Copyright is held by the author.
THE IMPETUS of most revolutions is readily identifiable. The American Revolution is traced to actions of the British government. The Russian Revolution is linked to actions of the Imperial Russian government during World War I. The impetus of the Truck Stop Revolution is more like a Rube Goldberg Device. The Truck Stop Revolution flowed from a jerky series of seemingly unlinked innocent events that threatened to remake the Commonwealth.
The Device was kicked in gear by a change in Commonwealth Colonization policy. The prior policy seemed straightforward.
- Make a cursory survey of a possible planet from orbit.
- Send an automated ship full of colonists on a one-way trip to the planet.
- Hope for the best.
The policy made sense in the ivory tower spawning the policy. In practice, all the points had problems. The cursory survey missed seasonal events like extreme temperature change, or seismic activity. The automated ships were launched while the survey progressed. The ships worked most of the time. The Navy found the exceptions. Some ships were found derelict beaten into junk. Either a flock of asteroids, or an exploding dwarf planet, pummeled the ship. Sometime many objects overwhelmed the automated navigation system sending the ships to their doom. Communication between the Commonwealth agencies and the colonies was slow and spotty keeping Commonwealth from addressing problems the colonists found.
To combat issues with the survey the Commonwealth started surveying more planets for a longer period. Three or more planets could be surveyed while a set colonists trained. Once a planet seemed likely, colonists would be dispatched while the survey completed. A place to redirect the colonists if the final survey had problems became necessary. Hopefully, one of the other planets would prove suitable. The change meant the colonists were put into fewer unfavourable conditions. But the colonists ships required additional fuel and supplies if the colonists needed when the destination changed.
The Commonwealth’s catalog of habitable planets contained planets with atmospheres and gravity but had other flaws (like no soil). If one of these planets was close a planet with the minerals to create fuel, a refueling station was created. The station had to be more than a big fuel tank. Traffic control was necessary. The stations needed to be able to defend against stray asteroids. The station needed communications equipment. To address the lack of communication with colonies, the refueling stations had powerful radio repeaters. The stations needed facilities, like barracks and dining hall, for the crew. A system of resupply of the stations was set up. Warehouses were built at the stations.
Pilots were added to the colonists ships. The pilots meant the ships had to be redesigned. The new ships modularized the propulsion and navigation systems. The cargo and passenger parts of the ship were left with the colonists. The propulsion/navigation portion returned to the refueling station with the pilots. Pilots staying at the stations caused expansion of the barracks and other support facilities of the stations.
The stations began operating under Navy auspices. There were some bugs. Results seemed better.
A short timing naval rating, with journalistic ambitions, lurched the machine forward. The rating wrote a story describing a refueling station. The article contained the following sentence
If bags of fried pork rinds, and racks of magazines, are added the stations would be a good approximation of a 21st century American truck stop.
To the rating’s surprise, a magazine accepted the story. The story ran under the title of “Interplanetary Truck Stops”. The name Truck Stop stuck to stations to the chagrin of numerous naval officers. They could stomach running a refueling station. But a truck stop? The article caused enough descension in the ranks to cause the Navy to sell the stations to private companies.
With the private companies entrance, the Device jumped ahead. The Navy ran the stations at a loss. The companies were determined to make a profit. Shelves of pork rinds appeared next to racks of magazines. Adult entertainment was added. Full-fledged casinos were built. The barracks were converted to a hotel. A service was offered for colonists with buyer’s remorse to turn back (very few did). Most colonies have exports. The truck stops started a freight forwarding business reducing the colonist’s expense. Finally, the truck stops bought the right to take the colonists to their destination and ferry supplies to existing planets. The changes meant more people were needed at the truck stops. The changes, and competent management, made the truck stops profitable. Very profitable. To defend the profitability, the owners formed the Truck Stop Management Association
The profit motivation sped up the Device. Some people are content with wealth. Others when having wealth want power. The members of the Truck Stop Management Association were in the latter category. They sought a permanent way to influence Commonwealth policy. Planets could apply for full voting membership in the Commonwealth if the planet had sufficient mass and population. The Association realized the total mass of the stations and their population, they were over the minimums. The Truck Stop applied for membership as a quasi-planet. The quasi-planet was defined as the chunks of rocks holding stations under a single administration. The idea was truly revolutionary. The politicians panicked and rejected the application. The rejection spawned the kind of litigation which makes lawyers rich and politicians grey. Eventually, the courts rejected the Truck Stops’ contention. A planet had to be a single planetary body. The politicians breathed a sigh of relief.
The Device might have stopped if not for another side effect of the Truck Stops. The Truck Stops had made news feeds available over the radio repeaters. If someone cared, news feeds could be tuned in. Most people did not care. Rufus McCord cared. Rufus was one of the original settlers on planet ???. Rufus could be called a victim of the Commonwealth’s original policies. Rufus was a mining engineer. ???’s literature described the planet a rich in ore to be mined. Upon arrival the colonists learned the parts of the planet with the ores were seismically unstable. Even surface mining would be suicide. Rufus was a mining engineer on a planet without mines. His skills were not unused. The environment of the colonized planets differs from earth. Exotic crystals rarely found on earth were readily found on ???. Rufus’ skills helped develop techniques to safely extract the crystals for the rock. Rufus also helped create methods to grow synthetic crystals indistinguishable from natural crystals. No one got rich from the crystals, but the colony had necessary funds without taxing the colonists. Rufus married and raised a family. He was now a member of the planetary council. Most people regarded him as a harmless old coot. He had a good life. Rufus was no fan of Commonwealth. Rufus heard about the rejection the quasi-planet suit. He was intrigued. He sent a query in his capacity as a member of the council. He asked, “If ??? applied for Commonwealth membership would the Truck Stops possibly be interested in ??? chartering the stations. Then their population would be applied toward the application?”
Rufus expected the question to go nowhere. He did not discuss the idea with anyone. Rufus was wrong. What he thought was an academic question the Truck Stop Association took as an invitation to join an ongoing application. The Device got kicked into high gear. The council president and members were inundated with messages. The news feed featured the new gambit by the Truck Stop Association. Politicians started sweating bullets. Quasi-planet never had a chance. Expatriates were another matter. When this application succeeded Commonwealth politics would be remade. The only thing preventing a full-blown media circus was lack of communication band width and distance. Still the media tried. The people of ??? were bombarded from all sides. They worked their way through interviews, discussions, arguments, cold shoulders, and fist fights. Politicians and lobbyists made promises that were too good to be true. Rufus was besieged on all sides. Lines were drawn and tensions increased. The question built to a climatic council session.
After the council was gaveled into session, Rufus rose and asked to speak on a point of personal privilege. His request was granted. Rufus’ comments were captured in the minutes
Mr. Chair, members of the council, ladies, and gentlemen. I know I am the cause of the only item on the agenda. As I have stated I only asked a theoretical question. If I thought the idea would proceed, I would have preliminary discussions with the members of this body. I never imagined the resulting chaos. I have thought through the question again. If we seek Commonwealth membership, we should do it as a united people. We are not united. So, I am withdrawing my query, question, invitation, or whatever it was. Commonwealth membership would be a bad idea now. I offer my apologies for the discord. Finally, I resign my seat on this body immediately. I thank the people of ??? for the opportunity to serve them. Good evening.
Rufus approached the chair, extracted his resignation from his folio, closed his folio, and left. When Rufus closed his folio, the Truck Stop Revolution collapsed. It took a while for the circus to leave town, the bruises to heal, and the dust to settle. They all did.
Rufus was next seen about 20 minutes later in the school’s auditorium. The school was presenting a play with his granddaughter, Charlene, as the female lead. Rufus was in the front row. Charlene peaked out before the curtain went up. She saw her grandpa. She got so happy she almost forgot her lines. She didn’t. The play was a huge success. After the curtain calls, Charlene threw herself into her grandpa’s arms and squealed, “You came! You came!”. Rufus gave her a big hug and kiss.
Rufus never explained his actions before the council. When asked he just replied, “I said everything to the council”. Rufus was hiding someone. About an hour before the council session, Rufus had answered a knock on his door. There stood his granddaughter, Charlene, looking forlorn. Charlene was the apple of his eye. Rufus sat her on his lap and ask what was wrong.
Fighting back tears, Charlene blubbered, “Don’t you love me anymore, Grandpa?”.
The question rocked Rufus. He asked, “Why would you think that Sweetie? I will always love you.”
Charlene blubbered on. “Last week was Adam’s birthday, you were not there. The first night of my play was last night, you did not come. Momma told me she bought you a ticket. Did I do something wrong? Don’t you love me?”
Charlene gave up fighting her tears. She sobbed into Rufus shoulder. Nothing the council could do was worth this. Rufus held Charlene while she cried. When the sobs subsided, Rufus dried her tears. He gently told her, “Get ready for her play. Have your parents save me a seat up front.” Charlene left not completely convinced. Rufus did not disappoint.
Apparently, there was a thread attached to the Device that ran through a grandpa’s heart. When a granddaughter’s tears pulled the thread the Device stopped, seized, and fell into the mud. Deep mud. Where it belonged. Charlene never again doubted her grandfather’s love. It would be nice if all revolutions could end that way.
The ending is unexpected and perhaps a little too “and they lived happily ever after”. The theme is unclear. Is this story about Rufus or about the colonization of planets? There seem to be a lot of loose ends.