The first is what to do about my country property to the north of Perth, in Western Australia. I am hardly ever there now because I have to spend most of my time off-world. My father is keeping an eye on the place, but he is a very busy man and I can't impose upon his goodwill indefinitely. A rural property such as mine really needs a full-time occupant, who can keep it safe and under control. There are always repairs to do, resulting from seasonal wind damage and general wear and tear. There is also the management of bushfire risk - the clearing of fire breaks around the edges of the land and winter burning off of excess ground vegetation. These things cannot be neglected, because to do so not only puts my property at risk, but also the properties of my neighbours.

As far as I can see, I only have two options; sell it, or lease it to someone. From a purely practical point of view, selling is the easy choice. It takes away all my responsibilities. However, I have some emotional attachment to a place that old Harry bequeathed to me and where I spent many happy days as a youngster. There is also the question of whether or not I am ever going to want to live there again. The leasing option means that I retain ownership, but it also leaves me with the problem of whether or not I can find a tenant who will look after the place properly.

In either event, I would need to have an Australian address to receive correspondence and maintain my citizenship status, pay taxes, obtain driver's license renewals, vote etc. I would almost certainly have to dispose of virtually all of my possessions and nominally move into a University owned facility. I say 'nominally' because I probably wouldn't maintain permanent rooms but just use guest accommodation when necessary. Such facilities have been established around the world, including Australia, for just this purpose - enabling Heim people to maintain a 'presence' in their home countries whilst away on the settlements. These facilities have staff providing services such as mail forwarding and bill paying.

So, to keep, let, or sell my Earth home is one of the decisions I will have to eventually make.

However, to some extent, this decision is dependent upon what happens when all visible traces of Heim activities have been removed from Earth, or securely hidden. Sometime after that happens, confirmation of the existence of the Heim worlds will be released to the world, with unknown consequences. The big question is, will there be mass paranoia and McCarthy-style witch hunts for Heim associates around the world, or will there be co-operation and friendship. I suppose a lot depends on how it is handled. If we immediately provide access to the Heim settlements for scientists, journalists and other significant world figures and if we 'market' ourselves properly we may be able to avoid much of the paranoia. Releasing documentaries and opening up the Heim worlds to affordable tourism could help enormously, if it can be safely achieved. The big issue will, of course, be our withholding of the Heim drive technology, which may present insurmountable problems. We need to prepare for the worst.

Should the worst happen and there be mass paranoia, my second decision, and the decision of many others on Heim, is do I return permanently to Earth before the 'shit hits the fan', and resume a normal Earth life, or do I settle off-world and sever all my ties. However, it is not that simple. Should I decide to settle permanently off-world I would still have to keep that nominal presence in Australia, for to disappear completely from official records would be a cause for consternation or suspicion and could potentially expose my family and friends to 'witch hunters', emerging from the paranoia. The same, of course, applies to all Heim residents. Any apparent disappearances without trace will give rise to suspicion so all will have to maintain a 'presence' on Earth in some way.

This raises the other question of how, after the 'revelation', can we surreptitiously travel between Earth and the belt, should we need to, without having the ground bases and ships? This problem has been addressed and there are ways in which, with some difficulty and risk, that it can be done. These involve disguised and camouflaged remote facilities, but I cannot go into details here, for obvious reasons.

So, what are my decisions to be? Do I sell the 'farm', or keep it? Do I give up Heim and return to Earth, or stay out there (here)?

At the time of writing this Chapter, I haven't decided. I've discussed it with Huey and many others, but my dilemma, which I share with many of the others, is still there. Fortunately, I have a little more time to consider it all. (At least, I did have at the time of writing this chapter. By the time you read this, I may have made my decision, and acted in accordance with it.)