Chapter II
Kinis’ side of things.

Oh dear, where do I start? Hong was after me for years to keep a journal. He said it was important for our kids and the other villagers to know the history of this tribe. I see his point, for just look at the state things were in when he and I first came here. Still, it’s so hard for me to find the time. I have kept a few notes over the years and of course there are my scientific journals.

As the lead scientist, I instilled in all the little ones I’ve trained the importance of keeping a journal of their research. In fact, it’s the one hard and fast rule I have pertaining to research not only by the scientists but for all the trades. At the end of each day, we hold a tribal meeting and each adult must show his or her work related entries to a master in that field. The masters then compile them and store them for safekeeping.

We plan to start a library soon and when we get our school built (hopefully in a year or two) the journals will be available for the teachers to write lessons from.

Today is both a day of mourning and a day of celebration for the tribe. It’s a celebration because we have now recovered 3 pieces of something called the Gong of Wonder and know where the last piece is but haven’t yet been able to recover it. None of us are sure what this gong is, but ROM told Hong that we should try to recover and reassemble it. Beyond that he(ROM)has been quite vague.

When we uncovered the first piece, we weren’t sure what it was. Then one of the children recalled that before they left, their parents had broken something up and hidden the pieces. Hong was intrigued by this and asked ROM about it. ROM told him that it was something called the Gong of Wonder and showed him where it had hung. He explained that there were 4 pieces to it and that it would be very good if we could find them and reassemble it. He explained that he would give us limited help in finding the pieces but that once we had them he would be glad to assemble them for us. Beyond that he won’t say anything except “Wait and see children just wait and see.”

Well, I’ve been ducking around the issue, but I really do have to face the sad part of the day. Last night my dear dear Hong passed away. Next week he would have been 67 years old. I am so very sad, for I and the others shall miss him dreadfully, but me most of all. Oh how I did love him even though he could so infuriate me at times. Especially with his modesty. I read his journal this morning just to be near him in thought.

The old goof! Here he thought I was the brilliant one, but did he tell you of HIS accomplishments? No not my dear old Hong. He mentioned of course that he was a farmer but did he bother saying he was a full master farmer? Did he also mention that he was a full master doctor or a master parent? Did he also mention that he became a master scientist and was already an adept builder (he called it a hobby!)? No my poor dear just went along pretending to be a poor old everyday guy when in reality he may have been the most brilliant mind since ROM (and truth is he may have even been smarter than old ROM). Why who knows what he might have accomplished had he been blessed with ROMs’ extended life span.

Oh I will miss him. //librarians note* the rest of this paragraph is smeared too badly to read presumably by our dear Kinis’ tear stains, except for the last sentence//


The tribe will be much poorer without Hongs’ guidance.

Well anyway, no mother (at least not THIS one) can call a journal complete without bragging just a little about her children. Of course I have around 30 children at last count, but I only gave birth to 4 of them. Caia was our first child and like her mum she decided to be a scientist. Hong tried hard to get her to show some interest in the other trades but she just doesn’t care for any of them except of course parenting. She has blessed us with 3 grand children and as she is young may have 1 or 2 more. She really hasn’t decided yet. She is married to Mau and he is truly the best son in law a mother could want. Like Hong he is disciplined in several areas, and I fully expect him to become an elder himself.

Then there is Noriko. Like his father, he is a full master farmer, and a pretty good scientist and builder but he really doesn’t devote much time to those trades. He will help out if there’s a project that needs help, but mostly he just likes to fish and tend the garden. He married a young girl named Kiki who is also a master farmer and like Noriko is pretty good at research and building but doesn’t really practice them unless there is a project that requires help. The one thing they’re both really good at is having kids. They have 6 count ’em 6 kids and plan on having more!

Then there was our precious Hokau. His memory is really to painful to focus on. The poor child died mysteriously when he was only 13. Hong tried so very hard to save him and 5 other youngsters who all came ill at the same time, but alas everything he tried failed. This upset Hong so badly that for the next 3 years he spent every moment that wasn’t directly tied to feeding the tribe to studying medicine.

Finally there’s my dear little Yuca, the last of our kids. She is so brilliant! Like her father before her she is showing an interest in all the trades. Though she’s only 23, she’s already adept in building and farming and will soon be a master scientist. She says as soon as she accomplishes this she wants to have a child then take up medicine. She says that as soon as she becomes a full doctor she wants to go back to farming and then building. She swears she will be a master in all 5 skills if she tries hard enough! I think with that kind of inspiration she just might make it! I surely do hope so.

Well, I was going to take time to tell you about my grandkids but it’s time to go preside over the feast we are holding to celebrate Hongs’ life. This is another of the traditions Hong started for us when we lost the children so many years ago. He says, uh said, that it’s a much healthier thing then having a day of mourning like our old tribe did. Huh! And he claimed I was the smart one! Oh how I will miss him.