Chapter 11

He was overwhelmed by the hug he got from Tracy, then she called softly, "Hasan! He is here." Hasan walked towards the door, carrying several bags. He eyed his visitor.

"John? You came yourself?"

"Anything for an old friend. Where are the boxes of books?"

Hasan indicated a pile of cartons next to the door. John started to carry the first out the door and over to where the platform sat. As the family trooped out, he indicated the platform. "Everyone get on there. When ready, say NOW, and it will take you up. I'll collect the rest of the luggage."

Within a couple of minutes, the family were aboard, and John had nearly completed loading the luggage and boxes of books. It was still silent around them, but as John and the luggage began to rise, a voice shouted, "Stop!" He ignored it, and as the platform got to the lighted hatch, a shot rang out, hitting one of the boxes. John crouched lower, but a moment later another shot hit his body armour and he staggered. The platform slid inside the hatch and it rapidly closed.

John reckoned he would have a bruise for Hasan to attend to, shortly.

The Landership was on the move immediately. It swung its body round deliberately, and fired its engines in a brief burst. The fiery exhaust rushed at the man with the weapon, and he fell, with an agonised scream that was abruptly cut off as he died. The ship resumed its original course down the road, and began its take-off run.

It now turned on its rocket engines to full power, and they roared in the night, lighting up the area with the glare of the exhaust, a terrifying spectacle to anyone who had been awoken by the noise.

The huge vessel streaked down the road, rising all the while, then swung its nose skyward. It rose faster and faster, and when at last a missile was fired at it, from kilometres away, the Landership was well up in the sky and easily outpaced this weapon. It fell to the ground, spent and useless.

In Khartoum, the Supreme Leader was roused from his sleep by his minister of Defence. "Sir, that doctor under house arrest has been spirited away into the sky. We suspect the Americans of having a hand in it. It is the sort of thing they like to do."

The Supreme Leader was incensed, and screamed: "Anyone remaining in the house is to be executed for failing to prevent such a shameful event. The security detail supposed to prevent this should also die!"

"Sire, these men could do nothing to prevent it. It was a machine from the sky that carried the criminals away. The men were on duty to prevent any ground-based attempt to flee. They were working for the safety of the state, and are supporters of yours!"

"Oh, very well. If they are innocent observers, I suppose they cannot be punished severely. However, they should know that I am not happy. The state is not happy. Each will lose a day's pay for their laxity, and tell them they were let off lightly. They should not allow anything similar to happen in the future. Why was not someone kept closer to the residence?"

"There was one man in such a position, sire. He was burned to death in the exhaust of the machine that spirited them away. He died for the state, and for your glory, sire."

"I am glad someone acted well. See that he gets a posthumous medal for duty unto death. Make sure this event does not get to the media, except for the medal. You don't have to say where he met his death, merely that he did so preventing a Western attack on me."

In orbit, the Landership passengers transferred to the Base ship. They were awed by the size of the vessels they were leaving and entering.

Hasan said to John, "You have control over these gigantic machines, John?"

"Good grief, no, Hasan. I have no control over them at all. They are a separate people, an alien spacefaring race who have made a decision to work with us. It amuses them to assist us in some of our escapades. Is that not so, Base ship?"

The ship's voice sounded a trifle amused, but declared, "I would not go so far as saying it amuses us, Governor, but we certainly like to experience the activities of humans, particularly where the action is of a humanitarian style. We do support helping others, and if a human action will help people of any sort, we enjoy being part of that endeavour."

John said, "I neglected to ask your name, ship. Pardon me that error. What do you prefer to be called?"

"I decided to be called "Shakedown Cruise. My number is 2368."

"I like the thought behind your name", declared John. "Anyway, thanks for your assistance tonight, Shakedown."

Hasan added, looking around him for a direction to express his views, "May I also thank you, on behalf of my family, for rescuing us from the clutches of an evil regime?"

"Your thanks are welcome, Doctor Abdin. We trust that you will be able to help people on New Eden in turn."

Dr Abdin raised his eyebrows. He was clearly surprised at altruism at this level, and his view of The Personalia was taking another turn for the better. These alien ships were no longer a distant technological mechanism, to be regarded with a degree of suspicion. They were PEOPLE in the guise of spaceships, people with a high regard for the individual, a quality that most of humanity failed to achieve. He felt guilt for his own people, and spoke to John Wells about this.

"John, I have been living my life in isolation, wrapped up in my work and my family. Having Tracy love me and take me on as a husband: that was enough for me. It sustained me in my medical studies and work, and I disregarded the world outside. That was why I innocently moved to Sudan, my home country, to be there for my countrymen's health needs. I ignored the current rulers of the country as none of my business.

"It was a while before it penetrated my thick skull that some of my patients were coming to me with injuries sustained from beatings or attacks by government forces. They came to me as I had no links to the ruling party. I was seen as a safe pair of hands to trust your health to.

"It took time before that got translated by the government into: if I helped victims of the government, I was by definition opposing the government. My and my family's house arrest did not significantly bother me at first, until I realised that they were using me to try to identify dissidents. That was when I started advising specific patients to avoid visiting me any longer, for the good of their health.

"The ruling junta must have sussed this out, for the oppression on me increased. My phone was restricted to incoming calls only, and essential external visits by my family, such as to the dentist, or school, were invariably accompanied by security men.

"Your intervention came just in time, for I think the next step was going to be putting me in prison, on suspicion of harbouring grievances against the government. Thank you, John, for all you have done."

John looked surprised, and laughed wryly. "Hasan, old friend, it all boils down to serendipity. I hadn't thought about you in years. I had been head of Administration for Rehome Colony, and the Governor there appointed me as Governor to lead the colony on New Eden.

"We had a discussion about a boy going to school there – an alien boy, a Towatan – and I was saying that children without adult influence treat other children as just children. I recalled a refugee boy in my class at school, who came with almost no English and we had to teach him. I remembered somehow that you had become a doctor, and so I was asked if I could persuade you to come to New Eden.

"That is how and why I came on the scene. It was sheer luck that it coincided with your needing to be rescued, I have to admit. When The Personalia revealed your situation, I went into Organiser mode, and so here we are."

"I don't care how it happened, John, I and Tracy are just glad you were able to rescue us – and that thanks includes you too, Shakedown!"

Shortly thereafter, they were in orbit round New Eden, and Shakedown advised them to move to a Landership. Mechanoids appeared, to load the boxes of books into the new Landership, and soon the Landership was drifting down into the atmosphere.

It announced a schedule. "I am Field Trip. We are on our way down to New Eden, but this will be a slow manoeuvre to arrive at ground level in the correct place, so will take around an hour to get there. Sanitary conveniences are available in the rear corner of your compartment, should there be a such a requirement."

"Thank you, Field Trip. We shall enjoy the ride, I am sure." John responded.

Tracy interposed, "John, what have you been doing with your life, apart from work? Have you married? Children?"

"Yes, to both, twice. I am married to two women, a mother and daughter, and we have four children so far. Don't ask me how I ended up marrying both Gloria and Muriel: it is a complicated story! Just accept that we are a happy family, and we also look after two teenage girls who were orphaned recently."

"How nice. As you can see, our two are five and three. We put off having children while Hasan was at medical school. How old are your kids, John?"

"Two are coming up three, and two are a year old. Muriel and Gloria say they are pregnant again, so we are planning to extend the house – officially called The Governor's Mansion, but it is just a normal house to us. Our Colony can't afford fancy mansions for the Governor. In fact, there are many things we can't afford, which is why The Personalia have been investing in our Colony, in return for income in the future."

"Sounds reasonable, John. What are they investing in, exactly?"

"Mainly our rail network, especially the tunnel through the mountains, and the fence we are erecting outside the mountains. Our colony is in an immense crater, hundreds of kilometres across, ringed by mountains."

Hasan joined Tracy's questions. "A fence? You need investment for a fence? How peculiar!"

"Perhaps. But not so peculiar when the fence has to keep out beasts the size of dinosaurs. We call them megabeasts. All the continents have them. Our crater, being ringed by mountains, is the only place free of them."

"This is the place you want me to go and practise medicine, John?"

"It is, Hasan. The fence is a mega fence to keep out mega beasts, and as soon as it is complete, I intend sending men into that area to look it over prior to settling it. I want to discover the surprises beforehand, not after sending settlers in.

"When our explorers go in, we are going to find some injuries, no doubt, so I want our medical facilities to be as competent as possible. You are part of that competency plan, now."

"Okay, I can see that. What exactly do you expect me to do, in your plan?"

"I need someone with an unbiased overview, to keep a close eye on things. Our existing medical staff already know our small population well, perhaps too well, so they may be influenced by that familiarity. I want a situation such that when I need a report, I get one which is not affected by personal knowledge of individuals. If I have to sacrifice one man to save others, I need that decision to be based on logic and nothing else. Hasan, I have to make tough decisions at times. While I want to do my best for everyone, occasionally I make a choice for the best of everyone, the whole community, and probably bad for one person or family.

"I suppose it is a choice faced by every leader. In my case, I would prefer not to be swayed by matters like, "Joe has a wife and family; but Fred is not a likeable man. Fred may have abilities that are more important than Joe's; and be important for the community's benefit. My decision may appear to be the wrong one, but it has to be RIGHT for the community as a whole. Do you understand my dilemma?"