Chapter One
Sk'lar was born at 4:42 a.m, in rough seas about 20 miles away from Twin Lights in the Highlands, east by southeast into the Atlantic. His father was a fisherman and lobsterman, and his mother had joined him that day with an excuse to pull lobster traps and harvest a catch with him that day, even though she was really just there to keep him company. When she went into labor a week earlier than expected while an hour away from land, she couldn't make it to hospital or even the shore in time, so Sk'lar was delivered by his father in the sea swell of a choppy Atlantic.
Sk'lar was given a name by his mother so she could continue the surname of his maternal grandparents. Lynn's maiden name was Sk'lar, and she was the last of the Sk'lar blood line; and with no brothers that last name would have died with her father when his time to pass had come. She gave her maiden surname to her son as his first name in order to keep the name alive for at least one more generation, something which touched very deeply Sk'lar's maternal grandfather. Richard Sklar, her father's father, had broken down into tears over it when they docked and Lynn placed the newborn into her grandfather's arms, then surprised him with the name she had chosen for her son. Her father, Stephan, was equally taken by the name given to his brand new grandson.
Alexander Duncan, the father made midwife-at-sea, lifted his wife up onto the dock, and jumped from the deck of the boat to the dock like a wild deer jumping a fallen log in the woods despite having just given birth two hours earlier. Such a loud and vocal man at times, Al was oddly silent and seemed contemplative and at a loss for words at the sight of his father-in-law and grandfather-in-law holding his son between them and them having heard the name and witnessing their reaction to it. He stepped in front of Lynn and bent down and softly kissed her. “Yurrrrr sumthin there.” was all he could get out.
The young old salt had been laughing ever since he heard Sk'lar's first cries. They weren't frantic, but more of a calling baby's first sounds. He was washed off with seawater. Al remembered that at the instant he came out he had looked up from his beautiful young bride and glanced to the right to see a young right whale breach then splash millions of drops of water skyward when it fell back to the sea, spray like aquatic fireworks exploding. He also remembered the big school of about 80 Clymene dolphin escorting them almost all the way home.
Julsey was born about six months later in hospital in Ridgewood, in the Province of North Jersey in the newly reclaimed and restored New Valley hospital. Marcus and Lucinda Paul had a small business restoring machinery, and they specialized in large pumps, cranes, and electric motors. He fixed them and she helped and painted them and met supply with demand. It was a natural choice that they were invited to live as custodians of the Great Falls hydroelectric generating station in New Patterson, North Jersey, and Marc and Lucinda's shop was even moved into a maintenance building fo they could continue working to rebuild or restore old machinery, which Marcus especially would have missed. Julsey grew up helping her parents run the station and rebuild equipment. They came to specialize in creating small hydro electric systems from pumps and generators scavenged from old industrial and utility sites.
That was the nature of society and commerce, to rebuild and restore, but to also do so in sustainable ways using or generating sustainable energy. This new direction wasn't driven by a desire to reject the ways of the past or a type of system just because it was fiscally profitable or long vested; paths were chosen instead because they were pragmatic and logical, and had a real benefit to society, and many were actually were very economical or profitable since there wasn't any drive or selfish or ulterior motive to work simply for profit which often produced waste and costs in hidden forms. There were no longer any property or income taxes, but there was a flat 20% tax on all goods or services across the board that went into things like restoring rails and roadways, providing free medical services, maintaining provincial defenders who not only acted in the manner of of a militia but would cycle with others reclaiming and restoring old industrial sites, old buildings, and doing other civic work and work which benefited all of society, and not just an elite. There weren't big public works or street departments or types of public service departments, even though there were a few full time bureaucrats and employees who did this kind of work, managed it. Normally everyone just put in a few days to a week every month performing public service or work. It was sweat equity in one's own society and community. It was cost effective and eliminated the need for heavy taxation. The people were the government and basically provided the social services and utilities they needed themselves, and built their own infrastructure together. It created a deep sense of pride in one's own community, and people got to know each other sharing in communal work.
Julsey was 19, in her second year of college studying horticulture, and she even worked part time at a pizza parlor, mostly because Beth and Ann worked there. She had taken the train down to the Shore many times to vacation and loved the water as much as she loved hiking in the Watchungs. She had even learned to surf when she was 17 over the summer. She loved flowers and plants and wanted to become a florist specializing in exotic flowers, herbs, and native plant species and habitat restoration.
Sk'lar grew up on the water with his father, who when he wasn't fishing was training others in sea rescue. Sk'lar graduated primary school early and took an interest in oceanographic studies, and at 19 was in the last semester of his senior year in college working on both academic and real world projects in aquaculture and marine environmental and ecosystem and habitat restoration. He had moved not too far away from his parents and into an old stone church that was built in the mid 1800's, and was restoring it to use not only as a home for himself, but also as a lab and business office. He was given a boat that was slated for retirement by the college, and was being considered for an appointment by the province to start and run a facility to turn the north shore of the Navesink River and Bay into aquatic pens for seafarming and aquaculture. His childhood friend, Lawrence, had joined him and Sk'lar put him in charge of construction of equipment he designed and to operate a small seafarm.
In many ways Sk'lar and Julsey's lives had mirrored each other. Both were raised by loving parents and had a great example set for them to follow. They both had dated casually, had known what love and infatuation felt like, but neither one had ever met their soulmate yet, and they each knew it. Both of them dreamed of and wanted more from both life and love, and both had the kind of personality and stubbornness to wait for it. Sk'lar had just ended a relationship with a girl named Laura, and while he loved her, after a short period of mild heartbreak he felt lucky it ended before it did get serious. She was just a hint too cynical and critical for his taste, despite those things that were good in their relationship. Julsey had dated a young man who was a mason and sculptor, but the guy was always more interested in whatever project he was working on, and he always put her second, and she had grown tired of it.
It had been months since either one cared enough to even consider dating, and both seemed focused on simply just finishing college before worrying about anything else in their lives. They didn't need or want the distractions. Beth made Julsey promise to go with her to the Festival this year, and she was holding her to it. Sk'lar had been working too hard, and his mother told him if he didn't take a break that she'd go to the Province and demand that they force him to take the mandatory vacation time he had ignored for two years. Lynn had gone to Lawrence and made him promise to take Sk'lar to Festival. Sky didn't agree until Lawrence went on strike, just sitting on the dock for four hours doing nothing until Sk'lar would agree to go. They had both had boarded trains to Festival within five minutes of each other that sunny Saturday morning. They both were starting a journey much longer than a train ride, but neither one knew that yet.