Chapter 10

F R E E     on    the    S E A

ARKON CH-10 Setting Up Weather Watch

Friday, 0600, Oasis Apts, Richmond

When the alarm went off, Stakka woke with a start. The tension from the goal of getting some place had worn off and they all slept deeply. He had to sit up and stretch to turn it off. It was a noisy mechanical Beast. He looked back at Renka who had one eye open and said, "Come on lazy bones, breakfast awaits."

They all met at The Breakfast Club in the mini mall and had bacon egg sandwiches and coffee. "Most businesses operate Monday through Saturday noon," said Karen, "And we do the same even though we don't interact with the public." "Saturday after lunch we'll take you to our favorite weekend market," said Jake, "It's set up in a huge parking lot with an abandoned Mall having spaces for rent."

By 0700 they had finished and started out to the office. Once outside they fasten their cloaks against the chill of the light fog and started walking. Loki asked, "Do the pushcart vendors have a guild to assign street corners to each one for their location?" "I think it must be part of Boss Chaco's plan," said Karen, "I heard there is a Zone Manager for each area that has 10,000 residents. They pay a small fee and get assigned a corner. The roving tray sales people pay a smaller fee and have to stay on a certain street they're assigned."

When they got to the office Nobi said, "It's a little bit warmer outside." Karen said, "We usually lite a couple of candles in the front and 4 in the conference room in back for about 30 minutes to take the chill off." While Jake lit the front office candles Karen said, "Let's go to the conference room and get some coffee started."

After coffee Stakka said, "Why don't you ladies set up the control monitor room and Loki and I will move the heavy hardware up to the roof." "Okay, let's do it," they agreed.

By noon they had finished moving components to the roof and Karen had set up a light lunch in the conference room. "We should finish assembling the weather radar this afternoon," said Stakka, "Then tomorrow morning we'll run power and control cables." "The wooden posts and clear plastic sheeting are for the Grow rooms," said Loki, "When you ladies are done down here, you could start assembling one on the roof." "That sounds like fun," said Renka. "Were the five gallon buckets full of super soil?" asked Nobi. "Yes," said Karen, "That is one of the by-products from Downtown Browns meat operation."

By 6 they had finished up the roof work and Renka asked, "Can we borrow two candles from the office for our room?" "Sure," said Karen, "We can get more at the market tomorrow." "Also, is there a VCD shop on the way home?" asked Nobi, "I want to get some movies." "Ummm, I remember one a half block off our route," said Jake, "We can check it out."

They got back to The Oasis at 7 and agreed to meet for dinner at 8 at The Bongo BBQ.

Later, as they finished up their rib plates, Loki said "Why don't we go to the coffee shop for dessert and a Red Zinger?"

After coffee and a shared toke, Renka said, "I'm feeling really sleepy and it's only 11. Do we meet at The Breakfast Club in the morning?" "yeah, sounds good," said Jake, "Good night all."

Saterday, 0630, The Breakfast Club

They all met at The Breakfast Club in the mini mall and had bacon egg sandwiches and coffee. By 0730 they were at the office stringing cable.

By noon they had finished control and power cables to the roof and Karen had set up a light lunch in the conference room. "We finished the other grow room," said Nobi, "Do you think we need some LED grow lights?" "Yeah, that's a good idea," said Loki, "The sun here is not always strong. We can fix a little bang- bang controller to turn on when the sun is not strong." As they were eating Jake explained the weekend Market was only a few blocks away and they would carry empty backpacks for any items they bought to carry back.

"It looks like everybody is going the same way," said Loki. "Yes," said Karen, "The Saturday market is very popular. Some people come from Sacto Friday night and sleep in a tent. It runs through Sunday afternoon and some people make enough to live on for a whole month."

When they entered the fenced-off area they were given a map showing approximate location of different categories of merchandise. Hand tools over here, farm implement over here, power tools over there, food court in the middle, electronic goods on the outside edge, Etc. "Let's go get some candles," said Nobi, "I want to warm our room in the morning." That was close to the enclosed Mall entrance so after they stocked up they went inside. "Oh look," said Loki, "This guy is selling doobies. How much for a 5 pack of Red Dragon doobies?" "10 creds," he replied. "I'll have two," said Loki. "I'll take a 5 pack of Blue Dragons," said Nobi." Stakka and Renka also restocked.

As they walked around they were surprised to see an abandoned Barber Shop turned into a weekend Dental Clinic. Very good recycling of reclining chairs. Back in one corner a large restaurant had been turned into a dimly-lit Bar & Disco. A few doors down were some slot machines and roulette tables in a converted dress shop. Renka said, "I smell delicious espresso aroma." "I see a sign just ahead," said Stakka, "Let's go in and have a cup."

The little shop had eight tables and served small pastries. They sat in the back and shared a Red Dragon. "Do they sell 9mm ammo here?" asked Renka. "They do," said Jake, "And it is reliable. 15 hollow point reloads cost 20 creds and 15 Factory ball ammo cost 40 creds." "After we get some ammo can we go by the shirt shop?" asked Nobi. "We sure can," said Karen, "I'm in the market for some new threads also"

At the shirt shop the guys bought two striped shirts of different colors and the ladies bought some solid colors with patches only on the back. As they were checking out Loki said, "I'm hungry for some Bongo Dongo; anybody else ready to eat?" "I am starving," said Renka, "Shopping makes me hungry also."

When they had cleaned their rib plates Loki suggested coffee and a toke before turning in.

After coffee and a shared toke, Nobi said, "I'm feeling really relaxed and ready for some Kundalini Yoga." "How late does The Breakfast Club serve in the morning?" asked Renka. "Until 1100," said Jake, "Want to meet at 1000 for brunch?" "Yeah, sounds good," said Stakka, "Good night all."

Sunday, 1015, The Breakfast Club

At brunch the next morning Jake informed them, "We had a message come in on our crypto phone this morning. Sergei said I should escort Stakka and Renka to the Vostok shipping office at 1830. From there he and Natasha will take you back to meet Captain Kuznet at 2100 on the Joy Luck 8."

   (expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

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F R E E    on    the    S E A

ARKON   CH-09    SanFran Weather Watch

Thursday, 0800, SanFran Vostok Office

The sound of doors opening and closing woke everyone to the smell of fresh coffee. They gathered in the conference room and were enjoying the coffee when a staff member brought in a tray of scrambled egg bacon sandwiches on toast.

"Here is our plan for this morning," said Natasha, "We will pass out weapons after breakfast, then two by two we will leave five minutes apart and walk a few blocks to one of the pickup points for a rent-a-van ride over the bridge and get out close to the weather watch office on the other side."

"Here are your 9 mm compact pistols and shoulder holsters," said Sergei. "And here are your 8-inch boot knives with clip on scabbard and 10 in belt knives with belt scabbard," said Natasha, "Please do not leave these stuck in a body somewhere; they are very expensive Hand Forged Dragonslayer Steel and harder than a samurai sword. So they will cut through Kevlar. They will hold an edge for a very long time. We got them from the University Metallurgy lab."

"Do we need permits for the pistol," asked Nobi. "No, Boss Chaco believes everyone should be armed because it cuts down on crime," said Sergei, "You can even buy a handmade single shot pistol for a few creds. So you assume at least 75% of the population has some kind of weapon hidden on them."

"If you know someone who can grow the seeds we gave you, tell them they are special genetic hybrids," said Renka, They should take care to avoid cross-pollination."

Just after 0900, Stakka's team, paired with the locals, filtered out two by two. By 0930 they had assembled on the North Bridge Street curb where there were three old vans parked waiting. The first one had six passengers and was waiting for 10 before it left. Sergei negotiated with the second van driver to go early if he bought 10 tickets. The driver agreed and they piled in and left.

While crossing the bridge Natasha instructed the driver take us all the way to the 3rd overpass please. She explained to the rest of them that the first overpass was a 3-cred ticket, the 2nd overpass a 4-cred ticket, the third overpass a 5-cred ticket. Under each overpass was a collection of hire vans and motorcycle taxis that you could engage to take you to different parts of Richmond or Oakland.

When they got out under the 3rd overpass they zigzagged a few streets North to the one where the weather watch office was. Once inside they met Jake's partner Karen. She said, "I have some lunch snacks in the conference room in back and some hot tea to warm you up."

After lunch their escort went back to the van pickup point and returned to the San Fran Vostok Cargo Office.

Jake was explaining the office layout saying, "Karen and I will man the front office, Stakka and Renka will take this office on the right, and Loki and Nobi will have the office just across the hall. The next room down is bigger and empty right now and is where we will put the weather watch equipment. It was delivered late yesterday and is in the room across the hall. In the back, of course, we have the large conference room with the emergency exit and a stair to the roof. We have made arrangements with the landlord to use the roof above the 5th floor for mounting any equipment we need plus we have room for some garden and enclosed grow space."

Stakka said,"Why don't Loki and Nobi inventory the equipment, and Renka and I will bring a folding table from the conference room to the equipment room."

A couple hours later Jay came in and said, "It's getting dark outside early, why don't we close up and head for the apartment."

They went out and down the street one block before making a left for a block and then a right at the next intersection. Along the way they saw a couple of push carts serving barbecued bushmeat and a couple of Walking Vendors with trays, cigarettes for sale one by one and little bottles of clean water, doobies, fruit, and jerky strips. The streets were relatively clean compared to San Fran, which were a little trashy in places.

"That's our apartment up ahead," said Jake, "It's called The Oasis." "The first floor is a collection of individual businesses, and the residences are on the 2nd through the 5th floor. The 6th floor is sealed off as a buffer from the 7th through the 10th floors which are open to homeless squatters. The inside stairs go only to the 5th floor while the outside stairs only go to the 7th through 10th floors. So there is some security there. The mini mall on the first floor is mostly recycled goods like clothes, tools, cell phones, and valuable junk. There are three or four shops with fresh bagels, barbecue, and fresh daily sandwiches."

Once inside Jake's room, 207, Karen said, "Leave your capes on the hooks by the door here and Jake will make some coffee while I check to see if your rooms are ready." The rooms were laid out like a large all-in-one efficiency apartment. In the back was a kitchen counter, a small table with 4 chairs, and a small bathroom. The front area was a fold-up bed, a sofa, and a coffee table.

As Jake made the coffee he explained, "We have low pressure running water and 220 volt 50 cycle current. Both are metered in the hallway. Occasionally they will both go out for a half a day while some repair gets made. So we have a two and a half gallon plastic container of clean water for emergency." Jake put the water on to boil in a little electric hot pot and showed them the cups and instant coffee, cream, and sugar so they could fix it how they like. He made a cup for himself and one for Karen.

They had only taken a few sips when Karen showed up and said, "Your rooms are ready. I told our friends yesterday to clean them up by lunch today and they've done a good job. So Stakka and Renka get 205 and Loki and nobe get 209." "Hey, that calls for a celebration," said Loki, "Who wants to share a Blu Zinger?" They all laughed and said, "Do it."

Jake showed them to their rooms to put their gear away and said, "At 8 we'll take you downstairs for a light dinner in our favorite soup and sandwich shop."

After they ordered their vegetable pork soup and curry chicken sandwiches with lettuce and tomato, Stakka asked, "Do you hear any news from Chicago?" "Not for six or seven years said Jake. We used to get a train once a week, then once a month, then once a quarter, and then nothing." "Three years ago a team went on a little powered hand cart," said Karen, "And reported back that all the little villages and towns along the way, and even Chicago, seemed deserted. Then two years ago a little convoy of 3 small carts went to conduct Salvage, but only one came back a month later, and said they had been ambushed by a large band of armed robbers in the desert."

"The food is quite delicious," said Nobi, how do they get it so fresh?" "The pork and chicken products come from Farmer Brown's Building, about 3 km away, sometimes called Downtown Brown," said Jake, "The 6th floor is the isolation from the paying residents, then the 7th floor is for chilling and butchering hogs and chickens, and the methane digester to convert scraps and shit into gas for a small generator. The 8th floor is slaughtering and Tanning. The 9th and 10th and 11th floors are for fattening up the Hogs. The 12th floor is the sow's for breeding piglets. The thirteenth and Fourteenth and Fifteenth floors are for growing the chickens to fryer size. The 16th floor and 17th is for the layer hens, the 18th floor is for breeding and raising the chicks. There's another Downtown Brown about 15 kilometers away. What happens is they collect all the food scraps in a 7 km radius and use that to feed their stock."  Karen added, "The lettuce and tomato come from rooftop gardens and some hydroponic operations."

A little after 0930 Stakka's team thanked them for the food and they all went up to their rooms.

   (expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

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F R E E    on   the   S E A

 ARKON CH-08 Vostok Cargo Team

          Tuesday, 0900, Arkon Star

ATTENTION  ALL HANDS -  NOW  HEAR  THIS -  

SET THE SEA  AND ANCHOR  DETAIL -  

APPROACHING VANCOUVER HARBOUR.

Stakka read the captain's note out loud to his three teammates gathered in his cabin after dinner. It said, "Meet me at the forward Smugglers hatch at 2030 hrs. tonight. Myself and the bosun's mate will escort you to the Joy Luck 8."

Fortunately the bay was calm tonight and they had no trouble navigating the 500 meters to the Joy Luck 8. In silhouette from the pier lights it was awesome, nearly 400 meters long and 30 meters high, it was a 4 masted steel hull clipper ship from the past. When they were 50 meters away, they stopped and Captain Jenkins took a small flashlight and made 3 one second bursts 3 seconds apart. A darker spot appeared on the hull and two single flashes were returned. They approached and climbed up a short rope ladder to the interior and turned to wave goodbye to Captain Jenkins who said, "Good luck!"

When the hatch was closed a dim red light came on and a voice from the darkness said, "My name is Alexis. Welcome aboard. This is my assistant Tanya. We will show you to your quarters and the toilet facilities. When reveille sounds at 0600 in the morning, we will show you to the mess deck and after that we will have an orientation with Captain Kuznet."

"Thank you for the introduction," said Stakka, "My name is Stakka and this is my friend Renka. And over here we have Loki and Nobi. Lead on to the bunks and we will follow."

       Wednesday, 0600, Joy-Luck-8

ATTENTION  ALL HANDS -  NOW  HEAR  THIS -  0600 HOURS -  REVEILLE,   REVEILLE -   ALL  HANDS LAY   BELOW   TO   THE.  MESS   DECK FOR   BREAKFAST

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door to their four bunk cabin. Alexis said, "It was dark last night and I'm here to show you again to the toilets." Stakka open the door and said, "Thanks, okay team, grab your toothbrushes and let's go."

When they returned Tanya was waiting for them. She said, "Okay, if you're hungry follow me and I'll show you to the mess deck and the procedure for getting food. It is very similar to a cafeteria."

After breakfast Tanya said, "I will show you to the captain's secure conference room and we will begin our brief orientation." As they entered the room Alexis said, "There is coffee on the Side Bar and if you wish to smoke, sit in the back under the exhaust canopy. The captain will be here in 20 minutes."

"This is cool," said Loki, "Does anybody have a Red Ringer to share?" "I got one," said Renka, "We can have one Toke each with our coffee and save the rest for lunch." Tanya and Alexis each pulled out a little wooden pipe and said, "Do you mind if we join you?" Alexis pulled a little pinch of cannabis tobacco blend from a pouch and stuffed it in his pipe. He passed the pouch to Tanya who fixed her pipe. "Is this okay on your ship?," asked Stakka, "It seems more disciplined than our ship." "The captain does not mind, if we are not doing critical or dangerous work and do not relax to excess," said Tanya.

ATTENTION  ALL HANDS -  NOW  HEAR  THIS -  0800 HOURS -  MUSTER ON STATION AND CONTINUE SHIPS WORK - STEVEDORE WORK CREW MUSTER ON THE FORWARD LOADING HATCH

It was shortly after this that Captain Kuznet entered the room and said, "Good morning team, welcome aboard." They all swiftly stood up and replied, "Good morning captain." He said, "At ease. This will be an informal meeting."

"We are happy to have you join us in this operation. Captain Jenkins speaks highly of you. The first part of the orientation I will just ramble on a bit and then you may ask some questions."

"The main problem we are working on is the global food supply: it is becoming more erratic and unreliable. Whether this is due specifically to the cooling trend we have experienced since 2008, which has gotten much colder since 2021, or soil depletion, salinization or lack of farmers with good agricultural skills, or some other cause, we have to address the issue. We have been running the shipping office in San Fran for two and a half years now. In the early days we would send a two-person team to the interior of Central Valley to discover some reasons for the poor quality product coming to Market. After the first two teams failed to return, we stopped. Then we sent in a trusted local team and they came back with the farmers excuses. The excuses didn't match what little we know from textbook agricultural knowledge so we're assuming the farmers are not well educated in their field of business. They are simply trying to stay alive any way they can. Our local team also said there are gangs in the Central Valley that prey on foreigners from east or west that fall into their traps. So this is what happened to our first two teams.

"Generally what we have been doing is picking up frozen and dried vegetable and animal products from San Fran and taking them to the next port where they may or may not sell. Usually goods that don't sell on the American coast will sell on the West Pac Asian coast. There we pick up low-cost electrical and mechanical products for sale in America. Things that can easily be repaired locally. In itself this is not a high profit business, but it does provide a convenient cover for research into the interior status of North America."

"Thank you for that background Captain Kuznet," said Stakka, "I think our mandate from Captain Jenkins covers most of your issues. I will just outline it briefly."

"We will set up a small weather forecasting station that will provide cover for some other activities. After the weather forecasting is operational we will start a small local ganja grow. This will give us the opportunity to get acquainted with the Boss Chaco organization. We will survey the small farmers in the Central Valley 150 km north and south from Sacto and see how sophisticated their crop growing skills are. We plan for a co-op office a hundred kilometers north of Sacto and another one 100 kilometers south for easy access by farmers all over the valley."

"Depending on what we find with the farmers, we will nudge one of them into setting up a primitive Co-op to help them improve yield and crop rotation policies among themselves. We might even guarantee they will make some minimum profit from the Russian buyers if they follow the Co-Op crop rotation directions and products planted. We will try to source genetically modified super soy seeds and other safe GMO's."

"We will probably be contacted by some representative from Boss Chaco on the co-op project. He is going to want a cut of the action, and we are prepared for this."

"As for coordinating with your shipping office in San Fran, there will be no problem sharing plans and ideas. We will be glad for Sergei and Natasha's advice and experience."

"That does cover everything," said Captain Kuznet. I will leave you with Tanya and Alexis who will show you how to prepare for passing as longtime locals on the San Fran streets."

On the way back to their cabin Alexis stoped at some lockers and picked up two duffle bags. Inside their cabin with the door closed he opened the bags and a terrible smell filled the room. Tanya turned on the exhaust vents with a laugh saying, "This is how Street people smell in San Fran. They are no longer homeless because of all the empty buildings but now they are waterless. Water is very expensive and mostly used for drinking and not bathing." "Even office people seldom take a full shower," said Alexis, "They usually just use a washcloth and soap when they need to. Instead of expensive deodorant they use a swab of alcohol to kill germs and reduce body odor."

Tanya produced 8 shirts from one of the duffle bags, saying, "These should do for several weeks. They have been washed and the patches are fresh. We got them at the weekend Market where we do most of our shopping." Alexis pulled out 4 pairs of heavy-duty looking Levi's. He explained, "The bottom cuffs had a light spray of dog piss which will  fade in coming weeks. People seldom wash their Levi's so they're always a little stiff and these have special Kevlar fibers embedded to provide some protection from projectiles and dull knives. Here are the matching jackets with Kevlar and no smell."

"Next on the menu," said Tanya, "are pre- scuffed used boots. And for dessert we have these hooded full length rain and wind proof capes, with a very light whiff of dog along the bottom. They have special lightweight insulation that is better than normal, and only come in shades of black. The little tears and patches on the outside are fake. Everybody wears these to and from work or whenever they're outside because the weather is usually cool, cold, damp, or raining and windy."

"You might try on your shirts and boots for lunch, but save the pants for tonight," said Alexis, "After lunch we will meet back here and go over some maps and office details."

At lunch break Renka asked Tanya, "Why did you say the Kevlar will protect from a dull knife?" "Well, most street muggers count on waving their knife around to scare people," said Tanya, "And they seldom prepare by sharpening them. If one should use a prehistoric skinning knife with obsidian chips you're out of luck. They would cut all the way through to the bone."

After lunch, back in the cabin, Alexis produced a map that showed San Fran, the bay, the bridges, and Richmond and Oakland across the bay. "This is where our office is, just behind the San Fran piers, he pointed out, and we will go there after dinner tonight when it's dark. We will spend the night there and in the morning Jake, your office manager, will take you across the bridge to the weather station office, here, close to the i80 expressway. We set up the weather station office several weeks ago and it has been opened daily by Jake, who lives closeby, and will be your office manager. There have also been 4 friends of his coming and going in their capes every two or three days, waiting for you to show up and take their place. So anyone observing will not notice a big change in what's going on on that street."

"We we appreciate all your effort," said Stakka, "But isn't this just a little over the top?" "Not really," said Tanya, "pattern changes in activity on the street call attention and inquiries which we don't want. Curiosity put us at the top of the food chain a million years ago and it is still active." "We even have you a room each on either side of the office manager in his apartment complex, where his friends live." "It is a little above basic requirements but the office will reimburse you for the rent," said Alexis.

"Not to change the subject," said Loki, "but do we have time for a quick toke before dinner?" Renka laughed and said, "There's enough Red Ringer left for us and Alexis and Tanya if they would like." "Alexis smiled at Tanya and she said, "Yes, we like very much."

ATTENTION  ALL HANDS -  NOW  HEAR  THIS -  0500 HOURS -  ALL HANDS STOP SHIPS WORK AND LAY BELOW TO THE MESS DECK FOR DINNER

After dinner they changed into their new- old Levi's and checked the room for anything forgotten. They then followed Tanya and Alexis on to the pier with the outgoing stream of ship's personnel going on Liberty.

The Vostok Cargo freight office was located two streets away from the waterfront piers where the ships came in to load and unload cargo. As they approached, they saw a lit sign saying Vostok Cargo, open. Alexis approached the door and pushed the button. There was a click from the magnetic latch being released and they went inside.

A short skinny guy with black hair in a ponytail and a big smile greeted them, "Hi, my name is Jake. I'm your new office manager in Richmond, and this is Sergei and Natasha who manage the office here." "Happy to meet you," said Stakka, "I am Stakka and this is my friend Renka, and over here is Loki and Nobi."

Sergei said, "Let's turn the light out in the front office and go back to the conference room in the rear." "You will notice all the offices have little red LED Night Lights," said Natasha, "and here's the toilet on the right. The conference room is just ahead on the left, with a fresh pot of coffee."

As they seated themselves around the table with their coffee Loki asked Sergei, "Do you know what goes really good with a fresh cup of coffee?" "No, what," said Sergei. "One of these little Blu Zingers," said Loki, pulling out his packet. Everybody laughed at this and Renka explained, "These are genetically improved and have a higher CBD than usual so they will be good for relaxing and early sleeping." "The Red Ringers we had before dinner were really something special," said Tanya. "We have a small number of these seeds to start a little ganja grow after the Weather Watch office gets up and running," said Nobi.

As the conversation slowed down Renka said, "We'd like to share some seeds with you guys so you remember us." She gave little red and blue tubes to Tanya and Alexis, also Natasha and Sergei, and a couple to Jake as well. The meeting broke up and they went to separate little offices to sleep.

            (expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

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 X

FREE  on  the  SEA

 ARKON CH-07     Spot the Intruder

ARKON STAR launched just after sundown 27 January 2025. After a 2-week Shakedown Cruise it started southeast towards Arkon One at 5 kph. For evasive maneuvers they could exceed 50 kph for 45 minutes. As they got in range, Captain Jenkins of the Arkon Star sent a coded message to Arkon One, Commodor Kaiser, on Saturday. The plain text read as follows:

Greetings Commodor Kaiser. This next week we plan to test your radar and visual detection capabilities as well as our stealth features. Just before dawn we will cruise at 3 kph into visual range of your Crow's Nest which is 70 m above the sea, giving a horizon at 30 km. If one of them spots us do not react but let the fantail Lookouts have a shot at catching us since they are 40 meters above the sea, giving a horizon at 20 km. We will be on a zigzag course. If they do not spot us by sundown on the first day we will hold position and resume slowly zigzagging our approach the next day. Good Luck!

With a wave piercing bow design Arkon Star made little ripple as it cut the sea. Folds in the hull and carbon paint made the radar image almost zero. Waves painted on the hull made the optical image difficult to see also. The diesels were on very heavy duty vibration isolation mounts and the exhaust was cooled and dispersed through five different exhaust stacks topside.

   ...
         ...

               Tuesday, 0900, Arkon One

"Bridge, Crows Nest. Have intermittant visual contact, unknown object, relative bearing 285 degrees, range 25 km just below horizon." " Bridge Aye. Continue scan 360. Will alert radar plot for confirmation." "Crow's Nest Aye Aye."

"Radar, Bridge. Do you have any Target at that location?" "Radar, negative. Sea clutter is heavier, but no target signal." "Bridge Aye."

   ...
       ...

           Tuesday, 1400, Arkon One

"Bridge, Fantail Lookout, module F. Have intermittant visual contact, unknown object, relative bearing 275 degrees, range 10 km, midway to horizon." " Bridge Aye. Continue scan 360. Will alert radar plot for confirmation." "Fantail Aye Aye."

   ...
       ...

By 1700 hrs a strange vessel was clearly visible as it turned south and approached its mooring slot in reverse. Captain Jenkins liked to be ready to leave suddenly when necessary.

        Tuesday, 1730, Arkon Star

As the stern winches eased them into the berthing slot and the fenders compressed slightly, Stakka called out, "Now anchored. Secure the stern winches." Renka, his partner on the sea detail, called out, "Deploy the Stern gangplank." She enjoyed the sea detail because it gave her first look at a new Port.

           Tuesday, 1800, Arkon Star

ATTENTION  ALL  HANDS - NOW  HEAR  THIS -  LIBERTY  CALL  20.00  HOURS -  CINDERELLA  LIBERTY,  BACK  ON  BOARD  BY  MIDNIGHT.

"Hey Renka how about Liberty tonight," said Stakka, "Some beer, pizza, and shopping sound good?" "Sounds great," said Renka, "Let me call Nobi and Loki."

"They're good to go," said Renka, "we'll meet on the Quarterdeck at 2030. Nobi was worried about the currency but I explained to her we use the same as Arkon One. Five creds equal one hour unskilled labor. "

As they headed toward City Center Loki said, "Wow, this is just like downtown." "Except it's quieter and no cars," said Stakka. "I see Tony's Pizza up  ahead on the right," said Renka, " Let's go, I'm starving." "There's a Smokey Dokey shop just on the left I want to visit first," said Nobi.

At the pot shop she bought a 5- pack of Red Ringer cigarettes that were 70% sativa and a handful of little seed packs, some were red, others blue, about 5 centimeters long and 6 mm diameter.

Entering Tony's Pizza, the hostess took them to a quiet booth in the back corner. After they ordered and while waiting for the beer, Nobi shared one of her Red Ringers to help relax for the evening. Each booth had a plexiglass canopy with a quiet exhaust for smokers benefit.

After finishing the pizza and ordering another round of craft beer, Stakka asked, "Has anybody heard the rumor that we're really going to be looking for  sunken treasure?" "Well, we do have a four-man deep sub capable of 6000 meter depth, and a high-resolution sonar," said Loki, "but I think we're actually going to do ocean, atmosphere, climate research." "That is not going to take up all of our time," said Nobi, "I think there is another mission that has not been declared." "I agree with Nobi," said Renka, "We have all these stealth features and that would make us ideal as a spy ship or pirate hunter- killer ship, or ... we might even be the pirate." "I think the spy ship concept works," said Stakka, "We're cruising up and down the west coast of North America and there is very little news coming out of America these days." "Yeah, ever since 2020, when their last humanitarian intervention in the Congo failed to bring democracy and Burger King to the people, they haven't been in the headlines or the 6 o'clock news," said Loki. "I heard the Russian cargo clipper ships have a little office in every major port city up and down the coast," said Renka, "but if they're spying they're not publishing anything.""I am sure it is a very expensive business," said Nobi, "and they're probably selling the information to other governments." "So how would we compete with them?," asked Loki, " They've been in the business a few years now." "Well," said Stakka, "we could offer some different information or perhaps some other feature."

As they cleared their tab to head back to the ship, Stakka asked Nobi, "Could you share one of your Red Ringers with me? Renka and I have some Kundalini Yoga to practice before sleeping, heh."

    Wednesday, 0900, Arkon Star

ATTENTION ALL  HANDS - NOW  HEAR  THIS- 

 WE   WILL  BE  TAKING  ON  MORE  CREW  MEMBERS  FROM  ARKON  ONE  

AS  WELL  AS  ANOTHER  

HERD  OF  PIGS  AND  ANOTHER

  FLOCK  OF  CHICKENS -  

SO  IF  YOU  SEE  SOMEONE  

THAT  LOOKS  LOST,  

SHOW  THEM  THE  WAY.

With the extra pigs and chickens Arkon Star would be self- sufficient in animal protein but would still have to make calls to port for fresh and dried vegetables. The cargo hatches were waterproof doors 4 by 10 m, just aft of midships and 2 meters above the water. The big gangplanks extended out hydraulically from Arkon One and had 2 meter high side walls to prevent things falling in the water.

     Wednesday, 1600, Arkon Star

ATTENTION  ALL  HANDS - NOW HEAR  THIS -  LIBERTY  CALL  17.00  HOURS -  CINDERELLA  LIBERTY,  BACK  ON  BOARD  BY  MIDNIGHT.

 At 1830 Renka's como pod buzzed. It was Nobi, "Do you guys want to go for beer and pizza again tonight?" Stakka heard the exchange and said, "Yes, let's meet on the Quarterdeck at 1930."

As they were walking toward Tony's Pizza Renka said, "I want to pay a visit to Smokey Dokey first." At the pot shop she bought a 5- pack of Red Ringer cigarettes that were 70% sativa, a 5- pack of Blu Zinger cigarettes that were 60% indica, and a handful of little seed packs. Nobi also bought two 5- packs of Red Ringers.

Entering Tony's Pizza, the hostess took them to a quiet booth in the back corner. After they ordered and while waiting for the beer, Renka shared one of her Red Ringers, saying, "Last night while Nobi was checking out at Smokey Dokey I read a brochure on the little seed packs. They've been genetically engineered. The Red Ringers have 50% more THC, are 70% sativa strain, tasting and smelling like blueberries. The Blue Zingers also have 25% more THC and 50% more CBD and are 60% Indica strain tasting and smelling like vanilla. The little tubes have 10 seeds each and are back filled with nitrogen, so they will stay fresh and viable for at least a hundred years. These could be seeds for a start-up shore based business, hmmm." "The product from Arkon Star grow room is not bad," said Nobi, "but you have to process it by hand. Ready rolled is so nice."

After finishing the pizza and ordering another round of craft beer, Loki asked, "Has anybody seen our new livestock? We now have three different breeds of pigs and three different breeds of chicken. That should make them more resilient to any viruses we might come in contact with." "Arkon One also sent volunteers for each group to man them for three shifts this next year," said Renka. "They also sent extra staff with sniper and small arms skills," said Loki. "I think Captain Jenkins is holding out on us," said Stakka, "Mabe we are going to hunt pirates while we count clouds, heh." "I don't know about you guys, but Loki and I have some Kundalini Yoga to practice before sleeping, heh." "And tomorrow morning we get underway," said Renka.

      Thursday, 0900, Arkon Star

ATTENTION  ALL  HANDS - NOW  HEAR  THIS -

SET THE SEA AND ANCHOR DETAIL - CAST OFF ALL LINES AND PREPARE TO GET UNDERWAY.

Their plan was to cruise Northeast until they got to 170 degrees west then turn north and proceed until they hit sea ice. They would log that point and the density and then proceed further north until they got to 49 degrees north latitude and turn East heading towards Vancouver. In Vancouver they would rendezvous with Captain Kuznet of the Vladivostok Cargo Clipper named 'Joy- Luck 8'.

After cruising North 5 kph for 25 days they turned East and 16 days later were approaching Vancouver.

      Wednesday, 2100, Arkon Star

Two days after turning east, Captain Jenkins invited our usual suspects to his quarters for a private interview after dinner.

"It has come to my attention that you four are the only ones who suspect our mission might not be only about climate. You are correct. What I am about to tell you is top secret. If I hear any word of this among the crew you will be marooned on a desert island," said Captain Jenkins with a scowl.

"We understand and agree sir," they said in unison.

"Very good," said Captain Jenkins, "be at ease now, this will be informal. The four of you were chosen because you have some unique skills that will help you blend in to a low-tech Seaside community.

"You have all spent 1 year or more in the rougher parts of San Fran or LA- Dago. You all have better-than-average small arms skill and minimum passing skills at hand to hand combat. You have spent one or two summers working on a farm. You are all sociable and outgoing," Captain Jenkins enumerated.

"The mission I am going to describe, you will have 7 days to consider before your answer," said Captain Jenkins. "While you are on this mission you will receive 50% hazardous duty pay saved in a bank account in your name on Arkon One." "Your mission will take place in San Fran and you will be paid your regular salary in San Fran creds. That currency is good for 300 km around San Fran and the exchange rate is one to one for our cred. The city is run by a benevolent dictator, named Chako, who maintains Law & Order, such as it is, for a stable economy. He is 47 years old, has a large family, has no surviving enemies, is in good health, and expected to live at least 20 more years."

"First, you will set up a primitive weather forecasting station with hardware we provide. This will give cover and possibly a small income. Second, you will survey the small farmers in the Central Valley and see how sophisticated their crop growing skills are. Arkon One and the Russian cargo clipper business are interested in long-term availability of certain crops, such as soybeans, tobacco, sorghum, and one or two others," said Captain Jenkins. "For the last 2 years the Russians say the crops available at the San Fran Marketplace have been sporadic and highly variable in quality. The LA- Dago Market is the same story. That brings us to the third part of your mission," said Captain Jenkins. "Depending on what you find with the farmers, you will nudge one of them into setting up a primitive Co-op to help them improve yield and crop rotation policies among themselves. You could even guarantee they will make some minimum profit from the Russian buyers if they follow your crop rotation directions and products planted."

"This is a lot to take in all at once," said Captain Jenkins, "What I would like you to do is in the evening find a table on the fantail food court away from the others and have a beer and discuss this amongst yourselves. In three days I will invite you back about this same time for a question-and-answer session. You will not have to make a decision for another 7 days after that," he concluded.

Stakka stood up and said for all of them, "Thank you for this opportunity Captain Jenkins. See you in 3 days, Sir." They left and headed immediately for the fantail food court.

They took their craft beer and snacks to a table on the edge with no one close to them. Loki opened the discussion by saying, "Wow! this is really exciting. I think one of our questions should be, 'Can we run a small grow business on the side if it doesn't interfere with our regular mission?" "I would agree," said Renka, "What do the rest of you think?" "Yeah." "OK."

"Here's a question that may be a little tricky," said Nobi, "We will probably have to work with the Chaco organization as we get bigger setting up a co-op. Will this be okay?" "That's a good one," said Stakka.

"Here's another tricky one," said Stakka, "How close are we supposed to coordinate with the Russian Outpost?"

"How about this one," said Renka, "Can we get a monthly care package of hard to get things, like vitamins, antibiotics, genetically modified super soy seeds, mabe 9mm ammo?" "good one" "yeah"

After another hour of back and forth chat they didn't come up with any more questions. They unanimously chose Stakka to contact the captain and say they were ready tomorrow morning. He left a note under the captain's door.

      Thursday, 2100, Arkon Star

When they were all gathered in the captain's cabin he said, "Well that was quick." "We read a lot of spy novels in our misspent youth," said Nobi.

Stakka related their questions to Captain Jenkins, who addressed them one by one.

"There will be no problem running a small ganja grow. It might even give you a good introduction to the Chaco organization."

"You will probably be contacted by some representative from Chaco on the co-op project. He is going to want a cut of the action. If his representative says he wants 10%, make a counter offer of 7%, and try to settle on 8%. Do not try to get the best of him and haggle too long."

"As for coordinating with the Russians in their shipping office, there will be no problem sharing plans and ideas. Sergei and Natasha have been there three years and have good local contacts. They are only a few years older than you guys. The Russians want this project to succeed as much as we do. Everybody will benefit, even the landlubbers, heh."

"A monthly care package of vitamins and antibiotics and other hard to get items is a good idea. Just give a list to Natasha and she will have it sent by one of their cargo Clippers."

Stakka said, "There's no need to wait another 7 days captain; we're all good to go, Sir."

"Very well," said Captain Jenkins, "Here's what will happen: in the next two days you will receive a small backpack that looks scruffy on the outside but is very well made. Put a few personal items you would like to take with you and maybe a few undergarments; local clothes and jackets will be provided by the Russians. When we anchor in Vancouver, the first night we will send you guys in a row boat to the Vladivostok Cargo Clipper named 'Joy- Luck 8'. Captain Kuznet will introduce you to his team coordinating events with the shore station. They will provide you with street worn clothes and boots so you fit in from day one."

"Thank you for this opportunity Captain Jenkins," they said in unison. "Goodbye and good luck," he replied.

    Tuesday, 0900, Arkon Star

ATTENTION  ALL  HANDS -  NOW  HEAR  THIS -

SET THE SEA AND ANCHOR DETAIL -

APPROACHING VANCOUVER HARBOUR.

           (expect posts Sat 8 am EST)
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   X

FREE   on   the   SEA

ARKON CH-06    Alternatives to Capitalism

At the beginning of the Yule year end celebrations for 2024, the following annual review appeared on All Hands wall screen:

  ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~

City-State of Arkon Summary Review 12,024 H.E.

Beginning Balance - $2,527,738
Ending       Balance     5,296,481

(to view in another currency click the symbol)

Beginning Population (16-60)   11,473
Ending       Population (16-60)   13,286

Beginning Population (01-15)        835
Ending       Population (01-15)     1,322

Beginning business registrations 473
Ending    business    registrations 952

Our medical tourism, contract assembly, joint ventures, and other projects have generated so much revenue that we have issued a series of Sovereign City-State construction bonds totaling $1.5 billion. They will be used to partially repay the founders loan and a down payment on our joint venture with the Chinese government to launch a research vessel, Arkon Star.

Prepared by the office of the Council of Elders.

   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~  ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~

The Usual Suspects were gathered on the fantail food court even though it was a bit chill for outdoors.

"That is certainly an upbeat summary note," said Logan, "I wonder why our businesses* are growing so well?" "I want to know more about this Arkon Star," said Jack, "What is it going to research?" "A key reason our medical tourism is growing," said Bonnie, "is we are not anywhere near a war zone. Plus, our services are competitively priced and always work. Remember the old marketing saw,  'A happy customer tells three people, an angry customer tells five,' heh." "Other key factors," said Tango, " are we have no government bureaucracy to feed and meddle in our business, we settle disputes by arbitration with no lawyers, and taxes are very low."

"I read an article from Beijing University last summer," said Tango. "It talked about weather and climate cycles and said they really were not chaotic as some people claimed. It was just that we had not studied them in enough detail to know how everything worked together. The article ended with a call for the government to fund research vessels to measure more parameters. Maybe the Arkon Star is part of that." "I think you're right," said Jack. "I remember in geology class we studied ice ages and other long cyclical climate phenomenon but nothing that tied it to annual or decadal changes."

"Another thing that probably helps our businesses," said Logan, "is this was designed as an experiment to demonstrate a steady- state economy can yield good business results as well as good social results." "It sounds like a hybrid Mondragon capitalism," said Bonnie, "the Best of Both Worlds." "I think keeping the CEO/ line worker salary ratio  low is a key thing," said Tango, "That would prevent over spending on CEOs and envy; that happens in the outside world too often." "We're able to do that," said Jack, "because we planned the minimum wage to provide a comfortable living."

*thermal depolymerization of plastic and animal waste products into light crude oil, efficient cannabutter process, a soybean meal grinder that extracts oil and textured vegetable protein, and an efficient soybean oil to biodiesel process.

  ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~  ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Since Arkon One is organized as a minarky, the economy is also non- traditional. Historically, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, there have been various alternatives proposed to capitalism. Here are some popular ones outlined: 

1. Syndicalism is a proposed type of  economic system, considered a replacement for capitalism. It suggests that workers, industries, and organisations be systematized into confederations or syndicates. It is "...a system of economic organization in which industries are owned and managed by the workers."

Its theory and practice is the advocacy of multiple cooperative productive units composed of specialists and representatives of workers in each field to negotiate and manage the economy.

For adherents, labour unions and labour training are the potential means of both overcoming economic  aristocracy and running society in the interest of informed and skilled majorities, through union democracy. Industry in a syndicalist system would be run through co- operative  confederations and mutual aid. Local syndicates may communicate with other syndicates through the Bourse du Travail (labour exchange), which would cooperatively determine distributions of commodities. - wiki

2. Anarcho- syndicalism (also referred to as revolutionary syndicalism) is a theory of anarchism that views  revolutionary industrial unionism  or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and, with that control, influence broader society. Syndicalists consider their economic theories a strategy for facilitating  worker self- activity and as an alternative co- operative economic system with democratic values and production centered on meeting human needs.

The basic principles of anarcho-syndicalism are solidarity, direct action (action undertaken without the intervention of third parties such as politicians, bureaucrats, and arbitrators) and direct democracy, or workers' self- management. The end goal of syndicalism is to abolish the wage system, regarding it as wage slavery. Anarcho- syndicalist theory therefore generally focuses on the labour movement.

Anarcho- syndicalists view the primary purpose of the state as being the defence of private property, and therefore of economic, social, and political privilege, denying most of its denizens the ability to enjoy material independence and the social autonomy that springs from it. In contrast with other bodies of thought, particularly with Marxism- Leninism, anarcho- syndicalists deny the possibility of a workers' state, or a state that acts in the interests of workers, as opposed to those of the powerful, and posit that any state with the intention of empowering the workers will inevitably work to empower itself or the existing elite at the expense of the workers. Reflecting the anarchist philosophy from which it draws its primary inspiration, anarcho-syndicalism is centred around the idea that power corrupts and that any hierarchy that cannot be ethically justified must either be dismantled or replaced by decentralized egalitarian control. - wiki

3. A worker cooperative is a  co-op that is owned and self-  managed by its workers. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. A cooperative enterprise may mean a firm where every worker- owner participates in decision making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which management is elected by every worker- owner, and it can refer to a situation in which managers are considered, and treated as, workers of the firm. In traditional forms of worker cooperative, all shares are held by the workforce with no outside or consumer owners, and each member has one voting share. In practice, control by worker- owners may be exercised through individual, collective, or majority ownership by the workforce; or the retention of individual, collective, or majority voting rights (exercised on a one-member one-vote basis). A worker cooperative, therefore, has the characteristic that each of its workers own one share, and all shares are owned by the workers. The International organisation representing worker cooperatives is CICOPA. CICOPA has two regional organisations: CECOP- CICOPA Europe and CICOPA Americas. - wiki

                      HISTORY of worker Co-Ops

Worker cooperatives rose to prominence during the Industrial Revolution as part of the labour movement. As employment moved to industrial areas and job sectors declined, workers began organizing and controlling businesses for themselves. Workers cooperative were originally sparked by "critical reaction to industrial capitalism and the excesses of the industrial revolution." The formation of some workers cooperatives were designed to "cope with the evils of unbridled capitalism and the insecurities of wage labor".

The philosophy that underpinned the cooperative movement stemmed from the socialist writings of thinkers including Robert Owen and Charles Fourier. Robert Owen, considered by many as the father of the cooperative movement, made his fortune in the cotton trade, but believed in putting his workers in a good environment with access to education for themselves and their children. These ideas were put into effect successfully in thecotton mills of New Lanark,  Scotland. It was here that the first co-operative store was opened. Spurred on by the success of this, he had the idea of forming "villages of cooperation"  where workers would drag themselves out of poverty by growing their own food, making their own clothes and ultimately becoming self-governing. He tried to form such communities in Orbiston in Scotland and in New Harmony, Indiana in the United States of America, but both communities failed.

Similar early experiments were made in the early 19th century and by 1830 there were several hundred co-operatives. Dr William King made Owen's ideas more workable and practical. He believed in starting small, and realized that the working classes would need to set up co-operatives  for themselves, so he saw his role as one of instruction. He founded a monthly periodical called The Co-operator, the first edition of which appeared on 1 May 1828. This gave a mixture of co-operative philosophy and practical advice about running a shop using cooperative principles. - wiki

4. The Mondragon Corporation is a corporation and federation of worker cooperatives based in the Basque  region of Spain. It was founded in the town of Mondragon in 1956 by graduates of a local technical college. Its first product was paraffin heaters. It is the tenth-largest Spanish company in terms of asset turnover and the leading business group in the Basque Country. At the end of 2014, it  employed  74,117 people in 257 companies and organizations in four areas of activity: finance, industry, retail and knowledge. By 2015, 74,335 people were employed. - wiki

                          Wage regulation at Mondragon

At Mondragon, there are agreed upon wage ratios between executive work and field or factory work which earns a minimum wage. These ratios range from 3:1 to 9:1 in different cooperatives  and average 5:1. That is, the general manager of an average Mondragon cooperative earns no more than 5 times as much as the theoretical  minimum wage paid in their cooperative. For most workers, this ratio is smaller because there are few Mondragon worker- owners that earn minimum wages, because most jobs are somewhat specialized and are classified at higher wage levels. The wage ratio of a cooperative is decided periodically by its worker- owners through a democratic vote.

Compared to similar jobs at local industries, Mondragon managers' wages are considerably lower (as some companies pay their best paid managers hundreds of times more than the lowest-paid employee of the company) and equivalent for middle management, technical and professional levels. Lower wage levels are on average 13% higher than similar jobs at local businesses. Spain's  progressive tax rate further reduces any disparity in pay. - wiki

The Statement on the Co-operative Identity, promulgated by the  International Co-operative Alliance  (ICA), defines and guides co-operatives worldwide. It contains the definition of a co-operative as a special form of organization, the values of co-operatives, and the currently accepted cooperative principles (the Rochdale Principles) that direct their behavior and operation. The Statement with the latest revision of the cooperative principles was adopted by ICA in 1995.

According to the Statement, a co-operative  is defined as "an  autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and  cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise." Co-operatives "are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility,  democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of co-operative founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of  honesty,  openness,  social responsibility and caring for others." - wiki

5. The Rochdale Principles are a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives.  They were first set out in 1844 by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England and have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operatives around the world continue to operate. The implications of the Rochdale Principles are a focus of study in co-operative economics. The original Rochdale Principles were officially adopted by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) in 1937 as the Rochdale Principles of Co-operation. Updated versions of the principles were adopted by the ICA in 1966 as the Co-operative Principles and in 1995 as part of the Statement on the Co-operative Identity. - wiki

                  Original version (adopted 1937)

1. Open membership.

2. Democratic control (one person, one vote).

3. Distribution of surplus in proportion to trade.

4. Payment of limited interest on capital.

5. Political and religious neutrality.

6. Cash trading (no credit extended).

7. Promotion of education.


                       ICA revision (1966)

1. Open, voluntary membership.

2. Democratic governance.

3. Limited return on equity.

4. Surplus belongs to members.

5. Education of members, public in cooperative principles.

6. Cooperation between cooperatives. - wiki

6. Economic democracy or stakeholder  democracy is a socioeconomic philosophy that proposes to shift decision making power from corporate managers and corporate shareholders to a larger group of public stakeholders that includes workers, customers, suppliers, neighbors and the broader public. No single definition or approach encompasses economic democracy, but most proponents claim that modern property relations externalize costs (environmental damage), subordinate the general well-being to private profit, and deny the polity a democratic voice in economic policy decisions. In addition to these moral concerns, economic democracy makes practical claims, such as that it can compensate for capitalism's inherent effective demand gap.

Proponents of economic democracy generally argue that modern capitalism periodically results in economic crises characterized by deficiency of effective demand, as society is unable to earn enough income to purchase its output production. Corporate monopoly of common resources typically creates artificial scarcity, resulting in socio- economic imbalances that restrict workers from access to economic opportunity and diminish consumer purchasing power.  Economic democracy has been proposed as a component of larger socioeconomic ideologies, as a stand-alone theory, and as a variety of reform agendas. For example, as a means to securing full economic rights, it opens a path to full political rights, defined as including the former. Both market and non-market theories of economic democracy have been proposed. As a reform agenda, supporting theories and real-world examples range from decentralization  and economic liberalization to democratic cooperatives, public banking, fair trade, and the  regionalization of food production and currency. - wiki

7. Participatory economics, often abbreviated parecon, is an economic system based on participatory decision making as the primary economic mechanism for allocation in society. In the system the say in decision making is proportional to the impact on a person or group of people. Participatory economics is a form of decentralized economic planning  and socialism involving the common ownership of the means of production. It is a proposed alternative to contemporary  capitalism and central planning. This economic model is primarily associated with political theorist  Michael Albert and economist Robin Hahnel, who describe participatory economics as an anarchist economic vision.

The underlying values that parecon seeks to implement are  equity, solidarity, diversity, workers' self- management and efficiency (defined as accomplishing goals without wasting valued assets). The institutions of parecon include workers' and consumers' councils utilizing self- managerial methods for making decisions, balanced job complexes, remuneration based on individual effort, and participatory planning. - wiki

8. Communalism, a political theory based on the writings of Murray Bookchin. Bookchin developed Communalism after he broke with anarchism believing it to be individualist and lifestylist. It is based on libertarian municipalism, confederalism, and social ecology. - wiki

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  X

FREE  on  the  SEA

 ARKON CH-05    Man Your Pirate Stations

The drill started at 0900 Thursday morning ...

 Ah-Ooo-Gah ... Ah-Ooo-Gah ... Ah-Ooo-Gah ...

NOW   ALL   HANDS   MAN   YOUR    PIRATE    BATTLE   STATIONS   AND   STANDBY   TO   REPEL   BOARDERS ...   THIS   IS   A   DRILL ... BREAK   OUT   THE   SMALL   ARMS FOR   YOUR   STATION ... FIRE   AT   WILL.

When Bonnie heard the alarm she was at work. She turned off her tools and equipment and took off her safety helmet and proceeded at a rapid walk. 7 minutes later she arrived at her station and took her rifle from the lock rack and loaded it. Then she logged in on her commo pod that she was on station. The computer system would register all hands as they arrived on station and present the display to their Captain and the Commodor.

Logan had just stepped out of the shower when he heard the alarm. Drying quickly he jumped in some jeans, threw on a T-shirt and sandals, grabbed his commo pod and started walking quickly down the passageway outside. He passed an elevator with a temporary sign that said, 'No! keep walking.' Probably to speed things up. If one group is in an elevator and another group is waiting, they could be closer to being on station instead of waiting. And suppose the attack damages power. In any event he arrived at his roving sniper position and checked in after 9 minutes.

Tango was in the middle of a pet project in tinkertown when she heard the alarm. She turned off her soldering iron and put some heavy pieces under her work bench so they could not fall. Proceeding quickly, she reached her deck 4 hatch assignment in 5 minutes. The other crew member showed up at 6 minutes.

Jack was sound asleep when the alarm woke him. Already in his boxer shorts and t-shirt, he pulled on jeans and sandals, grabbed his commo pod and headed out. the rifle rack for his position was already unlocked. He logged in on station at 8 minutes.

Friday morning there was an all-hands summary bulletin on their wall screen. It showed an arrival on station curve  that looked exponential, from 0 to 30 minutes.

Fortunately all the weapon stations were manned by 10 minutes and all the water tight hatches by 15 minutes. The stragglers will have to do better next time. Our goal is to have everyone on station in under 10 minutes. So we will have an unannounced drill every 3 or 4 weeks until we are successful.

Well Done for a first pass.
Commodor Kaiser.


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    NB- I will post Sat (Sun) 8 am EST

You may have noticed some of my capitals and lowercase are in the wrong location. I have blunt fingers as opposed to tapered and I'm composing on a 7-inch tablet. So I am using Google keyboard text to speech. mostly it spells better than me, heh

   X

FREE  on  the  SEA

ARKON CH-04 Thrill of a Drill

The following message appeared on All Hands wall screens and commo pods on a Sunday.

One of the things people living on a ship learn to do is help each other. We're all in the same boat, so to speak. So when we have an emergency that requires all hands to help we will sound three loud klaxons or gongs, followed by a statement: 

Now all hands man your pirate stations and standby to repel boarders. This is a drill (or not). Do not cycle the railgun or load ammunition into the anti-aircraft weapons. Break out the small arms for your station and standby. 

When going to your general quarters station you will proceed up and forward on the starboard and down and aft on the port side of your module. In this case forward will be towards the center and aft will be towards the outside periphery. This should prevent collisions and congestion. You should move quickly but do not run.

Secure All Watertight Hatches.

There will be two people assigned to each water tight hatch whose job is to close it when it looks like all Personnel are on station. This will prevent damage from one compartment allowing seawater into another compartment and sinking our ship.

 or

The emergency could be:


All hands man your pirate stations and standby for firefighting.

There will be four special teams that have training in firefighting on board a ship. Most crew will just stay out of the way topside. If you have to go down a smoke-filled passageway and see no flames ahead, you should get down on your hands and knees and breathe the air near the deck, it should be much cleaner. Also try to breathe through your nose. If it feels stuffy, pinch your nose and blow out the soot.

Your individual GQ station will be sent to your wall screen and commo pod in the next 2 hours. Take some time during your off work hours before this Thursday and find your station. If you have time practice how you will get there from work or your cabin. Thursday morning between 0800 and 1100 there will be a drill. There will be monitors with orange armbands to answer questions or point you in the right direction. This exercise will be timed so we can see how we improve for the next one.

"Oh my God," said Tango, "this is not downtown Smallville." "You're on the Arkon now, you're not behind a plow," said Logan, "Let's call Jack and Bonnie and have a meeting on the fantail tonight." Just then their commo pods beeped with an incoming call from Jack and Bonnie.

"So, where's your station?" asked Jack. "I've got a hatch to close on deck 4," said Tango, "Not far from work." "And I'm one of five roveing snipers on the fantail," said Logan, "How about you guys?" "I'm on a corner Rifleman team overlooking the starboard protected Anchorage," said Bonnie. "And I'm on a corner Rifleman team overlooking the port protected Anchorage," said Jack.

"This is what the question on the application regarding, 'Would you shoot someone attacking you?' was all about," said Logan, "Those checking 'NO', are still on the beach waiting for an invitation, heh. "I thought so," said Jack, "That's the way the Jungle Rumbles."


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       NB- I will post Sat (Sun) 8 am EST

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FREE   on   the   SEA 

ARKON CH-03 Routine & Rumor

With no free beer and pizza on this cold Saturday night in December, Logan and Tango wandered about the fantail food court and picked up some spicy Mexican food and joined their friends Jack and Bonnie at their table.

"Wow!" exclaimed Bonnie upon sighting Tango's maternity blouse, "Congratulations." "Well, I still have another 6 months." said Tango, "We filed an application with the Personnel Department 4 months ago and they checked our genetic records and said we should be okay. "Also we filed an application for the next vacant cabin one deck higher and 6 by 3 meters,"  said Logan, "since we're going to need more room for the baby crib." "Bonnie and I discussed babies last year," said Jack, "and we decided to adopt a three-year-old from the Arkon nursery."

"I saw on a news clip where the floating city of Babylon arrived on station early 4 weeks ago," said Logan, "and the video tour showed much higher superstructure than ours and the interior looked more like a cruise ship with a lot of casinos." "I saw that too," said Jack, "it looks like it's 1000 km southwest of Monterey Bay." "Well, we do have two malls and two casinos." said Tango, "That's not chopped liver!" "That news clip reminded me of something else," said Logan, "We don't get much news from the interior of America anymore, just the east and west coast occasionally." "You're right." said Jeff, "I was talking to some Honduran crew members who moved to Manila in 2021 and they said drug gang warlords from Mexico had already taken over southern New Mexico and Arizona."

"A friend of mine got an encrypted email from her brother in Vladivostok," said Tango, "He wrote that with all the Chinese shipyards busy the Russians are building a small Fleet of eight steel hull clipper ships to make a cargo loop from Vladivostok to Vancouver, San Fran, LA- Dago, and back to Manila, Japan, China, Korea, then up to Vostok. With eight ships, one should come into Port about every two weeks. He is going to join as a navigator." "Besides the profit potential," said Bonnie, "every Seaport will have some rumors and intelligence from the interior." "I'm sure the captains will talk to each other and after a few loops they will pick some local to be their agent in each Seaport," said Logan, "Maybe some bed and breakfast inn on a main road coming into the seaport from the interior." "I think they might even swing by here if we had one or two 20-foot containers of product," said Jack.

"Aha!" exclaimed Jack, "that might explain something we overheard at an informal reception to the new climatologist and his wife, a marine biologist. They said the Chinese government, which buys alot of our climate and ocean data, was sponsoring a new climate research vessel called the Arkon Star. It wouldn't be as long as some of our modules but it would be wide enough to be stable in a big storm. The plan was to cruise up and down the east coast of North America from the Arctic to Nicaragua in Central America. Besides ocean current velocity and temperature they would observe sea ice conditions and offshore marine ecosystems. I wouldn't be surprised if they also had an agent on an incoming main road to some seaports." "So depending on the season," said Bonnie, "they might swing by here and Shangri-La on their way back to the Gulf of Alaska."

FREE    on     the      SEA

 ARKON     CH-02        Setting Up

With calm weather forecast for the next week, the joining process began. Module A was designated North, B through F arranged clockwise from there. With teams working around the clock, they finished in five days. Of course they had a big saturday night beer and pizza party to celebrate.

All the openings where the modules were joined were standard 3 by 10 meters. You could imagine them forming a Ring Road about the center of town. The first one on the second deck was about 75 meters from the center. The next connection on the third deck was about 150 meters from the center. The third connection was on the fourth deck about 100 meters from the center.

At the party Saturday night Jack was looking out over the fantail at the Agro- Sembly barge still lit up in the early evening and said, "I heard we got an assembly contract from Beretta to do three shifts work for a year assembling their new 9mm pistol." " I read on a news channel where we have a joint venture also," said Tango, "we're developing a new 7mm compact pistol." "I'm happy with my 5 watt laser pistol," said Logan, "very low recoil, heh." "I'm satisfied to carry my 30 cm wood blade for protection," said Bonnie, "what do you prefer for personal protection Tango?" "When we go out drinking or shopping, I like my little strap on wrist zapper," replied Tango, "How about you Jack?" "I have a low recoil 7 watt laser pistol," replied Jack.

"Now that we're joined together in one big happy City I hear the Council of Elders will hold their first formal meeting," said Logan, "they're going to choose their public spokesperson." "Why is that?" asked Bonnie, "couldn't the Admiral keep running things?" "It's kind of like the American Indian structure," said Jack,  "the Admiral is like the War- Chief and makes decisions about defense and maneuvering the vessel. the Council of Elders is like the Peace- Chief and proposes laws and decisions regarding civil activities. Having a spokesperson as interface to the public is always a good idea to act as a lightning rod for controversial decisions." "They only get paid for 3 hours a day," said Bonnie, "what do they actually do?" "I read where they wander around and keep an eye on things and listen for public comments and propose legislation for problems they see or anticipate," said Tango, "also don't forget all of our legislation gets voted on by ships company and has a sunset time of 1 to 5 years, depending on whether it passed with 55 to 95%." "I can't complain," said Logan, "we only have 15 laws right now. Remember, we are a minarky, minimum government. That is why we have lots of ad hoc volunteer committees that come and go with different projects. And if 1000 citizens sign a petition they can get a law proposed as a referendum."

The next Saturday night was also an all hands party. "So what are we celebrating tonight?," asked Tango. "Well, I understand it's two things this time," replied Jack, "number one, the ship fitters assembled the 600m raised landing strip for STOL aircraft, and number two, we deployed the solar powered desalination plants at every Agro- Sembly barge." "I read where those are unique," said Logan, "they employ an air pump to reduce the pressure over the water and double or triple the evaporation rate." "I rode in an STOL once," said Bonnie, "they are a little bit rough but they only need a clear patch of dirt, maybe 300M, to take off and land. Typically they can carry 6 passengers plus camping equipment and have a range of two or three thousand kilometers."

"During my free time this last week I've been exploring," said Tango, "One of the things I noticed was so many of the crew are light to dark tan and not very tall or bulky. A lot of the scientific staff seem to be at least two meters but they also have nice tans. The other thing I found out is the Tinker town next door is mostly for electronic projects whereas ours is mostly mechanical. I am guessing the third one is maybe a mix of electro-mechanical like robots maybe." "There are several advantages to having a small size crew," said Jack, "even on a spaceship. They can still get the job done and not eat as much, heh. Being stationed on the equator means the sun is really strong and a tan is going to give protection from skin cancer. There are even melanotan injections for normally white skinned people to give them 6 months protection at a time." "I'm glad to hear about the electronic tinkertown," said Bonnie, "I have a little project in mind." "What is that?" asked Jack. "None of your business until I have a prototype," said Bonnie.

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 FREE   on  the   SEA

  ARKON   CH-01 Getting on Station

All six modules of ARKON-1 launched on New Year's Day to great fanfare. After 3 weeks of sea trials they hooked up with their Agro- Sembly barges and headed out for their rendezvous station (15 N, 175W), cruising at 7 kph, twice as fast as most ocean currents. February and March being the minimum storm period. When on station they will be carefully bolted and welded together into a large hexagonal floating island, 1000 m across, with protected slot anchorage for cargo and guest boats.

Just as they were finishing their second glass of red wine in their cabin, after dinner in the cafeteria, Logan and Tango were surprised by the blinking of their wall screen and their commo pods laying on the counter. 'Now all hands hear this. In celebration of our passing sea trials there will be a Beer and Pizza Party on the fantail this Saturday night. All hands not on watch or work welcome.' "Wow!" said Tango, "Captain Jensen gets high marks for social awareness." "It is certainly good for morale," said Logan, "Now how about some serious pounding?" "I'm up for that, and it looks like you are too," she giggled.

Their cabin, at 4 by 3 meters, was a little bit compact but they had been living in the same size room on shore at the training compound. Plus the soft requirement that applicants be 1.4 to 1.7 meters height made the 2 meter ceiling height tolerable. It came with a counter and a small sink with a 1.5 cubic foot refrigerator underneath and a hot pot on top. There were two shelves above the counter. On the opposite wall was a bed large enough for two friends with cabinets and drawers underneath. It was not luxurious but allowed them to save money for a baby in the next year. There was no one under the legal age of 16 in the initial crew. There was a park and sporting activities like a jogging track, tennis, indoor shooting range, and gyms to give them an outlet when they needed to unwind from the close space.

At work the next day Logan asked his buddy Jack, "What do you think about the fantail party Saturday night? Are you going?" They were both in the Lectra Powa guild and were stringing some cables for a new bioreactor project. The output of the three new bioreactors would be blended to produce snack bars that are nutritionally balanced and provide 500 calories each. "Yeah, Bonnie and I are going," replied Jack, "She was surprised Captain Jensen was relaxing a little bit. He was always such a stickler for rules and regulations. I told her it must have been his wife's idea. Bonnie is on the noon to 18.00 shift this month so we will probably drop by around 20.00. Why don't you look us up there?" "That sounds like a good idea," said Logan, "Tango and I have the same shift this month and get off at 12.00."

Work schedules on Arkon were arranged in 6 hour shifts from 6 to 12 day shift, noon to 6 afternoon shift, and six to midnight evening shift. There was a seldom scheduled graveyard shift from Midnight to 6 a.m. Sometimes they would change, say from days to evening, on a monthly basis depending on work requirements.

At the party Saturday night Bonnie said, "One of my friends in Lektra Sigs said the idea for the celebration came from  Commodore Kaiser's wife. His designated Flagship is Arkon-A which is leading the flotilla.... I'm glad we're in module D. It's never good to be too close to command central, heh."

"A lady I know working in Hospitality said one of her customers bought shares in a new LA- Dago real estate venture," said Tango, "She said it was going to be a floating crime-free island just off the coast. Open for business this December, called Babylon." "Well, the design is open source," said Logan, "I wonder if they will give us competition?" "I don't think so," said Jack, "it is a big ocean. I wonder if that is related to an email I got from a friend in Hong Kong. He said some Asian 'Garks and Geeks had a new real estate concept to sell shares in. A high-tech luxury condo Island 2000 km Southeast from Japan. It was to be called Shangri-La, ready for business in February next year."

After 65 days of uneventful cruising the Arkon flotilla arrived on station, about 2000 km southwest of Hawaii. This was not by accident because their route had been planned to take them north of the typical typhoon storm tracks. In 2020 the global temperature was about 14 deg C and now it was down to 13.5 due to the quiet sun. This made the equatorial-  polar temperature gradient much bigger creating more powerful storms.

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