by Tom Tryst
The citizens of the City of Glen Haven, Texas celebrated for an entire weekend.
Paranoia is still alive and well in Washington; they still want to know what other countries are doing ‘under the radar.’ The research center is still in business, now officially the ‘Medina Lake Research Center,’ located in town of Glen Haven, Texas. Supposedly, it is once again a private, nonprofit scientific corporation, but it is still funded by the government, and continues in its operation - which again can change at any moment. Daniel Davies is still the Director, but due to a perceived conflict of interest, Mayor Sherry Davies is no longer a member of the research team. That is fine with her, for her duties as Mayor have become more demanding. With neither the Federal Government nor the Armed Forces having control of the township, they are enjoying self rule for the first time.
For now, the government is providing their needs in support of the research center. When the country converts to using currency as the medium of trade, planned to be the ‘dollar’ (possibly the standard means of exchange throughout the world), the City will operate on a budget mainly from the lease of the Research Center property. The city share will eventually receive a small percentage of federal income taxes, expected is to be the one and only tax for the entire nation.
The Universal Council has been keeping a low profile, utilizing the ‘advisor’ Peace Keepers to each head of government to answer questions and communicate concerns back to the aliens. They now have a new proposal: they will provide the expertise for Earth to manufacture their own androids, or humanoids. One model would be typical of the Peace Keepers, androids to function as law enforcers, a dangerous profession. Another model would be less sophisticated, capable of performing dangerous jobs. A third would be simple laborers, no more than machines to perform hard, tedious or demeaning labor.
The one thing any model of androids will not be able to do is intentionally cause injury or death to a human being, thus making them incapable of being combatants. They could not be used in war. Even those designated as peace officers cannot use deadly force, having the means to overcome resistance and take custody with the phasers.
In return, as a trade, the Universal Council only asked for certain metals and minerals that were abundant on earth but scarce on their worlds. And they only needed them in amounts which would not deplete Earth’s resources. The trade was agreed to through the growing United Nations, now representing all but a very few countries.
The network of existing satellites are being unified, both those of earth and those added by the aliens, modified to improve world communication. There will be no place on earth where a person cannot communicate with any other part of the world. Through the satellites, and with the use of proper programing, man will have an instantaneous view of any other part of the world, with magnification capable to making out objects as small as a human being. They will also serve as worldwide global positioning.
Without undue consideration of the cost of labor, or for maintaining a profit margin, industry was beginning to get back on line. The primary effort is directed toward obtaining the material for the construction of alternate sources of energy, and reducing the reliance on the burning of the mislabeled ‘fossil fuels’ for electricity, heating, cooking and transportation. Old habits of wastefulness that had been causing pollution of waterways - and eventually the oceans - are gradually changing. The emphasis is on non-polluting methods of waste management, stressing recycling. The dependence on wood for habitats, heating and cooking is being reduced. Plentiful aluminum can replace dimension lumber of home construction, putting a stop to rampant deforestation. The human consumption of animals has been severely reduced, replaced with healthier diets of fruit, vegetables and grains. Public transportation is being reexamined, with the intent to reduce the need for private vehicle ownership. Out of necessity under alien rule, walking was the main means of getting around. Many people had begun riding bicycles. That trend is encouraged, with the federal government encouraging local urban centers to modify the roadways to accommodate the mix of bicyclists and motor vehicles.
As a result, people are getting healthier, leaner and more energetic. No one is denied employment in a field of interest that is within their abilities. Everyone has a place to live, for the government is still the sole property owner; that is expected to change. There are still more houses and apartments than needed. Everyone has adequate clothing. Everyone has adequate food. Everyone has ample health care and medication. Everyone has education, stressing the life sciences and the role a person has as a citizen of the world.
Every effort is being made to continue the system established under alien rule as the world struggles with the staggering task of converting the communal system to one of free trade and monetary exchange.
There is no poverty, unless self-inflicted. There are no wealthy, gathering riches at the expense of the impoverished. But it is feared that the situation could change, for despite the advice of the Universal Council, the people want the return of the dollar. Also despite the warnings of economists, who predict that with the return of the dollar, there would also be the return of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots,’ with the majority become the later.
Poverty and deprivation could again plague mankind.
The governments promise that the future society will be regulated to prevent the accumulation of unneeded wealth by greedy individuals. Laws and regulations would limit their efforts. And the people believe them, again demonstrating one of mankind’s weakest traits: failing to learn from their past mistakes. The world could gradually reestablish the old social classes based on wealth, with the wealthy, privileged class running the government to their own benefit.
But for now, life is good for the average person. Attitudes are beginning to change toward the Peace Keepers and their masters, the Universal Council. They are seen as benefactors who have saved the world and are continuing to rebuild society. They are trusted as having the welfare of an entire civilization as their goal, asking very little in return.
Which is exactly what the Universal Council wants.
It is a warm summer day, with clear skies a brilliant blue. With his farm chores complete and being a Saturday, ten-year-old Tommy Hebdon has the afternoon to himself, to due what he loves to do, wander through the woods. The farm he and his parents work is near the south end of the Compound, set back from the perimeter road. Across the road and through a narrow band of old growth oak is the perimeter fence. Beyond it is Medina Lake. That is where he wants to be.
Tommy has been warned many times to stay clear of the fence that it has an electrical charge that will kill a person. He has also heard talk that the fence is no longer needed for security, and there is no longer a need to keep it electrified.
For a long time he stands just inside the perimeter fence, behind the triple strands of barbed wire that keep the fence well beyond his reach. He is looking at the lake beyond - where he desires to be. He examines the fence. The world is at peace. They no longer worry about people trying to get in. But even if the power is off, he still can’t climb over because of the coils of razor wire at the top. But, he thinks, if the fence is no longer charged, he could cut through the razor wire with the snips they use in erecting barbed wire fences on the farm. He could get through and back, then rearrange the wire to close the open space. He could then visit the lake any time he wanted.
He walks back across the clearing to the woods and finds a broken piece of limb. Back at the barrier, he throws it at the fence, expecting to see a flash or sparks if the fence is still electrified. It bounces off harmlessly. He climbs through the barbed wire. Still not daring to touch the chain-link, he picks up the stick and jabs it at the wire.
50,000 volts pass through his body and into the ground.
When Tommy isn’t home by supper time, his parents become concerned. As darkness falls and he still hasn’t returned, the men begin searching while his mother calls the police to report him missing. It is a drone that spots him, his bo
dy still having enough warmth to faintly glow white.
Patrol recovers the body. Victor arrives in time to see the boy’s lifeless body being loaded onto the back of a patrol cart. He expects to seen a badly burned corpse, put the only burns are on the palm of one hand. He assumes it was the hand that touched the fence, but it was the hand holding the stick.
He promptly notifies his boss.
“Oh, my God!” Sherry moans as she receives the news. “What happened?”
Daniel sees her response and knows something is wrong. She looks like she is about to faint. He quickly moves to her side, an arm around her waist. She looks at him and raises a finger for him to wait.
“Do you know who he is?” she asks, then after a pause, “Have the parents been notified?” Again there is a long pause. “Is there someone with them?” A shorter pause. “I know. I’ve been afraid of this.”
“What’s wrong?” Daniel impatiently asks.
“God,” Sherry mutters, still speaking to Victor. “Well, keep me posted.”
“What’s wrong?” he repeats.
“It’s that damned fence!!!” she almost wails. “It just electrocuted a ten-year-old boy!”
“Oh, man! And we were just talking a week or so ago about cutting the power - not needing it anymore.”
She can only nod, moving against him and clutching him tightly. “If I had only acted, made the decision on my own rather than waiting . . . .” Her voice trails off. He knows she is crying, trying to hide it from him.
“Don’t start blaming yourself, Baby. You really didn’t have the authority to act on your own.” It is an innocent lie, for he is sure she does.
“That poor mother!” she mutters, her voice slightly smothered against his chest. “I can only imagine her grief!”
He holds her tightly for a long time, neither of them speaking. Neither can really appreciate how a parent would feel at the loss of a child. Her own embrace relaxes and she looks up at him, embarrassed that she had been crying, and asks him for his handkerchief.
As she noisily blows her nose, he asks. “Who was he?”
She answers as she is wiping her nose. “Little Tommy Hebdon. I know his mother. Maybe I should go to her.”
In their small, isolated community, almost everyone knows everyone, but it was a little different with the farmers. They tended to keep to themselves. They seldom dined with the others, seldom mixed in social events.
In response, Daniel says, “Let me talk to Victor. See if they have friends and family there.”
While he is talking to Victor, Sherry goes into the bathroom to wash her face, wiping away some running mascara. When she returns, Daniel is still on the phone.
“Let me talk to him,” she demands, almost snatching the phone out of his hand. “Victor, I want you to do something immediately: cut the power to that damned fence!”
Not waiting for a response, she hands the phone back to her husband, then goes out onto the balcony, hoping her favorite view of the lake will calm her. He soon joins her.
“It’s done,” he says as he sits beside her. “They’re going to rewire it so that touching the fences will only alert security that someone is in that area. You gonna be OK, Baby?”
She waits to respond so long that he begins to think she isn’t going to answer, but she finally does. “Yeah, I think so. It was just the initial shock. I’ll make it a point to drop in on her tomorrow, after things calm down. She is one of the few farm people I really know.”
“I just want to make sure you’re not taking any responsibility for this accident. The fence is Victor’s responsibility. Not yours. For that matter, it would take the your entire City Council to make that decision - and then only with the approval of the Pentagon. They still have a say so regarding security as a part of our lease agreement for the Research Center.”
“I know. It’s just so sad - a ten-year-old boy.”
He thinks she is going to start crying again, but she just lapses into silence.
He waits a while before speaking again. “With everybody outside getting everything they need, we really don’t need the fence to be electrified. It’s been months since anybody’s tried to get in. Victor is sure they will agree. Anyway, he’ll report the shutoff only after they give approval. No problems.”
She nods. “I also want to relax the security. Let people leave the compound whenever they feel like it. Maybe start up the busing to Castroville, or even San Antonio. This place is starting to feel like a country club prison.”
“We can talk to Victor about that. I agree; there’s no longer a need for such extreme security.”
“And those lookout stations. I want those abandoned. We seldom use them - a waste of manpower.”
“We’ll talk,” he responds, not wanting to remind her of her own past experience and the roll the lookouts played. He waits for her to bring up some more changes in security, but she remains silent.
He realizes how late it is. They should be getting to bed, for tomorrow will be a busy day, but he knows how relaxing it is for Sherry to sit watching the lake, especially at night, and especially when the moon is reflecting off the waters, as it is tonight.
He goes inside and fixes them both a drink. It will relax them and make it easier to get to sleep. When he returns, Sherry is asleep in her lounge - something she rarely does. It is still comfortably warm outside. He decides to let her sleep until it starts getting cool.
He finishes his drink, then starts sipping hers, wondering what the future will bring them.
When the United States, the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China and the European Union all agreed to the offered intervention, almost all of the other nations of the world had to make a choice: participate or be left out in the cold, to fend for themselves. By the end of the seven days, only Iran declined to participate. As the Universal Council didn’t mandate a unanimous acceptance, during the next daylight period for each country, a huge machine appeared in the space prepared by that country’s Peace Keeper. Each is twenty feet by twenty feet and eight feet high, of dull black metal with numerous control panels and screens. At first glance, they look impossibly complicated. And they are very complicated. Only after extensive training by the single Peace Keeper assigned to each station will men be able to monitor it. It is to be referred to as ‘The Processor’, with each individual unit a part of the worldwide system.
Each processor is in communication with the satellites (including the alien satellites added to supplement the converted earth units) as well as to other designated collection centers and distribution centers. The data collected by the unseen satellites above determines the anticipated output of each section of farmland. When the harvest is complete, it is expected that what is delivered to the collection centers for processing will closely match the anticipated output. Only collection center vehicles are used for transport. When the last of a crop has been shipped, the farm is inspected to assure that nothing is held back.
The collection centers send portions of every local harvest to specified distribution hubs as dictated by the processor for that geological area. There, further distribution will be determined, whether by rail to local distribution centers or by ship to other countries. For every shipment going outside that nation, an equitable shipment will be shipped in.
All that the humans involved have to do is follow the printout directions that the processor network sends to their terminals, make the distributions, then confirm when the instructions are carried out. Until enough humans are trained in the operation and maintenance of the processors and the related field units, they will be monitored by one or more Peace Keeper. As to the maintenance and replacement of the satellites in stationary orbits, the Universal Council promises to provide the design for spacecraft that will inexpensively make that possible, a process still in the works.
Until a nation has developed a sufficient number of food processing facilities, most items will be given to the people as raw food. Eventually, each crop will be pro
cessed into its various forms and uses, whether that be packaged, canned, dried or frozen. The Processor will endeavor to make any particular food item available the year around.
Cheating by food producers, or by any nation, will not be tolerated; trade between countries has to be equitable, with The Processor making the determination of the trade values. The Processor assures that deliveries between nations will be equitable. The system is extremely complicated, as was proven when the Peace Keepers left the Earthlings to run the original system on their own. Failures had been rampant; people went hungry. This time, when the last of the Peace Keepers leave, mankind will be able to maintain the system on their own.
To maintain the system until the humans can take over, Peace Keepers are needed. What started with one Peace Keeper per nation, soon became dozens, even hundreds in the larger nations, one at each Processor and one at each distribution center. But as promised, there are no conflicts with humans. No interference. There are also groups of the androids who act as inspectors, presumably transmitting data to the involved Processor regarding what is planted, where and when harvesting begins, and the coordination of delivery. They simply appear where needed, then simply disappear.
As long as the people receive what they need as scheduled, they are content with the return of Peace Keepers in their area. That attitude is reinforced with the understanding that they will eventually not be needed - and leave.
During this same period of organization, the aliens are setting up mining operations around the globe, to obtain the material they requested in exchange for reimplementing the communal system. They specifically need aluminum, titanium and copper; they knew were to find them, leaving existing mines to the humans. The final product, pure metals, are beamed to . . . nobody knows where. As they never access known claims, the involved governments are not overly concerned.
As promised, the Universal Council makes no effort to interfere nor influence the governing of the world’s nations. The single Peace Keeper assigned to each world leader acts more like a sophisticated personal assistant, helping to coordinate with other trading nations. It is also a source of almost unlimited information, answering any questions as long as they don’t pertain to the alien worlds.