Chapter 28

I was a bit nervous as I stood at the podium looking into the cameras for I hadn’t made a live presentation for a year. Usually, I sat in a comfortable overstuffed chair as I made my daily dumps for Jon’s Corner. Today’s presentation was to make an important announcement. Clara and my advisors said that I needed a more formal atmosphere. I would have been more relaxed sitting in my chair.

Linda interrupted my thoughts saying, “Get ready Jon. You are ON in THREE, TWO, ONE“; then she pointed at me. I wasn’t ready mentally and almost froze up.

“Good evening, fellow Arkians.

“We returned to the surface almost four years ago. Since then a lot has happened, but the details really aren’t that important to tonight’s presentation. But I will mention a few of our key problems and accomplishments.

“During the time leading up to the Fall and during our preparation for returning to the surface, we made a series of serious mistakes that resulted in a major problem with our schedule when we first returned to the surface. I have mentioned the mistakes in the past and described how they caused the problem. I think Clara and I have beaten ourselves up enough for allowing our people to develop bad work habits.

“Leah’s Recycling Department made major contributions to our efforts of rebuilding Auburn. She and her people are the ones primarily responsible for Auburn being a thriving city with a city government and for restoring all the utilities and city services that we had before the Fall. A few of those services include police, fire, medical, electricity, gas, water, and sewage services. Utility services have also been extended to all of the Blocking Posts.

“Samantha’s Property Department restored housing in Auburn to a useable condition for Auburn’s survivors and the survivors who joined us from the Folsom and Sacramento areas. They located apartments, inns, hotels, duplexes, motels, and large private residences that were located close to each other. The suitable buildings in these residential areas were then converted into Bond Group Homes that were capable of housing at least six adults with kids.

“Julie’s Habitation Department did an outstanding job before the Fall in finding people to fill the skill sets that we would need. Her department trained many of the people we picked up to work for the knowledgeable people who had the skills we needed. Now her department is again overloaded with work. She evolved her department into an employment agency. They are busy matching the people who live in the Ark and in Auburn who need jobs with open positions in the Ark and in Auburn. She has placed over twenty thousand job applicants during the past two years; about three quarters of them moved out of the Ark and are now living in Auburn. Leah and Samantha call her telling her the skill sets and number of people they need for a project, and she finds them.

“Mary’s Provisioning Department has also undergone a drastic change. Initially her department did an outstanding job stockpiling the food and materials we would need to live in the Ark and to return to the surface. Now the Provisioning Department has three sections. One section stores and issues the items Leah’s Recycling Department scavenges, the second section stores the Abandoned Property that Samantha’s Property Department recovers, and the third section stores the produce and other property Betty Henderson’s Bank purchases until it is sold by the Bank.

“Sam Thomas’s Construction Department is about the same. He says they are overloaded, overworked, and underpaid. That has been a common feeling amongst all of us during the past twenty years.

“Larry’s Justice Department has been setting up judicial systems in the areas we control. The Ark has only claimed Auburn, Granite Bay, and Folsom, as its territory. It’s surprising but we also seem to have a great deal of control over Rocklin, Roseville, Citrus Heights, and parts of Sacramento. I’ll discuss that in a few moments. In addition to his legal activities, I suspect a third of Larry’s time is spent dealing with issues that relate to creating our new government.

“The Summary Council is still working at defining our new government and it looks as if they have more than a year of work to do before they will finish their effort. Whoever said it in one of our Advisory Council meetings was right – a large group of people can’t make decisions in a short period of time.

“Every so often someone will ask me about the Congressmen who we picked up wanting to know why they weren’t on the Summary Council. A few of the Congressmen died of the virus, and there were eight Congressmen in the Ark when we started defining our new government. The Congressmen lived in the same corridor and they were split between two groups of ten residences. That means only two of the Congressmen were eligible for serving as a Corridor Committee member. Only one of the Congressmen was elected to his Corridor Committee, and he was also elected to his Level Committee. Four Congressmen moved out of the Ark during the Great Exodus, and I think they planned to go into politics at the city level. Three died of old age and now only Councilman Jack Rogers is left in the Ark.

“It took a little over a year for the Petroleum Group to convert the Benicia Refinery to manual control and produce their first batch of diesel fuel. Fortunately, we learned that filtering the diesel to remove the particles that made the fuel unusable allowed us to extend the life span of the diesel fuel beyond its normal life expectancy. Since then, the Petroleum Group was able to open the Refinery’s safe and they found copies of the software programs used to control the production of gasoline and diesel fuels. They recently finished replacing the computers and electronics necessary for restoring the Refinery to a fully computer-controlled facility; but we are still only producing diesel. We now have more diesel fuel than we need; lately, we have been stockpiling the excess fuel for when we begin the next stage of our effort. I have been told that the Petroleum Group will be working on producing gasoline in the near future.

“The Great Exodus took place a year after we returned to the surface. The majority of our Arkians, a total of about eight hundred thousand men, women, and children, made it known to us that they wanted to return to the surface. After counseling them on the problems they may face, we did our best to relocate them to suitable areas.

“Half of these people took up farming and ranching in the area around Rancho Murieta, which is roughly thirty miles south of the Ark. A few began businesses in Rancho Murieta, some set up residences in Auburn, and the rest moved further south. We have an ongoing business relationship with the people who settled in and near Rancho Murieta. They need things that we manufacture and we need the food they raise. So we buy and sell each other’s merchandise via our Bank and their Household or Business accounts, and on occasion we barter with them. We lost track of the people who moved further south, but we will probably restore contact with them as we finish securing the Sacramento Area.

“Clara and I were surprised by the number of the people in the Great Exodus who were willing to rough it rather than live in Auburn. Betty Henderson, our Banking Department manager, told us that she thought a number of these people planned to change their Bond Group names and open new accounts after they left the Ark; so they wouldn’t have to pay off their debt. Clara and I reminded her that we had their medical records which included a retinal scan, so changing their names will not help them to evade their debt. Betty changed the Bank’s procedure for opening a new account to include comparing a new applicant’s retinal scan to the scans of existing account holders. During the past year, she was proven to be right. Quite a few people swore they did not have an account and applied for a new account using different names. They were arrested and tried for fraud and are now serving court-ordered enlistments in the Ark Army.

“Over the past three years, our plans for claiming the Sacramento Area have undergone several changes. The large hostile parties from outside the area we claimed never appeared; although we did have a few small groups that we had to deal with using force. The outlaw gangs from Sacramento appeared, but they were small and weak compared to the Ark Army; they either joined us or headed south to find healthier living areas.

“During our first two years in Folsom, we took in many of Sacramento’s survivors and bussed them to Auburn. They informed us that the gangs controlled Sacramento during the first year. When the canned food became scarce, the gangs sent out scouts to find the best place to relocate. The scouts returned with word that the Ark Army was in control of Folsom and Auburn. Their scouts felt that we were too large and too well armed of a group for the gangs to overcome. Most of the gang leaders decided to head south on Highway 99 to Stockton or Fresno. There are still a few small gangs left in Sacramento, but they don’t represent a significant threat to us.

“We learned a great deal in rebuilding Auburn, and we applied what we learned to assist the survivors in Folsom and Granite Bay. With help and guidance from Leah’s group, the survivors in Folsom and Granite Bay restored most of the utilities and services that are necessary for a city with a large population. The farms and ranches surrounding Granite Bay and Folsom have been restored to operation and newly established enterprises are providing the local population with food.

“During the past year, we received emissaries from Rocklin, Roseville, and Citrus Heights asking us for help. I told them that the Ark Army was not in a position to send them military assistance or weapons. I also told them that we would send civilian liaison personnel to them to help restore their water and waste disposal facilities, and we would provide them with as much additional assistance as possible. Of course our civilians were sent with a military escort to protect them. From the feedback we have received, these three cities are looking forward to being added to our territory, so we will be adding them and a few parts of Sacramento to our territory during the next stage of expansion.

“The Ark Army started out as a Command Center, a Ranger Division, and two Seal Divisions, which totaled about twelve hundred people. Division 1 was our Ranger Division; it consisted of six companies and about six hundred and forty soldiers. Divisions 2 and 3 were our two Seal Divisions; each Division had three Seal Teams totaling about two hundred and thirty Seals. Four hundred and sixty Seals are more than enough Seals for our current situation, so we only train replacement personnel for those two Divisions.

“During the first year and a half on the surface, my workload as the commander of the Ark Army gradually increased until it required a large portion of my time. My work as Co-President of the Ark was also increasing. My total workload finally became overwhelming two and a half years ago. To offload myself, I promoted Mike Henderson to General and placed him in full control of the Ark Army. Mike promoted Division 2’s commander, Captain Thomas Charles to Lieutenant General and made him his Executive Officer. Between the two of them, they standardized the Ark Army to use the Army rank structure, which was being used by Division 1. Although in Divisions 2 and 3, I understand that Chief and many of the Navy’s nautical terms are still used.

“As survivors joined us in Auburn, we had them enlist in the Ark Army and we trained most of them to be Rangers. Two years ago, Mike split Division 1 into four understrength Divisions, Divisions 1, 4, 5, and 6. Based on the number of recruits in the pipeline and the rate we were getting more recruits, he believed our four Divisions will be close to fully manned by the time we are ready to begin our next stage of expansion. Mike’s assessment of the Ark Army is, we now have the manpower and equipment to easily overwhelm any hostile force that we may encounter that is smaller than a large army. I agree with him.

“In yesterday’s Advisory Council meeting, we decided we are ready to begin the next stage of our expansion. The goal of that stage will be to secure the rest of what we call the Sacramento Area.

“Our approach to the coming stage, Stage 3, of our effort will be very different to what we used when we first returned to the surface. Our living conditions and quality of life are very high in Auburn; almost as high as it was before the meteoroids. The survivors of our neighboring cities that we haven’t claimed, have learned of our high living standard. They want us to incorporate them into our territory. I think that when the Ark officially incorporates them into the Ark’s Territory, they will welcome us with open arms when we enter their cities and they will willingly work with us to improve their standard of living.

“Word is spreading to the areas south of Sacramento that we have electricity and diesel fuel. Last month we received a delegation from Modesto, which is about a hundred-mile drive from the Ark or eighty miles due south as the crow flies. As the delegation moved north on Highway 99, they met with the survivors of the cities they passed though. Those cities had their delegates join them as they headed north. The party grew to almost seventy delegates by the time it reached Auburn.

“We brought the delegates into the Ark to talk with them. They were awestruck by what they experienced. They asked us if we would consider adding them to our territory. I had to decline. I explained our process of claiming a region and rebuilding it before claiming another area. I did offer to provide them with advisors and any direct assistance that we could supply without overextending ourselves. A few of the delegates indicated their cities would willingly join us based on what they had seen, when we were ready to move into their area. They stayed with us for two weeks discussing the possibility of us annexing them into our territory, before we claimed the area they were in.

“We reached an agreement with the representatives. The majority of our resources will go into rebuilding the area that makes up Stage 3 of our expansion. However, we will provide them with advisors and any extra resources that we can spare. A Company of Ark Army Rangers will be stationed in their area to defend them, if necessary. Their status will be Provisional Ark Territory.

“Our current situation seems to be ideal, and in general, it is. However, we still face dangers. One of the biggest dangers we face is overextending ourselves. At this time, we have cities coming to us for help and we want to help them. Therein is the danger. If we try to help too many people and try to help rebuild too many cities, we may weaken ourselves to the point that our current lifestyle and the lifestyle of those we are trying to help will be at risk.

“To prevent that possibility, we must harden our hearts and expand in a controlled manner. Stop and think about the Folsom Hydroelectric Facility. Our experts tell us that it is capable of supporting our needs for the foreseeable future. But when we expand our area, we will rely on that Facility to provide us with electricity. At some point, we will exceed the Facility’s maximum output capacity.

“Before that happens, we need to restore another Hydroelectric Facility to operation. Before the Fall, there were a number of Hydroelectric Facilities in operation south of Angel’s Camp. We inspected those Facilities as part of our Stage 1 effort. We discovered that two of the Facilities were still operational. Our experts shutdown the turbines to ensure they weren’t damaged before we needed them.

The three Hydroelectric Facilities will be restored to operation during the latter part of our effort to secure the Sacramento Area.

“As we move south from Auburn, we will be entering what used to be some of the most fertile agricultural land in the United States. Hopefully, the rains and tsunamis we endured did not harm the soil in that area. By now, many of the survivors have returned to farming. Food and water should not be a problem. However, diesel fuel and other items and services may become a problem if we expand too fast. Most of California’s remaining refineries are around Martinez, Fresno, and Bakersfield. Hopefully, we will be able to restore those facilities to operation. When a large portion of southern California sank into the ocean, we lost most of the oil fields and refineries in that area; although, there may still be a few left.

“Tomorrow, the Ark will begin Stage 3. The plan for Stage 3 is in place and unlike the plan for our return to the surface, we have made certain that we won’t be repeating our prior fiasco. The plan has a sufficient level of detail defined to ensure all predictable situations are identified. The schedule has reasonably accurate execution times for the task elements. Sufficient trained manpower is in place to support the expansion. Probably the most important item is the Ark Army and departments participating in the expansion will be communicating with each other before and during the expansion.

“That my fellow Arkians is all I have for you tonight. So I will say goodbye for now, and let you get back to the more important things in your life.”

As I said, the situation had changed drastically. We were no longer worried about being invaded, but we did maintain our Blocking Posts to greet any groups who wanted to enter our territory. As we expanded, we would establish additional Blocking Posts on major highways.

On a personal level, the past three years brought a big change to the Reppa Bond Group.

Jenny wasn’t exactly what we thought she was. We were right about her being a great housemother and she did take over responsibility for all of our young children. What we weren’t expecting was, once she felt that she was in a safe environment and realized that I wasn’t going to harm her, she turned into a sex fiend and baby factory. So far, her sexual appetite was inexhaustible when she was not pregnant, and she delivered a set of twins, a set of triplets, and was now pregnant with another set of triplets.

Ariel Yates and Jane Toller were about what we expected when we added them to our Bond Group. However, it turned out that Ariel had a twin sister, Marcia Cullen, and they were like two peas in a pod. Marcia’s husband had died in a traffic accident two years before the Fall. My ladies agreed that she was a good fit for us, so Marcia became number seventeen. They are so much alike that I have difficulties telling them apart, even in bed.

Setting my ladies aside for the moment, our kids were growing up and the older kids had left or were getting ready to leave our nest.

Asal and I were happy for our twin daughters’ Connie and Barbara, who were Eric’s older sisters. They met Larry Radiguet, a young Army Lieutenant, at SCC 2’s barbeque and joined his Bond Group. So far they seem very happy as part of his Bond Group, and they had provided Asal and me with seven grandchildren; they both inherited Asal’s ability for producing twins.

The barbeque had been a great idea. I got busy and failed to follow through on my idea for subsequent barbeques the following year. Perhaps a barbeque would be a good idea for this summer, but we have grown so much that it would be extremely difficult to plan and execute. Maybe just a few smaller barbeques scattered throughout the spring, summer, and fall at different locations would be a better idea.

Clara and I appointed Eric, Marcie, and Sylvia as three of our appointees to the Summary Committee. Most of the elected committee members assumed their appointment was just nepotism because of their age, but they quickly learned that each of them was a force to be reckoned with and that changed their opinions. Two years ago, they officially formed their Bond Group and moved into a residence on our Level in Corridor D. That’s close enough for easy visiting and far enough away we won’t be living in the other’s hip pocket.

Jenny, Jane, Arial, and Marcia all joined our Bond Group within a three-month period. Jenny came to us last year and let us know she needed help. The number of babies had become more than she and the rest of our Bond Mates could handle. Clara resolved that problem by adding Edith Carver and then Eileen Peck to our Bond Group. I now have nineteen Bond Mates and keeping all of my women happy in bed is becoming more and more difficult. I’m hoping Bob and Sharna return earlier than we expect them to, for I need a boost to my sexual abilities. I considered adding a male Bond Mate to our Bond Group, but that didn’t go over very well with my ladies. I won’t repeat what they said about that great idea when I mentioned it to them.

We had twenty-three kids in our home when we returned to the surface. Three moved out and they were replaced by thirty-five new babies; our Bond Group now consists of twenty adults and fifty-five kids. If we continue to expand at this rate we will have to claim the empty residences next to our home. The Arkians who lived in the two residences next door to us were among those who departed in the Great Exodus. Larry keeps telling me that we drove them out, so Clara could add more Bond Mates. I sometimes think that’s too close to the truth to be funny, but I happen to know the heads of both Bond Groups were farmers and couldn’t wait to get back to farming.

Sam Thomas started a betting pool among the Advisory Committee as to how long it will be before the fourth Congressman, Councilman Jack Rogers, dies. I’m out of the running for he’s lived longer than I thought he would; but Harry, Larry, Sam, and a few others still have a chance. If he lives for another eight months, those of us who want to continue in the pool will each have to add another fifty dollars to the pool and select new dates. Councilman Rogers has been a major pain in our side since his election, so no one will miss him.

Councilwoman Kenya Harker, one of my Summary Council appointees, told me over half of the elected members of the Council like to hear themselves talk. They are quite willing to stop progress, so they can say the same thing another Summary Committee member said. She thinks these yammerers don’t believe the subject has been properly addressed until they tell everyone what they think. Kenya said their comments wouldn’t be so bad if they could at least add something original to their remarks. If Kenya is to be believed, it may take another two years for the Council to finish their task.