After lunch, Kevin, Adam and Jimmy walked to Town Hall. Kevin and Adam had stopped to pick up Jimmy since they walked past his house anyway. As they stepped inside, Mark and Gurpreet were already there. Thankfully, Ben was nowhere in sight. They had been afraid he would be their task master, making them clean his torture devices and testing them on the boys.
"Come come," said Gurpreet. "We're just waiting for two more people before we can leave." He motioned for them to take a seat in the lobby area.
Who else are we waiting for? Hopefully not Ben, thought Adam.
"You should consider yourselves privileged. The Sentinel League has rarely had Junior Initiates since it was formed over 1000 years ago," said Gurpreet.
"Did you say 1000 years?" asked Jimmy.
"Yes," replied Gurpreet, straight faced. "It's been an extremely private organization in its time. You wouldn't have heard about it because you weren't asked to join. That’s when all of the members discover it exists. It's a well-kept secret"
Adam thought for a second. So many questions ran through his mind and it was the time to ask. "Why is there a Sentinel League?" It was a simple but loaded question. He hoped Gurpreet would have a good answer.
Gurpreet paused and took in a deep breath. "That is a great question. I’ll tell you the basics, because there are a lot of details and we don’t have all day. So let's start this off appropriately…In the beginning, we go way back to early Man. They were living in caves and doing all those primal things we learn in school about hunters and gatherers. They lived in small communities, had children, and did what they needed in order to continue living.
At the same time, a group of people lived on an island. How they got there, they didn’t know, but they were special. They were human, but they just understood more about everything and were naturally curious.
The island they were on was perfect for living and learning. They never had far to go for food or water, and the weather was always the same. Not having to worry about the essentials of life allowed them to concentrate on learning and building a civilization. And learn they did. They learned about the sciences, mathematics, chemistry, art and other things. They were passionate about knowledge, and lived in peace for generations of time. It was the only true Utopia the world has ever known."
"Sounds like Atlantis to me," said Mark.
"Actually, that is where the stories of Atlantis started. The original stories were somewhat accurate, but current stories are more imagination than truth," replied Gurpreet. “The island was somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean but they had never named it - at least not Atlantis. They came up with a name for themselves though - Teneo, meaning ‘to learn’.”
“You’re serious? This is a true story?” asked Jimmy.
Gurpreet nodded. "Because they loved knowledge, they eventually travelled beyond their island. They didn’t travel far when they met our ancestors, and this is when things changed. After seeing how difficult the lives of the regular humans were compared to their own, one of the Teneo showed a man how to fashion a bow and arrow, so hunting would be easier. The first thing that man did with the bow and arrow was to kill his enemy, as he now had an advantage. The Teneo had been peaceful for so long that this didn't even register as a possibility when they passed on the knowledge. From that point on, they banned the sharing of knowledge with our ancestors, believing them incapable of dealing with it responsibly.”
“Is that why the Sentinel League won’t release information?” asked Adam
“Yes and no,” said Gurpreet, “but we’ll talk about that later. The way the regular humans handled the knowledge wasn’t the only problem. The incident affected the Teneo as well. Having only known peace for so long, the act of one human killing another stirred up deep primal urges. They began arguing about how to deal with our ancestors and, over time, two groups emerged. One believed that the regular humans, who they now called Mankind, would evolve to learn everything the Teneo knew, just at a slower rate. Mankind would learn naturally, and in that way would be able to use knowledge responsibly. The other group believed that Mankind would never learn and should be ruled over as slaves, used like lab rats to further their own knowledge. That group felt they should decide the fate of Mankind, thinking of themselves as far superior. The rift between the two groups became so deep that the second group stopped referring to themselves as Teneo. They were Decreta, meaning ‘to decide’. Some of the Decreta started calling Mankind 'Commons' as an insult, and it's been that way ever since. You’ve heard of the House of 'Commons' in our own government? That isn't a coincidence."
Adam was shocked by that little bit of information and it showed on his face.
"I see you have," said Gurpreet, nodding toward Adam.
“There are generations of stories since then that bring us to the present time, and you'll learn more of those later. For now, I'll give you the condensed version of the rest. Through time, the Teneo and Decreta fought with each other. There came a point where the Teneo realized they needed our help, so they reached out to our ancestors. That's when the Sentinel League was formed.
We as Mankind were nowhere near strong enough to fight the Decreta ourselves, but we were everywhere. We could keep watch for trouble developing, thereby protecting the Teneo and ourselves. That’s where the word ‘Sentinel’ comes from. ‘League’ is there because we’ve always had members from multiple countries. Ever since, we have helped protect the Teneo and their knowledge."
Adam’s mind was still on the technology. "If all members of the Sentinel League know about things like the bioluminescence, hasn’t anyone leaked some of that information?" he asked.
"Another great question," said Gurpreet. "Yes, there have been leaks over the years, but we try to minimize how much can be leaked. An example is the bioluminescence. All of our members know it exists so we’ve had leaks of the idea before, but they don’t know the process to actually create the bioluminescence. Only a few hand-picked members ever get to learn the process of how it is created, and those members would never leak that secret. This is why we hand select initiates to begin. We only invite the most trustworthy people. Usually, we find trustworthiness runs in families, but not always. We invite the initiates, put them through exercises to make sure they are who we think they are, and make them full members."
"What happens if someone doesn’t make it?" asked Kevin
"They have their memories adjusted and are sent to a new location. I can't tell you more than that."
The boys looked at each other. It had never occurred to them that one of them could be sent away in the future, never to be seen again.
"But that rarely happens. We haven't had it happen in a long time, so don't worry about it. There's nothing you can do to 'study' for it either. We have to have missed something pretty glaring in order for that to happen,” said Gurpreet.
His words didn’t do much to release the knot in Adam’s gut.
“So that’s the rough history of the Sentinel League. You’ll learn more of the story and details over time. Because the League is so old, there are a lot of them. Right now, though, we are starting you off with some jobs that need to be done. It’s just a little manual labor."
Mark groaned.
"Markandeya Gupta – you quit complaining! You most of all could use the exercise, as well as some work ethic," said Gurpreet.
“Markandeya?” asked Jimmy, smirking. Adam and Kevin tried not to laugh.
“Daaaad!” complained Mark.
Gurpreet shrugged.
Mark looked at the others whose faces were wide in smiles.
“What? Did you honestly think my name was Mark? Like out of the Bible? My family is East Indian you know,” he stated.
The main door opened and in stepped two men. First was Karl Klein, the local insurance broker. Second was Marius Miller. The boys were surprised that Marius was part of the League. His 5 young children were so close in age that it was hard to believe he had time for anything other than childcare. It was ofte
n thought that he had so many children so people would stop calling him by his long time nickname ‘Mary’.
“We’re ready when you are,” said Marius.
Gurpreet nodded to Marius and Karl then looked at the boys. "Well, I hope you're ready." They nodded that they were, although Mark’s nod was weak. "You can follow Marius," Gurpreet added and pointed to the door.
Marius led them outside and directed them to his van. Adam realized why Marius was included; he was the only one with a vehicle large enough to fit them all. Adam couldn’t figure out why Karl was included.
They climbed into the second and third rows of the van and buckled their seat belts. Karl squeezed into the second row next to Kevin and Mark while Jimmy and Adam, being slimmer built, had an easier time getting into the rearmost seat. Because Karl was so overweight, Kevin and Mark were cramped.
"Gonna be a tight fit here boys," laughed Karl in his slight German accent. "Us ‘well-built’ men have to stick together." He slapped Mark on the knee and looked at Kevin.
Adam could tell that Kevin didn't like being lumped in with the 'well-built' crew, being that he was mainly muscular.
Gurpreet and Marius hopped in the van, and soon they were moving. Marius drove out of town toward the monitoring station, so Adam thought they would be painting walls or cutting lawns. At the bottom of the hill near the station, Marius turned away from it, going further west down the valley. Soon the valley widened out to an open plain, and Marius pulled off the road into a field. The field was rocky with stone piles everywhere except for one large clearing.
Marius stopped the van and they all stepped out. The adults stretched as if they had been driving for a long time. Mark was pouting, dreading the work to come, while Kevin and Jimmy looked around.
Adam looked at the rocks and thought about Mike Baranov saying the labor wouldn't be too hard. Seeing the stones surrounding him, he wondered just what Mike thought was hard labor.
"So, Junior Initiates, do you have any idea why we're here?" asked Gurpreet with a big smile on his face.
Kevin answered with a bit too much excitement. "Picking stones?"
"Well, that's part of it," said Gurpreet, looking at his smiling counterparts, "but, we are guilty of fooling you a little. As it is your first day as Initiates, we thought we'd have some fun."
"I thought only Kevin could think picking heavy stones would be fun," said Mark, still pouting.
Gurpreet gave Mark a stern look, and then his face softened. "We are here to teach you an old Sentinel League game that’s played here among the rocks. For centuries it’s been known as 'Kurling'.”
The boys all exchanged looks, not sure if Gurpreet was kidding.
"Curling?" Jimmy laughed as he asked. "You mean that boring game you old guys play in the winter at the 'curling' rink?"
"It's not just for old people, and it's got a lot of strategy!" Kevin replied, insulted by Jimmy's comment.
"Yes and no, Jimmy," answered Karl. "The ice game of curling has its roots in our game, but other than some terminology and the fact that they both have a lot of strategy, they are quite different. How do we know the ice game has its roots in our sport? .... A group of teams is called a Curling League of course!" Karl made a huff at the end of the last word.
Marius spoke for the first time since they left Town Hall. “Karl is obsessed with League Kurling. And he’s quite good at it,” Karl’s chest started to puff out, “until he plays against me.” Marius smiled a mischievous smile.
Karl’s chest deflated and he turned red. He spoke a few words in German that Adam guessed weren’t compliments to Marius, and then he turned to the field.
“So, a little history first, then the game,” said Karl, leading them to the middle of the field. “It all began a long time ago when two of the Sentinel League members, who happened to be brothers, were on watch in a rocky field. They were bored, so they began throwing stones. One of them had an idea to mark out a one foot circle, literally using the size of his foot, and see who could throw a stone into the circle or closest to it." He walked a few paces away from them and marked out a circle using a stick he picked up. “They called the circle the ‘button’. That’s where the term ‘on the button’ came from.”
He picked up some stones and walked away from the circle, turned and started tossing.
"They played for hours, knocking each other’s stones out of the circle. After a while, they decided that each of them would only get 6 stones, of whatever size and shape they liked, and that they should stand at a certain distance – 10 paces to start.” Karl walked back to the button, turned and stepped out 10 paces.
“At 10 paces from the button they marked out a two foot square and called it the hack, which was the spot from which they would throw,” he said as he picked up the stick again and marked a square using both feet. After picking up a couple of stones, he threw them at the button, landing them close to the center.
“The brothers played like that all day, and realized that they would each only get a point or two because it was too easy to get stones on the button. They decided to move back to 15 paces. At that distance, it was more difficult to hit the button and just as hard to knock the other player out." Karl moved 5 paces further away from the button and re-drew the hack with the stick. After picking up more stones he began throwing them at the button again. Not one of the six he threw ended up on the button.
"I haven't seen any of your stones 'curling', so why call it curling?" asked Jimmy.
Karl smiled at him, "I usually save that detail for last, but I’ll tell you now, since you’ve asked. You remember the brothers that invented the game? Their names were Kurt and Karl, K U R T and K A R L. They combined the first two letters of Kurt – K U - with the last two of Karl – R L - K U R L. My father was such a huge fan of the game that he insisted I be named after one of the brothers, actually." Karl seemed especially proud of that fact.
"Are you sure you're not just making this up as part of the initiation?" asked Jimmy.
Karl looked at him, smiling again, "You'd be surprised how many initiates have said the same thing. I should really start introducing the game differently, but for now I'll stick with the tried and true...now where was I?” Karl paused and thought for a moment, scratching his head. “Oh yes, the history. So, the brothers were playing this game they invented and were getting bored. You’re probably thinking the same thing." He looked at Jimmy who nodded in agreement.
"Well, one of the Teneo was watching them play. When they started to get bored, he came down to the brothers and asked them to try something different with the game. He hunted around and found 6 stones, all of various sizes and shapes." Karl did the same, picking up 6 very different stones.
"The Teneo explained to the brothers that everything is connected in some way, you just have to figure out how. He said that once you’ve found out how to connect to an object, you can control it to some degree. How much control depended on many different factors, from the skill of the controller to the size and shape of the object. Observe."
The boys watched as Karl picked a round stone that fit in the palm of his hand, placed his other hand on top and raised it to the bridge of his nose between his eyes. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and tossed the stone toward the button, leaving his hand in the air. The height and angle that he threw the stone would have put the stone well past the button. Time seemed to slow as Karl watched the stone without breathing or blinking, and a moment before it was over the button Karl dropped his hand. The airborne stone dropped at the same time as Karl’s hand, coming to rest in the center of the button.
The boys looked to each other with wide eyes. They couldn't process what they had just seen.
“Did you just do what I think I saw you do?” asked Mark.
Karl winked at Mark and picked up another stone. It was twice the size of the first one. He did the same procedure, raising it to his forehead, closing and opening his eyes, then tossing toward the button. That time
he threw it with less power, and it looked like it should land only halfway to the button. Karl made a push in the air and the stone gained speed, flying further and faster in the direction of Karl's push. It landed with a thud at the edge of the button, hiding the first stone from view.
“Nice guard,” said Marius.
Karl nodded to Marius then spoke to the boys. "That is a guard. It’s a basic move in the game, to try protecting the counters. We’ll teach you the strategy later. Now, when you're as practiced as me, watch what else you can do."
Karl picked up another stone, a little larger than the first one but flatter. He tossed it high and long and made small correcting motions to straighten its flight. It arced down past the button, and Karl made a quick dropping/pulling motion. The stone moved like it had bounced off an invisible backboard and slammed hard into the stone at the center of the button, popping it out of the circle and remaining at the center.
Adam couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Nice takeout," said Marius. Karl nodded at him again.
"Because different sizes and shapes of stones behave differently, it's hard to shoot well every time. Add in the selection of only 6 stones per end and it makes for a lot of fun. Today we thought we would just teach you how to get a connection and some basic moves."
Adam had been thinking outside of the game. "If you can control the stones like that, can you control other things too?"
"No, sadly it is limited to certain types of rocks and minerals. We’ll teach you how to find stones that you can connect with, and show you how to make a connection. This particular field is full of good selections, that’s why we play here. Not everyone can get a connection, though, but because you are all descendants of people who I know can do it, you should be able to," said Karl.
Mark gave Gurpreet a look that asked if Gurpreet had the ability. Gurpreet nodded back.
"Is that why those old guys can make so many great shots at the curling rink?" asked Kevin, "I mean, ice curling?"
"No, they’re making those shots with pure skill. Those curling rocks are 40 lbs each, and I've never heard of anyone establishing control of an object even 10 lbs before. Too small and too big don’t work, and they have to be the right density. We can't control ice or wood - too light. Iron ore is great to control, but once it’s processed we lose control. On top of that, the regular curling rocks are made of granite, and we can't seem to establish a connection with granite at all," said Karl.
Marius added to the conversation, "At one point they made the ice curling rocks with handles made of controllable stone. The thrower could make small corrections to the trajectory without it being noticed. It didn't take long until the handles returned to wood, and then plastic."
Karl nodded. "We've chosen this sport for your first day because so many members love the game, and it gives you a chance to try something you never thought possible. Go find 6 stones each and come back here with them. Try to pick ones with lighter colors and less grainy texture."
The boys walked into the field and picked up stones. Adam found 6 that he suspected would be good, all within a 4 foot circle. He was the first one back to Karl, and showed his haul.
"Good, good. Those will fly nicely...very controllable," said Karl, picking each one up and examining them in turn. "You can wait here until I check the others." He turned toward Jimmy who was returning next, with Kevin and Mark close behind.
Adam examined his own stones while listening to Karl examine the others. "Too small," was said many times, as well as "too hard to control." Adam laughed when Karl examined the stones Mark selected and said, "That's not a stone, Mark, its horse poop."
Each of the others was sent back to find replacements for the ones Karl discarded, but soon each boy had their stones.
Karl lined them up facing away from the van, nearly halfway down the field. It was one of the few spots that were clear of rocks, so each of them piled their stones at their feet.
"Pick up any one of your stones." said Karl, and they followed his direction.
"In order to get a connection with your stone, place it in your hands like this," he demonstrated and they copied.
"When you bring the stone to your forehead, the stone needs to be as close as possible to the point between your eyes. Close your eyes and look into the stone using your mind. Concentrate hard and you will get a positive feeling or none at all. If you get a positive feeling, you have established the connection. If you get no feeling - no connection. Keep trying until you do, and let me know when you have it. I will let you throw as soon as I think you are ready."
Adam thought it seemed strange, but decided to go along with the instructions. He held the stone between his hands, brought it to his forehead and closed his eyes. His mind was blank for a moment, and then it began to see. It looked as if he was falling into the stone and the stone was deep. In a heartbeat he stopped at what he assumed was the middle of the stone, and felt an almost happy feeling. That must have been the feeling Karl was talking about.
He opened his eyes and called for Karl.
"That was quick," said Karl as he walked over. "You got a positive feeling?"
Adam nodded, "Is it normal to see yourself falling toward the center of the stone?" he asked.
Karl looked surprised. "Yes and no. Only the strongest connections have visions associated with them. You must have a strong connection with this stone."
Karl raised his voice to the group, "once you've established a connection, do not lose contact with the stone. If the stone hits the ground, it starts to lose the connection with you, and you have to re-establish. Also, once you throw it and it hits the ground, you have a few moments where there is still enough of a connection that you can manipulate the stone slightly."
He turned to Adam. "Throw it high in the air and keep your hand wherever it is when you release. Concentrate, and once the stone starts to arc downward, wave your hand side to side."
Adam was skeptical, but he threw the stone as hard as he could, leaving his hand in the air where it released. He concentrated on the stone and felt positive energy coming back. As the stone started descending, Adam waved his hand side to side. The stone followed his motion exactly. Adam was stunned.
"Try another one," said Karl, "but this time, pull your hand back halfway and when it reaches the apex, give it a push." He walked away to help Mark, who thought he had a connection too.
Adam brought the stone up to his forehead and again fell to the heart of the stone. He opened his eyes and threw the stone on the same arc as the first one, pulling his hand back with a quick motion as Karl had told him to do. The stone instantly changed direction, racing back at Adam faster than he had thrown it. Without thinking, he waved his hand down. The stone slammed into the ground with a loud thud. The noise drew everyone’s attention.
"What happened?" asked Gurpreet from his spot leaning on the van.
Adam shrugged as Karl walked over to talk to him. Adam explained what happened and Karl stood in thought for a moment.
"I never expected you to have that strong of a connection on your first day. When you’ve practiced a lot and played for years, you can get really strong connections with some of the stones. Just after releasing the stone there is usually a slight delay and the thrower can adjust themselves to a better control position. Obviously that didn't happen with you, and the stone responded to your movement immediately. Try it again, but this time when you release the stone, concentrate on the stone continuing its flight. Re-adjust and then focus on your hand giving it a push."
Everyone had stopped and stared at Adam as Karl was delivering instruction. Adam felt awkward, but picked up another stone and began the process of connection. That stone was a little more difficult to start a connection, or so it seemed, but once he saw himself falling to the heart of the stone, he knew it was done. Eyes opened again, he took his time and prepared to throw, trying to remember everything Karl said. He threw the stone hard and concentrated on it continuing on its path.
Meanwhile, he brought his hand back halfway, re-focused and pushed hard. The stone straightened out and shot like a bullet in the same direction that Adam had pushed. It hit a large boulder in the distance and shot off to the side with a big bounce.
"Wow," said Gurpreet.
"I think you owe me ten bucks, Karl," said Marius.
Karl smiled and shook his head. "Gladly," he replied.
"Why does he owe you ten bucks?" asked Kevin.
Marius smiled, "I bet him that Adam would be a powerful thrower like his dad. I didn't think he would prove it on the first day though."
"My dad played this game?" asked Adam.
The three men looked at each other, unsure how to answer.
"He was a great player. Very strong connections with the stones," said Karl.
A while later, each of the others was able to establish connections with their stones too. Jimmy seemed to have the hardest time as it required quiet and concentration, but eventually it worked for him.
Karl and Marius showed them different throws, sometimes privately so the other wouldn't see. Both men were highly skilled and could hit small targets at long distances from multiple angles. The next hour was spent throwing and throwing until their arms were sore.
"That's enough for today," said Gurpreet, seeming quite happy. "Karl would keep you here all day if we let him."
"He's the only guy I've ever met who doesn't get insulted if you tell him he has rocks in his head," said Marius, teasing Karl. The two obviously had a friendly rivalry.
Karl grinned. "With how well you throw, I worry that I really will get a rock in the head," Karl teased back.
They all had a good laugh.
"Do you know what the best part of the game is?" asked Karl.
They all said no.
"There's nothing to clean up at the end! Drop and walk!" With that, Karl dropped the two stones he was holding and turned to the van.
Gurpreet ruffled Mark's hair in a proud fatherly gesture as Mark walked past him toward the van.
They all got in and breathed a sigh of relief to be sitting.
"When do we get to learn how to play the full game?" asked Jimmy.
"Do you still think it's boring, like ice curling?" Karl replied.
Jimmy didn't want to admit that he was excited by the game, even though he showed a lot of promise with his throws. "It's alright," he replied back, trying to play it cool.
Karl grinned wide. "How does next Sunday sound? We can practice a little, then try and learn the game by playing a few ends."
"Ends?" asked Jimmy.
Kevin groaned. "How can you say you don't like ice curling if you don't even know what an End is? It's like an inning in baseball, or a quarter in football."
Jimmy shrugged. "It just looks boring."
Kevin shook his head, but said no more.
They drove back to town listening to Karl talk about his favorite throws and Marius teasing Karl about every one.
Altogether, Adam had a great day. He was feeling closer to his dad than he ever had before.
CHAPTER TWENTY