Pandora: Genesis

I gratefully acknowledge one of the foremost creative geniuses of our times, James Cameron, for conceiving the lush moon Pandora and the "noble savages," the Na'vi, that inhabit it. This story uses the setting he created for his movie, Avatar. I have not received any money for my work based on Avatar. If I could get paid by the hour for these stories, I would retire and spend all my time dancing and writing in comfort.

This story contains all original characters and situations, giving my thoughts on how the moon Pandora became the home of the Na'vi as seen in the movie.

Chapter Four: First Lesson

Sempul leads the pair of settlers out of the Medical dome airlock and onto the plaza, heading towards the nearest door into the large, multistory structure built within the Habitation dome. As they walk across the plaza, she stumbles and he catches her.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just looked up for the first time since I arrived here, and it hit me that I am truly on a new planet."

Sempul overhears them, and corrects her. "You're on a moon, not a planet. You saw the planet above us, a giant blue gas ball with a single huge storm. It looks like a monstrous eye staring down on us. Some find it threatening or oppressive. I think it is magnificent. I like watching the swirls around the edges of the storm. The planet revolves around the larger and brighter star in a binary system. There is a third star nearby, much smaller and darker, and nobody knows if it is just passing through, or is bound by gravity to the binary pair. Maybe your descendents will discover the answer." The plaza they are walking in seems very drab and utilitarian. There are some tables and chairs scattered about. "Before you settlers arrived, this space was rarely used, except for walking through to get to the other domes. My guess is that there will be a few settlers that will find this a good place to get away from everyone else, in spite of its dreariness. That is why we put some furniture out here. I may hold some small meetings out here, when the sun is right. The best place is the garden on the other side of the building, as you will see later. Let's go inside and meet the others."

Sempul opens the door and holds it for the pair. As the door closes behind them, Sempul points down the hall. "This hallway to the right has some small rooms for private meetings and a little bathroom. My wife has claimed the first room for her private counseling sessions. The kitchen is also down that way. The other way is the airlock into the lobby leading upstairs where the Habitation personnel live and work, including my wife and I. Straight ahead is the main meeting room. The settlers have the main meeting room and sleeping room with bathroom on the ground floor, and we have everything else, including the floors above."

Just as he finishes speaking, red lights above the doors come on. The doors from the airlock and meeting room burst open. From the airlock comes two young adults, male and female, both dressed casually and carrying large, military style automatic weapons that are bright red in color. From the meeting room comes a middle-aged woman dressed like Sempul, except she is also wearing a necklace made from many long feathers that effectively covers her breasts. She turns around and slams the door shut. A mechanical thud is heard as all closed doors automatically lock.

The middle-aged woman shouts "Where have you been? I could have been killed!"

Sempul looks to the pair of settlers, and says "This is my wife. Please call her Sa'nok."

"The introductions can wait. There's a problem we need to handle. Now!"

He looks to the pair of staffers in the airlock. "What did I say about clothing around the settlers? You are not to appear down here unless you are in costume. Go upstairs and change. I need both of you dressed, hunter style."

The man answers "We're here because your wife called an emergency. We didn't have time to change!"

Sempul replies "Maybe I should have the entire staff wearing costumes all the time. Or at least everyone on duty should be in costume. I'll decide after I take care of this emergency." He points to the young woman and says "After you change, get the cart with the clothing for the settlers and bring it down here. You will help Sa'nok hand them out and explain the clothing to the women." Next he points to the young man and says "After you change, get the box of name tags and leather cords that is in my office, and bring it down here to me. After you and I hand out and explain the clothing to the men, you will help me with assigning names to the settlers. Also bring down a wireless camera on a tall stand. We don't have mirrors in the meeting room, so set up the camera and turn on the large screen up front so the settlers can see themselves in their new clothes. Oh, thanks to both of you for coming to rescue my wife. Keep up the good work. Remind me later, and I will put commendations in your files."

The young man asks "Do you want these weapons?"

Sempul looks to his wife. She shakes her head no. He looks to the pair and replies "No, thanks. We'll get handguns. Those are too big for this problem, I should think. If I call an emergency while cleaning this up, have everyone respond with those big weapons. Clothing won't matter if it comes to that." The pair nod to their boss, and close the airlock door.

He looks to his wife and says "Is the problem in the meeting room or the sleeping room?"

"They're still in the sleeping room. I slammed the door in their faces, and hit the panic button in my head. That door locked right away. I ran through the meeting room, and was surprised I could still get through this door."

"That's how it should work. You can get through, but no else can after the door is closed by you." Sempul walks to a panel by the airlock door and opens it. "Everyone, please stand back. The system won't work if anyone else is too close." The settlers join Sa'nok by the door to the main meeting room. He nods his head near the panel and a green light comes on. Then, he bends down a pipe and speaks into it. "Activate." Another green light comes on. "Close and lock all doors in meeting and sleeping rooms. Display meeting room." A screen above the panel lights up showing the meeting room. Settlers are milling around, trying the locked doors, or eating breakfast as if nothing unusual is happening. "Broadcast to meeting room only." Another light appears. "Attention, settlers. Sorry for the disruption. Is there anyone who has a problem now? Speak up if you do." He stops and listens. There are numerous replies, a few unintelligible but all that can be understood are in the negative. "Move eight tables to the front of the room, and place four chairs behind each table facing towards the front. Please take a seat with men on one side of the room and the women on the other, leaving the empty seats in the middle. If you are eating, you can take your food with you and continue eating. Taking something to drink is a good idea, this may take some time." The screen shows the settlers moving the furniture and getting food and drinks from the rear. One woman takes charge and gets everyone seated, and then takes her place. Six chairs remain empty near the center. "Open locker." A drawer slides out of the wall, and Sempul takes out a portable controller. "Dear, do you want a weapon?"

"Yes. Two. Non-lethal only." She puts her arms out, hands facing up at waist level.

He removes a bright yellow handgun, and throws it to her. She catches it, puts it under her arm, and puts her hands out again. He throws a second bright yellow handgun to her. She catches it, and expertly readies it. She swaps the guns and readies the other. "I'll take one of each." He picks up a bright red handgun, readies it, and slides it against the small of his back under the leather cord holding his loincloth. "Damn, that's cold."

"Serves you right for making us wear these native costumes."

He scowls at her, picks up a bright yellow handgun, and readies it. "Close locker." The drawer slides shut. "Close display." The screen goes dark. "Transfer to portable controller." He pushes the pipe back and closes the panel. Speaking into the portable controller, he says "Open door to meeting room." He holds his handgun at the ready, but there is no one by the door when it opens. Nodding to his wife, he turns, runs in, and sweeps the room with his weapon. Other than the sitting settlers, the large meeting room is empty. He waves to her, and she runs in, taking her place besides him. He says loudly "The two settlers with me, please come in and take your places." They walk in and cross the room to the chairs. She leads him to the last empty chair on the men's side, and then takes the chair besides him on the women's side. Now, only four empty chairs remain on the women's side. "Sa'nok, did you have four women attack you?"

"No, just three. I was counseling a woman, and she reacted as the three came up from behind. One swung at me, but I caught her arm and shoved her back into the other two. I pushed the woman I was counseling out ahead of me. Guess there is a fourth woman stuck in there with them."

"That means I just can't kill them all. Hate to lose someone just because she is in the wrong place at the wrong time." Speaking into the portable controller, he says "Open outside door on back lobby. Call Ops."

Hidden speakers in the meeting room boom out "Yes."

"Get ready to flood the sleeping room with outside air. Wait for my mark. Alert the doctor, may have three or four respiratory cases. Have her get help and come through the back door."

"Calling the doctor now. Building up the pressure of breathable air for later purging. Waiting for your mark." All in the meeting room hear hidden fans spin up, and have to pop their ears as the air pressure rises.

"Display sleeping room." A screen by the door turns on, showing three naked women standing by the door. Two look distraught and lost. The other looks furious, and is beating on the locked door and screaming. "Broadcast sleeping room into meeting room."

"Open this door, you bitch. I'll kick your ass so hard, you'll be spitting my toenails out. Open this door, now. Come on, you coward." She continues her tirade non-stop without any sign of winding down.

"Well, she is certainly charming. She's the animal trainer, I think. I only see three. Do you see the fourth?"

"No, I don't. Could be hiding under a bed."

"Broadcast to sleeping room only. Attention, you three women by the door. You are locked into the sleeping room, and have nowhere to go. Now is a good time to calm down. Lie down on the floor, face down, and end this now. I'll open the door when all three of you are on the floor."

"Another coward. Afraid to show your face, huh? Open this door and I'll teach you a lesson. I will not lay down on the floor for you or that ugly bitch that locked us in here." The other two women look desperate, and realize the situation is becoming much worse than complaining about a lack of clothing. They get down on their knees, and beg the irate one to join them.

"Wrong answer. The atmosphere outside is poisonous. Your room will be flooded with that outside air. You will get sick, maybe die. Even if you don't give up first, lying down is much easier. If you remain standing, you will be injured when you fall down as you pass out. You can break your teeth, or jaw, or neck, or skull. You could drown in your own vomit if you land on your back. So, lie down on your side or stomach to keep from drowning and getting hurt."

"I don't want to live here, so kill me." The other two start pleading with her. "What's wrong with you two? He's bluffing. He's not going to kill us. We were brought here for a reason. Don't give in now, or we're as good as dead anyway. Withholding clothes is just a stupid way to show us they are in charge. I don't want to put up with these idiots anymore. Go ahead and kill me, what are you waiting for? Show everyone how tough you are, killing naked women who can't even see you. What a coward!" She keeps shouting, so she does not have to listen to the other two.

"Call Ops."

The speakers go silent, and then "Yes" is heard again.

"Mark. Flood the sleeping room with outside air."

"Outside air is being pumped in now."

"Be ready to switch back to breathable air and purge on my mark. Alert Maintenance and request the cleaning of the sleeping room."

"Waiting for your mark. Maintenance has been notified."

Sempul and Sa'nok are concentrating on the screen. The doctor arrives with a gurney covered with medical equipment, followed by three scientists from the Biology group, each pushing an empty gurney. They join Sempul and Sa'nok around the screen. Some of the seated settlers are trying to watch with them, but are too far away to see much. The rest are just waiting in silence for this bad situation to play itself out. In the sleeping room, all three women are coughing. One did not eat breakfast, and is laying on her side. The one that did eat has vomited on the floor, and slides backwards on her stomach to distance herself from the puddle. Soon, both are out. The standing woman puts both hands on the door to prop herself up while coughing. As the air affects her, she puts her head against the door between her hands. Soon, she passes out and drops down onto the floor, face first.

As soon as all three women are down and out cold, Sempul springs into action. "Call Ops."

"Yes."

"Mark. Stop the outside air. Purge the sleeping room. Open the door between the sleeping room and the meeting room as soon as it is safe to enter."

"Stopping outside air and purging. Door will open when safe." The sound of fans gets much louder for a short period of time, and then stops, leaving a deafening silence. Everyone's ears pop as the air pressure in the meeting room drops.

The door opens, almost instantly filling the meeting room with a rotten odor, the tell-tale smell of the outside air. The archeologist whispers to the manager "Definitely hydrogen sulfide. It's unmistakeable."

Sempul and the doctor are the first two into the sleeping room, picking up the limp form of the woman who was standing against the door. She fell down on her face and broke her nose, and now lies in a pool of blood. They lift her onto a gurney and push her into the meeting room. The doctor works on her nose and stops the bleeding. Then, the doctor cleans her face and puts a respirator mask on her, and soon she starts coughing. Two scientists pick up the woman lying on her side, who begins coughing as soon as she is moved. They help her up and sit her down on a chair in the meeting room. They give her a breathing mask connected to a respirator to flush and neutralize the harmful gasses out of her lungs. Sa'nok and the other scientist helps the woman lying on her stomach up on her feet. Other than loosing her breakfast, she quickly recovers, with only an occasional cough indicating her exposure to the atmosphere. She walks back to the showers and cleans herself up. As she returns to the meeting room, Sempul and Sa'nok both look at her. They notice motion behind her, through the doors to the garden, and see the fourth woman trying to get in. He looks to his wife, and commands "Run out the back door and retrieve our missing woman from the garden." She nods her head and strides away. Sempul takes the arm of the woman from the showers, and walks her to the doctor. "Doctor, as soon as you are done with these three, have them take the empty seats up front. I need their undivided attention, so no pain killers. The sooner, the better." The barely restrained anger in his voice makes him sound very threatening.

The doctor wants to tell him that she will decide what treatment is needed, but simply nods her assent. This is not the time or place to disagree with him, as she has never seen this side of him before now, or his anger, and the settlers are listening in. She takes the arm of the woman from the showers, directs her to an empty chair alongside the other sitting woman, and puts a respirator mask on her to begin her treatment.

Sempul walks back to the panel by the airlock door. "Unlock all doors in the sleeping and meeting rooms. Open drawer." He safes his weapons and returns them to their slots. His wife returns with the last woman, and hands her weapons to him as she passes by. "Take her through the food line on the way to the front tables. Get something for yourself, if you want." He safes her weapons and puts them away. "Close drawer and deactivate." He puts the portable controller in the drawer as it slides back into the wall and locks shut. He follows his wife and the settler as they walk to the front of the meeting room.

Sempul leans over the shoulder of the archeologist and says, "Sorry, the clothes are not here yet. You should get something to eat now."

She looks back at him and smiles with an understanding face. "No problem, you have your hands full. I'll get breakfast now and wait for the clothes. I know they're coming, since I heard you give the order to your pretty staffer before the troubles started here. I'm sure the men will appreciate her in the local style."

Sempul smiles with appreciation in return. She just let everyone know the clothes are on the way, and not in reaction to the altercation. He turns toward the manager, still in his blindfold in spite of the excitement, and says "I promised I would take you through the food line. Sorry for the delay, but now is a good time. I will describe each selection to you. Our cooks are using our imported ingredients but preparing them as your clan will." A couple of the other settlers hear this, and ask if they can listen in on these explanations. Sempul recognizes one as an amateur chef, welcomes the positive interest, and happily invites them along. He helps the manager up, and they and the archeologist go through the food line together, with the others listening in and sampling some items. There are no plates or silverware. Large, waxy serving leaves are used for plates. A large basket of cleaning leaves of various sizes and drynesses provides the replacement for napkins. There are no knives, forks, or spoons, but Sempul says sometimes they put out knives made of stone or animal claws. There are no cups or drinking glasses, but there are fired clay bowls used for soups and drinks. Sempul's favorite meal is a roll of meats, nuts, fruits, and vegetables wrapped in an edible leaf. He says that these wraps usually will be served at each meal in the jungle, and will be different each time depending on the ingredients that are available. His cooks have to work at varying them for each meal, because they have the same ingredients all the time. The listeners are interested in knowing what herbs and spices are available in the jungle. Sempul has no idea, but says that food identification and preparation is part of the basic survival skills each settler must have. He promises to arrange a meeting in the future with the Biology group to discuss herbs and spices, along with other finer points of food preparation.

When they return to the tables with breakfast, the mood in the room has improved noticeably.

Sempul sets his breakfast down across from the manager, who is sitting near the center of the line of tables. He speaks to the settlers with a clear and friendlier voice. "The clothes and name tags should be here shortly. I'm going to eat my breakfast now. If you want more food or drink, or need to use a toilet, help yourself. Just come back to your seat as soon as you can, so we can get started when these things get here." He sits down and starts eating his wraps.

The doctor brings two of the women she was treating to the front of the meeting room. "Sempul, I'm releasing these two women to you now. They may have coughing fits on occasion, but otherwise are in good shape. I'd like to keep the other woman on the respirator for as long as I can this morning."

"Well, when you see the clothes cart come in, get her up. I have something to say to all settlers before we hand out the clothes. If she can't handle it, I'll take her to the Medical dome after I'm done, and you can treat her as you see fit, at least until the mid-day meal. Thank you, doctor. I'm sorry to put you through this traumatic experience. I had hoped this would never be necessary, but it was today."

"I understand. My hope is you can talk some sense into these settlers so we don't have to do this again any time soon."

That is my hope also. And, thank your helpers for coming over. I know this is not in their job descriptions, and I appreciate their willingness to help out. Remind me, and I'll send commendations to you and your helpers."

"I'll pass the word, and send you a text with their names and personnel file addresses."

"Thanks again, doctor." Sempul turns to the two women, and his face hardens. "I don't know what started it, or who did what to whom, but I do not tolerate any attacks on my wife and staff. If you see it happening again, you must step in and be forceful enough to stop it before it goes as far as it did today. If you start an attack yourself, I will kill you. Do you understand?"

Both women looked shocked and distressed, and meekly whisper "Yes."

"Good. Now, go back to the sleeping room and clean up the blood and emesis on the floor by the doorway. Use the cleaning leaves from the bathroom area, because they have been contaminated by the outside air, and flush it all down a toilet. When you are done, you may get something to eat and drink, and join us here. Don't take long." The two women nod and quickly scurry away.

Sempul returns to his breakfast. He finishes his first wrap, and has eaten about half of his second wrap when a shapely young woman dressed like Sa'nok, but with a much skimpier top, arrives in the back of the meeting room pushing a cart. On the cart is a rack with many hangers holding the clothes for the settlers. A cheer goes up from the settlers, mainly the women. Sempul stands, and waves her to stop. He gulps down the rest of his wrap, and washes it down with a bowl of water. A handsome young man dressed like Sempul follows the young woman into the meeting room, carrying a box and a camera on a stand, and stops alongside her. Some settlers, men and women alike, go slack-jawed looking at the young couple in loincloths. One woman is heard to say to herself "I never looked that good," and a ripple of laughter goes through the room when a man answers "Neither have I".

Sempul addresses the room. "Everyone, I'm going to take a quick break and then round up the settlers who are not sitting. Get your last food and drink from the back, if you want it, and take a break if you need it. As soon as everyone is seated, we will begin. I have a few words to say before we hand out the clothes. Doctor, please bring your patient up here, and then you may leave. Thanks again for your help today."

The doctor replies, "Right away, Sempul." She takes the mask off her patient and turns off the respirator. She gives her some last minute instructions, and then helps her off the gurney. They walk up front, and the woman with the broken nose takes the center of the three empty chairs. The biologists have left already, taking three gurneys with them. The doctor gathers up her things onto the remaining gurney, and pushes it out the door.

The two women who cleaned the floor return carrying food and drinks. One asks the woman with the broken nose if she wants anything, but Sempul walks up from behind carrying two bowls of water, and says "Good, our troublemakers are reunited. Please sit down now." Sempul walks between the tables, and sets one bowl down in front of the woman with the broken nose. "All three of you need to drink as much water as you can to clean out your systems. Here, drink up." The woman with the broken nose simply glares at Sempul, but then starts coughing. "Yes, you think you are a tough girl, but being tough sometimes means being stupid. On this moon, outside these domes, being tough can be useful, but being stupid usually means you are about to become dead. Many settlers have died here already, and they weren't being stupid. Do you understand?" The woman makes no reply, except to launch the bowl of water off the table and onto Sempul. He repeats, "Do you understand?" She doesn't move a muscle this time, except to glare into his eyes. Sempul hits her in the face, on her broken nose, hard enough to knock her and the chair she's sitting in over backwards onto the floor. She screams out in pain and surprise, and starts sobbing between coughs. Sempul looks to the women on either side of her, and growls "Well, pick her up and get her sitting upright again." They jump up, one picking her up and the other picking up the chair. They get her up in the chair again so she's looking at Sempul, and then sit down themselves. He repeats, "Do you understand?" This time, between sobs, she screams "Yes."

"That's better. If you threaten or attack me, my wife, or any other staff members in these domes, I will kill you. We don't have time to deal with your nonsense. We have a tough job here, setting up a new civilization to last for millions of years without making any technical advancements. If you can't help us do that, you are a waste of our valuable time. There are plenty of predators out there that would like to have you for a meal. I will be happy to feed you to them. Do you understand?"

This time, she whispers "Yes" followed by a coughing fit.

"I'm giving your friends their first big assignment. You two are to keep an eye on your hot-headed friend here. Whenever she is being stupid, you are to remind her of the hungry predators waiting for her. If she wants to hurt someone, your job is to stop her, with force if need be. Killing her is acceptable, if it comes to that. Do you understand?"

They say "Yes" together, but look very distressed by the command.

"Good. If you don't do this, I will feed you to the predators, too. Some of them are big enough that they would need all three of you to make a meal."

Sempul walks to the far end of the tables, turns around, and keeps moving, looking into the face of each woman, and then each man, all thirty-two new settlers. "My superiors have given me a script to follow, but this event has upset the plan a bit. I will start the introductory meeting during the mid-day meal, as planned. We will cover the topics as we must. But, now is a good time for the first lesson. Last night, my wife and I decided to hand out the clothes this morning, as that seems to be the problem most of you have focused upon. But that is not the main problem for any of you. I know none of you really want to be here. You are all newly convicted subversives, and were sent out here without any preparation. We purposely left the first few days open to give you a chance to come to terms with your new situation. A few of you are still nursing your eyes, and have not seen the garden or the planet above us or the suns and stars. But, you will have time. If you are upset, that really is the natural reaction for what has happened to you. However, that does not excuse physically attacking anyone. My wife is a counselor. She will talk with each of you, and see how you are adjusting. If you are angry or depressed, you must tell her, so she can help you. You can also talk to me, if you prefer. One of you has already asked me for my help. I'm not a counselor, but do have some training in that regard. Your old life is over. This moon and its jungle is your life now. You can never go back. You can die, withdraw, or move forward. My hope is that you dive into this new situation with all your energy and enthusiasm. We have much to accomplish. Just learning the basic survival skills for this moon is a very tough job. But, that is easy compared to building a new civilization from scratch. If you are not ready for this now, I understand. We are starting slowly. We are all going back to school for awhile. You will have time to recover from the dislocation you have suffered. Please be honest to yourself and us in all matters, particularly with your feelings."

He paces in front of the settlers, collecting his thoughts. "Why is this important? The problem of any individual in the clan is a problem for the entire clan. This goes against the civilization you came from, but it is necessary for the new civilization here. A clan is so small, everyone is important. Every job is important. If someone cannot perform at their best because they are distracted by a personal problem, they could die. Maybe others could die. Maybe the entire clan could die. The first settlement here was completely wiped out, so that is no exaggeration. You all have personal problems, and you must work to resolve them here, before you move out into the jungle. That is also why I am so hard on troublemakers. Better to kill a few who don't want to fit in rather than kill the whole group trying to deal with them. This is your first lesson. Everyone, say it with me."

The settlers look incredulous, but say the words with Sempul. "The problem of any individual in the clan is a problem for the entire clan."

Sempul says, "You can do better than that. Say it again."

The settlers say the words with Sempul more forcefully and more in unison. "The problem of any individual in the clan is a problem for the entire clan."

"Again, this time say it like you mean it."

They all yell out in unison. "The problem of any individual in the clan is a problem for the entire clan."

Sempul continues "You are strangers now, but soon you will know each other like brothers and sisters. You will be brothers and sisters together in the clan. That is just one reason why we delayed passing out clothes until now. From the civilization you left, you rarely see naked strangers, but it is more likely you have seen naked siblings. Say it again." This time Sempul does not lead them.

"The problem of any individual in the clan is a problem for the entire clan."

"Remember it. I will ask you to repeat it again and again. But, two more things must be mentioned before we hand out the clothes. There were twenty-six settlers locked in here. When I asked you to move tables and be seated up here, you worked together well and did so very quickly and efficiently. I thank you for working together as a group. This skill is very necessary for living in the jungle. Someday, someone will tell you to freeze, or run, or climb a tree, or jump into water. If you do so, you will save your life. If you question the order, you will lose your life. Yes, you must develop confidence and trust with each other to make this behavior easier to accept. But, your cooperation today bodes well for the future of your clan."

"Secondly, we have become accustomed to that rotten smell from the poisonous air outside. That smell can make some sick, and will remain in the sleeping room until everything in there is cleaned. So, after you get your clothing, you will get to work together to wash down every surface of that room. That means carrying all beds out into the garden. Washing down the beds. Washing the floors, walls, and ceilings in the sleeping room. This includes the bathroom, so the toilets and sinks and showers must also be cleaned, inside and out. The cleaning and drying leaves must also be replaced. Use those on the beds and fixtures, and the rest must be discarded. Some of the maintenance workers will be here soon to provide the power washers and supplies, but everyone who has their eyesight back should help this morning."

"Well, my few words have turned into far too many words. Usually, I would ask for questions, and I'm sure you have many, many questions. They will have to wait until later. One of you told me that the introductory meeting should take many days, because of all the questions waiting to be asked. I agree. Let's put those off, and get on with the clothing."

Sempul waves to his staffers waiting with the cart. They come forward, pushing the cart to the front of the room. Sempul asks "Are you both dressed hunter style, as I asked?"

"Yes, sir," they answer in unison, sounding very military.

"Please hand me a tewng, and then set up the camera."

The woman staffer grabs one off the rack and hands it to Sempul. He holds it up in front of his face and walks around so all settlers can see it. The other staffer sets up the camera.

"There was much discussion about the design of these loincloths before the first settlers wore them outside. There is a very long file with many pictures from those deliberations. One, two, or more panels? Below the knees, or much shorter? As wide as the hips, or barely wide enough to cover the groin? Plain or decorated? Loosely woven, or tightly woven?" He pauses. "Guess what? It comes down to personal preference, what is most comfortable for you, based mainly on the job in the clan you have. You don't want to wear your best one if you are about to butcher a yerik or ride a pa'li. About the only rule is color. Red is reserved for the married couple that runs the clan. Most adults are hunters, and they like green to blend into the jungle. You can have whatever color, other than red, that you can make. There's the rub. The clothes you wore in your old life were made by machines from manufactured materials. You went to your favorite boutique and bought what you liked. Here, plants must be gathered and processed to make the fibers. The fibers must be spun into thread. The thread must be dyed and woven into fabric. The fabric must be sown into these. It is all done by hand, and it is very time consuming. If you can't make them, someone in the clan must be able to make them, or nobody has them. That is another reason why these clothes were not made available sooner. They were still being made yesterday. There are some folks here that can make these, and they worked very hard to make what you see on this rack. It takes a great deal of time and energy to make one. These may not seen like much, but they mean a great deal to those that do the work. Sa'nok, please say something about the tops the women wear."

Sa'nok walks past Sempul and stops in the middle of the tables with the women. "You see my top. It is made of many feathers, many more than normal. It's called a fkxile. At the introductory meeting this afternoon, you will hear more about learning this language. My husband keeps saying words from this language, but it is not nearly as natural for me yet. Feathers are very valuable here. The best quality feathers are used for fletching on arrows. The most important function of a clan is to keep itself healthy by eating well, and having high quality arrows is the first step to meeting that goal. All remaining feathers are used in necklaces or adornments tied in the hair or around arms or legs. The women here wear necklaces to cover their aureolas and nipples, but leave most of their breasts uncovered. I am not a permanent resident here, and I am not comfortable with showing that much of my breasts. So, I asked the clothing makers to give me extra feathers and I tied them into this top. They thought it was a joke at first, but got unhappy with me when I refused to give them back. They provided enough necklaces for you, but not many extra, and there are not enough extra feathers to make another top like this. So, I ask you to take the one necklace that fits you the best and whose colors and design makes you the happiest. They will seem very skimpy compared with what you are used to, but that is the style here. In time, it will become natural for all of you. Now, I'll let Sempul explain the most important part." She walked around the end of the tables and stood behind the seated women.

"The first settlers went out into the jungle, and came back almost immediately with complaints. None of the parameters I mentioned really matters. There are lots of insects here that are attracted by the smells of the groin area, male and female alike. Of course, a tewng hides the groin from the front, but does not protect it. So, a second piece is needed. Underwear, if you like. Please hand me a groin strap. Sorry, I don't remember its name." As he looks at them, the staffers and Sa'nok all shake their heads. They don't know its name, either.

The staffer hands him one that looks like a plain strip of cloth. "Do you want a telem to go with it?"

"Yes, irayo. You want one that looks way too wide, so it bows out in the middle to give you room even when the outside edges are tight against your skin. You put this cord through the back end of the strap, wrap the cord around you and pull the strap up between your legs in front, and put the cord through the front. Then, tie the ends of the cord together on your side over the hip to hold it in place. Now, living here in the domes, we don't have these nasty insects, so your strap does not have to be very tight, or you can just not wear it. Outside, your strap must be very tight around the edges to keep the insects out. That is what I meant when I said hunter style. You two, hold up your loincloths and show off your straps, so the settlers can see how it must be done for hunter style."

The two staffers look a little uncomfortable, but they do as they are ordered. Some settlers ask them to come closer, or turn around, and they oblige.

"I want all of you to wear your strap hunter style until I say otherwise. I will be checking you to make sure you know how to put in on correctly. When I am satisfied all of you are wearing it correctly, I will say so, and then we can loosen up." He looks across the row of faces. "Once you have the groin strap on, you put your tewng on over it, using another telem if needed. Some loincloths do not need a separate cord, because they have belt-like pieces already sewn on. You six men on the end, get up and bring three more tables up to the front here. Put one in front of the men, and the other two in front of the women. We'll spread the loincloths and necklaces out on the tables to make it easier to see and pick one for you. Sa'nok and my woman staffer will help the women, and also explain how to adjust a top. And, they will tell you what you put in your strap to absorb your menses during your periods. I and my man staffer will help the men. Obviously, a hunter style strap is painful when you get an erection, so we'll show you the trick for dealing with that. However, it supports your testicles very well, and is needed for riding pa'li and ikran, and jumping out of trees. I will go back and turn down the lights up here, so those of you still in blindfolds can remove them and pick a loincloth without hurting your eyes. I don't have a mirror, but I'll turn on the main screen up here, and you can use that camera to see yourself. Point the camera at an angle. Just stand in front of it, and turn your head toward the screen, so you can see yourself from head to toe. Get the tables now. After you get dressed, please start work on cleaning the sleeping room. I see the staffers from Maintenance are here. We need to carry the beds out to the garden, right away, so they can get to work washing the ceiling. Our next clan meeting begins during the midday meal."

With that, the meeting ended. The settlers excitedly pick out their new clothes, and begin looking the parts they are destined to play.