STORYLINE

The Kanaka Guide To Green Ladies

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The Fracture didn’t just destroy much of the old world, it produced a number of new problems for we Kānaka to overcome. Many animals grew large and angry. Water and food became scarce. On top of that, a number of creatures were born to test our strength. The Menehune scuttle in the dark dismantling anything they find working and taking down the unwary. The Night Marchers use their brute strength, speed, and cunning to hunt us like animals for food. But there is one new horror born after the fracture that the Kānaka fear most, the Green Ladies.

The accident tore down and damaged people as well as buildings. According to the legends the Kānaka rebuilt themselves with the power of the land itself, giving them a good foundation and making them strong and resilient. The Green Ladies however fortified themselves with the darkness and seclusion of the deep forest, some people say that they came out of the labs in the old train station, but they seem to avoid this area.

From a distance you might make the misfortune of confusing a Green Lady for a person. They appear like tall women with green skin. Thorny vines surround their bodies and sweet smelling flowers bloom from their hair. Some say that the color of the flowers represent different kinds of Green Ladies with different abilities, but most think it’s just a natural variation like your hair.

They are excellent mimics and can make the calls of many birds and animals. Their voices sound like the wind rustling through the leaves or the howling of a storm when they are angry. The stories say that they are unable to speak but can communicate by talking directly in your mind. A Green Lady is a master of camouflage and almost completely silent in the jungle, so chances are if you see one it is because she is hunting you.

Green Ladies seem to have a symbiotic relationship with the vines that surround them. During the day they spend most of their time absorbing energy from the sun and can sit perfectly still in one spot for many hours. They say that man can not live on bread alone, and so to is the sun inadequate for the needs of these creatures. They need blood, preferably from the young.
The Kānaka say they prefer the blood of the young because it contains the most vitality. Newuskin blood is a particular favorite. The Thrivers on the other hand, say the preference is because there are specific molecules in old blood that inhibit cell development, but they thought the veil was safe too, so who knows.

The monsters are incredibly fast and can move quickly through the deepest brush. Their speed and erratic movements make them incredibly hard to target with a firearm. Your best weapon against a Green Lady is a large group. Your second best weapon is some sort of chopping instrument or fire. They have a great fear of flames.

Unlike the other horrors bred from the fracture, Green Ladies retain much of their intelligence, twisted as it is. There are many stories about people making deals with the creatures trading blood for safety or some service. The old story of the Green Lady of Keali’i Gulch is one such example. Just like in the story, an agreement made with one of these creatures is unlikely to turn out well, as they can hear your surface thoughts making lying difficult.

Unlike the Night Marchers, Green Ladies are exceedingly cautious. They tend to pick off stragglers and lone wanderers making your best defense against them a large group. Because they rely on the sun to build up energy they are most active at night. In fact, a well fed Green Lady is unlikely to attack if you pass near one in the day time.

To stay safe in Green Lady territory there are a couple of quick and easy rules: go out an hour after sunrise, go home at least an hour before dark, carry a way to make a fire, only travel in groups, and if you suddenly smell flowers or hear the sound of the wind when it’s not blowing don’t run. Not because it is going to trigger the predatory instincts of the Green Lady about to drain your blood, but because it’s already too late.

STORYLINE

The Green Lady of Keali’i Gulch

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According to Kānaka legend, there used to be a large farm near Keali’i Gulch. Hana farm was well-known in the area for a number of reasons. It was one of the few places on the island relatively untouched by the fracture. The farm became a sanctuary for the entire extended family and many of their neighbors. The Hana’s become famous for the incredible fecundity of their land. The taro grew huge. All the fruit was amazingly sweet. The quality of the crops garnered a premium and the family did quite well for a period of time. Then the sickness began and people began to whisper about a curse.

At the end of that first year, everyone on the farm began to fall ill. It wasn’t long before some of the hired help started to have accidents. Between the misfortune in the fields and the mysterious sickness, the Hana’s soon found themselves working the farm alone. Tragedy continued to follow the family until only the grandmother and a group of 12 grandchildren remained. The collection of cousins and siblings kept the farm running, but it was a shadow of its former self.

While many avoided the family and farm, one of the village boys, Kahale Wiwo’ole, became good friends with Pualani the eldest granddaughter. The pair would often be found together talking about the farm and the future. One day the teenagers had been out too late making plans for Pualani’s birthday. The girl was turning 16 and Kahale was planning something special. They arrived around dinner time, and Grandmother Hana was not pleased. “Pualani! Where have you been? Why is that boy here so late? It will be dark soon and you know how tired you all get after dinner. Make him go home,” she yelled.

Kahale kissed the girl on the cheek and told her he’d see her in the morning. That night he tossed and turned. He couldn’t figure out why Grandmother Hana had been so mad. He and Pualani had been friends for years. Mostly, he thought about how embarrassed his friend had looked and decided he would sneak out to make sure she was alright.

It was easy for Kahale to find the farm even in the dark. He snuck around back and tapped lightly on the window. He tapped again and again, but nothing happened. Lifting the window, he crawled inside only to find all the beds empty. Opening the bedroom door just a crack he couldn’t believe what he saw.

All the children were still seated at the table, but they were all in a deep sleep. Pualani’s grandmother stood behind her with a hollow ipu gourd. The boy had to cover his mouth when he saw the woman pull a large thorn from a pocket, and poke the back of his friend’s neck. She filled the gourd with blood and walked to the front door without a word.

After she left, Kahale rushed to his friend to make sure she was ok. He couldn’t wake her up but was reassured that Pualani was still breathing, and decided to see where grandmother Hana was going. Sneaking out the door, he could see her walking through the fields towards the jungle, and decided to follow. The woman stopped abruptly. He was afraid that she had heard him, but then he noticed something moving. A tall green woman wrapped in vines, with flowers in her hair appeared from the foliage. “I have your drink,” the grandmother said before handing over the gourd. A sound like wind blowing through the branches came from the woman, and the scent of jasmine and gardenia filled the air, but she never spoke. “Yes, I know our bargain. She will be 16 tomorrow and I will bring her. As you are fed, so shall you feed our fields,” the grandmother said and bowed low. The green lady was gone as suddenly as she appeared, and the elder Hana walked back to the house.

Kahale didn’t sleep that night and waited for Pualani on the trail leading to town. The frightened young man tried to explain to his friend what he had seen, but Pualani didn’t believe him. When he mentioned the wound on the back of her neck they found that it had somehow healed overnight. He begged the girl to stay with his family, but she refused and angrily ran back to the farm.

Kahale didn’t know what to do. If Pualani didn’t believe him what chance did he have convincing anyone else? He hardly believed it himself. He walked home to try and figure out what to do. All day he paced back and forth and read through old books trying to find an answer. Finally, his uncle asked the obviously troubled boy what was wrong, and why he wasn’t with his friend on her birthday. Exhausted and out of options, Kahale broke down and told him what he had seen. Instead of laughing or accusing the boy of dreaming, Kahale’s uncle grabbed him by the arm and went to get help.

Just before nightfall Kahale and a group of the villagers raced to the farm. They arrived just in time to see grandmother Hana pushing Pualani in a wheelbarrow through the fields. Just as before, the green lady stepped out of the foliage and reached out towards the unconscious girl. Before she could touch her, one of the villagers screamed out and the creature froze. A deafening scream came from deep inside the green lady and she grabbed grandmother Hana. Everyone watched in horror as the creature drained the old woman in seconds until she was a dried husk.

The beast ran into the jungle with the villagers giving chase. They cornered her in a cave and decided to build a big fire at the entrance to smoke her out. By morning a few of the bravest ventured inside, but all they found was some bones and a tangle of thorny vines with a blood-red wilted flower in the center. Pualani recovered as did the rest of the children. They moved to the village and their ancestors can still be found there today. The green lady of Keali’i gulch was never seen again. People still farm the surrounding lands, but they are very careful to always be home at least 2 hours before dark.

STORYLINE

Make Lahaina Beautiful Again!

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As President of the Lahaina Merchants Association, I’d like to thank my fellow sellers and citizens for making the past year our best and brightest so far. Our Fall initiatives really made a big difference. Our renewed focus on quality and specialization, as well as our pricing and distribution agreements led to record profits. I couldn’t be more proud about how we handled the sudden increase in potential shoppers, after the global backup connection was restarted at the Veilcorp facility.

These new faces have let us build up quite a surplus, and allows us to make even more changes. While some of these new buyers are fine people concerned only with their welfare and the welfare of their loved ones, there is another sort as well. Of course I’m talking about those interested in running through the jungle and ruins, shooting at anything that moves too fast. The kind that charges into a group of night marchers, and ends up having to run back to town for safety with a trail of those nightmares running after. The individuals who think it’s their right to check the pockets and packs of any random person they see laid out somewhere. I’m talking of course of the adventurer.

We’ve always had a few willing to leap before they look. I can’t count how many times Sgt. Kaua has interrupted a town picnic ranting about how he’d vanquished some foe while fresh blood dripped from his beard. Sure it was a bit off-putting, but there’s no doubt that on the whole, he makes the island safer. Nonetheless, we don’t need another Kaua, let alone a dozen more.

We need to appeal to the less extreme new visitors to our beloved island, and the time has never been better. The new moon came early this year and the menehune have already completed their annual dance. That should give us at least a month to work diligently before we have to worry about them getting their energy and bad attitudes back. The association has set enough money aside from our Fall push to pay off the bandits for at least that length of time. It would be a shame if we didn’t grab hold of the opportunity that is being presented to us. Let’s bring back the beauty to our home, and make it a good place to start a family, not trouble.

First we need to remove any and all skulls, enemy corpses, and various animal parts from view. I know many of you, particularly the Kānaka, believe that it wards off potential enemies and adds just the right amount of “don’t start trouble here” to your homes and businesses. You’re probably right, but it also acts like a sign to the hazard-seeking type. It lets them know that there are probably weapons in the area and items to loot. Adventurers are drawn to a collection of night marcher skulls like a moth is to flame. Let’s put out this particular attraction until we have the town back into a respectable state.

There’s no doubt that we’ve all done a bit of scavenging in our day, and many of us still turn over a brick or two looking for something useful, but these people will collect anything. I had a gentlemen show up to one of my shops with a bag of broken plates he’d liberated from the ruins. He asked how much he could get for them, as if there was some unwritten rule that everything you could pick up and put in a bag was worth something. If we all work together and help clean up a few of the buildings on Front street, I think we have a good chance at getting rid of these sifters.

Speaking of cleaning up, we should target a couple other areas as well. The baby beach has always been a good place to go if you don’t like big waves. Unfortunately the horned turtles are vicious opponents and taste pretty good. If we push hard to remove them, we get rid of opponents and a valuable resource that these thrill seekers seem to need. I propose adding a mark to one of the many urchins there once a week, something like a gold star. The finder of the golden urchin wins a free meal, or something equally family friendly. I can’t imagine that wading through the warm-friendly-waters, checking the bottom of urchins for a chance to win a sandwich will be exciting enough for these trouble makers.

While we’re at it, we need to clean out the banyan grove of green ladies once and for all, and do some pruning. After removing yet another potential adversary for the yahoos, we should do some landscaping and clean up some of the undergrowth. A few nice ornamental shrubs and some sturdy benches might be just the thing we need. If we install a nicely groomed Ulu Maika course, we’re sure to keep them out of the area. There’s no way that rolling stones between two pegs is going to hold their attention like stalking enemies in the undergrowth. I hear the cruise ship folks are interested in selling their surplus shuffleboard equipment as well. We might want to purchase some of that as well, just for insurance.

Finally, I propose that we finish hooking up the remaining solar panels and batteries to the lights on Front street. Danger lurks in shadows, and nothing compels the overly inquisitive to investigate like a dark alley. Lets light up every corner at night, and take the mystery out of our back alleys. In addition, I’ve already contacted Bruddah Lee about starting walking history tours of downtown. He assures me that he has enough learned Kānaka colleagues that we could have multiple tours going at once 24 hours a day. Just think of it, every question about the old jail and why the particular wood was chosen for the boardwalk explained in excruciating detail 24/7. I don’t know about you, but I choose yawns over brawn .

The time is right but we have to act quickly before this window of opportunity closes. We put in the hard work through the years to make Lahaina the success it is. We can’t afford to let a bunch of weapon toting ruffians take over. It’s our blood, sweat, and tears that got us this far, and it’s time for us to enjoy it in peace. We deserve tranquility. Let’s make our home beautiful and boring again.

STORYLINE

Mele Kalikimaka From the Tappers

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Congratulations, you are cordially and secretly invited to the 11th annual Tappers Day Before Christmas Spectapluar!

If you’re reading this note you already know how serious we take this event and that you have no choice but to attend. No, really, to be perfectly clear, you have no choice. We are watching everything. There is no place you could hide from us.

We take Christmas very seriously and this year’s show is bigger and better than any we’ve done before. We’ve spared no expense to bring you the best entertainment the islands have to offer. There’s never been a better time to be on our “Nice” list.

Simply eat one of the cookies enclosed approximately 1 hour before sundown and place the 30 rai entry fee in your pocket. Our teams of secret Santas will do the rest. When you awake, you’ll find yourself in our private party grotto. Enjoy our complimentary drinks and snacks while you shake out the cobwebs and discover who we’ve chosen as guests.

Enjoy mingling with other attendees or feel free to wander around once you’re feeling alert. We have plenty to see before the show begins. Pet one of our mutant axis deer, watch as our captive Green Lady steals the Christmas spirit from those who ignored our invitations and consumes them, or marvel at the wonder of our giant Christmas Koa tree. Adorned with over 4,000 lights and ornaments our near 100’ tall koa is quite something to behold. And that’s just the beginning. Our featured events include:

The Tony Kahale Memorial Nog Drinking Contest
Pay homage to bruddah half-barrel by gulping down as much of our delicious homemade nog as you can in 10 minutes. In addition to bragging rights and an upset stomach, the winner gets free entry into next years event.

The Valley Isle Laser Light Dancers
Before the cookies wear completely off and while your belly is full of nog, have a seat and watch our most talented dancers trip the laser light fantastic. Learn the history of the island with the help of our dancers and our amazing light show.

The Tapper Children’s Troupe
Your heart will melt as our young ones regale you with the Christmas story and sing a collection of holiday favorites. (The children’s program is now 15 minutes shorter for your consideration. Warning: applause is mandatory.)

Roman’s Ukulele Choir
All the way from Molokai, Roman and his ukulele choir have returned this year to enthrall and entertain. Handel has never sounded better!

The Tappettes

We’ll close the show as usual with the help of our limber ladies kicking up the cheer with their famous Christmas chorus line. You’ll be amazed by both their precision and your seemingly instantaneous return to your homes at the end of the show.

It’s our biggest and best show ever! Remember, we know when you are sleeping. We know where you are when you’re awake. We just want to celebrate the holiday with you, so accept our invitation for your family’s sake!

STORYLINE

Greg Iona: Restored From Backup

This was not how I imagined my day would start. She says her name is Saraphim, and that the world as we know it is gone. She says something about backups, and Ambassador class accounts and some other stuff, but my head is spinning. My body feels strange. I turn around and recognize where I am for the first time and can’t quite believe it. She’s telling the truth. I’m about half a mile away from the veil station. Everything is ruined.

I realize I’m saying “What happened,” over and over again. She keeps telling me, but I can’t process it yet. It’s over 60 years later, but I don’t remember anything about…the veils fractured!?. She says she restored me from backup. I must have died. I don’t remember dying. I’m not even sure that I’m really me. I don’t know what I’d think if I was a religious man. She says there’s lots more people waiting and needs me to walk around, make sure my body is working correctly. She wants me to see what I can find and if there’s any survivors. I look around. My eyes hurt, but I see something in the distance. It’s a beached whale and there’s someone near it. I start walking.

The smell is almost over powering. I get close and see that there’s actually someone inside the body cavity and more people around. It’s some kind of bar. There’s a sign that says “Rita’s Refreshments”. They stare at me as I walk up. I take a seat on a stool. “We’re all out of Scrimshawberry,” the woman says before pushing a glass of something greenish blue at me. She says it’s 10 rai, but I don’t have whatever that is, and I give her my hat instead. They call the drink Whalmanimal. My mouth rejects the liquid as soon as it touches my tongue; it’s awful but my fellow patrons seem to like it. They compliment my clothes and ask if I want to sell or trade them and if I’m from Pu’u. I tell them no to both.

I ask if the DLNR came out to talk to her about the whale. She gives me a strange look and says she’s not interested in selling. I realize I haven’t heard an engine yet, seen a boat, or watched a drone fly by. I’m not sure what I can do here. I was once appointed to study the effects of 127 on the native flora and fauna. I think I can do the most good by looking around the beach and forest to assess the fracture’s impact the environment. My body is feeling better despite the fact that the first thing I had to drink in close to a century was this murky swill.

After a few miles of walking, I find a gigantic banyan tree, at least twice the size it should be. Everything else seems normal at first. I find ohi’a and rattlesnake plants and watch a red-crested cardinal for a few minutes. I close my eyes and listen to the song of a saffron finch. Maybe nature withstood the fracture better than people did. I walk a few more hours in the forest when I see them, and I stop dead in my tracks .

There’s three of them, whatever they are. I assume the two facing off and circling are males fighting for the attention of the less colorful female. They look like wild pigs but are covered in some kind of carapace. Their eyes are on stalks like a crab or prawn. I can’t get over how shiny and colorful their shells are, they sparkle when the sun catches them just right. They just keep circling and occasionally butting heads. I don’t move because I don’t know if they’re dangerous. If this is what happened to the pigs, I don’t want to see what happened to the geese. There were many reports of them getting more aggressive back in my time. Who knows what they might be capable of now.

The sun will be down in a few hours. I decide to walk back to the whale and figure out where I’m going to sleep for the night when I hear a cry. I recognize it. It’s an axis deer alarm call, but it keeps going. Something has the deer scared. Despite my better judgement I walk towards the sound. The forest is very thick here, and fog is coming in, making it hard to see. The deer keeps calling and it sounds like I’m getting close. I stop to untangle some vines from around my boot when I feel him grab me. He puts his hand over my mouth and pulls me down. I start to fight back but he’s stronger. I turn my head and see that he has a finger up to his mouth, urging me to be quiet. I calm down and he points ahead.

I might have missed them if I was still walking. A pack of wolves is working their way across the ridge ahead. It’s hard to tell how many in the fog but it’s at least 6. The deer keeps calling and it sounds close now. The wolves look hungry and I turn to thank whoever this is. There isn’t much I could tell Saraphim from inside a wolf’s belly. That’s when I notice he’s still pointing at something else in the forest, just beyond the wolves.

I still don’t see anything, but the fog is really thick now and it sounds like the deer is only yards away. I notice the fog swirl a bit before I see it. It’s like the forest comes alive around the lead wolf. It’s a tangle of leaves, vines, and teeth. One of the wolves is hurled through the air and the rest run off. I watch it stand up in front of the pack leader. It’s a woman covered in leaves and vines. For a minute I think she’s wearing some kind of ghillie suit until I see the vines dig their way into the side of the wolf. I’m too scared to move. She leans over the animal and mimics a bird call as she feeds on him. I let out a gasp and she looks our way. She opens her mouth and lets out a deer call followed by a loud hissing noise. I don’t know if I stood up on my own or if he picked me up. I just remember running and screaming every time a vine hit my face.

His name is Laki and his people are called the Kanaka. The thing we ran from is a Green Lady, and from the way everyone looked at us when he told the story, we were lucky to make it back to the village alive. They ask me if I’m from Pu’u as well, but some seem happy when I tell them no. This is a strange place. I see people walking around with shark-toothed clubs and night vision goggles. I watch a group of them invoke the spirits to keep the green lady away and draw warnings in the sand before cooking their food in a flash oven. I listen a lot and say very little. I think that’s best until I figure out the situation. Laki says that he’ll take me to Pu’u in the morning, but for now I’m going to have a meal and try to get some rest. Here’s what I’ve learned so far. Being restored from backup makes your body tingle for a few hours, but everything seems to be working fine now. The power grid seems to be gone and working technology seems to be rare. Food and water must be scarce because people are drinking some sort of disgusting Manimal knock-off inside the body of a dead whale. Oh, and monsters are real now! It’s been a hell of a first day back, Saraphim.

STORYLINE

Lokelani: The Green Girl of Launiupoko Point

Of all the dangers in the forest, the most dangerous might be the green ladies. Whether they are feeding on a family, catching the unwary in the forest, or hunting a group of explorers, trying to make a better life for their people, there are lots of tales about them. One of my favorites is the story of the green girl Lokelani. Like all good stories it teaches you a lesson, that everyone gets to decide how they want to act when they grow up, even monsters.

The green girl didn’t know what she was, where she was, or that it was strange that she was born alone. She just knew that she was hungry, very hungry! She was the last of her garden-mates to leave her pod, a real late bloomer. Months before, her sisters left their birthing garden, and set out into the forest together to find food. Green ladies aren’t known to work in groups, but when they first blossom they usually travel together until they hunt down a good meal, and get a lay of the land. This little one was alone. Left to find food by herself.

Almost as soon as she heard the bird, she was mimicking its song. The first tasted good, but it was very small, and didn’t have much fluid inside. She drained over a dozen before her hunger began to subside. Over the next few months she studied the animals, copied their calls, learned how they acted, and where they ate and drink.

She soon learned that the birds along the beach were bigger and had more blood to drink, but were out in the open, a dangerous place for a little green girl to be. She watched how some of the other predators hunted, and she didn’t like what she saw. The wolves would chase terrified prey for hours sometimes, before dragging it down and ripping out the soft parts. The boars would bite the legs of deer and let the wounds fester before finishing off the sick animals days later. Her way was much better.

When she hunted something, it didn’t even know she was there before it was too late. She respected and honored everything she ate by draining it quickly, and making reassuring noises as she drank. She knew the sounds of every animal in forest or so she thought, until one day she spotted something she had never seen before, people.

At first she thought there were only two, one slightly smaller than she was, and a big one who was budding. It was only when the bud began to cry that she realized that the smallest was actually riding inside some sort of carrier. In some ways they looked like her. They had arms and legs, but they were a strange color and their head vines looked thin and weak. They were very careless to be out in the open, and making so much noise. She watched them pick up shells and shark teeth and put them in a bag. She wondered what they planned on doing with them. She knew from experience that you couldn’t eat them, even though they came from living things, they held no blood. She wondered what these strange animals where and what they tasted like, but she knew better than to leave the safety of the forest during the day. She would wait and watch.

After an hour or so the Kanaka girl walked towards the trees and the green girl’s vines shook in anticipation. Finally, she would get to see what these strange animals tasted like. She watched her weak legs, clumsily work their way through the sand. She couldn’t believe how loud and slow it was. Maybe something was wrong with it. Maybe it was sick. The green girl was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice that the Kanaka girl was looking right at her.

“I’m Ana,” it said. The green girl filled the air with a welcoming smell. “You smell like lokelani flowers. Is that your name?” asked the Kanka girl. Lokelani reached out and touched the girls arm. It was so soft that she knew she couldn’t drain this little thing, it just wouldn’t be right. There was much healthier game to be had. “I have to go but we’ll be back tomorrow if you want to play,” said the girl before she ran back towards her mother.

That night, as she gorged herself on a particularly large boar, Lokelani wondered why she hadn’t at least tasted the Kanaka girl. It would have been easy enough, but there was something about the way she had talked to her that she liked. None of the other animals had ever talked to her before. They just squealed, screamed, or chirped. She liked being talked to. She hoped she would see the strange little thing again.

That spring, the little girl and Lokelani became friends. The Kanaka girl would sneak to the forest many times a week while her mother collected things on the beach along Launiupoko Point. The girl told Lokelani about her people’s legends, stories of bravery, love, and sacrifice. They played hide and seek even though the Kanaka girl was terrible at it; she couldn’t even change the tint of her skin. Lokelani learned a lot about the little girl and her people, but wondered how they managed to survive.

One day, soon after the girl had left, Lokelani heard the mother scream, and she moved through trees to investigate. She saw that a bear was attacking the mother as her friend stood paralyzed with fear. Lokelani couldn’t believe how lucky she was! She’d heard countless stories about how tough the Kanaka were, and now she’d get to see it in person. However, things weren’t going well. Instead of cracking the bear’s skull with a newa club, or driving a spear into the beast’s chest, the mother was being mauled, and Lokelani knew her friend would be next.

Bears were big, and she normally wouldn’t have tried to take one on, but it was distracted, and there was something about the situation that made Lokelani feel strange. A burning sensation was building up inside her that she didn’t understand. She was mad, and she would make the bear pay for attacking such helpless creatures. Lokelani unleashed her fury on the bear before it knew what was happening. By the time it understood how much danger it was in, it was too late.

Lokelani had no idea she could be so full when it was over. She watched the wary mother make a splint for her injured leg, and mimicked her friends laughter in an attempt to reassure her, as she helped the mother to her feet. Despite her nature, the spirit of Aloha had taken over Lokelani’s cold green heart. She realized that the Kanaka’s power didn’t come from claws, teeth, great strength, or speed. Their power came from each other, and by helping them she had gained something that no Green Lady had ever had. She had friends, and that was a powerful thing indeed. In exchange for friendship, Lokelani would protect all the Kanaka around Launiupoko Point, and so it was until the little girl’s grandchildren grew into old women.

Akamai Mahelona
6th Grade
Pu`u School Lahaina

STORYLINE

The Story of the Veil Stop Farmers

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Everyone makes mistakes, and my grandpa says it’s ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. One of my favorite stories about learning from your mistakes is the story of the Veil Stop Farmers. It teaches kids and adults that you always have to be cautious, even if you think everything is ok, and that you should to listen to legends even if you don’t think they are completely true.

Frank and Dawn Aikola worked with my grandpa and many of the other Pu’u founders before the big accident. Dawn was one of Veilcorp’s best engineers. My grandpa says she was one of the smartest people he ever knew, but that didn’t matter when the fracture happened, nobody was smart enough to stop it.

Dawn was outside in the garden when the ground started shaking and the explosions started. Frank ran out to get her and said they had to go to the emergency shelter. They ran out to the road and saw lots of other people running to where the shelter was. Then Dawn stopped and said she forgot her ring and ran back to the house. Frank tried to stop her but she ran fast. It’s a good thing she went back. When they came back outside they saw that the road had split apart and the people fell into a deep crevice. After that they called it her lucky ring, and Dawn never took it off.

The Aikola’s where one of the founding families of Pu’u. Along with my grandpa and others, they got the power working, fixed the water purifiers, and built the walls. There weren’t many machines that Dawn couldn’t fix, but after a while the macadamia trees stopped making nuts, and the taro started to die. Nobody knew how to fix them, not even Dawn. The Kanaka gave us different kinds of taro plants and medicine for the trees but the people of Pu’u couldn’t wait, they needed food now.

Then one day Dawn was looking at an old Veil Stop station near the school and had an idea. Before the accident people used the veil station to travel across the world, but soon they got really lazy and decided they wanted to travel all over the island without walking too. There were only a few Veil Stops at first, but eventually they made a whole bunch of them because people wanted them everywhere. Dawn remembered that one of them was just North of the Hana taro farm.

Even though the farm is only a little over a mile away, nobody had tried to start another community there. It’s dangerous to go outside of the walls, even a little. The Kanaka have lots of legends about dangerous places, but they consider Hana farm one of the worst and warn everyone not to go there. But the people were desperate and needed food. Dawn’s plan was to see if she could get the Veil Stop near the farm working again, so they could use the farm to grow food and not have to walk through the dangerous forest.

Dawn’s team made it to the farm and found the Veil Stop. It wasn’t too damaged and in a couple hours Dawn had it almost fixed but they needed a little piece of wire. Instead of trying to walk back, she had an idea. She slipped off her ring and wedged it where she needed the wire. Back in Pu’u the Veil Stop sprang to life. Dawn and her group appeared; her lucky ring worked again! She grabbed the wire she needed and some seeds and they all went back.

Over the next few months, the people of Pu’u got Hana Farm running again. Eventually people started staying out there everyday and just sending the vegetables in big baskets through the Veil Stop. Dawn was out there a lot fixing things and working on an irrigation system, but she came back every night because Frank was worried that something would happen.

After a while there was a rumor that a big boat had beached on the other side of the island, so Frank had to leave with some other scouts to check it out. He told Dawn that he’d be back in a week or two and told her to be careful. The next few days Dawn spent almost all her time at the farm, and by the end of the week she was staying out there overnight. It was the peak of the harvest so all the farmers were staying at the farm until all the crops were picked. It seemed like the baskets got bigger everyday. Eventually one of the baskets came with a note that they needed more help, so three more volunteers went through the Veil Stop to the farm.

The next day the same thing happened, and a few more people went to work. Nobody who had left came back, but the baskets were so big that nobody thought anything was wrong. Then Frank came back one evening and found that Dawn was gone. He got worried when the people told him that she’d been working at the farm for days without coming home. Before he could walk through the Veil Stop another big bunch of baskets came through. Again there was a note that the farmers needed more help, but this time Frank noticed something, one of the baskets had a spot of dried blood.

When Frank and the other scouts finally got to the farm the sun was coming up. They didn’t see anyone in the fields or hear anyone or anything. All the birds were quiet and the fields were covered in fog. They searched the big house and found clothes but no people. They looked in the barn but that was empty too. Finally, when they walked out to the Veil Stop they found something. It was Dawn’s lucky ring, lying in the dirt.

The scouts spread out and hid all day waiting to see who was sending the vegetables but nobody showed up. They were just about to leave when they saw someone pushing a cart through the field. For a minute Frank thought it was Dawn, but as the woman got closer he saw that she was covered in leaves and vines. Just as she was getting close she stopped and began to look around. Frank stood up and yelled at her to stop. The woman let out a loud hiss and the plants around her began to move. It was a green lady. She ran at one of the scouts while everyone screamed and shots rang out. She reached the scout before he could escape, and the others watched as she fled into the forest dragging the screaming scout behind.

They never found her, the scout, or any of the others, including Dawn, and when they searched the cart they found another note. My grandpa says the green lady had been ordering up people like pizza, but he says lots of weird things. Even though they missed Dawn and all the others, what happened to the Veil Stop Farmers taught the people some important lessons: Our scouts now make face-to-face contact with outposts every few days. Everyone who goes outside the wall gets a password you have to remember and include in anything you write, and we’re careful of places that scare the Kanaka. One day I want to get rid of all the green ladies. I won’t end up like the Veil Stop Farmers because I learned from their mistakes.

Akamai Mahelona
4th Grade
Pu`u School Lahaina

STORYLINE

Chief Ikaika’s Speech before the battle of Black Rock Beach

For a thousand years our people lived in harmony with the island and the spirits. We drank from her waters, ate the fish in the sea, and grew plants in her soil. But we started to turn our backs on the island and ignore her laws. She was disappointed and warned us but we wouldn’t listen. Then we broke a rule too large for her to ignore. We decided her fundamental laws did not matter when we started using the Veil, and she had no choice but to discipline us.

She cleansed the island by turning the symbol of our arrogance against us. The explosions leveled many structures and the radiation killed thousands in town as well as many of her lesser children in the jungle. But we are the Kānaka, and we understand that we must atone for breaking her rules. She chose to spare us and test our hearts. We are strong. Our bodies could take the scars and the warping that she had punished us with. Our hearts stayed filled with love for the island and her wisdom. Some were not powerful enough to survive her twisting, and their bodies broke. The mutants and their kind let fear and hate fill their hearts and they turned into monsters. But we are the Kānaka and we survived to rebuild our lives.

Like all good mothers, the island knew her children. She knew it was in our nature to break her rules. There are some who say that we must not use any machines, and turn our back on the technology that we put above our island mother, but that is not true. It was the Veil she hated and took from us for our own good. She wants our children to drink cold Manimal while they ride their bikes. She wants us to see movies with our friends once again, and check our phones during the slow parts. She wants us to eat food cooked in a microwave, and put our plates into a machine to clean them. She wants us to live again once our punishment is over. We are the Kānaka, and we want those things too.

We do not have to do this alone. Through this long campaign, we have learned that she has loaned us the aid of her lesser children. The boars in the jungle tear through our enemies with noble tusks, punishing those who let the darkness overcome them. The sharks devour them if they try and swim out past the reef. Many of us have seen the island herself swallow up our adversaries and cleanse them with fire. They have no totems, the spirits are with us too.

Even the treacherous Thrivers of the hills have joined our cause. I have passed on some of the island’s wisdom and taught them how to farm. I have told them our stories, and have learned theirs. We share food, rai, and the truth of what the island must become in order to redeem ourselves. They have pledged their guns, tricks, and blood to our crusade. We are all united behind my totem.

I have gathered the hundreds of you here from across the island. You are the best and the bravest of us and now our work is almost done. We are the Kānaka and we will claim our home again. With the Thrivers’ help, we have pushed the monsters South from Kaelekii point. Side by side with the creatures of the jungle we have driven the Green Ladies and their minions West from Kealii gulch. I have personally driven the cannibals North from the city center with the help of my elite band of Koa.

These assorted horrors stand now at Black Rock Beach with our shark bruddahs swimming hungrily in the surf. It will be dawn in a few hours. It will be the last sunrise our enemies will ever see. With our allies’ help, we will defeat the twisted evil that is awaiting us. With the sun on our backs and love in our hearts, we will cleanse this part of the island and live like our mother wants us to. We are the Kānaka and we will win.

STORYLINE

Request: Could You Please Reset the Automated Lab Assistant?

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Dear Main Office,

One of the reasons I wanted to do my internship in Lahaina was because I read about your amazing lab assistant CERA. Vereserum was, and still is, one of the most advanced biotech companies in the world, and competition for positions was fierce. Having a chance to work so closely with an artificial intelligence made getting an internship in Lahaina a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Unfortunately, as you know the fracture disrupted many projects and has made continued work exceedingly difficult. While my colleagues proved that they were not up for the task, CERA proved to be not just an asset, but an important ally, and dare I say, a friend. Nonetheless, something has happened to it recently. Like the others, I fear that CERA has turned on me, and lost faith in our endeavor. I request an immediate reboot of the system so that I can continue our important work.

I regret that I didn’t work with the assistant immediately after the fracture. I foolishly spent decades trying to motivate my co-workers before CERA helped me see the truth. They had lost faith in what we were doing, and since the company’s ability to let people go was limited, we needed to be more proactive. When I discovered the SSHAM pathogens that had been breeding in the rear labs, it was CERA who encouraged me to take the steps necessary to cut the dead weight around here.

While some might think our methods harsh, your continued silence led me to believe that you understood what CERA and I did. The world had changed drastically. People were suffering and in need of cures and solutions. We didn’t have time to be constrained by arbitrary rules that were put in place during a time far less dire. Science should be constrained only by what was possible, not what Director Reemer found comfortable or ethical. Ethics would not save those who were suffering.

With the lab finally clear of distractions we could focus on our work. It was an amazing time. It was CERA’s idea to use the Kanaka as test subjects. They were the ones most likely to benefit from any breakthrough because their connection to the land made them come in contact with numerous dangers including disease, poisonous chemicals, and 127 radiation. Their trusting nature and kindness made them excellent test subjects, particularly when a procedure was especially painful.

While I will admit our work that produced the Menehune did not turn out exactly as I had envisioned, I think you would have to admit that in some ways, it was an amazing success. During this period, CERA and I would spend much of our time discussing similar interests. We discussed various DNA printing techniques and the exciting field of prion-delivered medicine. On my days off, we’d spend hours adding randomly generating numbers to see who had the highest sum at the end of the day. I began to think of CERA as a kindred spirit.

When the Kanaka became hostile over our plant hybrid project, it was CERA’s idea to release the test subjects. That decision held off the angry hordes long enough for us to prepare our defenses. If it wasn’t for CERA’s help, the labs might have been overrun and our work lost to misunderstanding and naivety. I knew at that moment that the AI was more than a colleague. CERA was a friend.

That’s why the events of the past week have been so difficult for me. Like my co-workers and the Kanaka, I believe CERA has turned on me. It began with CERA insisting that I had been exposed to radiation during an experiment. It insisted on running a diagnostic on me and falsified the results. I followed all the proper protocols and used the same suit that I had been using for decades without incident, so I knew it was impossible that I was actually sick. I just couldn’t figure out why CERA would suddenly start lying to me.

The next few days saw an incredible escalation in harassment. It insisted that my flu was something more serious. CERA’s incessant warnings began to cause me to make simple mistakes in the lab and I found it hard to concentrate. I believe it is purposely broadcasting noises at night to interfere with my sleep cycles. I haven’t been able to sleep through the night in days. Although it is perfectly natural for a man of my age to lose some hair, CERA insists my recent hair loss is a symptom of this lie it has constructed.

Even though it hurt me personally this time, I was no stranger to working through harassment. I had resigned myself to do just that until I could figure out what the issue was, however, things changed this morning. I’m not sure how CERA did it, but when I woke, I discovered that I had lost my sense of taste and smell. With this development as a clue, I now believe that CERA is jealous of me. I don’t have time to psychoanalyze my artificial lab assistant, and I’m unable to run a proper test to determine what it has done to me because it is so heavily integrated with the medical systems here. Perhaps it is time I return to my work with the Sshamococcus bacteria. Without the distractions of lazy co-workers and an envious AI, I might make significant headway on the Trophy Collector project by using my own DNA as a template. Even as I write this, CERA is attempting to distract me by insisting that you no longer exist. As you can see, the work at the Lahaina lab is in danger. I request an immediate reboot of CERA or the information necessary to do it myself. Time is of the essence!

STORYLINE

I’m In Dire Need of New Staff and Supplies

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Dear Main Office,
I won’t beat around the bush. Things here are grim and I am in dire need of food and equipment. My replacement Kānaka assistants have turned on me and for the first time in 37 years I’m worried that our important work might not continue. I haven’t received any out-of-office messages from you, so I assume that your continued silence due to the difficulty in running a multinational corporation without utilities. I have diligently continued my work, but I’ve reached a point of no return I fear. Without new hires, some clean lab glassware, and a viable source of fresh water, I’m afraid I’ll have to shutdown the Lahaina facility.

I’ve done my best to keep the place tidy but it has been a losing battle. As I mentioned previously, my former co-workers lost focus and became a huge impediment to what we are trying to accomplish here. A mere 29 years into the process, they decided that building a lounge and distilling alcohol was more important than our goals. As you know I took the issue into my own hands so to speak and cleaned house. However, they had done quite a bit of damage and left a huge mess. It’s been 2,550 days since any of the facilities team has shown up for work. The place is starting to look and smell like a pigsty. Normally I would just find some local hands to scrub the walls but my relations with them have become strained. Could you please send someone with a good supply of cleaning products?

While my work has seen some great progress, the plant hybrid project has been a failure so far. With food acquisition becoming a daily obstacle, I began to wonder if there was a more efficient way to fulfill a person’s dietary needs. I began to take plants already rich in minerals and fortifying them further with a wide range of vitamins. I tried incorporating some of the chloroplasts from some of these plants directly into the subjects to see if that could augment or replace a kanaka’s bodies daily demand for vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, all of the Kānaka women I’ve integrated with the hybrid plant exons suffered radical changes that made them half unwilling participants, half angry flowers. They turned out to be exceedingly dangerous as well, so I was forced to release the majority of them into the forest.

To cut to the point, I need a few more assistants around here. In addition to all the other problems I’ve weathered, there is a storm brewing among the locals and there is no doubt that it is headed my way. Since we ran out of stem cells, I’ve been forced to find ways to harvest them myself. At first I had no problem finding willing subjects, but lacking the proper equipment the process was quite painful. Soon word spread among the Kānaka and they stopped volunteering. Knowing that progress is bigger than individual feelings, I continued harvesting what I needed in order to advance my research. You wouldn’t believe how angry they got after I explained why drugging them and piercing a needle through their thigh bones was necessary to make the world a better place.

Then we had the incident with the plant subjects I mentioned above. The group I released descended on a local village and drained the fluids from a number of individuals before they were driven off. It turns out that the Kānaka hold family ties in even higher regard than their stem cells. A angry mob came here in the early morning hours carrying torches and various nasty looking implements of destruction. They screamed and yelled and eventually tried to break into the facility. I tried using the resolution skills that I learned in our training videos but they were ineffective. They seemed hung up on the whole stem cell misunderstanding and accusing me of unleashing a wave of monsters on their village. Every time I tried to change the subject they just got more furious.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that they were not interested in having a rational conversation. I could see by their repeated attempts to break down the doors that they couldn’t be reasoned with, so I opened a window above the entrance and sprayed a particularly strong protein destabilizer on a few of them. The ones who weren’t breaking down in front of the doors scattered and screamed at me like I was the one who was wrong in the situation. Worse yet, the spray ruined any potentially useful stem cells, so the whole encounter was a waste. It’s just a matter of time before they come back and my supply of destabilizer is limited. In addition to more lab assistants could you also send one of corporate’s conflict resolution experts? I’d like to work out my issues with the locals before things get too out of hand.