RED GOLD
THE AUSTRALIAN CIVIL WAR
BY
TRENT S O’DONNELL
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all a production of the author’s imagination. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover image courtesy of Ric J Steininger photography. See more of Ric’s amazing work at http://ricsteininger.com.
Many thanks to my test readers for their feedback and input, especially my mum. And a special thanks to my partner Dany for all the late nights and encouragement.
This book was written for and dedicated to my two boys Josh and Jacob.
Contents
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXIII
XXIV
XXV
XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
CHARACTERS.
ACRONYMS
I
The year is 2039:
Australia has been split in two parts, East and West, as a result of a referendum 18 years earlier in 2021. The East had seen the West as a burden after the end of the resources boom of the early 21st century and the West was happy to separate itself from the East due to unfair taxation and GST distribution and several disputed mining, border control and environmental policy issues.
The East is now known as the Commonwealth of Eastern Australia or C.E.A. while the West is known as the Republic of Western Australia or R.W.A.
Four years of what was relatively peaceful negotiations and land distribution resulted in a reasonably smooth divide into two separate and independent nations.
The new border separating the two countries starts from the coast 50km east of Darwin and runs due south through the center of Uluru/Ayres Rock, ending on the coast to the far west of Adelaide.
In 2024 a pipeline was constructed to flow fresh water down from the north to accommodate Alice Springs in the east, and the fledgling city of Orion in the west. This pipeline has given each city a major boost in agriculture, industry and consumption.
The main body of the pipe is known as ‘Central Pipe’, and a T junction marks ‘West Pipe’ and ‘East Pipe’. Central Pipe follows the new border from the north and is accompanied by a rail line to Darwin while an existing rail line to Adelaide built 10 years earlier tracks the border to the south.
The world and Australia’s place in it.
The global currency is now backed by gold after the collapse of the Petro dollar and dwindling Asian and Middle Eastern economies. Commodities exchanged between countries are bought and sold in the form of bullion bars and the gold ‘standard’ coin.
The ‘average’ growth in GDP of all nations was calculated to be .3% and this has been the inflation rate set for gold over the next 10 years. The current price is $2052 per troy ounce. All nations have kept their own currency and many developing countries in Africa with ample gold deposits have gained a steady rise in wealth, while some of the leading economies in Europe and the Americas felt short changed.
Fossil fuels are all but exhausted and ‘Coal Seam Gas’ has been outlawed due to water table toxification. Pebble bed nuclear reactors are the main source of energy for the entire world after being cautiously approved as an economic and reliable source of power. Most countries look to Australia, Canada, India and some South American nations for their energy needs, the basic requirements being Uranium and Graphite.
The Commonwealth has continued a steady economic rise through its usual means, but the Republic, after a few years of uncertainty has re-secured its place as a financial powerhouse with new discoveries of rare earth metals and new deposits of gold, uranium and graphite during the early to mid-era of the 21st century. The East benefited from the resources as well but not on the same scale.
The CEA has constructed a levitating rail line from Alice Springs to Brisbane. It follows the border between South Australia and the new state of Kakadu. Construction of the Lev-Rail has increased the Easts ability to distribute resources to countries across the Pacific Ocean. The R.W.A. has almost completed its own Lev-Rail from Orion running north-west to Broome to easier access markets across the Indian Ocean. It’s scheduled to be completed by December 2042.
Separated by just over 300 km’s, east-west, the newly assigned Sister Cities of Alice Springs and Orion are both becoming Mega cities in their own right with ‘Dubai’ style rapid construction. They are both the gateway cities for the refinement and distribution of Uranium and Graphite from each nation to the rest of the world. These deposits however, were not going to last forever and the World Energy Board made predictions that the world’s nuclear fuels would be exhausted by 2060. Once again and as always, new methods of power production must be found.
One contentious issue remained between the two countries: The ownership of Uluru/Ayres Rock. Though this was not a deal breaker for either country, the meteor and now the 8th natural wonder of the world, had become a major tourist attraction, and negotiations had continued to stall regarding ownership.
In 2022, for an interim period, and in the best interest of achieving some kind of future resolution on the issue, the Traditional owners of the land, or ‘Trads’ were given custodianship of Uluru for a period of 20 years, due to expire in 2042. A territory of 50 kilometers radius around the rock was released into their custodianship.
The Trads benefited greatly from the arrangement from a financial respect, not only from tourism but from royalties paid from the resources boom. This lead to the creation of their own much smaller metropolis of Trivett City on the east side of the Ayres Rock half way inside the 50km zone.
Trivett City, or as it has become known ‘South Vegas’, was the choice destination for fun and sin, where gambling, sex, drugs and material wealth ruled, while Orion and Alice springs were the financial and moral hub for each neighboring territory.
Border checkpoint “Echo” is 1 of 6 checkpoints along the border three kilometers north of Ayres Rock. Security is well below minimal, to the point where a prosecution for sovereign incursions or possession of contraband had never actually occurred. Trade flowed freely in all directions between the three cities.
THE EAST: Commonwealth of Eastern Australia.
Garrett Cameron is the Prime Minister of the C.E.A. Commodore Peter Nelson is the head of the Commonwealth Armed Forces. The C.E.A. had claimed the City of Adelaide in its split along with Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart. Canberra is still the Capital.
The East has a population of 55 million and over 830,000 infantry personnel at its disposal, plus 43 3rd generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF’s) and various artillery platforms numbering almost 200 units.
THE WEST: Republic of Western Australia.
Robert Peirce is the President of the R.W.A. General Harrison Ross is head of the Republic Defence Force. The new Capital of the R.W.A. is Perth. Darwin, Broome and Orion are the divisional state capitals. Orion is the capital of the newly formed Central Western Territory.
The Republics armed forces are mostly comprised of 280,000 soldiers, 13
0,000 reserves, 270,000 Cyborg Infantry or ‘Mech-I’s. Total is 680,000 infantry, Plus 27 F-16 ‘Fighting Falcon’ Jet’s, and over 150 artillery units.
All citizens of the Republic must complete one year of compulsory military service at age 18, plus six months of ‘Specialist Military Training’ due to its low population of 15 million.
TRIVETT CITY:
Sonny Vasallo is the Premier of Trivett City and its territory. Gordon Jenkins is Minister of Transport and Mining. Its population is around 200,000. It has no military capabilities but its wealth comes from royalties, gambling and black market commodities.
Although Trivett City is in Commonwealth territory, its government operates autonomously.
II
2039
Two cousins and lifelong friends Cory and Ben, both from Orion, are hiking up Uluru/Ayres Rock via a remote access route…
“C’mon old man.” Says Cory.
“Yeah yeah wait up mate.” Says Ben. “This isn’t getting any easier ya know.”
“Not far now.”
Cory dislodges a rock causing an avalanche of rocks as it falls.
“Heads up!” He yells.
“Roger that.” Says Ben as the rock passes two feet to his left.
It hits bigger and bigger rocks which cascade down the side, finally impacting on a large slab on the side of Uluru causing it to break away from the main body.
BANG!!!
“Did you hear that!?” Cory asks.
“Yep….sure did.” Says Ben. “Nice one dingus. Good thing no-one else is around.”
After they arrive at the top, Cory and Ben drink some water and admire the view of Trivett City in the near distance and Orion off to the horizon.
“I’ll never get tired of this view.” Says Cory. “The tri cities look so beautiful from here.”
“You got that right. Hey we’re two minutes off our personal best by the way.”
Cory sits on a rock and wipes the sweat off his forehead.
“Hey I was talking to dad yesterday and he’s thinking of retiring in a couple of years and moving to Broome.”
“Sure…why not.” Says Ben. “I could think of worse places to retire.”
“I’m gonna head over for a holiday when he buys a new house next year. You guys should come?”
“Well we got the BBQ tonight. I’ll ask Techy but I’m pretty sure he’ll be up for it, and I know I could do with a break.”
“Settled. Brian and Cass are in too. Hey so how are those blueprints coming along anyway?”
“Yeah good.” Says Ben. “Should be finished by the end of the week. I’ll show you what we have on the hologram tonight. And the schematics for Magna-jet… how’s that going?”
“Just about done.” Says Cory. “I’ll get a package together and send them off to R and D, say…this time next week.”
“Yep sure. Hey I think it’s about time we came up with a name since it’s almost done. Techy recons the ‘Phoenix’. What do you think? Personally… I like it.”
“The Phoenix.” Cory says. “Yeah that works for me… that totally works.”
“Awesome, it’s settled then. At least we can say we had a go.”
“Yeah true. Well, drink up dorkus. We got about an hour of sunlight left. We better get going.”
“Whenever you’re ready cuz.”
As they return to the base of the rock, they discover a red metallic mineral embedded in the slab and on the wall of the main body where it’s been cracked off.
“What the hell is that?” Says Cory as they approach the broken slab.
“Got me. Looks like opal…or gold… only red. Here, see if you can break some off.”
Ben passes Cory a rock. The mineral is soft like lead and hamburger sized chunk is smashed off.
“This shit isn’t normal.” Says Ben. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”
“Nope. Hey do you think…”
“What…? The whole thing? No way.”
“It might be.” Says Cory. “It makes sense.”
“You just may be right.”
“I tell ya what, we should keep this between you and me.” Says Cory. “You know how the other guys like to blab.”
“Yeah, roger that.”
“See if we can push this slab back and maybe chuck a few branches on it or something.”
“Yep…good idea.” Says Ben.
The guys cover it up as best they can and head back to Orion. They both agree not to tell anyone exactly where it was discovered.
Later that night after the BBQ, Brian, Cory and Cass are on the balcony in Ben and Techy’s apartment enjoying a beer and the view.
“Damn that was good.” Says Brian.
“Yep.” Says Cory. “Techy can sure cook a mean bbq.”
“Much better than the last one you cooked.” Cass says as she glances at Brian.
“Well I can’t be good at everything. Besides, I don’t recall any complaints.”
Just then Ben sticks his head out of the glass sliding door and motions Cory inside.
“Cory… got a sec.”
“Yeah mate… coming.” Cory says as he walks inside leaving Cass and Brian alone.
“You’re look good Cass.” Says Brian.
“Thanks.” She replies.
“I’ve been meaning to call you but I’ve been busy working on this weapon design for Ben’s…”
Just then Techy calls out from inside.
“Hey guys… come take a look at this.”
“Can we talk later?” Says Brian to Cass.
“Maybe.” She replies.
Cory and Ben show the sample to the crew.
“What’s that?” Asks Brian.
“We dunno.” Says Ben. “Feel how heavy it is.”
“Wow, its heavy… like gold. Where did you find it?” Asks Cass.
“Out near the rock.” Ben says as he sheepishly looks at Cory for approval. “I was taking a piss on the way back and there it was half buried in dirt, like some dirt sticking out thing.”
“Hey you remember my friend Susan?” Cass asks as she reaches for her cell phone. “Her mum Sharyn is a geologist. You should show it to her. I’ll get you her number if you like.”
“Yeah sure.” Says Ben. “Why not.”
That weekend, Cory and Ben take the sample to Cass’s contact Sharyn Hutchison, a geologist with over 40 years in the field. In Sharyn’s lab in down town Orion, the boys enter with enthusiasm and gangster-like trepidation…
“Hi boys.” Says Sharyn as she extends her hand.
“Nice shoes.” Says Ben.
“You must be Ben.”
“Hi Sharyn.” Says Cory. “Thanks for taking the time to see us.”
“Any friend of Cass is a friend of mine. Now you boys have some rare metal I should take a look at.”
“We sure do.” Says Ben as he hands over a matchbox sized nugget of the sample. “Any idea what it is?”
“I’ll pop it under the microscope and get a closer look. The image will appear on that screen over there.” Sharyn points across the room. “It’s like nothing I’ve seen before. Where did you find it?”
“We were camping over on the Todd River on the other side of Alice Springs.” Says Cory as he winks at Ben. “There it was in the Ground.”
“Well I’m not sure what it is but I’d like to do more tests if that’s ok with you.”
“We’re just as curious as you, so yeah.” Says Ben.
“I’ll tell ya what.” Says Sharyn. “I have a colleague in the government with access to spectral analyses and carbon dating machinery among other things. I can pass this on if you like, but I think you might have made yourselves quite a rare discovery here.”
“Wow….yeah by all means.” Says Ben as he nods to Cory and rubs his fingers together.
“Ok…leave it with me and I’ll call you when I have some information. You boys take care.”
“Thanks Sharyn.” Says Cory. “Bye.”
III
Three w
eeks later at Orion Air Force base Ben is hanging up his flight gear after a long day of flight training. Suddenly his phone rings…
“Hey dingus.” Says Ben. “Sup?”
“Hey dorkus!” Says Cory from the other end of the line. “Hey I just spoke to dad. Apparently R and D have had a look at our designs but no feedback just yet. Fingers crossed. So what’s doin?”
“Just finished some training. I’m over in hanger three at the moment. Hey wanna grab a beer?”
“Sure do. I’m just over in the flight briefing room. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”
“Roger that. See ya then.”
Just as Bens hangs up his phone, it rings again…
“Hello?”
“Hello Ben, It’s Sharyn. How are you?”
“Hey Sharyn. How’s things?”
“Good thanks Ben. Really good. I hope I haven’t called at a bad time.”
“No not at all.” Ben says as he hangs up his uniform. “What’s up?”
“I think you and Cory should head down to the Energy, Tech and Science building on Jones Street whenever you can get the time. Do you know where it is?”
“Yeah I’ve been there before. Is something wrong? What have you done to our rock?” Ben laughs.
“I think you should see for yourself, otherwise you wouldn’t believe me. Can you make it in today?”
“We both finished at three and Cory is on base right now. I’ll grab him and we can get there say… four?”
“That would be great. I’ll meet you out the front so I can sign you in. See you then.”
“Sure thing. Bye.”
An hour later Cory and Ben arrive at the E.T.S. building and manage to get a car park right out front. Sharyn is waiting on the steps.
“Hi boys.” Sharyn shouts as they get out of the car. “Glad you could make it.”
Red Gold: The Australian Civil War Page 1