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 The
land was patched with brown and green, and thin vines clung to
stunted trees that seemed to struggle upward. Many valleys and
low pockets where contaminated soils had settled were still raw
and barren. A few were marked with flags and warnings of
radioactive spots; for centuries of waning and washing were
necessary to purge the land of a curse its once proud warriors
had brought upon it. But on a round green hill a temporary camp
had been established, and students now prepared for another day
of research in the ruins of an earlier civilization, long
vanished.
A
professor of Archaeology led his class into a large excavation
in the side of the hill. Color-coded stakes and signs marked the
eras they passed as they climbed down. Finally, they reached the
lowest level where crumbling remains of a once-magnificent
building had been exposed. Various objects, surprisingly
preserved by a deep layer of ash, had been carefully cleaned and
left in their place for more accurate identification. A broken
marble cornerstone lay to one side, inscribed: FEL...HIP HAL..
"This
is Late-American," the professor
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said. "Ante-Hydrowar,
perhaps. The building was probably a place of worship in that
period, and may have been destroyed by one of the bomb blasts
that brought the Americo-Russian period to a close."
One
of the students pointed to a hooded metal table, half buried
beneath the rubbish, and asked, "And what is that,
Sir?"
"We
are not certain," the archaeologist replied. "We think
it may have been a type of food warmer, known as a 'steam
table.' In other ruins similar tables have been found next to
large urns — thought to have contained a liquid called
'coffee.'
"You
see," the professor continued, "although little is
known for certain about the religion of the Americans, we deduce
from evidence found in such temples that they worshipped a God
called 'Fellowship.' An important ritual, related to that
worship, was called, 'Coffee and Dough-nuts.' BUT THERE IS
LITTLE EVIDENCE THAT THOSE PEOPLE THOUGHT SERIOUSLY OF THE SOUL.
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