{"id":89,"date":"2012-02-05T00:00:26","date_gmt":"2012-02-05T05:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=89"},"modified":"2012-01-02T22:42:04","modified_gmt":"2012-01-03T03:42:04","slug":"chapter-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/?p=89","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Six"},"content":{"rendered":"

The claim was made ad infinitas<\/em>, to infinity, though no one thought that it was necessary to do that.\u00a0 But Erich insisted on it when we staked the claim, and who would debate the great historian\u2019s assertion?\u00a0 So the Foundation staked its claim.\u00a0 We thought we would only need it for a couple hundred years\u2014we\u2019d outlive New Earth, and the best estimates from our scientists said they had maybe that long left.\u00a0 They were probably already looking for another series of systems, light-years away, like they had when Telluria died.\u00a0 They\u2019d leave us alone.\u00a0 Besides, the Colonial Office had always done right by claimants, and we had the Guard to protect our claim if something should happen.<\/p>\n

— Katina Mason-Grace, early settler of E-557, c. 5090 PD<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

8 Octem, 5249 PD
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Miriam Jacobi had worked for theNewEarthCommonwealth\u2019s Colonial Office for six years.\u00a0 She liked her job.\u00a0 It was perhaps one of the few places left in New Earth space where you could afford to be openly sympathetic\u2014even agree with\u2014the mission of the Rose Foundation on E-557.\u00a0 She even worked with a few psychics, former members of the now all but dead Psychean Guard, who were protected under the laws of the Commonwealth.\u00a0 Of course, they rarely left their homes except to come to work and then go home again.\u00a0 For all the protection the Commonwealth offered, it was hardly enough, one had told her recently.\u00a0 You can\u2019t help what happens in the streets after dark, she\u2019d said.\u00a0 Miriam had supposed that was true.<\/p>\n

She was sifting through some files that morning and had come across a request for a claim in the same system as E-557, to a handful of asteroids that were already claimed by the Rose Foundation and the colony on E-557 under the charter for the colony.\u00a0 The new claim was close to getting approved, despite the conflict with the previous claim.\u00a0 She frowned, flagging it, and called her supervisor.<\/p>\n

Padraig Danson had worked for the New Earth Commonwealth\u2019s Colonial Office for nearly ten years and in that time he\u2019d always claimed he\u2019d seen everything\u2014twice.\u00a0 It was the middle of the afternoon by the time he made it to Miriam\u2019s desk to talk about the claim she\u2019d flagged, looking harried and hassled, as usual.\u00a0 The Colonial Office\u2019s work was never done, apparently, and he was the picture of that motto. \u00a0Briefly, Miriam wondered if he\u2019d slept in his shirt as she looked up over her shoulder at him as he leaned over her to get a look at the files on her screens.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou flagged something that we needed to talk about?\u201d\u00a0 He rubbed at an eye and the dark circle beneath it.<\/p>\n

Miriam nodded and pulled up the file.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a file thatAndersonis processing through for approval higher up that\u2019s a conflicting claim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cConflicting with who?\u00a0 How far back?\u201d\u00a0 He seemed slightly more awake now\u2014and slightly more interested.\u00a0 Usually, flagging a file just meant that there had been some sort of error in the renderings of data, or the fair use of the claim.<\/p>\n

\u201cRose Foundation claim on the Eridani Trelasia system, designated four four seven niner E.\u00a0 Dated from 5090 PD ad infinitas<\/em>.\u00a0 They hold the claim into infinity, Padraig.\u00a0 Why isn\u2019t this other claim being laughed off the map?\u201d<\/p>\n

Padraig deadpanned, staring at the screen.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I joined the Colonial Office, it would have been.\u00a0 There\u2019s a problem with that, these days, though.\u201d\u00a0 He pressed his lips together, hard.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no teeth to back up the Foundation claim.\u00a0 The Guard is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam blinked, confused.\u00a0 What does that have to do with anything?\u00a0 A claim\u2019s a claim.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cBut the Foundation made the claim, Padraig.\u00a0 What do you mean there\u2019s nothing to back it up?\u00a0 We have all the documentation that supports their claim.\u00a0 It\u2019s theirs.\u00a0 Forever.\u00a0 That\u2019s what ad infinitas<\/em> means.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head slowly.\u00a0 \u201cAd infinitas<\/em> only means infinity when the claim can be defended militarily, Miriam\u2014especially right now.\u00a0 Politics\u2026politics isn\u2019t going to save the Foundation this time, and there\u2019s no Psychean Guard left to be afraid of.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how we can block the secondary claim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u00a0 It\u2019s their claim<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t matter to the Compact,\u201d Padraig said, looking grim.\u00a0 \u201cThey couldn\u2019t give a damn who\u2019s got prior claim to those asteroids. They\u2019ll take them if they want them, even if we deny their claim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re saying we\u2019re not<\/em> going to deny their claim?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying that at all,\u201d he said carefully.\u00a0 \u201cWhat I\u2019m saying is that we have to be careful, and fully aware that no matter whether we deny their claim or not, they\u2019re going to take it unless someone with teeth stops them.\u00a0 And there\u2019s no one with teeth left to stop them, unless they\u2019re just going to seize those asteroids for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean like Chinasia or Taurena.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTaurena isn\u2019t strong enough or stable enough for that,\u201d Padraig said, staring at the screen still.\u00a0 \u201cThe only people that would dispute the asteroid claim militarily is Chinasia.\u00a0 The Commonwealth doesn\u2019t have the manpower or the ships to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd neither does E-557 is what you\u2019re telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless you know something I don\u2019t, Mir, yeah, that\u2019s what I\u2019m telling you.\u201d\u00a0 He straightened.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll erase the claim the Compact put in.\u00a0 That should buy us some time if you and I pretend we never saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBuy us some time?\u00a0 To do what?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled grimly.\u00a0 \u201cFind a way to do what we\u2019re supposed to do in the Colonial Office\u2014keep a promise to protect a claim made a hundred and fifty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0 \u25cf\u00a0\u00a0 \u25cf<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Later that night, someone knocked on her door.\u00a0 Miriam frowned, looking up from the book she was reading, setting her table aside and standing.\u00a0 It was after nine\u2014who could be at her door?\u00a0 She hit the button to activate the small vidscreen next to the door, brow furrowing more as she saw who was on the other side.\u00a0 She opened the door.\u00a0 \u201cAmie?\u00a0 What are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

The other woman, still in her work clothes, glanced furtively over her shoulder, back toward the street.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll tell you in a minute.\u00a0 Can I come in, Mir?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course!\u201d\u00a0 Miriam stepped clear of the doorway, letting her colleague in and closing the door behind her.\u00a0 \u201cDo you want something hot to drink?\u201d<\/p>\n

Amie Kaspersy nodded, shrugging slowly out of her coat.\u00a0 \u201cPlease.\u00a0 It\u2019s cold out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam nodded and headed to the kitchen.\u00a0 Amie followed, perched on a stool by the island while Miriam got down an array of options.\u00a0 \u201cSo what\u2019s going on?\u00a0 Did you work late?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did,\u201d she admitted, \u201cBut not that<\/em> late.\u201d\u00a0 She bit her lip.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone vandalized my house, Mir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Amie\u2019s hands twisted and she shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone vandalized my house.\u00a0 Maybe even broke in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t call security services?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot when I knew someone was watching me, no.\u201d\u00a0 Amie swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone started following me about half a block out of work.\u00a0 I lost him on the way here.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know where else to go to feel safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to call security services for your house, Amie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, I know,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cBut I couldn\u2019t stay there<\/em> and do it!\u00a0 Whoever was following me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam\u2019s stomach twisted as Amie\u2019s voice trailed away.\u00a0 \u201cThey wanted to hurt you?\u00a0 You sensed it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis surface thoughts were really bad,\u201d Amie whispered.\u00a0 \u201cEspecially when I got close to my house.\u201d\u00a0 Tears sparkled in her dark eyes and she bit her lip.\u00a0 \u201cIt took everything I had not to run<\/em> all the way here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Amie.\u201d<\/p>\n

She swallowed hard and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI can deal with the hate.\u00a0 Really, I can.\u00a0 It\u2019s everything else that\u2019s starting to scare me.\u00a0 What if he\u2019d been better at guarding his thoughts, Mir?\u00a0 What if I hadn\u2019t sensed him?\u201d\u00a0 Her face went pale.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if he\u2019d been inside<\/em> my house instead of following me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam came around the center and wrapped her arms around Amie.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t think about that, Amie.\u00a0 You\u2019re safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for how long?\u201d\u00a0 Amie whispered, hugging Miriam back.\u00a0 \u201cTime was working for the Commonwealth kept you safe.\u00a0 Now even that\u2019s changing.\u00a0 I can\u2019t afford to pick up and leave\u2014and even if I could, where could I go?\u00a0 Mimir\u2019s dead and I\u2019m not religious.\u00a0 There\u2019s just no place to go but here.\u00a0 At least the laws here try to protect us.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s always other options.\u00a0 Ones we don\u2019t think about.<\/em>\u00a0 Miriam frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about E-557?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Foundation\u2019s pipe dream?\u201d\u00a0 Amie laughed a bitter laugh.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure I could sew my own clothes and make my own cheese, Mir.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam blushed, holding her friend at arms\u2019 length.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019s not quite<\/em> like that.\u00a0 I mean they say that\u2019s where the Psychean Guard went, after Mimir.\u00a0 They wouldn\u2019t have headed there if it wasn\u2019t a good place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amie shook her head. \u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t think that I could do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s either that or staying here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if it doesn\u2019t, Amie?\u00a0 If it gets worse?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThen I\u2019ll have a decision to make.\u00a0 And it won\u2019t be an easy one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam sighed, shaking her head a little.\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u00a0 I\u2019ll make the drinks and then we\u2019ll call security services, okay?\u00a0 You\u2019ll stay here tonight and we\u2019ll call Padraig in the morning and he\u2019ll take us to work.\u00a0 Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

Amie hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cMir\u2026this could put you in a lot of danger, if whoever did that to my place is really out to get psychics.\u00a0 There\u2019ve been rumors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard them, Amie.\u00a0 I don\u2019t care<\/em>.\u00a0 You\u2019re my friend and you\u2019re not any different from anyone else except for the fact that you can occasionally read minds.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019d take a lot of balls to attack a house that belonged to a non-psychic to get to a psychic.\u00a0 They may think they can get away with vandalizing her place\u2014and they might, if they can find a sympathetic ear\u2014but they wouldn\u2019t get away with doing the same here.\u00a0 Not yet.<\/em>\u00a0 The yet<\/em> worried her, though.\u00a0 Was that what things were coming to?\u00a0 Padraig\u2019s comment about no more teeth for protection drifted back to her.\u00a0 She tried not to sigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a good friend, Mir,\u201d Amie said quietly and squeezed her hand.\u00a0 \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re never going to have to thank me for giving you a place to crash, Amie.\u00a0 This shouldn\u2019t have happened.\u00a0 Twenty years ago, it wouldn\u2019t have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot\u2019s changed in twenty years,\u201d Amie said quietly, watching as Miriam started to make some tea.\u00a0 She wet her lips before she spoke again.\u00a0 \u201cChinasia put in another conflicting claim.\u201d
\n\u201cAnother?\u201d<\/p>\n

Amie sighed, nodding.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ve been doing that a lot lately.\u00a0 Testing the limits of the claim system.\u00a0 They tried to claim the Whispers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Whispers?\u00a0 Really?\u201d\u00a0 Miriam frowned, getting down a pair of mugs.\u00a0 Why would they try to do that?\u00a0 It\u2019s not much more than a rallying point for the Wanderers.\u00a0 A trading post.\u00a0 A tourist attraction for folks interested in celestial phenomenon.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cThat doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u00a0 We rejected the claim.\u00a0 The Wanders still hold the claim for the next century and a half.\u201d\u00a0 Amie rubbed her face, shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cBut they\u2019re testing their limits anyway.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know why.\u00a0 Maybe they\u2019re running out of space again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr resources.\u00a0 Or both.\u201d\u00a0 Miriam sighed.\u00a0 \u201cEveryone is.\u00a0 There\u2019s three more cylinders almost ready to go operational.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amie shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not so bad here, but I hear it\u2019s getting really bad in some places, and in some of the conglom-held areas you can\u2019t even go near<\/em> the water anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory repeats itself,\u201d Miriam murmured, shaking her head as she poured the tea.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve just been reading a lot lately.\u00a0 My father\u2019s history collections, mostly.\u00a0 Some of the new social commentary pieces here and there, but they\u2019re not really saying anything that hasn\u2019t been said and ignored before.\u201d\u00a0 She slid one of the mugs across the island to Amie.\u00a0 \u201cNew Earth is going to die sooner rather than later, y\u2019know?\u00a0 The congloms mostly moving off world hasn\u2019t stopped that.\u00a0 The regulations the Commonwealth enacted forty years ago are helping, but they\u2019re not going to stop the inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hunt\u2019s already on for another homeworld, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t know.\u00a0 Don\u2019t pay attention to stuff like that.\u00a0 I figure by the time humanity moves, I\u2019ll be dead.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have any kids.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have anyone that\u2019s going to have to move\u2026\u201d\u00a0 She shrugged again, almost helplessly.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not a good situation for the planet, but I won\u2019t live to reap the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeems like people have been taking that sort of view for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have been,\u201d Miriam murmured, then sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI keep thinking that maybe, just maybe, the Rose Foundation was onto something when they started talking about ecological sustainability.\u00a0 I know here we think about it as sewing our own clothes and making our own cheese but I think there\u2019s got to be more to it than that.\u00a0 Have you heard of Tavelian and Ives?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey make soap, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSoap and personal care items, yeah.\u00a0 But they\u2019re based out of a facility at E-557 and they\u2019re huge<\/em>.\u00a0 Now you tell me that they\u2019re making all of that by hand as a small-scale operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amie frowned.\u00a0 \u201cIt could<\/em> be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe, but I doubt it.\u201d\u00a0 Miriam took a long swallow from her mug.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve been reading Erich Quizibian.\u00a0 A lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was Foundation hardcore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u00a0 But he was also one of the most respected historians and social scientists of his age.\u00a0 And he didn\u2019t start out as Foundation, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPsychean Guard?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d think that, wouldn\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0 Miriam grinned.\u00a0 \u201cHe was Guard-educated.\u00a0 His parents were mid-level management at Casearras.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u00a0 And they had him Guard-educated?\u00a0 Casearras allowed that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording toWindsor\u2019s biography of him, it seems they almost encouraged it.\u00a0 He just wasn\u2019t cut out for corp life, so they sent him on scholarship to Andrewsbury on Mimir.\u00a0 His senior thesis was on kinship in the Casearras Conglomerate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never knew that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither did I until I read the book.\u201d\u00a0 Miriam smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cAmazing what you learn from reading books, right?\u201d\u00a0 She set down her mug.\u00a0 \u201cEnough, though.\u00a0 We need to call security services for your house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can do it,\u201d Amie said.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019s your comm?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam pointed to the closest unit, the one there in the kitchen, then took her mug of tea back to her couch to give Amie a little privacy to talk with security services.\u00a0 She picked up her reader again, to get a little more reading in while she waited.\u00a0 Amie eventually joined her, cradling her mug in both hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re sending a patrol to check it out.\u00a0 Said they\u2019d secure the place and I could call them tomorrow for an update.\u00a0 I\u2019ll call them from work tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cUntil you feel safe, you\u2019ll stay here with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amie frowned a little, starting to shake her head.\u00a0 \u201cI can get a hotel room, Mir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u00a0 I have a perfectly good spare bedroom.\u00a0 You\u2019ll stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re a good friend, Mir.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI try.\u00a0 Sometimes I succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twenty minutes later, they heard a boom and a rattle, saw a flash of light to the north.\u00a0 Miriam frowned, starting to get up to walk to the window.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that?\u00a0 Sounded like a transformer blew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amie\u2019s face was sheet white when Miriam turned to looked back.\u00a0 \u201cI think it was my house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam\u2019s arms went around her friend as she began to weep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The claim was made ad infinitas, to infinity, though no one thought that it was necessary to do that.\u00a0 But Erich insisted on it when we staked the claim, and who would debate the great historian\u2019s assertion?\u00a0 So the Foundation … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-last-colony"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p25yjF-1r","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=89"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89\/revisions\/92"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=89"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=89"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.embklitzke.com\/e557\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=89"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}