John Krygelski - The Aegis Solution

“What can we do?” asked one of the group standing closest to Pierce.

“They have prioritized our efforts. One of the tasks at the top of the list is to redo the circuiting and redirect the available battery power so that it is only being used by the occupied portions of Aegis. This should substantially lengthen the reserve life of the batteries. Anyone who has worked as an electrician or an electrician’s helper would be our first choice, followed by auto mechanics, then tradespeople of all sorts who might be comfortable working with tools, and lastly, those who are capable of doing the heavy lifting, the grunt work, as it were.”

Pierce was gratified to see that several hands were raised in the group.

“Those who are volunteering, thank you. Please move into the anteroom where our two men are waiting. We must get started immediately on that phase of the work. The second item on the list is the tedious and dangerous task of picking through the devastation on the roof of Aegis. If there are any solar panels which are still serviceable, they must be salvaged, and this must be done quickly before they fall victim to the continuing winds. This is inherently dangerous work because of those constant gale-force winds, as well as the presence of glass and even steel with a deadly potential.”

Again, several hands rose, and Pierce segregated the volunteers from the balance of the gathering, dispatching them to the foreman who would oversee the work. When they were gone, he looked at the remaining crowd and, with a more somber tone, resumed, “Finally, I believe it is critical that we deal with ZooCity.”

A few of the men and women around him had quizzical looks which quickly changed to disgust as he elaborated, “That enclave is littered with corpses. The process of decay has already commenced. If we do not gather these bodies and bury them, all of Aegis will suffer from a myriad of problems…disease, infestation by insects and rats, and so on. It is for our own health and safety that we do this.

“I know that after the riot, we addressed this same issue by unceremoniously dumping the bodies of the dead into the compactor. I have been sickened by that action ever since and cannot abide repeating it. I understand the repugnance of this task. I sincerely do. But I believe that, in addition to the obvious health and safety issues, it is also the civil and the moral thing to do. If you are curious as to who will be at the front of this detail, the answer is that it is I.”

With that final comment, Pierce stopped and turned his gaze from one of his citizens to the next, shifting his glance through the assemblage, and waiting. Slowly, at first, then gaining in pace, hands went up until every man and woman in the group had volunteered.

With a smile, he made his final comment. “I can’t tell you how gratified I am by your response. I would like all of you to gather masks, gloves, and any other protective clothing you may have, and meet here in an hour.”

The gathering broke up and the meeting room quickly emptied. It was not until most had gone that Pierce noticed his sister standing in a corner of the room, waiting.

Their eyes connecting, she took a timid step forward, unsure how she would be received by her brother. Milton quickly covered the several yards to Mildred and embraced her.

“Mildred, how are you?”

Stepping back, she answered, her voice muted, “I’ve been better, Milton.”

He gestured toward a table and chairs with his arm. “Let’s sit down.”

She nodded and moved toward the chairs. As they walked, Milton realized that he had never seen his sister like this. If he had ever been tasked with creating a list of descriptive words for Mildred Pierce, it would have been populated with bold, assertive, strong, fearless…and many similar adjectives indicating the level of her confidence and commitment.

Seating himself beside her as she slowly lowered herself down, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Her eyes fluttered uncertainly for a moment before she spoke. “We lost eight more residents.”

“Oh, my God!” He instantly regretted his choice in words. Mildred had long ago divorced herself from the religion of their upbringing and, in fact, any and all belief in God. Even this casual comment normally would elicit a ten-minute tirade. But this time there was none.

He decided to quickly move the conversation forward. “How? What happened?”

With a dull stare, she replied, “Suicide.”

“Suicide? Eight more in how long a period? In the past few weeks?”

“Last night.” The two words fell flatly from her.

Milton had no idea what to say.

“With these latest losses, Walden is down to less than forty people.”

So immersed in the day-to-day challenges of managing Madison, he had not followed the progress of Walden. “I had no idea.”

His words caused her eyes to pivot, connecting with his, and he saw a brief flash of the former fire which had been her hallmark. “That’s garbage, Milton, and you know it.”

“What do you mean, Mildred?”

“You have always competed with me. You’ve always wanted to prove that you were right and I was wrong.”

“Mildred, that’s not true.”

“Yes, it is!” she snapped back at him.

Tentatively, he reached out and gently placed his hand on hers. “We’ve always had our differences; that’s true. And, as you know, those differences have been quite extreme…even to the point of alienating us from each other. But, in all of our discussions, arguments, and verbal battles, there’s one thing I’ve never shared with you.”

Suspiciously, she asked, “What is that?”

“There has always been a part of me that hoped you were right.”

A breath caught in her throat as she absorbed his words. “What…what are you…do you mean that?”

Attempting a weak smile, he answered, “I do.”

“But you have always fought so hard. You’ve been so certain in your convictions.”

“I still am. But that isn’t the point. My world view is missing one element your philosophy has.”

She was analyzing his every word, looking for a trace of insincerity. “What do you mean? What one element?”

“Beauty.”

“Beauty?”

He nodded. “Your view, your image of the world…and, specifically, people…is gilded with a loveliness, a hopefulness. It is an essence my vision sorely lacks.”

She stared deeply into her brother’s eyes, searching for duplicity and finding only candor. “If that’s true, then why…?”

He interrupted, “We have fought over this issue because I am convinced that your belief, your philosophy, is grounded in wishful thinking instead of reality. The fundamental cornerstone upon which your paradigm is built is an illusion. But that, also, is not the point. Out there" — he gestured vaguely with his arm to indicate the world outside Aegis — “the most hawkish, militaristic politician, as he works incessantly to strengthen our defenses, even at the expense of social programs, wishes, deep within his soul, that the flower-child mantra of ‘give peace a chance’ would work. He really, truly desires a world where no one wants to conquer us or kill us.

“The store owner, who spends huge sums installing surveillance cameras and staffing his business with loss-prevention people, intensely yearns for a world where his employees wouldn’t dream of stealing from him. The owner of the manufacturing plant would be ecstatic if he could run his plant without needing foremen to make certain that every employee does his or her job and does it well. And every parent or every competent teacher longs for the day when students want to learn, need to learn, and testing and grading would not be necessary.

“Sadly, Mildred, the reality is that if we were to disband our military tomorrow, our country would be overrun within days. The pathetic truth about the retail industry is that more than seventy percent of the theft of merchandise and cash is caused, not by the customers and shoplifting, but by the very employees who are already provided a job. If workers are left unsupervised in a manufacturing plant, production drops to less than half and the quality of the output falls to an abysmal level. And students who are not tested…who are not evaluated in their progress…leave the institution illiterate.”