Parable of the Talents

Once we had gone to all the caches—one had been raided, but the rest were in­tact—we spent the night in another shallow cave. It was raining again, and cold. That was good because it would make tracking us pretty much impossible. On that last night, when we'd eaten, we dropped off quickly to sleep. We'd been tramping through the mountains all day, carry­ing packs that got heavier with each stop, and we were tired. But the next morning before we parted, we held a final Gathering. We sang Earthseed verses, to the tunes that Gray Mora and Travis had written. We Remembered our dead, including our dead Acorn. Each of us spoke of it, Re­membering.

'You are Earthseed,' I said to them, at last. 'You always will be. I love you. I love you all.' I stopped for a moment, struggling to hold on to what was left of my self-control.

Somehow, I went on. 'Not everyone in this country stands with Andrew Jarret,' I said. 'We know that. Jarret will pass, and we will still be here. We know more about survival than most people. The proof is that we have sur­vived. We have tools that other people don't have, and that they need. The time will come again when we can share what we know.' I paused, swallowed. 'Stay well,' I told them. 'Take care of one another.'

We agreed to visit the newly designated Humboldt Red­woods information drop every month or two for a year—at least that long. We agreed that it was best that each group not know yet where the other groups were going—so that if one group was caught, it couldn't be forced to betray the others. We agreed it was best not to live in the Eureka and Arcata area because that's where most of our jailers lived, both the dead ones and the off-shift ones who were still alive. Each city was home to a big Christian American church and several affiliated organizations. We might have to go to these cities to look for our children, but once we've found them and taken them back, we should go elsewhere to live.

'And change your names,' I told them. 'As soon as you can, buy yourselves new identities. Then relax. You're hon­est people. If anyone says otherwise, attack their credibil­ity. Accuse them of being secret cultists, witches, Satanists, thieves. Whatever you think will endanger your accusers the most, say it! Don't just defend yourselves. Attack. And keep attacking until you scare the shit out of your accusers. Watch them. Pay attention to their body language. Then-own reactions will tell you how best to damage them or scare them off.

'I don't think you'll have to do much of that kind of thing. The chances of any of us running into someone who knew us at Camp Christian are small. It's just that we need to be mentally prepared for it if it happens. God is Change. Look after yourselves.'

************************************

And we went our separate ways. Travis said we would be better off not walking on the highway unless we could lose ourselves in a crowd. If there were no crowds, he said, we should walk through the hills. It would be harder, but safer. I agreed.

We hugged one another. It took a lot of hugging. It took the possibility of coming together again someday in another state or another country or a post-Jarret America. It took tears and fear and hope. It was terrible, that final leavetaking. Deciding to do it was easier than I thought. Doing it was much harder. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

Then I was alone with Allie, Harry, and Nina. We four slogged through the mud, heading north. We traveled through the familiar hills, to the outskirts of Eureka, and finally, to Georgetown. I was the one who suggested George­town once we had separated from the others.

'Why?' Harry demanded in a cold voice that didn't sound much like Harry.

'Because it's a good place to pick up information,'' I said. 'And because I know Dolores Ramos George. She may not be able to help us, but she won't talk about our being there.'

Harry nodded.

'What's Georgetown?' Nina asked.

'A squatter settlement,' I told her. 'A big, nasty one. We went there when we were looking for you and your sister. You can get lost in there. People aren't nosy, and the Georges are all right.'

'They're all right.' Allie agreed. 'They don't turn people in.' These were her first voluntary sentences since her lash­ing. I looked at her, and she repeated, 'They're all right. We can look for Justin from Georgetown.'

 

Chapter 16

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From EARTHSEED: THE BOOKS OF THE LIVING

The Destiny of Earthseed

Is to take root among the stars.

It is to live and to thrive

On new earths.