Chapter 8

The families caught up on what was going on back on Earth as they wandered around the ship.

John and Danial also told the younger couple what they knew about the pirates and some of the problems that they’d heard of through the grapevine that the new settlers were having on Terra.

Dusty could tell that the men were very worried about what was happening to the settlers going missing and about the fact that some people were resorting to slavery to build their workforces. The people who were doing it were not picky about nationality, gender or race, either.

The fact that kids were being sold and pressed into service was also disquieting. John told them that kids from the Western nations were not faring as well as those from poorer nations.

“Apparently, spoilt kids don’t do well in slavery. We have had reports that they are severely beaten and raped, and they even sell for less at the markets,” John informed them.

“The girls get it worse than the boys. Because we have more females than males, they are just about considered disposable items. Young men who test fertile are given drugs and forced to service as many females as they can. The girls are given fertility drugs and untested drugs that are supposed to reduce the number of females born.”

“We believe that some of the large farm owners are trying to revive the old South in the American style. They are set on breeding their own slaves that are trained as they want them to be. Since many of them have set up on the smaller continents and large islands as newly independent nations, the governments on Earth refuse to get involved.”

“They have dumped the problem onto UNSEC but still won’t provide them with personnel. We have had reports that the women the slavers don’t wish to breed are given drugs that have been banned on Earth to enhance their physical strength so that the owners can work them harder.”

“The labour-saving devices we have for farms and general manufacturing on Earth are costly to import and maintain on Terra. Since the farmers are trying to grow vegetables and speciality crops in such large areas, they have deemed that slaves are a cheaper alternative.”

“Mining is just as bad. They, too, consider labourers cheaper than importing and maintaining all the machinery our mines use. They don’t enforce all of the safety regulations and acts we have on Earth, either. It’s almost a reminiscence of the coal pits and tin mines of old England.”

“Many of the mines are in isolated locations and out of view of the mainstream, so the owners do as they please. UNSEC had informed the people living on Terra that if they find people are not being paid at least the minimum wages and are being kept as slaves, then they will take action against the slavers. So far, they are being ignored.”

“The people in the new nations are claiming they don’t have to obey the laws set by UNSEC. So, without more people to police the nations, it’s like England trying to assert their rights in America and Australia when they were settled,” John sighed.

“It will probably take a long time for UNSEC to assert their will on them, too,” Dusty replied. “More people settling in the controlled areas will cause other more pressing issues, and those who have formed independent nations will continue to do as they please as long as they can keep supplying the goods the others want.”

“I agree,” Danial said. “Humans are very good at ignoring what is going on next door as long as it doesn’t impinge on their livelihoods. With the populations being sparse in the areas that have been settled and the fact that they are all spread out over an area even greater than Earth, then the independent nations will simply be ignored.”

Dusty and James felt that they were going into a no-win situation.

The group were on the second level, which was mostly storage, when Sean reappeared in front of them.

“Hi, I had a good look around and decided that this level would be best to put the containers on. Apparently, not all of your stores have been loaded, so once they come aboard, you will be able to put a lot of them in these containers,” Sean told them.

He took them into an open area that had been designed for cargo containers to be put in it.

“I’ve lined them up around the walls for easier access. The yellow containers that back the red ones create the new hallway with an entrance at each end.”

He walked past the yellow containers to show them the other containers.

“As you can see, I replaced the doors on these, so they slide. When fully slid back, a robo-lift can enter the room with a pallet, or you can open them just so a person can enter.”

“While they look like 2.5m cubes, inside, they each contain a space that is 5m high and 20m square. They and split into two levels. That gives you roughly two thousand cubic metres of space to fill.”