Chapter two

Liz Yomtov

While the ship coasted safely in orbit, everyone gathered around the delfinian travel tanks deciding what was going to happen next. Though the United States of Earth did not have the power to defeat them, Use was definitely strong enough to deny a safe landing in Nation Pacifica.

Nonviolent principles confined the pioneers to their own ship. There was no question that a frigate starship and its crew could begin a war and probably win. Still, the situation was a bitter stalemate. They were in a ship powered by Joy, the strongest force ever discovered by Humans; a force far too strong to unleash anywhere near millions of innocent people.

A basic fact of life faced by the most primitive inhabitants of caves also held sway aboard their modern spacecraft; information and knowledge are the keys to liberty. The pioneers desperately needed more information. Everyone on the ship felt a deep personal need to know more as they stared in silent awe out the windows. Earth's beauty floating in space held them motionless, until Rima spoke.

She turned to the pilot they had plucked from the sea, "Why did you attack us? We have returned to Earth in total peace. We have no desire to harm anyone." The pilot, whose face was still buried in a towel, removed a soggy flight helmet with one hand. She shook long auburn hair out of her eyes with a toss of her head.

"Elizabeth Yomtov, Lieutenant, Operation Freethem," she responded, with defiant eyes flashing.

Eddy suddenly remembered his friend, Glafco; he had once pried a confession out of a saboteur, on Planet Pacifica. Eddy realized the pilot gave only her name and rank because she was enraged at being forced out of the air; her pride as a pilot was more hurt than she was scared. He decided to try and question the pilot using what he considered Glafco's successful manners.

Placing a hand on Rima's shoulder, Eddy spoke directly into her mind using melodian telepathic speech Star Song had taught them, "Let me try." His song sprang forth clearly in Rima's head.

He then reached to the captured pilot and held out his free hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm Eddy McGregor, Captain of Admiral Castro's personal ship. Next to him are the first intelligent alien life forms to travel to Earth aboard a star cruiser. Rima here is the copilot, the Admiral is her Grandfather," he said, removing his other hand from Rima's shoulder.

Lieutenant Yomtov looked at the delfinians. A curious expression flashed across her face before she turned hard angry hazel eyes back to Eddy. She didn't take his offered hand. "Are you the one who forced me down and destroyed my airplane?" She asked.

"I'm the pilot, yes. Your flying is very good, by the way, but you didn't stand a chance against a star-ship. Maybe someday you will fly one," he continued, "then you'll see for yourself."

Eddy smiled inside. He knew he'd hooked every pilot's secret dream to fly a spaceship. He watched the pilot's shoulders relax ever so slightly. "You fly brilliantly, I'm sure everyone here will agree it wasn't your fault you were forced out of the air."

"I had the feeling there was more to it than your ship, Captain. You always reached where I was going, too quickly. You defied gravity," she said, glancing sidelong at the Delfinians.

Eddy also looked to his companions, he was about say something when Cecric handed him a delfinian translation collar. "Give this to her so she can understand our speech," she said. "Your grandfather... er, I mean, the Admiral has been translating our conversation for us thus far."

Eddy felt an inner glow when people thought of the Admiral as his Grandfather. He did it himself, occasionally. Smiling, he took the collar and handed it to the pilot. "Put this on like I'm wearing mine and you'll be able to talk with the delfinians. They're equal partners in this trip. You really should hear what Cecric has to say."

The pilot put on the translation collar and turned slowly to Cecric, who looked into her eyes for a long thoughtful moment. Eddy actually felt a bolt of conscious delfinian energy snap between them when he saw the pilot's body stiffen and then also snap, slightly. An obvious yet invisible force briefly zapped between their eyes.

Eddy remembered when everyone was frantically preparing for battle with Doom Cloud, Cecric had done the same thing with him, then. He wondered anew about this strange delfinian ability. Though they had been too busy for him to ask at the time, he now knew it wasn't a fluke; now he'd seen it done with another person. Eddy decided to bring the subject up whenever the opportunity arose.

"Dear Elizabeth," Cecric began. "You are asking Eddy to explain something none of us understands. Eddy was given advanced flight training by a Being named Star Song. All of us would be dead without Eddy's special training."

Cecric paused to give the pilot time to collect her thoughts and maybe relax a little more.

"We are survivors of a war with a tremendous evil force. Our ship captain flew straight into the attacker, three times. That awful power was almost as big as your sun. Eddy destroyed it on his third try. There is no shame in losing against a ship more powerful than anything on this planet, or a pilot with skills even he doesn't yet fully know."

"But I didn't do it alone," Eddy protested. "Melodians focused every bit of energy they had to protect us, their own city was destroyed doing it."

Cecric turned to Eddy and began her slow concentrated look into his eyes. He involuntarily lifted his hands and shielded himself from her gaze. He peaked from behind his fingers.

She burst out laughing. "Haven't you figured out what happens when delfinians look into each others eyes?"

"No. I was just wondering, actually."

"We have a fourth physical brain, like cetaceans. Our fourth brain evolved after the other three, which are similar to yours."

"The lowest, for fast reflex, is the reptilian," offered the captured pilot, tentatively including herself in the conversation. "Next is the mammal brain. The human brain is on top," she said, straightening her neck and back.

Cecric nodded, "Close, Lieutenant. The third brain you call 'human' is also a self-conscious brain. Your third level brain can feel our fourth brain attempting to communicate. Though as near as we can tell, you are unable to share another person's status the way we do."

"Status?" Rima questioned, raising one eyebrow, hoping it didn't refer to something like money.

"Hungry? Happy? Healthy? Those kinds of things."

"Whales and Dolphins can share all that?" The pilot asked with genuine interest.

"We think so. Now you know why we must protect them. I should add that each of the brain levels share abilities to some extent, even the reptilian."

Cecric paused for a moment, letting her eyes travel among her friends, then she turned back to the downed pilot. "We were discussing the purpose of our trip to Earth with Admiral Castro before you joined us. Would you like to be included?"

Elizabeth nodded "yes" as her mouth silently spoke "no" and her shoulders shrugged "maybe." She looked down at the floor and shuffled her feet. When she looked up she was biting her lower lip and crying. Large uncontrollable tears rolled down her cheeks. She stood in front of them; silent, feeling defeated and helpless.

Rima strode quickly to Liz and gave her a hug.

The Admiral suddenly switched to being a grandfather named Inocente. He also stepped to the pilot's side and put his arm around her shoulders, "Don't worry, Lieutenant, we'll make sure you are returned home." He looked at her reassuringly and spoke as a concerned grandfather, "We need to know why we were attacked. You're wearing a United States of Earth uniform. What are you doing in Nation Pacifica?"

"Pacifica needs our protection," the lieutenant responded, crying much less bitterly. "Its government has lost the ability to understand the needs of the people. We plan to expand democracy and include them in the election of our new president. The U.S.E. Military is in Pacifica to maintain order and provide direction until the people there can reestablish their own local government."

"I see," the Admiral said, signaling the others not to interrupt. "And why is Use so hostile to a single ship returning from the pioneer colony? Your president begged us to postpone our departure when we left."

"That was a different president, she was replaced in a recall election, after you pioneers left. We have a new president now. He is the son of the president just before her. Now we have President Bushleeg, he is stepping aside to let his brother run for president in this election."

"That seems a little odd," said the Admiral, rubbing his temples as he thought about what she'd said.

"Not really. Our current president is simply filling in. If he lets his brother be president, then he can be president again when his younger brother, Jud, retires. That will give our nation the continuity of Bushleeg leadership."

"Do the people of Use like that idea? No-no. Wait," the Admiral breathed aloud before speaking again, "Forget politics. We need you to explain why we were attacked."

"Admiral, we almost had a revolution while you were gone. A man named Kevin Berrigan came from Pacifica to our Capital, to do research at the University. Instead, he and a woman named Leona Banyacya became involved with a bunch of environmentalists and almost overthrew our government. We found out later that she worked for the government of Pacifica. That is why we have established a military presence there, it's a matter of self defense."

"I know the Berrigans," Admiral Castro said thoughtfully. "William and Leslie Berrigan are Kevin's parents; they are research scientists on Luna. I know the name Banyacya, too, but I can't place Leona. For now, though; How did Kevin and Leona go from being researchers to revolutionaries?"

"It was chance, really. At least that's what I think," the pilot answered.

"We had just lost a Mars explorer because someone used inches and feet to calculate the landing path, they should have been using meters and centimeters. A television crew was surveying people on the street, Kevin was asked what he thought about the crash landing on Mars.

He told us the same measurement error caused the same thing to happen one hundred and fifty years ago. He explained that metrics was one of his special areas of applied economics and offered to help us convert to the metric system."

"That's a long way from revolution," Rima pointed out, she was equally curious and skeptical.

"Well, for starters; Leona and Kevin are very photogenic, especially together. They became instant media darlings. On top of that, each is a highly educated economist specializing in social ecology. It wasn't long before they were advising major corporations on how to save huge amounts of money by analyzing energy flows.

"They showed us how much easier it is when one cubic centimeter of water weighs one gram and one calorie makes it one degree hotter. 'Measuring is easier and better when freezing is zero and boiling is one hundred,' they said, with friendly smiles.

"Few realized it was a devious trick to change our way of life," Liz concluded.

Landra wondered why changing to the metric system would change their way of life. Liz looked at her and shrugged, “Some people think it would be easier for a world government to take over the United States of Earth if it used the same number system as everyone else."

The Admiral chuckled when she said that. "Most everyone I know thinks it takes more patience to train a dog with treats than it does to train a human with a TV." He laughed again, then said more seriously, "Being brainwashed is nothing to be ashamed of, mind you; the shame is for those who actually brainwash people with a television."

"So what happened next?" Rima asked. "Did the United States of Earth adopt the metric system?" She asked, urging the pilot on.

"Yes. And then there was no turning back."

"There's more to it?" the Admiral asked, his eyes still sparkling, he was clearly enjoying her story.

"Lots more. Many high paying technical jobs were exported to low-wage countries. We have scads of unemployed experts. Kevin and Leona put them to work as volunteers computing energy flows and hidden costs. The government and large corporations supported the idea completely. Kevin and Leona were constantly in the news explaining newly discovered hidden cost problems. They said when these wrinkles were ironed out, the good ol' U.S. of E. would once again be the most advanced economy on Earth."

"Wow," Eddy interjected. "Kevin and Leona should have been running for president."

"That's what people were saying," said the pilot, "and they probably could have, except they are too young. Still, it was all very exciting and uplifting.

"They urged unemployed technical people to link their computers together and enlist friends' computers so idle processing power could help locate economic kinks. Leona and Kevin had the most powerful computer on the planet in less than two months. Sometimes they laughed and called it the sixth facet of a seven facet government.”

"Was that on the news, too?" Rima asked.

"Daily. And at first there were noticeable improvements, like transportation schedules that tied in with harvests and yielded fresher food. But gradually the news turned into a drum-beat against them, and then a witch hunt."

"Why?"

"You have to understand one thing above all."

"And what is that?" The Admiral asked, curious to hear what 'one thing' could change everything.

"The next metric system change revealed energy units measured money."

"That's all? Energy measures money? It makes sense. I believe we're all with you." the Admiral's voice was followed by nods from around the room.

'And? So?' Questions were on all faces.

"Well, it wasn't long before Leona and Kevin were enthusiastically embraced by a shadowy group called The Green Iconoclasts. Legions of unemployed experts signed on, soon they were measuring how many calories of energy were used to clean up after companies that didn't clean up after themselves. That's when the whole operation came to a screeching halt. President Bushleeg said they were bad for business. Next, an army of goons were sent to kill Kevin and Leona. They barely escaped in time."

"Where are they now?" Rima asked breathlessly.

"Nobody knows. All we know is they made it back to their home near Santa Barbara. They picked up their surfboards and dog, then took off in a sailboat with Kevin's sister, Grace. The navy and the airforce have searched the entire Pacific Ocean, but they vanished without a trace."

The Admiral rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "That's quite a story Lieutenant. I'd say we were lucky that it was you Eddy picked out. You have definitely made us more aware of what's been happening while we were away."

Sadly, he turned to the delfinians, "We fought our battle and won. The folks in Nation Pacifica don't seem to have done so well. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be here and help. This is terrible news. Where do we go from here?" He mused, more to himself than anyone else.

Eddy handed another dry towel to the captured pilot. "The last thing Star Song told us was that victory over Doom Cloud established Nation Pacifica as a pioneer responsibility..."

"Admiral. Sir!" The lieutenant called out. She hadn't intended to interrupt Eddy and apologized with her eyes, though she pressed on anyway, "May I finish the last point before it's lost?"

"Off course, Elizabeth," the Admiral answered, nodding his understanding to Eddy.

"Sir. It wouldn't have mattered which pilot was forced down. Nearly everyone in my squadron would have told you as much as I have. People are not happy with the United States government."

"Really?"

"Yes, Sir. And I've figured out who you are."

"Oh?"

"Yes. You are Admiral Inocente Castro. Some military school text books list you as among the world's top generals and leaders, they place you with Cochise, Sequoia, and, Geronimo."

Admiral Castro straightened his back and smiled. "I should dream up a plan quick if I'm going to be put in those footsteps," he said, visibly touched by surprise praise from out of the blue.

"Admiral, I don't want to return to Earth and fight against you. I want to take off this uniform and put on dry clothes. And please call me Liz."

The Admiral started to turn toward Rima, five lined-up delfinians stopped him midway. Five chins leaning on crossed forearms on the rims of water tanks. Five enormously wide smiles. "Please help Liz find some dry clothes," he asked Rima, his eyes were caught focused on the delfinians.

"And what are you guys all so happy about?" he asked.

"Liz is a great welcoming committee," Cecric answered.

"We like our new Human," Dawn said, with a beaming wide smile still on her face.

The Admiral, still standing in midstep, grinned back at the delfinians. "Eddy, check the radio, try to contact Luna. Don't mention any names but see if you can find out anything about Kevin and Grace. Oh, one more thing, check and see if there is anyone Liz should contact. Link into the telephone system if she wants to call. And, if it's okay with our passengers, set a course for where we can more easily call the research station on Luna."

The delfinians turned to President Sudor, questioningly.

"We are still together," he said. "Actual flight time has been quite short. We can stick with the ship awhile longer. Let's go." Everyone smiled with agreement.

next chapter

Earth Base One continues the story of Pacifica. The question remains whether a peaceful human relationship with Earth will forever remain political fantasy.