Cornerstone snippet 1

First, sitrep:
  I am still puttering around with various to-do stuff off my list. Right now I've been trying to balance family things with Beta and fan requests. For instance, the Sigma map and Pi map have been revised. I've even got Wayne after me to redo the Rho map. :)
  The presents are wrapped, the annual 3D Christmas card is done, I'm considering doing another or character art, or some of the stuff Wayne, Duncan, and the others are after me to do. Or play hooky. lol

Anyway, I did say I'd post a snippet from Cornerstone since Rea currently has it. I keep 'forgetting' to do it. It is hard to find the right story to pull snippets from. Here is the first:

Back to Basics

November, 10 2211

“So it is official ladies and gentlemen, the Earth First party has carried the day with the second vote of the Confederation election, with eighty-nine percent of the polling districts reporting in. A new day is dawning for the Sol Confederation as Earth gets back on her feet and flexes her muscles.”

Senator Ben Gaston shook his head as he listened to the news report. Things were about to get interesting, and not in a good way.

It was inevitable in its way. The Sol Confederation's government was set up with checks and balances along the lines of the old United States of America's government, with all 3 branches of government represented. Last year the population of the star system had voted for the first time to bring the first wave of senators, representatives, and even the President and Vice President into power. For a year the outer colonies had held sway over the government since Earth's population was disorganized and still living hand to mouth with little interest in government.

That changed over the past several months as resentment built over the power the colonies had over Earth and over how it would be rebuilt. As the people of Earth got back onto their feet they'd demanded their voice in how to govern things. And this was one of the results.

He was pretty sure that the people who'd set up the Confed government had thought Earth would be grateful for the colonies rescue and war effort. He had no such illusions, his own cynicism had kicked in the moment he'd heard people begin to complain that the rebuild efforts weren't moving along fast enough. When they'd inevitably started to point fingers and demand more resources from the government he'd known that it was only a matter of time before a general uprising began to swell. Enough vocal leaders had come forth to articulate the message that Earth should be the priority for one and all and that somehow they were getting shafted by the colonies.

It couldn't be any further from the truth, he'd seen the budget. He'd seen the numbers of people employed the soldiers on the ground, the money the colonies and corporations were putting out to help treat the population and do something about the pollution on their ravaged homeworld. But of course there was no telling the rank and file that. All they saw were the haves and have nots, and they were in the have not category being lorded over by rich comfortable people while they tried to survive.

He couldn't blame them; it was primal to want equality, to want to have a better future for yourself and your children. Earth had that chance, but for many it just wasn't happening fast enough he mused.

Open resistance from Skynet and its suborned A.I. had mostly ceased. Here and there a pocket of resistance was found, but the Space Marines stomped on it hard when it was found.

EMP weapons had been used to blanket the planet on two occasions to cut down on the A.I.'s control network. Many of the people on the ground had seen it as a way to suppress their own rebuilding efforts however. Never mind that the spacers had dropped food, survival material, and were working on clearing the sky and water.

The proles were awake, he thought, but still ignorant. They now controlled the House of Representatives, but not the Senate or Presidency. The cabinet had already been filled earlier in the year, and the Sol Supreme Court had been filled as well. The Earth First party effectively controlled the House, and could make life miserable in the Senate for the next several years.

There were 78 seats in the Senate. Twenty-four of them were for Earth, 4 for each of the 6 occupied continents. Mars had a similar ratio, with 16 of her own senators. Titan had 8 senators, while the moon had 4. The Lagraine point and Mars habitats each had 8. The belters had 8 seats and the outer system colonies had 4.

There were supposed to be seats reserved for Venus whenever it was terraformed, as well as seats for each of the extra solar colonies when they were populated beyond a million people. There was no telling when any of that would happen however.

He rubbed his brow gently as he fought a headache. He wished Casey, his wife was there, but she'd died during the war. She'd always had the touch; she knew him inside and out and could sooth away anything with her magical hands and soft touch.

He rumbled a sigh as he looked at the vid screen.

Of the 500 house seats up for election on Earth, 443 had been taken by Earth First. The other 57 were either in doubt or had been taken by someone charismatic enough and popular enough to hold out against them. Most had paid lip service to the E1 party as some called them, enough to most likely vote with them but try to maintain their independence.

Good luck with that, he thought dryly.

Even before the election over a hundred representatives from Earth had joined E1 once it had started to get organized. He was fairly confident more would join in time. Five of his fellow senators had already joined E1. He was fending off calls to join the party as well.

All 12 of the senate seats that had been on the voting bloc had fallen to the E1 party. Many of the newly elected senators had been local leaders like himself who had distinguished themselves protecting and guiding their communities.

The house had 1200 seats all told. Earth held 1000 of those seats now. No doubt E1 would have its majority soon enough, he thought. He made a mental bet when he'd start to see defections among the current crop of already elected representatives and senators. They weren't up for election for another 3 years, but that didn't mean anything. He'd already been hit up with none too polite nudging to join the party 'or else'.

He was from Pennsylvania, an old state in the old USA, known as a keystone state with a charged population not afraid to speak their minds. His Quaker ancestors might have been pacifists, but the war had burned that right out of him.

But, after having met some of the spacer A.I. like Athena, he'd kept his family's reputation of an open mind and had even come to respect and admire her and some of her counterparts. He'd voted along with them for the A.I. and Neo Bill of Rights, against those who were so filled with hatred over the war that they'd been blinded to the future. Fortunately, their ire had cooled over the past year.

But not all, he knew. He'd read some of the blog posts, heard some of the speeches of the E1 core leadership calling for a repeal of the Bill of Rights and destruction of the A.I. They'd tried to go after Neos as well, but too many people had seen the Neos fight valiantly to protect their communities so they had quietly dropped that part of their plans.

He'd been lucky; he and his family had been at a wedding near Mount Davis when the war had broken out. There had been a series of mines nearby, they'd flocked to them and used them as shelter. Casey had been instrumental in setting up the caves as a home while he and others went out and found what supplies and other survivors they could. He owed his life to a Neochimp corporal who'd saved him in 2204. Corporal Walter Yun, who had died the next day to a buried mech ambush.

His youngest grandson was named Walter after the man he'd never meet. His grandfather carried a debt he'd never be able to repay. But every day he represented his people in the senate including the Neos who were few and far between in congress, the more he felt like he was paying back a small tithe on that debt.

“Have you eaten? Why are you up?” Christi Lee, his eldest daughter demanded as she came into the living room. She was a tall blond woman who liked to color the tips of her hair purple. During the war she'd lost some of that hair due to radiation exposure, and of course hair dye had been in short supply. After the war she'd managed to get treated and had gone back to her old ways.

“I'm...” he waved a hand to the video screen. She turned to look at it, her face taking on a decidedly sour expression. She shook her head. “Yeah, I know, but it is a part of my job.”

“Well, you know now, so you can bypass the idiots with their chatter,” she said as she found the remote and shut the screen up. “Have you eaten?” she demanded. He shook his head. “Dad...” she complained, patience apparently tried to the breaking point.

“You are sounding a bit too much like your mother for comfort,” he said with a wan smile.

She placed her fists on her hips. “Good. You are not getting out of this though by changing the subject,” she said. He snorted. “You are going to eat,” she informed him severely, glaring at him. “I know the chemo screws with your appetite, but the doctor said you are underweight. That's not good,” she scolded as she came over to check him over.

“Fine,” he sighed.

“It's bad enough you have to go up to that station,” she sighed.

“It's called the hill by some,” he said with a shrug as he started to rise. She pushed him back down. “What?” he asked.

“I'll go get you something to eat. Something simple. You relax.”

“I'm not made out of glass and paper mache young lady, besides, I need to pee,” he said, making a face at her and pretending to do the dance.

“Oh,” she said with a snort, relenting and letting him up reluctantly. He went to the bathroom slowly and carefully, he'd sat too long and was now feeling every bone in his body. At the door he turned to see her still looking at him. He waved a hand. “Shoo,” he said.

She shook a finger at him then took herself off to the kitchen.

One of the downsides of his being out with the hunter gather groups had been his exposure to the environment, including the toxic clouds, acid rain, and radiation. He had stage 4 cancers all through his body that was being barely held back by the best medicine the government could provide.

Well, next best, he thought, remembering a time when his cancers could have been cured with nanotech. But that had been banned, so he was bouncing between aggressive treatments that brought on gut wrenching nausea and fatigue, and brief periods of remission.

He did his business and exited the bathroom to find a plate with a small portion of food on it. It was even steaming. At least she'd gotten that right, giving him small portions to not overload him and make him shut down before he got started. During the war he'd lost his taste in food, it was all grist for the mill after that experience, but he appreciated that she'd zapped some porridge for him. It was most likely fortified as well.

He picked through half the bowl mechanically as he considered the future. He clicked the screen back on but changed it to the weather.

“Acid rain clouds moving in tomorrow. The air quality has been downgraded to extreme. Everyone is advised to remain indoors tomorrow. Schools have canceled session again,” the reporter announced. He grimaced at the temperatures and forecast.

“Either we need to hit fast forward with the rebuilding, or we need another planet,” he murmured as he finished the porridge that his shrunken stomach could handle and then pushed the bowl aside. One good thing about the stick to his ribs glop, it made him feel full and sleepy. He changed the channel to a music channel and then pushed the button on his recliner to elevate his feet and lower the back. In moments his eyelids drifted downward and he dozed off.

He never noticed when his daughter came in and smiled fondly as she policed his dishes and put an afghan over him.

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