Cowboys and Aliens

53. Hope

The next morning, Mark awoke before the others, as usual, went downstairs and met Edward, Elizabeth, Jonah and Rebecca for coffee and tea. On the way downstairs, Cricket was giving Mark some preliminary registration numbers.

Hans from Crater Lake still hadn't logged into the chat room, nor had the other two leaders, but at least Hans had 100% of his residents registered already, otherwise they couldn't have moved into the outreach centre.

Edward and Jonah were eager to get the vote done so they could proceed with the community upgrades they had discussed yesterday. Mark reminded them that there were three communities that still hadn't logged into the chat room to ask for advice and that they should visit those communities today and give them a lesson on how to use the computer system.

Before they had even finished their first cups, two lifts arrived at the outreach centre. It surprised Mark when they turned out to be from Crater Lake. It looked to be most of the community that had arrived.

Mark nodded at Hans and smiled, but before Hans could say anything, he held up his hand, "We can scout out a new location for your community, but we can't actually build anything until after the vote, because if the vote fails then you will need to resume relaying signals for attacks as we will leave and take all our technology with us."

Hans and all the people there were all in awe that Mark was already aware of what they had come down to request, as Hans stuttered, "H-h-how d-d-did..."

Mark smiled. "Hans, I'm the King of the Federation. The AI in the outreach centre contacted me last night when you started moving people into the building. I had her reconfigure the offices to be bedrooms for your people, and I changed the kitchen so you could access it from the inside. I even told people it would surprise me if you

didn't

request to move your village."

Hans bowed his head. "We saw the rooms change right before our eyes. That was you?"

Mark nodded, "Yes. Just so you know, I've already got a few locations in mind that you might like, and I've already got plans for your community atop the mountain, but we can do nothing until after the vote."

Hans asked, "Is there anyway we can move up the vote?"

Mark shook his head. "Not really! It's a miracle we're doing this in one week. Typically, we set the vote one year out from first contact."

Edward, Jonah, and everyone looked shocked as the rest of Mark's gang finally showed up for breakfast.

Mark stood up and suggested, "Everyone should go get some breakfast while it's still hot. After breakfast, Liyana and I will take the residents of Crater Lake for a tour."

Mark then thought, "

Cricket, could you scout out some suitable locations for building a scenic community? Maybe something that's a bit more inland and sheltered from some of the foul weather they've endured for so long.

"

They all went and dished up some breakfast and grabbed some morning beverages, then sat down to eat and talk. People from other communities were also arriving, and with Edward and Jonah sitting near one of the main entrances, many stopped to greet them.

"

Just so you know, the last two community leaders have now logged into the chat room and I've given them the same instructions as all the others. Both communities are already showing an increase in registered citizens.

"

"

Perfect! Then we don't really need to go visit anyone. Cricket, while you're looking for suitable locations for the new community, maybe look for excellent locations for some golf resorts.

"

As they finished breakfast, the residents waited around until Mark got up from the table.

Hans informed him, "Several residents are going to visit other communities, so there would just be 6 of them that were going scouting."

Mark then asked, "Do you think your community will survive a relocation? Or would your residents rather just go to other communities where they may have family or know other people?"

Hans looked sad. "You are truly insightful. A relocation could very well tear our community apart, but I believe most of us would rather stick together. It is true, we could just move to another community like I suspect some may do, but if we can find a nice place with wonderful scenery, lots of trees and maybe a lake or river, they might reconsider."

Mark smiled and said, "I hope so too! I hate to see small communities break up. Based on what you just asked for, I think I know the perfect place for your community. There were several, but many of them were along the shoreline or on the small islands that surround Colonia. But I'm thinking you might enjoy something more inland and protected from the weather."

Cricket said, "Actually, if Maren wants to stay here, I can fly you all in a lift."

Mark asked, "Maren, would you rather stay here in town or fly us around the island?"

Maren said, "I have a choice?"

Mark rolled his eyes at her. "You always have a choice. I know how to fly a shuttle, as does Liyana."

Maren smiled. "In that case, I'm going to stay here and relax."

Cricket clarified, "

Actually, we don't even need to use a shuttle. I can guide the lift.

"

With that decided, Mark led the sight-seeing group to the rooftop transit zone, and they boarded a lift that was waiting.

Without touching a button, the lift rose into the air and began heading east toward Freya. Cricket then popped up her hologram and began acting as a tour guide, explaining each location as she slowed the lift down and lowered down to float just over a metre above the ground. The plan was to show them all the locations and then save the best location for last.

There was one community just north of Freya on the northeastern shore. It had lots of trees and decent shore access, backdropped by some smaller mountains, but, as expected, they didn't seem too interested in being right along the shore.

Cricket then guided them down to a fair sized island just outside of the big bay at Hubbard. It was a beautiful-looking island, but again, they didn't seem too interested. Cricket then skipped the rest of the shoreline locations and moved inland. The spot they figured would be prefect was in the middle of the southwestern forest, there was a spot almost straight south of Federation City deep in a gorge where several mountain streams merged into a beautiful long, narrow lake, before flowing out toward the southeastern shore near Hubbard.

It was likely an area few had ever seen, since deep gorges and dense forests riddled the area.

As soon as they saw it, they all exclaimed that this spot was perfect.

Cricket landed the lift, and they all got out to walk around. Rainforest mostly surrounded the area, so the weather was hot and muggy, but everything was a lush green. The water was crystal clear, and they even saw some fish jumping out of the water.

Hans then asked, "You will help us build our shelters?"

"Of course, in fact, you will all get basic Federation housing, so you'll all have your own homes. We will also build an outreach centre here so people can travel, but you'll need to decide on a new community name before we can start building, though."

Mark dropped a construx in the middle of the clearing, telling them it was for future use after the vote. They then boarded the lift back to Federation City with smiles on their faces.

There were only 5 days until the vote, but they seemed to drag on as everyone waited for voting day. They heavily used the lift system as everyone was visiting other communities, something that most people had never done. There really wasn't much to do for entertainment in the rudimentary community.

Edward, Mark and the gang had planned out golf courses all around the island, but because of the buildings they had being built so close together and the rough terrain, some courses were quite a distance from the edge of the community.

Cricket kept updating Mark about the number of unregistered people, but all the community leaders made a big push to the people about getting registered, and no one seemed to want to lose any of the stability and freedom the Federation afforded them.

During this waiting period, the new Space Station had completed as had the new royal ship, which they realized they hadn't named yet. Mark had decided on the classification of Nereid, as they often accompanied Poseidon. Then, for a name, they could use one of the 50 sea nymph names; Dynamene came to mind as she was one nereid associated with power and might, along with her sister Pherusa, so either of those two names worked for Mark. He also liked the name Galatea, which was apparently the most beloved of the nereides. He would pass them by his crew and see if they had a preference.

The day before the vote was to take place, Cricket informed Mark that all adults over the age of 18 had registered; there were only about two-thousand people on the island that hadn't registered, almost all of them being babies and toddlers.

All the town criers and kiosk displays on the outreach centres reminding people that voting started tomorrow, with a countdown displayed on the screen. You could vote using the library kiosks at any outreach centre, starting at sunrise and voting would close 8 hours after. The results of the voting would not appear until voting closed, but the results were immediate. There was no counting of ballots or anything like that. You couldn't vote more than once since your ID was programmed into you--there was simply no way to abuse the system.

The day of the vote came and by the time Mark had got out of bed, every kiosk had a lineup of people waiting to use it. Fortunately, the number of kiosks available made the lines move fairly quickly.

Before lunch that day, 75% of the population had already voted and by the time the polls closed, 99% had voted. There were less than 100 votes opposing joining the Federation, so it was, as Edward had predicted... almost unanimous.

Since it was almost a foregone conclusion by lunchtime, Cricket had already started building the new outreach centre for the Crater Lake people, and despite the vote not being official yet, Mark called Kaleb to update him with the results so far. Edward, Jonah, and most of the normal gang were nearby when he made the call.

"Kaleb, my friend, it looks like we're adding another associate member to the Federation. You can probably send the onboarding crew."

It surprised Kaleb. "You always seem to know everything ahead of time, like how you knew the vote would be nearly unanimous. I'm amazed you also didn't already know I sent the onboarding crew out there this morning since the Space Station is already up and running."

Mark laughed. "My mind must be slipping in my old age. Maybe I should go visit medical later?"

"With as much stuff that goes on in your head, I'm amazed you're still sane. That would be information overload for a normal person."

Mark faked a shocked look and acted like someone had slapped him across the face. He even knocked his cowboy hat off. "Who says I'm still sane? I want names and I want addresses!"

Kaleb and everyone around burst into laughter at the fake tantrum Mark threw. Kaleb just shook his head as he waved and disconnected the call.

Mark looked at the people around him and ended up pointing his finger at Ra'ki. "It's you, isn't it? You still think I'm sane!"

Ra'ki was trying to control her laughter. "Absolutely not. We all know you're crazy! It must be someone that doesn't know you that well yet!"

Mark looked around as everyone was trying to control their laughter, eventually not pointing anyone else out, but waving his finger at everyone around, "Believe you me, I will eventually uncover the source of this heinous misinformation."

As expected, Hans and his people had actually been staying in Federation City until the vote and were witness to Mark's fake tirade and with a smile on his face, "I admit, I thought you were sane, although I'm reconsidering my assessment."

Mark laughed. "Good! Don't let it happen again." He then picked his cowboy hat, put it back on, completely changing his demeanour as he sat up and calmly asked, "So how are things going for you and your people?"

"They're going well. Only two of our residents have said that they will not move with the community. Once the vote passes, we would like to call our new community Hope."

Mark then asked, "So how many houses will you need to have for all your residents?"

Hans had an immediate answer. "We will need 21 shelters in total. He then handed Mark a piece of paper with a rough drawing of how they wanted the community to be laid out. They had the outreach centre just off to the northwestern end of the lake, where Mark had left the construx, then their community was around an inlet created by a small tributary. The inlet was only about 4 metres wide where it met up with the main lake and the widest point was about 10 metres and it extended about 50 metres from the lake.

Mark looked it over and then closed his eyes, "

Cricket, you can start the construction of the community of Hope, but arrange the residences along the inlet and give them each little docks and maybe some pedal boats. Build a bridge over the mouth of the lake and a small bridge over the inlet stream. Build a pathway around the inlet and maybe also give them a path with benches around the lake, or at least along the northern and western shores. I'm thinking we should give them a golf course business. Where would you recommend?

"

Cricket said, "

Based on where they want their community, I would say the golf course should be on the southern shore, starting just past the waterfall on the main tributary at the end of the lake. There's only about 100 metres of trees to build a path through, and the waterfall would be a nice backdrop behind the clubhouse. That section on the southern shore could make for a challenging course, with lots of elevation changes and natural water hazards, plus it's on the side that gets more sun.

"

Golf courses were quick and easy, as it was just manipulating soil, moving trees, and making grass. They could add the irrigation system any time, but this course was in a lush valley bordering a rainforest, so it likely wouldn't even need irrigation.

Mark opened his eyes and announced, "Your community is now under construction, and I'm also building you a golf course on the southern side of the valley."

Hans asked, "What's a golf course?"

Mark said, "It's a popular activity across the Federation, so it gives your community its first business. Golf is a simple game where you hit a ball down a grassy field with different clubs and try to knock it into a hole at the end. The challenge is to do it in as few shots as possible. Edward and Jonah here have been itching to play a game of golf, so why don't we go visit your new community and check out the golf course?"

They were all shocked, as Hans said, "The vote results are unknown, but you've already built our community?"

Mark clarified, "The results aren't official, but as the King, I am privy to the results before we make them public. I actually started building the outreach centre this morning. I just didn't have a name for the community until you told me. Your houses are being built right now, as is the golf course.

The golf course won't take long to build, as it's just moving land and trees around, so it should be ready to go by the time we get there. Your houses are fairly basic, but they might not be ready until later."

Mark then asked the group, "Who wants to go for a round of golf at Hope?"

All of Mark's group put up their hands, as did Edward, Elizabeth, Jonah, Rebecca, and Annabelle.

Cricket spoke to Mark. "

I've made a surprise for Annabelle at the Hope Golf Course. Once she gets her golf bag, tell her to check the storage pocket.

"

Mark then looked at Hans and said, "It's your community. I think your people should be the first people to step foot in it."

Hans smiled, then turned to his people. "Let's go home."

They cheered as everyone turned and headed back inside the outreach centre and up to the roof. Until the community was 100% complete, the community of Hope would not appear on the destination list, except for the people from Crater Lake.

There were 5 lifts headed toward Hope. Although with Hope being almost directly south of Federation City, it only took a few minutes until they entered the valley and began their descent down to the community on the valley floor.

Exiting the lifts on the roof, everyone walked toward the edge to get a panoramic view of the community and area.

Across the narrow end of the lake, they could see the brand new golf course in mid-construction. It was surreal watching the trees moving about as if they were alive. They couldn't see the clubhouse because of the small forest at the end of the lake, but there was a beautiful view of the waterfall towering above the trees, cascading down the steep mountains at the end of the valley.

Downstairs they went, the residents immediately going to check out their new houses, while everyone else followed the path to the golf course.

Of course, no one had clubs, but you didn't need to carry clubs in the Federation, as the Pro Shop had several outfitting booths along the outside wall. You simply stepped inside and if you had an existing golf profile and set of clubs or a selection of previously purchased individual clubs or putters, you could choose your clubs and it synthesized them for you, but you could only select a maximum of 14 clubs. If you were a new golfer, it created your profile and asked if you were left-handed or right-handed, then it would synth a basic set of clubs for you based on your height.

You could always customize your profile to increase or decrease your club length or purchase individual clubs and specify which ones were in your default set. The trick was any synthed clubs couldn't leave the designated golf course area, they'd just disintegrate on you.

That was one thing that many visitors to Atlantis commented on. They couldn't get over people just tossing their clubs in the recycle bin after the round; they soon learned and, on subsequent trips, they didn't even pack their clubs with them. In fact, most people returning to Atlantis usually brought nothing more than a simple carry-on bag, regardless of their planned length of stay.

Golf bags were like the Earth versions, except they had a ball fabricator, so rather than carrying around a bunch of random golf balls you could always generate a new ball with your name on it, then if you found any balls they would just get recycled into matter for later, and no one carried any tees as there were tee dispensers and recyclers at every tee box.

Golf carts in the Federation were quite different as they hovered and had a digital version of the scorecard, which automatically tracked each player's strokes and broadcast the scorecard to all carts in the group, there were even options for scoring different games, but the scoring type had to be declared at the Pro Shop prior to teeing off.

Mark stepped into the booth and came out with his usual set of clubs, and then Annabelle handed Joseph to Mark as she stepped in to get her clubs, as did everyone else.

While Edward, Jonah, and their wives were getting outfitted, Mark told Annabelle, "Cricket says to look in the storage pocket of your golf bag."

Giddy and curious, Annabelle unzipped the pocket and found a disk similar to Solara's camping disks, except this one had a rattle on it and a clip attached to a sort of key that plugged into the disk.

Thinking it worked just like the camping disks, they pushed the button, but nothing happened. Annabelle then pulled out the key clip, and she dropped it to the ground as it transformed into a hovering version of a round playpen which floated about 30 centimetres above the ground. The front third of the saucer was a solid control panel, complete with its own recycler, fabricator, and dispenser.