Chapter 5

"No. We are testing the strengths of various cables that are on sale. Most cables are designed for pressure strains, and not protection against physical attack, so we may have to go for armoured cables, which are much dearer; however, we need so much cabling that we should be able to strike a good deal on the purchase. We anticipate at least four cables between fence posts, and then cross links of the same quality, welded in place, with the wire mesh added on the inside."

John was interested in one point. "How are you going to get the cabling down to the ground from orbit? I presume it will be cut to specific lengths?"

"Indeed so, Governor. You have a practical bent of mind, I see. We intend to hang a measured length of cable from a Landership, swoop along the fence line, and as the end touches the ground, drop the cable so that it falls exactly beside the fence posts. Cables will be dropped on either side of the line of posts. Later, a Landership will lift one end to the height required, and mechanoids will weld it into position; then the same at the next post, ensuring the correct tension is maintained. Finally, the last section of cable will be welded, and any excess cut off: the measurements allowed for that, and for the sag between two stanchions.

"The procedure will be repeated for each length of cable, starting at one end of the fence and proceeding towards the middle. Another Landership will be doing the same from the other end. As soon as the gap in the middle becomes less than a kilometre, we stop and wait for the beasts to be cleared from the interior of the area being enclosed.

"We will be using our practiced technique of transmitting sound vibration at a frequency that annoys the mega beasts. Starting from the mountains, our mechanoids will drive them steadily towards the gap, until the area is empty of such beasts. Our mechanoids will continue with the transmissions while the remainder of the fence is cabled. The wire mesh will be added after that, merely to provide extra protection for your settlers to be happy."

"All that should not take you very much time, yet boring that rail tunnel is going to take many months at least. Why the rush?"

The Personalia voice sounded a trifle despairing of humans. "Governor, how do you expect to settle that huge area? It is virgin forest, grassland which might include swamps or bogs, and many other obstacles. It takes time to survey such an area. Observations from space does not reveal all, you know.

"Additionally, trees have to be cut down for timber, and transported back to your colony. For that timber to be seasoned, it needs to be stacked and allowed to dry until the next year.

"Therefore, Governor, you need timber cut and stacked well in advance of the rail track coming through. Have you thought about how that timber will be moved? You will need a main rail line from the forest vicinity to the tunnel, and many spur lines to various forest sites over the next few years. We can deliver a battery-powered shunting engine or two, and flatcars for carrying timber. These will have to come from Earth, unless you want to build them here.

"If you want to have planks of wood for delivery to your colony once the tunnel rail line is operational, you need a sawmill to cut the seasoned timber into planks, so how long will it take to construct a sawmill, and where will you site it?

"There is a considerable amount that you humans will have to prepare in advance of the rail line becoming operational. Is that not so?"

John gulped, as the realisation set in.

"You are quite correct, I have to admit. We do indeed have to plan ahead, and start building what is going to be required. At the very least, there is the matter of stations to be built; sheds for the engines and rolling stock; a goods yard where the timber will arrive for the sawmill: that might suit the area this side of the tunnel.

"Oh, we have a lot to think about. I shall have to get an organising committee working on this. Thanks for your advice, sirs."

John was as good as he promised. He called together his heads of departments, and put it to them,

"We have a railway being built to the tunnel, which will go through the mountains. We have to do a lot of planning for when that comes towards completion, so I need an advisory committee to look into all the ifs and buts, and come up with good ideas.

"We need to have stations. Where do we place them? We will have timber coming from the new area outside the mountains: where do we place our sawmill, to turn the timber into planks? As the timber will be coming by freight train, we need a goods yard beside the sawmill. Our main station at the Colony will need a goods yard for arriving freight trains with planks and other building materials from the sawmill.

"When the tunnel is complete, we shall need temporary rail lines off into the forests, to bring out the logs for the sawmill. How do we do that? If there are areas of bog, marsh or swamps, we need to be able to drain them, or perhaps turn them into pools of fresh water for human use and for stocking with fish. I am looking for constructive ideas.

"For this committee, I am looking for people with expertise on railway building, drainage, logging, building a sawmill; things like that. The colony data base may give you names to talk to. I don't care about the social status of committee members; it is their expertise we need, not social abilities. Keep that in mind. I want a committee of do-ers, not talkers.

"Please submit your nominations to me by tomorrow evening. Any names I see, that I consider have no validity, I shall strike off. Get me a committee that will produce work, not talk interminably, gentlemen, and lady."

John was feeling pleased with himself, that evening, and was looking forward to hearing about his new committee. He told the family over dinner,

"The Personalia put a bomb under me, and in response I put a bomb under my own people. Hopefully they will come up with the goods, but that depends on having the experts to do the job. My main concern is in building a rail network, and all that is involved. I doubt we have such a man here. A railway man doesn't usually go to a new colony with no railways!

"Of course, if the worst comes to the worst, perhaps I can borrow that expertise. Rehome's railway boss has built up an enviable knowledge of the physical and economic problems of building a railway network. At least he had open and vacant ground to build on: no megabeasts around! Earth experience is not too useful, as much of their rail networks run through built-up areas, and there are considerable problems with buying land for a rail track. Such difficulties make track building a slow and expensive business. Rehome is much more like us."

Penny asked him, "Governor, if I have to go to college to learn a new ability, do you think I should look at finance, economics, that sort of thing?"

"Interesting thought, Penny. What makes you suggest that?"

"I was interested in maths at school, but the teachers made it pretty boring on the whole. I thought they could have given us more practical problems to investigate, but they kept to the syllabus. Everything was geared to the needs of the exams, instead of real life. Do you think college would be different?"

"Now, that is a point worth exploring. Our college on New Eden is pretty small, so they should be gearing their output to men and women ready to help the colony grow. I shall speak to the college Rector, and explore that with him."

"Thanks, Governor. It will help me decide what to do. As long as I can live here with Tabs while she is still at school, I am willing to embark on a course of study." She mused for a moment, then turned to Gloria. "Gloria, how is the colony in terms of midwives? That is another possibility for me."

Gloria was impressed at the teenager's interests. "Certainly, we could do with more midwives, Penny. Most of our settlers are of childbearing age, which leads to lots of babies being born, thus the need for midwives. It can be quite a messy business, as any woman who has given birth will warn you. Having your husband with you is a chastening experience for him, I can tell you.

"The greatest asset a midwife can have, is the knowledge to know when to call in a doctor. Mothers can die on occasion, when the midwife fails to spot a complication. That is why Muriel and I have sought doctors advice at every stage of our pregnancies, and not waiting until the birth to discover a complication. Perhaps you might want to consider becoming a doctor, instead."

Penny was horrified. "What, and be totally responsible for my patients? At least a midwife can pass on her problems to a doctor. A doctor can't do that, can she?"

John was pensive. "In general, that is true, Penny, but doctors can ask another doctor for a second opinion, thus sharing the load of responsibility. Far too many patients suffer because their doctor was unwilling to ask for a second opinion. At present, we don't have a medical school for training doctors, but perhaps a doctor might take someone on as an apprentice, and be trained that way, until we can set up a medical school. Our small hospital will offer a great deal of experience for an apprentice to learn from."

Tabs intervened. "Can we move away from all this talk of babies and messy childbirth? It makes me feel queasy."

Muriel responded, "All right, Tabs, if that is what you want. Tell us what you are good at in school. We can perhaps get you more homework to improve your grades in the subjects you don't manage so well."

Tabs stuck her tongue out at Muriel. "That's right. Go from one nasty subject to another. See if I care! If I was Penny, I would go for the economics side of things: a lot less messy for a start."

Gloria spoke directly to Tabitha. "Seriously, Tabs, you should concentrate on getting good grades in every subject. It will all serve you well, no matter what you decide to do with your life.

"You could consider the Security Service, for a start. Most of your time you are just standing around, but your mind has to be sharp, to see what every person is doing, and what seems out of kilter. If you went into the detective branch, then THAT could get messy, dealing with blood and other things at crime scenes, but it is mostly just routine collecting of evidence.

"With so many jobs, it is your brain and what it holds that is important. Knowing about air pressure, for example, helps with being a meteorologist; with being a Security person – pressure is involved in when a gun fires, or an explosion goes off; or merely driving a car or truck – the tyres have to be at the correct pressure to run well.

"Even cookery is affected, where you may operate a pressure cooker that can kill you if you are not careful. Diving into water involves pressure, to a dangerous degree, as do balloon flights, and even aircraft. Cabins have to be pressurised at height, to stop the pilot from blacking out.

"So much of what happens in life is affected by things that you learn at school, Tabs. Teachers seldom make this clear, as you have noticed, but if YOU are aware of the value of what you are learning, then it all becomes much more interesting.

"Here's an intriguing bit of Earth history that I picked up recently. What was the only military code that was not broken by the enemy in World War Two? Do you know?"

"That is a daft question. What use are codes apart from confusing the enemy?"

"Oh, they are used to disguise what you are doing, so that the enemy can't fight you so effectively. The Germans never learned that their highly-technical "unbreakable" code machine had been broken, using the first electrical computer, and a bunch of geniuses sitting in huts.

"No, the code that was never broken was a local language. The Americans used a number of Navaho Indians, one in each unit, and they simply talked over the radio. They had to update the language for the occasion, so that a dive-bomber became a "chicken hawk", and a grenade was changed to a potato. The enemy were completely flummoxed, for there was no code involved, just a language that only a small number of people knew."