Onboard SS ERIN 1400 09NOV17:
Tom Dodge, Tom junior and Professor entered Tom's cabin and all three sat down. Please continue Professor.
"The young chief refused to believe the story he was told by village elder. He commanded the elderly man be beaten for alarming the Maya people with made up tales and driven back to his village forbidden to ever return to the city. The unfortunate elder was severely beaten and driven from the city. He was injured badly and died on the way back to his village and his wife who lost not only a son but her husband as well. Nothing was done to aid the villagers. No soldiers were dispatched. No messengers were sent to the village. The villagers were afraid to make any more complaints to the chief. Within Two years, the village was abandoned despite the efforts of the villagers to protect themselves form the Spider-Kings."
"What efforts did the villagers make to protect themselves."
"Well, first the men set a watch on the village. This stopped attacks on the farmers, but The men in the watch began to die. They body would be found with the head missing. Eventually the remaining men refused to guard the village. Remembering that the Spider-Kings were afraid of women, the villagers set their women out to watch. This stopped the attacks for months, but neighboring villages began to find bodies of their men minus their heads. There were no sightings of Spider-Kings in the village or the neighboring villages "
"I'm having a hard time believing this. Invisible spiders are just impossible."
"I don't think they were invisible. I think they just couldn't see them"
"That makes absolutely no sense."
"The prophecy said "the creatures will eat the knowledge of men and this will give them power over the living". I think it was a trick!"
"A trick? You're still not making any sense."
"Did you ever see one of Adkin's shows [Adkin had a company that ran stage hypnosis shows to packed houses across the United States during the 1890(s)]?"
"No, but I've heard of them."
"Well I have, I think the Spider-Kings had the ability to mind control Maya men like Adkin's performers did in his shows."
"If I understand what you're claiming, you think these giant spiders commanded the men to not see the spiders that attacked them."
"Exactly! It's the only thing that does make sense. Did you ever read any Sherlock Holmes books?"
"Yes."
"Well, once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no mater how improbable, must be the truth."
"So the way to defeat the giant spiders is to have women sentries."
"That was only a temporary solution. The Spider-Kings just moved on to another village. They didn't solve the problem, they just forced the Spider-Kings to find easier victims. When a village figured out how to keep the Spider-Kings away, the Spider -Kings just moved to the next village. According to the Legend of the Spider-Kings, within a year all of the villages around the city had suffered from the Spider-King attacks. In addition to losing men, the villages found that their "green ball of leaves" were disappearing. And then disaster struck! Due to the trouble in the villages, there was unrest in the city and rumors of a revolt against the hated chief. In order to keep his crown, the chief ordered his army to march out and defeat the Spider-Kings. The commander ordered his men to seize the women in each village they visited in search of the Spider-King Army. Each man tied a women to him with a rope and the rest were used as scouts and sentries. At first all was well. When the women spied a Spider-King the Spider-King would run away refusing to fight. Finally, the Army drove a group of Spider-Kings into a large clearing. The archers could clearly see the Spider-Kings and let lose with arrows. The Spider-Kings were repeatedly struck again and again with arrows but the seemed to have no effect! The Spider-Kings would have a dozen or more arrows stuck in them. It was if an arrow was no more deadly than a flee bite."
"If multiple arrows doesn't even slow them down, how did they manage to kill the Giant Spiders?"
"It was twenty years before the Maya figured out how to destroy a Spider-King."
"Out with it man, how did they kill them."
"The Maya could not kill Spider-Kings. The prophecy called them living dead creatures. You can't kill something that is already dead, but you can destroy it. A general from the rival city of Tikal remembered that the Spider-Kings always beheaded the men they killed, so he ordered his soldiers to rush a surrounded Spider-King and try to behead it. It cost him five of his soldiers before one of his men was able to behead the Spider-King. Beheading was the only way the Maya found to kill a Spider-King. "
"If it cost them five men to kill a single Spider-King, why didn't the Giant spiders win?"
"The Amazon Women came to their rescue."
"I thought the Amazons were from Europe?"
"Mr. Dodge, why did they name the biggest river in South America the Amazon?"
"So the Amazons were actually from South America?"
"I dont know. The only river called the Amazon is in South America and the Legend of the Spider-Kings claims that the Maya were aided by the Amazon warriors. A great hero from the City of Tikal led a party of one hundred men south. He returned with three men and three thousand Amazon warriors."
==================
Panama 1500 09NOV17:
"Body has not been moved, Inspector?"
"No, the crime scene has not been touched "
Number 1 Son noticed a pack of cigarettes on the table. He picked up the pack ...
"Please do not touch evidence. Put cigarette package back where found"
"Gee pops, I just wanted a smoke."
"Girl smoking cigarettes most unbecomming. More importantly being arrested for destruction of evidence not helpful."
"Gee pops! Do I look like a girl?"
Comments
Okay to read now
I accidentally hit save while still inputing. The first nine readers need to retread this chapter. This chapter was going to be longer, but since I accidentally posted it before finishing it. I only continued to a good breaking point.
I will be more careful next time.
So Do We Send...
...Tom Jr down to the hold to watch the cabbage boxes tonight? And, assuming there's a colony of Spider Kings stowing away aboard the ship somewhere, are the crew and passengers safe until the cabbages run out? Assuming a box a day, 25 heads to a box and 1000 heads total, that's 40 days, enough to get them well beyond Panama, though nowhere near their island rendezvous.
It certainly brings to mind another look at Sra Blanco's killing in Chapter 4. Trouble is, it doesn't seem much more consistent with a Spider King perpetrator than a ninja. Neither of them seemed to have a motive. The invisibility to Sam during the escape, even when the two were in contact, works better with the Spider King, but it doesn't explain why Sam could see him climb the wall before that. (Sam was never in physical contact with the woman.) The invisibility as described by the professor didn't sound like something that an SK would have to activate a man at a time, especially given the situation with the pirate ship. SKs normally avoid women rather than attacking them and usually behead their victims. Neither was true here. And one would think that an SK would have killed and beheaded Sam rather than climbing over him to escape, since he's male.
Eric
Re:"So do we send..."
Unfortunately, due to a keystroke error, this chapter was shorter than I intended. If you study the chapter above, the professor was about to describe a disaster when he was interrupted by Tom Dodge. The disaster has to due with the Spider-Kings developing new tactics to deal with "female shields". Remember, the war lasted a hundred years. If the Spider-Kings didn't develop a counter, they would have been driven back to the cave and sealed inside.
Speaking of "female shields", didn't you joke about Tom dragging the women up on the deck in an earlier chapter comment? I think I mentioned (in reply) after you hear the Legend of the Spider-Kings you may want to do that?
Since the additional information should have been in this chapter, I'll give up a spoiler. Due to a handful of stupid archers (and the failure of their commander to control his men), the Spider-Kings acquire the knowledge to kill at long range.
The two most valuable people on the SS ERIN are Tom and Tom junior. Hopefully, Tom Dodge will demonstrate "superior tactical skill".
It's taken 2 readings for a
It's taken 2 readings for a light to go on.
1. cabbages are missing on a regular basis
2. there must be at least 1 Spider-King on board
3. woman passengers are disappearing because the S-K are afraid, and they can see the ship and spiders.
4. like #1 son is a girl, young Tom isn't young or male.
how did I do ?????