Colonist

by Geoff O'Callaghan ISBN 13: 978 1 84693 008 9
Published: Jan 2006
Pages: 113
Description
Colonist

Colonist families, en-route to Mars, lose their adults to pollution in the feed lines, leaving their children: Stephen, Karla, Patricia , Anthony, Simon, Harry, Henrietta, Gary, and Pierre as orphans. This places an unwanted load on the existing workforce of Olympus base which is now short of workers, and must also care for nine grieving children. Command Neil Gordschsky decides to put the youngsters into his workforce where they will learn to look after themselves, to work, and to study.
The plan goes well as the Mayflower orphans learn to dig tunnels, drive trucks, collect cargo, clean vehicles, operate atmospheric plants, generators, and survey equipment. They even take part in creating new secondary bases Pavonis Gusev and Pavonis. Time passes, and they grow to love Mars, and it's challenging environment. Karla becomes very attached to George who is Neil’s assistant.
Stephen and three friends are nearly killed while on a mineral survey. While trapped in the cave, Stephen discovers a cache of gem quality diamonds. On the advice of his friend and mentor Kevin, he decides to keep the discovery secret.
On Earth, Politicians, are unhappy about the direction that, colonists on Mars are taking and begin to interfere by appointing a civilian governor, Gallant Harding, who has no experience in running bases in space. Harding arrives with his family, and is supported by a large force of space marines. Neil Gordschsky is fired from his position as commander, but decides to remain on Mars in retirement, rather than return to Earth. Harding’s Son, Ormond and his bully boy friends are killed in an accident resulting from a practical joke being played on the more experienced Mars children. Frantic with grief, and obsessed with thoughts of revenge, the governor turns on the of the Mayflower orphans, by exiling them to a remote base.
Harding alienates the Martian citizens by confiscating their mining leases, handing their rights to mine to a multinational conglomerate based on Earth. He fantasises that the colonists are in revolt against Earth, and concocts a conspiracy theory to monster Neil, the miners, and the orphans. He issues arrest warrants against Karla, Stephen, Harry, Chris, Simon, and the old guard offices, Neil, Kevin, Gordon and George. The colonists instigate a rescue mission to regain Gordon and the children from Harding's grasp.
Virtual guerrilla war breaks out between the colonists, miners, and the orphans on the one hand, and Harding with the military on the other.
Some members of the military smell a rat, and begin to distrust Harding and his extreme measures. He eliminates Greenway, Morgan, and some of the crew of Phobos Station. His loyal ally, Kronner, manages to arrest Stephen, Harry, and Simon while they are attempting to find some diamonds to trade for essential items.
Stephen is interrogated by Kronner. The boy offers him a bribe - diamonds, fame, and a place in history. Kronner rejects it outright. He forces Neil and his officers to surrender, by threatening to execute the rebels under his control. He transfers the prisoners to Phobos so they can be transported to Earth. A shuttle he was to use during the transfer explodes on the launching field soon after the Phobos shuttle has launched. On Phobos the media televise everything as breaking news to Earth. Kronner gets Harding away from the press and confronts him about the exploding shuttle. Harding pacifies Kronner, explaining that he wasn't trying to exterminate the officer. Unaware that Kronner is filming him with his, helmet camera, Harding admits to killing Greenway, Morgan, the Phobos observation team, and also causing the civil disturbances on Mars so his multinational conglomerate mates can take over Mars as a monopoly resource.
Harding has been exposed on international and solar TV. Kronner arrests him and frees the colonists. Nobody is more surprise than young Stephen, but realizes that Kronner, although he has changed sides and rescued the situation, is still a snake -- when the officer holds his hand out for the other diamonds.
Stephen is glad to hand them over.
Kronner goes down into the history books as "the Liberator of Mars". He is commemorated by a statue in front of the Capitol building in Olympus city.

About the Author

Geoff was born in Jersey, then under German occupation, during World War II. Soon after the war, his family moved to Brisbane, Australia. He was educated at All Souls’ School, Charters Towers – a rather traditional boarding school after the English style. What knowledge one didn’t learn through the ears was well and truly belted in through the rear end, complete with blood blisters. His first contact with the cane was for not running around a sports oval fast enough. He now prides himself on a complete disinterest on sports and knows nothing about cricket. This led to his creative and artistic sides developing. He had a way with words, and was a skilled debater.
After secondary school, he took to teaching, graduated, and then obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Aboriginal Education. For the next thirty years, he lived with remote aborigines in the Great Western Desert, firstly as a primary school teacher, and later as a School Principal and Administrator. During this time, he took up writing, mostly short stories and film scripts. It was a good way to while away lonely hours in the desert evenings.
The development of miniature computers took his interest, and He wrote to the Department suggesting they take a serious look at the use of Computers in Education. Because of the proximity of a U.S. Sigint facility at Alice Springs, many of the students, especially the American kids, were interested in computing. At first they used Tandy Level Ones and Apples. While very primitive compared to today’s machines, Many of the I.T. Community cut their teeth on computing under Geoff’s tutelage. They even built a ‘Dream 8080’ and got it working.
Child welfare was another interest. Juveniles who committed offences were kept in adult prisons. Some of the kids were as young as nine years of age. Geoff fought hard to get decent juvenile facilities built for them, and also did lot of research into mental illnesses in Children. While taking a rest from the Desert, Geoff worked with the Education Department as a District Guidance Officer. He was responsible for getting educational services to handicapped children across the outback. While on Long Service leave in Cairns, his family home, he met up with his old geography teacher, Kevin Burry, who was bringing Trinity Anglican School to fruition. Kevin became ill with brain tumors, and the Bishop of North Queensland appointed Geoff as the voluntary acting principal to bring the school on line, so Geoff spent his vacation from teaching as principal of one of Queenslands largest schools.
Returning to the Northern Territory, Geoff was asked to write 13 episodes of “The Jabiru Trail” for the North Australian Film Corporation, and created the initial stories for “Police Rescue”. He also wrote “Extinct, but Going Home” for Humpty Doo Productions. Retiring from Government service, he founded “Young Actors World” to teach kids to act for commercials and feature films. He also took up advertising and ran “Top End Fliers” – one of the largest advertising distributors in the Northern Territory.
Diabetes and Heart surgery made Geoff retire from active life, and he settled in the mountain town of Stanthorpe, Queensland, where he lives quietly writing science fiction and film scripts for teens and young adults. He remains a committed advocate for children’s’ rights. His stories, which are often rather gritty, are often based on fact. One of his favourite sayings is, “If you treat a boy badly, you will often end up with a bad boy.”