Chapter 5

Robert was amazed to see ten buses line up at the end of the pier, and they were big ones. Bonnie had planned an early lunch so that when the buses arrived they could head for Campinas. It is about 150 kilometres to Campinas, and they figured two to three hours drive the first time. With the newly completed ring road around São Paulo this should cut down on the travel time. The call went out for twenty more people that would be willing to drive one of these big buses. The drivers felt if someone looked at some of the other tour company locations they could find another ten buses. All they needed were drivers. One of the drivers said he was willing to stay behind and look for more buses, and to help others learn to drive a bus. A lady asked if the driver had to be a man, and was quickly told no. Several women and some of the pilots said they were willing to try to drive. Another woman asked how many people would be able to go if thirty buses were available. The answer was eighteen hundred people. It was then suggested that any travel be delayed until the next day and everyone could go at one time. That was met with wide approval.

Another minivan was found and eleven people loaded into each van. They went to the first tour company to look around some more. In the back lot they found fifteen brand new buses that did not even have the plastic off the seats yet. When the mechanics checked the engine compartments and fluid levels everything was good. The battery charger was brought to the first bus and connected. As the driver tried to start the bus the other mechanic sprayed starter fluid in the air intake, and shortly the bus was running. Each mechanic took two new drivers and went to the first two buses. A demonstration drive was then completed, and then a new driver was given the opportunity to drive. Soon they had ten buses driving around the lot. Returning to the front lot the same thing was repeated, and then there were twenty buses driving around the lot. After an hour of practice all were stopped and the drivers were asked if they were ready to take the buses to the ship. One of the drivers said "as ready as we will ever be with this much practice". They were told one minivan would lead and one would follow. If anyone had trouble they were to pull over where it was convenient and the follow up driver would help. You could see that several of the drivers were nervous but still game. The return trip to the ship was slow but uneventful. The cycle was repeated until thirty, sixty passenger buses were parked near the ship.

There was a short meeting of all the drivers after dinner that night and the routes were discussed, and since each bus had a radio if there was trouble they could call for help and the mechanics would find them and assist. Finally they said that the first part of the trip would be driven at fifty kilometres per hour, and after they cleared São Paulo they would take a short break to see about increasing the speed. One of the husbands stood and suggested that mainly wives make the trip tomorrow as they would make the decisions on the houses they would live in. As a chuckle was heard around the room some said "smart man". It was agreed.

Breakfast was early, as everyone wanted to see the residential areas that had been selected and the types of homes available. As the buses loaded, it seemed that those that were in groups, were still in groups. There had been lunches available to take along and cold drinks were on the buses. John Adams was driving the lead bus, with Robert's wives in one of the minivans as navigator. The two mechanics were in the other van with tools in case they were needed. The newest drivers were in the center of the train and could get help if required. There seemed to be only one problem all the way to Campinas, where the ring road around São Paulo was being repaired and the crossover was not in good shape. After looking the situation over it was decided to see if the crossover could handle the heavy buses. The first bus drove the crossover with no problem, were still in groups. There had been lunches available to take along and cold drinks were on the buses. John Adams was driving the lead bus, with Robert's wives in one of the minivans as navigator. The two mechanics were in other vans with tools in case they were needed. The newest drivers were in the centre of the train and could get help if required. There seemed to be only one problem all the way to Campinas, where the ring road around São Paulo was being repaired and the crossover was not in good shape. After looking the situation over it was decided to see if the crossover could handle the heavy buses. The first bus drove the crossover with no problem; however by the time the last bus was ready to cross it was questionable. The driver was not confident and asked one of the mechanics if he would take it over. Soon the final bus was in the other lane ready to continue the journey north to Campinas.

Selma bypassed a lot of Campinas and drove directly to the residential areas. Before leaving, each driver had drawn for a location to park their bus. The drivers also had alternate locations when the homes were viewed. The plan was that the first day the areas would be scanned and areas of interest noted so a detailed view could be completed later. That was the original plan, but what really happened was the buses drove all the areas for a first look. Some areas had more appeal for a number of varied reasons. It was decided that the full group would meet in a park for lunch and see what everyone's thinking was. The concern was that it could take a month or more before the housing issue was settled. What no-one knew was that Nancy had scanned the wishes of all the women, and would direct them to areas most likely to meet their requirements.

As everyone was finishing their lunch, Sandra Cummings stood on a table and asked everyone to gather around. She then asked if there were any objections to the area selected to locate their homes in. The group seemed to be happy with the area as it was close to the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, where their children would be going to school from beginning to end. "The teaching medical school is close by, where all our medical needs will be attended to. Finally, since we are on the edge of Campinas, those growing our food will be close enough to the farms to still live in our neighbourhoods. I will tell you Robert would like your request for housing cards by one week from today. If more time is required we will accommodate as much as possible. You have all had the opportunity so see the maps of the area and have smaller versions with you. By the time we return to the ship the wall versions will be secured, only Agnes and her crew will have access. Any time you are ready to fill out the request for housing card, do so and drop it in the boxes at the dining room entrances. They are secure and will be checked several times a day. Now that I have eaten up some of your time I am going to find a home."

For five days the buses were running back and forth to the residential areas. Toward the end fewer people were going back. On the sixth day no one wanted to return to Campinas, and a lot of discussions were happening among the families. Agnes and her crew were busy, as every time they checked the drop boxes there were more request cards. On the evening of the sixth day Agnes asked Robert to meet with them. As the group was ready for Robert, Agnes seemed nervous, but Allen said it was no big deal as they had been expecting some double ups, here they just had four families wanting the same home.

When Robert appeared he could see the tension in Agnes' face. She explained the situation showing him the four request cards. He had met three of the four that had requested the same home, as they had been on Initium Novum almost from the beginning. He called Vicky asking for the cabin numbers of the four people in question. He then sent the youngest four members of Agnes' team to ask the families to come to the Champagne Bar. As the four families entered the bar they knew each other, and the three had become friends with the forth family from Denmark on the cruise.

Smiling, Robert started "You ladies have very similar tastes in housing. I felt there might be some homes having two families request the same home, but to have four families request the same home kind of blew my mind. I asked Agnes to pull all the unspoken for homes that were in a block of four. Gonzales, Baylor and Barton families were neighbours while we were on Initium Novum, and the Kristiansen family seem to have become friends with the other three. Now it would be a little tight for you to all live in the same house, but if that is what you want it is OK with me". By that time Robert had the whole group chuckling. Jorge Gonzales said that he liked all these guys a lot but not that much, which caused everyone to laugh and the men to agree. Rosalinda Gonzales suggested that tomorrow the four women return to Campinas and look at the blocks of houses and make a choice. Katherine Kristiansen ask how many request had yet to be filled, so they would know if there was a problem if one of the four homes they selected might be taken. Agnes said that as far as she knew every one had submitted their request cards and all had been posted. Elizabeth asked how many double ups there had been. Agnes said the only double up had been a quad up, and she did not know if that was even a term. Everyone laughed at that, thinking that this would not be hard to resolve. Robert said that he would have one of the pilots fly them to Campinas, as there were SUVs there they could use. With that everyone left and no one was mad.

The next morning Elisa and Carolyn took the four ladies to the Santos Airport, where the mechanics had found a couple of larger twin engine airplanes, and flew the four couples to Campinas. They landed and taxied to the area where they had left the SUVs. Carolyn found the keys where they had left them and threw one set to Jorge Gonzales, asking him if he wanted to lead or follow. Laughing, he said he had never been in this city and was no dummy, so he would follow. The list was in Katherine Kristiansen hands, so she directed Carolyn where she should go. After looking at three locations the four women looked at each other and nodded. They took their husbands to a house and did an in depth walk through. When they walked out four request cards were filled in and they said they were ready to fly back to the ship. All the way back the talk was of the modifications that would be made on the houses as time permitted. When they returned they looked for Agnes and handed her the request cards.

Robert was on the public address system asking if any family had not turned in their request for housing card to please do so within one hour. At the expiration of the allotted time, the doors to the theatre were opened for the citizens review. The final group had selected homes bordering the group of homes that were considered executive homes. There were fifteen executive homes with two hectares of land with each house. Those houses surrounded a huge house that seemed to be pinnacle of the subdivision. The rumour was it was built for Hector Garcia, the reputed king pin for all drugs in Brazil. The surrounding houses were for his daughters and their families. The interesting thing was that he never got to see the finished homes, as the Polícia Federal found him trying to leave the country and arrested him. Because the rest of the cartel felt that his knowledge would bring down the entire operation, he was assassinated. However, before he died his twelve daughters, their husbands, their kids and his wife were killed. The entire family was gone. The struggle to take over as the cartel head was still being fought when the biological germ was released. Robert felt good riddance to bad rubbish and he felt sorry for the rest of the family, as most of them were innocents.

Sarah and Maddy took Robert for a tour of the main house, knowing he would reject it off hand as being elitist and setting himself apart from the citizens. As they were sitting at a bar in the great room, Sarah pulled a poll summary out showing it to Robert. There was several questions asked, but the main one 'was where should the Monarch live'? The surprising answer was unanimous that the Monarch should live in a home that was in line with the position he held.

Maddy said that there were thirteen adults in his immediate family, and fifteen kids with two being teenagers. For now some of the kids could share bedrooms, but as they grew older they would want their own bedroom, so plan on adding to this house. With the eight plus hectares there was plenty of room. Another thing was a building that he could work in, and others that supported him would need offices. As for the homes surrounding the main house, twelve were already assigned as follows:

Roger and Silvia Callahan

Clem and Alice Addison

Roberto, Silvia and Sophia Agostino

Benson and Sofia Mountbatten

Brad and Amy O'Connor

Paul and Maria André

Tom, Lenora and Sheila Fitzgerald

Lenoid and Larisa Masorin

Floyd and Freida Lycomb

Thomas and June Schneider

Ronald and Ann Barton

Michael, Michelle and Wallace Ward

Rod Jones, Susan Callahan, and Marie Antoinette André

Future, Ann Callahan

Future, Jan Callahan

Additional homes could be built as required as Robert's other children matured and took wives or husbands. The land in back of the circle of homes was available to build more homes. Robert knew they were right, but did not want an office on the same grounds as his home. He had heard the Administration Building at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas was a very nice building, and the Chancellors office might fit his requirements.