This morning I woke up in Chosposi's arms.
When I emerged from the hut where we had spent our first night together, there was already a great deal of activity. The reeds had to be cut according to Sister Spider's instructions.
They are so big that their diameter exceeds the height of a full-grown man. Their length approaches a forty cubits.
Sister Spider passed among us to examine the reeds and allocate one or two to each clan, depending on its number.
In front of each reed she stopped and called out to the Chosen those who were Elders of the clan. Then she rose briskly a few cubits on the reed and, holding herself with one hand and her feet, traced a deep mark in the bark with an obsidian point.
"Use your obsidian swords and saw through the reed", she said. She jumped to the ground.
"While some are sawing, let others go and get some gourds over there", she added, pointing to a forest in the distance.
"The gourds will have to be this big." She traced a circle on the ground about an armful in diameter.
"You'll need 21 per reed", she finished.
Then she moved on to the next clan.
In each clan, several men took it in turns to saw, while groups headed back down the mesa towards the gourd forest.
The bark of these reeds is very hard and it took a long time to saw through. Sister Spider must have an extraordinary obsidian, for she had no difficulty in cutting deep into it.
Once cut, the reeds fell to the ground with a loud crash, punctuated by the warning cries of the woodcutters.
Then it was time to get rid of the branches.
It took a whole dayto finish.
YOU ARE READING
The New World
Science FictionIn the future, most people have been implanted in their brains since childhood. The implanted chip allows everybody to connect to the Networks as a simple operation of thought. Long time ago, occurred a terrible catastrophe called the Big Holocaust:...
