Amaurot Arrival, A Chance Meeting, A Major Distraction…
The airships took the trading party to Amaurot early in the morning. Megal was surprised by the complexity of the system. He wished he had time to examine the way the towers and cables were constructed, but there was a schedule to keep. The hanging carriage had to leave on time. The solar powered fans were quiet and the gentle rocking very conducive to taking a nap, so he decided to take advantage as did his wife. He was assured by Julie who had experience, pregnant women often needed more sleep. Tony had told them that the hostel was large, and they would not have problems finding rooms. Megal settled back and watched the fields and forests glide slowly past until he too fell asleep.
***
“Lord Johnson, the ship with the trading party arrived, and we observed a confrontation on the ship.” Sean’s spy reported to him. His spy was a talented man whose psy powers included both the ability to listen to what people were thinking as well as eavesdrop from a distance on conversations. He was a small man with rather drab coloring, and someone people seemed to not notice. Sean often wondered if one of his psy skills wasn’t the ability to make people not notice him. “Alam Pesch got on the ship, yelled at Antonio Pesch and a young man I identified as Megal Morales. He talked with them for several minutes and then was escorted off the ship by his guards. The information we have is he has been removed as head of the trade office.”
“Thank you, where did they stay last night?”
“They went to Antonio Pesch’s home and then left this morning on the airship. We expect they will arrive late this afternoon.”
“How many people did you see in their group?”
“It’s a small group,” the spy said, “five, three from Refugio and two from Port. The others stayed with the ship. Most of them are from Southmost, but we saw a few crew from Port.”
“Good work,” Sean said. “Keep an eye on the ship’s crew and especially the O’Malley woman. She may be one of ours, but the family has claimed ownership of that ship, and she may be trying to get things to transport.” Sean knew this was a result of the changes to the Charter, but he had not anticipated claiming ownership of the means of production. That affected the credits he would need to run the settlement. It was vital he stop it. The idea of joint ownership had not been changed for the settlement, only for small personal items. He did not consider a large sailing vessel as personal property.
***
Simon arrived in Amaurot early in the day and walked quickly to the main administrative building where Sean had his office. Getting settled in at the hostel would only take a few minutes so that could wait.
“Simon, this trade agreement just got complicated,” Sean greeted him without any ceremony. “I need you to dig in those old documents in the library.”
“Sean, you made me come back here just to look for documents? Why didn’t you ask the librarian for them?”
“I did and they said those were restricted knowledge, but then admitted they are in boxes of material that has never been sorted.” Sean stood and stretched. “The excuse they gave was Dean Bartmore restricted access because they weren’t needed.”
“How does that impact the trade agreements?”
“The Port settlement is overcrowded and needs the land on the third land mass so they can spread out. We also have a new bunch of pirates. Seems some of our renegades have survived and are living on the east coast.”
“What am I looking for?” Simon was intrigued. “Those documents may not even be readable. Some of that stuff from the GC was heat printed and fades.”
“I doubt what I need is like that,” Sean shuffled the papers on his desk and found a listing. “There must be maps of the planet and a resources survey. Those should be hard copy that would still be legible.”
“Will the librarian work with me? I seem to remember that is one of Sheila’s daughters.”
“If she won’t, we’ll get another librarian. I am getting fed up with the Bartmore family and their self-assigned nobility. Just so you know, Desmond entered the clinic, is not drinking, and filed for a divorce from Sheila. We’ve never had that before. Splits usually are by mutual agreement. The scandal mongers are very busy.”
“Surprised we have not had more of that,” Simon said as he read the list of maps that were needed. “I hope these are in hard copy and not on some sort of digital storage.
“On another matter, I found an explanation for the shortage of coveralls these past few years. We found the sewing machines at our new location had the motors removed. As usual, the families we follow in the rotation had tried to disable all the machines. However, the Family Murphy converted several of them to work with a foot pedal which helped some. Hand sewing takes more time. There still will be a shortage until we figure out how to make them and get the motors back in the machines.”
“Murphy, Muldoon, and Ludden are still dedicated to the original plan of the Charter. We all have tried to convince them of the need for some of the machines, but so far, it has only been some of their younger people. They are pleased with how some of this technology is failing. That is one thing we all need, some way to replace these failing devices. Why our founders thought we could get along without them, I will never understand,” Sean pointed to a screen and keyboard at the end of the room which showed signs of having caught fire. “That started smoking last week and the engineers said they don’t have replacements for what broke.”
“If we can get on better terms with the Regals, maybe they have some answers for the devices. They are supposed to be the technology society, but they are having failures too.” Simon said as he left to get settled at the hostel. “I’ll keep you posted on what I find, but it will take a while I’m afraid.”
“Well, also seems Redmon O’Malley kept working on his dream ship,” Sean replied. “And that is what the Port sailors used to bring the negotiators here, so they got here much faster than I expected. I need information as quickly as you can find it.”
***
“Sarita, what are you doing in Amaurot?” Simon called out as he saw the trade delegation enter the lobby of the hostel. He hurried to embrace his foster daughter much to the surprise of her husband. “My dear I can use your help if you have time.”
“Papa, please, here is Megal, my husband and I want to know what you are doing back in the city again? Mama Morianan said you were determined to stay at the farm.”
“Tony, you are back also, my friend, you look like a Port pirate. What happened to your beard, oh, please forgive me, I am so surprised and happy,” Simon was holding Sarita and Megal’s hands, beaming at everyone.
“Simon, Simon, I thought I told you we were coming, but the message must not have gotten to you.” Tony laughed and made the introductions to the rest of the group. Julie and Blackie had stayed at the hostel during their last visit to Amaurot, so they got the room assignments.
“Let’s get this baggage stowed and meet in the dining room where we can have supper and a long visit.” Blackie handed out the keys to the rooms.
***
After eating, the group sat in the garden of the hostel and caught up on what had happened in both Utopia and Refugio. Simon had heard about some of Refugio’s events, but the changes in Utopia were new to the rest of the party. Sarita also asked about her sister’s son. They had just realized she was pregnant when Sarita and Tony left.
“Oh, he is so sweet. Just beginning to turn over and get moving,” Simon said. “Rhonda and Nathan are so enjoying being parents. They named him John Simon after both grandfathers.”
“Be sure to tell your Papa your news, Sarita.” Julie spoke up.
“Oh, of course, Papa, Megal and I are expecting our first child,” Sarita beamed at her foster father.
“That is wonderful, I will let Morianan know.” Simon smiled. “I know your father will be thrilled, Megal. It is important for your family.”
“Thank you, Lord Kearney, I have been wondering, how are the people reacting to the change in who is prince?” Megal asked.
“Most of the lords were alarmed that the Bartmore family was trying to set up an inherited nobility with all the rights and privileges Thomas More derided in his book,” Simon said. “It was difficult to convince some of the older lords but when I showed them what the book really said, it was easier.”
“I have read the original and your translation, Ser Kearney.” Megal had listened intently. “I am amazed that the founders of the NeoUtopians felt this society could function at all. What More described was a satire of a society dependent on trade, slavery, and total conformity.”
“An excellent analysis, Megal, but you have to realize they only had excerpts from the original book, not the whole book. Tony got me the full copy from your archives for which I will always be grateful.” Simon beamed at his son-in-law. This young man was going to be a wonderful addition to the family, finally someone to discuss his work seriously. “Have you shared this with Sarita?”
“Of course, Sarita and I spend many evenings during our recovery going over the original and when we have time, I want to talk to you about the way you translated some of the passages.” Megal was excited by the prospect of talking with Simon about this and Sarita could tell.
“Before you two scholars get too far off topic,” Sarita said. “We have an early meeting with the prince and have to be ready to work for all our settlements. What is it you need help with Papa?”
“I going to get into the old documents from GC that have never been cataloged,” Simon said. “Sean needs the maps they provided to see how large that third land mass is for your people, Blackie. All of us really need to know if there are mineral deposits we have not found. The failing electronics can’t be revived if we don’t have certain metals and they may have done that kind of survey.”
“I suspect the founders didn’t want to find those metals since they believed we would do fine without the technology,” Sarita said.
“We all need some of these other metals,” Megal said. “We have found some gold and of course silicon is common, but we need the others if we are going to have any technology.”
“Tonight, I need a warm bath and a soft bed,” Julie said. “And I know this place has both. Good night, all!” Julie caught her husband’s hand and bowed to the rest of the party.
***
In the morning, Simon arrived at the storage facility behind the administration building to find the head librarian waiting for him. He could sense she was nervous and a bit frightened.
“Lord Kearney, I cannot allow you to rummage through these storage containers without written permission from the Assembly.” Shauna Harrah, senior librarian, was blocking the door to the first storage unit. It was kept in a heavily guarded area close to the first landing site. That area was a landscaped park with plaques telling the tale of the landing, or at least what history they wanted to admit. The other two settlements on Higgins were not mentioned.
“I have orders from Prince Johnson to find these documents, Shauna. That should be sufficient for you.” Simon had expected this and brought one of Sean’s assistants with him. She understood the situation and called on two of the security personnel.
“Lady Harrah, his highness has said that if you do not give access to the stored documents, you are to be removed from both the area and your post.” Naomi Gaughan was a formidable presence, one Simon had known since her childhood. Her height and flame red hair marked her. Shauna stepped back against the locked door.
“You wouldn’t dare! I am the daughter of the correctly elected prince and will only follow his orders.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Shauna,” one of the guards spoke up. “Your Da got dumped as prince and then filed for separation from your Ma and Uncle Ed is trying to get Aunt Bess to forgive them. My dear Aunt Sheila and her grand plan are undone. Be the brainy gal I know you to be and let Lord Kearney into the vault.” Naomi had deliberately chosen Shauna’s cousin Jacob because he had frequently expressed his scorn for his aunt’s behavior.
“You don’t understand, Jacob, Mother knows what I am doing down here, and she will punish me,” Shauna’s eyes filled with tears. Naomi closed her eyes for a moment.
“I have established a shield, Shauna. She can’t reach you. Listen to Jacob. Do your job.” Shauna stood for a moment and smiled at the woman.
“Thank you, Naomi, I have not been able to build that protection. Mother is too strong.” Shauna’s relief was visible as she relaxed and smiled at Simon.
“My apologies Lord Kearney, this vault has never been opened. I am not certain what we will find. It is airtight so whatever is in there should be in excellent condition.” She turned and began entering a code into the panel on the metal wall. The lock on the door released with a snap and they were able to force the door open. The air was stale but dry. The metal shipping container was stuffed full of boxes, many looking as if they had been jammed in with little care. “It smells a bit stuffy but not like anything has rotted.” Simon turned and dismissed Naomi and the guards except to remind her that Sarita might be able to join him in his search later in the day.
***
Sean bowed to Megal and Sarita as he guided the group into the conference room. “Ser Megal, I congratulate you on your joining, and welcome you as part of Family Kearney. It is our custom to consider one who joins as a life mate as kin,”
“Captain Blackie and Captain Juliette, it is good to see you again. Master O’Malley was not just blowing hot air when he bragged about that ship he was building. Even with a strong wind, I would think no one has made the crossing that fast.”
“She is a swift beauty, Lord Johnson. The plans Master O’Malley has found will build even faster and larger ones if we can find the wood.” Blackie was suspicious that the prince’s interest was not just idle praise. Master O’Malley had warned that ownership might be contested.
“Also, the healers treating the children from Port are anxious to get more of that fish extract. They are working with the children and others in our settlement whose manifestation cause problems. It is something we hope to include in this agreement.” Julie said they had found a good number of the fish this past season and would be able to provide some of the extract. She sent an embarrassed mental message to Blackie about how he had used the potion. The main reason that had a surplus was they didn’t need to kidnap people off the other ships.
“Tony, good to see you again. I think the agreement with Refugio should be the first thing on the agenda since we are making changes rather than a new agreement.” Sean took his place and opened a folder with hard copy. Megal noticed the lack of a reader or any other electronic gear on the table but a damaged screen and input device on the floor at the back of the room. Utopia had the same issues as Refugio.
“Lord Johnson, I noticed you do not use electronic devices,” Megal wanted this issue to be a major part of the negotiations. “This is a problem in Refugio as well and I hope we can make it an important part of our discussion.”
“That is a problem, Ser Morales, but we can function without them,” Sean was annoyed by the jump to technology. “The need for food and medicine are more critical in my opinion.” Tony glared at the young man. This was not what they had discussed on the trip over.
“I have to agree, Lord Johnson, but I believe the presence of the damaged unit may have distracted Ser Morales,” Tony said. “I believe you have an agenda for us to discuss.”
“My apologies, Sers, I was distracted by the equipment.” Megal was embarrassed. “Please continue, Lord Johnson.” Sarita could sense his chagrin and held his hand. She sent him a quick mental note that everyone makes a mistake once in a while. He squeezed her hand.
Sean passed around a list of issues he and some of the lords had gathered. Many of the lords had fresh food that would not keep very well and wanted to be able to trade it to the other settlements. They mentioned fish oil and fish meal as well as the potted meat products that Refugio produced as possible exchanges. Tony, Blackie, and Sean began working on how to evaluate the value of the products and how it might be transported. The discussion made clear that some standardization was needed.
“May I suggest we begin using the system of weights and measures we brought from Terra?” Megal said quietly. “We have recently reverted to some social customs as practiced on Terra before the journey. This might just be another one to take up again. We have proof sets of the measurements in our archives.”
“Many of the haciendas use them for keeping track of credits,” Tony said. “I was surprised when I came to Utopia that you did not have those standard measurements.”
“Our founders did not find any common standards in More’s time, so they believed we didn’t need any,” Sean sighed. “It has been a problem, one of many. Simon Kearney provided me with a complete copy of More’s book and how they expected us to survive, well, it amazes me.”
“I have read the original book and agree with you,” Megal said. “One of my instructors at the gymnasium has been working on getting the metric system we used on Terra better known. If you agree, I will work with him to get the standards here so they can be used.”
“One less thing to worry about, Megal,” Sean grinned at the young man. Sean realized he might have what it takes to make the changes. “Thank you. I will get the name of some people here that will help with that. A way to measure things is badly needed.”
“I had not even considered that,” Tony said. “We have made do with a barter system but this is needed. Now, back to what we are going to measure.”
***
“Lord Johnson, there has been another raid on the east coast,” One of the office assistants hurried in just as the trade groups were getting ready to break for the midday meal. “The far speaker said this time they did set fires and burned part of a dock. The lords were demanding an emergency Assembly meeting.”
“Get as much information as you can,” Sean said. “I don’t know what good an Assembly meeting would do. We are going to need to go after the renegades.”
“Lord Johnson, we have some trained men and women in our community,” Blackie spoke up. “If we can be of help, please allow us to participate.”
“That would be fitting, Captain Okapie, we also have word from Port. Your community has been attacked,” A second messenger brought more notes to Sean. “A raiding party landed and carried off most of the swamp root harvest and burned several huts. They sent a far speaker message to warn us.”
“We know we would be blamed for the attacks here,” Julie said.
“With good reason, Lady Okapie,” The messenger said. “However, one characteristic of these raiders clears your people. These men are heavily bearded.”
Should you want to read the whole story…
Book One
Book Two
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