That tribe was squeezed into the shallow water. Its people learned to forage in a medium that others avoided. Their bodies were relatively gracile compared to those of Erect Man, but also became more fleshy, particularly those of the women, and more so in the legs than the arms. The previously deleterious mutation for hairlessness became an asset in the water, buttressed by subcutaneous fat. Unlike the females of most tribes, the grown women also had permanently swollen breasts, that helped warm their chests when they were between nursing babies, and also had become objects of attraction for men. The breasts identified the women clearly, even when their genital regions were concealed by the water.
These weirdly bare people were generally shunned by their normal neighbors. They were at one fringe of a worldwide array of mankind that was penetrating niches of ecosystems previously unknown, their bodies changing to fit. But they survived because of several factors: an uncontested habitat, a richness of available food, physical security from most threats, and a surprising freedom from the occasional terrible scourges of disease that affected other tribes. Wherever there was water, these fringe types endured: some on the Isle of Woman at the mouth of the Great Rift Valley, and some here in the Lake of Eden in the center of the Rift, about 150,000 years ago.
Yet an objective observer would have been unlikely to see in this isolated tribe the seeds for survival and success away from the water. Some of the elements of that success were so subtle that they would not become evident for the better part of another hundred thousand years. But the fact that these qualities were not obvious does not mean they weren't important. For the meek water folk were indeed destined to inherit the world, in due course.
At this time, however, they were anything but dominant. A conventional stranger coming among them would have been surprised by a number of their features, and would have had some trouble adapting to their ways. Yet there would be aspects of familiarity, too, and in time he might grow accustomed to them, and even discover a certain appeal in their way of life.
In this case, the stranger is Hue, led there by a girl of that tribe who befriended him in adversity. There are similar people in every band or tribe, so they are similarly named. But in this case the familiar names identify strangers to Hue; we know them, but he does not, and they do not know him. Yet perhaps some old affinities linger. At any rate, Hue has inadvertently left the robust Homo erectus behind, and is about to join the gracile Homo sapiens sapiens—or fully modern man, physically. Thus his seeming loss of identity is actually his salvation.
HE woke to pain. But someone was tending him, giving him water and food, covering his body from the cold. He faded in and out for what seemed like a long time, but finally recovered enough awareness to focus on his benefactor. “Who?” he asked.
She tapped him on the chest. “Hue.” She tapped herself on her slightly swelling breast. “Lee.” She spoke with a strong alien accent, but he was able to understand her. That meant that his tribe and hers were not too far apart.
Tribe? He struggled to remember. He was Hue—that made sense—but how had he come here? And Lee—she must be a relative. A daughter—no, she seemed too old for that—a sister, maybe. He had always helped and protected his little sister. Now she was helping him.
He lifted a hand to touch his head. He had a bad welt on it, distending the fur there. The skull seemed dented but not broken. “How?”
“Fell,” Lee said immediately. Now he remembered that he had asked her that before, perhaps several times, as he woke and slept and woke again. She had grown facile with her answers. “Mountain. Lee fall. Hue catch Lee. Hue fall. Roll. Head, rock.”
He had gathered as much: only a rock could have done the damage he felt. But what were they doing out here? “Where?”
That wasn't quite the right question, but he must have asked the right one before, because she had a competent answer. “Hue, Lee go mountain. Cross no.”
So they hadn't gotten wherever they had been going; the mountain had been too difficult to cross. Now it did not seem wise to try. He wasn't sure he could walk, let alone scale the horrendous slope he saw.
“Why?”
Now she hesitated. “Trouble. Tribe.”
He had gotten into trouble in his tribe? He couldn't remember what for. Lee evidently didn't know what kind it was, or didn't want to tell. But it seemed it had been enough so that he had to leave.
He slept again, and Lee snuggled close. Next time he woke, he was aware of two things: he now remembered her prior answers, so didn't need to ask again, which must mean he was healing; and her body was pressing against his side. She was definitely a maturing girl, and soon would be seeking a man.
She realized that he was awake. She rubbed against him suggestively. “Mate?” she inquired.
With him? But she was his sister! Men did not do sex with their own family members. Perhaps she didn't realize that. He did not want to hurt her feelings, so he simply said, “No,” wincing to show that his head still hurt.
She did not pursue the matter. Evidently he had said that too to her before.
Hue took inventory, and found that he had a skin blanket, a pouch belt, and an axe. The axe was a good one, an all purpose tool suitable for stabbing, slicing, or throwing. It was his best friend. With this he could cope, even if he didn't know where he was or where he had come from.
“Hunt,” he said, sitting up, wincing as his head responded to his motion by generating pain.
But Lee knew better. “Forage,” she said.
In the days that followed, Hu realized that they would have to move, because they were exhausting the foraging of this limited high region, and were getting hungry. His strength was returning, but he really needed the support of others of his kind. Yet he had no idea where to go.
“Lee know tribe,” she said. “Water folk.”
A tribe living near water? She was on speaking terms with them? That would help. Some tribes routinely killed strangers, so it was best to have an introduction. Children could make contacts more readily than adults, because they were no threat to adults. Especially girl children, who might later come to join the harem of a male. So he let Lee lead him down the mountain, following a route she seemed to know.
Hue was staggering, but Lee managed to help him reach the region of an established tribe she knew of. Perhaps the region was familiar; he wasn't sure. It was a settlement on the shore of a large lake, where people were cooking fish at an open fire on the beach. It was evening, and the warmth of the day remained. The fish smelled very good.
A large, stout man challenged them as they approached the camp. But Lee interceded. “Joe no hurt Hue,” she said, standing between them. She seemed to know the man, though Hue did not. She was an attractive nascent woman, which surely helped.
Joe looked disgusted, but let them pass. So Joe must know Lee, and be required to allow her to bring in a stranger if she chose to.
Lee brought him a roasted fish, and he chewed on it eagerly despite the bones. He saw that these tribespeople were so lightly furred they seemed ill, but apparently this was normal for them. The men retained fur on their scalps, chins, and crotches; the women's faces were bare but their clefts furred. And they all seemed to be nursing, for their breasts were developed. That was remarkable; most women finished nursing and became flat-chested and therefore sexually available until getting their next babies. Only a few babies were in evidence, but the other nurslings must be close.
There was an alarm. Immediately the naked people fled to the water, taking their roast fish with them. Lee tugged Hue along after them. Hue, realizing that he was in no condition to fight a vicious animal, realized that there might indeed be safety in the water. So he splashed in after them.
The water was warm, having been heated by the day. They waded out, following the gradually deepening contour of the muck below, until Hue stood chest deep and Lee chin deep. He noticed now that the women of the tribe were almost as tall as the men, so could wade out almost as far. That made sense, be
cause it would not be safe for the women to be left behind during danger. But he also saw that no more were carrying babies than had done so on land. Where were their nurslings?
Now the danger they had fled appeared: the men of a regular tribe. They were large and muscular and hairy, in contrast to the men of the water folk, who seemed effete in comparison. No wonder they had to give way to the raiders.
The raiders charged up to the fire, searching for any food that might have been left, but none was. They stood on the beach and stared out at the folk in the water, but they were beyond spear-throwing range, and in any event their spears or stones would have been lost in the water. The men evidently did not care to enter the water themselves, which Hue found odd; after all, he was of their type, and he hadn't minded entering the water. So the water folk were safe, and after a moment the others moved away, disgruntled. It had been a harmless occasion, thanks to the protection of the lake.
But the water folk did not return to the shore right away. They simply stood, chest to chin deep, watching. The women nursed their babies; only the women's breasts and the babies’ heads showed above the surface.
A man turned his head. “Lee,” he said.
Lee, standing close between Hue and the shore, turned to him. “Hue stay,” she said. “See.” Then she forged to the shore, splashing her hands so as to make noise.
Hue wasn't comfortable with this. Suppose the raiders remained close, waiting in ambush? He should not let her go back alone. It was clear that the others were as wary as he was, but they wanted Lee to be the one to take the risk. Yet she had seemed confident. So, since he knew so little of the ways of these slender furless people, he did as told, and did not move.
Lee waded forward, passing several others. She did not go ashore immediately, but walked a bit to one side and then to another, looking around and pausing several times as if looking for something. But there was nothing there, just the level surface of the water. She paused longest by a thicket of reeds growing in the waist-deep water, splashing with her hands and kicking with her feet. What was she doing, besides stirring up clouds of lake mud? All the others waited impassively, seeming to be not at all impatient about this dallying.
Finally Lee went the rest of the way ashore. Hue saw her buttocks emerge, and her thighs. Her legs were fleshed in the manner of the women of this tribe, being thick and round. But she was not unattractive, because she had more fur on her body than the others did, though not as much as normal folk had. Hue suddenly realized that this could have been why she had approached him for mating: she wanted a man with some fur, rather than being weirdly bare like most of the others. Had she not been so young, and also his sister, he might have been interested.
Suddenly a man appeared, bursting from the concealment of the brush near the water. He charged at Lee. Hue was horrified and disgusted; the raiders had left an ambush, and Lee was the one who had sprung it. Apparently by the choice of the leader.
And not one of the other water folk moved to help her. Hue realized why: there could be a larger ambush waiting to catch those who tried to help the girl. They were vulnerable on land. The single man could be a lure to tempt them out of their safe water.
Lee screamed and dived for the water. The raider grabbed for her, but she spun and dodged, eluding him, and reached the shallow water. The man turned and pursued her. He was considerably larger and stronger, and in a moment he was almost able to catch her with his outstretched hands.
Still no one else moved. Hue started to—and Lee looked at him across the water, shaking her head no. Then she screamed again, and zigzagged toward the patch of reeds.
The raider splashed into the water after her. Apparently he wasn't concerned about the shallow water. Maybe the raiders had known that they couldn't catch any of the people in the deep water, so hadn't tried. But Lee hadn't had the sense to plunge deep immediately, and now was about to be caught by the reeds. If she tried to run through the reeds, she would be slowed, and the raider would have her in a moment. In fact he was about to have her anyway.
The man reached out and caught Lee's shoulder. Then he looked startled. He suddenly sat down in the water. He bellowed with pain. Yet there was nothing. Lee just stood there, looking down at him.
The man seemed to be unable to scramble back to his feet. His hands splashed, and for a moment his head ducked under the surface. Then he somehow moved past Lee, not toward the shore but toward deeper water. What was happening?
Two other men burst from the brush on shore. They forged into the water to rescue their companion. So there had been more of an ambush there!
Still neither Lee nor any of the other water folk moved.
The two men got knee deep, then abruptly fell forward, their faces splashing into the water. Both thrashed wildly. Then one brought out a flint knife and slashed with it, stabbing at something under the surface. In a moment he got back to his feet, holding a length of rope with clamshells dangling from it. The other man joined him, but seemed to be limping. Even from a distance, Hue could see a reddish tinge in the muddy water.
Hue was beginning to understand. That rope had been hidden under the water, and had tripped the men. That was why they had fallen. The shells were sharp-edged, cutting their legs. They had escaped the trap, but not without injury. It was a lesson; after this, they would be far more cautious about pursuing any water person into the shallow water.
Meanwhile the first raider, who had chased Lee, was now floating silently beside the reeds. His face was under water. He appeared to be dead.
The two raiders stared at the body, then shook their heads. They knew better than to try to wade out that far.
Then they turned to face Lee, who still stood where she had stopped. They had spears strapped to their backs, but they did not try to use them. It was all too clear that further efforts were likely to cost them a good deal more than their spears. They simply turned around and sloshed out of the water, defeated.
After they were gone, Lee moved. She returned by her devious route to the shore. Now Hue understood that she knew where the hidden ropes were, and was avoiding them. She had stirred up the water so that the raiders couldn't see what was under it. They had been the ones walking into the trap, not she.
Yet the whole tribe had waded directly into the water, before, not encountering any hazards. Where had the ropes and sharp shells come from?
Lee explored the shore, and found nothing. This time the raiders really were gone.
But the water folk did not go back to land. Instead they began moving along parallel to the shore, seeking some other place. They were finished with this region anyway. Two men approached the floating body of the raider and stripped it of anything of value. Then they pushed it to the shore and left it there.
Hue waited until Lee re-entered the water and waded up to him. “Rope no,” he said, trying to express his confusion.
She smiled with secret knowledge. “Rope yes,” she replied. And that was all.
They formed into a single file and headed toward the center of the lake. But though the shore receded, the depth of water did not. Hue realized that they were walking along a built-up path; his toes could feel the sloping sides of it. So the lake was getting deeper; they merely had a ramp. A ramp which surely could be changed, if an enemy learned its location.
But why didn't the enemy just swim, instead of trying to walk the path? Hue thought of the answer immediately: few regular folk were good swimmers, and they couldn't fight well while swimming. While the water folk surely were good swimmers—and could stand on their hidden ramps and use weapons effectively to stop any enemy swimmers. So the lake was proof against invasion.
They approached an odd island. It seemed to be made of a tangle of wooden branches. In fact it was such a tangle, extending well down below the surface. There seemed to be several domes in it, but no one was climbing onto them. Instead people were disappearing.
Disappearing? Hue watched the line ahead, and saw a man sink quietly out of si
ght, not to reappear. Then a woman with a baby did the same, pausing only to let the baby get a good breath. What was happening? No one seemed alarmed.
Finally the last person before Hue sank down. Now Hue saw that the man was swimming toward the stick island, going deep as if to pass under it. Then he disappeared.
Lee smiled. “Follow Lee,” she said. Before he could protest, she took a small breath and dived low.
He had no choice. He ducked down into the water as well as he could and stroked after her. He was very glad that he knew how to swim; he knew that many did not. His curiosity about things had led him to explore rivers and ponds, and he had also liked to listen to the odd sounds under water. Sounds had always intrigued him. It was apparent that he was not nearly as proficient at swimming as Lee was, but she was not trying to elude him, and he was able to keep her kicking feet in sight.
Down she went, down, down. Then she swam into the base of the stick island and was gone. But in a moment he found that there was a way there, an opening in the mass of sticks. It was deadly dark within, like a deep cave, but that was where she had gone. So he followed, his breath getting pained.
The cave ceiling opened almost immediately, and he swam up. In a moment he found the surface and gasped his breath back. It was dusky here, beneath a dome of sticks; he was under the island! Had he had time to think about this swim, he would have been frightened.
Around him was a circle of legs, knees, and thighs. He was in the center of an interior pool, surrounded by sitting women. All of their legs were spread, showing their genitals as if inviting sex. But when he looked at any woman directly, her legs closed, denying sex. What was happening here?
He looked around the full circle until he located Lee. Her legs alone did not close. He shook his head, not trying to explain that this was not a thing he wished of his little sister.