Dark Coup by David C. Waldron Page B

offense.”
    Ben raised his hands in a ‘none taken’ gesture.
    “For instance, we need to rethink the communal eating idea,” Joel said.  “It took a little bit of work to get things situated for the folks in isolation, but once they had what they needed, they’re actually more efficient cooking for themselves in their own homes.”
    “We also need to look at different types of construction,” Chuck added.  “This last winter was proof that the homes we’re used to living in just aren’t designed to be used without electricity, natural gas and central air conditioning, and heating.  Until we have a reliable source of power, we need to construct shelters that can use coal for heat in the winters, and possibly for cooking as well.”
    “Ok,” Mallory said.  “I assume you aren’t just complaining and have some solutions to these problems.”
    “Some,” Chuck said.
    “I started out by asking myself, what is it that every town is going to need,” Chuck said.  “I’ve boiled it down to four things; a reliable source of water, food, skilled labor, and a way to defend itself.  You can add to that if you want, but you really can’t take anything away or the town can’t survive.”
    Mallory nodded and Chuck went on.
    “First of all, we’ve been relying on surface water up to this point,” Chuck said, “but if we can drive wells and build pumps, even hand-pumps, we’ll open up a huge area for resettlement.”
    Chuck glanced at his notes.  “Second, food,” he said.  “I admit I don’t know much about farming but I’ve been talking to the groups we sent out to work the farms and the ranch.  We’re working well together so far, but I think that could be expanded and enhanced.  From what I’ve been able to gather, there’s no reason we couldn’t be producing a surplus right now.”
    “I’m going to skip skilled labor for a minute,” Chuck said, “because it’s actually a pretty substantial category.  Next is defense, which can be handled in a couple of ways, and it kind of depends on how you, the military, want to handle it.”
    “Go on,” Mallory said.
    “Is the military going to continue to be structured like it is now,” Chuck asked, “or is it going to become, as we’ve discussed, more of a militia?  If it’s going to stay centralized, and keep the structure that it has now, then initially, defense is going to be up to each individual town.”
    “We can’t answer that right now,” Mallory said, looking at Ben.  “We just don’t know.  With Olsen still out there, we can’t commit to anything other than maintaining the heightened state of awareness and security within our own sphere of influence.”
    “We weren’t necessarily expecting an answer right now,” Joel said, “but it’s something to consider.  The other thing to consider is that by keeping everyone massed in one spot, we’re creating a target that eventually the Colonel may find it too hard to resist.”
    “Last is the skilled labor,” Chuck said.  “That includes everything from craftspeople to doctors, beekeepers to masons.  Obviously, no town at this point could realistically have all the skilled trades it needs, so trade between towns will be critical.  Towns will most likely need to be close enough to travel between within a day, probably on foot for the time being, which would also aid in mutual defense.”
    “Either way,” Joel said, “it’s a switch from how we’re doing it here, because this is just not sustainable.”
    “Because of that, towns will have to start specializing,” Chuck said.  “Ben, you brought a lot of heavy equipment with you, and not just the military variety.  You also have a lot of experienced tradesmen to back that up.  Potentially, it would make a lot of sense to have a town of engineers, maybe, or one that at least was more industrial than agrarian.”
    Joel snickered.  “Kind of puts a whole new spin on ‘military-industrial complex’, doesn’t