Chapter 68

"We can only put it to them, and let them decide, as a family. Wait until we have eaten, then we can take them aside and put it to them."

The Lubbock family arrived mid-afternoon, father driving the tractor, and mother and Susan in cushioned benches in the trailer. The seats were complete with restraining belts, for protection from the many bumps and hollows in the farm tracks being used. On their arrival, they were offered a comfy seat on which to recover, and a cup of tea or coffee plus a piece of café for reviving sustenance.

Once they were adequately restored, Olu and Winston jointly took the Lubbock parents on a tour round the perimeter of the farmhouse, to point out the fields they had spent weeks preparing for planting. Susan caught up with Winston's wives about all the news and gossip, and in return Susan told them of activity at her school and her own home and farm. Olu's mother and Tokunbo were working on the evening meal while Papa Odumosu looked after the younger children, to keep them out of the way.

Much to the annoyance of the children, they received their evening meal half an hour before the adults, and were afterwards sent to play games in their bedrooms as an alternative to early bed. This kept them quiet.

The meal for the adults started by being slightly awkward, as is the case with strangers meeting in what to them was a formal setting. Susan and Winston's wives made a point of chatting away together and drawing the visitors into their conversation. Olu's parents soon joined this friendly chatter, explaining about some of the courses and how they were prepared, and shortly after that, the bored husbands switched to farm talk, and had much more fun.

The Odumosu parents had researched Western customs and so offered their guests coffee and biscuits in the living room at the end of the meal. This encouraged more chatter, and the smiles increased as time went on.

Olu finally decided the time had come.

"Susan, Winston received a call from The Personalia today."

She looked up, surprised at the topic. "Oh? What about?"

"Education. They have perfected some mechanism whereby they can offer accelerated learning on any subject. Their target is to provide speed learning to al of their settlers going to the planed colony on Arborea."

"Arborea? Oh, yes, that new planet The Personalia are preparing for opening up. I saw something about it on the Rehome News site. Apparently a research team have been working on potential sites for the Colony. I heard it said that almost the whole planet's land area is covered in forest. Fine if you are a lumberjack, otherwise a problem, isn't it?"

"The Personalia have adopted the sites chosen by the experts on Rehome, and they are clearing the sites ready for farming and central service buildings. The unique thing about Arborea is that The Personalia decided to give priority to poor people as settlers. A great altruistic approach, reminiscent of the setting up of colonies in Africa in the 18th and 19th century – that became Liberia and Sierra Leone - for freed slaves to go and manage their own country.

However, The Personalia intend to properly finance and manage the settlement of the colony. There are no natives to contend with, so the problems will be that of adapting to the local conditions. The better prepared the settlers are for setting up a new colony, the better, so The Personalia aimed to provide education for all the settlers."

Susan commented, "That's a big task they have set themselves."

"It is, and that is why they researched and developed a speed learning technique using equipment they built themselves. They want to give a fast education to every settler, concentrating on whichever knowledge is required by that settler.

They are at the point where they need to practise on their first human subject, to prove that the equipment works well. They are looking for a volunteer."

All the other conversation had died away, as everyone was taking in what Olu was saying. Susan queried, "Volunteer? Who are they looking for, in a volunteer?"

Olu cleared his throat before replying. "They say they want someone who is aged between fifteen and twenty, is keen on further education, and is already exposed to the education process. In other words, someone who is still at school or college."

Susan glanced around the room. She quickly caught on. "Me? Olu, do you mean me?"

He looked uncomfortable, but admitted, "It looks like you are the preferred candidate for the job. I am not too happy as there is a tiny chance of problems with it, but The Personalia say they are 99.999 per cent certain it is safe, but that is not 100 per cent. I think you and your parents should discuss this before making a decision."

"Olu? Do you want me to take this on, my love?"

Olu gulped. "I don't know, my darling Susan. If it works as The Personalia claim, you will be famous as the first person to benefit from this technology. You can get your agricultural education very quickly (I don't know exactly how quickly) so we can be married and you can take up your career at the same time. BUT, there is still a tiny chance that you might be harmed, and I don't want to see that happen to you. I love you and am terrified I might cause you harm."

She could see I his eyes the truth of this. Susan turned to her parents. "Mum? Dad? What do you think I should do?"

Her mother put her hand over her mouth, as if afraid to speak, and said nothing, simply staring at her husband. Her father seemed torn between Yes and No. He said, "Susan, my darling daughter, on this occasion I cannot give you advice. This the decision of an adult, and you have already shown how adult you are. I will support any decision you make. If you say NO, we will respect that. There is no pressure on you to say Yes. If you say YES, it is an adult decision, and yours alone, but we will also respect that.

If you are harmed, I undertake to look after you to the best of our ability, because we love you. If you are unharmed, and get the benefits expected, we will rejoice."

Susan looked round at everyone, once again. She could see that they were all supportive, and truly there was no pressure from them. There WAS immense pressure on her, though. She had to make a decision, one though would affect her entire future. She made a decision. Olu? Can you get The Personalia on the phone, please?"

He whipped out his phone and did so. When they answered, he said. Susan Lubbock wants to ask you a question, before deciding whether to volunteer for your speed-learning programme."

He handed the phone to Susan. She asked, "If I volunteer, and I am harmed, will you guarantee that my parents will be given a million dollars? This is to recompense them for the cost of looking after me, if I am damaged."

There was an immediate response. "If you are damaged by our equipment, your parents will be given whatever money they require to ensure you are looked after for the rest of your life. There is no financial limit to that promise, Susan. It is our guarantee, and is not revocable."

"Very well. On that condition, I will volunteer. What do I do?"

"At present, our equipment is not moveable, so you will have to be brought up to a Base ship to undergo the procedure. You can be collected at your convenience, whenever and wherever you wish that to be., provided there is a suitable landing place nearby."

"How long will it take?"

"The procedure will vary, person to person, and depend on what has to be learned, but the expectation is of around ten hours total. If you can urinate and defecate just prior to the treatment, it should go through in one unit, but if your body decides you need to visit the bathroom, the programme will break at a suitable point for you, and be resumed after the toilet break. You should not eat or drink for five hours prior to the procedure. Is that acceptable?"

"It is. If I stay the night here, will you collect me from the Oluwosu farm tomorrow at ten a.m.?"

"Agreed. Goodbye."

Susan looked over at her parents. "Mum, Dad: I want to spend the night with Olu and Tokunbo. Do you mind?"

Her father answered, "Another adult decision, Susan. I presume that if this works, you will be marrying Olu soon?"

"Yes, Dad. If he and Tokunbo are willing to have me join them in matrimony."

Tokunbo looked over at Olu, but left him to respond. He said, "Susan, if all goes well, I want us to be married as soon as possible, preferably before you start telling people how to operate their farms!"

"Thank you, Olu. Goodnight, Mum and Dad. I will see you when I return, all being well."

They came over and each gave her a kiss and a hug, telling her how much they loved her. "We will tell your brothers and sisters that you are off on a short trip," whispered her mother. "Good luck."

After a night in which Olu aroused her, and Tokunbo tried to calm her down, Susan was prepared to face whatever The Personalia could throw at her.

At five minutes before the appointed time, a Landership slanted down from the sky and came to a graceful stop a few hundred meters from the farm house. The ladder rungs eased out of the structure below the doorway, and Susan clambered up to the door, finding another rung inside the door to hang on to and pull herself inside. As soon as she was seated in the cabin, the Landership left and its engines flung it up into the sky again. Half an hour later, the Landership was docking with its mother ship. Susan walked from the one to the other, the artificial gravity making the transition easy for her.

She was taken by the seat train to the main passenger area, and asked to enter one of the side cabins off that area. In it she found a couch with an attached unit, looking like a small umbrella. Directed, she lay down with her head pillowed on the bulbous end of the couch, below the umbrella.

Once settled, the ship instructed her on the procedure.

"I presume you followed the preparation instructions?"

"I did. I have not eaten or drunk for five hours, and I visited the bathroom just before I boarded the Landership."

"Thank you. That allows us to do a single educational unit. You will sleep during that, unless you become uncomfortable. The unit will hypnotise you to make instruction easier to remember later. When you awaken, your learning should be complete, but we will test your memory retention afterwards. That may take a while, so we do not know what the total time requirement will be. Relax and sleep now, Susan."

She woke up, feeling fine, but when she went to sit up, her head swan with dizziness, then a headache started. She reported all these symptoms to the ship, and was asked to lie down again and relax. She found that she had fallen asleep again, but this time when she wakened, she was truly fine. She could sit up, swing her legs off the couch, and stand up, all with no symptoms of distress. She reported this, and the ship told her, "This was a minor adjustment we should have prepared for. We allowed you to wake up, but had done nothing to relax you from the intense educational cramming you have received. Once we had returned you to the hypnotic state, we were able to restore your brain to normal living conditions. Future learning programmes will incorporate this amendment.