by Don Koch
Before anything else could be said, All of the original implant recipients volunteered for the revised implants including those with the primary implant.
Chapter 21 - What is Ahead
# Earth Orbit on the Lotan Flag Ship #
# Monday, July 25 #
Andy, Pat, Gus and Barbara teleported to Collum's ship.
A few minutes later, they were all comfortably seated around a large table in a lounge with refreshments at hand.
Earth is not ready for the level of technology to be found on the bases and I do not think it will do them any good to have it handed to them. In fact, probably the opposite.
They are certainly not ready for the technology to be found in those ships. Almost all of them are warships. Earth is too splintered politically to be handed warships with the capabilities they have there. They would likely destroy each other quickly.
They should only be permitted to place people on the moon that are part of a multinational effort to prevent the possibility of a massive lunar land grab not to mention the political ramifications.
Is this something that you and your people would be willing to consider?>
Andy gave his list to Aston and he arranged for them to all attend. When everyone was there, Andy provided an update to the discussion that had occurred to that point.
With expansion, we will need to build a military form of organization to manage the events we address and who addresses them. Aston has been of great assistance there and I expect he will continue. I would like to ask Pat Clark, Josè Gomez, Collum Farn and Sider Belst aided by Aston to develop that structure. I expect that our organization will exceed 60,000 persons within the year. What do we do with 60,000 Solarans? Perhaps the better question should be, what do we do with 860,000 Solarans? Remember we have over 8 million Lotans in stasis. One thing we can do is to really improve on the bases we have claimed from the Grell.
If we can do that with the Lunar structures, what can we do for an entire planet. The next would be to consider the construction of bases similar to those on the moon but do that on Mars and elsewhere. One thought is to terraform Mars. Just a thought but I suspect that the Lotans would like to be able to breathe on the surface of a planet.
When the Earth gets its act together, we may eventually move off the moon altogether, so locations like Mars and elsewhere may be necessary to maintain the peace.
Some or all of those carriers we claimed can be reconfigured as super freighters. Some of the vessels should be retained as war vessels but the persons operating them will have no need of the weapons on board since they are the better weapons when needed.
This next may be in the back of some minds and I am going to put it out on the table. We Solarans are now essentially a different species. What should be our role on this planet Earth and for that matter, in this part of the galaxy. So far we are driven in our actions to provide help for people with lesser capabilities than our own. But the question will come up, are we stifling the growth of the humans living on Earth? Are the things we are doing for them, going to help them in the long run? At some point we may have to consider leaving. If so, how do we recognize when that point has arrived. Do we leave a presence if that point comes? This will be a difficult decision when the day comes. Remember too that Solarans will have a substantially longer lifespan than other humans. We need to consider and plan for that eventuality.
What of Lota? Has all Lotan life been extinguished in the Lotan System? The Slegna seem to imply that there may be survivors. We have to know and we can't wait years. If there are survivors, they must be rescued and soon. That operation should be ready as soon as possible. This time the difference will be that the ships that go, will be armed with Solarans. We need to determine if the planet is salvageable. Can the damage done by the Sorza be repaired. This has to be a priority.
The Sorza will fall. They have no idea what is coming their way. I have no intention of waiting seven years to address that problem. I expect to be on our way to meet them by this time next year or sooner.
Who else have the Sorza injured? Is there something we can do to help them? I intend to find the Sorza wherever they are and push them back to their own planet. Once there, we will quarantine them. End of story. Quarantine likely means returning them to preindustrial levels.
We can't afford to ignore the Grell. They will only invade another species. That is their mindset. They too need to be quarantined in much the same manner as we handle the Sorza.
I think that Soloran candidates need to appreciate that this is where we are likely heading. One of the advantages of this is that we and our children will walk the star ways and on planets that we only dream about. Imagine the wonder of it all.>
Collum sat back in his chair and had a pensive look. Finally he addressed Andy,
Andy was stunned.
would have given us the higher speed. Unfortunately the installation instructions had a sequence of cable connections misaligned resulting in a slower speed. Even more interesting is the fact that proper installation also provides a substantially reduced fuel usage. We could not believe it when we saw the solution. Our initial disbelief caused this to take longer. By tomorrow all of our ships could be capable of this increased speed.>
Andy grinned and said,
Chapter 22 - Growth and Progress
# Earth Orbit on the Solaran Ship Aston #
# Tuesday, July 26 #