His family was well - living in a beautiful stone house and enjoying all the benefits of Iron Age technology. His friends - the lucky ones who survived the early Yamato incursions (and yes - he'd wondered at the time how the Japanese made it all the way to Egypt with only a loin cloth to protect them) were now sitting pretty on their farms with food aplenty and troops everywhere for protection. Protection! Hah - what a joke.

Zyxphratl glanced at the large antelope bone he always left handily nearby for emergencies. Fat lot of good. Hadn't done the antelope much good either he mused. Fortunate that none of the enemy had found him here.

He was beginning to think that someone somewhere must have just forgotten about him. After all, the pit was close to being full now - 750 stones! Well, OK, not a massive amount for 3000 years of labor but who was using it eh? No-one - that's who. He remembered the conversation he'd had - the only one it had turned out - with the chief.

"Mine stone Zyxphratl, " he'd said.

That was it. The entire conversation. Since then - nothing - for 3000 years. No-one collected the stone. No-one built walls. No-one built towers. It was enough to drive a man to drink. It wasn't as if he was fit either. On his way to the work site he'd been attacked by a lion. Zyxphratl had killed it - just - but sheesh those wounds! Not so much as a bandage from the oh so mighty chief (now calling himself 'EmPOrer oF dEaTh' apparently) and forget about one of those snobby priests doing anything to help. They just passed by every so often on their way to convert something or other down south and didn't give him a second glance. And what a noise! Hoyohoyohoyo - ten of them together - frightful din. Could hear them 13 squares away. Zyxphratl didn't mind them being proud of their "range" as they called it, but did they have to deafen everyone for miles around to prove it?

Zyxphratl set down his pick and looked around for his lunch. Bread again. He remembered the old days when antelope haunch was a daily staple, fish was plentiful, berries from the granary every day and even the occasional elephant steak for variety. Not any more. Bread bread bread and more bread. And they called this a more advanced age! The youngsters had no idea what real food was. Too busy prancing around in their new Iron Age gear. Zyxphratl looked down at his shabby green loin cloth and sighed.

He heard a faint voice some way behind him.

"Zyxphratl!"

It was faint but clear. He didn't recognize the voice but the voice clearly recognized him. The first time anyone had called to him for 3,000 years. It might be important.

"Zyxphratl"

Closer now. Zyxphratl was becoming jumpy. He got up and started to move away from the voice.

"Zyxphratl!"

He stopped and walked on the spot for a minute or two. He didn't want to - it was just that the ground had gone sort of sloppy and he couldn't get a purchase on it.

"ZYXPHRATL"

A priest walked around the corner of the rock pile. He was an old man, dressed in a blue robe and carrying a stick. He walked quickly up to Zyxphratl and screamed into his ear.

"HOYOHOYOHOYOHOYO - WOOLOOLOOO - WOOLOOLOOOO!"

Zyxphratl had had enough. He fell to the ground weeping and begged the priest to stop. The priest seemed moved.

"You must come with me. I have need of faithful villagers such as you. I will heal your wounds and make you well"

"I will come with you good Father," said Zyxphratl. After all, what had his leaders ever done for him?

"You must wear this blue loin cloth."

"Ooh! I didn't know they came in different colors. "

"Surely my son there is much I can teach you. Wear it and follow me."

Zyxphratl changed quickly. The priest looked him over.

"You're hurt."

"Yes Father. A lion. It was many years ago."

The priest touched the wounds, then stood back and raised his stick.

"Heeyayoo. Heeyayoo. Heeyayoo."

Zyxphratl felt warmth running through his body. He looked down at his scars. They were fading fast.

"Heeyayoo. Heeyayoo."

In no time he felt as fresh and strong as the first day he had emerged from the Town Center. He thanked the priest effusively.

"I cannot thank you enough good Father. Those wounds I bore for thousands of years. You have healed me. Tell me - what were those magic words which you spoke?

"Don't you speak English?"

"I do Father, but your mystic chant was outside my poor knowledge."

"It wasn't a mystic chant. I just said Heeya Yoo lots of times."

"You mean 'Heal You'"

"Do not presume to correct my pronunciation."

The priest walked towards the storage pit then stood silently next to it. He pulled an hourglass from his robe and held it in front of him. The sand trickled slowly down.

Zyxphratl coughed quietly to attract attention.

"Yes my son."

"Ummm - what do I do now?"

"Is this your storage pit?"

"Yes - I dug it myself 3,000 years ago. Three times since then the city maintenance crew have upgraded it for me, though only to increase the amount of stone I have to carry to and fro."

"We will use it. Stand by me."

Zyxphratl moved next to the priest and waited.

And waited.

"What are we waiting for?" he asked.

"The hourglass must run down before I can convert your pit."

"I see - is this some deep mystery of your magic, oh wise one?"

"Not really - it's just Union regulations. Nothing I can do about it."

"Convert it? To what? A granary?"

"No my son - I must make it blue. We cannot use a green pit."

Zyxphratl let it pass. It made no sense but the priest had been nice to him and if he wanted a blue storage pit Zyxphratl wasn't going to interfere.

< "HOYOHOYO! HOYOHOYO! WOOLOOLOOOO! WOOLOOLOOOO!"

Zyxphratl leapt in the air. Damn all screaming priests!

The priest rummaged in his robes and brought out a pot of blue paint and a brush. Methodically he repainted the pit, singing as he went "woolooloo. woolooloo".

"Looks nice." ventured Zyxphratl.

"Glad you like it." replied the priest, "Now we can use it for the greater glory of our most noble 'bAsTaRd aXe kiLLer' praise be to his name."

"How now shall I serve you and your master oh great one?"

The priest looked at him, smiled kindly and said

"Mine stone Zyxphratl."

*************************************

David M.