This story begins in another place, far from earth. This place is not known to us, for we see nothing when we look at it. This place is as real as magic will allow. This story has no beginning or end. It’s part of a process. Some will reason one thing or another, but they are all guessing. The chicken and the egg have always been together. The real question is not "which came first", but, "When did the egg end up outside the chicken?" Only some things are known by some, and other things are known by others. One thing that we do know is that the people in this story are real, as unique and different, or the same, as any others. This story begins, not at the beginning, but at a point, in this place far away.

Lona was young and pretty. She felt as though she had been chosen, and, indeed, she had. Before her memory, she had been kidnapped and held prisoner. She had been plucked from the world she was born into and had been transported to another world created by unseen hosts. This new world was a magic world which Lona grew to accept as her home without question. This world was a tapestry of forest, lakes, and glen filled with creatures, birds, and plants just slightly different than those one could observe on earth today. The forests and clearings were lush, covering mountains and valleys, with rivers and brooks that lead to a great, clear, surrounding sea. The gigantic, peculiar, broad leafed trees reached hundreds of feet above the ground. Other trees of every description were scattered here and there where ever there was clearing. The expansive meadows broke the forest to enhance the landscape with wide blades of thick grass, fruit bearing trees, and billowy flowers of every color. There was darkness in the starlit nights with a moon, and daylight to begin the day, followed by a sun that rose from the horizon. All this was enclosed in a unseen gigantic dome. A firmament that separated this enclosed world from endless, empty space.

This world was a Garden. This was the home of slightly over a thousand special people spread out over a thousand square miles. They were brought to this world as infants. Naked. It is now many years later after they were nurtured, cared for, and clothed solely by their mothers. For the young woman, Lona, it seemed as though she had been here her whole life. She knew not her destiny or her origin.

Lona lived with Neo. Neo had five other children in her charge, all about the same age, thirteen through fifteen. Neo was their mother, their significant adult, a quiet devoted woman. Neo was an affectionate woman who had great patience and empathy. She was the nurturing provider of their emotional needs. In many ways she seemed knowledgeable; but, for instruction, Lona and her siblings would always to go to the "Father." They talked to the Father in magic machines. Everyone used the machines and the Father was the source of all knowledge. If Neo had stories to tell, or memories, she kept them to herself.

The thirty, or so, members of Lona’s group couldn’t really remember anything earlier than their life in the Garden; however, sometimes there was a vague recollection of something haunting, horrible, and awesome. Something that happened so fast and affected their lives so greatly, and irrevocably, that it seemed like a horrible dream, a crash through time and space. The kind of dream that one has when you feel secure and suddenly the edge falls away, the floor drops out, the sudden fall begins, and stops in a jolting, sweaty awakening instant. But now, somehow, that dream was only an occasional nightmare. The entire impetus of their life was now their life in the Garden.

The machines were located here and there throughout the Garden. These "magic" machines were sculpted from a substance similar to plastic: they were contoured, and colorful. These were machines of instruction. The machines not only taught information, but, through their user-interactive virtual reality, also taught action. Through the magic machines the members of Lona’s group learned to forage, cook, make pottery and tools, defend themselves, and otherwise survive. To access the machine, they would place their hand in front of a little green light next to the door. The door would then slide open to expose a bench. They would sit on the bench, and the door slid closed. There was first a surrounding curtain of blue light. The curtain disappeared with a "poofing" sound, like an extinguishing pilot light, and the boundaries of confinement suddenly expanded in all directions. Slowly, the "Father" appeared as a ghostly apparition. The participant was surrounded by the sensation of movement, space, and interaction with what they saw and sensed around them. It was a game. Each game had a lesson. Each game had a moral. Completing a game meant accomplishment of a level of understanding and achievement.

Through the machine, the "Father", and these virtual sensations, the participants would experience real problems and learn to solve them through virtually real experience. The activities in the machine would instruct them, reinforce the correct choices and offer the answers to their virtual problems. Through the Father’s instruction in the machine, Lona had become quite capable in the survival tactics necessary to forge a comfortable living in the Garden. Just above the door to the machine, inscribed in the plastic, was the manufacturer’s trademark, "E-Den."

Lona entered the plastic machine through its sliding door. As the door closed behind her, she was not afraid. She sat down. The blue light ignited like a cool fireball surrounding her. There was no top. There was no bottom. In its midst there slowly materialized the ghostly, image of the Father.

"Oh Father, we are in heaven, and I love you!" proclaimed Lona.

"I love you too," responded the Father in his low, surround-sound, voice. Lona smiled and took his outreached hand. His hand was soft, strong, and warm.

"What shall we do today, Father?", she asked. Following an unspoken gesture, she arose and walked with the Father. Though she did not move, she felt herself walk. Though she held nothing, she felt her hand in his.

"Walk with me down by the river," said the Father.

"See this type of stone?", he bent down and picked up an example.

"This is the type of stone to choose. Take two of this type, and strike them together like such." He struck the stones and a chip fell off one.

"Continue to strike the chip with this other stone in this way till you shape it as such."

After numerous attempts, Lona began to master the technique. She was learning to create a spear-head. The Father chose a straight sapling to attach his example with special twine made from animal hide the day before. He cut the sapling with the stone he had shaped. He showed Lona how to look for other saplings, and soon she had created a spear. Although Lona had not moved from the machine, she had virtually walked with the Father for over three miles in four hours.

"We will review this lesson again!" said the Father.

"Thank you Father, for from you comes all wisdom. I love you!", said Lona as her heart filled with pride and yearning. "It is love for the teacher that inspires learning and knowledge," said the Father. The surrounding blue curtain of light returned, the Father faded from view, the blue light disappeared, and the door quietly slid open. Lona had returned to the Garden.

Lona learned how to hunt the game creatures and to start fires with friction. She learned which plants and animals were poisonous. She learned which vegetables to grow and how to dig for roots. She learned to crack bones with rocks to expose their tender, nourishing marrow. She learned to draw pictures of things she saw. She learned of conception, though she was forbidden to do it. She learned to care for "virtual" young children, as yet unconceived, and assist in childbirth. She learned with her brothers and sisters about family, and teamwork. All of Lona’s generation followed the Father’s laws and obeyed their mothers for they knew nothing else.

One morning, in Lona’s sixteenth year, she awoke to find Neo had vanished. Lona searched in vain. She went to her machine to sit. The envelope of blue light appeared to finally bring forth the Father.

"Oh, Father," she said, "what has become of Neo?" She pleaded with tears streaming from her eyes.

"She is with me in Heaven," said the Father, "Neo is dead." "This is the hardest lesson for you to learn, my child. Neo is mine, and I have taken her back. I have taught you how to live life, how life comes from you, and now I must show you death. The Father stepped aside and there lay Neo, pale, gray, silent. They viewed Neo’s body and buried her together. And then he told her, "As long as you obey my laws, you and all your offspring will live long and come to me in Heaven when they die." The thought of being with the Father after death gave Lona a measure of peace, pride, and bravery.

But, later, Lona cried most of that day. She fasted and sat among the sweet smelling flowers on the ridge overlooking the valley. The view was magnificent, to the very border of the Garden. A gentle mist hung over the green landscape below. The rock she sat on was a ring-side seat for a panoramic view that stretched to the sea. Her eyes looked to the ground as she rested her head in her hands.

"Why?", she lamented.

For three days she mourned the loss of her mother. And she also thought about death. It made Lona angry. But Lona felt she had a long life ahead of her. She went to a nearby pool, cool, refreshing and isolated. She disrobed. Her clothes fell softly on the moss covered rocks. She slowly entered the water so as not to cool her soft skin too quickly. Finally, her head submerged to wash away the tracks of her tears. Under water her long hair spread into billowy waves and silence surrounded her. She swam in this world of quiet peace till she had to come up for air. Her black hair fell flat against her neck and back as her head surfaced. Ripples broke the glass smooth surface of the pool. The water was deep, over her head now. She felt it rush against the length of her body as she stretched her arms in front of her to cup her hands and pull herself through the cool, tingling clear water. After a while, she swam back to the shallow water; and, placing her feet on the smooth, round rocks on the bottom, walked out of the pool to retrieve her clothes. When she dressed, she decided it was time to once again visit the Father.

As Lona stepped into the machine, so familiar, so accepting, so eagerly embraced, she again fought back her tears. The blue curtain of light surrounded her and soon the low, soothing voice of the Father began to console her grief.

"You know she would have wanted you to be strong. You must continue on with all that you have learned," said the Father, "You know she loved you. You know she would have wanted you to accept her death. It was her time, as it is eventually time for everyone. You must carry on for her sake." Lona began to accept. However, one by one, soon the other mothers died in the same manner. Within two months they had all gone.

Lona now lived with her five brothers and sisters of which Ogar was the oldest. The group now had no adult to settle arguments or unfair contentions; so, Ogar and his second youngest brother, Nygel, filled this roll in their immature awkward way. It also seemed that this vacuum of authority and arbitration unleashed tendencies of rivalry and allowed jealousies to surface. All this made for an increasingly difficult environment as well as augmenting previously subdued desires for independence and exploration outside the family circle. On one occasion, while visiting with the Father, Lona brought up some of her feelings of frustration. Much to her surprise, the Father responded by giving her a special assignment.

"This will answer all these questions," said the Father. He carefully drew out a map for her to memorize. Lona was to travel alone, following the map to a place outside her area, to meet a man called Quinton from another group.

"You will meet with him for the purpose of becoming his life-mate," said the Father.

She immediately knew the purpose of a life-mate and didn’t question the wisdom of the Father’s choice. This was to be a new adventure. She felt as though she were about to step into a thrilling phase of her life. She was excited and prepared for her journey immediately after leaving the machine.

She laced the skin of her footwear up her shins. She stepped into her protective knee length chaps. She pulled over her long sleeved shirt. She placed her cap over her head, and tied it under her chin. She hung her bag containing her water jug, strips of dry meat, a batch of dried grapes, and her fire starter kit over her shoulder. She hung her cutting tool in it’s sheath on her belt, and carried her spear in her hand.

This was to be a two day journey. She eagerly followed her map and hiked up the ridge past the rock where she had grieved Neo. She continued on, passed the pond, and followed it’s stream to the lake. As she passed around the lake-shore, she looked into it’s shallow clear waters to see fish, then to the deep water as the bottom fell away into the lake. She walked on the path that she had followed in years gone by with her brothers, sisters, and friends coming to swim. She thought of Neo, so sweet and protective. It seemed like nothing could go wrong when Neo was there. She remembered the time Neo swam out to rescue Nygel. Neo knew everything. She could solve all problems. Now, Lona was approaching the end of the path. The furthest she had ever been before. Lona pushed her way through the thick underbrush till she reached the babbling stream, and followed it’s wide, clear banks toward the other side of the plateau. The grass on its banks made a wide swath through the thick forest to the rocky edge of the plateau where the stream descended in a long mist filled fall.

On this rock precipice, she gazed down at the wide, flat valley far below. A shallow river wound it’s way back and forth down the valley like a great snake. Her map indicated she would have to cross this valley to climb the next range of hills at a point where great twin rocks stood. She held her hand above her eyes as she searched the other side till she finally spotted the twin rocks. Beyond these she would find an angle shaped lake where she would meet Quinton in a meadow by a pile of boulders. This would take the rest of the day. After carefully examining the landscape beneath her and evaluating her best, possible route, she took a deep breath and began to descend the precipice.

She could see no easy way down, but her burden was light, so she continued the treacherous feat with only a little hesitation. About half way down, she noticed some small rocks and debris falling from above her. Looking up she could see nothing. She paused for a few minutes and was silent. The trees rustled in the wind, and she could hear a wolf crying far away. She heard the "caws" of ravens in trees high above her on the cliff, but no other sound or movement. She decided it would be best to continue on as quietly as possible. As she approached the end of her descent she heard something that sent a chill up her back. Somewhere above her, something big made a sound. The sound of claws landing on a rock surface. With this impact, there came a short, low, powerful snort. She now knew she was being followed by something. She crossed diagonally to a rock overhang, kept low, and clutched her spear tightly. More little stones and debris slid down the steep incline past her. She reviewed what the Father had instructed her to do in case of meeting a predator. "There is no way to out-run them. With a bear, you can play dead and they may leave you alone. With wolves you must climb a tree. With cats you must stand your ground with your spear, and hope that feeling it’s sting will be a greater deterrent than their need for food." There was only the sound of one creature, so it was probably alone. Again, she waited and saw nothing. The test would be on the wide valley floor if the animal decided to follow.

Soon, she was off the base of the precipice and left the stream at the bottom of the waterfall to cross the valley floor. The landscape was now mostly meadow and high thickets. The valley floor was flat, but dry. The predator was hesitant. It was a young tiger. It sensed that, if it were to test it’s prey, the time would be soon while in the open. The creature stalked Lona for half a mile. It measured it’s distance and suddenly started it’s charge from a crouching position. Hearing the large paws pounding the ground in it’s gallop, Lona turned and screamed as loud as she could, holding her spear tightly in both hands and thrusting it toward the tiger. The animal was about 400 pounds and five feet tall at the shoulder. It was gigantic. When it saw that Lona was not running to escape, it broke off the charge about five meters away from her and growled with a great, deep roar. Lona held her ground and continued to thrust her spear in it’s direction, now talking to it in a low voice. "Go, Go, Go, or feel the sting of my spear!", was all she could think of. The sound of talking was different for the cat, and confused the creature a bit. It roared again, but Lona kept her ground. The tiger moved slowly, around and toward Lona until they were but two meters apart. Lona felt sweat poring down the sides of her body. She looked into his eyes and saw the very essence of this hesitant beast. "Go, Go, or feel the sting of my spear! I’m warning you!" She thrust her spear again. In a quick movement, so fast that Lona had no time to react, the tiger lunged and took a swipe at the spear with its paw as if it were attempting to knock the spear from her grasp. The paw slid down the shaft and crossed over the side of the sharp edged head. Lona held on to the spear even though she was nearly knocked off her feet. Immediately the tiger’s blood flowed from between it’s toes. Feeling the sting, and seeing the blood startled the creature. As if to warn Lona not to continue "her attack," the tiger backed off and bellowed a roar so loud that it could be heard up and down the valley. The tiger slowly retreated, growling with each step, and leaving a small puddle of blood each time it lifted it’s right foot. Once distance was achieved, the tiger turned and ambled off toward the cliff to lick it’s wound. Lona took a deep breath and stood motionless. Her heart beat so hard she could feel nothing else. She heard more cawing from the ravens in the trees on the cliff and knew the beast was headed away. She collected her thoughts and turned her back to continue her journey. She was shaking uncontrollably and her breath was heavy.

The day was beautiful. She tried to concentrate on its beauty to relieve her tension. She hiked across the valley for hours. She kept looking toward the twin rocks on the adjacent ridge. The valley was hot and hard under her feet. Wading across the shallow river was refreshing. She stopped along its bank where, upon a small rise, there grew a tree she had never seen before, an apple tree. The large, bright red fruit was attractive. She ate one. With such large sweet fruit, she had to stash some into her sack. At the base of the ridge across the valley, not far from the twin rocks, she found an animal trail that cris-crossed to the top. Once there, she chose to rest at the base of one of the twin rocks. The rock was much taller than she had imagined from a distance. It was a great granite boulder seventy feet high, and thirty feet in diameter. She was exhausted. She could see for miles up and down the valley. The river snaked back and forth down the flat lowland. Across the valley, she could see the waterfall. She wondered if the tiger had a den near it. Perhaps it would be better it go another way if she were to ever return. She put these thoughts to the back of her mind. She turned around to view a wonderful plateau spread out before her. She could see for miles in all directions. She could even see the angle shaped lake over the tops of trees. Although the afternoon was getting late, she felt she could reach it before dark.

Most of this journey to the lake was easy, through tall forests with little underbrush. The tall trees created the effect of a giant cathedral. The trunks were the columns while the branches and leaves spread out to cover the forest floor only allowing the slightest amount of filtered light through. The tall forest trees turned to thickets and then came the shore of the lake itself. About a half mile across the lake she could see the pile of boulders high in the meadow. She decided to camp and finish the journey in the morning. As she roamed back into the forest searching in the dim light for a suitable place to bed down, she heard faint laughter and smelled cooking. Curiously, she followed the sounds through the forest. Occasionally they would become faint, and she would have to be very still to see if she could hear them again. Finally, over a slight rise she came upon a campsite with three couples sitting around a fire. She saw them before they saw her.

To make them aware of her, she moved to where they could see her and sounded a "hoot". She placed her spear in her left hand with the point to the ground and raised her right hand holding it open. She was displaying that she held no weapon intended for them. They examined her for a few seconds. One of them stood up,

"Do you follow the laws of the Father?"

"I love the Father!" exclaimed Lona.

"Then join us!", said the young man as they all raised their right hands open.

"We have plenty of food, please make your camp with us and we will tell stories of our lives and laugh together."

Lona told them the story of the tiger. They sat listening in wide-eyed silence. Two of the men told how they, with their three other brothers, killed a cave bear because it wanted their cave. They talked of how they ate the animal’s meat, but they took off the head and placed it in a stone box in the back of the cave so that it wouldn’t invade their dreams. As the evening progressed Lona found they were all new "life-mates" as assigned by the Father.

"You will become delirious with joy!", exclaimed a woman named Arial. "Having a life-mate will give you freedoms that you have never known before."

The joy and excitement shared by these couples thrilled Lona as she stated that she was to meet her life-mate, Quinton.

Arial giggled and turned her face into the chest of the man she had her arm around as if to hide. She looked back at Lona and nudged her leg playfully with her foot. Lona turned to her.

"I know of Quinton.", she said flatly, as if to tease Lona. Lona rose to her knees with her hands on her hips.

"What do you know of Quinton? Tell me!"

Arial rose to her feet.

"Catch me and I’ll tell you!" Arial jumped up and started to run, giggling.

Lona chased her around the fire as the rest laughed with delight. Lona finally caught her and tackled her to the ground. Arial was laughing so hard that she could not fight back.

"Quinton is my friend’s brother. He is the strongest and most handsome one of our group. He is smart too. He is always chosen as leader when the men go out to forage or hunt."

Lona released her and sat where she was. Arial got up and brushed herself off and sat next to her.

"Quinton is kind, you will like him, and you will find much joy in life with him."

As Lona covered herself with her soft skins to sleep that night, she felt very fortunate that the Father had chosen such a special person to be her life-mate.

With the morning, Lona bid her new friends farewell, and hiked off to the boulders on the other side of the lake. The meadow was on a slight grade with a brook that flowed around its borders on its way to the lake. The meadow was filled with the stumps of burned trees and continued up the hillside away from the lake. The boulders were on the high side of the meadow. Lona decided to explore the boulders first. Finding them lacking any animals that might cause her problems, Lona built a shelter of saplings and skins against one of the boulders and decided to rest. Lona lay back in the late afternoon sun, closed her eyes, and fell asleep. In what seemed to be just a couple of minutes, her eyes opened. The sun was now low and blinded her a bit as she tried to focus her eyes. A tall figure was silhouetted in front of her. A quiet low voice spoke.

"I hope you are Lona! I am Quinton."

How long must two people know each other before they become life-mates? To Lona and Quinton, they were already life-mates. The only question was, "Would they be able to follow the laws of the Father." The act of following the Father’s recommendation for a life-mate ensured their commitment to each other. As the Father had instructed them, Quinton and Lona clasped hands, palm to palm, and recited the oath.

"I promise to stand with you, back to back, and lie with you, and only you, front to front."

I promise to assist you, and listen to you, and go with you, where ever life may lead us.

I promise to commit myself to our family, and search for knowledge, kindness, and wisdom with you. Till death do us part."

Quinton added his skins to the shelter, and Lona collected wood for the fire they were to build in front of it. They decided to consummate their life-mate ceremony there at the campsite. In the early evening they built the fire.

Quinton was excited by what they were about to do and, as he slid his naked body between the soft skins, he expected her to follow. Lona hesitated and sat, clothed, outside the skins.

"What is it, Lona?" questioned Quinton.

"What was your mother’s name?" softly questioned Lona.

"Why, her name was Mylynn, Lona."

"And she is dead now?"

"Yes"

"How did you feel when she died?"

"I felt great emptiness, and cried every night for forty days till I talked to the Father about it. I am still sad occasionally now."

Lona crouched on her knees beside him. She kissed him. She climbed between the skins with him. She disrobed while she looked into his eyes. Quinton reached out and pulled her soft warm body close to his. Hours later, the fire’s embers succumbed to the chill of the night, but the warmth of the flame for Lona and Quinton was only growing hotter. Clouds passed in front of the bright Moon, and the wind swirled through the trees to make their shadows dance. Lona kicked off the soft skins that covered them. The rustling of the leaves high above covered any evidence of this couple’s sounds. Lona’s first pain brought tears to her eyes. Quinton kissed them away. And kissed her pain.

"Shall we rest for a while?"

"No", replied Lona, "I feel warm and full. Stay right where you are!"

Later that night Lona reached over to her sack and pulled out the two apples she had taken earlier in the day. She shared them with Quinton.

Quinton and Lona remained in that meadow that night and for six years. Although they only needed to visit it occasionally, there was a machine down by the lake to consult with the Father. During this time Lona had five children, three boys, Tell, Able, and Cain, and two daughters, Mylynn and Neo. Lona was busy tending the children while Quinton organized the hunting parties and planned the planting. A small community was established around the lake and Quinton became it’s leader.

HB100, Product Development

Progress in the Garden has developed according to expectations. With the morality taught by the "Father" through our virtual reality machines, they are observed to thrive. The new cyber-robotic 10-19 "mothers" performed excellently. For the first time we have a group that is unaffected by impaired abilities to function as parents themselves as were observed in the previous groups where we used the old 10-15 cyber-robots. Both morality and parenting are extremely important due to the eighteen years, or so, that it takes to raise each generation. It is our assessment that, placed correctly, this group will multiply quickly and yield a good crop.

HB100, Product Placement

Our researchers have found that the placement of the HB100’s is a delicate matter. Optimum results will only be obtained from an environment close to that of the Garden which was modeled after their original environment. The possible target environments are within a small range. Research has found there are only twenty such places in our sphere of the universe, and none of them are exactly the same. Analysis is, therefore, on a continuing basis. Of the three groups that have been placed previously, we have found none to be a success. One group failed because of excessive radiation from space. The atmosphere was inadequate and the planet was too young. The second and third group failed due to disease, starvation, and inadequate organization. With this experience, our researchers have eliminated the field of remaining choices down to one location for the Garden group: a small planet in the Myw154 sector that already supports a similar, but undeveloped humanoid population. Although HB100 is a newly developed product, we know there is a strong market potential from the sales generated by the original product harvested from it’s "natural source." Considering the great quantities harvested from this source, we should have a successful, "cultivated" harvest in only 2,000 generations.

HB100 Product Growth

The Garden group will be placed, or grafted, if you will, on a planet where similar humanoids already exist. Though similar, there is enough difference between the native population and the HB100 that they should mature without significant contamination of quality. The considered placement, planet earth, has primitive humanoids who survive by chasing, catching, and eating herbivores and gathering wild, eatable plants on a daily basis. They are not likely to be a challenge to the HB100’s growth.

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