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Larry Lammer, County Court Clerk from Beaufort South Carolina decided he had to interview Peter. Really it was more an excuse to get a free trip but here he was. Powerful people wanted this done.
“Peter, did you have a last name when living in South Carolina last?”
“No sir, we slaves used the same as the master’s when asked. Mostly we weren’t asked,” Peter replied. His English was slowly coming back.
“Actually, we have pretty good records surviving from that period including those of slaves. Slaves were considered valuable enough to register but it will be under the name of the master. What was his name, and your date of birth?”
“William Richardson Davie, his wife was named Elizabeth. I was born in May of 1759,” Peter replied.
Larry pecked at his computer and found the imaged document for that year. Nothing registered. Then remembered that some waited a full year to register children because of the infant mortality rate so he looked up the following year. There it was. An entry was made by William Davie in June for a slave named Peter, age one year. Larry turned his screen around and showed Peter. Which made Peter laugh mightily.
“That is the Madam’s writing. Mr. Davie had no schooling. Strange after such a long time I would remember, but Madam taught me to read and write, secret like.”
“Yes, this does look like a lady’s handwriting,” Larry said. “Just to satisfy my curiosity how did you end up being taken by aliens?”
“All the slaves on our plantation ran away to the British side. We labored for them with the promise of freedom. When they retreated to Williamsburg in Virginia, we dug their fortifications at Yorktown and then were taken off in ships to somewhere in Spanish Florida to wait for the end of the battle. There were two thousand of us and the British didn’t leave any soldiers behind to guard us. Said they was all needed. Well, the Spanish found us but didn’t want us because we had run away. We were told that the British lost anyway. I thought they would simply kill us, but a week later what I now know as a spaceship arrived and we were herded onboard. In the end, nothing really changed for the black people except white people were slaves right alongside. We were all just humans.”
“Fascinating. I can give you an official ID card for South Carolina, but the real date of birth would cause a big problem. Instead, I will write down May 1, 1989 with a notation it is an apparent age. For a birth certificate, I will make a notation as born at home. Do you want to use the last name Davie as was custom or do you prefer something else?”
“Davie is just fine. It is who I am. Can you give me my Freeman papers too?”
“There is no such thing now..., for a very long time. Slavery was abolished in 1863 for South Carolina. You should read some history when you have free time. It will save a lot of embarrassment. Especially since our technology is going to be difficult enough to understand,” Larry explained.
“Technology is no problem. It was difficult when I first arrived out there. But in the last world I was on, the technology is about the same as here,” Peter explained back.
“Oh, sorry I was thinking about the time you left Earth. Anyway, this paperwork will enable you to get a US passport. A useful thing in today’s world. Do you have work lined up?”
“Mr. Oliver said I would get a salary for now. They want me to go to Israel to talk to people there about what I know and don’t realize. They are supposed to pay for that time too. I suppose I owe them something since Mr. Daniel actually bought me.”
“He had to pay for your freedom?”
“Yes. He gave them five copper pennies,” Peter said. “The lizards love their copper.”
“Amazing. I hope to go out there someday myself to see the strange things. Coming here has been a huge adventure already. Thank you for your stories Mr. Davie. Good luck and godspeed,” Larry said taking his leave. This was interesting but he only had a day to see the base and go to Babbling Babs Water Park.
Peter was in a hurry too. He and Yacapo had a shuttle to catch in an hour. The one place he wanted to see in the Galaxy was the Holy Land. His mother had gone on and on about it when he was growing up. The one thing that stayed a constant for them was the Bible. A few had managed to make the interstellar journey and when one wore out, they copied another. Later they ran into some more Christians who had tablets and there it was in Galactic. English and paper faded away through the ages.
