Chapter 38

The show went on till noon when I called a break. This time there were many more questions and I asked the people to write them down and ask later. Mr Matsushita invited me to eat with him in private. I knew this was very important.

A servant brought us food as we sat on a mat at opposite ends of a low table. Mr Matsushita had old time customs and I did exactly as a guest must do to make this ritual have more meaning. A beautifully dressed woman came in and started the famous tea ceremony. This took a very long time for each of the woman's moves was choreographed.

Much later, after the woman left he asked me some questions and I made sure I asked one of mine for each of his. When he refused to answer one I was free to do the same as if I had not heard him.

He got less and less from me till he said, "How do you propose to promote Japanese culture to the world?"

I said, "Power is in the hands of people who run newspapers, radio, books, television and my Internet. Another powerful medium that will influence every person on earth will be entertainment. Music will easily transcend language. Movies, though, can be subtitled but it will be good to have both English and Japanese spoken. I am speaking of this because I have a fairly detailed novel in my head that deals with Japan and the long era of the shōgun. For this to sell to the English-speaking world it needs an English speaking character who has to educate and be educated by his hosts in this country. If audiences behave as I think they will, they will see inside the Japanese mind, possibly for the first time."

Mr Matsushita said, after thinking a bit, "That is a good idea. Our goods are maligned in the west. Perhaps they will see them differently after watching your movie."

"I am sorry to say that you are mistaken. Your country's goods are very poor in quality and I am here to show you how to make them the best in the world."

"How can this miracle come about, Mr Kramer?"

"You might know of a man called William Edwards Deming. He was here a few years ago and was widely accepted by the business community. What he said about quality control is essential for your country's well-being. What I have to offer is only some minor improvements to what he said. With my computers to keep track of the data, you will know what went wrong and then find a cure for the problems, one at a time."

Mr Matsushita said, "I thought his ideas were rather radical."

I countered, "You must believe the same thing of me and here I am having a meal with you."

After two more hours of my presentation I talked in smaller groups to the upper management. I presented what I had to offer again and what I wanted for it. They were upset with me wanting so much but also knew that I potentially had a great deal to offer.

The deal, if one came about, would not be decided in the next few weeks. So, instead of going on another drinking binge, I rode in a car with Mr Matsushita to the railway station. "Before long, the roadbed for the trains will have to be upgraded and high speed rail begun. There is much to be done to get Japan up to where it belongs."

I left Mr Matsushita the books I made with Bell and the computer to practice on. There were few secrets, for everything would be in the patents that they would have already studied to see if they could manage a way around. My way would cost them money but they would have no court fights and they would also gain my active cooperation on this and future products.

I was back at the hotel just a bit after I would have phoned. The family rushed me at the door with hugs and kisses. Aron pulled Mineko with him and both hugged me. The girl was quite shy and must have been put up to this, for a girl would not touch a male, especially one who was not of her family. Being not even Japanese made this even more odd.

There was little to eat on the train, so everybody went out to eat with me, even if they had already done so.

I talked to everybody at our table but got down to business when I asked Aron, "What did you talk to Mineko about that made her act not like the usual Japanese lady?"

"Ah, nothing Alex. I was just saying that we act differently. I looked at what you said before that was good in Japanese customs. I just showed her what was good in ours."

"What were the things you think are good in ours?"

"Well... I like to touch. Mom hugs me and so do you and Helen. I like that. When others hug me it is good, too but just a bit different."

"Different how?"

"Ah, you know."

"Yes, I do, little brother. We will talk later when you won't be as embarrassed."

Mineko was a bright child and I said, "What did you like about our customs, Mineko?"

She looked to be caught, like a deer in the lights. "Ah... I feel that I am in a family again." She put her hand over her mouth and looked down as if she had said something wrong.

"There is no reason to be shy, Mineko. We all need family to be strong. You have your sister and she has you. That makes the two of you stronger than if you were alone."

That night Laura whispered to me, "The new girl Akuro told us a lot more about her past. Her father was executed right after the war and their property seized. She is well educated but had a life I would not want to have an animal go through. A man bought her and wanted her to be a prostitute. She didn't want this and ran. She was beaten many times and the last time she was afraid she would be killed."

"Who sold her?"

"A man she thought would look out for her."

I said, "That makes me and my gender look bad. I am surprised she followed me that night."

"She said that she had given up by that time." Laura paused then said, "What are we going to do? The man is well known as a criminal and will find her again. Can she go with us back to Canada? I have some money that you paid me."

Helen was listening and said, "I like her, too. I would like her to go with us, too."

This talk made me feel the same way. I liked the girl and I instinctively knew she was in a lot of trouble, even without the man chasing her with a piece of bamboo. Japan would be very important to me and my company's future. I would be coming back many times.

I said to the girls, "Get all the information you can about her and write it down on a sheet of paper. With that as a start, we can begin to get her passport." I couldn't say any more, for the girls jumped on me.

A few moments later I heard through the paper walls, "You guys doing it again? How are we going to sleep?"

We stayed up for a few hours and then settled down to sleep. Helen was still holding onto me and whispered even lower than Laura did, "Seiko seems to like girls as much as guys. Laura and I were having fun and she came to the door and called last night. It was late and everybody else was asleep. She was naked, Alex and very excited. She stared at my body then at Laura's when she came over. We sort of invited her in and she slept with us."

She could not see my smile, so I asked, "How much sleeping did you get done?"

"Ah... not much I think."

I said, "That's ok, I just don't want anybody pushed to do anything they do not want to do."

"Oh, she was very willing. She showed us some tricks we did not even know of."

"Just don't hurt her, sweetheart."

"We won't," came from Laura on the other side of me.

The next morning Seiko was very shy around me. She was sure that she was talked about and was worried what would happen to her or to her sister. When I was able to get her alone I said, "Seiko, my wives like you. I will not get angry with you for anything that happened. You may continue if you wish; or stop. I will not have you forced to do anything."

"You... mean I can stay?"

I smiled and said, "Yes, you may. You are only under obligation to do what you were hired to do and that you have done well. My wives and Aron now speak your language much better."

She jumped to me with arms outstretched then stopped dead with fear on her face.

I said, "My family all touch as you can see. It is permitted to hug me too. I like it when pretty girls do that."

She smiled now and then hugged me tightly then quickly backed up to see my reaction. I liked the feeling, so I moved close to her and hugged her to me for a much longer time but it was not nearly as tight. I even heard some sniffling before we parted. One more mystery here to solve, about a girl who cried at being hugged.

We stayed in Japan for two more weeks. I saw many more businesses unrelated to electronics and medicine. Steel, railways, petrochemical complexes, power companies and shipbuilding were all visited. I told them what my computers could do for them but didn't ask for shares in the companies yet. I was able to negotiate a good series of contracts, though, for petroleum and some refined products. This would be a good match for my energy businesses. Japan was woefully short in raw materials

Shipbuilding would get the profits I made from selling oil, for I wanted them to begin building the floating platforms used for oil exploration. None had been made, yet, for it was usually a ship that had been converted for this job.

I contacted the railways and gave them some drawings I had, of what they would one day have. Everything I knew about the trains was listed and I tried to get them interested in the aviation diesels as a power source. The shinkansen, or bullet train, I wanted built and not just for me but to show the world what could be done. It polluted much less than automobiles and used much less fuel than aircraft.

I did know of a good vein of anthracite in British Columbia that would be very valuable. There were many oil fields still not discovered up till now and I could not reveal them without giving away my secret. All I could do was to explore myself and then sell the oil, natural gas or coal.

Oil would be the next avenue to bolster. This was now making me much richer than all the electronics and other inventions I had made. I had seen many maps of oil properties and where the large fields were. My own companies were drilling and transporting the oil to markets but I had not put much emphasis on this endeavour yet. This would have to change, because soon others would discover the fields. The discoveries would be like shooting fish in a barrel, as long as I could afford the gun and bullets.

When it came time to leave, I not only had Akuro but Seiko and her sister Mineko, too. Aron seemed to have fallen in love with the girl and the reverse also was evident. The last woman, Yasuko, came too, because I would feel very guilty leaving her while taking the others.

The last day was spent finding souvenirs and gifts for our friends and family. During all this time I was in touch with the original companies to which I had talked. Apparently, one company was seen as getting all that I had to give, so the others bid for what services I could provide. I did sign some preliminary contracts but they were more like statements of understanding before the real contracts could be worked out. It might work against me but I wanted Mr Matsushita to do the coordinating here in Japan for me.

Back in North America, I began again campaigning for Stevenson. The Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower was not in first place this time, for he had almost the same number of electoral votes as Stevenson. The Democrats were pushing all they could to show that the Republicans were nearly all homosexual. To me it looked like a very even race. The first time Eisenhower had won handily, helped by McCarthy's propaganda and Nixon's machinations.

I talked to President Truman about what I had just seen in Vietnam. When I spread out my maps, I explained about the fact that the Communists would oust the French soon. The Americans might try to do what they had done in the last two wars and wait for either Britain, or now France, to fight their battle and get weak before jumping in. This time I was worried that the US would go in almost alone like last time and not only suffer a lot of casualties but seriously weaken their economy too.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail was pointed out but it was not called that, yet. I said, "The first troops to go in should be lumbermen. Buy the logs along the Truong Son Trail. You might even get the Communists to do the work for money. With bare land, there is much more chance of interdiction. The trouble is that the area is so large that it will be very difficult to police. I am afraid this is the area that will loose you the war when it comes."

The President said, "Can't we bomb it, or drop incendiaries?"

"Too wet to burn and only atomic bombs would do the job. You are too close to China and Russia for them to allow that."

"You always have a new idea. What is yours now?"

"I don't have a magic weapon but I do have stuff that will make your military smile. If you do not help the French they will fail and you will be forced to try for the worst part alone. I am sorry to say that I will have to say it again that you will probably fail to win a war for the first time in your history. You cannot get too close to the north, or you will have China actively attacking you. The South Vietnamese government is corrupt and you will not be able to get them to cooperate. The soldiers are inefficient at best and cannot serve in the front. This means NATO troops will die and most of those will be American. If you wait much longer, the Communists will be able to threaten you in return when they have more weapons."

With only a minor, or a shared war, there would be much more money to be spent on space. My memory also told me that Eisenhower had warned the country, too, about the problems they would face in Vietnam. This time, the Democrats jumped on this theme first and warned of the Communist presence in Vietnam going on, very close to the action in Korea.

I spent more time working for the Democrats than I did for my businesses. By the time my next birthday rolled around, IBM was half mine. My own products were seen as much better and the IBM stock price had drastically fallen. The company had not gone far into computers, because it could not get the rights to my patents or the expertise my employees had. They did now and I sent some of my best people over to get their own lab working on my projects. I thought IBM should make business computers and military equipment that I needed.

We were presently living in one of the penthouses at the Clarkson. The old house was used to put up some of the many people coming to the city to work. The memories of Natalie were still strong and I almost could smell her perfume every time I went to the apartment. I never wanted to forget her but I didn't want to be constantly going down memory lane. Grief carried this far was too much to bear.

Yasuko, Akuro, Seiko and Mineko lived with us in the large apartment. The girls were told that I was not going to restrict their activities, so they could date whomever they chose to. I just asked that they didn't disturb us too much.

Akuro was recovering from her ordeal in Tokyo and was now teaching the boys at the Works the Japanese language and customs. Yasuko was doing the same and her limited grasp of English helped both of them. The education the men got would assist me when some of the men were given postings in Tokyo or Osaka. I was quite sure the girls would find a mate soon with all the horny young males around them.

Seiko stayed with us but her sister was over at my parent's home more often than not. Dad had got over the stigma of my having two women out of wedlock. Aron had a tougher time but he was still young and mom convinced dad that things would not be the same.

Mineko was not far from Aron when he was home. When he wasn't, she was helping mom and grandma in doing their chores like a good daughter she really was. I could easily see how all those around her could love her.

The Japanese companies had started to come around. This time, they had to come and see me. I put them up at the hotel and showed them my old factories. The new buildings were just taking shape. Putting more men on the job would not get the job done sooner.

Some contracts were signed but the companies I was working with needed to work together. Each would reinforce the other in products and services.

Konosuke Matsushita's representative had been the last to sign the papers. Sony and Casio had not signed on. I could shift the burden on to other companies but that would require new shares to be transferred to me. Sony and Casio would either fade away or remain small, while I had a proportionately larger share. This was not what I wanted, though. Sony had dynamic leadership, even if they were blind at the moment. There was an important role for each to play.

I talked to Konosuke Matsushita on the phone about my problem. He was happy to take up the extra duties but I explained how there was so much money to be made that nobody should be wanting more than they could handle. He did say he would have a serious talk with the men in question and to their backers if necessary.

I had recently patented glass fibre cable that would be used with my semiconductor lasers. This product was going to be manufactured in the US because of the enormous amount that would be needed. This product would seriously cut into my aerospace efforts, though. It was also sent to Japan to give them much better communications ability. They would, of course, find some improvements but this was to be expected.

If I placed satellites in geosynchronous orbits and used them for telephone, people would get pissed off at the quarter-second delay. This was because the microwave would go far out into the orbit, then to another satellite before being beamed back to a receiving station.

Fibre optics was a much shorter route and the time taken for the signal was not as noticeable. As predicted, the military assisted with this medium. They did not know positively, yet, about EMP for it was not really confirmed until the first hydrogen bomb was detonated at Bikini Atoll and streetlights in Hawaii were blown out and damage done in Australia. When I said it would happen, they had learned to take my word for it but the test, I knew, would still have to happen.

Not only was the military of a few governments now thinking that I could work magic but so did the world press. This meant that I got cooperation when I asked and I also got the best people. Even though I was not showing a profit I had no problems getting financing. The top echelons at IBM had jumped at my offer of assistance knowing that I could save their company from bankruptcy and propel them into the upper echelons of commerce.

This was very necessary, for this was one of the major components I needed. Gaining rights to all the new oil I could was the second. Lastly, the communication satellites would need to be launched to facilitate my eventual trip to the moon.

On the retailing front I began four businesses. Wal-Mart was now 'The PX'. Twenty stores were planned in the United States and four in Canada. All of them were very large for my old time and simply gigantic at this time. Malls were just starting to be built and I used a great deal of clout with the money I was able to borrow and again built very large.

Zehrs was next, then Home Depot and Starbucks. Apart from the last, all were built very large. Starbucks would just be very numerous.

I had received many awards for my work. Learned journals had no problem printing anything I had to say. I was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and in Physics. Through channels I said how I wanted William Shockley to get half the prize if we did win. History, to me, was now fluid. I had changed so much that many things now would not come true while other things would.

Laura and Helen gave me one more birthday present. When I came into the apartment, I found my wives just waiting to pounce. Looking around I found that the kids were not there and this meant that they were at mom's. Linda was not there, either and I figured she would be at her parents, as she liked to stay a few days a week.

Helen said, "Hello, Alex. We have found a birthday present for you."

There was very little I wanted that the girls did not give me in plenty. "And what would that be?"

"Ah... we... Laura and I know that Seiko is very worried. She loves us but now wants to try a man but only one particular man."

I had not touched Seiko other than to hold her and give her a kiss the way I did everybody else. Some times I came home and she was naked with my wives and I just worked around her. The first time she was very worried and I just directed her to suck Helen's breast. As this happened more and more, she had overcome her fear. She even became very interested in the mechanics of the act. Most of the time she could not study long, for one wife, or the other, would place their face on her mons and start to lick the beautiful oriental woman.