Chapter 33

The week went slowly even if the weather was a lot milder on the west coast. I had time to pick out places to build warehouses and learned the important people to contact who would be able to assist me with the next group of businesses. Land was expensive in the city and I knew without a doubt that it would only increase in value with time. The orient had a great attraction for me. The possibilities of doing business, both over there as well as with them over here was an even greater attraction. One of the things that interested me was ship building in Japan. Though some of their products were termed shoddy their ships were not. The shipping line I half owned needed some new bulk carriers and larger ships meant that the same crew could carry many times the usual cargo.

Oil was a new commodity that needed to be shipped. The world was using more and more of the finite resource. One day the supply would run out and the price would climb to astronomic levels. Tankers to carry this oil would need to be made very large and would need offshore terminals because their size would be too great to make it into conventional, shallow water, harbours.

I negotiated and bought some land with some buildings within the city. They would be able to make a profit for me and begin to pay for themselves. A very nice location was chosen for my west coast home and I began designing the building. I wanted it to harmonize with its setting, disturbing as little as possible the unspoiled wilderness that it would sit in.

Half way through the week I went skiing and found that it was not the same without family. The mountains here were very high and the runs much longer. The people were just as nice, or as obnoxious, but I kept to myself and tried to do different things on skis. I invented a single wide ski too that would be like a surfing board to travel on the snow and found that it was much more manoeuvrable and could be handled by just the way the body leaned.

The Du Bois' were working out fine and the troupe seemed to get along with them well enough. When the week was over I would monitor them as they negotiated the same process in Montréal. On the long flight east, I worked on designing new engines that were driving our craft and tried to find a way to push the machine even faster. This was self serving, for a trip with less smoke filled hours was my first goal. Selling the design later could also be very profitable.

We flew nearby Toronto but later we were even nearer Ottawa on our way to reach our destination. Margarete did a passable job this time and her ability to speak French was a definite asset. I phoned family again and talked about business as my mind teemed with new ideas about setting up shop here in Montréal for the port was open all year long and eastern Canada used imported oil.

As in the other cities the show was well received. I wanted to see some of the other shows but that would mean abandoning mine. The Du Bois' were ready to fledge but I wanted to see how they started the next city.

We headed south this time and hit Philadelphia just as a snowstorm was approaching. Margarete did well and after the first performance I headed back to Toronto.

I was met at the airport by all five girls, even though it was a bit late. I could see some troubles coming, so I drove Sofia and Rachael home first. On the way I talked about the properties I had bought in British Columbia and even provided some pictures. It was a shame that they could not see the colour. The cameras were out there but they were very large and cumbersome. Perhaps one day they would be small enough for the average person to carry around.

The girls loved the site and made quiet talk about how they wanted things done. Sally was just glad her new daddy was back and cuddled close. We dropped the girls off and went home. Mary told me that she had sold the old car and put the money towards the mortgage. I complemented her on the idea and asked a bit about her studying. She had for a little over a week been a housewife and liked having Sally home with her. She told me that the two other girls were over all the time studying too and helping her with what she was learning.

Liz was kind of quiet and I found out that it was her first period coming on. Mary had deduced the reason and I agreed, but Liz was still upset.

"Honey it only means that some day we will be able to have children." We almost had an accident for Liz jumped up from her seat in the back and hugged me tightly. I would have to berate her later for not wearing the seat belt, especially in the city.

I stayed for only three days and made another painful farewell as I left for Japan.

The flight across the pacific would be long and basically boring. There were a few stops for fuel. Nobody on the flight needed my services as a physician but a young Japanese boy of ten stayed with me more than his father because I spoke his language and of course I was his age and gender.

"How can you speak our language so well. You don't look Japanese."

"I learn languages easy. How come you can't speak English?"

"My father said I should learn but no matter what teacher I get I don't learn very well. My father gets angry at me then."

I coached the boy, Nori for a few hours until he got bored and went back to his father to tell him in English how well he was doing. The father who I had met earlier sent his son back with a message. "Shawn, my father would like to talk to you." This was fine but the Japanese are very class conscious and would never think of going to see a boy in a seat further forward. He also did not know who I was. I on the other hand was not really put out by this and went back to see what he wanted.

The man had been a captain in the Japanese navy and had a very proper way of looking at things. When I got to the seat he said in Japanese, "Mr. Boz, you have made great strides in teaching my son. Would you consider a job in teaching him more of your ways and your language?"

"Mr. Ishida, I thank you for the offer but I have a great deal of work to do in your country. I need your country and I know your country can use my help."

The man looked a little perplexed and said, "How is this?"

"Sir I am roughly your son's age but already I have started many companies and I am fairly wealthy. I plan to teach some of your engineers how to build much better aircraft engines and then help them build tankers that are many times larger than anything now afloat. While I am at it I will set up an import/export company to sell Japanese products abroad and bring in necessary things that the Japanese need."

"Mr. Boz, this takes a lot of money, who will listen to a boy as young as you?"

"I am a physician, a university educator, a fairly rich business man, an artist and I have am a minor diplomatic position for my country of Rhodesia. You might have heard of me in the newspapers."

The man was shocked now. "Are you that boy that... ? Yes you must be. Forgive me for asking these questions... Sir Shawn."

"There is nothing to forgive. I am young and a bit more malleable in my outlook. Talking to Nori or to a company president are the same to me. Children are usually preferred because they are more truthful. May I ask in turn why you have been in Canada?"

Japanese people will talk about sex and other intimate things to complete strangers but will not talk business for fear of giving something away that will be used against them or their company. "I was looking for raw materials for our industry."

"British Columbia has good wood and metallurgical coal, plus being close to the Alberta oil and the natural gas fields. Ships that could go under the hammer I imagine would also be sought after. Perhaps we can find something that will be mutually profitable. I have a plan for compressing natural gas and once liquefied it can be transported anywhere. Another is to build nuclear powered ships that will not be owned by the military. The American government is behind the construction of the 'Savannah' that will be launched in a few years. At the same time, I plan on designing and building a tanker of at least 400 metres in length, with a 25 metre beam and displace over 500,000 tons deadweight."

"How... ? These are very ambitious projects. You would need a shipping company to run them," he said hopefully because he represented one.

"Yes I do but I already own one. It is not very big but can be increased in size. I hear that Japan is favoured with many good sailors."

"Yes it does. Are you looking for a partner?"

"Let's talk about that when we land. The information would be valuable to others. Tell me in general terms about the shipping company you work for."

"How do you know this?"

"The way your eyes lit up when I mentioned shipping."

Mr. Ishida told me many of the things that could easily be found out about his company. His mind gave me the rest of the data. His company was making money, slowly growing but the process was slower than other companies. They seemed to be getting favourable treatment with the American occupational forces in his country. The underworld too was making its inroads and they had to be placated.

Basically they were like any other business but the sharks that abounded in these waters were much freer to act. Graft and corruption were still prevalent but a concerted effort was underway to reduce it.

Long before our flight ended I was invited to stay at his house in Tokyo, which I gratefully accepted. It was almost midnight when we landed and the rain was falling hard. We walked hurriedly from the plane and along the tarmac to the terminal. Customs checked my papers very well but because I was not on official business for Rhodesia my luggage was only searched perfunctorily.

A taxi took us through the streets of Tokyo and I saw the same type of damage I had seen in London, Berlin and many other European cities. There were still great areas that had been completely burned out. If Japan was to become the powerhouse that I believed it would one day be, then the capital city was too disorganized to accommodate the expansion. The only alternative was to build up and down. Public transportation was the other vital ingredient, for this many people living this close together would find difficulty moving even one mile. This would require a city planner with a lot of power for most people were very hesitant about change. The Japanese people were even more so.

We pulled up to a small house with a wall around it. It held a small garden and a little pool of water. We stood under the large overhang of the house and removed our shoes. Nori got some of his slippers and gave me an extra pair to put on when inside his home. An older woman came from the back of the house with small shuffling steps, I was sure that she was not even fully awake yet. Mr. Ishida gave some orders and the woman raced quickly to set up a mat for me in a separate bedroom.

Tea was made and Nori went to bed after saying goodnight to his father and me. He was very proper and I could see warmth between the two even if most westerners couldn't see it. The housekeeper was an older woman that was more or less rescued after the war and had the duties of keeping the house and watching our for the owner's son. Apparently Nori's mother had died a few years ago and Mr. Ishida had not remarried.

We talked for a few hours about how I could use his company. The payoff would not be from me directly but from what we could sell to others. I explained that my devices and projects would be patented or kept secret. His company would get access to some. Certain components I alone would control. Computers were a thing basically unknown and I planned on making them a household article, much the way radios had become and televisions were just starting to do.

Before going to bed I was given a name of a man that could get me in touch with many others that would sell me the property I saw on the way here. The next morning I had a small meal and we parted company. Nori had to go to school and his father to work. Finding my contact proved difficult for he was out with prospective customers.

Mr. Ichiro proved to be a disappointment and didn't respond to me till I fished his main competitor out of his mind and threatened to go there. I was told that I as a foreigner could not own property without a Japanese partner. The land though was fairly cheap now and I knew it would only grow in value as time passed, like all other bombed out cities.

American soldiers were evident everywhere and not all were in uniform. They were easy to spot because of their Caucasian or African American faces. There were still many children on the streets that had no supervision, or a steady flow of meals for that matter. This was a fertile area for the growth of crime and it was evident almost everywhere I went. I stood out like a sore thumb but I was not harassed as yet.

I ate with the locals and tried to absorb as much of the feeling I could as to how the country was being run and what was needed to fix it. There were quite a few hard working politicians that had to deal with very conservative nationals as well as the American authorities. The latter wanted things made as democratic as possible, to erode or even take away the power of the Emperor and his supporters.

I checked the store shelves to see what was available and saw that there was not that much food. Things had not got back to normal even though the war had been over for quite some time. American aid was still very common and the writing on the larger containers was still in English.

Around five I made it back to Mr. Ishida's home and enjoyed a good meal with my host and his son. The housekeeper ate what was left or what she could eat as she made the meal. After the meal I was asked to go to a meeting tomorrow morning to see his immediate supervisor and his boss. There was an impromptu party tonight that served as a way of getting drunk. This was the usual way of seeing how much of a man you were by your ability to handle large quantities of drink. Because of my true age they were hesitant about inviting me. "Yes I will go with you. It will be a good way of finding out more of your customs."

A car picked us up in a half hour and dropped us off at a large home on the outskirts of town. It was dark by the time we got there but I could still see the meticulous way which the garden and shrubbery was cared for. A butler met us at the door where we just nodded our heads but bowed to the host, Mr. Hitomi, when he appeared. The Japanese had an entirely different mind set and it was at odds with everything else I had run into. There were too many things that were different to mention from the dominant position of the male to the very close way they banded together to keep outsiders where they were thought to belong.

Soon we had many people around us as our host asked me some questions. The usual came first about my qualifications as a doctor or an educator. I asked my own questions even though I already knew the answers. I did not want them to gain too much or for me to loose too much face in their terms. I tried to balance things as equally as possible. Drinks came around and everybody had them. I took mine too and threw it back and took another. This was very strong sake served in warm if not hot in small square wooden bowls.

Later in the night pleasure girls came and some of the men drifted off for a while and returned a while later. Their wives would not look at this as wrong for a virile male was supposed to keep a mistress and also perform at parties like this. The only stipulation was that the wife served all formal occasions while the mistress was only for pleasure.

"Sir Shawn, tell me about the ideas you want to put into practice."

"Let's go to your office to talk then. It is much quieter there." The need for secrecy was foremost in both our minds as we walked into the large room with his second in command. I scanned both men to see their objectives and then scanned the walls. There were two curious magnetic fields that had nothing to do with the electrical power, clocks, telephone, or burglar alarms. The two men did not know about the presence of these articles. I continued to talk in a urbane manner but said nothing really important. I was able to check the locale of the particular microphones. "Mr. Hitomi do you have a sheet of paper, some tape and a pen please."

"Certainly, Sir Shawn." Once I had them I drew an arrow and ripped the paper off then drew one more. I put my finger to my lip in the universal way of asking for silence. I started talking myself and went to the two spots and taped the paper so that the arrows pointed at the slightly visible microphones.

I went back and against custom used my hand to pull my host over to see each of the mechanisms for picking up his voice and about any deals he would make in this room. He was about to blow up when I shook him and glared. The man stopped to think and I said, "Let's go out to your garden before I begin. I can tell a lot about a man from the way he treats his staff and his property."

Mr. Hitomi gathered his voice and said, "Yes that is a good idea."

We put on our overcoats but the rain had already stopped. Once in the garden Mr. Hitomi was quite indignant that I had laid hands on him. Before he could talk, even if it was not about being touched, I said, "If I didn't touch you then you would not know about the microphones and you would tell the people listening to our conversation that you were aware of their activities. It may be better to feed them information that will harm them instead of feeling good about ripping out the wires right away."

"How did you know of the microphones existence?"

"You are a fairly wealthy man and in a country that is more like the American west where the only law is the gun. Here it is not much different but the gun is your company's ability to stay alive. It only makes sense to listen to your plans and to do so in the place that is usually your sanctuary. This is your house and you should do what you want. Just think first like a wise man would instead of a wounded man that has his home violated.

"To answer your questions; I want large double hulled ships. This requires new dry docks and larger yards. This also means that you build the ship in large sections and large cranes pick up the pieces and fabricate a ship much more quickly than you would ever believe. The ships will be so large that there will have to be floating terminals off the coast to safely moor the ships and to take the cargo.

"Eventually other ships will be nuclear and we will build the reactors along with my companies in Ethiopia. Some ships will carry liquefied natural gas from the western shore of North America to markets here. I have developed a safe way of doing this. I must also make a pipeline from Alberta to the sea, for this venture and more.

"I have done my research today and know that you cannot afford to bankroll much of this venture. My name is good and I could probably get a hundred million American dollars for this venture but I am hoping for the Americans and Canadians to finance the structure on their shores."

"This is very important news Sir Shawn. Why are you telling us?"

"Simple, you are fighting for your company's life and I can be a partner that supplies most of the new capital and some engineering that you will not find anywhere else. My ships will be stronger, cheaper to run and faster than any ever built. You give me the manpower and the equipment to make them. You get to use the enlarged and modernized yards. You also suffer from organized crime. That I can take care of too. It is a given that your office will be similarly wired. Tomorrow I want you to start an electronics company. We will be partners with me having fifty one percent of the shares. I will make a list and begin next week hiring workers to make devices that will find these vermin hiding in your walls."

"You want me to finance this company and make a product that is probably already on the market?"

"You finance half the company and the competition is a cumbersome device that needs a suitcase to carry around. Mine will be the size of larger package of cigarettes."

"What about your reference to our gangsters?"

"First I am trying to help you in this matter and help myself too. I can get rid of the gangsters on my own, but sadly you may just think that I am too powerful and my word will be law. That is not to be so, we will be partners and I am just doing this to clean our new house. Now let's talk more about what you have to offer and how much I will have to pay, for I will own fifty one percent of your ship building company too."

Both men moved back a step as if I were trying to take it by force. "Mr. Hitomi, you need the money to keep your company going I am just trying to buy my way in. You will not loose any money for soon you will own half of a much larger company instead of all of a small one."

"Did Ishida become your man?"

"I met him and his son for the first time on the plane flying here. I knew nothing about your company nor much about Japan itself. If I had not found you and your company I would have found others that I would buy a share of. You still have the option of saying no, but I will still take care of the organized crime as a way of expressing my appreciation for this evening's hospitality from good Japanese people."

We stayed out another three hours and came upon a price. I had to show the grey lining of their silver assets. When we were done we were both satisfied with the price we arrived at, although I had to still deliver on my plans and the cash. Before re-entering the home I said, "Let's keep our secret a secret a bit longer. There may be hidden microphones at any place in the house."

"Yes that is a good idea, Sir Shawn."

We came in cold and damp from the late night air but in good spirits. The invited gentlemen were laying about on the furniture in various states of inebriation. Of the women, there was no sign. Two older women had come in and when the men were not looking cleaned up what they could. The smell of vomit was in the air faintly and all I could detect was a damp area on the small rug.

A woman of almost sixty came out from the kitchen, came close then bowed her head and waited to be noticed.

"What is it Echiko?"

"Your daughter has been calling for you sir."

Mr. Hitomi was starting to be very worried and said, "Thank you Echiko." He turned to us and said, "Excuse me a moment gentlemen," and started up the wide steps to his daughter Juni's room. I could tell that his daughter was quite sick and all the prognoses he had gotten for her were very poor.

"Mr. Hitomi," I said as he was half way up, "I am a physician. Is there something that I may assist you with?"

The man paused with his back straight. He wanted help but was very proud. It was looked on as a sign of weakness for him ask. The prospect of getting one more person telling him that his daughter was in trouble hurt but the possibility of the opposite was also there but very dim. "Please come Sir Shawn."

I raced up the stairs and was with him as we got to the top. He walked down the hall to the far door on the left, which was slightly open. Mr. Hitomi slid the door open all the way and I saw an older woman on her knees beside a mat. A girl I could not see was behind the woman but I did see her aura. It was the type Lusa and now Mary had, but was considerably brighter. I knew without looking that she would be have to be my wife one day. We were linked in some way and there was nothing I could do about it.

My host got to his daughter on the other side of the pallet. He started to talk to her as he too got on his knees and held her hand. The woman shuffled back to give them some room and the father asked how she was feeling now. She replied that she was fine but pain stabbed through her body and she was forced to wince. Her father noticed this and knew the truth.

"Juni I have brought another physician. He is young but is very knowledgeable."

"Please father, I don't want to see another doctor. They all say the same thing and I can't take it any more. Ask him to leave."

"It is too late, for he is here now," he said as his eyes came to me.

Juni turned her head and saw me for the first time. Her heartbeat increased dramatically and she started to say unintelligible things to her father. She was very afraid now and thought I was here to take her into the land of the dead. She was actually able to perceive my own aura and through her mind I saw how mine glowed very brightly, even to hiding the area of the room behind me. Her eyes had to close and her other hand come up to shade her eyes.

"Fa... father I am not ready to die yet. He will take me from you."

"Nonsense he is..."

"Mr. Hitomi, please leave your daughter for a moment and come into the hall. She is very upset at seeing me and I will tell you why."

The man placed his daughter's hand back down and got up with a lot of aches and pain but tried to hide all of them. I turned and walked further from the room followed by Mr. Hitomi. "What is all this about Sir Shawn?"

"This may be difficult for you to understand or accept Hitomi san, I have an ability most others do not possess. Everybody has an aura or a cloud of energy streaming from them and I possess the ability to see this if the emanations are strong enough or if the other person is in-tune with me. I can see your daughter's aura very clearly and she for the first time can see mine. This appears to be very bright to her and the only thing she can think of is a deity coming to take her away."

"That can't be. You are not spirit. Are you?"

"No, I am all too human, but my aura is still visible to her. This has serious repercussions for all of us. For her to see me means we are linked, she to me and me to her. I see others and try to leave them even as I am pulled. I am afraid your daughter will seek me out and in all honour I have to tell you that I will seek out her. I have only seen a few people that have such a strong auras and this means we are fated to be together always."

Suspicion came to his mind, "Have you been planning this? You are trying to take over my family and my business?"

"On my honour, I have not searched out information until after I met Mr. Ishida on the plane. I only knew in passing about your daughter but knew nothing of her age or condition. You have a decision to make. Send me away now and you can complete the business deal or not. It is up to you. The other choice is to ease your daughter's mind and tell her that I will only try to keep her with you. What ever you decide about business or your daughter, I give you now my honourable word that I will try my best to cure her. I also predict that she will come increasingly attached to me no matter what I do."

"I don't believe this is possible but I want to see if you can help us. Let me go in first then I will call you."

"Yes Hitomi san, that sounds best."

He went in alone and talked to his daughter. "The doctor tells me you see something. Tell me what you saw."

"Father, he is a spirit sent to take me away. Did you send him away? I saw a very bright light coming from him. It was very difficult to even see him clearly because of it."

"His name is Sir Shawn. He is of British ancestry, coming recently from Rhodesia. He is a good doctor as I said and he tells me that no matter what you think, he is here to keep you out of the spirit world. Will you trust him? He is a man of honour I believe."

"Father he is going to take me, I know it."

"Daughter I want the man to see you."

The girl quaked with fear and the father saw that the best way was to get this over fast. "Come in Sir Shawn." The girl curled into a ball when her fear became so great. I walked in and the girl's eyes got wide as I sat in the area the older woman had just vacated. I reached out and touched her forehead and she instantly went to sleep. As the girl collapsed the father asked excitedly, "What did you do?"

"She is only sleeping. The excitement is bad for her." I looked over the girl's face and saw she was pretty but would gain more beauty as she did her years. "Mr. Hitomi, I need to do an examination and this will require me to remove her clothes. May I do this?"

The man paused in thought. It was not right to display his daughter's body, especially to a relative stranger. It was not right for the father to look on his daughter after she reached a certain age. He also knew that I was a doctor and needed to see and even touch his unprotected daughter. "Do what you must Sir Shawn."

I asked the girl's nurse to remove the girl's clothing and the woman looked at the father if this was what he commanded. The man only nodded his head before standing to step outside. Only after he had departed did the woman begin. When she was done the girl was covered with a light blanket. The old nurse was gently moved to the girl's feet as I pulled the blanket to the waist. When I touched the neck the girl moved in her sleep and her nipples became very prominent. This was not lost on the witness. I checked the various areas of the body keeping away from the erogenous ones.