Chapter 11

Robert woke feeling better than he had in months. His wives had pointed out that he had done all that he could do with what he had. He remembered something one of his professors had told him once 'Give me the courage to change the things I can change, the serenity to accept that which I cannot change, and the wisdom to distinguish between the two'. His professor said if Robert would approach every challenge this way he would achieve more in less time than all his colleagues. Robert decided he had not used this tried and proven method since he had started this project.

Robert untangled himself from the arms and legs of his wives trying not to wake them up. He thought he had succeeded when Carolyn asked where he was going. Robert told her that he felt like a run and a swim. Carolyn said she would meet him at the pool in half an hour.

Robert and Carolyn were getting ready to start their swim when Brad and Roberto showed up, and the four of them began their warm up laps. As Robert started his power swimming everyone was with him. He kept it up for half an hour and then slowed to the cooling laps. Just as he was finishing, Ann and Jan jumped in and swam the last lap with him. These girls were growing up too fast and were taking swimming seriously

For some reason today everyone in the house was at breakfast and a few from the condos. The mood was somber yet upbeat. As they were eating, Robert said that by the end of the day he would provide a date he wanted everyone to have what they wanted in their underground homes in place. Robert suggested that people may want to remain in their condos as long as possible to enjoy life above ground. The confidence Robert displayed spread to the entire group. The women that were married to Robert could see a change in him, and knew that he had come to terms with the coming events and what he and the people around him could accomplish.

Robert was in his office writing notes of last minute things he would like to accomplish before total shutdown. Robert seemed to phase out as he was time traveling. He was in the Middle East someplace. There was an Arabic appearing lady by his side who turned out to be Nancy. Nancy suggested they use their ability to be invisible. As they passed into the tent in front of them, they found a stairway descending into the sands of the desert. As they descended deeper into the desert sands, they found labs that were producing canisters of biological germs that they were sealed to insure that they would be active for at least a month.

Robert and Nancy saw a group of men in the corner in a heated discussion. As the two moved to listen to the conversation, the disagreement was the date of the release of the germs. A small group wanted to release the germ on Veterans Day, November 11, and show the infidels who had the power in this world. The other part of the group wanted the release to be on the most Holy day of all Christendom, and the first release should be at the Vatican and then in Washington DC, London, England, Paris, France, Berlin, Germany, Moscow, Russia and Beijing, China. The remainder of the germ would be released worldwide except in the Middle East. Finally the agreement was that on Veterans Day the seven cities would be the test sites, with the designated number of canisters being released to insure that they had the coverage required. The hope was that when some one was infected they would pass it on to others that had not had direct contact with the mist in the canisters. Each canister appeared to be the size of a five gallon container. They had to insure the propellant would not harm the biological germs.

Robert and Nancy then traveled to November 11, Washington DC, and found the winds were to the South. At precisely eleven AM the aerosol bands were released and the biological germ was released into the air. At first people noticed the strange smell, but most people dismissed it as a bad smell. After the service, people headed home not knowing that they were carrying death to all they met or talked to. Since one canister was released in the area where the President, Vice President and many Senators and Representatives from Congress. Robert and Nancy monitored the city for three days when people started to die. Because of the winds, the biological germs were carried as far south as Raleigh, North Carolina. One of the hardest hit areas outside of Washington was Norfolk, Virginia. Because the Naval base was so large and so many of the military men and women were in close quarters, the germ would spread like wildfire.

Robert returned to his office to find all of his wives waiting for his return. Robert said that the shutdown date was November 11. That gave them five months to complete everything and ensure the people were in the right frame of mind.

Sarah and her team were reviewing the adults that were on the island against the list of people that had been accepted and cleared by Nancy. There were still three research scientists that had not been located. They were all in the field of developing cold fusion, and had gone on a holiday a few days before Tom Fitzgerald and Julie Wilson were to meet with them. Finally, Sarah asked Robert to see of he could travel to their labs and see if there was any way to determine their whereabouts.

Robert went to the cold fusion labs at MIT and found a man and two women were collecting the results on some just completed test. The man, Doctor Atkins, asked the women if all preparations were complete and was assured that they were. Robert was concerned that the three were defecting to an unfriendly country when he heard one of the women say that she had picked the rings today, and she had found a Rabbi in Israel that would marry them. Bob Atkins complained that the Catholic Priest and Protestant Ministers were so close minded, that they did not even follow the teachings of the Bible. Robert looked into the minds of the two women and gathered the necessary travel information to find they were on Catalina Island off the California coast.

Robert and Saran flew to Catalina and were taken to the house where the three were staying. When Robert introduced himself, he asked if they had trouble sleeping the past few nights. The three confirmed that was true and did not understand how the earth could lose the human race. Robert explained the coming event of November 11 and December 25. Then Robert explained what the people of Initium Novum had established, and the plan to survive. Sarah asked if they had been married in Israel and were told no, they could not go through with a Jewish wedding when they were Catholic. Sarah said the spiritual leader of Initium Novum was a Catholic Priest that could not be celibate and had left the church. Al had two wives and Robert had eleven wives.

Bob Atkins asked what was the procedure to apply for citizenship, and how long would it take as both of the women with him were pregnant and he did not want his children born out of wedlock. Robert asked if he could get them legally married today, how long would it take to gather their research data on cold fusion and come to the island. Bob said with a good computer about two hours as he had most of the information on two memory stick in his briefcase.

In just minutes they were heading for the airport, Initium Novum and a wedding.

Robert decided that the personnel aboard the ISS needed the information on the dates of the biological germ dispersal, so that they could make a decision for their return to earth. The scheduled rotation flight to the ISS was in September, when the Russians had a major malfunction on their launch pad. The estimated time of repair was sixty-four days. None of the astronauts aboard ISS seemed too concerned. Robert met with Mary Bright Morning to talk with her husband to see if they had a spare radio that could be tuned to a frequency that NASA or the Russian Space Agency would not monitor.

Mary's audio time with her husband was scheduled and the short discussion was completed. The ISS orbited the earth seventeen times every twenty-four earth hours. The best window of communications was when the ISS was over the Eastern Pacific at the northernmost point of its orbit. A radio frequency was provided by the communications specialist, and the window would be for twenty minutes, the first occurring at eight fifteen the next day.

Mary and Robert were in the Security Center at the appointed time when the call from the ISS began. Robert had provided Mary the information for the dispersal of the biological germs, and asked when the astronauts thought the best time for their departure from the space station would be. Their consensus was that after the first release, the space agencies would inform them of what was happening and suggest that the ISS be shutdown and they use the escape pod to return to earth. They would suggest that control systems be placed in the remote operating position, so that earth could adjust the orbit as required.

Robert suggested that when they left the ISS, as they entered the earth's atmosphere there would be a malfunction and the escape pod would explode and they would be lost. The astronauts thought this would be perfect. They asked what coordinates they wanted the pod to touch down. The information was provided and they were informed that a Russian submarine would pick them up. The last item was a five minute audio session which would be set up with each of their wives over the next few sessions, to help the mental health of both parties.

Robert was concerned about the people on Antarctica and their families. Nancy said that she had already considered that, and their families would appear at the stations just before the first release of the biological germ. At each location, the senior manager's wife would have the information of their sudden appearance and all would have had the dreams of the world without humanity. They would also have information that on January 1, radio contact would be made with another group that had survived for resupply of food etc...

Robert met with Tom Fitzgerald to determine the amount of supplies that may be required for the people on Antarctica. Tom said that he had overestimated on everything, and had stored supplies for fifteen years instead of ten. If they could crew the TK17, there should be no problem supplying the people of Antarctica.

Dr. Amy asked to see Brad and Robert, as she was beginning to see some signs of stress in the Initium Novum citizens. She felt that it was time for an assembly, concluded by a big party with lots of music and dancing. Robert needed to address the people and reassure them that the underground time would be as short as possible, and if possible there would be outside time when ever possible.

Vicky, through her distribution channel, invited everyone to a party on the south beach. Each family was to bring a side dish, and Robert would supply baked potatoes and steaks. There would be music and dancing and Robert would be saying a few words.

The people's spirits were lifted in anticipation of a party and to hear from their leader. They saw Robert every day, and none to them hesitated to speak with him. Robert was not an invisible person, and one of the friendliest people on the island.

The day of the party approached, and as four PM arrived there were streams of people moving to the beach, where they found tables for vegetables, salads, desserts and to sit at. The kids hit the water having a great time. Adults were talking with each other, making new friends and meeting the people that would be their neighbors in the underground. Some women said that the garden boxes were a great idea, but every green plant they ever touched died. They were assured that they would all have green thumbs, and they would have fresh food. Several decided that they would combine efforts and each grow one thing and share with their neighbors.

Robert finally stood on one of the tables getting everyone's attention. "It will not be long until the first release of the biological germ in several major cities and the nightmare will begin. Those that survive will have a heavy responsibility on our shoulders. Today there are about thirty-five hundred people on the Continent of Antarctica, and the summer build up has just started. The astronauts will be returning to earth and coming to Initium Novum soon. Their families are already here. One of the biggest problems we face will be boredom and depression. We have tried to have enough things that will keep all of you busy while we are in lock down. Many of you have expressed an interest in higher education and some in learning a completely different profession. We will do our best to insure that this happens, and that you will have fun learning. There will be constant maintenance on the underground. As you know the utilities we have depend on our nuclear power and the water distillation plants on the ships. You may not be aware that we have created a condensation collector on top of the cliffs that will also add to our fresh water supply. Please understand that does not provide us with an unlimited supply of water."

"As for the waste water and other sewage, many environmentalists would be all over us, but we do not have the time or the space for a water treatment plant. The original owner of this island disposed of the waste by running a large pipe five miles to the West of here, which emptied deep into the ocean. I know," Robert continued, "this is not the ideal situation, but we have no choice. All of the waste will be biodegradable and be recycled into the ocean. As for solid waste, we will compact it and store it until we can dispose of it in a safe manner. I would suggest that you consider everything that you are about to dispose of, to see if it can be used again or made into something usable."

"To conclude, I will suggest that in the next month or two at the outside we will be in lock down. It will be hard on us all, and we will at first consider it an adventure. Then reality will begin to set in and we will wonder if we are going to survive. Next, some will become bored or depressed. At that point we must become a family, not a group of people trying to survive. We have the professional staff to assist everyone, but the best assistance will be for each of us to be the family that each of us needs. Watch out for each other, be aware of those in your close circle of friends, and talk to each other when anything is making you sad or unhappy. We hope that the biological germ has a short life and we will be able to have outside time after sunset and before sunrise. God bless us all, and love your neighbor," Robert concluded.

As he returned to his seat the entire group stood, applauded and cheered, as that was exactly the words they needed to hear. Dr Amy stood and gave Robert a big hug, telling him he was in tune with the people.

As the sun rose on Halloween, the island was preparing a party for the kids, and after that a dance for the adults. Robert was dressed as an 1880's sheriff, and his wives as dance hall girls. Nancy was in charge of the music, and Roger and Sara, along with Alice and Clem Addison, handled the decorations. The lawn around the condos and the house were beautifully done. The party lasted well into the night, and the next day several people would be looking for relief.

A status meeting was held on November 2 so all department heads could update Robert, and they would have the latest information for the people they interfaced with. Evania Taylor opened the meeting, telling everyone that this would be the last meeting before lock down. Any urgent updates should be taken directly to Robert, and with that she started with Tom Fitzgerald.

His report stated the purchasing and stores group were hard at work ensuring that all the supplies were on the island, and that the land based warehouses were secure and sealed. Tom stated that everything was as complete as it could be, and that the livestock were secured yet accessible if they were needed for food.

Larisa Masorina said that she had a fully trained crew for the TK17, and they would be leaving on the seventh of November for their rendezvous with the astronauts. They would be taking the wives of the astronauts with them, and arrangements for all their children had been made to stay with friends. As soon as they returned the TK17 would be connected to the electrical power grid as backup, and to share the load when necessary.

Julie Wilson said that the reactors on both Mississippi and the TK17 were in top shape, and could supply power for many years. The water desalination systems were operational and had been making water for several weeks. The water storage tanks that Nancy had provided would be filled to capacity in two days time, and CWO5 Eberhard said that he would be shutting the units down for normal maintenance, which would take one week. He had scheduled maintenance for the desalination units so that either the Mississippi or the TK17 units would be on line at all times.