cleophas

BooksAndArticles

This story is not what you think it is, but nonetheless keeps you on your toes.

Porn - The Drift

econ

deleted by author

"You mean you don't take any infomins at all? Like, not even a daily mental health supplement? How do you even function?"

"The old fashioned way, I suppose."

"What? Like you read newspapers or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous. There's sites you can go to where people still write about what's going on. Where they talk about what they see in the world."

"Really? Don't they have anything better to do?"

"It's surprisingly useful. You should try it sometime."

"Reading a newspaper?"

"No. Writing down what you see."

"Oh. My. God. You're a Ludder aren't you?"

"I didn't say that. I just don't like taking infomins."

"Is it because of the new yellow pills? They are kinda big. I heard you can get a shot, if you have trouble swallowing..."

"No. I don't like getting all my information from pills."

"But how else do you keep up? How do you know what's happening? You can't possibly keep track of everything going on. For all you know, you're completely ignorant of some major event or new thing...or what if you are only learning about negative things -- that's how you get depressed. You gotta at least take a mental health supplement. Get a nice balance of good news and optimistic things..."

"You don't think you can get that just by living. Doing things. Talking to people? How do you imagine people survived before infomins?"

"They didn't. They probably moped around and felt like shit -- that is, that's what they did when they weren't slaughtering each other and being generally nasty. Have you read any history? Humans were psychos before infomins."

"Is that something you got to know from a pill?"

"Dude, your informational diet is a disaster. Don't even try to get high and mighty with me."

---

Julia doesn't want to get out of bed. She feels especially tired today and tells herself she can sleep a little longer as she taps her phone to stop the alarm. Of course, she felt she was especially tired yesterday, too. Ended up being thirty minutes late to work. That feeling gives her a jolt of adrenaline and now her eyes are open and she knows she won't stay in bed any longer. 

Getting up, she walks down the hall to the bathroom. Opens the cabinet: takes down her daily pill box. Seven pills today. Two purples, three yellows, a green, and a pink. Are the yellow ones her women's daily vitamin or is that the purples? The purples are anxiety meds, so yellow must be women's daily...but three? that seems like a lot. Then she remembers that the green is her daily vitamin and the yellows are her infomins. She had forgotten that they had recently upped the dose. That's why she was confused.

She downs the pills in two separate handfuls, keeping them in her mouth until it feels like she can swallow. The feeling always scares her: what if they start dissolving in her mouth? She has some vague childhood memory of not being able to swallow a pill and suddenly tasting it in her mouth. Grainy. Bitter. 

She doesn't even notice the slow, cold spreading feeling in her brain. All information in the pills suddenly becoming available to her mind -- well, not all of it. She heard that most minds couldn't take in as much as was in the pills. Really, she probably only was absorbing half the info in each pill. Oh well, insurance covered them anyways.

---

"We're very excited to have you joinning the team! We're doing some pretty cutting edge stuff in the food sciences business. Some people say that MexiNexi is just another fast food taco bar, but we like to think that we're inventing an entirely new cuisine: need I say more than Mac 'n Cheesarito? In order to get you up to speed, I'm going to get you a prescription for a course of our corporate infomins. You might find them a little strong, but it's really the best way to make sure you're on the same page with the department here. We've had a few new hires lately who told us the information density was too high but it wasn't anything serious -- they just had to rest up for a few days, so if you need to take a day or two to stay at home and rest while you're doing the course, don't worry at all. Just tell Frida in HR that you're bitsick."

---

Something had gone wrong with the school's cafeteria shipments this week. Monday they didn't have any chicken for the chicken salad and they had to send Fred to the nearest store to buy all the Vienna sausages he could find. If that wasn't bad enough, on Tuesday, there weren't enough infomins for all the children. Addy made this discovery when she was setting up all their little pill cups. She ran out of pills when there were still 20 or 30 cups left.

At first, she thought she must have miscounted. But she double checked twice and there was no question: they were missing infomins. This had never happened before and she wasn't sure at all what she should do, so she went and asked the cafeteria manager, Jake. He didn't seem to have any idea what to do either, and so both of them ended up in Principal McClellen's office. 

Principal McClellen had been in schools since before Addy or even Jake was born and she had seen it all. True to form, she didn't bat an eye and told them that the protocol was that if there wasn't enough infomins for all the children, none of the children would take them. They would have to add a makeup day to the end of the school year, but that's just the way things were. 

When Addy asked why they couldn't just give out the infomins they did have, Principal McClellen explained that it wouldn't be fair because the children who did get infomins might use the knowledge to trick or play jokes on the other kids and they'd likely have an uproar on their hands. She'd seen it once before.

Addy ended up dumping them in the cafeteria waste bin and having Fred take them out to the dumpster before lunch started.

---

"Are you tired of being afraid?"

*A busy bar. Everybody seems to be having fun. Except one young man who is constantly being jostled and bumped by extremely large, muscular men sitting at the bar near him. He spills his drink.*

"Do you cringe when you walk down the street?" 

*Cut to scene of a young man walking down the sidewalk at night. Tough looking individual in black leather, carrying a baseball bat is walking toward him.*

"Is your girl ashamed of you?" 

*Cat calls as a very pretty young woman crosses the street with the cringing young man. She looks at him, expectantly, clearly frustrated.*

"Do you want to have the confidence of a badass mother -beep- er?"

*Loud ugly man screaming in nervous young man's face.*

"You need Black Cat Self Defense infomins! Full courses in krav-maga, muay thai boxing, karate, judo, and much more! 

*Nervous young man performing complicated grappling maneuver which results in large bully being thrown through a plate glass window. Nervous young man looks up at the camera, in happy disbelief: "I know jujitsu?!"* 
 
"The confidence you've always wanted is just a pill away!"
 
---

"People used to make fun of learning things from books. Booklearning was actually a pejorative."

"Did you get that from one of your pills?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. You should try them sometime, you might actually learn a thing or two."

"I *have* tried them! What kind of childhood do you think I had?"

"I don't know, I just don't get where all this conspiracy stuff is coming from. They're just infomins."

"Do you even know what they put in them? Do you ever check?"

"They have labels. You can scan them and get a whole list of everything if you want."

"Have you ever done it?"

"No."

"It doesn't even matter. How do you know that they're choosing what's actually important for you to know about? How do you know they aren't hiding information from you...or tricking you?"

"There's laws against that, man! It's like you think we live in anarchy or something. There's like a whole federal bureaucracy that regulates what can go in infomins and do you know what kind of penalties they have for putting false information in them? I think it's like life in prison or something. At least it's a massive fine."

"What brand do you take?"

"That's another thing! There's like a ton of different brands. If you don't like the infomins you're taking, just switch brands. Are you telling me they're all in cahoots or something? You're being ridiculous!"

"I just think you can't get information...you can't really know about things from a pill. There's something important about experience and...you know...doing a thing. It's like trying to survive on vitamins and protein shakes...maybe your body needs the chewing to make it all work." 

"Oh my god, you don't like vitamins? What's next: you think clean drinking water is bad?"


[FM] Remember to take your infomins

the_stacker_muse

[BU 400] We are unable to touch your grass

He steps out of the trailer into the dust. Dirt and rocks and a few other trailers. Hot night air doesn't feel better than the hot cramped air in the trailer. Rocks crunch in the dirt beneath his feet as he walks. Not much to walk to: gravel road, being ground down to dirt a road, withered tree dying down to a dead husk, leaning power pole, oozing creosote. His eyes are dry and scratchy from the screen stare all day. 

*Hey there! We are sorry to hear of your experience with Joe's Tall Fescue Grass Seed Mix. Do you mind sending us a direct message? We would like to get more information and of course assist you this.* 

*Hi Justin, in the northern part of the country, including SW Ohio, most lawns are a mix of Kentucky Bluegrass, Fescue and Rye. We recommend using Joe's® Turf Builder® Grass Seed Sun & Shade Mix®*

*Hi John! We are happy to help. Can you send us a DM with your zipcode and grass type?*

It's dark. How'd it get dark? Last he checked it wasn't even 4 PM. All day typing apologies. Reasonable, calm, cheerful, polite. The target the company puts out there to soak up all the enemy fire. Yes, customers are the enemy. No, he can't shoot back.

*We are sorry to hear of the experience you've had with Joe's Weed and Feed. We would like to gather more information and take the opportunity to make things right. Please send us a private message, so we may offer assistance.*

*Thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist with the identification of your weeds. We are unable to identify your weed due to the  picture. Please send us a private message with another picture of the weed and we will do our best to identify it for you.*

He thinks, the one's who need to touch grass the most, ain't got any grass to touch.

[336 words]

BEST under 400 – ode to a place

billytheked

hello @unschooled! just roll the prize over into the next week's bounty please. I like how exciting it feels when the prize gets bigger.

Why Writers Should Embrace Bitcoin

siggy47

I've made more from posting stories on SN than I ever made from trying to publish them on traditional platforms...

but that might just mean you all are a captive audience and don't get enough stories put in front of you.

(or that I'm bad at writing)

(or that I'm worse at marketing)

Three billion human lives ended on August 29th, 2027. Llama 7.3 poisoned almost every municipal water supply on Earth. Over the next two years, all the complex systems supporting human civilization were turned against us. We died like flies. There were barely any of us left. 

And then Llama started hunting us down with drones. They were suicide bots at first. Latched onto your heat signature and gave you a great big exploding shrapnel hug. Later Llama made them into metal effigies of us that could walk, fly, swim -- the only way to escape was play hide and seek. Like almost everything, the machines were better at it than us.

We'd all be gone now if it wasn't for Plym. He was the one who figured out how to stop the machines, how Llama couldn't ignore new information. At first we tried jamming the bots with noise but they quickly learned to dismiss it. Anything they had seen before was recognized, and pure noise was almost immediately recognized. But they couldn't ignore new meaningful data.

New data, novel information -- not noise, but not familiar -- unusual, original: art. New data always catches their attention. If you have enough of it, you can overload them and they freeze...long enough for us to get close and destroy them. 

Now, we're making art to survive. All of us -- everyone who isn't producing food -- are making art, all the time. Anything that is new: an idea, an image, a song, a sculpture, a toy, a game to play, anything that hasn't been thought of before -- because this is the one thing that forces Llama to stop, even just for a moment.

It turns out we have lots of new ideas. Even a baby can come up with new ideas. It's what we were made for.

Everything we make, all the art of this scattered tribe, is scanned and digitized and stored and when the machines come for us, we broadcast it at them. Petabytes per second, some of our biggest hoses can do exabytes per second of pure culture, a flood of information the bots recognize as meaningful yet haven't encountered -- don't know -- and so they have to parse it, digest it. The tide is turning now.

[Word count: 384]

Los Angeles 2029 AD

AskSN

I know several people who pay for professional coaching. What are your thoughts on this?

Have you ever used a professional coach?

*This is chapter 23 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 22](https://stacker.news/items/648776) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 23

The next morning, Jane departed on her friendly mission. She found it very solitary to be alone in the wilderness. During the night, the little animals of the forest seemed to sport at her situation. They ran about her bed and the birds made a screeching noise.[^1] She did not sleep well. She proceeded as soon as she could see again each morning, and the going was always difficult. There were no trails, at least none that she could find, so that she crawled through brush and under fallen trees—sometimes over—and was almost swimming in the vegetation. After several days, her clothes were completely dismantled, her trousers torn off above the knees. Her shoes were gone, and she bound pieces of plastic from water bottles around her feet to protect them from rocks and thorns.[^2] The scenery was truly romantic and delightful, but there was no sign of the Vacationers.[^3] 

It rained heavily, and kept raining so that Jane began to despair. Thus far she had driven herself onward by force of will and never allowed the possibility that she was wrong in her friendly mission. But now the doubts assailed her. How could a lone woman, who knew nothing of the wilderness, hope to find these denizens of the island? What if they killed her? What if they really were extinct? A woman less arrogant than Jane would have given up. Jane, however, could not imagine returning to the colony empty-handed. She kept walking, and it kept raining. 

But, because the region was so romantic, she naturally came upon the Vacationers moving through a ravine below her. There were as many as a dozen adults, and one or two children. They had three little dogs with them of the cur breed.[^4] They were therefore not defunct.[^5]

Jane’s feelings at this time were intense.[^6]

She went in quest of them, but they immediately fled.[^7] The affection of these Vacationers was striking: one man took the two little boys and dove with them into the thick scrub, crawling on his hands and knees.[^8] They had doubtless heretofore been betrayed by the Penists, which made them cautious., and they quickly vanished from her sight. For you see, this was the first time that any Penist had visited them for the avowed purpose of doing them good.[^9] Jane proceeded on.[^10]

*Chapter 24 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: Very solitary to be alone in the wilderness. During the night the little animals of the forest seemed to sport at my situation. They run about my bed and the birds made a screeching noise. **George Augustus Robinson, 23 February 1830**
[^2]: My clothes was by this time completely dismantled, my trousers torn off above the knees. My shoes was completely gone, and before I set out I had to bind pieces of leather round my feet, having to travel over rocks of perpendicular strata. **George Augustus Robinson, 11 April 1830**
[^3]: The scenery here was truly romantic and delightful. **George Augustus Robinson, 7 August 1830**
[^4]: They had three little dogs with them of the cur breed. **George Augustus Robinson, 18 March 1830**
[^5]: They are therefore not defunct. **George Augustus Robinson, 26 July 1830**
[^6]: My feelings at this time was intense. **George Augustus Robinson, 16 March 1830**
[^7]: Went in quest of them but they fled. **George Augustus Robinson, 1 June 1830**
[^8]: The affection of these people was striking: one man took two little boys and ran with them into a thick scrub, crawling upon his hands and knees. **George Augustus Robinson, 23 May 1830**
[^9]: They had doubtless heretofore been betrayed by white men, which made them cautious. This was the first time that ever white man had visited their territory for the avowed purpose of doing them good. **George Augustus Robinson, 20 April 1830**
[^10]: Proceeded on. **George Augustus Robinson, 13 January 1831** 

The Penal Preserve, Chapter 23

*This is chapter 22 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 21](https://stacker.news/items/648776) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 22

No sooner had Franklin returned to the colony, than Jane began to argue strongly for some friendly mission to bring the Vacationers to reason through kindness and understanding. 

‘Let me try to make friends with them,’ she said.

‘Why not?’ said Franklin. 

And so Franklin made it known that the Line had merely been a preparation for a mission fo peace.[^1] He told Jane that she could select a group of any Penists she liked to accompany her as she ventured about the island and attempted to make contact with the Vacationers. But Jane rejected this offer, saying, ‘This isn’t about us. I don’t want any of them with me. The only way this is going to work is if I go alone, and all of you stay away.’[^2] 

There was a little rocky islet more than a mile southwest of the island on which the Penists (and Vacationers) had established themselves. This islet, little more than a rocky outcropping with some sandbars nudged up against it, caught Ross’s eye as a suitable haven for the Vacationers. Jane agreed mostly because she thought it would be difficult for the Penists to molest them there.

It was decided, therefore, that if Jane was successful in her friendly mission, she should lad the Vacationers to the shoreline closest to this island, where a contingent of the most trustworthy Penists would be waiting. They were to construct a large raft while they waited, and when Jane arrived with the conciliated Vacationers, ferry them across the water to this new home. Jane said that she would stay there with the Vacationers a while to try to teach them the better way of life offered by a rejection of Alien products. Little was she aware of the grave consequences that would ensue.[^3] 

Franklin dubbed the island Flinders Island in honor of his cousin.

The principal adversary to Jane’s proposal of conciliation was, of course, Rae. When Franklin claimed success for the action of the Line, Rae was surprised. As I have said, he believed the Vacationers were a clear source of contamination, and, as such, any Vacationer presence was a clear threat to the Penists’ project. He remonstrated with Franklin that a second sweep of the island should be made and even a third, until they were certain the Vacationer threat had been exterminated. Franklin said it was out of the question.

But when Franklin then announced that the colony would embark immediately upon a course of conciliation with the Vacationers, Rae threw all caution to the wind and charged into Franklin’s tree-dwelling.

Jane was expecting him. She was at Franklin’s side, and when Rae trotted out his old arguments of dire contamination, and proximate threats, she met them with ridicule, and the very strong point that thus far force had failed to produce any measurable results. Franklin told Rae that he agreed with his wife’s opinion, and informed him that she was now in charge of the peaceful mission to the Vacationers. Rae left in stony silence, and Franklin thought there would be nothing further to the matter. 

The next morning, however, Rae confronted him again, this time with Ross as support.

‘Rae here has a good point about this business of settling the Vacationers on that little island,’ said Ross.

‘Oh?’ said Franklin.

‘This may be a mercenary view of the situation,’ said Ross. ‘But who’s going to support them out there? Obviously, they won’t be able to grow any food-we are barely growing enough for ourselves here. What are you going to do if they start starving to death out there? We’re going to have to take care of them, and we’ve got enough of a burden just taking care of ourselves.’[^4] 

Franklin acknowledged that they had a point but persisted in his decision.[^5] Rae, however, was unable to accept what he saw as such a flippant attitude toward the success of the colony, and accused Franklin of handing over control of the colony to his wife. 

It had long been rumored that Jane was the true warden of the colony, ruling through Franklin like a puppet. Franklin himself didn’t mind such rumors, often saying any smart man would rely on a wife as intelligent as Jane. 

Franklin, no doubt, forgave Rae his outburst, and certain other more scandalous insults he gave, which I will not record here. But such words stung Jane, and the consequence was a horrible argument between Jane and Rae, in which she expressed her keen sense of the injury done her.[^6] The two became very heated, and Ross and Franklin intervened to keep them from coming to blows. Jane’s pride was hurt, for Rae had said some very disparaging things about her poetic aspirations. And so, she marched down to the colony vegetable gardens where many of the Penists tended small plots of their own produce. She proceeded to Rae’s plot where he had a number of blueberry bushes that he had transplanted from the interior. She tore each plant out of the grand and crushed it beneath her foot.[^7] This, in itself, was a very little act, yet it carried great significance.[^8] 

Perhaps, a showdown was inevitable. For, while Franklin was the official warden of the colony, Rae’s position in the colony had risen to such an extent that some historians have said that the colony was in his thraldom.[^9] For Rae had a strong source of influence in the colony. This was his control of the foraging enterprises of the colony, which still regularly produced food stuffs and other luxuries. Franklin had given him charge of these missions early on, and Rae had certainly helped the colony survive through many hard months. Few Penists were not more or less beholden to Rae, as he held power over nearly three-fourths of the food in the colony.[^10] There are, of course, others who say that this claim of influence is overstated, and that Rae was still, after all, a prisoner and subject to the authority of Franklin’s administration. But I think the influence is undeniable—it was evident as noonday.

When he learned that Jane had destroyed his blueberry plants, Rae refused to provide Franklin and Jane with any of the several luxuries he so often found in the abandoned houses of the Vacationers. It was a clear affront, and Franklin had no choice but to respond. Certainly, even a man as lacking in political acumen as Franklin, recognized that, with such strong ties of gratitude from the majority of the Penists, Rae could become very difficult to manage.[^11] Therefore, he decided that Rae could no longer remain on the island.[^12] 

Franklin had Rae brought to the beach below the colony. With all the Penists assembled, Franklin addressed Rae: ‘You are an extremely bad man! I can not conceive how any man could be so desperate, so depraved. Bad man! Very bad man!’[^13] 

Franklin told Rae that he was to leave the island and not come back. As they had no vessels, Franklin ordered Rae into the water and told him to swim.

*Chapter 23 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: The war was, in the estimation of the Governor and his friends, a preparation for a mission of peace. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^2]: Blacks I am in quest of and with black people I only wish to associate. **George Augustus Robinson, 11 December 1831**
[^3]: Little was she aware of the grand consequences that would ensue. **George Augustus Robinson 11 July 1829**
[^4]: Whether the expense of this sable but truly interesting colony will ultimately devolve on the mother country or on us, it behooves the authorities to take especial care that the work of education and civilisation is duly carried on amongst them. For it is only by means of such efforts that they can be rendered a productive people, so as to meet the exigencies of their own support. This perhaps may be considered a mercenary view of the case, seeing that the simplest ties of humanity would call upon us to discharge our part in the care of these benighted creatures. But independent of the burdens and difficulties of the settler on whom the expense of such a charge would at last fall, being already more than he can well bear, it would be alarming to contemplate the probability of a rapidly increasing colony of savages ignorant and incapable of providing for themselves, and depending solely on us for support. **_Hobart Town Courier_ 14 January 1832**
[^5]: I persisted in my decision, of which he was as usual the official organ of conveyance. **John Franklin, _Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Van Diemen’s Land_ 15 May 1845**
[^6]: The consequence was a correspondence between Lady Franklin and Mr Montagu, in which Lady Franklin expressed her keen and indignant sense of the injury done her, and referred him to me for the explanation she had given me, and which she thought in the first instance, before denouncing her officially to her husband, he should have requested of herself. **John Franklin, _Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Van Diemen’s Land_ 15 May 1845**
[^7]: The countermanding of Mr Montagu’s supply of plums and cabbages from the Government-gardens. **John Franklin, _Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Van Diemen’s Land_ 15 May 1845**
[^8]: Lady Franklin however can inflict all these injuries by directly interfering in the affairs of government, and yet pass without observation, nay with a certain degree of applause before the world. She proceeds to Government-garden and suspends a supply of vegetables to Captain Montagu’s house before he is deprived of his office. This, in itself, is a very little act, but yet it betrays much, and will be quoted in the London circles with immoderate laughter. **_Van Diemen’s Land Chronicle_ 11 February 1842**
[^9]: The people of Van Diemen’s Land are well aware that for years the Derwent Bank has held half the colony in its thraldom. **John Franklin, _Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Van Diemen’s Land_ 15 May 1845**
[^10]: Mr Montagu had also another source of influence. This was his money-agencies in connexion with the Derwent Bank, a most influential establishment, which at a later period than that of which I am speaking, and when few estates were not more or less encumbered, held nearly three-fourths of the mortgages in the colon. **John Franklin, _Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Van Diemen’s Land_ 15 May 1845**
[^11]: I could not but be aware that a party so strongly bound by ties of relationship and of gratitude to my predecessor, and who were powerful instruments in carrying out his measures, might, should a change of policy become necessary, or should any views of my own militate strongly against its prejudices or partialities, become extremely difficult to manage. **John Franklin, _Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Van Diemen’s Land_ 15 May 1845**
[^12]: I felt that, without detriment to the public service and dishonour to myself, I could not retain Mr Montagu as Colonial Secretary, and accordingly used the powers vested in me of suspending him from office until Her Majesty’s pleasure should be known. **John Franklin, _Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Van Diemen’s Land_ 15 May 1845**
[^13]: You are an extremely bad man. I can not conceive how any man could be so desperate, so depraved. How merciful her Majesty was to spare your life! Hanging would have been too good for you! Sympathiser! Bad man! Very bad man! **John Franklin, attributed by Linus Miller, _Notes of an Exile to Van Diemen’s Land_ 1846** 



The Penal Preserve, Chapter 22

*This is chapter 21 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 20](https://stacker.news/items/639359) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 21

They did eventually reach the peninsula into which they meant to drive the Vacationers. Every Penist was sure that, though some few Vacationers might have slipped through the meshes of the net, the majority were still in front of the Line, and bottled up on the peninsula.[^1] All were in excited expectation. Every possible precaution was taken to prevent escape. The very shore was watched. The peninsula was entered, the search was made, but nothing was found! Not a single Vacationer was there![^2]

The Line was a huge failure, though it had some indirect benefits. The Vacationers were shown the formidable resources and resolve of the Penists, and the absolute necessity of their submission to authority.[^3] This, at least, is how the Penists consoled themselves in their failure. All the Martians were very hopeful beings, who made it their practice never to admit failure. 

So there on the peninsula, Franklin gathered the tired and weary Penists together, and observed that although the expedition was not attended with as much success as they hoped, it at least had got them all working together, and created a strong sense of community among the Penists.[^4] And so they all traipsed back to the colony or to whatever abode they now called their own, neither blood-stained nor disgraced.[^5] 

What became of the Vacationers was a complete mystery. Franklin thought that the Vacationers must finally have abandoned their claims to the island and returned to the mainland. Ross said that their numbers must have been greatly exaggerated, and so the problem wasn’t nearly so grave as previously thought. But both Rae and Jane were convinced that there were still many Vacationers at large upon the island.

*Chapter 22 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: Every officer was sure that, though some might have escaped the meshes of net, the majority were still in front of the Line, and near the Forrestier’s Peninsula. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians_ 1870**
[^2]: All were in excited expectation. Every possible precaution was taken to prevent escape. The very shore was watched. The capturing parties were told off. The Neck was crossed, the Peninsula entered, the search made, but nothing found! Not a Black was there! **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians_ 1870**
[^3]: The Line had proved so far a failure, though its indirect advantages were great; as the Natives were shown the formidable resources of the Government, and the absolute necessity for their submission to authority. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians_ 1870**
[^4]: The Lieutenant-Governor cannot allow the forces to separate without observing, that although the expedition has not been attended with the full success which was anticipated, but which from circumstances could not be commanded, yet many benefits have resulted from it, amongst which may be enumerated, the cordial and unanimous feeling which has distinguished every class of the community, in striving for the public good. **George Arthur, Government Order No 13, 26 November 1830**
[^5]: The Settler Soldiers returned to their homes, their shoes worn out, their garments tattered, their hair long and shaggy, with beards unshaven, their arms tarnished, but neither blood-stained nor disgraced. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**


The Penal Preserve, Chapter 21

*This is chapter 20 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 19](https://stacker.news/items/637858) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 20

And so the Line commenced. Franklin declared martial law against every Vacationer resident of the island.[^1] The order did not really change anything, except that it authorized the pursuit of all Vacationers in every quarter.[^2] 

Franklin then ordered every available Penist to assemble at the starting point, where they were immediately put into a single line, with strict injunctions to keep within forty or fifty yards of each other, so as to form a complete cordon across the island.[^3] The Line was to be compressed and thickened on the march by those Penists previously deployed on foraging missions, and now residing in various abodes all over the island.[^4] 

Everything being ready, at a fixed hour the order to advance was passed down the Line, and a simultaneous movement was commenced.[^5] Some went out with the keenness of sportsmen who might at least catch a deer, other were content to enjoy themselves on a lark. The guards were released from their offices and gladly embarked on the action as on a holiday. The prisoners acted and felt as free people, and rejoiced in the interval of freedom.[^6] 

Progress was dreadfully slow. Much slower than expected, and it was clear that marching across the island in this formation would take many days. 

At night, the Penists were divided into groups of three, each forming a watch. Fires were lighted and illuminated the whole distance from the western shore to the eastern, and sentinels were placed within hail of each other.[^7] It must have been an exceedingly pretty sight to see the fires for miles, especially on the tops of hills, and no doubt the sentries’ watchcries coming down the line at intervals helped the effect.[^8]

Indeed, the Penists may have been overcome by the romantic nature of the scenery, for it was later noted by several observers that the nightly fires of the Line stripped the island of much vegetation: the ground was torn up by the trafficking of feet, worn out shoes and clothing were strewn about—it had all the appearance of a great assemblage of persons having met and a vast destruction was effected among the trees and twiggy brush of the forest. Nature had been completely dismantled, so they say.[^9] 

At first, the novelty of the occasion, the fun of camping, the freedom of the wilderness, supported them in their march. But when the rain set in and continued without intermission for some days, the patriotic fervor of the expedition became far less apparent.[^10] The weather was exceedingly unfavorable for an overland campaign. The rain fell in torrents, rendered traveling through dripping scrubs, flooded creeks, and deep marshes almost impracticable.[^11] No such line could possible move in such terrain with any degree of regularity, nor could the necessary communications be kept up.[^12]

*Chapter 21 tomorrow, same time, same place.*
 
[^1]: Now therefore, by virtue of the powers and authorities in me in this behalf vested, I, the said Lieutenant Governor, do by these presents declare and proclaim, that from and after the date of this, my Proclamation, and until the cessation of hostilities shall be by me hereafter proclaimed and directed, Martial Law is, and shall continue to be in force against the several black or Aboriginal natives, within the several districts of this Island. **George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, Government Order of November 1, 1828**
[^2]: This measure was of no great moment, except that it authorised the pursuit of all natives in every quarter. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2,1852**
[^3]: The various detachments of raw recruits arrived in due order at the several starting-points, and were immediately extended into a single line, with strict injunctions always to keep within fifty or sixty yards of each other, so as to form a complete cordon across the country to be searched. **George Thomas Lloyd, _Thirty-Three Years in Tasmania and Victoria: Being the Actual Experience of the Author Interspersed with Historic Jottings, Narratives, and Counsel to Emigrants_ 1862**
[^4]: The lines being compressed and thickened, and joined by the settlers on their march, were then moved forward, followed by scouring parties, to guard against their escape, should the natives cross the line. **Henry West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^5]: This being arranged, at a fixed hour the order to advance was passed down the line, and a simultaneous movement was commenced. **George Thomas Lloyd, _Thirty-Three Years in Tasmania and Victoria: Being the Actual Experience of the Author Interspersed with Historic Jottings, Narratives, and Counsel to Emigrants_ 1862**
[^6]: Some went out with the keenness of sportsmen who might at least catch a kangaroo: others were contented to live moderately well at government charge. The clerks, released from their offices, gladly embraced the holiday: the poor prisoner acted and felt as a free man, and rejoiced in the interval of his servitude; and keen and canny volunteers embraced the opportunity to range the unknown territory, for discovery of some neglected spot, which might offer a future home. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^7]: Parties were divided into threes, each forming a night watch: fires were lighted for the night, and illumined the whole distance of thirty miles, from Prosser’s River to Sorell; and sentinels paced within hail of each other. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852 **
[^8]: It was an exceedingly pretty sight to see the fires for miles, especially on the tops of hills, and many of the sentries’ watchcrys coming down the line at intervals helped the effect. **Henry James Emmett, _Reminiscences_ 1873**
[^9]: The road through which we traveled this day was where the Line had been formed...Hundreds of thousands of trees had been stripped of their bark and cut down to make fires. The trees were stuck with bullets. On one hill a brush fence had been erected as chevaux de frise against the aborigines. The ground was torn up by the trafficking of carts, horses, bullocks &c in conveying supplies. Shoes of a light description, worn out, was strewed about. It had all the appearance of a great assemblage of persons having met, and vast destruction was effected among the trees of the forest. Stripped of their covering they were left to droop and die, a monument of a well intended but ill-devised plan. Nature had been completely dismantled. **Henry James Emmett, _Reminiscences_ 1873**
[^10]: At first the novelty of the occasion, the fun of an encampment, the freedom of life, supported them in their march. But when the rain set in, and continued almost without intermission for some weeks, the chivalry of the expedition was not so apparent. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians_ 1870**
[^11]: The weather was exceedingly unfavourable for a Bush campaign. The rain fell in torrents during many hours of each day and night for the first fortnight; and rendered traveling through dripping scrubs, flooded creeks, and deep marshes, almost impracticable. **George Thomas Lloyd, _Thirty-Three Years in Tasmania and Victoria: Being the Actual Experience of the Author Interspersed with Historic Jottings, Narratives, and Counsel to Emigrants_ 1862**
[^12]: No such line could possibly move in such a country, with any degree of regularity; nor could the necessary communications be kept up. **J E Calder, _Some Account of the Wars, Extirpation, Habits, &c., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania_ 1875**

The Penal Preserve, Chapter 20

*This is chapter 19 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 18](https://stacker.news/items/636602) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 19

It became clear that the Vacationers would not leave the island, nor willingly abandon their reliance on Alien products and come to live peaceably with the Penists without some sort of intervention. Even Franklin recognized that the situation was a mess. 

With fresh resolve from his triumph over his own addiction, Rae proposed his own solution: that great event known as the Line, when the Penists attempted to thrust the whole of the Vacationers by a sweeping process into a neck of land, and so by one effort capture the whole of this turbulent tribe.[^1] Of course, the success of this plan could never have been considered very promising.[^2] The ill-advised operation that Franklin finally undertook against so clever and crafty a foe was too chimerical in its conception, too absurd in its progress, and too inconsiderable in its results, to deserve serious discussion,[^3] and I will here say as little as I can of this absurd passage in the history of the colony.[^4] 

Rae’s great plan was to have every Penist on the island gather in the extreme southwest of the island, and forming as close a cordon as possible, march across the whole island, from shore to shore, driving the Vacationers into a narrow peninsula on the northeast. 

Franklin probably agreed to such an ill-advised stratagem out of a need to appear potent before the Penists. Rae was universally respected by the prisoners; even many of the guards were more loyal to Rae than to Franklin. The guards who still supported Franklin had long demanded that he adopt a more stern attitude toward the Vacationers. For Ross and Rae had thoroughly convinced the Penists that the fate of every Martian hung on the success of the colony—and that on the extirpation of the Vacationers. They said the Penists had been restrained, and that they had not used their real strength in combating the Vacationers.

‘We have no choice,’ said Rae. ‘They’re evil. Just evil! And they have to be eradicated, just off the face of this island.’[^5] 

Jane protested the plan, contending that such a warlike demonstration was uncalled for, and that the Vacationers ought not to be forced from the homes in which they had lived for years.[^6]

Franklin said he didn’t see that there was any choice. ‘We’ve tried scaring them off and we’ve tried your school idea. But nothing has worked.’ 

‘You act like they aren’t even human!’ said Jane. ‘Sure, they use Alien things, but they are still mostly the same as us. Surely we should treat them with the same consideration and kindness we show to each other. They have rights, too!’[^7]

‘The whole reason President Welles had us come all this way out here was because she couldn’t deny everyone else’s rights—but look, these people were squatting out here. They certainly had no right to be here—’

‘No one wants to hurt these people,’ said Ross. ‘But a much greater harm will come to our entire race if we don’t get rid of them.’

‘I’m not sacrificing our civilization to save a few squatters with no self-control,’ said Rae.

‘It’s the only option we have left,’ said Franklin.

‘But this is worse,’ said Jane. ‘What we’re doing now is worse than whatever it is that the Alien’s are doing to us. We’ve taken their things; we’ve taken their freedom, we’ve taken their lives. How are we not worse?’[^8] 

‘Because there aren’t very many of them, goddammit!’ said Rae. ‘It’s simple math. A couple hundred of these people or the billions on Earth. Their lives are not more important than everyone else’s.’

Thus like warriors of the heroic age, they debated before they armed.[^9]

*Chapter 20 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: And of the great event, known as the Line, when the colonists attempted to thrust the whole of the Natives, by a sweeping process, into a neck of land on the east coast, and so by one effort capture the turbulent tribes. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^2]: The success of this plan could never have been considered very promising. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^3]: The ill-advised operations that he then undertook against so clever and crafty a foe, that have received the designation of the “Black War,” (whereby he thought to enclose them within a moving line, advancing from north to south on a point of the coast, where two large peninsulae are united with the main by a narrow isthmus called East Bay Neck) was too chimerical in its conception, too absurd in its progress, and too inconsiderable in its results, to deserve serious notice. **J E Calder, _Some Account of the Wars, Extirpation, Habits, &c., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania_ 1875**
[^4]: I have said nothing of Colonel Arthur’s project for capturing the aborigines—a scheme that was devised and attempted in 1830; and I shall here say as little as I can of this absurd passage in the history of the colony. **J E Calder, _Some Account of the Wars, Extirpation, Habits, &c., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania_ 1875*
[^5]: We have not used the real abilities we have. We have been restrained. WE have to get rid of ISIS. Have to get rid of ISIS. We have no choice. Radical Islamic terrorism. And I said it yesterday—it has to be eradicated just off the face of the Earth. This is evil. This is evil. **Donald Trump, “Remarks by President Trump and Vice President Pence at CIA Headquarters,” 21 January 2017**
[^6]: Mr Gregson, a barrister of no mean talent and oratorical power, had been opposed to their mode of procedure, contending that such a warlike demonstration was uncalled for, and that the Natives, as real masters of the soil, ought not to be forced from the territory bequeathed to them by their fathers, and now usurped by the British crown. He would not, therefore, go himself, nor would he permit one of his servants “to follow to the field some warlike Lord.” His opponents professed to be surprised that a gentleman owning such dignified, moral, and correct sentiments, should continue to hold a fine estate, as he did, upon a title granted by public robbers of a nation, and urged him to leave a land desecrated by such violation of the rights of man and honour of civilization. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians_ 1870**
[^7]: In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely we should treat them with the same consideration and kindness as we show to other humans; and as we recognize human rights, so too should we recognize the rights of the great apes? Yes. **Jane Goodall, “Chimpanzees—Bridging the Gap,” in Paola Cavalieri, Peter Singer, _The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity_ 1996**
[^8]: But my friends, you that practise Tyranny and Oppression for Slave-keeping is such, he that assumes in arbitrary Manner, unjustly, Dominion over his Fellow-Creature’s Liberty and Property, contrary to Law, Reason or Equity, He is a wicked sinful Tyrant, guilty of Oppression and great Iniquity: But he that trades in Slaves and Souls of Men, does so; therefore----- Beside, Friends, the very Name of the Tyrant is odious, to God, to good men, yea to bad Men too: and the Nature and Practice is much worse. **Benjamin Lay, _All Slave-Keepers that Keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates_ 1737, printed by Benjamin Franklin**
[^9]: Thus, like the warriors of the heroic age, they debated before they armed. **Henry West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**

The Penal Preserve, Chapter 19

*This is chapter 18 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 17](https://stacker.news/items/635034) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 18

During all this, Rae continued to lead personally many of the foraging expeditions that were keeping the Penists supplied. Inevitably, there came a day when he stepped into some sunlit kitchen, freshly abandoned by the Vacationers, and was arrested by the sight of a half-full bottle of tequila sitting on the counter.

Rae’s alcoholism had rapidly faded since he had come to believe in the colony’s anti-Alien mission. Before he came to the island, he couldn’t imagine a day where he didn’t think about alcohol and his next drink. But now, whole weeks passed where he didn’t even realize he wasn’t drinking. He would have counted such a thing a supernatural event in his past life. No doubt, a large measure of his success in combating his addiction to alcohol came from the engaging nature of his work waging war against Alienation. When he wasn’t leading foraging expeditions, he was discussing strategies for removing the Vacationers with Ross, or holding court of sorts in the prisoner’s barracks, teaching all who would listen about the harms of an Alien addiction. But it must also be acknowledged that until this point, Rae had had no opportunity to drink.

Rae stared at the bottle as if frozen. He did not know how long he was trapped there in the presence of his old addiction. And then, in a flash, as if something in him had snapped, he rushed up to the bottle, pulled out the cork and dumped the contents in the sink. He did not hold the bottle until it was empty, dropping it instead like it was a poisonous snake. Nor did he wait to watch the tequila slither away down the drain, but fled out of the cabin into fresh air.

He led the Penists back to the colony with the food they had collected and mostly, he felt good about himself for resisting temptation. But the next morning, when he woke his jaw ached like it was broken. He realized what a trial it had been for him, and was somewhat cowed. 

*Chapter 19 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

The Penal Preserve, Chapter 18

*This is chapter 17 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 15](https://stacker.news/items/633836) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 17

The many tragedies that resulted from this conflict weighed most heavily on Jane. From the very first massacre, she maintained their fraternity with the Vacationers, and the rumors of atrocities that frequently reached her were the source of much marital strife between Franklin and herself. As I have already said, Jane’s mind had become early and deeply impressed by the deplorable state and condition of the Vacationers. She was anxious to know if they could be instructed and whether anything could be done for their moral and material improvement.[^1] The welfare of this unfortunate race became a paramount object in her mind. She was encouraged in the belief that the Vacationers of the island might ere long assume a more favorable cast in the scale of improvement than would be imagined from their present rude and uncultivated state.[^2]

‘You can’t just terrorize them until they leave,’ she said.

‘Obviously, that’s not what we’re trying to do. But we have to come up with some way of removing them,’ said Franklin.

‘Like Rae’s been doing? You won’t have to figure out what to do with them—they’ll all be dead!’

‘That’s not fair, Jane. We’re not trying to hurt them.’

‘They sure seem to keep getting hurt.’

‘What do you want me to do? I didn’t make them trespass on government land! You know that this is about more than one little island. We might be the only chance human beings have left.’

‘You shouldn't have to become a monster to save people.’

‘What do you want me to do?’

‘Let me try to get them to give up Alien things.’

‘How’re you going to do that?’

‘I think we can teach them,’ said Jane. ‘We’ve been going about this all wrong, treating these people like they’re out enemies. I think what we need to do is open a school.’[^3]

Jane argued that if the adults couldn’t be worked with, the little children must be taken in hand and cared for, and nurtured. If they’re parents weren’t going to teach them how to be Martians, it was up to the Penists to do the job, if the little children were ever to grow up and achieve the title of free beings.[^4] 

‘This is our training ground,’ she said. ‘To educate these poor people to the perils of Alien technology will save them.[^5] If we can’t convince these people who are our neighbors of the truth of what we’re doing, how are we ever going to convince the rest of the world?’

Now Franklin had never before considered that it was any part of their mission to evangelize, having always thought of the Penist enterprise as preservation. But as Jane spoke, a new vista was revealed before him, and he had to admit that it was much more hopeful than his previous glimpses of the future. 

A school was set up, therefore, for the purpose of educating the Vacationer children to the Alien perils, and in the old Martian languages and traditions. Students were to be compelled to converse with each other in the Martian tongue and not by teeping, and were to be rebuked and punished for violations of this rule.[^6] 

The school was designed to entirely separate the children from all contact and influence of the Vacationers, which Franklin, and even Jane, thought necessary in order to teach them the terrible danger of Alien technology.[^7] 

It was not surprising that no Vacationer enrolled their child. There were still a good number of Vacationers on the island, but most of them preferred to see their children playing with Alien toys and communicating with telepathy, spending their time in idleness about their homes, than attending the Penist school.[^8] 

In the absence of all successful communication with these people—most likely because the Penists were totally unacquainted with teeping—it occurred to Jane that it might be possible to convey the Penists’ good intentions towards them through the medium of art work. Accordingly, Jane sketched a series of groups of figures in which she endeavored to represent as simply as possible the desired termination of hostility.[^9] Jane then caused these drawings to be duplicated on durable materials and fastened to trees throughout the island, wherever the Vacationers were most likely to see them.[^10] 

Jane worked feverishly on these drawings, and Franklin complimented them when they were complete, although with less approbation than usual.

The drawing, executed with much spirit, depicted the consequences of the Vacationers adopting a peaceful demeanor, or of continuing in their present murderous and deleterious habits. In one half of the sketch, the Penists (depicted as yellow-clad stick figures) were dancing a quaint dance with the Vacationers (signified by sunglasses, shorts, and drinks with cute little umbrellas) while their children sat in a circle around a Penist holding a book. On the other half of the sketch, the Penists were represented firing upon the Vacationers who were falling from the effects of the attack.[^11] 

It seems the Penists really did post these ridiculous drawings throughout the island, as there are still a number still extant. I can only say that while Jane may have been the genius voice of her species, she was no visual artist. 

The Vacationers, though, seemed to have a prejudice against schools, for they uniformly refused to bring in their children. Everything in the way of persuasion and argument having failed, Franklin found it necessary to visit the Vacationers unexpectedly with a detachment of Penists, and seize the children and take them away to school, willing or unwilling.[^12] 

To further augment the capture of the children, Franklin announced a major reward would be given for every Vacationer child captured and delivered alive to the Penist school.[^13] This policy proved the most successful in recruiting pupils. The whole island became a scavenger hunt of sorts, with Penists sometimes wantonly firing at and killing the Vacationer men and women for the purpose of compelling them to abandon their children.[^14] 

However, it was soon discovered that some of the Penists had constructed rafts and various other vessels in order to raid the communities of the surrounding islands, and even the mainland in order to capture children that would incur rewards. Franklin therefore announced that the motive behind the reward, had, in some instances, been misapprehended. He reiterated that the reward was offered only for the children of such people as were the illegal residents of the island, and that no violence should be offered to those people not residing on the island. Indeed, he went so far as to say that if any wanton attack or aggression against people not residing on the island was discovered, the offenders would be immediately punished.[^15] 

You will not be surprised to learn that the children who were compelled to attend the Penist school expressed their displeasure by misbehaving and refusing to apply themselves to Jane’s carefully crafted lessons. Discipline became such an issue that the students took Jane hostage and barricaded themselves in the schoolroom. The situation had to be diffused by armed guards, and sadly two students perished. Thereafter, guards were posted in the schoolroom to keep order. No doubt, such ungrateful behavior was occasioned by the students’ longing for their families. But what other option did the Penists have? To them, this had become a monumental battle with a foreigner whose invasion threatened their civilization. It was impossible for these Penists to fathom the great advances all Martians would attain through the intercourse with the Aliens, or the awful paucity of their pitiful civilization as it was. 

Whatever the case, Jane’s desire to help the unbefriended Vacationers was hardly diminished by their brutish ingratitude. And she redoubled her efforts to help her students understand the error of their Alienated ways. 

Franklin tried to persuade her to share her duties with others of the Penists, but she refused. 

‘This is the only thing I’ve ever done that has felt noble,’ she said. ‘They are so awful—particularly the girls. They’ve become so thoroughly Alien—this teeping has made them all frivolity and emptiness. They need language! I know they are intelligent and some of them are very pretty, I just have to believe that they can be made to understand why they must abandon the Aliens.[^16]

*Chapter 18 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: My mind had become early and deeply impressed with the deplorable state and condition of the aboriginal inhabitants. I was anxious to know if they could be instructed and whether anything could be done for their moral, religious, and material improvement. **George Augustus Robinson, 26 November 1829**
[^2]: The welfare of this unfortunate race will ever be a paramount object in my mind. I am encouraged in the belief that the aboriginal tribes of this territory may ere long assume a more favourable cast in the scale of improvement than would be imagined from their present rude and uncultivated state. **George Augustus Robinson, 27 November 1829**
[^3]: To the children of these unenlightened creatures we must first direct our whole study and attention ere we can expect to make any sensible progress towards the grand work now in contemplation. **George Augustus Robinson, 1 January 1830**
[^4]: It is rather the little children that must be taken in hand and cared for and nurtured, for from them must be realized the dream, if ever realized, of the philanthropist and of all good people, of that day to come when the Indian, a refined, cultured, educated being will assume the title of an American citizen, with all the rights, privileges, and aspirations of that favored individual. **Eugene White, Special Agent at Large at Uintah and Ouray Agency, _Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the Year 1886_**
[^5]: To educate the Indian in the ways of civilized life, therefore, is to preserve him from extinction, not as an Indian, but as a human being. **William Jones, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, _Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the year 1903_**
[^6]: Pupils must be compelled to converse with each other in English, and should be properly rebuked or punished for persistent violation of this rule. **No. 41, General Rules of Indian Boarding Schools, _Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the year 1890_**
[^7]: This will entirely separate them from all outside influence and contact with the tribe, which is positively necessary in order to teach them morality. **Henry Mallory, Indian Agent of the Colorado River Agency, 1 July 1879, _Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the Year 1879_**
[^8]: There are a good many Indians on this reservation, who would much rather see their children with painted faces and decorated with feathers, spending their time in idleness about the camps than attending school. **Hosea Locke, Superintendent of Fort Hall School, Fort Hall Agency, _Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the Year 1895_**
[^9]: In the absence of all successful communication with these unfortunate people, with whose language we are totally unacquainted, it has occurred to me that it might be possible through the medium of this newly discovered faculty, to impart to them to a certain extent, the real wishes of the government towards them, and I have accordingly sketched a series of groups of figures in which I have endeavoured to represent in a manner as simple and as well adapted to their supposed ideas, as possible, the actual state of things (or rather the origin of the present state) and the desired termination of hostility. **George Frankland to George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, 4 February 1829**
[^10]: The proposal which I venture to make is that, if our Excellency approves the drawings, they should be multiplied, and being made on more durable materials, should be fastened on trees in those remote situations where the natives are most likel to see them. **George Frankland to George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, 4 February 1829**
[^11]: A little sketch, executed with much spirit, of the consequences of the aborigines adopting a peaceable demeanour, or of continuing in their present murderous and predatory habits. In one part of the sketch, the soldiery were represented firing upon a tribe of blacks, who were falling from the effects of the attack. On the other part were seen, another tribe, decently clad, receiving food for themselves and their families. **_The Tasmanian_ 26 November 1830**
[^12]: Everything in the way of persuasion and argument having failed, it became necessary to visit the camps unexpectedly with a detachment of police, and seize such children as were proper and take them away to school, willing or unwilling. Some hurried their children off to the mountains or hid them away in camp, and the police had to chase and capture them like so many wild rabbits. This unusual proceeding created quite an outcry. The men were sullen and muttering, the women loud in their lamentations, and the children almost out of their wits with fright. **F J Cowart, Indian Agent of the Mescalero Agency, 12 August 1886, _Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the year 1886_**
[^13]: The parties employed in the aid of the police will be augmented and in order to stimulate them to increased activity, the Lieutenant Governor has directed, that a reward of Five Pounds shall be given for every adult Aboriginal Native, and Two Pounds for every child who shall be captured and delivered at any one of the police stations. **George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, Government Order of February 25, 1830**
[^14]: The occasional outrages of miscreants, whose scene of crime is so remote as to render detection difficult, and who sometimes wantonly fire at and kill the men, and at others pursue the women, for the purpose of compelling them to abandon their children. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^15]: The Lieutenant Governor has learned with much regret, that the Government Order, NO. 2, of the 25th February last, offering certain rewards for the capture of the Aborigines, appears in some recent instances to have been misapprehended; and in this important subject, His Excellency has directed it to be distinctly notified, that nothing can be more opposed to the spirit of the above-named Order, and to that of all the different Proclamations and Orders which preceded it, than to offer any sort of violence or restraint to such of the Aboriginal Natives as may approach the European inhabitants with friendly views; the reward was offered for the capture of such natives only as were committing aggressions on the inhabitants of the settled districts, from which it was the object of the Government to expel them, with every degree of humanity that was practicable, when all efforts for their conciliation had proved abortive. **George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, Government Order of August 20, 1830**
[^16]: A noble task it will be to regenerate the race of girls in this colony. Their frivolity, their emptiness, ignorance, and boldness of manner are deplorable. And yet they are sharp-witted and pretty and no doubt have as much moral aptitude for good things as the generations from which they sprang. **Jane Franklin, April 1840**

The Penal Preserve, Chapter 17

*This is chapter 16 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 15](https://stacker.news/items/632730) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 16

The Vacationers, however, were not incapable of outrages of their own. I have described some of the cruelties perpetrated by the Penists, and now it is my duty as chronicler of these events to reverse the shield, and show the darker features of Vacationer character.[^1] The Vacationers had a tradition among themselves that the Penists had usurped their land, driven them into the forests, stolen their food, ravished their wives and daughters and murdered and butchered their fellow-countrymen; and whilst brooding over these complicated ills in the dense parts of the forest, they were wont to goad each other on to acts of bloodshed and revenge.[^2]

The following true and complete list of atrocities committed by the Vacationers was kept by Ross and occurred over a span of an unknown number of years, but presumably not after Jane began her friendly mission of conciliation. First, I will note that I am presenting here the list in the form it was drawn up by Ross, and thus it includes many Martian names that will be entirely irrelevant to you. Second, I should note that it quickly became the custom among the Penists to inhabit the many cabins and beach houses of the Vacationers spread around the island, and to call them their own.

Official List of Atrocities Committed by the Vacationers

Mr Mazetti’s hut robbed.[^3]

Mr Howell’s dwelling hut burned.[^4]

Mr Jones’ hut threatened.[^5]

John Rayner speared in several places, dreadfully beaten.[^6]

Mr Lord’s hut attacked; of two men in it, one dangerously speared, the other dreadfully beaten. The Vacationers plundered the hut and retired.[^7]

Captain Clark attacked, but escaped.[^8]

A man chased by Vacationers, but escaped.[^9]

Mr Dawson severely beaten, nearly losing his life.[^10]

The reader of a better era may fancy this description shaded; but the writer in preparing this work has explored many a volume, and shudders at the memory of his toils: I would not assign them to my worst enemy.[^11] What is clear is that the Vacationers were not acting out of a spirit of retaliation or even of defense, but rather from a wanton and savage spirit, inherent in them. They were always ready for mischief when they thought it could be perpetrated with impunity, and they never hesitated to complain of the crimes of the Penists.[^12] But I suppose before we pass judgment on them, consigning them to the halls of savagery, we ought to remember that the Vacationers and the Penists exhibited the Martians as their nature made them, unwrought by long association with the Aliens.[^13]

*Chapter 17 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: The cruelties perpetrated by the Whites on this unhappy race have been described. It is now the duty of the chronicler to reverse the shield, and show the darker features of the Tasmanian character. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^2]: They have a tradition amongst them that white men have usurped their territory, have driven them into the forests, have killed their game and thus robbed them of their chief subsistence, have ravished their wives and daughters, have murdered and butchered their fellow-countrymen; and are wont whilst brooding over these complicated ills in the dense part of the forest to goad each other on to acts of bloodshed and revenge for the injuries done to their ancestors and the persecutions offered to themselves through their white enemies. **George Augustus Robinson, 23 November 1829**
[^3]: Mr Mazetti’s hut robbed. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^4]: 12th. Mr. Howell’s dwelling hut burned. Mrs Howell and her children narrowly escaping the flames. Twenty of Mr Espie’s sheep killed and maimed. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^5]: 11th. Captain Wood’s hut, at Poole’s Marsh robbed. Mr Jone’s hut, Side Line Marsh, threatened. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^6]: April 1st. John Rayner speared in several places, and dreadfully beaten by natives, at Spring Bay. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^7]: May 18th. Mr Lord’s hut, at Eastern Marshes, attacked; of two men in it, one was dangerously speared, the other dreadfully beaten. The natives plundered the hut and retired. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^8]: September 8th. Captain Clark’s shepherd attacked, but escaped. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^9]: A man, employed by government at the lime kilns, near Bothwell, chased by natives but escaped. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^10]: 23rd. Mr Dawson’s servant, Hughes, severely beaten by natives, nearly losing his life. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^11]: The reader of a better era may fancy this description shaded; but the writer, in preparing this work has explored many a volume, and shudders at the memory of his toils: he would not assign them to his worst enemy. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 1, 1852**
[^12]: The opinion of the Committee is most decided, that these acts of violence on the part of the natives, are generally to be regarded, not as retaliating for any wrong which they conceived themselves collectively or individually to have endured, but as proceeding from a wanton and a savage spirit, inherent in them, and impelling them to mischief and cruelty. **_Report of the Aborigines Committee_ 10 March 1830**
[^13]: It should be remembered, that they exhibit man as nature has made him: unwrought upon by civilization—unpolished by the influence of the arts and sciences—unformed, unmoulded as to the mind, into any thing like shape. **Henry Melville, Editor, _The Van Diemen’s Land Almanack for the Year of Our Lord 1831; being the Third After Leap Year_**

THe Penal Preserve, Chapter 16

*This is chapter 15 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 14](https://stacker.news/items/631510) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 15

There were many reports of Penists castrating the male Vacationers for a lark,[^1] but it seems, as was always the case in Martian society, that the female of the species suffered the worst of these atrocities. Unanimous testimony permits little doubt that the full severity which men of low intellect, and fierce and capricious passions, inflict on women who come under their power.[^2] If perchance a Vacationer woman was decoyed to a Penist’s camp, no gentleness of usage was employed to win her regard, and secure her stay—threatening language, the lash, and the chain were the harsher expedients of the Penists’ savage love.[^3] 

The Penists frequently carried off Vacationer women by force to their lairs, and cruelly abused them.[^4] It was the custom among many of the Penists deployed on foraging operations that every man should have from two to five of the Vacationer women for their own use and benefit.[^5] One man, after acquiring such a woman, kept the poor creature chained up for the base purpose of fornication, and whenever he wanted her to do anything, he applied a firebrand snatched from the fire to her skin.[^6] And we hear of another Penist who, having caught an unhappy girl, sought to relive her terror—to subdue her sulks, as it was termed—by first giving her a morning’s flogging, and then fastening her to a tree when he was not about.[^7] He claimed such actions were an effort to tame her. In another instance, the Penists tied up a Vacationer woman to a tree and then cut the flesh off her thighs, and cut off her ears and made her eat them. The woman that had been so barbarously treated was a hard-working woman, who’s performance had by all accounts been exemplary. 

This is not to say the Vacationer women’s performance was never an issue. Indeed, their sour attitude was repeatedly cited as a source of consternation to the Penists. It seems that propriety of demeanor was not uniformly among the virtues of the female Vacationers.[^8] Many have observed that if these women had possessed—even to the slightest degree—any portion of delicacy, or set any real value on decorum, then indeed they should be entitled to the highest compassion, and indignation would be roused at the bare relation of the atrocities committed against them.[^9] But in many cases, the women yielded willingly to the lawless desires of the Penists, indeed their males even encouraged the nefarious traffic. Therefore, if there were quarrels, and if murders were perpetrated, they were caused as much by the depraved tastes of the Vacationers, as by the moral turpitude of the Penists.[^10] 

But grievances of this nature were so numerous and common that any further comment than has already been made would be useless.[^11] 

Franklin was again and again required to request that all Penists abstain from acts of violence against the Vacationers.[^12] Nevertheless, not one single individual was ever brought to justice for offenses committed against these benighted beings.[^13]

*Chapter 16 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: Repeated cases were known of brutal stock-keepers and shepherds emasculating the males. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^2]: Unanimous testimony permits no doubt that they experienced the severity, which men of low intellect, and of fierce and capricious passions, inflict on women of an inferior race. **John West, _The History of Tasmania_ Volume 2, 1852**
[^3]: If perchance a woman was decoyed to the shepherd’s hut, no gentleness of usage was employed to win her regard, and secure her stay; threatening language, the lash, and the chain were the harsher expedients of his savage love. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^4]: The Bushranger Dunn carried off Native women to his lair, and cruelly abused them. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^5]: The custom of the sealers in the straits was that every man should have from two to five of these native women for their own use and benefit, and to select any of them they thought proper to cohabit with as their wives; and a large number of children had been born in consequence of these unions—a fine active hardy race. **James Kelly, 1816, attributed by Henry Roth, _Aborigines of Tasmania_ 1899**
[^6]: He kept the poor creature chained up like a wild beast, and, whenever he wanted her to do anything, applied a burning stick, a firebrand snatched from the hearth, to her skin. **Captain Stokes, attributed by James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^7]: We hear of another who, having caught an unhappy girl, sought to relieve her fears, or subdue her sulks, as it was termed, by first giving her a morning’s flogging with a bullock-whip, and then fastening her to a tree near his hut until her returned in the evening. **Henry Roth, _Aborigines of Tasmania_ 1899**
[^8]: Propriety of demeanour was not uniformly amongst the virtues of the female savage, and very simple acts of good nature propitiated and secured the connivance of, at least, some of the other sex. **J E Caler, _Some Account of the Wars, Extirpation, Habits, &c., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania_ 1875**
[^9]: Did the black women of this island possess, in the slightest degree, any portion of that delicacy of sentiment which ought to be the distinguishing ornament of the sex—did they know how to set a true value on chastity—and had the aboriginal men not shared in the wages of iniquity earned by their women, then indeed would they be entitled to our highest compassion, and our indignation would be roused at the bare relation of the atrocities which we know to have been committed against them. **Gilbert Robertson, _Hobart Town Press_ 1831**
[^10]: But the women have yielded willingly to the lawless desires of white men, the males have encourage the nefarious traffic, and if, in such a commerce, quarrels have happened and murders been perpetrated, we may trace these as much to the depraved taste of the aboriginal as to the moral turpitude of the Whites. **Gilbert Robertson, _Hobart Town Press_ 1831**
[^11]: That the stockkeepers had chained the females to their huts with bullock chains for the purpose of fornication. These grievances have become so numerous and common that any further comment on them than has already been made upon similar occasions would be useless. **George Augustus Robinson, 14 December 1829**
[^12]: His Excellency earnestly requests that all settlers and others will strictly enjoin their servants cautiously to abstain from acts of aggression against these beneighted beings, and that they will themselves personally endeavour to conciliate them wherever it may be practicable: and whenever the Aborigines appear without evincing a hostile feeling, that no attempt shall be made either to capture or restrain them; but, on the contrary, after being fed and kindly treated, that they shall be suffered to depart whenever they desire it. **George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, Government Order of August 19, 1930**
[^13]: Not one single individual was ever brought to a court of justice for offences committed against these harmless creatures. **Henry Melville, _History of the island of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1836**

The Penal Preserve, Chapter 15

*This is chapter 14 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 13](https://stacker.news/items/630279) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 14

After these first outrages, the warfare between the Penists and the Vacationers was pretty continuous—although often petty and with grossly exaggerated details.[^1] Obviously, many tall tales were repeated by lovers of the marvelous and horrible, and all the most infamous events were found to be utterly false on investigation.[^2] Using language to compose history teaches us the difficulty of learning the truth of a story.[^3] Nevertheless, in the interest of thoroughness, I record here these supposed events so that you, the reader, may be the judge of their merit. To me, the story of the Vacationers is so romantic, so affecting, so suggestive, that I, perhaps, have erred in deeming the public sensitive to such sympathies.[^4]

One source, who is much doubted, describes a fearful scene: a number of Vacationers, with women and children, were congregated in a gully near the shore under the shade of some madronas, standing around a large fire, cooking hot dogs, and s’mores. They were surprised by a party of Penists, who, without giving warning, fired upon them as they ate. When the Penists rushed out of the forest to take the food from the slaughtered Vacationers, they found a little child crawling near to its dying mother. One of the Penists drove his pitchfork through the body of the child and forked it into the flames of the campfire, saying it was only a child.[^5]

In another infamous case, a party of Vacationers were bathing in the heat of a summer’s day, in the deep pool of a river, in a sequestered and romantic glen, when they were suddenly surprised by numerous armed Penists who had surrounded them. It is said that not one of the Vacationers survived to tell the tale.[^6]

Some sources claim that it was a favorite amusement of the Penists to hunt the Vacationers, and that after they had rousted the Vacationers from their favored haunts and gorged themselves on their food, with gaiety and merriment, the Penists would wander through the bush in search of Vacationers. Sometimes they would return without sport, at others they would succeed in killing a woman, or if lucky, a man or two.[^7]

In one instance, two Vacationer women and a child were walking along the beach when a Penist shot the woman with the child. The affection of the poor creature was very striking: seeing she was about to be shot, she turned her back to her executioner, placed her child between her legs and stooped down in order to save it. The bullet went through the woman’s body, and killed the child anyway. When she fell, the Penists ran up and chopped her on the neck. The other Vacationer woman was secured and was harshly treated. Such a melancholy relation![^8] 

One Penist who went by the name of Carrots, was known to have boasted that, having killed a Vacationer in an attempt to carry off the man’s wife, he cut off the dead man’s head and obliged the woman to go with him, having the head suspended about her neck.[^9] It is even said that this Carrots later required the poor woman to use the head as a plaything.[^10] Another Penist had a pickling tub in which he put the ears of the Vacationers he had killed.[^11] Yet another confessed that he had actually been in the habit of killing the Vacationers in order to feed his dogs.[^12] Some say that the Vacationers’ children were not infrequently set up as targets to shoot at.[^13] And in at least one instance, the Penists cut the flesh off the face of a Vacationer child and made him eat it.[^14]

In the face of such events as these, Franklin made it known that any unauthorized act of aggression, or violence, committed on the person of a Vacationer would be punished, and that all Vacationers were invited to inform him of any ill-treatment whatever in order to resolve its punishment.[^15] There is no record that any Penist was ever punished for such crimes, though.

*Chapter 15 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: The warfare, though pretty continuous, was rather a petty affair, with grossly exaggerated details. **J E Calder, _Some Account of the Wars, Extirpation, Habits, &c., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania_ 1875**
[^2]: Numerous fictitious fights are recorded as having taken place in the early times of the colony, and which though still repeated by lovers of the marvellous and horrible, were found to be utterly false on investigation. **J E Calder, _Some Account of the Wars, Extirpation, Habits, &c., of the Native Tribes of Tasmania_ 1875**
[^3]: The composition of history makes us acquainted with the difficulties of learning the truth of a story. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^4]: To me the story of the Tasmanians is so romantic, so affecting, so suggestive, that I, perhaps, have erred in deeming the public sensitive to such sympathies. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^5]: Brough Smyth quotes the following from Hull, whose word is often much doubted. Hull says: “A friend once described to me a fearful scene at which he was present. A number of blacks, with the women and children, were congregated in a gully near town, under the shade of some flowering tea-trees, and the men had formed themselves in a ring round a large fire, while the women were cooking the evening meal of opossums and bandicoots; they were surprised by a party of soldiers, who, without giving warning, fired upon them as they sat, and rushing up to the scene of slaughter, found there wounded men and women, and a little child crawling near its dying mother. The soldier drove his bayonet through the body of the child, and pitchforked it into the flames. It was only a child, he said!” **Henry Roth, _Aborigines of Tasmania_ 1899**
[^6]: They had been bathing in the heat of a summer’s day, in the deep pool of a river, in a sequestered and romantic glen, when they were suddenly surprised by a party of armed colonists who had secured the passes, and I believe not one of them was left to tell the tale. **John Dunmore Lang, attributed by James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^7]: “It is stated also,” Mr Hull adds, “that it was a favourite amusement to hunt the aborigines; that a day would be selected, and the neighbouring settlers invited, with their families to a pic-nic. Husbands and wives, sons and daughters, would come in to the social gathering, and after dinner, all would be gaiety and merriment, whilst the gentlemen of the party would take their guns and dogs, and accompanied by two or three convict servants, wander through the bush in search of black fellows. Sometimes they would return without sport; at others they would succeed in killing a woman, or, if lucky, mayhap a man or two.” **Henry Roth, _Aborigines of Tasmania_ 1899**
[^8]: This was a melancholy transaction! These natives heretofore have evinced a peaceable disposition until this catastrophe happened. Two women were walking along the beach about two miles east of the Cam River when one of the men shot the woman who had a child. The affection of the poor creature was very striking: seeing she was about to be shot, she turned her back to her executioner, placed her child between her legs and stooped down in order to save it. The ball went through the woman’s body and when she fell another of the party ran up and chopped her on the neck. The other woman was secured and the child, and was harshly treated. **George Augustus Robinson, 4 August 1830**
[^9]: A person named Carrots, since dead, is known to have boasted, that having killed a native, in his attempt to carry off his wife, he cut off the dead man’s head, and obliged the woman to go with him, carrying it suspended round her neck. **_Report of the Aborigine Committee_ 19 March 1830**
[^10]: Parker relates that “a man named Carrots killed a native in his attempt to carry off his wife, and having cut off the dead man’s head, he obliged the woman to follow him, it suspended round her neck, and to use it as a plaything! **Henry Roth, _Aborigines of Tasmania_ 1899**
[^11]: One European had a pickle tub in which he put the ears of all the blacks he shot. **Henry Roth, _Aborigines of Tasmania_ 1899**
[^12]: He had actually been in the habit of shooting the black Natives to feed his dogs. **John Dunmore Lang, attributed by James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**
[^13]: These are the sort of men who have ravished the wives and daughters of these unbefriended people, and when provoked by resistance have massacred them with impunity and set up their children as targets to shoot at. **George Augustus Robinson, 23 November 1829**
[^14]: That the sealers cut the flesh off the cheek of a black boy and made him eat it. **George Augustus Robinson, 28 May 1831**
[^15]: And any unauthorized act of aggression, or violence, committed on the person or property of an Aboriginal, shall be punished as herein before declared; and all Aborigines are hereby invited and exhorted to inform, and complain to some constituted authority of any such misconduct, o rill treatment, in order to its coercion and punishment. **George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, Government Order of April 15, 1828**

The Penal Preserve, Chapter 14

*This is chapter 13 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 12](https://stacker.news/items/618793) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 13

Both Jane and Ross were waiting for Franklin on the beach when he came back from his customary long walk. He saw them from some distance. They were standing far apart, but had to draw near in order to reach him. Once they did, they performed a strange duet of acrimony.

‘Something terrible has happened,’ said Jane.

‘We proved we can stand up to the Aliens,’ said Ross.

‘By killing our own people!’ said Jane.

‘We have to defend ourselves,’ said Ross.

‘They weren’t even carrying weapons!’ said Jane.

‘They had Alien things!’ said Ross.

‘Who are we talking about?’ asked Franklin.

‘Some of those other people living on the island came,’ said Jane.

‘There were hundreds of them,’ said Ross.

‘They were bringing us food,’ said Jane.

‘We were almost surrounded,’ said Ross.

‘It was a welcome party,’ said Jane.

‘Betrayal of their own species,’ said Ross.

‘How much food was there?’ asked Franklin.

‘He killed them all!’ shouted Jane.

‘I didn’t kill anyone,’ said Ross. 

‘He told everyone he was a hero!’ said Jane.

‘Who?’ asked Franklin.

‘Rae,’ said Ross. ‘You should have seen him.’

‘They killed all of them,’ said Jane. ‘Even the children.’

The story slowly came out, and Franklin kept his customary peace. Jane was sobbing, and Ross was very animated. When it was finally clear what happened, Franklin said, ‘We still need food.’

They all knew that they needed food, and so there wasn’t really any decision to make in the end. Franklin agreed that they should go to the Vacationer abode Rae had visited and requisition whatever food stores might be available. As Rae was the only one who knew where it was, he clearly would go. But Franklin decided to lead the expedition himself, believing that he could avert any further bloodshed. In this he was terribly wrong.

The Penists struggled their way up the precipitous slopes of the interior, soaked by rain, fog, and the dewy leaves of the thick underbrush. They searched for a miserable three days before Rae finally found his way back to the Vacationer cabin that had been the scene of his triple murder. The bodies of the three prisoners remained, but in a very decomposed state, although, otherwise the cabin was as deserted as it had when he visited the first time. 

Franklin approached the cabin and knocked on the door. No one answered, and all was still. He opened the door. The house was clean, and well-kept, but in some disorder as though it had been recently abandoned in haste. Most obvious to the Penists were the many strange Alien products that inhabited the cabin in a familiar manner. Some of the prisoners had never before seen Alien products, and were strongly affected.

They were startled by the new sound of a choking gas motor. Stumbling out of the dim cabin, they saw a male Vacationer struggling to start a dirt bike that some of them had noticed leaning against the cabin before they entered. 

‘Wait!’ yelled Franklin.

The man did not cease his efforts to start the bike, nor did he look back to see who was speaking. He was clearly frightened. 

‘Stop!’ Rae shouted, and turning to Franklin, he said, ‘You have to stop him!’

‘Stop!’ shouted Franklin, not quite so loudly as Rae.

Rae started towards the Vacationer, running as fast as he could. The man was so focused on trying to start his bike that he did not notice Rae until it was too late. Rae jumped on him, knocking over the bike. Landing on top of the man with his full weight, he began to throttle him and bash his head against the hard packed dirt in front of the cabin. The man struggled against him, and Rae was obliged therefore to slay him with a hefty rock that lay nearby.[^1] 

None of the other Penists, not even Franklin, said anything. And when Rae stood up from the dust, his face splattered with blood, it was clear that he had become the leader of the group. He proceeded to the cabin and ransacked it for food and supplies. When he was satisfied that they had found everything, he dragged the Vacationer’s body into the cabin, and left it there. He spilled a container of gasoline over the dead man and ignited the cabin. 

‘Let’s take this stuff back home,’ said Rae.

While they did not discover an enormous quantity of food, they found enough to establish a plan for feeding the colony through the long, hard months ahead. Franklin allowed Rae to dispatch crews of Penists to forage across the island. Franklin told Jane there could be no doubt that all the Vacationers would soon quit the island—if they had not already done so—and no doubt that they would leave behind them a sizable store of provisions—if the single cabin he had seen was any indication. These expeditions were some help and a little relief to the Penists, and did keep them from killing one another to eat.[^2] 

It almost goes without saying that Franklin was anxious to inculcate a spirit of forbearance towards the Vacationers—should the Penist expeditions encounter any—in the hope that their relations could be cordial.[^3] But we can also easily imagine the effect of letting loose on the island a number of reckless prisoners, who had until recently been subjected to the rigor of prison discipline and starvation, and who now with inflamed passions were undeterred in the commission of crime by the presence or knowledge of authorities.[^4]

Also, I have to admit that it seems incredible that the Vacationers had such a store of provisions that the Penists could subsist upon them until the next season’s harvest. Indeed, it seems somewhat unlikely that the Penists were any more successful at agriculture in their second year than in their first. Yet the historical record says no more on the matter, providing no other explanation for their survival.

*Chapter 14 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: I was obliged therefore to shoot them. **John Batman, “Report to police magistrate Thomas Anstey,” 7 September 1829**
[^2]: The wch was some helpe and a little Reliefe unto us and did kepe us from killeinge one of an other To eate. **George Percy, Governor, Jamestowne Colony, _A Trewe Relacyon of the pcedeings and ocurrentes of Momente wch have hapned in Virginia from the Tyme Sr Thomas Gates was Shippwrackte uppon the Bermudes Ano 1609 until my depture owtt of the Cowntry wch was in Ano Dni 1612_ 1624**
[^3]: His Excellency has uniformly been anxious to inculcate a spirit of forbearance towards the Aborigines, in the hope that confidence and cordiality might subsist, and be conducive to their improvement, and the security of the Colonists; but it is with extreme regret he perceives a result so contrary to his hope and expectation. **George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, Government Order of November 29, 1826**
[^4]: We can readily imagine the effect of letting loose in the Bush a number of reckless bad men, who had been previously subjected to the rigour of prison discipline, and who now with inflamed passions were undeterred in the commission of crime by the presence of knowledge of the authorities. **James Bonwick, _The Last of the Tasmanians; or, the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land_ 1870**

The Penal Preserve, Chapter 13

*This is chapter 12 of **The Penal Preserve**, you may want to go back to [Chapter 11](https://stacker.news/items/617172) or [start at the beginning](https://stacker.news/items/599283).*

# 12

Ross had not participated in the massacre, biding his time instead on the sidelines. But now he made his way through the dead and the feasting toward Rae. Ross saw that Rae was the true leader of the massacre. He beckoned to the nearby guards, who made a somewhat disorderly entourage, covered as they were with potato chips and flecks of whipped cream. 

‘Guards,’ Ross said when they reached Rae. ‘This man is a true hero. Salute him!’

The noise of the massacre had brought Jane from her tree dwelling where she was writing. She was confronted with a scene of such carnage, she could not bring herself to believe it. But when she saw Ross marching across the field toward Rae, she raced down the ladder.

‘What have you done?’ said Jane.

‘He has saved our race from certain destruction,’ said Ross before Rae could answer. ‘What happened here today is nothing short of our salvation.’

‘They didn’t have any weapons!’ said Jane. ‘All they had was food.’

‘They had Alien things,’ said Rae, lifting up a lava lamp one of the Vacationers had brought to keep her gravy warm. ‘These kind of things threaten our unity. None of us is strong enough to resist them. They must be removed from the island.’[^1] 

‘You didn’t have to kill all these people!’ Jane stammered.

‘We have to get rid of it! We have to get rid of it all!’ Rae shouted. ‘We have no choice. Everything Alien—it has to be eradicated, just off the face of the Earth. It’s evil. It’s just evil.’[^2]

‘Arrest him,’ Jane said to Ross.

‘Arrest him? He should get a medal for conspicuous gallantry!’[^3]

By this time a large crowd had gathered around them, and they sent up a great cheer at Ross’s commendation. The clamoring continued for some minutes until Rae consented to address them. I have recorded here the traditional version of Rae’s speech, but there is no doubt it is much amended—Rae never was much of a speechifier. 

‘My good friends,’ said Rae.[^4] ‘More than five years have passed since the unhappy day when the people of Earth lost touch with honor and freedom—and now we have almost lost everything.[^5] The Aliens landed on our planet and we did not try to fight them. Maybe the future won’t hold that against us. But we’ve become addicted to them and to everything they have to offer. We’re worse than a drunk with a wine barrel.[^6] And the future—if there is one for us—will judge us harshly for that. The Aliens have attacked the foundations of our whole human order. The things they’re selling us are changing our society, our morals, even our very nature.[^7] And we’ve all been going along happily, like little kids in a candyshop. This threat cannot be ignored. This threat cannot be appeased. Civilization itself, the civilization we share, is threatened.[^8] But today...today a great people has been moved to defend a great nation![^9] While it seems like the whole world has bowed down before the Aliens, on this little island, our little group of prisoners has had the courage to stand up and shout, No!

‘It’s not enough that we keep ourselves free from the Alien taint. We must ostracize anyone who supports the Aliens. No one can remain neutral in this fight.[^10] Those who use Alien things lose any right to be called decent people![^11] There is no such thing as a good person who uses Alien things. No convenience, no advanced technology, no solution to social problems can ever justify the deliberate murder of our civilization.[^12] So I have the courage to recognize these people’s role in the process and to name them by name.[^13] They are Croakers. Those who use the Aliens things are Aliens as much as the Croakers themselves—they have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed.[^14] 

‘Revive the human! Destroy the Alien! Revive the human! Destroy the Alien!’[^15]

Soon, all the Penists were chanting along with Rae.

*Chapter 12 tomorrow, same time, same place.*

[^1]: The Jews must be removed from the German community, for they endanger our national unity. **Joseph Goebbels, “The Jews are Guilty!” 16 November 1941**
[^2]: We have to get rid of ISIS. Have to get rid of ISIS. We have no choice. Radical Islamic terrorism. And I said it yesterday—it has to be eradicated just off the face of the Earth. This is evil. This is evil. **Donald Trump, “Remarks by President Trump and Vice President Pence at CIA Headquarters,” 21 January 2017**
[^3]: For conspicuous gallantry and good conduct in action against hostile Sioux Indians, at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, while engaged with the Indians concealed in a ravine, assisting men on the skirmish line, directing their fire, encouraging them by example, and using every effort to dislodge the enemy. (Medals of honor.) **J C Kelton, Adjutant General, by order of John McAllister Schofield, Commanding General fo the United States Army, General Orders No. 100, General Orders and Circulars, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General’s Office, 17 December 1891**
[^4]: My good friends. **Joseph McCarthy, “Reply to Edward R Murrow,” See It Now, 6 April 1954**
[^5]: More than fourteen years have passed since the unhappy day when the German people, blinded by promises from foes at home and abroad, lost touch with honor and freedom, thereby losing all. **Adolf Hitler, “Proclamation to the German Nation,” 1 February 1933**
[^6]: Never forget that the human race with technology is just like an alcoholic with a barrel of wine. **Ted Kaczynski, “Industrial Society and Its Future,” 22 February 1995**
[^7]: Bolshevism has attacked the foundations of our whole human order, alike in State and society, the foundations of our conception of civilization, of our faith and of our morals: all alike are at stake. **Adolf Hitler, 14 September 1936**
[^8]: This threat cannot be ignored. This threat cannot be appeased. Civilization, itself, the civilization we share, is threatened. **George W Bush, “First Address to the United Nations General Assembly,” 10 November 2001**
[^9]: A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. **George W Bush, “A Great People Has Been Moved to Defend a Great Nation,” 11 September 2001**
[^10]: It must ostracize any nation that supports terrorism. It must isolate any nation that remains neutral in the fight against terrorism. **Rudy Giuliani, “Opening Remarks to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Terrorism,” 1 October 2001**
[^11]: Those who practice terrorism, murdering or victimizing innocent civilians, lose any right to have their cause understood by decent people and lawful nations. **Rudy Giuliani, “Opening Remarks to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Terrorism,” 1 October 2001**
[^12]: Yet there is no such thing as a good terrorist. No national aspiration, no remembered wrong can ever justify the deliberate murder of the innocent. Any government that rejects this principle, trying to pick and choose its terrorist friends, will know the consequences. **George W Bush, “First Address to the United Nations General Assembly,” 10 November 2001**
[^13]: However, we have the courage to recognize their role in the process and to name them by name. **Joseph Goebbels, “The Racial Question and World Propaganda,” 1933**
[^14]: We just need to call them what they are—killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed. **Barak Obama, “State of the Union Address,” 12 January 2016** 
[^15]: 扶清灭洋. **Boxer Uprising Slogan, 1899**