Hannah Ross - The Last Outpost - An Antarctic Dystopia

The area next to the couple was piled up with gifts from their friends and family. There were storage baskets in various sizes, clay pots and cups, cooking utensils made of ivory, stacks of tanned sealskins ready to be made into clothes, ivory figurines of whales, seals and penguins meant to convey the blessing of prosperity to their new home. There was even a thick sealskin mattress, stuffed either with grass fiber or penguin down, and a couple of cushions.

Tahan, looking a little self-conscious, smoothed down her dress and walked over to the seat of the couple. All eyes were now drawn there, and the hubbub of talk and laughter died down. Only one drum remained, its rhythmic sound akin to a heartbeat.

“People of the Anai,” Tahan said, “today we celebrate a joyful event — the joining of my brother, Ri Omrek, and Re Manari. They will start a new home, a new hearth, and we ask the Spirits that their children may be born strong and healthy, and their family may prosper until the end of time.”

Tahan cast a look behind her, and Ne Riorag came forward, dressed in a long sealskin cloak that nearly brushed the ground. In his hand, he carried a staff made of ivory, and there were two thick lines smeared upon his forehead, one in red and one in black. He raised up his arms and face to the sky, and spoke:

“O Spirits, before I request your blessing for this union, I will ask the man and woman if they are coming into it of their own free will, and in good faith. Ri Omrek, do you choose Manari for your woman, to protect and treat kindly and lovingly, to rejoice with her and comfort her in her grief, and provide for her and any children you may have, as long as you both live?”

Ri Omrek, beaming, cast a quick glance at his bride. “This I will do, o elder, I swear,” he said.

Ne Riorag nodded in satisfaction. “And you, Manari,” he turned to the young woman, “do you choose Ri Omrek for your man, to treat with love and kindness, to bring him your joys and your sorrows, and keep the hearth warm for him and for any children you may have, as long as you both live?”

Manari cast down her eyelashes, and her hand squeezed the fingers of her betrothed. “This I swear to, o elder,” she said.

Ne Riorag raised his staff higher. “Then I call the blessing of the Spirits upon your union, and from this moment on you are man and woman of one hearth, one home, one family, and nothing can come between you as long as you both live. I wish you many years of happiness and prosperity.”

There was a round of whooping and clapping, and the drums and flutes broke into action at once. The people of the village swarmed into the circle, to give their congratulations to the new couple. Tahan, though she was the chieftainness and sister of the groom, held back and waited for the crowd to disperse, and in the meantime accepted a cup of the grassy brew Scott poured out for her.

“I have never seen Omrek so happy,” she said. “Our parents would have rejoiced to see him so.”

She looked in the direction of her brother, and her eyes shone with joy, but Scott noticed a wistful tone in her voice. “This must bring on memories,” he said quietly.

She turned to him and nodded. “Yes. I cannot witness a new hearth celebration without recalling the day when I sat in that seat with Daygan. I was so hopeful, so confident… so young.”

“You are still young.”

“Am I…? Yes, I suppose I am. Ne Riorag told me not long ago that it is ungrateful to act as if my life is at an end, when it is might be but just beginning. Harsh words, but they served to shake me awake, and I thanked him.”

“Did he say that on account of… of his son?” Scott couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Ne Tarveg? Well… Ne Riorag did hint that he wouldn’t object at all to receiving me as his daughter. But he is a just man. He knows my heart would not allow me to accept Ne Tarveg, either in the past or now. He may lament it, but he is not resentful.”

“Tahan…” Scott said slowly. “You know where Ne Riorag took me, don’t you? There was no time to talk about it earlier, but…”

Her face grew serious. “Yes. I had seen it too, the great beast frozen in ice.”

“I have never seen anything like it.”

“I wonder…” she bit her lip, “I wonder how many more monsters are frozen in ice like this. Do you think it might… come alive?”

“No,” Scott said quickly, “I don’t think so.” But he recalled the open gleaming eyes of the beast, so lifelike and vicious, and for a second he wasn’t so sure.

Egan tugged on the hem of his mother’s parka. “Mother, let’s go to Uncle,” he said.

They looked ahead. The crowd of well-wishers had dispersed. Some people moved to the cooking fires, to fill their plates and bowls with a share of the wedding feast, while others formed dancing circles, moving along and shrinking and widening to the sounds of music.

“Come,” Tahan said, placing a hand on his arm, “let us go and give our congratulations.”

They approached the bride and groom, who were still seated. They were sipping from the same ivory chalice, a beautiful, ancient-looking piece covered with writing and carvings of birds and fish. Ri Omrek bent to whisper something in the ear of his bride, and she blushed and smiled.

As Scott and Tahan approached, the bride and groom got up, and Omrek grasped Scott’s arm, while Tahan pulled Manari into a hug, and kissed her on both cheeks. “It gives me great happiness to receive you as a sister, Manari,” she said. She then went on to embrace her brother, who put his arms around her affectionately, and then picked up his little nephew and sat him on his shoulder.

“Thank you for everything, Tahan. I took a peek in the house earlier. The grass mats are beautiful, and nobody could have arranged the cooking hearth as well as you.”

“And the entrance flap, too,” added Manari. “Not a single draft of wind can pass through! It will be a snug house to live in.”

Tahan smiled. “I hope you enjoy your first night there,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Tahan,” her brother said, “I am a happy man tonight. But I will be made yet happier when I see you in this seat, sharing the blessing of the Spirits with the man of your choosing.”

She gave a slight shake of the head. “Ah, Omrek, who knows what may happen? Let us take joy in what the Spirits let us have tonight.”

“Scott, are men and women joined in a similar way, in your home country?” Omrek asked.

“Um… not quite,” Scott said. He recalled the lavish wedding celebration, planned a year ahead, that he and Brianna had in their time — the glossy bridal catalogs, the endless trips to various photographers, DJs, caterers, cake-makers, decorators, Brianna’s delighted agonizing over thousands of wedding dresses — princess style, mermaid style, snow-white, cream, glittery, plain. Thousands of dollars for a dress that would be worn for a few hours, and discarded for a lifetime; an expensive, exaggerated celebration that had nothing in common with the simple rituals of the Anai. “Congratulations, Omrek,” Scott said. “I wish you many years of joy.”

“Thank you, friend. But why are you standing there? Go dance. I want you both to dance. Manari and I will join you soon.”

A light rain began to fall again, but nobody paid heed, and the wedding celebrations lasted for hours and hours.

When Scott made it back to McMurdo, he was exhausted. It was morning (though nothing in the dark sky indicated that it was so), and particles of snow began to swarm around him in a threateningly increasing way, pointing to a blizzard just at hand. Some of them felt like hard, offensive particles on the raw and exposed part of his face, the part not protected by goggles and a thick scarf.