102 An Unlikely Colonis (1/2)
Kirk was about to lie down and revisit the New World when the train squealed to a stop at a station. He was expecting this: the train had been crawling through an urban area for the past ten minutes. What he didn't expect was the sight of another train at the station. It seemed to have just arrived from the opposite direction - Buffalo? - and was pulled by a small diesel engine. Its angular shapes suggested it wasn't much younger than the steam Baldwin at the head of Kirk's train.
Intrigued, he got up to get a better look. He was just in time to see the other train depart: the diesel hooted, and a shudder ran along the train. Clanking and rattling, the carriages began to move. It was a short train: two passenger cars, six cargo, ending with a cistern that revealed a small group of people standing on the platform across the tracks. They had obviously just gotten off the train: clutching their luggage, they were hurriedly lining up in front of an enterprising man who appeared to be selling corn-on-the-cob from a handcart.
Fascinated, Kirk watched the corn being snapped up, ignoring the sounds of activity behind his back: slamming doors, footsteps hurrying along the corridor, voices asking questions, muffled answers. He pushed his window open and inhaled the cold air and smelled the corn - it was buttered! Lord Almighty! He wouldn't have minded buying a couple of cobs himself.
Most of the people in the lineup were buying more than two. In fact, they were buying so many that the corn was all gone before the last person in the lineup - a young man in an anorak carrying an enormous backpack - could buy any. The corn guy instantly wheeled his cart around and started pushing it towards the platform exit.
”Hey,” the young man shouted. ”Hey! I wanted to buy some! I wanted to buy some corn!”
The Baldwin engine emitted a piercing whistle and Kirk almost fell over when the train jerked and began creeping forward. He steadied himself with a hand on the open window, and slid it shut.
Simultaneously, the compartment door behind his back slammed as someone wrenched it open. Kirk turned and saw a big travelling bag enter his compartment. It fell to the floor with a thump, revealing a young woman, hardly more than a girl. She had shoulder-length blond hair with a center parting and was dressed in a sheepskin jacket with fur trim and jeans and knee-high boots. A bulging satchel that matched the bag hung from her shoulder. She was breathing heavily from exertion, and she was quite pretty. She looked at Kirk and said:
”Oh. I'm sorry. I thought this compartment was empty.”
”Unfortunately it isn't,” Kirk said. ”I'm sure you can find one further down the carriage. But why don't you sit down for a minute to catch your breath? Then I'll help you find a place.”
”Thanks.” She stepped over the bag and sat down, and Kirk congratulated himself for having made up his bunk prior to leaving for his earlier meeting with the other governors.
”Deborah Wilson,” she said, introducing herself without looking at Kirk. His irritation instantly disappeared. Debbie! Just like his wife! The traveling bag and the satchel were made of thick coffee-colored leather: the girl had class, too - Kirk recognized class instantly.
”Kirk Lander,” he said, and felt some of his earlier irritation return: the girl showed no sign of recognizing his name. ”Governor of California.”
That got her attention, all right. She looked at Kirk, eyes widening.
”Wow,” she said. ”A governor? Wow. This means, does it mean you're already been there? In the New World?”
”Many times.” Kirk thought briefly about sitting down next to her, but decided to remain standing. It allowed him to talk down to her without appearing to.
”Really? Could you tell me a little about it? You see, I'm on my way to join my boyfriend in New York. Him and me and some friends are going to start a colony. He's already registered a mint!”
”You're going to start a colony?” repeated Kirk, somewhat doubtfully. He couldn't quite see that girl sleeping in the open and chopping wood and dressing dead animals and cooking food over an open fire.
”Oh yes. I can't wait. It sounds like paradise. Clean air and water, no sickness or disease, and pure, unspoiled nature all around.”
”Well it's not quite like that,” Kirk said diplomatically.
”Really? But that's what I heard.”
”Well it's definitely true about the air and water,” said Kirk. ”As long as you drink from a stream or a spring. And there is no flock of sheep doing the same thing a little upstream, urinating and defecating while they're drinking. They like to do that. As for the air, you must know you'll be doing a lot of breathing inside a house with one or more fires burning. It can get pretty smoky, at times.”
”Oh.”
”Sickness and disease, hmm. How shall I put it. It's true we haven't seen any epidemics so far. But a lot of people had, uh, upset stomachs. And it's easy to catch a cold. Also, life there is, is... very physical. It's likely you'll be carrying at least a few bruises and cuts at any given time.”
”Oh.” This time, he heard suspicion in her voice. He said:
”At least that's been my experience. Tell me, are you planning to launch your colony from New York?”
”I think so, yes.”
”You realize tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers will be doing the same thing?”
”Do you really think so?”
”More than that. I'm practically sure of it. In San Francisco for example, the interest has been immense. I'm estimating that there will be at least a couple of million colonists in California.”
”But isn't there ten times as much space? I heard there's a difference in scale.”
”There is. My point is, it might be wiser to launch a colony in a different spot from a million other people.”
”My boyfriend says we'll be ahead of everyone else, ” Deborah Wilson said confidently. ”We're going right on the first of March.”