Picking out a place for their future room to build, they placed their emptied food and drink containers there to mark the spot, a form of claim on the site, too, having written both their names on the containers. However, they decided not to do a formal registration with PE for this site; there appeared reason to not fully trust that authority to honor the property of the people who lived on this planet, as much as had been claimed.

Then they continued their hike through the lava tube until reaching its lakeside exit. Nansella stood admiring the view of the lake from there, still amazed as to how much water. Not nearly as big as the vast lake that supplied the town and agriculture with water; but still more water than would fill a bathtub, which was the most she had seen elsewhere, before coming up here with Geodon. From here, they could see both the dock at the bored cave entrance part of the lake, and also the dock at the far end where the first lava tube had its exit. Nothing stirred at either place, for which they were thankful. They determined to leave some more empty food containers in the first cave before they left, to suggest to intruders that was where they had spent their time while up here this time.

Nansella suggested that this, too, could be made into a hideaway, since it had access to sunshine and water, and could be accessed two ways, one by boat and the other through the lava tube network. Geodon suggested that they could use the boat to bring supplies here fairly easily, and later move them to the area of the collapsed roof area; meantime they would be available here, anyway. He looked around at the surrounding lava folds and said that it would be quite difficult to get to this place without a boat, or through the tunnels. That could be an advantage, or a disadvantage, depending on the situation.

Nansella declared that this whole area was an interesting place. Geodon had formally declared homestead rights to the small lake and 100 meters around its edges, and that would include this little cave hideaway too, even though not identified on the declaration map, no more than was the lava tube exit at the far end of the lake. But it was on record that he owned all of this, so long as he had made it a supporter of life, and his seeding of the lake ecosystem fulfilled that claim; and the little plot of oats and starter microbes he had been growing using sand he had brought up from the perimeter of town, also fulfilled that claim. But the claim was recorded in Planetary Enterprise data banks, and thus could be erased as easily as they had erased his memory of ownership of the cabinetry business.

Nansella said she was ready to take a boat ride, so they made their way back again through the lava tubes to the dock at the far end of the lake. She produced some picnic items and said she wanted to have a little meal in the boat, out on the water. So they got in the skiff and Geodon paddled out into the middle of the lake, Nansella absorbing the experience, including how the ripples which they made moved out away from them, heading across the flat lake in all directions.

Riding in the little boat across the lake, Nansella suddenly exclaimed that there were things in the water. Geodon glanced down, it was a trout fish, about half grown. He explained that he had seeded this lake with a complete set of a chain of lifeforms, bacteria, algae, crustaceans, worms and several kinds of fish who were the top of the food chain in the lake. The water, sunshine and some minerals from the basalt enclosing the lake, were the basic building blocks and energy source. Eventually he thought the trout would become a small food source for people here, along with the oats he had planted, eventually a way to augment the food supply here. Nansella said she knew someone who had pet ducks and she could see if she could get some ducklings for the lake.

Geodon thought the addition of ducks to the pond was a great idea. And once the oats were fairly abundant growing here, he would attempt to get some quail and see if they could thrive here on shore too, a second kind of bird. Much of what mankind did on this planet was to bring life to this planet which had never known life before. And this indeed seemed to be happening here. With more buckets of sand to extend the area where oats could grow, that would provide more food for the other creatures of the food chain. So far, Geodon had avoided bringing more kinds of creatures to live here, beyond those capable of living in a self-sustainable way in this localized ecosystem. He had brought up canisters of oats and farm sand to help start the system; but the intent was for the oats to soon be productive enough to sustain the system thereafter. Using another empty beverage container, he took a sample of the lake's water, to have it analyzed to see how the microfauna were doing. The last time he had analyzed a sample of the lake water, he had found that two more microfauna were needed to stabilize the ecosystem better.

Out in the middle of the lake, Nansella got out her picnic lunch, and they happily munched it, surrounded by the water of the lake, just as she had requested. Her enthusiasm for it spiced Geodon's experience of it too, having this meal with her in this unique space. Most of the planet was a desolate lava covered world; so this indeed was a novel experience, he decided, although by himself he would not have thought of coming out here to eat. Romantic activities brought new brightness to most any place and situation, he mused.

Their meal done, and having absorbed the scenery and sunshine until it had become a bit routine, they headed back to the dock on the lava tube end of the lake; the little boat was safer there, he thought, although it did point to where the lava tube had its exit, if anybody would see the boat way down here. But it was not easily seen, and could not be seen from the area of the three artificial cave rooms. The presence of a dock there might not suggest the presence of a boat somewhere on the lake, he hoped. Nansella suggested that they place some seats, made with the ultrasonic process, on the dock area, to encourage contemplation of the water in comfort from there, and suggest another purpose for the dock area, to hopefully satisfy the curious.

"How much money would a business have to make to attract the takeover by PE?" Nansella asked. If we made this into a vacation resort kind of thing, yet did not expand it to make very much money, then maybe PE would not take it over, she suggested. "Probably the cost of having goons invade and take it over, would be the dividing line between a business that remained in the hands of the originators of the business, versus the businesses that got taken over by PE" he suggested.

"Let's see if Jockly and Juisette would be willing to let their cave room be rented to vacationers." Geodon suggested. "Meantime lets set the satellite to start blasting a new cave room. We have enough pulverized basalt shards now to make a few more sets of tableware, but not enough to make a thriving business of it; perhaps the scarcity of the powdered material will make it a venture not worth the takeover by PE; and we can make a bit of money off the effort, and keep it as our own that way." Although the satellite technique for pulverizing shards of lava to create the material for making spoons etc, could be done anywhere on the planet, and thus making it into a bigger business, for now the means for making the material for making the finely detailed tableware could remain their secret. Or so they hoped; now remembering the probability that their memories of all this would be somehow gotten by the mysterious folks at the town prison.

Geodon then suggested carefully that maybe the town prison was indeed not exactly just a prison, but instead a site for those who did the memory invading and erasing process. The tower would make a perfect place for observing the townspeople. Of course, its reputation for instead being a prison, intimidates any townspeople who might be tempted to do mischief. That suggested, they determined to once again use the back pathway back to Geodon's house when they returned to town.

Slowly paddling the way back to the dock on the far side of the lake, they were being quiet. When they got back, would the memory of all this be taken away from them, they both wondered. So they especially admired the view and the experience, as they might not be able to experience it again. Or even remember experiencing it now. Back at the dock, they tied the boat up and rested a bit in the fading sunlight, before heading down the lava tube to their cave number three to spend the night in more comfort together. They set the two flashlights to recharge, and Geodon reprogrammed the satellite to start boring the fourth artificial cave, over by cave room number one and number two. It would take another month to bore the new cave; meantime, the shards produced could be used to extend the area into the lake a bit more, as a flat area for the hypothetical tourists. Sand could be brought up to make the last inch of surface for the deck area, and the rough shards would be the below surface material supporting the deck's sand.

The next morning Nansella prepared a nice breakfast for them. She had food for only one more meal, and she suggested that they stash this food away as a start on hideaway provisions. They could go back a few hours earlier because of it, and be a bit hungrier when arriving in town, is all. But this way they would have a start on a new cache of supplies for some future need. And they realized that being prepared for the unexpected was a wise thing to do, insofar as resources permitted. They spent the morning making a trip to the collapsed roof site, placing some food there with the empty containers previously left there to mark the site.

So they headed back to town a few hours earlier than they had originally intended. It had been a very nice adventure for them both, to come here this time. They had no lunch to munch on, as the transfer pod dipped up and down across the rugged landscape, so they were indeed hungry when they arrived at the town's pylon. They took the back way to Geodon's home, and got inside without apparent memory problems; they both showed their spoons were still in their original condition in their pockets, as a sort of proof of that. Nansella immediately prepared a fine meal for them.

Since Nansella was needing more of her belongings from her own house, they decided to attempt to plan how to get them over here without loosing their memory through the mysterious whatever it was. They brainstormed about it without coming up with much of an approach until dusk. Another mealtime and they spent the night together there, delaying the worrisome adventure a bit more.

The next morning they decided to take the back utility path, only do it to her house. They were not sure of how that path went, as her house was among the older homes and thus an earlier part of the utility access pathway. She also was not sure she would even be able to recognize her house, as seen from the back utility path. So Nansella set Geodon's phone to be calling her house phone; maybe they could hear the constant ringing from the utility pathway, when they had found a house that she thought was probably hers. Then they would listen for the phone ringing.

With that plan in mind, and pockets full of munchies in case this took a lot longer than they thought it would - Geodon even brought along a small flashlight, just in case it had gotten dark by then - they went out the back way from his house, and started though the complex circuits of the utility system pathway. They paused at what seemed to maybe be her house as seen from the back, but they could not hear any ringing in the house; so they continued on. They had paused at several houses to listen before they found one which was emitting a continuous series of ringing sounds, dimly heard. The shape of the back of the house looked like her house would look, although she had never actually examined the back utility view of her house before. She applied her access key to the back service door, and the door opened. Looking inside, she found it indeed was her home. Inviting Geodon in, she made a quick survey of the place and decided it looked the same as it did before she had gone over to Geodon's place most recently. That time she had been suffering unknowingly from having some of her memories erased; but that did not include memories of how her own home looked. So far, so good. It was getting late so they decided to fix a dinner there and save their snacks for the return trip. And might as well sleep at her place this time, something new for Geodon and her. Here in her own kitchen, she was able to be more creative in her culinary arts, which created a supreme meal for Geodon, something that he had not experienced for a decade, back when his former wife had done so before leaving for her adventures in life without Geodon. It seemed that Nansella was an even better cook than his former wife had been, too. Although Nansella was making something special this time from her own choice of foodstuffs. She made a small list of items for Geodon to order delivered by the conveyor belt to his house, so she could prepare this kind of dish over there, too at times.

The next morning, they left her house the back way again, with the needed items in hand. Geodon had marked their pathway here, and had shown the places where they had to backtrack, so this time they were able to get back to his place a lot quicker that the trip to her place had taken. They did their spoon position check, and it looked like they had not been accosted somewhere along the way this time. They did not doubt that both their memories could be messed with at the same time, so being together was not much of a help in the matter. They suspected that from a place of being intercepted, they might even go their separate ways, no longer aware of each other's existence. The thing had done it to Nansella once already; so clearly it was mean enough to do that dirty trick.

Anyway, back at Geodon's home again, they relaxed a bit exhausted for awhile, before another meal got prepared. Then she complained that she had not gotten to make her spoon while up at the lake area; so Geodon showed her how to make a mold for making spoons, using a metal spoon as the sample shape. She was a quick learner, and was practicing making a different kitchen utensils, a measuring cup with its markings too. He showed her the method for making that kind of deeper multi-section mold. While it was finishing its hardening process, she then finally cast her spoon in the other mold, ultrasonically hardening it and then tediously filing off the rough edge made where the two mold sections met. But then she had her self-made spoon, and she was proud of it. She exchanged it for the one in her pocket used as a signal of having been jabbed with the sharp thing before memory intrusion thing going on; and put the former spoon back in Geodon's kitchen.

Tomorrow they would make a few more items including a couple of her measuring cups, and take them down to the store to be sold. And would be another test of how to avoid losing their memories and belongings.