Pioneer Village

Marty heard the noise increase, then a shout from the stage asking everyone to please be quiet. He turned to see the man he knew only as Jones standing behind a podium, almost a pulpit. After near quiet was achieved Jones began speaking. He said, "I would normally thank you all for coming and welcome you to Pioneer Village but you really had no choice in the matter this time. You made your choice when you signed the contract and again when you all reported to us for work. I am sorry but what we did was necessary for the security of our venture. You were all at the banquet of your own free will after signing a contract to work for us for a minimum of two years. You have now begun the remainder of your job with us.

"I am sure you've noticed by now that this room is not as nice as you remember. You would be correct. You were given a mild hypnotic in your dessert and after dinner drink to facilitate your relocation to this facility.

"I know most of you will not be happy about this and many will be angry. I have to tell you that you are no longer in the year 2020."

When they heard this people began yelling and talking loudly once again. One especially loud-mouthed man stood and said, "You really expect us to believe that? Bullshit! If this is the way you treat your employees I quit. I'm outta here."

The man immediately rushed for the door and several others stood to follow. Jones stood watching them without speaking. They threw the door open and surged out, only to stop in shock. The front ranks were jostled out of the way as those following exited the room only to stop in shock also. They were standing on the steps and in the front of a fairly large church at the end of a four-block long dirt street. There were wooden buildings lining the street with men, women, horses and wagons pulled by various teams moving back and forth.

After allowing them to stand for a short time, Jones called out, "Now, if you would please return to your seats, I will continue the explanation you so richly deserve. Slowly everyone except the initiator of the exodus and two of his friends returned to their seats. The other three slowly walked down the street into town.

They walked out in front of a stage coach with its horses traveling at a fast trot. As the driver roared past, he yelled, "Ye dad gummed stupid galoot. Dontcha got enuf smarts ta get outta the way of a stage coach?" He cracked his whip and yelled, "Heeee Yaaaa, Giddy Up!" at the team.

Dumb cluck (Chuck) and his friends surged back and stared at the departing stage as the dust it raised slowly settled. Slowly they turned and walked on across the street and into the saloon through the swinging batwing doors. They bellied up to the bar and when the bartender asked, "What'll it be gents" ordered beer.

When the beer was delivered, he said, "That'll be six cents."

Chuck looked at the bartender and said, "What?"

"That'll be six cents. What are ya hard of hearing?"

"Six cents," Chuck said disbelievingly. He looked at his friends and slowly reached into his pocket to pull out some change then without looking selected a dime and slapped it on the counter. He grinned at his friends and said, "Hell man you're gonna get all of my drinking. I ain't never drank a two-cent beer before."

Chuck picked up the mug and took a big swig then spit it back into the mug immediately. He said, "FUCK THIS TASTES LIKE SHIT AND ITS HOT TO BOOT. What the hell'er you up to here?"

About that time the bartender looked at the dime before making change and yelled, "Hey, what are you trying to pull off here. This is not a ten-cent piece!"

"Fuck it isn't," said Chuck as he reached for it. He continued, "But it don't matter I ain't paying even two cents for this shit you call beer."

When Chuck tried to grab the dime out of the bartenders hand, he knocked it to the floor. The bartender jumped back when Chuck lunged toward him. The three friends were standing at the end of the bar and the infuriated Chuck dodged around the corner and headed for the bartender, his face red with anger. Without a thought the bartender pulled his shotgun from under the bar, shoved it into Chuck's belly and pulled the trigger.

After the loud explosion blood and parts of his spine blew out Chuck's back and a surprised look came over his face as he dropped to the floor. His friends stood there in shock then one of them bent over and threw up on the floor. The bartender broke the shotgun apart and reloaded as he watched the two remaining men carefully. After he was reloaded, he said, "You want some of what he got?"

The two men backed away from the bar and one said, "No. We're outta here." They ran out of the saloon just as the sheriff arrived.

When the sheriff saw the two running men, he pulled his pistol and shouted, "Hold it right there ya galoots."

The men skidded to a stop and Doug said, "Whoa there, Sheriff. We were just coming to find you or a policeman anyway. That damn asshole in there just shot our friend."

"Well maybe we better get in there and clear this all up." He waggled his pistol at the two and motioned to the door as he continued, "Now get in there until I find out what is going on here."

As he came through the door, they saw the swamper pulling Chuck toward the rear door. Doug said, "What the fuck?" and started for the swamper.

"Hold it right there," yelled the sheriff, then he turned to the bartender and asked, "What went on here Hiram? These two said ya just up and shot that there galoot Doby is pulling outside."

"Yeah, I did Sheriff. He and them two came prancing in here like they owned the world and ordered three beers. That there galoot tried to pay for it with a counterfeit ten-cent piece." He bent down and picked up the errant dime from the floor and handed it to the sheriff as he continued, "Here it is. Now you tell me what you think about that. Heck, it don't look like it is even made out of silver. That there strip in the middle sure looks like copper to me. Then, when I called him on it thinking maybe it was a joke or something, he got all hot under the collar and came around the bar after me. Course I shot him. What would ya have did?"

The sheriff looked at the coin closely and laughed as he said, "That sure was some dumb galoot. This thing has a date of 2012 on it and it sure does not look like a ten-cent piece. And who the heck is this picture of on the metal?

The Sheriff looked to the men scattered around the room and asked, "That about what went on here boys?"

There were a lot of heads nodding yes and several verbal yesses. He looked at the two he was still covering with his pistol and said, "How about you two. That the way it went?"

Doug said, "Yeah, pretty much."

"OK. Hiram, ya said these two just stood there and didn't cause no trouble?"

"Yep. Nary a bit, just took off out of here when I told them to like their pants was on fire."

"OK boys, I suppose you two are free to go but do not try to pull something like this again. I will not put up with it in my town."

The sheriff turned to leave and Doug said, "Hey, what about him. He killed Chuck and you're just going to walk off?"

"Why not. Seems like he had it coming to him."

"You shitting me? You can just up and kill someone here in this town and the law just ignores it?"

The Sheriff got a steely look in his eyes and turned back to Doug. He said, "Watch what you say there pilgrim. I did not ignore it. I investigated and it was clearly self-defense. Now you let it be or we can take a walk down to the jail right now." He had his hand resting on his pistol as he said this.

Doug looked at his eyes and shuddered mentally before he backed off. A very subdued two men walked rapidly out of the saloon and headed back to the church. When they arrived, the doors would not open for them when they tried. Finally, after several attempts and pounding on them they were opened by one of the men they had seen before all this started. He said, "What do you two galoots want?"

"We want in. That bartender just killed Chuck and the Sheriff ignored the whole thing. We need to report this to the police."

The man smiled and stepped back letting the men inside. He said, "Seems to me like you have already reported the killing. Now I suggest you come inside and listen to the briefings. What you learn here will probably save your life."

The briefing continued for some time with Jones making several important points to the listening people. The most important points were about pay and personal safety so they bear some repetition. Jones said, "You all signed a contract agreeing to salary equal to twice your prior earnings in local buying power. Some of you questioned us about the meaning of that article and were promised a more complete explanation later. Now is the time for the explanation.

"This locality uses the United States Dollar as its currency but at a greatly deflated value. Many locals make between three hundred and four hundred dollars a year and live well, even save money. Of course, many make less than that and a few more, some much more. Your ultimate earnings are mostly up to you. You have knowledge from, to these people, the far future so should prosper in this time. Conversely, if you are happy with a subsistence level of income, you are welcome to that.

"It is 1870 in this reality. The same lawlessness exists here as did in the 1870 of your time stream. You, for the most part, are responsible for your own safety. It is perfectly permissible to kill in self-defense or to protect your property or family. Our two hotheads in the back of the room can attest to that fact."

There was a murmur and noise as many turned to look back to the quiet men that had been allowed back after their adventure in town. Jones continued, "I would advise you to think well before speaking and to be ethical and honest with everyone. Here a man's word is his bond. If you promise something you had damn well better deliver. If your word is not good you will lose the respect of the population and no one will do business with you. Laziness is not accepted. If you take a job you had better give a fair day's work for the pay agreed upon. It is expected you will give your all, as the saying goes, give 110% effort.

"For those of you who do not want to work for someone else, there are opportunities galore available. There are still thousands of acres available for homesteading, you can start your own business but there again, give fair measure and treat everyone fairly or you may end up dead. Cheating and lying to people can and do result in beatings. If the infraction is bad enough, you could even be called out and killed in the street. Most disagreements are settled between those involved with occasional intervention by the law. There are almost no lawyers and written contracts are almost non-existent. Again, a man's word is accepted as his bond and has the same force as a written contract did in your previous time.

"Those of you who brought personal items may see some changes. Where necessary we have replaced your equipment with the local equivalent. In some cases, nothing was done, the modern tool or equipment is unchanged but will be unusable for one reason or another. For example, if you brought a welder it will still weld if you can find a source of electricity and welding rods for it.

"Another example is vehicles. All vehicles have been replaced with draft animals able to pull the same weight as the vehicle did. You will have some choice in selecting the animals. For example, you may choose oxen, mules or horses. I suggest you think long and hard before selecting as each has an advantage or disadvantage over the others. Your trailers and rolling stock are very similar, being modified in such a way as to facilitate moving with animals instead of by being pulled with a vehicle. Most of your hand tools are completely unchanged.

"You will have two weeks to make your decisions about your future. You may settle here in this town, find land nearby to homestead or you may move elsewhere. Your ultimate goal now is to give this reality a jump-start on the road to a higher technological civilization. This culture has stagnated at this level now for almost 400 years and, in some ways, they have even regressed somewhat from the pinnacle of their development. We hope you and others we seed here will be able to provide impetus for advancement without the social upheaval and wars from your reality. We managed to prevent widespread slavery and the mistreatment and repression of Indians here but in so doing we almost snuffed out their creativity to advance technologically. At least we believe that is what caused the stagnation. The Civil War, while horrendous, did cause the beginnings of research in medical and technological areas. As you know, wars and defense research drive technological advances. We hope to keep the peaceful nature of this reality, or time stream if you will, intact, yet advance them technically. There have been no wars since the revolutionary war on this continent or in Europe. There still is a lot of violence in the world but it is person to person rather than between countries although some religions and ethnic groups are somewhat militant still. We and others we have moved here are working on the social side of things. Your main job is to work on innovation and agriculture.

"As your contract states, if, at the end of two years you wish to return to your previous homes you will be taken back with the equivalent buying power of any funds you manage to legally obtain and save from this job.

"Now, health care. Your immune systems have been enhanced. In fact, many of the virus, fungus and bacteria that existed in your time stream do not exist here. Others do exist but you have been immunized against them. Any health problems you had were completely cured. Unfortunately, you can still die easily, mostly from an accident or injury. If you piss someone off and they shoot or knife you, chances are you will die unless you can help yourself or it is a minor wound. There are doctors here but their level of knowledge, as I said, is what you would call mid 1800's level. There are no known STD's and yes, you can interbreed with these people. You will find they are very much human in every way. Basically, this time stream resulted from a split at an earlier time, one stream moving on to become your old reality, the other this one. Not every major cusp in time results in a split but some, the most drastic ones, do. We do not know how many time-stream branches there are as we are still exploring. Our goal is to make each and every one of them a Utopia for humanity.

Finally, the briefing ended. Jones said, "OK, it's been a long day. I'm tired and I suspect you are also. We have tents set up outside for you to sleep in or you may do like some of you did before and use your own tents or campers. We have people preparing the evening meal. You will find your belongings and accommodations behind the church. Tomorrow you can begin deciding where you will live and what you plan to do for the next two years. By tomorrow morning, the church will be set up with desks and reference books for your research. We will provide food and minimal lodging for the next two weeks if you still remain here that long. Those of you who choose to leave before then will receive the equivalent of two weeks food. At the end of the two weeks, you are on your own. If you choose not to work in this reality you will not receive the promised remuneration as it was predicated upon you working for us.

"In closing, Remember, you will answer rapidly for your behavior in this place. Having said that, you are welcome to go to town and interact with the local population. They think you are a church affiliated group moving in mass to the area in order to find a better life free from perceived persecution. If you decide to go to town be sure to stop by the administration shack to change your money for local currency. That is one of the things we will do over the next two weeks but we can and will make change tonight if you just have to go to town."

People sat stunned for a moment and then began to slowly rise and move toward the now open doors and outside. Men directed them toward the rear of the church where they found their possessions and several large tents where food was being prepared.

PIONEER VILLAGE

CHAPTER 3

BY SW MO HERMIT

Being from a farm, Marty was in the habit of rising early. He was up, dressed and ready to go by shortly after 6 AM the morning after the briefing. He left his tent and wandered over to the mess tent to see if he could at least scare up a cup of coffee. To his pleasant surprise he found not only could he get coffee—really GREAT coffee at that—but they had breakfast to order already. He sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee but the wonderful breakfast smells pulled him to the serving line when he went after his second cup. The line was still short and he got into it behind a few single individuals and an obvious family group. He ordered two eggs over easy, ham and breakfast potatoes with fresh biscuits. His plate was almost running over when he made his way back to a table to eat. He sat at a longer table with the family on one end and a couple of single men on the end near him.

The men seemed to be friends and talked between themselves, ignoring everyone else around. Marty found himself exchanging greetings with the man and his wife then being drawn into conversation with them. They were a farm family that lived close to his old home before being selected for this new adventure.

James and Dottie Carter, their 21-year-old daughter Callie and 17-year-old son Timothy had operated a small hog and beef farm. They owned 20 acres but actually farmed and ranched almost 800 acres, most on a year to year lease from the property owners. He raised about 500 acres of wheat, corn and soy beans. The rest was dedicated to his hog and beef operation in one way or another. China's cessation of U.S. grain imports hurt them like it did Marty. They were also in trouble because they only had minimal crop insurance on the crop and flooded out the year before. They had only insured the cost of seed, not the full yield on the fields. Their pork and beef operation wasn't large enough to fully support the family so everyone had been looking for outside work to make ends meet when they found the advertisement from the Pioneer Corporation.

After they finished breakfast, Marty said, "Well, I'm going to start my research before everyone else gets around to it. Hope to see you folks again soon. Good luck.

Marty got another cup of coffee to take with him and headed for the church's back door. When he entered the church, he saw he wasn't the only one who wanted to start early. About half the workstations and tables were already filled. He was somewhat surprised also at the equipment available. Marty didn't know how they did it and frankly, he didn't care but there were computers and books available to facilitate research on the available work, land and other opportunities. There were even CD's available with detailed information on areas and history if he wanted to view them.

Marty chose an open table near the back of the room beside a window and began to see what was available to help him with his decisions. He found huge files of data on the level of knowledge here, on laws (there were very few and they more or less followed the ten commandments) and on procedures for selecting land or buildings to purchase or homestead. He was even able to view maps with a program much like google maps and could even use a "street view" program to see finer detail.

He really didn't want to work as hard as a farmer did in these times nor did he want to become a blacksmith or carpenter although all of those occupations used knowledge he carried from earth. He supposed he had enough knowledge to teach several subjects but teaching wasn't too interesting to him either, especially considering the little it paid. This reality was much like earth in that aspect, teachers did not earn but a pittance, especially when their impact on society was considered.