Technician Adains was getting very frustrated. He had been checking and rechecking the same spot in the ocean for two days now. This was the third time he had gotten a request to check for an island off the shore of Central America. There are no islands there he wanted to shout. The last time an uncharted island had been found was in 2020 and the only reason it was uncharted was because until then it had been buried under the melting Antarctica ice cap. Now even the Admiral’s office had started sending down orders to redirect satellite coverage to that area. This was not what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was suppose to be doing. With the climate change getting worst and worst each year they needed to be focused on their main tasks of monitoring changes in sea level or global ocean carbon not chasing myths about appearing and disappearing islands. Next thing they will probably have him search for Atlantis. Rubbing his tired eyes Adains looked at the current satellite image feed once more. This time he froze until Supervisor Bouvie walked by and saw him not moving. Not getting a response from the technician Bouvie walked over and shook his shoulder. The only response from the technician was to point to the monitor ant a small island now displayed in the middle of the ocean.

  * * * * *

  I walked into one of the refugee camps in Colombia. It had been raining a lot so the camp was basically drowning in mud. All the refugees were huddled in tents with a few children splashing around outside. A lot of eyes were on me as I walked between the camp areas but no one stopped me. Even the soldiers guarding the camp simply stared as I walked by. Eventually I got to the Red Cross area with the Doctors without Borders flag hanging from a pole. Looking around I finally spotted him, a middle aged man sitting on a cot reading with his leg all bandaged up. Walking up I noticed the book he was reading was on raising hothouse Orchids, an odd choice for a doctor in the middle of the jungle.

  ‘Doctor Wagner” I said as I reached him.

  Looking up from his book the man responded “Sorry can’t help you.”

  Tapping his bandaged leg he said “Doctor Hopkins should be in the green tent if you need something” then he went back to reading.

  “Actually doctor you’re the one I want to see. I heard you might be looking for a new job”

  “Looking at me again he gave a snort and said “My days running around treating patients are over. This isn’t going away; I’m on desk duty from now on”.

  “Actually doctor I’m aware of the jeep accident and the prognosis for you leg. I actually have a job you might find more interesting and it doesn’t require sitting behind a desk all day.”

  With that statement Doctor Wagner put down his book and straightened up a bit. Looks like Sammy was right, when we were investigated Doctor Wagner she thought that after 12 years in Doctors without Borders he would hate being desk bound.

  “We have a major reforestation effort gearing up that will be operating in some diverse environmental zones. We are in desperate need of someone to organize clinics in the camps as well as a small hospital at the main supply site.”

  Doctor Wagner looked at me with some suspicion after I said that. He was not a fool and though what I said did not make a whole lot of sense. Understandable since I was only telling him half the story without bringing Tawny and portals into it.

  “There’s more to it” I quickly said to ease his suspicion “but I would like to give you a quick demo before going into that. Could you give me an hour or so of your time?”

  He still seemed suspicious but after a moment nodded his head.

  Looking at my empty hands he said “You got a brochure or something?”

  “Not exactly” I said with a grin.

  Looking around and not seeing anyone looking this way I had Hawk transfer us and the cot he was sitting on to the beach on Ceres. It might have been nicer to ease him into it but I didn’t have much time to spare and getting him to agree to leave camp was highly unlikely.

  After Hawk transferred us to Ceres Doctor Wagner didn’t move. He just continued to sit on the cot cool as a cucumber. The only thing he did different was to check his pulse as he looked around. I gave him some time to adjust while I waited patiently. When he finished and looked to me I started my pitch.

  “This is the island of Ceres on a world called Tawny. It’s or rather was a lifeless world we are currently terraforming.”

  I expected him to break in with questions at this point but he just calmly continued to look at me. I was now starting to feel a little worried at his complete lack of what I would have considered a normal response to something extraordinary”

  “This island will host the main supply camp for the effort with a dozen mobile camps to be supplied from it.”

  “A drop in the bucket” the doctor mumbled.

  “We anticipate 5000 or so people working on it this year and double that next year.”

  I then proceeded to give him a description of our “public” efforts to terraforming. One thing I did emphasis to him was our focus on creating the initial oasis type habitats which would then hopefully continue to grow on their own. The idea being that nature would eventually complete the terraforming even if it did take a thousand years to do. Once I finished he sat there for a while thinking before asking me questions about the hospital and clinics. I smiled when he did it knowing he was seriously thinking about joining up. It wasn’t until the next day that I also realized that he never once asked about the portals or even how we are moving back and forth from Earth to Tawny. A strange guy but for some reason I liked him and was happy when he agreed to the job. After arranging to meet him in a month in Panama City we returned to the refugee camp and I left. Some people experiencing what he just did might think it was a dream and forget about it but I was sure he’d be waiting in Panama for transport.

  With one more key person checked off our list I headed over to find Sammy and see how she was doing. I caught up to her as she was instructing our two shop keepers how to handle inventory and people getting merchandise. As I reached them they were just commenting on how our stored looked like a big box store. It actually was since that’s what Hawk copied it from. There were some minor changes after the copying to remove any major identified signs but if they looked closely enough they would probably find out what chain it was from. Both shopkeepers were concerned about how they could handle a store this size by themselves. Sammy was assuring them that since we didn’t intend to charge people for anything. They could close up most of the doors and all the registers and just handle people coming in and out one door.

  We really just wanted to make sure no one was stockpiling or wasting things. So they would be keeping track of what people picked up and if it seemed excessive they were to tell Sammy about it. There was also no need to tidying the stock on the shelves or keep the store clean just help find things and keep the store locked up as night. Sammy told them another group would be updating the inventory and cleaning up each night. Each morning when they came in it would be back looking the way it was now. This was a lie since we just intended for Hawk to re-copy the store merchandise each night instead.

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  With the new storekeepers settled or at least not so lost Sammy and I decided to head over to the cafeteria for lunch. When we walked into the cafeteria the buffet line was almost empty. There was only a couple of people grabbing food but most of the trays were half empty showing people had been there today. Looking around I could see a dozen or so people sitting at the tables some eating the others just talking. Just then I saw Grandma come out of the kitchen with a new tray of pot roast for the serving line. I was happy to see she had a smile on her face as she replaces the tray on the line. We didn’t have too many people yet but Sammy and I was still concerned about her handling the cafeteria by herself. We had a long list of positions to fill but I think cafeteria personal just got moved up on it. As we got trays and plates I decided to try the pot roast Grandma just put out. It wasn’t bad; I could see why Grandma choose that Las Vegas buffet as source for our cafeteria. As Sammy and I sat at a table talking about our day and enjoying the lunch Grandma came and joined us.

  “Hey Grandma, how are things on the food side?”

  “Not having to cook the food or wash dishes is nice but bussing these tables is a real pain. I have Hawk restore everything when no one is around but that doesn’t happen too often. ”

  I was surprised by that since the cafeteria had a place to put the dirty dishes and utensils when finished. Looking over at the area I could see the stack of them waiting to be dealt with. With the cafeteria only open for a couple of hours each for breakfast lunch and dinner there should be time for Hawk to re-copy everything including our dishes.

  “The tables need to be cleaned off in between customers and occasionally somebody spills something. Can’t just leave the mess until closing time.” She said.

  I decided I needed to get her some help ASAP. Grandma hadn’t said anything but this really wasn’t what she wanted to be doing. It would also take more and more effort as we continued to bring people to Ceres. The skills for this were basically just bussing and serving, so it should be easy to find people for that. I just needed a few with a good reason to come here or at least a good reason to get out of whatever situation they are in. Thinking about that I remember a web story about the illegal immigrant situation I recently read about. I decided after lunch I would get with Hawk and see if we could maybe help a few of them.

  Hawk and I focused on the Coyotes who guided the people trying to cross the border. The coyotes were a criminal class that took advantage of desperate people which most of the illegal immigrants were. Generally I avoid looking into situations where I couldn’t help everyone but this time was a bit different. Watching how desperate and scared they were making the trip I did feel like I was taking advantage of their plight. Some of the most at risk were the young girls attempting it without families. Most of them ended up in a worst situation then what they were running away from. One particular Coyote seemed to specialize in them. I watched through a portal as he took a van with half a dozen of them across the desert. One of the girls seemed to speak some English so I decided to have a conversation the driver made the day before pumped through a portal to where she could overhear it. I’ll also arrange a breakdown of the van and see if any of the girls decided to take advantage of it. If so then I’ll offer them a job.

  The girls were tired and thirsty; they had been walking for two days now crossing the desert. Maria had overheard the Coyote talking to someone about selling them to a chulo when they got across the border. He didn’t seem to realize that she spoke some English and could hear and understand him talking in his phone. Maria had no one left in Guadalupe so decided to head for the states to find a better life. The Coyote she contacted was supposed to see her safely across the border and set her up with a factory job instead he was planning to turn her and the other girls into putas. Letting the other girls know they waited and when he was trying to fix the van they slipped out the back and ran across the desert. Now they were lost and things were getting desperate. Some of the girls were talking about going back and finding the Coyote and his van. Maria herself would rather die than become a puta.

  I had setup a cooler full of drinks and snacks with some beach umbrellas and chairs on a quiet area of the Sonoran desert. It was known as one of the most beautiful deserts in the world and I was enjoying it immensely. The Sonoran is known for its many beautiful colors, including green, gold, orange, magenta, purple, and pink. Not something the 5 girls approaching me could appreciate. I watched as one of them finally looked up and saw me with the umbrellas and chairs. I could see them stop as they decided what to do next before they slowly approached me. A few minutes later they were guzzling down bottles of water barely listening as I offered them a job.

  Maria was the leader of the girls which was a bit of a surprise since she turned out to be the youngest at only 15 years old. The other four where a set of 16 year old twins Rosa and Violet, 17 year old Sofia and 18 year old Elena. None of them had any immediate family although the twins had a cousin in LA they had never met but hoped to stay with. Maria spoke some English which helped but the translator got a good workout as I explained to them the job I was offering. It was obvious they didn’t quite understand and were justifiably suspicious of a strange guy they met in the desert. It helped a little when I pointed to a stack of five backpacks telling them they had food and water in them. I mentioned there was a road just on the other side of the hill behind me.

  As they talked amount themselves in Spanish I calmly waited. Pressuring desperate young girls into working for us was the last thing they needed. As they wondered what to do next I mentioned there was a bus stop a few miles down the road. Also, that there was enough money in a side pocket of each back pack to get them where they wanted to go in the U.S.

  “Or” I said, “You could come work for us on Tawny. It’s cafeteria work so not the most glamorous but it’s legal and pays well.”

  After a demonstration of a portal (which scared them again) and a partially made up story of a secret government effort to terraform a planet they finally agreed to go through the portal to Tawny and check it out. After Dr. Wagner’s experience I decided moving people directly through was to much of a shock so I went back to just walking through like a doorway. It took a lot of coaching and the girls huddled together but they finally went through. As they settled down a bit I walked them around Ceres a bit talking quietly to them. When they seemed calm I took them to the cafeteria and had Grandma take over. After their recent experiences I thought they would be a lot more comfortable with a “La Abuelita” then a strange guy like me. She immediately sat them down at a table and got them something to eat. Within a few minutes she had them smiling and talking happily with her.

  With that taken care of I decided to get back to my schedule. With Doctor Wagner due to show up soon it was time to get the first mobile camp setup. We needed at least one camp ready for him to review. He would normally be in charge of the amp clinics and the Ceres hospital but with his experience I thought I’d take advantage of it and get his input on the camps themselves. With Hawk’s help we quickly selected a large valley with a few streams and a small lake already forming in it. The hills around the valley should help block the dust and sand that was still common elsewhere on the planet. Getting hawk to duplicate top soil several feet deep around the valley and then seeding it with bacteria laced alluvium waste took care of prepping the ground. For the camp itself I decided on a simple grouping of mobile homes duplicated from a new trailer park build from down in the Florida panhandle. As for the community buildings like the clinic, cafeteria and entertainment center I just used doublewides from a logging camp. Adding a couple of lot yards for the heavy equipment and nursery plants and we were almost ready.

  Grandma and Sammy had originally thought we could just have people go back and forth nightly to Ceres eliminating the need for camps. The problem was it would make them to dependent on hawk and the portals. One thing I was constantly reminding myself of was that Hawk was not a permanent solution. We did not own portals, they were a function of Hawk’s and he could stop responding at any time. To that point we needed to encourage people to think of portals as special and difficult to operate. The idea was not to start taking them for granted. This was one of the reasons for the transit buildings. Setting up actual physical structures for the portals as well as limiting when they would be available should help to keep them “special”.

  Our transit buildings were modeled after the one on Demeter. They were just large empty structures with archways inside for the portals to appear in. To make them a little more technical looking we also added some special lighting along with destination and countdown signs. Grandma had a lot of fun designing it all, even the archways but left it up to me to create them. The laugh was on her though since I just took her drawings and notes to a special effects shop in California telling them they were props for a movie I needed built. The end result looked more Atlantean then true science fiction but Grandma was happy with the final results. Looking around at everything we decided that as soon as Dr. Wagner arrived (hopefully) we would be ready to bring the first group of workers through. It was time!