Chapter 24

Turning back to Kim I could see that she had endured all the culture shock that she could handle at this time.

“Kim, I think we should set this subject aside, for now. Once you have had a chance to think about it, we can talk about it again if you wish.

“I’m curious about whom you work for, and what prompted you to become a reporter. Would you care to talk about that instead?”

“Yeah, I would. I think I got in over my head, and you are right. From what your friends have said, I do need to understand the matter before I condemn it.

“My momma met and married my Dad shortly after the war, and she got pregnant with me right away. My Dad died when I was seven. He was trying to save a woman and her kids from a flood, but they were all swept away by the river.

“I recall my momma working from dawn to dusk to put a roof over our heads, food on our table, and clothes on our backs. I remember talking with her about what I could do to help her. She would say, ‘Life isn’t easy for a widowed black woman, Kimberly, but don’t you worry, we’re making out okay.’”

“She managed to send me to college where I studied journalism. One day I learned that she was in the hospital, so I left college and went home to take care of her. It was cancer, and she only survived another six weeks.”

I could see the tears on Kim’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, Kim. I didn’t mean to bring back hurtful memories.”

“It’s okay, Doug. I find that talking about it occasionally, helps with the pain. The main thing that really hurts is that my momma did everything for me. I wanted to do things to make her life better, but the cancer took her from me before I had a chance. At least, she knew how much I loved her, when she finally passed.”

Cindy handed Kim a box of tissues, and sat down on the other side of Kim.

“It’s all right, Kim. We are your friends, if you want us as friends. If you need to let it out, do so. It will make you feel better.”

“No, I’m okay. As I said, talking about it helps me with the pain of my memories. I don’t know why it’s affecting me so strongly today, but it is.

“Anyway, after Momma died, I went back to college. I completed my degree in Journalism, and applied to a local paper for a job. It didn’t take long for me to learn that my degree alone wouldn’t get me the job I wanted. I managed to get on at one paper as a copy editor. That job was very frustrating. The reporters wrote out a story and sent it in. The editor gave it to me and I had to fix their grammar. I saw so many problems with the way they presented their story that it made me mad. When I told the lead editor how I felt, he told me to stick with editing. He said the reporters knew what sold papers, and until I learned that lesson, I would do nothing but edit their stuff.”

“That’s not right, Kim,” said Cindy. The editor should have given you a chance to show that you could do the job.”

“Yeah, I know. After about six months of editing, he did give me a chance. He told me everyone has to earn their chance by doing the scut work, first. I didn’t like it, but I had seen many of my newer coworkers doing the same type of drudgery for hour after hour. He started me out with articles for the social column.

“I have to admit that he did teach me a lot about how to write articles that appealed to our readers. Before he took me under his wing, I had thought that a well-written article would appeal to all of the readers. He explained why that wasn’t true. He said that most of our readers were interested in sex, blood, crime, and scandal. I didn’t want to believe him, but I found out that it was true. The more of those things we put in the paper, the more papers we sold.

“One day my editor told me that he had done everything for me that he could do, and he felt it was time for me to move on to a bigger paper. I was devastated. I asked him if he was firing me, and he said no. If I wanted to stay on with the paper, he would be glad to have me. He looked me in the eye and said ‘Girl, you are a good reporter, but you will never get the stories you deserve on this paper.’

He said, “Now, girl, I’ll deny it if you say I said this to you, but the owner likes you. There have been a couple of attractive young women like you who worked for this paper. One of three things happened to those women, Kim - they resigned, they continued doing scut work, or they ended up in his bed. I don’t think you are the type of person to join him in bed, and you are far too good to do just scut work. That leaves you with one choice, now doesn’t it.”

I had always thought that the owner was just a nice old man. Over the next few weeks, I found out just how raunchy a letch he was to me and my female coworkers.

“I quit, moved to New York, and got a job with one of the big papers. I had to start all over with scut work. My lead editor told me that I was good, but to the managing editor, Hal Edmund, I was still ‘wet behind the ears.’

“For the past year, I have worked at that paper. In my spare time, I have written and sold articles as a freelance reporter to any paper that would buy them from me. That’s where I am, now. I’m stuck in a dead-end job and doing what I like when I get the chance.”

Sue said, “Well, Kim, that is a very interesting story. Do you realize that every journalist in the town would like to be you, right now?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have the inside track on one of the biggest stories to hit this town since Watergate. You are with the inner circle of ‘The Ambassador from the Stars’. You can observe his personal life, and ask him any question that you want to ask. He will answer most of your questions truthfully, but there are a number of things he doesn’t talk about, not even with us.”

While Sue continued talking with Kim, I excused myself and went to get a bottle of water. I also brought back some water for Sue and Kim. Matt had caught my eye when I returned with the waters, and took me off to the side.

In a low voice, he said, “Doug, didn’t you say that at some point we would need a public relations person on our staff?”

“Yeah, I did. Why do you ask?”

“Well, it seems to me that a public relations expert is someone who knows how to write articles that make you look good. Now a good reporter can spin a story in any direction they want it to go. I have a feeling that Kim is such a journalist.

“She’s a smart lady, and we aren’t going to pull the wool over her eyes. If we continue being truthful and upfront with her, she may be willing to write positive articles about the Multiverse, your mission, and the Embassy. If we like her articles, and her opinion of us is positive, we could always offer her the position after she has sold several articles.”

“I like that idea, Matt. We give her all the material she needs, let her choose the stories she wants to write, and we evaluate the articles. If we like them and her, we offer her a position.”

I rejoined Sue and Kim, “I’m curious, Kim. Since you are not working as a reporter for your paper, how was it that you were at the United Nations building today?”

“My work week is from Thursday through Monday. So today and tomorrow are my weekend. A friend of mine told me that she had heard that a special announcement was to be made at the United Nations today. My position on the paper allows me to have press credentials, so I used them on the off chance that I might get to write an article about it.

“When Amir pointed at me, I had heart failure. I didn’t know what to say for all I had been doing is listening and thinking. I said the first thing that came to mind, and after I said it, I realized that it sounded as if I was calling you a liar.

“I am so glad that you didn’t take offense. The way you turned my question into a reasonable request for information was a big relief for me. Then when you asked if I wanted to leave with you ... well, I was so stunned I don’t remember what I said. Why did you ask me to leave with you?”

“I was standing at the podium looking at a sea of eager faces, Kim. Everyone wanted to be the next person to ask their question. Then I saw you. You looked thoughtful in a worried way. I wanted to know what was bothering you, out of all those reporters. I caught Amir’s eye and then looked at you. If he hadn’t picked you for the next question, I would have whispered to Amir to select you.

“Your question was totally different from that of the other journalists. They wanted to know about the Multiverse. You wanted to know what this meant to your world, especially if I was misrepresenting myself.”

“I need to align myself with people who want what’s good for this planet. You seem like such a person, so I needed the time to find out more about you. Of course the only way to do that was to give you access to my inner circle. So, here you are.”

With a bit of a smile on her face, Kim said, “Well, Ambassador Smith, I still don’t know what to think of you. You walk into the United Nations with the President of the United States. The Secretary-General and you stun the world with his announcement and the presentation of your credentials. Then you waltz out of there with me, essentially, on your arm. You divulge information to me that I would have kept secret if I had been you, and you almost convince me that there is no problem with slavery. I still need to give that one a lot of thought.

“Do you have any objection to my writing an article about what I learned from your staff and you?”

“No, no problem whatsoever, Kim. In fact, I want you to write a series of articles.

“We will give you information about the Multiverse, my mission, and what I hope to achieve. You decide what articles to write, and their content. When an article is ready, I would like to review it and make suggestions for improving it or to correct any inaccuracy. If you agree with my suggestions, then you can change it to what you think it should say. If you disagree, go with what you have. I’m curious, do you sell an article then write it, or do you write it and then sell it?”

“It depends on the article. Do you mind if I use your phone to call my managing editor?”

“Not at all. I assume you have an article in mind and want to arrange for its sale.”

“Yep!”

After dialing a number, Kim says, “Hello, Gwen, this is Kim Bailes. Is Mister Edmund in, I want to offer the paper first bid on an article I am going to write. Actually, I think it may end up being a series of articles. Good can you put me through to him?

“Hello, boss, Kim Bailes here. I am about to write an article and I wanted to know if the paper might be interested in buying it from me. I am thinking of calling it ‘A Day with the Multiverse Ambassador: Doug Smith.’

“No, Sir, I’m not putting you on. Right now, I’m sitting on a couch in his hotel room with him and his inner circle, and he is sitting beside me.

“Yes, Sir, I’m the reporter he took with him when he left the United Nations.

“Actually, Sir, he told me he wanted me to write a series of articles. I get to choose the subject and he provides me with information. I have full control over the articles’ content.

“Yes, Sir, if you want to suggest articles, I will see if he is willing to have me write them.

“Sir, I think Ambassador Smith is a very unusual person. I may be wrong, but I think he is trying to be upfront and honest with me.

“Why do I think that? Well one of his ladies started telling me a story about her adventures in the Multiverse. A topic came up that he had not wanted them to talk about. Instead of silencing her, he told her to tell me the whole story, with all the necessary background to put it in context. He said that things like that might not be what he wants the people of Earth to hear; but he knows the stories will come out eventually and it’s best to not hide unpleasant topics.

“No, Sir, I’m not ready to write an article about that particular event. I may never be ready to do so. If I decide to write such an article, I will request his permission to do so first. If he says no, then I won’t write the article. Furthermore, if he says yes, I will give him full review and approval over what it says.

“Now that I think of it, the story of that event and the subsequent discussion really shook some of the basic tenets of what I believe. I think I will write it as an article just to clarify my own feelings and beliefs. I’ll let Doug read it. I won’t push to get him to let me publish it, but if he wants it published, I may do that.

“Boss, if the paper wants to publish that article, it will cost a lot to buy it. If I can capture the event, our discussion about the topics involved, and the emotions we exchanged in words, then in my opinion the article will be worthy of consideration for a Pulitzer.

“All right, boss, I have to go now. I’ll call you later.”

While Kim had been on the phone, I had told Cindy to go get the spare pair of earrings that I had her bring with us, in case someone lost theirs. I also talked with Mary about Kim’s appearance. She was not dressed for the reception.

“Kim, for this evening, you are one of us. I know you don’t fully understand what I mean by that, but we need to get you ready for this reception. In a few minutes, Mary is going to take you shopping for apparel suitable for a diplomatic reception, which is due to start in four hours.”

Kim’s eyes got big at that news. She had known about the reception, but had not thought of it as a diplomatic reception. Cindy handed the earrings to me.

“Did you notice that all of the ladies of my inner circle are wearing matching earrings?”

“Yes, I have been admiring them all day.”

“Well, they identify the ladies are associated with the Multiverse Embassy. Tonight you are our Press Correspondent, and in that position you are one of us, so I think you should wear these earrings.”

As I handed them to her, her mouth was hanging open and there was this unusual expression on her face.

“Am I really part of your group, tonight?”

“If you want to be, then yes. Put the earrings on so we can see how nice you make them look.”

I thought the earrings would be spectacular on Kim. Kim’s light brown skin would set off the bluish purple of the tanzanite and brilliant red of the diamonds wonderfully.

“There are a couple of things you need to know about the earrings. As I said in the press interview, those earrings were bought at a costume jewelry shop in the Multiverse. I paid about twenty-five or thirty dollars for them. But, on Earth, they are very expensive. If someone tries to steal them, let the thief have them. My people are worth more to me than money. Don’t get hurt trying to keep them from being stolen. Do you understand?”

Kim put the earrings on and said, “Yes. Now where’s a mirror? I want to see what they look like on me.”

Mary showed Kim to the bathroom. A few moments later, there was a sudden scream from Kim, “A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS!”

Mary followed Kim back into the room with a self-satisfied smile on her face. Kim said, “You are certifiable to give me a pair of earrings that are worth over a hundred million. What if I stole them?”

“Then I would know that you aren’t trustworthy.”

“But you would be out all that money.”

“All of what money, Kim? As I said, I only paid about twenty-five dollars for the pair.”

Mary came up to her and said, “Let’s go, Kim. We need to get you fitted into a little black dress like the rest of us. That’s our evening uniform, a little black dress, black high heels, and a pair of earrings.”

Andy left with them when they went shopping. Mary was taking her to the hotel’s boutique. When they returned, Mary told me Kim had been a nervous wreck, wearing her earrings in public.

The refreshments served at a reception are no replacement for a meal. We all went down for dinner at four, and by five-thirty we were all ready to leave. We headed for the elevator, and Kim was still nervous. The Presidential limousines were waiting for us. We would meet Amir and the President at the Embassy Suites hotel.

I introduced my group to the President and Amir, and then escorted them to our table. Once that was done, I returned to the receiving line, to be with the President and Amir. The three of us had to meet our guests. By eight-thirty, our hands were sore, for each of us had shaken close to a thousand hands. Very few of our guests paused to talk. I think Sto sitting at my side, while he ran his tongue over his teeth had something to do with their quick departure. I kept hearing Sto’s comments and laughter in my mind.

I returned to our table and enjoyed several glasses of ice water. After refreshing myself, I started circulating. Mainly I was looking for my ladies. Searching through a crowd this size for a specific person is normally difficult. With Sto’s help, it was simple. I let Sto know whom I wanted to find, and he told me where that person was relative to our current position.

Matt, Mary, Bill, and Sue formed one group and they stayed together as they circulated. My four ladies formed a second group, and they basically stayed in one place and let people come to them. Sereine, Abby, and Kim formed a third group, and they had remained at our table watching what was going on amongst our guests. Andy and Fitz just roamed between our three groups and me; constantly checking to ensure none of us was having a problem. Sereine and I had Sto and Coral with us, so my bodyguards knew no one would bother us. They were primarily watching my ladies for the dignitaries kept paying them closer attention than they wanted paid to them. I didn’t think anyone was being overly attentive, but I guess that is matter of opinion.

I finally drifted over to Amir’s table. He and Bashira were sitting watching the dignitaries maneuver for attention. When I joined them, the dignitaries started dropping by his table to pay their respects to him and me. I’m not sure why, but the President seemed to isolate himself. After a while, I drifted away from Amir and ended up with the President.

“I’m curious why you ended up over here by yourself?”

“That is politics in this town, Doug. Most of these people are Ambassadors and their wives, and in a few cases their mistresses. About half of the Ambassadors have an adversarial relationship with the United States, so they avoid me. At the moment, I am trying to recruit support for a proposal and the Ambassadors friendly to the United States are not ready to commit to supporting our position. As a result, I am getting very few diplomatic visitors stopping to just chat.

“Scattered through the crowd are a large number of Senators and a few senior House Representatives. Some of them are occasional allies, but most are adversaries. The politicians know that I am behind Senator Belton’s arrest. The rumors floating around Capitol Hill indicate that the Senator got his hand caught in the cookie jar, and is going to have to pay the price. They don’t know the details yet, so they are avoiding me so they don’t end up having me upset with them. I think some of them are worried that I may have a political hit list and that they are next on that list.”

With a smile I said, “Ah, and do you have a political hit list of your enemies, Mister President?”

With a laugh and smile the President said, “No, I don’t, Doug. It’s much easier to just pick up a list of the members of Congress and cross out those who support me.

“On January 20^th of last year, I was sworn into this office and all was well.

“On January 21^st, the media took aim at me and started firing broadsides in my direction for everything that they perceived as being wrong with the country. Some of the problems have plagued this country for over fifteen years. However, I was now the President and somehow in their minds my administration was responsible for not having resolved the problems between the time I was elected and the time I was sworn in.

“By January 25^th, my popularity ratings were slipping for the media had convinced the American public that I was not doing my job the way it should be done. It had only taken them five days to destroy my ratings.

“President bashing is the most popular sport in America, Doug. If our Olympic team fails to bring home enough medals to please the American public, there are people out there that will blame my administration. If my stomach is upset and I don’t want to eat a pickle, the media will turn it into a major issue by claiming I hate pickles. The farmers and the unions will be on my back about refusing to eat pickles. The only way to negate the problem would be to stand out in public and eat a jar of pickles. Then the media would claim that I was grandstanding for publicity. You can’t win with the American media, Doug.

“I have a bit of experience with the media, Mister President. Not too long ago, I inherited a great deal of money. The media wanted to interview me. I had hired the lawyer who handled the inheritance as my personal lawyer. He said I was not ready to be interviewed, and started training me to handle the media. Before I was to go in front of the cameras and media representatives, my lawyer told them I would take no personal questions. He also told them that if I was asked a personal question, the person asking the question would have to leave or I would.

“After a number of questions, this woman asked me a personal question. I signaled one of my security personnel to remove the woman. He asked her to leave and she refused, so I turned and walked off the stage, and didn’t go back. I also blackballed the woman from future interviews.

“I imagine that my tactics wouldn’t work for you, but from the sound of things, they wouldn’t make anything worse. A friend of mine once told me that in order to get along with someone, you sometimes have to stomp on their toes until they apologize for having them in your way.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before, Doug, but in Washington the media’s toes are so insensitive, that they wouldn’t know they were being stomped on.

“Thanks for stopping by and visiting, Doug, but you should probably get back to circulating.”

In the time I circulated, I met many politicians and Ambassadors. They asked numerous questions about how I planned to address various matters. Some I was able to answer. For the other questions, I told the individual asking the question there was no fixed policy at that time, and I would look forward to their assistance in determining the best policy for my Embassy. In other words, I would listen to them and then do what I thought was right.

The reception eventually came to an end. Amir, the President, and I said our goodbyes. They both told me they were glad it was over for they hated events like this. However, it was part of the job, so they suffered through it. The limousines returned my group to our hotel and departed.

I told everyone that I would be right back. Sereine and I hopped Matt and Mary back to their home in Denver and then we returned to our Washington hotel rooms. We must have been exhausted for we hadn’t thought of the effect that our just disappearing with Matt and Mary would have on Kim. It took more than an hour to explain the Fourth Dimension and D-Hopping to Kim. By that time, we were dead on our feet, and thankfully, Carol told Kim she could share her Queen Size bed.

Over breakfast, my group turned over their jewelry to me. Carol had explained the process to Kim, so Bill ended up with thirteen plastic bags containing four rings and nine pair of earrings. Matt and Mary had given their jewelry to Bill before they left last night, so Bill actually had fifteen plastic bags.

Kim was looking at the bags and said, “Doug, how much are the rings worth on Earth?”

“I’m not sure. My jeweler is working on an appraisal of a ring and a pair of earrings for me. He is consulting with a group of jewelers to determine the value of the diamonds. From what he told me, this is very difficult for there is nothing that’s close enough to establish a basis for setting the value of the rings and earrings.

“Based on the current value of large red diamonds, I think the rings will appraise at close to twenty or thirty million dollars each. Why do you ask?”

“I was thinking of what that jewelry could do for all the impoverished people here on Earth if it were sold and the proceeds used to better their lives.”

“Yes, that occurred to me also, Kim.

“I once made a similar observation to an Economics teacher at the D-Hopping University. The teacher told me that she agreed with me about the good that such a generous act could do for the indigent people of the Multiverse. Then she asked me if I had given any consideration to the harm that such an act could cause.

“I looked at her in disbelief, for what possible harm could come from helping people to improve their lives. The teacher explained to me that I would have to sell a very large amount of a rare product in order to acquire enough money to make a significant difference in the Multiverse. The only place that I could obtain a suitable supply of such a product would be from an unopened world.

“When I sold the product in the Multiverse market, I would unbalance the supply and demand curve for that product. The amount of product I dumped into the supply side of the market would cause a major drop in the price of the product. Since the price had been driven to an artificial low, the suppliers would not be able to sell their merchandise in the market and make sufficient profit to pay for the costs they incurred in producing their product.

“The situation would harm the suppliers financially, and if it continued for a long time, the suppliers would go out of business. The businesses that supplied the now bankrupt suppliers with the raw materials needed to produce the final product would now have no place to sell their merchandise. This effect could continue to ripple through the supply chain for years, and many people might go out of business. My charitable act to aid several thousand people might eventually harm millions.

“The teacher told me that the Multiverse’s economy was very robust as long as it remained a closed system. She said that D-Hoppers, like me, improved the economy by introducing new markets. However, in introducing a new market, we tended to destabilize the existing market. It was critical that D-Hoppers introduce the product from a new source in a time phased manner that allowed the existing market to slowly adapt to the changes.”

Kim was thinking about what I had said. “I was not aware that selling the jewelry would cause a problem. From what you said, I can see what would happen if you were to sell large amounts of rare gems. It could destroy our jewelry industry putting thousands of people out of work. The traditional gems that signified an emotional commitment would lose their appeal. The entire supply of jewelry would become essentially nothing more than worthless costume jewelry.”

“Yes, Kim, that’s what would happen and that’s why I have to be very careful in promoting trade between Earth and the Multiverse. Major errors on my part could destroy your world’s economy.”

“I find it very strange, Doug. I’m sitting here looking at a billion dollars’ worth of jewelry, just lying on the table in front of Bill. I could easily pick up that jewelry, take it to a jeweler, and sell it. I would enjoy the money I would be paid. However, I find myself opposed to ever selling it, because of the harm that such a sale would cause. How do you resist the temptation of getting so much money?”

“I don’t know, Kim. Several years ago, I would have sold it and pocketed my profit with no consideration for what the sale might mean to the locals. Now I find the thought of hurting someone for profit, to be highly repugnant. How I went from one extreme to the other is a mystery to me. I suppose you could say that I just grew up, and developed a conscience. I suspect that being made the Ambassador to Earth caused me to be more aware of the harm that I could unintentionally do to the people of Earth. I like Earth and its people and don’t want to see them harmed. That means I have to be very careful in what I do, to ensure that my policies are good for Earth.”

“That seems like an overwhelming responsibility, Doug. How can you tell what will and won’t hurt Earth?”

“I can’t, Kim. What I need to do is go slowly, and listen to the experts in the Multiverse and here on Earth. I need to place severe limits on the sale of many products, or the Multiverse traders could overwhelm Earth’s markets. I also need to limit many of the things those traders will want to buy, for they could also destabilize many of the Multiverse’s markets. For the next few years, it’s going to be a balancing act, and it won’t be easy!

“There are a number of products that I would like to see made available to all of Earth’s citizens. I need to do an assessment of Earth, and if it shows what I think it will show, then I will authorize the sale of certain medical technologies here on Earth.

“When I took Matt and Mary to the Multiverse, they were examined by our medical personnel. They found out that Mary had what on Earth is a very nasty form of cancer. They gave her an injection that cured the cancer in three days. Here on Earth, she would have died, for that cancer couldn’t be treated here.