THE PEACE KEEPERS

by Tom Tryst

  “And just what are those circumstances?”

  “The woman’s health. How she and her husband are handling the offspring they have. Their own wishes. The needs of the planet.”

  “You won’t give a number?”

  “We cannot. An exact number has yet to be agreed upon.”

  Daniel throws up his hands in frustration and sits down, leaving it open for others to questions.

  Charles was the first to stand. “What if the husband can’t get his wife pregnant?”

  “That will not be a problem.”

  “Damn it!” Charles shouts, losing his temper. “Answer my question! What if he can’t? You going to make her have sex with other men?”

  Unperturbed, being a machine without emotions, 37 repeats, ”It will not be a problem.”

  There are more questions, most repetitious, simply asked in a different way. Soon there are no more.

  During the entire session, 37 has not moved. Now it actually turns to face Daniel and asks, “Will that be all, Daniel?”

  He almost answers that it is his meeting, but then simply nods, for 37 already knows there are no more questions. It turns and leaves the area, disappearing into the old kitchen area.

  “OK, gang. Now we have the unpleasant task of letting our wives know what’s going on. They should have been sitting in on this.”

  “I think 37 was afraid they would attack him,” mutters Charles, but loud enough for all to hear.

  “Hang tight,” Daniel requests. “I’ll have 37 print out a transcript so they’ll know word-for-word what they said. Might be easier on us.”

  It only took fifteen minutes for each to have a transcript, but still no one leaves, gathering at the refreshment table as an excuse. None are eager to tell their wives what is in store for them. Daniel is one of them. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of the wives refused to have sex anymore. They might end up with a lot of horny guys - and a lot of lesbians.

  They linger, drinking the slightly intoxicating liquor, many wishing they could get drunk but only managing to mellow out.

  Daniel lets Sherry read the transcript, only warning her that she might not like the news. He watches her expression closely as she reads, expecting anger. A fast reader, she soon hands it back to him without comment.

  “Well?” he finally asks.

  “Well, what?” she responds curtly, “Did you expect me to be surprised? There’s not much new there than what we women have already surmised. They want us to fill the planet! That means lots of babies. I’m not going to get excited. Maybe, by the time we have ours, we will have a better idea.”

  “You’re not upset?”

  “Concerned. But I’ll tell you one thing: I’m not going to squirt out one baby after another! And I’m going to limit the number I have!”

  “I’m with you, there,” he readily agrees. “Do you think the other wives will take this information so calmly?”

  “What makes you think I’m calm? I’m more than just concerned; I’m anxious. But the fact that I’m probably already pregnant helps.”

  “How do you think Janet is going to take this news?”

  Sherry shrugs. “She has a daughter to consider. And a son. It’s not just her.”

  “Yeah, Debby will be under pressure to get pregnant.”

  “And Carol.”

  “You should have seen Charles!” Daniel states, “He’s really pissed. I think he’s going to be trouble.”

  “I’ll get the girls together tomorrow . . . “ She is interrupted by a knock on the door.

  It is Charles and Carol. It is obvious that Carol has been crying. Sherry ushers them in.

  “I was just telling Dan that us girls should get together to discuss our options,” Sherry remarks. “How you doing, girl?”

  “Not so good!” Charles answers for her. “We decided a long time ago not to have kids. Not the way Earth was going.”

  Sherry ignores him, directing her comments to Carol. “Well, things are different here on Paradise. So far, it looks like Paradise will be a great place to raise children. You might change your mind.”

  “I hope you don’t mind us barging in,” Carol apologizes, “I had to talk to another woman.”

  “I’ll send Dan to get all the others,” Sherry says, motioning him to do just that. “It’s time for a group counsel.”

  Soon all five couples are squeezed into their living room, with young Darrel sitting at the kitchen table. They spend two hours discussing their options.

  By the completion of one revolution of the planet Paradise, all the immigrants have been given the same message, with much the same reactions.

  The land Daniel selected for their grouping of five farms is on a very slight slope, hardly noticeable to the eye. To the east and the south, past the fencing of their farm, the land slopes slightly more to form a shallow dell filled with large trees. A modest stream runs slowly along the dell, eventually flowing into Lake Placid. To the west is another shallow dell, also filled with lush trees. There, a small creek bed flows only after a rain, leaving behind small, shallow ponds when the flow stops, ponds that never dry up. To the north is open meadow, the land rising to form a very low hill. On the other side of the hill, thicker woods begin.

  To get to the center, the large tent that once held the kitchen and dining hall, a two-mile path is kept mowed short for easy walking. Frequent trips with the carts are beginning to wear twin tire tracks turning the packed grass brown. It is a pleasant, easy walk in the semitropical weather, even when it is raining.

  Robots are busy constructing a prefabricated structure, single-story, which will serve as their village center, more like a market where they will eventually pick up their supplies. It will also serve as the town hall for their area, Ward 3.

  It is twelve miles from there to the village of Tranquility, on the north shore of Lake Placid., the collection center for area Wards. Again the ‘road’ is no more than a ten-foot wide mowed path, most often used by the larger anti-gravity transports, now bringing materials and supplies to various wards, and will eventually take harvested crops out.

  None of Daniel’s group have been to Tranquility yet. All 37 will tell him about it is that it is the processing center for the entire valley (which has not yet been named, for it is something all the Wards will have to agree upon), and that it will have the processing plant, a food distribution center, two schools (one elementary, one advanced), a small medical center and a transport facility - the only function currently in operation. Daniel suspects it is probably one of the squat black space ships used to transport them. It is there that everything they need is transported in, and their produce is transported out.

  Daniel will have an opportunity to see Tranquility in a few weeks when all the Wardens will meet to make formal trade agreements - all at the direction of the Universal Council. En route, he will be passing through one other Ward, and have an opportunity to see how that group is progressing. Eventually, another Ward will be established out beyond theirs, closer to the bordering foothills, presumably tying into their road to Tranquility. Until then, they are quite isolated.

  At Daniel’s insistence, a doctor is assigned to Ward 3. However, it turned out to be a medical robot that allegedly has all the skills of a human physician and surgeon. Now if a woman thinks she might be pregnant, the ‘doctor’ can verify. Sherry, Janet and Tabitha’s pregnancies are formally verified. As is Debby’s. So are twelve other women of Ward 3, making the total 16 out of 29 women - more than half. This further fuels the rumor that the aliens are giving them something that increases their fertility.

  Of those remaining, some men are complaining that their wives are reluctant to have sex with them, not wanting to get pregnant, even though they will eventually have to if they want to keep their homes - more important, if they want to stay with their friends from Glen Haven. Reassignment will probably mean relocating in Tranquility and working in one of the facilities being constructed. Working and living conditions there are stil
l unknown.

  The day finally comes for Daniel to go to Tranquility. Shortly after dawn, a shuttle arrives to transport him, driven by a robot. The pleasant drive is interrupted once as they pass though another cluster of farms, very much like his own. There they have to wait for that area’s Warden, a man in his fifties who only introduces himself as ‘Frank.’ The man apparently doesn’t want to talk, for he takes a seat in the back, five rows behind Daniel.

  Soon Lake Placid is in view ahead and to the left. They are passing many more farms now; almost every level open area is being farmed, with many in full growth and being harvested. Each field being harvested has a number of robots operating machines that are doing the actual collection of the yield. He sees few humans.

  When they are almost to the lake, paralleling it, he gets his first good view of Tranquility, a series of simple one story buildings dominated by the now familiar alien vessel, the transporter, only a much larger version. The ship is three times as big as the two that he had seen, dwarfing the two adjoining buildings, large in themselves. Other smaller structures, all single-story, surround this center grouping. Daniel knows it has to be the transporter, with the processing plant on one side and the distribution center on the other. On the outskirts are dozens of small cabins, obviously habitats.

  The shuttle pulls up in front of a structure behind the transporter. As Daniel is exiting, his aloof fellow passenger is already hurrying into the building. Daniel follows, taking his time.

  Inside, another robot silently points down a hallway to his left. It is short, leading to only one open doorway. As soon as he enters the medium-sized room, he sees some two dozen men seated among the four rows of chairs, facing a Peace Keeper standing before them. The room is absent the usual buzz of conversation; Daniel assumes the meeting has already started. He quietly takes a seat in the back row.

  When the Peace Keeper remains standing in silence, Daniel leans over and whispers to the man two chair down, “Have I missed anything?” The man appears to be human, as do all the others in the room, although for some he can only see the backs of their heads.

  The man turns his head to stare at Daniel for a moment, then simply shakes his head and looks back at the android. Daniel mentally shrugs and does the same. He has seen many of the militant Peace Keepers since the invasion by the aliens. He has also seen several of the later humanoids provided by the Universal Council, those sent to help the earthlings get the distribution of critical food and medicine back on track. The difference: the lethal Peace Keepers didn’t have a large black number blazoned on their chest. This one has no number. The hair on Daniel’s arms prickles.

  As he sits silently, trying to rationalize why a true Peace Keeper would be on Paradise, three more men enter and silently take their seats, apparently the last, for the android moves forward a few steps.

  “For our newest citizens,” the android begins. “We welcome you to what you have called Tranquility. Actually, it is simply Distribution Center 77, but you may call it what your will, as it serves all the land you can see. There are 329 similar centers around the planet, with more being added as more settlers arrive.

  “We call these meetings when there are a significant number of new wards so that all can see where the yield of their work is delivered, processed, distributed and transported. It also gives you the opportunity to meet some of your fellow Paradisians. You will be assembled into two smaller groups and local Peace Keepers will take you on a walking tour of the entire facility and answer any questions you have regarding the operation. As you are by now used to, your guide will anticipate your questions and incorporate them into the tour.

  “After the tours, you may mingle in the dining hall, where lunch will be served. Then you will return to your respective wards by the middle of the afternoon. It is a day for you to relax and learn more about your new home. Enjoy the day.”

  Daniel has been counting. There are 24 men in the room, including himself. He assumes all wardens would be present, telling him there must currently be 24 wards in the valley. Because of the low terrain and the many bands of huge trees, they cannot see many parts of the valley from their ward, making them feel rather isolated. He had expected some sort of training classes, but then he realizes there is no need for such; Peace Keeper 37 keeps them instructed and advised.

  His group of 12, including his silent travel companion, first view the processing plant, where the anti-gravity cargo carriers bring in containers of produce from the farms. He expects to see some humans involved in the process, but there is only one, a woman who greets them with a pleasant smile, then goes back to her duties, whatever they are. The entire plant is automated, both by fixed and mobile machines. Their guide keeps up a constant description of what they are seeing.

  As a robot brings in a load, he drives it into a drive-through dock where its entire load of containers is quickly slid off, allowing the driver to return for another load. The containers are moved by mechanical automated sorters that identify the contents and route them by a series of conveyor belts to the proper areas from processing.

  Some containers are simply stacked, to be taken one-by-one to be emptied onto a sorting belt, where more machines automatically sort the produce, be it fruit, nuts, berries or vegetables. By whatever standard required, like produce ends up in what looks like glass containers, some four feet to a side and of equal height, but apparently strong enough to be stacked. These are to be transported to the various planets in this galaxy. Not-so-perfect produce is loaded into metal containers of the same size, to be processed into various forms of food.

  They move on to the processing plant on the other side of the transporter. Here he finds a few more humans, tending large machines that prepare the various foods. Some will be packaged raw; some will be cooked; some will be frozen; some will be canned.

  Some of the processed food will be returned to the many wards for distribution. Others will be transported. The great majority of produce is destined to be transported.

  Another part of the distribution complex receives shipments from other planets. A transported item or package is marked for its intended destination. As they watch, several of the tracked farm implements are being conveyed out of the transporter structure. To his disappointment, they are not allowed into the transporter. Their guide simply explains that it is a similar process to that which they experienced. Another area they do not tour is the living quarters of those humans assigned to the Distribution Center.

  The tour takes two hours. Then they are told they will now go to the dining hall. Daniel is surprised how fast the time passed. The entire process was fascinating, with his frequent thoughts being as to how expensive this entire planet colonization must be. But then he realizes that he is still thinking in terms of monetary exchange. Still, great effort had to be expended just for Paradise alone, and there are supposedly many other planets being colonized. In answer to his silent question, his guide assured him that the trade was mutually beneficial.

  Daniel intentionally takes a seat at a table next to his traveling companion.

  “Very impressive, isn’t it,” Daniel offers in an effort to start a conversation.

  Before answering, the man looks around, then speaks with a guilty smile, “Sorry about being so rude. You can’t be too careful about what you say. You never know what or who might be listening. By the way, I’m Frank. Frank Burton. Ward 13.”

  Daniel shakes hands with him, telling him his own name. He is taken by surprise by the man’s comment. “What do you mean? I didn’t know we had to watch what we said.”

  “Not on the ward,” he responds, then adds, “Here.”

  “I still don’t understand. They know what we’re thinking.”

  “That’s not the problem.” He again looks around to see if a Peace Keeper is present. “There are some things they don’t want us to know. And if, by chance, you discover one of these ‘secrets,’ you’re expected to keep it to yourself.”

  “What secrets?” Daniel as
ks.

  The man shakes his head. “I’ve already said too much.”

  Daniel is starting to think the man is just a little paranoid, and decides not to press the issue. “So, what did you think of the Center?”

  Frank nods, but remains silent, continuing to eat. In fact, very few in the group of 24 are talking. Daniel thinks there should be a buzz of conversation about what they had seen this morning.

  All have finished dining. Some are beginning to gather in small groups. Quietly. Soon, they are directed to their respective shuttles.

  On the short trip back, Frank sits with Daniel, but remains silent. It is not until the shuttles pulls into Frank’s village that he speaks. “How many of your women are pregnant?”

  Daniel is surprised by the sudden question, feeling it was none of his business.

  Before he can respond, Frank asks, “Have any given birth yet?”

  Daniel shakes his head. “What are you getting at?”

  “I’ve already said too much!” Frank abruptly leaps off the shuttle and hurries off.

  The rest of the way back to his Ward, Daniel is wondering what Frank Burton was trying to tell him.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Over the next three months, every woman of Ward 3 has become pregnant, most in voluntary compliance with the dictates of the Universal Council, some in spite of trying not to. And most couples are pleased with the prospects of being parents; most couples are also pleased with their new sexual freedom.

  Carol was the last of their group to discover she was pregnant, and she was not taking it well. Neither was her husband, Charles. For days he was sullenly silent when gathering with others in their little clusters of five farms, as was the custom at least once a week, usually more often.

  It is Sunday, the traditional Biblical day of rest. They still had no place of worship nor a spiritual leader. In its place, they had a group Sunday supper, with the hosting rotating between the five farms. Whoever has the privilege can depend on the other four women to help prepare the meal. While the women are preparing the meal, the men set up a large canopy to cover the two picnic tables set in a line, for they dined in the open air, rain or shine, for the weather was always pleasant.