Chapter 11: The Governor, and the Air Show

"Well, Roas," I said, "how do we select colonists who will remain productive?"

"That's why Looess is here. She will concentrate on vetting would-be colonists. On the other hand, I'm here to help you select your Colony's Officials. Between the two of us you should get a completely compatible population."

"What qualifications does Looess hold to enable her to select colonists for Secundus?"

"Like her parents, she is somewhat telepathic. She'll be able to sort out the real pioneers from those who just want get away from something in their lives. The main qualifications for your officials will be the ability to understand, and to work with, a cashless society. I have the modules to train them, so that's no problem."

"Thank you, I think I've got it. I believe that your services will be needed in the very near future. I'll contact Bob to see if he's got any suitable candidates lined up. One thing I'm curious about. Will the colonists need much indoctrination or training?"

"It shouldn't take too long. There's a general training module on living on such a world, with references to how the jobs there will differ from their Earth equivalents. Some of the jobs will be almost the same, teaching for example. Others will differ due to different machinery used."

"What about retirement? If there's no money, then there's no pensions. How does that work?"

"Assuming that a person is in good health, then their job is assessed for the number of years that some one needs to work to earn retirement. If they do more years, or rack up more credit by changing jobs as is often the case, then they earn more than the basic living. Besides that, the conditions are fairly flexible. For some one who is disabled, the situation is relaxed to suit the individual."

"What happens if some one wants to change planets ... say, to a moneyed world?"

"Normally, movements are absorbed without any fuss. Remember if you want to move to a moneyed world, and not many do, that the moneyed world has been importing goods from the rest of the Federation. The money that they pay for those goods, is invested on that world, and can be channeled to the upkeep of anyone emigrating there.

We were interrupted by my phone.

"Good morning, Admiral, It's Bob Mather. I've just sent you the first possible candidate for Governor of Secundus. He should be with you shortly."

"Oh! Thank you, Bob. Where did you find him?"

"Let him tell you. 'Bye for now."

"Goodbye."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Kate brought in a tall thin gangly man of about forty years of age.

"This is Mister Higginbottom, Admiral." She returned to her office.

"Good morning. Please sit down, and tell me what I can do for you."

"Good morning, Admiral. Bob Mather at the White House sent me. He said that you knew he had advertized for Planetary Governors. His advertisement sounded exciting! So, with my wife's agreement, I applied. He interviewed me, but said that the final word would rest with you, so he sent me down here. I must say that the ride was out of this world."

He looked a bit flustered by his remark, but he rapidly recovered when he saw that Roas, and I were grinning.

I thrust out my hand, and said, "Bill Axon, and you are?"

"Reginald Higginbottom, Reg to my friends."

"Right Reg. This is Roas from Larse, the planet which administers to the Federation of Worlds. He is going to train the Officials for the planet Secundus. So, sit down, and tell us all about yourself."

"At college, I studied law. I got my degree, and was called to the bar. My girl friend at the time, who later became my wife, was the daughter of the managing editor of our local newspaper. At the time, a trial was just starting that promised to be of interest to almost everybody. Add to that their legal reporter had been somewhat of a drunkard. He hadn't looked in either direction when he crossed the road. He died on the way to hospital. My future father-in-law was pulling his hair out in frustration. The upshot was, that I got roped in to report the proceedings."

"That must have been a 'trial'," I said, grinning.

"More like a 'baptism by fire'," he chuckled. "Anyway, I found that I had an aptitude for reporting, and demystifying, the ins, and outs of the legal system. So I changed my profession, and stayed on the paper. Before long I progressed to writing all other kinds of stories. When my father-in-law eventually retired, I took over from him. The paper prospered. It became so successful that it has been bought out by a bigger publishing business. They brought in their own staff, and I got the boot. When I saw your job description, it seemed to be just perfect."

"Well, I'm going to defer to Roas to assess your suitability for the job; but your experience certainly sounds promising."

"Let's go to my office," said Roas.

They rose, and left. I checked with Kate that I had nothing urgent pending, and decided to take an early lunch. The walk next door to the Mess gave me time to consider my next move. Everything I could think of was making good progress without my help. Steve Edmunds ... one of our original gang of three ... asked if I was going to the fair at the Air Force Base.

"I hadn't heard about it. What's happening?"

"They're having an Open Day. Doing flying exhibitions, giving people rides later, and generally making their visitors welcome. It's a great recruitment idea, you know. In addition, the service wives will be showing off. Selling their baking, and other things that they make."

"Perhaps we should join them."

"I don't think Colonel Crisp would object. Why not take a few shuttles over there to give rides as well?"

"That'd be fine as long as nobody hijacked one."

"Why not take a Marine along in each one as a sort of air hostess? You could arm them with Tasers which would be relatively inconspicuous."

"Right. It's your idea, so go, and call for volunteers among the Marines, and shuttle pilots to meet after lunch."

Steve grimaced slightly, but rose to do as I suggested. I took out my cell phone, and rang Colonel Crisp.

"Ah, Colonel. Bill, here. I've been somewhat busy, and I've only just heard about your Open Day Air Show. How would you like me to bring a few shuttles over."

"Oh, that would be great. As you know, we are a little light on aircraft that people can look over. Would you be willing to give the public rides?"

"Yes. We'll be organizing something after lunch. When would you like us to arrive, and where do you want us to park?"

"I think that the best place would be about half a mile to the North-West side of the main runway. There's a large paved area where you can land. We can ferry visitors across to you. It will enable us to control the crowd better."

"Right. I'll let you know when we're ready. You can call us over any time after that."

I debated with myself as to whether I would just be a spectator or fly one of the shuttles myself. I decided on the former roll. Steve returned to continue his lunch.

"That's done. I'll brief the volunteers at two o'clock. I got jumped on almost before I put the PA mike down. Apparently, they've known about this day for a while, and were just waiting until you asked for volunteers. I gather that they've been practicing on the quiet, so be prepared to congratulate them. I told them about your suggestion to take a Marine, and they liked the idea. One even suggested that we offer the passengers coffee, tea, or a Marine."