Dean Miller
Archaic Member
Very selfish BTTT
We Interrupt This Program...
- Thread starter A.T.Hagan
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Lazarus_Long
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A.T.Hagan
Inactive
August 1st, 2003 - Anniversary
“Yes ma’am, I’m sure” John said in a genial tone to the bank teller.
“We have Visa check cards now. They work just like a credit card but it’s deducted automatically from your checking account. You qualify for a $1,000 line of credit to protect against overdrafts.” The teller persisted earnestly in her explanation. “This would save you the trouble and possible risk of carrying such a large amount of cash. It really would be no trouble to set it up for you. Miss Metzer at the Special Services desk could have you set up and card in hand in about ten minutes.”
“Yes ma’am,” John repeated genially and smiled. “I appreciate that, but I’ll take it in cash please. It was an electronic transfer from the Federal government so there shouldn’t be any waiting period. You DO have sufficient cash here in this bank to cover this don’t you?”
“Oh! Why yes Mr. Horne, of course we have enough cash to cover your withdrawal.” The teller quickly suppressed an alarmed look. “If you’ll just initial right here I’ll have your cash for you right away.”
John initialed the withdrawal form and she opened her drawer and began to count out the bills. When she finished she slipped the small pile of currency in an envelope and slid it across the counter to him along with his balance statement. “Thank you ma’am.” He said, “You’ve been most kind.” Sliding the envelope into his pocket he turned and left the bank.
He crossed the parking lot to the truck where he met Ann and the kids. Two adults and four kids completely filled the crew-cabbed truck but they were buying shoes today so needed everyone’s feet to be present.
“You were a long time inside dear” Ann said, “Was the line long?”
“Yep” he replied, “lots of folks withdrawing money, but didn’t see anyone depositing. Of course, electronic transfer and all that means that many don’t actually have to go to the bank to make deposits anymore. Teller seemed mighty reluctant to give me the cash but even more reluctant to do anything that might attract the notice of the other bank customers.”
“What does that mean John?” A look of concern on her face. “Hasn’t the government been paying off the accounts for those banks that failed?”
“Yes they have. Even the really big ones, up to the $10,000 limit per account anyways. Haven’t heard how much this has cost we-the-taxpayers but they’ve been paying.” He started the truck motor and pulled out onto the street before continuing. “It’s not whether the government will pay off the accounts that has the banks nervous. I think they’re very much afraid of runs. Just at the moment the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and every surviving bank, savings and loan, and credit union in the nation has got to be passing bricks about whether account holders will get the wind up them and start pulling their money out. Make that the whole world for that matter. Won’t take too much of that and they won’t be able to cover the outflow. If the U.S. financial ship really does go to the bottom she’ll take pretty much every other nation with her. I don’t know what sort of jiggery-pokery the government, Fed Reserve and the banks got up to cover their losses from the Impact so they could reopen but I’m sure that most of the dollars deposited in banks across the nation still don’t actually physically exist. They’re invested in all those things that banks and related institutions invest in to make the money to pay the pittance in interest they pay account holders, certificates of deposit, and so on. Probably wouldn’t take too much just now for them to run out of cash money and start having to sell assets at give-away prices to come up with more if folks began to worry they would lose their money. If they have to dump assets like that it’ll be impossible to get credit which means new businesses won’t be able to open and current ones may not be able to stay afloat. Argentina gave the world a painful lesson in such things.”
“Well, we have the cash now.” Ann brought matters back to the present, “We don’t have to worry about it again until my paycheck comes in next week. What can we do about it other than pull our money out as fast as it comes in?”
John shrugged his shoulders. “Not much, I’m afraid. All we can do ourselves is roll with it and try to stay afloat. The reverberations from the collapse of the intricate, interdependent financial universe that all modern nations lived in before the asteroid hit are likely going to echo back and forth for some time to come. Somehow, someway the government – all governments really – has got to find a way to restore faith in the currency if people are to put any trust in it so that they’ll leave their money in banks long enough for the banks to be able to extend credit for businesses to start, rebuild, and stay open. So long as people like us see the value of the dollar in what it will bring fading by the month or week they’re going to pull it out and exchange it for items of tangible value as fast as it comes in - just like we’re about to do. I don’t understand the way the system worked to have a clear idea of when it will stop. One day it will, and everyone who has survived to reach the other side can begin to rebuild. But we’re not there yet.”
A darkness seemed to fall in the truck cab and conversation lagged for a time as John drove down to the commercial district finally pulling into a shopping center on the Archer road corridor.
“Why here?” Ann asked, “Wouldn’t we get a better deal on the kid’s shoes from Wal Mart?”
He shook his head negatively. “Before the Impact we would have probably. But a great deal of the stuff Wal Mart sells comes – or came I should say – from China. This time around sneakers and the like are not the priority. We want sturdy, durable shoes that won’t wear out before they’ve outgrown them. I’ve been asking around at the market for a while now and this fellow here at Eagle Shoes sounds like what we’re looking for. Not all American made unfortunately, but what he’s got is first rate and very importantly, they’re repairable. Most modern shoes are throw-aways. Something wears out or breaks on them and they’re trash. We can’t afford that anymore, even if we have to pay more up front to get better quality foot gear. It’s going to cost big but I want to get each child a pair of shoes they can work in, a pair they can wear to church and then we’ll go to Wally World, or Target, or somewhere for their cheap sneakers.”
The family unloaded from the truck and went inside. When he discovered that John had come to buy shoes for the entire family the owner waited on them himself and soon each was fitted out with what they’d came for and he threw in a complimentary can of shoe polish and a pair of dress socks for each child. As he was totaling the orders the man asked “And will this be cash, check or charge?”
Several months of haggling in the marketplace had changed John’s outlook on the way business was conducted so he said, “Well, I can put it all on my Visa card or if you’re willing to dicker I can pay cash. What suits you?”
The man glanced at the register tape and back to John then said, “Oh, I’m sure if you’re willing to pay cash we can come to some sort of mutually satisfactory arrangement” and the two men began to dicker. A minute later they’d agreed on a total price and John pulled out his roll of cash and began counting out the bills. The children had watched the transaction silently but with interest.
Once outside they stowed their purchases in the back of the truck and got in. After he had pulled onto the highway Ann asked, “That discount he gave you was surely greater than the percentage that Visa charges for using their card. Why would he be so eager to have cash when he could have made more money by taking credit?”
“I can think of several reasons darling,” her husband responded “but it’s his business and not mine. Lets get on down to the hardware store, Wally World and the other places on the list and finish spending Carla’s money. I’m starting to get a bit nervous about having a bird in hand for some reason.”
-- -- -- --
Walking through the tall corn John checked his snares. The first three had been empty, though one had plainly been tripped. He was still getting the hang of using them effectively, but at least whatever had tripped it might think twice before coming back into the corn field. At the fourth snare he found a raccoon in it, dead. “Well, I knew I should have gotten out here this morning.” He removed the animal from the trap and examined it closely, “Don’t think we’ll eat this one but I’ll skin it out and feed the carcass to the pigs.” He dropped it into a sack and walked on. The still green but steadily ripening corn had naturally proved attractive to the coons and he was taking advantage of this to harvest them. When soaked in salt water over night they weren’t half-bad baked up with sweet potatoes. He’d also spotted some tell-tale holes in the earth that he knew had been dug there by armadillos. Tomorrow night he’d have the girls out with .22’s in stands where they could look for the creatures. He’d keep Neil with him. The boy wasn’t old enough yet to be given the responsibility of a firearm by himself.
Leaving the corn field he went to the barn where he skinned out the raccoon and tacked the hide on the wall, giving it a quick scraping down. He rubbed it thickly with salt and left it to dry. The late summer pelts weren’t high in quality but they’d do for the kids to learn on. He was washing his hands at the milking sink when he heard a commotion outside so he walked to the goat door and looked - a coyote was in the pasture chasing hens. “Well, I reckon anything that would wipe out the coyotes” he said in the fatalistic manner of all farmers when confronted with problems that could not be wholly cured “would probably wipe us out too.” His jaw clenched as he looked around for his dogs and just as he was about to go to the shop for the rifle he saw Jake leap up from under a tree and give chase. Following at a distance behind him on their short puppy legs ran Dixie and Dusty, the two Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dogs he’d bought from a breeder down to Williston. They’d been an expensive purchase, but they seemed to understand what they were supposed to do and he reinforced the idea whenever he could using the techniques the breeder had explained to him. They’d be a force to be reckoned with when they achieved their full growth. The longer legged, more lightly built coyote loped off easily outdistancing the more heavily built dog. He looked around for Andy and Bad but they were no where to be seen. “That’s fine” he said, “your replacements are getting bigger by the day.”
With the predator chased off he went into the greenhouse and turned on the watering system. Summer temperatures had still not broken 90 degrees which meant that gardens were staying productive all the way through and the trade in bedding plants was remaining steady. In two more weeks they’d be seeding in the cooler weather fall plants. With temperatures remaining so mild he strongly suspected they’d see another early winter this year and a cooler than normal fall. By the beginning of September they’d begin to segue from the heat loving summer vegetable plants to the cool loving fall plants. The seed was expensive but they were still managing to make a good profit. No one in a position to be able to do something about it was going to be caught short of food this winter even if it meant having to grow it themselves.
Watering finished he shut down the irrigation and went into the workshop to check the incubator. Their next batch of eggs should start hatching this weekend. Producing so many late summer and fall chicks meant having to feed them through the winter but with their market remaining steady he thought they could maintain profitability. The cull toms and roosters would bring enough to pay for the feed that went into raising them and a bit more besides and the worthwhile hens would join the production flocks. The goose project was coming along well too and they really did seem to find most of their feed out of the pasture, orchard and gardens. He scrutinized the incubator hygrometer, decided the humidity was staying in the appropriate range, added more water to reservoir then left it alone.
Looking at his watch he decided he had enough time to move some hay down for the girls before supper so he went into the barn and began moving bales. Moving square bales was labor intensive but round bales would take more storage area than he could spare and he hated the idea of leaving the rolls out in the weather. Just seemed wasteful to him even though the hay in the roll interior supposedly stayed fresh. Maybe by next fall they’d be able to look into putting in a dedicated hay barn and he could go to using round bales. For now, he’d just have to move down the bales for the girls whenever they used up those they could easily move for themselves.
The farm bell rang out its supper call so he left and went on into the house. He hung his hat on the hook inside the door and washed up at the kitchen sink. Ann came in from the living room where she’d been working on the family finances while the girls put supper together. Tonight would be pork chops in sour cream, hot biscuits, fried squash, field peas and turnip greens with blueberry cobbler for dessert. All of it produced on the farm but for the white flour, salt and some of the spices. He grinned as he looked over it and said, “You know? My grandfather used to say this about having lived through the Great Depression – they were flat broke but so long as they had the farm no one missed a meal. It was a hard life but no one starved. There’s plenty right now that can’t say that.” The family joined hands and he gave the grace – this night more with more passion than was his usual wont.
After the meal was over and the supper dishes were cleaned and put away the family gathered in the living room. The TV stood blank in the corner, they did watch it occasionally but for the most part neither John nor Ann cared much for it and did not encourage the children to watch it either. The kids sat around a folding card table playing Uno while Ann read and John listened to the news on the shortwave and scanned a magazine. “Sure sounds to me like some of our more hawkish Congresscritters are itching to invade Mexico. That little ambush the Mexican army mousetrapped that Texas Guard unit with while they were pursuing those Villaist raiders who attacked El Paso has really fired them up. The President is going to have to decide shortly if he’s going to lead or follow.”
Ann nodded her head but was not really listening. John was accustomed to this, she’d often ask him to repeat something when it filtered through whatever it was she was concentrating on at the time. “You know that Jake Daniels left the Recovery and went to Texas didn’t you?”
This got her attention and she looked up from her book. “Went to Texas? Why?”
“Gonna join up I suppose. Don’t know what he’s going to get out of it but hard knocks and lousy pay but it probably sounds more appealing to him just now than salvaging cities. Mike’s pretty mad about it but Jake’s eighteen and doesn’t need his permission. He’s worried about Stevie going off too. I’ve got him working three days a week now and he’s also helping Ed but when you’ve got those media fools showing troops on horseback chasing bandits in the badlands, guns shooting and helicopters buzzing overhead it’s going to be hard to keep ‘em down on the farm.” John closed the magazine he’d been skimming and reached for the small pile of mail on the table. “Things keep going the way they are I think Presidente’ Fox is going to realize how short-sighted he’s been about not dealing with that bandit problem. Once folks get used to the idea of the U.S. Army being in Mexico it won’t take much to get them cozy with the idea of just sending them on down to the Mexican oil fields. I’ll bet cash money that it’s going to occur to someone that this time around we might just ought to keep what we took rather than trying to work through intermediaries. Didn’t seem to work too well for us in the Middle East and here they don’t even half to board a ship. Just drive on down the Pan-American highway and there you are.”
Ann sighed disgustedly. “There’s always a ready supply of boys wanting to go off and get into romantic adventure and old men to point them in the right direction. Well, if he survives it maybe he’ll be wiser for the experience and settle down. I can imagine how Kate feels about it. Mike chasing bandits at home and Jake chasing bandits in Mexico. There are times I’m glad you’re a farmer and all we have is girls.”
“You’re forgetting Neil, darling.” Her husband added with a grin, “And even us farmers find ourselves in a spot of adventure from time to time. It’s my Tookish nature, don’t you know?”
“Don’t remind me!” She glared at him. “I want to put all that behind us. Neil’s only five, we’ve got years and years to raise him up to be sensible.”
John chuckled at this as he slit open an envelope with his name on it from the university. He chuckled again, in a different way when he read what the letter contained. Ann looked at him and asked, “What’s in it?”
“It’s my recall letter, darlin’.” He explained with a grin, “They want me to come back. They’re reopening the grant office. Just going to be me and Patricia but they want me back.”
She examined him closely for a moment before asking “Well, how do you feel about that? It would mean a lot more income.”
He said nothing for a time as he stared at the paper in his hand. Finally he said, “I don’t think I’m going to. The more I think about it, in the greater scheme of things, I think I’m more valuable right here. In terms of pure dollars the farm may never equal what I made from the university but right now we’re very close to entirely self-sufficient in what we eat. I couldn’t do that if I had to work full time. We wouldn’t be able to homeschool the kids like we’re doing now if I weren’t home and we’d have to give up a lot of the income producing operations we’re running now. I don’t think we’re done with this roller coaster ride and if we’re going to make it through to the other side I don’t think we could do any better than to keep right on doing what we’re doing now. This family becomes more self-reliant with every passing month and I have to admit that I’m finding a sense of fulfillment in that that I’ve never found in any paycheck job before.”
He slid the letter back into its envelope and tossed it back onto the side table.
“Whatever happens” he said, “we’re going to make it though to the other side. Right here.”
“Yes ma’am, I’m sure” John said in a genial tone to the bank teller.
“We have Visa check cards now. They work just like a credit card but it’s deducted automatically from your checking account. You qualify for a $1,000 line of credit to protect against overdrafts.” The teller persisted earnestly in her explanation. “This would save you the trouble and possible risk of carrying such a large amount of cash. It really would be no trouble to set it up for you. Miss Metzer at the Special Services desk could have you set up and card in hand in about ten minutes.”
“Yes ma’am,” John repeated genially and smiled. “I appreciate that, but I’ll take it in cash please. It was an electronic transfer from the Federal government so there shouldn’t be any waiting period. You DO have sufficient cash here in this bank to cover this don’t you?”
“Oh! Why yes Mr. Horne, of course we have enough cash to cover your withdrawal.” The teller quickly suppressed an alarmed look. “If you’ll just initial right here I’ll have your cash for you right away.”
John initialed the withdrawal form and she opened her drawer and began to count out the bills. When she finished she slipped the small pile of currency in an envelope and slid it across the counter to him along with his balance statement. “Thank you ma’am.” He said, “You’ve been most kind.” Sliding the envelope into his pocket he turned and left the bank.
He crossed the parking lot to the truck where he met Ann and the kids. Two adults and four kids completely filled the crew-cabbed truck but they were buying shoes today so needed everyone’s feet to be present.
“You were a long time inside dear” Ann said, “Was the line long?”
“Yep” he replied, “lots of folks withdrawing money, but didn’t see anyone depositing. Of course, electronic transfer and all that means that many don’t actually have to go to the bank to make deposits anymore. Teller seemed mighty reluctant to give me the cash but even more reluctant to do anything that might attract the notice of the other bank customers.”
“What does that mean John?” A look of concern on her face. “Hasn’t the government been paying off the accounts for those banks that failed?”
“Yes they have. Even the really big ones, up to the $10,000 limit per account anyways. Haven’t heard how much this has cost we-the-taxpayers but they’ve been paying.” He started the truck motor and pulled out onto the street before continuing. “It’s not whether the government will pay off the accounts that has the banks nervous. I think they’re very much afraid of runs. Just at the moment the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and every surviving bank, savings and loan, and credit union in the nation has got to be passing bricks about whether account holders will get the wind up them and start pulling their money out. Make that the whole world for that matter. Won’t take too much of that and they won’t be able to cover the outflow. If the U.S. financial ship really does go to the bottom she’ll take pretty much every other nation with her. I don’t know what sort of jiggery-pokery the government, Fed Reserve and the banks got up to cover their losses from the Impact so they could reopen but I’m sure that most of the dollars deposited in banks across the nation still don’t actually physically exist. They’re invested in all those things that banks and related institutions invest in to make the money to pay the pittance in interest they pay account holders, certificates of deposit, and so on. Probably wouldn’t take too much just now for them to run out of cash money and start having to sell assets at give-away prices to come up with more if folks began to worry they would lose their money. If they have to dump assets like that it’ll be impossible to get credit which means new businesses won’t be able to open and current ones may not be able to stay afloat. Argentina gave the world a painful lesson in such things.”
“Well, we have the cash now.” Ann brought matters back to the present, “We don’t have to worry about it again until my paycheck comes in next week. What can we do about it other than pull our money out as fast as it comes in?”
John shrugged his shoulders. “Not much, I’m afraid. All we can do ourselves is roll with it and try to stay afloat. The reverberations from the collapse of the intricate, interdependent financial universe that all modern nations lived in before the asteroid hit are likely going to echo back and forth for some time to come. Somehow, someway the government – all governments really – has got to find a way to restore faith in the currency if people are to put any trust in it so that they’ll leave their money in banks long enough for the banks to be able to extend credit for businesses to start, rebuild, and stay open. So long as people like us see the value of the dollar in what it will bring fading by the month or week they’re going to pull it out and exchange it for items of tangible value as fast as it comes in - just like we’re about to do. I don’t understand the way the system worked to have a clear idea of when it will stop. One day it will, and everyone who has survived to reach the other side can begin to rebuild. But we’re not there yet.”
A darkness seemed to fall in the truck cab and conversation lagged for a time as John drove down to the commercial district finally pulling into a shopping center on the Archer road corridor.
“Why here?” Ann asked, “Wouldn’t we get a better deal on the kid’s shoes from Wal Mart?”
He shook his head negatively. “Before the Impact we would have probably. But a great deal of the stuff Wal Mart sells comes – or came I should say – from China. This time around sneakers and the like are not the priority. We want sturdy, durable shoes that won’t wear out before they’ve outgrown them. I’ve been asking around at the market for a while now and this fellow here at Eagle Shoes sounds like what we’re looking for. Not all American made unfortunately, but what he’s got is first rate and very importantly, they’re repairable. Most modern shoes are throw-aways. Something wears out or breaks on them and they’re trash. We can’t afford that anymore, even if we have to pay more up front to get better quality foot gear. It’s going to cost big but I want to get each child a pair of shoes they can work in, a pair they can wear to church and then we’ll go to Wally World, or Target, or somewhere for their cheap sneakers.”
The family unloaded from the truck and went inside. When he discovered that John had come to buy shoes for the entire family the owner waited on them himself and soon each was fitted out with what they’d came for and he threw in a complimentary can of shoe polish and a pair of dress socks for each child. As he was totaling the orders the man asked “And will this be cash, check or charge?”
Several months of haggling in the marketplace had changed John’s outlook on the way business was conducted so he said, “Well, I can put it all on my Visa card or if you’re willing to dicker I can pay cash. What suits you?”
The man glanced at the register tape and back to John then said, “Oh, I’m sure if you’re willing to pay cash we can come to some sort of mutually satisfactory arrangement” and the two men began to dicker. A minute later they’d agreed on a total price and John pulled out his roll of cash and began counting out the bills. The children had watched the transaction silently but with interest.
Once outside they stowed their purchases in the back of the truck and got in. After he had pulled onto the highway Ann asked, “That discount he gave you was surely greater than the percentage that Visa charges for using their card. Why would he be so eager to have cash when he could have made more money by taking credit?”
“I can think of several reasons darling,” her husband responded “but it’s his business and not mine. Lets get on down to the hardware store, Wally World and the other places on the list and finish spending Carla’s money. I’m starting to get a bit nervous about having a bird in hand for some reason.”
-- -- -- --
Walking through the tall corn John checked his snares. The first three had been empty, though one had plainly been tripped. He was still getting the hang of using them effectively, but at least whatever had tripped it might think twice before coming back into the corn field. At the fourth snare he found a raccoon in it, dead. “Well, I knew I should have gotten out here this morning.” He removed the animal from the trap and examined it closely, “Don’t think we’ll eat this one but I’ll skin it out and feed the carcass to the pigs.” He dropped it into a sack and walked on. The still green but steadily ripening corn had naturally proved attractive to the coons and he was taking advantage of this to harvest them. When soaked in salt water over night they weren’t half-bad baked up with sweet potatoes. He’d also spotted some tell-tale holes in the earth that he knew had been dug there by armadillos. Tomorrow night he’d have the girls out with .22’s in stands where they could look for the creatures. He’d keep Neil with him. The boy wasn’t old enough yet to be given the responsibility of a firearm by himself.
Leaving the corn field he went to the barn where he skinned out the raccoon and tacked the hide on the wall, giving it a quick scraping down. He rubbed it thickly with salt and left it to dry. The late summer pelts weren’t high in quality but they’d do for the kids to learn on. He was washing his hands at the milking sink when he heard a commotion outside so he walked to the goat door and looked - a coyote was in the pasture chasing hens. “Well, I reckon anything that would wipe out the coyotes” he said in the fatalistic manner of all farmers when confronted with problems that could not be wholly cured “would probably wipe us out too.” His jaw clenched as he looked around for his dogs and just as he was about to go to the shop for the rifle he saw Jake leap up from under a tree and give chase. Following at a distance behind him on their short puppy legs ran Dixie and Dusty, the two Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dogs he’d bought from a breeder down to Williston. They’d been an expensive purchase, but they seemed to understand what they were supposed to do and he reinforced the idea whenever he could using the techniques the breeder had explained to him. They’d be a force to be reckoned with when they achieved their full growth. The longer legged, more lightly built coyote loped off easily outdistancing the more heavily built dog. He looked around for Andy and Bad but they were no where to be seen. “That’s fine” he said, “your replacements are getting bigger by the day.”
With the predator chased off he went into the greenhouse and turned on the watering system. Summer temperatures had still not broken 90 degrees which meant that gardens were staying productive all the way through and the trade in bedding plants was remaining steady. In two more weeks they’d be seeding in the cooler weather fall plants. With temperatures remaining so mild he strongly suspected they’d see another early winter this year and a cooler than normal fall. By the beginning of September they’d begin to segue from the heat loving summer vegetable plants to the cool loving fall plants. The seed was expensive but they were still managing to make a good profit. No one in a position to be able to do something about it was going to be caught short of food this winter even if it meant having to grow it themselves.
Watering finished he shut down the irrigation and went into the workshop to check the incubator. Their next batch of eggs should start hatching this weekend. Producing so many late summer and fall chicks meant having to feed them through the winter but with their market remaining steady he thought they could maintain profitability. The cull toms and roosters would bring enough to pay for the feed that went into raising them and a bit more besides and the worthwhile hens would join the production flocks. The goose project was coming along well too and they really did seem to find most of their feed out of the pasture, orchard and gardens. He scrutinized the incubator hygrometer, decided the humidity was staying in the appropriate range, added more water to reservoir then left it alone.
Looking at his watch he decided he had enough time to move some hay down for the girls before supper so he went into the barn and began moving bales. Moving square bales was labor intensive but round bales would take more storage area than he could spare and he hated the idea of leaving the rolls out in the weather. Just seemed wasteful to him even though the hay in the roll interior supposedly stayed fresh. Maybe by next fall they’d be able to look into putting in a dedicated hay barn and he could go to using round bales. For now, he’d just have to move down the bales for the girls whenever they used up those they could easily move for themselves.
The farm bell rang out its supper call so he left and went on into the house. He hung his hat on the hook inside the door and washed up at the kitchen sink. Ann came in from the living room where she’d been working on the family finances while the girls put supper together. Tonight would be pork chops in sour cream, hot biscuits, fried squash, field peas and turnip greens with blueberry cobbler for dessert. All of it produced on the farm but for the white flour, salt and some of the spices. He grinned as he looked over it and said, “You know? My grandfather used to say this about having lived through the Great Depression – they were flat broke but so long as they had the farm no one missed a meal. It was a hard life but no one starved. There’s plenty right now that can’t say that.” The family joined hands and he gave the grace – this night more with more passion than was his usual wont.
After the meal was over and the supper dishes were cleaned and put away the family gathered in the living room. The TV stood blank in the corner, they did watch it occasionally but for the most part neither John nor Ann cared much for it and did not encourage the children to watch it either. The kids sat around a folding card table playing Uno while Ann read and John listened to the news on the shortwave and scanned a magazine. “Sure sounds to me like some of our more hawkish Congresscritters are itching to invade Mexico. That little ambush the Mexican army mousetrapped that Texas Guard unit with while they were pursuing those Villaist raiders who attacked El Paso has really fired them up. The President is going to have to decide shortly if he’s going to lead or follow.”
Ann nodded her head but was not really listening. John was accustomed to this, she’d often ask him to repeat something when it filtered through whatever it was she was concentrating on at the time. “You know that Jake Daniels left the Recovery and went to Texas didn’t you?”
This got her attention and she looked up from her book. “Went to Texas? Why?”
“Gonna join up I suppose. Don’t know what he’s going to get out of it but hard knocks and lousy pay but it probably sounds more appealing to him just now than salvaging cities. Mike’s pretty mad about it but Jake’s eighteen and doesn’t need his permission. He’s worried about Stevie going off too. I’ve got him working three days a week now and he’s also helping Ed but when you’ve got those media fools showing troops on horseback chasing bandits in the badlands, guns shooting and helicopters buzzing overhead it’s going to be hard to keep ‘em down on the farm.” John closed the magazine he’d been skimming and reached for the small pile of mail on the table. “Things keep going the way they are I think Presidente’ Fox is going to realize how short-sighted he’s been about not dealing with that bandit problem. Once folks get used to the idea of the U.S. Army being in Mexico it won’t take much to get them cozy with the idea of just sending them on down to the Mexican oil fields. I’ll bet cash money that it’s going to occur to someone that this time around we might just ought to keep what we took rather than trying to work through intermediaries. Didn’t seem to work too well for us in the Middle East and here they don’t even half to board a ship. Just drive on down the Pan-American highway and there you are.”
Ann sighed disgustedly. “There’s always a ready supply of boys wanting to go off and get into romantic adventure and old men to point them in the right direction. Well, if he survives it maybe he’ll be wiser for the experience and settle down. I can imagine how Kate feels about it. Mike chasing bandits at home and Jake chasing bandits in Mexico. There are times I’m glad you’re a farmer and all we have is girls.”
“You’re forgetting Neil, darling.” Her husband added with a grin, “And even us farmers find ourselves in a spot of adventure from time to time. It’s my Tookish nature, don’t you know?”
“Don’t remind me!” She glared at him. “I want to put all that behind us. Neil’s only five, we’ve got years and years to raise him up to be sensible.”
John chuckled at this as he slit open an envelope with his name on it from the university. He chuckled again, in a different way when he read what the letter contained. Ann looked at him and asked, “What’s in it?”
“It’s my recall letter, darlin’.” He explained with a grin, “They want me to come back. They’re reopening the grant office. Just going to be me and Patricia but they want me back.”
She examined him closely for a moment before asking “Well, how do you feel about that? It would mean a lot more income.”
He said nothing for a time as he stared at the paper in his hand. Finally he said, “I don’t think I’m going to. The more I think about it, in the greater scheme of things, I think I’m more valuable right here. In terms of pure dollars the farm may never equal what I made from the university but right now we’re very close to entirely self-sufficient in what we eat. I couldn’t do that if I had to work full time. We wouldn’t be able to homeschool the kids like we’re doing now if I weren’t home and we’d have to give up a lot of the income producing operations we’re running now. I don’t think we’re done with this roller coaster ride and if we’re going to make it through to the other side I don’t think we could do any better than to keep right on doing what we’re doing now. This family becomes more self-reliant with every passing month and I have to admit that I’m finding a sense of fulfillment in that that I’ve never found in any paycheck job before.”
He slid the letter back into its envelope and tossed it back onto the side table.
“Whatever happens” he said, “we’re going to make it though to the other side. Right here.”
Ultrconservative
Inactive
Tease!!
Seems like you could hack out a coupla chapters and email them to Dennis, so he could release them to the board when the withdrawl symptoms get real bad.......
Shakes are starting....beginning to feel feverish.........
Seems like you could hack out a coupla chapters and email them to Dennis, so he could release them to the board when the withdrawl symptoms get real bad.......
Shakes are starting....beginning to feel feverish.........
G
Glandor
Guest
Page 5.... can't let that happen
G
Glandor
Guest
OK its monday...so where's the new chapter huh?
mule skinner
Inactive
I know what this guy Hagan
is up to. He has ths whole garage full of these books, see. He is leading us on 'til we gotta know happens, see and then, WHAM he makes us buy the books at forty bucks each. Pretty slick I calls it.
is up to. He has ths whole garage full of these books, see. He is leading us on 'til we gotta know happens, see and then, WHAM he makes us buy the books at forty bucks each. Pretty slick I calls it.
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
August 1st, 2025 - Epilogue
Y'all can thank Sprint for my not being able to get a working phone line to log in with since last night! There are times rural phone service leaves a LOT to be desired.
==============================================
The gnarled ironwood cane had a silver head in the shape of a rooster. The gray haired deeply tanned man used it to push himself to standing as the young man with the NASA public relations badge approached him.
“Good morning!” he said brightly. “Are you Mr. Horne?”
“I am he.” John answered. “This is my wife Ann, my sister Carla Johnson, my niece Brittany Daniels and her husband Stephen.”
“Ah, very good. You’re right on time.” The young man said as he made five check marks in the page on his clipboard. “If you’ll be so kind as to follow me the shuttle bus is right this way. These are your observer’s badges. Please be sure to wear them visibly at all times while you’re in the launch observation area.”
John accepted the proffered badges and distributed to their respective recipients. They followed the PR man towards the outside door, a trifle more slowly than their guide seemingly would have preferred but John’s prosthetic knee was twinging him this morning. He looked at Ann as they walked and said, “When we get home I’m going to ask Roberto to examine my knee again. That hospital fella can say what he wants but every time they fool with it the damn thing hurts me.”
His wife nodded, then cut her eyes at Brittany, but said nothing. Her husband had complained about that knee ever since they’d replaced it ten years before. She didn’t know what Roberto could do for the prosthesis that the hospital couldn’t but if having Roberto look at it made him feel better she was quite willing for him to do it even if there was no discernable difference between what he did and what the medical techs did. After years of asking Brittany to inquire privately at the medical center about what the problem could be she half suspected John insisted on it just to be able to see Miguel, who seldom left his home anymore after his wife had died eight years ago and himself suffering from a debilitating spinal deterioration.
Outside again John slowed still more as they moved towards the bus to look widely about himself. It had been twenty six years since he’d last been to Cape Canaveral, before the Impact in fact, and it was as if he’d never seen the place before. That visit had been the second time he and Ann had taken Melinda to show their daughter the glories of what Mankind could achieve when he (or she, they hoped) stretched forth his mind and will to do so. The old Vehicle Assembly Building and launch gantries dating back to the days of the Apollo program had of course disappeared in the Impact induced tsunamis so in a manner of speaking it really was his first trip. The day had not yet succumbed to August’s heat so he could see in the distance the containment domes and white plumes rising from the cooling towers of the three nuclear power plants that powered the NASA launching lasers, the rest of the Space Center, and a fair part of the northern and central areas of Brevard county which played host to NASA’s Florida outpost. There was a lift-off every twelve hours from one of the six launching bays dotted several miles apart the length of Cape Canaveral. They fed and sustained the burgeoning orbital industries that had arisen in the last fifteen years. Post-Impact the Space Center had greatly expanded its physical area on the Cape after the asteroid spawned tsunamis had washed away all human habitation from the low stretch of sand and coquina lying between the Indian river and Atlantic ocean.
Finally, the party reached their conveyance, the last to do so it seemed as the bus pulled away from the building as soon as they’d taken their seats. Five minutes later they arrived at the observation building and went inside to take their places. When the PR man showed them to their chairs John looked at their seat mates and said, “Hello Luke! How are things in Seattle these days?”
The distinguished gray haired man looked up with an expression of surprise and said, “John Horne! And Ann, Brittany, Stevie, and you must be Carla. Cindy looks just like you. Good to see you! Damn good to see you! Glad you came. John, Ann’s told us you’ve gotten so hard to pry away from the farm she was afraid she was going to have to use dynamite.”
John grinned and said, “Well, I’m not too big on traveling anymore to be sure. Don’t ever seem to sleep well in strange beds, but this is a once in a life-time event. But what brings you here anyways? I thought Heather had a comfortable berth on L5? Coming down just to see Mel off?”
“Oh, I thought you knew.” Luke said with an air of surprise. “Kristen Hart had a skiing accident in Switzerland and badly injured her right leg. They scrubbed her from the mission but it was so close to the launch date they didn’t have time to start an entirely new search for another physician. Heather and Kristen are both female, about the same mass, Heather’s space rated and has space experience so they asked her if she’s volunteer and she did. Richard was a bit beside himself about that you can well imagine but he gave in gracefully about his wife going. You know he put in for a pilot’s slot but didn’t make the cut. Not strong enough in his secondary field it seems.”
Ann chuckled, “Well, Mel is finally starting to pay us back for all those times she had my heart in my mouth after talking her daddy into letting her take flying lessons when she was old enough. I promised John ‘till death do us part’ but that day he nearly found out what the cause of death was going to be!”
“I reckon this means that Heather and Mel have already seen each other then.” John said, “Mel tells me that the entire crew is suppose to train together so they can try to spot any irreconcilable personality conflicts.” As an afterthought he added, “Funny though that Mel didn’t mention seeing Heather in her last e-mail. Been four, five years since they last saw each other I think.”
Lisa joined the conversation for the first time. “Actually, I’m not sure they have met yet. Heather tells me they’ve had to give her such an accelerated familiarization to get her ready on time that she’s only met two of the six other crew members. She won’t meet the other four – which seems to include Mel – until they all come together on L5 before they transit to the Prometheus. The NASA human behavior people are a little bent about this but the President said the launch was to be on time – or else.”
“Well, if she’s already met two of the others then including Mel” Ann observed “that leaves only three unknowns because I certainly don’t think they’ll have any trouble with each other.”
“Heh!” John interjected, “the way that 2007 asteroid had got the country worked up I imagine the mission commander would just jettison anyone he thought was causing a problem. They’ve got back ups for their back ups.”
Carla laughed, “You could be right. Besides, there’s a LOT of national prestige in flying off in a great white space ship to literally save the world from death and destruction – on a live video feed no less – then maneuvering the rock into a parking orbit so we can mine it of its resources. I hear tell this is putting the Chinese and European space programs into a real swivet. The EU just fired their program director for lack of progress on their craft and the Chinese reportedly have redoubled their espionage of our program to try to catch up.”
Stevie spoke up to add, “Neil Stackham over to the university PD tells me they just backed up the FBI picking up a Chinese team posing as Taiwanese visiting scholars who were hacking the NASA system. Said the FBI told him they’d just picked up another team in California doing the same thing.”
John cackled, “Good! If we’ve got them on anything we’ve left the whole world sucking hind tit when it comes to space development. You can bet them Chinese fellas are just green about our bringing that rock home and the way we magnanimously offered to sell them iron from our smelting operations once we get the assembly line going! You know that’s got to be sticking in their craw for sure.”
Shaking her head with a grin Carla said, “If you’d asked me back in those first couple of years after the Impact if we’d ever make a manned space program a serious national goal again I’d have thought you daft.” She paused for a moment then continued, “but when the astronomers spotted that four kilometer asteroid in 2007 with a small but real chance of impacting Earth in 2032 and an increasing chance every three years afterwards it was like the entire nation found its Cause all at once. Even a one in twenty chance of another asteroid impact was more than most were willing to risk again. I was convinced that the U.S. was actually moving towards a breakup but almost overnight everything changed. I still think we could have done it without the Russian Republic but if we hadn’t partnered with them they may have gone with the Europeans. Too old to change the way I think about the Russians, I suppose. After their losses in Siberia they need space resources as badly as we do.”
“Sure hope we’re not celebrating prematurely” Brittany said, “Isn’t the U.N. General Assembly voting on the space resource issue today? I was reading in the paper yesterday that the Pan Arab Republic has the votes to force the issue about endangering the Earth by bringing asteroids into orbit. They’re also yelling about the proprietary use of common resources by the space faring nations. What if they do force a vote against the mission?”
John scowled, “Won’t amount to diddly squat, Britt. The U.S./Russia, European Union, and the Chinese with Japanese help are all working on similar asteroid mining programs. That’s all the power on the U.N. Security Council – all the VETO power anyways. That rotten son-of-a-bitch Saladin may be the darling of the General Assembly but he’s dogmeat in the Security Council. He’s just doing what ever he can to forestall the inevitable. In spite of what ever he can do we’re going to render him, his oil, and his African resources obsolete in the next ten years and he knows it. From the spectroscopic analysis of 2007 alone we’ll take more iron out of that rock than we’ve mined in all of North America in the last five years. When the Columbia and the Enterprise come online to help out the Prometheus fetching asteroids back to Earth for us we’ll have more mineral resources than we’ve ever had before AND the know-how to use them! Besides, Saladin had best look to his own back yard. The Indonesians and the Iranians are not happy with him just now.”
“Enough with the politics!” Lisa interrupted, “Ann, I never heard from you about Mel’s secondary rating. Did she make it or not?”
Ann smiled the smile of a proud parent, “YES, she did. She’s tertiary reserve pilot for Prometheus. Would have made secondary if she’d had more flight time but she’s happy being the assistant life-systems engineer. She said the crew selection people all but told her that if she did well on this mission and got some more stick time in she’d be a shoe in for chief life-systems and secondary pilot on the Enterprise when she’s launched.”
“How proud you must be!” Luke said with a grin.
“Hell yes, we’re proud” John cut Ann off. “They all came out fine and I’m so tickled with the way my kids – OUR kids -” he said looking at Ann and Carla “ turned out that I’ll probably have to spend a century in purgatory getting my ego under control. Mel made it onto the Prometheus, Brittany’s gone and become an ARNP and married Stevie – still think she ought to go on to an MD but she won’t do it – Stevie’s pretty much taken over managing the farm and it’s doing fine. I’m more a farmer emeritus now. Cindy’s looking sure to make tenure at Cornell and Neil just promoted to Lieutenant in the Fifth Fleet. The world is their oyster and they’re going to eat it for sure. Damn right I’m proud. Not bad for a redneck farm family, not bad at all.”
Whatever else he was going to say was lost when the public address system came on and announced the launch would be taking place in ten minutes. More people began to arrive, most John did not recognize but some he did from television – the governor, both Florida senators, several congressmen, senators and congressmen from other states, he noted with interest two of his favorite science fiction authors and determined to meet them after the launch. The Vice-President and other assorted dignitaries from around the world were also there but they had their own viewing room. That was OK by John, he did not consider them in his social class anyway. The President himself was in Europe for another round of negotiations between the E.U., China, Russia, Japan and the U.S. over allocation of asteroid resources. Everyone wanted the easy to reach rocks so a system of allocation was to be worked out.
Finally, the moment arrived and the voice of mission control came over the speakers announcing the status of the various necessary systems that would have to function for a successful launch. When at last they had all declared themselves in readiness the voice said, “The Cape is GO.” A second voice then cut in with the countdown in progress –
“T minus – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4,” a brilliant green light began to leak from beneath the launch gantry and the window through which they were watching automatically dimmed itself rendering the bright morning sunshine outside into twilight, “3, 2, 1, we have first motion. WE HAVE LIFT OFF!!!” and the ground to orbit shuttle carrying the crew of the Prometheus out of the atmosphere suddenly leapt for the sky from its gantry atop a brilliant emerald green column of light. The viewing window dimmed itself until everything outside was darkness but the launching laser and its burden rushing skyward.
Everyone in the room had come to their feet as the craft left the ground and John found himself shouting “GO BABY GO!!!” as tears unabashedly streamed down his face. All too soon the shuttle was lost to sight and the laser flicked out some time later, leaving a flat black window that gradually cleared itself to allow the natural sun to shine in once more.
John pulled out a red bandana and wiped his face. He then bent and kissed his wife. The room was still silent when he said to her, “Well, she’s off now. She’ll make it or not on her own merits but I think we gave her a damn fine set of tools to work with if I do say so myself. We’ve given them all a damn fine set of tools to work with. Nothing left for us now but to rest on our laurels.” He then added, speaking as if to no one in particular “- And wait for a few grandchildren to put in an appearance.”
Looking towards the back of the room where the PR flacks had gathered he took his wife by the hand and said, “Now them NASA folks promised us a video of the launch, let’s go see about it.”
<center><b>The End.</b>
“The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in.”
<b>Robert A. Heinlein</b></center>
Y'all can thank Sprint for my not being able to get a working phone line to log in with since last night! There are times rural phone service leaves a LOT to be desired.
==============================================
The gnarled ironwood cane had a silver head in the shape of a rooster. The gray haired deeply tanned man used it to push himself to standing as the young man with the NASA public relations badge approached him.
“Good morning!” he said brightly. “Are you Mr. Horne?”
“I am he.” John answered. “This is my wife Ann, my sister Carla Johnson, my niece Brittany Daniels and her husband Stephen.”
“Ah, very good. You’re right on time.” The young man said as he made five check marks in the page on his clipboard. “If you’ll be so kind as to follow me the shuttle bus is right this way. These are your observer’s badges. Please be sure to wear them visibly at all times while you’re in the launch observation area.”
John accepted the proffered badges and distributed to their respective recipients. They followed the PR man towards the outside door, a trifle more slowly than their guide seemingly would have preferred but John’s prosthetic knee was twinging him this morning. He looked at Ann as they walked and said, “When we get home I’m going to ask Roberto to examine my knee again. That hospital fella can say what he wants but every time they fool with it the damn thing hurts me.”
His wife nodded, then cut her eyes at Brittany, but said nothing. Her husband had complained about that knee ever since they’d replaced it ten years before. She didn’t know what Roberto could do for the prosthesis that the hospital couldn’t but if having Roberto look at it made him feel better she was quite willing for him to do it even if there was no discernable difference between what he did and what the medical techs did. After years of asking Brittany to inquire privately at the medical center about what the problem could be she half suspected John insisted on it just to be able to see Miguel, who seldom left his home anymore after his wife had died eight years ago and himself suffering from a debilitating spinal deterioration.
Outside again John slowed still more as they moved towards the bus to look widely about himself. It had been twenty six years since he’d last been to Cape Canaveral, before the Impact in fact, and it was as if he’d never seen the place before. That visit had been the second time he and Ann had taken Melinda to show their daughter the glories of what Mankind could achieve when he (or she, they hoped) stretched forth his mind and will to do so. The old Vehicle Assembly Building and launch gantries dating back to the days of the Apollo program had of course disappeared in the Impact induced tsunamis so in a manner of speaking it really was his first trip. The day had not yet succumbed to August’s heat so he could see in the distance the containment domes and white plumes rising from the cooling towers of the three nuclear power plants that powered the NASA launching lasers, the rest of the Space Center, and a fair part of the northern and central areas of Brevard county which played host to NASA’s Florida outpost. There was a lift-off every twelve hours from one of the six launching bays dotted several miles apart the length of Cape Canaveral. They fed and sustained the burgeoning orbital industries that had arisen in the last fifteen years. Post-Impact the Space Center had greatly expanded its physical area on the Cape after the asteroid spawned tsunamis had washed away all human habitation from the low stretch of sand and coquina lying between the Indian river and Atlantic ocean.
Finally, the party reached their conveyance, the last to do so it seemed as the bus pulled away from the building as soon as they’d taken their seats. Five minutes later they arrived at the observation building and went inside to take their places. When the PR man showed them to their chairs John looked at their seat mates and said, “Hello Luke! How are things in Seattle these days?”
The distinguished gray haired man looked up with an expression of surprise and said, “John Horne! And Ann, Brittany, Stevie, and you must be Carla. Cindy looks just like you. Good to see you! Damn good to see you! Glad you came. John, Ann’s told us you’ve gotten so hard to pry away from the farm she was afraid she was going to have to use dynamite.”
John grinned and said, “Well, I’m not too big on traveling anymore to be sure. Don’t ever seem to sleep well in strange beds, but this is a once in a life-time event. But what brings you here anyways? I thought Heather had a comfortable berth on L5? Coming down just to see Mel off?”
“Oh, I thought you knew.” Luke said with an air of surprise. “Kristen Hart had a skiing accident in Switzerland and badly injured her right leg. They scrubbed her from the mission but it was so close to the launch date they didn’t have time to start an entirely new search for another physician. Heather and Kristen are both female, about the same mass, Heather’s space rated and has space experience so they asked her if she’s volunteer and she did. Richard was a bit beside himself about that you can well imagine but he gave in gracefully about his wife going. You know he put in for a pilot’s slot but didn’t make the cut. Not strong enough in his secondary field it seems.”
Ann chuckled, “Well, Mel is finally starting to pay us back for all those times she had my heart in my mouth after talking her daddy into letting her take flying lessons when she was old enough. I promised John ‘till death do us part’ but that day he nearly found out what the cause of death was going to be!”
“I reckon this means that Heather and Mel have already seen each other then.” John said, “Mel tells me that the entire crew is suppose to train together so they can try to spot any irreconcilable personality conflicts.” As an afterthought he added, “Funny though that Mel didn’t mention seeing Heather in her last e-mail. Been four, five years since they last saw each other I think.”
Lisa joined the conversation for the first time. “Actually, I’m not sure they have met yet. Heather tells me they’ve had to give her such an accelerated familiarization to get her ready on time that she’s only met two of the six other crew members. She won’t meet the other four – which seems to include Mel – until they all come together on L5 before they transit to the Prometheus. The NASA human behavior people are a little bent about this but the President said the launch was to be on time – or else.”
“Well, if she’s already met two of the others then including Mel” Ann observed “that leaves only three unknowns because I certainly don’t think they’ll have any trouble with each other.”
“Heh!” John interjected, “the way that 2007 asteroid had got the country worked up I imagine the mission commander would just jettison anyone he thought was causing a problem. They’ve got back ups for their back ups.”
Carla laughed, “You could be right. Besides, there’s a LOT of national prestige in flying off in a great white space ship to literally save the world from death and destruction – on a live video feed no less – then maneuvering the rock into a parking orbit so we can mine it of its resources. I hear tell this is putting the Chinese and European space programs into a real swivet. The EU just fired their program director for lack of progress on their craft and the Chinese reportedly have redoubled their espionage of our program to try to catch up.”
Stevie spoke up to add, “Neil Stackham over to the university PD tells me they just backed up the FBI picking up a Chinese team posing as Taiwanese visiting scholars who were hacking the NASA system. Said the FBI told him they’d just picked up another team in California doing the same thing.”
John cackled, “Good! If we’ve got them on anything we’ve left the whole world sucking hind tit when it comes to space development. You can bet them Chinese fellas are just green about our bringing that rock home and the way we magnanimously offered to sell them iron from our smelting operations once we get the assembly line going! You know that’s got to be sticking in their craw for sure.”
Shaking her head with a grin Carla said, “If you’d asked me back in those first couple of years after the Impact if we’d ever make a manned space program a serious national goal again I’d have thought you daft.” She paused for a moment then continued, “but when the astronomers spotted that four kilometer asteroid in 2007 with a small but real chance of impacting Earth in 2032 and an increasing chance every three years afterwards it was like the entire nation found its Cause all at once. Even a one in twenty chance of another asteroid impact was more than most were willing to risk again. I was convinced that the U.S. was actually moving towards a breakup but almost overnight everything changed. I still think we could have done it without the Russian Republic but if we hadn’t partnered with them they may have gone with the Europeans. Too old to change the way I think about the Russians, I suppose. After their losses in Siberia they need space resources as badly as we do.”
“Sure hope we’re not celebrating prematurely” Brittany said, “Isn’t the U.N. General Assembly voting on the space resource issue today? I was reading in the paper yesterday that the Pan Arab Republic has the votes to force the issue about endangering the Earth by bringing asteroids into orbit. They’re also yelling about the proprietary use of common resources by the space faring nations. What if they do force a vote against the mission?”
John scowled, “Won’t amount to diddly squat, Britt. The U.S./Russia, European Union, and the Chinese with Japanese help are all working on similar asteroid mining programs. That’s all the power on the U.N. Security Council – all the VETO power anyways. That rotten son-of-a-bitch Saladin may be the darling of the General Assembly but he’s dogmeat in the Security Council. He’s just doing what ever he can to forestall the inevitable. In spite of what ever he can do we’re going to render him, his oil, and his African resources obsolete in the next ten years and he knows it. From the spectroscopic analysis of 2007 alone we’ll take more iron out of that rock than we’ve mined in all of North America in the last five years. When the Columbia and the Enterprise come online to help out the Prometheus fetching asteroids back to Earth for us we’ll have more mineral resources than we’ve ever had before AND the know-how to use them! Besides, Saladin had best look to his own back yard. The Indonesians and the Iranians are not happy with him just now.”
“Enough with the politics!” Lisa interrupted, “Ann, I never heard from you about Mel’s secondary rating. Did she make it or not?”
Ann smiled the smile of a proud parent, “YES, she did. She’s tertiary reserve pilot for Prometheus. Would have made secondary if she’d had more flight time but she’s happy being the assistant life-systems engineer. She said the crew selection people all but told her that if she did well on this mission and got some more stick time in she’d be a shoe in for chief life-systems and secondary pilot on the Enterprise when she’s launched.”
“How proud you must be!” Luke said with a grin.
“Hell yes, we’re proud” John cut Ann off. “They all came out fine and I’m so tickled with the way my kids – OUR kids -” he said looking at Ann and Carla “ turned out that I’ll probably have to spend a century in purgatory getting my ego under control. Mel made it onto the Prometheus, Brittany’s gone and become an ARNP and married Stevie – still think she ought to go on to an MD but she won’t do it – Stevie’s pretty much taken over managing the farm and it’s doing fine. I’m more a farmer emeritus now. Cindy’s looking sure to make tenure at Cornell and Neil just promoted to Lieutenant in the Fifth Fleet. The world is their oyster and they’re going to eat it for sure. Damn right I’m proud. Not bad for a redneck farm family, not bad at all.”
Whatever else he was going to say was lost when the public address system came on and announced the launch would be taking place in ten minutes. More people began to arrive, most John did not recognize but some he did from television – the governor, both Florida senators, several congressmen, senators and congressmen from other states, he noted with interest two of his favorite science fiction authors and determined to meet them after the launch. The Vice-President and other assorted dignitaries from around the world were also there but they had their own viewing room. That was OK by John, he did not consider them in his social class anyway. The President himself was in Europe for another round of negotiations between the E.U., China, Russia, Japan and the U.S. over allocation of asteroid resources. Everyone wanted the easy to reach rocks so a system of allocation was to be worked out.
Finally, the moment arrived and the voice of mission control came over the speakers announcing the status of the various necessary systems that would have to function for a successful launch. When at last they had all declared themselves in readiness the voice said, “The Cape is GO.” A second voice then cut in with the countdown in progress –
“T minus – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4,” a brilliant green light began to leak from beneath the launch gantry and the window through which they were watching automatically dimmed itself rendering the bright morning sunshine outside into twilight, “3, 2, 1, we have first motion. WE HAVE LIFT OFF!!!” and the ground to orbit shuttle carrying the crew of the Prometheus out of the atmosphere suddenly leapt for the sky from its gantry atop a brilliant emerald green column of light. The viewing window dimmed itself until everything outside was darkness but the launching laser and its burden rushing skyward.
Everyone in the room had come to their feet as the craft left the ground and John found himself shouting “GO BABY GO!!!” as tears unabashedly streamed down his face. All too soon the shuttle was lost to sight and the laser flicked out some time later, leaving a flat black window that gradually cleared itself to allow the natural sun to shine in once more.
John pulled out a red bandana and wiped his face. He then bent and kissed his wife. The room was still silent when he said to her, “Well, she’s off now. She’ll make it or not on her own merits but I think we gave her a damn fine set of tools to work with if I do say so myself. We’ve given them all a damn fine set of tools to work with. Nothing left for us now but to rest on our laurels.” He then added, speaking as if to no one in particular “- And wait for a few grandchildren to put in an appearance.”
Looking towards the back of the room where the PR flacks had gathered he took his wife by the hand and said, “Now them NASA folks promised us a video of the launch, let’s go see about it.”
<center><b>The End.</b>
“The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in.”
<b>Robert A. Heinlein</b></center>
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Aargghhhhhhhhh! What do you mean "The end"?!!!!
Thank you, Alan for many hours of enjoyable and thought-provoking entertainment. Anytime you want to start a new story, we'll be waiting!
Thank you, Alan for many hours of enjoyable and thought-provoking entertainment. Anytime you want to start a new story, we'll be waiting!
Reasonable Rascal
Veteran Member
I have had to wait 3 weeks to register just so I could say how much I have been enjoying both yours and Canada Sue's stories. Guess the timing couldn't be better as they didn't open registrations again until today. 
RR
RR
Cowardly Lion
Inactive
very nice work, alan, esp the RAH touch at the end. very nice work. let me know when you're selling autographed copies, as well.
cl
cl
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
I have to admit that I really got into that story. I could have easily gone on and on with the further adventures of the Horne family but that last post put the text at 132,000 words. By the time I flesh out a few thin spots in the first month or so of the story I expect it'll top 140,000 which makes for a fair sized book.
Most fun I've had with a writing project since I started letting myself write fiction.
I am going to polish the rough places then see if I can find a publisher. I'm given to understand that one works through agents now instead just sending a manuscript directly to publishers so I'll have to investigate what is involved.
For the benefit of those of you who asked several of the characters were modeled - more or less - on real people but most were either wholly fictional or at most based only on partial character traits of people I've met over the years.
As you've all seen I do have some continuity errors that I'll have to iron out.
Probably the most glaring one was the fact that very early on I mentioned that John and Ann had an infant son and then never mentioned him again. Actually, I caught that about halfway through but by then it would have been awkward to suddenly bring the baby back into the picture after having ignored him for months so I let him quietly fade out.
Early on I also named Ed Strickland's wife Gina but then later in the story called her Ellie.
Blew a date or three in places. Actually, it was difficult to keep dates straight at times.
Some of the timing of the agricultural pursuits needs to be tweaked. I went back and checked when the idea of hatching their own eggs was first introduced and while there was enough time for the eggs to have incubated, hatched, and then grown to the point of lay I'd have needed a large cabinet style incubator to produce enough birds in such a short period of time as to be processing 200 eggs a day when I said they were. Not impossible but it's not the incubator I had in mind when I first broached the idea.
I will need to go back and adjust the info on the tsunamis and probably the location of the impact as well in order to have the damage occur in the areas I want it to occur in. Likely the tsunamis in MOST Atlantic coast areas wouldn't have gone further than twenty miles inland for the size and speed of the asteroid that I used. Due to the topgraphy focusing the incoming water the mouths of the major rivers would have seen higher, more deeply penetrating waves. The mouths of large rivers also happen to be where most of our major coastal cities are located so the actual death and destruction might not change all that much even with the waves not reaching as far inland as I initially said.
The weather effects are about as close to on as I currently understand they would be given the circumstances outlined in the story.
The political effects are - of course - wholly imaginary but I did try to base them on actual events as they have been playing out in the various news posts that have floated through the TB2K forum for the past couple of years. If I do sell the story I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep the names of actual people or not but if not I can change them easily enough.
There have been those who expressed the opinion that people would not work so cooperatively together in a long-term disaster situation as we saw happen in the community the Horne's live in and they would be correct.
In some areas things will just fall apart into anarchy and chaos. I hinted at this several times in relation to some urban/suburban areas but chose not to dwell on it because that was not my purpose in this story.
That being said, I do think in many long-term disasters that many areas would pull together if for no other reason than simple self-interest. Just like during the Rodney King riots we saw certain neighborhoods who quickly banded together for mutual protection and the same with other disasters. I believe one is more likely to find this to be the case in the rural and small-town areas than the larger urban/suburban areas but after the fact of such an event one could probably find those places where this turned out not to be the case either way.
In the event of such disasters it is impossible to know with any certainty what would truly occur but it is possible to weight the odds more favorably in your direction and this is precisely what the Hornes did.
Hope everyone enjoyed the story.
I've got the idea for the next story but it's one that needs research so I'm not sure when I'll get around to actually taking keyboard in hand. You'll see it when you see it.
Thanks everyone!
.....Alan.
Most fun I've had with a writing project since I started letting myself write fiction.
I am going to polish the rough places then see if I can find a publisher. I'm given to understand that one works through agents now instead just sending a manuscript directly to publishers so I'll have to investigate what is involved.
For the benefit of those of you who asked several of the characters were modeled - more or less - on real people but most were either wholly fictional or at most based only on partial character traits of people I've met over the years.
As you've all seen I do have some continuity errors that I'll have to iron out.
Probably the most glaring one was the fact that very early on I mentioned that John and Ann had an infant son and then never mentioned him again. Actually, I caught that about halfway through but by then it would have been awkward to suddenly bring the baby back into the picture after having ignored him for months so I let him quietly fade out.
Early on I also named Ed Strickland's wife Gina but then later in the story called her Ellie.
Blew a date or three in places. Actually, it was difficult to keep dates straight at times.
Some of the timing of the agricultural pursuits needs to be tweaked. I went back and checked when the idea of hatching their own eggs was first introduced and while there was enough time for the eggs to have incubated, hatched, and then grown to the point of lay I'd have needed a large cabinet style incubator to produce enough birds in such a short period of time as to be processing 200 eggs a day when I said they were. Not impossible but it's not the incubator I had in mind when I first broached the idea.
I will need to go back and adjust the info on the tsunamis and probably the location of the impact as well in order to have the damage occur in the areas I want it to occur in. Likely the tsunamis in MOST Atlantic coast areas wouldn't have gone further than twenty miles inland for the size and speed of the asteroid that I used. Due to the topgraphy focusing the incoming water the mouths of the major rivers would have seen higher, more deeply penetrating waves. The mouths of large rivers also happen to be where most of our major coastal cities are located so the actual death and destruction might not change all that much even with the waves not reaching as far inland as I initially said.
The weather effects are about as close to on as I currently understand they would be given the circumstances outlined in the story.
The political effects are - of course - wholly imaginary but I did try to base them on actual events as they have been playing out in the various news posts that have floated through the TB2K forum for the past couple of years. If I do sell the story I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep the names of actual people or not but if not I can change them easily enough.
There have been those who expressed the opinion that people would not work so cooperatively together in a long-term disaster situation as we saw happen in the community the Horne's live in and they would be correct.
In some areas things will just fall apart into anarchy and chaos. I hinted at this several times in relation to some urban/suburban areas but chose not to dwell on it because that was not my purpose in this story.
That being said, I do think in many long-term disasters that many areas would pull together if for no other reason than simple self-interest. Just like during the Rodney King riots we saw certain neighborhoods who quickly banded together for mutual protection and the same with other disasters. I believe one is more likely to find this to be the case in the rural and small-town areas than the larger urban/suburban areas but after the fact of such an event one could probably find those places where this turned out not to be the case either way.
In the event of such disasters it is impossible to know with any certainty what would truly occur but it is possible to weight the odds more favorably in your direction and this is precisely what the Hornes did.
Hope everyone enjoyed the story.
I've got the idea for the next story but it's one that needs research so I'm not sure when I'll get around to actually taking keyboard in hand. You'll see it when you see it.
Thanks everyone!
.....Alan.
Alan,
A very big thank you for an excellent BOOK. I will certainly be inline to get your autogragh!
It was a bit of a shock to see that you actually ended the story.http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/images/icons/icon9.gif
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/images/icons/icon9.gif
But then every things needs closure.
Again excellent job!
Fondly,
Fuzzy
A very big thank you for an excellent BOOK. I will certainly be inline to get your autogragh!
It was a bit of a shock to see that you actually ended the story.http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/images/icons/icon9.gif
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/images/icons/icon9.gif
But then every things needs closure.
Again excellent job!
Fondly,
Fuzzy
A.T.Hagan
Inactive
If I could ask a favor of you readers who stuck with the story from start to finish I'm compiling a list of errors that crept into the text so that I can correct them in the rewrite.
If you spotted anything that you thought was a non-grammatical or non-spelling error beyond the ones I mentioned above I'd appreciate it if you'd <b>Private Message</b> me (it's the PM button in the bar below) and let me know what you found.
Thanks much!
.....Alan.
If you spotted anything that you thought was a non-grammatical or non-spelling error beyond the ones I mentioned above I'd appreciate it if you'd <b>Private Message</b> me (it's the PM button in the bar below) and let me know what you found.
Thanks much!
.....Alan.
M
mac66
Guest
Great job