The Far Side of the Sun

Another consideration was who would staff the clinic. It was decided that medical and surgical residents would rotate through the clinic on a semester basis, to be under the direction of Captain Heidi Stillwell, MD, USAFR, who was to live permanently on site. Academic "teams" would rotate in and out on an academic semester basis, with faculty and staff living in the clinic compound, and with their students living in temporary, student-built shelters within the villages.

Now the villagers were ready for the arrival of so much newness, so much change.

Or so they thought.

+++++

Martin Stillwell and his son, as well as a few men from the village, were building a new house for Heidi close to the clinic, and already they had linked the new house to the clinic with an elevated walkway. The house was built as all houses in the village had been built for almost two centuries: native timbers and stone were joined in a style unique to the village: simple, almost elegant lines, with long, overhanging roof-lines sheltering an open, covered breezeway between two large, enclosed rooms. Martin had compromised and built a "toilet-room", with a hideous looking composting toilet installed by the troops it's focal point. He had finally given in, and had to admit that an outhouse would not do in winter, for the thought of shoveling a path through the snow for Heidi's wheelchair had seemed daunting in the extreme.

Heidi hadn't been back to the area since the crash, but as she was due to return in three days he was rushing to get this new house completed. This "new" house would be in effect be "his" new home too, and though his son James would continue to live with them for a while, in time he would take over Martin's old house. Oddly enough, Heidi's official residence would be in the clinic annex, but no one thought for a moment she would stay there for long. Everyone in Burlington had seen the change come over her, especially when they saw the two together. In fact, he rarely left her side the entire time she was in Burlington, and when he was away Heidi grew dark and surly. Everyone knew to stay away from her when he was away for long periods of time, especially when he was back at the village. She was, people said, intolerable.

+++++

The Bell 412 roared up the valley at 150 knots, then circled the village to bleed off speed; villagers were already gathered near the clinic compound, by the small helipad off the back of the building, when the blue helicopter flared and settled on the pad. A sliding door on the right side of the machine rolled open and a wiry-haired, be-speckled girl hopped out, then set up a wheelchair on the paved landing pad. Martin walked up to the door and lifted Heidi out and placed her in the chair, then rolled her to the ramp that led up to the clinic.

Troops off-loaded some supplies from the Bell, refrigerated medicines for the most part, then hopped aboard; the helicopter lifted-off then took off to the east, leaving an immense stillness in it's wake.

Heidi surveyed the clinic and the people gathered 'round; she felt a little self-conscious with so many people staring at her and wanted to hurry inside, but Martin advised her to stop and let the villagers come up and meet her.

"You're right, of course, and they should meet Dr Epstein as well. After we get the medicines inside, perhaps?"

"Perhaps I should meet her too," Martin said.

"Ah yes, forgive me. Martin, this is Rebecca Epstein, head of general surgery at Columbia Presbyterian in New York. She's going to supervise the surgical residents up here through the New Year, and she'll be living here part time this summer, until autumn. I thought she could use my quarters? Until she departs?" She looked up at him and smiled.

"Rebecca, happy to meet you," he said, smiling. "Well, of course. We can move your things into the annex tonight."

"You want us to meet the villagers now?" Rebecca asked, yawning.

"Could you?"

"Well, let's get to it!"

Heidi and Rebecca remained on the deck by the helipad and one by one the people of the main village came up to introduce themselves. Their were shy kids, even shyer adults, a few gregarious, outspoken older folk, as well as the kindly old village parson, and all by and large very healthy looking people, and this struck Epstein as very odd indeed.

"It's funny," she said. "I expected to find a bunch of scurvy-ridden, disease ravaged hermits. This isn't what I expected, not at all. Almost no obesity, and the teeth I saw are extraordinarily clean. The anthropologists are going to go crazy, but there's fertile ground for Public Health research here too." Epstein was already taking notes...

"The clean teeth," Martin said, "comes from herbs. The Algonquin pointed these out to our fathers."

"Herbs?" Epstein replied. "That's it?"

"What about the lack of obesity, Martin?" Heidi asked.

"Obesity?"

"Overweight people," she clarified.

"Ah, well, there is little idle time, and no machines to assist in our work. All the work we do is done by hand, and all year round." He looked around at the forests and the fields, feeling very good about this world compared to what he had seen in the city. "And from what I have learned, television is a poison. People can sit for hours watching that box, and with people inside that insidious box trying to get you to eat, eat, eat all the time. Blah!"

Both Heidi and Rebecca laughed at that.

"So, where am I bunking out?" Heidi asked. "Nearby, I hope!"

Martin pointed to the new house, and the walkway that led to it: "We finished the ramp this morning. Some work remains on the fireplace. That toilet thing works, according to one of the soldiers, but it is unlike the toilets in the hospital. Anyway, there is a book about the toilet, and I have kept it for you. I think I shall continue to use the forest..."

"Well darlin'," Heidi said, trying to stifle a grin, "we got some boxes to move. Ready?"

"Would you like to see the clinic first?"

"Nope, that can wait. Rebecca? Let's get this stuff put away, then let me get oriented. Guess I should move my stuff over tot the house. My guess is we aren't calling out for pizza tonight..."

The two women looked around. All the villagers had disappeared, melted back into the forest, and it was so quiet that it was almost unnerving to them.

"I guess there aren't any locks on the doors, either?" Epstein said. "That'll take some getting used to, I guess."

It took a few minutes to get the meds in their storage fridge, and some bandages sorted and stored, and they looked around the clinic, satisfied.

"I could eat a...moose," Rebecca said as she wiped sweat from her brow.

"Got that right. Well, give us a half hour, then we'll figure out dinner," Heidi replied.

"Dinner?" Martin added. "We'll have dinner out here tonight. All the village will be here. Then we'll have music."

"Really?" chimed the physicians, in unison.

"Yes. And Rebecca, I should warn you, there will be more than one single man circling around. I saw them looking at you when you arrived. Only one would I recommend dancing with. The others will break every bone in both your feet."

A wide-eyed Rebecca Epstein looked at Martin with a mixture of alarm and curiosity. She'd not had a viable date in weeks, and now found herself thinking that this evening could turn out to be quite interesting indeed.

"Anyway," he continued, "your room is through that doorway, then turn to the right. I believe a soldier put Heidi's name on the door to the room you'll be using."

"We'll be right back," Heidi said with a wink.

Martin pushed her wheelchair along the ramp to their house, then he opened the door to their living room and they went in.

She gasped. "It's gorgeous, Martin! The lines are so clean, the wood so warm!"

He beamed. "Uh, your toilet contraption is in that little room. The book is on the table."

"You built all the furniture?"

"Yes, of course."

"It's amazing! You are an artist!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "My work is not the best in the village. If you want to see artistry, I will show you Sumner Bacon's house. He is a magician with wood. And stone, too, for that matter."

"Will you introduce me to him tonight?"

"Yes, of course."

"Now, would you kiss me!"

"We should go to the other room."

"Oh? Okay."

He pushed her out of the living space and across the covered breezeway, and into their sleeping room.

Again, she gasped at the simple beauty of the room, the honied-amber glow of the wood, the simple purity of the furniture, and even the mattress and coverlet seemed crafted with the utmost care.

"Oh Martin," she cried, "I've never seen anything so beautiful! There's even a fireplace in here, too!"

"Not quite ready to use, yet," he said, "but soon." He smiled, smiled because he appreciated the sincerity of her words, the purity of her response to his craftsmanship. He picked her up from the chair and carried her to the bed, and he lay her down gently on the quilted coverlet, then sat beside her.

"If you don't kiss me now I'm going to scream!"

He smiled, then leaned over and kissed her, holding her face in his hands all the while.

"You've no idea how I've missed you," he said when he came up for breath. "And wanted you."

"Martin, there's something I need to tell you. I've never...never had sex with anyone. Not ever."

"And now, you are worried about what you may not feel?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure. Probably nothing, but I'm not sure how or what..."

"But you don't know?"

She shook her head, bit her lip.

"Then we will learn together."

"Yes," she said as she looked into his eyes, "we will."

"There is no rush, Heidi. When you are comfortable..."

"Thank you. For understanding."

"You are afraid?"

"A little."

"I have dreamed of this, Heidi. Many nights, I have dreamed of our being together, but we have a lifetime ahead."

She smiled. "I love you."

"Yes, I see love in your eyes."

"My eyes never lie, Martin."

"I have seen this too. But..."

She pulled his face to hers, kissed him again – and she could feel his response through the skin on his face. Then, from her breasts through her face, she felt an overwhelming physical force raging, some primitive need awakening. Suddenly, she felt aflame...

"Heidi, if you keep doing this I will not be able to go listen to music, or eat dinner..." She let him go and he pulled back enough to see her face. "There is one question I have wanted to ask you."

"Sex? You mean, can we have 'normal' sex?"

"In a way, perhaps. It is just that I wanted to know if it is possible for us to have a child."

"Oh Martin, yes, of course." She smiled, then caught herself as she began to cry.

"Would this make you happy? To have a child?"

"I'm happy to have you in my life, Martin. For us to be together. Yet, to have a child? Well, I'm not sure that I could ever be happier than I am right now, but to join with you, to create life together?"

"That would be a miracle, would it not?"

"Yes, I suppose, in a way just being alive right now is a miracle, but to be with you, here, now? I've never been closer to believing than I am right now."

The kindness on his face was almost overwhelming.

"Oh! You should see your eyes," she said.

"My eyes? Why?"

"Well, because...oh, one day I'll try to explain it to you," she said as she tickled him. He launched sideways and fell off the bed, laughing as he landed on the floor. "Come on, we'd better go get Rebecca before all those single men get to her."

"She will not be lonely, that much I know. She is not unattractive."

"Oh? Should I be jealous?"

He laughed. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. But Heidi, you will never know jealousy."

"I know. I just learned the truth of your eyes, too."

"Yes, I understand now. And do you know, I love you very much?"

"I do, but I'll never understand why."

"Truly?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe one day I'll figure it out."

"You will," he said. "I know of no one more intelligent, so surely you will."

"Well, okay, let's go grab that skinny New Yorker and get her fed. Honestly, I don't know how that girl is going to make it up here without a good pizza place nearby..."

+++++

Dinner that first night was vegetable soup, followed by venison and partridge served with roasted onions and potatoes, as well as freshly baked bread served with butter and cheese; it was too early for summer vegetables, though trout were plentiful in local streams if one had the patience to fish for them. There were none on the table that night.

Heidi and Rebecca were taken with what a balanced diet the villagers maintained, given the limited land resources available, and the very narrow growing season typical of upstate New York. Still, one of the first things the girls wanted to do was run simple blood chemistries on a select number of people, if only to establish a baseline for further studies, and the two physicians talked about such things during dinner. Women drifted by and listened, mystified, while young men drifted by – looking at Rebecca. Heidi thought the evening was going to be a success, at least as far as Rebecca getting laid was a concern...

Not long after dinner was served, music started. Simple acoustic stringed instruments, and a few woodwinds, tossed with a lot of enthusiasm led to a colossal outpouring of energy. Candlelight, a few lamps burning some sort of pitch, and a decent looking bonfire set the stage, and soon a handful of villagers were out on the "dance floor" – a nice flat piece of grassy meadow – spinning around under the moon and stars. A line formed near Rebecca, while Martin indicated which were least likely to crush her feet...

And Heidi looked on wistfully, her first real taste of what her life's new contours held for her, but still, she tried to move on to what she knew she could do, to how she could contribute to life in the village. That was about the time that Martin plucked Heidi from her wheelchair and carried her in his arms into the wheeling frenzy and danced ever so gently amongst his friends and neighbors, everyone looking on – willing the moment to last forever.

When he was spent, when sweat was rolling down his forehead, down his neck and running onto his shoulders, he returned her to the wheelchair and sat beside her, held her hand while he caught his breath, and as she listened to the music of her own beating heart she began to see her life as not so very limited after all.

And sometime in the night a young surgeon from New York melted away to a house in the woods. She made it back to the clinic building a little after sunrise, a curious little smile on her face.

+++++

The first days working in the clinic were all about getting things organized, about turning rooms full of boxes into some semblance of useful order, because Heidi assumed they would be used to treat people with injuries more than illnesses. It was hard work, and Rebecca was stuck with most of the "heavy lifting" – the moving boxes and mounting hardware on the walls – while Heidi went about stocking the various drawers and cabinets with medical supplies and reference materials. Then they came upon big boxes full of bigger furniture and hardware they simply couldn't handle alone, and their first call for help went out.

Of course Martin came, but curiously enough many of the older women joined him, and it came to pass that day they learned that the female villagers were more than curious about what it was these two women did. As these women listened and learned about what the two "outsiders" practiced, more than a few became seriously interested in this "science" that Heidi and Rebecca called "medicine". The more these women heard that day, the more they wanted to learn, and a few of the women, Heidi noted, appeared to have real aptitude. So as the day wore on, between the two physicians and the dozen or so women that stuck around, they managed to cobble together all the exam room tables and one very complicated surgical stand where, Rebecca said, "operations" could be performed.

Performed, that is, if anyone around the valley ever got sick.

After finishing a census of villagers spread out around the valley, they found there were just over eight hundred people in four distinct "villages", and the doctors extrapolated that with that number of people they might reasonably expect to see at least two to three patients a day. But, and this was a big but, so far no one had come by, no physical complaints were even heard of. No colds or fevers, no broken bones or strange, unexplained ailments, and this caused the girls no small amount of concern. After their first communal dinner, after the realization that these people were eating exceptionally nutritious diets devoid of the chemicals present and taken for granted in present-day processed foods, they began to think more and more about a causal link between such diets and the villagers apparent resilience.

Or, as Heidi suspected, was it simple resistance to change? People rarely trust a technology they haven't heard of, let alone don't understand, and then there was the whole "outsiders vs insiders" thing to consider. This kind of reception had been noted by anthropologists in Micronesia and equatorial Africa time and time again, so it wasn't exactly a surprise, but with Martin and James having carried stories of the outside world back into the valley before the two physicians arrived, they had hoped that in some way this one obstacle might have been side-stepped. Yet even at that first dance, aside from those few curious women, very few people had come by to talk and, predictably, most people had stayed in groups where they felt most comfortable. That was nothing new, the docs concluded, just simple human nature. Now, after a week had passed and having seen not one patient, they began to wonder what else might be going on.

+++++

Nights that first week were something else entirely.

"She goes out every night, you know," Heidi said to Martin as they were preparing for bed their third evening together in his new house. "Do you know what she's up to?"

He turned to her and smiled. "As nature intended, I suppose. Why? What do you think she's doing?"

"I guess screwing her brains out."

He laughed. "From what I've heard she's rather good at it."

"People are talking about it?"

"I guess you could say that. They're talking about some of the things she does, anyway."

"Oh, really? Like what?"

"Well, for one, she uses her mouth like a cunny."

Heidi felt her face turning bright red. "You aren't serious! They're talking about that?"

"Oh yes. And from what I've heard she's rather good at whatever it is she does."

"You mean... Well, I've never done that."

He looked at her, half seriously, when he said: "Perhaps she could give lessons? You know, to the women in the village?"

Heidi coughed through her laughter, almost gagging. "Now, that would be one way to get people to come to the clinic."

"I guess that would depend."

"On?"

"On whether you want to run a clinic or a bawdy house."

She laughed again. "Perhaps I'd better talk to her about this tomorrow. If this is becoming so well known..."

"Oh, it is. Most of the men I saw today were talking of little else. Anyway, I was curious if this is common outside the valley? This, uh, mouth thing?"

"I think so," she said. "So, no one has ever done this to you? Used her mouth on you?"

"Goodness, no. I think it very rare indeed. At least no one I know of talks of having done so."

"Would you like me to?" Heidi asked.

"To what?"

"You know," she said as her tongue parted her lips.

"I – uh – well – I don't know – I –uh – guess so – if you – uh – think you'd like to – try?"

"Come here," she commanded, still in her wheelchair. He came and stood before her, and she untied the rope he used as a belt and let his pants fall to the floor. She took his penis in her hand and marveled at how thick and heavy it was even when soft, then she took her fingernails and let them dance over the tip.