[PART 35]

Editor’s Note:

The second portion of this historic recorded document was not in as good condition as the first section – Consequently there appears to be small gaps in the author’s narration – These small gaps have been filled in as best can be accomplished with other documents un-related to Committee operations held in Terra Project files, as well as additional off-world documents, and statements from individuals familiar with the general history of Earth during the period the original document was recorded – It is my hope that we have sufficiently augmented these small lost periods with enough information to continue the narration without any significant interruption in the historic story line – It is noted that Earth leadership was never able to fully unite their species into a single centralized Earth government such as one finds on Mars Prime – It is especially noteworthy that they were unable to accomplish this primary first component of all advanced planets even when they were confronted with possible complete extermination of their species on their home world – This human trait, although not unique, is extremely rare among developing planetary civilizations and is found mostly among warrior species usually much less developed than the one found on Earth.

R-Michael Gordon

Editor – Earth Studies Directorate (eESD)

m.p.12,915

The Martians: Committee Field Notebook Number Three

1921-1935

THE FIRST MARTIAN WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH

Chapter Six – 1921-1925

The Earth’s Recovery Continues

Chapter Seven – 1926-1930

Of Rockets, Technology and Martians

Chapter Eight – 1931-1935

The Earth goes on the Offensive

CONTINUING THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Near Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, United States

Afternoon, 30 October 1938

Despite the extensive loss of life during and after the First Martian War, the Great Earth War and the Martian induced “Spanish” Plague which followed that particular great human folly, by early 1921 work was progressing quite well on the massive underground facilities being designed and built under the supervision of Directorates B, C, and J of the Executive Committee of Twelve.

It had been nearly 20 years since the devastating war with Mars and the aftermath that followed which had taken the lives of half of humanity yet by this time after great efforts by survivors around the world we were well on our way to achieving many of our original rebuilding goals. Where only rubble had remained after the First Martian War, mankind had rebounded to rebuild large areas of once and future great cities now just beginning to be largely populated by people who looked more towards the future then the past. A new generation had grown up since the war with Mars; many however were still living mostly in the rubble and confusion of a world struggling to find its way. All of us knew that on the shoulders of this new generation would fall the assumed responsibility of defending our planet from wars yet to come of which we were certain Mars would be their origin.

From our work in the Committee we had discovered that the Martians had spent a great deal of time and effort learning not only about the Earth before they attacked, but they had acquired a great deal of knowledge about humanity itself. The Martians had taken people in the distant past and were still abducting humans almost at will. That had to change if we in power were to ever succeed in uniting our planet for what was to come.

We were learning a great deal about the Martians as well. Mankind had learned to hide much of what humans revered and to live and work underground much as the Martians had been forced to do for many thousands of years on their still slowly dying planet. We understood the Martians better and better as the years rolled on. It was not something many wanted to do, but it was something that was critical to our survival. (Know thine enemy!) And even though humanity was not yet fully united, as the Martians appeared to be, we were much better organized and better prepared than we had been in 1901. Nevertheless, we were still weak when faced with the awesome powers possessed by those who looked with envious eyes from Mars. The Lawless Zones were of course still a problem, but we had formulated plans to bring them under control with the rule of law as well. Sometime in the future they would need to be brought back into the world of nations. We understood that as long as they remained lawless they were open wounds easily infected by Martian influences.

There was no doubt these future days would hold much terror along with much promise. Which would reign supreme was very much a matter of conjecture and doubt. We as a planet were still subjected to the occasional kit-and-run attack by the forces of Mars as the Martians were still a factor of daily life at least for those who tracked such efforts as part of their official duties. For those in the know this was just a pause in the fight for humanity. As for the Committee, if we were being honest with ourselves, none of us could ever remove ourselves completely from doubts brought on by the immense power and control that small group of men, “The Twelve” held. I still questioned our correctness in assuming such total control over the lives of so many for so long a period of time, yet on some level I fully understood that without such overt as well as covert control there would be little chance of beating the Martians when once again they were expected to attempt to capture our small world nestled in the dark vastness of space and time. To defeat the Martians humanity needed to be as united as possible, at least that was the thinking at the time. I realized that it was good to have such doubts, but like many of my thoughts recently these doubts were best kept to oneself. If we were made strong by the truth than the truth would be known, but if a lie would serve as well than the lie would hold the high ground for as long as the need was there. Powerful enemies create powerful adversaries on both sides of the equation.

In 1921 the Executive Committee of Twelve still held sway over much of the Earth by one way or another, even as newly re-constituted nations began to once again feel the freedoms of action and individual rights expected of a still suffering humanity. This was the natural way. Internally some were now asking, “Could we now turn over much of the work to the nations of the world and step back from the control we have held for so long?” I for one did not have a satisfactory answer. I did not think anyone did so we continued on. It was of course easier to simply continue on as we had for these 20 short years. Nevertheless, it was very prudent to develop international political cover for much of our continuing planetary-wide work and that is why the idea of a League of Nations first came to the fore.

The individual Directors within the Executive Committee still had much responsibility as well as the means to administer their duties with large staffs. The World Farm Recovery Administration, World Railway Recovery Administration, World Shipping Recovery and Development Administration were all still operating with much increased budgets and staff. Along with the Ports Recovery Program and the Manpower Commission the Committee had been able to create what really amounted to a miracle of recovery around the world even though much work still lie ahead.

World economic markets were also expanding thanks to individual nations especially the United States backed by the World Banking Committee. And our efforts in aviation had been pushed not only by back engineered work on Martian technology, but by the direction and funding from the World Advisory Group for Aeronautics. The GEW had been a driving force as well.

By 1921 much of the world was linked by several new means of communication dreamed of but not yet available in 1901. These new links had become critical to our recovery. The sea lanes were once again being sailed regularly by all manner of craft with what seemed like endless goods from one far flung area of a still recovering Earth to many others.

For the most part war crime trials were a thing of the past, even as a few individuals still found their way to the certain justice of these world bodies. Some still found early graves before any court had a chance to pass their inevitable judgments. Few now paid close attention to these events. Many, but not all, were moving away from the post-Martian trauma of the First Martian War and looking forward. This psychological movement held both good and bad prospects for the future. We still needed to keep the general public focused on enemies both powerful and determined to end man’s fragile dominance on Earth. Yet we also needed to keep the public informed of our planet’s advances and preparedness – to a certain level.

Mankind could now fly in powered craft of course, but not nearly as well as we would need to in the future in order to face our enemies from Mars – much work remained to be completed in that area. Helped along by back-engineered Martian machines thousands of our scientists and engineers were developing many new devices that would directly aid in our planetary survival. New energy sources and new methods of warfare were also being developed, many of which came purely from the minds of man. We were designing larger, more powerful and more complex rockets we hoped would someday place instruments into orbit around the Earth in service to all of mankind. We were even exploring areas of Earth where, before the war with Mars, no one had ever dared attempt. Nothing was going to be allowed to hold us back, certainly not the Martians.

We had learned to fight Earth based terrorists who continuously worked for the Martians to disrupt our progress – we were determined not to allow that to happen. And as stated alone even with Martian aerial flybys and harassing attacks still occurring every so often, either by the Martians themselves or their hybrid allies, mankind was certainly much stronger than we had been in 1901 in nearly every area one cared to name. The Martians had so far failed to stop our progress, and they knew it, and from this we could take great pride. Now it was mankind who was keeping a close eye on the Martians. We were determined never to be caught off guard again. They knew that as well.

As for myself 20 years hardly seemed that long at all. Being fully involved in the work it had consumed the time perhaps much faster than one could have realized had I had the chance to step back and reflect. Even now it seems only yesterday I picked myself up from the rubble of our wounded planet along with the rest of the survivors, dusted myself off, and began my work with the Committee. There was of course a great deal more work to be done, as we all needed to keep focused on the days and years ahead. My primary fear was always the thought that we may not have enough time to get the work done. After all, the brutal Martians were still out there waiting, watching, and planning every conceivable detail for their expected next inter-planetary war – no matter what they needed to do to be prepared they would do it, and so would we. The desperate race for the survival of all mankind continued. And so did I as this preparation continued to consume all that I was and all that I could ever be. Even as I continued on with this critical work my hate for all things Martian grew or perhaps it was a hate only for what I had become because of their efforts to capture our world. The Martians, always the Martians.

A member of the Committee

Chapter 6

1921-1925

The Earth’s Recovery Continues

“It may be… that the destruction of the Martians is only a reprieve.”

H. G. Wells – 1902

The cities beneath the Earth – Paris, Berlin, Seoul and the Swiss – More underground work – The Secret Intelligence Service – League of Nations – The death ray at Wardenclyffe – Marconi’s signals from space – Brotherhood attacks on the armories – Aircraft carriers – Egypt – Rocket tests at White Sands – A crack in the Committee wall – A Martian city confirmed destroyed – Earth radio progresses – The great Kanto earthquake – Military preparations – Around the world test flight – The great Zeppelin mystery – A Martian secret discovered – The Phoenix II – Radio Mars – The Tunguska project continues.

I found myself running, hard, and in a direction I could not fully understand. Why I was running was also a mystery, but the fear I felt was all too real. The terror was there. I kept looking back and seeing no one. Behind me there were only the black/gray smoke-filled ruins of a once great city. In my path of flight I saw nothing save a thick gray fog. My world had become one of destruction with all of the sights and smells of death I could always recall whenever my mind ripped me from my earthly tasks. Then suddenly, in my path as if it had been waiting for me stood a Martian in full battle gear. This was the unsuspected monster of the dark nights and shadowed paths. Yet, there was something… It seemed to be smiling – deeply. I had never seen such a sight before. I ran towards this demon of death, this creature of my nightmares, arms reaching out, yelling, as I prepared to do battle with this supreme enemy of all mankind. My enemy. For some reason the Martian did not move as I closed in. I had the strangest feeling that the Martian was familiar. Did I somehow know this creature? New fears now came on as I took those last few steps. As I made bloody contact the Martian, my sworn enemy, my personal target for destruction, faded into an image of myself.

I woke up screaming… again!

As my numbed mind escaped from my usual nightmare, once again drenched in a cold sweat, shaking, breathless and jerked awake by the image of a Martian; I got out of bed and took a stiff drink and steadied myself for work. As always it had seemed so real this night terror of my restless mind, yet it was just the start of another day working for the Executive Committee of Twelve. This work was slowly killing me, of that I was certain. As usual I did not have time to ponder this daily torture. We still had a planet to save from enemies that were all too real both near and far.

The Cities Beneath the Earth

LOWER-LONDON

Excavation of the primary “London Project tunnels” had been completed ahead of schedule primarily due to the efforts of the many new tunneling machines we had deployed and the fact that older railway tunnels were no longer needed and a few very old forgotten ones had become available for the project. Tunnels, which were dug in consequence of the Great Earth War as extended bomb shelters, were also becoming part of the mix not to mention the ‘transformed’ sewers made ‘almost’ habitable. In effect these new tunnels, added to old abandoned rail tunnels, were now spread out under the old City of London like a giant underground spider web covering almost 65% of New London’s upper surface (both rebuilt and ruins). Lower-London was now prepared to build additional factories, expanded bomb shelters, storage facilities, hospitals, private businesses and massive living quarters for well over two million people, all underground. A new underground university was also under construction. In fact, just about any type of facility found above ground had its reflection under the Earth. By now several million people around the world were spending much of their lives under ground. They were still greatly outnumbered by people living on Earth’s surface but living under the surface of the Earth was no longer an anomaly. It had become a normal way of life – especially for the younger generation.

We had by now in operation world-wide by my count at the time at least 1215 tunneling machines now working in just about every conceivable major location on Earth (48 in Lower-London) with more machines on the way as fast as we could build them. Most built completely underground. We also hoped to have the truly massive Martian tunneling machines in operation soon. Actually, it was a bit more than a hope – the Committee had made this back engineering program one of our top priorities.

Even though my responsibilities did not include construction projects above or below ground, whenever I got the chance I would take a walk in Lower-London just to see how far along we had gotten and to get a real feel for the lower city. The facilities in Lower-London had, at this time, 460 or so primary openings by which workers and those who now lived and worked underground could enter in order to build the facilities. (There were many more secondary entrance ways.) As work was completed section by section these entrances would be closed to only 200 and further to only 100 if war came to Earth from Mars. (Of course all of these would be sealed off if London came under direct attack.) Cover and concealment was still the key. Each opening on the surface has a fake building or hill or park of some type in order to conceal it from the Martians (an open secret to be sure, but from the air most could not be spotted. Many could not be spotted from the height of a Martian Walker). Indeed, over half of the tunnel complex openings could only be accessed by going underground to the rail system already in place and then to the underground facility. It is also noted that two independent rail systems had been tunneled into the underground facilities, one from the north and the second from the east, both of which were seven miles long. These were new primary supply lines. One other particularly difficult tunnel project had recently been completed south to the Thames River by which small underwater craft could pull directly into an underground port facility. It is planned as a small facility, but could become vital if other portals of supply had been somehow lost. This new area had been built directly off of the old “Tunnel under the Thames” which had been in place for many years. Massive so-called “bomb proof” steel doors protected the entrance.

By this time the Lower-London facility as well as other large city projects was beginning to have the look and feel of a true city. With new electric street lights, supplied with the new longer lasting bulbs recently completed along several major L-streets, the underground facility seemed to be a normal city at night rather than just a series of long badly lit tunnels. Some of the work crews had even applied a psychological aspect recommended by Dr. Freud and his group at Directorate L. They had painted bright stars on the higher rounded tunnel roofs, which had been painted an overall dull gray suggestive of a night sky in the larger tunnels. When the people walked from a lower-roofed and smaller L-street (usually built as a long square tunnel with an almost “hallway appearance”) to a higher and wider L-street the effect was dramatic, almost as if one was actually outside above ground. A new sound absorbing material was also being built into many of the walls and many of the tunnel ceilings in order to cut down on the “tunnel echo effect” which had become a problem. The echoes did not do any physical harm, but psychologically it made it difficult to forget one was underground. After the problem was solved the underground city became even less noisy than the surface one. It was an advantage to be sure.

As before local artists had been invited to continue painting many of the walls with reproductions of well known art pieces as well as painted red brick walls and street scenes. Small cut-out stone benches had by now become a familiar and much welcome part of the ever expanding facility. If one did not look too closely Lower-London was even starting to have the sound of a real “above ground” city. ‘Homes’ which had been cut out of the rock as well as many of the new offices were painted mostly white with the usual Victorian red brick trim. This had more than a superficial benefit of familiar tones as the generally light colored walls made better use of the limited lighting resources available in the L-tunnels/streets. On many of the L-streets where pedestrian only traffic would be allowed, red bricks were used to cover the ‘floors’, which really enhanced the look and feel of these L-streets. They looked as if they were above ground and were “familiar.”

It was at this time that Dr. Freud and his Directorate L were circulating a controversial idea that not only did he feel that humans could have “come from the same stock as Martians” (He was referring to the Martian B species rather than the octopus looking Martian As.), but that eventually, thousands of years in the future, humans would ‘devolve’ into Martians. He was careful to state that no one or group of people should be allowed to spend their entire lives underground fearing that a prolonged separation from above ground could lead to a separate species, or at least develop below-ground mental problems, perhaps believing they could only live underground. In a short research paper Dr. Freud brought up the subject of “troglobites”, defined as a species that lives, or can live, its entire life in caves and tunnels and never see the surface. His report did mention several species of fish and animals that had adapted to underground conditions thus changing their basic physical composition. Changes could include loss of skin or eye pigmentation, loss of eyesight, elongation of arms and legs as well as other senses being enhanced, closely related to the enhanced senses of blind people to touch and sound. It would be a very slow change physically to be sure, but his main concerns focused on the cultural changes which would manifest themselves between the people who lived on the surface and those who were “underground dwellers.” Very few worried about that prospect, but it was an interesting thought. Nevertheless, with that in mind police forces in London at least, moved their people from ‘top’ to ‘bottom’ patrols and reverse on a regular basis.

The North City (there are also South, East and West Cities in work) was completed first with real cobblestone streets (small L-streets still used red brick) with of course the same names as the ones above with an “L” added in front. Sidewalks, with the new electric street lamps on the walking side, were now patrolled by constables; many of whom now lived underground much of the time. The North City also included four full hospitals, ten large cafeterias, supply and storage facilities, 285 small factories now in full operation (mostly engaged in military production or research of one nature or another), as well as over 43,000 private living quarters – small, but very comfortable. There was even an underground jail, which would be fully manned by officers and detectives from Scotland Yard in the near future. These were manned by the now famous “L-Squads”. Although not yet complete, a small electric rail system was being constructed along four major avenues in the North City. The North City had been completed first because most of the manufacturing facilities were in this area before the war. South and East would be mixed and West would house the primary locations for large bomb shelters and housing as well as underground growing facilities for food production. Storage of grains and other dried food stuffs in sealed drums placed into crude cut tunnels and elongated caves had begun in earnest in many areas.

By this time the River Thames had been tapped to flow into two sections of the underground city, but not just for the aesthetic value. The river was being partially diverted to supply water for drinking, waste removal and for the production of electric power. In five years the underground power plants were expected to be in full operation as was the waste removal plant. Naturally, all of the water that flowed into the city was filtered. During a war the flow would be reduced to 25% and double filtered. Three aquifers had also been tapped bringing in a separate source of fresh water to the underground city. (One was accidentally discovered by tunnel work that had to be repaired and redirected to a safe flowing situation.) One was in use at this time, all three would “come on line” in time of war. Large fresh water storage containers had also been constructed in line from the aquifers that would be constantly refreshed until they were needed.

Backup for the power plants would be supplied by long banks of batteries that were constantly being recharged with small amounts of current. Venting any gases, which may be present, was accomplished by holes drilled down to them from the surface. These vents would be sealed off for short periods of time in case of war. The batteries, situated in hundreds of critical locations, were not expected to be able to provide a great deal of energy, but there would be enough to dimly light all of the main L-streets for at least three weeks. Their primary purpose was to insure that no one would get lost in the dark if the main power supply was somehow cut off. This was a rather fortunate bit of planning as not more than two years later a major power failure did occur in Lower-London (man-made, no Martians involved) giving this backup system a rather robust test. The lights were kept on for six days using only battery power as work crews repaired the failure. This unscheduled ‘test’ proved to be a complete success. It is also noteworthy to recall that panic in the darkened streets was not widespread.

For the most part movement by the general underground population was still on foot or by bicycle. There was of course a good deal of electric car traffic, which included the now famous red single deck underground electric buses (electric charging stations were pretty much spread out all over the facility), but not nearly as much as in the above ground cities even though ten new entrances (heavily reinforced and easy to close off with massive doors) to the underground city allowed individuals to drive approved electric vehicles directly from Upper-London to Lower-London; having recently been completed. During a war these tunnels would be completely blocked off and sealed airtight. Later small gage light rail systems would be in place, but that was still a few years off. For now many bicycles were being built for this purpose and as construction continued they were being stored underground for public use. Anyone underground could take one and ride to any of the open operational areas. However, they could not be taken above ground. They were all painted bright yellow and sporting a British flag on the tail fin for identification and everyone knew what they looked like. (Green bikes were used above ground.) The bicycle factory was in fact one of the first fully operational factories to begin full time operations in Lower-London. However, it was not the first business to open. And even though there would be several establishments who would claim “First Open” that honor properly went to the very popular Hound & Fox Pub on L-Whitechapel Street. The sign on the door reads “Open Since First Shovel – 1902”. It had originally been a small office in the Whitechapel underground station before the war. The pub never closed. That small fact I am able to personally attest to. They put out a good stew as well.

In order to make it easier for people to find their way along these unfamiliar “L-streets” the “Lower-London Committee” published, from an underground print shop no less, new three color maps of the lower ‘city.’ Each visitor was given a map, which had to be signed for to insure security, not that anyone really believed that some of those maps would not find their way to Martian eyes, and was returned to any of the entrance booths upon departure. Those who worked or lived in the facility were issued I.D. cards, which were checked upon entrance and exit. It was not long before all of the underground facilities used these security methods by order of the Committee. Naturally these facilities were all Martian and Brotherhood terrorist targets. To keep the public aware posters had gone up reminding Londoners to keep an eye open for anyone (by which they generally meant hybrids) who may be acting suspiciously. “Trust, but verify.”

It would probably not surprise many people to learn, as if they did not already know, that there was also a very active red light district in Lower-London that was, well, not exactly indicated on any official maps. Crime of course knows no upper or lower city exclusivity so we knew we had a real city when the first underground murder was committed on 19 May 1921. The only surprise, I would suppose, was that it took so long for one to occur underground! One man when interviewed about the murder stated, “Well, I guess that makes the underground complex a real city now.” Shocking as it was, the underground areas still had some of the safest and certainly the best patrolled streets of London. It was understood to be a prime target of the Martians.

At one point I decided to pull away from my other duties and take a close look at some of the work being done under the expanding surface streets of New London. Much of the digging had moved out from underground work which had been completed well before the First Martian War. One of the more interesting and certainly more historic was the underground prison next to Clerkenwell Green locally known as the Underground House of Detention. It had begun life as the basement of an above ground building from which cold-dank tunnels had been carved to form a cross. Small damp cells carved on both sides of these tunnels served to hold an unlucky few for over 250 years. Closed in 1877 we re-opened the now red-brick-worked facility in 1915 after the facility was enlarged and greatly improved. Nevertheless, the prison still has a distinct feel of loathing death about the place.

There are of course many and extensive catacombs to be found under New London but not nearly as extensive as the famous ones to be found under what remains of Paris now being re-built as fast as it can. However, much use is being made of the catacombs in the Camden Town area as are the ones dating to prehistoric times under Greenwich Park. Shoring them up for the expected heavy traffic to pass through is the biggest concern in those areas as is the need to insure proper circulation of air and removal of excess water.

Even before this Martian “inspired” grand building program there were a few underground streets generally familiar to the inhabitants of Old London. Probably the best known and to say the least, most forbidding is Lower-Robert Street. Known to have been the site of the murder of a well known prostitute its written history began in a work by Thomas Miller in 1852. His description weaved the tale of the murder victim’s ghost haunting the deeply shadowed street which takes its place between the River Thames and the Strand with its “black-browed arches that span right and left, before and behind, covering many a road of ground on which the rain never beats, nor sunbeams sleep, and at the entrance of which the wind only seems to howl and wine, as if afraid of venturing further into the darkness.” It is to say in a word or two not a place of calm retreat. London underground is just as colorful and mysterious as the New-London remaking itself as best it can on the sunlit surface of England.

By this time in Lower-London there was an area being cut into the rock walls known as the sleeping zone which was well on its way to completion (at least the first one was). Rectangular niches, reminiscent of a railway sleeping car, were being cut eight feet back with a four foot square opening in the front covered by a privacy curtain. These were planned to be wide enough to allow one or two people to crawl into and sleep. These niches, when complete, would have four cuts per vertical row and show a front over two hundred yards long on both sides of the L-street until the next cross L-street was encountered. To avoid a “tunnel feeling” two hundred yards was considered the longest sleeping zone constructed in any one place. Many would be much smaller, some only 20-40 feet long. Most of the “sleeping cuts”, as they are popularly called, were being used by the workmen at the time, but when all were finished it was expected that some 20,000 people would be able to use them during an emergency in just this area alone. Plans called for the construction of over 300,000 individual sleeping cuts spread out over the city. Naturally nearby underground restrooms with showers were built as part of the program as well as places to change clothes and eat. There were of course shelves cut into the sides near the “cuts” for the placement of books, which were put there by anyone as “take-a-book and leave-a-book” areas.

The local Press at the time noted that “Mr. Wells is said to be well known for taking his ‘evening’ walks in different areas underground with a few books under his arms and dropping off a few here and a few there.” It became quite the thing for some well known and perhaps some not so well known authors to take a walking tour of the L-streets and put out some of their own books on the stone cut shelves. In fact, it became such a fad for writers to place one’s own books on these shelves that if you did not have an “underground collection” one’s fellow authors would ask why not! Due to the popularity of the book shelves it was not surprising to learn that one street in Lower-West London, which could not be dug into too deeply along its sides due to technical difficulties, had one complete side of street cut into a series of book shelves. For over 240 feet anyone could browse through thousands of books and make a selection. It did not take long for Lower-New York City and Lower-Sydney to put together their own underground “book streets.”

For years the public would hear about a book drive by school children who had adopted a section of a sleep area as their own to fill with as many books as they could find. Needless to say, there would be plenty of books and magazines to read in the underground cities. Many of course were for children. It is also interesting to note that for some reason nearly all of these “sleep area book deposits,” supported by the Committee, featured many of the works by H. G. Wells. And then there was the first underground London newspaper vender “Peter’s News”. His tiny ‘cut’ would become locally famous because he took two years to dig into the rock wall himself behind his stand enough to eventually allow him to cover his entire newsstand. Because of his fame and jolly good nature a group of North London hard-rock mine workers decided to present him with a weekend’s worth of work tunneling back into the rock wall, enough to create a living area for Pete. Pete now had a new home of his own. He would later host “every year thank you day” to his hard rock miner friends with a fish and chips dinner for those who had helped him cut out a new home.

[END PART 35]

Copyright © R. Michael Gordon, 2020

[NEXT WEEK: PART 36: THE CITIES BELOW AND THE COMMITTEE BUILD’S ITS STRENGTH.]