Senna shook her head, “No way. They might be regretting their actions right now, but if they attacked Tressia both treaties would join to put them down. That’s about the only thing we all agree on. They won’t risk that.”
Kristi nodded, “I think they’re right, plus it will give Joe a chance to start his new job, Tressia and Leira seem like as good as a start as anywhere else.”
“Okay, you all win,” I gave up. I wasn’t looking forward to wandering around alone anyway, plus operation paranoia wasn’t fully ready yet, and still had a week to go.
I turned to Jason, “Al will assign you a room and grant you access to it, otherwise things will stay mostly the same even though you’re living here now for the next who knows how long. If you want to visit the planet you can do that as well. You can also use the fabricator in the landing bay for any clothes and personal items you’ll need.”
Jason nodded and looked a little relieved, and left the kitchen to go check out his new room.
I kind of wanted to send this ship to the void, and use my smaller more homey one, but I also didn’t want to leave Jason by himself all the time. Plus, this ship would be obsolete in a week, I could deal with it that long. The irony that we’d be moving to something much bigger wasn’t lost on me, although the little ship would still be my home, one of them anyway, I seemed to have more than a few right now.
We drank and talked for the rest of the day, and then all turned in.
The next morning Al reported, “There is nothing in the news about us leaving Earth, either on Earth or anywhere else. None of your funds or your business has been seized. If Earth is looking for you, they aren’t asking for assistance, or even sharing you’re an escaped criminal with the rest of the worlds.”
I frowned, but then decided that made sense. They’d be afraid another world would try to claim me. I was sure they wanted me dead, or buried in a dark hole somewhere they could question me, but they wouldn’t go after me out in the open. Not when it would add competition.
When Jason found that out a little later during breakfast, and had also found out that Caroline and Karen were back at the office in Colorado Springs, he asked to go back. I let him of course, sent him in a shuttle, and when the five of us left for Tressia, I sent the lab ship out into the void, a few light years apart from the other one.
I figured even if they would be obsolete, it was still better to use those as lab spaces for highly dangerous experiments that shouldn’t have humans around, like all the ones I’d been doing lately. I’d also be happier using the smaller ship, and I thought Kristi and Joe would as well.
Nora gave Joe a few contacts so he could get a business set up for us, and then the four of us ladies went on a tour of the main city. Tressia was about halfway between where Earth and Omara were. There were no mega-cities or huge city buildings, but they did have a lot of cities that sprawled far and wide, and the capitol was the biggest.
There were flying cars, a lot of them, and gravity technology was apparent almost everywhere. Besides the tour, one of Nora’s objectives was to visit and catch up with people, which is why we ended up in Jarnud’s store.
Jarnud hadn’t changed a bit, he still wore mismatched clothes, and had wild hair. He also seemed happy to see me.
“Welcome back in my store,” he said expansively.
I returned his greeting with a genuine smile.
I looked around, but he didn’t have anything I was interested in this time around. So much had changed for me and for Earth since the first time I’d been in here. Nora brought us around to a few other people, and after dinner she brought us to a resort to check in for the week. It was a lot like the all-inclusive resorts found in the Caribbean or Mexico. It had sun, sand, pools, the ocean, and lots of bars and places to eat.
They also offered several tours.
Somehow I’d flown from Earth on the run, and ended up on another damned vacation, Nora and Senna’s vacation. Joe didn’t take very long to do his thing, so was on vacation as well by midday on Tuesday. It was toward the end of the week, when I got really depressed about Bill. Al sort of came up with a semi-solution for me.
Immersive virtual reality didn’t really exist yet, but with eyesight and sound it got pretty close. The major flaw was of missing out on smell, taste, and touch. Of course, for me it was mostly the touch part. So it was a little frustrating. Still, at least I got to talk to him, and look at him, while we seemed to be sailing out on the ocean, which was better than nothing. We spent hours Friday night talking, and he promised to call me the next day.
I had the beginnings of a plan to steal him away from Earth, and realized it was time I told Kristi about operation Paranoia. It’d be done in a couple of days anyway. I also considered renaming it, because apparently it wasn’t paranoid at all, or at least, it’d also been right.
I knocked on Kristi and Joe’s suite door early on Saturday morning. Kristi opened it and looked at me balefully. I didn’t mind, it was typical early morning Kristi.
“Can we talk about something? Joe should hear it too I think.”
Kristi nodded and gestured me in, “Coffee?” she asked in a mumble.
“Sure, coffee sounds good.”
When she came back we sat in the suite’s living room and I took a deep breath.
“So, I’ve been thinking for months about what I thought we should do if this ever happened. I created a plan and labeled it operation paranoia.”
Kristi snickered and took a sip of coffee, and then asked, “So what’s the plan?”
I sighed because I knew this would sound nuts, “In a nutshell, I decided if Earth didn’t want me anymore, we should go ahead and start our own world and colony.”
Kristi tilted her head, “The three of us?”
I nodded, “As the founders. I envisioned inviting scientists to join us from other worlds, and their families of course. I’m kind of hoping to sucker Bill to become our law branch, a Sherriff of sorts, but I wanted to talk to you guys first, because I don’t think I’ll do it if you guys don’t.”
Joe frowned, “So you want to start a colony and invite a bunch of eggheads? Why would they leave their own worlds to come work for you and your new world?”
I smiled, “Good question. I have another. What would have happened if the U.S. government froze all of our assets?”
Joe grimaced, “We’d be poor?”
I nodded, “And? Besides that, I mean?”
Kristi shrugged, “Nothing I suppose, as long as we have fabricators and access to resources the money doesn’t really matter. Although I suppose we couldn’t buy any new patterns, we’d have to make our own.”
I smiled, “Exactly, access to our own fabrication has made the idea of money mostly obsolete, except where it applies to royalties if we make something patented by someone else.”
I frowned, “I got a little off base there, but my idea was to offer a place where knowledge and education could be shared freely between worlds, minus military tech. The synergy of so many scientists from different worlds would speed up discovery, which we could freely share with all the worlds. The reason I say minus military tech, is no worlds would go for that.”
Kristi nodded, “So in the hopes of getting more advances the world governments of most worlds would want and encourage their scientists to move to our world?”
I touched my nose, “Exactly, and going back to the money thing, it would be an open economy on our world, with an automated infrastructure.”
Joe frowned, “So they wouldn’t get paid?”
I nodded, “Yes and no, not as much as a normal job, but they’d have free access to make whatever they wanted or needed as well. There are enough free designs available for clothes and stuff where the patent has expired, plus maybe we’d be able to get some worlds to donate patterns. The only real expense would be resources, which aren’t an expense at all if we claim a planet and system as ours.”
Kristi shook her head and smiled, but a little doubtfully, “So you
want to build a free society of scientists, to make the worlds a better place? And we already have the technology to protect it. But what about spies and such?”
I smiled, “Simple, I need to interview everyone before they’re approved. I was thinking we could also lure some Knomen to help with that idea.”
Joe asked, “How long?”
I bit my lip, “Well, the planet I picked which is on the edge of the Orion arm, six thousand light years from Earth, will take five years to terraform with Carmine’s process. In those five years, we’ll also be able to build the first city. Unless you object, or say no to the whole plan, I was thinking Knomen style.”
Kristi nodded, “That’s fine with me, and I can see the possibilities, but we’ll have to discuss it before we decide.”
I smiled innocently, “That’s the final goal, but the interim plan will be ready on Monday.”
Kristi raised an eyebrow, “Interim plan? Let’s have it, what did you do?”
I brought up the ship that took six weeks to build on my overlay, and sent it to theirs as well.
Kristi giggled, “A flying saucer?”
“Yes, but look at the dimensions.”
Joe gaped, “Is that two miles in diameter?”
I nodded in agreement and said, “My plan was to just have a colony on the world. Science is dangerous, so this is the interim plan, and will also continue to be where the scientists work and experiment. Except for the really dangerous stuff, which we’ll use the two ships in the void for. It’s also the interim plan because there’s a lot more to the ship than just labs.
“There are ten levels in the outside ring containing thousands of lab spaces and offices that can be independently locked down and ejected in case of a serious issue. The power sources are also located in the outer ring. I know it usually makes more sense to put it in the middle, but I wanted to be able to eject those too in case of emergency. Plus, with subspace shielding the edges are just as safe as anywhere else. The only other thing on the outside are four cavernous landing bays. Big enough for even our house ship to land in.”
Kristi nodded slowly, “Isn’t that many lab spaces overkill?”
I sighed, “Yes, but I had the space and nothing else to do with it,” I explained lamely.
She laughed at me, but I continued, “The second ring on all ten levels, are one, two, and three bedroom spaces if scientists come with their families before the planet’s ready. There are also several fabrication facilities, pools, saunas, open areas for shops… basically the second ring is a whole city.”
Kristi asked, “And you built it already, it’ll be done on Monday? What if we say no?”
I shrugged, “That goes back to the money conversation, so I used a few asteroids in that system, and fabricator time, and a little energy to run the fabricators. None of it actually cost me anything, I simply rerouted ten of our fabricators to that system when the Seltan only wanted eighty of them, instead of ninety. If you say no, then I’ll just fly it into the sun or blow it up. I certainly can’t sell it, since it has subspace technology.”
Kristi shook her head, “I think I see your point, so why is it so big?”
I smiled, “Well, I figured people would hate to live in a space ship for so long, so the top six levels in the center mile of the ship is one single room, with simulated sunlight, dirt, grass, trees. Kind of like the parks on the mega buildings on Omara. Right now the trees are kind of small, I bought a bunch from a number of different worlds, and used taxis to get them around, or Al did really, he handled it all. It also has park things in it, benches, a couple of play grounds and all that good stuff. The bottom four levels in the center are hydroponics levels, to grow most if not all of our food locally.”
Kristi nodded, “So third ring is work, second is home and stores, center is time off and food production?”
I nodded, “Sure, and of course they’ll be free to go to any planet they want to when they’re off. I hope they eventually just stay and we build a community for when the planet is ready, but who knows? The galaxy may laugh at us.”
Kristi sighed, “It seems a waste though, when the planet is ready, only the outside will be in use.”
I shrugged, “Maybe, some people may decide to stay up there. Who knows if it will even work, but I’m not even willing to try unless you two are okay with it. Also, by the time the world is ready for us to move down, we might even have filled the lab spaces, and we can repurpose the living areas as needed.
“Even if Earth relents, I’ll never go back there except to visit. I’ll probably give Karen first shot at administrator of the ship or station, and invite Jason and Caroline. Only if they refuse, do I think we should leave our business open, if Earth allows it.”
Kristi nodded, “I can agree to that, if we agree to the whole plan I mean, it’ll be a lot of work.”
“Mostly in the beginning until we get staff to handle stuff. The ship also has A.I.s all over the place with the new Matrix. In each lab, home, and a general one for security, and one for ship functions, plus a bunch on sensors.
“Just let me know, if we do it, I want to invite Bill to join us, I don’t know if he will or not though. We’ve only had like six dates but, between him handling security, and Karen overseeing administration, we can hire as we find a need. If I have to do too many interviews, I’ll hire some Knomen to do it.”
Now I was depressed again, who moves six thousand light years for a woman after six dates?
I added, “Also, something available to only us, I designed a subspace platform, and I planned to make ten. Two over each arm of the galaxy except the Drenil’s, which is six platforms. It will help with sensor clarity, as those six platforms will forward the data here, and if we need to zoom in for a closer look, the closest platform will move there temporarily, so the city ship doesn’t have to leave our solar system. We’ll also be able to control the platforms if we’re on our little house ship as well.”
Kristi nodded, “And the other four?”
I smiled, “Well, I thought I’d send those to the four closest galaxies to take a look around, and see what they find. One should be good enough to scout a galaxy. I’m not thinking of monitoring them or anything, just a quick peek at what’s there.”
I was curious, and nosy.
Joe grunted, “You don’t think small, alright, give us a couple of hours to talk about it. I think it sounds kind of cool, but I don’t know if I’m ready to give up on Earth.”
I nodded and stood up, finished the coffee Kristi had made me in a few gulps, and went back to my room to wait. I was asking a lot, asking them to turn their back on the planet that betrayed us, even if only a few beings on it did so. I knew how they felt because I felt the same. I may have had Knomen DNA, but I was human in my attitudes and beliefs down to my fingertips. Still, if I wasn’t welcome there anymore, I’d make a place where I was.
I was worried that if I chose another planet to live on it would start major problems, this seemed like the only sensible idea, at least the only one that was also worth doing for other reasons. Was that egotistical? To think the Earth would go to war over me? Well, not over me, over all the military secrets I knew, which would take their advantage in battle away were I to share them. I wouldn’t, but I doubted they’d ever believe that, their actions to date had made that more than clear.
Chapter 15
Kristi and Joe knocked on my door ninety-six minutes later, not that I was keeping track or anything…
I let them in and we sat in the living room.
Joe said, “What would I be doing in this new world of yours? I mean, if you really plan to share fabricator patterns on what’s invented, why would I need to set up business and licenses anymore for?”
“Anything you wanted to do? We’d be building a whole new world, is there anything that appeals? Plus, that doesn’t count the stuff our business has made so far, so you still need to visit a lot of worlds for that right? There’s time to figure it out.”
He no
dded, “I was just curious, I think we’ll do it, but I want to be able to visit Earth too.”
“Of course, it won’t be a closed off colony, everyone can visit their world of origin, and be able to have a dual citizenship so to speak.”
Kristi asked, “So what’s your plan that way, I mean the next step as you see it?”
I nodded, “A transmission to claim the planet and where it is, and that it’s an independent world led by us, its three founders, along with an offer and invitation to scientists with all the rules and benefits outlined. That’s all I had really.”
Kristi looked thoughtful, “Sounds good in theory. Do you really want to do this?”
I shrugged, “I’d rather have stayed at Earth, but without that being possible anymore, yes. I can do what I love and study science, and benefit all the worlds instead of one. And I can protect what we build.”
Kristi nodded, “Should we join one of the treaties?”
I wasn’t sure, “It might be better to be neutral, and offer the opportunity to all worlds and scientists. If we join a treaty that might alienate half of the worlds.”
Kristi pondered that, “True, but it might be better to make a stand on it, and let half the galaxy hate us, even if Earth happens to be one of them. We can’t please everyone, so it’s better not even bothering to try. Some planets on the opposite treaty will come, and some planets in the one we join won’t. That’s just life.”
“I think you’re right, which treaty?”
Kristi snickered, “You know which one, the one not involved in genocide.”
I smirked, “I know, but that’s just going to piss off Earth even more.”
Joe shrugged helplessly, “It’s what I get for marrying such a smart and beautiful woman, I’ll live with it.”
I asked, “So when should we announce it? Monday, or wait until after we visit Leira next week?”
Kristi tilted her head, and then leaned against Joe, “Let’s wait, I think we want to be there, and on our new ship when we make the announcement. But you should offer the positions to Karen, Caroline, Jason, and Bill now, make them sign non-disclosures first. I think it will be easier to get them off the planet now, than after the announcement.”
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