The Pilgrimage Ch. 04

She turned to face Mike as she stood while calmly tucking her scrumptious tits back inside her dress. "Our bodies are ours to do with as we please Mike. If we decide to walk around naked, that's our choice to make, not yours. No man will ever again tell a woman what she may, or may not do with her own body. Get used to it, get over it, or get out. Right about now, I don't give a flying fuck which choice you make! I'm really disappointed in you Mike, I thought you were a hell of a lot more mature than that. I guess I was wrong about you."

By the time Vanessa finished speaking, Mike's face was cherry red with anger. He got up and stormed out of the room without saying a word or even looking back.

Erin waited until everyone was seated then smiled gently at Vanessa and said "Sweetie, don't get me wrong, I understand your point. But don't you think that maybe you were just a bit too hard on that young man?"

"No, actually I don't think that at all Mom. In fact if anything, I may have been too easy on him. Look at it this way. In a few weeks we'll be pulling into orbit around Erie. We won't be just landing on a new planet. We'll be creating a whole new way of life.

One of the problems that needs to be dealt with before then is the fact that most men are insecure little boys in adult bodies. Mike's attitude is a classic example of what I'm talking about. Yeah he's a cute guy and he's somewhat of a charmer. But just because I danced with him a few times, and I'll admit I did flirt with him a little, what gives him, or any other man, the right to decide things for me? It's not just men that need to change their attitudes though, women have to make some changes as well. We can't continue to humor men. Their insecurities are their problem, not ours. Allowing men to control what we wear, what we think, what we eat, and anything else we may, or may not decide to do with our bodies just because they're thinking with their dicks instead of their brains is a major part of what got us into this whole mess to begin with.

If you really think about it, men perverted EVERY major religion back on Earth so that they revolved around the things that a woman could, or could not do with her own body. Seven billion human lives were lost because men couldn't bear the thought of losing control over their women's lives and bodies. Was religion the ONLY cause of the disaster that befell Earth? NO, but it WAS the root cause of it all.

It was also the root cause of all the hatred, racism, bigotry, and xenophobia that was so prevalent in every society, including the United States. We CAN'T afford to let that shit happen again. So the sooner we all start changing our attitudes, the better off we'll all be."

Morrigan grinned at Vanessa and said, "Spoken like a true daughter of Erie! Well said, Princess Vanessa!" She turned to Erin and continued, "Vanessa's right Mom. We have to nip these things in the bud now, while we still can. Don't forget, this is our LAST chance. We absolutely HAVE to get it right the first time around because we won't be given the opportunity to try again. If we don't take the lessons of Earth's history to heart and learn from them, the human race will cease to exist. Look at Earth's final years. Their end was basically caused because people failed to see the similarities between a tyrant of the twentieth century and the final tyrant of the twenty first century. The result was absolute chaos. People were protesting in the streets all over the globe. The anti-Muslim, White supremacist movement that took control of the American government played right into the hands of the Islamic fundamentalists and their terrorist organizations. The resulting world war three lasted less than thirty minutes but in that short time, seven billion people lost their lives, Vanessa's right, we CAN'T let that shit happen again!"

"I'm not disagreeing with either one of you as to how and why the Earth was destroyed. I was simply asking if there isn't some way to achieve your goals and objectives without being so hard on people."

"I don't really think so Mom. We're trying to change thousands of years of human conditioning that's become so ingrained in people that we tend to view them as unchangeable instincts. The truth is that they're just habitual traits that can and should be changed. But soft peddling around the issue isn't gonna cut it. We have to stand firm and push hard if we're ever gonna get the job done. There's a very thin line between being a bitch and being a tyrant and that's a line that both Vanessa and I never wanna cross. But part of our job IS to be a bitch when the situation calls for it. Vanessa didn't say, or do anything that Mike didn't ask for or deserve. If his feelings got hurt in the process, oh well, poor baby. If it helps him to grow up and learn his way isn't gonna work anymore, then it's a battle well fought. If not...well, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

Morrigan sighed deeply then looked around the table. "Okay that's enough theoretical political rambling for one day. I realize it's only been a day but I'd like to get some quick status reports from everyone. Gram, let's start with you."

Gael chuckled softly, "How did I know that was coming?" She glanced at Teagan with a smile and said, "Teagan honey you're up. You came up with the idea and put together a plan that I think will meet with Morrigan's approval. Just explain it to her the same way you explained it to our team."

Teagan chewed on her bottom lip as she looked around the table nervously. She looked back at Gael and said, "Okay Gram, I'll try. But I didn't expect to be put on the spot like this so I hope you'll jump in and help me out if I start to mess things up." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly then looked at Morrigan and said, "Part of the credit for my idea belongs to Kylie. If she hadn't insisted on a planet wide internet satellite system it wouldn't be possible. You told us you didn't want any cash floating around. So I thought why not just give everyone a bank card. You know, like the ATM cards back on Earth. Set up a series of interconnected point of purchase machines and local banks, then tie them all in to a central bank. The whole idea is to require everyone to make all their financial transactions using the cards. You can even modify cell phones and laptops to be able to read the bank cards. Doing that would make things a whole lot easier for small businesses and private transactions.

The cards eliminate the cash temptation but there are still some security problems that need to be addressed like hacking and card theft. I don't know anything about hacking or banking security. But laptops and cell phones already come with a fingerprint scanner built in for individual identification. If we could find a way to modify those scanners so that they can read and compare fingerprints of card users with fingerprints on file in a centralized data base, and then we required that the actual card be swiped and prints compared for every financial transaction, I think you'd go a long way towards reducing the risks. I'm not sure there's anything you could do that would eliminate the risks entirely though.

That's the basic plan in a nut shell, I know it needs to be fleshed out some more, procedures and regulations drawn up like when does a person become eligible for a card, or what happens when someone violates procedures, that kind of thing. But we're not there yet. We wanted to hear your thoughts before we went any further."

Morrigan listened in shocked amazement as a thirteen year old Teagan laid out what Morrigan thought was an absolutely brilliant plan. When Teagan finished speaking Morrigan said, "Teagan honey, I am sooo glad I asked you to help me. I way underestimated how much help you'd be and I'm sorry for that. Your plan is perfect. It's exactly what I was looking for. You did a great job! Thank you sooo much! I especially love your idea of using fingerprints and scanners for security. Let's find out if it's doable." She turned to Joe Thompson and asked, "Joe you know more about computers and software than anyone else aboard, what do you think? Can we make Teagan's ideas work?"

"I have to tell you Morrigan, that young lady just stunned the hell out of me! Not only will her ideas work, she's covered all the bases. All its gonna take is a few minor changes to the drivers for the fingerprint scanners and writing a comparison app is a piece of cake, the whole thing fits together perfectly. Teagan's right when she says you can't completely eliminate every possible security risk. But by requiring that the actual card be swiped, and that the fingerprint of the card holder be compared to the one on file in a centralized data base before any financial transaction can be completed, she's come as close to eliminating those risks as possible. If you think about it, it also makes internet sales safer. Even having all of someone's financial information does a scammer no good because they don't have the actual fingerprint to go with it. It's great for everyone concerned. Consumers can use their banking information online without fear of identity theft and merchants can ship their products without worrying about a stolen card. In fact I'd recommend using the same procedures for credit cards if your financial team decides to allow them to be issued."

Morrigan grinned at Teagan and said, "Well my little financial wizard, your plan is hereby approved. Now you get to help fill in all those details you talked about earlier. There are some things you should know though. I've decided to keep the age of majority at eighteen. But I see no reason why someone between the ages of thirteen and eighteen shouldn't be able to have their own bank account and their own bank card, provided they stay in school until they graduate, and they maintain a GPA of at least 3.4. Make sure you include a requirement that those who fall into these age ranges show proof of their GPA to the local bank at the end of each school semester.

Also anyone who drops out of school before they graduate will have their bank accounts frozen until they go back and earn their diploma with a final grade of at least 3.4 there will be no exemptions allowed. Anyone who can't attend school for physical reasons will be home schooled six hours a day, five days a week by a licensed teacher at the request of their doctor for as long as the physical condition exists. A person with a learning disability or a mental illness will attend special schools specifically designed for those purposes, or they will be home schooled by a licensed professional, depending on their individual needs. Grades one through twelve will be mandatory for everyone, regardless of their physical or mental condition. Grades twelve through sixteen will be mandatory for anyone without a limiting factor. Anything beyond grade sixteen is optional, but there will be absolutely no charge for any educational level. All schools, colleges and universities will be fully funded by my government and that includes salaries for personnel.

Suspension from school for any reason will result in a thirty day freezing of a student's bank account for a first offense. An additional ten days will be added for each subsequent suspension. Expulsion will mean time in a juvenile facility during which the bank card will be confiscated and the account frozen. How much time will depend on the reason for the expulsion. School administrators will be responsible for notifying the local banks. Finally, if an adult is jailed for any reason their cards will also be confiscated and their accounts frozen until they're released."

Teagan's fingers were flying over her laptop's keyboard as Morrigan spoke. When Morrigan stopped talking, Teagan looked down at her screen then back at Morrigan and asked, "Are you sure you want all of this in banking regulations?"

Morrigan chuckled softly then said, "You typed out every word I said didn't you Teagan?" She held up her hand and said, "Never mind don't answer that, of course you did. To answer your question, yes, I'm sure I want it all to be in banking regulations. I want banks and bankers to be major partners in helping to educate our children. I'm hoping that by giving them some responsibility up front that they'll see just how important they are to me, to Erie, and to our children's future. Some of those regulations will be copied into school administration regulations and the penal code, but most bankers aren't gonna want to freeze a bank account unless they know why they're doing it."

Morrigan turned to Gael and said, "Okay Gram, you've got the framework for a great banking plan. I love it. There are some things I'd like you to keep in mind as you flesh out the details. I want the finance ministry to be responsible for the setup, operation, and security of both the centralized fingerprint data base, and the centralized bank. Both entities are to be as secure as possible, and their integrity above reproach. It's critical that the public have absolute confidence in the both of them.

My guess is that you're leaning towards some sort of electronic credits to replace cash. That's fine with me. Just try to keep it as simple as possible so that it's easily understood. You're also gonna have to plan for the fact that large businesses and corporations tend to change management and financial officers occasionally. You're gonna need to make sure that their financial transactions are secure without hindering their ability to conduct business. I don't want you micro-managing banks and businesses, but you'll have to strike a balance between their need for profits, and the need for consumer protections."

When Morrigan finished speaking, Gael turned to Teagan with a smile and asked, "Did you get all that, my little helper?"

Teagan giggled and said, "Yup, I got every word Gram."

Morrigan shook her head and chucked softly. "You're an amazing young lady. I'm really proud of you." She turned to Mark and said, "Okay Mark you're up. What have you got for me?"

Mark stood as he spoke. "We drew up a rough graphic based on the ideas you'd given us. As we started filling some of the details, we realized that given the terrain, there were gonna be some problems that we simply couldn't overcome. So we decided the best thing to do was to put that aside and give you some other options to consider. Being totally honest, none of the scenarios we came up with are ideal. They all have their pros and cons."

Mark tapped a key on his keyboard and the 3D graphic of Hope's Landing came on. "We have two rough drafts of your basic idea. The first one spreads the city out in a tight east, south, west, arc around the harbor with this river forming the eastern border. As you can see, putting nearly five million people plus businesses, and government buildings in this small area is quite a challenge. Residences have to be stacked on top of each other as high as twenty five stories. Businesses and government buildings are crowded together to allow for some small amount of parking spaces. Roads are narrow and rush hour traffic would be horrendous. On the plus side, everything is relatively close by and easy to find, if you can get through the traffic congestion, and assuming you can find a parking place."

Mark tapped his keyboard again and a new graphic appeared. "This one's pretty much the same as the first scenario except we've extended the arc further east by placing some of the city across the river. It cuts down some on the overcrowding and allows for more parking areas. Other than that, it doesn't change much.

The next two options haven't been fully thought out yet, but I think there's enough information there to give you a basic idea of where we would be going with them." He tapped another key on his keyboard. "Here's a totally different idea. In this scenario we build a number of small cities scattering them around Hope's Landing on both the east and west coasts keeping the farms in the center near the rivers and lakes."

"Hold up a minute Mark," Morrigan interrupted as she stood. "Let me get a good look at this one. It's not without its problems, but I think it's the one we're gonna go with. I'm guessing your last idea is to spread the population out evenly across all of the continents and that's totally out of the question right now. We don't have enough health professionals to cover that much territory. Even this scenario's gonna be tight in that regard. We can staff ten level one trauma units and maybe about three dozen or so level threes. That will leave us about five hundred general practitioners that we can set up in smaller clinic type settings for routine medical situations." Morrigan stood studying the holograph deep in thought for several minutes as she traced various lines out with her index finger. Finally she said, "You're right Mark. The first two ideas would've made for crowded and uncomfortable living conditions. We can make this scenario work without any major modifications." Ten red circles with the letter "H" appeared on the map. "You're gonna have to place the level one trauma units within those red circles and make sure there's a helicopter pad in every city. There should also be a safe landing spot within reasonable distance of each farm. Other than that THIS plan is approved. Get the details filled in and let me know when it's ready."

Morrigan returned to the table and took her seat. "Rose, Adam, do we have enough of each small business to cover that many smaller cities?"

"We've thought about that," Rose replied. "We don't have enough of every type of business necessary to put one of everything in every city. But by strategically placing the ones we're short on like you did with the trauma units, we can make sure that everyone has easy access to anything they might need or want."

Adam spoke up. "When we first started developing this plan, our primary goal was to limit the population of each city to around twenty five thousand. That way they'd still be cities but would also have that small town feel to them. The whole idea was to maximize comfort and safety. Homes would be on private lots. Traffic would be relatively light. Neighbors would know each other by name and the smaller cities would be easier to police. It also gives each city plenty of room to grow and expand while encouraging interaction between the cities. We could have also solved the problem of not having enough of each small business by simply cutting the number of cities in half. But that would have doubled the population of each city and defeated our original purpose. So we decided to stick with our first idea and just place the various businesses in convenient locations."

Morrigan nodded her head and said, "I really like the idea of smaller cities. I think it'll help create a relaxing atmosphere and let people feel more at home. Your plans are approved as well." She turned to Aileen. "I'm appointing you my Minister of Health. Form the teams for each of the trauma units making sure every medical specialty is covered. Then get those names to Mark as quickly as possible so that he can place each person in the correct location. After that, assign a general practitioner to administer a clinic in each city and make sure they have the support staff they need and again get those names to Mark so that he can position them correctly."

"You got Morrigan. I'll have everything ready for Mark by tomorrow morning," Aileen replied.

Morrigan smiled and said, "Thanks Aileen. Uncle Pete, you're the head of ship's security. How many trained officers do you have under your command right now?"

"It's a big ship with a lot of territory to cover, Morrigan. I've got eleven hundred and twenty three full time security officers plus another three hundred in reserve if I need them. Why?"