Early medieval Kog ship.
15:40 (Provence Time)
Monday, February 6, 862 C.E.
Port of Marseille, Kingdom of Provence
Mediterranean coast
‘’Marseille, at last! My stomach definitely doesn’t like sea trips.’’
Karl, leaning against the wooden bulwark of the cargo ship on which his troupe had travelled from Italy, smiled at his wife’s statement.
‘’Well, you certainly puked nearly all the way to here, Greta. Thankfully, the rest of our troupe proved more resistant to seasickness.’’
Greta nodded her head at that as she eyed the port of Marseille, in which harbor their Kog{13} was now entering. The harbor was fairly narrow but deep and was proving to be quite a busy port, with dozens of other ships, including fishing boats, either docked at the quays or moving around the harbor.
‘’Marseille seems to be quite a busy place, I must say.’’
The captain of their ship, who was standing nearby in the middle of the deck, heard her and spoke up.
‘’It is indeed, madam! Marseille always has been an important port along the northern coast of the Mediterranean, but it has become even more so in the last couple of months.’’
‘’How so?’’ asked Karl, curious. The captain responded while pointing towards the West-northwest.
‘’Since the arrival of the people from the future in Toulouse last fall, they have opened a new, major marketplace there, inviting merchants from all over the continent to come sell surplus foodstuff. In exchange, they offer at very cheap prices articles that are normally hard to get or cost a lot, like metallic tools, glassware and cut wood. The first merchants to come back from Toulouse then loudly praised that new Toulouse market to others in their home towns while selling things like steel nails of top quality at incredibly low prices. That in turn prompted more merchants to go to Toulouse. Now, the traffic on the roads to Toulouse is nearly constant. Myself, I hope to sell quickly my cargo of wine and olive oil to some Marseille merchant who will then bring it to Toulouse in order to make a big profit there.’’
‘’But why are these people from the future interested exclusively in foodstuff?’’ asked Judith, the 22-year-old Hungarian Jewish woman who was part of Karl’s entertainment troupe. ‘’They are said to be extremely powerful, on top of using flying ships. Why that obsession with getting foodstuff?’’
‘’A good question, woman.’’ replied the captain, his expression becoming most sober. ‘’One merchant who had returned from Toulouse told me that those people from the future, who call themselves the ‘Human Expansion’, are in reality refugees from the stars who lost their world to some kind of alien invaders, who also had flying ships. They supposedly have started to plant their own crops to feed their people, but some of those crops, especially fruit trees and olive trees, will take many years before they can start producing. Thus, they need to buy from all around what they can’t produce yet by themselves.’’
‘’Uh, how many of these ‘Human Expansion’ people are there?’’ asked Markus, the eighteen-year-old teenager from Ancona who acted as one of Karl’s musicians.
‘’In Toulouse, they are supposedly over ten times the original population of the city, all living in a giant tower made of glass and steel. However, I was told that those only form an outpost, with the bulk of their people living on some far away land which had been unoccupied until their arrival from the stars. I know how to count but the number I was quoted about them is well beyond any number I heard before. One merchant told me that their total population at least equals the combined population of West and East Francia, plus that of Lotharingia.’’
That figure left the whole troupe in disbelief, with Karl finally objecting.
‘’But if they are so many and with their flying ships and weapons, why haven’t they simply invaded Europe to take what they needed, like the Vikings were doing?’’
In response, the captain stared at Karl with utmost seriousness.
‘’I asked that same question to that merchant back from Toulouse. His answer was that these ‘Human Expansion’ people are humane and kind people, like nothing seen before. At first, I thought that he was exaggerating, but many more merchants then told me the same things he told me, so I am now inclined to believe their claims. You told me that your troupe is a traveling band of minstrels. Where did you intend to go once off my ship?’’
‘’Uh, Toulouse.’’
That answer made the captain nod his head.
‘’Good choice! With some luck, the Count of Toulouse could accept you as new citizens of his county, the way he has accepted a number of newcomers before.’’
‘’You mean that those people from the future didn’t simply took power from him?’’ asked Greta in disbelief.
‘’They didn’t! On their arrival, they made a pact with Count Raymond, then massacred the Viking army approaching Toulouse. As a thank you for that, Count Raymond then gave to these people a string of island on the Garonne River passing by Toulouse, where they built their giant tower and a number of other large buildings. While the people from the future have full control of those islands, Count Raymond is still in effective charge and control of Toulouse and of his counties surrounding it, but lets the Human Expansion people build roads and other facilities around that would benefit his counties and his own people. I was told that the subjects of Count Raymond are now by far the happiest and most prosperous people in Francia.’’
Karl and Greta exchanged looks then, greatly encouraged by the captain’s words.
‘’My God! We really need to get to Toulouse, Greta.’’
‘’I believe so as well, Karl.’’ said his wife before looking back at the ship’s captain. ‘’Do you know if the old Roman road between Marseille and Narbonne is still usable?’’
To her surprise, the captain grinned on hearing her question.
‘’Yes, but you won’t need to use it: the people from the future recently finished building a new, much larger and better paved road connecting together Marseille, Montpellier, Narbonne, Carcassonne and Toulouse. They even built a number of relays and shelters along the way. You will thus be able to pull your cart along an excellent road.’’
It was then the turn of Karl and of his troupe members to grin.
‘’Damn! I can’t wait to get off this ship.’’
‘’And I can’t wait to be able to sell my wine and olive oil at a good profit to some of the merchants who will be waiting at quayside to see what I am carrying as a cargo.’’ replied the captain. ‘’The last couple of months sure have been good for my business. If you will now excuse me, I better go help my pilot to dock at one of the few quays still empty.’’
As the captain walked away, Ingrid, Karl’s thirteen-year-old daughter, spoke softly to herself.
‘’By Mary, Mother of Christ! I can’t wait to meet those people from the future!’’
Half an hour later, their ship slowly docked at one of only three quays still unoccupied in the busy harbor. As the captain had predicted, a number of merchants with either carts or chariots were waiting at quayside, attracted to his boat by its Tuscan flag. a boarding ramp was not yet in place before shouted deals were being discussed between the captain and the merchants waiting on the quay. A group of four merchants and two teenage boys finally won the shouted auction for the barrels of olive oil carried by the ship, while another group of merchants put claims on the barrels of wine. The captain was indeed a satisfied man by the time that Karl and his troupe got off the ship, pulling their light cart along. Karl then went to see the senior merchant of the group who had bought the barrels of olive oil. That merchant, along with his associates and a number of hired local stevedores, was busy loading the heavy barrels on his four chariots when Karl approached him. Karl, who didn’t speak Occitan, the local language, tried his luck with Lombard. Thankfully, the merchant proved to be fluent in that language, which was spoken in nearby Northern Italy.
‘’Excuse me, good sire! Are you going to Toulouse with those barrels?’’
‘’Uh, yes! Why do you ask?’’
‘’Well, my name is Karl. I lead a troupe of travelling minstrels and we just disembarked from this ship. We also want to go to Toulouse and I was wondering if we could travel together for mutual protection against thieves and road bandits. We have a small cart with us that carries the few supplies and equipment we have.’’
The merchant looked briefly at Karl’s troupe, waiting nearby beside their cart, then jumped down from his chariot to come shake hands with Karl.
‘’I will be happy to have your troupe travel with my chariots. My name is Humbert and those with me are my son Charles, my associates Régis, Alain and Sylvestre, plus Gérard, son of Alain.’’
‘’And I am traveling with my wife Greta, my sons Erik and Cedrik, my daughter Ingrid, plus my musicians and dancers, Judith, Markus and Aïsha.’’
Humbert nodded his head while giving a second, more detailed look at the troupe members. He took good note of the beauty of the two teenage girls, Ingrid and Aïsha, and that of the younger woman named Judith: he was probably going to have to tell his son Charles to watch both his manners and his hands around those girls, with the same applying to Gérard, the young teenage son of Alain. Karl’s wife, Greta, was also an attractive woman but, as she was a married woman, Humbert was not going to show disrespect to her.
‘’Well, I tell you what, Karl: you and your troupe help us load those barrels of olive oil on my chariots and you will then be able to travel on them, with your cart attached and pulled behind my own chariot. What kind of weapons, if any, do you have?’’
‘’We have a total of three bows, four javelins and five knives, most of them presently in our cart.’’
‘’That will certainly help repel any bandits along the way, although I must say that the new road to Toulouse has proven to be quite safe, with the Human Expansion people conducting frequent patrols over it with their flying ships.’’
‘’Those Human Expansion people, do you know much about them? What we heard to date have made us anxious to learn more.’’
‘’I can indeed tell you more, but let’s load up my chariots first. We will have plenty of time to discuss along the way during our nightly stops.’’
‘’Right!’’ replied Karl before motioning to the men and boys of his troupe. ‘’Markus, Erik, Cedrik! Come help us load these chariots.’’
Joining their efforts to those of Humbert, his associates and the few stevedores he had been able to hire, they rolled the small but heavy barrels of olive oil on the chariots, using wood planks as ramps. As they were finishing with that job, Humbert threw a contemptuous look at the other merchants on they quay, who had concentrated their money on buying the barrels of wine brought in on the Tuscan ship.
‘’Pff! If they think that they will get top prices for their wine in Toulouse, they better think again. First, Toulouse is already well supplied in quality wine from Bordeaux, which is much nearer than Marseille is. Second, the people from the future need and want real foodstuff, not alcoholic drinks. For them, vegetable oil is much more precious than wine. Those guys will probably still be able to make a profit in the end, but we grabbed the truly profitable stuff.’’
‘’Those people from the future sound like truly pragmatic people, Humbert.’’ said Greta, making the merchant nod his head.
‘’They are, on top of being decent, caring people. Well, time to roll! Hop in!’’
With the stevedores paid by Humbert and the barrels of oil secured on the chariots by ropes, the small convoy of four ox-drawn chariots, with Karl’s cart attached behind the lead chariot, rolled off the quay and through the old city, heading for the gate connecting with the old Roman road leading westward.
Even though Humbert had foretold them about it, Karl and his troupe members were stunned when they rolled out of the northern city gate, which connected directly with the old, dilapidated Roman road, and saw the seemingly endless large ribbon of white concrete running along an East-West line past the city walls. There was even a tall sort of central pole made of concrete supporting indicator panels pointing in three different directions. The pole sat in the center of a wide roundabout connected to three different roads heading respectively West, East and North. Humbert pointed at the pole and its panels as he drove his chariot through the roundabout to take the westward road.
‘’This was built by the people from the future, or rather by their machines. Each of these panels show the names and distances to other towns along the way, with the distances indicated in terms of Roman miles, the most common local measure of distance. Being pragmatic and knowing that most of us are illiterate, they also added the armories of the various cities and rulers, visual markers which can be recognized by all. That blazon of a red and yellow cross over a red background is that of the Count of Toulouse and we are 276 miles from the city of Toulouse.’’
‘’Nice!’’ said Karl while eyeing the pole and its panels. ‘’That’s a really useful touch to this wide, well-paved road. Uh, what’s that kind of black ball on top of the pole?’’
‘’Don’t know!’’ simply replied Humbert while guiding his two oxen on the road to Montpellier, Narbonne, Carcassonne and Toulouse.
16:31 (Provence Time)
Security Center, Toulouse Tower
Toulouse
Jenny Kim, one of the Public Security Officers on duty in the Security Center of the Toulouse Tower, smiled when the facial recognition program connected to the views provided by the cameras hidden atop the direction indicator pole of the Marseille roundabout started showing names next to some of the occupants of the four heavy chariots loaded with barrels.
‘’Good old Humbert and associates are on another delivery run to here, hey? And they have some passengers as well.’’
Typing on the keyboard of her computer, she called up the data history concerning Humbert and his associates and read quickly the text that popped up. It told her that Humbert was now starting his fourth trip to Toulouse, with his previous trips used to bring lots of good quality vegetable oil and fruits to the Toulouse New Market, two kinds of products the Human Expansion had plenty of need for. She then swiveled her chair around and waved at her shift supervisor, Sergeant Gordon Walsh.
‘’HEY, SARGE! I HAVE A GROUP COMING OUT OF MARSEILLE WHICH COULD BE WORTHY OF A QUICK LIFT!’’
Walsh immediately walked to her watch station, which kept eyes on the Marseille area, and looked at the viewing screens, taking the time to read the text on her computer display before nodding his head.
‘’He definitely sounds like someone who has proved quite useful in the past. Liaise with one of our shuttles to arrange a pickup some distance from Marseille along the road. I believe that Pham’s shuttle is presently waiting on Pad Number Two.’’
‘’Got it, Sarge!’’ replied Jenny, satisfied, before placing a radio call to Pham’s light cargo shuttle.
17:28 (Provence Time)
Marseille – Montpellier road
Four kilometers west of Marseille
His chariot was negotiating a curve in the four-lane road around a patch of trees when Humbert saw a dark dot appear in the sky ahead. That dot quickly grew to a shape he had seen before three times already, making him grin as his passengers gasped at the sight of the light cargo shuttle now on landing approach.
‘’DON’T BE AFRAID, FRIENDS: THIS FLYING SHIP IS PROBABLY COMING TO OFFER US A QUICK LIFT TO TOULOUSE. I HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION THERE.’’
‘’But how could they know that you are here, heading for Toulouse?’’ asked a flabbergasted Karl while staring at the approaching shuttle. Humbert smiled and shrugged.
‘’Beats me! Those people have some fantastic machines and tools that they use to learn quickly what’s happening around them. Don’t take me wrong, though: none of it involves magic or sorcery, contrary to the smears the Church is still spewing against them. I already traveled three times in that kind of flying ship, having paid in Toulouse for return trips by air back to Marseille.’’
‘’You mean that we are going to fly, like birds?’’ asked young Aïsha, stunned.
‘’Not exactly like birds, but we will fly, girl. Now, don’t be afraid: those people are decent and kind…as long as you don’t try to attack them.’’
With the four chariots rolling on the siding of the road and stopping, the light cargo shuttle landed nearly silently at the vertical a mere thirty meters ahead, on the wide concrete surface of the highway. Its rear ramp then lowered and a woman walked out of the craft, waving one arm and shouting.
‘’DO YOU NEED A LIFT TO TOULOUSE, MISTER HUMBERT?’’
‘’HELL YES!’’ happily replied the merchant before urging his oxen forward, followed by the three other chariots. Karl, Greta and Aïsha, who were riding in Humbert’s chariot, stared at the young woman wearing a form-fitting royal blue and red outfit as they entered the large, deep cargo hold of the light cargo shuttle, eyeing in detail the first person from the future they had ever seen. Another person from the future, a man, then helped the woman to fix supporting harnesses suspended from the ceiling to the oxen attached to the chariots and placed retaining blocks and straps to secure the chariots in place as the rear ramp closed. Aïsha, more excited than she had ever been before, like her companions, watched all this and also looked at the large viewing screens along the sides of the hold giving a view of the outside, thinking that they were ordinary windows. She held her breath when the cargo shuttle started lifting up, then picked up both forward speed and altitude quickly.
‘’I AM FLYING! WE ARE FLYING! THIS IS FANTASTIC!’’
The female cargomaster smiled at her enthusiasm and looked up at Humbert, still sitting at the reins of his chariot.
‘’Who are your passengers, Humbert? Family relatives?’’
‘’No! They are a troupe of traveling minstrels who just arrived by ship from Tuscany.’’
‘’Traveling minstrels… Hum! And what are you bringing to us this time?’’
‘’Olive oil from Italy. I have a total of 22 barrels of it.’’
‘’Excellent! Let me advise my superiors of this.’’
The woman then walked away to a communications station situated in one corner of the hold and spoke with someone for about a minute before returning to the side of Humbert’s chariot, smiling up to him.
‘’Our agents at Reception Station Number One will be waiting for you and your cargo of olive oil. There, you and your associates will get free tokens for one day of free hotel rooms, meals and barn stalls, as usual.’’
‘’I won’t say no to that!’’ replied Humbert, quite happy. The cargomaster then looked at Karl, who was also still atop the chariot. She first spoke to him in Occitan, then tried Lombard after seeing that he had not understood her.
‘’Hello, mister! My name is Dax Kern. May I have your name and those of your companions?’’
‘’Certainly, miss! I am Karl, from Regensburg. I am traveling with my wife Greta, my sons Erik and Cedrik and my daughter Ingrid. My troupe of minstrels also include young Aïsha here, along with Judith and Markus, who are dancers and musicians. Me and my troupe have been traveling for years now across Europe, performing and living on the road. Do you welcome traveling minstrels in Toulouse?’’
‘’We welcome every person with good intentions, sir. Count Raymond of Toulouse has often received in the past visiting entertainers and we also welcome them to perform at our marketplace, which has a large dedicated show tent where you will be able to play and collect tips. Even when there are few visitors to our market, like in the Winter season, many of the citizens of Toulouse, along with our own citizens from the Human Expansion, go to the marketplace to shop or watch shows. You should be able to do some good business there. Here are tokens for one day of free hotel stay and three meals for each of you.’’
‘’Thanks, miss! You are very generous indeed.’’ said Karl, overjoyed, while taking the tokens offered by the cargomaster. He was about to start distributing them to the members of his troupe when Dax Kern asked him another question.
‘’Karl, you said that you have been traveling on the road for years with your family and musicians. Do you still have a home in Regensburg or somewhere else?’’
That made Karl look soberly back at the cargomaster.
‘’I left, or rather fled, my family home sixteen years ago in order to marry Greta. My children were born on the road, while I met along the way Judith, Markus and Aïsha. I saved Judith, a Hungarian Jew, when she was eight years-old and was in danger of being burned as a heretic, then saved four years ago Markus, who was fleeing his abusive family. As for young Aïsha, she is a fugitive slave whom we met along the road near Naples a month ago.’’
Karl saw the expression on Dax Kern’s face change noticeably then, becoming quite sober as she eyed him and his troupe members.
‘’Could I ask you and your companions to come down from the chariots, please? I would like you to go speak with someone of authority in Toulouse. Don’t worry: you are not in trouble, on the contrary.’’
Despite of her words, Karl was still a bit apprehensive as he came down from the chariot and helped Aïsha and Greta down. Kern then led him and his troupe to the same communications station she had used two minutes before. Karl watched her as she opened a link and spoke in a foreign language with a beautiful woman with long black hair and sparkling green eyes. The cargomaster then invited Karl to step in front of the station, at which time the woman in Toulouse spoke to him in good Lombard.
‘’Good day, mister! My name is Ann Shelton and I am the chief representative of the Human Expansion in Toulouse, with oversight responsibilities for Europe, Africa and Asia. I would like you and your troupe members to each tell me a short resumé of your past life and present situation, along with your various skills and level of education. Start with yourself, please.’’
A bit intimidated by Ann Shelton’s title and position, Karl spoke for maybe a minute, resuming his life to date before letting his wife Greta do the same. Ann Shelton patiently listened to him and the others, taking notes as they spoke, then called Karl back to the viewing screen.
‘’Karl of Regensburg, I am ready to offer asylum to you, your family and your troupe members, if you wish so. This would mean that you would be free to stay and live with us in Toulouse while benefiting from the same social advantages and privileges as our own citizens, meaning free food and lodging, medical care and free education. In return, I will expect all of you to be both productive and useful to our society, possibly by continuing to perform as entertainers, and to follow our laws and customs. Do you request asylum, Karl of Regensburg?’’
For a long moment, Karl was paralyzed and speechless, unable to believe his luck while a wave of strong emotions submerged him. He finally was able to answer Ann Shelton in a nearly shivering voice.
‘’Yes, I do!’’
‘’Thank you! May I now speak with your wife and children?’’
Letting Greta and his three children speak in turn with Ann Shelton, Karl started quietly crying as they also requested and got asylum. For sixteen years, he had been traveling constantly, never knowing in advance where his next meal or lodging for the night would come from. He and his family had known hunger, cold, misery, fear and uncertainty along the way, while he had dreaded the day when he would eventually die, leaving his family at the mercy of a most uncertain future. Next in front of the communications station were Judith, Markus and Aïsha, who got asylum as well. At the end, Ann Shelton spoke to the whole group, her voice solemn.
‘’You all are now citizens of the Human Expansion. I will have your cargo shuttle land first on top of the Toulouse Tower, where I will be waiting for you, before it goes to let out Humbert’s chariots at our marketplace. I will see you again in a few minutes, my friends.’’
The link then went blank. Karl and his troupe members looked at each other in silence for a moment before hugging together tightly, crying with joy while Humbert and his associates looked on.