Spreading Seeds Saga 04

Sarge smiled, "I'd be pleased to try it."

She shook the bottle, opened it and poured a liberal amount over Sarge's salad, and smiled at him.

"Might I try your special vinaigrette, Ms. Desoto?" Stewart asked.

Wini grasped the bottle hard for second as she made up her mind, turned then she smiled and put her hand on his shoulder, "Stewart Black, I sat behind you an a advanced calculus class one whole year, what was that 26-27 years ago? You can call me Wini, and since you are free of them at last. My special vinaigrette is sort of a welcoming gift." She shook the bottle poured a liberal dose of special sauce on his spring green salad.

Stewart looked at her and recognition spread over his face. "You yes it was you in Ms. Packard's class." He stood and took her hands, "Yes you didn't join that year, and I never saw you again." His smile made me think he has missed her.

"Well if you'll excuse me I'll go do my duty, you two, eat and enjoy." Wini walked off.

I started to eat my salad and watched Sarge and Stewart out of the corner of my eye. Sarge dove right in; He had to make liberal use of his napkin. Stewart was more precise. He cut his salad and took a less aggressive but persistent approach to his eating, commenting on the unusual combination of earthy and crisp flavors in the dressing. He also expressed dismay at find out that they had run out of goat.

I finished my salad and Sarge sat back with a big smile and drank his cold tea. "How did you like the special vinaigrette?" I asked Sarge.

"Very Piquant," he said and laughed and turned to Stewart who also laughed and they looked at each other again and laughed again.

I got a nice serving of ribs, they smelled magnificent, and turned my attention to them. The ribs were excellent and I was famished. Lenore had fed me well but my breakfast had been cut short and morning had been, well stressful. While chewing I turned my attention to the women many of whom had finished gnawing the chevon and were now gnawing on the issue of equal rights for men.

I ate with good appetite and a teenie dropped off a couple of extra ribs on my plate and took the old bones away. She smiled at me, giggled and ran off. I waved to her but she was too fast.

I was cleaning the last bone of succulent venison, when I heard the gavel bang away behind me. I wasn't making any real noise, so I ignored it and continued to eat.

The same voice I couldn't name called out, "May I have your attention Wini informs me that she will need a laundry detail tomorrow, because of the barbeque sauce. We need three girls in the morning to rinse and dry and three in the afternoon to iron and fold, so sign ups are at the door."

She waited a while then said, "Now I see that Brother Stewart hasn't finished eating but I'll open the floor to comments and discussion

An older woman in the dress of a goat herd stood and said, "The way I heard it, the escorts were more to protect us from them, than to protect them from us. Now the last Bahia Initiation was marred by an example of that. How are we to be assured that our girls are safe from the seducers and violators of our traditions?"

This caused a lot of discussing, nodding and "That's right" to spread around the room.

Andre stood and said, "I'd like to answer that." he stepped up on the stage and walked to the center. "Since that question addresses my conduct at the Initiation, it is only fair that I answer for myself, and on behalf of my brothers of Burney."

There was a rustle in the crowd and the woman at the podium banged the gavel and hammered down the noise.

"Andre, you may speak your piece now," The woman said.

Andre looked down for inspiration then looked up and scanned the crowd. "I see the reproof on your faces and it makes me ashamed of my recent actions. The Administration has fined me and the Black Brothers have censured me. The Village Council has set me a task to ask the pardon of every female in the village." He smiled and continued.

"I know that the reason I've had so much trouble complying with the resolution of the Village Council is that many of the women on my list have avoided me. I accept all this as my punishment for my stupidity, and lack of control. But I ask that you consider that my brothers have done you no harm, yet because of my actions have lost your trust.

They do not deserve to be punished for my actions.

I offer the following explanation not to excuse my conduct but to perhaps explain to you why it happened."

"All our lives we men of Barney have been sequestered and only are allowed to associate with women who are old enough to be our grandmothers. We are not allowed to even smell a woman unless we can find an excuse to get close for some innocent reason, helping with archery practice, or working on a difficult problem in mathematics or some such sorry excuse.

On the night in question, I was intoxicated by the touch of the Bahia the way their hands and yes, the way their breasts felt. In my whole life I had never felt such smooth skin, never felt their soft breath in my ear, I was mesmerized by their scent and the way they laughed.

Now I smoked and drank beer but it was the intoxication of women that clouded my judgment. Perhaps if I had been allowed more contact with women in my youth, I might have been able to resist my urges better. If I had been allowed to .." He trailed off and looked at the women in the room.

"For me and all my brothers it was a night of magic. I did not want to see it end, to be once more thrown in a cage and made to become a sperm bank. To be milked every three days by a grandmother twice my age, like a goat in the dairy herd. I lost my control and I will suffer the consequences, but don't make my brothers pay for my stupidity.

Andre's eyes streamed tears and they fell on his uniform causing dark spots to trail down his chest. He wiped his face, swallowed and regained his composure.

Andre looked up and scanned the room which had become very quiet. "Brother Stewart brought up the point earlier, that all the reasons that justified the revocation of our natural rights are now muted by the fact that we are not alone in the world, that there is a future beyond just huddling in our village watching the years go by. That there are other people who have chosen a different way to adapt to, and overcome the residual effects of the plague.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all people are endowed by their creator with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This was the foundation of our Constitution. A document that we all hold dear and I would like to think that we all support. Those of you who are Bahia have sworn to preserve, protect and defend that Constitution. All we are asking is that you recognize our inalienable rights and release us from the unnecessary restrictions that we have lived under for all these many years."

Andre wiped his eyes and scanned the silent crowd. There were many moist eyes in the room. No one was eating their cobbler, except the younger girls and me.

He walked off the stage and sat down.

"Madame Chairperson?" Wini said waving her hand.

"The Chair recognizes Wini Desoto."

Wini came to the front of the room and wiped her eyes and said, "Women of Barney, we just heard first hand the results of sequestering our men as we have for a century or more.

I give Andre my pardon and ask that you also pardon him. But the issue before us is a Constitutional one. You all know that I do not like all the ways of the Bahia that I have spoken against many of their proposals. But we can not say we support the Constitution while allowing our men to exist in servitude to the Bahia and the Administration. To do so would be un-American." That brought a cheer and the Chair hammered her gavel.

Wini continued, "Allowing the Fertilization Laws to remain unchanged would be to show our new friends that we, the women of Burney are afraid to allow change to happen. But change will happen in our society.

In the short time that the NorCal Team has been here we have seen the folly of the current laws. We have felt the joy of association with men on a daily basis. Some of us have felt the touch of a man for the first time in our lives and like Andre would do anything to make that magic last as long as possible."

There were shouts of agreement and a call for a vote.

"The chair recognizes a call for a vote, is there a second?" The chairwoman asked. Many hands shot into the air, "Second" rang out from many voices.

"Major Desoto, are you ready to carry to will of the women of Burney here assembled, to the council?"

Amelia stood, walked up to the front of the room, mounted the stage in a bound and stood beside the Chairwoman. "Yes, I have been sent to take your instructions to the Administration this afternoon. I can not say how they will vote, but I'm ready for your answer."

The chair woman banged her gavel for quite. "So, how say you women of Burney, Should the Fertilization law be amended and shall we allow our men to walk and live among us as free men?"

There were a few Nays but the majority of women shouted "Aye!"

"The motion is carried!" She shouted over the noise that resulted from the vote. The Black Brothers all stood and were hugging each other and even a few of our men too in their excitement

The Chairwoman banged her gavel, and shouted, "Meeting adjourned," but I doubt many people heard her there was so much excitement in the room.

I shook all the brothers' hands and wished them well. The room began to clear out and Stewart shouted, "Andre led us out." Andre came to attention and began walking to the door the other brothers followed him.

Wini and a few other women stood at the door and as each of the Black Brothers walked by she would hug them and pass them on to the next woman. She laughed with them and stroked a cheek here and there but when Stewart came to her she blushed and took his hands in hers, "Stewart, for twenty odd years I have wondered what it would be like to kiss you." And she hugged him tight and leaned her head back and kissed him softly. He had no experience and was clumsy, but soon his arms enfolded her and he kissed her back hungrily.

Laughter and cheers rang out as the men of Burney formed up with their escort and marched off. Sarge had joined with them and walked beside Stewart in formation. A string of girls followed them and one girl about eight or nine took Andre by the finger and marched with him, skipping to keep up, as the free men of Burney walked back to the Facility.

Chapter 20 - Revolution

I went to the corral and found Barb waiting. I led her out and brushed her a little to make her pretty then saddled her and rode off to the barley fields.

I was satiated. Not only had I eaten well but I had been present to see a historic occasion. The sun was warm and scenery seemed sweeter and the smell of the river made me think of the oats I had planted.

I walked Barb slowly savoring my freedom and remembered Lenore's book in my pocket. I pulled it out. The binding had been replaced and the cover was blank so I opened it and looked at the title. "Lady Chatterley's Lover," by D.H. Lawrence it read. I had never read it. I closed it up and put it away for later. I gathered Barb up and went to an easy canter.

Barb was getting into the canter and wanted to run. I held her back and laughed at her, "Barb, you're too eager for you own good." But I let her out for a minute but stopped her when we got to the rise above the barley fields. I pulled her to a halt. She didn't like it and sashayed around snorting and prancing.

From the top of the rise I could see that there were 10-15 women around a strange looking device out in the field. I made Barb walk down the hill and watched the women try to get a horse into the machine that looked like a cross between a nursing stall and a windmill. The horse was having none of it and backed away from the machine every time they led her up to it.

Barb settled down and watched the machine with dubious interest. I put her in the shade where the other horses were tethered, loosened her cinch and hooked a tie rope on to her halter and removed her bridle. I tied her loosely so she could graze and walked down to the machine.

April saw me approach and walked out to meet me. "What do you think?" she asked.

"Never seen anything like it," I said. I shook her hand and she smiled.

"There has never been anything like it," she said with obvious pride.

I walked around the machine while the women tried to load the mare again and she started to throw a conniption fit and the women all backed away from her as she snorted and backed away her head high and her eyes rolling.

I walked over to her head and took her by the halter and turned her away from the machine. The girl who had been holding her head looked at me funny but let her go, I walked her around talking to her and she calmed down a little but snorted every time she saw the machine. She was starting to sweat and acted scared and frustrated. When she calmed down a little more I handed her back to the girl. "Sorry to just take her from you but I thought she was going to get crazy."

"Molly is pretty docile, that's why I picked for this. I don't know why she was so spooked, Josh." She said and smiled at me.

"Have we met?" I asked. I had seen her before but couldn't remember her name. She was attractive and filled out her uniform very well. I was sure I would have remembered her name.

"No, I'm Lauren De Soto, Astral's older sister. She told me all about you." She smiled, put out her hand and blushed, "And well, you are well known around the village."

I shook her hand and said, "I didn't think we had met. I'm sure I'd remember you."

She held my hand for just a second and then turned to stroke Molly's nose and then looked at me shyly, "Perhaps we'll meet in the bath house. My turn is coming up next week."

I smiled at her, "I also wash hair and give massages most nights, you don't have to wait for that."

She smiled at me and said, "I'll take Molly down and get her a drink and walk her around a little.' She looked back over her shoulder and said, "Maybe I'll come see you about a massage?"

I watched her as she walked away and felt a hand on my shoulder. When I turned I saw Maria Bitterwater standing there smiling at me

"So you made it out to see our combine?" she said and started to kiss me but stopped, looked around and put out her hand.

"Our combine? I thought April designed it," and I kissed her hand.

"Oh she did but it was built by Bitterwater Engineering, and I did all the drawings for it."

"Well let me take a look." I walked with Maria around the machine again. April joined us and we discussed the cutting bar and Maria told me how she had forged it. April describe the drive mechanism, flywheel and the treads that spread the machines weight on the ground so as not to crush the subsoil water pipes in the fields.

I got to the stall where Molly had refused and looked in. Inside were treads and a large wheel in front with a smaller roller in the rear. I stepped on to the treads and they gave beneath my foot until I had my whole weight on to the tread chain. "Here is your problem, no horse is going to step on something that gives under them, unless they have been specially trained and even then they aren't going to feel comfortable."

Maria just looked at April with "I told you so" all over her face.

April looked at Maria and then me, "I thought it would be alright. Once the horse gets loaded the tread chain is pretty solid and ..."

I smiled at her and shook my head, "Equine psychology doesn't allow for that. You saw Molly; she started to step in and then backed away when she felt the treads give under her."

Maria said, "I can fit the tread support rollers and fix that."

April looked at her and said, "It's going to be too much friction, I told you the roller bearings are going to gum up and then we'll lose efficiency."

Maria laughed, "You explain why the combine doesn't work to the Board of Trustees then."

April frowned and said, "Ok but it's going to be a problem."

"How much noise does it make?" I asked.

April and Maria looked at each other and then me, "Why?" April asked.

"Well, "I said, "If you can get the horse into the machine and it starts making a lot of noise it's going to scare the horse and she'll kick your machine into little pieces to try to get way from the racket."

Maria looked at April, "We need the Buddha, it weighs less than the horse and we can get 10, maybe 12 kilowatts out of it."

"The Administration will never let you build it. You know what they said, no engines until the reserve is released." April looked dejectedly at her machine and put her hand on it.

Maria put her hand on April's shoulder, "You've got to convince them to allow it, and otherwise the Trust is going to want their money back."

April looked at Maria, "We don't have the money, and it's all in the machine and the house."

"I know but that's just going to piss them off." Maria said.

"What's a Buddha?" I asked.

April looked at me then at Maria and shook her head.

Maria backed away and called out to the women standing around the Machine, "Gloria, Monica, Gene, Come over here and we'll show Josh how much noise it makes when it's running."

Maria began to unbutton her shirt and said, "We can get it running and check the cutting action and maybe get it to travel a little but it takes a lot more power than we can generate to keep moving."

The other women looked at Maria and then at me. Maria took off her shirt, she was wearing a heavy bra and she laughed at the others, "He's seen tits before."

Monica said, "But I'm not wearing a bra."

"Then you'll just get your shirt all sweaty, your choice." Maria said as she stepped into the stall.

Gloria and Gene took off their shirts and followed Maria into the stall.

Monica got in and April got up on the machine.

"Ok Maria said, "Start the flywheel." April wrapped a rope around the axial of the flywheel and pulled hard. The flywheel started to turn and Maria and her crew started walking and the flywheel started to turn faster. They kept it up until they were walking very fast and April moved a lever and the cutting bar started to ratchet back and forth. April leaned on another lever and the wheel that brought the grain to the cutter began to turn and the beaters were beating and Maria shouted out, "Ok, now hit it."

April threw another lever and the machine started to move. Maria and her team walked faster and began to jog. The combine made a slow movement forward and began to cut the barley. Once cut the barley moved into the beaters, where the threshing took place, the machine slowed and stopped. The flywheel had slowed way down and eventually stopped.

The women in the machine were bent over breathing hard and caught their breath. April was clapping her hands and laughing. "It works, it really works."

The women standing around began to clap and were generally smiling.

Maria looked over the stall edge at me, "Too much noise?"

I looked over at Barb who was fifty meters away from the machine and she was looking at the machine suspiciously. Lauren was leading Molly back from her drink and had her hands full trying to hold Molly, whose eyes were rolling as she backed away. I smiled at Maria and nodded, "Yeah, look how Molly reacted and she isn't even in the machine yet."

"Can we try it again I want to see if the chaff separator works right?" April asked. Maria nodded and the women started the machine up again. Molly was looking at the machine and backing up.

I walked over to Lauren and Molly and said, over the noise of the combine, "Take Molly up in the shade Lauren."