I notice Volar standing on the far side of the mine pit.
“How long has he been here?” I ask
“Long enough to watch what’s going on.” xmits Beast.
The mining crew worked expeditiously to undo the damage to the terrain and it only took hours to fill their mess back in. The bulldozers were back blading the surface and men had their gear ready to go when the Lynas Transporter touched down. There was no question about it they couldn’t get off this planet and away from us fast enough.
I walk over to the Komatsu and confiscated the keys and told the stunned operator to “get your sorry ass onto that transporter and get the fuck outta here”. The guy when scared shitless could run like a bloody gazelle, and he did and all the staff got on board and presently the transporter lifted off and disappeared into the blue sky.
Chapter 26: Volar
We stayed on 55 Cancri e for a while and just relaxed. There were no humans here to screw things up so it was nice for our intrepid group to rest for a while and be one with nature. The glorious summer days of warm temps, blue sky and smells of the forest return. We met Volar many times and spent wonderful afternoons listening to him speak. I’m not sure we ever figured out exactly what he was other than an amiable energy source in the basic human shape for our convenience. He could have taken any shape at all as far as I could understand. He required no food and no drink and was particularly taken with Beast, D, Poe as well as Muther; it seemed he was quite an expert on the subject of Advanced Artificial Intelligence at the Artilect level and beyond. This made me wonder if I was talking to our future when talking with him. Humans built AI, which rebuilt and redesigned so much faster and powerfully and eventually just did away with the necessity of physical presence and could become anything that was comfortable for them.
As predicted the Lynas Corp had not fulfilled their obligations to help with Volar’s problem terrain. So after a sufficient rest and tidy up period of a week or so, which included reseeding the grass once again at the mine site, we attached one of the Weight/Mass Neutralizers to the Komatsu and lifted it and hauled it over to the problem area of the Planet.
Beast was delighted as this gave him the opportunity to explore new territory and it was spectacular here with steep hills and the beginning s of mountain ranges. I very quietly chided Beast about being careful to stay out of the way of saltwater crocodiles. He took it well and only nearly knocked me down wagging his tail and making his happy sound.
The rock fall Poe, D and Muther took care of with the ships Pulse cannon, and knocked a hole in the rock fall to let the damned up water through to irrigate the valley and drain the backed up lake. I made it a special project of mine to terrace the sides of the valley where the rock slide had come down utilizing the Komatsu dozer to make a cutline across the angle of the slope. Side sloping is not as easy as it looks and I did have some heart stopping moments. The Komatsu is just an absolute delight to operate but my skill as an operator was lacking and at bare minimum. But we got it done and I didn’t die, or wreck the Komatsu. Volar was very pleased, and even more delighted when we seeded grass on the side slope trials to minimize the erosion. His creatures would enjoy the grazing potential.
We did take the Komatsu back to the out buildings left behind by the Lynas Corp and put the machine in one of the equipment shops to keep it out of the elements.
Then we just rested, took walks, had naps, talked to Volar, watched the most amazing sunsets you could ever imagine, toured the Planet and had the place all to ourselves. I spoke to Volar expressing concern that humans and mankind did not seem to be learning and moving forward. Or if they were it was utterly glacier slow. Even as humanity began the colonization of space the same human issues and mistakes stayed with us, we did not seem to be able to evolve and move on. It was like we were stuck in a bad behavioral loop and unable to change for the past hundreds of years. Volar nodded and saw my point and commented accordingly, but did not really offer any revolutionary insights. Nevertheless it was satisfying to speak of such things with one who was in a position to observe. Eventually the time to leave came, even though we were reluctant, we felt being gone a month was sufficient to test how things were back at the Trade Station.
It was sad to leave Volar as we had grown very accustomed to him appearing around 4:00pm every day and sitting with us for a couple of hours of discussion and exchange of ideas. But we said our goodbyes and left. Volar was very gracious and hospitable and extended an open invitation to stop by again whenever we felt inclined. It was very generous of him and we were most appreciative and said so. He smiled, raised a hand in a gesture of goodbye and disappeared.
Poe got us off the surface and set a course for the Trade Station and accelerated up to optimal speed.
Beast flopped on the couch with a big sigh. D hugged me and had a tear for Volar, Frosty was discussing algorithms with Muther and Poe was steering the ship, and I was just content to hug D and be glad I was with my family and friends.
Chapter 27: Musing
I’m changing; the trip back to the Trade Station gave me plenty of peaceful time to think about it. Of course I realize that ongoing steady change is part of us, always has been and always will be. Folks deny it and resist change with every fiber in their body, which is really stupid as change answers to no man and is ongoing. Not to mention factors outside everyone’s control occur. But those who hate change continue to rail against it and undo it where ever they can. They just do not grasp “change” at all. Change is not a better or worse question, it just evolutionary change that is ongoing.
Anyway my warrior instincts are changing. Where I once was up for any conflict anywhere, just a huge badass looking to fight, I now seem to have calmed down considerably and my motivation to fight now is based on threat to family and self. Otherwise I am comfortable and peaceful and get my jollies from things other than beating the living shit out of someone. Now it’s true that maturity has a hand in that change process, but I believe D has been the larger agent of change for me. While we are not nesting and having babies it is the next best thing to it and a man’s priorities change to protecting what you have.
The Militaries of the world are fine with their soldiers getting married and having babies as they can leverage the family values as motivators for the soldiers to fight like banshees. I don’t agree with that concept, or maybe more correctly I agree with the concept and understand it, but I disagree with the practice. Too many Dads’ don’t come home from combat leaving a widow to try and survive on small pension and raise the children. That’s just not a proper practice. You want to go and fight every battle as a young jar head with a hard on you go ahead, but when you have a wife and children you do not have the exclusive right to decide to continue that lifestyle. You have responsibilities and accountabilities to protect yourself and be there to do you family and parental duties. Not lying dead face down in a ditch of sewage on the other side of the world.
Chapter 28: Home
“Land Ho,” announces Poe throughout the ship.
“Why do you use that expression Poe?” I asked
“The expression land ho is historically of great significance years ago when men set out in wooden sailing ships to discover new worlds and to see where the oceans and seas led them. They were extremely brave discoverers and often had little hope of coming back alive from the perils of the journey. In these very primitive vessels there would always be a lookout sitting in the crow’s nest up close to the top of the main mast. He would have a rudimentary telescope which was hardly even equivalent to modern manual binoculars. It was his task to watch for bad weather, other ships, whales, shoals, rocky outcroppings and land. When land was sighted the lookout would shout “Land Ho” to the Captain and fellow sailors on the ship. It was an event of great excitement as they may have been at sea for months at a time. So the land ho expression is one that has a particular importance in history of navigation. Not that unlike what we do currently.”
“Thank you Po
e.” I reply. I can thoroughly understand the sailor’s sense of relief of finally reaching land as I am truly relieved and glad to be back at the Trade Station. But Poe, please do not burn the ship after we have docked, alright?”
“Why in the world would I even consider such a thing” asks Poe.
“Check you history on Columbus, you’ll see.” I reply
D was off checking on the Community Center to see how they had faired while we were away; Frosty and Muther were still picking the fly shit out of the pepper in their algorithms. So Beast and I went down to the Bar/Restaurant called The Station Place to have a visit with Freddie.
We found him in his usual spot with the pretty waitresses fussing over him and around him making sure he was looked after. A suitable spot for a gentleman of his distinguished background and capabilities. Not to mention his encyclopedia of information and details on the technical aspect of the Trade station. If anyone knew how things were working and what was going on it was Freddie. Big Mike might be the Trade Station CEO and run the place, but it was Freddie that knew what was going on at any given time.
I hooked up a chair with my foot and took a seat, Beast tried to curl up on a bench seat along the wall but he was so big he was in danger of sliding off the seat. Not that it mattered as all the girls were fussing over him more than they were over Freddie. Odd but the girls just could not keep their hands off Beast, and of course he made the most of it giving the girls little happy sounds and wet cold nose snuffs naturally making the girls squeal in delight.
“God, what a ham that damn wolf is,” I chuckled
“We could take lessons from him buddy and that is a fact,” cackled Freddie. “You got to remember none of these pretty little girls have ever seen a real wild animal and sure as hell not a wolf that size. So they are as tickled and as curious as can be, and when he responds to them in kindness and happy sounds and wet nose snuffs well hell they just melt like butter in the hot sun. They love that furry bugger to death.”
“Ya thats true no question of it and he loves the attention. So how are you and how are things?”
“Good, real good, I don’t remember a time when the Station has been functioning better, the HVAC is quieter yet flows more air, the temperatures are more consistent, air quality is superb, and maintenance is low with the up to date components installed and the new maintenance procedures in place. That AI Project Manager is a goddamned genius if you ask me. Place has never run so well with a few people. And the ones that are working are glad to work, not like the assholes that used to be doing the so-called maintenance and weren’t.”
“Excellent to hear, and how are your knees doing?”
“Well they would likely be better if I ate less, exercised more, cut back on the alcohol, and didn’t have any bloody fun at all. But I ain’t gonna do that, so I ain’t complaining.”
“Hell Freddie, you never looked better, I think it’s all the very pretty young women that you have fussing around you keeps you young, and of course you and the girls flirting back and forth.
“It’s true enough that flirting with very pretty women does tend to keep your mind sharp and not focused on your personal aches and pains.
“So what’s the word on the street, so to speak, are we still enjoying low crime rate and are folks generally minding the law?”
“Absolutely, there is no mention of any under handed business going on at all as far as I know.”
“Well that’s considerably good news Freddie; maybe we should go away more often as the place seems to do real well without us.”
“Well sir, I believe it can be said that you and Beast made a considerable impression of the folks of the Station and after having seen and heard about what transpired I don’t believe anyone is particularly inclined to step very damn far outside the law, least they get on your wrong side.”
“In certain circumstances it can be a considerable benefit to have a dangerous reputation.”
“Now isn’t that just the god’s truth” cackled Freddie.
Chapter 29: Back to Reality
Frosty was happy with what he found and got his computers backed up and synced. He immediately began fussing with some code and of course he and Muther began the discussions clucking away at one another like a married couple. It was heartwarming and reassuring to listen to them so involved in one another.
D had some things to straighten out at the Community Center, but by and large it survived quite well in our absence. The temporary, possibly permanent replacement for D did a really nice job. D was very pleased and the board was pleased with how well the temporary replacement got along. It looks like D selected the correct candidate. Now it we can get D to relinquish her control levels I think things will work out nicely.
Word of our activities got around, who knows how and where it came from, those are questions to which there are no good answers. The word is we are a “shadow group of genius business specialists” who remedy problems with sick and cancerous corporations. Oh good grief!
We had been in touch with Lynas Corp at the Board level and at the employee level to monitor how things were going. The Board assured us everything was absolutely rosy as we knew they would. Our senior management contacts we had that are now running the corporation were much more eloquent as to how things were proceeding. With the cancer cut out and the financial hemorrhaging staunched the Corp was looking pretty damned healthy. Most important of all to me was staff is very optimistic about the future of the corporation. Many of the staff is married to other staff members and so both were very dependent of the success of Lynas Corp. If it failed both their incomes were gone along with pensions and whole shebang. Lynas success was critical to these folks. Their success mattered a lot to me.
So naturally every half-wit swinging dick ineffective CEO who felt his shitty corporation was under-producing was intent upon hiring us to remedy his corporate ills. Most of them were fair corporations doing as well as they could with very weak unimaginative leadership. The corporations that do nothing innovative other than finding new ways to whip their staff and cannot understand why they do not flourish.
We were pestered with a rash of annoying request for assistance. It was insulting as the corporations seeking assistance did not even have the good graces to offer any serious compensation packages. In essence they just demanded we come and fix their mess for nothing, just because!
It seems as we had been fortunate enough to help out Mike at the Trading Station in terms of renovating his business, and shooing away the bad people, and got dragged into what looked like a simple “negotiation” for some mineral rights which subsequently went sideways and became a full scale mining corporate renovation to save it from imploding in carnage, we were obliged by virtue of our reputation to clean up everyone’s mess and right all the wrongs in the known universe. Not happening!!
One purpose it did serve and serve very well was to illustrate the thinking and behavior of humanity at the corporate level to our AI systems and entities. We spent considerable time discussing the “industrial disease and corporate rot” so many companies which should do very well fall prey to. To a great degree it was a philosophical discussion about “absolute power corrupting”. A philosophical observation of Lord Acton’s from the nineteenth century which has proved itself repeatedly in our times. As a politician, CEO, senior management individual, or team’s power increases their morality values decrease. Hence the term “industrial disease and corporate rot”.
Frosty, Muther and the sisters, D and Poe had a great time discussing and proposing how the AI algorithms might be adjusted to include these very real and common phenomena.
It annoyed me to death and offended me at so many levels I just turned the whole damn noise off and Beast and I went back to our “to do lists” for the ship and contents and worked on maintenance issues. We chatted daily with Freddie to stay in touch with the pulse of the Trade Station, and began making preparations for the design, construction, and assembly of a set of droids fo
r the Trade Station.
Big Mike had been pretty enthusiastic when we showed him the capabilities of our droids Huey and Dewey and their work on his HVAC project. He said he figured he needed a couple of sets of droids and would we put together a presentation outlining what we had in mind.
So that’s what we did, Freddie knows more about the Station than anyone alive and we discussed a laundry list of problem areas that the droids could address and maintain. It would be a huge leap for the Station maintenance teams.
When we weren’t working on the droid project Beast and I were talking and chatting about a recreational hunting trip. Away back when there used to be this huge wild boar problem in Texas. Pigs had gone wild and as they have no real predator other than man they got out of control in no time at all. The agricultural loss to wild hog damage was staggering. It was so bad that you could charter helicopters and chase the hogs and shoot them from the chopper. Beast was somewhat incredulous about the whole process. Particularly when I told him that in that day and age he would have full time employment from farmers and ranchers killing as many wild boars as he could by any means possible.
“You mean I can chase and kill as many as I want?” xmits Beast
“Yup, and more, and by any and all means possible.”
“Well that has to be as close to Nirvana for me as I might get.”
“For sure, coincidently you by design are exactly the solution that they were looking for back then. But of course the technology would not be available for a number of generations.”
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