Chapter 3

Two days later I received a phone call from the President. They had recovered Melanie’s remains. The sword sheath, a exquisitely carved piece of wood had survived, singed but intact. I made arrangements for both to be delivered to Ocean Island. Then I called the city manager, and made arrangements for a state funeral.

Then I called John Jr, and talked about how to explain what was happening to Albert. He shared his experiences and memories, making suggestions. I invited him and Carolyn to the funeral, which he accepted.

Another call, Zach Thompson was very understanding, and said he would put everyone to work on the project immediately. I thanked him, and moved on to my next call.

“John, thanks for calling. I was about to try to get hold of you myself,” said Al.

“I know, tell me about the medals.”

“Presidential medal of freedom with distinction for both Melanie and Steve Jackson. We’re giving Steve the Medal of Honor, and Congress is striking a Congressional Gold Medal for Melanie. There’s talk of turning the North Tower into a memorial site, instead of rebuilding, but the spot that you marked in the pavement has already been blocked off with concrete barriers. The City of New York isn’t sure what to do with it, but people are gathering there to leave flowers. The local Buddhist community has asked to construct a temple over the site.”

“I’d like to be involved in any North Tower memorial. I’m planning a memorial garden here at Ocean City where we will lay her ashes. It’s likely become the family burial ground. I don’t want to interfere with any events for Jackson in the US, but I would like you and other world leaders to come here for her memorial,” I told him.

“Thank you for the invitation. Do you have a date for the memorial yet?”

“I want to do it before October. If we do it September 30th here, that’s the 29th for you. Do you think that will work?”

“That will be fine John. I’ll be there.”

“Thank you Mr President. I mean Al. I’m hoping to get this wrapped up so October I can concentrate on things like Albert’s birthday party.”

We hung up, just as there was a knock on the door. Jane had arrived. Her makeup was smeared with tears, and she ran into the room to hug me.

“Oh, John. I’m so sorry,” she said between sobs.

I sat her in the couch, sitting with her as she wouldn’t let go. Finally I asked, “Jane, are you here to stay now?”

“If you need me, then yes, I’m here to stay,” she said.

“Thank you. Albert’s going to need his grandmas. I’ve also got a special job for you too.”

“Whatever you need, John, I’ll be here.”

“Good. Melanie and I have 11 children besides Albert.”

“What?”

“They are embryos. 10 are frozen. Melanie’s named them all. What I need for you to do, is what she did for Albert’s and Bess’s surrogates. Select the women, monitor their pregnancies, and arrange for a different woman to take over as wet nurse after the birth.

“The surrogates are just walking incubators, they never see the children after birth, and are sent away. It keeps them from bonding with the child, and causing problems.

“Can you do this? Can you handle Melanie’s role?”

“Yes, I can do that.”

“Excellent. Bess will arrive in April. I’d like to schedule them so they all are born in different months. I’ll give you the dates and other information, so you can have a surrogate ready. You won’t need to get a new one until next year, so there is plenty of time. For now it’s the care and keeping of Trisha. She’s in the apartment next door to yours.”

“Understood, I’ll make sure she eats the right food, and does everything she needs to do. I’ll find a mother in April to act as wet nurse.”

“Actually I can give the wet nurse a pill that will trigger lactation. Find a woman with experience as a mother, who will act as Bess’s permanent nanny and wet nurse until she’s two. Then we will retire her, and get another nanny, I don’t want them getting too attached to anyone outside the family.”

“Right, that’s what you did for Melanie. Got it John. You can count on me.”

“Thank you Jane. I’m planning on a memorial service at the end of September. I’ll be doing some hiring of staff as I don’t plan on leaving here for a while. They can assist you in getting any clothes you might want for the funeral.”

“Good, I didn’t really pack anything like that. I just got the first flight out here.”

“I’m sorry, if I had been thinking you could have met us in Tulsa.”

“That’s fine, it worked out just fine. I’m going to go check on Albert and Trisha. Thank you John.”

Later that afternoon my Dad came to visit. He was wondering what he could do. He didn’t want to be a nanny for Albert.

“Dad, I’ve got a job I think you would be great at.”

“I’m listening. I might be retired, but I’m not useless.”

“I know. This city was built to eventually become an Arcology. You know the term?”

“Yeah, compact human habitat that meets its own needs, self-sufficient with minimal environmental impact.”

“Exactly. We aren’t there yet, and I’d like you to work on it. Identify needs, create capacity. This isn’t just pipe dream work. Eventually we will have a Mars colony. It’ll need to be self-sufficient, and self-reliant. Ocean City is the proof of concept. We currently produce all our food, but import a number of products. Identify those products, find ways of producing them. It’s ok if it’s not cost effective to produce them here. It will be cost effective on Mars.”

“Wow, I had no idea. I remember you mentioning Arcology in that interview, which is why I looked it up. Quite the challenge!”

“Nuts and bolts challenge, perfect for a generalist like yourself. Tell me how much space you need, and I’ll set you up. We have an excellent engineering and design team over at Central Tower. They’ve done much of the work designing everything here, so work with them.

“You’ll have full autonomy, and authority. You will have to work with everyone here. Oh, and be nice to the city manager. He’s young but he’s good at his job.”

“Got it. I’ll do some thinking, talk to the guys in Central Tower, and get back to you.”

“Thank you Dad. Your office will probably be over there, so think about that while you’re there. If you get lost, just ask for the ‘boffins.’ It’s their unofficial nickname.”

“One thing I think you need right away is more slidewalks. If this is going to be an Arcology making everybody go to level five to move between buildings will reduce efficiency as your population grows.” he said.

“I know. Talk to the boffins. There are several proposals take a look and give me your opinion.”

We shook hands to seal the deal, then he hugged me, and thanked me again. He was only 55, too early for him to really retire, and he’d do a great job. The previous year I had given him medication for Alzheimer’s. It ran in our family, usually ending in death by age 75.

On September 25th the Mryia arrived, with a new black paint scheme. On board were Melanie’s ashes, a car, and the statue for the memorial garden. It remained parked at the airport, empty of people except for a 24 hour honor guard that stood vigil.

Her urn was solid gold, and inscribed with her full name in an oval at the front. Around that inscription in a spiral were the words ‘wife, mother, hero’ in as many languages as would fit, completely covering the urns exterior.

The garden at the roof of building 1A, where our residence was, finished reconstruction on the 28th. The ground level changes were complete the following day. That was also the day that President Gore arrived. World leaders had been arriving for a week to show their support. I had cleared a single building to house them all, building 3B had fifty floors, and a great view of the airport on the outer ring. There they could see the planes they arrived in, compared to the massive plane where Melanie waited.

The ground level now had a spiral path that led from the bridge, between the island and the outer ring, to the Central Tower. On the 30th people began gathering along the spiral. No work that day for anyone on the island, except critical tasks.

The honor guard, with a drummer out front, led the procession. They were followed by a black Sky Cycle, with the urn perched atop it. It was draped in an American and Pacific Union flag. I followed on foot behind, dressed in black, carrying Melanie’s sheathed sword in both hands. The dignitaries and other officials all were gathered along the spiral path with the rest of the population of Ocean City.