I had just come on. I spent the normal half an hour getting the ‘skinny’ from Dr. Albert ... Dr. Albert holds the Ph.D. Gene is Days... 8:30 to 5. I have a Masters and Evenings... 4:30 to Midnight. 11:30 to 8 is Gloria ... she’s a Doc candidate too. Rumor has it that she sleeps a lot. Understand ... I’m a Doc candidate. Working towards my Ph. Not there yet.

There’s nothing ‘urgent’. A few drunks and celebrants ... election night.

Ever since the President decreed ‘a kinder gentler generation’ there’s been a staff on hand or on call...

We’re supposed to ‘talk ‘em off the ledge.’

He said that ... and wrote the Executive Order. It made it through the courts and the Surpremes discussed it. It didn’t infringe police powers and the constitutional constructionists agreed with the wording. So ... there’s three of us on staff ... one a shift and we’re on call. The pay is terrific ... and we’re seldom busy so I get in a lot of study time.

The election wound down and a ‘winner’ declared. The loser conditionally conceeded. The vote wasn’t even close but the forms must be followed. I must say ... I was surprised. I thought the other party had the upper hand.

I’m deep into an esoteric paper recently published by a ‘fringe thinker’ when the desk set disrupted my concentration. I picked up.

Killion ... he’s on the front desk said, “Doc ... we’ve got a problem out here. There’s a guy claims he’s been programed to kill the president.”

“And?”

“Want to talk to him?”

“Sure,” I said, “Have Jan escort him.”

Jan looks like a sweetheart ... she’s the meanest discharged marine I ever met. I learned early on that there’s no such thing as an EX Marine. She was pretty vocal about it too. She never has had a problem child she couldn’t handle ... even if she does have a cybernetic foot.

KNOCK. A knuckle rap really.

“Yes?”

The door opened, Jan escorted a man inside.

“Thanks, Jan.” She left ... mostly. Standard proceedure ... she’s just outside the door.

“How can I help,” I said.

“In the first place ... it’s not me who is programed ... it was ... another guy.”

“Yes?”

“Yeah ... the problem is that he’s programed to kill the president ... just not This President ... the one who lost...”

“Holy shit!”

“Exactly.” He said, “The president ... doesn’t care who it is. And we wanted this one to win.”