Uranium Fist | Page 7

their world, and in the process had changed themselves. Humanity unbound is a powerful force for change; together we can shake the heavens and make the worlds anew.
WHEN the heavens first rumbled, however, I was elsewhere. On Calisto, if memory serves me right, then Proxima. Greyermede was a place I had never heard of. When it exploded, the entire galaxy suddenly awoke to discover the importance of this relatively prosperous, but quiet little colony.
I missed the beginning. Carter, Nkruma, Nidel and the others were to take me back to that fateful beginning, and give a sense of what it was like to be there. Taking out my recorder, I set it down on the table. They all stared at it, as if the thing was a grenade that might go off at any moment. In a way it was; a bomb of ideas waiting to detonate in the collective human mind.
After an uncomfortable silence, they reluctantly began to talk.

Chapter 2
UNUSUALLY, Angela broke the silence first. "The morning after they declared Martial Law, Firsthaven was a hive of activity," she said. "We'd expected the city to be quiet, but when we walked through Commerce Square during lunch, Colony House looked ready for a siege, and by the looks of the crowd gathered outside, that's just what was going on."
"What were they doing?" I asked.
"Not much, just standing around. It all looked so relaxed, though we couldn't see a lot from across the square. Some of the crowd was chanting and waving placards, but most of the people there were just curious bystanders."
ANGELA paused, as if having second thoughts, or just to take stock. She took a sip of water and then turned to face Nkruma. "Got any of those going spare?"
He looked at the cigarette packet in his hand, and then silently offered it to her. Once Angela took one of the cigarettes, he took one himself and both lit up. When Angela exhaled the smoke in satisfaction, she looked as though she'd needed a cigarette for some time.
"I'm supposed to be quitting," she said, glancing at the glowing tip and shrugging. "But what the Hell?"
She took another long, thoughtful drag and continued with her tale. "The crowd turned out to be journalists. They were protesting against the media restrictions the Government imposed. There must have been about fifty of them altogether. We could see the guards better now. They were militiamen, and they seemed uneasy about the situation. I don't think they knew what to do.
"'Dutton's attempt to control the media is a direct attempt to control public thought,' one of the demonstrators yelled. 'He's trying to monopolise debate and stamp out the desire for independence. But let me tell you this - he won't succeed!"
"The crowd cheered.
"'I have letters of support from the union Federation, and from the important opposition groups. They too are opposed to these media restrictions, and support us in our campaign. They're all feeling the heel of Colonial tyranny, but they are fighting on and are working to form a multi-party committee to discuss the election of a -'
"A riot cop appeared from nowhere and grabbed the man in a headlock. More black-clad cops swarmed through the crowd. Confusion erupted. Screams echoed from the buildings. Angry shouts. People were clubbed to the ground. It didn't matter if they were demonstrators or passers by, the police smashed into them all. Others ran in panic.
"It didn't take long to smash the demonstration. We joined the last of the stragglers in the run for safety."
"TRAFALGAR was little better," Nkruma said. "The militia was out on the streets. We treated them warily. Nobody was sure about their attitude towards independence, but I know that some people tried to draw them out them in conversation. It wasn't something I could do; the police are bad enough, but soldiers really scare me."
"What were you doing at the time?"
"Avoiding the police!" he laughed. "I'd been made redundant about three months before all this happened. I had time on my hands, and in the political climate I gravitated towards the Workers' Democratic Front (WDF). After the announcement of Martial Law, I was scared and wanted to know what we should be doing, so I hurried to the WDF party offices. The new paper had just come out and we were going to try to sell as many as we could before the police stopped us.
"Before I got to our party office, I could already hear a commotion. Voices argued. People were screaming, I couldn't tell if it was in fear or anger, but I was tempted to turn back and go home. I didn't fancy being caught up some kind of police action.
"An unmarked van skidded round the corner and tumbled on its side. Sirens suddenly echoed through the urban canyons. I stood