Exiled to the Stars by William Zellmann Page B
Authors: William Zellmann
Tags: Science-Fiction
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Diogenes looking for someone to swap with doesn't appeal to me, either. I've taught a lot of undergraduate college courses, I'm sure I can handle teaching basic adult education. So, Lay on, MacDuff, and damned be him who first cries 'Hold! Enough!'"
Ron laughed aloud. "Don't tell me your doctorate is in Shakespearian studies!"
She shook her head. "No, but it might be better if it was. I doubt that a PhD in molecular biology is going to be very useful to exiles and pioneers."
He grinned and snapped his fingers. " Pioneers ! That's it! That's the term I was looking for. We will turn these ghetto-dwellers into pioneers of a new planet!"
Chapter 3
17 August 2103 AD
Ron and the others returned to the dorm just in time for the mass meeting Cesar Montero had called for the messroom. The messroom was designed to seat two hundred people, a dorm's entire population.
Cesar took charge of the meeting, briefing the residents on recent occurrences. Wide grins and a happy babble greeted the news of Rafael's, Paco's, and their gang's departures. He introduced Ron, Vlad, and the rest of the westerners, calling them "teachers," and Vlad and Susan James, "eminent scientists."
There was much less enthusiasm for Raymond Koh and their plan to hire him as "sheriff", but the motion to hire him and "tax" everyone one beer per month as his "salary" passed easily after an eloquent and impassioned speech by Cesar.
The final act of the meeting was to elect a "Kapitan," or mayor, and a "konsehal" or "council" to lead them. Cesar's nomination for Kapitan was quickly confirmed by acclamation. That boy Ron had met was not the only one who called Cesar Montero "The wise man."
Ron was surprised when immediately following Cesar's election as Kapitan, Raymond Koh moved that Cesar Montero be allowed to choose his own konsehal for the time being; formal elections could be held once things settled down. The motion passed easily.
"Of course it was staged," Cesar told Ron later with a guilty grin. "But they would not have elected any of you westerners, and I will need your help very badly, especially at first."
They boosted out early the next morning. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the boost built and they drifted slowly toward one "wall." But panic flared again when the Captain put spin on the ship, and everyone slid down the "wall" to the "floor." There was confusion as items left drifting in mid-air drifted first to the wall, and then fell to the floor. There was also a resurgence of motion sickness. This time, though, the vomit spilled to the floor along with the drifting liquids, limiting the threat to bystanders. But very soon, the colonists acclimated to the new orientation and reveled in the return of "weight."
It took only a day for the colonists to learn that space travel was boring ! There was no work for the men. The women had no cooking to do, and little cleaning. Laundry was sent to a central location, where it was done by mechs. Cesar tasked Ron with investigating the educational capabilities of the ship's computer and verification that the claims for it had not been exaggerated.
Ron found that the claims had, if anything, been minimized. As soon as the ship was under boost, a sealed hatch near one end of the dorm had clicked open.
In the compartment it had concealed, Ron found fifty booths containing virtual-reality helmets and old-style touch screen terminals of the type formerly used in elementary schools. These would permit testing requiring student input and other hands-on tasks. Apparently, it was hoped that their simpler design would permit them to keep functioning in the unlikely event of failure of the complex VR system. A single desk occupied a slightly raised dais. It contained a similar, though larger terminal, and apparently, controls that would permit the 'teacher' to monitor or work with any individual student.
Ron slipped on the 'teacher' VR helmet, and after a few seconds, he was greeted by an attractive young
Ron laughed aloud. "Don't tell me your doctorate is in Shakespearian studies!"
She shook her head. "No, but it might be better if it was. I doubt that a PhD in molecular biology is going to be very useful to exiles and pioneers."
He grinned and snapped his fingers. " Pioneers ! That's it! That's the term I was looking for. We will turn these ghetto-dwellers into pioneers of a new planet!"
Chapter 3
17 August 2103 AD
Ron and the others returned to the dorm just in time for the mass meeting Cesar Montero had called for the messroom. The messroom was designed to seat two hundred people, a dorm's entire population.
Cesar took charge of the meeting, briefing the residents on recent occurrences. Wide grins and a happy babble greeted the news of Rafael's, Paco's, and their gang's departures. He introduced Ron, Vlad, and the rest of the westerners, calling them "teachers," and Vlad and Susan James, "eminent scientists."
There was much less enthusiasm for Raymond Koh and their plan to hire him as "sheriff", but the motion to hire him and "tax" everyone one beer per month as his "salary" passed easily after an eloquent and impassioned speech by Cesar.
The final act of the meeting was to elect a "Kapitan," or mayor, and a "konsehal" or "council" to lead them. Cesar's nomination for Kapitan was quickly confirmed by acclamation. That boy Ron had met was not the only one who called Cesar Montero "The wise man."
Ron was surprised when immediately following Cesar's election as Kapitan, Raymond Koh moved that Cesar Montero be allowed to choose his own konsehal for the time being; formal elections could be held once things settled down. The motion passed easily.
"Of course it was staged," Cesar told Ron later with a guilty grin. "But they would not have elected any of you westerners, and I will need your help very badly, especially at first."
They boosted out early the next morning. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the boost built and they drifted slowly toward one "wall." But panic flared again when the Captain put spin on the ship, and everyone slid down the "wall" to the "floor." There was confusion as items left drifting in mid-air drifted first to the wall, and then fell to the floor. There was also a resurgence of motion sickness. This time, though, the vomit spilled to the floor along with the drifting liquids, limiting the threat to bystanders. But very soon, the colonists acclimated to the new orientation and reveled in the return of "weight."
It took only a day for the colonists to learn that space travel was boring ! There was no work for the men. The women had no cooking to do, and little cleaning. Laundry was sent to a central location, where it was done by mechs. Cesar tasked Ron with investigating the educational capabilities of the ship's computer and verification that the claims for it had not been exaggerated.
Ron found that the claims had, if anything, been minimized. As soon as the ship was under boost, a sealed hatch near one end of the dorm had clicked open.
In the compartment it had concealed, Ron found fifty booths containing virtual-reality helmets and old-style touch screen terminals of the type formerly used in elementary schools. These would permit testing requiring student input and other hands-on tasks. Apparently, it was hoped that their simpler design would permit them to keep functioning in the unlikely event of failure of the complex VR system. A single desk occupied a slightly raised dais. It contained a similar, though larger terminal, and apparently, controls that would permit the 'teacher' to monitor or work with any individual student.
Ron slipped on the 'teacher' VR helmet, and after a few seconds, he was greeted by an attractive young
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