Chapter 19: New Program

"I don't want to talk about it, Terry. All I did was help a friend. End of story. What I want to talk about is this new program I want you to consider."

"Pru," Terry replied, "I know you've been thoroughly debriefed and I've seen those reports. You've told me damn-all about what went on — personally, that is — and I want to get a better understanding of what your motivations were. And, you still won't tell me about what you were doing in The Yemen. I feel your reticence, and I know it stems from a deep modesty that is one of your strengths — up to a point. But, I want more openness from you. And, all I get is this false modesty. I feel your pride in your success, but I'm not hearing it."

"All right, Terry," Pru admitted, "it's true I haven't been open about the Yemen thing." She looked warmly at him and touched his cheek. "But, about all I will tell you is that a friend of ours was visiting there, in Sana'a, and went missing. We heard about it and found out she'd been kidnapped as a bride by one of the traditionalist Bedouin tribes. They're Wahhabis, you know, like the guys at the Wadi. We went in and we got her back. It was just what you do for people you love. That's the end of it, I hope."

"As far as I know, you organized and commanded the team, just as you did at Wadi Felucca. Is that right?"

"Yes."

"I just don't understand why you're unwilling to be recognized as an effective small force commander. That's really all I mean."

Pru straightened, looking directly at him. "It's because that's not what I do, Terry. I'm a business executive. I build businesses. That's what I do, and that's what I want to talk to you about today."

"Well, I've listened to the recording of your reconnaissance and operation at Wadi Felucca, and I know a professional job of command and control in small force operations when I see one. And, I was absolutely certain that, while you were doing it, despite the dangers and the few problems, you were having a great time."

Pru thought for a moment. "Terry, you probably know how addictive adrenaline is. Sure, I enjoy those things, who wouldn't?" She laughed. "Well, I know my mother would be terrified, if she knew. But, it's still not what I do. When I have no choice, I do it. But, it's not me."

"No, Pru, it is you an important part of you. And, I'm delighted that it is because that makes you that much more valuable to Neo-Tantra."

"Well, thank you, I guess. But, there's another thing. You told me Neo-Tantra doesn't get involved in operations on the other side. If this wasn't 'operations' I don't know what is."

"Neo-Tantra, as the intelligence operation, does get involved in field work when necessary. We have the case operators, like Solly, who have the necessary background and analysis skills. Usually, the case operator works with a team from the Special Operations Command at OSG. In this case, you got that assignment because you know the area intimately, you were on the spot and you were ready to go. Frankly, if this had been a more complex operation, or one that was more risky, I wouldn't have allowed it."

"I can understand that," Pru said, "and I agree with your assessment ... and thank you for caring." She looked down at her hands briefly. "There is one other thing, and you may already have sensed it."

"You mean that running an operation like that gets you hot?"

Pru blushed. "Damn. You're making me blush. Yes, it really does. I got some help from Said and Sarah; I told you that."

"That's no problem for us, is it?."

"No." Pru grinned affectionately. "No, it's not, I'm glad to say." She shifted herself on the chair and continued. "But, I still came in here to talk to you about something else."

"All right, then. Go ahead."

Pru keyed her remote and brought up the first of several items on the com behind Terry's desk. As usual in the Home Office, she was dressed in a pretty pareo low on her hips. Her face lit with enthusiasm as she began.

"You know that we're getting started on the expansion into the EU area, China and Japan that I outlined at the reorganization meeting. All the local directors have taken the opportunity and have begun to run with it. In fact, I'm thinking that my job will be to keep them in bounds and on target for what we need. Africa's a different problem."

She showed several charts of progress being made in each of the major expansion areas.

"I agree," Terry said. "You gave them just what they've been waiting for. You really just need to keep them pulling evenly, and not let anyone get too far ahead."

"Managing internal competition is what I do, Terry. All I have to do is get it started, then hang on.

"But, I have another idea for you, and it's a whole new area. I want us to start a chain of Basic Ed schools."

Basic Education was the system of public education, universal the world around for children from six to eighteen. Terry grunted, raised his eyebrows, and gestured for her to go on.

"Neo-Tantra is a teaching operation. We run schools, Terry, for adults — adult education, if you will. Our biggest hurdle in attracting students is that our prospects don't know they need us, can't imagine they can benefit from being taught how to enhance their sexuality.

"I'm proposing to start a school ... Have you ever heard of Montessori Schools, or the Waldorf Movement?"

"The Waldorf Movement was Rudolf Steiner's idea back in the early 20th century. And, I think Montessori had to do with alternative teaching methods. Steiner was a visionary; the Montessori Method was less radical."

"That's about right. And, we don't really need to go into the details. I'm just reminding you that alternative teaching methods are nothing new.

"Today, children are conceived only by mutual consent, and almost all of them are cherished and nurtured quite well. But, the basic education paradigm is still concentrated on the three R's and social education. Not much has changed over the past couple of hundred years. And, I'm not proposing a radical change, either.

"What I want to do is integrate Neo-Tantra teaching with the normal Basic Ed program. It's more Montessori than Waldorf."

"You don't mean teaching sexuality to six-year-olds, I'm sure."

"Not at all. When kids come to school at about six, the CID implants they got at two are upgraded with their PID chips that's the first major rite of passage. And, when their med monitors show the onset of puberty, they get their fertility implants that's the next one. During all that time, they're also getting basic education, including sexual hygiene. But, they're not getting the unique training we give in empathic and sensual communication."

"That's true," Terry agreed, "but our methods are not what you could expect people to accept in a setting for children."

"Well, remember, Terry, I said 'sensual' not 'sexual'. Most of what we teach, and what I've learned in the additional Neo-Tantra courses I've had so far, is about establishing and nourishing empathic contact and accepting and evaluating sensual information within that empathic context. The practice in sexual relations is really only the application of those basic skills. Those skills explain why I can feel your concern and confusion, and also why I can sense that you're going to call a pee break in about ten minutes."

Terry laughed. "Eventually why not now?" And, they each left the room to attend to physical needs.

When they returned, Terry gestured to the couch. When they had settled there, he said, "Bathroom meditations aren't always too fruitful, Pru, but I do think you have an idea here. We can argue over the details later, but give me your rationale for all this."

Pru stretched her long legs onto the coffee table, her pareo falling off one thigh.

"As I said, our biggest problem in turning prospects into clients is that they aren't aware of their need for what we offer. They see it as an extra, something 'nice to have', not something they really need in their life. If we get them at age six, we can raise them with our ideas as one of the pillars of their consciousness. And, when the hormone storms start at puberty, they may be better able to cope. It's normal for kids to start playing with sex as soon as they get their fertility implants, or even before. But, you know as well as I do that youthful sexuality often goes off in strange ways. I think Neo-Tantra training at an early age could reduce that risk, especially because of Neo-Tantra's ability to separate empathy and sensuality. After all, we do teach that being able to sense another's feelings doesn't mean we must share them. Empathy is not sympathy."