PRI 3 Snippet 4

 So, sitrep, Goodlifeguide just got back to me and said the manuscript will be returned sometime during the week. Cool.

I guess you'll just have to contend yourselves with snippets for the time being.😀

Chapter 3

 

Max was annoyed that a majority of the road construction projects outside of the capital had to be switched to tar over concrete. Concrete was great for some things, but the concrete didn't hold up to the expansion and contraction of the cold winters, nor the rock salt used to clear the roads. They had several sources of oil though, so it had been sorted out.

The cement works was a major project and drew a lot of power like the fertilizer program. No surprise there, grinding rocks and moving rocks took a lot of energy. He just hated the idea of tar roads since they didn't last long either.

The oil products were coming in handy in other ways though. Not for vehicles, well, not directly. He was death on fossil fuels even though he had grown up wrenching a variety of gas and diesel engines in his youth. He backed Eugene's insistence on going green as much as possible and avoiding the pitfalls Earth had stumbled through. They didn't need or want to repeat past mistakes but instead do their best to learn and avoid them if possible. That was why they were using ethylene and biodiesel when electric wasn't good enough.

He hadn't been thrilled about opening up a seam of coal either, but both oil and coal were being processed for a variety of material. Everything from activated coal for industry and water filtration to plastics were being produced by the material. The growing steel industry required vast amounts of cooked coal in the form of coke in order to process raw iron into steel products.

There were limits to the raw supplies though, so he had to wonder if they'd run out before they could switch to another source of material.

It still beat building out of cobblestone though. It also beat building in the capital itself.

He shuddered. The Roman slash medieval style of street construction was narrow. Buildings frequently overhung the street since there was no building code. Well, there was now, but it was only affecting new construction.

Back alleys were extremely narrow, some only wide enough for a person to walk down. They were also poorly lit and covered in trash and slop in some quarters. Some were dangerous places to be at night.

The mayor and the city council were working on changes, but it was taking time. The first street signs and lights had gone up, along with traffic lights. But they were only on the main thoroughfares that were wide enough to handle a lot of traffic.

Some streets were going to have to be labeled one way. It was tough.

^^^^^^

Sergeant Waters passed an open tavern door and noted the MPs were checking it. He cocked his head but they didn't catch sight of him. Apparently, they were checking just to check? He wasn't certain.

He was stuck in traffic; traffic in the capital was getting terrible as more and more vehicles were becoming available. It had been bad enough with branacks and carts, now the wider cars and trucks made it horrible at times like this. It fairly crawled. This was not something he'd wanted to have to sit in, but he was stuck.

He could hear the radio broadcast so he knew it was a high-end tavern. The native-built radios were expensive and only useful in buildings that had been wired for electrical power. They were a major draw though, bringing in natives to listen to the news, sports, drama, and music from the outlandish box on the wall.

They, of course, drank expensive ale or lager and ate there before going home. He saw the MPs pull a kid out of a tavern. The lad had his head down and was in a rumpled uniform with vomit stains on it. Well, at least they got their man he thought as he moved on.

^^^^^^

Sue eyed the Burger Meister and sighed internally. Some people had to be shown things. He was a greedy type. She knew he had his hand in the till from some reported gossip around the castle. He'd had to scramble after a couple of audits and didn't like getting his hand slapped.

He had weathered those scandals and managed to adapt to audits and spreadsheets. But he'd taken some of his ire out on the Terrans by foot dragging and demanding explanations for everything.

She understood the theory; it was wise to explain things rather than just order it. That way the people understood the reasoning behind the changes. But it was still maddening to see some things go so slow.

“I still believe it should be first come, first serve. It's not like we have a lot of room in the streets for traffic to give the right-of-way to medicus,” Doland sniffed.

“First off, it isn't just medicus,” Sue interjected when he wound down and paused. “It is to any first responder, be it a medicus team or firefighters or law enforcement,” she explained. “Getting out of the way of the firefighters allows them to get to a scene and put a fire out before it spreads to consume an entire block,” she said firmly.

She saw him wince slightly. He really should lay off the fatty foods she thought idly.

“The lights and sirens, are they really necessary?” a city counselor demanded. “At night, they wake me up!”

Sue turned to him. “They are there to get people to move aside. Time is precious in a crisis. Every moment counts.”

“Still …”

“The simple answer is, if it is your child or wife or even you in the back of the ambulance would you want it delayed and stuck in traffic?” she demanded.

He blinked and then shook his head.

“And by extension, if the ambulance was trying to get to you to render aide?”

He shook his head again.

“I'm a medicus. I don't want anyone to die if we can stop it. The faster we get to a scene the faster we can help and the higher the chances of survival. It is that simple.”

She bowed and stepped aside from the podium. When they continued the debate, she just shook her head. Her phone went off, and she quietly excused herself to answer it.

^^^^^^