The King of Eolim by Raymond F. Jones

Author:Raymond F. Jones [Jones, Raymond F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0373720122
Publisher: Laser Books (Harlequin Enterprises)
Published: 1975-11-03T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter IX

Morten didn’t know the purpose of life. He was aware there were those who debated the question, but no Class IV human he had known had even considered it a meaningful question. It was like asking the purpose of the stars.

Of course, the question he and Arlee were interested in was not really the same. The question of whether one or two human lives should continue was not at all the same as asking the purpose of life. But now he saw an answer at least to the minor question. He and Arlee would have purpose. Their lives would have purpose—if they undertook to educate the natives—and Free—as far as they could go. It would be as he had said. Hundreds of generations would be jumped.

How long would it take them to develop writing if they were left alone? How long would it take them to measure the girth of their world? How long would it take them to build a glass and investigate the stars?

All that time could be shortened to a few months, a few years.

That would be purpose and meaning enough for him and for Arlee. He felt a flood of energy within himself supporting his concept. It seemed worthwhile. It seemed purposeful. It would give Free the best possible world in which to survive.

He found the two boys that afternoon drying some fish they had caught in the lake. Werk had shown Free a deposit of salt at some distance from the camp, and they were busy salting and drying the fish.

“You’ll have enough meat and fish stored for us to last the next five years,” said Morten.

“Oh, I’m showing Werk how we’ve been doing this,” said Free. “They’ve never done anything like it. They won’t eat anything that’s been killed more than a day.”

“Some of the stuff they fed me had been dead a lot longer than that,” said Morten. “Does Werk like to learn things from you?”

“Oh, yes—but he teaches me a lot more than I teach him. He knows how to build all these things—” Free swept a hand around the clearing to indicate their constructions.

“How would you like it if we taught Werk and all his friends and family some of the other things we know? Do they have any written language? Do they know how to measure?”

“Can they read—? No, I don’t think so.” Free spoke to Werk, using an awkward mixture of Werk’s language and his own. He seemed to get the idea across, but the native boy looked puzzled.

“He doesn’t know what I’m talking about,” said Free. “They don’t know how to read and write.”

“Suppose we teach them?”

“That would be great!”

“Reading and writing—we would have to make up a written language for them. We’d make it out of our own writing and adapt it to their sounds. Then we could teach them numbers. Do they know numbers and counting?”

This time Werk grinned enthusiastically to Free’s question. He held up the fingers of his hands. “They count up to the number of their fingers,” said Free.

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