Where There Is Smoke...

Gold and orange painted the early morning clouds as the sun began its day. Gunter loved the mornings. The air was thick with promise. Birds left the safety of their roosts to provide for their young. As did Gunter.

He draped the heavy, warm, fur around his wide shoulders and soundlessly stepped out of the protection of the cave. He loved to watch his family as they slept in this dawn light. A peaceful sleep was rare and to be cherished, a gift from the gods.

Gunter walked the river edge, stooped and scooped handfuls of cold, fresh water. Splashing his face and taking several gulps, the chill focused his senses. The hunger for today’s bounty began to wake his mind and reflexes. Testing the flex of his spear, he began his ritual trek.

 The usual sounds and smells informed him where prey would be. As well as his daily hunting partner. They met at their habitual meeting place, Gunter and Togg. They had been adversaries and competitors for years until a small misfortune brought them mutually beneficial solutions to an unusually difficult year. Without words, they immediately began their hunt.

After successfully killing and dressing three beasts, Gunter and Togg decided to call it a day. Mostly because they smelled the oncoming storm. Neither enjoyed hunting in bad weather and because the hunt had been a success, there really was no need. Gunter had a sense that this storm was unusual and perhaps dangerous.

Rain didn’t bother the hunters, but their fresh prey would become heavy soon. And they knew their families were hungry and in need of fresh food. Getting stuck in a storm would delay gratification of hungry bellies.

The sudden flash blinded them.

*KABOOM*

A nearby tree exploded sending sharp splinters of wood in all directions. The men were tossed like dead fish on a river bed. Gunter, struggling to his feet, could see his friend face down a few feet away. He began to run to him but a stabbing pain in his leg stopped him abruptly. A piece of the exploded tree was lodged in his foot. He stopped to remove it when…

*KRAKOOM*

Another blinding flash and deafening explosion threw Gunter a good distance away. He woke sometime later to find Togg nudging him. Both men, stunned but otherwise unhurt, took stock of themselves and their surroundings. Gunter’s foot was bloody but unbroken. Their hunting bounty was scattered around amongst a lot of tree debris. The nearby trees were destroyed, black, and strangely, split open. 

The men gathered what they could and began to stagger back in the direction of their homes in a driving rain storm. But something else stopped them. Further ahead they saw something new and odd. Billowing into the sky above a tree line was a dark cloud. But this cloud was coming from the ground somewhere.

A sharp breeze brought a sample of this new oddity to the tired men. They both sniffed the air and immediately began to gag and cough. Neither had ever experienced anything like it before. It burned their eyes and throats. A grateful breeze and some quick feet brought fresh air. The rain washed the burning sensation away.

Now, a furious curiosity drove them both towards the toxic cloud source. Exhausted, cold, and wet, the men forged ahead towards this new phenomenon. And as they got closer the smell in the air changed. It was similar to the horrible experience from earlier but now it had different scents. The cloud was warm and getting warmer as they approached it. A strange glow pinpointed the location.

Sounds unheard before assaulted the hunters. Crackling, popping, and roaring that did not come from any living beast. In fact, the beasts were fleeing the forest in droves, not caring or aware that the hunters were there. But not all managed to escape.

Another new smell emerged as the men got closer to the source of the heat. Gunter let his nose lead him. The smell wasn’t entirely unpleasant. He approached an area blackened by this new glowing substance, sooty clouds and steam flurried around him. There, on the ground, a dead beast, boated and blackened. The smell coming from it made Gunter’s curiosity peak. His stomach growled. Why would it do that?

Near the body of the beast was a small patch of glowing heat. Gunter approached it carefully and reached out slowly. The heat increased the closer he reached. Just as he touched the bright glow…

“YOWL!!”

He withdrew his hand quickly and put a freshly stinging red finger in his mouth. The new thing hurt when touched, destroyed whatever it touched and produced heat and light. It also transformed beast flesh into a more appealing food. Togg had backed away a good distance, fear splayed across his face. Gunter was either a fool or braver than any other.

Gunter picked up a long branch and extended it toward the glowing heat and the fire erupted on the end that touched it. He smiled and waved his treasure around. Togg ducked and stepped back a good distance. Gunter reached out with the fire end of the stick and touched a nearby bush, it erupted in flames. He smiled broadly. The benefits of this new thing were enumerable.

Realizing the power he now wielded, his thoughts returned to his cold, dark, home and family. This would change his and their lives. Determined to bring this discovery home he and Togg used more fallen branches to construct a crude basket to drag the day’s hunt back to their home so Gunter could carry his treasure without burning himself or Togg.

During the long trek, Gunter was careful to transfer the dying flame to fresh fuel and was able to arrive home with victory on his face. His family was frightened of this magic. He tried to calm their fears, but they cowered deeper into the cave. The strange wonder he carried must have affected Gunter in some way. He would never bring such danger home. Calmly, he commanded Togg to gather loose fuel and pile it near the entrance to the cave. Once adequate, Gunter touched his flaming stick to the pile. It ignited and at once the cave lit up and began to warm. He took a single flaming stick and gave it to Togg as compensation for his help and sent him home.

Gunter urged his family to join him near the fire. It was dark and cold and wet outside the cave, but now, for the first time, it was light, and warm and dry inside their home. His son’s curiosity nudged him forward, which in turn, inspired his mate to cautiously do the same.

Pleased with his family’s apparent comfort and happiness with his discovery, Gunter joined them by the fire. He shared his story with them and also showed them how their food could be much better after roasting in the hot coals. He had never felt such contentment.

Shadows played on the walls of the cave. He and his son moved their arms around to make the shadows move. This was some entertainment. Then something in Gunter’s peripheral caught his attention, a brief glimmer in a distant part of the cave. It had always been too dark in the depths of the cave for any of them to explore. But now, with his bright new discovery, the cave was illuminated in ways never before seen.

He focused his attention in the direction of the flash. Nothing appeared, at first. Then his son moved away from the fire in just the right way and light found the target deep in the cave. The flash reappeared and disappeared as before. There was definitely something back there. He cautiously began to make his way towards the source. Try as he might, he could not avoid creating a dark shadow-void. The light simply would not reach the places he wanted to see. He sat and pondered. It came to him suddenly; he would have to bring light with him.  

Finding a fresh branch, he lit the end. Now he could bring light with him. Was there anything this power could NOT do? Now, the mystery object shone brightly as he approached it. Gunter’s bravery, having been bolstered by the events of the day, gave him the courage to walk with determined curiosity deep into the cave.

There was something on the cave wall that flashed brightly as his flaming illumination approached. He stopped directly in front of the object. It wasn’t large and it was strangely shaped. It didn’t look natural like stone or wood. It had sharp corners and uninterrupted lines. On the flat face of it were dark scratches etched onto the surface.

  

“In Commemoration of the First Landing on Europa, we, men of Earth, having arrived 12.25.3250, give this planet total autonomy, as approved by the Earth Directive of 3125. May it produce life abundant and independent. No Human shall again be permitted to step on her soil.”

After a long time pondering this strange object, he determined that since he could not remove it or use it, it was not his business nor a threat. So, Gunter made his way back to his family.

As he approached his little clan, he stopped to appraise his situation. He, Gunter, had created the scene before him. A mate, a child, a new and powerful tool that would provide comfort and security for them. Gifts. Something no one else had done. He felt a warm sense of pride, achievement, and for perhaps the first time, Love.

He walked to the entrance of his cave. He saw that snow had been falling for some time now. Everything was covered in cold, white powder. Normally this would cause problems for him and the other people in the area, but not today.

It was dark but a glow reflected off the snow and Gunter was reminded that he should give thanks to the provider above. So, he stepped out into the bright snow and looked up, arms wide.

There, as it always was, looming large in the sky was Jupiter. It’s stormy bands freely rushing around its surface. But Gunter could not know that was its name. For him it was the source of everything in his world.

He whispered to the Sky God his absolute gratitude and awe. Then went back inside and joined his family around the fire.