Chapter 51
“Thank you for contacting me, Chair Liao,” the person on the console screen said. “I realize we will be talking tomorrow at the National Expansion Committee meeting, but you said you wished to be notified of any critical developments that will impede our ability to meet daily transfer goals.”
“Yes, Ms. Shaofeng, I did request to be informed,” Liao Si confirmed. “but Mogadishu has been having difficulties keeping up with the daily departure rate for a number of weeks. Are you saying there is something that will impact the daily ratio even more?”
“My apologies for having to share unfortunate news, Chair Liao, but yes, this will most definitely impact the departure rate here,” Shaofeng Diu replied with a downcast face. “There has been an incident with our in-bound transportation logistics.”
“Go ahead,” the Chair of the National Expansion Committee said.
“I shared in my report last week that the protests have been growing regarding the arrival of new colonists to be prepared for transfer to Nova,” Ms. Shaofeng began. “There has been an incident involving the protestors. Yesterday evening the protestors occupied the rail lines leading into the alien elevator zone. Normally the engineer in the train will communicate to the crowd over the loudspeaker to have the crowd disperse while the train slowly proceeds as the rail line clears. It seems that this time, however, the engineer overrode the automatic train speed controls, and the train ran into the protestors standing on the track. One-hundred and thirteen people were killed either by the engine crushing or hitting them or in the subsequent stampede when the protestors tried to get away from the track once they realized what was happening. The brakeman was able to gain control of the train and bring it to a stop, but at that point, the crowd rushed the train, and pulled out all of the crew and began beating them. The engineer put the train in motion again, resulting in a crash into the station’s end-of-rail barriers. The engine and first three passenger cars derailed and another sixty-seven people were injured, many of them grievously. At this point, the local sub-chair here for material and logistics is not able to get any new crew to manage a new volunteer transport train into the elevator site and he is also not able to get anyone in to remove the derailed cars from the track, as he is not able to get the protestors to disperse.”
The Assistant to the Local Welcoming Committee Chair of Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia paused, letting the full impact of her story sink in.
Liao Si himself paused only briefly before replying. “So then you will need to increase the usage of transbuses to get volunteers in for processing.”
Ms. Shaofeng’s eyes became downcast again. “I’m afraid the protestors are blocking all in-bound paths, Chair Liao. And the safety protocols on the transbuses won’t allow them to move through as the roads all have barriers in place now, and the Sub-Chair of Materials and Logistics here has not been able to get people or equipment in to clear the roads, just like the problem with clearing the rail lines.”
“So how many volunteers are going up at the moment,” Liao Si asked hesitantly.
“The last three upward elevator loads have been empty,” Shaofeng Diu responded.
“Empty?” questioned Liao. “Why is that?”
“Because we have no more volunteers within the elevator launch area, Chair Liao. Everyone that had been received before the rail accident has already been processed and sent up for outbound transport.” Ms. Shaofeng reported.
“This is unacceptable. Get Chair Dini on the call, please. We need to address this with him directly. He must know that he has to regain control of the operations there immediately,” Liao Si said emphatically.
“I’m afraid Mr. Dini is not responding to any calls I’ve made to him in the past two hours, and he has refused to come out of the executive offices here. The Sub-Chair for Materials and Logistics has also retreated to the executive offices. I am working with the Sub-Chair for Volunteer Identification and Selection, but she is not able to make contact with either Mr. Dini or Mr. Ali,” explained the Assistant to the Local Welcoming Committee Chair.
“I see,” Liao Si commented. “Very well, Ms. Shaofeng. Tell Ms. Aweys she has been promoted from Sub-Chair for Volunteer Identification and Selection. She is now the Acting Local Chair for Mogadishu. Please let her know that Mr. Dini and Mr. Ali are to be escorted onto the next elevator car going up to the alien transports. If nothing else, there will be at least two people in that next car. Then you will instruct Ms. Aweys to have the local site security to begin arresting the protestors and place them on subsequent upward elevator cars. Use stun rounds and sleeping gas if needed to get the protestors under control so you can get them on the upward elevators. The protestors must know they either allow new volunteers into the alien launch site or they will become the volunteers departing Earth themselves.”
“Yes, Chair Liao, I will inform Ms. Aweys of her promotion,” Shaofeng Liu said. “I had already given her the recommendation to use site security to arrest the protestors, and she is working with the Local Chair of Monitoring to organize the security staff. I informed Ms. Aweys that she has the full support of our partnership, and have already reached out to Song Min about the potential need for temporary assistance from Panda Security employees based at the Addis Ababa launch site.”
“Very good, Ms. Shaofeng,” Liao Si responded. “That is the sort of confident and proactive approach I would expect from you. As I’ve said many times, I and the others on the National Expansion Committee recognize the particular challenges that occur in Somalia. The country at large is against us, and the people of Mogadishu itself only tolerate us because of the cash and infrastructure we provide. Somalia has been a struggle to maintain Chinese interests for decades, and the arrival of the aliens has only compounded that struggle. It is important to reverse the downward trend of the departure rate, however, and get back to at least a seventy-five percent capacity ratio by the end of the second quarter. Can you remain committed to that goal, Diu?”
“Yes, Chair Liao, I am committed to that goal,” the Assistant to Mogadishu Local Welcoming Committee Chair replied enthusiastically. “And I will communicate the plan during my update in our Committee Meeting tomorrow.”
“Very well, Ms. Shaofeng. Please keep me informed of progress today in terms of restoring order and restarting volunteer departures. Have a good day,” Liao Si said as he reached to end the call.
“Sometimes I wish I was free from all this stress of meeting numbers, dealing with people and their problems, trying to solve the issues others bring to me. Maybe it is better to be on Nova. No concerns beyond collecting some berries for my meal and cooking up the animal I had caught earlier in the day.” Liao thought to himself as he stared at his blank console screen. Then he shook his head and smirked as he began tapping on the screen, bringing it to activity. “Me. Catching food to eat. Who am I kidding? It is far better to be here and have my staff bring me my meals while I tell them how to solve their problems.“
A page of statistics appeared on the screen.
| National Expansion Committee Meeting – 15 April 2022 | |||||||
| Population Transfer as of 12 April 2092 | |||||||
| Days in operation | Total Departure | Prior Month Departure | Prior Week Departure | Cur Depart Capacity % | Estimated Arrival | Estimated Survival | |
| Xian | 344 | 938,540 | 192,893 | 40,926 | 89.11% | 376,481 | 263,537 |
| Tianjin | 332 | 914,296 | 190,925 | 40,241 | 87.62% | 352,237 | 250,088 |
| Shanghai | 314 | 867,182 | 191,909 | 39,741 | 86.53% | 305,123 | 219,689 |
| Guangzhou | 314 | 867,182 | 190,531 | 39,309 | 85.59% | 305,123 | 219,689 |
| Addis Abbaba | 296 | 827,816 | 173,210 | 33,586 | 73.13% | 265,757 | 182,309 |
| Wuhan | 292 | 819,068 | 186,989 | 38,955 | 84.82% | 257,009 | 190,187 |
| Jinan | 292 | 819,068 | 190,335 | 38,730 | 84.33% | 257,009 | 190,187 |
| Kamina | 277 | 786,263 | 157,464 | 30,845 | 67.16% | 224,204 | 152,459 |
| Bulawayo | 277 | 786,263 | 161,401 | 30,202 | 65.76% | 224,204 | 152,459 |
| Zhengzhou | 276 | 784,076 | 188,366 | 39,304 | 85.58% | 222,017 | 166,513 |
| Chongqing | 276 | 784,076 | 185,020 | 38,703 | 84.27% | 222,017 | 166,513 |
| Mogadishu | 276 | 784,076 | 141,718 | 28,695 | 62.48% | 222,017 | 155,412 |
| Changsha | 260 | 749,084 | 192,303 | 40,301 | 87.75% | 187,025 | 142,139 |
| 10,726,990 | 3,420,223 | 2,451,179 | |||||
Est % of Nova | 18.74% | 19.47% | |||||
“Console. Call Wang Qingtun,” the Chair of the National Expansion Committee said in the direction of his desk.
The sound of a white-browed warbler coming from the console indicated the video call connection was being established, while the photo of a man in his mid-fifties appeared on a new screen that came up next to the console with the text “Wang Qingtun, National Sub-Chair, Volunteer Identification and Selection” under his name.
The warbler song stopped and the photo was replaced by the live image of a man.
“Hello Chair Liao. How may I help you?” Wang Qingtun greeted.
“Have you looked at the Population Transfer chart prepared for tomorrow’s meeting?” Liao Si asked while tapping the console screen to force the chart to appear on Wang Qingtun’s console.
“Yes, Chair Liao,” responded, turning his head slightly to look at the numbers appearing on his own console. “And I’ve been reaching out to each local site Volunteer Identification Sub-Chair to review their specific site details.”
“The Current Departure Capacity statistics have decreased again across the board for a second week in a row, Mr. Wang. And this is the first time we have had a ratio of under 90% for all of our sites. We can explain away the problems at the African locations due to inefficiencies inherent with the local population and incompetence of the local administrators. That excuse does not work with our own sites. How are we going to avoid a third week of declining departures?” demanded the National Chair.
“The news of the population transfer statistics has been spreading as more local casters around produced their own local versions of the story originally broadcast by Sky News two weeks back. It seems the milestone of fifty-million people having been shipped off the planet since the aliens arrived has hit a nerve, with each caster comparing the count to a local population center. And the projection of ten-million new people each month going forward has sparked new protests at nearly all launch sites around the globe. I have talked with the administrators of a number of locations outside of our control and all are reporting problems with getting people through to the elevators,” explained the Sub-Chair.
“Yes, I’ve watched the casts. Five-times the number of people in the city of London gone. More than double the people that live in Mumbai have disappeared. Almost the entire population of South Korea have been sucked off the planet,” Liao said, mimicking the urgent tones of a broadcaster. “And there was a cast from Mexico late last week that took a different angle, looking at the future and claiming the global transfer rate will be like the citizens of one Central American country being hauled away every month, with the depopulation of the entire Central American region before the end of this year. Very effective propaganda to be sure. But what happens outside of our sphere of control should be of no concern to us. I know the National Central Committee doesn’t see that as any reason we can’t meet our departure numbers. You’ve confirmed with Yang Lu that all of the casts with negative reporting of the colonists departure are being blocked, correct?”
“Yes, Chair Liao,” Mr. Wang nodded. “And those that are supportive of the colonization efforts are being featured both here as well as in our sister-countries in Africa. Yang Lu shared news from National Head Zhao that the MSS is developing content to be seen as local casts around the globe that emphasize the positive aspects of going to Nova, even capitalizing on the unrest here as a means of moving to Nova to escape the chaos.”
“So back to my question, Mr. Wang. How are we going to avoid a third week of declining departures?” Liao Si asked.
“We are planning a program to be rolled out in two days that will offer a guaranteed food supply for two years for extended family members of those that volunteer to become a colonist. I have asked for time on your schedule later this afternoon to review those plans with you before they are presented at our Expansion Committee meeting tomorrow,” Mr. Wang shared.
Liao Si tapped on his console to bring up his daily calendar, and nodded seeing the meeting was indeed on his agenda. “And that is for all thirteen launch sites?” he asked.
“This week will only be for domestic elevators, as we will need another two weeks to finalize the logistics of the program in the four African locales,” Wang Qingtun noted. “And Mr. Tao believes it will take two weeks for the security situation in those sites to be sufficiently controlled to allow for normal volunteer transport. In that time, we feel the concerns about reliable food delivery in those countries will begin to overtake concern about population transfer so that the offer of a guaranteed food supply will be of sufficient interest to pull in the number of volunteer colonists needed to return those sites to greater than ninety-percent departure capacity rates. Our domestic sites need between one- to two-thousand additional volunteers per week to exceed the ninety-percent ratio. So we estimate this will actually generate enough interest to have our domestic rates return to above ninety-five percent in the next month.”
“Have you heard from Shaofeng Liu today,” Liao Si asked.
“Yes, most unfortunate about the train accident,” Wang Qingtun noted.
“Yes, I wonder what the statistics will show for this next week if they don’t get rail service re-established.” Liao Si wondered. “So, back to your new program. How are you planning to establish guaranteed food delivery at all these locations for two years?”
“We feel confident we can supply six months of food for this program without jeopardizing the ability to feed those designated as essential population here in China. Beyond that we are unsure,” Wang Qingtun shared. “Of course, we will make a concerted effort to evaluate the situation and extend the program as long as we are able.”
“Of course,” the National Committee Chair murmured. Then he straightened his back and shoulders. “I approve the plan. Make sure to have the presentation sent to me in the next two hours. If I have any questions after reviewing it, we’ll discuss them during our scheduled meeting. Otherwise I’ll have the meeting canceled as I’m sure we both have many other things to attend to.”
The National Committee Sub-Chair nodded.
“Now we both know this will only produce enough interest to prop up our numbers for at most a couple of months. Have you been considering our conversation from last month about how to sustain departure numbers late into this year? We can’t risk another downturn. And the issues with our African sites can’t all be attributed to the negative casts from the past two weeks. All four sites have not had a weekly departure rate of one-hundred percent since late February, nor any days at one-hundred percent since March 6th. And all four sites have been under ninety-percent since the start of April” Liao Si noted.
“Yes, Chair Liao, I have been talking with my staff about longer term plans,” Wang Qingtun said. “We agree that your suggestion has the best merit at this point. We will begin transfer of targeted populations from the Western Provinces beginning in May. At this point…”
A ‘Visitor’ notification alert popped up on Liao Si’s console screen and he looked at the door to see a person waiting to enter.
“One moment, please,” Liao Si interrupted his Sub-Chair. He tapped the console to pause the call and another tap to open the speaker outside the door.
“Yes, Ms. Chen?” he said.
“Good morning, Chair Liao. My apologies for coming unannounced like this and especially right before lunch. May I come in?” the National Staffing Sub-Chair asked.
Liao answered by tapping a button to unlock the door.
Chen Qing entered the office while Liao Si resumed his call with the National Volunteer Identification and Selection Sub-Chair.
“My apologies, Mr. Wang. I need to attend to other matters at the moment. Please make sure to have your presentation to me within the next two hours.” And having said that, the National Expansion Committee Chair ended the call.
“Please, come in, Qing! I’m always happy to have a visit from you,” Liao Si said with a smile.
The unofficial assistant to the National Chair gave a weak smile in response. “Thank you, Chair Liao.”
“Chair Liao? You must have been catching up on your mandatory Central Committee protocol training this morning, Qing,” Liao Si teased. “Please, sit down.”
Chen Qing looked at the chair in front of Liao Si’s desk and sat down tentatively. She folded her hands and placed them on her knees, which were held tightly together. Her head remained tilted down.
“Is everything okay with you, Chen? You look like you might not feel well,” Liao Si asked with genuine concern. “Do you finally have some news to report from you and your boyfriend? Have you convinced him that having a child is still an acceptable thing to do in this society?” he finished with a warm smile.
Chen Qing looked up. “I was hoping to discuss the National Expansion Committee meeting scheduled for tomorrow.” she said, her voice quivering slightly.
“Very well, Chen,” Liao Si said. “I’m sorry if my teasing about a baby upsets you. I just know that has been a wish of yours for the past five years. But enough of my poor manners. Yes, the meeting tomorrow. How are things coming along with the new Local Welcoming Committee Chair for Shanghai? Has she settled in well since her start last month?”
“Shan Rui is well prepared for her position,” Chen Qing replied. “Her role as Landing Site Preparation Sub-Chair and then as Assistant to Local Chair Fong has given her much of the experience in the work she now has overall responsibility for performing. She will do quite well, I am sure.”
“And how is Mr. Fong? I understand the nervous breakdown he had was particularly severe,” the National Chair asked.
“He is still recuperating at the Gongqing Forest Retreat Center. The last I heard he is still reporting signs that the Americans are planning an attack on the Shanghai elevator similar to what happened at the Georgia elevator in the United States,” Ms. Chen replied.
“That is indeed a shame he fell apart so drastically. I hope the time in nature will heal his mental wounds,” Liao Si said. “And what of Chang Ma?
“I am not convinced he will be successful in his new role,” Ms. Chen bluntly stated. “He has no experience with Ethiopia, and has spent no time outside of China. He speaks none of the local languages, and has already stated he is not interested in interacting with the Local Welcoming Committee in Addis Ababa. I have not made my opinion secret that I feel his assignment will further jeopardize our situation with the Addis Ababa launch site.” Chen Qing then straightened in her chair. “But there are times when my opinion means nothing, and I am told to accept decisions handed down from above.”
“That is an unfortunate circumstance for all of us, I’m afraid, Qing. Is that what is bothering you? That the Central Committee forced our hand to put Chang Ma in as Assistant to the Local Welcoming Committee Chair in Addis Ababa?” Liao Si asked.
Chen Qing took a deep breath and looked directly at her mentor. “I was called into the office of the National Vice-Chair of the Central Committee an hour ago. Vice-Chair Bian said we are shifting to the next phase of our Expansion Plan, and he informed me that I will be assuming the role of Chair of the National Expansion Committee.
Liao Si reflexively glanced over his shoulder, showing a slightly concerned and confused expression. “And did the National Vice-Chair share what my role in this next phase of the plan will be?”
Chen Qing continued, “I was also asked to tell you that a place has been reserved for you on a morning elevator from Tianjin the day after tomorrow. Your mission will be shifting to bring together all of the thirteen sites on Nova as one coordinated group supporting the establishment of an organized national state as an official extension of the Chinese government here on Earth. You are asked to share this news with everyone at the National Expansion Committee meeting tomorrow.”
The color left Liao Si’s face. He tried to smile, but was unable to show a meaningful emotion. “You have my congratulations on your promotion, Chair Chen,” he said stiffly.
“Please know I declined the promotion, Si. But I was told I have no option on whether to accept or not. When I heard what they were doing to you, I insisted on being the person to tell you.” Chen Qing rose from her seat in front of the desk. “I am sorry to have this news for you.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Chen Qi.., I mean Chair Chen,” Liao Si said with an unsteady voice. “I will be taking the rest of the day off to prepare for my departure.”
Chen Qing turned and walked to the door. She reached to open the door, then stopped and turned around. “Chair Liao, I know it may not be appropriate for me to share feelings. This is a tumultuous time. I’m afraid I won’t be able to raise the departure percentages as requested by the Central Committee. I feel my opportunity to join you on Nova may not be far in the future.”
Liao Si noted a tear rolling down his former assistant’s cheek.
“Nova is a world of new opportunities, for all of us,” he said, the sympathy returning to his voice.
Chen Qing tried to smile, wiped the tear from her face, and then opened the door and left the room.
As the office door slid shut, Liao Si gripped the desk in front of him, a wave of panic rushing through his body.