by Aaron Pery
"Kind of remarkable, I'd say."
"No kidding, Marty. First you came up with the answer as to why some of our infertile women suddenly and for no reason became fertile, and saved us all a lot of grief. Then you bought enough machinery to bring our food production in the farm into twenty-first century levels. And to make things even more interesting you carried on a long conversation with two horses by communicating with them mentally."
"Which is all really fantastic," Michael said. "But how are we going to pay for all this expensive farm equipment, Marty?"
"It's already paid for, Mike. And if you're wondering about where the money came from, don't worry because I used funds that came from a personal legacy of mine in my other world."
"As a gift to us? That's being highly benevolent, Marty."
"Benevolent my ass, Mike. I used it to help advance my community to a point that'll facilitate our growth in comfort once we start bearing children. In fact, I'd like all of us to consider what will happen to our population size in ten or fifteen years."
"Oh my God." Arvin burst out. "It'll explode and create a terrible population density, causing us to lose all that we have accomplished here."
"You mean all the luxuries that we suddenly attained, don't you?" Ben asked with a chuckle. "Well, Marty and I, having been ranking military people are used to setting up contingency plans for various events. So what's your solution for this one, General?"
"Expansion, Ben. From all I know about modern Crete, the largest island in the Aegean Sea, it's population used to hover around half a million people. Their problem was that they hadn't been an agrarian society for a long time so they had to rely on tourism and fishing for their livelihood. We, on the other hand, live completely off the land and must continue doing so for many years to come. So my suggestion is that as our population size grows we do a bit of island hopping, establishing colonies on them until we reach mainland Greece and then expand from Athens northward."
"But forever keep Crete as the capital and center hub of the nation of Minos?"
"That's how I see it."
"Excellent idea, Marty." Elwood said. "But why not expand to Turkey, which if I remember correctly is closer to us than Greece."
Marty smiled. "That was another of my discoveries at Sue's and Dave's home, that Turkey used to be the homeland of what we think of as our horses, before the evolution process turned them into centaurs. And yes, Gogians as well. So now they want it back and asked me if we could transport them to Turkey before they, too, start multiplying like rabbits."
"I think we owe it to them." Jenny stated. "For all that was done to them over the years. Besides, I don't know why but I'm emotionally more attached to Greece than to Turkey. How do you all feel about it?"
"I agree with you on that." Ben said. "Anyway, this is a virtually empty world so why not use Mike's word and let's be benevolent toward these creatures who had suffered such horrors. I vote to let them have Turkey and transport them over there."
"Anyone disagree?" Jenny asked, then pounded the gavel. "So voted. By the way, Ben, where are all the Gogian boats that we'd supposedly inherited?"
"In a small bay up the coast where they're all anchored in lines upon lines of what Marty calls wave-skimmers because they're keel less and float above the water rather than in it."
"Are they similar to the two small ones we found in the harbor here?"
"Very much so. But most of the ones in the bay, or I should call it a navy yard, are huge in comparison because they were made to carry men and equipment across from the mainland."
"Is anyone maintaining them, or are they just left to rot at anchor?"
"Oh, no. Our old Royal Navy Captain Herbert Wallen found the anchorage and took it upon himself, with a few young volunteers, to take the place over and run it very much like he was still in the navy. Loves it, too."
"Then we have a real honest to goodness admiral in our ranks?" Marty asked. "That's great because we'll be able to use his navy to transport people around the islands and create intelligent plans for when we're ready to expand."
"Excellent. Should we promote Herb to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet and have him join the the board under Marty as another add-on member of her staff in addition to Ben?"
"I think it'll be a wise move, Jenny." Elwood said.
"Then so be it, unless anyone objects."
When no one did, Marty chuckled. "Gosh, we're turning into a real mini nation with our armed forces. But all kidding aside I think we're moving in the right path because who knows what lies hidden out there that might turn nasty."
"Which is always a possibility." Michael agreed. "When is the equipment supposed to arrive, Marty?"
"By the end of the day, which I'll be informed about later. But I won't start to move anything out of the warehouse until midnight their time, once I verify that it's empty of any humans."
"Yeah, it'll be a disaster if someone sees this strange looking horse moving in there and calls the police to have it investigated." Nick chuckled.
"That's why we won't do anything before midnight."
"Anything else?" Jenny asked as she looked around the table, then closed the meeting.
"Where do you want us when the stuff arrives, Marty?" David asked when they reached the street.
"Spend the rest of the day enjoying yourselves in town, then go to the warehouse to insure that all preparations have been made to receive the equipment."
"Actually, I'd rather go there after Sue and I have a nice lunch by the seawall, where I'm told an enterprising old fisherman has set up a restaurant and is serving delicious seafood."
"It's amazing the kind of talents we constantly discover amongst our people."
"It sure is, like you and Nikki, Ben, Herb, and Mike. And our recent discovery that Elwood is a true wizard with machinery, who took over the maintenance yard and is keeping it running like a military operation. He's a terrific trainer, too, and assembled a great crew of young kids with a similar interest."
"That's great. D'you think he'll be able to convert our equipment from fuel-run engines to the perpetual motion ones?"
"There's no doubt in my mind that he will. Anyway, I'll be going over there a bit later to help him make sure that everything is in readiness for the equipment's arrival. How about you, Sue, what will you be doing?"
"See many of our customers and discuss better food shipment schedules. How about joining us for lunch?"
"We'd love to, and then we're going up the coast to see Herb."
"That was quite a meal." Dave said when they left the restaurant. "Never seen such huge shrimp in my whole life."
"I guess that's because these waters had never been fully fished." She responded. "Which makes me think that maybe we should start doing it and add all sorts of seafood delicacies to everyone's diet."
"Then do it."
"But how? First, we don't have the equipment for it, and secondly, we know nothing about fishing."
"Easy. Get on the internet and learn all you can about fishing, then make a list of everything you need and I'll order it from Adam so you can start a fishing fleet going if it makes sense to you."
"Haven't you already spent too much of your money on us?"
"Come on, Sue, don't you start talking like Mike. I got millions of dollars to my name, but what am I going to do with it? Make an appearance someplace, like a luxury hotel, and scare the living hell out of everyone the way I look, and then get arrested by the police as an escapee from a carnival freak show? No, Sue, this is my home and you are my people, and I can never go back to where I came from. So what do I need money for when I got all that I possibly want right here?"
"I guess it makes sense, Marty. So thank you from all of us for being who you are, and most of all for freeing us from the Gogians."
"And from us to you for accepting us into your hearts. Anyway, Nick and I got to go to inspect our navy."
"Then please convey our congratulations to the new admiral."
&nbs
p; "It'll be my pleasure."
"I was watching you closely while you were telling Sue about the fact that our old world is in essence extinct for us." Nick said as they drove on the well-paved road east of Heraklion.
"And what did you see?"
"Pain, Marty, at the loss of everything that we used to have."
"True, but the fact is that our old world and life ended the moment we were hit by the lightening."
"It did, and we were fortunate to end up here with almost a millennia of a great life in front of us. And maybe even raise a family as we'd wanted to do so many years ago."
"Yes, Nikki. I'd been thinking about having children with you and the idea is quite thrilling. Then why are we talking about our past when there's so much life to live ahead of us?"
"Because I know you, Marty, I think almost as well as I do myself. And what I read in your eyes when you talked about the United States to Sue, Mike, and even to Adam, was that you'd like to do something great for our old homeland."
"I'll agree that you're right but what can I do for our country with what little money I have, which I stole from the fucking would-be suicide bombers?"
"You're really amazing, Marty, having such a magnificent mind that's able to project so much ahead of time yet you're quite blind about how to help the US in a way that would make it thrive like it never did before."
"Okay, Nikki, cut the suspense already and tell me what you're talking about."
"What do you think is the worst blight the US is suffering from currently, that might turn its civilization upside down in the not so distant future?"
Marty slammed her foot on the brakes suddenly and hit the steering wheel hard a few times before she was able to calm down. "God, I've not just been blind but without a doubt absolutely stupid when I'm sitting on top of the solution to the US dependency on foreign oil, which is ruining the economy and weakens its political power around the world. While we got engines and other mechanical devices around here that will operate forever without a drop of oil or grease."
"That's right. So if the United States gets a hold of the basic principles that all our engines operate on then the only oil they'll need will be to fuel Tikki torches in the future. Oh, I'm exaggerating because oil is still used for many pharmaceutical manufacturing and such, but for that they have plenty domestic production."
"And if they no longer need their oil, the Arabs are going to go belly up. And even better, international terrorism will die on the vine because all their money sources will dry up. Okay, my genius, so how can we transfer this knowledge to the US?"
"I doubt it would be too hard to do, especially since you already have the right agent that I'm sure you'll be able to trust in place."
"Who..... Oh yes, Adam, of course. But how should I approach him?"
"We know he's mechanically inclined, has many contacts in the automotive field, and as a former SEAL under your command you consider him trustworthy. So what you should do is tell him that you have a great invention that you'd like to patent, with him as your agent and partner in the deal. Then wait for his reaction after we send him an English translation of a specification and assembly manual for him to study."
"Excellent idea, Nikki, so start on the translation and I'll talk to Adam once you're done with it."
"Won't take me more than a week, I'm sure."
"Great, then let's go visit the admiral."
They were impressed by the palatial house where Herb seemed to live and work from, which they assumed used to belong to a Gogian admiral. By the time that they stopped in front of it Herb was waiting at the door and welcomed them warmly.
"You got lookouts out there, who saw us approaching?"
"Of course, Marty. And we always patrol the area around us to make sure that no one's lurking out there. We actually caught a couple of Gogians and executed them on the spot."
"I'm glad to hear that you haven't let down your guard, Herb. But how did you ever find this place?" Marty asked after he led them into a beautifully furnished living room.
"I'm afraid I can't take the credit for it. It was Ben who figured out that there must be some installations out of town that we knew nothing about, so he checked on all the milk and food deliveries and found this place and a few others as well. So he loaded a few of us on a truck and sent us over to find out what this place was about, and I was stunned to find that it was their naval mothballing and operating maritime yard. Which was easy to take over because by the time we'd arrived the Gogians were all dead."
"So that's why we haven't seen you in town."
"Well, I did go in a couple of times--once to propose to Adelle, who accepted, and the next time to actually go with her to the palace to register. And we've been here ever since, really loving it."
"Then I'm going to disrupt your idyllic life, Herb, because you're going to have to go to Heraklion on occasion."
"For what reason, Marty?"
"Because you now work for me, Herb, as the Admiral of the Fleet however small or large it is. So congratulations, Admiral."
Before he had a chance to respond, Adelle, who apparently just came into the room with a tray of refreshments, literally flew into his arms. "God, Herb, I love it that you'll be an admiral. I really do. And thanks, Marty, for promoting him."
Marty, who had met Adelle before and had considered her to be a very bright young lady, grinned. "I'm happy to see that at least one of you is pleased. Why the sour puss, Herb?"
"Sorry, but for a moment there I thought that we'll have to move into town, where we own a lottery-won house."
"Nonsense, Admiral. The Chief Naval Officer of Minos better stay with his fleet to make sure that it's always maintained to perfection because sooner or later we will have need for it." She told him about transporting most of the horses to Turkey, and about the eventual plans for expansion to other islands. "So you see, we are all dependent on you to provide us with a proper navy. Do we really have one?"
"Most certainly. I've used mostly the names for them that I'd learned on the internet which are used in the modern days, which everyone likes. So all told we have at anchor a total of one-hundred and twenty craft, forty of them small speed boats that can carry up to six crew and are armed to the teeth as are all our boats. The rest of them are ten each of cruisers, frigates, destroyers, ships of the line as we called them in my time, and the rest are forty transports of various sizes. In addition we have a huge warehouse full of replacement parts that we haven't yet found any need for."
"Impressive. What shape are they in?"
"We'd tested every one of them and they all work perfectly."
"Not that I'm complaining, but how come?"
"Because I'm sure the Gogians considered them as their only mode of escape off of the island in case they were attacked. That's why they kept such large force here, about five-hundred, that were split evenly between trained crews and maintenance personnel."
"And how many do you have?"
"Our roster has grown to close to two-hundred by now, mostly in maintenance. I'd like to have at least another hundred, which I'd consider being set up as fully manned."
"I'll talk to Paula about spreading the word around. I suppose that they're all paid a salary by the state."
"They are, which is equitable compared to Ben's people. And they also got all of the Gogians' housing, most of which were built to our size."
"Why did they?"
"As a hedge against disaster, I guess. Which was why the admiral was a converted Gogian."
"Makes sense. What about ranking?"
"I've been using ranks similar to those in the British Navy which, like Ben's people, is stamped on a band with their name, rank, and serial number, which all wear on their left arm."
"Great. You, though, should wear a jacket and a hat with your rank on them."
"No argument. But why aren't you wearing similar garb, if I may ask?"
"Because I wore uniforms all my life in the past and now refuse to give up running ar
ound in the buff unless it's cold. Seriously, though, because I have no direct command of troops or sailors."
"Sensible answer, General. As to my uniforms, I'll have Adelle design them for me and take it into town to the tailor that Ben uses. Okay, ready for the tour?"
"We sure are."
Once they descended the small hill down to the wharves, they were astounded by the sight of row upon row of moored and anchored ships of all sizes, each covered by a tarpaulin except those that were being worked on. Herb took them onto one of each class and explained their functions. They were impressed by the range of weapon on all of them and their simplicity of operation.
"How did you and your people learn all you needed about these ships, mostly about their engines?" Marty asked when they began walking back to the house.
"You know that none of us had ever seen any machinery before getting here, so we didn't need to unlearn anything like I'm sure that you had to. Also, when we first got here Adelle was extremely frustrated with all household gadgets with their manuals written in Cyrillic letters. So she got on the internet and translated their alphabet, then compared their words to Greek and other regional languages until she came up with a translation. She printed everything for the men which, by the way, many are actually women as you must've noticed, and handed them out to use as a comprehensive dictionary."
"Great work. Can I get a copy? Actually a few so I can give them to Paula who will spread them around for everyone's use." Nick asked.
"Of course. Actually, I'll also let you have a copy of maps and sea charts book of the entire area all the way up to and beyond Macedonia."
"Even better."
When they parted, Marty complimented Herb. "I got to tell you, Admiral, that you've done a superb job here on your own with little assistance from anyone."