Ice Planet

by Nicole Stuart

  “There are many problems facing us as a people. Most of the solutions lie in our hands. The one problem that we cannot solve is the problem of the climate. The deterioration of the weather is the result of natural forces over which we have no control, and I can assure you that it will get worse. The cold cycle from which my team and I escaped reached the point where the temperature was consistently at fifty degrees below freezing. We recognized that, while isolated individuals might be able to survive, and in fact did in past cold periods, the society is brought to the brink of collapse with each cold cycle. We cannot simply endure these conditions. Our friends in the Universal Community have offered us an alternative. They have offered to take us in, to a place of our choice, and to assist us to get back on our feet again. There will be some problems and difficulties, but we are used to facing down hardship, aren’t we?” Aria gave her infectious smile, giving each person in the audience the impression that she was speaking directly to him or her. Her words, coming after so many other positive factors, added to their new-found confidence. “We, the people who traveled to meet with the Council of the Universal Community, have been shown some places on Earth that match quite well what we have on Kinair during the warm cycles. We will show those places to you, and ask you to make a choice for further investigation by those you choose to represent you. Once the choice has been made, our people will be invited to transport there, with the possibility of moving to another place if they choose that, or even returning here to Kinair. The move will not necessarily be the final commitment, although we are confident that what the places that we will show you have to offer us will convince you all to stay. In our opinion, the move should be made soon, before the winter sets in. The extreme cold that we expect to come will make the move much more difficult.” Aria looked carefully at the people. She could see that they were with her. The demonstration of how easily a mass attack by StateSec agents could be neutralized had made a deep impression, and given them the confidence they needed to take big steps into the future.

  Aria stepped down, inviting Geoffrey and Sorpe to take her place. She was pleased that they planned to make the presentation together. Individually, they were good, but together they were irresistible.

  “Let us tell you about the Universal Community,” said Sorpe in her musical voice. Her words, coming as a computer translation, did not have quite the sound of her natural voice, through the communication bracelet, but it was nevertheless a very pleasant voice. “The original planets of the Community were Enderen, which developed the science of particle transportation over eight hundred years ago, and Earth, which helped to take the science further about ten years ago. Particle transport is based on the fact that every particle in the Universe is in direct contact with every other particle through the twelfth dimension, in which distance is not a factor. The scientists use this fact to instruct the particles in an object to disassemble in place A and reassemble immediately in place B, wherever in the universe those places may be. This enabled people on Enderen to transport any matter, whether it was a fruit or a human, to Earth at practically no cost, and without any delay. The two worlds commenced an active trade between them, each one supplying what the other wanted at a price they could afford. The cooperation between the scientists of the two planets, who had already reached an advanced stage of the science, enabled them to make contact with other planets, and so the Universal Community was born. Enderen had survived the trauma of being temporarily transported into another dimension, with the loss of a large part of their population, and Earth had suffered an almost complete annihilation of its people as a result of a freak accident. The leaders of the surviving people on both planets resolved to create a universe in which each person could optimize their lives, in which the forces of democracy, reinforced by the availability of free and efficient transport between the worlds, could hold the governments of the planets to account for their actions. The Universal Community expanded as new worlds joined, each one committed to the principles of freedom of the people, of free trade and movement between the worlds, and the sharing of education, medical services, ideas and opportunities to ensure that each person could live as well as his or her capabilities justify. There is no cost to joining the Community. All that we demand is that each member respects the rights of the other members, and assists all to optimize their capabilities. That is assured when the peoples of the Community planets are free. The existence of free trade and free transportation between worlds ensures that surpluses in one place can go to supply needs in other places, and that goods that cannot be efficiently produced in one place can be acquired from another place. It also ensures that, where a government imposes unreasonable demands on its citizens, they will be free to move to a more congenial place, where they will be willing to meet the demands imposed on them by the government because that government provides services and an environment that is required by its citizens. If you had been able to travel freely to another world, how many of you would have remained here to be subjected to the whims of a dictatorial government?

  “There are presently nine worlds which are members of the Universal Community, and a further six nations which have been rescued from their worlds and transported to other planets, mainly Earth. Each of them is treated as an independent member of the Community. We also know of another two populated planets which do not qualify to be members of the Community, because they are governed by dictators or have a tribal system of government, which is essentially dictatorial. Every one of our members is at a good stage of development, and each one offers places in its education and medical facilities to citizens of other members. Certain members have a very advanced level of education. The most notable one in that regard is Ga-In, which has the University of Setlen, the foremost institution in the research in the field of quantum physics, and the foremost university teaching in that field, but there are other exceptional universities on Earth, Enderen, Veremun and Rendl, each one excelling in its chosen fields. It may be of interest to you that there is a strong interest by the University of Setlen to recruit the entire team headed by Aria to its research units, and by the University of Breon on Veremun to recruit Cora, Savi and certain other members of this gathering.

  “As a result of the virtual annihilation of the population of Earth, which had a population of over six billion people at the time of the catastrophe, there exist on Earth huge amounts of infrastructure, millions of factories fully equipped to produce advanced products, office buildings and shops of very good standard, and tens of millions of houses and apartments, all unused at the moment and available for occupation by anyone desiring to live there or start a business. To make that even easier, the Community offers a free supply of energy from a clean source. The small group of your people who viewed possible locations for your resettlement chose two places which they think you will find congenial. In order to permit you to gain an understanding of those place, we are able to show you a record of the tour we took them on.”

  At these words, the screen came alive again, with the tour and the commentary that Geoffrey had provided. The audience sat, enthralled by this experience. The places they saw were so different from their everyday, even before their recent stay in the prison! The tour came to Munich, showing the snow-capped mountains in the distance, reminiscent of Vidia, and Geoffrey paused the show, leaving the aerial view of the city on the screen, the elegant Frauenturme prominent in the foreground and the Alps in the background, while he expanded on the industrial, business, farming and sporting possibilities the city offered. When he was done with that, the tour moved the short distance to the village of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and paused there, showing the quaint buildings and the amazing scenery.

  “This village is a short distance from Munich. It was formerly a holiday resort for the people of the world. It has the potential to achieve that again, with only a little effort.”

  A voice came from the audience.

  “You don’t need to go further. I want to settle there. That place
is a paradise. Best of all, there is no government to bleed us dry, no StateSec to terrorize us.” The speaker stood and turned to the people behind him. “All of those who want to settle there, raise your hands now. We need to make the arrangements. I want to get away from this place of fear and hatred.”

  Hands rose as members of the audience thought about what had been said. Within half a minute, the audience was a forest of raised hands.

  “I believe that the decision has been made,” said Aria with a smile. “You must now return to your families and friends and tell them of this. The recording of this discussion will be available for replay here during the next three days, to give everyone in the city a chance to see it for him or herself. I will request Geoffrey and Sorpe to be available here again at the same time in three days to answer any questions you may have. I now call on Hera and Jarl, the persons responsible for the development of inter-planetary trade to tell you about their work.”

  Hera stepped up to the podium and spoke.

  “I am Hera. I am a citizen of Vikton, and I have a degree in history, as does my husband, Jarl. Our education, coupled with help from many of the leaders of members of the Universal Community, gave us the opportunity to see how important trade between peoples is. Trade includes the buying and selling and the transfer of goods, of services such as education, medical attention, tourism, even of good advice between people. The availability of transport between cities and planets has given a new meaning to trade. It is now possible to find virtually anything you want or need somewhere in the Community, but finding it has always been a problem. Even with the transporters, the universe is a big place! The organization that Jarl and I manage on behalf of the Council of the Community provides a sourcing service, either by access to a database listing practically every product and service throughout the Community, or by making contact with us to do the search for you. We provide assistance also in listing the products you may offer, so that the description is easily searchable, as well as listing the desires of people that have not been satisfied, so that entrepreneurs can find products to manufacture, with the assurance that there will be a market for them. In addition, we run regular seminars and conferences, so that producers can pitch their offerings and purchasers can make their wishes known, and trade shows showcasing types of industries, groups of products or places, and we are always open to requests or suggestions. In your case, once you have established yourselves in your new home, Jarl and I will visit you with our team to prepare a dedicated newssheet on what you do, for distribution throughout the Community. That is a very good way to become known quickly. We maintain a system of reminders to warn you of upcoming events, and we are able to assist you in maintaining contact with customers and suppliers, as well as newsletters informing the readers of new products, manufacturers and places to visit.” Hera smiled, giving the audience members the feeling that she was smiling at each of them. Many in the audience found themselves thinking that they would like to count Hera as a friend. “We would like to hear from each of you. To make it easier, we have a basket of our business cards at the door, and another basket of cards for you to fill in your contact details, so that we can put you on our mailing list.”

  Hera left the podium, to be replaced by Mian.

  “I am Mian, of the University of Setlen. We are a specialist institute, concentrating on the teaching of quantum science and research into it. We also act as a point of contact for the Association of Universities, which embraces most institutions of higher learning throughout the known universe. We know that many of you are either academics or persons with university-level education. Some of you are also writers. Those were qualifications to be put on the list of undesirable persons by the present government! We would be very interested to make contact with you, so that we can provide you with details of our members. Every university is constantly on the look-out for educated people, and our members could possibly ease your integration into the society of the Universal Community. Remember, it is as easy to live in Munich and work in Veremun as it is to live next door to your workplace. We all know that discussions, arguments and consultation are the lifeblood of learning, and the Community is passionate about learning. If you wish to make direct contact with us, please check the space provided on Hera’s contact card.”

  As Mian left the podium, Professor Netteos turned to Ortimus, the man next to him, a friend he had made in prison, a man who had been imprisoned for life for writing ‘seditious articles’ about the government.

  “If you ever had any doubt about the wisdom of joining the Universal Community, those doubts have been answered.”

  “They were answered when Cora met us at the prison gates, my friend. There can be no other choice.”

  Chapter 19

  Events moved quickly after the meeting of ex-prisoners broke up. The members of the audience moved out into the afternoon sunshine, and found numerous friends and relatives waiting for them. The reunions were heart-felt. Most of them had never expected to see their friends and their families again, and those friends and families had suffered the agony of not knowing what had happened to their loved ones. In most cases they had simply disappeared from the society, without explanation or trace. In some cases, their arrest had been very public, and frightening stories filtered back, telling of the brutality of the arrest. Sometimes, torn and blood-spattered clothing was all that remained of their loved ones. The mental trauma caused to husbands or wives, and particularly to children, had blighted their lives since the day of the arrest, and the constant threat of arrest, hanging over every person who did not subscribe fully to the policies and views of the government had darkened their lives even before that.

  There were also people whose loved ones had not returned from the prisons. In many cases, the disappearance had been permanent, with no notification from the government to the families of the death of the prisoners, by disease, starvation, beatings or execution. These people arrived at the university in the hope of finding their loved ones again, only to be met with the news of their death. In a way, that was better than not knowing of their fate, and the sympathy they received from the lucky ones went some way to easing their anguish. Many of those families had been supported by relatives and neighbors, in most cases surreptitiously to avoid the attention of StateSec known to result from consorting with the families of suspicious persons. The fortunate ones were able to find the prisoners they sought in vain in the hospital unit of the university, where they were brought by their prisoner friends.

  When Sorpe and Geoffrey saw the state of health of many of the prisoners, they called in several doctors and nurses from the Community planets, and these attended to the urgent cases before transporting them to hospitals on other planets, in many cases taking their friends and family members with them. The attention of a loved one had often been found to be an important factor in a quick recovery!

  Questioning of the released prisoners by members of Aria’s team revealed the fact that a number of prisoners had not yet been released. It was suspected that the prison authorities had not acted on the Court Order in these cases because the Wardens knew that the treatment that they had meted out to those prisoners exceeded even the depraved norms of their rulers.

  “We have a problem, Aria,” reported Bian. “There are still prisoners being held, in defiance of the Court Order to release them. We’re not sure where they are being held in the two prisons involved, so we don’t even know where to start.”

  Aria communicated with Geoffrey.

  “We understand that there are still prisoners being held, Geoffrey. We’re not sure where they are, apart from knowing that they are in two prisons. I fear for their lives. If the authorities do not want to release them, the simplest solution for them will be to execute them.”

  “Let’s transport to Montagu, Aria. I have the particle viewing equipment there. Will you bring someone who knows where the prisons are? That will save us searching.”

  Aria looked around. All of her team were else
where helping prisoners and their families. Her eye lighted on Professor Netteos, as he hurried to take a list of names to the central area where the database was being updated.

  “Professor! Please come with me. I need your help urgently.”

  The Professor hurried over to Aria.

  “I was just taking this list to the central input, Aria.”

  “Bian will do that, Professor. We need your help to find some missing prisoners who may still be alive. Please come with me now.” Aria took the Professor’s arm and led him firmly to the room where the person transporter was housed. She bypassed the queue of patients waiting to use the transporter and entered the device, bringing the Professor with her.

  “Montagu Municipal Office,” she instructed via her communicator. The force field came up and dropped, and she led the dumbfounded Professor out of the offices to the small house where Geoffrey was waiting, moving as quickly as the frail man could manage.

  At the house, Geoffrey saw the Professor coming, and fetched a communication bracelet from a drawer, handing it to the man.

  “Please put that on your arm, Professor. Good. Now think of me.”