THE LONG MARCH TO FLUKE

By Timo Mantere

Url Web walk alone and lonely in the huge desert in Barsoom. He was naked, with only couple of belts and a sword in his waist. He has no radium pistol, because he was member of John Carter family, and the men, who carry the blood of John Carter in their veins, didn't use any radium weapons, only the sword.

He was a handsome young man and at his knowledge he was the youngest descended from John Carter and the first of the twenty-eighth generation to be descended from John Carter.

While walking, he thought of the history of his family and the famous ancestor John Carter, and the recent revolution in Helium, which forced him to escape from his born town of Helium into exile.

He was on his way into the small town of Fluke, which was almost totally isolated from the civilization of the rest of the Barsoom. Fluke was also the last town in Barsoom, into which a royal family member of large Carter family has married, only some two hundred years ago.

Url Web has heard from his family members, that because Fluke was isolated city, Carter family members were still honoured there, unlike the rest of the Barsoom.

Url Web walk in the cold thin air and remembered the stories his grandfather has told him about his great ancestor John Carter.

He has heard how John Carter arrived into Barsoon some seven hundred years ago and married the most beautiful princess of the planet, Dejah Thoris of Helium. Soon after his arrival, John Carter saved the whole planet by starting the air factory.

Url Web thought how thin the air were these days, air factories hardly could produce enough air to keep the planet alive anymore. Scientist of Helium has announced that air pressure in Barsoom have dropped fifty percent in last six hundred years, atmoshere could hardly keep any kind of greenhouse phenomenon active anymore, therefore the atmosphere in Barsoom has gotten ever more colder.

Url Web knew how cold it would be at nights, and wondered if he is going to survive over the next night in freezing temperature.

Url Web walk on and keep remembering his grandfathers stories of John Carter; how John Carter has two children, Carthoris and Tara, which both married into royal families of other Barsoomian cities.

Grandfather has told, how generation after other John Carter descendants has marry and reproduce approximately about two children. Over the centuries, John Carter family has grown and spread all over the Barsoom. New generation of John Carter family has born approximately every 25 years.

Several early generations of John Carter descendants has got royal marriage into other cities of Barsoom. They have married the most beutiful princesses and handsome princes.

But, grandfather has told, first they marry into the greatest cities on Barsoom, but after those run out, they were forced to marry into royal families of the smallest and insignificant cities of Barsoon. And then arrive the day, when all the beautiful princesses and handsome princes were married. Members of John Carter family now were forced to marry ugly princesses and repulsive princes. Yes, indeed, there did exist ugly princesses in Barsoom, even though there were people who try all they could to keep this fact secret.

Soon the John Carter family members occupied every royal family in Barsoom, with all races, even the green. And the days follow, that there were no more unmarried princesses or princes on Barsoom, at least the ones that weren't too close relatives. John Carter descendants now were forced to marry the common folk.

Url Web remember how the legend told that John Carter has said those days that "My god, I'm so happy, that my nephew Edgar didn't live to see this day, he would turn in his grave, if he were to know that John Carter descendants must marry ugly princesses and common folk these days."

Url Web keep on remembering the history and how the John Carter family has grown, twenty-seven generations in seven hundred years, with everyone having approximately little less than two children. Url Web remembered someone calculating that there were over hundred million John Carter descendants alive in Barsoom as recently as couple of years ago. Because of the thousand years of life expectancy and the great battling skills of those who have John Carter blood, hardly any Carter descendants were ever passed away before the recent developments.

Never before had such a family, that reproduce like rabbits, occupy the surface of Barsoom. Always before, common Barsoomian families has waited couple of hundreds years before reproducing. But John Carter children, generation after other, has reproduce in the young age of approximately twenty-five years.

Grandfather has told to Url Web, that this has finally lead into horrible overpopulation in Barsoom, and turn the non- Carter descendants against the John Carter and his family.

Since John Carter family members occupy every royal families in Barsoom, the folk turn against their leaders. John Carter was blamed for the huge overpopulation in the dying planet and the members of John Carter family became hated.

Url Web remembered how the news arrived to Helium, how many Barsoomian cities has had revolution, and the Carter descendants occupied royal families were ousted, banished or beheaded.

Finally, the anti-Carter movement has grown too forceful in Helium, and the Jeddak Tardos Mors has no other other choice that banish John Carter out of Helium. But, it proved to be only buyed time to Tardos Mors and his son Mors Kajak, the Jed of lesser Helium. These two old rulers were seen as real Barsoomians and still had some loyalty among Heliumian folks. These two man has never reproduce like rabbits in their youth, loyal citizens remembered.

But Carter family remain hated and and fact remains that Tardos Mors were very old man and his son Mors Kajak looked even older. Both men were ready to take their travel into river Iss, which would leave Carthoris, the son of hatred John Carter, to be the Jeddak of Helium.

Url Web remember, how the revolutionist finally turn the folk against royal family, Jeddak and Jed, with using the Carthoris threat as their main subject.

The revolution were unavoidable, it came and it was bloody. John Carter family members defended with their swords, but were unchivalrously shot with radium pistols.

Url Web was one of the very few to survive, because he, uncharacteristically for the Carter family member, escape from the battle.

Url Web wondered, if old men Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak has survived, or where they beheaded as the revolution leaders has promised.

Ulr Web also wondered where John Carter and his beautiful princess Dejah Thoris live these days, no one knew, where they moved after John Carter was run into exile.

Url Web marching toward Fluke, wondering if the thousands other exile Carter family members has the same destination, and if there were any space for him anymore. He also wondered if the hatred against the Carter family has arrive to isolated Fluke before him, then he would come as outlaw into enemy city.

Url Web has no way of knowing any things that have happen in the outside world, so he keep on walking in the everlasting red desert in his lonely trip towards Fluke, wishing to meet some desert snakes, which would be about the only meal to satisfy his hungry stomach in this lifeless desert, with only his ever wandering thoughs as his traveling companion.


END

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