Alas Babylon

1. Alas Babylon Read along PPT Chapter 10

2. Coffee! • Randy is having a dream that he is awakening with coffee, but it’s Lib coming in with coffee- he had put coffee in his “iron rations” that he hid before The Day • First thing he asks- “Did everybody else get coffee?” (246)

3. Dan tells what happened to him • In Marines Park, he saw a notice from a man that his two children had become violently ill and requested Dan’s help • He knew the family and had delivered two of their four children; he liked them and knew if were not an emergency, he would not have sent the note • He arrived to find it was Typhoid- “the unwelcome, evil sister of any disaster in which the water supply was destroyed/polluted and normal disposal of human waste was difficult or impossible” (248) • He suspects they got it from swimming in the river (accidentally swallowed some of the water)

4. As he drives away, he sees a woman sitting on the edge of the road (pg. 249) • She wore jeans and a man’s shirt and she was rocking back and forth as if in pain • “Dan’s first thought is that she turned her ankle; his second, that she could be a decoy for an ambush” (249) but he thinks highwaymen rarely operate on smaller roads like this so he turns off the engine and gets out to help her • “when her eyes shifted, and she smiled, he knew her performance had been completed….” (249)- meaning she WAS a decoy • We assume they were waiting for him because the woman (when she finds the bourbon) says, “Just like you heard, Buster,…The Doc keeps a traveling bar” (250)

5. One of the men tells him to leave the liquor and start walking but he argues that he needs his bag and won’t leave- so the men beat him up until he loses consciousness (pg. 250-251) • He does this because the things in his bag can help OTHERS (remember how self-less he is….even here when he sacrifices himself, literally) • When he awakens he is partially blind and disoriented but he walks/crawls himself to the Bragg house • Apologizes to Randy that he lost their transportation, medicines and tools AND worst of all- he lost his glasses…(252)

6. Randy reacts • He knows he has to do something about the highwaymen before they start raiding houses – he plans to “execute” them • Goes to see the Admiral to ask for help/advice • He will have to find them and may be hundreds of miles away already….but even when they’re gone, others will come • Randy wants to form a “provisional company”- a company under marital law (since he figures he is the only active Army Reserve officer in town) • Problem is the highwaymen are mobile, and he’s not

7. Admiral suggests they put a “four-wheeled Q-ship on the roads around Fort Repose…” (255) • Q-ships were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. The basic idea of the Q-ship was to be a ”wolf in sheep's clothing.” • Problems of transportation- no gas or vehicle… • Lib suggests Rita Hernandez and her brother may have some stored, and they also have a grocery truck (perfect for concealing and would LURE the highwaymen to them) • They question how to get the truck from the Hernandez house, and if Rita would cooperate…Randy says she will because she wants to live

8. Randy’s orders (pg. 256-257) • Order #1- He is assuming command of the town and all members of the National Guard/military with any other experienced volunteers will meet at the bandstand at 1200 hours on Wednesday April 20th to form a “composite company” to protect the town • Order #2- Typhoid cases/ rivers are polluted and all water will be boiled before drinking • Order #3- Dr. Gunn was beaten by highwaymen; penalty for harboring or helping these men will result in death by hanging

9. Randy goes to the Hernandez house • Has to walk (all other options did not work out- pg. 257) • Sets out after dark, with his pistol • Stops by Marines Park to pin up his “orders” • Rita answers the door- Randy explains he needs her help to catch the highwaymen • Reminds her if she is left alone in that house with all of her supplies, SHE will be a target (so what Randy is trying to do will help her too…) • She agrees to help • Has 15 gallons of gas • Plans to tell everyone the grocery truck was stolen

10. People are good • Randy thinks to himself, wondering at this change in people (that they would get up at dawn and walk 3 miles on an empty stomach to sing hymns), and concludes that “man was a naturally gregarious creature and were all starved for companionship and the sight of new faces” (262) • Meaning- even in times of crisis, we still need one another and get strength from one another

11. Lib is waiting when randy comes home • He tells her “you’re a beautiful possession” (263) and says he wishes they had just one room to themselves, and that he wishes they were married • She replies- “I accept” (263) • They think about how they are going to marry, and remember they are under martial law so Randy can make his own rules • They decide to marry before he leaves tomorrow to find the highwaymen- on Easter Sunday • As they embrace, he looks over her shoulder and sees gators (thinks of meat- survival)