Kin, like Ani and Sylvie, felt growing emotions as he approached the wide entrance of a cave visible at the base of the rocky cliff face they had been following on foot. As he had expected after nearly 52,000 years, the cave’s aspect had changed a bit, while its floor was now much higher, thanks to millenniums of dirt and soil accumulation. The only indication that this cave was special in a way was the presence of a metallic plaque bolted to the rock face next to the entrance. Ani took on her to read it aloud once in front of it.
‘’Warning to passersby and researchers: this cave has been declared off limits by the Department of Patrimonial Resources of France to any digging or excavation work.
Trespassers will be prosecuted. By order of the Minister of the Interior, June 08, 1946.’
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‘’It is a good thing that the Time Patrol petitioned the French government to restrict access to this cave.’ said Sylvie. ‘’With all the paleontological teams scouring the Dordogne region in search of prehistoric remains and items, someone could well have come and dug out the skeletons of your families. In fact, one such scientific team nearly came here to search for artifacts a few years ago. Thankfully, the government refused their request for a digging permit.’
‘’I don’t know if I could have avoided becoming violent if I would have found someone digging up the graves of my parents today.’
‘’Yours would have been a most excusable reaction, Kin. I will let you and Ani enter the cave first.’
‘’Thanks, Mother!’
Kin, with Ani at his side, then walked the last few steps to the entrance of the cave and entered it, stopping over a precise spot and then kneeling on it, gently touching the dirt with both hands.
‘’This is where my mother Nana should be resting, next to my father Kem.’
‘’Let me check that quickly, Kin.’ said Sylvie, who then put down her backpack and extracted from it a hard-cased sort of briefcase. Opening the briefcase, which had thick foam padding inside, she grabbed both a sort of tablet on wheels and a handheld video unit with a control stick. Putting down the tablet on wheels next to the spot where Kin was kneeling, Sylvie switched on her portable ground penetrating radar unit and started making it roll slowly around, its belly only a few centimeters above the ground, while looking at the display screen of the monitoring and control unit. After a few seconds, she invited Kin and Ani to come and look at the display screen.
‘’Nana is still there, some 130 centimeters below the surface. You can see her skeleton, which is missing its left side forearm. The spear you put beside her before we covered her body is also there.’
Looking at the screen made tears appear in Kin’s eyes, while an invisible hand gripped his heart.
‘’I wish so much that she could have survived that attack by those cave hyenas.
She gave her life to defend me and Ani. Can you check now for my father’s remains?’
Sylvie, also having a lump in her throat from the emotion of the moment, nodded her head and made her radar unit roll for about two meters before stopping it, then making it roll left and right.
‘’Kem is also still here, Kin.’
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Sylvie let Kin and Ani look at the monitor’s screen for long seconds, then made her radar unit roll again to a new location nearby.
‘’If I remember well, my radar is now over the remains of your father, Ani.’
Ani, already quite emotional, broke down in tears and cried after looking at the screen for a couple of seconds.
‘’It is my father Tar alright. The remains of Kiri and of little Rana should be over there, some two meters deeper into the cave.’
The trio then moved again, following the rolling radar unit to a new spot, where its monitor showed two sets of remains: those of a small woman and those of an infant.
What remained of that infant was however both partial and badly mangled.
‘’Poor little Rana, killed and then half-eaten by a hyena after being snatched from her mother’s arms.’
‘’The lives of Neanderthal Humans were certainly hard and brutal, as our research team documented on the spot. In fact, your family group lived and died only about 10,000 years before the extinction of the last Neanderthals in Europe. It is a credit to your specie that Neanderthals lived on Earth for over 300,000 years before becoming extinct. Well, nearly extinct.’
The trio stayed silent for a long moment as they reminisced about the tragedy that had occurred here 52,000 years ago. Ani finally looked somberly at Sylvie and spoke in a subdued voice.
‘’Sylvie, I do not want for me and Kin to be the last Neanderthals to live. If Kin agrees to this, I wish to have at least one baby with him.’
As Sylvie was left nearly in tears by those words, Kin gently passed an arm around Ani’s shoulders and kissed her head.
‘’I very much want to do so as well, Sylvie. Do you foresee any problems with us having children, me and Ani?’
Sylvie had to clear the lump in her throat before she could answer Kin.
‘’Only that such children would then be truly the last Neanderthals to live. Even if you had multiple children, they would then face the problem of consanguinity if they tried to couple between themselves once adults. Only by introducing fresh Neanderthal blood would we avoid that consanguinity problem for your future grand-children.’
‘’But, where would we find such fresh Neanderthal blood?’ asked Ani, confused.
Kin was the one to answer her question.
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‘’In the distant past. Sylvie, I would be ready to return to around 50,000 years ago with Ani, once we could have had at couple of children and once those children would be at least a couple of years old and less fragile, so that they would have a fair chance to survive the environment of the Ice Ages. Once in the past, we could join a roving band of Neanderthals and live the rest of our lives with them. If we refrained from bringing modern tools and from demonstrating our ability to write, then I believe that the integrity of the past would not be at risk, as we would represent only a minuscule factor in that time period.’
‘’I…I believe that you are right about that, Kin. However, I would have to talk with Mike first to gain the approval of the Time Patrol for such a project. It…’
Sylvie then has to stop talking, sobs strangling her voice for a moment before she could continue.
‘’It would also mean that I would lose both of you, forever. I don’t know if I could live with that.’
Touched by his adoptive mother’s response, Kin passed his other arm around her, making the trio form a tight group.
‘’And we will always remember you fondly, Mother, but I do not wish to see my children grow as isolated oddities and objects of curiosity in France, or in the Global Council of the 34th Century. Me and Ani could officially marry during our vacation, so that we could quickly work on having a child. It could be born here, in France, while I serve in Annecy. However, I wish to complete my three-year enlistment contract before leaving France and return to the main base of the Time Patrol, where we would let our children grow a bit, so that they would be less fragile to the conditions of life in the Ice Age.’
With that said, Kin then put down his own backpack and took out the bouquets of roses he had brought for this occasion. He and Ani then distributed the roses around the graves with utter reverence, watched by Sylvie. After a long minute of respectful silence, Kin caressed Ani’s cheeks with one hand and spoke softly to her.
‘’What do you say that we use the services of the Padre of my unit to get married, Ani?’
‘’That would be fine with me, Kin.’ answered Ani, bringing fresh tears to Sylvie’s eyes.
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CHAPTER 11 – BACK TO THE ROOTS
Mid Afternoon (Western Europe Time)
Late Spring, Year 49,950 B.C.E.
Valley of the Vézère, future region of Dordogne, France The group of nine Neanderthals, which included four young children, had been walking along the right bank of the river, which would much later on be called the Vézère, looking for anything worthy of picking as food as they went. There seemed to be quite a few fish in the river so Tur, the leader of the small group, had promised himself to try some fishing once they would stop and establish a temporary camp in the evening. Up to now, this territory seemed very promising to Tur, with the river being an easy source of water and the forests and prairies on each bank sheltering animal life and wild berries and nuts. The river also flowed in a valley between two lines of rocky hills and cliffs, where the group could find shelter in case of rain. The temperature was above the freezing point and was quite reasonable in this late Spring, allowing the Neanderthals to travel with only a light attire of furs and deer skins. However, things had not gone smoothly for the group this year: one of their only three hunters, Nokta, had
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been killed by a wounded bison during the last Winter, leaving behind his wife Ouni and his young son Naru. Also, Agi, the wife of one of the two remaining male hunters, had lost one baby at birth during that same Winter. That child’s death had struck the group as hard as the loss of Nokta, as every child was most precious to the Neanderthals, as children represented the long-term survival of the group.
Tur was still thinking about the situation of his group when he spotted what looked furiously like the column of smoke from a campfire. Freezing at once, he pointed at the distant smoke while looking back at the members of his group.
‘’A FIRE! CLOSE TO HERE!’
The four adults and four children following him also stopped and stared into the distance at the smoke, which apparently came from a spot near the river, past a line of trees.
Bini, Tur’s wife, felt a mix of anxiety and hope at that sight: anxiety, as one never knew how strangers would react to the group; hope for possibly finding new members which could then reinforce and secure the group by providing it with more hunting hands and more women able to produce children.
‘’How do we know that those ones would prove friendly, Tur?’
‘’There is only one way to find out, Bini. Let’s go see but have your spears ready, just in case.’
The group then resumed their walk, heading in the direction of the column of smoke.
Every adult, plus eleven-year-old Targ, now carried a spear at the ready, ready to defend themselves if need be.
Cautiously advancing through the trees behind which the campfire had to be, the group finally emerged into a long but narrow clearing which was bordered on the right by a high rock cliff. There was effectively a campfire burning some distance from the riverbank, with some sort of wooden rack suspended over it by poles. A number of eviscerated fish were suspended from the poles over the fire while a woman and a young child watched the fire and cut open more fish. Looking towards the river, Tur saw one big man and a small child standing in the stream in a spot where the river turned into a small set of rapids. A few large rocks split the river into five narrower streams at that spot. Tur also saw what appeared to be numerous wooden branches stuck at the vertical and very near each other in the river bed, forming a sort of barrier. He then understood the goal of that barrier when the man in the river bent down and caught a
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fish with both hands before shouting in triumph while holding the fish over his head, making the woman and the two children also shout in joy. Tur looked at Krom, his other hunter, and smiled to him.
‘’They are catching fish and then smoking and drying them. Maybe they will accept to provide us with a few fish for our group.’
‘’But will they accept to give us fish, Tur?’
‘’We could offer them a fur in exchange. Or we could help them catch more fish.
Let’s approach them but let’s be friendly with them. Spilling blood now would not help anyone, while we could use new members for our group.’
Tur then straightened up and signaled his followers to approach.
‘’A family of four is catching fish and then smoking them. We will see if they accept to provide us some fish for our supper.’
Kin, still holding the latest fish he had caught, was walking towards the shore to bring it to Ani when he saw a group of Neanderthal adults and children come out of the trees nearby. Instead of feeling fear then, he felt elation: the plan he and Sylvie had devised had worked! That group of newcomers had been spotted a few days ago from the air by the Time Patrol scoutship BRITANNIA, which had been transporting Kin, Ani and their two young toddlers, Kar and Nani. Kin and his family had then been landed on this spot along the presumed route of the incoming Neanderthal party and had erected a fishing camp next to the Vézère River. Now that this group was here, he had to find out if it would act in a friendly manner or in a predatory one. Putting down his latest catch next to the fire, he then spoke in a low voice to Ani, speaking in French.
‘’Keep your spear nearby but don’t grab it yet: I will go see in what kind of mood this group is.’
‘’Be careful, Kin.’ replied Ani, a bit apprehensive about what could happen next.
‘’I’ll be!’ said Kin before starting to walk slowly towards the newcomers, both of his hands empty and raised in welcome. He then spoke in the Neanderthal dialect used by his old family, hoping that these Neanderthals would understand him. At the worst, he could always use basic gestures and signs.
‘’WELCOME! ARE YOU HUNGRY?’
The newcomers stopped as one and looked at each other, either in confusion or in indecision. The leading man in the group, who was a bit shorter than Kin and carried a
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spear, finally nodded his head and spoke in a variant of Kin’s dialect which was intelligible to him.
‘’Yes! We are ready to exchange furs for some of your fish.’
‘’Then, let me and my family feed your group. We are inviting you.’
The leader of the newcomers smiled at those words and visibly relaxed before looking back at his group.
‘’We are welcomed here. Lower your spears and let’s be friendly.’
With the tension evaporating quickly, Tur walked to Kin and presented his right forearm to him, which Kin grabbed and shook with his own right forearm.
‘’I am Tur, leader of this group.’
‘’And I am Kin. These are my wife Ani, my son Kar and my daughter Nani.’
‘’You are alone here with your family? Where is the rest of your group?’
Kin didn’t have to fake the sadness that then appeared on his face.
‘’The rest of my group is dead, killed two years ago by a band of cave hyenas as we camped at night in a rock shelter. My friends were able to kill many of the hyenas before being overwhelmed, allowing me to kill or chase those hyenas left afterward.
Since then, me and my family have been roaming around this area, searching for another group to join for our mutual protection. You are the first ones we met since then.’
‘’A tragic story indeed, Kin. Every loss of life is always painful. So, you met no one in those two years until our arrival?’
‘’Correct!’
Tur thought that over for a moment while looking at Kin’s wife and two small children. All of them appeared in good health and also were a bit taller than usual, like that Kin, who appeared very strong indeed.
‘’My own group lost one good hunter and a baby last Winter and we could use more hands to protect ourselves better as a group. With your two children added to my four children, our long-term survival would also be more assured. Would you be ready to join my group, you and your family?’
‘’Only at one condition: nobody touches my wife but me. In exchange, I won’t touch the women of your group.’
‘’We have a deal!’ replied Tur, grinning, while shaking forearms again with Kin.
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‘’Then, have your group sit around our fire. My wife will start roasting a couple of large fish for your people’s supper. While she does that, I will show you how we catch fish. Follow me!’
Tur’s satisfaction then turned to outright happiness: learning new ways to survive was always useful. On his part, Kin briefly looked up at the sky, where the BRITANNIA was floating at medium altitude, hidden by its cloaking field device, and spoke to himself in a whisper.
‘’Goodbye, Sylvie! Goodbye, my friends! We will be alright now. I will always remember you fondly.’
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