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Come, grandchildren, gather around and let me tell you the story of Rodina, the Motherland. I'll tell you the way it was told to me by my grandfather and to him by his grandfather, and, God willing, someday you'll tell your grandchildren.
Learning you're not alone in the universe must have been a shock, let me tell you. In the early days of the Motherland, they had no knowledge of others, there was just "US," the people. Of course, when I say universe I mean the continent of Russia on Earth, because in those days Russia was the universe. Fishermen plied the waters around the continent in little coastal sailing ships, called 'triremes', but we knew no other land, save for Barren Island off the Southern Point at Sevastopol. Towns grew, learned minds discovered new wonders, and government progressed, but we had no idea that on other lands beyond the vast ocean, strange people also grew and discovered and progressed.
What? Oh, no little one, when I say 'we,' I don't mean to imply that I lived there in those days long ago. I mean 'we' in the sense of 'us,' our people, the Russians, or the Russ as we called ourselves in those ancient times. And Rodina is an affectionate name for Russia, just as I call you 'Katyusha' when your given name is 'Yekaterina.' You understand now? Good. Where was I? Ah, yes...
One day, a curious and brave fisherman named Novotny of Novgorad dared to travel the ocean depths far to the north of Russia. He had already circumnavigated the continent and hungered for more adventure. He had noticed that light reflected differently through the water depending on how deep it was, and he claimed there was a sea-lane of less depth running due north. He set out on his voyage, vowing to return with news of fertile islands that could provide fishing and farming of an abundance and diversity unheard of in Russian history. His boat never returned, but he is revered in Russian history as Novotny the Sailor. Why? I'll tell you - because he managed to send back word in a bottle that another land existed and was cultivated! The shock was enormous! Cultivated land meant another civilization, which meant the Russ were not alone.
Some wanted to deny that any such thing could be - it must be that Novotny of Novgorad got turned around and sailed back to our own Rodina, they said. But the learned contested such thinking - the description in the bottle was very detailed and left no doubt that these people were different, were not Russian.
Some distrusted the different-ness of these foreigners and wanted to mount patrols in the northern waters to prevent more contact. They will take away our fish, our lands, our children if they know we are here, cried the anxious. Again, wiser heads prevailed. Surely, these people would be as wary of us as we of them, they replied to the fearful. Perhaps we could share knowledge and trade goods to increase both our peoples.
After several mistries, we were able to exchange messages with the new people by dropping bottles in the north-bearing ocean current in the spring and picking up return messages when the current shifted in the fall. But, the bottle method had its faults - many copies of the message had to be dropped in many bottles to ensure just one might make it through. There was some confusion at first; sometimes an older message would be received after a later message. Somehow, they got by.
Over time, our inventors realized that the silver salmon could be harnessed to carry messages out to the ocean. These carrier salmon hatched every spring in the rivers of Rodina and then swam out to same area of the ocean to live and grow, only to return in the fall to spawn. In the same way, the red salmon that our fishermen caught in the ocean spawned in the rivers of the northlands.
You laugh, but these were our only methods of communicating with the northlanders. Eventually, we came to know of their customs and ways. They called themselves Babylonians, and the land they described was very curious. The messages talked of snow in the far north that remained forever on the ground; they were incredulous of our northern jungles, as such terrain was unknown to them.
And so, many years went by with no Babylonian every setting eye on Rodina, nor of Russians seeing the lands of Babylon. Why didn't another boat attempt the crossing? Because everyone knew the story of Novotny of Novgorad and his lost boat - no sailor would dare follow in his wake.
Finally, our inventors and craftsmen conceived of a Great Lighthouse that could light the oceans at night and make the journey less perilous. Now it just so happened that about the same time as the building of the Lighthouse, the great- great- great- great-grandson of Novotny the Sailor, named Fyodor Novotny, had become obsessed with his heritage. Ah, Misha, you are skeptical, I see, but Novotny the Sailor did have children, and therefore descendants, before he left on his voyage, now, didn't he?
Fyodor vowed to complete the journey that his ancestor had set out upon so many years before. There were others from his village that went with him - in all, three boats set out. They were called the 'Nikolai Mokryi', which means 'Nicholas the Wet', the patron saint of fishermen; 'Bogoroditsa' which means 'Mother of God;' and 'Savvatii,' which refers to St. Savvatii, the patron saint of bees. Why 'Savvatii?' Nobody knows - perhaps they wished to cross the ocean on the wings of bees and return to the hive, Rodina. But, you interrupt my story...
Because of the fantastic light put forth by the Great Lighthouse, these ships were able to cross the vast ocean and travel to Babylon. They were the first Russians to ever talk face-to-face with a Babylonian. What a wonder that first meeting must have been!
They continued to on to explore the coast of Babylon. As they traveled north and west up the coast of that land, they noticed back ocean-ward more land. Thinking it to be Rodina, the 'Nikolai Mokryi' was dispatched to send word of the triumphant voyage. However, once asea, Fyodor Novotny was unable to see the light of the Great Lighthouse. The ocean remained calm, and they progressed without worry, for had they not already crossed safely to Babylon?
When they finally made landfall, they thought themselves turned back to that foreign land, for the buildings and people were not of Rodina. On landing, they discovered themselves in still another land with another people, and these knew of still more, and far different people. Of course, now we know them for the Japanese, and through the Japanese, the Russians came to know of the Chinese, the French, the Germans, the Zulu, and the Iroquois. Today, Fyodor Novotny is revered as highly as his great ancestor.
Once the first journey had been proven possible, the sea-lanes were opened and a steady trade in goods and knowledge sprang up overnight. For centuries, we Russians traded goods with the others of "The Eight Peoples of Earth" and we prospered. In time, our scientists became regarded as the foremost in the entire world, and the other peoples of Earth paid yearly tribute to Rodina to send their scholars for learning and enlightenment. Their payments helped to swell the coffers of the government, so that more tax money could go towards additional research and new discoveries. In time, the entire government was run from these foreign moneys, although we still paid taxes for new scientific research, and to provide civil luxuries for ourselves.
However, the doubters, who had warned of foreigners stealing our fish, our lands and our children, had been right to worry. For the Japanese quickly dispatched settlers to create cities in the northern jungles, and France established a city at the northern tip of Russia. The Iroquois even managed to construct a city on Barren Island, although, as you know, that never came to much. At least the Iroquois and French were peaceful, and the land they took was not very fruitful, but the Japanese declared war on poor Rodina as soon as their cities were planted! At the time, the cities weren't very useful for crops since the jungles had not yet been cleared, but the two cites closed the only land routes to the northern lands of Russia.
Well, our Russian Knights quickly put an end to that pretense! Before Ise and Hakodate could be reinforced, we swooped in and took the cities, and we never gave them back! After convincing France and the Iroquois to join in the war against Japan, their leader, the Tokogawa, decided he had more worries at home. Eventually, he begged for peace. The two conquered cities blossomed under Russian rule; in a few generations, they were as Russian as Moscow!
For many years, we continued to be peaceful people, watching wars occur on the biggest continent with only a passing interest, although we sold technological advances to both sides. The knight gave way to the cavalry and eventually the cavalry troops gave up their beloved horses and moved to tanks. In the same way, the pikeman gave way to the musketman, which gave way to the rifleman, which gave way to the infantry.
Finally, we discovered the secrets of flying and of rockets and of space travel, and we built a ship to travel between the stars. Can you guess the name of the pilot of that famous spaceship, the one that brought the Russ here to Alpha Centauri Chetyre? That's right - Godomir Novotny, the descendant through many generations of Fyodor Novotny, and of the original Novotny the Sailor, of Novgorad. And of course, being good scholars, you all know that Chetyre stands for the fourth planet in the Alpha Centauri system, where we now live. You are all so smart!
Now you have heard the story of the Russ. My grandfather was born on this planet and neither he, nor his son, my father, nor I, nor my children, your fathers and mothers, have ever seen Rodina, the motherland. Someday, God willing, maybe you, my dear grandchildren, will.
And now, that wonderful smell tells me that dinner is ready. Let us go eat!
Learning you're not alone in the universe must have been a shock, let me tell you. In the early days of the Motherland, they had no knowledge of others, there was just "US," the people. Of course, when I say universe I mean the continent of Russia on Earth, because in those days Russia was the universe. Fishermen plied the waters around the continent in little coastal sailing ships, called 'triremes', but we knew no other land, save for Barren Island off the Southern Point at Sevastopol. Towns grew, learned minds discovered new wonders, and government progressed, but we had no idea that on other lands beyond the vast ocean, strange people also grew and discovered and progressed.
What? Oh, no little one, when I say 'we,' I don't mean to imply that I lived there in those days long ago. I mean 'we' in the sense of 'us,' our people, the Russians, or the Russ as we called ourselves in those ancient times. And Rodina is an affectionate name for Russia, just as I call you 'Katyusha' when your given name is 'Yekaterina.' You understand now? Good. Where was I? Ah, yes...
One day, a curious and brave fisherman named Novotny of Novgorad dared to travel the ocean depths far to the north of Russia. He had already circumnavigated the continent and hungered for more adventure. He had noticed that light reflected differently through the water depending on how deep it was, and he claimed there was a sea-lane of less depth running due north. He set out on his voyage, vowing to return with news of fertile islands that could provide fishing and farming of an abundance and diversity unheard of in Russian history. His boat never returned, but he is revered in Russian history as Novotny the Sailor. Why? I'll tell you - because he managed to send back word in a bottle that another land existed and was cultivated! The shock was enormous! Cultivated land meant another civilization, which meant the Russ were not alone.
Some wanted to deny that any such thing could be - it must be that Novotny of Novgorad got turned around and sailed back to our own Rodina, they said. But the learned contested such thinking - the description in the bottle was very detailed and left no doubt that these people were different, were not Russian.
Some distrusted the different-ness of these foreigners and wanted to mount patrols in the northern waters to prevent more contact. They will take away our fish, our lands, our children if they know we are here, cried the anxious. Again, wiser heads prevailed. Surely, these people would be as wary of us as we of them, they replied to the fearful. Perhaps we could share knowledge and trade goods to increase both our peoples.
After several mistries, we were able to exchange messages with the new people by dropping bottles in the north-bearing ocean current in the spring and picking up return messages when the current shifted in the fall. But, the bottle method had its faults - many copies of the message had to be dropped in many bottles to ensure just one might make it through. There was some confusion at first; sometimes an older message would be received after a later message. Somehow, they got by.
Over time, our inventors realized that the silver salmon could be harnessed to carry messages out to the ocean. These carrier salmon hatched every spring in the rivers of Rodina and then swam out to same area of the ocean to live and grow, only to return in the fall to spawn. In the same way, the red salmon that our fishermen caught in the ocean spawned in the rivers of the northlands.
You laugh, but these were our only methods of communicating with the northlanders. Eventually, we came to know of their customs and ways. They called themselves Babylonians, and the land they described was very curious. The messages talked of snow in the far north that remained forever on the ground; they were incredulous of our northern jungles, as such terrain was unknown to them.
And so, many years went by with no Babylonian every setting eye on Rodina, nor of Russians seeing the lands of Babylon. Why didn't another boat attempt the crossing? Because everyone knew the story of Novotny of Novgorad and his lost boat - no sailor would dare follow in his wake.
Finally, our inventors and craftsmen conceived of a Great Lighthouse that could light the oceans at night and make the journey less perilous. Now it just so happened that about the same time as the building of the Lighthouse, the great- great- great- great-grandson of Novotny the Sailor, named Fyodor Novotny, had become obsessed with his heritage. Ah, Misha, you are skeptical, I see, but Novotny the Sailor did have children, and therefore descendants, before he left on his voyage, now, didn't he?
Fyodor vowed to complete the journey that his ancestor had set out upon so many years before. There were others from his village that went with him - in all, three boats set out. They were called the 'Nikolai Mokryi', which means 'Nicholas the Wet', the patron saint of fishermen; 'Bogoroditsa' which means 'Mother of God;' and 'Savvatii,' which refers to St. Savvatii, the patron saint of bees. Why 'Savvatii?' Nobody knows - perhaps they wished to cross the ocean on the wings of bees and return to the hive, Rodina. But, you interrupt my story...
Because of the fantastic light put forth by the Great Lighthouse, these ships were able to cross the vast ocean and travel to Babylon. They were the first Russians to ever talk face-to-face with a Babylonian. What a wonder that first meeting must have been!
They continued to on to explore the coast of Babylon. As they traveled north and west up the coast of that land, they noticed back ocean-ward more land. Thinking it to be Rodina, the 'Nikolai Mokryi' was dispatched to send word of the triumphant voyage. However, once asea, Fyodor Novotny was unable to see the light of the Great Lighthouse. The ocean remained calm, and they progressed without worry, for had they not already crossed safely to Babylon?
When they finally made landfall, they thought themselves turned back to that foreign land, for the buildings and people were not of Rodina. On landing, they discovered themselves in still another land with another people, and these knew of still more, and far different people. Of course, now we know them for the Japanese, and through the Japanese, the Russians came to know of the Chinese, the French, the Germans, the Zulu, and the Iroquois. Today, Fyodor Novotny is revered as highly as his great ancestor.
Once the first journey had been proven possible, the sea-lanes were opened and a steady trade in goods and knowledge sprang up overnight. For centuries, we Russians traded goods with the others of "The Eight Peoples of Earth" and we prospered. In time, our scientists became regarded as the foremost in the entire world, and the other peoples of Earth paid yearly tribute to Rodina to send their scholars for learning and enlightenment. Their payments helped to swell the coffers of the government, so that more tax money could go towards additional research and new discoveries. In time, the entire government was run from these foreign moneys, although we still paid taxes for new scientific research, and to provide civil luxuries for ourselves.
However, the doubters, who had warned of foreigners stealing our fish, our lands and our children, had been right to worry. For the Japanese quickly dispatched settlers to create cities in the northern jungles, and France established a city at the northern tip of Russia. The Iroquois even managed to construct a city on Barren Island, although, as you know, that never came to much. At least the Iroquois and French were peaceful, and the land they took was not very fruitful, but the Japanese declared war on poor Rodina as soon as their cities were planted! At the time, the cities weren't very useful for crops since the jungles had not yet been cleared, but the two cites closed the only land routes to the northern lands of Russia.
Well, our Russian Knights quickly put an end to that pretense! Before Ise and Hakodate could be reinforced, we swooped in and took the cities, and we never gave them back! After convincing France and the Iroquois to join in the war against Japan, their leader, the Tokogawa, decided he had more worries at home. Eventually, he begged for peace. The two conquered cities blossomed under Russian rule; in a few generations, they were as Russian as Moscow!
For many years, we continued to be peaceful people, watching wars occur on the biggest continent with only a passing interest, although we sold technological advances to both sides. The knight gave way to the cavalry and eventually the cavalry troops gave up their beloved horses and moved to tanks. In the same way, the pikeman gave way to the musketman, which gave way to the rifleman, which gave way to the infantry.
Finally, we discovered the secrets of flying and of rockets and of space travel, and we built a ship to travel between the stars. Can you guess the name of the pilot of that famous spaceship, the one that brought the Russ here to Alpha Centauri Chetyre? That's right - Godomir Novotny, the descendant through many generations of Fyodor Novotny, and of the original Novotny the Sailor, of Novgorad. And of course, being good scholars, you all know that Chetyre stands for the fourth planet in the Alpha Centauri system, where we now live. You are all so smart!
Now you have heard the story of the Russ. My grandfather was born on this planet and neither he, nor his son, my father, nor I, nor my children, your fathers and mothers, have ever seen Rodina, the motherland. Someday, God willing, maybe you, my dear grandchildren, will.
And now, that wonderful smell tells me that dinner is ready. Let us go eat!
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