Chapter 14 Corporate Goons Back Again

The next trip to the lake vacation home area, they found that the patch of shards from the cave boring, which had been subjected by repeated thermal shock while they were gone, had not changed to sand, but instead to dust. The small particle dust would quickly float in the air when disturbed, and tended to settle somewhere else. Dust was something not seen on this planet except a bit in homes long inhabited. Geodon immediately saw potential with this dust in his ultrasonic fabrication experiments, making detail finer than anything else known on this planet that was made by casting. And most structures on this planet were made in molds, either the fixed shape ones, or the variable sand casting ones computer assembled layer by layer within a large outer shell. He stopped to think, what would benefit by having a smoother, tinier detail to it? Writing surfaces, for one; items of personal adornment, another; eating utensils might become easier to clean if surfaces were much smoother, too. Maybe cheaper mirror surfaces could be made, instead of just out of very expensive metal material. As he was imagining away, he heard a whump behind him; and looking back at the sudden dust cloud where he had been a moment ago, reminded him that the eagerness to check on his experiment had gotten him to forget that the barrier was there for a purpose, to keep people from accidentally wandering into the beam of enormous energy. Nansella was eager to go check out their far lake site to put a pail of sand that they had brought up there; Geodon suggested that both pails of black sand be added to the far site, not just one, since he was interested in making craft items out of the lava dust, for now, not using sand.

They took the skiff up to the far end of their lake, and spread the two buckets of black sand there, one to smooth up the dock area, the other for plant growth site expansion. On impulse they decided to carry the empty buckets back by walking through the lava tube tunnel, leaving the skiff tied up at the dock at the far end for now. When they got back, Geodon scooped up the dust into one of the buckets, and set out a fresh layer of cave boring shards to be converted into dust by the satellite focused solar beam. They then spent the next two days building a wall to seal the third cave's entrance, including a lockable door. Their discovery that something was erasing memories of their productive work and creative accomplishments, even to the point of them having to buy expensive items that apparently they themselves had created and built, made them a bit paranoid and cautious, wondering what next. This vacation area with its crafts equipment and the things that had reminded them of their past accomplishment that something had erased from their memory and somehow taken their equipment too, go them to thinking that maybe they ought to keep their lava tube discovery more of a secret. Or at least less obvious. So they made the wall look quite a bit like a normal lava fold, even the door was not obvious. It also was behind the protective barrier, so was not so likely to be discovered by someone while they were gone.

But events were not going to wait for them to be gone. Nansella came running into their cave home, telling Geodon that there were a bunch of people heading their way, along the path he had made, and they looked like the businessmen that had taken their cabinetry business over and somehow erased their memories of its ownership. Quickly checking to see that there was not blasting beam to hit in the next few minutes, they grabbed their picnic basket and a few items, and dashed into their third cave, shutting the door behind them and locking it.

They had only gotten the basic electric power connected enough for lights inside the new cave, along with a basic data terminal. They could recharge their flashlights too. But they could not see what was going on outside.

Nansella pointed out that the lava tube also went in the other direction, from which no air flow was seen; yet it ought to go past the back side of the other two caves, which would have broken into the lava tube if they had been extended further. So they took their flashlights and carefully explored a ways in the other direction of the lava tube; it seemed like it was getting larger in diameter and would go on a long ways further; but the air quickly got stale, so they went back.

Then they walked to the lava tube's opening, where their boat was moored; looking down toward the other end of the lake, they could barely make out a large number of people moving around there. But they could not see what they were doing. It was getting dark, so they walked the tunnel back to the third cave, where they had their food and bedding and basic equipment, and spent the night there, comforted by the occasional whump sound from the pulverizing beam from passing satellite, that probably was intimidating any of the intruders from investigating toward their haven.

The next morning they returned to their lava tube's exit, and watched for movement down at the far end; nothing seemed to be moving down there anymore. They occasionally looked down there for signs of activity several more times and by noon they decided to take the skiff to go closer, a better examination. Nothing seemed to be moving down there, so apparently their visitors had left, it seemed. So they continued to the dock there, and cautiously checked out the trail and then went to look into their vacation cave home; they found it had been stripped of all the mold making equipment. Even his snow shovel was gone. The dwelling of their other couple had similarly been stripped of craftsmanship materials and equipment. It appeared that Planetary Enterprise was exercising its right to ownership of everything on the planet. Especially the creative, highly profitable parts of it.

Back in their new dwelling of the third cave, after resting up a bit, they came to the conclusion that somehow PE had known that there was cabinet making equipment up here too; it seemed to match with the empty room in Geodon's house that they had photos of when it was equipped with cabinet making molds and other equipment involved with the cabinetry. Although they could not remember that they had once had a cabinet making facility there, it appeared that something was able to find out about the setup way up here and what was in it, and take away the things related to what had vanished per their photos of Geodon's house workroom. It meant that most likely that when they returned to town, they would not remember things about the situation they now were noticing, particularly the taking away of their cherished equipment and materials, by folks who seemed to know exactly where it was. Yet those folks did not know that Geodon and Nansella were up here too, watching them. Very strange. What could they do about it, they wondered. They did not have food for much longer up here, either.

They rowed the skiff back up to moor at the far end of the lake, and walked the lava tube back. The walking gave them time to think and share thoughts about the situation. Most probably when they went back into town they would "forget" what had happened here; or maybe the folks would come back and raid the third cave while they were gone, finding it out from their mind, somehow, as evident from the recent events. They prepared some messages for themselves that they would stumble into later, telling of what had happened and their guesses, as a hedge against the strange thing happening again, which seemed most likely to happen again. They guessed that physical items would not be taken unless valuable enough to whoever was doing all the mischief. Yet it still seemed amazing that apparently the thriving new cabinetry shop in town had been their creation; Geodon still had some money in his bank account apparently left over from that activity.

But the implications of something happening that could do the equivalent of reading their memories and erasing selected ones, was still impressing them with the difficulties it could cause them, as well as apparently had caused them even quite recently. They knew that it was linked to the ones now operating the new cabinetry shop in town, who had come for more of it up here yesterday. The cabinet shop was now a subsidiary of PE, Planetary Enterprise, who had been their employer before retirement, as it was for everybody else on the planet. Apparently PE was intensively monitoring them in their retirement in this desolate town; just like it had done so more rightfully back when they were doing jobs in the industrialized parts of the planet. The situation did not look like it was going to be an easy fix for them.

There had been no more snow since they had been up here this time, except for right after they arrived, which luckily had probably covered up their tracks before the intruders had arrived to take away the cabinet stuff as well as other belongings they had here, that had been left in the first cave room, not realizing they were about to have their belongings taken away from them. Also luckily they had basics of warm bedding and some food for their little venture into the third cave and lava tunnel, that now had become their home. Would it be gone the next time they came up here, they wondered. Or would they even remember this place existed. Since it was not a moneymaker at this point, they guessed that what was here now would still be here later. But if it again became a moneymaker, could be a problem again, if the pattern was actually what they were evaluating now. They had food for only one more day, and then they would have to go back; now was their time to do something about it all, but what to do?

They had the notes they left for themselves in their pockets; and they prepared a note to be left here in a place that hopefully they would find later, too, assuming they came back here. Of course, would they believe the notes? It was such an impossible sounding thing, who would believe it? And while they were discussing weird stuff, Nansella commented another weird thing she had experienced was whenever she passed the town prison, she felt like being stuck by an invisible pin or something. He responded that he too had the same experience; but sometimes when he opened his front door, the same thing would happen; so it was not just something to do with the round prison tower. The people locked up in prison might be doing something mischievous from their prison cells, shooting something at people to amuse themselves, perhaps. They would have to be bad people, to be locked up like that, wouldn't they?

Before they left, Geodon collected up the latest batch of pulverized lava, put it in the third cave, and put out a fresh batch of shards from the cave borings by the satellite beams. He was pretty sure the finely powdered lava they had made, was intended by himself, before memory erasure, for making an even finer surfaced form of items made by the sand-adhesive ultrasonic process. They hid the remaining ultrasonic generator, along with what small items like hinge pins that had been left behind by the invaders.

Saying their goodbyes to this place that they had created with so much caring, just in case the mysterious thing would make them forget its existence when they got back to town, they headed back to the pylon, up the pylon's elevator, and a look at the vast lake from up there and also the tiny view of their little lake, one of several small lakes visible from up there, they were soon in the nice warm transfer pod, and munching the last of the picnic basket's goodies. Soon the rugged ground below them changed from a mixture of white snow patches on black lava, to just the ripples and folds of the lava where it had been frozen in place eons ago. They sat in thoughtful silence for most of the trip, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of the transfer pod on its journey across the line of pylons, watching the empty water transfer containers passing them by going the other direction, on their way to get another filling of water from the vast lake up there.

A couple of hours later the town hove into view. Now they were filled with apprehension, would their memories of their preparations be spied by the mysterious thing in town, maybe even erasing their memory of their nice vacation home site in the next few minutes? They looked for a way to Geodon's home by some other way other than on the main pathway which led past the town prison tower. There was the track along which the conveyor belt endlessly moved transferring items among the businesses and dwellings of town, and the belt had a small pathway alongside it probably for repair activities; they could try going over to there and follow it around, a long way but would eventually get to Geodon's home.

The transfer pod arrived at the town's pylon, and down the elevator, but instead of taking the path to town as usual, they quickly found a way to get to the small trail alongside the conveyer belt. Carrying the empty picnic basket and the two empty pails, they started down the utility path alongside the conveyor belt, counting the structures it went past, as it went past structure after structure, until counting the buildings they emerged to where the end of the new construction was going on; then walking past the giant machines that were making the next house at a snail's pace when the sun shone, it was only a couple houses down the path until they were at his house, and inside. They quickly asked each other, did they notice the strange pin prick phenomena coming into the house, and neither one had. Maybe they had escaped the weird thing for now.

It was nice to have a bath and a warm comfortable bed at long last, and some hot meals freshly made again. They made more notes for themselves to find later, stashing them out of sight but where eventually they would find them, most likely;.was there anything else they could do? They went over to the cabinet that Geodon had bought at the store, which had cost him a lot of money; hard to believe that he himself had made the molds, perhaps even had made this very one, and also probably had invented the whole process and designed the cabinets. And yet he had no memory of doing any of that. Other than the leftover intention of making some new kind of items using the finely pulverized lava particles in some new products involving the adhesive that was triggered by the ultrasonic generator.

He put in a request for another ultrasonic generator and a variety of items such as hinge pin material and other accessory items, all aimed as if going to make more cabinets; when they arrived, it might make him wonder why he had sent for them. And thus help once again re-create some part of memory of the present situation. And, the stuff most likely would be useful, as he was beginning to get more inspiration for things to make, using the process. Nansella suggested another few items that might enable some kitchen accessories that could be created by the process too. She made notes for herself explaining the purpose of those items when they came in. With all these things they had prepared, they hoped that maybe they could recover some of what would be lost, if the phenomenon happened again, such as tomorrow. With that done, they turned in for some long needed rest. Tomorrow would likely be a difficult day for them.