Country Boy

Larry was finally forced to agree with his management team. They desperately needed more room. He grudgingly authorized an expansion but he absolutely refused to allow Lander to just expand the boundaries of the existing shield. He demanded they find land for sale and purchase it so they did not displace anyone and could not be accused of stealing land from the legal owner.

During the meeting where Larry demanded they purchase the land to expand Rachel said, "But how can we do that Larry? The government will never allow us to purchase land. You know that."

"I have that covered honey. Lander and I have formed a new corporation, headquartered in Georgia named the Terra Corporation. We simply purchase the land in the corporate name then move a reactor and shield generator to the land, shield it and expand into the new location. We have secure communication and transport so there is no reason for us to be located contiguously. For cover, we will release press releases stating we are a new farming and agribusiness conglomerate. This is particularly believable because we are only purchasing large tracts of rural land."

"You know the government will go ballistic when you shield a new compound. We can only do this once you know. After that the Terra Corporation will be blacklisted also."

"Yeah, we know. We have decided to purchase several locations and several thousand acres so we can grow for several years before we have further need for land. We have resources in our bank accounts now to purchase almost a hundred thousand acres, depending on the location and price per acre. I propose to find several large farms or plantations as close as possible together and purchase them all. We will shield them all at once then develop them as we need to. If we need more land in the future we will just form another corporation and do it all over again.

"We can even decentralize our operation and use several sites for different portions of our business. We can use one tract for living or we can build homes in each new tract so we can live where we work. In any event, we will have the flexibility now to work smarter and we will have more room for our people—now and in the future.

It took almost six months for all the purchases to go through. When all the purchases were completed the Terra Corporation owned sixty thousand acres in Florida, thirty thousand in Georgia and seventeen thousand in Alabama in addition to the small 640-acre plot of land in Arkansas. All were shielded and isolated at the exact same time but no news release was made. It took the government almost a week before they became aware of the expansion. Once again, they were after Larry like a rabid dog.

CHAPTER 16

A COUNTRY BOY CAN SURVIVE

BY SW MO HERMIT

It took two years for the completion of the first small ship with FTL capability. It was only 230 feet long and held a crew of 13. Much of the equipment and many of the instruments used in the construction were salvaged from the original mother ship although there were some newly manufactured pieces also. The second ship, already being built, would almost entirely use earth built parts. When they were ready to launch the new ship, Larry broke tradition and announced, for the first time, a flight of one of his alien powered ships. He and Lander sent news releases to all the major world news services with the day, time and location of the first, maiden flight of the TSS (Terran Star Ship) Enterprise. It seemed somehow fitting that this first man made star ship should carry such a proud name from the wet navy in the United States.

Almost before the print was dry on the hard copy media the government announced to the world that not only was it impossible for Larry to fly a starship but if he tried to launch any type of unauthorized craft it would be shot down.

Larry accepted interview requests from the major media sources and disputed the government's statements. He informed them he and his employees had been voyaging into space now for almost seven years without the government even detecting them, much less stopping them. The uproar that caused was unbelievable.

Of course the government denied Larry ever did such a thing. The President, himself, held a news conference on the subject the day after Larry's interviews with the news media. He stated, in part, "The detection instruments used by the United States military are the finest in the world. It is absolutely impossible for any flights into or out of the United States to be undiscovered. The statement made yesterday by Mr. Saunders is absolutely false. We believe the United States and the world are under attack by beings from space. If Mr. Saunders is actually an earthman he is fronting for an alien civilization. It is our intention to fight this invasion with the full power of the United States military if the invaders do not surrender immediately. As I speak, military forces of the United States and our Canadian allies are surrounding the known compounds of this alien menace. We will not pause nor will we cease our efforts until this menace is removed from the earth."

On the announced day, the TSS Enterprise did, indeed, take its maiden voyage. Larry purposefully chose not engage the cloaking and stealth devices when he raised ship. The Enterprise slowly and majestically rose from its cradle in their new star port in southern Georgia. As the ship broke through the shield over the port it continued its slow, steady, even stately rise as it headed for space. At 3,500 feet a flight of fighter craft from the nearest air force base attacked, firing a total of 12 missiles at the ship. None of them made it past the shields.

After the last missile exploded, Larry, acting as Captain of this maiden voyage, came on the air and broadcast a video feed to the world. He said, "Units of the U. S. Air Force have just fired on the TSS Enterprise. There was no damage to this ship or its personnel. We are engaged in private commerce and exploration and obeying all known flight rules for this nation. This is the last time we will allow the United States Government or any other Government or entity to fire upon Terran owned land or equipment with impunity. From now on we will meet force with force. We ask only that we be left in peace but if we are not, we will take action as we did against ISIL, the Taliban and Al Qaeda. We will tolerate no further attacks in any manner. We will meet force with force as I said before. We will meet cyber attack with cyber attack. Be forewarned. Almost from the first time I introduced new technology to this world my people and I have been subject to attack in every form—physical attack, cyber attack and verbal attack. This ends now. Ask the terrorist organizations if it paid them to attack us. Ask the oil cartels if it paid them to attack us. No, it did not. They do not even exist any longer or if they do they are so small and afraid they hide in dark caves like bats or scared dogs.

"Early in my research into the technical marvels contained in a crashed space ship I found on my land I and my company developed and released examples of this technology to improve power generation. We developed and released vehicles that were completely clean running, using only electricity generated from non fossil fuel to power them. We released improved electronics and many other marvels. Instead of being lauded for our work we were attacked. ISIL, the oil cartels, even our own government attacked us for trying to improve the life of the average man. We retaliated against the terrorist attacks because our government either was unable to or chose not to successfully remove this blight from the world. Now, for all intents and purposes, they no longer exist. This safer world is also a result of our new technology. If forced to do so, we can remove any and all future threats just as efficiently as we have those in the past. We hope we do not have to do so.

"We foresee great things for the human race. We intend to explore this section of the galaxy and, if we find habitable planets, we plan to colonize those worlds. We need people for these endeavors. From this date forward, we will be actively recruiting new citizens for our towns and in the future for our worlds. Join us now in the expansion of the human race. Join us as we take our place among the stars as a peaceful spacefaring race.

"Over 260 years ago our forefathers fought for freedom from tyranny when they declared this great land free and independent from England. We find ourselves rapidly being forced to follow in their footsteps. I beseech you, the citizens of this great nation, call off our government before it is too late."

After his statement, while still on camera, Larry said, "Enterprise, cease hover, accelerate and follow the preset course." To the watching world it appeared as if the ship just vanished. Just as Enterprise accelerated another flight of aircraft made an attack run. Since the ship disappeared so rapidly it was decided this time the attack succeeded and the ship was destroyed. The government, sure they were right, declared the ship destroyed.

CHAPTER 17

A COUNTRY BOY CAN SURVIVE

BY SW MO HERMIT

Five weeks after the Enterprise departed it returned. Once again no effort was made to prevent the ship from being detected. This time it was attacked while still in the upper atmosphere using a nuclear missile. Once again, the shield prevented damage to the ship. Unfortunately, the shield did not prevent damage to many pieces of delicate electronic equipment on the ground from the EMP. Neither did it prevent the fallout from contaminating many square miles of land. Thankfully, most of the worst fallout fell into the Atlantic ocean. Of course, there was no way to know how much damage it would do to marine life.

Larry tracked the missile and had his gunnery officer destroy the entire launch site in retaliation. Of course, the explosion of a nuclear weapon did not go unnoticed by the world. Shortly after the news media picked up the story, Larry fed his news release into the internet and feeds from the media giants. He fed the entire video record made by the Enterprise from launch to explosion of the missile and the retaliation made on the launch site. After the video played Larry made a statement. He said, "As I stated when we left on the maiden voyage of the Enterprise, we will not tolerate further attacks on our ships or compounds by any source. I promised we would meet force with force. Today, the United States saw fit to attack our exploration ship with a nuclear missile. The missile did no damage to our ship and we retaliated by destroying the launch site and base from which the missile launched. If we are attacked again, we will destroy the attacking force and the base from which they come. I grieve deeply for the loss of life caused by the government of the United States.

"Now, on to more pleasant news. I am proud to announce the maiden flight of the TSS Enterprise was flawless. All equipment worked perfectly. We are now able to voyage to the stars safely and rapidly. Those of you hearing this announcement are invited to apply for colonization to another, new world. In addition to colonists, the Terra Corporation needs workers here in our earth headquarters. We need almost every specialty known to man. We are accepting applications for all positions. If you are interested in becoming a colonist or an earthly employee, simply go to our web site https//www.TerraCorporation.com and follow the prompts to complete your application. We will be in touch to set up interviews for those individuals and families we feel will be an asset to our endeavor. We will not discriminate based on race, age, sex or national origin. Neither will we discriminate because of religion, however, we will not accept any person or group of persons who are or who might become a dangerous or disruptive influence on our society."

As the recruiting picked up steam it became very difficult to weed out spies from the various nations of the world and terrorists trying to infiltrate so they could destroy the Terra corporation from within or steal their technology. Fortunately for Larry and his crew Lander's technology was fully capable of identifying those who were threats and excluding them from the population.

Every time a spy or terrorist was identified they were not only rejected, they were revealed to the world. Several of the failed agents were summarily executed by the various organizations of the world when their failure became known. The military continued to surround the compounds and continued to routinely fire weapons trying to breach the shield. The area around the shields looked like the pictures of the WWI No Man's Land. Since the government had moved the landowners off the land surrounding the compounds and then trashed that area Larry had no problems with slowly expanding the compounds as they needed more land. They moved the protective shields outward, reclaimed the damaged land, and returned it to production or built new buildings on it.

After three expansions of the Florida shield the government tried a new tactic to gain access to Larry's compound. They buried several large boxes of explosives and weapons and three Green Beret A Teams. The Berets were rotated regularly. It was hoped that after the next expansion of the shield these teams would be able to find the controls for the shield and shut it off. When that happened, the forces surrounding the compound would move in and capture it and the technology contained within.

Unfortunately for the government the Terrans knew about the buried men and equipment. As soon as the shield was expanded security teams and 'bots first secured the weapons and explosive containers, then, as the Berets exited their container, they captured them.

These men were placed in cells and treated humanely until Larry was positive they had all the intelligence available on their plans and instructions. After that, the information was broadcast to the world and the three teams were taken out of the compound on board one of the new ships. They were released in the middle of the Mojave Desert near Ft. Irwin, CA to find their own way to safety.

The next attempt to gain clandestine entrance to a compound failed miserably, however, it was the straw that broke the camel's back as it were. Since the infiltration failed, a nuclear device was buried near the outside boundary of the Georgia compound. It was on a timer that could be reset hourly until such time that it was safely inside the compound. After it had been taken into the compound, the timer simply would not be reset. The resulting explosion would destroy everything inside the compound, thus eliminating the perceived threat. This, of course, to the government was a measure of last resort because if the compound was destroyed, they could not capture the technology they so desperately wanted.

The atomic device was attempted because the President's advisors convinced him if they lost the space port and their ships Larry and his misguided followers would surrender and deliver the remaining tech base to the government. Of course, this attempt failed also. As soon as the decision was made to annex more ground in Georgia, Lander placed a small shield around the hidden device and one of the smaller shuttles carried it into space where it was placed on a trajectory toward the sun. It exploded a few minutes afterward with no damage to anything.

Throughout this expansion, not only was the government using military forces to attempt to capture Larry and the new tech, they were waging constant cyber attacks also. Unfortunately for the government, Larry's technology was so superior they had exactly zero successful hacking attempts.

Recruitment of new employees and colonists continued unimpeded. When a person or family were accepted for inclusion in the Terra family, as it was now being called, they were picked up with any possessions they wanted to keep and moved into one of the compounds. Those who wanted to immigrate to another world—and there were more than a few of those—were given the training needed and shipped on to their new home where they were given jobs as promised. All jobs within the Terra Corporation or on the colonies used the new technology exclusively. The standard of living was orders of magnitude higher than that on earth.

No one would ever admit starting the rumor that ended up causing the final split with the United States and, indeed, all the earth governments but someone began calling Larry the Emperor. Soon, at first, tongue in cheek, he became known as Larry the First, Emperor of Terra. His people felt as if this was a fitting title since he not only held complete control of several hundred thousand acres on earth, but he owned two earth like planets with a total of thirteen settlements divided on them. These two colony worlds now had a population of almost three million people scattered over them.

When his new "title" became known to the earth governments they became even more rabidly antagonistic and redoubled their attacks against the compounds. More and more of the gross domestic product from all the nations was thrown into research in an attempt to develop both a way to successfully attack Terran ships and compounds and a way to develop comparable space ships.

As the funds were expended on research, taxes were raised on the population of the various nations. Internal programs and non research, non military budgets were cut. The poor became poorer, they became the new destitute class. The old middle class was taxed almost into oblivion, becoming the new poor. Infrastructure deteriorated and was not repaired. Of course, the uber rich did well, in most cases becoming even richer from all the research money flowing into their coffers.

Finally, Larry and his people could not bear to see the world decay any farther. He took control of every broadcast station in the world with Lander's help and made a statement that had far ranging impact on all people. Larry was dressed in what had become his normal attire; some would almost call it a uniform. Lander insisted, as the ruler, or Emperor, he had to dress appropriately.

When the take over of the broadcast channels was completed Larry gave a speech. He said, in part, "People of earth. This unreasonable, insane attack on my compounds and my ships has gone too far. More and more of the world's gross domestic product is going into government coffers to be spent on research to attempt to recreate items I have and would willingly share had your leaders not taken a belligerent approach. The standard of living across the world has declined to almost half what it was when I first introduced the new generators and electric motors. This cannot continue.

"Since the leaders of your governments have chosen not to do what they were hired or elected or appointed to do we have decided to take action against them. In our opinion, they are criminally negligent and directly responsible for untold numbers of unnecessary deaths on this world. We propose, therefore, to take over and correct this desperate situation. Accordingly, the Terra Corporation will expand its boundaries and take in more and more land until we can insure a better life for the world's citizens.

"Unfortunately, there are many people in this world who cannot, or perhaps I should say, will not benefit from our actions. We will continue to screen those who we take into our newly expanded perimeters. Those who are criminals or terrorists or in some other way would cause harm to our citizens and way of life will be excluded and will remain forever outside our shields. Eventually, instead of them being outside a shield, we will contain them within a shielded area where they will be allowed to live out their lives as they choose.