Chapter 28

It turned out to be the following week before we could corner Debbie. Sharon invited her to spend the weekend. We weren't playing around this time and when Sharon brought her over we were all there waiting for her.

I flat out told her "look Debbie, we know the story because we're all living it. Let's cut to the chase and have you tell us how you died and what talents you have."

I guess it wasn't a smart thing to do because she fainted at the moment I quit talking. George caught her and laid her on the couch. She woke up crying her eyes out and hugged him fiercely.

When she was finally able to control herself she took some of the Kleenex that Sharon handed her and gave a big honk before launching into a tirade. "You knew all along, didn't you? Why did you let me keep on thinking I was crazy! Don't you know how hard it is to act normal when you know what's going to happen before it does?"

When she stopped to take a breath Sharon jumped in "it's my fault Deb, and I'm so sorry. It didn't even register that you were different until Matt asked me. At first, he didn't even realize you showed up ahead of schedule. We've just been too damn busy to pay attention. There's so much going on that it will take you months to take it all in."

Debbie gave a sniffle and wiped her eyes one last time before taking a deep breath and visibly trying to gather her composure. "It's me who should apologize, Sharon. Life's been pure hell every since it happened. I used to be popular in school and had a lot of friends but had to struggle to get a C average. Now everything is so easy it's scary. Not just because I've already had it in school, either. Hell, I never really learned it the first time. I was just plain stupid. All the friends I used to have don't interest me in the least now and they dropped me as soon as I changed anyway. All of that and the only friend I have being twenty miles away makes life lousy."

George was still holding her and gave a squeeze "I can't help with the distance" he said "but I think we can help with the number. You've got more friends than you can handle if you want them."

Before she could answer, Sharon perked up "hey Deb, when did your parents get laid off before?"

Debbie gave a rueful laugh "two weeks from now. I guess you remember they were out of work for a long time. I get the joyful experience of living on welfare all over again."

After we got some more details on her family life I made a suggestion "since your parents rent a house there's no reason you can't move, right?"

When she said probably not, I asked for an honest opinion of what kind of employees her folks had been. "That's what sucks worst" she said "this is the only job they've ever had. Mom and dad got married right out of high school and both went to work at the factory. They planned on retiring from there someday. Dad's a foreman and mom is in personnel. When they closed the place they were either too qualified for a job because of what they did at the plant or not qualified enough because they didn't have a degree. Nobody would hire them. To make matters worse, in a little less than a year my dad will have a heart attack."

"We may have a solution for all of your problems but first I want to know about you. I barely knew you before and I had trouble talking to you every time I saw you, especially when you were wearing that bikini."

She laughed and coyly said "why do you think I happened to be wearing it almost every time you showed up? You were so cute when you tried not to ogle me with my over-endowed cousin there that I couldn't resist the temptation. I never could understand how she snared you, but enough about that bitch. As for me, I got married when I was sixteen to get out of the house. I knew it was a mistake but I was sick of being poor. It didn't make things any better. I could barely tolerate Stan and I think after a while he felt the same way about me. The icing on the cake is when he found out we couldn't have kids. It went downhill fast then. We had a farm and it was doing great until then. That's when he started drinking and after that it was me who did all the work. Sharon must not have told you that I wasn't quite 26 years old when a tractor turned over on me. I guess it got me good because I don't even remember any pain. How about you guys?"

We gave a condensed version of our stories and she scratched her head "what in the heck am I doing here then? I'm just a farmer!"

Several of us smiled before we covered the present and future needs. With the desert reclamation project and the far off need to lay crops on a (possible) new planet, we had plenty for a farmer to do. So far all we had was dad. I explained about the computer facilities and that her parents would be hired if they passed the interview and were willing to move.

I made sure she understood about the health coverage and everything that went with it. She was getting happier by the second but then we went into the way we lived to see if she could deal with that. Her face was frozen in a neutral expression until we were done.

She must be a heck of a poker player because when she let that smile out, it was dazzling. "Allright!" she squealed. "I definitely did die and found my way to paradise!"

She gave George a kiss and whispered something in his ear that made him smile almost as big as he said "definitely!" She looked at the rest of us and asked "may we be excused? I really need to have an in-depth discussion with George here. It might take all night. We can talk tomorrow."

Faith got a great blush out of George when she chortled "wait till you find out how deep that discussion can go! I hope you remember how to ride a stallion."

It didn't faze Deb, she just said "good!"

When they emerged the next morning George was carrying Debbie, who was wearing a rueful expression. "Faith wasn't kidding, was she? I can't walk but that was the most fun I've ever had in my life. Funny though, George tells me that around here he's not that special. He's kidding, right?"

Connie almost choked on her coffee when she heard that. Kathy was patting her back and explaining "oh, he's special all right. Don't let him act all unappreciated on you. The thing is he has company. His brother is the same way and so are Carl, Adam, David, and Bryan."

Debbie looked confused and said "what's Matt, chopped liver?"

Connie had recovered enough to answer "he's in a league of his own, Deb. Every one is amazing, but my hubby has a secret weapon that makes him special."

I took my cue when she asked what that might be and stuck my tongue out at her. I mean all the way out at her. Deb always did seem a bit outgoing.

The girls got a kick out of her "oh my! If he can use that like George uses his equipment I'd like an appointment. I think he could kiss my owie all better with that."

Chrissy and Carl loved their new school and they were immediately accepted for the spectacular people they were. After introducing Dan to Jack, Judy, and some other friends at the precinct it wasn't long before his drive to work got much shorter. He actually ended up getting a pretty decent raise in the process.

The girls and I developed new appreciation for not needing to sleep. Feedings at 3 A.M. are much easier if you don't need to wake up first. What was really weird was that instead of the usual ear-splitting cry normally heard from a newborn, the four children seemed to elect a representative.

We quickly learned that the one who got our attention wasn't necessarily the one who needed it. We would hear one single yell and if we didn't show up for five minutes another slightly louder one. Sometimes one or more would need to be changed and at feeding time they all seemed to want to dine together. I couldn't blame them, the menu looked delicious since they were all breast fed. I felt sorry for poor little Wes, he had moved on to more solid nourishment already.

I think the most difficult thing for Tina was that she couldn't participate in our desert project since the children were too young to fly. On the weekends I would take three or four of the others and work on a section of land in New Mexico, Arizona, or California. We owned most of what would have been the Mojave National Preserve.

The land had been purchased for next to nothing from owners who thought we were crazy for wanting it. We made especially sure to snatch up all the land on the U.S. Mexico border that we could get our hands on. In some cases the seller thought we were nuts.

There were owners who had no inclination to sell out but were willing to part with a strip of land a hundred feet wide right along the border. It was as if we were just giving money away in their way of thinking. Especially since we had no problem with them continuing to use the property. We had plans for it but they didn't need to know that just yet.

Through the corporation, we managed to buy a large portion of wasteland in Mexico while we were at it. This was also along the border whenever possible.

Debbie was a big help on setting up the farms. After she revealed herself to us that weekend she had gone home and broken the news to her parents. At first they thought she was crazy but when her declaration that the factory her parents worked at would be closed with no notice came true they were forced to re-evaluate their conclusion.

They both turned out to be both qualified and hard working and made excellent employees for us in Hazard. They were just in time to help with office and manufacturing setup.

Work on the new complex in Kentucky was progressing slowly. Everything but our house and private research facility had been finished but lot of excavation and blasting was necessary for what we wanted. Most of our living quarters were imbedded in the mountain. The unexpected discovery of a huge cavern was disconcerting at first, until the plans were altered to include a construction facility for a project we had in mind.

When it was complete we'd have what amounted to a company town complete with houses, stores, factory, clinic, and school. The idea was that any employee could live there if they so desired. The homes were much nicer than usual in the area. The school would have small classes and would be on a year round schedule with 2 week breaks between semesters.

Health care would be provided free of charge at the on-site clinic. There was one catch. Only employees and their families who lived with them could take advantage of the perks. Everyone who worked in the enclave would be an employee of American Innovations computer division.

Tina and the others kept busy either in the lab or designing the buildings for the complex. Occasionally we would make the 2 hour drive so they could see it in person. The most striking feature to me was how out of place it looked.

The area was one of many in coal country where poverty had been a way of life for so long the people there didn't know how to dig out. At the moment things were as good as they ever got there. Coal was in demand and overtime was plentiful. We knew that was soon to change.

In less than a year mines would begin shutting down and unemployment would once again go from high to astronomical. Any other industry shunned the area, not because the inhabitants were poor and undereducated but because the transportation system was not up to the job. Everything had to move by truck on roads that had been torn up by coal and lumber trucks.

Part of our plan would help cure that problem. It wasn't far to the private airfield with two runways that could handle cargo planes. For now, we would use refurbished planes we had purchased and were retrofitting with hydrogen powered engines. The cost of the planes would be recovered quickly in fuel savings alone.

We hadn't been neglecting our hospital visits and had actually increased the frequency. With the girls at home and mom more than eager to watch the kids, they all they visited during the day. The rest of us kept up our nightly trips. I'd love to say we were completely successful, or that the rare failures didn't affect us, but I believe I already mentioned my aversion to lying. We did win most of the time, and that made it worth every bit of the pain.

Our football team cruised to the championship game with little effort but a lot of the team seemed to take it for granted. The coach did his best to keep them from getting complacent but to no avail. We almost paid for it in a big way.

The Christian County team was back in the championship game and was extremely fired up and ready. Half of the team was shell-shocked at halftime and the other half was pissed at them. We were down 21-0 and it was a new feeling for all of us. Personally, I didn't care for it much.

Neither did coach. He screamed at us for five minutes straight and had his own answers this time. Quite a few of our starters would be watching the game from the bench. On offense, Carl had been double and triple teamed. Holes for Pete to run through were noticeable by their absence. He put the new plays back in on offense and defense and warned "I see anybody dogging it and I'll pull you so fast your head will still be up your ass when it hits the bench."

We ended up winning 35-34 but only because they tried for 2 to win instead of kicking the extra point to force overtime. Our scores were creative. I threw a touchdown pass to Pete for one of them and on another, Carl pulled and he, Pete, and I blocked for Jeff, who ripped off a 60 yard touchdown run.

Other scores were on a blocked punt, interception, and fumble return. I was really glad it hadn't gone into overtime. They still looked like they could play another game, while a lot of our guys collapsed in exhaustion.

Carl and I were a bit tired ourselves. He was the one who blocked the punt and covered it in the end zone. I got the interception and caused the fumble he scooped up and returned 80 yards for the last score. After the game, he had a question for me. "You know how you fixed it so some of us could do the healing and other stuff?"

When I nodded, he asked if I could do the same thing for Chrissy and his folks. I hadn't realized he didn't know. I told him what I had done for my parents and Al and added "you can do the same thing. If they want to quit aging, have full use of their mental capabilities, or anything else. Whatever we have, you can give to them."

I got another hug and a "thanks bro, for everything."

He had a serious face until I said "cool! I've got a brother who's a brother!"

We took our annual Yule break on the Cay, and I got a real surprise. Anya and Danil had managed to make it. This was by no means an easy task. Getting out of the Soviet Union was exceedingly difficult to do even with the KGB connection.

It wasn't the fact that they made it, but the baby Anya was carrying that shocked me. I had started to say how cute it was when she introduced him as Grigoriy Mattevich. It seems she was serious about choosing the father of her child. He was conceived the same week as the other September babies.

She told me this with some apprehension but I quickly assured her that I was honored and hoped she would let me be a part of his life. We brought a couple of additional guests with us this trip.

It was time for Trina and Twyla to head for Harvard (full academic scholarships, too!) so Dan had found us some replacements. His old captain was retiring and he and his wife jumped at the chance to watch things for us.

We also found that the others had been informed of the second generation's impact on the future and were eager to provide the manpower. All of them also joined in our recruitment/healing program in hospitals.

The meeting went great, and the others told us they had also found more people. Two were discovered in Japan, three in the Ukraine, and three in the UK. Things went faster than usual because whole groups didn't attend. They had instead sent representatives to speak for them and gather new information.

We had expected an initial modest return on our new computer. Hopefully, we wouldn't make the same mistake again. The demand was so immense and so immediate that we had to re-evaluate our manufacturing outline.

Universities fell in love with it first followed almost instantaneously by the government. By "pre-inventing" the cd rom and cd r-w, along with advancing storage capacity into the terabyte range, we had created an instant success. It didn't hurt that it was light-years faster than current units and the UNIX based OS was both error free and secure.

Adam confessed that he used to hack sites "just for the Hel of it". He only messed with the ones that bragged on how secure they were and only then by leaving messages on their servers. He joked that the reason so many people "worshipped" Windows was because it was the hol(e)iest thing known to man.

The availability of manufacturing space was assessed and more purchased as quietly as possible for our future plans. We already had a complete facility in Hazard and kept it running so we wouldn't have to lay anyone off.

Software would stay in Hazard and drives were built in Pikeville. Other components were built at the small town sites and the rest of the assembly was done at the inner city sites.

It worked out well. The converted warehouse in the west end of Louisville, Kentucky started the first production run on March 1st, 1977 and the one in East L.A. opened up a week later, followed by the south side of Chicago and the most depressed area we could find in Pittsburgh.

All employees were local residents and the pay was exceptional in each area. Every employee was screened carefully and hired not by the education they had, but by their work ethic. GED assistance and college tuition reimbursement were part of the benefits package.

We did much the same at the facilities in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Montana. All were located in dying coal mining towns. The differences between these and the big city operations were that we had constructed the same self-contained community in all of them.

There were many more applicants in Hazard than there were positions at the factory. We solved this by opening some support companies in town. We also opened a free clinic and made sure to stress that medical treatment would only be provided if a release form was signed relinquishing all liability claims against the provider. Trina and Twyla assured us it was an iron-clad and legal contract.