The Feminist Queendom Charlie’s War 19 © Beverly Taff.

List of Characters.
Charlie Sage Maths and electronics genius.
Shirley Sage Charlies elderly mother
Chloe Charlie’s one time early school friend.
Josephine Flint Surgeon and associate of Chloe’s.
Mrs Jane Anston Director of Anston Aerospace.
Ronnie Garage mechanic at top of lane
Pauline Garage owner, Ronnie’s sister.
Briony Pauline’s teenaged daughter.
Billy Pauline’s middle son.
Abigail (Abby) Pauline’s youngest daughter.
‘Poppy’ Charlie’s little micro-runabout.
‘Doris’ The armoured mobile home.
‘Lady’ Chloe’s Sports Car.
Colonel Wilson Vindictive misanthropist doctor.

Chapter 19.

A furious rocking tore Charlie from his comfortable sleep and for a long moment he thought his home was being attacked. – It was, but it was no man-made or zoological enemy, it was meteorological. His sleep-befuddled brain eventually realised that the screaming banshee outside was the wind. It was dark of course and that further confused him until he remembered there was no dawn. The Antarctic winter comprised five to six months of total darkness depending on how far south you’re were located. The darkness combined with the weather served to make the darkness utterly inhospitable and it was only with reluctance that Charlie pulled back the curtain to look outside.

There was no visual evidence of wind, no driving snow or hail or rain. He was in a desertified hollow in the shadow of the McMurdo mountains where no rain or snow ever fell. It was eerie to hear the wind screaming and his van shaking and yet hear no rain or hail hammering outside.
His first act was to check his wind generators and a small wave of relief confirmed that they were withstanding the onslaught whilst faithfully producing electricity. His batteries were fully charged and the van was warm. Grateful for the essential home comforts, he showered and breakfasted then settled down for the storm to abate. It took three days before his anemometer told him the wind had reduced to a civilised seventy knots. It was safe to go outside.

He mused philosophically that it was all well and good reading about such extreme climes but one had to experience them to really come to terms with the reality. Outside the van the wind almost cut him to the bone and he very quickly retreated inside.

As he sat reflecting in the van he concluded that overwintering in Antarctica looked like being a very tedious four or five months.

‘Sometimes I wish I was a penguin,’ he mused, ‘then I’d have company’.

The thought of company persuaded him to break camp early and return to Australia and by late evening, he was northbound. Coach of course was empty when he arrived that night, but he contacted Chloe and told her he was home and why.

“I need some better cold weather kit and the trailer to carry a few odds and ends back to McMurdo glades.”

“McMurdo Glades?” Is that what you’re calling it?

“It’s as good a name as any. Apart from the facts there are no trees or grass, the little cwtch I’ve found is just perfect. Nobody saw me in and nobody saw me out.”

“If you’re going to build some sort of shelter, why Don’t you take the digger on the trailer to move some bigger stones?”

“It’s too much bother protecting it from the cold, besides humping stones around gives me some exercise. There’s not much one can do when it’s minus thirty centigrade and blowing a hurricane. To tell the truth, I can’t see me sticking it out much past three of four months even with coming to see you each weekend.

“Well there’s been no mention of your disappearance in the news and I’m surprised they haven’t even traced me.”

“It’s early days yet. Give it a couple of weeks. The big clue is when they realise we no longer live at the cottage.”

“Have a look at your email. They’re bound to be wondering why you haven’t reported in.”

“Oh, talking of emails, have they delivered any steel yet to the suppliers near the mine. I ordered most of the boiler plate at the stockists there.”

“I’ve had nothing, you’d better go through yours. I don’t suppose your online down there.”

“Nah, I’m not allowed any satellite connection anyway, well not in the UQ. Those connections have been reserved for corporate and managerial use. No men allowed.”

“Oh it’s different here. In the outback, satellite connections are universal, every cattle herder and shepherd uses them. You might as well piggy-back off my wi-fi. Australia couldn’t function without satellite wi-fi.”

After supper and entertaining Charlotte, Charlie connected through Chloe’s computer and was pleased to learn that the first consignment of boiler plate had arrived at the stockists. It was the heaviest gauge and Charlie had already pre-arranged for a heavy machine shop to cut and fabricate the lozenge shaped plates to form a faceted ellipsoid hull. He showed Chloe what he had designed and she stared at it wonderingly on his laptop screen.

“It looks like a multifaceted flying cigar.” She grinned.
“That’s the easiest shape I could come up with that looks alien enough to bamboozle any observers.”

“How thick are those lozenge-shaped plates?”

“About seventy five mil. Ordinary bullets or an air-to-air missile won’t penetrate it’s skin; once it’s put together. The welding is going to take the longest part of the construction.

“So it’s really a flying tank, because weight is no problem.”

“Except there’s no gun. The anti-grav discs are mounted internally and the whole of the lower section will contain batteries inside their own armoured hemicylinder. The exterior will be totally covered in light-absorbent, solar panels so the thing will resemble a faceted silver cigar.”

“Fascinating!” Chloe grinned. “So how big will it be?”

“’Bout twenty metres long and five metres diameter. Plenty of room to live in, just like Doris only more so and bigger.”

“And how long will it take?”

“Bout four to five months. We brought all the necessary down from the cottage except for the steel.”

“And finally, where will you build it?”

“Inside the grotto. There’s room enough if I cut out the wall to Charlotte’s bedroom.”

“Where will Charlotte sleep.

“With you in our bed or with me in the van.”

Chloe sucked her teeth thoughtfully.

“Yeah. I suppose that’ll work.”

“Okay, I might as well give up the idea of my hiding in Antarctica and concentrate on expanding coach to hide the space-craft. When we collect the steel, I will pretend to be your humble contractor. It will have to be one lozenge at a time so the load doesn’t look suspicious. Once we’re out of sight of the steel stockists, we can find some remote bit of bush and fly each piece to Coach without leaving tell-tale tracks.”

Chloe nodded uncertainly and the following Monday afternoon, the family visited the stockists to collect the first steel plate. The despatcher in the yard wondered why the plate was so thick and peculiarly shaped but Charlie just shrugged and nodded towards the female who was paying for the piece.

“I dunno’ mate. She’s some sort of artist and I think this is some sort of symbolic statue she’s making.”

“Doesn’t she work up at the hospital?”

“I dunno’ mate I just fetch and carry. She pays straight up and I just move the stuff for her.”

“So why is the steel so thick?”

“Jeeze mate, I dunno, I haven’t asked. I overheard her talking about some sort of symbolic meaning about thick-skinned insensitive men but what do I know. Sculpture is her hobby, as I said, I just fetch and carry.”

Both men knew enough to avoid poking around in a woman’s private affairs and the matter was dropped. Charlie towed the plate away and Chloe went to work on her night shift at the hospital. Once clear of the mining town, Charlie drove a few miles into the bush checked carefully to make sure nobody had noticed, then he waited until nightfall.

To pass the time, Charlie had Charlotte with him and they played ‘digging for gold’ until nightfall. Then they flew to Coach and unloaded the plate with the hydraulic boom of the digger. Once Charlotte was put to bed, Charlie moved to the other part of their home and excavated a couple more cubic metres of rock to create space for the new space-craft to hide underground. Out of curiosity, he ran the metal detector over the spoil heap and was silently pleased to find a tiny ‘finger-nail’ sized nugget of gold.

“Hmm”! He mused silently as he hid the gold. ‘Chloe had better apply for an extraction licence, or they wouldn’t be able to sell the gold.’

‘The area around Coach had never been considered a likely area for gold so they had best apply for an extraction licence in an area hundreds of miles east and south where gold was known to be present. That would put off any claim poachers who might try to follow them back.’

Fully contented at such an unexpected find, Charlie slept well and Chloe found both her husband and daughter preparing breakfast when she arrived home from the hospital the following morning.

“I see you’ve dug out a bit more.” She nodded with satisfaction.

“More than that,” Charlie grinned slightly stupidly. “Look at this.”

Chloe held the tiny nugget and frowned at its weight.

“Is this gold?”

“Yes. I did the Archimedes test.”

Chloe’s jaw sagged with surprise then she followed Charlie to the newly excavated space. Charlie reached into a small crack and picked a small, brittle piece of quartz off the newly exposed face.

“This looks like a vein, I don’t think there’s much gold but every time I dig out more space, it’ll be worth running the metal detector over the spoil. It’ll pay towards stuff. But to make it legal, you’ll have to apply for an extraction licence. As a man, I don’t think I’m allowed.”

“Surprise, surprise Charlie. This is Australia, one of the last rights left to men is their right to roam the outback and prospect for minerals. It’s hard, dirty, back-breaking work so prospecting rights were left available to men.”

“Yes, but until I become legal I’m stuck in a jam. When do your citizenship papers become valid.”

“Two months, then I can legally register you as my spouse. The problem is they’ll know who you are and by that time, I’m sure the UQ feminista brigade will be looking for you.”

“So, I just lie low until the space-craft is finished.”

“F’raid so,” Chloe sympathised. “I’ve been thinking of getting a Ute and modifying it with Antigrav. Have we enough material.”

“Yes. It’s easy to come by once you know what to look for.”

“Well I’ll sort it on Saturday. Doris is a bit conspicuous and technically illegal because she is not registered here in Aus’.”

“How do you register a space-craft?” He grinned.

“And who issues you with your space-craft licence?” She grinned back.

Having joked for long enough, Chloe went to bed while Charlie entertained Charlotte by settling her in the baby seat attached to the digger safety frame while he carefully excavated another couple of metres of rock. By noon, he had removed the spoil to the dump at the end of the canyon but he found no more gold. In the afternoon, he played with Charlotte until Chloe woke up, then they dined before returning to the steel stockists.

Chloe paid for the second lozenge shaped plate while Charlie loaded it and bantered with the yard workers. Before Chloe went to work in the hospital, she and Charlie purchased some welding equipment that Charlie took home to Coach. The remains of the day followed in the same pattern and Charlie had excavated another couple of metres of rock. Once again no more gold was discovered. After completing the first successful weld, Charlie and Charlotte slept well.

The routine they had established served them well and within four months, Charlie had fabricated an immensely strong shell that encased a robust set of frames. To the uninitiated eye, it looked like a miniature submarine without a conning tower, - a wholly incongruous object to find in a cave in the Australian the out-back. Two further months of fitting out brought their plan to fruition and on Charlotte’s second birthday, they celebrated the inaugural flight.

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