Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition

by Moulton, CD

  "Thank you ... what?

  "I have just been informed that Klarstenland National Medical Supplies has sent a request to know the size and number of syringes needed. They will use their techniques and equipment to produce the injections in a prepackaged form around the clock until there are enough to serve the entire world at no cost if we will supply the serum.

  "The syringes are to be two ccs and we will get you the serum as quickly as it can be flown to you ... Jeneye ... about an hour and a half. We can produce the serum with the process on hand.

  "Your nation and world will never forget your selfless aid in this emergency, KNMS. Citizens might well remember this when they purchase medical supplies in the future.

  "There are more calls coming in. We will publish all who aid us in this. Thank you.

  "Hal?"

  Hal Korr stood and said that any doctor who had not received the M14 serum or the method for formulating it was asked to contact the island immediately. He explained to the people that the microwave machine destroyed the virus except for that in the blood and the M14 destroyed all in the blood, then he called Jak Tall who explained how he wanted all persons who knew how to design or repair standard home microwave equipment to immediately begin converting any spare microwave generators they could get their hands on. The preprepared television explanation and workshop would air three times the following day at 8:00, 14:00, and 20:00 on government channel B and the educational channel.

  "The more units we have in operation the faster this goes," he finished.

  Sop came on then to explain the constitution was designed with this particular type medical emergency in mind. He knew because he had written the constitution. Mi was being much less strict than he would have advised, but she was Health Officer and knew more about this than he did.

  Enn Far came on to declare the government was in the hands of Health Officer Dr. Mi Yinn until further notice and he would exactly, as was his constitutional duty, do as she instructed.

  She said to take into consideration that the constitution was suspended by her order and, until she dropped the suspension, the hundred days was not in force. She suggested he spend those few days to explain the voting procedures to all before the process began. An extended question-and-answer portion came up then. Most of the questions were asked by doctors and utility repairmen. Much to the surprise of the majority on the island there wasn't going to be much resistance to Mi's orders. Sop never doubted that compliance would be complete. "The people are dying! They will do whatever they must to save themselves if not for more altruistic motives!" He quite honestly couldn't see that people were seldom this rational about such things.

  Jak Tall grinned and said the hard part was to proceed in a steady wave across the land and not to miss anyone.

  "We'll have a case now and then for a few years and probably an outbreak now and again where Mi'll have to call a regional suspension of the constitution. THAT'S when you'll find out how irrational they can be!"

  Hal grinned. "When I'M chairman I won't put up with this crap for one picosecond!"

  "Then you'll have riots violent enough to make what some of those other countries've had seem like a Firstday's Eve dance!" Jak replied, still with the grin.

  Solutions

  * * * * *

  "...to the Klee Corporation unit by adding a five hundred ohm variable pot-style resistor here," Jak Tall said to the camera as he pointed to the spot on the large schematic diagram. "This is not high draw, but use a strong enough pot to hold up.

  "The Gann unit is more complicated so you'll have to insert a dual-input variable monopolar directional tunnel diode AND the capacitor, which means putting a fifty thousand ohm resistor on the secondary peg to the second input mode on the diode. It's tricky and the thing will wander no matter what you do, but remember the Gann machine was designed to cook food, which it does very well.

  "The non-brand name units are mass-produced so you can just put variable capacitors on the drive circuits. We recommend you do not use the Gann machine nor the mass-produced units unless others are not available.

  "Thank you. The next show is in six hours." He sighed deeply and went to sit at the desk for the calls. There were fewer this show and would be still fewer the last, but there would always be questions. They must be answered.

  The light on the com lit and he said, "Yes?"

  This was carried at the end of the shows so all could hear the questions and answers.

  "Don't you think a Jonn triple-prong tunnel compensator diode could be added to the input sequence driver circuit on all models, making the rest of this redundant?"

  "Certainly!" Jak shot back. He hated these whizbang kids. They were always impractical and wasted too much time best used by the legitimate questioners. "Do you have a supply of Jonn three's around your shop?"

  "Er, I don't have a shop. I'm a theorist."

  "Well, theorist. How many Jonn three-prong's would you figure the average M-W repairman would have laying around?"

  "Well, probably none. They could always order them."

  "And how long would delivery take – bearing in mind the Jonn company would suddenly be flooded with millions of orders?"

  "Well, I can usually get my special orders in ten days."

  "In case it eluded your attention," Jak snarled, almost acidly, "the modified units will be needed the day after tomorrow. Are you suggesting we allow a few tens of thousands of people to die while we wait for those units?

  "As you just said no one would have the Jonn three's around unless they're in more high-income areas. The damned things may be the best money can buy, but they cost two hundred stars while the stuff I'm talking about costs a total of two or three stars and almost everyone has it in cartons in their shops.

  "A little advice. Come down to Kroon before you move into the marketplace to sell your abilities. While the theory behind the suggestion is sound enough from a scientific standpoint, as a practical consideration it could kill off the customers before it could be implemented and would be prohibitively costly.

  "I'm sure you've impressed everyone with how your sharp little mind works, but not the way you'd planned. Aren't you glad you didn't give your name? The whole world would know who would waste our time with impracticalities while his race dies!"

  There was a click as the caller hung up.

  "I'm sorry," Jak said toward the camera. "I shouldn't lose my temper, but this is neither the time nor the place for hotshots to try to impress others with their expertise. This is a deadly serious matter. The race is in fact dying at this very moment and we need as fast and usable a method to combat that virus as we can possibly get. We can't spend time on amusing theories."

  The call light came on again and he was asked about a specialty unit a distributor called to say he would donate to any who could use them. Jak stood and went to the board.

  "Bil Mitt Electro Distributors in Klarsted has two thousand Akee SpeedKing units available to all qualified MW people if they will come to the east warehouse to pick them up. I've asked the director to find the schematic for ... ahh, here they are.

  "I'm not familiar with this particular model.... Oh yes. It uses the Punn driver. It's a good unit. There's a circuit that attaches to the wave modulator through a monopolar tunnel sequencer here," he lectured, drawing furiously. "It will increase the load to the output coils. Cut this line. That much output you don't need. If the line isn't there there won't be an accident. Resequence the frequency and add a, mmm, say seventy five thousand ohm pot here and.... Wait! The unused coil will cause a residual eddy feedback shunt across.... Say! This is great! It'll automatically moderate crest-to-trough on the sine peak! It'll be a built-in safety circuit if you take the cut wire to the third prong of the output sequencer! It will become an automatic surge protector and will stabilize the tendency of the focus capacitor to wander if there's secondary feedback!

  "Bil, your nation should give you 'Hero of the Year' plaques!

  "Cut this wire, tac
k it off, put the pot here, a diode for a ground here, a twenty thousand ohm resistor here and it will be the best unit going! Safest one, anyhow! The sequencer is fully automatically feedback-controlled so it'll moderate the peaks by itself. Even the secondary drive control circuits have a safety protector built in."

  "Jak!" a voice called from off screen. "KlarNat Package and Letter Delivery has dispatched four trucks to the warehouse and will deliver the units to qualified persons at no charge. We will direct so call here to get them."

  "You heard," Jak said. "Now, any units ... never mind."

  He caught himself before he went off on a tangent and sat at the desk to answer calls again. An hour later he went back to his room, grabbed a nap, then cleaned up and had a meal before the next show. Sop reported they were taping the shows and would show them to who requested. There would be plenty of available information in the future. Most of the other countries had downloaded the original broadcasts and would send him questions their own experts couldn't answer.

  Twenty two days and counting.

  * * *

  Sop Lett went through the lists again, nodded and turned the recorder/secretary unit off. It was almost completed. He had produced a dictionary of every word used in the constitution, a glossary of terms and phrases and an explanation of each and every article in the constitution, all done in exquisite detail. Nothing was omitted to the point he knew he would be accused of unnecessary redundancy. There was never going to be any question whatever of what any word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, page or entire section of the constitution meant. He had become engrossed in the difference a word could have to two different people. He did much of it as he was writing, dissecting each word individually and defining precisely what he wrote, demanding a full contextual constance. Those differences couldn't be brought up later by some clever lawyer to make a mockery of the constitution.

  He then had the recorder run a copy on the printer, read every word again discovering where the machine had used the wrong one matching sounds to sometimes reverse the meaning of a phrase. That was something one must take great care about with audial-driven secretaries.

  He found only a few cases, then the document was edited and ready for mass printing.

  No time like the present!

  He checked the ink gun, the reservoir and the paper, found them restocked (Thanks to Jak Tall. Amazing how that man found time to do these things!) and started the printing of a thousand copies. He then went over to Tekif where he talked with his friends there about points of law as the average citizen understood them. It was an education beyond what he ever expected. No schooling could have given him even a good percentage of what he learned from these people!

  "Wahl, Sop, thet sounds reel good uth all them fancy words, but ut don't mean nothin'!" Setch Klin argued. "We-all done thot yer sed tha constitution give us fair, but thet ain't fair'n yer knows ut! Ut's ther same words what ther pols always done said. Sound good, but ain't got no what you call content."

  "What do you mean, not fair?" Sop cried. "The law says you will pay the same penalty for the same criminal act without regard to personal wealth or your power in the community. The court must look on all persons the same way. How can that be unfair?"

  "Wahl, let's say fer the nonce thet we'uns wud do tha same kinda crime – say go onter thother's propity after thother says naught. Say ut's yer 'n me.

  "Thet wud mean I cud be fined a hunnert stars 'n spend ten days'r so in tha lockup. Sos cud yer. But thet hunnert stars's more than I have, say, ceptin' fer tha food money 'n my famly'd have nuthin' comin' in whilst I was in tha lockup. What'd ut mean ter yer? A hunnert stars 'n ten days? Yer spends uh hunnert stars fer a dinner. Nobody goes without naught if'n yer in tha lock-up fer ten days 'r ten tendays. They's hunnerts uh things like thet! A hunnert stars uz most nothin' ter yer 'n ut's everthin' ter me! Ain't no way thet's fair! Ain't no way 'n yer knows ut!"

  "But, but, uh, like you say, it's not the kind of crime either of us would even commit," Sop stammered.

  "Naw, but yer'cn be sure tha penalties fer tha crimes we'uns ud commit're worse'n tha ones fer tha crimes thet rich'd commit! Ya cud take a hunnert stars fer some little thing thet we'uns ud do 'n thet wud be all we'uns'd have. Yer cud take my land away from me'n yer'd git a fine of half its value 'n git away uth tha rest'n yer knows ut. Tha penalty's uz easier fer tha rich.

  "I knows ut's allus been thet way'n ut prob'ly allus will be, but tain't fair! No sir, tain't fair!"

  Sop argued for hours, but knew the farmer was right. It wasn't fair. It had never been fair.

  Could he change that? The constitution was adopted three days ago and it has to be changed already! Damn! I knew that was going to happen! I knew it! – but does it have to be changed?

  No! It says plainly that government must be fair and that can't be interpreted to mean there would be a class structure in the law. Class structures are inherently unfair – ergo, they are already outlawed by the constitution. All that would have to be changed was the single explanation of what was meant when the term "fair" was used in the constitution.

  How had he defined "fair" in the dictionary?

  Yes! He had used the term "equal in effect!" All that was needed was that an explanation of the term "equal in effect" must be added. That was a matter of adding ... nothing but the printing! There were two blank pages after each section of the addendum that were there for notes where he could have the printer add it onto the first of the pages after the dictionary section. All he must do was determine the exact wording.

  "The term 'equal in effect' shall mean methods must be worked out whereby a reward or penalty may be unequal in monetary or time value, but will be equal in impact on the person or entity thus penalized or rewarded. 'Effect' will mean impact both in social and monetary senses. As an instance; the penalty for a simple transgression such as trespass shall not be a fixed monetary fine. It shall be a percentage of income.

  "Reasoning: A poor person could be ruined and his innocent family could be devastated by a fine of, i.e., one hundred stars, where a person of even moderate income would not be even mildly inconvenienced by such a small amount.

  "Ten percent of one period's income would be more fair, as the poor person may have a period income of one hundred stars and, though there would be hardship from a ten star fine it would not be devastating. This percentage would affect a person who earned a thousand stars per period about equally. One hundred stars would cause hardship to much the same degree as would the ten stars to the poor person.

  "It is also for the courts to ensure that hardship may not be imposed upon the family of a person who commits a minor crime instead of upon the one who commits that crime.

  "The word 'fair' in the constitution is always to be defined as 'equal in effect' and the courts are thus now and always instructed."

  Sop replayed the explanation, then smiled and had it added to all the books already printed and to all that would be printed. He took a copy and went back to Tekif where he read the passage to the same farmer who pointed the thing out to him.

  "Thet'd be right fair!" the farmer declared. "By Grumm! Thet'd be fair! Tain't nobody gits no favoritism!

  "Sop, we'uns uz right beholdin' ter yer! Yer'll make thet thar constitution work yit! Thet uz a part of ut, ther constitution, I mean?"

  "Ahyep!" Sop declared. "It is as much a part as if it were written on the first page!"

  "By Grumm! Ut's tha first time us little folk done ever shook no hands 'ithout later findin' thar wuz somethin' ‘sides in ther glove!" the farmer declared.

  Sop went back across the bridge feeling for the first time he had actually done something where there really WASN'T something in the glove, as the farmer said. He felt damned good about it and about himself. Maybe there was salvation in this for him. For the first time in his life he also realized he didn't much care for himself. He had spent a lifetime posturing and posing and playing a part. Now he was being himself – and he liked what he was seeing! He was
n't really all that bad after all!

  No sir! "Thar's nothin' naught ther hand in ther glove!"

  * * * *

  Hal Korr spent much of the time writing his book about the Jeurne Valley dig. If he wasn't going to be laughed out of this chairman thing he certainly wouldn't have time to write it in the next six years. It was still hard for him to believe anyone would seriously believe he could hope to win an election that would encompass all of Klarstenland. He knew HE took it more as a joke than anything else. Enn Far wanted a way to honor him for finding the "A" serum and chose this method so he must treat the great honor of his nomination for what it was – an honor.

  Enn actually thought he should be expressing his views about various matters and, he must admit, Mi was extraordinarily proud of him.

  He was proud of her, too! She had taken this job of National Health Officer in her stride and was doing a truly exemplary job. People would follow her without question after she handled that first testing thing with amazing adroitness, telling the people they could accept the virtual house quarantine as a vacation they had earned for passing the constitution and taking their fate and that of Klarstenland into their own hands for the first time in the sordid history of Kroon.

  She went to the mainland to meet with Enn Far where she had personally tested him for plague. The nation was stunned to learn that he had it, probably contracted when he insisted on meeting directly with the people as part of his duty as chairman. There was quite a row when he refused to take treatment until all those in the capital had taken theirs. Mi said flatly SHE was National Health Officer and SHE was declared acting head of state and HE would take treatment according to his place on the lists or HE would be placed into the quarantine area she had decreed from the first.

  The capitol building was the first area tested, he was the first person found with the plague. He would, therefore, undergo the treatment when SHE told him he would – unless he wished to refuse the order of the National Health Officer HE appointed and go into that quarantine. That would hardly set a good example.