Previous Chapters can be found here:
April 6,12,18,25
May 3,11,16,19,21 and continuously thereafter.
Chapter 11
They moved on to another workroom. This one filled with drying herbs, leaves hanging from rods suspended from the ceiling. Crystal containers stoppered with cork, lined the walls. Again there was a work table and here there were people steeping leaves in liquids or grinding them to powder.
“Here is where we make our medicines. We have found herbs growing in our fields and leaves that grow on this tree that will heal most ailments of our people. We grind some to simple powders or make extracts or in some instances ferment the herbs depending on what is required to extract the healing substance. The salve that the doctor put on your arm was made from this plant.” He picked up a root from a jumbled pile that a woman was grating into small pieces. It will get simmered in oil and then mixed with beeswax to make the ointment. It is very effective in healing wounds as you well know.”
“So people here get hurt and sick?” asked Abe still looking for that fly….
“Unfortunately yes, people do get hurt. People fall and break bones, or cut themselves accidentally while working. And we do have illnesses, although not as many as we used to in our ancient history. But we will get to that in due time.”
The tour continued to workshops of all kinds, in smaller rooms than the supply room or dinning hall. There was a pottery shop, and a metal working shop, and a quiet bright room where people were sewing clothing and bedding, all covered with the distinctive embroidery.
In each of these places, it was the atmosphere that astonished Abe the most. In his experience workplaces had generally been rather tense, and harried. Here, people were chatting in good humor and working in an unhurried pace. No wonder the embroidery was so beautiful on all the clothing. No one was in an almighty rush to get it done. And everywhere they went, it seemed everything was being done by hand. Granted the raw materials were readily available, but from that point on, it was a hands on place. The man hours required to keep this place going must be incredible.
They visited the bookbinding shop that Barney had mentioned. This was fascinating to Abe as he was an admirer of fine books. They were binding hand written manuscripts. Some with color illustrations, some with golden parchment and others with pastels. It looked like a medieval calligraphy hall in some monastery. The covers were being made of fairly thin wood with carvings on them. Then they were rubbed with stains and finished with wax. And here again the emphasis was on beauty and quality, not efficiency. On earth, these things would be extremely expensive because of the long hours required to make them.
“Let us go outdoors and I will show you some of what’s going on out there.” They went through another archway and tunnel on the opposite end of the tree.
Here there was a large area that was fenced off that was a long pen where grass was growing. There was a large pond of water near the end, which was about 100 yards away. There were ducks geese and chickens here in a rainbow of colors. Golden chickens, black and white ones, Reddish brown ones, and ducks and geese with plumage like mallards at home, teal and blue, white and rust. They had free run of a very large area and there were coops halfway to the pond. Half of the area was under the shade of the Tree and the other half in the sunny area.
“We do not eat these birds. In fact we eat no animal flesh at all. But we do eat the eggs and when the birds die of old age, we gather their feathers and their bodies are buried by the Tree. This is a favored place for children to work. They love gathering eggs and being among the birds.
Abe looked at how clean the area was and asked, “Not to be indelicate Aeron, but on my world if there were this many birds in an area, it would stink from their droppings.” Why is the grass not worn down and how is it so clean?”
“In the same way that spent plants are absorbed into the ground by the roots of the tree. Every night, G’var Daath does its work. And here, plants grow faster than on your world from what I can gather from your memories. You don’t have a lot of memories of farm land, do you?”
“No, I must admit, I haven’t been around farms much. But I DO know that animals create droppings!” He laughed.
Next they came to an area about 3 times the size of the bird enclosure.
This area had no fences. There was ankle deep grass growing, a mix of clover and other grasses. And in this area there roamed some of the most beautiful horses Abe had ever seen. They were large and powerful looking. “How many horses are here?” he asked.
“We usually have about forty horses at any one time. We use them to travel to other communities.” Abe looked up, this was the first time other Trees had been mentioned. Seeing his look, Aeron said, “Yes there are many, many other Trees in our world Abraham. Very many indeed.”
“We also have carts and wagons that we use to travel in.”
“Doesn’t that take a long time?” Abe wanted to know.
“Well, compared to your. . . cars, yes.” admitted the Elder. “But we don’t think about time the same way that you do on your planet. This is something we will have to talk about later.”
As they made their way around the outside of the tree, there were small places that abutted the trunk where there were small groups of people making baskets or working on some personal project.
And coming around one of the outcroppings of the trunk there was an outdoor area that was cobbled with stones and here were very young children playing in what looked like a kindergarten. The courtyard was in front of an indoor classroom. There were two large doors that stood open. The children were cutting out paper shapes and stringing them together and hanging them on the lower branches of the trees. Around the corner, older children were reciting what sounded like a poem. And in yet one more division an older group still, were studying quietly from open books.
“In their private quarters, adults are pursuing their own interests. Some are writing books, others painting, others compose music and practice their instruments and any number of personal goals they have set themselves. We all spend part of the day helping in some way communally, and the rest of the day is ours to do with as we wish. Even if that means taking a very long nap!” he said with a grin.
“It seems like you….no, G’var Daath has thought of everything. You will understand how incredulous I am if you know anything of my world, you realize this is VERY different society than I am used to. Utopia is an idea that has always been with our culture, but rarely has it worked out for any length of time. Things changed. Technology made living a simple subsistence life seem foolish. But of course you know all this right?”
“I have general ideas. But you must remember, they have been filtered by your own attitudes and biases. So my picture is as you would see it. I don’t know how things really are on earth in many respects. But yes I have a fairly good grasp of what you are talking about.”
“We have two more places to see. One will wait until tomorrow, but this one is just around the corner here.”
They walked on and came to another area paved with pale gray stone.
On which Abe noticed fine moss was growing between them that when you walked on it gave of an herbal fragrance that was very pleasant.
“This is our concert hall.” Aeron said. “We will be having a debut of some new music here I’m told in several days time.”
Abe looked at an area where the ‘arms’ of the trunk of the Tree were scooped deep. There were wooden seats complete with backs that grew in a step down fashion. He noticed there were three doorways at the highest level of seats in the back. They must open onto the second floor on the inside. The area where the musicians sat was off set directly across from the seating with about twenty feet of separation. Behind the semicircle there grew a grove of trees so close together they formed the sound shell behind the orchestra. About twenty five feet up, the greenery of the trees appeared. There were many kinds of leaves, but no fruit. These trees were covered with blooms which were also giving off fragrance. It was a beautiful place. The most beautiful “theater” Abe had ever seen. And although technically, it was outdoors, it seemed very intimate and cloistered. One could just barely see the sky through the branches of the overhanging tree limbs.
“What a beautiful place.” Said Abe in awe.
“I think you will enjoy the concert very much.” Said the elder.
“Here, let us go inside.” He gestured up the aisle. They ascended the stairs and sure enough, the doors opened out into the wide hallway that led to the private quarters.
“Do you think you can find your way to your own rooms now” the elder wanted to know.
“Yes, I think I can,” said Abe, I will see you at supper. And thank you for the tour.”
“My pleasure.” Said Aeron with a smile that somehow conveyed that he understood Abe’s head must be reeling.