Chapter 6

Upon their return from South Africa life begin to settle down. The latest pictures from the satellite infra red cameras looking for any indications of human life showed there seemed to be several areas that showed promise. Three in central Africa; a few in Mongolia; some in Burma; some in the European Alps; and some in the Americas. The closest signature was in northern Brazil.

Robert wanted to locate all the humans possible and bring them into the community, if possible. Robert asked Nancy how he could be teleported to locations where the signatures were appearing. She told him he had the ability, all he had to do was use it. Robert then asked if he could take others with him for protection, or was it him and Nancy. Nancy said that all his wives had the same abilities as he did, but not as strong and they never would be. Robert was anxious to visit one of the sites to see how accurate the information the satellites were providing.

Robert went to the communications centre to see if any of the people could zoom in on one of the locations of the heat signatures with real time pictures. Andy Flying Eagle was looking over some new satellite pictures trying to differentiate false heat signatures from those of humans. Robert asked Andy if he had the pictures of the heat signatures of northern Brazil available. The pictures that Andy was studying were the northern Brazil shots, and he said that he thought all but a couple of the signatures were false, but there was no way to be sure until a satellite with visual capabilities was in the area. Robert asked when that satellite would be overhead and was told at one PM this afternoon. Then Robert asked if he and Andy could meet and zoom in on the areas for a closer look. Robert was assured they could.

Robert and Andy were at the big screen as the area came into view of the first signature which Andy thought was a false one. Sure enough, the area was a geothermal hot spot that was emitting steam and a yellow smoke. Chuckling, Andy said they knew where to get pure sulphur for medications when needed. They went to the next area which was a possibility and saw white smoke rising from the trees. Andy zoomed in on the area and saw three huts in an open area. There appeared to be five or six children playing in the centre area of the huts. Two women were watching the children play while talking. One of the women stood then entered a hut. Andy said that he thought the woman must be at least two meters tall, and the other woman looked to be the same but he could not tell until she stood up. A third woman appeared, bringing a tray of what appeared to be food, sitting it on a table that was close to all the women. When the kids saw the food they came to the table and started to take from the tray. Andy took pictures of each child to study them to try to determine their age. Robert mentally asked Nancy what the status of the families they were observing were. Nancy said she knew, but the council had instructed her to have Robert strengthen his gifts and learn these things for himself. Even though they would be around for a long time, Robert needed to prepare for the time after they left.

The one thing they did not observe while watching the village was the presence of any men. Robert told Andy that the village was near, and one they would have to visit in the near future. With that Robert headed for his office. Robert entered the office area and told Amy O'Connor that he wanted to do some things and to keep everyone out for a couple of hours. Robert sat at his desk trying to imagine an area a few hundred meters from the village. It seemed that Robert was falling asleep when he found himself standing in a densely forested area. He used his ability to make himself invisible and quietly walked to the village. The children were once again playing, and the three women were in the shade of the huts. The heavy forestation let very little sunlight reach the Earth's surface. Robert thought he would like to have that gadget Floyd Lycomb had to see the UV levels. Robert entered the huts to see who lived there. He was surprised to see no evidence of male inhabitants.

Robert then sat by one of the huts where he could observe the women, and entered the mind of the one who seemed to be the leader. The mood was somber yet sad, as she remembered her husband who had gone hunting for food four years ago, the three men had left together. Alcinoe thought about the nights her husband had made her scream with lust and passion as he made love to her. Her body still craved the touch of a man. She knew that Eumache and Asteria both felt the same way, as they missed their husbands. It would not be long before their child bearing years were over and she so wanted more babies. Alcinoe thought that she would have to return to the cities to see if she could find a mate, and possibly a mate for the other two women. If she found only one man they would have to share him, but she was sure her sisters would not object as long as they were loved. The really strange thing was that for more than two years the radio had been silent. No broadcast and no music. The last that they heard was that there was a sickness that had caused many people to die. Maybe they were the last humans alive on earth.

Robert crept silently into the forest, finding a path that led deep into the forest. About a kilometre away he caused himself to become visible and returned to the village. As he approached, he could feel the tension radiate from the three women. When he approached the village he shouted that he was a friend and wanted to talk. Entering the village, Alcinoe stood in the centre of the open area with Eumache and Asteria on either side, but far enough away to protect each other. Robert held up his hands in the gesture of peace as he approached. He spoke to Alcinoe, telling her he was from a city in the South that had over six thousand people. He believed that they were the largest community of humans left on Earth, and were trying to rebuild the human race as a peace loving race yet not afraid to protect themselves. Asteria told Alcinoe that this man was from the stars and he was to be trusted. Asteria's name meant of the sky, and she seemed to have an uncanny sense about people. Robert entered her mind again and was shocked with what he found. She had the same features and coloring as Nancy.

Robert called Nancy to come ASAP. When Nancy appeared she was surprised at the appearance of Asteria, realizing she was a descendant of her people. Nancy asked Asteria how long she had been on this planet. Asteria told her she had been here about two thousand years, and had regenerated her body every sixty years from the appearance of a sixty year old to a fifteen year old. Nancy asked Asteria if there were other people from her spacecraft on Earth that she was in contact with. Asteria said she was the last, as there were three others and against her advice they joined the military in what was called World War II and were killed. She confirmed their deaths by claiming their bodies and scanning the organs that were not common to the humans of Earth. Nancy then told Robert that Asteria was a relative of hers, and she wanted to take her to the ship for a while to meet the others and see if they could regenerate their bodies. Asteria turned to the other two, telling them to go with Robert and start a new life, as his community would provide for them, besides they were well educated and they had been in this jungle long enough. Besides that, your husbands are not coming back. She said she had no children and needed to be with her race of people for a while. Alcinoe and Eumache hugged Asteria and then she left.

Robert asked the two women what Asteria meant when she said they were well educated? Alcinoe said they both had their PhD degrees in microbiology, and had been researching the plants in the Amazon for natural medications. Right now they had their name on twenty or so patents, not that it really mattered now. Alcinoe asked if there were many men as tall as Robert in his community. Robert said there a few, why. She said she needed to find a husband for Eumache. Robert asked what about a husband for herself. Alcinoe said she had already found her man. Robert said he already had many wives and was not sure they wanted another sister/wife. Alcinoe said they would see. The mothers had everyone change into city clothes and runners.

Robert took a child's hand in each one of his, and then had that child hold another child's hand, and finally the mothers took hold the hand of that child. Eumache then held the two year old in her arms while Robert thought of his office. The eight of them were standing in Robert's office when the door opened and his wives entered. The twelve women took one look at Alcinoe and said in unison "thirteen", Robert shook his head and knew when to keep quiet.

Brad and Amy O'Connor walked into Robert's office and were surprised when Eumache's two year old ran to Brad and held up her hands and said "up, daddy". Brad picked her up as a very pregnant Amy said finally, some help with the sex machine. Eumache knew that she had found her man and was part of a family, and she would have many babies.

Nancy mentally told Robert that Asteria would be returning to him to find a husband, and was to assist him in building the future of Earth. She told Robert that Montgomery Scott would be a perfect mate for Asteria, as he was a good three inches taller than she and he had always wanted a family. Robert said he would do what he could.

The mapping of the heat signatures from the satellite pictures was almost complete. There were several hot spots that appeared to be too hot to be human or animal life. Robert knew he had only a couple of months to locate the people in the Northern Hemisphere before they could not travel there for a very long time. Robert had established a team of people to review all the heat signatures and identify those that had the possibility of being human.

Robert asked Nancy to review the maps and identify the areas where people were, and if there were any that would not fit into their community. Nancy returned a few hours later and asked Robert to join her in his office. When they met she had him write the coordinates of eighty areas in the Northern Hemisphere, including the one he had visited and changed the leadership. She said he would have to decide whether they would fit into the community. Robert decided that he and Asteria would mentally visit each area and the two would decide.

Robert and Asteria met in Robert's office the next morning, with Robert telling Amy and Vicky they were not to be disturbed short of a major catastrophe. The first area they visited turned out to be a large group of bison that Robert wished were in São Paulo. The next three areas were families that had survived for what ever reason. One family was considering suicide, thinking they were the last humans left on Earth. Robert put soothing thoughts and hope into their minds. By lunch time the two had visited all the sites in North America and Asia. The two of them were quiet at lunch as they had a task to finish, and would like to finish it today. Robert's wives were searching his mind to see where they could help him and relieve some of the pressure. When all of them had finished exploring, Robert told them there was no pressure except what he put on himself to finish visiting the heat signatures.

After lunch the two returned to his office and continued their journey. They were in the area of the Alps and Robert knew he would have to visit the area where the Aryan faction had been. The first area they visited was a pack of dogs that seemed to be living on whatever they could find to eat. They were some of the most beautiful Saint Bernard dogs that Robert had ever seen. He tried to enter the minds of the dogs and found he could. The dogs were a bit wild, but were looking for humans to love and take care of them.

The next area was the Aryan area; what took Robert by surprise was that the older generation was almost gone in a short time. The next generation had assumed leadership, and were concerned that humanity may cease to exist when they died. None of the women could seem to get pregnant, and no one could understand why. The amazing thing was that the younger generation appeared to be hardworking builders. A woman that appeared to be in her late teens was directing the work force. When Robert entered her mind he found a sad, depressed young woman that was fighting to make something of the community she was leading. Robert knew that these young people must be visited, and put them on the list.

They moved to the next area and finally completed their visits in the Northern Hemisphere. When they finished there were sixty-two areas that required a visit. Robert and Asteria decided not to tell the teams of their visits to the sights to prevent any preconceived notions about the people they would meet. The next morning Robert, Asteria and several others met to establish the most efficient use of their resources and manpower. It was decided that six teams would be established with ten people per team. Two of the people would have to be pilots, and four would be security. The final four would be the contact group but never out of sight of the security people. Robert and Sarah would be on standby to talk with anyone that felt the need. No request to speak to Robert would be denied. The goal was that in the area to be visited, at least one person would be from that area or have ancestors from the area. The Asian area was the area of greatest concern, as there were so few people of Oriental decent. Li Woo said Chang Fang, Suu Kyi Davis and she could cover the Oriental countries, and the Western Pacific Islands which were in the Southern Hemisphere. Reggie Moore said he Kate, Cindy and Sabrina could cover any area assigned to them. So it went until all teams were identified.

Robert suggested that if the Airbus A350-1000s and Boeing 787-9s were available and could be quickly reconfigured, their range made them a good choice for the teams. They should use the first class seats only that could be fully reclined. There was an Airbus A380 cargo plane at the airport in São Paulo that could be used to transport seats from other airports in the area. Robert told them they had two weeks to make any conversions they needed.

The team leaders met to decide the most efficient order of visits and how to approach each heat indicator. They knew that some of the heat indicators would be herds of animals, and the aliens said they would take care of them.

There were ten areas in the Slavic countries that would need to be visited. Larisa and Lenoid Masorin, along with Oksana Virganskaya, led this group along with Homer Barclay, who spent several years in Chernobyl after the nuclear meltdown, and had an excellent command of the language.

The surprise was China with only two areas to be explored, yet Southeast Asia had six areas. Li Woo said that the two areas in China made no sense, as these areas were always shown as uninhabitable. The areas were in the north, along the Mongolian border. The other areas were in countries that had remote areas, and that is where the infrared signatures were.

In Europe the signatures were in three main areas; the Alps, Scandinavian countries and Iceland. In the Alps there were six countries, Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Switzerland, all had at least one heat signature. The interesting thing was there were not more heat signatures in Scandinavian countries and Iceland. There were a total of twelve areas to be investigated in Europe. Robbie and Kate Moore, along with Niklas Gustafsson and Katariina Nikkola, would investigate this area. Robert requested that the last place they visit would be the area of the Deutsche Christen community, even though he did not tell the team anything to give a preconceived influence.

The North American continent was divided between two teams: east and west. There were twenty-six areas to be visited and all seemed to be in mountainous areas. There were two in eastern Canada, two in the Appalachian Mountains, and the majority of the remainder were split between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. There were a few heat signatures in some of the smaller mountain ranges, but no signatures in the mid west. The east team would move to the west as soon they completed investigating their areas. The team leaders would be Amy and Mike Osborn for the east, while Anglia and Paul André Jr. went for the west.

The sixth team would be held in reserve to help any team that required assistance. Silvia and Roger Callahan with Alice and Clem Addison would lead the sixth team. They were on a standby status and were to be in the air within an hour after any request for assistance. The difference in team six was that the security team was staffed with two squads consisting of twenty-five troopers. They may not be the elite force of the Army Rangers or Navy Seals, but they knew what to do and when to do it. Every one of them were ex-military and had training.

The Russian team's first area was north of Saint Petersburg, where the first heat signature they wanted to investigate was found. Also Larisa wanted to visit their old home to see if there was any memorabilia that she could recover. She especially wanted family pictures and the Family Tree that she had worked on for years. The one thing it showed was she was a direct descendant of Catherine the Great, and she was proud that she was a Russian with a long family history, some good and some not so good.

Their first signature was about a hundred kilometres southeast of Saint Petersburg in Gauja National Park in Latvia. The team took a helicopter to the area and found a huge herd of elk and red deer. They flew over the area to insure there were no humans there. Then they returned to Saint Petersburg and flew to Yekaterinburg which was romanized Ekaterinburg, Kyzyl, Blagoveshchensk, Yakutsk, and Khabarovsk were the final signature areas, and in total sixty people returned to Campinas.

Li Woo started in northern China on the southern edge of Mongolia and found five families which amounted to nineteen people. In the south they found families in Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Burma, Bhutan and Thailand. By the completion of the investigation of the signatures they had a hundred and eighty people. They refuelled in Brunei, where they saw the Sultan of Brunei's private aircraft.

Two of Li Woo's security team were pilots and had heard Tom Schneider talk about this aircraft. Talking it over with Li they decided to see if it would make the trip to Campinas. The one mechanic they had with them checked the plane over and pronounced it fit to fly. A call was made to Campinas to see if the South African air base, where they had picked up the people there, had fuel for their return trip. They were informed it had. The Airbus A340-600 had a range of seventy-four hundred nautical miles, and the A350-1000 had a range of about seventy-nine hundred nautical miles. Landing in South Africa and refuelling was without incident, but all the pilots were very tired. It was at that point Li told everyone to find a place in the barracks to sleep until the next day and they would continue then.

Before leaving South Africa the pilots decided to have a little fun with Tom Schneider and Robert, Li Woo was all for it as long as she could be involved along with Suu Kyi Davis. They knew that David and Marge Jones would have to fly the A340-600 to pull it off. They were about ninety minutes from Campinas when Marge radioed to the security center asking for Tom Schneider, the chief pilot. The way she said it the trooper on the other end thought it was some type of emergency, even though it was never stated as such. When Tom was on the radio Marge asked him to meet them at the Campinas Airport along with the Monarch, to resolve a problem. Tom said he would be at the main hanger waiting for them. Since the problem was never stated, Tom had the security team from team six and Robert at the main hanger waiting for the plane.

David landed on the far runway away from the main hangar, as he could taxi to the hangar and not be seen until he turned the corner to the parking apron. As they were setting the parking brakes, the A350-1000 turned into the parking area and pulled alongside. Tom recognized the Sultan's plane and was smiling a huge smile. The door opened and the four on board stepped down the stairs, unfurling a banner that said Happy Birthday, Tom. The entire group on the ground roared with laughter. Robert turned to Tom and asked him what he was going to do with his birthday present. June Schneider told him not to bring it home, as it would not fit in the garage. Tom said that it was for Robert's flying comfort, and they would have to take a trip somewhere just to try it out.

Team three begin their investigations in the north, finding seven people there, then flew to Salzburg, Austria. The runway there was about four hundred meters short for maximum takeoff weight, but if they went in with low fuel tanks and added enough to get to Vienna and refuel they should be OK. From there they would fly to Switzerland, and finally to Porto, Portugal, and then to Campinas. In the eastern Alps they found sixty-two people, and in the western Alps forty-three people. The last area they visited was where the Deutsche Christen group originally were found in Berchtesgaden.

When Reggie and Kate Moore met with the leader of the community they were struck with their openness about their recent history. The leader explained that when the community was formed, the leadership was driving for an Aryan planet but had a heart attack and died, as did all his hardcore lieutenants. The older generation did and had some prejudices not support the Aryan only concept, however they were in their late fifties or early sixties. A few months ago a virus came through there that affected the older generation, they were sick for many days and finally died. The leader said she was twenty-five years old and did not have the knowledge to lead this community, and if they did not find another community to join they would eventually die. Reggie explained the community in Campinas and their goals. He then gave them a copy of the Constitution, telling them that they lived under the direction of a Monarch that was for the people of their community. Reggie also explained that abuse of anyone, man, woman or child was not acceptable, and would be dealt with in the harshest manner. Reggie said he and Kate were going to take a walk and would return in an hour. If they decided to remain here they should hang a red flag in the tree by the road, and they would not bother them again.

When Reggie and Kate returned there was no red flag so they continued to the village. The leader said all but one couple wanted to go with them, but she felt that the woman was being coerced to remain. Reggie asked to meet with the couple, as he did not want to leave someone behind against their will. When the couple met with Reggie and Kate both had their weapons tucked into the back of their trousers in easy reach. The young man was belligerent and combative. The girl looked to be about fourteen and scared. Robbie pulled his pistol and told the girl to go with Kate and talk to her. The man said she was not going anywhere without him. Robbie said he could let her talk to Kate alone or die now. The look on the young man's face was of anger and defiance as he started for Robbie. Robbie ordered him to stop or face the consequences. The young man started to throw a knife at Robbie when two shots were heard. Looking around, a girl in her mid teens had a rifle aimed where the man had stood. Kate knelt by the man feeling for a pulse and checking for breathing, there was neither.

Robbie asked the girl who she was and why she shot the young man. "I am Anke Hackl, and he was George Hackl my brother. He was mean and abusive. He had planned to take over this group and would have become a dictator. The girl he was forcing to remain is Veronika Huefner, my best friend. George figured if he got her to stay I would remain also, too bad for him he lost the gamble." Turning to the community leader, Robbie was assured that what he had been told was true and the beatings, intimidation and threats had been real for the entire community. Robbie then took those who wanted to go to Campinas to Salzburg. With the thirty-eight people gained from Berchtesgaden, a hundred fifty people plus the team would return to Campinas. Nancy met with Robbie telling him there was a pack of Saint Bernards at the Hospice of the Great St. Bernard Pass. Robert thought these were the most beautiful animals he had ever seen and were good working dogs. These dogs would die if not rescued soon. If the people on board agreed, they should rescue these dogs. Robbie presented the issue to the people on the plane and asked if they thought they should rescue the dogs. Everyone felt they should get the dogs. One of the women said she was a veterinarian almost, as she had one more semester to graduation before the dying began. And she would like to be on the team to get the dogs as there may be some dogs that can not be saved. Robbie agreed.

Landing in Geneva they took the A40 to Aosta and then the E27 to the Hospice. They took three twenty passenger minivans hoping that would hold all the dogs. When they arrived the dogs were overjoyed to see them and began rubbing up against the members of the team. There were fifteen puppies still nursing from their mothers. The Veterinarian quickly looked over each dog sending it to a minivan. When all the dogs were loaded they took a tour of the facility and found three dogs that had to be put down because of malnutrition. When they reached the aircraft it seemed that each dog selected a human family to pair up with except the largest male and female. The two laid down in the first row and went to sleep.

The pilots had fuelled the plane to maximum and said they could make it the fifty-one hundred nautical miles with no additional stops. Robbie said make it happen. The dogs slept all the way.

When they landed Robert met the plane to welcome the new citizens. The two dogs that had slept in the first row walked to Robert and sat on either side of him. Robert's wives were impressed and welcomed two new members to their family.

The two teams that were to investigate North America were hoping to meet in the Rocky Mountains before returning to Campinas. When Amy and Mike Osborn reached Akulivik, Quebec they found one couple that was almost dead for lack of food. They were aboriginals that had somehow survived this long. When they were recovered, Mike got them into the airplane and flew the one thousand nautical miles back to Quebec City. The group then flew to Labrador City and found no people. They could find no reason for the heat signature so returned to Quebec City.

Next they flew into Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut, where they took a helicopter they found to Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire. There they found eight people, a mother and seven children, not all hers. They had been hiking the Appalachian Trail when the biological germ was released. She had a satellite phone and her husband had called her telling her if they were not sick to remain in the area they were in, and he would call when it was safe to return. He never called. When it got cold they came to the Joe Dodge Lodge and found no people except for the owners, which were dead. They had buried them in the snow until spring, then in the ground. They had been living there ever since, and thought they were the last people on Earth. They eagerly departed there with Amy and Mike to be a part of a civilized community.

The next stop was Asheville, North Carolina, then they drove to a place called Maggie Valley. Because the valley was in the National Forest, the trees and other ecological foundations were still in place. There are many caves in the region and several could be made habitable. As Amy and Mike drove to the area provided by the satellite photos, there was nothing but forest. Mike decided that he would hike a few miles up a trail that looked recently used. Amy and Mike had two security people with them, so the four decided to hike and if nothing else, look at the view. About two kilometres on the trail there was evidence that there were human inhabitants in the area.

Another kilometre later they reached a clearing and were taking a break when a man with a gun stepped from the forest wanting to know what they wanted. They explained their mission, and what was coming before the year's end. The man told someone to get Mrs. Tompkins. He then asked where they were living and how they planned to escape the ice age. Mike explained that the ice age would be in the Northern Hemisphere, but the Southern Hemisphere would experience cooler temperatures yet still have a growing season for food. A woman in her early thirties came from a different direction when she entered the clearing. She sat on a log next to the man, Alan Shepherd, while he told her everything that had been discussed. She turned to Amy asking her how the women were treated in the community they lived in. Amy said that all adults were equal, and women were as prepared to defend the city as the men, and the men did chores around the house. The one thing that was a zero tolerance issue was abuse of any form to any person. Parents were allowed to correct their children as long as it was not abusive.