“I’m sorry things have sunk to such a level, Hawk. Even our own morale could do with a boost.”
“The labour situation is improving slowly. Tell your people we will start work in one week and draw up the plans. I will think about what you have said, thank you.”
“Thank you too Hawk. The news about the observation area will have a big impact. Give our love to Clover.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MARCH 2041
The President looked at the report from the returned disc ship. The elders had requested a meeting with him and the ministers. He couldn’t actually see why, the report was what had been pretty much anticipated. There seemed no need to interfere anymore. Earth’s fate was sealed; they were doing the best they could. Unless... unless they were going to propose a gross interference strategy? No, that would not make any sense.
“It’s the boy we want and we want him here on Tuath with his mother and father. The whole situation on Mars is making us feel very uncomfortable. Get them away from there and bring him here where they are safe. We wish to observe the boy, he is a hybrid and there could be much we can learn from him. Also, make sure no more disc ships land on Mars, it would be prudent to reduce contact with the natives as their resentment of us is going to grow. We have done the best we can. It is unfortunate but the natives are facing extinction and all we can do is let them die with dignity.” The elders had spoken and in matters extra-terrestrial they were the ultimate power.
“Your directives will be carried out. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the elders for their migration policy. Considering that a waiting list to return to Earth is now a reality, the cabinet and I were wondering what is the forward planning for the settlement?”
The elders were aware that the settlement on Earth dominated the news every time the Portal opened and for a month afterward. The latest showed Tuathan babies sleeping in cribs under the shade of eucalyptus trees. The scenes of the real Earth in real-Earth light, made Tuath seem to be something less. This was something the elders were not happy about.
“The settlement on Earth appears to be highly successful and Hawk and his pioneers are held in high respect by the council. We have not anticipated such interest, neither have we formulated a policy as we have not officially claimed any Earth territory as Tuathan sovereign territory. But you are right Mr President, the time has come for us make an official claim. The Consortium did it on Mars and claimed the entire planet. I would suggest we claim our existing settlement not as ambassadorial real estate but as Tuathan sovereign territory and extend its borders fifty kilometres in all directions so it can grow in the future.”
Mutterings of approval by both the council and the cabinet resulted in it becoming a motion that was unanimously carried.
The President, who had almost forgotten his real name, Lough, had been in office since before the foundations of the settlement had been laid. He had listened to Jade’s impassioned plea for its existence, Conifer’s logic, the apparent confusion of the true Friend. He had argued for independent logic and had warned against the deification of the Friend. Now, he could see the future like a rug being rolled out before him. A remarkable and glorious one, the stars were smiling like they had never done before and it was time to seize the initiative.
“If it pleases the elders, I would also like to make a motion relevant to this issue?”
“You have the floor, Mr President.”
“I wish to move that we claim the island in Earth’s northern hemisphere, previously known as Ireland, as Tuathan sovereign territory.”
He waited for ten seconds to let the import of the claim impact on the audience. There was silence, a good sign.
“Ireland for centuries was our homeland. We occasionally bred with its people and often interacted with them, we fused its language with our base tongue. Its vistas are those we associate with our vision of Earth. We still have a deep fondness for Irish poetry and literature. We are the stuff of its folklore, its sense of the mystic, its love of music. Our name is derived from them. Ireland lies empty now. More than anywhere else on Earth it calls us to bring back life and magic to its land. Let us make this claim now and reaffirm who we are and our right to acknowledge our true history.”
Lough sat and waited. The faces of those around him were distant and misty like Ireland itself. An elder rose slowly.
“I must with reluctance speak against the motion. The good will of the natives would be strained by this move. It is starting to look like a land grab and opportunistic at their expense. I sympathise with the President but now is not the time. I therefore move we amend the motion to be tabled in one year from now.”
The amendment won the day. Lough was content with it, however, as he knew he would easily be able to get support for it the next time it came up. He had had a dream since childhood that he would walk, unafraid in that ancestral land. The dream would soon become a reality. Time was on the side of Tuath.
The result of the meeting, was that new legislation was needed to account for the acceptance of Earth as a Tuathan jurisdiction. Migration would remain unchecked at least for the next three or four years, then monitored closely. An invitation to Mark and Jade would be made to come and live on Tuath where Mark would be safe and Conor could be observed and grow as a Tuathan with a Tuathan education. The construction of more IS-class disc ships was approved even though the economy was starting to groan under these latest demands. The number of IS-class ships now made it possible to move a hundred thousand people with no problem. The original migratory fleet that had brought them to Tuath had been recycled completely. The latest ships, although no faster, were far more efficient and comfortable. They were in position in January awaiting the portal as usual. This time their crews were acting as if they were going home to build a future, the fear of Earth that their ancestors had brought was fading with every year that passed. They had friends and family waiting for them and would be received with parties. They in turn would bring presents and messages from loved ones on Tuath.
CHAPTER TWENTY
JANUARY 2042
The bunkers on Tierra del Fuego had blown up and burnt out last October. The Tuathans had only managed to save 154 people out of 540, 000. The disaster sent shock waves around the globe. Faulty technology was to blame; losing so many after such a long time demoralised everyone. More than ever requested treatment and not all of them were very old. Hawk had responded to the disaster by ordering the rebuilding and refurbishing of the least damaged bunker He then intended to bring 50, 000 from the Asian bunkers to Tierra del Fuego. The plan was to take pressure off the more crowded northern bunkers where hostility towards the Tuathans was at its highest. They would be housed in relative comfort. The Antarctic bunkers were also doing better now people were able to look out on the icy vista and watch the penguins, at least during the summer. Paul had come to the conclusion that building the bunker in the Antarctic had given them a couple of months of normality, but it was now looking short-sighted. Resource consumption was higher in the cold climate. The consistently white scenery was not good for morale as it gave the impression of being isolated and trapped. A change of scene was called for.
Mammals that had avoided infection, were being collected by Tuathan teams. They were brought to the settlement where they were placed under suspended animation in sterile environments. This in itself was a huge undertaking. Hawk bemoaned the fact he was always short of labour and that preserving the natives was hindering the progress of building in the settlement.
The latest arrivals brought the news, that a request was to be made for Jade, Mark and Conor to return next January to Tuath. Hawk guessed it had something to do with Conor’s lineage. The news of the annexing of the settlement and the orders to significantly increase its area came as a shock. This was possibly not going to be taken well by Paul and he dreaded breaking the news. It was not particularly received well on Mars, either. The Consortium sent back an official communiqué, countersigned by the Australian Gove
rnment, that the annexation by Tuathans of land on Earth would not be recognised by either party. Paul contacted Hawk unofficially “This has not been a smart move on the part of your elders. Ambassadorial status was not a granting of the right to help yourself to the planet. We appreciate all you are doing for us and as a personal friend I am requesting that you wait until we are in a position to negotiate. If a sovereign territory is what you are seeking, then let us deal with that at a more appropriate time in the future.”
“I wish I had the power to comply with your request as I agree with you in this matter. I am afraid I must obey these orders for now though, but I will push for negotiations to resume later.” This brought the issue to an end. On Mars, Mark and Jade were celebrating; neither had been able to settle in properly. When the invitation came, they both seized the opportunity gratefully.
Kana and Richard broke the news to them and explained the diplomatic rift that had happened over the annexation. Mark was more pragmatic in his attitude and offered a different perspective.
“The size of the land they are claiming is large, but half of it is semi-desert. It will keep them occupied for a century or two. In the meantime if Paul came out of his bunker tomorrow, it would take him half a millennia to rebuild the nation and he will need their help. It’s a small price, let them have it. In terms of the situation on a global scale the problem of competing populations will never exist. Earthmen will be such a minority they will not be able to survive without sharing resources with Tuathans,” said Mark
“It has bred suspicion among the Consortium which is unfortunate. Here on Mars the Consortium is forging its own destiny. We are not reliant on Tuathan help and from now on will avoid asking for it. We will return to Earth eventually but, in the meantime, we are also looking outward for new worlds. The Tuathans found one. We will too.” Richard was mainly addressing this little speech to Jade knowing it would find its way back to the elders. He wanted to make sure the Consortium was taken seriously. They would be around for a long time, yet.
Jade felt the need to clarify the Tuathan position forcefully. “We came from Earth which is why we feel we have a claim. It is true we would have colonised Tuath and its sister planet without the aid of the Friend, but, and it is a very big but Richard, the Friend has told us there are very few planets suitable for habitation by us. We have been sending probes and ships looking in our own region of space. The Friend is bound by the law of non-interference not to give us information regarding possible candidates. It is probable, not just possible that you will find nothing suitable in the next one hundred years which for us is not an insurmountable problem, given our lifespan. For you it is a brick wall, especially as you need first to develop a light-speed drive. I am speaking candidly as a friend, Richard, I do not mean to be antagonistic or disrespectful of your ambitions.”
Richard was a bit taken aback by Jade’s candour, but was grateful for it as it led him to his main reason for speaking with them. “I do not doubt your sincerity and I will be equally candid. We believe we will develop the elusive light-speed drive within the next three years, without your help. This means, within six years we could be sending our own ships through the Portal. It would be wise for the elders to consider this in their future plans. We wish you to convey this to them together with our good wishes and intentions. We realise that you have the option of asking the Friend to close the Portal, but that would mean either evacuating the settlement or abandoning them to their fate.”
Jade and Mark were staring at Richard with their mouths open. Neither could speak for a few seconds.
“You want access to Tuath, is that it?” asked Mark.
“Why not? We allow access to Mars and Earth don’t we? I’m proposing a future alliance. We are accepting the law of non-interference but in reality, once we have light speed, the Portal makes two-way contact inevitable; I say it is desirable.”
Mark now saw Richard and the Consortium in a different way. They were the ultimate opportunistic survivors. Paul in his bunker on Earth, was looking like an amateur at this point. Jade broke in sounding nervous. Nasty scenarios had been playing through her mind, as she had listened to Richard.
“How can you be so confident that you will develop the light drive and what is to stop the Friend from deciding to close the Portal?”
“We are totally confident. The reason why, is because we have been observing your own propulsion system and have combined reverse engineering and trial-and-error techniques to try and emulate it. We believe we are on the home run now. The same applies to your anti-grav coil. These two technologies gave you a huge advantage over us. As for why we believe the Friend won’t close the Portal, its because you will do everything in your power to make sure it doesn’t. Lose the Portal and your civilisation is cut in two. In January, you will return to Tuath and explain that the time for true co-operation between us and yourselves has arrived.”
“If your wish is granted, then what do you expect to gain by visiting Tuath?” asked Mark.
“We want what Australia once gave us. A base to live normal lives, a place to breed and secure the future of our kind. We also want an opportunity to have social and economic intercourse with Tuath. We believe we can co-exist because essentially, we both accept that science and logic are the only way to secure the future of any intelligent species. It is not in our interest to harm Tuath. It is in both our interests to learn from each other.”
“A nice speech, Richard. But I am not looking forward to the response I will get when it’s conveyed to the elders. For you our history is academic, but for us, it is a deeply inbred memory of distrust, violation and ignorance on a scale that is so painful that we cannot forget it when we deal with natives.”
Jade was imagining having to stand in front of the government and the elders making a request for them to lay aside all they had experienced and trust these people, who they really have no reason to trust. Closing the Portal could seem like a sensible option. As for the Friend, its reaction is anyone’s guess.
“You were and still are the sharks in the ocean. We were once bait fish but now we are porpoises. We can out-swim you and out-think you. I feel you are expecting too much of us,” said Jade.
“I suggest you draw up a formal request and I will present it on your behalf. In the meantime I will consider whether or not I can honestly support your proposal. I have reservations at present that I will talk over with Jade. I will also want to discuss this with Paul and Hawk before I leave.” Mark was trying to leave with a clear idea of every faction’s agenda in his head.
This was agreed upon and the Consortium gave its approval to them leaving. Mark also pointed out that he was still an official Australian public servant and as such could do nothing without Paul’s approval. He was encouraged to contact Paul immediately. Paul’s reaction was firstly that of a friend. “I’m glad for the three of you. Things are not improving here and the future is looking poor. Get out of the solar system. The Consortium have certainly played their cards well. I hope they get away with it. I too will be putting in a request for access in the eventuality that we are able to go to Tuath. I will be reminding Richard of his obligations under the treaty signed by both of us regarding the sharing of technological development. He can’t dump us that easily. You will be acting on my behalf Mark when dealing with the elders. Fortunately they apparently like you, which is not to say they won’t become upset when you give them Richard’s letter. Do your best for us Mark, we cannot survive without them now and are completely dependent on them here on Earth. See if you can get some of us off this planet and in a settlement on Tuath. I think we should be trying to bide our time on Tuath not here. No one is breeding and we are dying out, on Tuath people may regain a sense of having a future. A cure if not found in the next twelve months will not do much good as there won’t be much of a seed population left.”
Mark for the first time, realised the battle for survival was close to being lost. Paul had given up hope of a cure; at least one that cou
ld make a difference in one generation remotely possible. Hawk also was offering nothing new.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
DECEMBER 2042
Most of the bunkers in the north were struggling to survive. In October a disc ship picked up a request for an air filtration unit and some other parts for an environ unit including suits. The disc ship had flown to the co-ordinates supplied but, to their amazement, there were no bunkers: just three large mobile machines. Each was the size of a two-storey house and they were moving south very slowly, under steam power, towards a lake in northern Korea. Each vehicle had a crew of eight Japanese. They had built these machines and left their bunker. Using enviro suits they fished, foraged and hunted their way south heading for the southern Korean coast. Physically, they were in good condition but they said they would be requesting treatment once they reached the sea as it was their intention to sail to Japan and die in their homeland. The disc crew offered to take them there but they refused politely, saying the journey was just as important as the home coming. They were relishing every minute and were in no hurry to die. The disc crew were moved and sought out a suitable vessel and gave them the location and a map. Other bunkers were beginning to give up and requests for treatment and flight to homes of origin were growing.
Among the official documents Hawk had received in January, was a presidential directive marked top secret. It was a request for a topographical survey to be carried out in December for inclusion in the January 2043 dispatches. The survey was for the country of Ireland. This was especially unusual as normally such requests would bear the signature of an elder. The Tuathan government did not have jurisdiction over Earth or Mars; both planets were the problem of the elders. Hawk had placed the directive aside and had pondered on it. His conclusion was that it may be an academic investigation, as Ireland had been their home for centuries. Hawk decided to do this job personally as he needed to take his mind off the events unfolding in the bunkers for a while. Clover was in the early stages of pregnancy but he would only be gone a week. Hawk could not tell anyone about this trip but explained he would be doing a general fly-by of the British Isles monitoring the state of the now decaying cities and the encroachment of natural vegetation. This would make it possible for the settlement to keep an eye on him.
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