JC: Ed Biggers
Part 6: Doyen
Chapter 15
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

William took to riding a horse as if he had been born on the back 
of one. By the third day of their trip, William and Dale seldom left 
Ed's side. William had learned an incredible amount of information 
about the desert. Dale discovered a wealth of information about 
rocks. The transferal of knowledge was occurring in the old 
fashioned manner, from the elder to the younger through 
demonstration and practice.

Ed knelt by the outcropping and pointed to the four-inch wide 
layer of rock. As his hand traced the vein, he said, "If you follow 
this back, you'll find that it disappears into the ground about thirty 
yards over there."

"How deep does it go?" asked Dale.

"Hard to say. You see how it is getting narrower across this ten-
foot section. It could continue that way and disappear after another 
hundred feet. On the other hand, it could get thicker. We'd have to 
study the rest of the geology and take some core samples to know 
more," answered Ed with a smile.

"So this wouldn't be worth mining even if the rock were of some 
value?" 

"Estimate the dimensions of the vein and do the calculation. For it 
to be worth mining, you need to know if it will make money. The 
total amount the vein is worth less the costs of getting it out of the 
grounds will tell you how much money a mine will generate," 
answered Ed.

"Is that it?" asked Dale wondering if he had missed something. It 
sounded too simple.

"Basically."

"It sounds like anyone can do it," said Dale wondering how Ed had 
made so much money performing surveys.

"After we return from this trip, I'll introduce you to Terry. If he 
agrees that you have potential, he'll take you on one of the surveys. 
He runs my consulting company and oversees the mine," said Ed 
thinking that it would be a good introduction to the business side of 
rocks.

"You own a mine? I thought you cared about the environment," 
grunted Dale. He'd seen more than a few mines in the area and had 
observed the damage to the environment that resulted. He looked 
at Ed with disgust before turning away. 

"Withhold your judgement until you see it," said Ed with a grin. 
His mine had recently won an environmental award from a very 
aggressive anti-industrial environmental group. The comment from 
the award committee was that they had driven past it four times 
before realizing where it was. 

"Or don't see it as the case might be," said William.

"Don't see it?"

"Most people can't find it because the environmental impact is so 
low," explained William. 

Dale grunted and then turned to watch Nathan trying to ride one of 
the horses. The soldier was having problems getting a feel for the 
horse beneath him and the boot on his artificial leg kept slipping 
out of the stirrup. Dan was busy keeping the horse under control.

Frowning when Nathan slid off the back of the horse after Dan had 
led it forward five steps, Dale said, "Nathan sure is uncoordinated 
when it comes to riding a horse. What's his problem?"

"You didn't notice that he has an artificial leg?" asked William 
with an amused smile.

Dale turned to look at William in disbelief. He hadn't noticed 
Nathan limping along like a man with an artificial leg. He said, 
"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. Lost his leg about eight months ago," answered Ed as he 
looked over the face of the outcropping. There were a few little 
crystals embedded in an unusual matrix had attracted his attention.

"Better get him off that horse before he kills himself," said Dale 
watching the man stubbornly remount the horse.

"He'll either quit or master riding the horse. Right now, I'm not 
sure which one it will be," replied Ed without turning to look at the 
action behind him.

Dale watched Nathan guide his feet into the stirrups. Once he knew 
what to look for, it was easy to see which leg was missing. It was 
the one that he had the most difficulty getting into the stirrup. 
Concerned, he said, "Maybe I should try to help him."

Distracted by the crystals, Ed replied, "Nope. Dan is helping him. 
You need to get back here and look at this rather interesting 
sample."

"Aren't you concerned?"

"No," replied Ed looking over his shoulder in time to see Nathan 
slip off the horse. It looked painful, but the look on the soldier's 
face was grim and determined.

"Why not?" asked Dale.

"Because, I'll stop them when they try something stupid," 
answered William.

"Like what?"

"Like when they try to tie his boot into the stirrup," said William 
turning to face Dale with a grin. 

"They wouldn't?"

"Neither one of them knows better," said William. He turned away 
to watch a hawk floating across the sky. He'd been seeing hawks 
flying in their general direction all afternoon.

"They are coming to see you," said Dale shaking his head in 
wonder. The trip had been a continuous visitation by desert 
animals.  On the first night of the trip, coyotes had visited them. 
Smaller desert animals had gathered along their path. Birds of all 
kinds had visited them. Each time, there had been a very short 
acknowledgement of William given by the animal before 
disappearing. 

"They are coming to see us," corrected William turning to look at 
Dale. 

"I have been here eighteen years and know them all. They are 
coming to meet you," said Dale wondering when the snakes were 
going to make their appearance.

Making his voice loud enough to carry the fifty yards to where Dan 
was helping Nathan learn to ride, William shouted, "Dan, don't 
even consider it!"

The engineer turned to look up at William and shouted, "I was only 
going to suggest that we tie his boot in the thingy."

"It's called a stirrup! You'll break his neck if you tie his boot in the 
stirrup," shouted William. 

Nathan and Dan exchanged a few words. Dan looked up at where 
William was seated and shook his head wondering how the boy 
knew what he had been about to suggest to Nathan. He muttered, 
"First, it's a dynamo on legs and now a mind reader."

"The kids are something else," agreed Nathan knowing exactly 
what Dan meant, "but he doesn't read minds."

"What does he do?"

"He sees the future," answered Nathan, "and talks to animals."

"Even better," groaned Dan wondering when the kid was going to 
tell him how he was going to die. A shiver when through his body 
at the idea of knowing the future with some certainty. 

"Have you met the other two kids?" asked Nathan.

"No."

"All of them are brilliant," said Nathan.

"Think one of them would come up with a way for you ride?"

Glaring at the horse, Nathan answered, "Probably. In fact, I have 
no doubt William already knows what I need to do."

Looking over at the outcropping where Ed was showing some 
feature to Dale, Dan wondered why William hadn't come down to 
show them. Shaking his head, he said, "I doubt it. He'd have told 
us if he knew what you needed to do."

"I don't think so," replied Nathan as he struggled to get back into 
the saddle. He looked down and eased his boot into the stirrup. 
Allowing some of his frustration to show, he said, "They will give 
hints, but they won't tell you outright what you need to do. William 
is the worst at that."

"Why?"

"They want you to grow. No matter what you are doing, they want 
you to grow as a result of trying and succeeding," explained 
Nathan. He'd come to that conclusion after some of the strange 
tasks that Ed had assigned him.

"What if you ask them straight out?" asked Dan as he started to 
lead the horse forward. He watched as Nathan's foot slipped out of 
the stirrup and the soldier started to tumble. Grasping the bridle, he 
halted the horse and allowed Nathan to recover his balance. He 
suggested, "Get off the horse for a minute. I don't think the 
problem is with the stirrup thingie, but with your prosthetic."

The suggestion took the soldier by surprise and he dismounted the 
horse to check his artificial leg. After walking around for a 
moment and inspecting it, his prosthetic seemed to be functioning 
perfectly as far as he could tell. Looking over at Dan, he said, "No, 
it's fine."

Looking around, Dan found a flat rock and said, "Stand on that 
rock with your heels hanging off the edge."

It was a simple request and Nathan went over to the rock. A look 
of surprise crossed his face when his foot slipped off the rock. He 
asked, "What's the matter?"

"You're prosthetic is designed to support your weight on the heel, 
rather than the front of your boot," said Dan. 

"This is the one that Catherine designed for me. I guess I'll have to 
tell her about that. It's clearly a design flaw," said Nathan. 

"I see you discovered the problem," observed William from behind 
Nathan.

Nathan spun around and looked at the boy. Raising an eyebrow, he 
asked, "Did you know?"

"Nope. I'm sure that Beth would have spotted it right off, but she 
understands mechanical things much better than I," answered 
William looking down at the boot with curiosity. He was surprised 
that Catherine had missed such a detail. He wondered if the 
distribution of forces through the heel was intentional.

Relaxing a little, Nathan said, "Oh."

"I hate to say this, but that could be rather dangerous when hiking 
around out here," said Dan thinking about what would happen if 
Nathan tried to climb a rocky slope. 

Nodding his agreement, William said, "We'll tell Daddy Ed when 
he's done. For now, I wouldn't do any climbing."

"I can get by," said Nathan, his old training that he could overcome 
any obstacle returning to him. It was just a matter of willpower.

"You'll break your neck with that attitude," said Dan. Seeing the 
look the soldier gave him, he said, "You're forgetting that it is your 
equipment at fault, not you."

It was a timely reminder and one that Nathan needed to hear. He 
was trained to think that he could push his body to overcome the 
environment. Shaking his head, Nathan said, "You're right."

A day later, Ed found himself alone at the base of the mesa 
checking out the rocks. He stopped and turned to look around his 
surroundings. He was twenty feet above the level of the desert and 
a hundred yards from the camp. Off to the side, Bill and Dale had 
wandered fifty yards from camp and were kneeling next to a scrub 
brush. He couldn't tell what animal they were meeting, but he was 
sure that something had come by for them. Dale had mentioned 
snakes that morning.

Nathan and Dan were in the camp talking. It was good to see the 
two men relaxing. Nathan had decided that it was best to stay off 
the horse and on level ground. For the first time since leaving the 
hospital, he found that he had nothing to prove. It was a pleasure to 
just to relax. Dan, not exactly an outdoorsman, was content to sit 
around camp and enjoy his surroundings. 

Ed took a seat and looked out at the desert around him. His 
thoughts turned to how he had been living his life since the death 
of John Carter. He'd been drifting along allowing himself to be 
diverted by one thing or another. It had been a while since he had 
visited the Phoenix office of the IRS. He hadn't even called on the 
University to get his old position back. He wanted to hit himself 
when he realized that he'd even forgotten to put up the funding for 
the new parking structure. 

Leaning back, he took a deep breath as the realization came over 
him that he hadn't been of much service to the Two-Sided One 
since John's death. A sinking feeling settled in his stomach at the 
thought. He was a servant of the truth and self-truth was the 
hardest of all truths for him to ignore. John had died almost five 
months ago. Since then, he had been coping with, rather than 
managing, his troubles.

The death of John had left a huge gap in the family and they had 
no one to fill that gap. He realized that the family was unbalanced 
and that he was probably the last one to recognize that fact. No one 
had mentioned the need for another man to join the family. He 
thought, 'They're avoiding the subject because of me.'

It was a sobering thought that the family was willing to suffer 
because of how he might react. Looking down at the camp, he 
knew they had missed an opportunity with Dan. The young man 
had all the qualities they wanted in a family member. He had 
risked his life to rescue a young girl and proved himself a hero. He 
was smart, witty, kind, and gentle. 

Looking over at William, he considered how little time was left 
before the boy went off to the Native American College for two 
years. They would only have a couple of months together. The 
same was true for Little John and Beth. He realized it had been 
ages since he had joined them in playing a game of Hunt the Bug-
eyed Monsters. He felt that the kids had been growing up too fast, 
but he was part of the problem. The death of John had caused him 
to act like an old man.

Thinking about it reminded him of how much John enjoyed 
playing with the children. It was more than just the fact that the 
children had fun. John enjoyed the games with the same 
exuberance as the children. John had often dragged him into the 
games despite his protests. Even though he hadn't admitted it 
aloud, Ed had enjoyed every minute. 

The desert was working its magic upon Ed. He could feel his 
priorities shifting and getting restored to a more natural order. A 
feeling of tranquility settled into his soul. Ed had achieved the 
balance that had been missing for so long. He smiled and watched 
the others move around the desert. 

He stood and walked down the slope to the camp below. Nathan, 
alert as always, heard him coming and turned to look at him. He 
asked, "Would you care for some iced tea?"

"Iced tea? Out here?" asked Ed surprised by the question.

"Sure. I brought a fusion-powered cooler. It can create ice cubes 
for us," answered Dan with a shrug. He had brought a box of 
teabags for making hot tea with his breakfast and realized that with 
some ice, he could make iced tea. 

"We've been out here for five days and this is the first time you 
mentioned it?" asked Ed.

Looking over at Ed, Dan answered, "I didn't read all of the 
instruction book until just a little while ago. How was I to know 
that the cooler could make ice cubes?"

"I guess you couldn't know that," replied Ed as he looked around at 
all the devices that Dan had removed from the trailer. Puzzled, he 
asked, "What is all this stuff?"

"I went shopping for camping equipment and this is all the stuff 
they recommended. I've got a stove, cooler, lantern, heater, bug 
zapper, and some other stuff I haven't quite figured out yet," 
answered Dan. 

"It's all electric," observed Ed.

"Yeah. I can plug it all into the ATV."

Looking over at his gear, Ed realized that he belonged to an age 
that had long disappeared. His cast iron cookware, bedroll, and 
saddle belonged to an older time. Shaking his head, he sat down 
and asked, "Let me guess, you got an air conditioned tent?"

Dan pulled out a box with a picture of a tent on it and read the side 
of the box. Looking up at Ed with a grin, he said, "Hey, it says that 
I can get an air conditioner for this tent."

Ed laughed and shook his head. He had recommended that they 
sleep on the sleeping bags because it was too warm to sleep inside 
them, much less to use the tent. Suddenly he felt bad about giving 
them the advice. 

Nathan said, "It's not good to use an air conditioner out here. It 
ruins your ability to cope with the heat."

"Oh," replied Dan. He'd been thinking about his comfort during the 
night and not the discomfort of the day. It took him a second to 
realize that he hadn't been uncomfortable, temperature wise, during 
the entire trip.

"Besides, it hasn't really gotten that hot yet," said Ed. In two 
months it would be much hotter. He found that he was looking 
forward to it.

"So do you want some iced tea?" asked Dan returning to the 
original question that had sparked the discussion.

"Sure," answered Ed as he settled to the ground next to his saddle. 

Nathan looked around the camp and said, "It wasn't until Dan 
started unloading the trailer that I realized how much you enjoy 
roughing it out here."

"I never thought about it that way, but you're right. I pack light 
because I'm on horseback.  I've always used equipment that was 
durable like cast iron and my bedroll. Never brought artificial light 
because it ruins night vision and I enjoy the stars above."

"I like how you travel," said Nathan as he watched Dale and 
William turn back towards camp. 

"I'm just an old cowboy who loves the desert," replied Ed. 

"I think I like the cowboy better than the Druid," said Nathan with 
a smile. His experience with Ed had always been one of 
increasingly more difficult individual challenges. 

Ed watched Dale and William make their way back to camp. 
Smiling, he replied, "Things have been a little tense in my life 
since John died. I've been two people, John and Ed, for the past 
few months."

Frowning, Nathan shook his head and said, "That's something that 
I can't figure out about you. I mean, you're a man's man. All rough 
and tumble. You're a real cowboy, but you're married to a man. 
Sorry, but it just doesn't seem natural to me."

"You're not alone in that feeling," acknowledged Ed with a sigh. 
He had known that the day would come when Nathan would bring 
up that subject. 

"I know I'm not," said the soldier. He couldn't help it when his 
disgust at the idea of two men together entered his voice.

Dan looked from one man to the next wondering if there was going 
to be an argument. He hurriedly poured some tea into one of Ed's 
camp cups and dropped a couple of ice cubes into it. He was about 
to interrupt the discussion by delivering the tea when William and 
Dale returned to camp. 

William sprawled out on his bedroll and said, "Daddy Ed has been 
blessed beyond what most men and women can even dream. Lots 
of people dream of finding their true love. Very few of them find 
that one person. Daddy Ed has found six true loves."

"Six?" asked Dan thinking there were only five in the marriage.

"Beth is named after one of the original wives in our marriage," 
answered Ed with a sigh brought about by the sudden reminder of 
Beth.

Nathan asked, "What happened to her?"

"She was hit by a car and died," answered Ed with a catch in his 
throat. 

"Oh, sorry," said Nathan. He had thought she had left them once 
she'd found out about Ed and John. He asked, "So why the multiple 
marriage? Was it a money thing?"

"Money? No. We were all poor when we planned the marriage. 
John had just finished getting his doctorate, I was a cowboy, Kelly 
was a nurse, and Beth was a doctor. The whole thing was Kelly's 
idea," answered Ed. He looked around at his audience and added, 
"It's still not about money. You have to buy your way into the 
family."

"So what about the guy with guy stuff? How'd that get 
introduced?" asked Dan curious about it. He realized that he was 
still holding the cup of iced tea and handed it over to Ed.

"Kelly insisted that everyone in the family had to love everyone in 
the family or it wouldn't work. She decided that it required people 
to be able to express it physically as well," answered Ed as he 
swirled the tea by rocking the cup.

"She was correct," said William with certainty.

"For us, she was correct," replied Ed, "Don't forget Shirley's 
family. They don't have that same rule in their marriage."

"I didn't realize that," said William as he thought about what his 
father had said. He had made a very bad assumption and that was 
such a rare occurrence that he made a mental note to think about it 
later.

"Every family has to decide what works for it," said Ed. He took a 
sip of iced tea and paused to enjoy the flavor and coolness of the 
liquid. Looking at the cup, he said, "The tea is wonderful, Dan."

"Thanks."

Finally grasping what the discussion was about, Dale said, "This is 
all so strange to me. I never thought about marriage as anything 
except between a man and a woman." 

William smiled and said, "The tribes are very conservative."

"I guess so. I haven't thought about it much," said Dale looking out 
over the desert. 

"The Native American College is changing some of that," said 
William watching the young man. 

"Why do you say that? It's resurrecting our past," said Dale looking 
at William in surprise.

"That is true, but it is doing more than that. It is resurrecting the 
pasts of all the tribes for all of the tribes to appreciate. That is a 
major change," said William.

"Huh?"

"What did the Navaho know about the Mohawk before the college 
opened?" asked Ed.

"Oh, I see," replied Dale. He thought about John Carter and the 
fact that he was white. Frowning, he wondered if the white man 
had just screwed the Native Americans again.

"You think we have been taken advantage of by John Carter," 
commented William.

"You bet. Our heritage is being diluted!"

Laughing, William shook his head. Leaning forward, he said, "It 
wasn't John Carter who thought up the college, but my grandfather 
William Redman and the other tribal elders. He knew exactly what 
would happen as a result of creating the school. That is why he 
insisted that all tribes be represented in it."

"What did he think would happen?"

"A unified Native American people who could leverage political 
representation in fifty states for the benefit of all of us. There is 
strength in a shared heritage and he wanted to bring that strength to 
us."

"How do you know this?" asked Dale surprised at the confident 
assertion of the five-year-old boy.

"My grandfather told me," answered William, "just before he 
died."

As pieces of a puzzle fell into place, Ed turned to stare at William. 
Unable to hold back his epiphany, he said, "So that is why you cut 
yourself in grief."

"Of course," answered William as he removed his shirt to show the 
scars. Looking down at them, he said, "William Redman was the 
greatest of our tribe. One day all the tribes will honor him. I will 
have been the first to demonstrate that honor in a manner befitting 
such a great man as it will become done in the future for all tribes."

Dale stared at William thinking that the boy had the wisdom of a 
tribal elder. To think that a child three years old could understand 
the consequences of actions taken while in grief was unimaginable. 
For most of the trip, Dale had thought his role was to provide 
wisdom and guidance for the boy. It dawned on him that he'd had 
the roles reversed. He was there to learn wisdom from the boy. 

Looking at Dale, William shook his head and said, "We are 
brothers. We shall each learn from the other and protect each 
other."

Ed took a sip from his iced tea and watched the pair of boys come 
to an agreement. There were times when William did something 
that was so extraordinary that he was stunned speechless. This had 
been one of those times. 

A very quiet Dan studied William trying to make sense of the clues 
the boy had given him. His first encounter with the boy had led to 
the shocking revelation that William knew about his papers on 
CPU design. Then he had surprised him when talking about 
freedoms earlier in this trip and now this about unifying all of the 
tribes. 

The only one who didn't react was Nathan. He'd come to accept 
that William was from a different planet and refused to treat him as 
human. The kid knew things that mere mortals didn't know and he 
was only five years old. It wasn't natural.

A silence settled on the group, as everyone was lost in their 
thoughts. It lasted an hour before Ed said, "I guess I better start on 
dinner."

On the last day of the trip, the group arrived at the location where 
they had left their vehicles. While Ed, Nathan, and William took 
care of the horses, Dale sat astride his horse looking in the 
direction of his home. He still had a three-hour ride until he 
reached home and he wanted to be on his way. 

Ed noticed the young man looking off in the distance with longing. 
He called over to William and said, "I'll finish with the horses 
while you say goodbye to Dale."

Nodding, William walked over to Dale and said, "You are ready to 
go."

"Yes, I am," said Dale looking down at the boy from atop his 
horse. It was amazing to him how small and young William was. 
The tribal elders were correct in their assessment of the boy - he 
was something special. 

"Take care of yourself. I'll see you in the fall," said William.

"They'll not want us to room together," said Dale. He knew it was 
common practice to split members of the same tribe apart.

"I know, but they will make an exception because of my age," 
replied William with a smile. 

"And you won't protect them from their folly," retorted Dale. He 
smiled at his friend to let him know that he was joking.

"It won't be folly. Many of the students will have a hard time 
accepting someone so young in their classes. It will take some time 
for me to earn their respect," said William looking down at the 
ground. 

"I hadn't thought about that."

"I'll see you in the fall."

"See you in the fall," said Dale with a nod. He turned his horse and 
headed home. 

William watched the young man ride off. When Dale was a fair 
distance away, William returned to the where Ed was loading the 
horses into the trailer. Upon reaching the trailer, he said, "Thanks 
for bringing me out here."

"I'm glad that you have made friends with a classmate."

Ed returned to leading the horse into the trailer feeling satisfied 
with the outcome of the trip. He'd gotten his priorities straight and 
William had found a friend. The trip was not entirely a success. 
Nathan had expressed a deep routed prejudice and Dan had started 
acting afraid around William. 


