AWACS - An American With A Chinese System
Copyright© 2025 by PT Brainum
Chapter 46
Anthony met me as I was leaving the dinner party, and asked that I come over to his house.
“What’s up?” I asked, as we settled in his living room.
“I saw the chocolate plantation, amazing work, and the obsidian dome you built is incredible.”
I just smiled. Waiting for the ‘but’, that was sure to come.
“I’ve also talked to Leela about Big Mama, and we are wondering just how big is Big Mama going to be?”
“I’ve got the stone to do twenty meters, but I could go bigger if you really want it. The issue is not size, so much as where to put her.”
He unrolled the map, “We’ve been talking and think that she should go right here,” he said, pointing at the map.
“I considered that, but it’s the Western most point on the island. Easter Island is to the East. I was thinking that she should be facing Easter Island.”
“She would,” he insisted, “All the Moai faced inward, with their backs to the sea. There is room for ships to view her there, and tourists coming in would be able to travel to see it.”
“If the ship can only see the back, more people will come ashore to see the face. We will definitely will need to improve the roads out there.”
He sighed, “It’s on my to-do list. Speaking of lists, this is my wish list.”
I looked it over, it was mostly building supplies, lumber, and steel roofing, lots of nails and screws, but I caught a couple odd items.
“What’s the electric bus for?”
“I was thinking that if we had an electric vehicle of some sort that could cart tourists around it could run a loop between the various attractions we are setting up. Down Rope has become the Obsidian Tunnel and I’m thinking we could show a movie about the island’s history in the obsidian cavern. The beach will get visitors now for the petroglyphs, as well as the sand. But, there’s something big I wanted to ask you about.”
“Go ahead,” smiling at his finally reaching the ‘but’ I had been expecting.
“Could you deepen, or otherwise improve the north western Harbor?”
“Why is that important?” I asked.
“The wind is often from the south here, which makes that harbor in the lee of the island.”
“Lee?”
“The side protected from the wind and waves, in the wind shadow.”
I nodded that I understood, and he continued, “It’s great that we finally have it. If it was deeper, and wider we could bring the supply ship in directly, and not have to load everything into the longboats first. It would also be a much better trip for the tourists.”
“Do you have a design, or just want me to wing it?”
“I have a design, it’s what was originally proposed, but deemed too expensive and excessive for the island’s needs. It got pared down to the small dock we have today.”
I looked over the design, it had called for dredging out closer to the shore, so larger boats could come in, and extending the breakwater dock.
“Can I keep this and think about it?”
“Sure, that’s a copy.”
“Great, now what would you do if you had your own boat that could ferry people from Totegegie Airport to the island?”
“I’d want to put up a hotel to put them all, and run it twice a week. It would be a day trip of about 10 to 12 hours depending on weather.”
“Better to make it a night trip then, right? Let people sleep during the trip, wake up and be here, ready to enjoy the island?”
“Maybe, hard to say, we’d have to test it out. It’s not important. What is important would be handling the movement of people who came here to work, or went off island to work if there was easy transport between the two.”
I shrugged, “I only ask is because I’m buying a boat for another venture, and I might be willing to donate it when I’m finished.”
“That would really make a difference here. We don’t have a way off the island except the four yearly ships. We get guaranteed placement on them if we book a spot, but it only holds 14 passengers at most. As I’ve repeatedly mentioned, our tourists are primarily people off of cruise ships. I’ve booked two almost every month this year.
“Angie would love to do holiday villas, but there’s no way to fill them if we built them. They’d have to be rented out for 3 months at a time, with a really long voyage on either end, plus it would have to include food and drink in the price, and we’d have to import extra stuff for all of them so they had more of the comforts of home.
“Roughing it on vacation really doesn’t appeal like a luxury paradise adventure when you advertise.”
I pondered for a moment, then said, “I talked to her about it, and we staked out an area that it would be good for. Three months is a bit excessive, but a month with a relatively painless travel experience would tick a lot of boxes for the rich bucket listers who are always looking for another adventure to brag about.”
“Well, see if you can find an electric people mover, at least ten seats, we can refurbish it a bit here if you find it used.”
“I’ll keep an eye out.”
“Thanks, really amazing everything you’re doing for our community. It’s really appreciated.”
“I’m just seeing it as paying my fair share as I’m buying my way in, but you’re welcome.”
He shook my hand firmly and vigorously, a markedly more excited and positive outlook for his future, and pegging into the ‘bestest friend ever’ territory according to the displayed meter from one of my skills.
It was dark when I got back to the RV, very dark. I was glad to see my welcome light rope doing its job, lighting up the path to the steps. I considered what I was going to do, and realized that I needed a power nap, but I really wanted to spend some time exploring Hamburg. I grabbed my camping cot from the storage space under the RV, and transported to my magical peach land. After eating a peach, because I just couldn’t resist the smell, and wiping the juices off my chin, I set the cot up under the shade of the tree, and triggered chicken to give me a 1 hour power nap.
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