Launch

by Richard Perth

  The nation was flooded by applications from countries wanting to join the union. Multiple simultaneous assimilations began with the poorest countries first. The bigger the United States grew, the faster it grew.

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  Education policy in the United States required students to learn at least one other language in addition to English; it was the most widely spoken language, the native language for many, and the predominant lingua franca. Requiring students to learn two languages helped preserve cultural differences and improve cross-cultural ties. Students were also required to learn Standard English pronunciation to improve their employment opportunities and to facilitate worldwide verbal communication.

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  By 2447 all nations and states on Earth were members of either the United States or the European Union. They eyed each other like shy, would-be lovers, each waiting for the other to make the first move. The President of the European Union acted first with a message to the President of the United States:

  “The European Union wishes to unite with the United States for the benefit of both on two conditions.

  “One, the Constitution of the United States shall be rewritten in modern English and include all current amendments integrated into the body of the document.

  “Two, the following language shall be added to the Preamble to the United States Constitution as a guide for ethical law and government:

  “We hold these truths to be self-evident:

  “All people have emotional and physical needs that must be met if they are to survive and thrive.

  “Anything is a human need if absence of its fulfillment endangers the mental or physical health of a person.

  “Security and self-reliance are both physical needs and emotional needs.

  “Other human emotional needs include, but may not be limited to, love and self-esteem.

  “Anything is beneficial for people to the extent that it meets human needs and does not injure a person.

  “Any act that deliberately injures a person is a crime.

  “Justice is the absence of injustice.

  “The government of the United States shall maintain environments wherein people can meet their needs and shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that all human needs are met.

  “The government of the United States shall eliminate and prevent crime and injustice.”

  Several hours later the President of the European Union received a reply from the President of the United States:

  “We accept pending approval by the Congress and the states and completion of the assimilation process.”

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  Sir Winston Churchill, leader of Great Britain in World War II, Nobel Prize winner, and author of A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, hoped all English-speaking people would one day be peacefully united.

  On July 4, 2476, seven hundred years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a constitution that united everybody in the world under one government became effective. As a result, all members of the European Union—including England, Wales, Scotland, and all of Ireland—became part of the United States. Independence Day became Union Day, and Sir Winston’s hope was realized.

  Chapter 37

  Two weeks after their provisional license was granted, David was sitting at the breakfast table when Claire approached with a big smile and kissed him.

  “Good morning, Stud Buni.”

  He looked at her quizzically. “Stud Buni? Are you pregnant?”

  She beamed. “Yes!”

  “Outstanding!” he said with a delighted smile as he stood up and hugged her. “When?”

  “I will be outstanding before long,” she said happily. “The baby’s due March thirty-first.”

  “When did you find out?”

  “Elf told me a few minutes ago.”

  “How did it know?”

  “Waste analyzers are built into toilets. Elf uses them to help monitor the health of everybody in the world.”

  “Yuck.”

  “Don’t be so squeamish. You’re going to have to put up with a lot worse when you start changing diapers.”

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  Bernice Moore had been a top student in high school and competed for honors against Mitzi Raines, who often won what Bernice coveted. She blamed her failures on the fact that Mitzi’s father was a famous movie star and came to believe that celebrities got everything they wanted. More than once, she cried herself to sleep over the unfairness of it all.

  When Elf routinely notified the members of the Malibu Parent Licensing Committee that Claire was pregnant, Bernice Moore called Jason Kim. “Did you file that appeal?”

  “No. I didn’t feel I’d be successful filing it on my own.”

  “I’ll join your appeal. There’ll be two of us. We can’t let those two ruin the life of a child just because they’re celebrities. Social status shouldn’t confer rights, and we can’t let the virus of twenty-first century barbarity gain a foothold.”

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  A week later, Claire and David were each studying in their individual audio-video centers when they were interrupted by Elf. “Doctor Archer, General Archer, two members of the Malibu Parent Licensing Committee filed an appeal to reverse the Committee’s decision to grant you a provisional license. They have asked that the license be rescinded on the grounds that it was granted in error.”

  Claire exclaimed, “WHAT?!”

  David said grimly, “What recourse do we have?”

  “Official notification of the appeal should be issued tomorrow, sir, after the court clerk has reviewed it. You have until January 31, 2554 to ask for a hearing date.”

  “Can you recommend a good attorney?”

  “The most successful attorney in Southern California in these matters is Lauren Dobson, sir. Her waiting list is currently three months and eleven days.”

  Claire asked, “If we’re not supposed to be notified until tomorrow, why did you tell us today?”

  “Quicker notification sometimes prevents injustice, ma’am, and Elf has a duty to prevent injustice.”

  “Do you think rescinding our license would be an injustice?”

  “Elf is not authorized to have opinions in such matters, ma’am, except in emergencies.”

  She said, “Send us a taxi, Elf. We’re going for a walk on the beach.”

  “Yes, ma’am. It’s hot today. You should take a hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses.”

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  A quarter of a mile from the taxi, crashing waves, the hiss of the retreating sea, and raucous seagulls provided background noise. It was hot and bright, and Claire was glad they had taken Elf’s advice.

  David said, “We’ll delay responding to the appeal as long as we can and build the new starship. We can be in space when the decision on the appeal is handed down. If the court rules in our favor, we’ll come back so you can get the best medical care. Otherwise, we keep going to four-b. Our assets on Earth can be used to build more starships and send more settlers to join us.”

  He turned to look at her. “Will having the baby all alone on the new starship be risky?”

  She shook her head. “I won’t be alone. You’ll be there with medical robots and twenty-sixth-century medical care. I’ll be far better off than I would have been even in the best twenty-first-century hospital.”

  After a pause, David said, “Nobody but the bank and Elf know how much money we really have. If we make it look like we’re spending a large percentage of our assets, people will assume we’re planning to stay. We should buy a house, a big one, and whatever else will convince people we’re settling in.”

  Claire nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Have you settled on a design for the new ship?”

  “The one I like best has two sections: a tractor section and a housing section. Each will be a cylinder, like a giant can of soup. The tractor will have the engines, fuel tanks, and control cabin. The housing section will have the settlers and everything else needed for a settlement.

 
; “Each section will launch separately with a reusable booster. After both reach escape velocity, the booster for the tractor will disconnect and return to Earth. The housing section will be joined to the tractor section, and then its booster will disconnect and return to Earth.

  “We’ll be in space in the tractor section with full supplies and fuel when the judgment is rendered. If the decision goes against us, we’ll ask NASA to launch the settlers in the housing section. But with or without the housing section, we’ll have everything we need to sustain us en route to Minor-four-b and after we land.”

  “What if we win?”

  “We land, refuel the tractor, and robots fly the mission.”

  “It sounds like a good plan, but the timing will be tricky,” she said.

  With a determined expression, David said, “We’ll do whatever we have to do to keep our baby.”

  Bottle-nosed dolphins played offshore as Claire and David walked hand in hand. Pelicans flew in a line just above the water.

  Claire said, “I was wrong about Elf. It’s concerned about justice, it defers to authority, and it’s very helpful. We need to take something like it with us to four-b.”

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  The next day, Elf delivered the official notice of appeal to Claire and David.

  Chapter 38

  Cougar and Buni found a twelve-bedroom house on an estate that occupied a nine-acre plateau in the Santa Monica Mountains. With views of the Mountains, Santa Monica Bay, and the Los Angeles Basin, the estate was appropriately named Broadview.

  “I like it,” David said. “And if we fill all the bedrooms with babies, it will really look permanent.

  “That’s a good idea, Stud Buni. I’ll have the first three. Then you can make medical history by having the rest.”

  The main floor was built on ground level at the southern edge of the plateau. Omniglass walls provided scenic views to the west, south, and east. Because zoning prohibited more than one floor above ground in a scenic area, two floors, a ballroom level and a pool level, were built down into the ground under the main floor. Each had an omniglass wall with a scenic view to the south.

  Hangars for private taxis were hidden from the house by the north garden.

  A hangar for a small suborb was built under the master bedroom at the southwest corner of the house. A launch pad was on a reinforced ledge adjacent to the hangar doors. Suborb loading ramps were accessible from the family wing elevator just outside the master bedroom.

  A person could launch from Broadview and be anywhere in the world with a suitable suborb pad in less than an hour. Conversely, an exhausted traveler could suborb from almost anywhere on Earth and be in bed in Broadview sixty minutes later.

  The house and the estate were fully furnished. Because the previous owners had entertained frequently, eleven robots came with the estate. Despite the fact that the luxury tax on each robot was one hundred thousand dollars a year, Claire and David decided to keep them all for the time being as evidence of a commitment to permanence.

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  Broadview was included in the Santa Monica Mountains Wildlife Refuge, which included bears, cougars, wolves, and coyotes. A jogging track with superb views circled the north garden. Claire and David remembered Elf’s warning about wild animals when they decided to use the track their first afternoon at Broadview, but they felt there would be no danger if they jogged together.

  Nevertheless, Elf instructed a robot to accompany them, and it came running after them on the track. It looked odd as it jogged, and Claire and David were distracted trying to watch it over their shoulders.

  They stopped back at the house after several laps. David asked the robot how fast it could run.

  “About eighty-five miles per hour, sir.”

  “That’s fast,” he said. “Let’s see one lap at top speed.”

  Claire and David’s eyes opened wide as they watched as the robot take off at high speed. It disappeared in one direction on the track. After a few seconds later, it reappeared coming toward them on the other side.

  When the robot stopped in front of them, David said, “You didn’t take a shortcut through the garden did you?”

  “No, sir. This robot stayed on the track to avoid disturbing the cougar and the other wildlife in the garden.”

  “A cougar?” Claire asked.

  “A young adult cougar is in the garden, ma’am.”

  “How do you know?”

  “It has an imbedded microchip with a transponder, ma’am.”

  “What would you do if the cougar attacked?” Claire asked.

  “This robot would catch it and hold it until other robots could bring a cage for relocation, ma’am.”

  “Are you strong enough to do that?”

  “Yes, ma’am. This robot and each of the other ten robots on Broadview are stronger than an elephant.”

  Claire said, “Broadview rule one, robot: No person, no pets, and especially no children are allowed on the grounds without a robot escort.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Do Elf and all the other Broadview robots understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am. This robot passed the instruction.”

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  The young cougar only vaguely remembered the robot that had picked it up when it was a cub and implanted a microchip just under its pelt. But the gangly creatures made the cougar feel uneasy, and the one that ran so fast was scary. After they went inside, the cougar left.

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  That evening, Claire and David placed orders to buy two private taxis with manual flight controls and a fifteen-passenger suborb. The taxis would be delivered the next day. The suborb would take ten.

  David asked, “Do you think that’s enough stuff?”

  “Nope. People won't think we're serious unless we redecorate. And I need a maternity wardrobe, a suit to fit my tummy when we talk to Congress, and an evening dress for the reception.”

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  Almost every day, Claire and David studied in their audio-video centers to meet the requirements for their license to be parents. Twice a week in the evening, they attended parenting classes at Hollywood High School. Claire also began studying modern medicine, and David continued to work on the starship design.

  A suborb manufacturer, Bec Corporation, agreed to deliver the new starship in February if construction began in October. To insure the construction timetable could be met, David authorized the company to start building two dozen pairs of the most powerful noise-canceling engines ever built.

  Chapter 39

  After redecoration of Broadview, Claire invited Naomi, Mark, Amira, Omar, and Dr. Masters and his family to a housewarming.

  David wanted to try Dr. Masters’ “unbelievably complex, thermodynamic, two-beer steak recipe,” and ordered an elaborate smoker installation for the East lawn. The smoker vented to a system that cleaned the exhaust. Wood was stored in a waterproof box. Cabinets held utensils, gloves, seasonings, and supplies, and a refrigerator stored beer and rib-eye steak. The steak chef and his crew of hardy volunteers had comfortable chairs, a table, a translucent canopy, and a large video screen to aid them during their arduous task.

  Claire smiled when she saw the finished installation but made no comment.

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  The guests arrived on a Saturday afternoon. After a tour of the house, the kids went to the nearby outdoor swimming pool, and the men went to the smoker. The women, including Amira, worked in the kitchen and around the outdoor table to prepare everything else. Two lifeguard robots watched the kids in the pool. Another robot, cougar patrol, was stationed between the party on the lawn and the wooded area.

  On the way to the smoker, Dr. Masters pulled David aside and said, “You call the President of the United States Amira, but you still call me Doctor Masters. What’s that about?”

  “She asked me to call her Amira, and you’re my boss.”

  “If you don’t mind, General David Archer PhD, I would prefer that you call me Al.”

  “Yes, sir.�
�

  “Yes, sir what?”

  David grinned, “Yes, sir, Al.”

  Al laughed.

  David put the steaks in the smoker, opened four beers, and asked Omar, “How did you and Amira get all the way from Yemen to the White House?”

  “We met and married when we were in the House Prep Program in Yemen. After we got our PhDs, she ran for Congress in one district and I ran in another. She won and I didn’t. We moved to Pendleton when she took her seat in the House. She served six terms in the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate. After two terms in the Senate she was elected President in 2551.”

  “What’s the House Prep Program?”

  “It’s the House of Representatives Candidate Preparation Program run by the Election Commission. Students are competitively selected for the program, which pays them to get their PhD in government and run for Congress: something like a congressional version of the Air Force Academy. It’s based on the theory that democratic government works best when the electorate has highly qualified candidates to choose from.

  “Since the Senate is elected by the House of Representatives, it’s natural for new senators to be selected from among representatives who are graduates of House Prep. Almost all members of Congress now are graduates of the program.”

  “It sounds like politicians these days at least know what they’re talking about. We mostly had lawyers for politicians in 21st-century America. They were trained to argue and spend their client’s money in law school. They continued to argue and spent taxpayer’s money after they were elected.”

  Omar shrugged a bit. “Sometimes we get bogged down in our own jargon and arcane minutiae. When I’m considering candidates for House Prep at UCI, I look for people who can bring new perspectives to government: accomplished people with strong backgrounds in diverse fields . . . like interstellar space exploration.”

  “Poaching objection!” Al exclaimed. “David’s spoken for. He has a job with NASA starting in October.”

  Omar smiled and raised his hands in mock surrender. “No problem. A few years of experience inside your department will make him a better congressman.”