THE PEACE KEEPERS

by Tom Tryst

  She dresses in a fresh uniform (as she now considers the khakis) and quickly brushes her short blonde hair. She will shower and makeup when she returns.

  As soon as she opens her front door, a Peace Keeper stands facing her, just six feet away, startling her. Gathering her composure, she starts to speak, but the humanoid, with the number ‘78' blazoned on its chest, speaks first. “Yes, you may go for a walk, but you cannot leave the village.” It does not move.

  “Thank you,” she mutters, and closes the door behind her, without locking it. Now she can almost reach out and touch the alien - machine, she reminds herself. This is the closest she has been to one of the things. As long as it stands there, she will take the opportunity to examine it. She estimates that it is at least six feet tall, maybe a little taller. It wears no clothing or shoes. It has the structure of an average human male, but with an absence of pronounced muscles - more like a female. The facial features are more like a human male, but without any expression. The surface, or its skin, is a dull off-white, perfectly smooth, without wrinkle or flaw. It has neither nipples nor genitalia. It is barefoot. The toes and fingers do not have nails.

  The face is more like a mask. No whiskers. No wrinkles. The lips are relaxed and unmovable, even when it is speaking, the sound seeming to come from the area of its lips. The eyes seem to be the only break in the mask, with lash-less lids that never close. It is the eyeballs that seem to be the only break in its surface, white eyeballs with jet black iris and pupil. It’s almost like she can see into the eyes. The head is without hair or resemblance of hair. If the features were on a man, they would be pleasant, even being bald, but the effect on her is one of mild repulsion. She hopes she will get use to them.

  “You will,” it says.

  Christ! she thinks, I hope I get used to them reading my mind.

  “You will,” it repeats.

  She slides along the wall to avoid getting any closer to it, then turns and hurries to the end stairway. Outside, she confronts another Peace Keeper, standing some thirty feet away, facing her. She ignores it and starts walking toward the park, two blocks away. She notes the lights are on in the dining hall, but only coming from the serving area along the back wall. A glance at her watch shows it will be open in just five minutes; perhaps she will stop to eat on the way back, then finish getting ready for work; she plans to be there before 0900 hours.

  There is one Peace Keeper at the park, standing at the main entrance. The park is unfenced and is cris-crossed with wide, paved walks. Near the front is a collection of children’s swings, slides and a climbing structure resembling a castle. As she passes the humanoid, it seems to pay little attention to her, but she knows it is watching her; apparently they have a broad range of vision without the ‘eyes’ moving.

  In the park, she begins to relax, her pace now a casual stroll. Her mind wanders back to the city, where she lived in an upscale high rise that was within walking distance of the government office building where she worked. With the deterioration of the atmosphere, there seemed to a correlating deterioration in society. Crime was rising at an alarming rate, to where she dared not venture out alone after dark. Muggings were common. Both the murder rate and the rape rate were steadily increasing. Her own apartment had been burglarized, in broad daylight while she was at work. She only felt safe walking to and from work because of the number of pedestrians doing the same. Safety in numbers. If she worked late, she took a cab home.

  Within blocks of the Nation’s Capital, street beggars were numerous, chased off by the police only to reappear elsewhere. She always kept a few dollar bills in her pocket to give to one, then hurry off, not wanting to speak to them. Because the population of the city (exempting most of the politicians who would not live there) was predominately black (African Americans, as they still preferred to be called), most of the crime was reported to be committed by young black youths who had no jobs. Unemployment was reported to be an estimated 50% among them, probably higher due to the under-reporting by the government. As a result, she would get nervous every time a black youth came near her, even though she had never been mugged herself.

  Her job required that she keep up to date on world events, events which often dictated where and what she was ordered to hack; her job was to infiltrate computer files of governments, businesses, organizations, and sometimes even private individuals. And she was to try to do so without being detected. While not an agent, she was an employee of the Department of Home Security. For the past two years, most of her efforts were in support of identifying terrorist organization and those who supported them.

  The Islam Nation, as they called the territory they controlled, was now so strong their combined, seized countries made them the fourth largest nation in the world - in area. No one yet had a handle on their numbers, except that the piecemeal efforts of the free world could not contain them. Their leaders bristled when they were referred to as ‘terrorists’; they were ‘freedom fights,’ supported by Allah. The fact that they brutally murdered anyone they captured who refused to reject their own religion and become a citizen of Islam, made them terrorists in the eyes of the world.

  In the middle-east, only Israel remained free, surrounded by Islam Nation territory. They were under almost constant attack, with the only thing preventing their total takeover was the presence of troops from the United Nations countries. The majority were U.S. troops. Casualties were high, mostly Americans and Israelites. Other countries sent token forces, but most refused to enter in direct battle against the Islam fighters. It would not be much longer before Israel would be conquered; even now, negotiations were under way to evacuate all those who wished to avoid certain death.

  The old Cold War with Russia was renewed with vigor, with the new government invading and taking over countries once part of the Soviet Union. No one was taking steps to stop them beyond diplomatic complaints, including the European Union. Russia had allied itself with the Islam Nation, with the agreement they would honor Russian sovereignty in exchange for it to recognize them and not interfere with their expansion.

  Wisely, the Islam leaders (who were hard to identify as they frequently changed) had curtailed the infrequent terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, offering the United States a deal much like the one with Russia. There was increasing demand from the American people that the U.S. withdraw all troops and, basically, mind its own business, for the economy was struggling and the infrastructure crumbling. More and more, bridges and tunnels were suddenly collapsing, dams and dikes failing, but there never seemed to be enough money to do maintenance and repairs. More and more, federal highways were becoming toll roads.

  Sixty percent of the nation’s budget now went to the military. The national debt continued to climb; Chinese corporations were becoming common in America, as the government turned over more and more resources to satisfy just the interest on debts China held. More than half of all U.S. borrowing was with China, now the richest nation in the world. And still, in an attempt to buy favors, the U.S. government continues loans to other nations, mostly with nations that have not repaid past loans and probably won’t repay the current ones..

  In spite of this, the wealthiest one-tenth of 1% of the American people are becoming wealthier, while the once proud middle class are becoming poorer, so much so that one-out-of-four children are living in poverty, often not knowing when they will have their next meal.

  The government established national minimum wage remains at $8.25 an hour. The highest state-imposed minimum wage had dropped to $10.00 an hour. Attempts to get Congress to establish a liveable minimum wage were futile.

  But Tabitha was a government employee with a six-figure salary and a bundle of benefits; she lived comfortably. But she wasn’t able to save much, for living in the city was expensive. She could have done like many others, commuting to surrounding areas where the cost of living was less, but that would have meant almost no time for herself. She had already been working overtime. Long commutes would cut into her sleep time. />
  Coming out of her reveries, she has made a loop of the park as she sees the eastern sky lightening. The sun will be up soon, warming the air, but for now the coolness is delightful as her walking keeps her body heat comfortable. Now she is faced with either having to return to Washington - and her old job - or starting over somewhere else. Where that could be, she has no idea.

  With a deep breath, she mentally shakes herself back to the here-and-now, and heads back, concentrating on the upcoming meeting with Humanoid 37.

  The Hose of Representatives and the Senate each had their session, both starting midmorning and lasting well into the evening. While some tended to drift and were laboriously brought back into line, the sole issue discussed was, in essence, will they surrender the Nation to the Universal Council and yield to the direction of the Peace Keepers? What few attempts to resist around the world had been futile and brief. It was obvious to most of the lawmakers that the ‘war’ was already lost. They were occupied. There were no options. Yet some argued that they should at least make a token resistence. By mid-afternoon, they had neither come to a majority conclusion nor prepared a bill to vote on. Impatient, Acting President Baker sends both the House and the Senate a bill for passing:

  Having no realistic alternatives, We, the Government of the United States, representing the citizens of this nation, reluctantly submit to the overwhelming force of the Universal Council and their armed force, the Peace Keepers. This surrender remains valid and in force only as long as the Universal Council carries out its promise that they will peacefully reverse the deterioration of the planet Earth and then leave us in peace. This is a conditional and temporary surrender of the United States and its territories. We can speak for no other sovereign nations of the world.

  It would be obvious to most that they had no other choice, yet it was another three hours before the senate presented their bill, word for word with what the Executive Branch had presented. An hour later, the House did the same. The final bill was signed into law by Baker, making the submission official.

  Now came the task of getting the citizens to comply.

  The aliens had taken for granted that all the world governments would agree to what was at least submission, if not out and out surrender. Either way, they controlled the world. If the governments cooperated, it would go easier on the homo sapiens. They didn’t wait for the multitude of national governments to make up their minds.

  In each country, small groups of Peace Keepers showed up at every law enforcement agency and took control. A small percent of the peace officer were transported, but most either resigned, turning in their guns, badges and identification, or agreed to work under the supervision of a Peace Keeper. Uniformed patrols would continue, with each patrol car having a Peace Keeper riding shotgun.

  The availability of Peace Keepers seemed limitless; there was no way to count them all.

  One by one, small groups of Peace Keepers gained access to every prison and jail in the world. Resisting guards were transported, some with all their clothing and gear, others leaving all clothing and gear behind in a crumpled pile. In pairs, Peace Keepers made the rounds, visiting each cell. They spoke to none of the inmates, simply standing outside the cell for a moment, then pointing a finger at each inmate, transporting them, most leaving nothing behind. The guards remaining were instructed that the prison was shut down. They were to report to the closest reassignment center for new work assignments, as were a very few of the prisoners not transported. They were advised that any Peace Keeper would give them directions to the nearest center.

  The teams would then leave, locking a vacant facility.

  In two days, every prison, jail or other detention facility was empty. There was no need for jails; law breakers would simply, and abruptly, be transported.

  The world’s communication systems were left to function as normally, with the exception of frequent, brief public announcements directing the citizens regarding actions they should take, with the repeated theme being to continue their lives as before as long as their activities were lawful and harming no one. If their job no longer existed, they were to report to the nearest reassignment center.

  The Peace Keepers were everywhere. In urban areas, one could hardly walk two blocks without seeing a pair of them, or a Peace Keeper paired with a uniformed officer. They had supplemented uniformed police patrol, adding law enforcement vehicles to their commandeered light military vehicles to transport Peace Keepers about the cities and countryside. Every law enforcement agency was under the control of the Peace Keepers. They began systematically checking every building, speaking to every occupant. They first asked for the forfeiture of all weapons designed to be used for either hunting, combat, self-defense or aggression. All weapons seized were promptly transported; it was presumed they were sent to the alien ships above. It was not uncommon for a citizen on the streets to see a Peace Keeper extend its arm to point at a person, who then simply disappeared.

  When a loved one went missing, the family would call the police first to find out if they had been transported. Most of the time, the person had just fled. If the Peace Keepers had taken the person, they would readily confirm it.

  Occasionally, the Peace Keepers were met with gunfire. Unharmed - or rather undamaged - they quickly transported the aggressors, weapons and all. It soon became obvious that confiscating weapons was only a secondary reason for their searching; they were also looking for known criminals and violent people. The members of the press, free to report as long as the reporting was factual, soon noticed that the criminal elements - most notably the street gangs - were disappearing. Much of the alien’s activity was captured on the many cameras posted around the cities. Often, news film clips showed. Peace Keepers being fired on, then the shooter or shooters disappearing - being transported. Never was a Peace Keeper taken down.

  The only other victims were the occasional human peace officer accompanying the Peace Keeper, the human who did not have the protective force field. They, to, would then be transported, presumably for medical care.

  In the first seventy-two hours of the Peace Keepers control of the earth, every weapon capable of harming a human being was confiscated, including every military weapon. The resistence by individuals or small groups was rare and quickly dealt with. Ongoing wars ceased; they had nothing to fight with, and now, many thought, nothing to fight for.

  For the first time in human history, there were no panhandlers, beggars or homeless people on the streets, presumably transported for reassignment. What that phrase meant - ‘transported’ - was still uncertain.

  While still trying to get used to his new White House residence and the constant presence of Humanoid 99, one thought continues to nag the new President Baker: how will the world proceed when the aliens leave us on our own? Assuming that they will have created effective and honest governments the world over, will collective mankind have learned a lesson? Or will things drift back to the old ways, driven by greed and the lust for power and dominance?

  His own study of history and political science makes him fully aware that no government ever established by mankind has survived the ravages of time. All have failed. He was fully aware that his own government was on the verge of collapse from its failure to effectively lead the nation. The obscenely wealthy privileged class controlled government, even though they represented only one-tenth of 1 percent of the population. He knew he was a part of that class. He had to admit that he had been just as much a puppet for them, just as he was now a puppet of the Universal Council.

  He promised himself that he would do everything he could to create a stable government which would continue an effective self-rule when - and if - the aliens left.

  The 0930 meeting of the compound staff, including Humanoid 37, had been brief, but specific. They were no longer associated with the United States government. They would continue to work as part of the Global Warming Advisory Group, but their objective was now to develop a plan for the world governments to stop activity
that contributed to the pollution of the earth. They were being provided with the knowledge of the type of technology and hardware the Universal Council could provide to convert current systems into environmental friendly sources of energy, transportation and waste management. More often than not, it would require the complete abandonment of current systems.

  By the fourth day of the take-over of the compound, the Computer Center was now the center of operations. Any person not needed in support of the new objective, or the maintaining of the facility, was reassigned elsewhere. The number remaining was almost half of the original population. They were kept busy processing what, for a while, seemed like an endless stream of data fed into their computer system. Humanoid 37 remained at Daniel’s side, providing input. Two other Peace Keepers were available to provide a seemingly endless amount of information for other team members.

  The day had been very busy, but surprisingly, the aliens were aware of the frailty and limitations of homo sapiens, and didn’t demand more than the normal eight-hour work day, six days a week, with Sundays off in consideration of religious beliefs.

  Many locals would insist that spring was the most beautiful time of the year in the rolling hills and forests of what was called the ‘Hill Country’ of South Texas. Tabitha was not about to argue with them. Despite the stress and trying conditions of the last week under the constant vigil of the Peace Keepers, she was beginning to fall in love with the countryside. At the end of each day, if possible, she would go for a walk, usually staying out until it was almost dark. Being a city girl, where there was never dark, for the polluted air reflected city lights to form a depressing gloom, the absolute darkness in the forested areas frightened her; she made sure she would be back to the village before night fell.

  She had found a trail which meandered through undeveloped portions of the acreage, skirting the developed farm fields and pastures. Spring is in full bloom, with the bright green of many species of deciduous trees contrasting with the darker green of the many native oaks. Undisturbed meadows are carpeted with brilliant blue bonnets, frequently interspersed with the darker blue of lupine and the deep red of Indian Paintbrush. Even in the deep shadow of a forest grove, wherever the sun penetrates the dense canopy of leaves, grass and flowers grow luxuriously. In the occasional fenced-off pastures she passes, she often sees scattered groups of milk cows moving toward distant barns, anxious to be milked.