Chapter 21

The months passed without much of anything too remarkable occurring. William spent most of his time working with the candidates running for office. Lucy worked on the program trying to find ways to represent the quality of the society graphically. Construction on the facility for holding the computers was progressing nicely. The young couple kept the staff very busy as well.

With the ever increasing need for data, Victoria spent nearly every hour of the day searching for new sources of data and, as a result, was very happy. She now had sources in nearly every government agency in the country and half of the governments around the world. She kept Dawn busy writing programs for importing that data for use by William's program.

Jack was continually coming up with new polls to develop data concerning the lives and standard of living of individuals living in various parts of the country. The questions he was asking in his polls had become more subtle. Rather than asking if people were happy with their lives, he asked about their leisure time activities, their jobs, and their plans for the future.

Barbara and Sandra were not as busy with work, but their private lives had taken on a deeper meaning. Although they had never ridden horses before moving to Arizona, they now went riding several times a week. While riding, they found a friend who joined them almost every time they went out. The friendship with Derrick was quickly moving to a more romantic foundation.

Despite being busy, a regular routine was established at the house. Lucy and William spent the early morning practicing Tai Chi and swimming before heading to the lab. They would work the day taking a break for lunch. After dinner, they usually relaxed by reading books or going to one of the social functions at the reservation. It was a rare occasion when they went into Phoenix, but they always stopped by the homeless hotel when they were there.

Ed looked down the conference table at the individuals gathered there. With a sigh, he said, "I call the meeting of the board of directors for the Fusion Foundation to order."

William could tell by the expression on his father's face that he was not pleased about the subject of the meeting. Of course, none of them really enjoyed being there for budget meetings. Ed picked up the binder in front of him and said, "You've all had a chance to go over the budget. Are we in agreement with the allocations of moneys presented in it?"

Everyone around the table nodded their heads. Ed said, "I'd like to move that we adopt it without discussion."

"I'll second that. I'd love to have a short meeting for a change," William said. The budget outlined how thirty billion dollars was going to be spent over the next year. If someone started challenging the allocations, they could be there for days.

Everyone around the table chuckled at the comment. Ed said, "All those in favor of this budget please say Aye."

The vote didn't take long. William was ready to pack up and leave when Ed said, "There's one matter that has to be addressed before we go."

Sherry, looking much older than William remembered her, asked, "What's up?"

"The money from John's patents is starting to dry up," Ed said looking around the room. This was the second year in a row in which the income from the patents had dropped.

Surprised by that announcement, William sat up and asked, "How did that happen?"

"The technology has been around for a long time. People have made improvements on it. The original patents aren't in such high demand anymore," Ed said.

"How bad is it?" Sid asked with a frown.

"We saw a five percent drop this year. I expect that the money will drop to about ten percent of what we see now in ten years," Ed answered.

William sat back in his chair wondering how he had missed that coming. Looking into the possible futures, he didn't see anything about the Fusion Foundation failing. In fact, he saw it playing a large role in the future. He said, "We have a large war chest invested. How are our investments doing?"

"They are doing fine. A lot of our investments are growing in value, but to access the money we would need to sell them. We are going to have to change our investment strategy in order to make them a little more liquid. It looks to me like we are going to have to live off of them for the rest of the foundation's future," Ed answered.

William looked at Ed and saw that he had been aging significantly over the past few years. Looking around the table, he realized that everyone was getting old. Sherry had to use a walker to get around now. Sid's hair was grey and the man slumped in his seat. He looked over at Kelly and saw that his mother was getting old as well. It dawned on him that they would be replacing members of the board over the next few years.

The discussion of what should be done filled the air. Silent, William watched the men and women around him try to solve the problem. Rather than participate in the discussion, William wrestled with what would become of the Fusion Foundation in the future. There were twenty board members and sixteen of them were over sixty. Most of them had been handpicked by John Carter. The question was where they could find men and women of equal caliber.

William became aware that the talking had stopped. Looking around the room, he noticed that everyone was looking at him. Confused, he asked, "What?"

Ed said, "Sherry wanted to know what you thought could be done to resolve the money problem?"

"Sorry, my mind was elsewhere," William said stating what had been obvious to everyone.

Sherry asked, "So what do you think?"

Taking a deep breath, William said, "I think that we all have to give the matter a lot more thought. I suggest that we end the meeting now."

His words created a flurry of discussion, but William tuned it out. He was jogged out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, William realized that he was alone in the room with Ed and Kelly. Kelly asked, "What's the matter?"

"The reduction in income to the Fusion Foundation isn't the only problem we are facing," William answered thoughtfully.

Feeling like it was the most significant problem, Ed asked, "What else is the matter?"

Sighing, William said, "Half of the board members will be dead in ten years."

Ed heard the truth in William's words. He slumped in his chair while thinking about it. He realized that not only was the Fusion Foundation facing an economic crisis, but that it would have to do it with new leadership. He asked, "Are you talking about me?"

"I didn't look," William answered. There were some things that he didn't want to know. The Two-Sided One was kind and hid some aspects of the future from him.

"Oh," Ed said feeling a little sense of relief.

"How many of the members are over seventy?" William asked.

"More than one, that's for sure," Ed said.

Kelly nodded her head in agreement. She put a hand on Ed's arm and said, "We're getting up there in years, too."

"I know," Ed said. It was time for him to think about the future. He looked at William and asked, "Will you run the Fusion Foundation after I die?"

"No," William answered.

"No?" Kelly asked surprised by his refusal.

William answered, "I told Happy Harry when I was added to the board that there would come a time when I would step down. I can't be put in charge of the Fusion Foundation."

"I forgot about that," Kelly said. Her brow wrinkled while she thought about it. Finally, she asked, "Why will you step down?"

William leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. He said, "I'm directing the evolution of the world to produce a lasting peace. That will not make me a popular person. If I'm affiliated with the Fusion Foundation, it will lose all credibility. I need it to be credible."

"I don't understand," Ed said.

William rose and went to the door. Closing it, he turned back to face Kelly and Ed. He said, "We are Druids and what I tell you must never leave this room."

"Okay," Ed said frowning.

Concerned by his involvement of the powers that be, Kelly said, "Okay."

"The world is facing a financial crisis unlike anything in the history of the world. The Fusion Foundation is going to be the only thing standing between civilization and barbarianism," William said.

"You're going to let that happen?" Ed asked shocked to his core.

Nodding his head, William answered, "Yes. It is the only way to bring lasting peace."

"You can't be serious," Kelly said.

William looked over at her and said, "There are some very wealthy people who have done nothing to make the world a better place. Some have gotten rich off the misery of others. I have to rid the world of them and an economic crisis that removes their money from them is the only way to accomplish it."

"The rich are pretty good about protecting themselves from disaster," Ed said.

"This disaster will strike at the heart of what makes them rich," William said.

Kelly said, "I can't see how that could happen."

"I'm nearly the richest man in the country. I will lose ninety percent of my wealth during that crisis. I will be the richest man in the world when the crisis is over," William said.

Ed sat back and stared at William. The idea that he would lose ninety percent of his wealth was almost incomprehensible. William had become a multi-billionaire by the time he had turned sixteen. He said, "You know it is coming. You could protect your wealth."

"No, I can't. There will be no safe place to put my money," William said shaking his head.

"What about us?" Kelly asked.

William said, "You are better protected than I am. You'll still lose about ninety percent of your wealth, but you won't be destroyed by it. You'll recover very quickly after the crisis is over. You have a real source for your wealth. That won't change."

"I don't understand," Ed said frowning.

His medallion became warm. Putting a hand on it, William said, "I can't tell you more than that."

Kelly looked over at William and said, "The family is going to continue after us. We're bringing in another husband."

"Finally," William said with a grin. He returned to his chair and said, "Tell me about him."

"His name is Bill Strauss," Ed said. He smiled and said, "Claire and I met him when there was a construction accident. He was a bystander who charged in to help dig out some people who had been trapped. Parts of the building were coming down around him and he was carrying a guy out."

"Another hero," William commented.

"Yes," Ed said.

William asked, "What does he do for a living?"

"He works in a wire company. He makes wire," Kelly answered shrugging her shoulders.

"He has dreams," Ed said watching William for his reaction.

Kelly said, "He wants to save the world from trash."

"Interesting," William said thinking about it. He smiled and said, "Very interesting."