Chapter 3: The Start of the Ark Foundation

With my morning routine complete, I packed the ingots into a box and loaded it and a small hand truck into my car. I then headed for Harry's office. I was escorted straight into his office when I arrived, and he introduced me to Sam Thomas. Sam was a lawyer who specialized in mining law.

"Jon, I asked around to find a lawyer familiar with mining law and was told that Sam was one of the best in the area. I placed Sam on retainer and explained the situation with the Ark to him. Sam came up with an idea for legalizing our use of the Ark. Since it's your idea Sam, I'll let you explain it to Jon."

"Alright Harry, I can do that. Jon, when I first met Harry and he explained what you wanted to do, I thought you were crazy. He swore that you were serious and had proven to him that you could be trusted to carry out what you planned. I wasn't sure, so I checked out Harry with some friends and they said I could trust what he says. I still find it hard to believe that you completed the excavation of such a massive structure, but will accept it as true until proven otherwise.

"My idea is for Harry and me to approach the Forest Service and tell them that we represent an organization that wants to construct a series of underground shelters beneath Forest Service lands and interconnect the shelters with tunnels. We would explain that the openings of all the access tunnels would be on privately owned land and that all surface-level construction activities would be performed on that land. We would tell them that all shelter excavation would be at a depth of below sea level except for the access tunnels and the ventilation shafts. We will also tell them that we will be responsible for disposing of all of the excavation debris.

"I think that if we reach an agreement to construct our shelters without coming above sea level with the exception of the airshafts and access tunnels, then we would have a good probability of getting a lease. If we get the lease and it requires us to dispose of the excavation debris, then we own the bullion.

"Harry believes the Forest Service would think you are crazy and doubt your ability to excavate the shelters and tunnels at that depth. I will tell them that the surface opening of your access tunnel is on your land and that the shelter will be somewhere near Michigan Bluff. That is around 17 miles from your ranch, so they will probably expect you to fail before you can tunnel that far. Therefore, they won't care what you do as long as our activities don't affect the surface and they collect the rent. We are hoping that the term excavation debris will result in them thinking of common rubble, and not considering the possibility of it being laden with precious metals."

In the back of my mind, I could hear Bob and Sharna planning to assist us with the Forest Service personnel not thinking of bullion when Sam and Harry mentioned debris. I was tempted to speak up about their plan being unethical, but I realized that saving humanity was more important than conforming to what society defines as ethical behavior. I definitely need to sit down and think about what I am doing. It seems like my moral structure has been changing since I joined the Army, and I am not sure it is headed in the right direction. Although off the top of my head, preventing the demise of humanity will go a long way in offsetting a lot of unethical and immoral behavior.

"Don't stress out about it Jon. Long ago, Sharna and I came to realize that what you call ethics and morality is actually what humans tell themselves they should do or feel in order to justify the actions that are necessary for them to interrelate with other humans."

Sam had continued talking while Bob had spoken to me. "There are two things we need to do in getting the lease. First, our statements need to be truthful so we should avoid discussing excavation in a future tense. We will focus on wanting to construct the shelters. The second thing is we need to mention that we will accept responsibility for disposing of the debris and get it in the lease, but we want to avoid terms like tailings for that is a mining term and might cause them to think of mineral rights. I think we should make sure we call it excavation debris or ruble."

"That sounds like it will work, but what do we do if they address mineral rights?"

"In that case, I suggest that we negotiate a deal with them. We could propose a split of any profits we receive from the sale of any bullion recovered from the debris. Considering that we will be paying for the excavation, I think we should propose a split of 90% for us and 10% for them. However, if it comes to that we need to emphasize that this is not a mining venture and we will not be shipping the debris to a refinery."

"Alright Harry, I like Sam's idea and think we should proceed with his lease agreement approach. Keep me informed.

"I think we need a short break, so I can dispose of my processed coffee."

During the break, I asked Harry if he had talked to Sam about the bullion. Harry said that I could talk freely to Sam about the bullion since he was on retainer to me personally. When we finally got back to business, I unpacked the ingots from the box I had brought into the office and identified what each was as I set them on Harry's desk. When I placed the platinum ingot on the desk, I said, "Harry, I only have a small amount of platinum and I want to retain it for the time being."

Without taking his eyes off the ingots, Harry said, "That is fine with me. Do you know how pure the bullion is?'

I replied, "Bob told me they were 100% pure."

Sam said, "Harry, do you happen to have a bathroom scale in the office?"

While he was gone to get the scale, Sam asked, "Jon, do you have any idea what these ingots are worth?"

"No, I'm not familiar with the price of bullion, but I suspect they are worth quite a bit of money."

When Harry returned with a scale, Sam said, "It looks like we have a 'babe in the woods' on our hands. Jon has no idea what these ingots are worth, so I feel that it is our duty to educate him."

They then proceeded to introduce me to commonly used terms that are used in the precious metals market, such as troy ounces, spot price, karats, and a few others. They had to explain the difference between karats and carets to me. While they expanded my knowledge, they weighed each ingot, looked up the current spot price of each type of bullion, and did some calculations. When they were done, Sam said, "Jon, take a guess as to how much the three ingots are worth."

I said, "How about $300,000."

Harry and Sam broke out in laughter. When they settled down, Harry said, "Well, if our weights and calculations are right, the three ingots are worth around $1.4 million. Oh yes, that ingot of platinum you aren't ready to part with is worth around $785 thousand."

Now it was my turn to just sit in shock looking at the three ingots.

"Jon, I don't understand your feelings about this metal. I can feel fear, greed, and lust in your mind and you seem conflicted about these feelings. I know that many humans want wealth so they can have an easy life. You have wealth, so I don't understand your feelings. If you need more of this metal to pay for the construction of the Ark, Sharna and I can provide you with as much as you need."

"Sorry Bob, you're right, I am disturbed by my feelings. As you said, I have plenty of wealth to last my lifetime and don't personally need additional money. I think humans always want more because they fear that they will lose what they have and become destitute. This bullion also disturbs me because I don't feel that we have the right to take possession of it. On the other hand, if you and Sharna had not separated it out from the tailings, the legal owner would not have it either. I will have to come to some resolution about whether or not to take possession or notify the owner about the bullion. Since the legal owner appears to be the Government, I am inclined to take possession of it. If anyone makes a valid claim on it, we can negotiate a settlement with the claimant."

Harry asked, "How many ingots do you have of each type of bullion Jon."

"Well as of Friday, I have about 415 ingots of gold, 330 ingots of platinum, and 330 of silver. However, Bob and Sharna told me they have only refined about 5% of our raw bullion."

They gave me a funny look and Harry again picked up his pencil; they started calculating again. When they finished, Harry said, "You currently have somewhere around $520 million in ingots and if your estimate of that representing 5% of the bullion is accurate, then you have close to $10 billion in bullion.

"With that much money behind you, I am confident that we will be able to gain control of the Ark. I suggest that we send the three ingots of bullion to my buyer for a quote."

"Alright go ahead and ship it. If the quote is good, then we can go ahead and start selling off the bullion. If there is a claim against the bullion, we can make restitution.

"Jon, I have been monitoring Sam's thoughts. He is considering the possibility of working for the Ark Foundation, and his background includes mining law, contract law, and construction. I think that his personality would be compatible with you and Harry. Why don't you go over our lists with him and Harry, and if you agree, offer him a job. He would be ideal as our construction manager."

"That's a good idea Bob; I also have a good feeling about him."

I pulled out my lists and gave them to Harry. "I want the two of you to look these lists over and let me know if there is anything that I have missed."

They both came up with several items that would need to be addressed. I told Sam that he seemed to be well versed in construction practices and he described his background in more detail. I turned to Harry and said, "It looks like the Foundation's work will be more than you can handle by yourself. Do you think that you will need help?"

They both noticed where I was headed, so Harry said, "I think you are right Jon. These few tasks are going to be labor intensive. If you plan to expand the Foundation's legal department, Sam would be a good choice."

I looked over at Sam and asked, "What do you think about coming to work for the Foundation Sam?"

We discussed salary, benefits, and division of the legal work, and then I hired him as our second employee. Harry and Sam would work together as a team with Sam taking the lead on the lease and construction activities and Harry being the leader on the remainder of the work.

Before leaving Harry's office, we summarized our main tasks. Harry would get the ingots to his bullion buyer for an estimate of their value and continue the process of incorporating the Ark Foundation. Sam was to find an architect and a prime contractor who could provide construction management services and start the ball rolling on getting a lease agreement from the Forest Service. I would look for a building that would be suitable as the headquarters of the Ark Foundation. Before I left Harry's office, I invited the two of them to dinner that night at my ranch. They accepted and I left for the caterer's office.

I arrived at the caterer's office just before what I thought would be their normal lunch hour. I had been thinking of the young lady who had been working the front counter last week, and had timed my arrival so I could ask her out to lunch. The counter was being worked by an older lady wearing a wedding ring.

"Good morning, I'm Jon Reppa and I am having a seminar catered this coming Saturday. I told the manager a Mrs. Fowler that I would give her a head count today. I will be having 18 people attending the seminar."

"I'll let Mrs. Fowler know that your group will be 18 people. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

"Well yes there is one other thing. When I was in here last week, a young lady helped me. I was sort of hoping she would be here today."

"Oh, you must be thinking of Clara Donner. She was covering for me when I was sick last week. She is the owner's daughter and she attends the UC Davis School of Medicine during the week, so she only works on weekends as a server. It is likely that you will see her this coming weekend at your place."

With that chore out of the way, I decided to try that bistro again to see if the other food selections were as good as my cordon bleu had been last week. Unfortunately, I had to eat alone. An hour later, I was leaving the bistro thinking that I may now have a favorite eating-place.

During my meal, I had been talking with Bob and Sharna about the number of people that we would need to hire for the Ark Foundation, what they would be doing, and about what we needed as a facility for a Headquarters building. I had been thinking of a small office area similar to that typically available in a strip mall. By the time Bob and Sharna had figured out the office space for the people we would hire, the floor space for records storage, conference rooms, break rooms, restrooms, computer network room, telephone system room, etc., we were looking at over 20,000 sq. ft. of office space. When I started thinking of 20,000 sq. ft., Bob reminded me that it didn't allow for very much expansion, so we would need a larger building than I was envisioning.

I called Harry to get a recommendation for a realtor, but he and Sam had no recommendation for me as to a realtor that specialized in commercial property. I checked the bistro's phone book for a local, well-known real estate company. When I got to their office, the receptionist routed me to a young man about my age, and she introduced him as Bill Meyers. After being seated and explaining what I needed to find, Bill had me complete a series of forms to prove that I was a viable buyer. Once he had reviewed the forms, Bill entered my requirements into his computer and printed out a listing of properties available in the Auburn area. We looked at the locations of the various properties and selected several to go see. Bill called the selling realtors to notify them that we wanted to look at the properties and he received permission for us to do so.

I didn't care for the area around the first property we stopped at and the second property was not suited to our needs. The remaining two properties we looked at that day were acceptable, but I didn't really identify with them as what I wanted for a Headquarters building. When we returned to Bill's office, I talked with him about the properties we had looked at and about what I had liked and disliked about each. Bill got on his computer again and modified what he had previously entered. The revised listing of properties contained several that looked good to me on paper, so I made an appointment to meet with Bill on the following day.

On my way home, I stopped in Folsom at a Persian 'mom and pop' grocery store that I liked, to get some steaks, baking potatoes, and broccoli for dinner that night. I had become friends with Amir and Delbar, the owners of the grocery store since my return to Auburn, and they were the only ones in the store when I arrived.

Delbar was behind the cash register when I entered the store. She greeted me with, "Jon, what did you decide. Are you going to go out with my friend's daughter?"

"Sorry Delbar, but it's like I said, I'm not interested in getting married to someone that young. I need someone that is at least close to my age."

"Well, I'll ask around Jon. It's hard to find a nice Persian girl who is single and over 21. Most of them are married by then."

Waving to Delbar, I walked back to the meat counter. "Afternoon Amir. A couple of business associates are coming over for dinner this evening. I need three nice steaks to barbeque for dinner."

"I've got just the thing for you back in the cooler. They are nicely marbled and just right for barbequing."

While Amir got the steaks from the cooler and wrapped them for me, I picked out some potatoes and broccoli. After paying for my purchases, I talked with Amir and Delbar. "How are things with your daughters, Sara and Linda? You haven't mentioned them recently."

Delbar got all excited and said, "Linda and her husband are going to make us grandparents in another seven months."

Amir added, "Yes and Delbar and Linda have been out shopping for baby things every weekend since Linda let us know."

I needed to get going, so I said, "Well tell them I said congratulations, and be sure to keep me informed."

"You don't have to worry about that Jon. Delbar won't forget about her first grandchild."

As Delbar gave Amir's arm a slap and a mild rebuke for saying that to me, I left to go next door to the liquor store. Since I didn't know what Harry and Sam liked to drink, I picked up a 24-pack of cold beer and a couple of bottles of Australian Malbec to go with the steaks.

Harry and Sam showed up a little after 5:30 PM. I provided them each with a cold beer and asked how they liked their steaks cooked. They made it easy on me for we all liked them cooked medium well. The coals were ready and I had popped the potatoes in the oven when I got home, so they were almost done. I put the broccoli in a gallon-sized plastic zip bag and stuck it in the microwave for eight minutes. Two minutes later put the steaks on the barbeque.

Thirty minutes later, we were enjoying our food. I suppose some people would consider us barbarians for we ignored the wine and just drank beer with our meals, straight out of the cans. Over dinner, we talked about Bob and Sharna with them helping me to answer any of Harry and Sam's questions that I could not answer by myself.

Sam said, "Jon, I have problems visualizing the Silos. Is it possible for you to build a model so someone can see the general layout? It would really help me get the concept across to architects and contractors. It doesn't have to be to scale as long as I can provide the rough dimensions."

"Sure, I should be able to do that fairly easy. Since it is already excavated, why do we need an architect?"

Sam said, "I assume that you are not familiar with what an architect does Jon. An architect does far more than define the framework of a building. They also prepare the specifications for the electrical, mechanical, plumbing, waste disposal, and other systems. The architect will be the one who selects the elevators, heating and cooling equipment, electrical generating equipment, etc."

"Oh, I thought that most of that was typically done by the contractor."

"No Jon, it doesn't work that way. Those selections require a great deal of knowledge and calculation; the type of knowledge that a typical contractor does not have."

After dinner, we got into a discussion about the Ark Foundation and what part it would play in preparing the shelter and in supporting the people who would live in the Ark. We created an outline of the operational structure that would be needed to address the various functions the Foundation would perform.

Harry told us that he had taken the ingots to his bullion buyer's local contact in Sacramento. They would ship the ingots to their office in New York for assay and we should get an offer back by Friday. It was then that I remembered Bob telling me that he and Sharna could get the Foundation as much bullion as we needed.

"Bob, what did you mean when you told me you could get me all of the bullion that I needed?"

"Oh that. Well when Sharna and I were excavating the Silos and tunnels, we found many seams of pure gold and silver that we could excavate if you need it. If that is not enough, many of the meteoroids that pass through the solar system contain a large amount of precious metals and rare earths. We can mine the metals from the meteoroids until you have enough."

"I don't recall if I mentioned it guys, but Bob told me earlier that he could get us all the bullion we needed. Bob and Sharna found several large seams of almost pure gold and silver while excavating the Silos and tunnels. He also said that if that wasn't enough, many of the meteoroids that pass through our solar system have a high concentration of gold, silver, and Rare Earths. Would it be better for us to have Bob and Sharna mine rare earths for us?"

Sam said, "Jon, the term 'rare earth' is a misnomer. When the rare earths were first discovered, they were believed to be very rare. Since then, people have learned that they are far more common than originally believed. The thing that drives the price up is the refining for it is exceptionally difficult to get the purity to the level needed for use in industry. Furthermore, the refined product is sold by the kilogram, and for most of the rare earths, the price for a kilogram is far less than that of one troy ounce of silver."