In most countries, any student who would like to work towards one day becoming an Astronaut can follow certain steps to increase their chances of success. Step 1 is to get a good grounding in High School maths and science, along with a good understanding of all other subjects, before specialising in University.
In Australia this is Step 2 because Step 1 is... don't be Australian. We have very backward politicians and our last Prime Minster declared when he was elected, that our future was in coal and wind generators were offensive (he didn't last long).
21 The Eyes of a Child
"What happened to the electric motors?"
Professor Linton Adisa found himself in front of two huge metal inner doors. Beyond them lay a steep road tunnel almost five kilometres long. At the end of this tunnel were two more doors leading into the pit where the people of the railgun complex could lower the ramp and gain access to the surface world once again. The ramp and the metal doors were all operated by powerful electric motors; driving a worm gear for the doors and hydraulic pumps for the ramp. To Linton's surprise, the motors for the inner doors were missing.
"I had the boys take them both out" Willow explained.
"But why; how are we going to get the doors opened?" the frustrated professor exclaimed.
"Don't worry sir; I've already got one of the other engineering teams working on a reduction geared hand crank. It will take a while but we'll get 'em open."
"I still don't understand why you didn't use the motors Willow."
"They only needed a bit of work done but I don't expect the ramp motors to be in such good condition. There's bound to be moisture in the pit so they could be a total write off. But don't worry because my lads will have the two door motors cleaned, checked and ready to install before we need them. It may take us a while to check and replace some of the hydraulic lines too."
"Well I suppose you know what you're doing" Linton sighed again as he left.
"You can count on it" Willow declared.
As Linton walked back towards the main complex, he saw one of the workers hooking up a mid-sized truck to an electric forklift. As the smaller vehicle towed the larger one away, the professor noticed the huge warehouse, that had once been pack solid with vehicles, now held only an off road truck and a couple of four-wheel-drives.
"What happened to all the stuff that was here? He asked Sid Cartwright.
"We've transferred it all to some of the disused stores" Sid answered "The tunnel is half full of trucks and earth moving equipment so I thought we'd better make some room to put them here and clear the road when the doors are opened."
"You people really do think of everything" Linton admitted.
"Not everything" Sid grinned "I make it a habit never to think about Aardvarks."
"You silly twisted man" the professor laughed.
As the work slowly progressed on opening the giant doors, moving trucks and repairing machinery, Sarah took Calla on another little tour of the complex. They still only saw about one third and finished up near the exit Calla would soon be taking. Sarah hoped they would accidentally run into a certain young man and she was not disappointed. As a small group worked feverously to connect a scratch built gear box to the door mechanism, they found Blue replacing the radiator hose on one of the four-wheel-drive vehicles.
"How goes it? Sarah asked the dirt covered boy.
"This one just needs to have the fuel system primed and it will be ready to... oh... hello."
As Blue pulled his head out of the engine bay, he suddenly noticed who was standing with Sarah.
"Hey" Calla greeted although her eyes stayed firmly fixed on the floor to her left.
"Looking around?" Blue stated the obvious.
"Yeah umm, thanks for apologising earlier; Sarah says I shouldn't have bitten your head off."
"Okay... good. If you both will excuse me, Sid needs these tools back ASAP."
Blue nervously and rapidly exited with the tools Sid did not want or need; which was just as well because he left a few behind in his embarrassed rush.
The hours continued to drag on as more problems were found and more solutions were developed. When the first door had been opened just enough for a person to slip through, the tunnel light switch was thrown and no one was surprised when the tunnel was bathed in brilliant darkness.
"Find a spot for tunnel lights on the short list of important tasks" Willow ordered.
"Will do boss but the short list is now running into its third volume" Amos Hooke lamented.
With the first door finally opened, two small electric forklifts set off on a slow journey to the outer doors. They drove on the walkway, passed the many tonnes of equipment still blocking the road. Willow and Amos's small truck carried the first of the electric motors for the ramp while Sid Cartwright and Jeana Davey followed at a much slower pace as they threaded high voltage electrical cable along the side wall. If the motors on the outer doors were in serviceable condition, Willow wanted to be sure the power was connected when they got there.
Work continued as Maynard Linwood waited and worried on the surface. He and Emerson had retrieved their tents from the Star Runner and set up camp outside one of the less derelict buildings. All was quiet in the early evening as the two men sat back near their camp fire and digested the fish they had recently devoured.
"Dad; can you hear me Dad?" Calla's voice broke the silence.
Maynard jumped to his feet and sprinted towards the strange machine carrying his daughter's voice before falling flat on his face.
"Have a torch Dad" Emerson offered as he helped his father up.
There was still plenty of light in the sky but the setting sun left many tripping hazards hidden in the shadows.
"Dad; are you there?" Calla asked again.
"We're here honey. What's happened; why aren't you here yet?"
"Chill out Dad, they're working on it but it's gonna take a little longer than first thought."
"I'm not happy about this Calla; maybe I should come down there."
"I wouldn't if I were you Dad. The slope isn't too steep but it's still a long way down and you wouldn't have someone at the other end to break your fall."
"It sounds like they're just making excuses; is someone making you say these things?"
"Hardly Dad; the only other person here is Sarah and I think I could take her down if I had too."
"I'd like to see you try" a second voice stated followed by the sound of two girls laughing.
"So how long before you can get out?" Emerson tried to be the voice of reason.
"We're not sure at the moment" Sarah Spencer informed the Linwood men.
"Take a guess" Maynard ordered menacingly.
"We've got access to the tunnel but the outer doors are corroded. You have to consider sir, these doors were designed to keep a small army at bay and they're doing their job very well. We've got a team armed with plasma cutters trying to make an access hole in one of the doors, so we'll be starting work on the ramp soon."
"And then you'll bring my daughter back?"
"Err yes but don't hold your breath. Based on the condition of the outer doors, most of us believe the ramp will be the ultimate pain in the butt; but we'll get there in the end."
"Still not happy" Maynard declared again.
"I've been watching them work Dad and they're doing their best, so don't go bananas when we do get back."
Maynard did not like being told off by Calla. He had every right to be worried about her and if he wanted to go bananas, he'd go full commercial plantation. So as soon as Sarah and Calla had said their goodbyes and gone, the concerned father climbed up on the squat metal structure and examined the machine half protruding from the vent in the centre.
"Dad... what are you doing?" Emerson asked concernedly.
"If we can get this thing out of the hole, maybe we could lower a rope down and..."
"I remember the figure of five kilometres being mentioned Dad."
"We've got to try something" Maynard insisted.
"And if you fall down and die, what happens to Calla then? And what if she tries to make contact again but can't because you've broken the only means of communication?"
After a giving a deep sigh that would have impressed Linton Adisa, Maynard climbed down and spoke sternly to his seventeen year old son.
"Me wise father, you ignorant child; so stick to the script okay?"
"Anything you say Aristotle" Emerson grinned.
The pair returned to the camp fire and continued being worried and board in equal measure.
"If you think about it Dad, she must be safe down there."
"Okay then Emerson; tell about this new insight you've had."
"Calla had disappeared, we didn't know where she was and we never would have thought she was deep underground. If she had been taken, all the kidnappers had to do was keep quiet and stay out of sight, but look at all the trouble they went to just so we could talk to her."
"Still not happy" Maynard stated.
"Just grumpy and a bit dopey" Emerson smirked.
All over the world, thousands of bridges had been designed and built with the ability to rise up, allowing shipping to pass underneath. The two lane ramp operated in a similar manor but of course, it went down hard!
Almost the entire population of the complex had gathered in the outer storehouse to impatiently await the opportunity to step outside for the first time in fifteen years but only Willow Pascal's team had been allowed in the pit during the risky operation. Everyone however had been serenaded with a cacophony of clangs and screeches echoing back down the tunnel causing more than a little tension. Eventually the noise died down and Linton's communicator played a small and cheerful tune.
"Just don't ask us to close it up again in a hurry" Sid Cartwright informed Professor Adisa.
In less than two minutes, a small truck followed two four-wheel-drives up the tunnel road with as many people inside them as would fit, while most of the left people behind decided to take a very long walk up to the surface. The vehicles were all stopped at the outer end of the tunnel by a considerable pile of sand, dirt and vegetation in the bottom of the pit. The civil engineers who had camouflaged the ramp so many years ago, had done a magnificent job but when the ramp was lowered, everything covering it slid down and formed a barrier across the bottom of the pit.
Fortunately for everyone, Willow and her team really did think of everything and when the Professor arrived in the lead vehicle, the pile was already being dealt with by three skid steer loaders Willow had sent for in advance. It would only be another twenty minutes until enough material had been cleared to allow the four-wheel-drives to proceed, but Blue just could not wait any longer. The young man ignored Linton Adisa request to wait as he threw open the rear door, clambered over the debris and continued on up the ramp. He moved quickly at first but as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the billions of stars he had only ever seen before in pictures filled the sky, his eyes and his soul.
Blue barely noticed one of the skid-steers drive past, but it stopped close by on its way back.
"Oh Sid look at it" Blue exclaimed "It's amazing; it's terrifying."
"I've seen it; it's rubbish" is what Sid would have said if this story had been written by Douglas Adams.
"I've missed this view" is what he actually said.
In many public places today, like airports and train stations, you will often hear the announcement "Any unattended items will be destroyed without warning."
I did not have a problem with this policy until a waiter came up to me and asked "Are you being attended to sir?"