The Last Drop

Jake Carter stepped out and the cloud of dust billowed by his ship was still settling. He crinkled his eyes instinctively at the sudden flood of sunlight and put on his sun-glasses.  He looked around only to find dry, arid land that seemed to extend beyond infinity and the horizon was walled by huge sand dunes. This was the land of his ancestors. His forefathers had lived here and died here. This is from where his race began. It was the land of stories and sighful nostalgia. It was a distant green memory. It was the place his ancestors called Earth.

Jake was here to take back home, what belonged only in his fairytales – Water.

Funi prayed the Almighty for his graceful blessing and mounted her camel. He was her guiding hope and strength; not any map or compass. She had none of them. She was the leader of the caravan set out on the quest across the Tehnnulae – the merciless Desert that was once so dense a forest that light could not slip in; so the old witch told in her wild stories. She led the group of the fifty women of the Toubou warrior clan across the vast emptiness in the quest for the scanty elixir of life – Water.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noah Calvin checked the map for the tenth time in half-an-hour. You could easily get lost in this vastness of sand and dirt. The map kept fluttering in the wind of the moving vehicle. It was an archaic map and it was his last hope; so he clung to it with all his determination. He constantly made sure that they were on the right track. He was at the head of the fleet of the fairly large convoy of SUVs and the three huge trucks that held their supplies and the essentials for the expedition.

He clutched the map closer to his chest. This was the treasure map. They sought something more than a treasure; they were in search of a new hope, their last hope – Water.

 This was practically the first time that Jake was stepping out into the real world; the world outside his sterile one. For the first time, he felt the real breeze ruffle his hair, the sun-light burning his skin deep. The scorching heat and the singing air dint bother him for a moment too long. He had experienced all this back at the Home. But, all those were artificial. This was realty. The real air, the real sun, the real heat and the real world.

Many centuries ago, when the Earth became unsuitable for human life, his ancestors began moving to their other colonies in the nearby planets. They dint adapt to the new environment; they could not. So, as always they modified the environment to suit them. They intensified their work on the Homes – the enclosed environment that was designed to be just like Earth; the elements, the temperature, the rain, the soil, the air and the water. Just like earth. But this Earth was manufactured in labs and corporate industries. It was Earth in all its goodness sans the bad face.

Jake worked for the Martian Hydro Works. The water manufacturer for the Mars Home. Human life there was in perfect harmony until the previous week when a freak catastrophe in the Hydro Labs destroyed the water Source. The Source was the actual, real water that the first settlers from Earth had brought with them. The composition of this water was duplicated for creating water for the consumption. This had been going on for centuries.  It was a fail-proof system. Well, until last week!

Jake was never concerned with how actually the Water was created from the Source or what caused its destruction. He never burdened himself with unwanted knowledge. He was the ‘muscle’ of the system. The primal requirement for the ‘brain’ to do its work.

He was entrusted with a mission. The mission to travel to Earth and bring the actual water that would be the new Source. The reserves would last not more than a week from now. In a way, the existence of Human race depended on this mission and that’s why he was chosen for it.

His first ever sweat dripped down the side of his face.

“OK boys, lets go and get some Life.”

There were some who stayed back. The ‘Faithful’ as they called themselves. Those who ‘dint scamper away like filthy rats’ – to put in their own words. Even when the world was crumbling down in the aftermaths of the War, the pollution and all the manufactured calamity and people decided that the World can no longer sustain them, a few of the humanity, stood fast, reluctant to leave their home and forsake it.

Now, there were no nations and borders. There were handfuls of Homo sapiens that reached out to each other and clung and bound. They now lived as small colonies, constantly looking for other such colonies and assimilating into each other.

Noah Calvin was born in one such Colony and as if his destiny were chosen when he was christened, he grew up to become the Head of his Colony.  It was duty to keep them alive and it was this duty that he was fighting for.

These last remnants of humans of earth lived a nomadic life. Well, anyway they had the whole of the Earth for themselves now. It was as if the clock of civilisation were turned back many centuries. It was a strange combination of the presence of scientific advancement and the lack of its complications.

In short, they were inventing fire; but from the plasma.

Like the early nomads, these Colonies often shifted their dwellings and Noah was now with the search party looking for the next area for settlement. But, they could no way settle in the desert, but to get to the better greens, they had to cross this huge landscape of heat and sand. Now, Noah had to part this ocean of sand to lead his people.  Their journey had reached the fringes of the desert. Now what remained was the ultimate crossing. But, before that could be done, the people needed to rest and they had to find food and water sufficient for the journey.

Noah had heard of the oasis. It was mid-way in their journey. It was perfect. With the reserves that they had now, they can travel this long, replenish at this oasis and continue their pilgrimage to better life. So, finding this oasis meant just more than finding water.

The location was obtained from an old hard-drive in the erstwhile police data centre of the town the group had tented in for now. it was an old map but there whispers in the air that this oasis still existed. As a leader, it was Noah’s duty to make sure it really was still there and if by God’s grace, it was there, make the journey to the greens. It was more of a reconnaissance.

“How much more distance do we have, Greg?” asked Noah searching the horizons of huge sand dunes.

There are people about whom the world doesn’t care; and who in turn remain equally oblivious to it. Funi belonged to one such group of human beings – the forgotten tribes of the wild. Many forgotten centuries ago, the likes of her ancestors’ lives became civilizations. Some flourished, some perished and some others remained as they were forever.  

The Toubou of the Amazons were one such clan. Primarily a forest-dwelling warrior tribe. Man alters his environment to suit him. But, in places where the nature overwhelms him and when he has no means or power over the Nature, he gives in; adapting himself to his environment, making a silent agreement of co-existence. Similarly, when the Toubou found their forests disappearing slowly, they adapted themselves to the dry and heat. Alas, they dint know that their divine forest was becoming board-room tables in a corporate office or fuel in the fire-place of an aristocratic mansion. They dint know that their home was burning down to charcoal.

Now, their dense forest had become the vast desert and over the centuries the Toubou cultivated and honed their survival skills for the desert.

The Toubou had their Shalanat – the ‘Water-seekers’. These were the ones who could navigate their way through the desert to the oases scattered across. They were always women, as the Toubou believed that women were excellent navigators. Funi was trained to be one. One of the very few that were left. It was generations of knowledge assimilated and passed on. Funi’s mother had trained her and now it was imperative that she pass on the skill to her daughter, Shehde.

Funi was the Shalanat of the caravan that would travel across the desert and bring back water from the oasis and rations after trading their camels in the village across the great sands. They always travelled as large group which had the strength of numbers.

The survival of the clan for the next four moons now depended on Funi and her women.

Funi looked back at the assembled group and said, “Lets begin the journey for our lives. The Almighty will guide us there.” She smiled encouragingly at Shehde and tugged the reins of her camel.

“Trust the big ones, not the small.” Funi said to Shehde pointing to the sand-dunes. “The small ones are temporary. They are here now, but they wont be there tomorrow. But, the big ones will stay for a very long time.”

“How long do we have to travel to reach the Shahlam?” asked Shehde. She was much curious learn as was her mother to teach.

“We have to travel three days to reach the Shahlam. We have water just for three days. We have to make it by the third day. Otherwise it is going to be very difficult. So, no unwanted delays. By the end of the second night, we will reach the ridges. From there, the journey becomes tougher. We have to cross thirty-three ridges. At the thirty-fourth, there is a shrub. That means we are in the right path and the Shahlam is nearby. Before the fortieth ridge it is.”

Shehde listened attentively.

“You have to be careful there. It is very easy to miss it. Many people have lost it and have never made it home. But, don’t worry we will find it.”

Noah need not trust on the natural landmarks or instinct. He had his map and the voice-guide. They still had almost two days’ travel and then would reach the end of what they called, the ‘firm-land’. From there, it was hard-core loose desert sand. Their SUVs would be of little help. And so, they had other arrangements. The companions bred just for this – the desert horses. Swift and abled in the loose sands of the desert. These were the precious cargo that the trucks were holding in addition to rations and arms. From that point, they would mount the horses and ride the desert the old-fashioned way.

Jake Carter dint have to bother about the hassles of transporting the animals. He had his hovers. Advanced versions of the hovercrafts. They could just slide over the sand. But, they would be slow. That was one sacrifice they had to make. But, it would be impossible to travel with their usual vehicles. They were not designed for the loose sand. There was just no desert back there at Home.

But, Jake wondered why they just dint land their ship next to the Source? They knew the exact co-ordinates for God’s sakes. But, Greg the engineer gave him a ten-minute lecture of science jargons oasis to why they could not do it. There were all these non-sense that he faintly remembered to have heard while back in the Classes. He dint care about them even then, why now? Jake just asked Gary to snap it shut and propose alternates.

“We are here.” said Gary zooming in on the Cartographic simulation model that virtually rendered the map in three dimensions. “We are the edge of the desert. We are now stationed in the fringe of the desert. Beyond us is the mighty desert. It’s all sand and dust and we are not designed for that. It is completely new geography for us. For scientific reasons that we need not discuss now,” he looked up a brief moment at Jake and continued, “we cannot dare to venture into the unknown. We have to be over-cautious and so have our hovers. We must sacrifice on speed here.”

There was a ripple of unsatisfied moans in the group.

“We remain camped here for two days from now and make our arrangement and also sync ourselves with the new environmental parameters. Once we are sure that we all are tuned-in for the environment, on the third dawn, we set out to get the Source. This is the plan we have worked out. Is there anything more Jake, sir?”

“That will be all.” And Jake dismissed the group with a stern nod.

Three groups spent the next two days progressing in their quests, but oblivious of each other and what lay ahead of them.

On the night before the ultimate dawn, when the women had rested for the night, Funi pointed to the starry sky to Shehde ann said, “You see that bright big star there? If it is behind us, we are in the correct direction.”

Shehde nodded diligently.

“Shehde, tomorrow you will lead us to the Shahlam. Follow the ridges and your heart. The Almighty speaks there.”

Shehde dint realise the quantum of the responsibility laid on her little shoulders. She playfully ran to feed her camel with the other children.

On the fateful dawn, the sun rose over the ocean of sand with the dynamic waves forming and falling. There were three souls that were awake even before the sun.

Jake Carter was running through the final preparation for the last leg of the mission. The men and machine had worked feverishly through the night and just retired to catch up on some sleep. Jake’s mind refused to be rested. The mission was in his blood, in his system. He felt restless. The burden of the responsibility on his shoulders sent him into a mood of deeper calm. He was volcano inside, but looked a placid lake on the outside. He walked through the machines, arms and men ready for the greatest journey of their civilization.

Noah Calvin simply sat outside his tent and was watching aimlessly at the twilight horizon and the fading stars. Benjamin, his falcon, a gift from his father had just returned from his hunt with a rat. He was beside Noah busy with his catch. Noah saw the light illuminating the night and the warmth returning. His people trusted him. They looked upon him to lead them to better lives. There were women, children and men back in the camp hoping that Noah and his men will come back with the news of the existence of the oasis and that they can make their journey to the greens. There were dreams and hopes. Noah held them all. He kept looking at the sky as the stars went missing one by one.

Funi knelt down for her prayer. She prayed for courage and luck. She dint pray to be bestowed with luck, but not be stripped off it. Her instincts and her knowledge is all she had and a whole village depended on them. if she made a little distance, it would mean the fifty women and children getting lost in this landscape of sand that keeps changing every minute. She prayed again to the Almighty for his mercy again for this day.

As the light became stronger, the groups had commenced the journey having no idea that their lives were to be entwined this day.

“Mamma, look... look...” Shehde cried out in excitement. “Mamma, look i found the shrub. It is just where you told! I have been counting the ridges and yes, it is exactly there, mamma!”

Funi kissed her daughter encouragingly. She had made her proud.  She will learn soon and she will be a good Shalanat.

It was just past the afternoon. The sun was tilting towards the west. Funi looked out hoping for her instincts to find the direction of the Shahlam. But, something else caught her eye! In the eastern and the northern horizons she saw huge clouds of sand. It was not a sandstorm. It meant something worse.

Noah had noticed the two clouds of sand. Competition was not part of his plan.

Jake looked at them with utter confusion and shock. There were other people heading towards the same destination. With the size of the clouds billowed, they were huge groups. So, there were people left on this planet, a lot of them and more so those who were his problem now. and the mission just got interesting!

The three leaders sensed what was coming. They had to be fast. The ones to reach the oasis first can claim ownership and will be in a better position of defence. Survival of the fittest. To reach there first, they had to move and move fast.

Noah Calvin signalled to his men and they tugged at their reins, kicked their horses and rode wildly billowing up sand, towards the oasis like the treasure hunters for gold!

Jake Carter took the control of his hover and raced ahead. Pushing the engines mercilessly to their limits. The convoy of the machines slid across sand leaving behind trail of huge sand clouds.

Funi kicked her camel hard. The primal warrior instincts took over the women and the animals seemed to have sensed too as they frantically towards the destination.

There was only one thing in all their minds – Water and get there first.

The oasis came into the view. All the three groups had reached the periphery at almost the same time. They all stood there at a distance from the oasis encompassing it from three directions. Each looked formidable to the other.

Benjamin, Noah’s falcon was circling around the scene viewing it from high above.

The three leaders stepped forward.

Jake in his hover, Noah on his horse and Funi on her camel.

There was not a single word exchanged. The looks told them all. Here was competition. The winner would have it. Now, it was a matter of life and death indeed.

Jake turned to his men. It was time for a war. Probably the first one. The first real one. He addressed his men sternly and as a captain should. “Here we are. Without full arsenal and preparation in an unknown planet; in an unknown land. But, here lies our life and the lives of our children and friends back at home. What we do here will decide our civilization. My men, fight for your life, fight for your future. Lets take back home this liquid life. ”

“This is our home. Our planet. Our resources.” Noah bellowed. “No one else can snatch from us, what is ours. Look there, that lake contains our dreams, our future, our hopes of better lives. Beyond it lays a green and prosperous life. Lets go and get our dreams.”

Funi had her bow drawn out. Her women were in readiness. The fire of the warriors kindled inside each one of them and it shone in their eyes. They knew, this water belonged to them and no one can snatch it away from them. They had given-up a lot. But, not this time, not this.

“Until the last drop...” Funi yelled the war-cry and the three battalions raced forward.

Facts and Fiction:

·        This idea struck me when there was a competition on theme ‘The last drop’ announced in the office, for the UN Water Day (22^nd March). But, of course, i could not complete it in time for the contest. But, anyway here it is.

·        The central idea is to portray the importance of water. How scarce it will go in the future and how much we will still need it. Lets make a determined effort to conserve not just Water, but the resources that Nature has gifted us. Lets use them judiciously.

·        I attempted to include the three levels of civilization, three level of mind-set and economic levels too. The fact is, wherever we are, we need Water.

·        Jake Carter – of course Jake Sully + John Carter :D what else occurs to me when speaking of future life in outer-space and Mars? :D

·        Noah Calvin of course is clichéd.

·        The major inspiration for this is BBC’s Human Planet episode 2 – Life in the furnace.

·        It features a segment on the Tubu women of Sahara desert who navigate across the desert to find a small well. Funi and Shehde are real people from the feature.

·        I have not read it in whole. So, there are bound to be some factual, grammatical and plot errors! :p