Utopia Gone, Part 1
The man sat on the beach and watched as the bright blue star settled on the horizon. He had no name because such things were superfluous when you were the only intelligent life in existence. When he had to give himself a label, it was usually that of “brown”, a characteristic of his highly tanned arms and legs.
The last of the fiery blue disc sank and the sky began to grow dark. Soon small points of light began to speckle the entire sky, the tiny dots forming patterns the man knew so well. He was unaware of when he had begun to notice the patterns. The man was also ignorant of how or when he had gotten here.
He knew the schedule of this place perfectly, so when the huge moon crept above the horizon, he wasn’t surprised. He could see lands and seas when it was illuminated by the star, but this time the disc was dark on the side that faced him. This allowed the man to see bright lines forming irregular shapes and strange geometries.
Growing sleepy, the man decided to return to the squat little hut that was his home. He covered the distance quickly, the luxuriant sand giving way to fine grass, the grass to pebbles, the pebbles to a slope covered in larger stones. He had no trouble finding his way, even in the dark, for he had covered almost every square mile — if not every square inch — of the planet. The man knew it all, and knowing the shape and size of his entire world gave him peace of mind.
When he finally reached the hut, he ducked through the low doorway and entered the one small room it contained. The structure was only three meters to a side, but it was large enough for all his needs. The man remembered when he had lived in a nearby cave, but after building the hut, he now only used that for food storage.
Stretching out on the springy fronds that comprised his bed, he closed his eyes. A light breeze stirred the large leaves that formed the hut’s roof, lulling him to sleep. He had no dreams. His night was peaceful.
It wasn’t until the star rose again that the man awoke. He got up, did the small amount of cleansing necessary, and left the hut. It was a beautiful morning and it appeared the weather would be pleasant for the rest of the day. He decided, on what seemed the spur of the moment, to walk around the planet. It had been awhile since he had completed a circumnavigation and he deemed it was time.
It was possible to complete the trip in the course of a single day, but it would require him to push himself. He had no desire go that hard, so he opted to make it a two day affair. He would stop for the night in the opposing hemisphere.
The man knew he wouldn’t need much in the way of supplies. The planet was fertile and had plenty of food if one was industrious enough to harvest it. Many of the plants were edible, tasty even. Almost all the small wildlife produced excellent meat, delicious when cooked with the right spices. The man rolled up his frond sleeping mat and stashed it and a couple of small hunting tools into a roughly sewn leather bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder and was ready to leave.
His bare feet had long ago grown accustomed to the different types of terrain found on the planet. The hot sands of beach and desert, the jagged rocks of the mountains, the grassy fields of the plains: all were enjoyed and cherished for their pristine beauty and solitude.
As he set out on his journey, he rejoiced. The trip would take him through lush forests, across mountain tops, along a beautiful beach, and then end with a short swim across one of the planet’s oceans. His heart felt as light as his feet.
