Chapter 27

She didn't say a word until after downing her first double shot of Turkey and then it was just "hit me" as she handed me her glass for a refill. She was on her third before she said any more.

Finally she sighed "I think I can talk about it now."

She still had tears escaping as she went on. "That poor little boy, I am so glad that I didn't try anything until I was leaving. There was a big tumor in his chest and I thought I could make it at least start to go away but every time I made it smaller, it grew again. I finally realized that he was one of the cases the gods warned you about. He's going to die and nothing we do will stop it."

We held her until she was somewhat recovered again and I asked if she would rather have me read to him. She gave me a squeeze and said "thanks, but no. I won't abandon him and I think I can at least take some of his pain away. You know that this is the reason they can't find volunteers, don't you?"

We held Gail until Gene and George got there to collect her and take her to their suite. she seemed almost recovered by morning. I hoped the rest of us would survive as well when it happened to us.

Fortunately, we had many more successes than failures. After two weeks we were joined by Connie and those who weren't on duty helped take care of Wes.

We also altered our methods a bit so it would be harder to connect our visits with the recoveries. It meant going slower but it had to be done.

The burn patients were the most difficult. The pain they had to withstand was phenomenal and we had to be careful about how fast the scars were healed. I figured out how to start the process and have it continue on its own and we went with that. Some of them would take months.

Our meeting with the California group went pretty well. We compared notes on what we knew and where our talents complimented each other. They were extremely enthusiastic about the space program and our plan to reclaim desert for agriculture.

They could help in both areas with the talent on hand and when we told them about the children it blew them away. Loki and Freyja also made a cameo appearance to assure them the same situation applied to them.

When they found out about our community service project we had to show them how it was done so they could do the same thing on the west coast. They were anxious to begin as soon as they got home.

As for recruitment, we came up with a tentative plan to start an education program at the manufacturing plants. The outline was for each plant to offer on-site health care and affordable housing as well as free education for every employee and their families.

The other ideas on manufacturing were growing as well. The west coast group would join in the corporation to help us. It was a tall order with textiles, appliances, electronics, automotive, transportation, power generation, computers, and aerospace.

Each branch would be a separate entity. The American Innovations group would handle the electronics and computer products, while Sally's idea of "U.S. One" was the popular choice for the textiles.

We'd figure out names for the rest before our products hit the market. With the benefits we were offering the profit margin would be small but the net profits would be huge. The down side was that our stock portfolios would be shot to hell. We'd have to do it on our own after we got things rolling.

We met for two solid days and still weren't done but we had made a significant dent. If the other groups could make as much of a contribution we'd easily be able to afford the immense cost of our space program. Our costs would be a lot less than what the government would have paid and there was talk of sub-contracting for NASA to build and deploy satellites as well as rent out space on the station that would be constructed to build the ships.

That Idea was quickly shot down when Angie pointed out that we might not want to advertise a construction facility in space. It could cause some problems with the government when we refused to share our technology with them

After the hectic weekend someone finally noticed that while both groups had gotten along extremely well, there wasn't any hanky-panky going on between them.

Tina had a quick answer for that one "business before pleasure. We had too much to do for there to be much interaction. The island might be a different story since the other groups are smaller and will be up to speed faster." That was the case for most, but not all of us.

We ferried our guests from Freeport to Hog Cay on the planes and got them settled in quickly. The first night was spent getting everyone acquainted and generally socializing.

Anya was hinting very strongly as the evening progressed as to where she would like to spend her night so finally I took her aside and explained "as much as I would like to have you join us, there is a problem." I told her that while we were on the island I was firing "live ammo" and that Tina, Faith, and Jackie intended to leave the island pregnant.

She just smiled and said "silly boy. Do you think that men are the only ones who can prevent pregnancy? It will not happen until I want it to and I reserve the right to pick the father." My objections disappeared quickly and the rest of my partners required no convincing at all.

Unless you are in extremely good condition I would not recommend spending the night with more than one woman whose intent is to get pregnant. Three of them, plus Beth, Connie and the addition about did me in. Beth was the worst (or the best, depending on how you looked at it). She was usually very amorous but the whole time we were on the island the woman was insatiable!

Tina had either been correct about time constraints in our earlier meeting or maybe it was the island atmosphere but the extra girl changed every night. I was much better acquainted with Sally, Megan, Kim, and Stacy when our visit was done.

We couldn't put off the laser test anymore and the visitors were as impressed with its performance as we were. We still had to work on the targeting but as it stood, if we could see it, we could hit it and if we could hit it, it was toast.

SPRING and summer- 1976

Our hospital visits resumed upon our return and our first manufacturing facility began the hiring process. It would be located on the same property as our new home and would produce a personal computer unheard of in this time. We decided to go for broke and produce a PC equivalent to a P5 in speed.

It would be loaded with our operating system which was dubbed "Aquarius" and the processor was the "AI1".

Hardware and software would both be produced on-site. The hiring and training process was expected to last almost a year and what the facility was for was a closely guarded secret. In case it leaked we were covered in layers of copyrights and patents.

I found out why Beth had been so agressive on the last island trip. She had been very dissapointed when Connie had concieved and she hadn't the last time. She had been determined that she wouldn't fail again and hadn't. She wasn't the only one though. Those little wigglers must have ate their Wheaties because three of our other mates had hit the jackpot, too.

My other newly pregnant brides and the rest started a research project on one of our remote desert properties. We rented a crop duster and repeatedly sprayed the soil of five hundred square acres with Tina's concoction. This was to be repeated every month for six months and after that a border of trees was to be planted.

That was the obvious part. The unseen aspect was the fusion generator whose sole purpose was to generate hydrogen, mix it with oxygen, and use the resultant water to irrigate the farm we were creating. Tina was convinced it would work and her main concern was finding someone willing to live in the middle of nowhere to tend it.

We did perform at the senior prom and it was a blast. We actually did two sets. The first was as the Beatles and the second as Fleetwood Mac. Kathy as Stevie Nicks and Faith as Christine McVie got the most thunderous applause but me (John), Adam (Paul), George (George- Duh), and Gene (Ringo) went over really well too. I think the girls got the most applause because they were so damn gorgeous. We donated the $500 they paid us to purchase toys and books at the hospital.

Yes, I turned in the manuscript. I could only do one topic and it was on national security, all 725 pages of it. Ms. Frank took a week to grade it and I was apprehensive when she asked me to stay after the tutoring session to discuss it.

She closed the door and was smiling as she held it out to me. "I never give an A unless it is earned" she said "I gave this an A plus. If anyone could manage to do the things you have outlined here not only this country but the world, would be a better place. There were several projects turned in that I recommended be submitted to a publisher and I'd put this at the top of the list."

She looked surprised when I declined until I explained "It's not done yet. I still have at least 4 sequels, domestic policy, defense, foreign trade, and tax reform. I plan to publish them but not until shortly before I run for office. No sense in warning the competition and giving them time to steal my ideas."

She gave her best "evil smile" and said "you just accomplished two things. You've given yourself the assignments for the next two years and guaranteed yourself at least one vote. You might want to call me before you submit it, too. My brother is a VP at Putnam and I'm sure he'd love to get his hands on it."

We had also reached the end of what we had previously accomplished in innovation and technology. It was time to break new ground.

Adam and I began improving the PC and operating system first. We went to a water cooled processor because the thing was going to be so fast it would generate huge amounts of heat. We didn't make the operating system open-source but didn't preclude others from writing applications to run on it. We had to start thinking of profits.

I could hardly wait for one product in particular to be released. I'd be first in line to buy one if I didn't sleep with the inventors and actually had to purchase it. Beth and Tina had gotten together and made the first ever laptop that never needed recharging. Beth took care of the board and drives while tina handled the screen and the power.

She had managed to make a fusion cell even smaller than the laptop battery I remembered all too well. Because it was so small, the hydrogen released wasn't a factor and wouldn't even be noticible. Too bad we couldn't take the damn thing out in public. not just because of the power source, either. This machine was a sexy little piece of work! The housing was titanium and it had the best looking LCD screen I'd ever seen. It weighed in at 5.2 pounds.

The new computers would be tested both by us and by select employees for six months before any release was even scheduled. On top of that, Adam would continue to try and "hack" them. He didn't anticipate success but we wanted the innovations in both hardware and software on the P.C. to be fully tested and bug-free before release in order to avoid the "Microsoft syndrome" of nothing working close to correct until after the second patch and never being fully secure.

By the time school started we had grass growing in the desert of Arizona and our first orange grove was planted. As soon as we were sure the experiment would work we prepped a second tract of land to grow wheat on and began searching for someone to farm our land for us. It didn't take long to do.

A lot of farmers are continuously forced out due to development and we had a large pool of experienced people to choose from. We would allow them 50% of the profits and supply the house and equipment for them. We had only two rules. The first was that they were not to employ any worker who was in this country illegally and if they did, the contract was terminated. The second was a non-disclosure agreement on the technology used on the farm. I personally "reinforced" both rules on all people involved.

11th Grade- 1976

The football season got off to a scary start. I didn't know where they found the defensive end that started for them but I wondered if Fairview had found a ringer.

We were still mostly a passing team and this guy was big and fast. None of our guys could block him and since I was a tight end he always lined up on the opposite side of the line from me so I couldn't give it a try.

He effectively shut down the passing game and made us a one-dimensional team. It was a good thing their offense hadn't improved because the score was 7-7 at halftime. The coach was desperate enough to ask me if I had any suggestions. I had only one to offer but he went with it.

The second half started with me trading positions with Alex (our fullback). My assignment was to protect Jeff. The guy almost got by me the first two times I blocked him but after I figured out his technique I thought I had him under control.

I was wrong. He managed to adapt enough to beat me a few times but we ended up winning 28-14. I cornered the guy after the game and Jeff got sacked four times for the first time since he became the starter. I talked to the guy from Fairmont for a few minutes after the game and was impressed. He was pretty cool, and after the mutual congratulations I even invited him over to the house Saturday.

When I warned the rest of my clan they looked at me like I had four heads and the nose of an Aardvark. I asked why and they told me something I hadn't realized. Carl was the first who was a guy who wasn't in our group that I had ever invited to the house for something other than business.

He seemed really surprised at the reception he got. I suppose he thought that because we lived in basically segregated area and he happened to be a black guy he'd get the cold shoulder. Instead, he was greeted with handshakes and hugs from everyone and this included every person in our group.

To his credit, he didn't even comment on three extremely pregnant females. After the folks decided to go out on the town he even joined us for some nude swimming.

He stayed for dinner, which because of the number, was pizza and had a couple of beers while we hung out. He was a smart dude and a good conversationalist.

I have to admit that when he saw the shrine I wasn't surprised when he looked me in the eye and said "I knew it. All of you got recycled too, didn't you?" When I smiled and nodded he let out a shout of joy and a laugh before wrapping me in a bone crushing hug. I swear there were tears in his eyes when he let me go.

We sat him down to get the story and found out that Carl Parker was so far living an improved version of his previous life. He had played football for an inner city school and Grambling University. He was good enough to get drafted in the second round by Green Bay but his knee had been totaled in the second pro game he ever played.

He was no dummy and had used his time in college to get his degree in accounting so he wasn't totally ruined. He had then went back to school and become a corporate tax lawyer before starting his own firm. This time, thanks to the gods, he was an even better player. He also had the same knowledge we did and used it the same way.

He quickly earned enough money to move his parents, himself, and his sister out of the inner city and into a nice house in the neighboring district. After that story he politely asked for ours.

Halfway through, he stopped us and asked to use the phone "ma worries" he explained "she still hasn't adjusted to life out of the city and if I'm not home by ten she yells at me. I tried to tell her things are different here but when I do she starts in on how much the white folks resent us being here and what could happen."

We cracked up, but I apologized "sorry Carl but while she may be right about a lot of that it doesn't apply here. Why don't you call her and ask if you can spend the night with your honkey friends and see what she says?"

We overheard his end of it and tried not to laugh again. It went something like this. "Ma, it's Carl... no nothing bad happened... I'm here with a bunch of friends and... no ma, white friends... hold on there ma, don't go insulting my friends. They're nice people, a lot nicer than the friends I had in the city. As a matter of fact I'm contemplating taking them up on their kind offer of letting me spend the night here. We've got a lot in common... yes ma, believe it. We even have that in common... ma? Are you still there? OK, I'll talk to you in the morning, bye... love you too, and tell pop and Chrissy if you don't mind... AHA! Might have known you'd be listening in, ya scamp! Love you too, sis... Bye."

He hung up with a chuckle and shook his head "blew her away! She knows all about me and I hope you don't mind I told her about you."

After assuring him we didn't the story continued. He quickly became more interested when we started talking about our plans for the future. When we finished his mouth was hanging open.

His first words were "how can I help." As it turns out, we had a pressing need for the skills he had to help our company. Once he grasped the scope of what we had in mind he about freaked. "You realize that you're talking about the largest corporation that the world has ever seen, right? The first thing you need to do is make each division a separate entity. The government won't allow one company to control the economy. The end result will be the same anyway, but they can't argue with the legality if the owners are different."

He loved the benefits package. We hadn't even considered that much of it could be written off. During the conversation he happened to mention that he had moved his family as quickly as he was able in order to get out of the old neighborhood and wanted to move again. It just so happened that just up the road was a house much like our original home. It had been on the market for over a year with no offers.

This was not exactly an area that attracted people who had money. He was eager to see it and I promised to do my best to make it soon. When he thanked me I had to admit I was just protecting myself. I didn't want to play against him again. I wanted him on our side of the line. He got a kick out of it but the coach would shit all over himself.

In the morning it was obvious that Carl hadn't slept alone. He entered arm-in-arm with Kathy just as breakfast was ready. They both looked tired but happy and both were very hungry. I couldn't help but mention that they worked up an appetite.

I couldn't tell if Carl blushed but Kathy just laughed and said "it's twue! It's twue what they say!" In a very good Madeline Khan voice.After we finished laughing over the "Blazing Saddles" reference, she finished with "you'd better believe it. Carl is just like you only with a nicer tan!"

Over breakfast our group marriage was discussed and Carl took it in stride. "I kind of figured that, what with all the buns baking around here. How are the three of you handling being pregnant in school? I'd think that they'd be really bad about that, especially in this time."