Alien Backlash Page 14

  Sarah promised a fast turnaround would be a priority. Meanwhile Kathini came back to Steve with a list and an idea. “Could Defiance travel to some extra countries before leaving Earth?”

  “Yes, why?” asked Steve.

  “We need some basic supplies and we could ask charities or churches to help. We need just over twenty-five thousand packs made up.” She handed Steve her list. In amazement, he read:

  Packs: 1 bedroll, 1 air pillow and 2 pillowcases, a blanket or sleeping bag, 1 drink bottle, some food items. A minimum of 2 pairs of loose elastic or drawstring pants or skirts, 3 T-shirts, 2 sweatshirts, 5 sets of underwear, 2 toothbrushes, 2 large tubes of toothpaste, 3 facecloths, 2 small towels, 5 cakes of soap, shampoo, cup, plate, bowl, spoon, knife and fork, comb, container or heavy plastic bag to put toiletries in, large heavy duty collapsible nylon dresser or bag to store these during the day, plus pack or bag to carry everything.

  Kathini explained, “We will need adult, small, medium and large, male and female, shaving gear for men and feminine hygiene items for women for three months. For children, packs for all ages, male and female. Remember, they are mostly skinny. Not all, though.

  “Extra separate helpful items would be some computers — clockwork please or solar-powered — to use on Torroxell. In each pack please add extras such as entertainment items or educational items or books, real paper books, old musical instruments. Stationery for children, please. Packs for babies too. Nappies, both cloth and disposable. These are the basics. Explain that any extras would be greatly appreciated. Second-hand is fine. Robust items are best. Several second-hand packs are of more value than one new one. No electrical items unless self-powered or with long-life batteries included. Some loaded e-readers would be nice.”

  Steve was stunned. This would solve so many huge problems! Kathini continued, “Most of these people have just what they stand up in and some of the kids don’t even have clothes. If the religious organizations, charities, schools and work places get busy they should be able to get twenty-five thousand ready in no time.”

  Impressed, Steve dictated her list to the media and asked that the packs be organized and transported to one location in each of the countries they were heading for, for ease of pickup. He was stunned to hear back within hours that most of the European and Asian countries had begun organizing via social or audio-visual media within minutes of his request. One man from the Red Crescent told him, “People are happy to oblige. We feel helpless during these huge tragedies but this is something individuals can do that will make an enormous difference to another person. My wife and kids are busy and have done several. All of us are tossing out things we don’t need but someone else does. My kids have put their contact details in. I hope that is all right. They would love to hear back on your return trip!”

  Steve was touched so many wanted to help. So many wanted to leave on subsequent trips! He could have sold tickets!

  He walked through the ship, looking around and trying not to hold his nose. It was overcrowded and smelly. All decks and corridors were in use; there were queues outside the messes serving goop on all decks and queues outside the bathrooms. These contained only toilets: there were no showers and no clean clothes to change into. The ship was fully loaded and then some, en route first to Beijing, then New York, then Munich.

  Kathini came up behind him and said, “We need to get better organized in future. I’ve been talking to one of the crew and I can see how to do this better but this time it was hopeless. We had too little time and there were not enough crew on board.”

  “Why did you isolate the Niseyen? We need them.”

  “Too risky for them. There are too many diseases on board that they will have no resistance to. I have organized for some people from the World Health Organization to inoculate them tomorrow and they will tell us what to do next. In future, WHO will get on board all incoming ships and treat all the crew. The crew told me to use these Checker things but they can only check for diseases and parasites the Niseyen know about.”

  Steve nodded, realizing that yet again he had not thought this through but others had. He looked at what had been organized for him. He was to pick up rice, seeds, spices, farming and fishing supplies, and dried foods from Beijing. Then more dried foods, tents, and prefabricated buildings for the agricultural and fishing villages from New York. At Munich there would be a myriad of other supplies collected from all around Europe. All for free, in return for advertising or favours such as access for news agencies who wanted to send reporters. Scientists wanted to come, too.

  Steve agreed to anything that resulted in supplies at the price he could afford, which was nothing. A group of survivalists from America and other groups from Canada and Argentina wanted to come. Steve organized for them to go with Mathew in return for supplies they donated to Defiance and Audacity. He thought they would be ideal colonists and well prepared both in supplies and attitude.

  As they reached Beijing and hovered near the city — there was no place big enough to land — WHO personnel came on board in Hazmat suits and went directly to the bridge. The nearest Niseyen were startled as they walked in but the Terrans on the bridge greeted them warmly. They got out equipment and one young woman went over to Kosijifrid who was sitting, relaxed. She smiled at him and held out her hand. Charmed, he extended his arm to hers and then stared, shocked, as she produced a gun and shot him in the shoulder.

  She laughed at the expression on his face, belatedly realising she should have explained first as this was not a familiar device to him. She broke down the gun and showed him the compartments. She exchanged it for another gun and reached for his other arm which he tried, unsuccessfully, to remove from her reach.

  As Steve explained to the reluctant-looking Niseyen, “This is a dose of every inoculation WHO thought appropriate for the region the passengers on board have come from. And they are leaving on board, for the Niseyen, every preventative for every disease we have one for, so you will all stay well no matter where on Terra you subsequently go. None of the ones you got today should make you feel sick but you will feel a sudden rush of heat and possibly a bit of dizziness in a few hours. That’s from a treatment for cholera, a disease we have on board. We will have the whole ship treated by the time loading is finished. There are other nurses going around the ship. One nurse can treat twenty people a minute if they co-operate.”

  That was a broad hint but he was ignored. The nurses were having to corner some of the crew, but they were no match for the nurses.

  “You can mix with the passengers once you’re inoculated,” Steve said, hoping it would be an incentive.

  “After fourteen more days in isolation!” corrected one of the nurses.

  The next day, Steve bumped into Kathini who said, “I heard Tokyo is collecting all sorts of obsolete technology for us, so could we make a stopover there too if we still have room after Munich? And all these places have the packs. At last count it will be two each, at least for the children.”

  “Yes, we’re going there. I have decided that everyone is to get at least one pack — refugees, staff, crew, slaves, the lot.”

  “Good. I agree. That’s going to solve another problem. The Niseyen slaves told me they intend to stay in the bridge area and not go near the refugees. That was just as well when the cholera cases became evident. But now there is another problem. With all males on board apart from Jolene, nakedness wasn’t a problem, but they can hardly mix with females dressed as they are. Sighting females frequently causes an automatic response… But a practicality now is that they are needed to help teach Universal, to help load the ship, to advise in so many capacities. And the media clamour to see them is becoming very loud. I had a chat with Jane Rogers and Joline who suggested another fund-raiser.”

  “What?”

  “The day before we leave Earth, let some media into the bridge. Auction this.”

  “I don’t follow you.”

  “Joline and Jane will organize an online auction and the winner
gets to interview you on the bridge. An exclusive.”

  “But we have all we need.”

  Kathini sighed in exasperation, “The Audacity needs specific equipment they can’t pay for.”

  “Oh, right. Good thinking. Tell them to go ahead.”

  Kathini refrained from telling him that Joline and Mathew had discussed it and Jane was already organizing it.

  Fourteen days after the Niseyen were all injected, Kathini finally took a hand, requisitioned some boxes off Steve, handed it to Ioewit, one of the smaller Niseyen, ordered him to dress and escorted him around the ship. The refugees had been apprehensive about who these Niseyen were, especially since they hadn’t seen any. Ioewit stared back at them, vaguely wondering if his heart would survive all these women smiling at him. Talk about different customs! He was shocked at how small they all were. Few of the men could match him in height. They seemed to average six inches less than him. Some of the children were tiny, the size of babies, yet were running around the ship. Why were they so small?

  Now they had all been inoculated, all the Niseyen not needed in the bridge were encouraged to walk around the ship and help with the loading. When Steve wondered aloud at Beijing how all the supplies were going to fit in the ship, one of the Niseyen told him, “They don’t have to. There is room to stow supplies outside the ship so long as it isn’t needed until arrival. There are extra, expandable holds. Bodies, broken equipment, rubbish and suchlike are usually stored there during a trip. They mostly arrive intact but anything in those holds is uninsurable.”

  Steve laughed, thinking of the logistics of insuring an overloaded, multi-billion-dollar military spaceship en route to a war zone, with no authorisation, no flight plan, no certificate of fitness, no authorisation to carry passengers, flown by slaves, many of whom were unqualified, and by Terrans who definitely weren’t qualified at all. Jolene had asked a Niseyen one day just how many regulations this flight was breaking. She spluttered with laughter when she was told.

  Steve hadn’t thought of rubbish and bodies but Kathini had. She had even had the foresight to order body bags. Sadly, within days some were being used, although these dead would be left behind. Kathini was delighted that future bodies could be stored outside the ship. It would solve any infection issues as they would promptly freeze solid. She had also requested that all supplies be packaged in squashable or reusable containers. This had led to various internet competitions with good prizes so when they had reached New York there were supplies tipped into containers that, when emptied, became water tanks, modular flat-pack buildings, boats, a children’s playground, sheds, beds, and other furniture. There were shipping containers that were designed to be homes when emptied, and there were ten modular, prefab buildings to pick up.

  Steve was delighted. “I know these modular buildings,” he told Kathini. “They can be assembled in a day or so on a level site. There are no foundations. The floor sits on a thick thermal and waterproof ‘blanket’ and the house is held in place by ramming posts into the ground outside the walls and locking them onto the main roof beams. That strengthens the roof in huricane areas.”

  “Are there hurricanes on Torroxell?”

  “I don’t know. We weren’t there long enough. We don’t even know what the seasons are. Luckily these buildings are a mix of materials suitable for varying weather conditions. They have optional composting toilets and a wind/solar power system which is great, because there are no utilities where they are going. These are perfect for us. They come with basic flat-pack furniture, some are insulated, and water tanks can be added. Thanks to your forethought we have enough for one five-thousand-gallon tank for each dwelling plus a lot of spares. They have guttering too. Downpipes are designed in such a way that they add to the strength of the building as well as providing fresh drinking water.”

  Kathini looked at the sketch he had drawn while he was talking. “Best of all,” he continued, “this modular design means they can easily be added to in years to come — we can increase the size of any room with an outside wall, and two or more can be joined together.”

  “I’ve never heard of these but we use tents. What were the temperature variations on Torroxell when you were there?”

  “We lived through what we think was mid-summer. It was T-shirt weather. We were only there a few days before all Hell broke loose and there was so much we didn’t find out. Because there are seasons the planet must have a tilt on its axis. From what I heard,” he shuddered, “while we had a balmy summer, the northern hemisphere had much lower temperatures which kept bodies from decomposing, so it must have been cold there.”

  “So tents would not be as practical. I’ve never heard of these buildings.”

  “They were originally designed for medical staff, seasonal workers, the military, photographers, park rangers, hunters, trampers, scientists, researchers and the like. They were designed to be helicoptered in, assembled on the spot and then disassembled and taken out again when the job was finished. This was for areas where tents were inadequate and trailers or mobile homes couldn’t get there. They will be perfect for Torroxell where there are almost no roads. Transport of fish and vegetables to the cities will have to be by boat.”

  “Ah, those we have! Boats were another popular ‘container’ particularly when you explained the problem of no roads.”

  “Yes. Apparently, we are going to get forty of these buildings next trip, all self-sufficient. Market garden hamlets and fishing villages. Perfect! To make things even better, when the food in them is used up some can be disassembled flat and stored outside to make extra room inside.”

  Seven days later the Defiance left for Torroxell via several more countries to pick up supplies. Steve contacted Sarah. “The Defiance is crammed full. We have more than twenty-five thousand on board, including nearly nine hundred staff. Remember I told you about Vladimir? He’s come with us. He was so right! We advertised for teachers, bureaucrats, medical staff and social workers, preferably as colonists. We were overwhelmed. We left it to one of the employment agencies in each of our destinations to do the selecting. They all speak the local languages our refugees come from. Some brought families but most are singles. All age groups — we weren’t fussy. Mathew plans to follow later on Audacity. I spent four days on the internet and the phone explaining the equipment I needed for the Priskya. This geek of mine, Flavicam, managed to link the communicator into the internet. He tried to explain how but I gave up after the first few sentences and Mathew didn’t bother trying to understand. I was so busy with all the organizing I never set foot on Earth!”

  Sarah laughed. “Twenty-five thousand in one ship! If we can keep that up, then forty ships could move a million. That could start to make a difference.”

  “We need more ships. Lots more.”

  “A problem for the future. How’s Mathew going?”

  “I’ve left him to pick up all the underwater gear. Payment was a problem. You knew we held an online auction for a press conference on the bridge?”

  “Mathew told me it raised nearly three million.”

  “Yes, they on sold the films and interviews. That was Jane’s idea. I left all the finance for Mathew to sort out. And Vladimir was right about his advice about the refugees to ‘just pick them up and go’, because belatedly, some officials turned up asking what was going on.”

  “Did any change their minds and want to get off?”

  “Yes, but they couldn’t. No visas or passports and the countries we went to said no. I promised every refugee on board that we will bring them back if they want, but they will be returned to the camp we got them from.

  “Let me guess. They changed their minds again?”

  “Correct. Many of them thought they were getting a free trip to Europe or America but I soon put them right! Due to the overcrowding, I intend to accelerate to full speed once leaving Terra. That will be costly on fuel but we figure it is sensible given the overcrowding.”

  “I agree. Get them here, fast. Now, Stev
e, I need to understand the logistics of what I have asked the Niseyen to achieve. I need to know what problems they will face.”

  “Like the inoculation gun?” They both laughed as Steve described the nurses chasing the Niseyen crew around the bridge.

  “Did the Niseyen have problems with the inoculations?”

  “According to the nurses, no more so than Terrans. Some of the nurses stayed with us until we left Earth and three are still on board. They’re thinking about immigrating. And all the inoculation equipment is with us. They even have inoculation for babies born on the way.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t have thought of that. Give me some idea of life on board. How do you manage twenty-five thousand people?”

  Steve thought. Where to start? “We have a lot of areas set up to teach Universal. All the children are learning and most of the adults. There are training screens everywhere. Those tourist films of Torroxell that you sent are brilliant. They can see where they’re going, what it’s like. We told the children about the balloons. Oh, and we had some stowaways. Five kittens and three puppies. All of them are unrelated so we have a tiny gene pool if you want them to come.”

  “Bring them. We’ll cope. What are you doing for hygiene?”

  “Sarah, I’m sorry but we have had to use the Cleaners. There are no showers and there is not enough water to spare for cleaning people or clothes. And we have enough power. Our workers started sorting before we left the planet, asking all the sick to go to ‘the doctor’ for a medical check. Through the Cleaner, through the Checker then to the doctor with a printout of what the Checker results were.”