THE PEACE KEEPERS

by Tom Tryst

  “Oh,” Victor responds, moving away from the others for privacy, motioning Jon to follow, “How’s that?”

  “It’s not that I don’t think the civilians can do the job. It’s just that it is very demanding on their time; they’re apt to get tired of it once the novelty wears off. We may have problems getting volunteers.” He pauses, trying to think of how best to present his alternate plan without offending his boss.

  “You have a better idea?” Victor asks.

  “Not regarding the lookouts,” Jon begins. “It’s an idea that might cut down on the number of lookouts required each day. It involves the use of drones. Not our military drones. You know, the model rotary wing drones that were so popular before the aliens showed up. There are probably a lot of them still around. Some had cameras. We could have some modified for both normal vision as well as night vision, with operators monitoring. They’re electric and quiet. At night they can’t be seen. With them we could see farther out into the surrounding countryside, spot people miles away - where people shouldn’t be.”

  “We considered drones, but ours are too big for what we need,” Victor responds, “but the civilian toys might work.”

  Jon continues, his enthusiasm growing. “They’re more than just toys. Some are very sophisticated. We could put the word out to our people working with law enforcement. Get people to contribute their models. We could specify the size we need - big enough to carry the gear to give us live-time viewing. We could keep one or two in the air when the weather allows. When we see people in - say within two miles of the fence - we could then activate the watch for that quadrant. We would only need full coverage when there are no drones aloft.”

  “What makes you think we haven’t already thought of that?” Victor counters. They hadn’t, but he didn’t want to admit it. The idea seems to have potential.

  “Sorry, Sir,” Jon quickly replies, immediately embarrassed and wishing he hadn’t spoken his concept, “I didn’t mean to . . . “

  Victor cuts him off with a wave of his hand and a smile. “Don’t be sorry! It’s a good idea. I see you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

  Jon just nods, not sure of what to say.

  “We need to look into this more deeply,” Victor continues. “How would you like to be assigned the task of researching the possibility? Get me more details?”

  “I can show you what I have now!” John responds eagerly. “It would be my pleasure to dig deeper.”

  “On your off duty hours, of course.”

  “Yes, Sir. Of course,” Jon acknowledges, smiling.

  “Get with me first thing tomorrow. Show me what you have. We’ll go from there. But now, I think you’re ignoring Debby.”

  Three days later, the decision was made to implement a model drone surveillance program. When the weather allowed, drones would be in the air, eyes in the sky - day and night. Only key lookout positions would still be manned around the clock. Movement in the woods would initiate an alert to man the lookouts and bring troops into the adjacent area.

  It is a great relief to Daniel, for manning the 32 lookouts, each requiring 12 people a day, requires 384 people a day. Now that the novelty has worn off, it is getting hard to maintain a crew of volunteers. They were considering increasing the time of each watch, but four hours was already considered too long for some. That would cut the need for volunteers each day, but increase the tediousness of sitting in a tree top with little to do. Getting and keeping volunteers would be even more difficult. The fleet of drones solved the problem.

  Now he only needs 84 lookouts a day when the drones are in the air.

  A large radio antennae has been erected in the woods, in the geological center of The Compound, dedicated to the drone program. When weather conditions allow, they are keeping two drones in the air at all times, each flying a designated area. Each drone has a ‘pilot’ stationed at a monitor, seeing what the cameras see. And each drone has a spotter whose sole duty is to watch for any changes or movement. At night, they have the night vision cameras to show white from the body heat of a person. Or critter. Most often, their readings were from small critters and deer. They usually could tell the difference between a man and a mammal.

  Anything suspicious, the spotter would initiate an alert, bringing on-duty patrol to the adjacent area, while at the same time alerting the civilian lookout command post to man vacant lookouts in the area of concern.

  In three cases since the activation of the program, they were in waiting for the trespassers. It was working well.

  As reward for his effort in developing the program, Jon was promoted to sergeant and put in charge of supervising the drone program. This put him on a schedule where he could spend more time with Debby.

  The Pentagon had to make a decision. Currently, only the Soviet Union and the China Republic were still working on developing weapons to intercept and destroy alien space ships nearing Earth. Both were doing so independently, as were the United States and Canada, with Mexico providing minimal support. Their goal was still the protection of North America. Even with all three powers having an effective system, aliens could safely approach from many other quadrants and establish peace keeper android strongholds. There was little doubt that they could once again take over the world.

  Determined to fight the aliens to the bitter end, The Pentagon was under pressure to drop the manpower and resource demand of the Space Defense program, and to start developing weaponry to intercept the ships entering North American airspace, as well as better weapons to destroy the ‘droids. It was assumed that the aliens would modify their Peace Keepers so that current weapons would no longer be effective.

  While the military insisted that the aliens would return, most civilians did not agree, the argument being that if they were going to do so, they would have done it by now - not waiting until the pathetic Space Defense program was implemented. Most in government positions agreed with the general consensus of the people, but they were still under martial law, only able to do what The Pentagon allowed.

  And the military leaders also realized they were gradually losing the support of the people. The armed forces had grown to four times that in pre-alien times. Military personnel were everywhere, involved in everything. They controlled with an iron fist, too often using lethal phaser fire to deal with law breakers. While the people looked to servicemen as keeping the peace, a necessary evil in trying times, they were beginning to see them as brutal dictators. The mere drawing of a phaser by a soldier invoked sudden fear. The only good result from such harsh rule was that those providing goods to the communal system no longer dared not comply.

  Food, medicine and critical goods were available, but the distribution system was still imperfect. There were frequently shortages, but nobody was starving.

  The citizens are demanding the return of government control, but, as yet, to no avail.

  Eddie Campbell had been delivered to the M.P.s at Lackland. On the 14th of the month, the day he was to report for induction in Chicago, he was instead turned over to the Bexar Country District Attorney, officially charged with unlawful possession of government property. As he was considered a flight risk, he was held without bail. And as the property stolen belonged to the United States government, he would eventually be turned over to federal court - which was not yet fully functioning. He had been held in limbo all this time, almost forgotten. The Army would want him, as they had ample manpower - and the man had little experience of value to the military.

  None of this information had been made known to the Davies family.

  Chapter Twenty

  There was still a hardcore minority that adamantly believed that the aliens would return and again take over. Most were in the military, trained to consider other countries as potential enemies, not to blindly trust anyone. They considered the Global Defense a critical element of their future safety. The military was in charge and in control of the program, but a growing majority in middle command were beginning to see the futility of their
efforts.

  The reasoning was that any alien species able to do the things the Universal Council had accomplished - especially traveling faster than the speed of sound, something that was supposed to be impossible - they could probably easily neutralize any defense system Earth could develop.

  Thanks to the ‘eavesdropping’ of the people in The Compound, they were beginning to realize that similar space defense programs - both in the reestablished Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China - were being cut back.

  Now the irrational fear was that both Russia and China would be diverting their efforts for reestablishing nuclear weapons and long-range rockets for the delivery of warheads. They felt that they should be doing the same.

  With the people no longer looking at the omnipresence of troops as welcome protection, more and more grass-roots political organizations were voicing their demands for the return of civilian government. Most of these groups were instituted by those seeking the return of the all-mighty dollar, and a return of their ability to once again amass fortune and privilege. Greed was still alive and kicking, just waiting for the time it could raise its evil head, and once again take control of the country.

  Every military compound in the country was on high alert, and had been for some time, even though there was no eminent threat from outside. They feared the people - those they were supposed to be protecting. Every base, camp and station remained on high security, strictly limiting access and egress. The same was true with law enforcement stations, always alert for civil uprisings. While past patrols went out in pairs - never one officer alone - now they went out in fours. Every civilian peace officer now had one of the original phasers, the military police had the newer, more powerful phasers, with scopes giving them greater range.

  Civilian possession of a firearm of any kind was still illegal. The prohibition was now extended to include the possession of any object that could possibly be used to cause bodily harm to another human being. Tools of the trade could only be possessed and used at the place of employment. Knives or any other cutting instrument were illegal outside of the home or place of business. Anyone carrying an object considered capable of causing bodily harm could be arrested; if they didn’t comply with orders, they could be killed on the spot. Carrying a concealed weapon was a felony, as was mere possession of one in the open.

  Curfew was a permanent policy. From one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, no one was allowed on the streets or in public places without lawful purpose. All establishments closed at sunset to allow employees and customers time to return to their homes. They didn’t open again until sunrise.

  Anyone out at nighttime had to have a valid purpose. People could - and would - be stopped by law enforcement to check their reason for being out after dark. Violators were arrested; resisters stunned.

  Law enforcement could stop any person at any time to check their identification. Every person now was required to have a national identification chip implanted, issued only after an extensive background and criminal record check. In addition, every person deemed head of a household must have the new food rationing card, identifying him or her as such, with the card listing the names, sex and age of each dependent for which they are providing. Any person, adult or child, without the required identification were arrested for processing.

  There were still those wh failed to register, usually adult men who chose to survive by stealing from others. They tended to be loners, for patrol was constantly on the lookout for gatherings of young men, usually up to no good. And there were still a few that chose a nomadic life, like the ‘hoboes’ of the past. They would be arrested and place in forced labor camps. Many loners had migrated into the wilderness areas, to live off the land, spending most of their time avoiding the authorities.

  The standard motto remained: ‘If you don’t work, you don’t eat.’

  The fact was that nobody really had to work very hard. There were more people capable of working than there were jobs, often resulting in two people doing the job one could handle. Even in hard labor jobs, such as digging a ditch, one would work while a partner rested, then change, on and off for the entire work shift. And often a work day was less than eight hours, a work week seldom more than five days.

  Even those who would be classified as ‘handicapped’ or ‘disabled,’ and thus unable to work, becoming dregs of society, could find satisfying employment that they could handle it in spite of their disability. Only the severely disabled, the mentally ill, the sick or injured, the very young and the very old had a ‘free ride.’

  If there was any doubt whatsoever regarding the status of a person, they would be taken into custody and held until a thorough records check could be made. Those who resisted the law enforcers would be painfully phased and charged with a crime. Rather than refill the prisons with low-level violators (for there were many vacant cells awaiting), the courts tended to sentence minors and nonviolent violators with serving time on a work gang.

  One way or another, every able-bodied person would work.

  Eddie Campbell was not a happy man. It had taken over two years for the military court, having taken over every civilian criminal court, to bring his case to a courts martial. Once in the system, and deciding the Amy didn’t want him, they dealt with him swiftly. Accepting his guilty plea, he was sentenced to 24 months in prison. The three-man tribunal suspended the jail time with the condition that he be returned to Kentland and serve at least that two years at his old job, the dairy. Further, he was on five-years probation, to report to the local authorities as required. He could not leave the Kentland area.

  What he was unhappy about was that he had no further contact with Debby; his letters were returned, often weeks after he mailed them, for the postal service wasn’t very regular nor dependable. As far as he knew, she had made no effort to contact him. He was unable to contact her by telephone, never getting beyond The Compound switchboard. There was no such thing as E-mail or other computer communication in The Compound.

  Taken back to Kentland by the military, he was once again living with his family and working at the dairy. Lovelorn, and without hope for any meaningful future, he became depressed and withdrawn, much to the concern of his parents. In the fits of deep depression, he often thought of simply ending his misery, but he didn’t have the nerve to take his own life. He made up his mind: as soon as he was off probation, he would apply for bachelor housing and live on his own, forsaking his family.

  He would also try to leave Kentland.

  It was summer at Glen Haven. Things were getting back to normal, with the exception of the Lookout program. Victor had taken Sgt. Jon Franklin’s suggestion and had developed a very efficient drone program. There were several very enthusiastic model airplane builders who gladly modified and flew the drones. It was usually very dull duty, as the area each drone covered was generally limited to within a five-mile radius of The Compound. There were only occasional surveillance flights farther out. They seldom found intruders - if you discount the deer that had to be checked out. But they liked flying the small crafts - and it was better than extra duty sitting in a lookout nest.

  Both as a test and a way to keep the lookouts on their toes, Victor would occasionally have some of his men leave the compound in one of the patrol units, then all but only the driver would return. The other men, usually three or four, would enter into the woods some distance from The Compound, then work in toward the fence. It was always the drone pilots who spotted the intruders, quickly informing the men on a patrol as to their position. They would allow the team to continue toward without an alert, as Victor wanted to know how soon the lookouts would spot them without the help of the drones. Once, a team of three progressed up to the fence before a single lookout gave the alarm. They should have been spotted by two of the lookouts - and much sooner. The resulting reprimand put the rest on alert: they never knew when and where the next test might be.

  Most of the volunteers had infrequent duties as a lookout, for
much fewer were needed when the weather allowed the drones aloft. The bad part: when the drones couldn’t fly, it was generally stormy, wet and windy. And often cold. There was a clear plastic canopy to keep the rain off them, but wind-whipped rain could still get them wet. Besides the rain gear each citizen had as regular issue, the lookouts were issued thermal underwear in an attempt to keep the duty less miserable.

  Even when the drones were in the air, the lookouts had to be on call for an emergency. Should a drone spot an intruder in a sector, the alert would go out and every scheduled lookout for that sector would hurriedly man his or her assigned station. So those on call had to be dressed and ready, with one of the many golf carts assigned to the project at their disposal. The inner gravel road, simply called “Forest Road,’ was itself over an 11-mile loop, and they had added many connecting roads from the village. Each lookout knew the fastest route to his or her assigned post.

  Victor once created a fake alert to check the response times, but he got so many complaints he never did it again. The lookouts knew the next alert would be the real McCoy.

  There were just under two hundred trained lookouts, with the majority of them on call and not serving on a regular basis. Many had become full-time lookouts. But all the others were proud of being volunteers, meeting irregularly for training on upgrades in equipment or changes in policy. They requested, and received, permission to sew a cloth emblem on their shirt pocket, under their name. It was an emblem of an eye. This immediately identified them to all as a lookout - and they were proud of it.

  Debby and Jon were formally engaged. They had applied for a federal marriage license, for the procedure for marrying had become much more formal. There were the mandatory blood tests and a waiting period. They wanted the couple to be certain they wanted the obligation of marriage and child bearing. There was now a military chaplain assigned to The Compound; regulations required he perform each wedding. He also held nondenominational religious services twice each Sunday, but relatively few attended.