Chapter 43

Japan was not gloomy at all and seemed to thrive as it felt oppressed by the rest of the world. The Russians turned up the heat by trying to claim more of the islands north of Japan and had even put troops on them. The area was believed to have oil or gas but none yet had been discovered. This appeared to be a direct provocation.

A strange series of undersea explosions had sent a wave of water almost two hundred feet high sweeping north across island, wiping it clean and sinking the Russian warships. Within a few hours Japanese troops had made their own presence on the island again and hoisted their flag.

Japanese people asked nothing about the mysterious explosions but were more than ecstatic when their flag on the island was displayed on television. A song was played on the radio that grabbed the people's spirits and gave them back some of the glory they had before the war. The emperor would only say that the author wanted to remain anonymous.

The Chinese had sent more armies but they all fell asleep on their own soil and of course Vietnam was accused of unleashing this terrible weapon on them.

Flights of Chinese military jets flew over Vietnam were ordered to leave and after three tries were fired on by swarms of very fast, nimble drones that never seemed to miss. Most pilots were able to bail out and were taken to the border and told not to come back.

Laos and Cambodia were getting all sorts of aid from everybody. Their economy was starting to grow as was their military. It was not unusual for different battalions to be trained by six or more foreign powers.

Russia decided to send a task force to cow us. As they entered the Gulf of Tonkin and in our territory the props fell off the larger ships. A small storm was coming up and the smaller ships had to tow their larger brethren to a safe harbour. A small almost homemade submarine with a Vietnamese flag surfaced after the ships left but in time for the drones to pick it out. Television was again used to show what was happening. 'Top Secret' was attached to the way this had happened but most people in Vietnam knew it was the spirits of their dead that protected them.

Russia was very upset and even more so when some salvage ships brought up the props from the sea bottom and cut them up for scrap.

Morie had completed his 'factory ship' and this proved to be very economical. Time and effort was put into the crews comfort and many labourious or dangerous jobs were as mechanized as possible. Japanese loved whale meat but the world and I did not like eating these decreasingly few animals. Laws were instituted to stop this activity.

Vietnam under one of its publicly held companies ordered many of these fishing ships. Former Japanese navy personnel and fishermen trained the Vietnamese in the proper use of the ship and equipment. Our plans for raising the general level of education in the country ensured that many people that wanted to get ahead took some of the thousands of courses available to them. Most were from the satellites and all of the affected countries provided the teachers.

The gas tankers came to Vietnam and Saudi Arabia for fuel. Behind them came cargo ships with finished goods in trade. The gas and oil fuelled a large plastic industry that brought the goods back to Vietnam. Metal to build planes also came and I started an aircraft industry in Vietnam. Men with any of this skill in Japan were sought out and I went there to pick the ones I needed.

Some aircraft assemblies were made in Japan and I assembled them there. I made one of each of four types of planes. Some were exceedingly fast and agile fighters, while some at the other end were large enough to hold almost a thousand passengers if they didn't mind being a little cramped. This latter type was called AP-1 for atmospheric passenger ship type one. The engines were strong enough that any flight we chose would be many times shorter than anything else available at the time. None of the seats had ashtrays and smoking was prohibited on all flights. I even put smoke alarms and sprinklers in the washrooms to help remind people.

The skin of all the planes had a small amount of boron on the outer surface and I used my power to make it strong and very heat resistant. The wings and in fact the entire structure of the plane could be made much smaller and simpler. The fighter should both do up to fifteen times the speed of sound but it had not been tested yet. The larger of the two ships would only able to reach mach five because of their size and weight.

The small four place fighter was designated A/SF-1 because it was able to function in air or space. It was designed for a wide array of weapons and an even better targeting system that I had on my first plane.

The larger combat plane A/SF-2 was designed to enter space as well and had more life support and larger weapons. It was a little larger than an old B-52 but much more streamlined. There were many interchangeable weapons platforms, including a laser that went from one end of the plane to another. It was able to fire from both ends. The crew of ten and a very good computer assured its accuracy and the ability to bring the crew back.

The last ship, A/SP-1 was still bigger than anything currently in production except our own AP-1 model. It could accommodate four hundred and thirty people or cargo to orbit. My largest conventional engines would do most of the work and at speeds well above sound, the scram jets would engage. At a hundred and sixty miles the rockets would take over and propel the craft an additional two hundred miles into orbit. The wings would fold back for supersonic flight and even further when entering the lock at the space station.

I was slated to test fly each of the models to make sure they performed well. I knew the other countries were watching us so I was on my toes regarding any possible attack. Once these planes and weapons became operational our antagonists would no longer be able to do anything to us.

Mary was in her eight month and was still going strong. She would sometimes have two phones in her hands at one time and still talking to those around her. The glow about her had increased with the child and I knew even more that she was my mate. Juni was growing a bit too but her waist had not started to bulge yet. She was just as busy as Mary but not as busy as Sofia and Rachael.

These two girls were very busy. They got some of the best engineers around and began the plans for the amusement park. Since funds were contingent on the sale of automobiles, the amount of building was less but more thoughtful instead. I now owned a gothic cement plant with many extra steel beams to support a complicated rail system that was driven by gravity after the cars went over the highest section. Some of the cars performed a corkscrew and had a long section of free fall. Restraints had to be designed for every sized person and the car itself had to be secured to the track with an extra set of bogey wheels.

The rest of the park was laid out systematically and the cheaper to build amusements were started first. The centre had a lagoon with a floating dock already completed that would provide our link here to space. The park itself was very large and made Disney's park in Anaheim seem minuscule in comparison. An area of land was set aside at the far end for a real space port. They just needed the planes, buildings and tarmac to complete. At the moment it was masquerading very well as a large abandoned field. The other end was on the ocean and provision was made for the hotels and for two types of marinas. One would house the aquatic life that Juni so much wanted.

Morie had built more cranes and used the dry dock to build another ship. This was fine but both ships would have to be ready at the same time. In a smaller dock the finishing touches were being put on another cryogenic gas tanker and would be ready for sea trials in a few weeks.

Another ship would be getting ready soon, now hundreds of people were working on the space station. The wheel was a quarter mile in diameter fully four hundred feet wide. There was provision to add to either side of the doughnut to create a long cylinder, but that would have to wait. Since it was tied over Rhodesia it could not be seen directly from Japan, however there were more than enough television cameras on and in the structure to allow almost any Japanese, Rhodesian, or Ethiopian citizen to feel at home if they ever arrived.

Yaseen still carried lots of cargo as did the other pilots and decided with his dad that his staying to protect his country was not needed yet. Weapons were made that could be quickly loaded and used. When and if a fighter was needed, they felt my new ships would work better. He had seen both the A/SF-1 and 2 and loved the smaller fighter. Its speed and manoeuvrability were unmatched by anything around and even the onboard computer would fly the craft if the people were incapacitated in any way. He wanted to be the one to test fly it but I knew that there would be many bugs to work out before he or anyone would ever fly the machine.

The world was sliding into a recession, mainly because of restricted trade. The communist countries would be most affected because their economies were so weak. It was because the people running the individual companies were not managers but party faithful.

The oilmen in America were happy because they and the other oil producing nations could raise their prices to match the Saudi's. It was the consumer that was taking the brunt of the trade war. No only did they have to pay more but they usually got shoddier merchandise.

My son James was born October the tenth of '62, a few months after my thirteenth birthday. The entire family was present and this made everything seem even better. I looked into the little one's mind and saw only the usual features of a normal child. With a little regret I increased his ability to read minds and stretched the small room that would hold knowledge one day. This little man would have a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders and would need all the help he could get. People from all over the world sent their congratulations. Some were from important people but the ones I liked best were from the people I touched one way or another up to this time.

Mary was a beaming mother and had to fight a bit to get her own child from my other wives. Ayana looked good holding James in her arms and over her own swollen abdomen. Benyam or the others didn't seemed put out to have more new brothers or sisters, mainly because I told them that they would have to guide the younger generation.

Tokyo and the other cities I had helped were now growing very large. The larger industries were located outside the city and the fast train service made commuting very easy and cheap. Already the prefectures in the area had raised the tax on gasoline and diesel cars within the city. Kobe had banned them completely and I expected more cities to follow the trend.

The many large parks encouraged people to get out and exercise or to play sports. The television shows were designed to be entertaining but not keep people attached to their chairs for hours on end.

Juni had attacked the American's pride. She got some children that were difficult to manage and formed some baseball teams. She took her coaches and managers and said her team could beat anything the American children could put together.

These were fighting words and within a month we had regularly televised amateur baseball games. A hefty percentage of the royalties went to amateur sports and to the teams playing as well for uniforms and equipment. She had to eat her words publicly after the first set of games but vowed revenge. The Caucasian children took the challenge seriously and practised with a will. For the next set of games she donated tickets to the amusement park for every player and the coaches. In reality she had tickets for everybody produced but this way the teams would try harder.

The Americans were not into soccer as they called it but they were challenged again for different rewards. Japan won these games easily but a rivalry was heating up. Benyam was one of the better players on the team and in his mind he was thankful for all the practice he got in Ethiopia.

After carefully plotting the orbits of the other satellites, I tested our own two military aircraft. I didn't want the various countries to get too upset at their capability so I decided to hide it from them. It took two nights but the craft did appear to be at least as good as I could make them. The energised skin though could not be duplicated by anybody else though.

The separation of the space station was another major event for the whole world to see. The parting was not dramatic but over the course of an hour the station was a few hundred feet away and accelerating. Television was flooded with images from both the interior and the exterior. I made a point of getting the countries names that had contributed to this endeavour. People working in shirt sleeves were seen slowly drifting to an outside wall and having to now start to correct for this force the first time. They played their games again like tossing food and drink to gobble it as it travelled. The local audiences were familiar with this but the rest of the world wasn't.

My entire family was aboard the craft even my grandparents from London. I had the A/SF-2 space fighter waiting for any possible attack in the lock. Speeches were given and after a count it was mentioned that almost five thousand people were aboard for this auspicious occasion.

General Mobutu was frantic trying to make sure everything was safe while we were in space. He figured this would be a good time to attack the other facilities as the world's attention was elsewhere. After two days we figured the danger had mainly passed and began to stand down.

The United States and Russia did launch rockets the old way but after looking close I found them to be only spy cameras and equipment to pick up clandestine transmission from the ground. In a way I was heartened because the major powers had started to band together for mutual support, not war. This also made it clear they were worried about me and my abilities and were getting ready to do something about it.

A few weeks later the family was again together but this time in Ethiopia. Ayana gave birth to a boy. This one was called Matthew after my grandfather. He had his mother's looks and my platinum blond hair. Mine was starting to grow again after having it sheared to fit inside the helmet I used in space. He too was normal and I did for him what I did for his brother hoping these minimal gifts would be enough for him to make his way in this world.

Juni was getting bigger and couldn't wait for the due day herself. She was very busy and found the baby slowed her down a bit but she wouldn't trade the life within her for anything. Morie was very solicitous of all the women but at this time even more so for his daughter and what I told him was his granddaughter.

That night Brihan and Sofia each had one of their eggs fertilized. If the eggs attached themselves to their respective womb walls, we would have two more children in nine months. The rest of the family congratulated them. Rachael and Demeku were heartbroken, but were consoled when I told them that they wouldn't be in six months when their turn came.

While we stayed in Addis Ababa for a few weeks I took some of the silicon wafers and worked on some one of a kind prototypes for the next generation of computer. Using only my mind I was able to get the traces down to just wide enough for one electron at a time to pass. Electrons at this level behaved oddly and I used a third state that would allow me to build a completely new level of complexity into the chip.

This unit would control sixty four of the other two state chips to see how well it performed. The slave processors were pushed to their limits to keep up with this new chip. Storage went up by two levels of magnitude on the main crystal but each processor had to have it's own area to work with.

The mathematics even in base three this time was much more complex and I found that I was making many wrong choices when programming. The system was not operating as I thought it should. I spent a considerable amount of time working on this model in my mind and found that I had to change this structure to what the system demanded to make it work. The unit took an inordinate amount of time to program and I had to go back to it many times and change previous code to make it match what was needed later. I did not like this for it was as if I were working blind and fumbling as most other humans did. Everything before was thought out until completion then the ideas put into practice.

It took more time to program the unit with its basic operating system than it did to design the four planes. The better interface with my mind made the difference, otherwise it would be weeks to do this job.

I had only so much time to spend on this unit so it was made to learn by itself from the data it gathered. The best if not only place to put it would be the space station.

Our A/SP-1 passenger plane was wheeled out. I was under no misapprehension that it was unknown. The last time I flew completely full. The 6500 mile trip to Ethiopia took only two hours and I flew over China. They could not shoot me down if they tried. I was not only too fast but many times too high. The AP-1 could do the same trip but carry twice the number of passengers. The trips were necessary to show the Vietnamese more of the world for I had plans of my own with Vietnam. They would be my aircraft and space craft builders. Ho and his generals now wanted immediate delivery of all the units I could make. I agreed to give them two of the smaller units but I had to approve of all the pilots.

Japanese technicians came over and started showing how to make the various components with their computer operated machines. For now, the weapons would be made only in secure facilities. The engines would have to be built by the Japanese technicians till the Vietnamese had passed my form of apprenticeship.

This time the A/SP-1 would breach the atmosphere. It would show some of its ability to the world and in this case hopefully bridge a few gaps.

The soccer championships were being played and televised world wide. Not many stations wanted this feed so substituted in what they wanted instead. Benyam had this season brought over some boys from Ethiopia to play the Japanese and the Americans. None of the youngsters were over sixteen and their amateur status was easily seen. The action was quick with many changes of players but the game was played with a lot of sportsmanship. The two American teams were defeated early and only one Ethiopian and one Japanese remained. The score see sawed. Some great plays were seen as the boys played their hearts out. In the end Benyam tried to even up the score but was one goal short and the victorious Japanese shook hands with the opposing team then with the other four teams that played.

The emperor was in the stands and handed out a trophy and congratulated all the boys on how well they played. As he finished he said, "One of our most famous citizens has agreed to offer not only the winning team but all six of them a all expense paid trip to his space station." The cheering got very loud and most would never think of doing this when their beloved Emperor spoke but the man understood and waited until the acclaim died down. "The officials and the coaches are invited to but I am told they have to watch out for their charges."

More appreciation was shown and the spectators took their time leaving. I entered the locker rooms and congratulated all the children on doing so well. An official handed out all the paperwork in large manila envelopes. When I got to Benyam's team last I got a hug and the boy was not concerned that he did this with his father. The boys didn't really see me as a child but a very young looking older man.

Two days later the players and officials that wanted to avail themselves of the opportunity got on the plane with all the techs and some cargo. Benyam sat in a fold out chair in the cockpit with me and a Japanese co-pilot. We climbed quickly and within a minute the wings started to fold back. Over the ocean we increased thrust and climbed rapidly. It took little time before we were well away from land and over the open Pacific ocean heading east. Seventeen minutes after takeoff we were weightless in space. The boys were strapped in along with the techs who were old hands at this. They helped the few that went against rules and ate before going on the trip.

I consulted the computer to double check and nudged our orbit a little higher and twenty minutes later we were coming to the station. Our construction was not what was seen in films for there were no exposed spokes to our wheel. Ours were separate rings and progressively got smaller as they came to the centre. This gave us a very high amount of floor space even if it happened to be on what some people would be on the ceiling.

We came into the brightly lit hanger with our wings folded completely back. Space suited figures locked the wheels to the deck. There was a little bit of creaking as electric motors started to turn us till we gained the same speed as the rest of the station. A docking tube came out of the wall and a space suited figure swam out and made sure the fittings were perfect. The boys were at the windows and they soon deduced that the figure was a woman.

Tests were run to check the tube then a light and a bell rang. The sound we all knew meant that there was air. Some older women came down the tube and opened our hatch. Only a small sound of escaping air was heard.

"Hello, my name is Echiko and I am here to see that you find your first few minutes on the station very memorable." She went on and on but the boys only wanted off so they could explore. As each boy passed he was given a plastic strap that went around his wrist. If it came off a loud alarm would be given. This was my way of knowing where each were all the time.

Benyam took his bracelet quickly and tried to lead his team to all the neat places. His coaches and any others that wanted to began to follow. He just gave a small jump after telling the rest, then pulled either the straps or the long plastic bar that led to the outer periphery. The matrons kept the passengers in small easy to manage groups and took them to the spots that were on their itinerary. One had to hurry to catch up to my son.

After I left the cargo would be removed and the plane readied for descent. I took the package only a few feet away and opened a door using my mind alone. Normally retinal scan and palm prints were needed for this particular door. I contacted control from this station and when the ok was given I connected the box up to all the connectors and turned the machine on.

Boot-up was almost instantaneous but it now had to interface with all the equipment. This took less than a minute. I checked what the computer was doing and tweaked it a bit to see the response. There was an emergency override that would put the old computer back in control. The controls for this were all over the station.

I met with station personnel and greeted them if they were off duty and talked more if they were on. The station was very big. With a quarter of a mile in diameter and 400 feet wide I was able to get over 55 million square feet of floor space. Nearly a third was taken up with equipment and another twenty percent with bulkheads and various types of plumbing and electrical conduits. This still left 640 acres or one square mile of accessible rooms. This was more than enough reason to wear the bracelets.

I found Benyam and took his people to the bridge to see the controls and who was running things. They were disappointed to find that only three people were on duty. When I used my voice the computer responded but the children were used to this, however the computer's voice this time was adjusted to be sultry and even provocative. Benyam looked at me and smiled.

A view of the exterior was asked for and it was displayed over a large area. Here we used the lasers again and the view was very clear. I asked the computer to lock the coordinates and we zoomed in on the moon. With the new computer and the good lens system it looked like we were looking out of a window above the lunar surface.

The boys let out their breath in appreciation and so did the adults with them. Most of the boys and adults had cameras and I was fairly certain that none had been used yet. "Why don't you all take a few pictures with the moon in the background?"

There was a lot of scrambling and small flashes went off and I was certain this time that less than a third of them would ever turn out. I sent Benyam off with a device that pointed the way to destinations verbally expressed. The first would be the bathrooms. They were closer to the rim where the acceleration was close to one gravity or perhaps even more. The large greenhouses built on the side that was to face the sun provided a relaxing environment along with fresh oxygen for the whole station. At the moment we were burning the produce to keep the carbon dioxide levels up but that would soon change.

Before the next group came I ran more diagnosis and tried to show some of the bridge personnel some of the new tricks this computer could do. A listing came up on the large screen telling all the basic functions and a short rundown on the ones that were appreciably changed.

The telescope worked much better after it was dissociated from the wheel itself. It trailed us by a mile and a half. Minor differences in earth's gravitational field still made it shake, throwing some settings off by a small but measurable amount. The Japanese astronomers like the Vietnamese, Rhodesian and Ethiopian counterparts wanted the scope and themselves moved out of the near-earth-orbit system completely so that the view could be even clearer.

They had told me that they were thinking of getting beyond the Oort Cloud, but this would necessitate a two light year round trip and even with constant thrust it would take many years to get that far away, plus an approximately equal amount of time to return. My counter argument of going to some of the closer stars was not the same in their eyes for they were just after a good place to see the ones we always saw from home.

To minimise the small flutter we had from imbalance, water or mercury was shifted from one area to another to compensate for people moving about this station. The present computer would not just react to the imbalance but plot probable courses and move mass as individuals walked to compensate.

Eventually the last team came through and it was the second American soccer team today. They saw the representation of the moon and nearer celestial bodies. The coach one of seven American service men said, "Sir Shawn, why don't we see different nationalities here on the station?"

"Most races are represented. There are white and black Africans as well as the Arabs and Ethiopians. Japanese and Vietnamese form a large portion mainly because they worked so hard to make this station."

"I, a... mean. Why is there so little Caucasians when our race is so common in the advanced countries?"

"Your country was invited to participate and gave us some supplies. You can see the donated equipment with their name prominently on them. Politics showed its ugly head and the advanced countries turned its back on us. Some important people have their own plans to control the world and I seem to have spoilt those plans. If your nation wanted to join me then they could now. Instead, they are trying to restrict my options and continue with their present trade policies."

The children did not understand but I made it as polite as possible so that the entire group would grasp the ideas. I could continue but the children would soon get bored. I took the group to one of the gyms and had them work out for a while. After a meal and more sightseeing they boarded the plane and we set off for home.

We were only one less for Benyam wanted to learn more of the station and one of the matrons took him under her wing. He didn't say anything so that his friends would not be too upset about him staying aboard.

Once back down the families of the boys came forward and more pictures were taken. I purposely had photos sent to all the major papers in the world to let them know that the station was starting to be open to the public. The fact that the American children and servicemen went there too was not that subtle.

Mary had tidied up most of her dealings before we boarded our largest plane the AP-1 and flew to Vietnam. The trip could be done in less than an hour but I didn't push the plane too hard. The plane was full, when we landed some six hundred workers got out along with four hundred tourists. Mary looked good walking down the steps with James in her arms. Wei came to greet me and talk about the Chinese situation face to face. He could not quite get over the security aspect of the phones and he liked the personal touch anyway.

In his car we talked over the current problems as we went directly to the aircraft plant. The military and civilian personnel were busy constructing two A/SF-1s. Our only complete unit was hidden away in case of need. If Mary and James were not with us I am sure that security would not have let them through. On the way here we had seen antiaircraft batteries and rings of soldiers to keep more than just prying eyes out.