Bootstrap Colony (18 page)

Brian and Anne relocated the two
spare hydro electric turbines to under the main waterfall on their own. The
supplemented power allowed for more lights inside, something Anne had
complained about.

The lights seemed to scare off
the critters and creepy crawlers. After seeing a scorpion retreat when it was
flushed out with a light Mitch was convinced to leave more of the lights on and
even some LED night lights in the halls.

The armadillo’s were found not to
eat the centipedes. Instead they would chew on them, getting some sort of foam
going on them and then rub it on their bodies. Then they would act like they
were drunk. It took a bit of researching in the database by Sean and Jeff
before they uncovered a possible reason. Mitch had them present it to the class
in a report.

“So, from our research, we
discovered that certain animals, most notably the Terran lemur, would bite
centipedes, and then lick their poison onto themselves. It is some sort of
hallucinogen,” Sean reported.

 “You mean they poisoned
themselves?” Wayne asked dubiously.

“Yeah,” Sean replied.

“Here, watch this,” Jeff told the
class, queuing up the video of a lemur. The giggles from the kids while they
watched the antics of the hopped up lemurs made even Mitch smile.

“Remind you of anyone?” he asked
the class.

“Druggies? Drunks? The
armadillo’s?” the class responded.

“Right. It doesn’t kill them, but
it does give them a trip and acts as some sort of pesticide,” Mitch said. But
let's try to not handle them; you don't want that stuff getting on your hands
and into you. It might make them trippy but it could kill or make you sick,” he
warned. The kids nodded, now cold sober.

When the computer estimated the
planet had entered midsummer they had the second harvest, then they replanted
the fields and greenhouses once more. Janet and Anne had the kids busy with
cooking, canning, and jarring, as well as the usual chores and school.

Mitch, Janet, Brian, Vance, Pete,
and the robots get the second large greenhouse up and planted as another hot
house. Inside the computer controls would keep the temperature at sauna levels
to imitate the natural tropical climates required for the citrus, latex, cacao,
tea, coffee, and other plants.

Brian commented about not needing
it, but Anne pointed out that even though it was consistently one hundred plus
right now, it had been cooler with signs of snow when they had first arrived.
“These plants require year round tropical conditions to thrive,” she pointed
out. He grunted a reply.

Mitch, Vance, and Brian took the
logging gear out and carved into the forest, pruning back some of the growth.
The loud noises spooked the local animals; Mitch used a Bushmaster rifle on
single shot to bag a few deer and antelope to supplement the cheetah feeding
program. The trees were stripped by the automated logging machinery; all of the
wood was hauled back to the base for use.

They used local lumber to build
sheds, garages for the vehicles, and a sheltered walk to the greenhouses. Even
with the automated mill and blueprints it took two weeks of hard work, and
several minor injuries before the buildings were complete. Everyone was aware
that they would leak, but would help protect the precious machinery and shelter
anyone trying to get to the greenhouses during foul weather.

Janet had the group sheer the
sheep, goats, and alpaca again, the one hundred plus temperatures were just
murder on animals with such thick coats. The fleece was stockpiled for later
use.

Anne taught some of the more
nimble fingered kids basket weaving; they took to it inside during the day when
they were bored. Soon baskets and woven goods were all over the base.

Mitch, Brian, Pete, and Vance
took turns going out hunting around the base. Mitch made sure they buddied up
and had a robot with them. The additional meat helped to feed the predators
they had, while the excess either fed the humans or filled the indoor freezer.
Janet made them gut, skin, and dress their kills on the spot though, much to
the kid’s disgust and Mitch’s secret relief.

A week past the mid summer
harvest Brian found a pair of teenage girls and an seven year old boy (brother
to one of the girls) and helped them back to base. They had been separated from
their parents. Tisha the eldest girl quietly told the adults that the parents
had been cornered in a ravine by the Rex family and had been killed. The kids
got the usual de-lousing and feeding up before settling in.

The brother and sister were Dora
and Kevin Douglas, African American kids from California. Eight year old Kevin
was a bit traumatized, but seemed to come out of his shell a little when the
boys played. Teenage Tisha was of mixed African American and Indian decent, she
immediately started giving Anne, Janet, and Mitch a hard time.

Tisha wanted to see the Amazon village;
sure it would be an easier life. Anne and Janet as well as the boys tried to
talk her out of it. Recognizing obstinacy Mitch said okay. Janet threw up her
hands, but asked that he bring a wheel of cheese, some leather goods, and a
couple baskets of mushrooms, fruit, butter, bread, some jerky, and eggs to the
Doc. He reluctantly agreed knowing all those things were easily replaceable. He
packed a cooler with lunch materials just in case of an extended stay.

The new girls were excited,
prattling on as Mitch drove. He set his jaw, and they ignored him. At the
outskirts of the village Dora looked around and saw it for what it was, it was
a third world shit whole, with crude huts and a partial palisade. Trisha
mouthed soft obscenities until Mitch turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “You
were expecting a utopia?” he asked, voice dripping sarcasm.

The hunters and dominatrix were
out hunting. Doc warily greeted them. She was gaunt but she still had fire in
her eyes. He handed over the baskets, cheese, and leather from Janet, making
her tear up. One of the women came to see and jumped up and down for joy. They
were gaunt Mitch realized, more so than before. A red headed teen came; she was
gaunt with her clothes hanging in rags. She saw the food and stumbled forward.
The Doc called her “Cassie slow down. Softly.” Mitch felt dismay at the sight
of her he remembered her being a better.

Cassie looked up and flushed in
embarrassment. Mitch suggested the girls go sit under the tree and eat a
sandwich out of the burning hot sun. He opened a cooler and handed each of the
girls a sandwich and a bottle of water. He admonished the girls he wanted the
plastic container and wrappers back.

Doc was tired and sat. He pulled
the cooler up, tossed a blanket down and handed a sandwich to each of the
adults. He checked the safety on his rifle and then set his rifle down near
him. They ate in silence. The teens prattled on amongst themselves, making him
snort as he gave them a sidelong look. “Nothing ever changes,” he murmured.
Doc’s eyes dance in laughter. She mumbled a thanks and he waved it off.

“You are doing what you can Doc,”
Mitch said gruffly. Doc told him the hunters have had to go further and further
afield to make kills, and get raided by predators if they stay over long at a
carcass. Two of the hunters had been injured, one killed.

Gathering food had been hit or
miss, they had found a tuber that was edible, and berries, but a long tapered
tuber killed a girl after she ate it. He patted her hand and told her awkwardly
she was doing her best.

They were eating, but one to two
meals a day of mostly meat and berries she explained. They couldn’t save
anything, it spoiled fast in the heat and blazing sun. He told her and the
other women to smoke or salt excess meat, and explained how to make a spring
house. He pulled out a pad of paper and drew it out, and drew a map of the area
pointing out where animals grazed, and where water, salt, clay, and iron
deposits were. He handed over the paper, and pulled out a print out stapled
together. He passed the three out, telling them each had stuff on survival,
from making soap to how to tan leather or hunt. They nodded their thanks. He
gave the Doctor a fishing kit and small net. She thanked him and patted his
hand.

The girls returned and they left
with small quiet goodbyes. On the way home Dora and Tisha were quiet at first,
before Dora asked why they were doing so badly. Mitch sighed and tried to
explain.

“Right now they are stuck in a
strictly hunter gatherer society, something that is very nomadic, and very bad
for them since they aren't mobile. They are living off of mainly protein and
berries, having eaten most of their supplies early on.” He paused to look out
over the landscape. “To live here will take more than meat, you need a balanced
diet, which takes farming,” he sighed.

“What about hunting or fishing?”
Dora asked.

Mitch shook his head. “No, hunting
they tried, but aren’t doing well.” He explained each of those tasks and most
others in an agrarian society take a lot of upper body strength. “Keeping a
plow straight, tossing a bull, handling a raging boar, all these things are
dangerous and take a lot of upper body strength and stamina. A small farm in
the middle ages could be run by two men and one woman, but the same farm would
take eight or nine women to run, each eating the same amount of food per day as
a man,” he finished. They grew pensive and quiet as they digested that.

“So are we going to be slaves?
Second class? Back to that?” Dora asked quietly.

Mitch snorted and then laughed,
“Are you one now?” They looked at him and shook their heads. “Then you won’t be
as long as you live under my roof. Yes I am the boss, it is my stuff, I am in
charge, but I have no intention of being some psycho tyrant. I am not a sexist,
and will listen to you if you have a different view then me.” He made a face.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean I will agree, but I will listen. Or at least try
too,” he said. The girls reluctantly nodded.

He pointed back with his thumb;
“You really wanna live like them?” They adamantly said no, vehemently shaking
their heads. He chuckled. “Ladies, when we get things sorted out you can choose
what you want to do, as long as it contributes to the community. Remember I
said we rotate stuff?” They both nodded.

He nodded back, “We do as much as
possible, and so if you do not like a chore, don’t worry and it will rotate.”
Mitch glanced from one to the other. “But remember, the next chore could be
worse,” he said. They grimaced in annoyance. He chuckled. “Hey it could be a
lot worse, living in a lice and flea infested hut tossing wood into a fire
hoping the animals don’t eat you!” They nodded and shivered.

“Been there done that,” Tisha
said softly and closed her eyes.

The fourth and final outdoor
harvest came with the cooling weather, sure sign of autumn. They plowed the
fields and seeded them with winter clover for later. The clover would draw
nitrogen into the soil, refreshing some of the nitrates lost by the crops. They
would also turn the cattle out on it to graze until the snows started.

Dora had been doing well in her
medical studies; she had even managed to set up some of the infirmary based off
of the blueprints and manuals. Janet had given her a hand stocking the shelves
with gear. “She does a good job bandaging the scrapes and bruises the kids
get,” Anne commented as she folds laundry.

Mitch took the time during a
rainy day to go over things with Dora, checking her training and helping her
set up the rest of the infirmary. He even unpacked the special prototype
medical robot he had built. It was built as an aide, more of a nurse than a
medic. Unfortunately its programming was not well tested, so they limited it to
fetch and carry tasks like the Mini-me robots.

Brian, Vance, Mitch and the
robots managed to dig out the foundations for the giant wind turbines, and
poured them. It took three weeks before Mitch was confident enough to set up
the first. The kids were awed at the size of the thing, over forty meters tall
once fully assembled. Getting it plum and level had been quite an exercise. The
massive blades spun easily in the wind. The second went easier, now that they
had the basics down. Mitch had wanted guy wires for safety but the blades
almost touched the ground, so that was out of the question.

Jeff and Sean convinced Mitch to
allow them to catch some of the therapods for study. He let them chase the
little bird like dinosaurs in a field while the robots provided security. After
a while Sean dropped, panting with fatigue. “Dang they are fast!” he commented.

“Ready to try it my way?” Mitch
asked, handing the boy a water bottle, as he shouldered the net he had pulled
out of storage. Sean groaned, throwing himself onto his back spread eagled.

Jeff came up bent over panting.
“Yeah, that’s...” Pant “...a good idea.” Mitch nodded.

They set out a pile of bait near
a flock, in this case bread crumbs and seeds. When a dozen of the critters came
to eat they dropped the net. They collected two loads and transported the
squawking clucking feather dusters back to the barn.

Janet came up on the back of a
mare the next day. She had made a point of riding the horses, even nagging the
kids into doing it as well. Her classes on riding had Mitch in fearful anxiety;
getting tossed by one of those horses was no joke. Injuries were common in
riding. She got him to use the plastic replicator to churn out some helmets,
and tapped the spider silk reserve for webbing.

Dora and Tisha had fallen in love
with the manure makers, riding the horses on a drop of an excuse. Janet had
been forced to rein in her protégées in chagrin. Tisha explained that she had
had a horse back on Earth, but her parents were forced to sell it.

Janet gave him a once over, then
handed him a sandwich without a word. He knew the look she was busy giving him
as he unwrapped the sandwich and took a draught from his canteen. She wasn’t
happy about the pace he was setting, thinking he was pushing too hard. He knew
that with more mouths to feed, and potential refugees to feed through the
winter, they would need as much bio-mass as possible.

He mumbled thanks, and turned
back to the work. She snorted. “Someone has to keep an eye on you, or you’ll
starve to death. Lunch was hours ago.”

He chuckled and waved. “I know,
but I really need to get this sorted out.” He pointed his free hand to the
wall. “We have concreted the main paths, run drainage ditches, and even
relocated the solar panels out,” he explained. He waved to the back of his hand
to the wall. “This is the last bit, I want to get as much of the wall done
before the cold and the snows hit.” Janet looked the wall over. They were out
on the North eastern corner, near the major breach areas.

“I don’t want something coming
through those fences if they get shorted out in the ice and snow.” he explained
as she pursed her lips and didn't say anything. He looked up to her. She slowly
nodded, and then turned the horse.