“So you all feel that there is no reason not to let our people occupy this world?” the captain asked.
“Captain,” the historian spoke up, “I think I can speak for all of us. But there is no reason for the people of Trena not to come and live on this world and to make our new homes upon it.”
There was a series of nods as a few people voiced their agreement with the historian’s statement.
“All of you are aware then that the other part of the contract I have with Miss Wilson is to make this planet ready for our people to occupy. I now activate that portion of our contract. Ladies and Gentlemen, please make our new home ready for our families to find refuge on.”
“So the Diaspora begins,” the historian commented mostly to herself as the meeting broke up.
“Diaspora,” one of the ground team members asked.
“This isn’t the first time in any our peoples’ history that some of us left a bad situation to a better one.” Violet replied, “About the fourth century before Empire the people of an island nation known as Ireland began leaving their small island during a famine to the old United States. They came to a small island known as Ellis Island where they were processed and allowed entry into the country. But that is only one example the thonians had their own diasporas as did we again once we discovered star travel.” “So this is our Ellis,” the man asked.
“In a manner of speaking,” Violet replied. “But more importantly this will become our Home.”
As the pioneer parties began arriving from orbit, the crew at the landing pad welcomed them to Home and to Ellis as they stepped off the landing craft. Soon everyone was calling the EBio planet Home.
As the pioneer parties spread out working to see what it was going to take to make the planet ready for the arrival of thirty five million people, one of the teams walked into a warehouse near the clone barracks. They found man sized rolls of fabric. They were made of gray canvas. The bioman with them shook his head. Before he had left the company he had worn a shapeless gray smock or a jump suit made of this material. He shuddered.
His wife was standing with him. He had told her of the company and what he had suffered at their hands and that of his owners before he had escaped. She saw his shudder and wondered if this had been a good idea for the both of them. She asked. “Are you okay?”
“Oh yeah,” the young bioman replied. He pointed to the rolls of fabric, “I was never so happy not to have to wear that shit again!”
“Why didn’t they take this stuff with them,” Another team member asked, “This is just wasteful!”
“Not to them,” an older bioman spoke up, “When they abandoned Home they thought they could take it to their new world. Or thought they could give it to another world. Obviously they couldn’t so they left it here thinking they would come back for it or just forgot about it.”
“But the expense of it!” the man said.
“Oh it didn’t cost them much,” The older bioman exclaimed, “Eats for thirty clones, that was all. The biopeople would sleep in the barracks across the way. Hell the raw materials cost them more than we did! If we got sick and it was something serious they would just put us down! No fuss, no muss they just put us to sleep like any sick or injured animal. That is what they thought of us, a beast of burden.”
The bioman’s wife looked at both her husband and the bioman who had spoken. It was now her turn to shudder. She knew that her husband’s life before escaping had been bad but she hadn’t realized how brutal it had been.
“You know,” her husband commented, “what would be poetic justice if we could turn this into something we could use for our people when they arrive. It won’t be much but…”
“March,” one of the bioman asked, “didn’t they sometimes make tents and such for company functions out of these places?”
“Yes they did,” March said turning to his wife, “Madeline we need to find the control center. Let’s hope the computer is a stand alone!”
“Yes we don’t have a new AI for the planetary system yet,” Madeline replied.
They found the control center and soon found a way to turn the computer on and to begin to getting the plant up and running. Within a couple of days the plant was producing several different types of inflatable tents and awnings. By the end of the week there were nearly a thousand inflatable tents and dinning flies that could house a family of ten quite easily.
As the Roustabout flew back to Trena, the pioneer parties began to spread out and began to get the planet ready for occupation. With the exception of the small towns and villages scattered throughout the continent, (which were few and far between,) there was no place to put millions of people when they came to Home. No one wanted to see the planet’s natural resources plundered and raped to house nearly a thirty five million people.
Everyone was concerned about the impact that people would have on Home.
###
“The abandoned world was quickly explored,” General Jones concluded her class, “They now had to make it ready to receive our people. Trena’s population was close to seventy five million people.”
“But our population is just now reaching forty million,” princess Lisa remarked.
“Not everyone wanted to come here and colonize Home,” the general replied, “Only thirty five million souls migrated to Home. Even with the infrastructure we found, it was still going to be primitive. We would be pioneering Home. Populating the existing towns and villages. The exploration party thought that there was enough housing for maybe five million people. Not nearly enough to house one twelfth of our population. We would have to build cities, towns, and villages. Many of our people didn’t want to be pioneers. Many truthfully were not up to the task of pioneering a world. They were used to a civilized, settled world.
“Thankfully,” the general continued, “only thirty five million people migrated to Home. The rest were able to be repatriated back to their home star nations. Others were recruited by various off world out of nation employers. Our people were always being recruited by the Empire, the Realm, even the Republic to name a few. We had a well educated, and experience work force. Our businesses were known galaxy wide. Often an enterprising star nation would try to lure a corporation to their home worlds. Few took their offers as Trena’s business environment was better than the Empire’s. But with Trena having to be evacuated, including some of the in orbit off world industries it was open season on our people.
“The Crown reluctantly helped some of our best and brightest to be recruited and allowed immigrate to other star nations with the Crown helping the person, their family and their firm leave Trena.” The general wrapped up the class, “Almost forty million people found homes and employment among our many friends. Otherwise things would be worse than what they were.”
“Okay,” the general said, “Next week we’ll be going over chapter ten. It discusses in greater detail the first migrants to Home.”
Chapter 10: Who Goes First?
The Princess was reading the Queen’s diary after lunch the next day during a study period, “I had to attend a meeting with Roustabout’s captain, Dad, Princess Carroll and Aggie this morning. The captain was reporting on the results of his expedition to what we are now calling Home. The captain shared some video and holos of my world. It is a beautiful world. What he showed us was breath taking. He showed us one holo of a river cutting through a heavily wooded river valley. It split the continent. There were a couple of small villages along the river. Other than these villages there is very little evidence that man has ever set foot along the river. He showed us where large plots of wild grain had taken over the prairies.
“The Ag people reported,” the captain reported, “finding Maze, beans, wheat, and other food grains for hundreds of miles of prairie.”
The image changed showing an over flight of a large heard of cows that went on forever, or so it seemed, “They appear to be some variant of cattle from earth. The biolog
ist says their DNA is a close match to terrestrial bovine. They slaughtered one and found that it was edible. As is the grain.”
“That makes things a lot easier,” her father commented.
“There are some small towns and villages beside the main city that is now being called Ellis. But there isn’t enough existing housing for all our people. I am concerned about destroying the world before we even get a chance to live on it.” Princess Lisa paused in her reading looking out of the libraries windows to the lush woodland that the academy had been built in. “I need to talk with Dad, Aggie and maybe General Langtree and possibly Jonesy. I am owner of this world so I should be able to find some way to make sure the planet isn’t destroyed.”
The bell rang and the Princess left the study to go to the day room to finish reading the entry.
After she got settled in the day room she continued to read “The opposition led by Lord Ramsey is really giving Dad a hard time. I wish someone would shut him up. He and Duke Horton! They are doing nothing to help. At least Horton isn’t as bad as Ramsey. Horton seems to be more concerned about Dad and Aggie not over reacting. Ramsey on the other hand isn’t. He and his friends seem to be obstructing the evacuation whenever possible. Now that the Roustabout is back they are raising a fuss about who is to go first.
“They are actually stating that the rich will get off world first,” Jill had written, “From what I heard Dad and the others say they are feeding a whole bunch of stuff into an expert system to choose. I thought it interesting that an Artificial Sentient wasn’t going to be used but when it was explained to me by Jonesy, the Boeing AS. She told me that AS’s did have emotions, and could be manipulated like flesh and blood people; but an expert system was a dumb computer that would just process the numbers and the facts unemotionally.
“Guess part of what is stressing Dad out is that they are ready to announce the first lifts to Home; but the press isn’t letting them.” Jill concluded “I am going to try and watch the press conference today. I overheard Mr. Vornic, Dad’s Public Information Officer, complaining the other day to Dad, how tough it was getting.”
The Princess was anxious to hear the general’s lecture the class met.
###
Jill knew she was not supposed to be anywhere around the press pavilion. Her parents didn’t want her anywhere around the press. Although some of the press both friendly, and unfriendly had asked for interviews, her parents, had refused to grant one. How long that would last neither she, nor her parents were certain. As an excuse to go by the pavilion, she had told Lisa she had lost the stylus for her pad and wanted to go to the palace post exchange to see if she could replace it. Thinking that it was Saturday, and Jill was bored and just wanted something to do, Lisa didn’t say anything as Jill with one of the protective agents in tow, she went to the post exchange she purchased a gaudy flashy stylus. On their way back they passed the press pavilion.
The pavilion was a recent addition to Serenity’s grounds. News media from all over the galaxy had flocked to Trena to report on the death of planet. Soon their numbers out grew the palace’s modest press briefing room. To accommodate the press her father had the pavilion erected. I was just a tent like structure open at the sides. If the weather was bad; then a force field activated to keep rain, or wind out of the pavilion. It was on the other side of a hedge that obscured the walkway on the other side of it. The walkway was the direct path from the palace exchange to the Wilson residence. Which was why she had decided to go to exchange at this time. As they walked back to the residence the press briefing began. Jill stopped to listen to it. No one could see her behind the hedge; but she and her escort could hear everything.
“Good morning,” the young man started the press briefing. He was mildly surprised when the reporters settled down quickly. “I have an announcement to make concerning the first evacuees to Home. Based on a manning schedule put together in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, we have compiled a list of applicable professions, and trades needed for the first lift to Home. A list of names meeting the criteria that the Marshal’s staff came up with was fed to the Census Expert System and those whose survey stated they would be interested in becoming part of a pioneer party or an initial colonial set up team that met the criteria have been selected. As I speak, the evacuation command is sending out notices to those selected. By midnight tonight those selected will have been notified. All those selected have until midnight tomorrow to acknowledge their selections. Should they not answer the summons, they will be given another twenty four hours to acknowledge, should they not acknowledge the summons, the command will go down the list until it has 25,000 individuals for the first lift. Once they acknowledge the summons they will receive information on how to proceed. They shouldn’t just start for the space port. The names will be posted on Evac Net by the end of the week with the first lifts to the newly commissioned I’m Outta Here some time next Sunday or Monday.”
“I will entertain a few questions,” Pete Vornic, the Evacuation Command Public
Information Officer stated. “Please state your name and affiliation.”
Several hands went up. He acknowledge one he hadn’t called on before.
“Simon Travis,” The reporter responded, “McKay Free Press. How many families will this entail?”
“I think and these numbers will change,” Pete answered looking at the notes the computer projected on his podium screen. “But some six thousand families will be going on the first lift.”
“What are you calling families,” Simon followed up.
“They will be traditional Trenian families. As you know we have a very liberal definition of marriage and of families. Many have multiple spouses and many children. Some families have twenty people in them. This will include their spouses, children, and may include grandparents, aunts and uncles. The lift will include everyone in the immediate family including family members who have retired. People who can pass their trades on or help take care of others as needed. The idea was to mix older people with younger people, with a diversity of skills and knowledge. For instance one family is the owner of a bakery. But not everyone in the family is a baker, one of the daughters is a police officer married to a warehousemen. Another of the sons is a school teacher. Another of the daughter in laws is a therapist. We need all those talents and we don’t want to break up a family if we don’t have too. So far we have been able to find those families whose skills we need. You have to understand that this first lift will be the people who will be setting up facilities for the rest of us. Home needs not only carpenters, and masons, but; cattlemen and farmers. They will also need someone to watch over the children, and someone to cook for them. To fix their machinery and the other support people needed so they can work.
That is our plan. Every lift we send out will have that type of mix.”
“Jerome Wilkerson, Trenaport Daily,” A reporter asked, “Are any nobles included with this list?”
“Yes there are a couple but they have not been notified yet so I am not at liberty to give you their names at this time.” Pete answered.
“Will their entire business or estate be transported with them?” Someone asked.
“No,” The press officer said, “Not every noble’s business will be able to continue on Home. Some of the nobles’, whose estate were mostly farming or agribusiness, who have shown a desire to pioneer on a new planet, will be evacuated with their farming equipment and their retainers who may wish to accompany their lord or lady to Home.”
“Will they be given lands comparable to those they now have?” Another reporter asked.
“No,” Pete shook his head, "Some of their estates are very large. Some as large as a hundred thousand acres. When they arrive on home they be granted farmland to develop. Initially the grant will be for twenty thousand acres.”
Jill knew that the public information officer wasn’t telling the full story. There were provisions to allow farmers, whether they be nobles
or others to farm more lands. But they would have to wait until the evacuation was completed to gain more farmland. Then they would be allowed to purchase or rent tracks of farmland first from Wilson Enterprises then from their fellow farmers. Her father’s and Queen Aggie’s first goal was to get everyone off world. They were going heavy with farmers on the first lift so as to harvest the existing crops, and get new crops planted, and round up some of the cattle running free so they could feed the evacuees.
“Jennifer Rose, Mars Dispatch,” another reporter said after being acknowledge, “What about status of your nobility.”
“Our nobility is tied to the crown of Trena,” Pete replied, “On Home they may retain the title, of lord or duke, but that is all it will be. Just an honorific. They be like any other evacuee. Just a citizen of Home.”
“That’s going to be a rude awakening to some of our nobles,” someone remarked.
The PIO ignored it agreeing with who ever said it and pointed to a reporter way in the back, “You in the back!”
“Ralph Morgenstern, Political Review,” The reporter asked, “When will the Marshal and his family be evacuated.”
“The Marshal and his family will be the very last persons to be lifted from this planet, or nearly the last.” Pete Vornic answered the question, “The Queen has made it clear that she will not leave until every last mother’s child has been safely evacuated from Trena. The marshal has stated that he will insure that the queen’s statement is fulfilled.” “What about some of the art and precious works in our museums?” a reporter asked. “We’ve heard that Lady Hawthorne is making a list of the kingdom’s art so it could be sold at auction to pay for the evacuation?”
Pete Vornic visibly bristled. He recognized the reporter from the Trenaport Post. An opposition news outlet. He had heard the same rumors. So had the Trenaport Mounted Patrol. They had investigated the rumors, and had reported that they were just that, rumors. They were being spread by Don Least. He was a very popular news media personality, and had quite a following. He was a very vocal opposition media critic of Marshal Wilson and the evacuation. The Public Information Officer wished the reporter wasn’t in the press center; but he was! So he took a deep breath and looked the reporter in the eyes as he spoke.