Chapter 21

It took a while for us to finish talking and shaking hands with the Sooners’ players. I specifically sought out their number 44.

“Hey, dude, good game,” I said, holding my hand out. “Cal Lewis.”

He looked at me and shook his head, then took my hand. “Brian Bosworth. Fuck! How the hell are you as good as you are and you’re not juicing?”

“If you read the papers, I’ve already been accused of that. The NCAA cleared me. Look, I’ve got no issues with medications needed due to injuries, or treatment if you get sick. But you don’t have to take that shit to actually be the best person you can be. Just ask the guys on my team, or any of my wives.”

“Wives?” His eyes got wide. “You’re that guy that was in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, aren’t you?”

“Yep. Nothing personal, Brian, but I’ve gotta go. You take care, and maybe we’ll see you next year.” I ran over to where they were getting us together for the trophy presentation. Once that was done and the obligatory photos were taken, I headed over to where my family was waiting.

I gave all my wives and children kisses, then shook hands with Ryan White and his family. He introduced me to his girlfriend. She looked a bit overawed at the whole spectacle, since all the celebrity singers were also hanging around as well.

In a quiet moment, I said, “Hey, Elton, I never got a chance to thank you for performing at my coronation. So, thank you.”

“You’re very welcome, Your Majesty. It was my honor,” he replied.

“Unless it’s formal, call me Cal. I liked the way you did the First People’s Anthem.”

“Thank you. I spent some time talking to Queen Helen about it. The lyrics are ... well, quite remarkable. I feel like they’re describing every person who has ever stood between his family and an approaching enemy. I was very honored she asked me to sing it for you and your team today.”

“As I said, I liked your performance. It’s an old song.”

“So I understood,” he said, then chuckled. “I think it’s quite appropriate, actually, that we’ve found out our so-called western civilization isn’t as civilized as we thought.”

I smiled again and shook his hand, as I saw Terry Goodman walking up.

“What’s up, Mister Goodman?” I asked.

“Sorry to be a spoilsport, but you need to hit the showers, Cal. The good news, your season is over. The bad news is, you still have to remain with your team until you return to Stanford. Now, that doesn’t mean they can’t happen to eat at the same restaurant, if that’s on the agenda – which I truly don’t know – but that does mean you need to head out with me.”

I gave everyone in the family another kiss, then walked over to where Terry was waiting with an amused grin on his face. “Okay, now what’s the real reason you came for me?” I asked as we started walking towards our locker rooms.

“Would you believe you’ve now pissed off the American Medical Association?”

I thought about it for a second, then said, “Okay, I’ll bite. Why?”

“Practicing medicine without a license.”

I chuckled. “That’s because I don’t practice medicine, I perform medicine.”

He nodded and said, “That’s pretty much what I said. Plus the whole diplomatic immunity thing, too. I think they’re just pissed off because you cured something and they didn’t give it their blessing – or get their bribes, or whatever. The announcement by the President at Vandenberg could get ignored. Here? Not a fucking chance. They’re yelling at the NCAA that you need to be disqualified.”

“I presume the response from the NCAA is somewhere between piss off and fuck off?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” he said. We took a couple more steps, then he asked, “Were you going to report the Oklahoma drug problem to us?”

“I didn’t have to. I told Coach, following the chain of command.” At his look, I said, “Okay, I deserve that look. Having said that, there’s no reason to worry about it now. Our guys made it through relatively unscathed, and other than their guy’s hand that my pass destroyed – he should be good to go next season – they only had minor dings as well. Now, I don’t know if there’s a blind eye being turned or not a bit further up the chain at Oklahoma. I do know there are dietary supplements you can take. Hell, I’ve gained weight from last year, but I’ve also grown several inches, too, because I’m still seventeen and my body finally hit its growth spurt. Thing is – you don’t normally gain twenty or thirty pounds over the course of a single year otherwise, and you for damned sure don’t exhibit an amount of aggressiveness that gets you comparisons to the best NFL defense in the league. Not at this age, not with kids barely out of high school.”

He sighed. “Yeah. Seriously, what do you think?”

“Let them enjoy being second best now. Then get an independent lab lined up and ready about two weeks after their practice starts. You’re going to do the same for us, because we’re the best team in the country, and you want to show the integrity of the game. Then you test every single player on both teams. You fail, you’re done for the season. I’ll for damn sure make sure no one on my team is on anything. I told Bosworth to just be the best person he can be, without taking any of the shit he’s taking now. I doubt that he’ll listen to me.”

We were at the door to the locker room. He sighed, and said, “Well, you’ve given me a lot to think about, and to digest. Thanks, I think. Oh, and one last thing. That was one hell of a performance out there tonight. Congratulations!”

I went into the locker room, got my shower, and got changed into street clothes. I was one of the last players done.

“Gentlemen, we have two buses outside to take us to dinner this evening. If everyone is ready, let’s go eat,” Coach said.

The buses took us a block north, so we drove past the State House, then turned and took us around Monument Circle, so we could see the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Monument. They still had the Christmas lights up on it, which brought a smile to my face. Eight blocks later, our buses pulled up outside the Rathskeller. We were still unloading when more buses arrived, carrying not only my family, but also the families of as many of our team as could make the trip.

John’s little sister came running up to him, to give him a hug.

I looked at Coach. “Um ... what’s going on?”

He grinned. “You had no idea, did you?” When I shook my head, he said, “Stanford had to pay to charter airplanes for the team, you couldn’t simply provide them. Your wives figured out a while back that the same rules didn’t apply to them, or anyone else they wanted to fly. You chartered a fully loaded 747 for your teammates’ families, so they could come watch their sons play.”

I shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

They already had their Grand Kellersaal Ballroom set up as a buffet style banquet for us. There were boxes waiting at the entrance to the room, where baseball caps embroidered with ‘NCAA Football Champions’ were waiting as souvenirs for the families. Each of us that played had our uniform numbers also embroidered on them.

I had to stand back, I was almost overwhelmed with emotions. Helen and Diana came over and took me by the arm.

“Come on, hero. Since we can’t stay in the room with you tonight, you can go back there and brood later,” Helen said.

“I’m not brooding, or even thinking about a deserted island ... for once. No, I’m just so damned proud of all the guys on the team it’s just not funny,” I said.

Diana gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations, love. Now you know how we feel about you, all of the time.”

The party and the congratulations, including meeting many of my teammates’ families for the first time, continued for hours. Even the members of the women’s basketball team – who had won their game Friday night – were happy. It was nearly two in the morning before we made it back to our hotel for a quick nap, in time to get up and have a quick meal before checking out at ten. We made it off the ground at eleven, so we landed shortly after noon.

Saying we were enthusiastically greeted when we got off the plane would be a bit of an understatement. While we’d had more fans in the stadiums cheering us, these were all crowded along the concrete pad between Hangar One and the west taxiway. Once Ayo Gorkhali had stopped in front of Hangar Two, buses were brought up so we could be shuttled around to the other side of the airport. We’d just made it around to that side when Pacific came in for a landing, followed a couple minutes later by the chartered 747 with the families.

The general greeting lasted a couple of hours, then things started breaking up, so we could get back to our homes and so everyone that had classes tomorrow could get ready.

Things seemed to be relatively normal at breakfast the next morning. My wives hadn’t even tried to kill me Sunday night, which I thought was damned decent of them. Mike and Karen came over this morning to drop the girls off for the ride with Toby to Menlo, instead of the usual other way around.

“Well, the world is missing one more country this morning,” Mike said after he sat down with a cup of coffee. “The King of Lesotho thought it was a good idea to attempt to take a bit of South African territory from them. That didn’t go over well with the South African government, so now there is no Kingdom of Lesotho. Today’s a new Federal Holiday – Martin Luther King, Junior Day – so the Federal Government is being its most efficient by simply being closed. You have an interview this afternoon at two. And I’m going to piss you off.”

“Oh? How so?” I asked.

“You personally are not going to Eve’s game tomorrow night,” he said.

I looked at him. “Why not?”

He sighed, then said, “Because if you do, there will probably be a riot. Not like there haven’t been riots in San Francisco before. But they play Berkeley. Don’t get me wrong. If you decide to go, we’ll go. But we’re already going to go heavy. If you’re present, we’ll go not just loaded for Golden Bear – pun intended – but quite literally ready for full combat. We’re not riot control police, we’re soldiers.”

Eve hadn’t left yet, so I looked at her. She’d paused her fork halfway to her mouth, strongly saying, “It’s a basketball game!”

“Yeah, I know,” Mike replied. “Look, this is straight from the Governor, forwarded through the two police officers that have been assigned to you. Tensions on college campuses around the state are pretty high right now. There were multiple incidents – which is the polite way of saying small riots – on three of the UC campuses last week. Apparently, you’re not supposed to publicize that their professors are both hypocrites and many of them have been taking money to destabilize things on the campuses. We’re trying to avoid what we politely call a ‘mass casualty event.’ Also known as how to make Kent State look like a kiddie picnic, because I do have military hardware under my command and I will not hesitate to use it to protect the family.”

Eve looked at me, and shrugged. “We can just do it like Friday night, since the rest of the family couldn’t make my game. It’s not like they can hurt me.”

I leaned back in my chair and locked my mind down from my wives. I picked up my glass of milk and took a long drink, then put the glass down as I made up my mind.

I nodded, then. “Okay. You know we love you. Mycroft will send a remote body, so we can watch the game live on television here. There will probably be some of the football team and the other sports teams in attendance, as well as other fans. You will send one company of regulars to provide security. They will be armed with rifles. If someone throws something – anything – at one of Stanford’s players, it will be met with immediate lethal force. Make sure they know that, and that they know I’m not screwing around. I will level the Berkeley campus if one of our people is hurt, and I don’t care about the body count if that happens. And make sure Deukmejian knows it, today, so he can make sure he has enough police and riot control officers present to control his people.”

Eve nodded and said, “That’s a strong and decisive ruling. You’re showing Deukmejian that you’re willing to compromise to a certain extent, but only so far. You’re also in a position of strength, as the State Legislature is now investigating all of the state colleges. Of course, so far, every single opponent that’s gone up against you, either on the football field or anywhere else, has been destroyed. He’s a politician, first and foremost. Covering his own ass is what they do best.”

Mike frowned and asked, “When did you become so cynical, Eve?”

“When my sperm donor decided to become a pedophile,” she said in a flat voice. When Jennifer spun her head at Eve’s words, Eve shook her head. “No, Mom, it’s fine. One advantage to my field of study is it allows me to study myself as well, and to come to terms with my own feelings. The other thing to keep in mind is I know you. The three of us...” she motioned towards Dora and Beth “ ... learned about sharing ourselves and of ourselves even before Margie joined us – albeit barely. So, I know how you viewed him when he was younger. There are a few things I’ve seen in your shared memories that the only way you would have picked up on them is if you knew then what you know now. Hell, I’ll be getting three PhDs after Spring quarter, and it’s only because of what I’ve studied that I recognize some of the signs.”

“You will?” Jennifer’s face broke into a huge smile. “Oh, honey! I’m so proud of you!”

Mike nodded, then. “Yeah, that’ll do it. And yes, Cal, I will. Now, on Sunday, right now I’m just planning on the team flying out, not the whole family. Is that still the plan?”

I looked around. “As far as I know, yes. But I’m not flying back here with the team after the game. I’m heading over to Kennedy Space Center.”

“What’d I miss?” Mike asked, frowning.

“Last shuttle launch before March. Bob’s sending Challenger up with the comet observatory lab. Pahto has been dropping off small relays from Earth Defender every so often that may or may not survive the electromagnetic pulse. A lot of that depends upon how diffuse it is when it gets to them, because there’s only so much hardening on them. Unrelated, that’s why I want to get anti-gravity going as soon as possible, because we need to send up a hell of a lot of water for radiation shielding. The shuttle will stay up until after Pahto hits Halley’s, then come home.”

Suspiciously, Mike asked, “I thought shuttle launches were done in December. You’re not going to be on it, are you?”

“Well, yeah. And they were stopped, but this is a special, Federation tasked flight, not a regular NASA shuttle mission. I don’t need to be at Vandenberg for the big hit – everything’s going to be relayed, anyway, and I’m planning on taking one of Pahto’s remote bodies with me. Don’t worry, it’ll be landing here – well, Vandenberg – when the mission is over.”

Mike shook his head and then looked at his wife. “I don’t suppose it’d do any good to try to talk some sense into him, would it?”

Karen laughed and said, “Into this one? No. Keep in mind that if he doesn’t go up in the shuttle, then it’d have to be one of the other Guardians. Since the six of them all have classes to attend, that means I’d have to go.”

“Why does a Guardian have to go?”

“Well, somebody has to be in the shuttle’s cargo bay to help channel whatever energy the Sacred Souls need to use. Cal’s the best choice for that, since he’s already shown he can survive in space with just an oxygen mask, even though he doesn’t really need it,” she pointed out.

I nodded, then said, “Oh, and Sayel? Neither you nor Yagyu can go up in the shuttle with us. Sorry.”

“Us?” Margie asked.

“Bob’s going, too. And yes, he’s already talked to Ginny about it,” I said. “She’s not happy about it, but she understands that just in case shit happens in March, she wants him to have had a chance to go into space. Oh, and the other thing is, since this actually is an optical telescope, I can use my own vision to see right away ... well, light speed delay, of course ... what the results are.”

Karen frowned. “Just curious, more or less. How far away can you see without a lens in front of your eyes?”

I grinned. “I can easily see ninety-three million miles ... because I can see the sun.”

“Smart ass!” she replied with a smile.

“Thank you. I think you meant, how far away can I magnify something so I can make out the appropriate details, like the spy planes can? In which case ... it’s about a quarter of a million miles. When I was sitting on the surface of the moon, going through my period of angst after committing mass murder, I was looking back at this big, odd colored marble and I could see cars moving on the roads, but I couldn’t really tell one model from another. I could read the numbers that some vehicles have painted on their roofs, though, but I had to work at it. However, I have figured out, courtesy of those cute little telescopes mounted on Fisherman’s Wharf, that an actual optical lens will magnify my ability.”

“Want to borrow the glasses I no longer need?” Dora asked.

“Thank you, no. I know you wear zero prescription lenses, same as Margie, because now, glasses are simply a fashion accessory for both of you. Everyone is used to you wearing them, and let’s face it. I like a smart girl in glasses. It’s that sexy librarian look.”

“Good answer, my love. Well, I have to go to the office first thing and see how much money we made over the weekend.” Margie got up, gave me a kiss, then got Robert and carried him out to the waiting Suburban.

Like that was a signal, the rest of my wives went off to their daily routines, leaving Chuck, Mike, Karen, and Sayel at the table with me.

“Okay, now that we’re as alone as we’re ever going to be, does that mean I can chew your butt about dropping this on me now?” Chuck asked.

Mike chuckled, shaking his head. “How many times in the past did we have a client drop something on us at the last second?”

“Way too many. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now,” Chuck replied.

“You’re right. You don’t think I like it any better, do you? They’re the client! Yes, we’d take a bullet for them because that’s what we were paid to do. Then. Now? We’d take a bullet for anyone in this family because they are our family. That’s what makes this both the absolute best job for any of us with our particular skill set to have, and also the hardest. The minor detail that you, me, and Dave, have managed to find the loves of our lives while working at our jobs, makes things a bit different, that’s all.”

Chuck snorted and said, “You’re not involved in the day-to-day anymore. All of the women have someone they’re seeing now, too.”

Nodding, Mike said, “Fine. It just proves my point.”

“It’s part of my job title, Chuck. Spatial Defense Minister. This is in space, even if it’s barely Earth orbit, and it sure as hell has something to do with defending the Earth. I’m going to go to Punjab for two weeks, then we’ve got a face-to-face conference in Geneva, so all the national leaders – at least the ones that give a damn about their people – are on the same page. Then, to quote Ben Grimm, ‘It’s clobberin’ time!’”

“It sure feels like this first part of the year is moving by quickly,” Mike said.

Karen laughed, then said, “You do know that Albert Einstein was right. Time is relative – depending upon which side of the bathroom door you’re on.”

“Thank you, I’m going to shamelessly steal that comment,” I said.

“Go ahead,” she replied. “It’s older than he was.”

Sayel was quiet as he rode to the materials lab with me. Once we were there and I’d put some of the ore into a large crucible for melting and then purification, he asked, “Master, who is this Ben Grimm?”

“Comic book character, part of the ‘Fantastic Four’ series. He’s also called ‘The Thing,’ because he used to be a man and was changed into living rock. His general philosophy for winning a battle was to beat his opponents into submission.”

He nodded. “Then I guess it is good that he never met a master of origami.”

“Why is that?”

“Because paper beats rock, after all.”

I held still for several seconds, then just shook my head. “It’s a shame, you know, that Jasmine is going to be widowed, and then cast upon the street with all of those mouths to feed.”

“If such is to be my fate, then so be it, of course,” he replied phlegmatically.

“You take all the fun out of it. But now I’m curious. Who told you that one?”

“Your eldest son and my eldest son have discovered a shared passion for comic books.”

I looked confused when I asked, “When has Aditya been hanging around SJ?”

He started to respond, then paused. “Point made. I will not make that mistake again. Toby – not Tobias – and Aditya have discovered a shared passion for comic books. For some reason, they find the ones containing characters with superpowers to be both the most fun to read, and yet also the most amusing.”

“I wonder why,” I said dryly.

“In spite of having the soul of his grandfather living within him, Toby is primarily still a young boy. I have attempted to shield Aditya and the rest of my children from the reality of what I do and what I am. However, all of the children are aware that you are the Guardian of the Earth. I have overheard discussions – serious ones – as to what would happen if you were to encounter the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

“I presume that’s another group of comic book characters,” I said. “You know, with all the different groups of mutants, superheroes, aliens, and just weird stuff, how do they keep things consistent?”

“You truly do not know?” he asked. I shook my head, so he said, “It is quite simple. They don’t. They don’t even try. The writers simply create what they call an alternate Earth for their characters.”

“That’s just...” I started to say, then stopped. Sayel had seen me go into these sorts of trances in the past, so rather than say anything to me, he made sure there was someone who could come in to supervise the melting and purification needed. Then he placed a couple of cans of Coke and some snacks on the table, easily within my line of sight.

Over the course of the next four hours, I ate a couple of the snacks and drank both cans. But that was simply my body operating on its own, not me consciously doing anything.

I finally shook my head, and became aware of my surroundings again. “Damn, I’m sorry about that, Sayel.”

“About time you came back to reality. I think that’s one of your longest trips yet,” Beth said from where she’d been reviewing some notes.

“Yeah. Shit, so much for what I was planning on working on,” I said. “I have a press conference at two with the team.”

“They will have it ready for you tomorrow, Master. You had things ready to melt, you simply didn’t get any further with it,” Sayel said.

“Thank you. Um, how’d you know to come here, Beth?”

“Are you kidding? We know what your mind does when you go into one of your thought trances. More importantly, we know what your link to us does when you do it. Since I only had an early class, and nothing else until after lunch, I came over to be your babysitter in case you needed someone with a bit more capability than Sayel.”

“Again, thank you. While I’m at my conference, can one of you find out where Larry Niven is? I need to speak to him. Preferably in person, at our home, if possible. I honestly don’t know if he went to KSC with Bob or not.”

She frowned. “Well, that’s mysterious, even for you. What’s going on?”

“Oh, not much. Just an examination of the fabric of the universe,” I said.

“Is it Egyptian cotton or silk?” she asked.

I knew she was kidding, so I chuckled. “Nope. It’s not even burlap.”

“Darn. Oh, and before you ask – because I know you’re going to, based upon what you just said – my comic book collection is still in Kansas. However, they actually have comic book stores here in California, and Toby now has both a more complete and much larger collection than I ever dreamed of having.”

“That’s good. I need to read them. Thank you, and I’m off to the press conference, after I give you a kiss.”

“Good save, hero,” she said with a smile, then kissed me.

The press conference started out like one of our usual ones. Because we were now the undisputed national champions, we expected more press coverage than normal, so we were in a bigger room. The size of the audience didn’t disappoint us, either.

Of course, Jule Campbell got to start things off once Coach Elway was done with his opening speech. Things progressed normally, and after a couple of hours, we were done with it. Coach said, “Thank you, everyone. That concludes our press conference.”

As soon as he was done, two men that hadn’t asked any questions stood up and started walking to the front. They didn’t make it very far, as they were intercepted by four of my soldiers. One of them pulled out a piece of paper, then.

“You’ll want to get out of my way. I have a legal document to present to California Lewis. This was the only time we knew where he would be, and it’s one that is time sensitive,” he said.

That put an end to everyone else getting up and leaving. Some of them sat back down to watch the fun and games, while the TV crews turned their cameras back on.

I motioned to Sayel, who walked over and held his hand out.

The man said, “I will only hand this directly to California Lewis!”

Sayel smiled back. “That’s fine by me. Will you please assist me, by taking a tight grasp upon the paper, so your muscles will not relax when I remove your hand from your body? That way, you will be able to say you ‘handed’ it to him.”

“Go ahead and let him pass it along, Barry. I’m here to witness it,” the other man said.

“Yes, Sir,” Barry said.

He handed the paper to Sayel, who then flipped it through the air so that it landed on the table directly in front of me.

The man named Barry said, “That is an injunction and order from the City of Berkeley, California. You have been served. You are hereby ordered and permanently enjoined from entering the city limits of Berkeley, California, or attending any events taking presence in Berkeley, California, under penalty of arrest, imprisonment, and fines!”

“Who are the two of you, to come to my press conference, and threaten my quarterback like that?” Coach Elway roared.

“I am the city attorney for Berkeley, California, Barry Weisskopf. This is the Mayor of Berkeley, Gus Newport. I can assure you, Coach Elway, that this order would not be necessary if your quarterback had as much control off the field as he does on it.”

I just shook my head, then picked up the paper and read it. It read exactly what he’d said it did. Sighing, I said, “So, I’m guessing neither one of you bothered talking with Governor Deukmejian before your little stunt, did you? Or, for that matter, considered the long term political and economic impact upon your community, since this means we’ll be keeping the Axe permanently, as there will never be another Big Game.”

That made them both blink, and look at each other. The mayor said, “Uh, no. I’m making sure your brand of hooliganism and lawlessness doesn’t get a chance to show up in my city, especially tomorrow night!” He seemed to get emboldened the more he spoke. “As for the Axe and the Big Game? Stanford is more than welcome to come to Berkeley and play in the stadium. You’re not!”

“Does that mean your brand of hooliganism and lawlessness is perfectly acceptable in Berkeley, then, Mister Mayor? You know, the kind that advocates riots, taking control of private businesses and government property, marching in protest, submitting to extortion, and even murder?” I countered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he protested.

“Really? The occupation of the Sheraton Hotel, which was the seizing of private property by a mob. The seizure of Sproul Hall, again by a lawless mob? How about three different marches by mobs of more than ten thousand people, in contravention of law and order? The attacks directly upon the University of Berkeley itself, which by your own words is within your jurisdiction, whereby university officials were coerced into signing documents from the ‘Third World Liberation Front’ or face further violence and unrest? Or that Huey Newton and the Black Panther movement freely killed people in Berkeley and other cities in California, and rather than follow the law, mobs were formed that threatened additional violence?

“Why is that kind of hooliganism and lawlessness acceptable to you, Mister Mayor? Oh, wait, I forgot. You’re not a member of either of the two main political parties. You’re a member of Berkeley Citizens Action. I’m certain that various members of the press that are here are aware, of course, that the Berkeley Citizens Action political group was primarily funded by two families in the San Francisco area. The McEvoy family and the Thorndyke family. I’m sure those names sound familiar to some of you, as well as what happened to them, and to those who supported them. You know, those people who were paying for the attempted use of nuclear weapons in an attempt to stop whatever it is I’m doing to stop Shiva, because they want the subjugation of the human race? Now then, Gus, would you care to come pick this piece of trash up off this desk and destroy it, and walk out of here with whatever shred of dignity you still have?”