Chapter 3 Preparedness

"So where are we?" Phineas Bogg asked Jeffrey Jones as they walked along the curved dirt path. Jeff stopped and opened the omni, "Strasbourg, Europe, Holy Roman Empire 1447 AD, red light," he said, then closed the device. Bogg was letting him carry it more often now, and he was proud of it. He clamped it back on his belt. It was a bit heavy and bulky, but he would never complain about that, Bogg might take it back if he did.

Phineas watched him and smiled to himself, he was proud of Jeff's motivation to excel at voyaging. He was as dedicated to upholding the Code as any voyager. Phineas had been teaching him a variety of things as they traveled together. He had chosen the topics purposefully and given careful thought to when he should introduce each one, and how Jeff would learn them best. Currently, though Jeff didn't know it yet, he was teaching him the concept of Preparedness, a topic reserved for the end of Academy Training, yet close to the hearts of all voyagers. He would continue with this as soon as he was sure there was no immediate danger.

"Do you have any idea what's supposed to happen here?" Phineas asked.

Jeff shook his head, "nope," he replied as they continued to walk through the trees until they reached the rim of a gorge. They heard the sound of the rushing water first, but even so, both were struck by the size and power of the waterfall. Jeff watched a leaf slide along the surface of the fast moving river and fall 30 feet with the turbulent water, until he lost track of it.

Phineas looked out across the misty air to the other side, about 20 feet away. Then, glancing at Jeff and following his gaze, he watched the water land on the rocks below, spattering and spilling out in all directions before it continued down the gorge as it passed beside the nearby town. He smiled at this opportunity, here was a good lead in to one of the Preparedness topics he'd planned to cover with Jeffrey.

They stood watching for several minutes, until Bogg turned, and Jeffrey, as if reading his cue, started walking along the path as it followed the edge of the steep cliff which was the wall of the gorge. A few minutes later the path veered away from the gorge and they found themselves walking through the trees again.

When the rumbling of the water grew quieter, Phineas spoke.

"Okay, now listen," he said as he stopped walking and stood still.

After what seemed a long time, Jeff asked, "to what?"

"The sound of the water, what does it sound like to you?"

"To tell the truth, it sounds like a jet engine, it's roaring."

"That's right, it doesn't really sound like water, does it?" Jeff shook his head in confusion. He wasn't sure where Bogg was going with this. "So if you're lost in the woods, or on a mountain and hear that roaring noise, go to it. The steeper the terrain, the louder it will sound. Moving water is safer to drink than water that's standing still, okay?"

Jeff stared at his friend and smiled, realizing that Bogg was trying to teach him how to take care of himself and be safe if he was lost. This was the kind of thing his father would have said to him, "okay."

"And if I don't know where you are, and it's a wilderness area, I'll look for you where there's water, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now, tell me about signs? What would you do to show me where to find you?" Bogg asked.

"Make an arrow out of sticks or line up some rocks and point to the way I'm going. And I would break the ends off branches. Once I got to the water I'd find shelter and stay put, unless I had to move and then I'd travel downstream." Jeff smiled and looked up at Bogg as he finished this litany.

"Not bad kid, I must be a good teacher, eh?" Phineas laughed.

Jeff laughed, "I'm a good student more like it," he joked.

"Well, in that case, maybe I should lose you just so we can practice!" he kidded.

"No way Bogg," Jeff said seriously.

"Just kidding," Phineas said quickly, sorry he had joked about such a thing. "I just want you to be as safe as possible, and I want to be able to find you if we ever get separated."

"I know, and it's good," Jeff told him. It was a part of a game they had recently started playing. They tried to think of a difficult situation, and how they would deal with it. Jeff enjoyed hearing how Bogg would think about different situations, and had been surprised that sometimes it was very different from what Jeff would have thought. "This is a really good game you thought of."

"It's not my idea," Bogg told him as they walked, "it's one of the things I learned in voyager school, one of the most valuable things. Use your imagination and think of difficult situations and how you might get out of them, then if you're ever in a similar situation, and have to think fast, you've at least got an idea what your options are." Phineas paused and then continued, "so, we should agree on some basic rules, at least for use in the woods or wilderness, okay?"

"Like what?"

"Always stand still and listen, and if you hear water, go to it. If you have to travel, always try to go downstream. If you have to choose one path over another and they both seem the same, take the one going south as your first choice and if none is going south, take the one going west, if none goes west, then go north."

Jeff nodded, "as long as the choices seem equal, that's a good rule."

"And don't forget about me, I'll do the same thing if you're looking for me, okay?" Bogg added. When Jeff looked at him in confusion, he continued, "you might have to rescue me some day," he shrugged, "you never know, especially now that you're carrying the omni sometimes."

Jeff nodded, suddenly very serious, "I won't forget," he whispered.

"Which way is south?" Phineas asked suddenly, breaking the seriousness of the moment.

Jeff looked up, it was late afternoon and the sun was getting low in the sky. He paused a moment and pointed south.

Phineas smiled, "now that's what I'm sayin!" he kidded as he put his hand on Jeff's shoulder.