Thomish Chapter 1

Chapter 1: What? 

WELCOME TO SALEM. I wonder how many times I've seen this sign, Thomas thought to himself. I've lived here for over a decade, drove all over for work, and yet, somehow I'd never seen so much of this country before driving these people around. 

About ten years ago, Thomas found himself in a unique position to drive some local Amish folk to various locations around the United States. Though the Amish don't believe in the use of technology themselves, it doesn't go against their religion to hire outsiders for transport. Thomas was a welder at the time, and he was working a job for a business that neighbored an Amish community. He would strike up conversations with many of the Amish, who in return began striking up conversation with him, once they were familiar. The leader of the local community approached Thomas about an issue they were facing, as one of their far away communities had a fire, caused by a lightning storm, and they were needed to help rebuild. He agreed, and his relationship with the Amish folk began.  

Thomas had heard about some tensions between several countries on the news, including the United States. He liked to share various news stories with the Amish, and many of them liked to hear them. This time, though, Thomas was a little worried and was seeking reassurance, as he often worried about the world his daughter London was growing up in. She was also along for the ride, as she often was, since Thomas was a single father. London was a quiet child, but she was always paying attention, which kept Thomas on his toes when it came to speaking. He had a foul mouth in a previous life, before London, but he had curbed his language for her sake. When she was four, she spent an entire day saying 'bullshit' after hearing Thomas say it to his friend Andy. London always seemed to remember everything she heard, forming ideas of her own before she spoke. She spent a lot of time with the Amish over this particular summer, turning ten the day before this trip. Her birthday party was small with some close friends, but she got a lot of presents. She liked receiving gifts, but most of all she really just enjoyed spending time with her dad. He had given up a lot for her: his first career as a welder, the marriage with her mother, who had given him a permanent gray spot in his hair at twenty-two along with a few broken bones, and he'd reinvented his life, going back to college to become a teacher, so he could be with her as often as possible. She was fairly young when this all started, but she remembered a good bit of it. 

The head of the local community went simply by Yaw. Thomas never asked if that was his full name or a nickname of sorts, but he figured it would be disrespectful to ask. Yaw was a curious man, slightly over six feet tall, well-built but not enormous, with bright red hair, something uncommon to the rest of the Amish community. 

Thomas told Yaw the story he'd heard on the news, that Russia was upset about the American pipelines being reopened, which ended the trade deals between the two countries. China had taken sides with America, surprisingly, but the entirety of the middle east and Europe, with the exception of the United Kingdom, had sided with Russia. There had been several summits and other conferences, and the tensions seemingly got worse after each attempt at resolve.  

"There's a reason we don't dabble in technology," Yaw politely replied. He was always very polite. "Resources are limited... people are ungrateful when they don't have to work for what they have." 

"Are you saying that people's selfishness and laziness are causing these issues?" London directed her question at Yaw.  

He smiled with acknowledgement, impressed by her intellect and objective nature at such a young age. "People struggle to see beyond the tip of their nose. If it's not right in front of them, something they can hold in their hand, touch with their fingers, smell and breath in, they don't believe it to be real. My people have a practice; we call it 'Rumspringa.' Our youth go out and experience the world. More often than not, these youth return, considering the rest of the world to be immoral and unsavory. Our ways keep us humble. We work for everything we have, taking very few luxuries." 

"So, you appreciate what you have," Thomas interjected, acknowledging he understands. 

"And we know that the future holds the harvest of what we sow today."  

They were nearing the Amish community in their little town. Thomas felt it proper to help the Amish unload and carry their belongings, as he was being paid well, and he had manners, unlike most of the people he’d known in recent years. While unloading, Yaw stopped, grabbed Thomas on the shoulder and turned him around with a strength he would not have expected; Yaw looked fairly old, though Thomas had no idea how old he really was; old enough he shouldn't be so strong, he thought. It must be that old man strength. 

"Look," Yaw said firmly, pointing to the horizon, just over the tree line to the south. A bright, orange, fiery glow filled the sky. It was somewhat far away, but getting closer, and fast. It looked like the sun had exploded, actively consuming the sky, obliterating everything in its path along the way; downing trees, leveling buildings, and blotting out the sun. Yaw yelled something to the other Amish peoples in an ancient language, grabbing the driver and his daughter, urging them toward the main structure of the compound. As the doors opened, Thomas saw the floor open up like something from a James Bond movie; mechanical. There was no time to think, and his daughter's safety was priority number one. As they descended into the bunker, he became even more confused.  

There was a network of hallways, three of which were open, the fourth with a locked steel gate across the front. People were going in and out of the gate, appearing to be scanned before entry. What the hell is back there? Most were coming from the other hallways, carrying various items that looked like the various cogs of a machine.  

"I know you have questions, and I will answer them later,” Yaw said. “But, for now, I have some priorities that cannot wait. You are welcome to wander about; I will find you when I am able to sit and speak with you." Yaw walked off toward one of the hallways, disappearing into a crowd of people. Thomas noticed Yaw did not seem rushed, nor did anyone else in the bunker. Everything was surprisingly calm, as if this day had been expected and planned for appropriately.  

Taking London by the hand, the father-daughter pair walked to the first hallway. A plethora of rooms extended down the hallway, full of interior gardens. Ultraviolet grow lights lined the ceilings, fish tanks lined the walls, and PVC pipes fed huge square-foot gardening plots full of tomatoes, onions, garlic, radishes, and any other plant one could think of. These observations only brought more questions, answering very little. 

They moved on to the next corridor, which was full of some sort of mechanical shop equipment and parts, various pieces of various puzzles scattered everywhere. He couldn't decipher any particular vehicles or machines, but the parts were definitely mechanical, and most of them looked more advanced than anything he'd seen in this lifetime. In the last open hallway, the rooms were full of beds, while several side rooms had toilets and showers, as well as a large subsection equipped with a top-notch gym. There was room for at least 200 people to stay here. Thomas remembered a German underground bunker found in World War II, Austria maybe, and he wondered if the Amish had discovered it at some point, taking some pointers. This structure seemed... more efficient. 

The big open space in the middle of these hallways had two chairs, side by side, with a third facing the two. Thomas did not remember them being there when they arrived, but it was hard to focus, as he still wondered what was in the locked hallway, noticing, now, that the people going in and out had Tyvek suits on, which look like cheap white HAZMAT suits you see in the movies. Yaw was approaching. 

"I'm sorry for the wait. I had to line some things out to make sure we were sealed in properly." 

"Sealed in?" Thomas questioned. 

"Yes. We don't know if that explosion was nuclear or not. We'd rather not find out the hard way." 

"Does your local school teach about radiation?" Thomas felt silly asking the question after what he was currently witnessing.  

"I think you know the answer to that question. Thomas, my people and I have come to trust you a great deal. In fact, we were going to invite you and your daughter into our community soon, but this... disaster rushed things a bit. I wanted you to know that before we start. Where would you like to begin?"  

"What is this place?" Thomas said, almost crossing his words, having so many questions to ask at the same time. 

"This is 'The Bunker.' This is where we restart when civilizations end. A clean slate base of operations with all of the bare necessities. I'm sure you found the botanical wing; there is a storeroom behind the main garden with every seed in known existence, at least of the basic plant life." 

"Did you say, 'when civilizations end?'" London asked. She was as curious as anyone. 

"Yes. We are... not what you believe us to be."  

"No shit, Sherlock!" Thomas was angry, but he quickly calmed himself and apologized. 

"I understand you are upset by the situation above and below. We have a great deal of experience with your people."  

"When you say 'your people,' you don't mean non-Amish do you?" 

Yaw shook his head. "We are alien to your beliefs. You are actually alien to your beliefs, as well, to be frank" 

"Make it make sense, man." Thomas felt as though he needed to be a certain way for London’s sake, and this was the best he could muster. 

London sat wide-eyed staring at Yaw as he began. "I am not like anyone else here. I am the most advanced... I think you call it artificial intelligence, or AI, in the known universe. I was designed to save the original planet you call Mars. In fact, my original name is Har Decher, or Red One, given to me by my creator. The people of Mars had evolved to a point that science had created virtual immortality, downloading their entire memory and personality into a compatible avatar that needed only to be replenished over time. I am the evolution of that creation, as my personality was manufactured by another man. This technology came at a cost, as social strains pushed society to make changes that destroyed the atmosphere. Mars had a more delicate balance than Earth.” 

“So… human problems?” 

“Yes. When the animals of Mars were overbred, they produced a great deal of toxicity to water streams, air, and food. I have only recently noticed a similarity on this planet with deer wasting disease, though that strain has not crossed over to humans yet. There were certain delicacies that people insisted upon, which led to great imbalances which could no longer be reversed in the ecosystems of our planet. The water dried up, the air was unbreathable, and though we were farther away than Earth, the sun took many lives, melting the motherboards of the people that stayed in the light too long.” Yaw sat in silence for a few brief seconds, as if he was remembering the fallen. 

“It became a wasteland with no suitable atmosphere to mitigate the sun. A decision was made to relocate to Earth; we'd made the trip before, finding no intelligent life, other than dolphins and elephants, but they were not evolved enough to be considered a threat. My creator also developed the technology for the avatar system. He gave me that knowledge in my programming, so I could make more as needed, including reproductive capabilities. Two-hundred Martians came with me to Earth, thus the 200 beds. We set up shop right here in this bunker, which started as a hole left by an asteroid. Over time, the climate was too unpredictable, and we moved." 

"Where did you go?" chimed London. 

He smiled at the curious little girl as she enjoyed the story. "At that time, the ice caps were almost completely melted. What you call Egypt was rich with water, as well as plant and animal life, and we knew from our earlier explorations that the resources were different from home, but some of our primitive technologies would work. The pyramid was of great use to us in powering a great civilization. Reproduction began again, as well, but me having so much knowledge, many of the new people began calling me Amun." 

"The Creator," Thomas said, recalling some of his lessons from history.

"Yes. Over the next three thousand years, more and more myths became truths, which comes with a purely human notion of faith. I was not alive at a time when people were so primitive, so this was a very new concept for me. I was built with the capacity to learn and feel, and this angered me. I detached myself from people, as they were seemingly very stupid. Religion did not exist on Mars, where all decisions relied on science and logic. Emotions were reserved for relations with friends and the more intimate connections. I stayed away for longer and longer periods of time, as each time I returned I found more disappointment, even finding that the language had changed. People were not improving, but regressing, even among the 200.”

“They just couldn’t help being human,” Thomas said. “Isn’t that the problem with all of us?”

Yaw shook his head in agreement before continuing his story. “On one arrival, I found that some of the originals had run off the others and were now considered gods. There was a great deal of controversy and treachery as a result, causing a divide between the upper and lower lands. I met with them, which sparked more mythological heresy from the common people. However, we had decided that perhaps, this time, though we could not change it, we could influence the path of humanity towards peace. That decision was to choose someone to rule in our stead." 

"A Pharaoh!" London exclaimed, happy to have remembered something from her own studies.

"A divine Pharaoh,” he corrected her with a grandfatherly smile. This person would answer directly to us for guidance. Originally, male or female was of no consequence, and we only sought to pick the most humble and logical of candidates. But, to our surprise and dismay, the people had already segregated themselves into the stronger and weaker sexes, based solely on physicality.”

“That was dumb,” Thomas jested.

Yaw seemed to ignore him. “A male was chosen, Narmer, though he preferred the name Menes. He was able to unite the divided lands, but he was just another human, really. During the time of pharaohs, another phenomenon occurred. The originals that were driven off took a group of people with them, followers really. They became known as the Hebrews. They had come to call their leader 'Horus' the protector, and the other influential god 'Hathor,' who brewed fermented fruits, leading to their people being called 'Hebrew’ as a joke, which went something like, ‘They follow him because he brews.’ Horus was always looking to the sky, remembering home. He always believed a better day would come. Those people suffered throughout most of existence." 

"You mean the Jews?” Thomas asked. 

"Yes. We tried in Egypt for three thousand years. The ice caps began to freeze, a result of another asteroid collision. You call the impact site The Grand Canyon. We had to leave Egypt as the water dried up. People left in every direction. By this time, we gods had stepped away long enough that generations had either forgotten or stopped believing in us. We don't look any different, and we don't possess any special powers, such as those put in the myths, so they had no reason to believe in us.” Yaw stopped, satisfied with his explanation.

Thomas and London looked directly at him in the brief silence, waiting for more. “Looks like we have a good bit of time down here. May as well keep going,” Thomas finally said. 

Yaw looked around at the busy bees getting each thing in its proper place with perfect efficiency, as if they’d done it hundreds of times without any needed help from him. “I suppose so,” he said. “We moved north until we found more land suitable for life, a place you call Greece. I was able to put together some technological advances here, causing some lightning arcs, but I never could get the same electrical grid I had from the pyramids in Egypt. Greece went without electricity, but the people thought I had godly powers and called me Zeus. The language changed again, over time. This translated over to the Roman era, as well. Not much changed in the pantheon. What did change, was rather than a pharaoh, the military leadership had a stronghold, seemingly even the support of the general populations. We handpicked Julius Caesar and Marcus Aurelius. What happened with Caesar was unforeseen and detrimental to our cause. Aurelius, sadly, just came too late in the evolution of that society. His influence and lack thereof illuminated another aspect of the human condition, though: People are stubbornly ignorant. Marcus was a great believer in the ideals we taught him, ideals that were the result of all the observations we had accumulated over thousands of years trying to civilize the new humans. He was honest, loving, united several factions, encouraged and supported education, but, still, people refused to listen." 

“Especially his son,” Thomas added. 

Yaw nodded nearly vehemently at the memory of such a terrible human.

"So you just keep starting over?" London inquired. 

"Yes. It is my purpose is to ensure human survival. My logical processors once thought that total annihilation would be the only satisfactory solution to the human condition. However, my ability to learn and feel eventually led me to empathize with humans. This leads us into christianity, the great divide among gods and humans." 

Thomas, palming his face and holding his daughter with the other said, "You're saying that you tried a pharaoh; that didn't work. You tried to be gods; that didn't work. You tried to implement certain people in certain places, and that didn't work. So what was the point of trying christianity?" 

"I am a creation of logic. I continue down the logical pathways until I find a solution, and time is not relevant to me. If we cannot control or properly influence leadership directly, perhaps we could do so with religion, a man-made device." 

Thomas’s gaze averted to an approaching figure. He was trying to listen to Yaw, but all he could say was, "Wow." 

A tall, olive woman with dark hair and keen eyes came to Yaw, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We are ready." There was a scar on her left arm from her shoulder to her elbow. London elbowed her father to get him to stop staring at her. 

Yaw got up from his chair. "We will continue later. Pay attention to what happens now; everyone must do their part if we are to give the next civilization a proper chance." Yaw closed his eyes, and what sounded like a bluetooth connection rang throughout the bunker.

"Hello everyone." Yaw’s voice sounded throughout the complex. Everyone stopped what they were doing, almost unanimously, to listen. "It is unknown if the bombs from earlier were nuclear. The majority of the Earth has been destroyed, again. Unfortunately, this time, there is no way to immediately rebuild. If they were nuclear, the radiation would be detrimental to all of us, and it will need to dissipate before we can rebuild. We have prepared for this scenario. Please, continue to serve your purpose competently and efficiently, so we may all build a better future for humankind. At this time, we remain in the same functions. Updates will be given as the surface information comes in." 

Thomas and London listened in shock. Yaw came back over to where they were sitting. "Let's find you two beds. We will discuss jobs tomorrow. Thomas, I have a decent list of options for you, but we will have to figure out what London is capable of doing competently or learning properly."  

"She's ten," he protested. 

"We all must do our part, if humans are to survive." 

Thomas did not argue, as he knew Yaw was right. London cried out, "TOP BUNK!" as they approached the wing with the beds. Yaw smiled again, something Thomas could not recall ever seeing in the years he'd been driving the Amish, and today it just kept happening. Are they even Amish? Are all of the Amish communities like this one? Are they in shelters too? The questions kept piling on, and Thomas was getting lost in the confusion of his own mind and emotions, many of which were new to him. He pushed them down for now, trying to get a hold on what he needed to be doing, not just now but for the foreseeable future. He and London were assigned bunks. London got her top bunk with her father sleeping just below her.  The following morning, Yaw was standing at their bunks. 

"Thomas, over the millennia, we have observed that there is no greater impact on a child's demeanor, intellect, and emotion than parental involvement. I know this will all be very strange for both of you, but I wish to assure you that London will be kept close to you in whatever job she is assigned. Her development and maturity are the most important, as well as the other children and children to come, for recivilizing the world." 

"Thank you."

"You have a duty to raise her in such a way that she will accept responsibility head on, always looking for solutions and not letting emotions control her. I have gotten to know her from our trips together. She has a great many leadership qualities, similar to the ones we have seen in past selections." 

"What are you saying," Thomas asked, alarmed. 

"Potential nuclear fallout, the reason we cannot go to the surface right now, can take years to dissipate. London is ten, now. She will be in her mid to late teens, most likely, by the time Mother Nature has been able to fully cleanse herself of radiation. She will likely be a citizen of the new civilization, but she may be a leader. She needs to have the skills to take that position."  

"Understood.” But…” Thomas stared at his feet a moment, then back up at Yaw. “Will there be any sort of childhood for her down here?" 

"It will not be what she, or you, are used to, but she will be among other children. There are games to be played after work is complete, and the community nurtures children to be themselves. Letting children be who they are is what makes them better people as adults. They aren't hiding anything from themselves or anyone else."  

Thomas smiled, as he looked up, "Thank you. Thank you for taking us in, and thank you for speaking with me."