inn, maybe a stable on the back, a hall for meetings. Us kid's will live there for now, and move out as we grow up—more than half of us are sixteen or older. Then the town will have a place for travelers to stay. Maybe a restaurant, or . . . something." No doubt she'd read him the riot act over his ad libs.
"Right. We'll put you on one corner of the two main streets. The other corners we'll leave empty, for an eventual Town Hall, maybe a church, library or school on the other corners."
Chris blinked. No arguments? No charge?
As other people calle d out suggestions or demands, Otts pulled out a bunch of stakes and survey gear. He put everyone to work, and soon enough, had them all moving their cars to their plots. Chris watched, a bit awed. Sometimes someone who knows what needs to be done just steps up and yells enough to get it done.
***
"So? When do you think you'll start planting your grape vines?" Harry frowned out at the sunset. Over the last week they’d hauled rocks and laid them out for a patio behind the winery. It made a nice meeting spot for the gods, and however many people came by. Up on the hill, they had a long field of view to the west.
The predators had quickly learned to stay away.
Or perhaps they had killed them all.
The older kids, Jack Otts, Muriel Westfarlin and Phaedra Shandy were regulars. Both the women’s husbands had declined to follow their wives and children into exile. Tonight M iriam Wilson had come with them; she and her husband George still planned to build a store—once there was something to sell.
"We don't even know what time of year it is here." Old Wolf paced like a big cat. "The vineyard will have to be outside of the walls. There's no room inside. Keeping the antelope away is going to be hard. And for all we know, there will be elephants."
"It was June when we left Earth." Dane looked up from a book on architecture. "I doubt we could do a dimensional gate if the planet wasn't in the same place in the same orbit. Although with the days four minutes longer, we may not have the same rotational speed as Earth, and that may be why the gate was wobbling all over like it did."
Gisele and Wolf eyed each other uncertainly.
"It was wobbling?"
"Yep." Chris sighed. "It spread us out, which is nice."
"It got kind of scary when it started raining naked bodies, though." Dane's eyes flicked toward Gisele, and he visibly suppressed a smile. "Good thing there were only four of you and you only fell about five feet.
Muriel cleared her throat. “I’ve got an auger, I can drill holes for your vines, if you don’t want to use the voodoo thing for it. Bill and Jerry both have fruit saplings they need to get in the ground soon.” She had her youngest daughter in a basket, asleep at her feet. The other two were inside watching some horrible cartoon. Harry occasionally wondered how Old Wolf had acquired such an odd collection of shows. The man himself didn't remember.
Jack nodded. “We’d best start allocating land out here. Originally, it was just going to be, fence it and register it and it’s yours. But between the predators, and the pests, everyone wants to be close in.”
Wolf stared out at the twilight plains. “The vines don’t need to be so close to the wall.” He flicked a quick grin at Muriel. “I forgot about the voodoo thing. I can probably protect them. Jack, why don’t we get together a town meeting, elect you mayor officially, and decide on a land registry and plan. Maybe close in, ten acres, a mile away forty, two miles, a hundred and sixty acres. Three miles away, and you could start allotting square miles.”
“Yes, something like that.” Jack frowned at the gods. “And eventually we’ll whittle down the predators and the deer and the antelope or whatever wil l be so afraid of us that they won’t come near. But what about bugs? Fungus? We’re going to have to import fuel, fertilizer and bug spray. If we can. It’s beginning to look like we
"Right. We'll put you on one corner of the two main streets. The other corners we'll leave empty, for an eventual Town Hall, maybe a church, library or school on the other corners."
Chris blinked. No arguments? No charge?
As other people calle d out suggestions or demands, Otts pulled out a bunch of stakes and survey gear. He put everyone to work, and soon enough, had them all moving their cars to their plots. Chris watched, a bit awed. Sometimes someone who knows what needs to be done just steps up and yells enough to get it done.
***
"So? When do you think you'll start planting your grape vines?" Harry frowned out at the sunset. Over the last week they’d hauled rocks and laid them out for a patio behind the winery. It made a nice meeting spot for the gods, and however many people came by. Up on the hill, they had a long field of view to the west.
The predators had quickly learned to stay away.
Or perhaps they had killed them all.
The older kids, Jack Otts, Muriel Westfarlin and Phaedra Shandy were regulars. Both the women’s husbands had declined to follow their wives and children into exile. Tonight M iriam Wilson had come with them; she and her husband George still planned to build a store—once there was something to sell.
"We don't even know what time of year it is here." Old Wolf paced like a big cat. "The vineyard will have to be outside of the walls. There's no room inside. Keeping the antelope away is going to be hard. And for all we know, there will be elephants."
"It was June when we left Earth." Dane looked up from a book on architecture. "I doubt we could do a dimensional gate if the planet wasn't in the same place in the same orbit. Although with the days four minutes longer, we may not have the same rotational speed as Earth, and that may be why the gate was wobbling all over like it did."
Gisele and Wolf eyed each other uncertainly.
"It was wobbling?"
"Yep." Chris sighed. "It spread us out, which is nice."
"It got kind of scary when it started raining naked bodies, though." Dane's eyes flicked toward Gisele, and he visibly suppressed a smile. "Good thing there were only four of you and you only fell about five feet.
Muriel cleared her throat. “I’ve got an auger, I can drill holes for your vines, if you don’t want to use the voodoo thing for it. Bill and Jerry both have fruit saplings they need to get in the ground soon.” She had her youngest daughter in a basket, asleep at her feet. The other two were inside watching some horrible cartoon. Harry occasionally wondered how Old Wolf had acquired such an odd collection of shows. The man himself didn't remember.
Jack nodded. “We’d best start allocating land out here. Originally, it was just going to be, fence it and register it and it’s yours. But between the predators, and the pests, everyone wants to be close in.”
Wolf stared out at the twilight plains. “The vines don’t need to be so close to the wall.” He flicked a quick grin at Muriel. “I forgot about the voodoo thing. I can probably protect them. Jack, why don’t we get together a town meeting, elect you mayor officially, and decide on a land registry and plan. Maybe close in, ten acres, a mile away forty, two miles, a hundred and sixty acres. Three miles away, and you could start allotting square miles.”
“Yes, something like that.” Jack frowned at the gods. “And eventually we’ll whittle down the predators and the deer and the antelope or whatever wil l be so afraid of us that they won’t come near. But what about bugs? Fungus? We’re going to have to import fuel, fertilizer and bug spray. If we can. It’s beginning to look like we
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