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Chapter 23: From the Defending Pilot's Viewpoint

from John Fornier, the defensive pilot's viewpoint

John Fornier stands at his new condominium's lower story window looking out at the surface of the water that reaches to about a foot below his doorstep, a small artificial (as everything here in the space habitats is man-made) lake. Across the lake, a causeway, and another lake, about 300 feet away there are other condos like this one, as on a hillside, higher ones further away, rising up inside the wheel-curving land setting. John had purchased this new place with the bonus he received for his success in saving the KESTS from the attack. He was mainly amazed that he was still alive, had even survived unhurt through it all, the first such pilot who had lived through an attack, but sure, he would accept the bonus. He had always wanted one of these homes on the lake, a pensive place to look upon while relaxing, and it even has a small rowboat as part of the home, and lake trout for some fishing and good old fashioned eating.

He pondered about the urge of some people to do violence, and why do they do that. What made those earthsurface pirates tick? Things were being learned about that by watching the captured pilot of the attacking bombship, Donna Bullguarde, yet there was more to be considered. John had some insight from his own Grandson, who had been bragging about his Grandpa's heroics and was acting out the space battle with his classmates, and they all were getting much too fascinated by the violence aspect of it.

There was an old phrase, "boys will be boys", yet surely it was not something that had to be erased in each child if there were to be harmony among all peoples in the struggle to survive and for all to thrive? Life on the Space Orbital Habitat Ring was totally dependent on everybody pulling together, it was far too risky for rivalry and other forms of petty sabotage to be allowable; they were all in the same "boat". Would merely avoiding attaching such attentive glamor to heroics, such as people considered his fortunately survived efforts to do his job defending the KESTS, would that prevent some bullie's urges for violence spectaculars? John would much rather have a less dangerous job to do. Drawing the short straw would sooner or later happen to him again as a patrol pilot, and would he luck out a second time? Not likely.

Preventing the problem at its source seemed a worthy thought to ponder as he let his eyes rest upon the waters, rippling in the artificial moonlight on this night part of the cycle inside the six miles around habitat wheel. Water's rippling, almost magical flow always fascinated him; he wondered if it was because he was born in a hottub in Malibu, back in the days when the Human Potential Movement was at its peak, and when it was still thought that love, care, and total honesty even during birthing would make for better people as a result.

There were only four pairs of these small 80 ft by 700 ft lakes on each space habitat of 10,000 people each. The lakes were not just for meditative contemplation as he was now doing, nor just for extensions of the fish farms in the agricultural areas, decor and environmental purposes, but, as most things on space habitats, they served multiple purposes. The four pairs of lakes were each 90 degrees apart on the great habitat wheel, and were interconnected by pipes and pumps, and the water levels were automatically adjusted within opposite sets to compensate for shifting average loads within the space habitat, as people and materials moved about on their busy day. Without this weight compensation, there could be some wobble in the space colony, off-center rotation. Probably not enough for the rotating colony to scrape against the outer non-rotating passive radiation shielding shell, however, but rotational balance was in line with the myriad other homeostasis mechanisms in the living space habitat, a symbiosis of people, agriculture, and machines.

The homeostasis mechanisms were automatic reflexes to move toward restoration of balance in all things, as life and environmental processes proceeded through their energetic daily processes, ever busy, busy yet not mindful of all other processes ongoing. John relaxed into the visual comfort of the ripples on the lake, reflecting the lights from the many condominiums on each side of the lake, knowing that the water was also even now providing balance for all of them.

posted by Unknown @ 8:07 PM