Exiled to the Stars (49 page)

Lee frowned. "Maybe more than you think. There's a lot of suspicion and resentment out there for the administration and the Council. Just the fact that you proposed it and the Council agreed will make a lot of them back off. I'll do my best, of course."

Sun spoke for the first time. He was dying, and he and everyone else knew it. The symbiont was keeping him alive, but Sun's body was simply worn out, and was slowly failing, despite the symbiont's efforts. At the moment, he was the only colonist requiring a power chair to move around. But his mind was still sharp, and he was still a respected voice on the Council.

His expression was sober. "It appears we have not done well by our children," he said with a sad sigh. "I fear that we were distracted by the differences the symbiont imposed, and treated them more as stepchildren than as our own. It was perhaps our greatest failure, and is my greatest shame.

"I wonder if it would help if I wrote a 'letter to the editor' of the newsie, expressing the regrets felt by even the most militant Earthborn."

Lee shrugged. "Probably not much, sire," he replied. "The wounds run very deep. But your wisdom is respected even among the most extremist Planetborn." He bowed to the old man, a pure Earthborn gesture. "I
can
say that it would mean a lot to many of us."

Sun nodded to the younger man with a sad smile.

Lee turned back to Ken. "I suspect our best course is to use Kerry Alves' blog, if she'll agree. Every Planetborn reads it religiously. If you can get her on our side, it will help a lot." He shrugged. "I'll speak to her, if you'd like."

Ken shook his head. "No, I'm the one who'll have to talk to her. I suspect she's going to howl a lot about 'politicians' trying to 'control the press'.

They talked for another half hour, discussing the new committee and who to nominate as its members. Finally, though, the meeting broke up. All the attendees tried to make way for Sun's power chair, but he waved them out first.

Finally, he was alone with Ken. "I have had an idea, Ken," he said. "I don't have a lot of time left, but now I know what I should do with it. I would like to devote it to reconciling the Earthborns and Planetborns. When you talk with Kerry Alves, would you ask her to come around and see me?" He indicated his chair. "Unfortunately, I am not very mobile these days."

Ken nodded. "I'm sure she would be honored to call on you, sire. As would any of us."

Sun laughed aloud. "Who would have believed that a Seoul shopkeeper would ever be considered an 'elder statesman' on an entire other world? Of course, it is easier to be considered a big fish in a small pond. Or, to put it another way, it's easier to fool 5000 people into thinking you're wise than to fool 500,000!" He wheeled his chair and swept out the door without waiting for a reply.

Ken chuckled and shook his head. Sun had been a quiet, but effective, voice of moderation on the Council since before the crash, as well as a devoted member of Cesar's inner circle of friends. He deserved every ounce of the respect he was being given. Ken hoped he could be as effective in bringing the colonists together.

After a moment, with a resigned sigh, he called Kerry Alves.

"Should I start shouting 'Freedom of the Press' now," Kerry said as she breezed into his office, "or should I wait to hear what you have to say?"

A smiling Ken waved her to a chair. "I'd say you've already made that point," he replied. "So why not hear what I have to say?"

She smiled and nodded, but her eyes were narrowed. She shrugged. "Okay. Tell me how you plan to use me for your own nefarious purposes."

He replied with a smile of his own, and shook his head. "Nothing nefarious, Kerry. In fact, nothing to do with the press. At least, not the newsie. I need to ask for help from your blog."

Her eyebrows rose. "The
blog
? You mean that vicious, slanderous piece of lying trash Messer Peters keeps shouting about?"

Ken's smile widened. "The very one." He went on to tell her about the meeting. Unsurprisingly, Kerry was already aware of Ken's victory at the Council meeting.

"Kerry," he continued earnestly, "for two years you've been blogging about how the Planetborns are denied their 'rightful influence' in the colony. Well, we have broken the hold of the conservatives on the Council. We're finally able to begin to develop the colony the way it
should
have developed over twenty years ago.

"But rightly or not, the Planetborns are suspicious of the administration and the Council. They no longer trust us to be looking out for their interests. And your blog has had a lot to do with creating that mistrust."

Kerry opened her mouth to reply, but Ken waved her to silence. "Oh, that was not a complaint. Your blog is, and has been, an effective advocate. I suspect it had more than a little to do with changing the attitudes of the Council. But we've won a battle, not the war. Now it's time for the Planetborns to step up and show that they're ready to assume that 'rightful place' they're always shouting about.

"I'd like you to help us recruit candidates for scientific and technical training. We've been depending on the comp. But we need to create our own scientists, and our own technicians. We can't survive unless we learn about Crashlanding, and that's something the comp can't do for us. We are going to need people who can do and make things. But that means we're going to need dozens of people, young people, willing to undergo the training that will require. For some technicians and craftsmen, that may be only a few months. For some scientists, perhaps years.

"When they completed their 'basic', the required twelve years' education, all the Planetborns with the aptitudes and abilities were offered further training or an apprenticeship. Nearly all refused, mostly due to pressure from their parents and other Earthborns, who convinced them that they owed it to them and the colony to learn to farm or to repair farm machinery.

"Well, now is the time to tell them that the pressure is off. They now have a second chance for the career they really wanted. And the best way to tell them is through your blog. You reach every Planetborn in the colony. It's put-up-or-shut-up time for the Planetborns. I want you to help me do what you've been demanding for the last two years; to assume your 'rightful place' helping the colony develop."

"Wow," Kerry said wonderingly. "I got my own private speech from the Administrator!"

Ken looked slightly embarrassed. "Yes, I guess you did. Sorry."

Kerry shook her head. "Don't be. You were right. We've got our chance, thanks to you, and now we've got to make the most of it. Sure, I'll help. How do you want to do it?"

"Well," Ken replied, "I hadn't really thought about nuts and bolts, yet. But the comp has the aptitude test results of all the Planetborns. They can have the same choices they were offered when they finished school, I guess. We'll have a committee that will decide how many people we'll need in what specialties, and they will make offers to the volunteers based on their scores. If some of them feel their old scores are no longer adequate, we'll arrange for retesting."

Kerry nodded and smiled. "That's good. That adds urgency to it; if they don't apply right away, they might have to settle for a second or third choice, or even miss out entirely. I like it. So, where do they sign up, and when do you want to start the stampede?"

He shook his head. "No stampede. I'll give you a tablet address for the committee, and each person can just text that address, along with whether they want retesting. But, Kerry, we have to make it clear that there will be only a limited number of positions. A colony of 5000 doesn't need 2000 scientists."

She frowned. "Any idea how many we're talking about?"

He shook his head again. "Besides med techs, of course, I'd guess about fifty scientists of various types, and perhaps a hundred assorted techs and craftsmen, at most. We may need more later, but we'll have time for that to occur naturally."Those are just guesses, of course, and I'd appreciate it if you'd make that point. I don't want people complaining because those numbers don't agree with the committee's selections."

Kerry nodded again. "Agreed. Tell me about the committee."

"Well, Vlad and Lee are co-chairs, and they'll be selecting seven other members. It'll be a part-time, temporary thing, so they won't be insisting upon Council members. Actually, I suspect they'll be hijacking Susan Renko, Doctor Bono, and any other technically trained people they can find, whether Earth- or Planetborn."

"Lee? Lee Jenson?"

Ken nodded. "Yes. A very impressive young man. You know him, of course."

Was that a blush on her green-tinged cheeks? "Oh. Yes, of course I know him," she replied in a too-light tone. "We were in school together."

Well, well
, Ken thought, suppressing a smile,
Lee Jenson and Kerry Alves. How interesting!

"Now that I think of it," Ken added, "It might be wise to keep the committee members' names confidential. Otherwise we'll have very busy people constantly bothered by applicants."

Kerry grinned. "Ah, but what about Freedom of the Press? The Peoples' Right to Know? What about that intrepid investigative reporter Kerry Alves? I hear she ferrets out secrecy in government."

Ken shook his head. "Not this time. Not if she wants any future cooperation from the Administrator's office or the Council. This is one of those times when freedom of the press requires responsibility."

Kerry sighed, but her grin faded to a genuine smile. "Agreed. Once again, Journalistic Integrity Is Sacrificed On the Altar of Political Expediency."

Ken shook his head, grinning. "Do you always think in capital letters?"

"Headlines. And only when life imitates pre-Amalgamation cliches!" She rose, obviously preparing to leave.

"Oh," Ken said suddenly. "There
is
one more thing. How would you like to interview Messer Sun?"

She looked surprised. "Sun? I was very emphatically told that Messer Sun does not grant interviews, whether with bloggers or newsies."

Ken smiled. "I think you'll find he's changed his mind. Messer Sun has decided to devote whatever life is left to him to reconciling Earthborns and Planetborns. He's already talked about submitting a letter to the editor."

Kerry was obviously pleased. "Really? How wonderful! Our font of wisdom speaks."

Ken's expression soured. "Please don't ridicule him, Kerry, in person or in print. The man
is
wise, and he is sincere."

Kerry instantly sobered. "I know, Administrator. I think Messer Sun is one of the few Earthborns respected by both groups. And, of course, I know his granddaughter, Kana. By the way, what
is
his full name, anyway?"

Ken shrugged. "Wu Sun, I think," he replied. "But I'm not really sure. I've never heard him called anything but 'Messer Sun', even by Cesar."

Her smile was back. "Maybe I'll ask him. It'll be the scoop of the decade!"

That went surprisingly well,
Ken thought as Kerry left with an airy wave.
But now I have to deal with Jorge Fuentes, and he's stubborn enough to make Kerry look easy.

Jorge Fuentes shook his head. "I may have been the only colonist aboard the ship that was
glad
to be there. I have worked in holes enough for two lifetimes," he continued, "And I want nothing to do with any more!"

Ken put on an angry expression. "You old fool! We don't want to put you in a hole with a pickaxe! You're far too old and fat for that. But we have only three Earthborns with mining experience, and you're the best qualified of the three."

He mellowed his tone slightly. "The colony needs a supply of metals. We don't dare strip the ship any farther, and without metals, we're in big trouble. Now, Frank Wong thinks he's found some possible mine sites, but we need an expert to look them over and see if they're suitable; if the ground could support the tunneling, for instance. And
you're
the closest thing we have to an expert, God help us!"

Jorge's stiffened shoulders relaxed slightly. "Huh!" he replied in a surly tone. "You'll need a lot more than 'looking them over'. What about geophysical data? Soil analysis? What about assay reports? You don't just walk around and say 'This looks like a good place'."

Ken shook his head. "You
know
the kids have been out and collected five-meter cores from various sites. Frank Wong has
done
the soil analysis and assayed the samples. We want you to go on the follow-up expedition, to help decide whether mining will be practical.

Jorge grimaced and frowned. "What does that
kid
know about soil analysis or assays?" he grumped. But Ken could see he was making progress.

"He knows what the comp could teach him, and what the equipment he built could tell him," Ken replied. "But we need more and better information. We've located better survey tools and equipment, and they will accompany the follow-up expedition. That's why I'm wasting time with a fat old carpenter who used to be a miner."

"I don't have to dig?" The heavyset, balding man asked suspiciously.

Ken's tone was disgusted. "Of course not. Any digging necessary will be done by Planetborns, of course. We've got plenty of strong young bodies. What we need is that moldy old brain of yours."

"I'm no mining engineer. I was just a shift supervisor." Jorge said doubtfully, "and I've never done site selection."

Ken shrugged. "Neither has Frank Wong. We can only do our best with what we have. And it seems that what we have is you. So get off your fat butt and go talk to Frank. Look at his cores. Read his reports. Read the orbital survey data from the comp. But for God's sake quit standing in the way!"

"I guess I could look at it," Jorge replied. "All right. I'll see what the comp has, and I'll look at his stuff. If I think I can help, well, I'll go along."

Ken rose, smiling, and put out his hand. "I knew I could count on you," he said as Jorge took the hand. "Now, go see what kind of mischief the two of you can find to get into."

Ken breathed a huge sigh of relief when the door closed behind the burly ex-miner. It had been quite a day, beginning with the Council meeting, and ending with Kerry Alves and Jorge Fuentes. He decided to take the rest of the day off, and was surprised when the clock showed how late it was.