Chapter 5: A Semblance of Normalcy?

September 13, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

I was just about to leave my desk for the Operations Committee meeting when my private, direct line rang.

“Good morning, Sensei,” I answered, the Caller ID display telling me who was calling.

“Good morning. I wanted to let you know that I heard from Felipe. He called to say he was safe and that he’s not sure exactly when he’ll be home because flights are severely restricted.”

“That’s great news! We’ll see you this evening. I’ll let Her Royal Highness know that her friend is safe.”

Sensei Jim laughed, “I’m not sure he will be, given he didn’t call HER to report in!”

“She’ll live.”

“Yes, but will he?”

“He did survive her withering glare when he greeted my Swedish friends, so I think he’ll manage.”

“How are things with your neighbors? I saw there was some unrest last night.”

“Yes, and sadly, I think the small-minded idiots we call our ‘representatives’ are going to whip up anti-Muslim and anti-Arab fervor. Well, not just Arabs, but sadly they probably have no clue that Afghanis aren’t Arabs, let alone knowing Iranians aren’t.”

“The level of ignorance amongst our ‘leaders’ never fails to find an even lower median.”

“Sad but true. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have a meeting in four minutes.”

“And if you aren’t two minutes early, you’re late by your own standard!”

“Exactly!”

We said ‘goodbye’ and I left my office and went to the ‘Lemieux’ room, taking a seat along the wall, as I wasn’t officially a member of the Operations Committee. As was usually the case, everyone was assembled two minutes before the meeting was scheduled to start, and Kimmy opened the conference line at exactly 10:00am.

“Good morning,” Stephanie said when she began the meeting, “Just so everyone on the call knows, Steve is joining us today. First, I want to let you all know that, tragically, Belinda Barton, wife of Doctor Al Barton, was, as we feared, confirmed to be on American Flight 11. There are no details about memorial services as yet, but we’ll make sure everyone is aware of whatever arrangements are eventually made. The remainder of our NIKA family is, thankfully, safe, including Brian Frost, husband of Samantha Spurgeon, who was at the Pentagon on Tuesday morning.”

I wondered if anyone had told Elizabeth or Val, and made a mental note to call them after the meeting. As I thought about it, I realized Suzanne might have called Val, as they were friends, and it made sense to ask her first. I suspected she had, and in the whirlwind that had been the previous few days, she’d simply not mentioned it to me.

“Zeke, Mario, and Barbara report that their regions are fully operational with two caveats. First, we basically can’t get into Manhattan at least for today, and second, we don’t know anything about air travel at the moment. Charlie and Cèlia will work with any customers affected by either of those. Mario?”

“Thanks, Stephanie. We have nine clients with offices in the Trade Centers. We don’t know anything for sure, but all of them were located below where the planes hit. I’ve asked Charlie and Cèlia to be prepared to implement any disaster recovery plans those clients might have. We’ll provide all assistance necessary to get them up and running in alternate locations.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie said. “Kimmy, let’s run the agenda from the meeting which we would have had on Tuesday.”

I really didn’t need to be part of the normal operations meeting, but I was sure my sister had a reason, and I suspected it was the fact that when the markets opened, they were going to crash hard. New York’s economy was going to take a huge hit, and the overall economy would likely tank, at least in the short term, because of the risk of further terrorist acts or the prospect of an ugly war in Afghanistan. There were also huge political risks, if the government overreacted, which I expected to happen.

I was right in my assessment, and once the regular operations meeting was over, Stephanie transitioned to a discussion of the after-effects of the attacks.

“Samantha’s team is predicting a market decline of six to ten percent on Monday, and probably as much as twenty percent by the end of the week. They expect huge losses for airline, travel and leisure, financial, and insurance stocks, with concurrent gains for defense contractors, medical and pharmaceutical companies, and banks. Precious metal and oil prices will continue to rise as they have already started to do. Bo believes we’re headed into a recession, and he believes there’s a strong likelihood of military action in Afghanistan.

“I sat down with Elyse, Cindi, and Julia this morning, and we believe our history of operating conservatively puts us in a reasonably good position. At this time, it’s our opinion that we stay the course and wait to see what additional fallout comes, and react accordingly. As we’ve seen, our business on the medical and legal sides is robust, and while not recession-proof, it’s stable, with lower growth. The consulting and support sides are more susceptible to economic downturns, and we’ll have to watch those closely.

“The bottom line is business as usual, at least insofar as we can, given the current political, economic, and social uncertainties. That said, we do see some opportunities in the area of disaster recovery and security, and we’ll watch those carefully over the coming weeks. Our main priority hasn’t changed - to continue to deliver exceptional value to our customers. It’s what we’ve always done and what we’ll always do.”

She ended the meeting and I went back to my office and called Suzanne, who I knew wouldn’t be in class. She had let Val and Elsa know, but hadn’t spoken with Elizabeth. I thanked her, then brought up my contact list in Outlook and dialed Elizabeth’s number at Fermilab.

“Steve? What’s up?” she asked when I identified myself.

“Are you in your office or a lab?”

“My office, why?”

“You’re strong enough that I’ll just tell you straight - Belinda Barton was on American Flight 11.”

“No!” Elizabeth gasped. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. She called Al right before she boarded, and American Airlines confirmed to Al that Belinda’s name is on the flight manifest.”

“Shit,” Elizabeth sighed. “That sucks. How is Doctor Al?”

“He’s holding together. Fawn, Gerry, and their families will be with him later today. I’m sorry I dumped it on you this way; are you going to be OK?”

“Yes. Are you planning to have a Philosophy Club meeting on Sunday?”

“I hadn’t decided for sure, but I think I will. A joint one. I’ll call Becka and arrange it.”

“I take it Val knows?”

“Suzanne called her. She’s pretty upset, but Archie is there for her.”

“Thanks for calling me, Steve. I’ll be OK and I’ll see you Sunday.”

“If you need anything, call.”

“I will, thanks.”

We said ‘goodbye’ and I hung up, then called Becka’s mobile phone and, after I shared the news, we discussed the joint meeting of the two clubs and she agreed they’d join us at my house on Sunday afternoon.

Just after lunch, I interviewed Peggy Fischer, the candidate for Assistant CTO, who had chosen to stay in Chicago for her Tuesday interview which had been canceled due to the attacks. I chatted with her for nearly an hour, but the entire time I felt something was ‘off’ and my gut told me she wasn’t a good candidate.

🎤 Jesse

“What would you do, Jesse?” Lee asked at lunch.

“Not invite the terrorists to a philosophy discussion, that’s for sure!”

“You think that’s what your dad would do?” Libby asked.

“Dad doesn’t believe violence solves anything. He says it can end something, but it can’t solve it.”

“I’m not sure that makes sense,” Pete said. “I mean, if you destroy your enemy, it solves the problem.”

I shook my head, “I know what you mean, but it doesn’t, really. Dad says solving the problem means coming to an agreement on how to move forward together.”

“Dear terrorist,” Jake said sarcastically, “we just want to move forward together.”

“He has a point, Jesse,” Carly, a new girl, said. “They want to kill us!”

“Who does?” I asked. “All Arabs? All Iranians? All Afghanis? All Muslims? When I was in Russia, when it was still the USSR, I met a lot of people, including soldiers, and I didn’t meet a single person who wanted to go to war with the US or be anything but friends with us. Should we have nuked all those people because a small group of men who led the Communist Party declared the US to be the enemy?”

“Aren’t Iranians Arabs?” Joe asked.

“No,” I replied. “They’re Persians. Did you know before the Iranian revolution that Tehran was a cosmopolitan city which rivaled European cities for culture and openness? A small group of radical students and some religious leaders took over and changed it. A woman who works for my dad is from Iran, and she says most people there don’t want to be our enemy.”

“Oh, right, those demonstrations in the streets where they yell ‘Death to America!’ are fake,” Carly said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

“There were a lot of people in the Soviet Union who went along with the ‘party line’,” I countered. “Because not doing so could lead to exile, prison, or death. The same is true in Iran. But forget that for a minute. I know Muslims right here in the US who don’t agree with the terrorists. Why should we punish them? We don’t punish Catholics because of IRA terrorism in the UK.”

“But they want to force us to become Muslims!” Carly protested.

“Some do, I agree. And in the past, there were Christians who did the same thing to people, so I’m not sure what your point is. None of the Muslims I know have tried to force me to convert. Our neighbors did talk to Birgit about becoming Muslim.”

Libby laughed hard, “Oh like THAT is ever going to happen!”

“You’re Jewish, Libby,” Carly said. “How can you not see it?”

“Because I think YOU care more about Israel as a Christian than I do as a Jew. For you, it’s some kind of religious point. For me, it’s politics, and, to be honest, my family is FAR better off living in the US than when they were in Israel before World War II.”

“There was no Israel then!” Lee protested. “That didn’t happen until after World War II.”

“I meant the area in general,” Libby countered. “That land has been contested for thousands of years. Violence hasn’t solved a thing. In fact, it’s made it worse! And before you say it’s the Palestinians, you have to remember that Israeli leaders like Menachem Begin committed terrorist acts to try to gain independence and create the State of Israel. Now the Palestinians are doing it. Nothing has been solved.

“How would you solve it, then?” Lee asked.

“I have no idea,” Libby replied. “But it sure doesn’t start or end with guns!”

“All political power is derived from the barrel of a gun,” Joe declared.

“Thank you, Chairman Joe!” I chuckled. “But does that solve anything? Heck, it didn’t even end it, because Taiwan is still independent of Red China.”

“So, then what?” Carly asked.

“Figure out what the grievances are and see if you can come up with a solution. I read that one of the main complaints al-Qa’ida has is the presence of US soldiers in Saudi Arabia. We don’t belong there, so why not just pull the troops out? It takes away one of their major complaints.”

“But not all of them!” Carly protested. “They’ll keep coming after us until they force us all to wear those crazy clothes they wear that cover every inch of their body and make us worship Muhammad.”

I rolled my eyes, “They don’t worship Muhammad! He’s like Saint Paul - a messenger. And I suspect you have nearly as much of a problem with ME as you do Islam. I’m Russian Orthodox, which is, at least from your perspective, like Roman Catholic on steroids.”

“You worship Mary?!” she gasped.

“No, we don’t worship Mary. Just as Muslims don’t worship Muhammad. And I think we’ve found the FIRST thing we can do - learn more about their faith. I think they’re wrong, but that doesn’t make them evil, it just makes them different. The same is true for Hindus, Buddhists, practitioners of Shinto, and my dad who has a thing for Loki!”

“Your dad is a pagan?” Kimberly, Lee’s new girlfriend, asked.

I chuckled, “My dad is unique. There is no definition that fits him. He basically treats religion like an all-you-can-eat buffet. He takes as much of what he likes, and leaves the rest.”

“But you can’t go to heaven without believing Jesus is your personal savior!” Carly protested.

“So, all the rest of us are going to hell and you’re the only one going to heaven?” Libby asked. “You’re going to be AWFULLY lonely. Me, I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, because the sinners are MUCH more fun!”

Everyone laughed, except Carly who frowned and started to get up from the lunch table.

“That is so wrong!” she declared.

“Leave if you want,” Jake said. “But none of us want to be beaten over the head with a Bible.”

“Carly,” I asked with a sly smile, “would you wear a string bikini?”

“What?! No way!”

“Then don’t complain about how Muslims understand modesty!”

She glared at me, then grabbed her tray and walked away.

“So,” Lee said. “Going back to what I asked, What WOULD you do, Jesse?”

I smiled, “Send in the SEALs to wipe out bin Laden and his gang, then buy the SEALs some bourbon, and make sure they got laid!”

Everyone laughed.

“That’s what Aimee, a friend of my dad’s who’s in the Navy, says about how to respond to being attacked,” I continued. “And that would end bin Laden, but not solve the problem. Solving the problem begins, as I said, with learning about each other and negotiating a settlement. You won’t convince everyone, but you don’t have to. You just have to convince most people, and then treat it like a police matter. That’s how the US solved the problems with groups like the SDS, The Weathermen, the Klan, and others. Sometimes it ends like the SLA, but mostly it doesn’t.”

“The SLA?” Kimberly asked.

“The Symbionese Liberation Army. They were a domestic terrorist group who had kidnapped Patty Hearst, an heiress. In the end, they had a huge gun battle with the police. Most of them were killed. But usually, the FBI investigates and arrests people. And that works because there are so few people who support the terrorists. After all, mostly things are pretty good here.”

“There are still a lot of problems, though,” Kwame said, speaking up for the first time.

“Sure, but not to the point where the average person is going to support a terrorist group. Cut off their money and support by solving the big problems, then use the police or military to take out the actual terrorists. Invading Afghanistan is going to be a complete disaster. Just ask the Russians, the British, or Alexander the Great!”

“Jesse is right,” Libby observed. “And I don’t think attacking Muslims or protesting at mosques is going to help. I had some friends who were in Bridgeview on Tuesday night and they scare me because they’re talking about ‘solutions’ to the ‘problem’. That sounds a bit too much like Nazi Germany. Instead, we should be friends with Muslims in the US and work together to solve the problems.”

“Good luck with THAT,” Jake said, shaking his head.

“Nobody said it would be easy,” I replied. “But I know WAY too many sailors and soldiers to want a war.”

The warning bell rang and we quickly gathered our things so we could return our trays and head to class.

🎤 Birgit

“Are you scared?” Naomi asked as our group walked home from school.

“Of what?” I asked.

“Terrorists!”

“If I’m scared, THEN they win. So no, I’m not scared.”

“What do you mean?” Julie asked. “How do they win if you’re scared?”

“According to Mike, MC’s husband, terrorists try to scare us into changing how we live, so the best way to fight them is to just go on with your life, mostly as if nothing had happened.”

“Mostly?” Rachel asked.

“Well, I’d sure want more security for people getting on planes!” I declared. “We don’t know how they did it yet, but obviously they got some kind of weapons on the planes! Dad told me about when he was little there weren’t even metal detectors. You would walk up without ID, buy a ticket for cash, and then get right on the plane with no search, no x-rays of your carry-on bag, and no metal detector.”

“No way!” Hannah protested.

“We were watching re-runs of old Hawaii Five-O episodes and they showed people doing just that. I asked and he said that it really was like that back then. It’s like on Dragnet when they make a drug bust and the kids who were smoking pot just say ‘OK, you got us’ and they walk out without handcuffs or anything.”

“Seriously?” Hannah asked.

“Seriously. And it was just two plainclothes detectives, not a SWAT team or anything.”

“But would you get on a plane?” Naomi asked.

“Sure. And I’d go up in a tall building. And I have Muslim friends with whom I’m going to stay friends.”

“Fatimah is SO weird,” Julie declared.

“Actually, she’s not,” I countered. “She was just taught differently from how we were taught. I’m working on it, but I’m not sure it’ll matter, even if I’m successful, because she has to go home in July.”

“What do you mean ‘working on it’?” Rachel asked.

“I talk to her every chance I get and explain as best I can how we think differently. It’s tough because she’s afraid to talk about certain things, and I have to be careful not to insult her religion, but she does talk to me.”

“Does she really have to marry someone she’s never met?” Cynthia asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “Some distant cousin and it was arranged by her grandfather.”

“Gawd!” Cynthia protested. “There is just no way!”

“I agree!” Naomi declared. “Birgit, what do you think we should do about the terrorists?”

“Bomb them back to the Stone Age! I mean, that is what they want, right? So let’s help them!”

All the girls laughed.

“They do treat women like property,” Laurie said. “So yeah, Stone Age.”

“Maybe we should go down to the mosque in bikinis and eat bacon!” Leslie giggled.

“Or invite them to Birgit’s house for a sauna!” Tiffany smirked.

“I’m not seeing that as helpful,” I replied. “I mean, think of the mess we’ll have to clean up when their heads explode!”

🎤 Matthew

“So what do you guys think?” I asked after we got on the school bus.

“My older brother joined the Marines yesterday,” Arby said. “I guess quite a few people have signed up.”

“There’s going to be a war,” Nick said. “I’m not sure joining up was a good idea.”

“So, what? We just sit on our butts and let asshole terrorists attack us?” Matt W asked.