Chapter 17

"You know what Penny and Bert are doing, don't you?" Lisa asked Molly as they and Cassie relaxed in loungers by the pool.

"No ... you mean!?" At Lisa's nod, Molly asked "Does that make you sad?"

"Sad?" Lisa asked in puzzlement. "Oh, you mean am I jealous? I couldn't expect Bert to feel that way about me. I'm happy for Penny. She's had a rough time at home, too."

Molly, like everyone else, could not help but be impressed by the sweetness of Lisa. How anyone could put her through what she had endured was unthinkable. While Molly was thinking, Lisa asked "How do you feel about it?"

"Me? Oh, I'm happy that he's found someone. You know, dating is not easy for us." She went on to describe how careful they had to be because of their wealth.

Lisa looked genuinely surprised at what she heard. "I never would have thought of that. I don't think you have to worry about Penny, though."

"Oh, I'm not worried about her," Molly assured Lisa. "Jealous, maybe." Molly slapped her hand over her mouth, incredulous that the thought had slipped out as words. She looked at Lisa in horror, saw Lisa's wide grin, then broke into a giggle.

"Hey, what am I missing out on?" Cassie demanded. Her lounger was just out of clear hearing range. That just sent Molly and Lisa into gales of laughter. Cassie got up an walked over to them, feigning irritation as she stood with her hands on her hips.

"Sweet, innocent little Lisa, here, is a witch!" Molly declared in as stern a manner as she could manage through her lingering laughter. "She gets me to say things I never meant to."

Cassie knelt beside Lisa and gave her a quick hug. "So, you can see why we're such good friends."

In a completely uncharacteristic show of boldness and mischief, Lisa blurted out "Molly was just telling me that she has the hots for her brother."

"Lisa! And I was just saying how sweet you are," Molly complained. "I take it back. All but the witch part." That did nothing to quell the giggling.

"Well, DUH!" Cassie exclaimed. "You've got a pussy, there," she said, pointing at Molly's crotch. "Of course you've got the hots for Bert. It's automatic."

The giggles turned to shrieks as Molly jumped up and chased Cassie into the pool. Lisa followed not far behind. After a brief bit of horseplay they settled down, and Molly became pensive. They were all standing close, and she reached out and took each of their hands.

"You know something? I've missed out on a lot of things," Molly said. "Oh, I don't really have anything to complain about, but this ... this is just so ... so cool." 'Cool' was a word hidden in an obscure corner of Molly's huge vocabulary, but it seemed to fit the occasion.

She was being a giddy teenaged girl for probably the first time since puberty, and it felt good. For a little while, the Program, Jason, all the kids in trouble, and even Curt were pushed into the background. For all of her brainpower and her senior class rank, she was not much older than these girls. Sexually, her experience barely exceeded Lisa's, and she was way behind Cassie.

Not meaning to cause any hurt, Cassie unwittingly broke Molly's spell. "Tell us about that other hunk, Curt."

Momentarily jarred by the question, Molly decided to keep things light. "Don't you have the video clip? You must know everything I know."

"You mean you haven't, uh, made out, or anything?" Cassie asked in disbelief. "How could you not?"

Cassie felt terrible when she saw Molly's mood change. She and Lisa both tried to make up for it by comforting Molly as she unloaded her frustration over Curt. They were back on the loungers, still talking when Penny and Bert rejoined them.

Later, after Molly had dressed, she and Bert had a chance for a few words. "I appreciate the way you're treating the girls," Bert said.

"Oh, it's not me, Bert. They're great. I can see why they're your friends. It feels good to have some girls I can just relax with."

Nobody at the Pritchard estate was relaxing on Thursday morning. Three people were still busy working on Molly and Curt's rush appearance in Kendra's town. Several others were already talking with Carter Olson from the Republican National Committee's research staff. Carter was still in the air on the way to Hooverton, but time was very critical.

Everyone agreed that the primary tactical objective was to slow down the legislative steamroller that the Speaker had set in motion. Long-range success depended on the grass roots campaign that was just getting started. That campaign had four thrusts.

The most purely grass roots part was what the students were doing to subvert the aims of the Program. Having many other students show up naked at school to dilute the impact on Program participants was perhaps the boldest, most courageous move. That was why Kendra's school was the obvious first choice for a visit by Molly and Curt. It was fortuitous that the school was in the district of a Democratic member of the House Education Committee.

'Respect the Red' was a more widespread plan. Only in a few states could non-Program students legally show up in school naked. Any student could 'Respect the Red', and it was the objective to have all students doing so. This was where Molly and Curt should have the most influence, since it was all up to the kids to make it work. Every student, even the malcontents and misfits, had to be convinced that they should put more value on their schoolmates' personal privacy than the government did.

The first two thrusts, those in the hands of the students, were aimed at reducing the level of humiliation and even terror that the Program caused the participants. Molly and Curt both believed that breaking down the will and the independence of the participants through humiliation and strict control was a key part of the program. The destruction of self-respect through taking away control over their own genitals was somehow important to the Program's creators. Those inclined toward conspiracy theories could easily see a sinister master plan behind it.

To start with, everyone in the 'revolution' had to agree that there was nothing that could be done about the nudity, except for diluting its impact with a flood of other naked students. It was the 'reasonable requests' that had to be attacked first.

The third part of the campaign was what Jason had referred to as 'legal shrapnel'. Here, the targets were the school districts, and the goal was to flood them beyond the tolerance point with law suits. Any lawsuit that could be filed was acceptable, regardless of its chance of success. If some districts could be made to feel that the Program cost more and was just more trouble than it was worth, it would be a huge win.

Jason's legal staff had formulated a few different pro forma filings that could be easily adopted to individual students and schools. They included invasion of privacy, illegal search and seizure, physical and emotional abuse, and simple assault.

Once again, Weaver's district was the initial target, and Jason's hackers were scrambling to determine upcoming participants. Every participant for the current week was being contacted, as were their parents. Needless to say, the phones were very, very busy.

The last of the four areas of attack was an advertising campaign. There were two parts to this. One was aimed at parents. These ads, for TV and the Net, were very hard-hitting.

The first ad to be completed showed two sets of fives photos of high-school boys. By dress and grooming, the first set was obviously from twenty-five or thirty years earlier, and the boys were not a collection of the best and brightest. The other set was an equally questionable collection of current teen boys.

For the Net version of the ad, the caption under the old set of pictures read 'Aren't you sorry these guys never got to finger your wife's pussy in school?'. Under the modern set, it read 'Aren't you glad they'll get to finger your daughter's?'. The major caption underneath said 'Naked in School Program - Ya Gotta Love It!'

TV was not as liberal as the Net, so 'fondle' was substituted for 'finger ... pussy'.

Because of a large Hispanic population in Weaver's district, a leering Hispanic man was pictured in the top part of another ad. Under his picture it said 'Have you fingered your daughters' pussy yet?'. Below was similar group of boys' pictures and the caption 'Might as well. They get to do it in school.'

There was a good deal of disgust at Jason's headquarters when the ads were previewed. Many thought it was a step too far. It was Curt who defended them most strongly. "Don't you get it?" he shouted. "Of course it's a step too far. The whole Program is way beyond any civilized standard of decency. These ads are tame compared to what goes on in biology and health classes."

Another set of ads was aimed at teen sites and shows and was still under development. It would be aimed at promoting 'Respect the Red' and getting the kids to refrain from touching. The first rough drafts also hammered at the idea of the kids being nothing but subjects in an experiment. Some ideas showed naked kids in cages with sinister-looking adults with lab coats and clipboards hovering over them.

One very daring ad showed a naked boy with a hardon, clearly masturbating. The caption said 'Hey, Fella! Let go of that! That's not yours. It belongs to the government.' There was a similar one with a girl who was tweaking a nipple while her other hand was jammed in her crotch. The wording had not yet been worked out. Those ads would only fly on the Net. The Program was referenced in the major captions.

Actually, there was a possible fifth part of the campaign. Jason and a select group of his security people met in a very confidential session to consider some actions that were outside the law.

There was great fear that the Speaker would somehow manage to get the bill out of committee before the weekend. Of course, it would still have to go through the Senate, but everyone expected to see an identical bill posted on the Senate Education Committee's docket that day. If it somehow cleared committees that week, all was lost.

Optimistic estimates were that it would take at least two to three weeks for the expected dissatisfaction to filter through to Congress. If the bill could not be killed in committee, it would be a tougher fight on the floor, although a filibuster could be used as a last ditch delaying tactic. Skilling and Richter had already met with Senate Minority Leader Hilliers and convinced her that this was the place for a filibuster, a tactic the Republicans had not used in many, many years.

The secret meeting discussed possible ways to force a delay in the committee proceedings. Ideas ranged all the way from putting something in Weaver's food to make her sick to sabotaging power to the committee chamber room. Simple bomb threats were considered, as well.

No one really wanted to do anything illegal. Just like the military with its hopefully-never-used war scenarios for every eventuality, they believed that they needed these 'doomsday' plans in hand. Every one was aware of what a disaster the passage of the bill would be.

The NiS law had actually taken on an ominous character that was perhaps out of proportion to its potential cultural impact. NiS had already been operating as if legal for a few years. Whether or not the republic had collapsed during that period depended on the political leaning of the one being questioned. Even if it had, it was hard to lay a major portion of the blame on NiS.

Molly and Curt had brought to the attention of the opposition that NiS was fundamentally different than most governmental laws and regulations. The bulk of such law and regulation was restrictive. In other words, it forbad citizens from taking certain actions. There were, of course, things that citizens were required TO DO by law or regulation. Examples were paying taxes, obtaining licenses and permits, etc.

NiS was a totally different flavor of coercive regulation, trying to be law. Forcing a teen to let a classmate fondle their genitals was a totally different matter than having to obtain a social security number, register for the draft, or pass a driver's license exam. The only previous requirements even affecting a person's body were some required inoculations, although some might consider military conscription to be taking over a person's body totally. It was this groundbreaking intrusion into a person's life that was frightening about NiS, once Molly and Curt had highlighted the issue.

Strict constructionists had long said that NiS marked that beginning of a tragic inversion. It was no longer government of the people, by the people, for the people. Instead, NiS meant that the people belonged to the government to do with as it chose. They made some very frightening extrapolations that no one paid much attention to. Strict constructionists were, after all, considered anachronisms and oddities.

Whether the historic threat from NiS was real or blown out of proportion, it had suddenly become a unique rallying point for the Republicans and those farther to the right. There had been no such issue for some time, and there had been legitimate doubt that anything could coalesce unified, meaningful opposition to the ruling Democrats.

Molly and Curt just wanted to see the Program stop hurting kids. Both were intelligent enough to understand what their little personal rebellion had grown into. Without talking about it to each other, both hoped that the original objective of killing the Program did not get lost in some larger political upheaval.

Thursday afternoon's meeting with six teammates proceeded very much like the previous day's, except that when they were ready to move to the pool, Bert spoke to them about Lisa.

"I think many of you know Lisa Rhodes. For those who don't, she is a very sweet girl who has had to deal with some tough problems at home. She is overweight and very self-conscious about that.

"Lisa was going to kill herself rather than go through the damned Program." He paused for the expected gasps at that revelation. "Right now, she may naked in the pool, waiting for the rest of you." That produced even more comments. "If she is, you can imagine the kind of courage that got her to this point. I told her that if she couldn't do it, she could still join us with her suit on.

"I'm embarrassed to even say this to you because you're all considerate people, but I will say it anyway. Please do everything you can to make Lisa feel accepted and appreciated, whether she is naked or not. Make her believe that she will be doing the right thing by toughing it out. This is why I asked you here, guys, to help out the girls. Lisa really needs our help."

After they all got out to the pool, following the usual uncertainty and embarrassment, Lisa was not there. Penny told Bert "Lisa went with Molly to the rally or whatever. Bert, she just couldn't do it with all of these kids."

When Bert's teammates had begun arriving, Molly and Lisa had already put clothes on, and Molly saw Lisa crying. "Bert's going to be so disappointed in me!" she wailed.

"He won't either, Lisa. You're doing the best you can, and you're being very brave. Do you think you can shower on Monday with a boy there and not freak out?" Lisa was crying too hard to answer, so she just nodded. "Then Bert will be proud of you," Molly assured her. "I'm proud of you, too. Tell you what. I've got to meet Jason's plane in an hour and a half. Why don't you fly with me?"

"Really?" Lisa suddenly had voice control again. "Will, uh, Jason be angry if you invite me?"

"I'm sure he won't mind at all. I don't know what you've heard about him, but he's a pretty nice guy. Say, do you think you could tell your story."

"To a crowd?" Lisa asked in shock.

"Sure. You're a great example of how we're trying to get kids to survive the Program."

"Bert says that all the time. He wants me to be able to survive if it happens to me," Lisa said.

"Let's decide what we should wear. You can think about it on the way."

"Will we be staying overnight?" Lisa asked.

"No. It's not a long flight. We will be back pretty late, though."

Jason had insisted that his plane stop and pick up Molly on the way to their Thursday night rally. That would give her and Curt time to plan what each would say. After his Tuesday night conversation with Molly, Jason watched Molly carefully as the two teens greeted each other. He was concerned that her feelings for Curt might make it hard for her to do a good job at the rally.

Jason's fears were unfounded. Even Gwen, who had come along and who was watching the teens even more astutely, could not detect any reaction other than that between good friends. Neither could know how hard Molly had talked to herself to prepare for seeing Curt again. It had taken every ounce of her considerable mental discipline to effect her friendly, enthusiastic, but strictly businesslike demeanor.

On the luxurious but rather small private jet, there was no chance for Gwen to get with Molly one-on-one and find out how the girl really felt. Gwen had not tried to press her son any further on the subject.

Naturally, some of Jason's people had worked on proposed speeches for the two, and both had already spent some time reviewing portions of those speeches as they were completed. From the plane, they were in contact with two of the writers. Both teens were impressed with the skill and thoroughness of the writers, but they had similar concerns about making what they said sound individual and unrehearsed.

"Welcome to the world of public speaking," Jason said with a chuckle. "Believe me, these folks can make you sound more like yourselves than anything you could put together. They listened to hours of recordings from your other appearances and from just plain conversations. What they have written will sound more natural and spontaneous than if you just winged it."

"Could they write up something quickly for Lisa?" Molly asked. "I'd like to use her story and Francie's in my part."

"Let Lisa talk to one of them for a while so they can get a sense of her style. I assume you only need two or three minutes, right?"

"Lisa, I'm Porter Arragon. Can I listen in to your story, too?"

"Oh, I know who you are. You're as well-known as Molly," Lisa blurted out. "S ... sure. You can listen. I d ... don't know if I can talk in front of everybody, though."

Since it was their first outing and they had limited time to make changes, Molly and Curt concentrated on who would cover what subjects. Although Jason cautioned them against it, they both wanted questions and answers to account for at least half of the time.

By general agreement, Curt was given the task of 'winding up' the audience. He was the designated cheerleader. Molly would then add some more emotional impact, and would briefly cover the legal strengths and weaknesses of the Program. Each would speak for ten to twelve minutes before opening the floor to questions.

It was impossible to predict the attendance, and that had made the choice of a venue difficult. A school gym would have been perfect, but out of the question for obvious reasons. A large church sanctuary would also have been good, but Jason's planners wanted to avoid any hint of a religious connection. The best that could be arranged on short notice was the judging arena at a fairgrounds.

Jason had arranged another rally in the same state for Friday evening. That state's laws, or lack thereof, made it ideal for implementing Kendra's plan. There was no Kendra working to organize the 'nude-in' at that school, but Curt had spent countless hours frantically publicizing the rally over the Net and chatting with any interested teens he could find in that district. It was even harder to predict the Friday night attendance.

In Washington, D.C., Joe Richter was hosting an impromptu early dinner right after the day's general sessions ended in both the House and the Sentate. In one of the private dining rooms at the House Office Building were gathered three Republican members of the House Education Committee, the Senate Minority Leader Catherine Hilliers, and two Republican members of the Senate Education Committee.