Chapter 10: Terraforming

After lunch we gathered again in my office. Once we had all settled down, I asked Roas to recap his explanation of colonial planning. He took a sheet of paper on which he drew a number of triangles arranged in groups of six, each group forming a hexagon.

"We can take each triangle to be a unit." he said, "A unit can be a farm, a town, an industrial site or anything else that's required. If you want a larger urban area, you just use two or more units. Conversely, a unit may be subdivided for different smaller uses. I would expect a colonial capital to occupy six whole units with all the paraphernalia of urban living. When each unit is used as a farm, the farm house is placed at the corner which is the center of its hexagon. We thus get a community of six families in each hexagon. Sentient beings, generally, are gregarious. From what I've seen that applies to people here as well. I've been doing a little arithmetic, so please bear with me if I've made any errors. If we make the size of these triangles about nine of your miles on each side, we get a farm of about twenty two thousand of your acres."

"Isn't that rather large?" asked Kate, "My parents farm is about five hundred acres, and it's really too much for my father working on his own."

"Remember," said Looess, "That we'll be supplying robotic machinery to the farmers. By placing six farms so that they meet at a point, they'll be able to share resources. That's how it is done elsewhere."

"The borders between the triangular units," continued Roas, "are used as roads. The faster thruways ... sorry, freeways, don't run through the populated centers of the hexagons. Because transport is largely automated, and the freeways totally so, the system is fast, and very safe. As you can see from this sketch. There is no need for a freeway to impinge on a farming community, and that keeps the bulk of the traffic noise away from the inhabited areas."

"Thank you, Roas," I said, "I think we all have grasped the concepts of triangular planning. Now Chris, you mentioned, this morning something about a seven stage process. Please explain what it is that you have in mind."

"I made some copies of my notes, Sir."

He passed them out, and I read:

Seven Stages of Colonization

1. Initial survey to assess suitability, and safety.
2. Selection of base camp, and possible colonial capital.
3. Survey for possible topological impediments.
4. Create basic infrastructure for the first wave of colonists. About 2000.
5. Accept first wave. Get farming, and industry started. Start support activities such as education, and hospitals.
6. Expand the infrastructure for the second wave. Another 8000.
7. Accept the second wave, and assess progress.

"I know that they're a bit brief, Sir, but I thought that they'd provide a basis for discussion."

"Yes, although I think that you've probably looked at it more from your perspective as a construction engineer. What we've done so far has been for Endeavour to take a very quick look at a planet to see if there are any obvious drawbacks to colonization. If there were no obvious snags, we sent in Voyager for a more thorough examination. It's after a planet passes both those assessments that the planning can start. That is your stage two. Would anyone else like to comment?"

I looked around the table.

"Yes, John."

"I like the idea of triangular planning. It appeals to something in me. What worries me though is that if don't want to use thousands of laborers, we'll need some pretty sophisticated heavy machinery. What help can we expect there?"

"You already make some very suitable machinery," said Roas, "but what they lack is a good power source. On Earth, you rely too much on petroleum products for energy. We can provide you with machines powered by long lasting power sources."

"How many men do you think that we'll need, Roas, if we accept your offer of construction machinery?" asked Chris.

"Probably of the order of five hundred," Roas answered. "The limit happens if they start to get in their own way. That number can be well spread out, both geographically, and in the scope of the work that they carry out. Your First stage must be a group of about fifty to set up a camp for those following behind them, and to plan out their work. We can supply equipment for both groups. Where do you want it, and when?"

"As I see it," I said, "my first job is to increase the size of Chris's outfit, and then to get the equipment to Secundus. I'm thinking that I need to know how much space this equipment is going to occupy. I'll need to put in motion the building of craft to enable us to transfer the gear to Tertius when we finish at Secundus."

"Don't worry about that, Bill. You can keep the craft used to deliver the machinery."

"Thank you. That's very helpful. Now I think that it's up to me to talk the President into finding Chris more men. I take it, Chris, that you would prefer volunteers?"

"I don't think that you need worry on that account. When we finished your base, and were given the task on Osmum, you couldn't hold them back. It's more like a vacation to them."

The meeting broke up on this optimistic note. Looess was talking to Kate as they left the office. Roas stayed behind after the others left. He took a sheet of paper from his pocket, which he offered me.

"You might find this note useful. It's a note of the ratios of skills required between colonists at different population levels. You may be able to make use of it."

"Thank you. I'll see you in the Mess, later," I said as he got up to leave.

When he had gone, I got on the phone to the White House. I was not sure whether Bob Mather had returned from New York or not. His phone rang, and I thought of abandoning the call, but something made me hang on.

A click, and a breathless voice greeted me, "Ma ... ther, just a minute while I get my coat off."

"Bob, it's Bill. Ring me when you've got your breath back."

"Right," I heard as I put the phone down. Five minutes later, he called me.

"Hullo Bob. How was New York when you left it?"

"Fine, Admiral... , and before you ask, Kerl has got himself an assistant who is also one of their human agents, so things should run fairly smoothly from now on. By the way, do you remember that monument outside the Embassy, in the middle of the road?"

"Yes."

"It commemorates Raoul Wallenberg. He was a Swede working in Budapest during world War Two. He is credited with saving about a hundred thousand Jews during the holocaust. I thought that you'd like to know."

"Yes. Thank you."

"So what can I do for you, today?"

"There are two things, actually. We've got some helpers from the Federation. As a result, our planning is moving forward rather well. We feel that we need a bigger contingent of Seabees. The other point is that we think we're ready to start recruiting colonists for Secundus. How do those ideas grab you?"

"How many Seabees do you think that you'll need?"

"Well. What's the next step up from Lieutenant Commander Bollinger's Company?"

"Oh, that would be a battalion, I think."

"Fine. Do you think that you can obtain them, and still keep Chris in command?

"I'll see what I can do. Now what was that about recruiting colonists?"

Your Doctor Gentry was going to look into that for us. Will you find out where he has got to, and let me know?"