Chapter 27: 342

The names on the sign just inside the entrance were Lars and Katrine Knudsen. Behind the farmhouse was a substantial barn. The doors were open, and we could see a large bearded man drying his hands at a tap on the barn wall. Our bus drew up outside the house as the man put down his towel and strode across the yard towards us. He called out as we left the bus.

"Governor, welcome. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Farm Knudsen. Come in. Come on in.

He led our party into his house, where his wife repeated his greeting. They led us into their parlor and asked what we would like to drink. Reginald set our choice by asking for a coffee. Katrine served it with what she called Weiner Brod. To me they were like danish pastries, and very good they were. I gave in to temptation when I was offered another.

When we had finished, Reginald asked the Knudsens, "Tell our visitors what you told me about why you decided to emigrate here?"

"It wasn't one thing," replied Lars, "but a whole raft of reasons. The land of our farm in Denmark was not as productive as it had been in my father's day. It was becoming hemmed in by the surrounding developments. There was pressure on us to sell our land to build on, and we felt as though we were being buried by the pressure of the population. In addition, our two lads have joined the Space Force and we wanted something worthwhile for them to come home to."

"How do you find your life here?" asked Robert Hooke.

"As you could see when you arrived, we have five neighboring farms. We all pull together to work the land. For now, we are able to farm organically, and that is good. It will be a while before we are able to utilize all of our land. In the meantime, it is very pleasant in its natural state."

"How do your lads view your move?" asked the President.

"Almost as enthusiastically as they had viewed the possibility of joining the Space Corps. They could see the way our farm in Denmark was running down."

"How about your relations with your neighbors?" asked Bob.

"They're very good. A mixed bunch. There's one from Britain, two from Canada, and one from the Central African Republic."

"That makes five of you. I thought there were six."

"One farm's still empty. The Brit came here because the bureaucracy was getting him down. The African came to escape religious persecution, and he was looking for somewhere cooler and more fertile. Then the Canadians came looking for somewhere warmer. We're a mixed bunch all right."

"What's your social life like?" asked Ada.

"Great. We're in and out of each others' houses all the time. We usually organize something a little more formal several times a month. The wives often get together to go shopping in Springfield. Other than that we don't have much spare time, you know. Running a farm is pretty time-consuming."

"Is there anything you'd like to see improved? asked Reginald.

"Well, Governor, now that you mention it, we would like to see another television program channel to give us a choice."

"I'm afraid that's not likely to happen before the next wave of colonists arrives. I just don't have the manpower at the moment. It will happen one day, I'm sure."

The afternoon continued much in the same way, People dropped by and we were introduced. On the whole, they seemed a nice bunch of people who didn't take advantage of us being there with the Secretary General and the President. We were made to feel just like friends who had dropped in. Eventually, we made our goodbyes and got back in the bus for our trip back to Springfield.

When we arrived back in Springfield, Reginald led the President, the Secretary General, and their aides together with Colonel Crisp and myself into his office, while Ada led the remainder of the party into the Governors residence. There she joined Mary and Brenda in the kitchen. Looess and Weem joined them.

"Now, gentlemen. Have you any questions?" asked Reginald.

"The question that we'll have to answer when we return to Earth," said the President, "is whether the cost of setting up this colony is worth what Earth gets in return?"

"Earth has given us the people here, and the time and efforts of the Spacebees. For that, Earth is getting our export of iridium. In time, there will be other exports both of food and manufactured goods. There is also the invisible advantage that by providing us with our population, the drain on Earth's resources is thereby reduced. This advantage will become more apparent over the years to come as the number of Earth's colonies increases."

"But what materials and goods has Earth provided?" asked Robert Hooke.

"Earth provided us with our population and animals. The Federation provided almost everything else that you will see here today."

"You certainly surprise me," replied Robert, "but I'm not sure that our critics back on Earth are going to be able to believe it, or would even want to."

"Among the documents that I've given to Bob and Gerald, you will find a schedule of everything that we've had in setting up this colony up to ten days ago," said Reginald."

"It's amazing," put in the President.

"There is one cost, you could add," I said, "and that is the cost of the aid that we're putting into Osmum. A bit of 'quid pro quo' for the aid that we're getting here."

"Let's go and join the ladies," Reginald concluded.

Dinner that evening was dominated by the company's several reminiscences of things that had gone amusingly wrong in their lives. Some of these referred to the establishment of the colony here on Secundus. I noticed that Donald and Ada paid particular attention to those.

After dinner, the party walked down the road to the meeting hall that passed as a theater. A canvas banner suspended over the entrance proclaimed that we were attending the first production of the Secundus Dramatic and Operatic Society. The place was crowded. A trio was playing just in front of the stage. They were playing an electronic keyboard instrument, a fiddle, and a drum set. Our party, we found, were occupying the front row of seats. A program for the evening's entertainment had been placed on each seat.

The first contribution was a play, Christopher Fry's 'A Phoenix Too Frequent'. With only a cast of three and set in a cave, you may have expected it to be dreary. However, it was an uplifting and humorous piece. The plot concerns a young widow of ancient Greece, entombed in a cave. With her husband's corpse and her maid as her only living companion, she is determined to join her husband. The arrival of a soldier, who had heard sounds emanating from the cave helps to change her mind.

During the interval, we were served with coffee. Reginald apologized for not having anything stronger, but he explained that they had yet to produce a harvest from which alcoholic drinks could be derived.

After the interval, we were treated to a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Trial by Jury'. The notes in the program apologized for the lack of period costumes and explained that at this stage of the colony such luxuries were unobtainable.

The plot of the operetta concerns the trial of a young man for jilting his young lady. The company tackled the piece with skill and considerable enthusiasm. When it finished, the applause was deafening. As the applause started to lessen the music and cast reprised the closing chorus. As they ended again the applause was equally deafening. In total, there were five reprises.

We made our way slowly back to the Governor's residence chatting about the evening's entertainment. Reginald asked if we really wanted to make for Earth. The President replied that the answer depended on our Brian if he was feeling up to it. Brian said that he was fine, so we bade farewell to our hosts and, also to the Crisps who were going to spend a week exploring colony life for themselves.