"Captain on the deck!" A voice yelps as I enter the room.
"As you were," I call back to those present in the room as I walk to the dais.
Twelve recently commissioned Ensigns are seated in the small room. Training of all types is an ongoing process for everyone in the service. The course I teach aboard the Shenzhen is about the legal responsibilities to the Empire of those in the OESA. It is based in history that explains how and why things developed as they have.
"Many of you serve in adjuncts of departments which are embedded deep in the Shenzhen. You work long hard hours. This ship employs a five-shift rotation, with four taking duty shifts at their scheduled time and the fifth enjoying its off-time. So, you all work six actual duty hours a day and another four to five preparing departmental plans and doing personnel reviews. And, that doesn't take into account all the time you spend in training to improve yourselves and increase your rank. So, you have little time on your hands to get to know other parts of the ship and the people in other departments. I want to encourage you to use a little of your meager off-time to seek out crew members and get to know them. In that light, I will start this lecture series by giving you a little of my personal history.' I pause for effect. Then, I continue. 'For those who don't know, I am Commander Kurt Brubacher, and I am Captain of this vessel.
I was born in the restored city of Columbus Ohio on Friday, December 6th, 2222. After several formative years in Minnesota, I graduated from Ohio State, with a doctorate in Aerospace Engineering, in 2246 and entered the OESA Academy on Earth, that year. I finished first in my class, from the Command Program in 2248. I was posted as a Midshipman to the Boots Fleet before I even graduated. I got off to a dreadful start there. I did not impress Admiral Bryant, who was then a Vice Admiral in command of that Fleet. But, I survived the incident, and he did not seem to hold it against me. In fact, when he saw how serious I was and how committed I am, he became one of my strongest supporters. I was commissioned an Ensign in May of 2248. I served in different capacities at various posts throughout Boots. I completed Fighter Pilot Training and received my wings in June of 2250. I rose through the ranks serving mostly in Boots until my promotion to Commander and assignment as Captain of this vessel on December 15, last year. I have experienced battle first-hand on several occasions, in several positions. Now, I would like to start in the rear corner to my right and have each person introduce themselves and relate a very brief personal history to the rest of us."
It took nearly an hour for all twelve people to complete the introductions. I called in refreshments and snacks as we took a short break, milling about in discussion with each other. It is a great way to get to know your workmates. After ordering everyone to their seats, I continue the session.
"I will start some sessions with questions that should be answered in the lecture, and in subsequent handouts. You will be asked to respond to those, in the next seminar, a week from now. I want to begin today’s program with the following queries. The first is - 'Why an Empire? Why not a democracy? Why would a dictatorial based state want a constitution? Why does our constitution enshrine our rights? Why does the Constitution forbid organized religion? Why does this document guarantee representation? And finally, why does it prohibit a member state from separating? I want you to think of those questions as we travel back in time to search out answers. These will be the questions asked on your testing.
To answer those issues, we must journey through the centuries to before the Empire - back to a devastated world wracked by natural disasters, war, terrorism, and dreadful governmental management. In 2020, the planet Earth did not enjoy universal government. In that year, there were about two hundred different countries - give or take a few, depending on what part of the calendar year you look at. Though Earth was well past the two world wars, there were constant skirmishes and even a few pretty substantial wars. A vast area in the Middle East, in continuous upheaval, suffered terribly due to the actions of terrorists trying to impose their religious beliefs on their own faithful, and even on the entire planet.
Economic displacement was equally disruptive during the same period. The world saw a doubling of wealth over the period of three decades ending in 2019, but ninety-six percent of the new prosperity was distributed amongst just four percent of the world's population. Many people starved on a very wealthy planet.
The world had seen a steady rise in ocean levels as glaciers, and polar ice caps melted due to an increase in temperature caused by emissions of greenhouses gasses into the air. The world did not seem to have the inclination to deal with this problem seriously, because of perceived negative economic reactions they believed would result from any proposed actions. In mid-2017, the environment crossed a temperature barrier that allowed vast offshore deposits of frozen methane gas to melt, amplifying the warming effect as it rose into the atmosphere. This exaggerated rising temperatures, even more. In 2018, Polar ocean temperatures rose high enough to slow, then stop the circulation from the equator to the poles. Late that year, Polar ice caps began to grow at an astonishing rate. By the next year, it was apparent Earth was heading into a mini ice age triggered by manmade global warming.
At the same time, Colony Collapse Disorder reached a catastrophic level. CCD is a syndrome affecting honey bee hives. No one ever understood the cause of it, but whole colonies of bees would go out to work on a given morning and would not return in the evening. Beekeepers would find thousands of carcasses in the orchards and fields they had been pollinating. 2016 saw the beginnings of crop failures attributed to this problem. By 2018, our world was in the midst of a full-fledged famine. There were not enough bees to pollinate crops around the Earth.
Each apocalyptic contributor added to the loss of life worldwide. But, the famine did the most damage. By 2020, only 1.8 billion of the world's more than seven billion were still alive. Most of those lived between thirty degrees North and thirty-seven degrees South of the equator. A northern glacier crept south to cover most of the landmass to forty-five degrees North. A southern glacier grew from the pole to a line fifty degrees south of the equator. The one benefit was the recovery of previously submerged coastlines, and more.
In the north, small handfuls of people waited for the glacier to arrive before heading south. For most, that spelled disaster. They died making valiant attempts to come south. But, one man did make it. We celebrate him, today. Seeing the confusion and potential for anarchy when he arrived in the south, he worked to found the Empire we know today. He helped establish the constitution and many of the efficient systems still in use today. Most of you do not know his full name. We have affectionately nicknamed this legendary man, and most of us refer to him by that handle today.
Next week, we'll come back to the story of the Constitution, but we have to break for today. You will each find a handout on your data pads. Study it. It pertains to a man we all think we know. But, few actually possess much real detail about him - they believe they know because they hear him referred to so often. The handout is titled - Old Tom - 2020. Read it a couple of times. It will help you understand why things are as they are."
Chapter 2 Old Tom
Monday December 7, 2020
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." Confucius
Half naked, dripping wet and nearly freezing, in the bitter north wind, in the pitch black of night, the old man was in a fight for his life. He had fallen asleep in the Alpine tent with a fire blazing outside to keep away any intruding carnivores, always hunting ahead of the advancing glacial edge. But the fire had doused itself as it melted its way into the ice sheet sending rivulets of water flowing through his bedding on the tent floor. Now, he was flailing away at the black bear with the butt of the unloaded shotgun, in an attempt to avoid being shredded by the ominous claws on its sizable paws. Forced to retreat on each of four or five lunges during which it was clubbed on the snout, the bear finally stopped as if to consider the situation. Then, it turned and slowly walked of
f into the darkness, pausing and peering back, from time to time, to grunt its disapproval at the old man's defense.
When he was satisfied the threat had waned, and his shakes subsided, the elderly camper checked out the woodpile first. Some of it was wet, but the rest was still dry enough to use. Rummaging through the sled, he found a large double layered baking sheet near the bottom and decided to use it as a base for the next fire. Old Tom hoped it would keep the temperature of the ice down, as the fire burned above it, thus avoiding a repeat of the same situation. Surrounding a loosely crumpled piece of paper with some kindling he'd carved from the wood with his hatchet and hunting knife, Tom lit it and slowly fed it as much wood as the pan would hold around the burning tinder. Soon it was roaring, though not as big as the previous fire. Setting up the drying line over the blaze, he hung his bedroll in the heat flow. In the truck, he found clean clothes, redressed and placed his wet ones on the line beside the bedroll. Breaking down the tent, he turned it inside out to freeze-dry, so he'd have it for the next night. Then, he sat close to the fire in the silence of isolation, broken by the distant howling of the advancing glacial bow, to think about what had happened, and why.
It soon occurred to him that, he was not properly prepared for this trek, though he'd taken half a year to do so. In the morning, he would backtrack to nearby Trenton where he'd search for additional provisions. After brewing a pot of coffee, he sat drinking and thinking for the rest of the night, building a list of necessities in his mind.
The old man packed up and broke camp at first light, heading north. He was traveling on the ice sheet that had been Lake Ontario but was now the southern end of the massive glacier. It was not yet too thick in this area. On the way to Trenton, he had been able to follow paths between treetops and the tops of old electric and telephone poles to stay on course. He had often seen high rise buildings and roofs of lower ones peeking through the ice and snow. Many looked disheveled by their near crushing, at the hands of the mighty ice sheet. It had taken almost a week to travel from his shelter west of Toronto to Trenton, a trip that would have required an hour and a half a few years before.
He thought about the recent past as he headed back to the shoreline. It could be funny if it weren't so devastating. This "Ice Age" had been caused by global warming. And, to make it worse, it had been preceded by several other world-altering disasters. First, an influenza pandemic killed nearly one and a half billion. That was followed by a worldwide famine triggered by Colony Collapse Disorder, an insidious loss of bee colonies. Without the bees, there were none of the foods they are responsible for pollinating. All the while, temperatures continued to rise until they reached a point where frozen methane pockets in the shallows of large bodies of water melted, releasing enormous invisible clouds of the greenhouse gas into the air. At that point, a runaway temperature rise began, warming arctic ocean waters, resulting in the complete cessation of the equatorial to polar water currents. This was the beginning of the mini ice age that created the massive glacial sheet.
It took half a day to find the town and locate a business district that should contain the needed supplies. The occasional sign still stood, peeking through the frozen layer.
Old Tom dug his way into a roof vent of a large home improvement center. Tilted at an obtuse angle and mostly covered by ice and snow, he'd almost missed its placard. The condition of the building made negotiation of former aisles extremely hazardous. And, he knew, the weight of snow and ice atop the roof could collapse it at any time. He acquired porcelain tile, wood, and mineral insulation. At another store, he located a large inflatable mattress for his sleeping kit to lay on. This would prevent it from getting wet, again. At the same place, he found a large roll of dense foam rubber he could lay on the ground before erecting his tent on it. This would raise the floor of the tent and prevent melting of the ice below while acting as an insulator from the cold ice beneath it.
It took quite a while to locate the gun range he had visited in the past. Besides offering practice, they had also been a source of weapons. Inside the store, he found an ample supply of handguns, rifles, shotguns, and ammunition, along with, substantial archery gear he had not noticed in his many sessions there. He had not drawn a bow, since childhood so he would choose carefully. He picked out a nine millimeter Glock automatic pistol, an AR16 assault rifle, ammunition for both and for the shotgun in the truck, and a crossbow with hunting arrows and quiver. As an afterthought, he grabbed a gun maintenance kit containing the oil, brushes, and cloth, he would need to keep weapons in working order - and spare bow strings. He would not be defenseless again. And from now on, he would keep his firearms loaded. By the end of the day, he returned to the campsite, pitching the tent atop the foam. Placing the sheet of plywood on the ice surface, he topped it with the insulation and set the porcelain tiles in two layers on top of the insulation. That night's fire was built on the tiles. If he were right, the insulation and tile would prevent heat from burning the plywood, while the whole assemblage should prevent melting.
Supplies were stored in the vintage Toyota Roadrunner, and the home made sled he pulled behind it. He had designed the sleigh with wheels that could be lowered below the runners. It could run on snow and ice, or land. Built of aluminum tubing atop a steel support structure, it was light and strong enough to hold over a ton of belongings in two shelving layers. On the top at the rear, were countless Gerry cans of gasoline, containers of naphtha, and one pound canisters of propane gas. There was always a danger of spillage onto the contents below, but placing the fuel on the top ensured adequate ventilation. Ahead of it were clothing, soaps, cleaning products, and fresh linens, and packed clothing. On the lower rack, prepared meals were stowed in self-sealing glass containers below the fuel. Wrapped frozen meats and fish were stockpiled ahead of that, along with pots, pans, and commercially packaged frozen vegetables. Canned goods, computer, flashlights, spare batteries, a clothing change, and current towel and facecloth were kept inside the vehicle, which the old man had modified with a larger alternator, a second battery and an in-car heater that kept its interior from dropping below freezing each night. When collapsed, the tent was stashed atop the front of the sled. Bedrolls, ground sheet, and the new inflatable mattress went in the back of the car. An assortment of pulley systems, ropes, tools, and dry medical supplies were packed in the roof top carrier atop the truck.
While caring for his wife of over forty years, Old Tom had spent the last six months planning, foraging, stocking, and building for the trip south. It had taken nearly two months to design the sled, acquire the materials and build it. Throughout the entire period, he made pilgrimages deep into the abandoned city. These excursions provided him with the four-wheel drive vehicle, food, and a small wind generator and solar collector system he'd assembled to keep the house warm and powered. Repacking the truck and sleigh several times over that period had led to the layout he now enjoyed. Goods were packed safely, while their locations were prioritized by need. He did not want to be unpacking and repacking throughout the trip.
He needed two days to recover when Margaret finally passed away. Though it had been a long illness, it was still devastating. Once she was laid to rest, he left the house without even locking it or shutting anything down, even though it was mid-winter. What was the point?
By his estimation, the old man felt it would take two to three additional months to reach what was once Northern Florida. He chose to travel now because the glacier would be more stable in winter. During late spring melts and early fall freezes, it is contracting and expanding while moving along the ground layer below it. This causes great fissures to open without warning. They are still there and hard to spot in winter, but safer than having one suddenly open below you as you travel over it.
There were some other benefits to moving in the winter during an ice age. The tent had a small protected opening in the back and a flapped window in the side. He could use either to aim the five-inch auto tracking reflector telescope he carried in the t
ruck. Most nights there were limited clouds or falling precipitation, and most pollutants and moisture had condensed from the atmosphere, long ago. In addition, there was no light pollution, making star gazing genuinely wrenching. So many smaller or more distant stars were visible that he had trouble identifying constellations that had once been very familiar. Instead of the few hundred he knew, he could now see thousands of stars and galaxies.
................................................................................................
The old man was born Thomas McCracken to a teacher mother and a chemical engineer father, in the little town of Wyoming Ontario, outside of Sarnia in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was such a small place where the passenger train only stopped when there was actually a patron at the station. As a young man, he was of average stature with dark hair and brown eyes. His father James, who had been his mentor, teacher, advisor, and best friend died the year he started college. When his mother moved South to Florida, eliminating all family financial support, he left school, joining the Canadian Air Force where he took up radar technology as a trade. He stumbled about in the business world, for several years, after the military. He met and married Margaret. They had three boys. At some point in those years, he decided to go back to school, receiving a formal education in electrical engineering. He had over thirty years’ experience in designing, building, and programming industrial electrical control systems before retiring.
As the world he knew was in decline, but, the system was still intact, his early retirement days included surgical interventions replacing both eye lenses and a right hip. By the time Margaret's health failed, Tom was more than fit to handle her care. He began a rigorous exercise program during the period of preparation for the trip. When it was time to leave, he probably could've completed the trip twice over.
Righteous Reign The Series: E-version Boxed Set Edition Page 2