Phase Q/Back in the Future
“So let me get this straight. You’ve assembled a top team of experts, and now you’re constructing a new city?” you ask.
“Well, not exactly,” says the businessperson. “We believe that the city was a detrimental part of our ancestors’ lives, and was implicated in their downfall.”
“I see. Even though there were other changes happening around that time…”
“We believe that the city led to collapse.”
“Achoo!” a chorus of villagers sneeze in unison.
You walk around the meager dwellings. Game animals hang in the doorways, drying. Large piles of salt sit scattered about the campsite.
“So what do you plan to do?” you ask.
“Right now we’re building up a set of dwellings. After that, we think that commerce will quickly arise naturally.”
A blip, a kind of artifact of the multiphase field supporting the Island, flashes in your periphery. Some of the villagers glance briefly towards the light, before returning to work.
“And how are you going about the building?” you ask.
“Here, let me show you.” The businessman walks you around the different workstations. At one, a man with a nearly horizontal forehead and very hairy limbs pounds a rock against a wood board.
“Urk here is assembling subpanels for the dwellings.”
“Mm-hm,” you nod.
Several other workers perform various functions. Presumably the businessman himself will oversee final assembly.
Off to the side, a circle of women nurse babies, while knitting shawls.
“The ladies’ circle here is responsible for our garments,” says the businessman.
A young woman in simple dress stands out as somewhat more aesthetic than her agrarian countrywomen.
You wonder about the tribe’s reproductive strategy, although decide that it must be a taboo subject here.
“What kind of diet do you have here?” you ask instead.
“We eat a wholesome diet of what the land produces. Rich in everything that our bodies need. We mostly eat the local grasses, which provide hearty sustenance. Some of us also eat meat,” and he points to a small animal that looks vaguely like a miniature cow, hanging from his doorway.
Seeing your face, he adds: “Many of the villagers live on corn alone.”
Ding-a-ling-a-ling!
A child is repeatedly banging a stick against a hollowed-out metal casing, some kind of relic.
“Oh, you’ll like this,” says the businessman, proudly. “We have a very supportive community, and now’s our daily communing.
You follow him over to the gathering pit. There, the women and children engage in some kind of tribal ceremonial offering. It involves dancing and flames.
Then, each member of the village takes a turn going up in front of the group, and holding up a piece of that day’s work, and describing vividly how the piece came to be.
You enjoy the presentation, in the soft warmth of the setting star. Fragrances from the local plantlife waft by, warming your tummy.
Phase Q: An interactive adventure.
