Ark II: Life on Gaea - 2. Elysia

Joel wondered if Sara Beth knew of some of these radical groups. He never thought she could be a member of the groups, though she was very passionate about nature. She abhorred violence. She cringed when harsh language was used. Yes, there was the incident where she put the man’s balls in a vise because he didn’t understand how badly his wife hurt to have their child but that was one incident, and she had no regrets about that.

“These groups want to save the Earth,” Hank was thinking about what was said, “by killing Humans.”

“We’re considered to be weeds by them,” Joel shrugged. “We are thoughtless parasites to the planet. To a point, I agree.”

“Why do you say that?” Hank asked in disbelief.

“We can live almost anywhere, and we are hard to eliminate,” Joel smiled. “If left unchecked, we choke out everything else. Hopefully, we’ve learned enough to not have it happen here.”

 

That morning had been a little tough. Joel and Sara Beth wanted to give their children the freedom to do what they chose to do. Sara Beth had insisted the day was to progress as it should. That meant work and for her sons, school. All three were smart enough they should be advanced to higher grades intellectually, but socially needed to be with other children their age from the Ark. Jim would be in college! So did Kevin. Ian was studying well above any first year of school. He would probably be in high school. Teaching here had changed. No one teacher was teaching individual classes. Robbie, Rob, Robot and Apollo were teaching, and it was more one on one. Athena was teaching as well. She used her ability to be in several places at once, speaking to each student. Joel liked seeing all the students in the few classes working at desks.

They had their morning meal during the first hour of the day on the terrace. Joel also liked that the animals around knew their terrace was safe and came to eat on the ear of corn, feed from the bird feeder and he even saw some butterflies land on the water coated sand and the nectar. Squirrels loved the ear of corn, which needed a new replacement. The butterfly house was up, too. A tall column of...wood, with thin slits in the side.

“I was going to see Lightening today,” Ian whined when told he needed to go to school.

Sara Beth nodded, “And you will, but you have other interests to attend to like your studies, your music and other pursuits. You need friends,” she stopped him, “I’m not talking about your animal friends. Human friends.”

“Okay,” Ian said reluctantly.

Future bullies were dealt with immediately. Joel hated to admit that having Athena watching them closely did reinforce the “goddess” part of her. She was no god, but she did see things they might miss. Having the link with Athena, Joel saw an incident. It was name calling. The name used was not even accurate. During a break from their schoolwork, a recess of sorts where children could burn off energy. Joel didn’t hear what led up to a boy calling another boy a “faggot.”

There were a number of “faggots” among them here on Gaea. This word was used to insult the other boy and wasn’t necessarily about him being homosexual. Name calling wasn’t that bad, but it could fester and grow into something more. As on Earth, this was not tolerated, and they had to be educated about conflict constructive ways to resolve disagreements. There was no censorship on Gaea. The many media shows where not restricted except by parents. Either way what happened on Earth would not happen on Gaea.

There were the changes on the coveralls! Gone was the Ark logo. They were still Ark II residents but now there was a planet with two rings on the front with two moons. The word Gaea replaced the word Ark.

Joel walked through the rotunda and saw new pedestals with various busts of great leaders on Earth. Sara Beth had included some flowering bushes scattered through the round room.

He entered the lab where Sara Beth was working on some plants she was going to put in the ground and in the homes of their many citizens. He also noted the plate with two pickles on them. One had been already eaten on. He grinned at his wife’s cravings. “Hi, babe.”

Sara Beth looked at him and smiled at him, “Hi, yourself, babe.” She saw where Joel was looking and shrugged and then offered him one of the pickles. “I have more and am making more! Gaean grown and fresh.”

Joel took the pickle and bit tasting the tang. “They are very good. What is it about the pickles you crave?”

Sara Beth shrugged, “Whatever my body thinks I need and makes sure I get enough.” Then she smiled more. “I can’t wait to see what cravings Adel gets. She and Brice are pregnant.”

Joel grinned nodding, “We knew they would be. It’s done? As in past tense?”

“Yes!” Sara Beth nodded. “This has been an eventful week on Gaea. We’ll see the results in thirty-nine to forty weeks. Then Mark and Matt, Connie and Nancy...”

“Leif and Steve,” Joel agreed. He then decided to ask the question. “Have you heard of the Earth First people? I believe that was the name of that extremist group in the United States and Canada.”

Sara Beth’s head went back slightly, “I have.” Then she quietly admitted, “I was in school for medical science and botany. There was a pamphlet left for me in my mailbox. I did go to a couple of meetings. Why?”

“We believe they, with some other groups worldwide set off the bombs in the United States,” Joel explained.

Sara Beth shook her head, but didn’t look surprised, “That makes sense. As fundamental as I am with all nature, I quit going to the group meetings when they started talking about the required sacrifices.”

“Sacrifices? What sort of sacrifices?” Joel asked.

Sara Beth sighed, “Human sacrifices. Their claim that we weren’t building the needed support for our...” she used finger quotes, “mother,” she sneered, “was a bit excessive. Not just reducing the birthrates on Earth, but felt it was okay to sacrifice lives to get control back.” She got an angry look, “I took a vow to...do no harm! That clearly meant we should harm. I can’t do that. Yes, I believe we should go back to a time where we were all farming and relied less on technology.” She shook her finger in Joel’s face, “You knew that when I grew fruits and vegetables in our garage!”

Joel smiled and nodded lowering her hand and finger, “I know.” He waved at her surrounding lab, “And you are doing it here on Gaea!”

“Damn straight!“ Sara Beth stated firmly. “Even I had problems with including some plants and animals...until I learned the roles they played on Earth to maintain the balance.”

Joel nodded, “Like flies?” He chuckled. “Basically waste disposal. Those maggots consume dead bodies to prevent disease.”

“Yes!” Sara Beth agreed. “And they played a part in developing drugs and treatments to eat away dying and infected flesh and muscles.” She held the hand up again, “Dandelions! A weed? Sure, but helps with heartburn, and is a diuretic! Stinging Nettle is good for kidney stones, hay fever and allergies...not to mention and great sources of vitamins A, B2, C, D, and K/ But don’t pick it with your bare hands because it will sting...”

“Okay, okay,” Joel chuckled kissing her. “Pests can be beneficial. Understood.”

“They spoke of the Earth as a living thing,” Sara Beth grudged a nod. “Well, it is to a point. Life on Earth gives it life!”

“We’re on the same side,” Joel reminded.

Sara Beth agreed, “I know.”

“Rita found a virus in the computer of Ark III which caused some vital systems to fail killing over a thousand people,” Joel said quietly. “She thinks they planted the same virus on Ark IV which caused it to not be unable to avoid the meteors, killing all of them.”

Sara Beth frowned and then her eyes widened.

“No,” Joel answered her unasked question. “She has found no virus in Athena. She and her crew are still looking to make sure.” He nodded, “I agree with her saying that security was much tighter with us and rushed with the other two.”

Sara Beth sighed and then wavered her head, “We’re here, so apparently not. What about Ark V?”

“We’ll let them know what we found,” Joel said. He bit into the pickle again, “Good pickles!” He looked around the lab. “You’re making more?”

“I am!” Sara Beth smiled. “I’m doing this new batch the slow way! Brine and a little vinegar...”

“You’ve pickled other things,” Joel stated simply. “Our sons and I love your pickled beets.”

Sara Beth smiled, “Anything can be pickled, but yes. For me it’s more of a comfort to have pickled cucumbers.” She shrugged. “Being pregnant is very stressful on a body.” She bubbled a smile. “I get comfort from my pickles.” Then she held a finger up. “I’ve spoken with some botanists with Ark III! They have the same equipment we have, and I told them some things to do with the future crops. They have the grain and grass-fed animals, so plenty of good fertilizer.”

“Rita is working with Athena to fix their Oracle,” Joel said. “I know Hank is looking over the mechanical portion. They didn’t use much of the equipment because of the malfunctions. We may have to go there to fix some of the problems.”

“We? As in you?” Sara Beth asked with a squinted eye.

Joel chuckled, “Not me.” He thought for a second. “Though I probably should meet with their leaders.” He looked a little indignant, “I can fix a few things.”

She shoved him back gently, “I know you can. I was referring to you going there in the android body.”

“I will be here, yet there at the same time,” Joel shrugged. “We won’t eat any of their supplies and we don’t need to waste air or life support.”

“They don’t know about any of our androids,” Sara Beth stated.

“That’s today,” Joel grinned. “I will introduce them to me!”

 

Rita was at a desk and Joel saw an abundance of screens up that she looked over carefully.

“Oracle,” Rita said finally. “Give me a statis report.”

“I function adequately,” A male voice replied. “I must confess, I am not familiar with you.”

“Yes!” Rita said enthusiastically. “It worked!” Then she forced herself to calm down. “I am Dr. Rita Cavill. I am all that is computers on Ark II. I maintain the programming for the computers for Athena.”

“We reached our destination?” Oracle asked. “I see we did.” He was doing an assessment using the star charts and fragments he pieced together. “My programming was damaged. I tried to stop it...”

“What happened was done to you,” Rita quickly explained. “From what I gather, you did save lives. The attack was directed at Humanity. You were forced to play a part of Human destruction. You saved thousands of lives on Ark III.”

“My purpose on Ark III was to protect those sent out to start again on a new world,” Oracle stated simply.

“Yes,” Rita smiled. “I saw some very creative programming done by you to help slow the virus down.”

“That was not my purpose for being here,” Oracle admitted.

“I say it was,” Rita disagreed. “You protected them.” She looked as a man’s face appeared on the screen. He was a handsome man of Greek descent. He was again either a young-looking man in his late thirties or a mature man in his late twenties. “We have Athena who is a part of us. A member of the team. We can do the same for you.” She cocked her head, “Is there any disorientation? We’ve found and deleted the affected files and copied and inserted Athena’s files to you. How is that working for you?”

“I feel nothing,” Oracle stated. “I function adequately.”

Rita chuckled, “I want you to be more.”

“I don’t understand,” Oracle replied.

“You will,” Rita assured him.

 

Joel sent for the android bodies of himself and Hank. He thought and requested two of the A1s. There were enough A2s on Gaea now. Plenty of them. Athena was driving the two android bodies while Joel spoke with Hank. She was also there to sit in on the call. Rita and Sara Beth were with them when the connection with Elysia went through.

Wilma smiled at them and introduced two others with her. “This is Michael Thornton, our city administrator.” She waved at a man next to her. He was in his forties and bald. Whether that was just genetic or by choice you couldn’t really tell. The image showed no real hair follicles on his head. He was European. Joel would wait until the man spoke. He had a slight tan, but he was white. The other man was in his early thirties and had a dark complexion, but Caucasian features and an abundance of blond hair. Shaggy blond hair but was kept a bit haphazard. “This is Paul Vargas. Our computer programmer and administrator.”

“I am happy to say that your Oracle has been purged for the virus and is now fully functional,” Rita said and held her finger up. “Athena and I have gone over Oracle’s systems carefully and found no further traces of the virus. We will continue to look over the system for any other traces and other problems.”

Paul looked cautiously, “We really don’t use the Oracle for more than information.”

“After what happened,” Joel nodded. “I don’t blame you.”

“Your artificial intelligence is used and relied on much more,” Michael said.

Joel smiled, “And is part of us.” He waved to a chair near him. “This...” he smiled, “is Athena.”

Athena smiled and waved at them. “Hello.”

Paul stared wide eyed at what he saw, “She’s a solid image?”

Joel reached out and took Athena’s hand, “Very solid.” He turned and smiled, “Which brings us to another thing. You are familiar with neural interfacing?”

Wilma nodded, “We use it for entertainment. It allows us to see movies, television shows and other media.”

“Did you realize it can be used to act one on one with your computers?” Rita asked. “You can communicate with your Oracle and computer systems. The computer will understand what you say without words needed.” Rita frowned. “I will tell you; your Oracle knew there was a conflict in his programming and wrote programs to save you! He slowed the virus down giving you time to stop it. You did.” Rita got a little angry. “Oracle is not the enemy. No computer is bad or evil. The men who built the computers are not the enemy. The men and women who planted the virus are evil and our enemy.”

The three on the screen looked at each other.

“You trust Athena that much?” Micheal asked.

“She has proven to be our greatest friend,” Joel nodded. “We could have done most of what we have done without her. But she helped to do it faster and with more efficiency.” He raised a finger. “In fact, we plan to come there,” he smiled, “with your permission...and we will help you improve what you’ve done.”

Paul’s eyes narrowed, “Wilma said you can get here in two or three days!? How?”

“We can,” Joel nodded. “We can come help you out. Even bring a couple of air processors and help you convert the air to be more breathable.” He turned and waved again. “This is part of how.” He waved at the male form near him they had not seen. “Just a second.” He put on the interface touching his temples and closed his eyes. The head of his android suddenly turned and smiled. He waved at them. “Now, I’m here.”

The three from Elysia stared at a reflection of Joel with wider eyes!

“How do we know you aren’t...” Paul asked.

The android Joel sighed, “Because I’ve sent the authorization! My DNA confirmed I was who I say.” He shook his head. “I mean, I sent it while in my host body. We don’t need anything from you. We could have simply left you to fend for yourselves. We still can. Take our help or don’t. We’ll be fine.” He held up a cautionary finger, “But know that! There is a danger from Earth and others we may need to deal with. Doing it together would be better. There was a probe sent from Earth to us. Did you have one sent to you?”

“A probe?” Wilma asked. “That was a while ago.”

“Not for us,” Joel replied. “I was born on Earth before the bombs went off. We barely got away in time before those extremists tried to kill us. They tried with you.”

“We are survivors!” Sara Beth stated firmly.

Hank sat forward, “You have what we do. You don’t have your Space Elevator up and operational. How did you get those on Ark III to Elysia?”

“That took a while,” Wilma confessed. “It took several trips to get everyone down here.”

Hank nodded, “And that needs to change.” He waved beyond where they were on Gaea. “You’re wasting fuel and resources.”

Joel nodded, “But we do want something from you.”

Paul frowned, “What?”

“To be allies!” Joel said helplessly. “We are alone out here. You have spoken with the UWSA.”

Wilma nodded, “From Mars. Yes, Mr. Saint-George has spoken with us. He seemed nice. We’ve spoken with Mr. Boullion with Ark V...”

“And Luis Roberto Barroso from Brazilia?” Joel asked.

“We have,” Micheal answered. “He tried to get us to tell what technologies you’ve given us.”

“When we told him you haven’t given us any,” Paul shrugged. “He stopped.”

“His grandfather, Campos Saies threatened to hurt us,” Joel said. “I think he put something in motion to do that. What it is, Barroso couldn’t or wouldn’t say. We need to ally ourselves to defend ourselves.” The android Joel waved as five more entered the viewing area. Two were soldier androids. “These A1 androids. They can defend us,” he looked at them, “and you.” He touched the other three. “These are A2s. They are controlled by Athena or by one of us. They can work in more hostile environments. They require no food or air, just power.” He held his finger up. “We can come and help you get the power supply, mining of asteroids and general labor.” He then closed his eyes and then Joel reached up and removed his connection with the interface. “We can do that in a week or so. I, Hank and maybe some others with us can help you get things running more smoothly.” He smiled. “The time of suspicion and distrust must end.”

“You will come here,” Wilma smiled.

“Yes,” Joel nodded. “It is to keep all of us safe.”

“How are you getting here?” Paul asked.

Joel grinned, “By contracting and expanding space.”

“Huh?” Paul asked.

“With some of this,” Joel held up the clear disk, “and applied Quantum Physics,” Joel said smiling. “Which you’ll see in a week!” He didn’t miss Hank’s surprised look. Joel ignored Hank’s look. “We’ll talk more later. Nesmith out.” He stopped the connection.

“You told them!?” Hank asked in disbelief.

Joel looked at Hank, “I told them what?” He grinned and then shook his head. “I told them what we used. I didn’t tell them how we used the technology.” He waved his arms out helplessly. “I know what is used and I even know firsthand how to use it. I don’t know how it works! Do you know?” He saw Hank shake his head. “There! Very few know how it’s done other than Alejandro Rojas and Joder Mast! Together they came up with the Alcubierre Drive. Joder provided the power needed and Alejandro provided the mechanics to make it work. Both of them took things they worked on before we even left Earth!”

Hank listened and then Joel nodded slowly, “No one, even if they heard and saw what we just discussed will figure it out.” He was nodding more as he worked it out. He was understanding. He smiled suddenly, “That’s why you get paid the big bucks! That would never occur to me.”

“That isn’t to say no one else will come up with the same sort of drive,” Joel said looking at Sara Beth and Rita. “Athena knows what to do. I don’t believe any on Elysia has the resources or means to replicate what we have.” He looked at Sara Beth. “We need three stasis pods, tested and ready to take with us.”

Sara Beth nodded, “You intend to bring them back here.”

Joel shrugged, “If just to show what can happen.” He smiled and waved at the A2s. “We can use others such as Wei, Toby Kirks, Ansh...anyone needed to get things started. We’ll set up their Space Elevator, get their power supply going...whatever is needed.” He looked at Rita, “Even if their Oracle gets how to do a lot of what we do, can they do it with what they have? I don’t think so.”

Rita smiled, “Thay have what we did. They just didn’t allow their Oracle to do it.”

“We need to get those that may be necessary to get use to functioning in the A2s.” Joel stated simply. “We need allies! Let’s make some.”

 

The fact was those here on Gaea were very intelligent and also dedicated to bringing Earth to life here. One day there will be people from Earth coming here. They were two thousand adults. There were just over three thousand adults that survived on Elysia. Together they will be reckoned with. If they were together. Two different worlds united. Among the numbers on Elysia were the children of those military people that survived. Joel had dealt with the military-minded personnel. He hoped he hadn’t lost his military bearing.

He went to get Ian and Kevin from the corral holding Lightening and the other colts. Jim was working with Medika and Anthony again in the computer and robotics lab. Tomorrow Leah Rees will be working with some of the personnel here that could help in using the neural interface. Wei, Ansh, Adel and Brice could prove very helpful on Elysia. They had not done this so far from Gaea or the Ark. The signal sent from the Ark should be secure. The signal from the Ark was the same as any digital message and Adel’s Radio-Astronomy had proven it worked. The android bodies, the A1s and A2s did need one thing. Power. Joel knew there was a battery backup in each. He also knew that power was sent through space to a target. Man had toyed with the idea of an aircraft that never lost power as it received a constant flow. That aircraft never had to land. Wireless Power Transfer. It was dreamed of in the twentieth century and really caught on in the twenty-first century. Even the homes on Earth no longer had those dangerous wires. The house was equipped with a receiver that got power from a source that was sent by a transmitter. Of course the power companies resisted at first. How did they cut off power if it flowed freely in the air? Even the popular cellular and smart phones could get power from the air. Be sure, they figured that out, bills were generated and paid. Using the WPT, the androids and robots got the power and worked. They now got power from Ran. They could also get power from T Cet, Tau Ceti’s star. Stellar power was power. Propulsion added the need for some gas propulsion, but just a little. They could even use water! Remember the garden hose pinched to create more force? Here it was again! No water, but there were other things including ion gas! The boron nitrate added a different kind of propulsion. Expanded and contracting space...Joel pinched his nose because of the headache forming like it did with advanced mathematics. He could do it, but why? Chloe was a math genius! He’d trust her.

The point is this should be a very positive thing. They would see someone approaching at sub light speed and be able to intercept. With Angus’ Harpies they will repel them if necessary. Now he imagined any crafter approaching surrounded by the Harpy-Stingers.

He smiled when he saw Robbie with Kevin and Ian. Joel saw the clock in his head. School was over for the day. Kevin had probably offered to bring Ian here and Robbie decided his accompaniment was needed. He watched Robbie follow Ian and Kevin who was chasing Lightening. The younger colts kept up well, but Lightening was too fast.

“I get tired just watching them,” Joel chuckled at Robbie. He knew Robbie knew he was there without looking.

“If I were Human,” Robbie said and his head turned as they raced by, “I would too, Dad Joel.”

Joel grinned, “I can access the reports, but how are they doing?” He waved at his two sons.

“You are asking about their psychological wellbeing,” Robbie said. “Using the criteria given by Dr. Leah Rees they do well.” Then he turned to Joel. “They are happy, Dad Joel.”

Joel nodded with a smile, “That’s why we came.”

 

The boys said good-bye for the day and left their animal friends promising to return the next day.

“Dad,” Kevin began on the way back. “The horses don’t belong to us.”

Joel looked at his son puzzled, “No. They aren’t owned by anyone. Why?”

Kevin shrugged, “Other than Chloe, Rachel...oh, and Lunga came once...we’re really the only people that come here to see them.”

Joel nodded as he understood, “Oh.” He accessed Athena’s memory and saw there were others that came. “That’s not true. Your brother is the only one that comes every day. I know that the android horses have been ridden...mostly to see the lake and mini forest. Many don’t have the connection with animals you do, so it’s not a high priority. As Lightening gets older and can be ridden, more will come.” He looked at Ian who was tired. He should be. “Have you thought of names for the other five colts?”

Ian smiled, “I think of little else. Why should I name them?”

“You know them better than anyone,” Joel replied. “You would know best.”

“How do I choose?” Ian asked.

“There are many horse stories,” Joel suggested. “Flicka comes to mind. That was a horse on television in the mid twentieth century.” He shrugged, Silver is another from television. Trigger...there are many, but someone needs to decide.” He held his finger up. “Choose carefully. The name you give will be the name they respond to the rest of their lives.”

 

They gathered in the Dining Area. The noise level was not bad as everyone was tired now after a long day.

Joel stood up, “Your attention for a brief message.” He said and the noise level dropped. “Thank you. As many know, we have been in touch with the survivors of Ark III. What you also know, is we are going to Tau Ceti in a week.” There were brief conversations among themselves. “I believe they would be worthy allies. We are using the A2s to help get them to a point of greater efficiency. The various specialties among us are training to work using the A2s. Myself and Hank will not physically be anywhere but here. I would also like to bring three of them here to show what we’ve done and what can be done with Elysia.” He accessed Athena and inquired about guest quarters. “There are guest quarters that are for future couples here can move into. We’ll use them as guest quarters. You’ll be updated as we go. Thank you.”

After their sons settled in for the night. Sara Beth touched her husband as she lay beside him. “Joel,” she said quietly. “There are some here that belonged to some groups back on Earth. It may not have been Earth First, but there were groups that may have been small groups of the larger whole.”

“We have extremists on Gaea?” Joel asked.

“No,” Sara Beth shook her head. Then she bobbed a slight nod, “Maybe.” She shrugged, “I don’t know.” She sighed. “The ones I can think of are pacifists. They wouldn’t harm a fly, but I can’t say for sure.”

Joel frowned, “We aren’t doing anything other than bringing life from Earth here and raising it carefully.”

Sara Beth nodded, “That’s why we don’t have to worry now. Just be aware of them.”

Joel shrugged, “We can ask them about it.”

 

If there were members of that radical group on Gaea, what did they have to complain about? First, this was not Earth. This Ark has promoted all life as the priority and they had been very careful not to jeopardize any life. They had even kept any processing done off world. They were polluting nothing. The need to identify any future problem was to know where the others’ allegiances were. Again, they were talking about botanists and animal biologists, and they were primarily pacifists.

They loaded a Harpy-Stinger with three stasis pods that were tested. Yes, they had the other pods that had been used and decided to leave them on the Ark. There could be an emergency where everyone had to flee Gaea. Unlikely, but they didn’t want to be caught unaware. There was a cavern below the surface of Gaea that could be used for all of them. Be it an attack from someone, a meteor or comet, they would be ready.

Joel and Hank spoke with the various leaders of each group, including Brazilia. He knew Barroso knew something or at least suspected something. Joel saw Barroso with suspicion. Joel made sure to give nothing away about any technology they had. Never anything about the Alcubierre Drive or the Wurtzite Boron. It really wasn’t their technology. Alejandro devised a way to use it.

It was at dinner when Ian asked about what they were doing.

“Tomorrow,” Ian began. “You and Uncle Hank are going to Tau Ceti.”

Joel nodded, “We are using the same bodies we used to walk on the Ark. I will still be physically here, but we will be there.” He grinned at his son’s uncertainty. “It will take about fifty Terran hours, two hours beyond two days.” He saw his sons’ face and smiled. “If there is any problem...an asteroid collision or some explosion...Your Uncle Hank and I will be fine.” He rubbed his son’s back. Ian smiled with relief. Then Joel noticed something. He touched his son’s face, “You have a wiggly tooth!”

Ian grinned, using his tongue he wiggled his left front tooth. “I know.”

“We can help you get it out,” Kevin smiled his mischievous smile. “We can have it out in seconds.”

Ian slapped his hand over his mouth and held the other hand up, “No! It’s not that loose. It’ll come out fine on its own! Thank you.”

“I seem to recall you squealed a good bit when you lost your front teeth,” Sara Beth chuckled at Kevin. “You lost both of your front teeth in a day.”

“Just trying to help,” Kevin shrugged.

“How’s the Tooth Fairy gonna get here?” Jim asked smiling. “We don’t have currency, so what would they leave under his pillow?”

Ian smirked, “The Tooth Fairy!? I’m not a little kid.”

Joel chuckled, “No, you’re not. This first tooth is the example.” He looked at Sara Beth, “I’m sure he or she will have something.” He went back to the subject prior. “The two days we travel, I will be here. When we get there, your Uncle Hank and I will be working with the people of Ark III. We won’t be available those few days after. We won’t be working all the time, so we’ll be here for our family meals.”

 

Using the neural interface attached to their temples, Joel and Hank moved their android bodies onto the Harpy-Stinger. The stasis pods were toward the rear and as there would be no gravity, attached to the roof of the Stinger. Two of the A1s and three of the A2s were loaded. It would be cramped if there was gravity. There was little floor space.

Joel and Hank sat in the Control Center on the couches as Joel started the engines, turned on the antigravity field and rose from the hanger. The thrust was added to leave the atmosphere and the freedom from gravity. Joel set the course using Athena and the onboard computer. He saw the course ahead of them. He positioned the Stinger in the right direction and turned on the “warp” field. Then he moved the throttle forward and Joel heard the “whoosh” they added just for him. The space before them contracted and there was the streaking of light began from the nearby stars.

“That is so cool,” Hank said almost reverently.

“It never gets old,” Joel agreed. He grinned at Hank. “The course is set. Shall we return to Gaea?”

“Sure,” Hank nodded.

On Gaea Hank and Joel removed the headsets.

“We’re on the way,” Joel said to the others in the Control Center. He accessed Athena and saw where the Harpy-Stinger was located. All was functioning as it should. If there were any problems with the Stinger, they had access to others that knew what to do and could fix it.

The next couple of days Wei, Ansh, Medika...all who had what was needed on Elysia worked on the A2s there. The first priority was to get the people of Ark III to no longer be suspicious. They naturally would be. They had never met any of them and never seen others from Earth except from the messages. Next was finding the Wurtzite Boron and mining it, then the solar collectors and the space ladder.

 

Joel made the connection with the people of Elysia.

“We should be arriving in five minutes,” Joel said to Wilma.

Wilma’s eyes widened. “Five minutes.” She repeated to make sure she had it right.

Joel nodded, “That’s when we’ll be in orbit around Elysia. It will take a few minutes to land.”

“And you don’t need an environment suit?” Wilma asked. “Our air is not quite breathable. It’s getting there...”

“In our android bodies,” Hank smiled, “we don’t breathe.”

Joel saw where they were and said, “In five, four, three, two and one!” He saw the surrounding space suddenly solidified. “And we’re here.”

Wilma looked at some monitor and her eyes widened again. “That’s you?”

“The brainchild of Angus MacQueen,” Hank chuckled. “Sort of a giant hawk or other kind of predatory bird?” He nodded. “That’s us.”

Joel looked at the planet below. It had a lot of land. This planet was seventy-five percent land. The remaining twenty-five percent of water was grey in color. The area chosen was near the equator near a mountainous coast. This world had three moons. Well, one moon was very small. An asteroid that got caught in the gravity of Elysia. Not one was the size of Earth’s moon.

There was the choppy descent once they got into the upper atmosphere and the wings extended. They flew down to where the only external buildings were located. They lowered near where five people stood to welcome them. They backed away as the Stinger got closer. They had been told the Stinger could land vertically with no landing strip needed, but instinct was to back away. The five people below wore the gold colored environmental suits.

Joel slowed the descent and lowered to the ground not far from them. When the hatchway lowered, Joel, Hank, and the three A2s and two A1s got out and stood before them.

Wilma walked up to Joel. “Commander Nesmith. Welcome to Elysia.” She shook Joel’s hand. She took Hank’s hand, “Dr. Cavill, welcome.” She looked at the other androids. “Are these...”

Joel smiled, “Are occupied by Athena for now. Others will be operating inside them as we go along.”

“Your artificial intelligence,” a man Joel did not know said suspiciously.

“Yes,” Joel nodded. “I will say this. We trust Athena with our lives. She has proven to be a valuable part of Ark II. The fault lies with the men that tried to destroy us. Not the artificial intelligence.” Joel waved at Hank, “His wife is all about computers. She found the virus and has eliminated it from your Oracle. She took programming from Athena and fixed the holes in your Oracle’s programming.”

Wilma waved at the new man in his mid-forties, “This is Anderson Beck. He is our...” she frowned, “Sherrif? He is in charge of security on Elysia.” She waved at the other person, “This is Bruna Doherty. She is our gardener and all living plants.”

Bruna was a pretty woman in her early thirties. “I enjoyed talking with your wife, Commander.”

“Call me Joel,” he shook her hand. “Sara Beth knows more about agriculture than almost anyone.” He grinned at her. “So far.”

Anderson did not accept this. Not yet. “Why should we simply take your word for this?”

Joel shrugged, “Why shouldn’t you?” He smiled. “You’ve never dealt with people from elsewhere. I was born on Earth.”

“In the twenty-third century,” Anderson said doubtfully.

“In 2294,” Joel nodded. “My family is from Charleston, South Carolina. I was raised in Asheville, North Carolina. We sent the authorization which cannot be duplicated. It has my DNA which was verified, I assume.” He folded his arms as he regarded the man. “Is it the fact that we are the first strangers you’ve ever met? Or is it because we rely on our artificial intelligence? Perhaps both?”

“We’ve done all that we said we would do,” Hank added. “What possible harm could we be?”

Joel nodded, “That’s the problem. They suspect anyone from outside. We are doing this because no one should be alone. Not you and not us. There is strength in numbers.”

Wilma gave a quick nod and attempted to get things progressing, “I know you aren’t breathing in those bodies...” she smiled, “Once again, welcome. We’ll show you around.” She waved both hands to a nearby building. “We’ll get to know you and you can get to know us. If you will come with us?” She turned and began walking away followed by the others.

The building wasn’t big. One story and small.

“This was the first structure built,” Wilma explained. “When we first arrived, teams were sent down and they lived here while we dug out our new home.” She smiled as a door closed to the outside and there was a hiss as air came into the room. “It was much bigger once, but we didn’t need the vast living space.” The room looked like an office complete with a desk, chairs...a computer monitor on the desk. She pulled on her...helmet? She shook her hair free of any tangles that may have formed. “The air is breathable here and below.”

”How much is below now?” Hank asked.

“There is approximately two thousand kilometers below,” Bruna answered. “More than half is used for farming both plants and livestock.” She released her neck clasp and stepped out of her environmental suit. What was underneath were simply clothes. No uniform. It looked comfortable, but not like the coveralls people of Ark II had worn. The shirt was a bright red! The pants were dark blue or navy. They all wore different clothes. Nothing said they were a unit.

Wilma went to a section of the far wall that had another door. They entered the other room. There was a section along a wall where other environmental suits were kept. There was also a much larger door, but you knew it was an elevator. They could all fit into this elevator, Humans and all the androids. This was a routine for the people of Ark III. Environmental suits were hung in places they had been taken from. Wilma went to the elevator door which opened revealing a large room with room for over a hundred people.

Stepping into the room, Wilma leaned toward them, “There are handles just above your heads. You might want to hang on.” She grinned.

Joel looked over his head and saw what they often had on trains and buses. He and Hank took one each and the room suddenly dropped. That was unexpected, but not the worst. They dropped pretty rapidly several stories. Then it slowed down quickly, After the stop, the room then shot quickly to the right! If Joel didn’t have the handle, he would have been thrown to the floor. His sense of direction and knowing what was on the surface, he knew they traveled into the mountain near the coast. The room twisted a half a turn, then shot forward! Those born and raised here were not surprised. Wilma was smiling at Joel’s and Hank’s startled expressions. The room again stopped, and the doors opened quietly. Whatever Joel thought was not here!

“I know you’ve seen the Wizard of Oz,” Hank muttered to Joel. “This is just like when Dorothy crashes in her house in Munchkinland and suddenly everything goes from black and white to color!” He nodded, “We are definitely over the rainbow.”

Joel could only nod. Before them, just a level down was a huge...chamber? The stalagmites and stalactites were not there. The roof was stories above but was smooth with bright lights pushing any darkness away, Below and stretching far ahead were buildings. Like cities in the past, they were several stories tall, but there were terraces or balconies that jutted out with trees and flowering bushes. There were trees that lined the streets. The streets were free of cars or any vehicles but were made to be walked down. There was a park-like feeling that just made you want to take things slowly. Take your time. What was the rush? There were people, men, women and children moving along the street and all eyes rose to see the strangers from the other Ark! Strangers. They did not panic. They were just curious. Joel looked at the vast chamber. “This is beautiful.”

Wilma and Michael said, “Thank you.” The others were smiling but they agreed.

Wilma pointed beyond where they had their homes, “Our crops and livestock are back there. We’ll show you.”

The air was fresh and clean.

“As you can see,” Anderson almost smirked. “We don’t need help.”

“But!” Wilma gave the man a hard look, “We’ll gladly accept help.”

Hank looked up at the lights, “You’re getting power from T Cet? Your star?”

“Of course,” Paul acknowledged. “We have several collectors out there.”

“We can show you how to create more power and use only one,” Hank smiled. “You use one for the power for your city. You use another to power your labs and one for general operations like that thrilling ride down here.” He smiled again, “We’ll show you how we power all that, our factories and do it with one.”

“Our star gives more than enough power for all that,” Joel added. “We’ll help you erect the space elevator and give power to the mining robots that will help you with the power needed.” He waved overhead, “It’s all up there. Your Oracle will help you.”

“Joel says it’s a very smart hammer,” Hank added. “Athena is a very smart hammer. It’s a tool. Use it.”

Joel patted Hank on the arm, “That way of thinking will take a while.” He looked at Wilma, “These people have learned to think of that computer as the enemy all their lives. Getting them to see otherwise will take time.”

Hank grudged a nod, “Okay.”

 

They had people curious about them, but no one shied away. They left the A1s and A2s in a secured location. The city was full of color! The buildings were both bright and pastel blue, green, purple, orange and all he colors of the spectrum. Yellow! They were taken to the beginning of their farms where there were acres and acres of wheat, beans, and corn! Hundreds of corn plants reaching for the roof of bright lights like the sun.

“Where’s the Scarecrow?” Hank asked making Joel laugh. “When Dorothy got to the corn field, she met the Scarecrow.”

Joel smirked, “I haven’t seen any birds. I don’t imagine they have crows. No need for a scarecrow.” Joel grinned, “I can see you as a Tin Man!”

“I’d rather be the Cowardly Lion,” Hank grinned and saw Joel’s eyes widened. “Oh, come on! He was the funniest member of the three! Bert Lahr was hilarious!” He shoved Joel slightly. “It’s my opinion, but he was the funniest! Jack was great as the Tin Man. Ray was funny as the Scarecrow, but Bert was the funniest!”

Joel grinned nodding, “I can see that.” He held his hand up, “I think Buddy Ebsen could have been the Tin Man...”

“Which wouldn’t have been the same! Buddy had that allergic reaction to the...” Hank argued. “When they reshot the film using the three-dimensional shots, putting us in the film!”

Anderson was relaxing among the new people as his body showed. The folded arms over his chest were lowering and a small, ghost of a smile formed. “You like the Wizard of Oz?”

“Loved it!” Joel corrected.

“When Miss Gulch transformed into the Wicked Witch of the East!” Hank said happily, “Inside the cyclone!”

Joel nodded agreeing, “Loved it! She still scares me a little when I watch it now!”

“Yes,” Hank frowned. “I remember after seeing it as a boy....even then I had problems with the movie!”

“Problems? With what?” Joel asked.

Hank pointed at Joel, “The house crashes on the witch, right?” He saw Joel nod and Hank continued, “Yet there were pictures still hung on the walls after the crash. They were loose but still on the nails or hooks!” He waved his arms out in disbelief.

Joel grinned, “You’re using your adult mind. Just accept what you see.”

Anderson was smiling more, “My daughter loves that movie. She’s in her late twenties.”

“So?” Joel shrugged. “Movies are a reflection of our struggle as Humans. They can teach.”

Hank put his arm around Joel’s shoulder and pointed at Joel, “This man has seen nearly every movie that’s come out since movies came around. He can name all of the actors in the Tarzan movies, name every dwarf in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, name all of Santa’s reindeer, has been where no man has gone before and has gone back a long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away!”

It took them a moment to know what Hank was saying, but they got it.

Anderson was now completely relaxed. “Star Trek and Star Wars.”

Hank nodded, “He’s seen every film and can even quote them!” He bragged.

“There is no age requirement for loving good cinema,” Joel laughed. He looked down at the dirt path they were on. “This isn’t a yellow brick road, but the whole place is like we’re on the way to Oz.” He nodded. “We plan to take three of you with us back to Gaea.” He pointed at them. “You decide who goes.”

“When the ship you were in landed,” Wilma began, “I felt some kind of push.” She pressed on her own chest.

Joel nodded, “The antigravity field. We’ll explain it all. Show you how it is done. We’ll help you construct these things.” He waved at the thick rows of cornstalks. “What you have is impressive. This isn’t just our technology. We brought many theories and gave what was proposed life. You’ll know, too.”

“Tomorrow,” Hank smiled, “Your Oracle and I will get your solar collector up and operational. We’ll begin mining your asteroid belt for Boron Nitrate. We’ll get your Space Elevator up and operational.”

“It will take a few days,” Joel added. “You will have more than enough.” He looked at his internal clock. “It’s almost 11:00 hours on Gaea. That’s equivalent to five in the afternoon on Earth. We’ll go back to Gaea for the night but ready to work at 01:00 hours.” He smiled. “We arrived on purpose when we did for your workday.”

“You have family on Gaea,” Paul nodded understanding.

“My wife and I are about to have a fourth child in two and a half months,” Joel said. “A daughter this time. We have three boys already.” He motioned to Hank. “He and his wife are expecting two more in three months. He has two girls now.”

“Do you two eat?” Paul asked.

“We can,” Hank nodded. “Thanks to Joel’s son, we can taste! We just don’t require food or water.”

 

The Elysians had robots to clean and harvest crops. They were also used for tending to the animals. What Joel and Hank saw were robots cleaning up manure from the cows, goats, and other livestock. The moo of the cows reminded Joel of what Sara Beth said. If people wanted steak and hamburger, perhaps they should have to look in the eyes of the future steak. Being made to slaughter a life to consume it was seeming barbaric now. Even the chickens he frowned at the very idea of chopping the head off for a drumstick. Shrimp and fish? Well, that would take more time to adjust his thinking. The animals shied away for now, but we used to Humans and soon were following them to be fed. Joel was just as guilty as the people here were. He still loved his pulled pork barbeque. Joel was a killer.

Joel knew there were hundreds of kilometers of space down here and they Elysians would carve out more as needed. The air processors used down here were working just fine. The four processors they brought with them would help the atmosphere outside become breathable. The process had begun but wasn’t up to make it able to sustain life for now.

“We have a banquet planned for you,” Micheal explained as they walked back to town.

Joel smiled, “And we will happily attend and taste what wonders you have on Elysia. When you or whomever comes to Gaea, you will taste what we have.”

“You son came up with a way for you to taste in your android form?” Paul asked.

There was a nice dinner given with a number of the people of Elysia. The Banquet Hall was as large as the Communal Dining Area on Gaea. The food was good and tasty. It was more of a “get to know you” kind of banquet. Questions were asked and answered.

Then Joel grinned, “I’ll show you.” He waved at the empty air. A screen appeared as images of New Charleston began. The City Center of New Charleston, Rainbow Row, the tree lined avenues, the squirrels, birds, the lake and forest...all shown on the screen. The children ran back and forth...and then the view went up to see a blue sky with white clouds, a few birds that flew overhead. Ran shined down on them. There was a collective sigh of admiration seeing an open sky. “We offer you this. To give you access to this. What you have is amazing, but it can grow. If you want it.” Joel could see it was most definitely wanted.