Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (66 page)

Sop was amazed
yet again at the strength of character of their handyman. Something
he may later have to face this man had been facing for more than a
halfyear.

Fate places
strange trials on even the wary!

* *

Damn! Why were
people so stupid? How could such an obvious thing be so completely
overlooked?

Mi didn't even
need to call Sop on this one – though she really should have. He
required a problem to solve, but something like this had to be
handled immediately and he would tend to waste too much time on the
legal aspects. He'd probably miss the obvious for precisely that
reason.

Enn Far had
called to tell her the doctors and medical staffs refused to treat
anyone who tested positive for the virus. He was afraid to make a
ruling whereunder they must treat them, as that would make them
withdraw from medicine altogether resulting in no one getting
needed treatment.

"I'd think that
doctors, because of the people they've been in direct contact with
already, would tend to have unusually high numbers already testing
positive for the antibodies," she replied. "If they already have it
they don't have to worry about getting it and they shouldn't be
treating anyone who doesn't test positive, anyhow."

That should be
obvious enough. A doctor worth the title would not drop out of
practicing medicine because he had a sickness himself. These
individual doctors would also be ready with plenty of the people
who had the disease if something needed testing – which was
incentive for them to stay in the profession. They would be in on
the cure first!

If a cure was
ever found, that is. The past three nights had given Mi a new
outlook.

One doesn't
choose who one falls in love with. Not the person, the time, nor
the place. It had come to her that she was in love in the kitchen
smelling ozone. She looked to Hal to say he had better call
maintenance and there it was. She was luckier than most in these
types of situations. Hal loved her too – oh, he didn't know it and
he would be so noble about it, but she knew. If only they could
find a cure or at least an immunization technique for this plague!
Being mother to the new and better race was a fantasy and she
wasn't at all sure six hundred people was a big enough gene pool at
their present stage of evolution to give the necessary diversity to
the race. It was good she had been so selective of the people, but
even so she had been planning on a minimum of three thousand then.
It was out of her hands now. It could be enough.

Hal came back
into the lab and she could see his excitement. He was carrying a
data disk, which he took directly to the mainframe information
console to insert into the drive. It was his own idea he had been
playing with on an unused secondary circuit while he was using the
electron microscope. He remembered reading about plant growth
hormones and how they caused plants to grow much too fast to
complete the cellular structure so they died. He kept data records
on the plague organism that was stimulated to grow itself to
death.

"This is plot M
dash four sixty one as I found it in my first study," he explained.
"Notice that it's four or five times more numerous than
average.

"These are the
original pictures. This one is N dash seventeen slash PB oh nine.
It's about the same. Original picture.

"Now this is a
culture I used both substances on. The first picture as I prepared
the culture, the second two hours later, the third, forth, fifth –
all tested at two hour intervals.

"The stuff is
dead in the fifths. It grew itself to death! It didn't deplete the
culture! The stuff caused it to grow without whatever it is it
needs! That's why it died!

"Mi, maybe we
can't ever use these particular chemicals, but we damned well
should be able to find some we CAN use!"

She really was
thrilled. This was what she wanted a historian for from the first –
to know of some simple little thing that had been done years or
even centuries ago in some totally unexpected context that could be
connected.

The first
connection was weed killer! Here was finally a direction to take.
One thing they didn't have before that could lead to a major
break-through and a perfectly legitimate little glimmer of hope to
give to all those people out there. They now had this one little
possibility they could use to hold this civilization together for a
few more days.

She checked,
then rechecked, ran a computer analysis, rechecked, made culture
plates and control cultures, checked and rechecked. She called Enn
Far and had Dok Finn called from the capitol and put on the
line.

"I wish to VERY
CAUTIOUSLY say that our historian, Hal Korr, has given us a lead
that gives some direction to our researches," she reported. "Hal
has discovered that an old principle used in, of all things, weed
killers, has some application against the virus. The substances
used in the test are not usable in Kroons, but we now have a
definite direction for a part of our research that may well bear
fruit.

"Enn, tell your
doctors, those who are working directly with afflicted people, that
we may send them something to test at any moment!"

This was a
little strong, but it would certainly give Enn a breather – and it
was true. They might actually be able to send something reasonably
soon. Maybe very soon!

* * * * * *

Jak Tall
removed the unit from the oven and ran through the entire device.
This time a sequencer was out of phase and the waves were
penetrating the seals. Luckily they weren't of a type to harm
anyone, but they didn't cook very well, either. All they did was to
break down the structure of the seals and leak all over the place.
The seals were long chain polyisomers and tended to fall apart in
short time on this unit.

He reset the
device and put it back into the oven, then put the tools back into
the box and started out, but turned to sit on a table to chew the
ever-present glamp twig and think about microwaves. There was a
glimmer of an idea there. Something he had heard when they were
setting up the place about how dangerous they could be. They broke
down long chain proteins at certain frequencies.

They could sterilize a person and that person wouldn't even
know it!
These people
here might be the only ones left on this planet. What would happen
to the Kroon race if people here were sterilized?

He took the
meters around and checked each unit again. There was no other
leakage. Luckily this unit hadn't been used very often.

This was one
thing he would have to keep very close watch on. A problem like
this was the last thing anyone needed.

Jak again put
his tools away and went to his rooms where he got the use manuals
out for the ovens. He read them all, then went to the library to
check through all the information he could locate on radiations,
microwaves to long waves. If there was one thing Jak Tall was known
for it was knowing all there was to know about any subject that
fell under the wide heading of maintenance – including possible
side effects. It was bad enough he was saddled with the feelings of
responsibility Mi Yinn put on him. He didn't need to sterilize the
last of the race on top of it!

Constitutional
Protections

There shall be
established, in addition, an office to be called Guardian General
of the Public Health.

The Guardian
General shall be chosen by the National Director from a list
supplied by the Elite House Health and Welfare Commission Office,
investigated and approved by the Commons House, and who will act
under the Judiciary.

The Guardian
General of the Public Health shall have absolute authority in cases
of threat to the health of the people of Kroon from any agent of
poison, radiation or biological agent that can be shown to be
present and immediate to an area or to the entire nation or to the
world of Kroon.

The Guardian
General of the Public Health must, therefore, be chosen from among
those shown to have exceptional knowledge of matters medical.

The Guardian
General of the Public Health shall have powers to suspend the
constitutional guarantees of free movement and/or assembly in any
area (vivinity), or in the nation should events so demand. Any
included suspension must be declared through the Office of the
Director and must be approved by the Supreme Court on the third
day. If the suspensions extend past six days the members of both
houses must approve and must revote further extension every ten
days thereafter until the emergency is past.

The Guardian
General of the Public Health may suspend rights of privacy, limited
to the necessity of the emergency.

The Guardian
General of Public Health may suspend rights against arrest and
confinement, limited to the necessity of the emergency.

The Guardian
General may suspend rights of free movement, limited to the
necessity of the emergency.

The Guardian
General of the Public Health shall be tried under the charge of
Treason Against the Nation for any abuse of office, such trial to
be conducted by the Supreme Court.

As Acts Of
Treason, as stated in Article 4.06, require seating of a
knowledgeable jury, ten members of the medical profession, none of
whom may have former personal or professional acquaintance of a
personal nature with the defendant(s), shall be selected by random
computer selection and shall be transported and housed at state
expense for the duration of such trials.

Article 4.01 –
Constitution

* * *

That was as
well as he would ever be able to state it. It had limitations built
in that could not be counteracted.

Sop Lett sat
back to again reread the article for the tenth time. It was plain
enough. Who and how to select him or her, from what areas of
knowledge and education the selection must come, duties and
restrictions, how emergencies are handled – and, very importantly,
the penalty for abuse of the office. That was very important. It
must be included in all articles.

Should he state
what would constitute abuses in the article? The power to suspend
the constitution was awesome. There must be no way whatever that it
could be twisted or abused. There would be those aplenty who would
try. History showed that any loopholes would be found and would be
utilized to the detriment of the document and to the people.

No. Not needed.
The power was limited to assembly, movement, arrest and/or
detention – and privacy. The addendum to be included would spell
out exactly when and how these were to be handled and could also
specifically spell out what would constitute abuses. That was the
whole of the purpose of the addendum.

Jak Tall would
have to read it. He was a truly amazing man who would ask pointed
questions. He saw right through to the core of these things and
would not withhold comment or question. He said the fact there WAS
a question meant that revision was needed – and he was right. His
questions had necessitated no less than six revisions of this one
article to this point!

Sop grinned to
himself. One thing was certain. Jak Tall's help had shown him how
imprecise the language was. A word that held a rigid meaning in law
did NOT have the same meaning to the general public and Jak had
shown him how the language evolved to a point that could change the
words radically. It is necessary the public understand the document
precisely. A way was worked out to stop lawyers from using it to
their own purposes with Jak's help. Being one himself, Sop knew
well what a typical lawyer would try to do. It wasn't a very
ethical reaction and it did not bode well for Kroon or for this
constitution.

A whole volume
would have to be written as addendum explaining exactly what the
words meant for all time. It would be presented with the document,
hopefully making practical arguments about those terms nonexistent
in the future.

If you believe that I have this little island north of here
that would make a perfect vacation retreat that I'll sell
cheap!
Sop thought,
grimacing at the picture of the typical lawyer's reaction to any
document.

Jak Tall's name
is going to be on this document. Prominently. Sop knew perfectly
well he was much too self-centered to allow sharing of top honors,
but Jak Tall would be listed as prime consultant and collaborator.
If you won't wave your own banner, who will?

He was honest
enough to admit his flaws. That was a virtue few could claim.

Of course he
didn't do anything about them other than admit to them, which was a
flaw in itself.

Sop Lett had
never heard of a perfect man. He certainly had no least claims in
that area. He was merely another person with a flair for expression
and would make the best of what little talent he had. If the race
survived this plague the constitution was ready. He would have the
processor/publisher set it up properly and make copies. Bind it in
royal blue with gold script with the Seal of the Nation top center
and his and Jak Tall's names in small script on the lower right
corner.

Sop set the
machines up and started them. He edited everything very carefully
before placing the disks. The machines would automatically edit as
they proceeded, calling him for any errors or misspellings.

As he sat back
Jak Tall came in. He asked what was happening and Sop showed him
the whole thing. He read the new article and agreed it was
excellent as it stood.

"Surely you
don't plan to present the thing all printed and bound like that?"
Jak asked.

"What!? Of
course I do! What are you talking about?"

"Well, you say
'this document' fifty times in the thing. There, if you consider
it, ain't no such thing! There's a slick magazine."