Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Arkon  Delta, Launch, Hire Staff

Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-03, Mon, 0925hr


Captain Mark Cheng, from Arkon One  module two, would be acting Admiral on Arkon Delta module 'A'. The six Captains (acting) would be the Executive Officers from Arkon One. When they arrived on station, the promotions would be permanent.



All six modules of Arkon Delta launched on Monday, Wk-3, 12,028 for 10 days of sea trials. After which they hooked up with their AgroSembly barges and headed out for their rendezvous station (25 N, 135W), cruising at 5 kph, faster than 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, 800 m across, with protected slot anchorage for cargo and guest boats.



Looking at the space available, Stakka and his team decided to merge two primate labs into one large one amidships on Module C, with a pig lab in the stern. The two clone labs would be merged into one large one amidships on Module D, with the virus lab in the stern, at a biohazard safety level of four. With five main modules cruising at 5 kph straight for their station, Admiral Cheng agreed to allow Module C to proceed directly to Arkon One at 7 kph, so they could still arrive on station with the main fleet. Karl, Robin, Ed and Mary supervised work on Module D, while Stakka, Renka, Allan, and Jane stayed on Module C.



'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 Allan, "Captain McDougall gets my vote." "You'd vote for any redheaded female with a tight butt," said Jane, "Like me." As she dodged his swat at her derriere.



ArkonDelta, 12,028 Wk-04, Sat, 2015hr


      Pizza Party


After a craft beer and two tokes of Red Zinger, Stakka had this philosophical observation, "I have been wondering why, when we spend time on floating islands, I feel more relaxed and comfortable than when we were on shore in Monterey or San Fran. I think it has to do with a little bit of order and cleanliness and not worrying about getting mugged on each corner or shot in a gang war. There are no little pieces of trash blowing down the street, or blobs of stinky air to hurry through. What do you think Renka?" "There's that, plus not worrying about if you're breaking some law or city ordinance," she replied, "Oh, and visually things look solid, not crumbling down."


"While we haven't lived in any cities, we have experienced a feeling of unconstraint," said Allan "Like we could try anything without worrying about immediate consequences." "It's a definite sense of Freedom," agreed Jane.


"Another thing," said Renka, "Is everybody wants to be here. The staff, workers, and visitors. If they don't like it, they can leave."



Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-05, Sun, 1915hr


Sunday evening they were exploring the central mall area, when Jane said, "Look, a Rusty Rooster Pub." "Just like on Babylon," said Allan, "It must be a franchise." "There's a Red Fox Bar and Grill," said Renka, "Across the Esplanade in the corner." "Let's try their beer and snacks," said Stakka. On the way they passed a Smokie Dokie shop and looked in for some Red Zingers, but they were sold out.


The Red Fox seemed quieter than Rusty Rooster and they were seated at a table near the back. The custom smoke umbrella was less intrusive than the one at Rusty Rooster. After the beer and snacks came, Allan said, "How are we going to promote the business of genetic tweaks for improved life outcomes?" "Initially we will count on referrals from Babylon and Arkon One, with small signs and brochures in lobbys," said Renka, "Later we will have signs and brief advertising campaigns in large college towns in Europe and Asia."



Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-07, Sun, 0905hr


Captain McDougall of Module C sent a message to Admiral Kaiser of Arkon One, "Request permission to take on cargo from slot E-F, 1500 hrs." An hour later came the reply, "Permission granted."


After Module C was secured stern first to Arkon One, Stakka and his team went to meet their group taking care of the primate lab.


In their conference room Stakka said, "Let's just outline the transfer process to Module C, and go for an early dinner." "That sounds good," said Zak, "We have individual carrier boxes prepared." "How are the patients doing?" asked Jane. "All the little mothers are very healthy," said Sophie. "One idea we had to make them feel comfortable in the new environment," said Dan, "Is to take some of the old litter at the bottom of the cage and transfer it to the new cage so it has a home like smell." "Also," said Katie, "We will stay in the new lab while you bring them from here. That way they will always see someone familiar and not get alarmed at the changes." "It looks like you have a good working plan," said Renka, "Let's meet at the Rusty Rooster at 2000hr.


After a hearty meal of pasta primavera at the Rusty Rooster, washed down with craft beer, the team was relaxing with a shared Red Zinger. "This reminds me," said Allan, "You might want to bring an extra packet or two of Red Zinger while they're available here." "Thanks for the tip," said Sophie, "We now have some Green Zingers available, and they're delicious."


They easily finished the lab transfer on Monday then did some shopping on Tuesday and advised Captain McDougall Tuesday night that their part was finished and they could leave when convenient. Wednesday morning the Quarterdeck announced "Now all hands hear this, we will set the sea and anchor detail at 0800 hours Thursday morning."


At their Friday review meeting Zak said, "I worked up some marketing copy for the Clone project, what do you guys think?"


'Servident Workforce ... more flexible than robots. Big John 1.8 m, 100 kg, and Slim Jim 1.6 m, 80 kg. Also available in female models. Indentured servitude contracts going for 3, 5, and 7 years.'


"That sounds good," said Karl, "And reminds me, what happened with the suggestions we made to 'Lure the Tiger down from the mountain' and find the clone factory?"


"I saw the website," said Katie, "Its called 'Designer Workers', they never rust and reprogram quickly. Now taking applications for employment." "The other idea we had," said Allen, "Is to send two male and two female chinese students to register for genetic courses at Gwangju University." "They could say straight out they got a scholarship from Arkon One," said Jane, "And some of the graduate students and teachers that worked on that project 9 years ago may still be there, or know where they went."


"I'll check with Commodore Kaiser and Captain Nelson's staff," said Stakka, "And see what they've found out."



Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-08, Fri, 1915hr


At their Friday meeting Stakka said, "We've got some nibbles on our bait, heh. The first two, male and female with Chinese family names, came in the same day 7 weeks ago, from an eMail address in Kyrgystan. The resumes were similar, both having done postgrad work at Guangju University. Then 3 weeks ago we got two from Brazilia with Spanish family names. They also had done postgrad work at Guangju University. We sent all four a positive response and asked if they were familiar with a new technique in the field from three years ago. We also asked what city airport and airline we could send tickets to for an expense paid interview to Arkon One.


"The students on scholarship also had some luck. They found one very old professor and an old lab assistant. They are questioning very slowly and indirectly so as to maintain an open and friendly relationship.


"What they've found so far, is the top four students in that class went to work for a Russian oligarch in Astana, Khazakstan, and the next four went to work for a private lab in Brasilia, Brazil.


"So the next eMail we send will invite them to Arkon Delta," he concluded.


"Next Friday," said Stakka, "Let's bring some ideas for the gene tweak promotional brochures."


Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-09, Fri, 1915hr


At their usual Friday meeting, Stakka opened with, "How does a little mascot sound? A little dragonfly winged girl with a carbine titled, 'Let us shoot those bad genes holding you back. We have snip and zap technologies for many genetic improvements. Schedule your free assay exam today.' Not Tinkerbell, mabe an Asian with tan?" "How about a shiny robo-android," suggested Ed. A chorus of 'Yeah'. "OK," said Renka, "Now for a short list of popular tweaks."


Enhanced muscles

Stronger fingernails

Faster reflexes

Reverse lung damage

Permanent lighter darker tan

Enhanced immune system

Boost neurotransmitters

Straight curly hair swap

Reverse kidney damage

Boost learning and retention

Reverse liver damage

Boost interleukin-33


Procedures take 2 to 5 days in deep sleep under a doctor's supervision, followed by one day of mild exercise for recovery. Make your appointment today, for a better tomorrow.


"Shut up and take my money," said Zak.



Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-10, Sun, 0915hr


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.



Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-11, Sun, 0915hr


The next Saturday night was also an all hands party. "So what are we celebrating tonight?" asked Dan. "Well, I understand it's two things this time," replied Zak, "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 AgroSembly barge." "I read where those are unique," said Allan, "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 Renka, "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 three thousand kilometers."



Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-12, Fri, 1915hr


At their Friday review, Karl said, "After we evaluate the first stage of Gibbon acceleration, I propose we start two more fetuses with enhanced vocal chords and brain to include Broca's Area. Then they could tell us how something feels, or where it hurts, heh." "Do we need to worry about international opinion?" asked Sophie. "I think not," said Stakka, "We aren't publishing any papers." "And they are much less agressive than Chimps," said Renka. "I would suggest we also modify their hands," said Zak, "So they can work a keyboard." "Also the feet and hip joints," said Jane, "For comfotrable walking." "And short thick grey fur," said Katie, "For the coming ice age."



Arkon Delta, 12,028 H.E., Wk-13, Fri, 1315hr,

Regular Review Meeting


At their Friday meeting, Stakka said, "This is the proposal I've put together for Jose and Carla, based on your inputs from Monday and Tuesday:


"Upon further consideration, we urge you to bring your favorite Lab Tech with you, their skill set must be rare and you're already a team. Six business class tickets are at the Condor Airlines desk, and we have prepaid for 30 kg extra luggage each. Assume you will be hired and will get 4 days paid vacation after 8 months, should you need to return for anything. If child tickets are needed, please advise soonest. The Condor Air direct to LAX leaves every Friday 6 am local time, takes 13 hrs, arrives 5 pm LA time. When you arrive at LAX, look for our agent carrying an 'Arkon Delta' sign. They will get your luggage transferred to the charter STOL and arrange food. Do not go outside LAX, it is not safe.


Carla da Silva sent back my tech's name is Anita Morales, with husband Pablo Morales.


Jose Lopez sent back my tech's name is Earnesto Garcia, with wife Lupita Garcia.


We sent a similar proposal to the Astana team.


Mei Wang sent back my tech's name is Fan Wu, with husband Lee Wu.


Chang Huang sent back my tech's name is Cong Yang, with wife Jing Yang.



"This is a general layout map we sent," said Renka.


Module A - Admin


Module B - Gene Tweak Tourists


Module C - Primate Lab, gibbons

                   Pig Lab, beef, organs


Module D - Clone Lab, Virus Lab


Module E - Clone Production Facility


Module F - Education, Training


She continued, "We will put them in 4x8m cabins in the same hall, in module D. The Astana team will be in an adjascent hall. I'd like Ed, Mary, Dan, and Katie to do a basic setup for the Brazil Team cabins: sheets, pillows, towels, soap, instant coffee, cream, sugar. Cola, water, and egg salad sandwiches in fridge, small bottle of rum.


"Karl, Robin, Zak and Sophie, can do the same for the Astana Team, who will arrive a week later."


"Since Renka and I don't have you guys scientific skills," said Stakka, "We will act as facilitators to make your jobs easier." "Which brings us to 'Who Does What'," said Renka, "So discuss among yourselves and decide which lab you want to work in. We can review and change in six months."


"What pay grade will the new teams start at?" asked Karl. "Good question," said Stakka. "Here is a chart:


Pay        Creds/    Creds/     Creds/

Grade     Hr            4 Wk       52 Wk


01 -  -  -   5    -  -  -   720 -  -  -  9,360

01A         8           1,152        14,976

01B         11         1,584        20,592

02 -  -  -   15 -  -  - 2,160-  -  - 28,080

03            20         2,880        37,440

04 -  -  -    25 -  -  - 3,600 -  -  -46,800

05            30         4,320         56,160

06 -  -  -    35-  -  -  5,040 -  -  -65,520

07            40         5,760         74,880

08 -  -  -    45 -  -  - 6,480 -  -  -84,240

09            50         7,200         93,600


"The first paygrade has three levels for the guild program; Trainee, Striker, Novice," said Renka. "Admiral Cheng is at grade 08, we're all at grade 03," said Stakka. "I propose we hire the scientists at grade 05, their techs at grade 02," said Renka, "Then after three months we go up to 05, the techs to 03. What do you think?" A chorus of 'Yeah, sounds good,' sealed the deal. "I should remind everyone," said Stakka, "Even at grade 01 its possible to pay rent, food, entertainment, health insurance, and save a little, with some discipline, of course, heh. Oh, and 50% of rent goes towards purchase of a cabin."



÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷

(expect next post 1 May, 8 am EST)


÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷


 X

Chapter 17

ARKON CH-17  Arkon Delta,  Launch

Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-03, Mon, 0925hr

Captain Mark Cheng, from Arkon One  module two, would be acting Admiral on Arkon Delta module 'A'. The six Captains (acting) would be the Executive Officers from Arkon One. When they arrived on station, the promotions would be permanent.

All six modules of Arkon Delta launched on Monday, Wk-3, 12,028 for 10 days of sea trials. After which they hooked up with their AgroSembly barges and headed out for their rendezvous station (25N, 135W), cruising at 5 kph, faster than 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, 800 m across, with protected slot anchorage for cargo and guest boats.

Looking at the space available, Stakka and his team decided to merge two primate labs into one large one amidships on Module C, with a pig lab in the stern. The two clone labs would be merged into one large one amidships on Module D, with the virus lab in the stern, at a biohazard safety level of four. With five main modules cruising at 5 kph straight for their station, Admiral Cheng agreed to allow Module C to proceed directly to Arkon One at 7 kph, so they could still arrive on station with the main fleet. Karl, Robin, Ed and Mary supervised work on Module D, while Stakka, Renka, Allan, and Jane stayed on Module C.

'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 Allan, "Captain McDougall gets my vote." "You'd vote for any redheaded female with a tight butt," said Jane, "Like me." As she dodged his swat at her derriere.

ArkonDelta, 12,028 Wk-04, Sat, 2015hr

      Pizza Party

After a craft beer and two tokes of Red Zinger, Stakka had this philosophical observation, "I have been wondering why, when we spend time on floating islands, I feel more relaxed and comfortable than when we were on shore in Monterey or San Fran. I think it has to do with a little bit of order and cleanliness and not worrying about getting mugged on each corner or shot in a gang war. There are no little pieces of trash blowing down the street, or blobs of stinky air to hurry through. What do you think Renka?" "There's that, plus not worrying about if you're breaking some law or city ordinance," she replied, "Oh, and visually things look solid, not crumbling down."

"While we haven't lived in any cities, we have experienced a feeling of unconstraint," said Allan "Like we could try anything without worrying about immediate consequences." "It's a definite sense of Freedom," agreed Jane.

"Another thing," said Renka, "Is everybody wants to be here. The staff, workers, and visitors. If they don't like it, they can leave."

Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-05, Sun, 1915hr

Sunday evening they were exploring the central mall area, when Jane said, "Look, a Rusty Rooster Pub." "Just like on Babylon," said Allan, "It must be a franchise." "There's a Red Fox Bar and Grill," said Renka, "Across the Esplanade in the corner." "Let's try their beer and snacks," said Stakka. On the way they passed a Smokie Dokie shop and looked in for some Red Zingers, but they were sold out.

The Red Fox seemed quieter than Rusty Rooster and they were seated at a table near the back. The custom smoke umbrella was less intrusive than the one at Rusty Rooster. After the beer and snacks came, Allan said, "How are we going to promote the business of genetic tweaks for improved life outcomes?" "Initially we will count on referrals from Babylon and Arkon One, with small signs and brochures in lobbys," said Renka, "Later we will have signs and brief advertising campaigns in large college towns in Europe and Asia."

Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-07, Sun, 0905hr

Captain McDougall of Module C sent a message to Admiral Kaiser of Arkon One, "Request permission to take on cargo from slot E-F, 1500 hrs." An hour later came the reply, "Permission granted."

After Module C was secured stern first to Arkon One, Stakka and his team went to meet their group taking care of the primate lab.

In their conference room Stakka said, "Let's just outline the transfer process to Module C, and go for an early dinner." "That sounds good," said Zak, "We have individual carrier boxes prepared." "How are the patients doing?" asked Jane. "All the little mothers are very healthy," said Sophie. "One idea we had to make them feel comfortable in the new environment," said Dan, "Is to take some of the old litter at the bottom of the cage and transfer it to the new cage so it has a home like smell." "Also," said Katie, "We will stay in the new lab while you bring them from here. That way they will always see someone familiar and not get alarmed at the changes." "It looks like you have a good working plan," said Renka, "Let's meet at the Rusty Rooster at 2000hr.

After a hearty meal of pasta primavera at the Rusty Rooster, washed down with craft beer, the team was relaxing with a shared Red Zinger. "This reminds me," said Allan, "You might want to bring an extra packet or two of Red Zinger while they're available here." "Thanks for the tip," said Sophie, "We now have some Green Zingers available, and they're delicious."

They easily finished the lab transfer on Monday then did some shopping on Tuesday and advised Captain McDougall Tuesday night that their part was finished and they could leave when convenient. Wednesday morning the Quarterdeck announced "Now all hands hear this, we will set the sea and anchor detail at 0800 hours Thursday morning."

At their Friday review meeting Zak said, "I worked up some marketing copy for the Clone project, what do you guys think?"

'Servident Workforce ... more flexible than robots. Big John 1.8 m, 100 kg, and Slim Jim 1.6 m, 80 kg. Also available in female models. Indentured servitude contracts going for 3, 5, and 7 years.'

"That sounds good," said Karl, "And reminds me, what happened with the suggestions we made to 'Lure the Tiger down from the mountain' and find the clone factory?"

"I saw the website," said Katie, "Its called 'Designer Workers', they never rust and reprogram quickly. Now taking applications for employment." "The other idea we had," said Allen, "Is to send two male and two female chinese students to register for genetic courses at Gwangju University." "They could say straight out they got a scholarship from Arkon One," said Jane, "And some of the graduate students and teachers that worked on that project 9 years ago may still be there, or know where they went."

"I'll check with Commodore Kaiser and Captain Nelson's staff," said Stakka, "And see what they've found out."

Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-08, Fri, 1915hr

At their Friday meeting Stakka said, "We've got some nibbles on our bait, heh. The first two, male and female with Chinese family names, came in the same day 7 weeks ago, from an eMail address in Kyrgystan. The resumes were similar, both having done postgrad work at Guangju University. Then 3 weeks ago we got two from Brazilia with Spanish family names. They also had done postgrad work at Guangju University. We sent all four a positive response and asked if they were familiar with a new technique in the field from three years ago. We also asked what city airport and airline we could send tickets to for an expense paid interview to Arkon One.

"The students on scholarship also had some luck. They found one very old professor and an old lab assistant. They are questioning very slowly and indirectly so as to maintain an open and friendly relationship.

"What they've found so far, is the top four students in that class went to work for a Russian oligarch in Astana, Khazakstan, and the next four went to work for a private lab in Brasilia, Brazil.

"So the next eMail we send will invite them to Arkon Delta," he concluded.

"Next Friday," said Stakka, "Let's bring some ideas for the gene tweak promotional brochures."

Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-09, Fri, 1915hr

At their usual Friday meeting, Stakka opened with, "How does a little mascot sound? A little dragonfly winged girl with a carbine titled, 'Let us shoot those bad genes holding you back. We have snip and zap technologies for many genetic improvements. Schedule your free assay exam today.' Not Tinkerbell, mabe an Asian with tan?" "How about a shiny robo-android," suggested Ed. A chorus of 'Yeah'. "OK," said Renka, "Now for a short list of popular tweaks."

Enhanced muscles
Stronger fingernails
Faster reflexes
Reverse lung damage
Permanent lighter darker tan
Enhanced immune system
Boost neurotransmitters
Straight curly hair swap
Reverse kidney damage
Boost learning and retention
Reverse liver damage
Boost interleukin-33

Procedures take 2 to 5 days in deep sleep under a doctor's supervision, followed by one day of mild exercise for recovery. Make your appointment today, for a better tomorrow.

"Shut up and take my money," said Zak.


Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-10, Sun, 0915hr

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.

Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-11, Sun, 0915hr

The next Saturday night was also an all hands party. "So what are we celebrating tonight?" asked Dan. "Well, I understand it's two things this time," replied Zak, "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 AgroSembly barge." "I read where those are unique," said Allan, "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 Renka, "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 three thousand kilometers."

Arkon Delta, 12,028 Wk-12, Fri, 1915hr

At their Friday review, Karl said, "After we evaluate the first stage of Gibbon acceleration, I propose we start two more fetuses with enhanced vocal chords and brain to include Broca's Area. Then they could tell us how something feels, or where it hurts, heh." "Do we need to worry about international opinion?" asked Sophie. "I think not," said Stakka, "We aren't publishing any papers." "And they are much less aggressive than Chimps," said Renka. "I would suggest we also modify their hands," said Zak, "So they can work a keyboard." "Also the feet and hip joints," said Jane, "For comfotrable walking." "And short thick grey fur," said Katie, "For the coming ice age."

(expect posts Sat 8 am EST)
(NB- these chapters are consolidated
 at Floating-City-Island.blogspot.com)
÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷   ~   ÷

 X

Chapter 16

F R E E  on  the  S E A

ARKON CH-16  Arkon One, ProtoClones

Arkon One, 12,027 Wk-42, Mon, 1915hr

We're having this special Monday team meeting,"  said Stakka, "So we can lay down some guidelines for our research projects." "And who's going to choose to do which task," said Renka.

1. Who's gonna work on bovine digestive systems? Compare them to a Colobine monkey, the only ruminant primate.

2. Who's gonna work on which virus targets what organ?

3. Who's gonna work on the macaque monkey clone?

4. Who's gonna work on the gibbon ape clone?

5. Who's gonna work on the lesula clone?

6. Who's gonna work on the womb chamber and growth acceleration?

Keep a Lab Notebook, bound, not spiral or looseleaf. Do not tear out any pages. Record your experiments and data. Sign and date each page because it can be used as a legal document in contested patents.

At our regular Friday meeting you can tell me who decided to take up which project," said Stakka.

Another thing we learned from reading dr. Liu's notes," said Renka, "Is the researchers spent three years perfecting the technique to enucleate the egg and inject the clone nucleus back in very quickly. The faster this process is done the better chance for success."

"Since I had no background in biology," said Stakka, "I found this non-technical definition of a genome very useful."

A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. For example, the human genome is analogous to the instructions stored in a cookbook. Just as a cookbook gives the instructions needed to make a range of meals including a holiday feast or a summer picnic, the human genome contains all the instructions needed to make the full range of human cell types including muscle cells or neurons.

1. The book (genome) would contain 23 chapters (chromosomes);

2. Each chapter contains 48 to 250 million letters (A,C,G,T) without spaces;

3. Hence, the book contains over 3.2 billion letters total;

4. The book contains approximately 20,000 different recipes (genes), which together make up less than 2% of the letters in the book.

5. The book fits into a cell nucleus the size of a pinpoint;

6. In meiosis, the genetic material of gametes is divided in half to create egg and sperm cells, which have only one copy of the book.

Arkon One, 12,027 Wk-42, Tue, 2025hr

"I saw an ad for Ink-N-Blink tattoo," said Robin, "Let's call Ed and Mary and do it tonight." " Okay," said Karl, "Let's go."

They picked up Ed and Mary on the way out and headed for the Ink-N-Blink shop. When they got there the staff showed them catalogs of facial tattoos and let them use a computer design program to customize and print out their selection. They decided in addition to the small cheekbone triangle to have the girls tattoos be curvy and the boys mostly straight line geometric constructs.

When they got back they used their commo pod and sent pictures to the rest of the team.

Arkon One, 12,027 Wk-42, Wed, 2015hr

Zak, Sophie, Dan, and Katie get their fix at Ink-N-Blink. On the way back Katie says, "I'm going jogging tomorrow Sophie, wanna go with me?" "Yeah, if its indoors," she replied, "I haven't had my melano-tan shot yet, and I burn easy." "That sounds like a catalog genetic tweak," said Zak, "Mabe a bonus with fingernail strength enhancement." "Sign me up," said Dan, "My nails are always chipping."

Arkon One, 12,027 Wk-42, Thr, 1945hr

Stakka, Renka, Alan, and Jane get their fix at Ink-N-Blink.

Arkon One, 12,027 Wk-42, Fri, 1905hr

At their regular Friday meeting everyone explained a little about their project.

"With our non-technical background," said Renka, "We chose to study which virus targets what organ." "We will make an easily searchable database," said Stakka, "Where you can pick an organ first and find out which viruses are available to invade it."

"We chose ruminant digestive systems," said Karl. "We will also investigate if a more efficient one could be substituted," said Robin.

"We are are working on the macaque clone," said Sophie. "We are going to  try earlier fetal cells than fibroblasts," said Zak.

"We are are working on the gibbon clone," said Alan. "We will try some moderate growth acceleration techniques as well," said Jane.

"We are working on the lesula clone," said Katie. "We will also try some moderate growth deceleration techniques," said Dan.

"We chose the ectogenisis chamber," said Ed. "And growth acceleration by extending natural cycles," said Mary.

"Before you get too deep into your projects," said Stakka, "I recommend reading an online article called 'Design of Experiments'. "It could show when you need a small pre-experiment first," said Renka.

     . . . Eight  Weeks  Later . . .

Arkon One, 12,027 Wk-50, Fri, 1915hr

At their regular Friday meeting everyone gave a status update on 

their project.

"We have finished the virus database," said Stakka, "And added further divisions to choose from. You can now select whether the virus is  encapsulated or not, or whether it's an RNA or DNA virus." "Also we added the organs for common farm animals," said Renka." "A human gene map and database is also available," said Stakka, "But we see no improvements are needed."

"We looked up feed conversion ratios for different farm animals," said Karl, "And beef cattle are rated 6 to 8 and pigs are rated 3.5 to 3.7 and digest faster." "So what we were thinking," said Robin, "Is convert pig muscle to look and taste like beef muscle."

"We took fetal cells earlier than the fibroblasts," said Sophie, "And had a much higher success rate. The four embryos we have are due in 15 weeks, and we will use for an acceleration experiment," said Zak, "Two of them we will cause a small increase in growth hormone for their early childhood development, and the other two will be the control group. Somatocrinin turns on growth hormone and somatostatin inhibits it."

"What we discovered about gibbons largely comes from a paper published in Nature in 2014 titled, 'Gibbon genome and the fast karyotype evolution of small apes', said Allan, "With this introduction, 'Gibbons are small (50 cm, 5 kg) arboreal apes that display an accelerated rate of evolutionary chromosomal rearrangement and occupy a key node in the primate phylogeny between Old World monkeys and great apes'." "We do have four embryos, due in 22 weeks," said Jamie, "And we will try early childhood growth accceleration on two of them." "Gibbons sexually mature 6 in years, and humans in 12 years," said Allan, "Which suggest human 4 year old would equal a gibbon 2 year old."

"The Lesula monkey, at 50 cm, 5 kg, is similar to the macaque," said Katie, "It lives between two rivers in the Congo and was only discovered by outsiders in 2010." "Its face, nose, and eyes seem vaguely human," said Dan, "And it spends more time on the ground than other monkeys. We have four embryos, due in 16 weeks, and we will try early childhood growth accceleration on two of them."

"What we discovered," said Ed, "Is external artificial wombs are off-the-shelf items in the Chinese province of Guangju. Different sizes and external oxygen/ nutrition support systems are available," said Mary, "So we will order four monkey sized ones at first." "What we've read in published papers on acceleration techniques," said Ed, "Suggests physical and mental growth are not well matched. Our proposal is to push human physical growth in deep sleep so a two year old would be as tall as a four year old, then let them spend a year of slow time in normie kindergarten acquiring language and social skills, then back to deep sleep for three years, then a slow year in normie middle school. That would correspond to 4+1+6+1=12 yrs effective growth in 2+1+3+1=7 yrs actual. Now comes puberty and the biggest height growth; two years deep sleep and one year of normie senior high school. If we take weekly blood samples to monitor all hormone levels and monthly mri scans, we might figure out when and how we could safely accelerate more." "Another observation we made," said Mary, "Is that the number of papers increased every year from 2007 to 2014, and dropped to zero by 2016. The research didn't stop, it just went private, underground, heh."

"Dr.Liu is very happy with your experiment's progress," said Stakka, "And we are too." "For the next two months you will continue with these primate  trials," said Renka, "While Ed, Mary, Karl, and Robin participate with us in the launch and sea trials of Arkon Delta. We will also supervise the construction of two primate labs, a virus lab, a pig lab, and two clone labs." "As we get close to Arkon One," said Stakka, "Each module with a primate lab will come by and pick up a team and their experiment."

   (expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

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 X

Chapter 15

F  R  E  E   on   the   S  E  A

ARKON   CH-15     Arkon One, CloneWorks

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-33, Fri, 2045 hr

Captain Kuznet led them down the gangplank to the Quay, where a reception committee awaited.

"Welcome aboard," said Commodore Kaiser, "I will just make a brief introduction to some staff you may come in contact with frequently. Next Saturday night we will have an informal welcome party after you have time to get oriented. This is Elder Charles, Council of Elders representative; and Captain Nelson, in charge of the module where your quarters have been set up; and Guild Master Hedtke; and Dr. Jian Liu, head of genetic engineering for longevity; and Dr. Katya Markovic, head of Ai applications."

"Frank and Jamie will be your facilitators and guides for three months as you settle in. Their cabin is nearby in the next hall over."

"Thank you for the warm welcome," said Captain Kuznet, "These are the founding members of Arkon Delta; Stakka and Renka, Karl and Robin, Zak and Sophie, Alan and Jane, Dan and Katie, Ed and Mary. They recently lived in a small village in Canada. There was a resource conflict that drove them down to Monterey where we intervened to help them. They are still suffering a little bit from the rough journey, culture shock, and coming into advanced society, so please cut them a little slack for social awkwardness."

Captain Kuznet and Commodore Kaiser went off together to swap sea stories and Frank said, "Please follow me and I'll show you to your quarters." "There is a 24-hour food court nearby," said Jamie, "And tomorrow I will take you to personnel and have badges issued."

As they went down a dead-end hallway Frank explained, "Each key card opens the door ahead and two doors into the conference room and the back door at the other end. The numbered keycard will only open your individual door as well. There is also a commo pod and a gray Arkon Delta hoodie in your cabin." "We'll meet in the conference room in 30 minutes," said Stakka, "And all go to the food court together for a snak."

In the conference room Stakka said, "Good, all the hoodies seem to fit. We should always wear them when we're out in the open, I believe. Probably 80% of individuals that see four of you together would think, 'Oh!, they're from the same family'. But 20% might have an alarm reaction and think, 'Oh my God!, clones'. So when we're going from here to another office we should go 2 by 2 and take a slightly different path. Because it's a little late tonight and the food court is close by, we'll just go as a mob, heh, and I'm starving."

The next morning Frank and Jamie showed up at 9 to take them two by two and get their ID cards issued.

After lunch they gathered in the conference room for a live video presentation by Dr.Liu on cloning and genetic engineering.

"Nine years ago," Dr Liu explained, "A Chinese research team drew DNA from fetal monkey cells from a macaque and used that to create clone eggs. They created 127 eggs, 79 of which were transferred to 21 females.

"Four pregnancies resulted, but there were two miscarriages within two months of gestation. The other two were successfully birthed, and named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua."

"Since that time we can imagine someone has been cloning humans. They must be more efficient at getting live births and we can imagine two or three ways they could accelerate growth. It would be nice if we could locate them and form a joint venture for further research.

"Genetic engineering on humans started in1998, when inactivated viruses carrying a special gene were injected into the target leg muscle of old men, who lose a third of muscle mass between 55 and 70. The viruses attach to the individual cells and squirt in the gene. The gene then tells the muscles to rev up production of IGF-1, a naturally occurring hormone that builds new muscle tissue.

"By using CRISPR, a gene editing tool, we can like, cut and paste segments of chromosomes to make new ones. If there's a defective gene that could cause early onset diabetes, we can just cut it out.

"In conclusion, when you log on to your computer, there is a tab called college courses. Inside that you will find some labeled cloning with somatic cells or fetal cells, another labeled gene editing, cell structure and chemistry. For those of you interested in getting hands-on experience, I will put together a short list of courses and videos, that our lab techs used, which will enable you to work in our Laboratory. The material might take two weeks if you spend three or four hours daily."

They spent the next week doing exercises for dr. Liu during the day and then late at night going out exploring, two by two.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-34, Fri, 1915 hr

"Having a Friday review meeting in the conference room is a good idea," said Karl, "Should we wear hoodies to the welcome party tomorrow night?" "I think we can skip them tomorrow," said Renka, "Its not far and the hall lights dim after 20 hundred hours."

"Here's some background for where we came from in Canada," said Stakka, "It's a small city in the Northwest Territory called Yellowknife. It's at the North end of the Great Slave Lake. Russian and German miners were fighting over copper deposits. We had a difficult overland journey following railroad tracks and broken highways to Monterey."

"I don't know about the rest of you," said Ed, " but Mary and I finished the courses recommended by dr. Liu yesterday. Maybe we could ask about starting on-the-job training this Monday." "Did the rest of you finish as well?" asked Stakka. There was a chorus of yes's. "Great," he said, "I'll speak to the doctor at the party tomorrow."

"The book 'Art of War' suggests how we may find our clone makers" said Dan, "It's called 'Lure the tiger down from the mountain'." "What that means," said Katie, "Is we set up a website called 'Designer Workers', they never rust and reprogram quickly. I'm sure our clone makers would see that as competition and make inquiries we could follow up on."

"Another approach we thought of," said Allen, "Is to send two male and two female chinese students to register for genetic courses at Gwangju University." "They could say straight out they got a scholarship from Arkon One," said Jane, "And some of the graduate students and teachers that worked on that project 9 years ago may still be there, or know where they went."

"On the Designer Worker website," said Zak, "We could even say we are taking applications for employment."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-34, Sat, 2100 hr

At the Welcome Party dr Liu was saying it's really incredible how fast they learn." "We think they are gifted," said Renka, "With high IQ and social skills to match." "I think it would be okay for them to start work- training this Monday," said dr. Liu, "Frank and Jamie can bring them over at 1230 after the shift has started."

Stakka was explaining to Commodore Kaiser and Captain Nelson that his Team had come up with several plans to discover the Clone makers.

Katya was going over the results of her Ai comparison program with Renka and Stakka. "The program compares every location as well as looking for standard defects that have been discovered in the last 20 years. They have the same genes except for male-female differences, and no defects. They even have one area that's the same but different from normal humans. We don't know what it does at this time. The other interesting thing is compared to European populations they seem to be chimeras, like lower body from Spain, and torso and heart and lungs from Germany, and brains and facial features from Russia, and so forth."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-35,Mon,1300 hr

Instead of just observing in dr. Liu's lab, the Arkon Delta team got to actually perform some of the operations under supervision of staff.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-36, Fri, 1910 hr

At their regular Friday meeting Karl said "We've been looking at the other residents on our Sunday exploring trips and quite a number have tattoos on their hands, arms, neck and even their face." "So we were wondering," continued Robin, "Could we put some simple designs on our face? That would make us look more different." "I think that's a good idea," said Stakka, "Renka and I may join you." "Yes," said Renka, "Mabe have one element in common. Like a small triangle dropping down from each cheek bone."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-37, Fri, 1920 hr

At their regular Friday meeting Zak asked, "Can we get space to set up our lab and repeat the fetal monkey clone experiment?" "Also we want to start work on miniature cattle for beef on floating islands," said Sophie. "I'll take that up with Captain Nelson this weekend," said Stakka.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-38,Wed,2111 hr

Wednesday night Stakka, Renka, Karl, and Robin were at a small stand up bar away from the tourist hangouts having a craft beer and sharing a Red Zinger. A large tourist came up behind Rinka and put a hand on her shoulder saying, "How about a dance, sweetie?" She brushed his hand off saying, "Don't touch me, I'm busy, go away." He reached out to touch her shoulder again and there was a blur of motion and Renka ended up sitting on his chest with a large knife pointed under his chin and she said, "Listen carefully; I said NO and DONT TOUCH ME; if you touch me again I will cut your hand off." At that time two peacekeepers arrived and dragged the tourist away. "WoW!" Said Robin, "What was that?" "That is called Taekwondo," said Renka, "I can take you by the dojo I train at tomorrow." "Me too," said Karl, "I think that would be a good skill for all of us to have."

At their usual Friday meeting Stakka reported, "Captain Nelson will find a 20 by 50 meter space for your clone research. Dr. Liu will put together a list of equipment that you will need to have installed." "Dan and Alan are working on an artificial womb," Karl said, "Is there a mechanical model shop that could put together their idea?" "There is," said Renka, "And Frank can help you find it when you need it." "Using a weak virus to insert a genetic tweak could have military uses as well," said Ed, "From things we've read online about biowarfare, that has not been mentioned." "I'll discuss that with dr. Liu," said Stakka, "And see if she has come across anything in the literature she reads."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-39, Sun, 1010 hr

Stakka went by the Comm Center and sent a message to Babylon, "Expect to see Boss Chako Saturday morning." and another to Monterey, "Expect to be at airport 1000 next Sunday. Have minty Green Zinger seeds ready to take back to Monterey. 70% sativa with strong minty aroma and taste."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-39, Tue, 0930 hr

Captain Nelson called a meeting of the Arkon Delta team. He explained, "When the modules launch in January they would be crewed by 70% new trainees from Arkon One and 30% old hands that had been on the original module launch. Also the period from mid January to the end of March is a minimum storm period for the Pacific. Expect the trip to take about 45 days.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-39, Fri, 0930 hr

Friday morning Stakka and Renka

boarded a seaplane for an 8 hour flight to Babylon, to make a status report to Boss Chako, and then on to Monterey.

Babylon, 12,027, Wk-39, Fri, 1800 hr

Renka and Stakka debarked from the seaplane at 1810, stopped for a snack, and headed for the Three Palms check-in desk. "We'd like to pay for two days now," said Stakka, "And can we get a receipt? We're on an expense account." "No problem," replied the clerk, "Here's your key card." "We represent Delta Ventures," said Renka, "And we'd like to make a 10-minute presentation to Boss Chako tomorrow. Can you help us with that?" "Certainly," replied the clerk, "I'll just connect you with his appointment secretary."

Renka booked a 15-minute slot at 1015 and they went up to their cabin.

Babylon, 12,027, Wk-39, Sat, 1010 hr

As they approached the receptionist desk she pointed to the door behind her and said, "Go ahead, he's expecting you."

They entered and Boss Chako, standing behind his desk said, "Please take a seat. "Thanks," said Stakka, "The Arkon Delta will launch modules the third week of January, 12,028." "And Captain Nelson has informed us," said Renka, "That when the modules launch in January, they would be crewed by 70% new trainees from Arkon One and 30% old hands that had been on the original module launch. Also the period from mid January to the end of March is a minimum storm period for the Pacific. Expect the trip to take about 45 days." "So things are going well," said Stakka, "We will come by with another update week 46." "Very good," said Chako, "See you then."

Back in their cabin they ordered room service for dinner and practiced Kundalini Yoga until midnight.

Babylon, 12,027, Wk-40, Sun, 0630 hr

Stakka and Renka boarded the  seaplane at 0630 for a 3-hour flight to Monterey.


Monterey, 12,027, Wk-40, Sun, 0930 hr

Stakka and Renka debarked from the sea plane at 0930. Entering the terminal they grabbed a snack and headed for the exit. Just outside they were met by Rico who said, "Hey, good to see you." "And we have some homegrown Red Zingers," said Lola, "Back at the ranch, heh."

When they reached the Safe House compound Dingo and Tengo came out to greet them. "We have hot chocolate and snacks to go with a Zinger inside," said Tengo. "Do we need to get Sergei and Natasha down from SanFran?" asked Dingo. "Hot chocolate sounds good," said Stakka. "We have nothing urgent for SanFran," said Renka.

Warming up with snacks in the kitchen, Stakka said, "We have a nice surprise for you. The first batch of genetic engineered Green Zinger seeds." "If there is room at the far end of the backyard, you might put up a plastic-covered grow back there," said Renka.

"How is Dragon Products doing now?" asked Stakka. "It's doing well," said  Dingo, "We leased about two hectares just touching our property and planted mild goldleaf tobacco, which is just coming up." "The cigarette machinery arrived two weeks ago and the building to set it up in will be ready next week," said Tengo.

Monterey, 12,027, Wk-40, Wed, 0630 hr

Stakka and Renka wave goodbye and board a seaplane for 12 hour flight to Arkon One.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-40, Fri, 1910 hr

At their regular Friday meeting Karl said, "We plan to host an online discussion among the residents here on Arkon One about clone laws and regulations that would protect them and regular humans." "We'll start with indentured servitude," said Robin "And work out from there." "That sounds good," said Renka, "Be sure and save a copy of all the responses."

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-41, Sun, 0930 hr

Karl and Robin host a public online forum to propose legal rights, documents, and discussion for clone's protection, such as indentured servitude with specific legal rights and time limits. Here is a summary of their findings:

1. Every clone should be sold with an indentured servitude contract stating their physical, medical care requirements and salary and the date they will be freed, including a possible  ticket to some developed continent.

2. Hazardous or unusual work conditions for indentured clones should get special compensation and consideration. For example if human workers last four years in a difficult job a clone must be given Freedom after 5 years.

 

3. An indentured clone may not be killed intentionally or placed in circumstances where death is certain.

4. An indentured clone's organs and body parts remain the property of the manufacturer and may not be sold or leased by the indenture contract holder.

5. An indentured clone may not be subleased to a third party.

6. A free clone may enter into marriage contracts with normies.

7. A free clone may be adopted by a normie.

8. A free clone may adopt a normie.

9. A clone's manufacturer may inspect and indentured clone at any time without prior notice.

Arkon One, 12,027, Wk-41, Fri, 1930 hr

At their usual Friday meeting, Stakka reported, "Dragon Products, the Cannabis cigarette project started by Dingo and Tengo is coming right along. They have planted mild goldleaf tobacco which has been coming up for three weeks now and the cigarette machinery will be installed in a new building the end of this month." "Did they like the green mint seeds?" asked Mary. "They did," said Renka, "In fact, they were planted in a new plastic covered grow at the far end of the backyard before we left, heh" "Dr Liu said an industry newsletter already mentioned a dwarf beef product line being developed in China," said Ed, "And she suggested we work on the digestive system and improving the efficiency." "We could approach them about a joint venture," said Katie, "When Arkon Delta launches in January." "I second that motion," said Robin.

(expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

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Chapter 14

F R E E   on   the  S E A 

 ARKON CH-14  Babylon, Joint Venture 

Babylon, WK-5, Friday, 0945

Debarking from the seaplane, Stakka and Renka crossed the Quay to the information kiosk by the entrance to Babylon. "Can you recommend an inexpensive hotel for a weeks stay?" asked Stakka. "The Three Palms has vacancies and a good reputation," said the agent, "But no dining room. Can I make reservations for you?" "Yes," said Renka, "For one week." "Very good," said the agent, "Here's an x on this ground floor map showing the check-in desk."

After a breakfast snack they headed for the Three Palms check-in desk. "We'd like to pay for our whole week now," said Stakka, "And can we get a receipt? We're on an expense account." "No problem," replied the clerk, "Here's your key card." "We represent Delta Ventures," said Renka, "And we'd like to make a 10-minute presentation to Boss Chako tomorrow. Can you help us with that?" "Certainly," replied the clerk, "I'll just connect you with his appointment secretary."

Renka booked a 15-minute slot at 1045 and they went up to their cabin.

Babylon, WK-5, Saturday, 1040

As they approached the receptionist desk she pointed to the door behind her and said, "Go ahead, he's expecting you."

They entered and Boss Chako, standing behind his desk said, "Please take a seat. I'm Chako." "I'm Stakka, and this is my partner Renka."

"Before we begin our presentation," said Stakka, "We have some personal private information for you. Is this conference room secure?" Chako pressed a button under his desk and there was a click as a red light came on over the door. "It is now," he said, "What do you have?" "We were informed by Arkon One two days ago," said Stakka, "That there is a contract on your life and El Lobo in the next 3 months. It was put out by the Yakuza who own Shangri-La." "I guess they're getting greedy again," said Chako, "They made an attempt 18 months ago and failed. That's when I put an agent in their workforce but have not heard from him recently. Thank you for your alert."

"You're welcome," said Renka, "Now for our presentation ... We represent Delta Ventures and are putting together a Consortium loan to build Arkon Delta, a small floating island, to be located halfway between Babylon and Arkon One. Their business plan will be medical tourism offering genetic enhancements, like tune-ups to boost strength, or boost reflexes, or cognitive skills, to young adults over 20 years old who have stopped growing. This will not be competing with Arkon One for geriatric enhancement.

"The shipyards that built Babylon continued building another Island on speculation. So far we are the only potential customer and they have offered a big discount, as the launch date is 5 months away. For the island and three AgroSembly modules they are asking 4 billion creds. At this time we are prepared to offer Babylon a 16% equity share. Arkon One has already taken a 26% share."

"We plan to offer Shangri-La a 16% share also," said Stakka, "Maybe this will stifle their greed for a few years, and having the same percentage should not cause envy." "We're booked at the Three Palms until this Friday," said Renka, "If you come to a decision before then." "Thank you for this opportunity," said Chako, "I'll discuss it with my associates and we will meet you here at 1700 on Monday." "Great," said Stakka, as they left, "See you on Monday."

Back in their Three Palms cabin Renka said, "This is going well and I sense Boss Chako will influence his associates to a positive outcome." "I agree," said Stakka, "Do you feel like this room is smaller than the one we had before?" "It is," said Renka, "And that gives me an idea. Let's make a little summary and stick it under Dingo and Tengo's door tonight. What we can do is put on our dress worker uniforms and just before midnight when there is a shift change, we go out and walk around in a circle and go past their door and then go for a midnight snack and come back here." "Amazing," said Stakka, "I like it. Were you a secret agent in a past life?" "Yes," she said, "And I was a Kundalini yoga instructor as well. Come closer and I'll show you."

Babylon, WK-6, Sunday, 1015

As they were walking around the C-deck balcony, the third one above the main deck and open in the middle with a good view above and below, Stakka said, "This reminds me of Stack City where I grew up outside Seattle. Kids at school used to call us stackers. That's where my nickname came from. They were remodeled shipping containers stacked 3 high and housing 10,000 almost homeless people."

As they walked around they noticed a pulsing red sign ahead in the distance. it was a little hole in the wall smoke shop so they went in and bought three 5-packs of Red Bangers.

Dingo and Tengo arrived 0945 for their second 4 week tour. They went to their cabin and read the optimistic note from Stakka and Renka.

At 1945 they headed out to Rusty Rooster with the tour jackets in a little flight bag, to meet with Karl and Robin.


Babylon, WK-6, Sunday, 2010

Inside the Rusty Rooster they headed for the back corner. As they got closer they saw two familiar faces which turned out to be Karl and Robin instead of Zak and Sophie. Taking a seat Dingo said, "I'm Dingo and this is my partner Tengo. You must be Karl and Robin, right?" "That's correct," said Karl, "How is the plan going?"

After the waiter took their drink order Dingo said, "Its going very well. In fact I have brought the tour guide jackets with us tonight. In the next 2 days you could pass them out to the other members. Then Tuesday night we'll meet here again for more details.

Babylon, WK-6, Monday, 1700

As the meeting got underway, Boss Chako made the introductions. "This is Stakka and Renka from Delta Ventures, on my left is El Lobo, my partner, and on my right is Django, my accountant. Renka, could you expand a little bit on your proposal?"

"Certainly," she replied, "We came up with this business idea while discussing genetic tweaking with some clones we met recently. They figured out they were clones because they have extra D-R / d4 allele repeats, causing more curiosity. Their intelligence is also quite a bit above normal. We are offering shares in this venture to the existing floating islands because they already understand the benefits of isolation allowing sharp focus on a business endeavor. A 16% equity share is 640 Mn creds. That could be payable over the next five months before launch, and we require 7 million of the price be 10 of your clones who are above-normal. They are only 1% of the total and will help us locate the lab where they were created; then we will make them an offer also. We do not object to Babylon owning clones, as they are taken care of better than corporate wage slaves were 50 years ago. What brought your clones to our attention was a snuff film on the internet from 5 years ago. There can be no more snuff films from Babylon."

"So you are secret agents as well as business agents," said El Lobo, smiling." "Not at all," said Stakka, "We just take our due diligence seriously."

"I was not aware of any snuff films from Babylon said Chako, frowning, "I will look into that." "It is possible they came from Shangri-La," said Renka, "They have a contingent of clones also. We came here first because it was closer."

"I think this would be a good investment said Chako, "What do you think Lobo?" "I'm in favor of it also," said Lobo, "Where do we sign?" "Here is a contract," said Stakka, "Your lawyers may want to review it first." "Of course," said Lobo, "We will meet here Wednesday at 1500 for the signing."

"Now that we are partners," said Stakka, "I wonder if you could satisfy my curiosity about the business considerations for using clones?"


"No problem," said Chako, "I'll let our accountant answer that."

"Say for clones," said Django, "15 to 55 is 40 years service, one million creds divided by 40 is 25,000 creds per year, a cheap salary. They have an excellent immune system and stay healthy and they don't overeat. They learn fast and the turnover is very low so we don't have to train new hires. As a product they are consistently good. Plus the company delivers to our doorstep.

"For off the street civilian hires, we have to maintain a recruiting organization and human resources and training. Then they will often leave after one to three years service. And they may be unknowing carriers of some serious disease or disruptive ideas.

"If we used slaves, which are available today for 5 to 20,000 creds, there are of course training cost, language and cultural obstacles and health maintenance cost and they often resent their condition. There are also travel costs and risks associated with going to a North African slave market. We would need overseers to maintain order and discipline. Plus I am not in favor of forcing someone to do something. It often results in sabotage."

"Thank you Django, that was very interesting," said Renka, "We'll see you Wednesday then."

Back in their cabin they put on their dress employee uniforms and prepared a note for Dingo and Tengo. It read as follows, "Everything going okay. Go ahead and pass out tour jackets before Wednesday night. We'll sign contract Wednesday 1500. Suggest we book seaplane to Monterey and leave Thursday morning 0730."

After they delivered the note and back in their cabin, Renka said, "We need to have some cover story for the crew on Joy Luck 8. Like 'These are refugees from a village in Canada destroyed by a resource War', or 'Refugees from the Chicago collapse'."

"That reminds me of another problem," said Stakka, "When we get on Joy Luck 8 we should try and contact Arkon One and see if they can make a secure area with 7 medium sized cabins and a conference room holding 15 to 20 people, maybe two cabins with a wall cut out. The trip may take 10 to 15 days so they might put something together. I wonder if we should consider light plastic surgery or theater makeup. The rain hoodies on the tour jackets will help conceal their face. When we see them all together we can decide if they look too much alike or just close relatives. We don't want people speculating about the existence of clones."

Babylon, WK-6, Tuesday, 2010

Dingo and Tango met Karl and Robin in the Rusty Rooster and gave them additional details for the exit plan. They would meet in the Rusty Rooster Thursday morning at 0600 for breakfast and proceed to seaplane at 0700.

Babylon, WK-6, Wednesday, 1500

"We have no changes to the contract," said Boss Chako, "So when we have all signed it my receptionist will witness and notarize it." After they had finished signing and notarizing, Chako asked, "What about progress reports?" "We'll fly out every three to five weeks,"  said Stakka, "We have business interests in Monterey also."

Babylon, WK-6, Thursday, 0730

Karl and Robin, dressed in their tour guide jackets, stood outside the Rusty Rooster at 0600 and directed their friends to a table in the back corner. The table was already set with egg sandwiches and coffee. By 0700 everyone had finished and they headed out to board their seaplane.

Stakka and Renka boarded last and they took off at 0730. As the Monterey Peninsula came into view about 0930, Stakka said to the pilot, "We have a little detour in mind. For an extra 1000 creds we'd like you to drop down to just above sealevel, make a right turn, and go at higher speed parallel to the coast, less than 20 km. We're looking to offload most of the passengers to a large Clipper cargo ship. Then you will go back to the original course at high speed and make the usual landing with Dingo and Tengo still aboard." "This is a welcome change from routine," said the pilot, "And I will enjoy the extra creds."

The Joy Luck 8 came into view at 0945 and they made a smooth landing just off the starboard bow. A large speed boat was quickly launched and came to pick them up. Dingo and Tengo said goodbye and wished them luck while giving them their tour jackets.


Joy Luck 8, WK-6, Thursday, 1015

Alexis met them at the forward loading bay, saying, "Its good to see you again. You remember Tanya?" "Yes, of course," said Renka, "These are our friends who recently lived in a small village in Canada. There was a resource conflict that drove them down to Monterey where we intervened to help them. This is Karl and his friend Robin, and over here is Zak and his friend Sophie. They are leaders of this group." "We are happy to meet you," said Tanya, "You will be safe with us." "Are there cabins separate from the crew?" asked Stakka, "We don't want to disturb them." "No problem," said Alexis, "Come I will show you." "Captain Kuznet will meet Stakka, Renka, and Karl and Robin after lunch for a debriefing," said Tanya.

Joy Luck 8, WK-6, Thursday, 1430

In the conference room Alexis said, "Karl, Robin, this is Captain Kuznet. Captain, you remember Stakka and Renka?" "Yes, of course," said the Captain, "Please be at ease, this will be informal. Stakka, could you summarize your adventures for me?"

"Sure thing, Captain," said Stakka, "But first an opinion from Alexis and Tanya. Do these villagers look like identical twins, or close relatives?" " I would say close relatives," said Tanya. "I agree fully," said Alexis. "Thank you," said Stakka, "Now for the summary."

"The first week on Babylon we and the other team both detected clones. The things that stood out were: 1) in the bar they were very calm and drank very slowly. The other thing we detected was: 2) there were micro hesitations when we questioned them about childhood or early youth. I would say someone who has not spent time in several different noisy bar situations might not detect a difference so quick.

"To confirm our suspicions we had another meeting with them, which was very surprising. Because no one had continued a conversation past 20 minutes in the bar for a whole year, they concluded that we had detected them because we were looking for them. So they confessed they were clones and asked for our help to make a safe place and conduct a business. And here we are. 

"The meeting with Boss Chako and El Lobo to make a business presentation went very well. He appreciated the notice of an impending hit from Yakuza.

"To avoid speculation about clones while we're on Arkon One, we would like to contact them and see if they can make a secure area accessed by key cards with 7 medium sized cabins and a conference room holding 15 to 20 people, maybe two cabins with a wall cut out. Even though we look at them and think 'Must be close relatives', another person looking at a group of four or six very similar individuals might think 'Holy Cow! are these clones'?"

"This is very interesting," said the Captain, "Thanks for the update. We'll send a message to Arkon One at sundown. My Navigator tells me the trip could take two weeks. That should be enough time to make the alterations. Also, Vostok Shipping Company would like to take a 16% equity stake in Delta Ventures."

Joy Luck 8, WK-8, Friday, 1515

After 14 days of smooth sailing, they spotted Arkon One on the horizon just after 1500. At 1700 they received a message from the Harbor Master on the Harbor Common hailing frequency, "We've cleared the protected anchorage between modules 3-4 so you have a private berth. Look for a flashing blue light on each side of the entrance." "Thanks for that," replied the XO from the bridge.

(expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

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Chapter 13

F R E E  on  the  S E A

ARKON CH-13  Monterey, First Shore Leave

Monterey, WK-5, Sunday, Airport, 0940

The seaplane touched down in the bay and taxied up a shore launching ramp to the terminal. They bought a snack and were walking towards the exit when Rico called out from behind, "Hey! wait up." "Sergei and Natasha are back at the office," said Lola, "We didn't want a welcoming crowd at a small airport." "Good idea," said Stakka, "We're happy to see you again." "How are the baby zingers?" asked Tengo. "Heh, they're growing like weeds," laughed Lola. "Is the link to Arkon One set up?" asked Dingo. "Yes," replied Rico, "And they've tested it twice."

Monterey, Sunday, SafeHouse, 1030

Natasha and Sergei greeted them on the porch, saying, "Come inside and warm up. We have hot chocolate and snacks."

As they were sitting around the table Rico explained, "We will send the message to Arkon One just after sundown, about 1900. So this afternoon if you guys could put together a written message, we'll have our reader convert it to text and sent. We can expect a reply just after, or tomorrow same time. We use the ionosphere reflection at sundown to send and receive with Arkon One."

Stakka looked around the table at his team, who all nodded affirmative and said, "Yeah, we can do that."

At 1600, their reader, who spoke clearly and distinctly, started reading into the speech to text app. "There are 1000 clones but only 10 who are curious about their origin. The earliest memory is an orphanage in Kazakhstan. They come in three basic heights: 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 meters.

"They have proposed a smaller floating island named Arkon Delta as a genetic research station and medical tourist site. They could offer genetic tune-ups to boost strength, or boost reflexes, or something, and not be in competition with Arkon One. Their focus would be on younger people, say 20 years old or more, after they have quit growing. 

"We have come up with two plans: Plan A is, we go back to Babylon dressed as tourists and make an appointment for a business proposal to Boss Chako, majority owner of Babylon, and have 10 clones be part of his down payment for a 16% interest In Arkon Delta. We form a holding company, Delta Ventures, to put together a Consortium loan to build Arkon Delta. 26% held by Arkon One, 25% held by Arkon Star, 16% by Babylon, 16% by Shangri-La, 17% by Beijing University. If Babylon declines to participate, Plan B is to find other parties interested, and smuggle the 10 clones out as tourists via chartered seaplane to Joy Luck 8.

"Thank you for the resupply of red and blue zingers. We will send you samples of Green Rockets which we would like you to develop seeds for.

"Sincerely, Stakka, Renka, Dingo and Tengo."

After proofreading the text they copied it to a thumb drive and went to the small room where the HF transceiver was located. Natasha copied the file and added some header text. She explained, "How this works is Arkon One sends us a little burst signal at 31 mhz every 15 minutes starting at 1900. After we hear a loud one twice, when the ionization is high, we hit send to transmit at 30 mhz and wait for them to send back an acknowledgement of receipt. Then they might send us an additional message of their own and wait for us to send acknowledge receipt." "What we're doing," said Sergei, "Is using the ionosphere to bounce a signal from here to the ionosphere and back down to Arkon One. There is usually a window of one or two hours immediately after sunset where this works well."

Ten minutes later they got the message acknowledged signal plus an incoming which read as follows, "Good work. Plan A and B sound okay. Looking forward to green rocket sample. Here is info our agent on Shangri-La picked up. Suggest you give to Boss Chako for free as goodwill token. Shangri-La is run by Yakuza and there is talk of a contract hit on Boss Chako and El Lobo in 3 months to take over Babylon and reduce competition. Best regards, Arkon One, over."

Natasha sent the message acknowledged signal and they all went out back for a barbecue.

After the main course Stakka asked Natasha, "Can we send a message to Joy Luck 8 tomorrow?" "No problem," she replied, "They're just leaving San Fran and coming this way." "Ask if they can send a small boat to a pier or sheltered cove at night," said Stakka, "And pick up this sample of Green Rocket and buccal clone swabs and deliver to Arkon One." "We have a pre-arranged cove just south of the peninsula," said Natasha.

"Rico, as part of Plan B," said Renka, "We will need 10 light blue cheap windbreaker style jackets and 10 light green for the Alpha and Beta Tour Companies. Is there a cheap tailor shop here that could deliver by Thursday night?" "There are two," said Rico, "So we will split the order. Who should we use as a model?" "If Natasha doesn't mind, she looks tall enough," said Renka. "I'm happy to help," said Natasha.

"Dingo and I have a business project we would like to discuss," said Tengo, "We got the idea when we bought the mint Green Rockets. The red Zingers and Rockets are 7.9 mm diameter by 85 mm long and 5 to a pack. We propose a brand called Red Dragon for Chinese markets, that are 6.5 mm diameter and 90 mm long packed seven to box, and sold for the same price retail. Besides two extra cigarettes they get a total of 10% more volume to smoke. Our filter inserts are only 10 mm long and the standard is 15 mm. Also we would use papers that are colored, like red for the Red Rockets and green for the Green Rockets. Rizla has been making rolling papers since 1660 and have a nice selection of colors. This could develop a source of income quickly before Arkon Delta is launched. Then we could transfer the process to Arkon Delta and grow the red, blue, and green cannabis on the AgroSembly module and process into cigarettes and packages down below." "Wow!" said Sergei, I like it." "I bet you've already checked used equipment in China," said Stakka, "And Vostok shipping charges." "Yes," said Dingo, "And delivered to Monterey, cost 750,000 creds. Our hazard pay won't be enough, so we need partners." Stakka and Renka whispered together, then Renka said, "We pledge 250,000 creds from our Arkon One hazard pay account." "We pledge 300,000 creds," said Natasha. " And we pledge 100,000 creds," said Rico. "Hot Damn!" said Dingo, "We're in business. I'll go into town tomorrow, register Dragon Products, and open a business account."

Monterey, Monday, SafeHouse

Rico and Lola go in to town early to order the tour jackets and also register their business and open an account at a local bank with International connections.

The rest of the team spent the morning trimming their grow, stirring up the soil, and adding a top-dressing of Rose food.

Then about one, Rico and Lola showed up with some takeout for lunch.

"Natasha, I was wondering," said Renka, "Does Joy Luck 8 ever pick up any large shipments of marijuana from Ukiah?" "Yes," she replied, "There are three Brokers that run a kind of co-op for the Growers. One handles the North Coast, one covers the interior, and the other covers with South Coast. They buy the plants from the Growers after they've hung upside down in a black plastic bag for 2 weeks in the sun as a curing process. They hire locals and migrants as needed to trim the leaves, collect the trichomes, and run the leaves through a shredder for blending with ribbon cut very mild tobacco. We as a company pick up 500 to 1500 kilos with every ship going by. The peak, of course, is in September through November, but there is always something due to indoor grows. The trichomes are processed into cannabutter and the stalks are run through a decorticator and processed into dry hemp fiber." "That's really good information," said Stakka, "Do they separate the plants into sativa and indica?" "Yes," she replied, "And some even have a recognized flavor brand like blueberry and peach." "Have you heard of one called mint?" asked Tengo. "There are small irregular bundles of mint," said Natasha, "Maybe only one or two growers for that strain." "We could order a few hundred kilos of mint," said Dingo, "To start our Green Dragons while Arkon One works on the genetics." "We could also lease a big empty field nearby," said Rico, "And contract with locals to grow mild golden leaf tobacco." "Always a good idea to have a secure local supply chain," said Lola.

After lunch Stakka said, "Let's discuss our preliminary plan for returning to Babylon." "I think you and Renka should go back on Friday," said Tengo, "And Dingo and I will return on Sunday. That way we will still appear as workers." "That's good," said Renka, "I believe they have facial recognition and we should change our appearance a little bit when we go back as tourists."

Monterey, Tuesday, SafeHouse

After breakfast Stakka said, "For Plan B we need 7 green baseball caps and 7 blue ones. Also we need 14 short sleeve baggy Hawaiian flowered shirts for tourists." "Sounds like we need to visit a Market Mall," said Renka, "Is there one in Monterey?" "Yes," said Lola, it's not far from here." "Do they have a Zinger shop?" asked Dingo. "Yeah, they do," said Rico, they're called Red Rockers and Blu Rockers. They're a little bit harsh but cheaper than Rockets."

At the Market Mall they got their caps and shirts and a collection of red and blue Rockers. For lunch they stopped at the food court for a nice selection of seafood.

Back at the safe house, Stakka said, "Here's the next part of Plan A. Renka and I will go back dressed as tourists Friday morning and check in to a cheap room. Then we will arrange a short business presentation for Boss Chako when he arrives Saturday." "You could wear western-style hats and Hollywood style sunglasses to conceal your faces a little bit," said Dingo. "Also you might try to enter with a mob of other tourist so you don't stand out," said Tengo.

"We don't expect an answer before Monday at the earliest," said Stakka, "He will want to consult with his staff and possibly El Lobo." "You might consider sending a little note to your boss saying you had a personal problem and would contact them Wednesday," said Natasha. "Since we expect to be followed after the presentation," said Renka, "We will act extra touristy." "Oh," said Stakka, "I just remembered, we have an appointment at 20 hundred with Karl and Robin at the Rusty Rooster. So Dingo and Tengo will have to attend and bring them up to date, and arrange to distribute the disguises to the other members." "How will we recognize them?" asked Dingo. "Even if they can tweak the facial genes," said Stakka, "There will be a family resemblance to Zak and Sophie."

Monterey, Wednesday, SafeHouse

"We need to develop our Plan B a little more," said Stakka, "If Boss Chako refuses the offer, or locks us up, Dingo and Tengo will have to get our friends off of Babylon and on to Joy Luck 8." "How how about we do this, "said Renka, "If we don't slide a note under your door before Monday night, start contacting our friends and passing out the tourist disguises." "So we pass out all the disguises Tuesday and that night contract a sea plane for all of us to leave Wednesday morning early," said Dingo. "Then we should arrange for Captain Kuznet to cruise slowly after he passes the Monterey Peninsula," said Tengo, "So we can catch him Wednesday." "I'll send him that message when we meet tonight and give him the green mint," said Sergei. "One other thing to consider," said Lola, "Is if you leave too early Wednesday morning you might be the only tourists wandering around. You might want to leave at 0830 instead of 0630. Maybe meet in a food court and have breakfast first."

Monterey, Thursday, SafeHouse

After lunch Rico and Lola went into town to see the tailors and pick up tour jackets.

Monterey, Friday, Airport, 0530

As Stakka and Renka headed for the gate to the Sea Plane, Rico wished them good luck and safe journey.

(expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

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Chapter 12

F R E E   on   the   S E A

ARKON CH-12  Babylon, First Weeks

Babylon, WK-1, Wednesday, 2230

On the way back to their cabin Robin said, "Oh Karl, I'm so happy." "Me too," he replied, "It's been nearly a year with no contact."

Once back in the cabin Robin tuned in some music and turned it up a little bit loud to cover their conversation. Karl asked, "Do you think they suspect something?" "It doesn't really matter," said Robin, "They are the first ones who have stayed to continue a conversation. Of course we will have to be careful." "They seem more intelligent," said Karl, "And have more worldly experience." "It's been such a long time," said Robin, "Remind me again of our plan, heh."

"First, there are 10 of us on Babylon," he said, "Who figured out through reading in the library, curiosity, and old movies, that we were created by design and not natural born."

"Second," he continued, "We don't have a specific plan right now, other than to find out why we can't sustain a long conversation with normals, heh."

Continuing, he said, "I have no desire to rule the world, have zillions of creds, or have hundreds of sex partners. Mostly, I want to be free to travel and satisfy my curiosity, with you by my side."

Babylon, WK-1, Thursday, 2330

Karl and Robin were preparing for bed when Robin got an excited call from Sophie, who said, "We need to come over for a nightcap, is that okay?" "Sure," said Robin I'll put some hot water on for coffee."

Ten minutes later Zak knocked on the door and he and Sophie came in, visibly agitated. "Calm down," said Karl, "I'll put on some calming rythm from our little machine here." "We made contact with two recent arrivals from Monterey," said Sophie. Robin and Karl looked at each other, and Robin said, " So did we. Last night in a small employee bar." "That means some organization is aware of our existence," said Karl.

"We agreed to meet them again next Thursday night," said Zak. "And we agreed to meet our contacts next Wednesday night," said Karl. He then repeated the thoughts he and Robin had discussed last night.

"There are six others on the Babylon who are aware," said Karl, "So tomorrow Zak and I will inform them and ask them to think about building our own Island or other solution for a couple days, and this Sunday afternoon we will come by for their ideas." "Then we four will meet in a noisy crowded restaurant at 2000 and discuss a plan."

Babylon, WK-2, Sunday, 2030

After the waitress seated them in a corner booth at the Rusty Rooster, Zak said, "I was surprised they all considered a small floating island as a good solution. One even suggested we get El Lobo and Boss Chako, who own Babylon, to invest as a good business venture." "Would that really be a good idea?" asked Robin. "Well, we wouldn't have to sneak around and try to keep secrets," said Karl. "Lets share our secrets with the Monterey Mob this Wednesday and Thursday," said Sophie, "And have a meeting here on Friday night."

Babylon, WK-2, Wednesday, 2010

Stakka and Renka arrived a little early at the Two-Toed-Turtle and secured a quieter corner booth. Their drinks arrived just as Karl and Robin showed up. They ordered rum and coke, with a cherry on top. "We're celebrating being together one year," said Robin. "How romantic," said Renka, "We've been together nearly 11 years." "For us this is very unusual," said Robin, "We've never been together with anyone longer than 2 weeks in our whole lives." "And after studying old books and movies in the library we think we figured out why," said Karl, "We are not normal; we are different than you guys." "We would like you and your organization to help us confirm it," said Robin, "We think we're clones." "Since Robin and I met we've always felt comfortable and attracted to each other," said Karl, "But we can tell you feel a little bit uncomfortable around us." Stakka glanced at Renka and said, "Well, this is a surprise. I bet you're wondering how we detected you." "Yes," they answered in unison. "Every time we asked about your childhood or early youth, there was a micro hesitation before your reply," said Renka. "Plus, our organization told us to be looking for clones," said Stakka.

"I'm not sure how we can help you," said Stakka, "We could take samples of your fingernail clippings and hair clippings and a buccal swab back to Monterey when we go on shore leave and have the DNA analyzed." "Our organization was set up to do climate research and promote better crop yields," said Renka, "We took on the task of looking for illegal clones at the request of a sister organization. You have no blame in this and now you have a place in society and a job, which is more than many normals." "We are concerned that whoever created you may have some sneaky plan to take over the world with an army of super clone soldiers," said Stakka, "Or something else of an evil nature."

"This is what I told Robin last night said Karl, "I have no desire to rule the world, have zillions of creds, or have hundreds of sex partners. Mostly, I want to be free to travel and satisfy my curiosity, with you by my side." "Our friends Zak and Sophie, whom your friends met, talked over possibilities with us. One idea we came up with was to get investors to help build a smaller floating island, maybe Arkon Delta, halfway between Babylon and Arkon One." "My earliest memories," said Robin, "Are waking up in an orphanage dormitory with other girls my age and going to school in a small village in Kazakhstan. After one year of general education a recruiter supplied us with passports and escorted us by bus and plane to Babylon. We've been here 5 years now. I'm not sure how we could help you find who created us." "Another puzzle piece," said Karl, "Is in casual conversations with other clone workers we have not detected any curiosity or dissatisfaction with their status quo. There are only 10 of us out of 1,000 who sense we are different." 

"When we leave here why don't you update your friends and we will update ours," said Stakka, "And let them have their meeting tomorrow night and discuss what businesses could be set up on Arkon Delta to make it a financial success." "Oh, and for your safety," said Renka, "Let us open the conversation with Boss Chako about a business opportunity after we come back from shore leave."

"That's a good plan," said Karl, "Then we can meet at 2000 Sunday night at the Rusty Rooster for dinner and discuss the next steps."

Back in their cabin Stakka said, "Turn on the hot pot and break out a Red Zinger." Renka took out her Como pod, called Tengo, and said, "Can you guys come over for a nightcap?, we have a surprise."

Ten minutes later Dingo was knocking on the door. Tengo started making their coffee and said, "Could you give me a toke of that Zinger?" "So," said Dingo, "What's the surprise?" "They guessed with our long conversation and yours, that they were found out," said Stakka, "And tonight they decided to share a lot of information with us."

After relating the details of their conversation, Renka said, "So go ahead and have your meeting tomorrow night and discuss what businesses could be set up on Arkon Delta to make it a financial success."

"This is getting interesting," said Dingo, "We'll give you a call tomorrow night after the meeting."

Babylon, WK-2, Thursday, 2020

The O!-zone bar was noisy and crowded but Dingo and Tengo found a booth near the back. They ordered drinks and waited for Zak and Sophie to show up.

Ten minutes later Sophie and Zak showed up and a waiter came for their order. "Here's some thoughts and observations I pulled together that may help your team," said Sophie. "When I'm on Goldfish Bowl duty, where we strut around in bikinis behind a glass partition, I have observed that we are mostly three basic heights: 1.4 meters, 1.6, and 1.8. I probably noticed this because I'm 1.8 and there aren't many other females this tall. Also, the 1.4 meter workers tend to keep to themselves. In talking with a few of them they seem to have been mentally arrested at a ten-year-old level as well as the physical shortness. Finally, I would say 10% are 1.4 meters, 85% are 1.6, and 5% are 1.8 meters." "I'm sure that will be helpful said Dingo, as he looked up from taking notes." "Here's a business idea I thought of," said Tengo, "Create chickens and other livestock that use chloroplast to convert sunlight to energy." "I have a plant idea," said Zak, "Make avocados and other high-protein plants that grow and mature faster and tolerate cold climate."

"We've heard Arkon One is focused on anti aging and health rejuvenation for older people," said Dingo, "We could offer genetic tune-ups to boost strength, or boost reflexes, or something, and not be in competition. Our focus would be on younger people, say 20 years old or more, after they have quit growing." "Good idea," said Sophie, "Like, Take control of your OCD and ADD: This gives you Divergent and Convergent thinking for maximum creativity." "Wow," said Tengo, "You should be in marketing or advertising." "Sign me up," said Zak. "How about enhanced vision for night work," said Dingo, "Or enhanced hearing or smell for hunting."

Babylon, WK-3, Sunday, 2015

In a corner booth at Rusty Rooster the Clones and Normies planned their next steps ...

"Robin, Sophie mentioned the 1.4 meter females seemed to stop maturing about age 10," said Renka, "Was that your impression also?" "Yes," replied Robin, "Why do you ask?" "Well, said Stakka, "We heard about a snuff film online three or four years ago with a short female redhead, and wondered if you recall one going missing at that time?" "Oh my god," exclaimed Robin, "One didn't show up for work about four years ago, and we were told a rogue wave swept her overboard. Her friends missed her terribly." "This is the sort of thing we'd like to stop," said Stakka.

"Please don't share this snuff information with the others," said Renka, "It would upset them unnecessarily and possibly call attention to us." "I understand," said Robin, "Just knowing someone may help us has them smiling more than usual." "I think an informal weekly meeting with the others will help them relax," said Stakka, "Maybe you and Karl and Zak could meet with a couple of the others each week and exchange information." "Everybody could keep thinking of business possibilities," said Renka, "It would keep them focused on something external and positive." "That's a good idea," said Karl, "I'll fix up a little schedule." "One thing I keep forgetting to ask," said Stakka, "Is how many normals are working in your trade groups?" "When I got here," said Karl, "The bodyguards had a high turn over but after 6 months they were all clones." "Sex workers are the same," said Robin, "After about one year there were only clones left and we have nowhere to go back to." "So that is another business reason for clones," said Stakka, "Let's meet again here next Sunday, if that's okay." "Good idea," said Robin, "We'll see you then. Bye."

When they got back in their cabin Renka said, "Let's call Tengo and Dingo and plan for the next two weeks." "That sounds good said Stakka, "I'll put on some water for coffee and find a Red Zinger."

Fifteen minutes later Dingo was knocking on their door. "Come on in," said Stakka, "We've got coffee and zinger for a planning meeting."

"Since we had good luck finding our clones so quick," said Stakka, "The next two weeks we'll have to spend role playing and not get caught." "That may be difficult," said Renka, "Now that we found the clones we'll be relaxed a little bit." "We can manage," said Tengo, "What did you find out from Karl and Robin?" "After hearing their update Dingo said, "That reminds me of what I read about slavery long ago in history." "It is," said Stakka, "Except for the snuff incident, these clones are being treated better." "But they have no legal rights," said Renka, "And we don't know about other venues where they've been sold." "How do we find the other venues?" asked Tengo. "And how do we find the manufacturing group?" asked Dingo. "And what about rights" said Stakka, "They are something that are controlled by the location you are in. For example, in Boss Chako's domain, his rights are the ones getting enforced. However, in El Lobo's domain, the rights maybe slightly different. Right here we have Babylon's rights. On Arkon One we have their rights; on Shanghai or some Continental Asian country we have their rights." "They may be broadly similar," said Tengo, "But the differences can be important to some groups." "So with no precedent for clones," said Renka, "Each domain may come up with a different policy." "As we see on the news, there are a number of places on the globe where Warlords are in charge and policies change suddenly," said Dingo, "Some allow slavery and some don't." "That will always be a problem," said Stakka, "But it highlights slavery is a modern problem, not just historical." "Actually indentured servitude between consenting adults has been legal since about 1850," said Renka, "Just think about corporate wage slaves, heh."

"It's getting late and we have lots to think about," said Tengo "We'll meet you here next week."

Babylon, WK-3, Wednesday, 2015

Stakka, Renka, Karl, and Robin meet at a corner booth in the Two-Toed-Turtle. "As part of our plan to keep free time from getting tense, we would like to have everyone walk around the low-cost tourist areas and observe how the tourist act," said Renka, "Do they walk hand-in-hand. Do they laugh and joke a lot. Do they stop and stare at objects." "This would be like studying tourists so we could act like one believably in a stage play," said Stakka, "And maybe even when we buy a ticket and get on a seaplane to Monterey, heh." "That sounds like a fun assignment," said Robin, "So for 2 hours on 3 different days, maybe in a different sector, everybody practice being a tourist." "Also, at least twice during the next two weeks, go by the sea plane incoming and exit terminal," said Renka, "And observe how they do things without being obvious or getting too close to the exit door, which could make the guard nervous and call attention. Look at what the tourist are carrying back home. Do they have a little suitcase or a backpack or what."

"Our Zinger supply is getting low," said Stakka, "Do you guys have a preferred ganja shop on Babylon?" "Yeah, we have two shops, replied Karl, "Ganja Goodies, which is mostly edibles, and Sativa Diva, which is mostly different brands of smokes. That's the one we go to." "Could we go by there after dinner?" asked Renka. "Sure," replied Robin, "It's on our way."

At the Sativa Diva Renka bought two packs of Red Rockets and one pack of Blu Rockets. "Come look," said Stakka, "Green Rockets. They are 50/50 Sativa- Indica with a nice mint flavor." "Go ahead and get six packs," said Renka, "We may not have another chance."

Babylon, WK-3, Thursday, 2015

Dingo, Tengo, Zak, and Sophie met again at the O!-zone. After ordering drinks Sophie said, "We are having a lot of fun playing tourist. Our biggest problem is walking a little bit slow and casual, not going in a hurry like to some specific place." "Something I never noticed before," said Zak, "Is there are a number of tour groups moving through Babylon. They are usually small, maybe 5 to 8 people plus one leader."

"The tour groups might be a good cover," said Tengo, "Did you notice anything else about them? Do they all have the same shirt color or a lightweight jacket with a logo on the back?" "Actually, we saw both kinds of group ID," said Sophie. "That's great," said Dingo, "We could have two small tour groups and charter a seaplane to Monterey sometime in the near future."

Babylon, WK-4, Sunday, 2015

In a corner booth at Rusty Rooster the Clones and Normies planned their next steps ...

"Next Sunday about 0600 we'll be boarding a seaplane for Monterey," said Stakka, "The tourist study groups are looking good, so if you want to slow them down or stop, it should be okay." "Okay," agreed Karl, "But they are having fun anyway, so we'll keep doing that once per week." "If something unusual comes up and we need to leave in a hurry, I have a plan," said Robin. "It's always good to plan ahead," said Renka, "What did you have in mind?" "First we get 5 blue tour group jackets and 5 green jackets made at a cheap tailor shop away from the tourist area," said Robin, "Then we book tickets or charter a seaplane to take us to Monterey." "That would work," said Stakka, "But don't even order the jackets until the emergency comes up so there's no warning." "Have you ever tried the Green Rockets?" asked Renka, "I brought one. There are 63 main terpenes and over 100 secondary ones. Depending on the ratios, they have different effects on the body. These Green ones seem to have a mild awakening alert effect but not too strong a buzz compared to the Reds." "Lets try it," said Karl. "I like it," said Robin, "It's very smooth."

"We shouldr be back a week from this Sunday," said Stakka, "Why don't we plan on having dinner here about 2000 that night?" "Okay," said Karl. "Have a good flight," said Robin.

Saturday midnight ended their first four week tour. Sunday 0615 they take an early seaplane flight to Monterey.

(expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

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