John and Argent by cmsix

Chapter 2

Setting out to get laid seemed to be the right thing to do at the time. There was no rush and plenty of the Alien's money to spend so why not? It just felt a little odd to me now. This could very well be my last time to have sex in this life. Dying wasn't on my mind anymore thanks to Argent but my next move would definitely be into a new life. It gave me a creepy little feeling.

I shook it off. Cheryl was a good-looking and seemingly nice woman. It had been a no hassle pickup all the way, a rarity for me. We talked about nothing really on the way to my place and when we got there we had a glass of wine and settled onto the couch to snuggle and get acquainted.

We finished our wine and almost flowed together after setting the glasses aside. Cheryl's breath was surprisingly sweet and her lips and tongue were active as we kissed. It was early and my time tomorrow was as free as could be. Not feeling rushed to get with it or lose out let me spend a lot of time kissing and nibbling Cheryl and she gave signs that she enjoyed it. Little sighs and hummings let me know she liked my attentions and her hands toying in my hair urged me on.

The next morning after breakfast I drove Cheryl home. We had a nice goodbye at her house. She gave me her number and asked me to call her sometime. I told her that I'd like to but that I would be leaving town for an extended trip soon. I promised to call her before I left and at the time I intended to.

I went back home and worked on my list again. It occurred to me after a while that I would be better able to prepare if I knew where I was going. I didn't have any idea how to contact Argent and now I wished I did. I assumed he would be getting in touch with me sooner or later.

I was online looking over web sites, pouring over catalogs and filling shopping carts. The computer made a knocking sound and an ICQ message popped up onscreen. This was a little strange because I knew that I didn't have ICQ installed. The message was from Argent.

"John it seems that you have a question for me." Argent's message said.

"Yes, I was wondering if you could tell me where I will be going. It would help if I had some idea of the terrain and the weather patterns also." I typed to Argent.

My Microsoft Streets 98 program opened itself and I noticed that it now included information for Europe. I was sure that Microsoft hadn't put it in there for as I zoomed no street details appeared. No cities showed up either.

"That is information about your destination John, there are no cities or streets. You will notice that a large area has been indicated. Any place in that area will be allowed for your first location. The map information is much more detailed than what you are accustomed to. You will be able to zoom in and find nearly complete details about the area, even as detailed as the campsites of your new neighbors. You can examine caves that are present and will be able to tell if they are occupied or not." Argent explained.

"I also had a question about things that I can't find or that don't meet my specifications. You said that you could produce anything that was within our technology. How will that be done? Do I have to provide detailed specifications for these items?" I asked.

"No, you need only provide your specific requirements. Any details you do provide will be adhered to. Any details you omit will be engineered by us to meet your requirements." Argent told me.

"Good. I think that's all I need to know to allow me to continue. May I contact you via this method if I have other questions?" I asked.

"Yes I will always be available." Argent told me.

I was happy that he had contacted me but I wasn't so sure that he was going to be. Many of the things that I was planning on acquiring could be improved upon greatly if their design could be advanced to the limit of earth's current technology. For instance I intended to take a small fuel cell. None that I had found were really designed for my specific needs, namely low power output for an extended time with minimum fuel use no matter what the design and manufacturing cost.

I knocked off list making and began exploring the area on the map. I kept thinking that even though it didn't look like modern day Europe it was vaguely familiar. I wondered where I had seen it before. I found that I could right click on a spot and get detailed explanations of any point of interest. I found what seemed to be a camp site and checking further I saw that it was currently being occupied by Cro-Magnons. The text told that nine men, twelve women and eight children were in residence.

I kept looking and found another inhabited area twenty or so miles away, across a small river. The main feature of this spot was a large cave. I found that I could look inside the cave. It was much larger inside than I had expected. I could tell where cooking fires were placed and it was evident which areas were for sleeping. No inhabitants were depicted in the map though. Checking for text information told me that Neanderthals were using this site and that there were twelve men, eighteen women and ten children.

Until now I had been planning for my adventure in a lackadaisical manner. I understood that my new existence depended on what I brought with me but I hadn't really tried to visualize what life would be like for me. Finding that there were going to be other humans in the area brought home the fact that I was going to be interacting with them. I hoped that the interactions would be peaceful but decided that I should make some preparations incase things didn't turn out that way.

I would have no trouble securing adequate defensive weapons for myself. I would be at a disadvantage however because I would be alone. I would have to sleep sometimes even if the others were hostile. They would have numbers on their side. I had to be able to secure a safe place that couldn't be attacked while I slept. This was going to be a problem. I clicked on the messaging program to contact Argent.

"Argent, will I be allowed to take living things with me?" I typed.

"No John, no living things other than you will be allowed. Why, did you want to take a female?" Argent wanted to know.

"That wasn't what I had in mind but since you brought it up it would have been nice. What I was asking about was a dog though. I was thinking that having a dog would give me some warning if something was creeping up on me at night. The experiment won't last long if some of the locals slip up and kill me while I sleep." I explained.

"That is something you should consider John. You won't be able to take a dog with you though. You are the only living thing that we are authorized to transfer. I'm sure you will come up with an alternative." Argent said.

Now I had a new mission and I knew that it should be taken seriously. My arrival on the scene was sure to cause consternation on the part of those already there. I was afraid that their first response would be to see if I was easily killed. I felt that other forms of interaction would only come later.

This new information caused me to shift the focus of my shopping. I had been intending to try and include enough preserved food in my weight allotment to make sure I could eat for a year without having to bother with hunting or gathering food. Scrap that plan. I switched my thinking more toward the lines of a shelter that couldn't be penetrated with the tools or weapons of the time. As I thought about it in more detail I realized that it would have to be mobile and that it should be able to hold not only my person but also all the things I would have with me.

I was at a loss at first because I thought that it would need to be made of steel to be strong enough. That would make it much too heavy. If it were made of aluminum I could probably fit it in weight wise but aluminum would be too soft and could probably be broken into with a determined effort. The answer came to me shortly. Titanium would do it. The cost wouldn't matter to me and it would be even stronger than steel. If done correctly it could even be made to float in case I needed to cross a river. I began making a few sketches of what I needed and rolling the thing over in my head. I finally decided to ask for an eight by twelve foot titanium wagon with sides three foot tall and a top that could be made water tight upon closing. I'd let Argent work out the details, I'd just tell him what I wanted it to do.

I would have to pick a spot to set up and stay until I could catch and train a couple of horses to pull it. That would be another job and a half in itself. I had trained and broken horses before and it wasn't out of the question. I had never tried to catch a completely wild horse for training before though. I was sure that it would be much more difficult than training a horse that had been raised for the purpose. Well I'd have plenty of time if the natives didn't kill me.

While I was thinking of catching and training horses to pull my soon to be titanium wagon it came to me why the map looked familiar. It showed the territory from Jean Auel's book "The Valley of the Horses". In fact the area designated for my occupation included Ayla's imaginary valley. I could only hope my luck there was as good as hers had been. It would be nice to find a cave located near a mostly calm river with a herd of horses handy. At least I knew for sure that I wouldn't be digging any pit traps.

I started wondering if I was going to find an Ayla when I got there but gave up on the notion pretty quick. I doubted if the ancient women were as beautiful as Jean had made out, besides if I did find Ayla I'd have to kill Jondalar and that would surely piss her off.

I went back to examining the map. It was hard to believe the detail in it. It even showed game trails and trails that the human's made. I could examine cliffs and canyons and caves when I found them. I was looking for a cave that was large enough for a temporary home and also large enough to get my wagon into. I wanted to find a spot that looked likely so I could check the map out thoroughly before I got there. I hoped I was going to be able to keep the map software. I was making plans to take a computer with me. That was one of the reasons for wanting the fuel cell for power. I also intended to take all the information about living in the wild that I could find.

This thinking led me to another little job for Argent and his minions. I might just let them furnish the computer equipment and the data. They could do it a hell of a lot easier than I could and could furnish me with hardware and software right up to the limit of what could be had.

I spent the next ten days finding what I wanted and needed and pouring over the map. I pointed out to Argent the things I thought he should provide and to my surprise he agreed. I spent a few hours with one of his technicians discussing the details.

Two days before I was to board the plane I called Cheryl and asked her out for dinner and a little dancing. We had a great time and she spent the night again. After breakfast the next morning I sat her down in my living room and told her that I was leaving and would be gone for a long time. I said that I had a bad feeling about it and wondered if I would ever be coming back. We boo-hooed together and when it was time for her to go I gave her the keys to the CL600 and signed the title over to her. She was speechless but I finally convinced her that I meant it and she was still crying as she left. At least someone would be happy about something.

Actually I was feeling pretty good myself. All my supplies were already aboard the vessel. I drove my old truck to DFW and took a hotel room at the airport. I got a little drunk the night before my scheduled departure and when I boarded the plane I was hung over. I tried my best not to look around at the other passengers. I had a seat in first class so I didn't have to see how many would be meeting a firey death shortly.

Luckily there were only assholes in the first class seating. Mostly lard ass businessmen. There was one pretty good looking red head with a nice set of tits and I was getting ready to feel bad about her fate when she turned around, gave me a go to hell look and mumbled something about the kind of low life trash that could afford a first class ticket now a days. I wondered what she would be thinking as she fell with the flaming wreckage later.