Orbital Maneuvers (33 page)

“I want to emphasize to all that we have time to think before we react to this event.  If we panic, and run for the hills, trampling each other in the process, we will find that we have lost any opportunity that we may have had to enhance our chances for survival.  I believe that the worst is over, the damage is done, and we can do nothing about that.  We have a good idea of what we may be up against in the next stage of this battle.  We must pick ourselves up and try to do our best to think clearly about what we have, and what we must do to survive together.  It is not going to be easy, make no mistake about it.”

“I would like to propose that we form several international committees.  Each will be given a task and they will come up with a plan of action to present to the Assembly in forty-eight hours.  I see five major areas that need to be considered.”

“First, we have agriculture.  How do we maximize our yields, our inventories, and distribution efficiencies?  I feel we must harvest all available food crops as soon as possible.  This must be processed in the most efficient manner that will provide the longest shelf life of the products.  We must turn to those locations that may have the opportunity to place another food crop in the ground, and relocate resources there to ensure that we harvest those crops at the earliest sign of maturity.  My advisors tell me that we may soon be in total darkness.  They also tell me that they are not really sure how long it will take to happen, and how long it will take to end.  The reality is that we don’t really know the full extent of suffering that this disaster will inflict upon us.  But, we must not stop trying, because of what we fear will happen.  We have to push ahead until we can push no more, and make every attempt to have plans of action ready to implement at the first sign of a problem.  We need to cooperate: share the labor, share the bounty, and survive together!”

“Secondly, we must consider energy.  If the darkness sets in as some predict, and for the longest time predicted, we must be able to provide energy for those people in areas that will be worst affected, probably those in the northern- and southern-most latitudes.  If it means relocation for survival, then this must be considered and discussed now.  We have to have contingency plans ready to be implemented as soon as the need arises.  The energy distribution problem also must be considered for industry.  We must try to keep whatever infrastructure functioning that is necessary for our survival.  These industries need to be noted and prioritized.”

“Thirdly, we must be very careful in the production, storage, and distribution of essential medicines and medical supplies.  We have to prevent the spread and hopefully even the start, of the epidemic diseases that inevitably follow disasters, when many people are placed in close quarters.  We also need to be prepared for anything new that we might have to deal with.”

There was a pause as the President caught his breath.  He continued after a moment in a softer tone. 

“It has been brought to my attention, by my science advisors, that there is a remote possibility that the asteroid that hit us could have harbored bacteriological organisms that
might
have survived the impact, and these may have been released into our environment.”

There was much murmuring inside the general assembly chamber at this last statement.  Susan glanced at Ivan, who had the same surprised look on his face that she had.  This was not something that she had thought of; although, now she did remember reading several articles talking about the possibility that Earth was populated by microbes from Mars that caught rides on chunks of the red planet expelled from large meteor impacts.

The President continued, his voice a little louder to speak above the din. “Please, I know this sounds like science fiction.  I only present it to you because there is enough evidence available to give credence to this idea. Under the right circumstances this could happen.  We do not have the luxury to discount anything at this time, but I also must add that I do not believe we should divert valuable resources to look for an alien bug now.”

“Back to the immediate problem of medicine and medical aid; I must point out that we have many injured people in and around the impact zones.  Numbers that I don’t even want to try to guess at.  Numbers that may be incomprehensibly high.  I must humbly ask that any country that can spare people and essential supplies, please do what you can to help us at this time.”

“Fourth, we will, more than likely, have to implement some kind of rationing system.  This is probably best done internally within each country.  On a global basis, though, there still will be goods and resources bought and sold.  These must not go to the highest bidder, or the richest countries, nor can they be allowed to be taken by force.  We owe it to
everyone
on this planet to have a fair chance to survive, in the best of possible conditions.  This leads me to my fifth and final point.”

“We need to establish a rule of law that we can all agree to.  No one of us has any more reason, or privilege, to survive than any other person on this planet. We must make sure that no one is left behind in our journey toward tomorrow.  If anyone is abused, or taken advantage of in these dire times, the perpetrators of these crimes must be dealt with severely and promptly.  If we all see to it that the goal is for all of us to live to see a new day, then we will not need a stated rule of law, or indeed, need to enforce the penalties if they are violated.  We must hope for the best, but plan for the worst.”

“Ladies and gentlemen of the general assembly, I present these suggestions to you, not as a complete solution to our problem, but as a basis from which we can start to work to optimize our chances for survival.  Many of these ideas are already being implemented in some fashion throughout the United States, because we, unfortunately, do not have any choice at this time but to come to immediate terms with what Mother Nature has dealt us.  Globally, we have limited time before things get too critical to come up with a set of workable solutions.  Please, let us discuss these and any other ideas that you may have, but we must exercise the utmost restraint and compassion and compromise, for we do not have the luxury of time to come up with solutions that will please everyone.”

“We now have a common enemy that is bigger than any of the prejudice, territorial disputes, or religious and political differences that we may have.  Compromise and cooperation will have to be foremost on everyone’s mind, for the good of everyone.  Thank you for your undivided attention in this matter of what must be the worst disaster we, as the human race, have ever had to contend with.”

The intercom burst forth with such applause that Susan first thought they had lost the signal and were picking up static.  She rolled the President’s ideas and words over in her head trying to glean more from his address than he may have wanted to reveal to the average citizen.  She could see the positive spin he was trying to present; he did make it sound like survival was possible.  But from what she knew, and what they could see from their vantage point on the station, she was not so sure.  Her thoughts were interrupted when Ivan asked her what she thought about the speech. 

“Ah,” Susan wavered, trying to decide whether to be honest, and more likely, negative, or to go with the President’s spin and be positive.  Which way should a good commander go? 
Middle of the road
, she thought,
it’s a compromise
.  “He presents a very convincing argument for pulling together to combat this disaster.  Everything he brought up would definitely be needed if we are to maximize the chances of survival for the most people.”

“Yes, but do you think that this cooperation will be enough?” Alexander asked.  “Even the strongest man can not stop a raging bull.  All of these things may not make a difference if we find ourselves in total darkness for twelve months.  Would society continue under such a burden?”

Susan considered Alexander’s question. 
He’s asking the same question that I’m asking, probably the same question everyone is asking at this time.  Is it enough in the face of this catastrophe?  Middle of the road
, she reminded herself.  “Well, a man may not stop the bull, but he can at least change the bull’s direction,” she said.  “I don’t think the President, or anyone else at the UN for that matter, have any illusions that this is going to save everyone.  At best it will minimize the loss of life, and at this time, that is about all we can do.  I think what he is trying to prevent is the mad hysteria that could follow once people realize the full implications of what has happened.  I’m sure that this will occur on a local scale to some degree, but he wants to stop it on a global scale.” Susan cautioned herself not to get too carried away, or she might begin to believe what she is saying. 

“I think you are right, Susan,” Ivan said.  “I do think that the President is trying to do major damage control, but he is working with a very big unknown in what is going to come from this disaster.”

“Yes, and the only option he has left is to prepare for the worst, and to get as many other countries to join up with him in the process,” Susan added.

“He has a monumental task to accomplish in such a short period of time,” Paul said, as he listened to the discussion from the hatchway to Jerry’s temporary quarters.  “You think all of these countries are going to just drop all of their petty little arguments and battles, and join up with the United States?  I’m sorry, but I really don’t think that they are going to be all that cooperative.  I think that it will be more like everyone for himself.”

“I am afraid that Paul may be more correct than he wants to be,” Nicholas said.  “It will be very interesting to see what will develop from this meeting at the UN.  It is difficult enough in good times to get all these countries to agree on something.  At this point and time, self preservation is probably foremost on everyone’s mind!”

A loud moan emanating from the compartment housing Jerry derailed their discussion.  Paul turned to see what was happening with Jerry and was quickly followed by Susan.  Jerry was in the nether world walking along the edge of consciousness, where one is aware of what is going on around them, but unable to interact with their environment. 

Jerry was able to discern one thing in his semi-conscious state: he was feeling extremely nauseous.  He did not really know where he was, or who was around him at this time, but he knew someone was there, which brought him some comfort.  Paul was asking Jerry what was bothering him when Jerry began to retch.

“Susan, quick!  Get a motion sickness bag out of the first-aid kit on the wall!” Paul shouted to Susan as he saw her coming into the compartment.  He was holding onto Jerry so that he had some control over where Jerry was pointing should he bring something up. 

Susan fumbled through the supplies in the kit until she found the motion sickness bag, opened it and passed it to Paul.  She then supported Jerry to allow Paul to get better hold on the bag and Jerry.  Jerry was mumbling all the while, not really forming intelligible words, but enough to know that he was not comfortable at that moment.  His face was pale and sweaty.  He kept trying to move his head away from the bag Paul was trying to hold over his mouth. 

Paul was getting frustrated with trying to cover a moving target and finally shouted at Jerry in a very firm voice.  “Jerry!  Calm down, I’m here to help!” Jerry didn’t respond to Paul’s command and continued to struggle. 

Although she had planned to keep a low profile, Susan decided that they had nothing to lose if she talked to Jerry now.  “Jerry! Hold still!  We are trying to help you, just relax.”

Jerry froze at the sound of Susan’s voice.  His eyes slowly opened as he tried to focus on the source of the voice.  Paul seized the opportunity to clamp the bag tightly over Jerry’s mouth.  As Jerry’s eyes locked onto Susan’s, Paul could feel Jerry’s body tense as his stomach contracted expelling its contents into the bag!  Instinctively, Susan pushed back and released her grip on Jerry in the process, making Paul’s job of containing the vomit even more difficult.

“Susan!  Hold onto him or this stuff is going to go everywhere!” Paul shouted while struggling to keep in control of Jerry.  Susan secured her foot in a foot restraint that she noticed on the wall and grabbed at Jerry’s closest arm as it swung by.  Seizing his arm, she then pulled Jerry closer, allowing Paul to regain his hold on him. 

Jerry had begun to settle down by this time, his nausea had passed, and he gave into the fatigue that overwhelmed his body.  Paul carefully removed and sealed the bag, while Susan maintained her grasp on Jerry. 

As Paul floated over to the first-aid kit to retrieve some disinfectant wipes to clean up Jerry, he wryly asked Susan, “Well, should we tie him up, or do you think he still needs more exercise?”

She gave Paul a look of exasperation, and said, “Let’s tie up his hands and feet and anchor him to this foot restraint.  If he is civil when he wakes up, then we can free his legs.”

Ivan poked his head into the hatchway and asked if they needed any help.  “No thanks, I think we have everything under control now,” Susan said as she put a second wrap of tape on Jerry’s ankles.  “I know that he is still under the influence of the medication, but something tells me that he is not going to be renewed by his experience.”

“Well, if we have to, we can keep him this way and just buckle him into his seat on the CRV,” Ivan said.

“I have a problem with having him tied up on the way down,” Susan said.  “If something were to happen, I would want everyone to be free to fend for themselves.  Besides, I think when Jerry is on the CRV and returning home, he will be more willing to cooperate.” Susan handed the roll of tape to Paul who taped Jerry’s hands together, and then they anchored him to the foot restraint.