sold for one nickel, and two boys who delivered and collected for it got to keep two cents for each copy. Only pennies, nickels and pre 64 silver coins were accepted. They were waiting on the Monday morning before the next fair when the print run was completed. With their bicycles loaded, they made their way to every known residence in the area.
Chapter 12
David has found that the electronics still in their original conductive foam packaging had survived the EMP Storm. At the bottom of one box he discovered a wide band scanner. He hooked up an antenna on the roof, and turned it on every afternoon, while he worked on other projects. All he ever heard was static across all bands, but he kept listening. On one Saturday evening at 6:00 PM, he heard “ Breaker Breaker, This is Sutter Butte Base Any Station, Please come back. We will try again next Saturday, again at 6:00 PM” on Channel 16 of the CB Band.
Even with the large Best Buy electronics inventory, there was no CB gear. David worked unsuccessfully to attempt to repair the CB radio from the truck while Tiny made the rounds looking for working equipment. He found an old tube type CB base station in the wreckage of a trailer in Diamond Springs.
David had it set up and tested by Saturday afternoon, and that evening established a communication link with the settlement at Sutter Butte. They reported that their battery power was limited, but that they would send the Wild Goose to the next fair.
Thursday afternoon David and Tiny were up on the roof watching for their new arrivals, when they saw the sail on the horizon. Someone waved from near the top of the main mast. David returned the wave and then hurried down to the dock. The ship dropped the mainsail, and slowly approached the dock under the jib. David saw a freckled faced wisp of a girl fearlessly slide down a ratline to the main deck. She was wearing shorts and a tank top and looked about 13. She caught the line he threw, and snubbed it to a cleat. An older man was at the helm, and said, “You must be David Russell. I’m Doc Hanson, and this imp is Rebecca Thompson, and her father Delbert.”
The introductions continued, while the Goose was secured to the dock. The visit was productive in several ways. Aaron Johnson asked for a ride back to his house, and was pleased to find it had not been salvaged. He filled both David’s and his trucks with furniture, tools, toys, and household items. David asked him if he ever planned to come back to live there.
His reply was short. “There are too many bad memories here, plus we have a big garden on the Butte. We will be completely self sustaining in another year.” He left his truck, also an old diesel, with David, asking only that it be available when anyone from Sutter Butte came to the Trading Post.
During the fair that weekend, the participants had an extended series of discussions on salvage and property rights. General agreement was reached on several points and David published them in the next issue of the Inland Sea Beacon:
Inland Sea Property Rights
This agreement, by a majority of the known population, will be the law for all property rights.
1. Any physical property owned prior to Day 0 shall remain the property of those surviving owners, or their children. If no one has established a valid claim before Day 0 of year 2, that property will be considered abandoned. A valid property claim must be occupied.
2. Any property unoccupied for 6 months, may be claimed by individuals or families, by occupying the property, salvaging or improving it, marking the borders, and posting that claim on the Property Database at the Best Buy Trading Post.
3. Property claims shall not exceed 160 acres for agricultural property, 5 acres for residential property, 1 acre for business or salvage property.
4. Property claims shall not include streets, roads, bridges, navigable
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley