Eden Misbehaving Ch 01
- 2 years ago
- 24
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They both rushed to meet him. Muriel demanded, "Well?"
"It was as I feared. Spontaneous abortion; happens in about 15 per cent of all teenagers, often for no apparent reason, but usually because of a genetic abnormality. I am assuming no history of drugs, smoking and drinking of alcohol."
"Nothing like that, Doctor", said Gloria, "And she eats well - we make sure of that - so not a nutritional problem."
"In that case, just a non-viable foetus. There should not a be any problem with a future pregnancy, but she should be checked frequently for the first trimester of pregnancy. You ladies will see to that, I presume? Penny says she is to marry John; is that right?"
"It is, Hasan. Pregnant or not, we will go ahead with it shortly." Muriel had a thought. "Oh, is she liable to need help to get over losing the foetus?"
"Temporarily, yes, but it was quite early, so there should be no medical question, merely sadness at her loss. The bleeding will stop in a day or two. Give her plenty of cuddles, is my prescription."
"Thanks, Hasan. You are a true friend."
He smiled, and said, "Friend, nothing: I'll send my bill to John, for sheer devilment! Bet he pays it, too!" He laughed, and went off home to his family.
Muriel went upstairs to Penny's bedroom, and knocked softly on the door.
"Penny? How are you, dear? Can I come in?"
"Sniff ... Yes."
Muriel entered. Penny was sitting on her bed, tears running down her cheeks. She burst out, "Oh, Muriel, I have lost my baby!"
Muriel did as any mother would, and gathered Penny into her arms, giving her a comforting hug. "I know, dear. Hasan told me. There was no real reason for it. It just happened, and it should not prevent you having a future pregnancy, Penny my love."
"But I LOST my baby, Muriel!"
"Don't think of it that way, Penny. It was just a tiny foetus, with the POTENTIAL to become a baby. It hadn't started to become a real baby at this stage. You should also remember that the reason why your body rejected it, was probably that it was genetically incapable of surviving. A small percentage of foetuses are like that; incapable of survival. Your body recognised that, and got rid of it before it could become a danger to you. Your body is sometimes cleverer than you are, Penny. It knows what is good for you and what is bad for you, and this foetus wasn't EVER going to survive, so it has been got rid of at the early stage. This was for your body's own good. It was the best possible solution, and you didn't have to make the decision, did you? You just have to live with the facts. Can you do that, Penny? You are a clever girl: you can see that, can't you?"
She sniffed again, through he tears, and looked up at Muriel.
"You really think so, Muriel? Truly?"
"Truly, Penny. I promise you. You should not allow this event to prevent you becoming a Mum when you are ready. And remember: this will not stop you marrying us. We shall have the wedding fairly soon; but you have to be fit and well to take part in the wedding. We can't have you moping around, feeling sorry for yourself. That would not do at all, would it?"
"No, Muriel. I see what you mean, but can you still hold me for a while? It was a bit of a shock for me. I never expected this to happen."
"That's fine, Penny. A little grief for the child that was not to be, is quite normal. You can cry all you want for a little while, then we will go downstairs. I will tell the others what has happened; we will all be sad for you, but grateful that it happened without causing your body any real harm. Cuddle in to me, Penny. Let your sorrow come out."
When John got home a little later, Gloria met him and explained what had occurred. He wanted to go up to Penny at once, but she held him back.
"Muriel is with her, darling. Whatever else she is, Muriel is a great Mum, and that is what she is being for Penny just now. Let her do her thing, John. It will be worth it. Mum had to live with a lot of problems in her life, until you came along and entered our lives. She has the experience to be a mother figure for Penny."
John saw the sense of this, and waited until the pair came downstairs, hand in hand. Muriel saw John waiting. She stopped at gestured Penny forward.
"Penny has something to tell you, John. Listen to her carefully, dear."
Penny came up to John and whispered, "I lost the baby, John."
He opened his arms. "Penny, my love, I am very sorry to hear that. Come to my arms, dear girl."
She gladly allowed his arms to envelop her in his comforting presence.
He whispered in her ear, "I think the wedding goes ahead. You deserve that, my love."
"Your love? You truly love me, John?"
"I do, Penny. Your trouble made me realise that fact. I do love you, Penny."
The first train set off from New Eden to pass through the tunnel with a load of rail workers and their tools and equipment. Hubert Swanson begged a lift, to make his transit to the research station swifter. It would make it much faster getting to the other side of the mountain, where his long walk to the research station started.
He was still unsure of getting back to the train in the late afternoon for his return trip. He asked the driver when it would leave. The reply was not encouraging.
"Sorry, sir, but I don't know yet. The rail track workmen have been told to be at the terminus for 5 o'clock, so all I know is it will be that time or later; how much later is unclear. The bosses are taking note of the transit time in each direction before deciding on a schedule. They expect to find variable times of transit, depending on how fast we drivers try to take the trains until we get to know the track better; and then they will either average it out, or take the longest transit time, and use that for the scheduling. You know how it is with train schedules, sir. You can have a train running a little late, and that is acceptable, but running early means people miss their train, and that is real trouble!
So, as today is the first day, we can't promise anything other than vague timings. Sorry about that."
Hubert assured him there was no need to be sorry: it was just a time of learning for the extended train network. He noted the expected departure time, hoping that he could manage to be there before it left. If he missed it, he would have to walk to the cable car terminal for the slower journey at high level. At least he could catch a cable car, for they left at frequent intervals as long as the route was operational.
Every day that he arrived at the research station, there was a new creature ready to be delivered to him. It was as if the Personalia had the creature tagged, ready to be caught, anaesthetised and transported as soon as Hubert arrived. The background data and images appeared in his phone at the same time. He was grateful for all that preparation.
He got a phone message one day, from the chairman of the Action Committee. "Mr. Swanson, a scientist has been appointed, to work at the research station with you. His name is Tomas Schafernacker. He was appointed last month, but had to resign from his previous post before he could start. Another gentleman, a botanist named Neal Ferguson, will start in a couple of days. We have instructed them to meet you at the research station. They have been given a map and instructions to find their way there. This is to allow them to familiarise themselves with the problems of getting there!
You are recognised as our local expert on the native fauna, and these gentlemen have been so informed. Please treat them as colleagues in this venture. You each have your own areas of expertise, and we expect you to work closely together."
At the Colony offices, Peter Parker approached the Governor.
"Sir, we have prepared the draft version of the annual statistical report on the Colony, for internal use and distribution to reliable friends on Rehome.
I would ask you to peruse it, as before, and give me your comments and any advice on how we heve presented the data."
John accepted the report and promised to give it immediate attention. He postponed as much of his regular work, to allow him to concentrate on this important report.
The first part related to the expansion of the local population over the past year. The colony had now several thousand inhabitants, predominantly farming families, but he noted the increasing numbers of retailers and other commercial enterprises, to counteract the continual rise in civil officials to oversee the workings of the colony.
The rail system showed an expected rise in personnel, as the building of the network continued apace, and the construction of engines and wagons for running on the new rails. The majority of wagons were for freight loads, particularly timber and rail construction materials, but passenger carriages were being constructed in anticipation of a regular passenger service to and from the new enclave beyond the mountain range that delineated the crater the colony was based in. The length of available line had taken a jump since last year, but the new tunnel would boost that considerably in the coming year, with all the new lines to be built beyond the mountains.
The Houston homecoming was everything Meiersdottir had promised. Media coverage was extensive, and the entire staff of Eden Rescue was flown in to join the celebration. As the harrowing story of their narrow escape from the Eden system emerged, MacPherson and to a lesser extent Cromartie found themselves momentarily media darlings, much to their—and especially the captain's—embarrassment. Ironically, Mallet himself was also showered with fulsome praise for his and his agency's role in the...
He neared the river, and selected a hide for himself while he waited. As he sat there quietly, a small version of the sheep-like creature crept out of the forest and headed for the water. Hubert got out his handgun, waiting for it to come close enough for a fatal shot. It ambled closer, passing a bushy shrub, and as it did so, it jerked and then collapsed. A snake, or something very like a snake, slithered out and away from the animal that had disturbed it. Hubert thought, "Luck sometimes...
"I'm Amanda, and I'd like to give you welcome to our great ship, the Ark." Meiersdottir had allowed the Edenites a few hours to settle into their new and unfamiliar quarters. The ship had been broadly reconditioned to resemble as much as possible the surface of Eden. Its huge primary bay had been layered with the soil scooped up from the planet, into which had been implanted as much as they'd been able to gather of the foliage. The beasts they'd herded along were already grazing...
George nodded his agreement. "Gosh, NO, that would be far too long. I am sure you could calculate the optimum dimensions of the steel links between the cars, assuming them to be welded to the underside and lower sides of the car. These connections would have to be robust, remember: timber is heavy. Much would also depend on how great a diameter of log can be accommodated. Anything too large could be left for the trains to transport through the tunnel at a later stage. "Who is going to be...
A soft brown glow outlined the Wall, its sheer size dominating the horizon. Sigmund was holding on to his spear, surveying the landscape with a pair of digital enhanced binoculars, one of the last few still working. Upstream he could discern Lake Spagelow dry this time of year, again too soon for comfort. Still no sign of Jared and Ernst though, he thought to himself. He turned around to look at his eba, scrounging for food around the low bush, with little luck that day. "I told you the bush...
The jubilation at the headquarters of the informal "Eden Rescue" group put together by Toshimura and others was intense. In one two-day explosion Meiersdottir had brought the Edenites' plight to worldwide attention, initiated a tremendous upwelling of support for the rescuers' goal and completely defused SES opposition. It was beyond what any of them might have imagined possible, especially in so brief a span. But they had little leisure to enjoy their triumph. There was work to be done,...
For the past three years Meiersdottir had gradually detached herself from Eden Rescue. She remained chairperson of its board and nominal CEO, but Heisinger and Igwanda—AC—had between them taken over virtually all aspects of operational management, and her regular presence was no longer needed. Given her advancing years—she'd be 113 on her next birthday, which was only two months away—making the daily trek to the organization's offices was increasingly difficult for her, and she was rarely...
He was overwhelmed by the hug he got from Tracy, then she called softly, "Hasan! He is here." Hasan walked towards the door, carrying several bags. He eyed his visitor. "John? You came yourself?" "Anything for an old friend. Where are the boxes of books?" Hasan indicated a pile of cartons next to the door. John started to carry the first out the door and over to where the platform sat. As the family trooped out, he indicated the platform. "Everyone get on there. When ready, say NOW,...
"An ark?" she repeated. "Yes! A spacegoing ark! We don't want to go back to study them or gloat over them or any of the stuff you said. We want to rescue them!" Her face still tear-stained, she gave him an unbelieving look. "How is that possible?" she asked. "It can be done, Amanda," he replied. "Not all of them, of course, not even very many. But enough; and they'll bring all the others with them, in their mind. Remember, you told me when you got back from the second trip,...
In all of human history there has, however, never been a cause behind which all could unite. Peace, love, mercy, justice, every such ideal has found its detractors at any given time; education, individuality, achievement are all opposed by a tenacious few who have determined them to be somehow evil. Human beings can't even agree on their origins, there are still those who continue to insist that the Earth is flat, and many of most inspirational leaders of the past were in fact murdered by...
The Ark's captain would be Angus MacPherson, a dyed-in-the-wool Scot who was reputed among the most flamboyantly daring of the starship commanders. To balance his bravado SES had selected stolid Warren Cromartie as second in command, "as sound as they come," Mallet told Meiersdottir. Only a skeleton supercargo would travel on the outbound run. Heisinger and Igwanda would be joined only by biologists Watesi and Yuan, chemist Johann Paulssen and astronomer Yisheda Amuri for the voyage....
"It is, Tabs, but it is a burden you have to bear, if you are to be trusted with other important matters later in life." "Understood. Wow! Penny getting married!" "Perhaps, Tabs. It is all at the "depends" stage. Now, can you back off with your questions; questions I cannot answer?" "Yes, sir. I will stop, and keep things to myself. Thank you for trusting me. I won't let you down. Penny, wow!" She halted her enthusiasm. "Does this mean I can't speak to Penny about her wanting...
"Well, Carlie, it's time." He smiled, and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Good luck, Grandmother." "I hope I don't need it." Pushing on the armrests with both hands she stood up unassisted and turned toward the door. They were in the "green room"—the waiting area—of the most popular worldwide late-night holograph show, on which she'd appear within, now, only a few seconds. It was a painstakingly arranged, and widely publicized, appearance. A week earlier she'd called the...
Hatred, Meiersdottir mused. Unreasoning hatred. And unreasoning fear, too. How terrible that they drive so much human thinking, and by thinking actions as well. In the two days since the dramatic confrontation in MacPherson's cabin there had been a great deal of activity. First and most immediately, the Ark's course had been righted. The ship had been on the proper trajectory, merely moving far too slowly to reach worm speed in anything like adequate time. But with all of its thrusters...
The choice turned out to be dictated by the anatomy of the Ark's Eden passengers—partly the Edenites themselves, but considerably more the wildlife accompanying them. It took Heisinger a great deal of effort to describe the situation clearly enough for the Edenites to understand. They had only the vaguest notion of the concept of gravity, and none at all that it could be variable. To them one remained on the ground simply because it was natural for non-aviators to remain on the ground, and...
"You shall have it, Muriel my dear. I hate to think how much this will set me back, but it was worth it! The dinner is, what, three days from now?" Gloria responded, "Yes, dear. Three days from tonight. The dresses arrived just in time. Now Penny and I need to pick up our necklaces, to set off the dresses." "Necklaces? You have necklaces? I don't remember seeing them." John expressed his doubt. Gloria smiled sweetly. "They are being made for us as we speak, darling. Nothing...
The research station was nearing completion, as The Personalia mechanoids hurried to attend to all the tasks that were required to turn the jigsaw of parts into a working building. It never occurred to The Personalia that they were conducting tasks which a human would normally attend to; they did not know, so went about their work as only they knew how. Knowing the timetable for the station to be ready for occupation, they phoned Hubert Swanson, saying "Hubert Swanson, the station is ready...
Eden Cove seems to have it all: Turquoise waves rolling up white perfect beaches, surounded by tropical green dotted by a firework of gaudy exotic flowers. A lush wind cooling down bodies which are otherwise heated up to much by the radiant sun. Placed at this secluded patch of heaven on earth lies a top-notch holiday resort with all the extravaganza which can be offered by state of the art facilities. Eden Cove resort moreover seems to be populated only by the most gorgeous people you can...
The morning transmission began as tumultuously as Meiersdottir had expected. Toshimura, in particular, was outraged that she had departed so drastically from their plans aboard the Gardener, and spent the first two minutes expressing that with phrases like "cover-up" and "betrayal of trust" and "high-handed unilateral decision-making" sprinkled liberally throughout his tirade. "All right, John," she said when he finally began to run out of words, "but that's something I don't want...
Igwanda and Meiersdottir walked back to their mini-pavilion, as they had come to call it, in stunned silence. Meier was awake and cranky; "I changed him," Lee said, "but I think he's hungry. Can't help you there." "Thanks, Janet," replied Meiersdottir absently. "I'll take it from here." She took the baby and with practiced movements opened her tunic to give him suckle as Lee left. "Hey, ouch, little man," she said, "just suck gently ... ah, there you go." As the baby fed she...
It was officially called a "mission briefing," and was closed to the public and the news media. Even so, popular interest in the return to Eden had reached a sufficient pitch that a variety of SES brass who had little of substance to contribute took up the first 90 minutes with what were mostly tendentious platitudes. The keynote speaker was Abel Langston himself, who thankfully gave to those who'd be light-years away in the coming election an abbreviated version of his remarks (they'd...
Yet another time the Edenite mother seemed at a loss for a response. The silence went on for a full minute, longer. Meiersdottir and her companions simply waited. "You ask us to leave this world, to leave our home and go with you?" the alien finally said. "Yes," she answered. "There's no other way for you to live. Your world is going to die, and you'll die with it if you stay. But we can help you leave it." "All of us?" "No, I'm sorry," Meiersdottir admitted. "Even we can't...
Meiersdottir slept fitfully but long in her cabin that night. The trip down to the planet, and especially her excursion into the Edenite nest and the effort she'd put into her presentation to Gagugakhing, had tired her severely; at her age the whole thing had been exhausting. Even so she kept waking, brooding, and then dozing back off. As a result it was nearly noon by the ship's clock when she at last bestirred herself from bed. She showered and dressed and wandered down to the ship's...
"Before we shut down, who's got Eugene's key for the log?" asked Meiersdottir. The Ark had been emptied of all its living cargo save for the plants unneeded on New Eden within a span of less than twenty-four hours. As before, AC—Heisinger and Igwanda—had taken on the brunt of the effort, aided enthusiastically by the remainder of the ship's original crew. The Edenites were already ensconced in their new Earthly home, their animals grazed happily in the abundant fields that had awaited...
There was a substantial welcoming party waiting as the sub-orbital came in for its landing on New Eden. Meiersdottir's entire estate staff had all turned out to greet their mistress, along with the two of Igwanda's security detail who were currently stationed there. The bulk of his security forces were now based on another nearby island but maintained their vigilance to prevent unauthorized encroachments by either air or sea. And, in equal numbers—still numeric parity, she noted—were the...
Even before the Gardener reached orbit, it was evident that there had been changes in the century since the Argo's visit. Dramatic changes. The rest of the planet—the landscape, the elevations and prominences, the distribution of life, on which most of the ship's scanning equipment was trained—was roughly identical to what the Argo had seen. Even such changes as were detected were more or less to be expected: slightly altered shorelines, minor expansions or contractions of arid desert...
It was impossible, was the shipwide consensus. There was no conceivable way that a culture obviously in the early stages of agrarianism, with but a single field planetwide under true cultivation, could have advanced to organized iron mining and smelting just a century later. "It took us several thousands of years to cross that bridge," said Toshimura. "To even suggest that another species could make the transition in a mere hundred is nonsense!" None could argue with the proposition that...
Preliminary analysis of the specimens produced a strangely mixed bag of results. The air, as the Argo had found, was quite breathable without respiratory filters; it was considerably more pollen-laden than Earth's—an ecology without significant insect population would naturally rely more heavily on airborne dissemination—but the pollens were completely innocuous to humans. Likewise the water was perfectly drinkable; the natural sediments would simply pass through the human digestive tract...
"It's the opportunity we've been waiting for!" Shaw fairly oozed excitement. "Now we can begin to truly interact, to see them in their homes, to really learn about them!" Igwanda noted dourly how the first officer, with no role in the mission other than as pilot, so eagerly used the first person plural to include himself in the ranks of the scientists. But he kept his observation to himself. And it was true that the scientific contingent, down to even the usually stolid Heisinger,...
"I see. Go ahead, then." "Piotr tells me that his pal's Dad – the name of the man is Hubert Swanson, by the way – it seems that he currently is a labourer on the rail track. He is a frustrated man, and takes out his aggression on everyone who has a better-paid job. He tells them that he is just as good as them, but they get better jobs because of their paper qualifications, not because they are better at their jobs. That doesn't endear him to his colleagues at work." John nodded....
I am NOT the author.am simply sharing Lauren takes a solo vacation and meets the sexy VP she hates from workI was beat, beat, beat. This last project had taken the wind out of my sails. Too many 11pm calls with China. Too many lunches eaten over my computer keyboard. In fact I'd spilled coffee so many times I was on my third keyboard. I told my pal in California that I was taking a vacation.“ I don't care if Mark can't make it- I'm just going to take off,” I said.“ Great,” said my pal Rob. “Go...
If anything, the pace of that progress was even faster over the next few weeks. The scientists were gathering an immense body of knowledge about both the planet and the aliens themselves. After hearing Meiersdottir's description of the mating process Heisinger and Komosaki were avid for a first-hand view; the Edenites showed no hesitation about allowing them entry to the nest to witness not only that but an actual hatching. "It's unlike anything on Earth," Heisinger reported afterwards....
Time was closing in on their departure from Eden. They'd been at the planet for nearly fourteen Earth months, on the surface for the great majority of that time, and Captain Ziang had set a deadline of only two more weeks before the journey home would have to begin. All the scientists were hurrying to cram as much additional research as possible into the remaining time. Many were already drafting the breakthrough papers they would publish after their return, papers that would forever...
Abel Langston was first and foremost a politician. He loved the trappings of power, the sense of control and most of all the limelight that his electoral successes had brought him in steadily growing measure. And he was determined that his new post on the five-member SES Board of Administrators would be neither his last nor his highest in his chosen field. Thus, almost as soon as he took his seat he followed the time-honored approach of all ambitious politicians and began casting about for...
The Gardener reached worm speed and negotiated the worm transit uneventfully. At the astronomers' request Captain Ziang left the external scanners on for a short while at the beginning of the transit, but the view was only of a featureless void and after a couple of the more agoraphobic members of the crew asked, she turned them off. On-board excitement built quickly as the ship exited its wormhole and began decelerating toward Eden. The astronomers and physicists busied themselves quickly...
The summons she'd expected, from SES Executive Director Eugene Mallet, reached her in her hotel the next morning. Would she please present herself in his office as soon as possible, preferably immediately? She was of course under no obligation to comply. It had been several decades since she was in any way beholden to SES, and they had no authority whatever to command her. But it suited her purposes perfectly to obey the peremptory directive; indeed, had it not arrived promptly she would...
Meiersdottir was true to her word; the following morning the chamber was again full. There'd been a good deal of grumbling about "unnecessary" meetings, but her prestige was such that she'd persuaded even the most recalcitrant among her scientific peers to attend. And, she noted with approval, his military ... task force, she remembered, were also present. After calling the meeting to order Shaw, as pre-arranged, immediately recognized her. "Thank you all for coming today," she began....
Cromartie's story had impressed them all so much that they were perhaps lulled into complacency. The days and weeks passed by in endless sameness and still they hadn't reached the critical worm transit that would take them to the Eden system where they could begin decelerating to make orbit and finally, via shuttle, planetfall. And time was, Meiersdottir knew, uncomfortably short. The original plans had called for arriving at Eden a full six months before the emissions of Chen's nova...
But for the next several days she had no opportunity for another visit. Heisinger and Igwanda had worked out a rough revised schedule for the rescue operation once they'd reached Eden, but they needed her input on many details as the only crew member who'd ever been on the planet. For almost every waking minute the three of them were in constant discussion, calling often on Watesi, Yuan and Paulssen for consultations. Amuri was pressed to refine estimates of the arrival of the Chen's nova...
By the time the planning revisions were complete the Ark had, at last, entered worm space for its faster-than-light transit to the Eden system. As MacPherson had noted in his greatly abbreviated pre-launch briefing, the transit was in objective terms instantaneous; from the moment they entered the wormhole to the moment they emerged no time whatever would elapse in the physical universe; the two events would occur simultaneously. Subjectively, though, it would seem aboard the Ark to last...
"I won't be here tomorrow," she warned MacPherson. "And today must be a short one. I need my rest; I'm going down to Eden tomorrow." "Ye gae yersel'?" he said in surprise. "Why?" "Long story," she told him. "But I need to be there, on the first landing. Does it frighten you, knowing we're here now?" He gave her a long, speculative look. "Nae, Missus," he said at last. "Wha' I did, I did forr rreasons I ha'e tol' ye, an' I do no' know still if they werre guid...
"I know you said this could happen, Amanda, but I still can't believe they'd actually refuse us!" said Heisinger. The humans were gathered in the pavilion watching as the Edenites industriously helped assemble the first load to be ferried back to the Ark. This would be, as they'd long planned, mostly soil along with a few basic horticultural specimens. The massive bays of the mothership would have to be conditioned into a reasonable approximation of Eden's surface before they'd be...
The work went on virtually non-stop, with periodic slow-downs when one or another of the humans was too exhausted to go on. Heisinger and Igwanda rested in relays, one of them always awake to guide the operation and ensure that it hewed to the plan; the others snatched such sleep as they were able when they were able. They were in constant communication with Cromartie aboard the Ark to ensure that the on-board arrangements likewise followed the plan, and twice Igwanda made quick visits to...
"Married?" said Meiersdottir in surprise. She was on the communicator with Igwanda, who with Heisinger had alone remained on the surface. The others, together with both landers, had repaired to the Ark as soon as what had been intended as the final loading was finished for a much-needed night's sleep. It was now early afternoon planetside in what was their first day of inactivity since they'd arrived at Eden. "Al and I originally planned it when we started," Igwanda told her. "We...
"You say that name of this ship, Ark, has much meaning to you," Gagugakhing remarked to Heisinger. "Would you tell us this meaning?" The younger woman had quickly adopted the practice of alternating with Meiersdottir in interacting with the Edenites on their voyage. Actually the brunt of the effort fell on Heisinger; the old woman was increasingly feeling the ravages of her advanced age and the efforts she'd put forth in their visit to Eden itself, and as little as an hour was enough...
At long last, after five grueling weeks of crushing on-board gravitational excess and unremitting tension, the crucial day had arrived. There remained but hours before the nova's killing burst of radiation would reach the Eden system, and before the Ark would at last attain the minimum speed that would allow it to pass into worm space and escape. And Meiersdottir was still in a coma. Even the optimistic O'Bannion now referred to her condition as "critical," and was increasingly guarded...
What developed, as Igwanda had predicted, was a second day of virtually no predatory activity. Two flying creatures stooped on small ground animals, one successfully and one not, but other than that and a brief territorial display between two of the hexapods the day was a bucolic repetition of the previous one. The scientists spent most of it again collecting specimens. Observing closely, both Komosaki and Heisinger were able to collect ground plants onto which some of the grazers and...
"Wonderful, Roxanne. Isn't it wonderful, Hasan? You are going to be a father again, dear." John Wells looked Hasan in the face. "Hasan! You and Roxanne? I hope you are going to make an honest woman of her!" Hasan, looking shell-shocked, automatically mumbled, "Yes, of course," at which Tracy said, "Congratulations, Roxanne. Welcome to the family as a wife to Hasan. You have been close to us for a long time, and we have slowly become a family, together. Now Hasan has agreed to make a...
Muriel intervened. "Everyone sit down. I am about to serve the soup. John, see the girls to their seats, will you?" The meal was a wonderful means of breaking the ice, and by the end, they were all chatting together, mostly about the children, but John spoke to Tabitha about the bedrooms, the time of breakfast, and other non-baby subjects, as he had remembered Penny's comments about Tabs. He asked Tabitha about her schoolwork, questioning her about her possible career choices. Being a...
John pursed his lips in thought, then said, "Why don't we make the railway system a company owned by the community, with each family issued a share on arrival, or two shares if they have been here more than a year. We could reward our committee members with an additional two shares for their work on the committee. That way, it is in their interest to see the colony expand successfully: the rail network will show that success, I believe." "Neat trick, Governor. I think they will go for...
"The Landerships going down in tandem were carrying lengths of cable for the wires between the fence poles, and delivering mechanoids to weld them to the fence posts. The cables are heavy, so only a few can be delivered on any trip. We found that the practical delivery is the cable links between two posts, so this is going to be a long job, with thousands of deliveries to be made. We have had to collect additional fuel for the task, so other Base ships have been detailed to have their...
Tracklaying supervisor Gerald Kreusch had heard that the cable car transport was operational and wanted some answers about the rail tracks. He contacted Peter Parker. "Mr Parker, this is Gerald Kreusch, tracklaying supervisor. I would like to get started on laying track on the other side of the mountain, now that the cable car system is in use. Can you do anything to expedite this?" "I can certainly look into it, Gerald. What do you need to get up and running? "A number of things, Mr...
"Fine, Welty, at least up until a half an hour ago. I hear you have a murderer and two frightened girls here." "Yes, siree, Gov'nor. The boys brought him in. Noisy he was. Once they had him manacled to the cell wall, they put a gag on him to shut him up. He was a mix of anger and tears, he was. They said he had torn up the room where his wife died, so we didn't want to take any chances, so that's why the manacles and the gag." "I do hope he has not been allowed to suffocate,...
"No. We are testing the strengths of various cables that are on sale. Most cables are designed for pressure strains, and not protection against physical attack, so we may have to go for armoured cables, which are much dearer; however, we need so much cabling that we should be able to strike a good deal on the purchase. We anticipate at least four cables between fence posts, and then cross links of the same quality, welded in place, with the wire mesh added on the inside." John was...
"Perfectly right, darling. Just as you did with me, only I was too drunk to feel the pain. Penny gets the whole shebang, lucky girl." "You wanted this to happen, the pair of you?" "Yes, dear", said Gloria; "Yes, dear," said Penny. Gloria added, "I made sure Penny got protection, as she is not ready for a baby, so you can give her the works, John." "You really want this, Penny? Sex with this old man?" Gloria was incensed. "Old man? You are younger than my mother, John, and she...
"Oh, my!" exclaimed Penny in wonder. "Yes," Muriel affirmed, "So she then called the Security guards, and ordered them to deport Bert for attacking Colony personnel. Bert's boss had seen the whole confrontation, and confirmed that Bert did the attacking. He was gone by the next day, and our marriage was automatically annulled for that reason. "Gloria had to go to the Admin Department to sort out our housing situation, as the house was in Bert's name, and there she met John. It was...
I was beat, beat, beat. This last project had taken the wind out of my sails. Too many 11pm calls with China. Too many lunches eaten over my computer keyboard. In fact I’d spilled coffee so many times I was on my third keyboard. I told my pal in California that I was taking a vacation. “ I don’t care if Mark can’t make it- I’m just going to take off,” I said. “ Great,” said my pal Rob. “Go for it. Where to?” “ I’ve got a great spa picked out. Actually, it’s down your way. Santa Barbara. Eden...
"Colonel, are they gone?" asked Chavez over the communicator. "Yes, Sergeant, you may speak now. Have you—" "Are you insane, Colonel?" the sergeant burst out. "The lander is ready to go right now, we can have you safe on board in—" "Sergeant, shut up," said Igwanda sharply. He still wasn't quite certain of Meiersdottir's intentions, but he'd had more than enough of Chavez' interference. "But to spend the night camping out in the middle of thousands of—" "Sergeant, do I...