FREE    on     the      SEA

 ARKON     CH-02        Setting Up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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