Chapter 5

Authors note: in the next few chapters there will be many threads and the story will seem to jump around. Sorry about that, as the time line goes I feel it must be this way. The story would become a bunch of unconnected short stories otherwise. In a future chapter I hope the number of threads will diminish and become more sequential. G42

The ladies showed up for lunch, as Sara and Susan wanted to see Robert's condo. Susan had purchased a digital camera, and was going nuts with it as she could see the pictures as soon as they were taken. Carolyn pulled Robert aside telling him he was secure, and the threat was being taken care of as they spoke. Sara said that they had so many clothes, and even clothes for Roger, that the plane would have to make multiple trips to get them to the island. Elisa laughed, saying she could buy that much more and still could not overload the plane with weight, but volume could be an issue. With that, everyone laughed as Vicky and Malissa brought lunch out.

Vicky reminded everyone that her family would be coming to dinner tomorrow night, and she wanted everyone there. She said that Robert was to cook the steaks and Malissa had agreed to make her famous Greek salad. Sofia had sent a cake and the Irish Whiskey Sauce for the topping. Robert rolled his eyes, remembering the last one, hoping that Sofia had toned it down but somehow knowing she had not. Sara, Susan, and the pilots left for the airport to return to the island. In an hour the pilots returned to the condo and a puzzled Robert. He said the G650 was fast, but not that fast. Sarah said that was true, however the wives had made a decision, and wherever Robert was, he was not to be without a G650 to transport him to the island.

Malissa said Admiral Fitzgerald knew of a new G650 technically to be released for sale in 2012, but there were several early versions completely fitted out for the military, with every bell and whistle available. He had spoken with a retired friend that worked for Gulfstream and secured one of these for Robert. It was to land at Palo Alto airport in a couple of hours. Injerd and Elisa were taking a check flight, then it would be turned over. The main difference was that this plane would fly 800 miles per hour, just over Mach 1. This was to be Robert's personal source of air transportation. Two of the fighter pilots would take over crewing the original G650.

Two days after the completion of the pier, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) said a tropical storm was forming in the Eastern Pacific and predicted it would become a major hurricane. The strange track did not follow any conventional models, and wind speeds could reach category one in a few hours. The USS Mississippi had left Bremerton, Washington, yesterday under tow for Heller's Scrap Medal in Los Angeles. All day the people on the west coast were preparing for this hurricane to hit shore. Because the track was showing a track of Southeast, the Naval tugboat Captain tried to move farther out to sea to avoid the hurricane. The next morning the hurricane had reached category 3 status and NOAA was going crazy, because it was not following any conventional models. The tugboat Captain was in contact with Navships, wanting instructions if the weather became critical to his boat and crew. The reply was not to sacrifice the life of his crew or his boat for scrap metal. The crew decided to turn into the storm, trying to save both ships. The storm intensified, reaching category five with winds of 174 miles per hour and gusts to 189 Miles per hour. NOAA said this was one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded, and if it reached land the destruction would be in the billions of dollars. The Governors of California and Oregon declared states of emergency, and the President marshaled troops in Nevada and Colorado to be ready to move into affected areas to assist in any way possible.

At 2:23 AM the tugboat Captain sent a message to Navships that the lines to the USS Mississippi had snapped and contact with the ship had been lost. The last position was provided, and the closing paragraph said that the towing lines seem to be down into the sea instead or back above sea level to a floating ship. The indication was that the ship took on water and sank, but the crew could and would not swear to it.

The storm continued for another twenty-four hours, as the track changed heading for the island nation of Initium Novum. Benson received the message from NOAA, and assured them that they were ready for the storm. Rodney was making his rounds of the island, and as he cleared the tunnel to the harbor he saw this beautiful ship with the number 40 on the bow. As the storm approached Initium Novum, the winds had decreased to category tropical storm and everyone was amazed that the only casualty was the USS Mississippi. The Navy spent weeks looking for the ship by sea and satellite, but no trace was ever discovered. Fortunately, since the ship had never been delivered to Mr. Heller, his deposit was returned, and he was not held accountable for the remainder of the purchase price of the ship.

So many things were happening all at once that Robert and his family were having trouble keeping up. On Monday, Vicky's family arrived for dinner. Nancy had already treated them with Robert's loyalty juice so they were receptive to what they were going to hear. Her father and brothers were men that worked outside, and it showed. The women of the family were very feminine, yet showed a healthy glow that showed they also spent a lot of time outside. Vicky's father and mother were sizing up Robert and the other women around him, wondering what was going on. Her father was a quiet man, but when he spoke all listened. The wine presented by Vicky's family was some of the best that was ever tasted by Robert and his other wives. As the evening proceeded Robert took charge, explaining what the future held and why he was so interested in Vicky's family joining them, after the fact that they were Vicky's family.

Finally Vicky's father spoke, "I am a very religious man, and believe that the world has been in trouble for many years. This revelation does not surprise me at all, and returning to out roots is a good thing. I was taught to believe everything that the Bible said, however there are parts I cannot accept. I do know that in the Old Testament many men had multiple wives and had very happy lives. With that said, Robert, I give you and your family my blessing. Now as to this other matter, we as a family would be honored to join you in the effort to save humanity."

The entire group assembled around the table were speechless, as Paul André had never said so much at one time that anyone knew of. Maria leaned over, giving her husband a kiss thanking him for his knowledge and understanding.

Antoinette, Vicky's sister, looked troubled as her lip quivered. Vicky put her arm around her asking her what her big sister's problem was. Antoinette said that she did not have anything to contribute, as she was an architect. Malissa laughed, asking how soon she could quit her present job, as there was so much work she would not see daylight for five years. Everyone laughed as Antoinette said she could go to work tomorrow, as the firm she worked for had to close because the economy was so bad that there was no work except for the two senior partners.

After dinner and the cleanup, everyone was on the patio when Robert asked how many of their guests needed to return home tonight. The André's looked at each other, and Paul said all the grandkids were looked after until they returned home tomorrow. Robert said that on the next floor down was available space for all of them.

Robert then looked at Vicky, telling her Malissa, Antoinette and Audry Danielson needed work space, as the area Malissa was now using was taking up a lot of room in their living space.

Antoinette stood and said that if Victoria could be called Vicky she was now Toni. Maria laughed, telling her daughter it took her long enough for her to realize that she was really a Toni. Maria said that she hoped parents never saddled their children with such ancient names, even though they were very pretty. Toni said she loved her name Marie Antoinette, and since her mother was a history teacher and loved 16 and 17 hundreds in history, her daughters could be named for two famous Queens.

Everyone was gathering for breakfast when they noticed Robert and Carolyn were not there. Maria asked if they had already left for work. Sarah chuckled, telling them that Carolyn and Robert were exercising, but really Carolyn was trying to beat Robert in the pool by a full lap. Maddy said that today Carolyn was starting to slow down, as her pregnancy was taking a lot more energy than she counted on. In a few weeks the competitiveness would end for a while.

As the André families were preparing to depart, Paul asked Robert when they could visit the island to see what types of crops they could grow. Robert told them that any time they wanted to go to just call Vicky and she would arrange transportation.

After everyone left, Robert got Sarah, Injerd, and Elisa together to see what they should purchase to handle a larger group. Robert said that he preferred the Embraer ERJ145 XR. He said that it was built for fifty passengers, but he wanted the interior changed from 16 rows of 3 across to 12 rows of 2 across and to use business class seats. Seats in row 1 & 2 were to be changed for a business class seat facing the back, and a bed for a child up to two years old. Injerd asked if he knew what that would cost him. Robert said they should go to Utah, as there was rumor that three of the planes were there, the last he knew. If they could be retrofitted quickly he would buy all three at a maximum price of $80 million, with the retrofit included. Robert also told the pilots to ensure the planes had the latest electronics available, no exceptions. The three ladies looked at each other, asking who was purchasing these planes. Robert said the Monarch of Initium Novum, giving Sarah the information she would need to transfer the funds from the bank in Jersey.

The three wives had researched the aircraft to find the condition, hours on the airframe, and hours on the engines. In their research they found that a Embraer 175 was a better deal. They found two that had the interior stripped out and new interiors ordered, when the client was arrested for tax evasion, insider trading, and fraud. They found that the two planes were almost new, and the electronics had just been updated. The best news was that both planes could be purchased with the seating requirements Robert wanted, and four beds for infants could be provided. The other good news was that the 175 was faster than the 145 XR. The final news was the rub, that the broker wanted $70 million each. Sarah asked for a package price for the two with their boss' requirements. He said $130 Million when Sarah said $1oo Million. The Broker was scratching his head and came back with $115 Million. Sarah asked him to hold on a minute, and she went outside. She called Robert explaining the deal, telling him all the positives and finally the price they were at now. Robert said that he probably had a lien on the planes and unless there were loans on the planes he was making a killing at $100 Million. Sarah returned and said that her boss said $100 Million was as high as he would go. So the women started to gather their papers and putting them in their briefcases.

The broker saw a deal slipping through his fingers, as he only had about $10 million into the planes and the maximum he would have to fork out for the interiors was $5 million. Along with the legal fees he had he could make about $20 Million. He looked at the card Sarah left him and reached for his telephone. When Sarah answered he asked her to come back a moment. As the two talked, he admitted he got the planes for the lien he had, plus what he had to pay the government as confiscated property from illegal gains. He said $100 Million was a steal, and he was willing to take 80 million if they would consider a cargo plane he had and could not unload. Sarah said deal, and she would let him know about the cargo plane in a week. The plane was a Boeing 1992 B-737-300 QC. The asking price was $7.7 Million, but he would take $7 million even.

The first Embraer 175 would be ready in two weeks, and the second in a month. When they saw Robert he was happy with their efforts, and was stunned with the cargo plane. He thought he would have to pay one to two hundred million for a good cargo jet. Sarah said to wait for a week and maybe they could get a better deal.

Robert got a call from Tom Fitzgerald telling him that the President wanted his decision by Friday. Robert told him to tell the president that he was tired and it was time to hang up the anchor. Tom called back the next morning to tell him the president was furious, and said that as soon as he could identify his replacement he could retire. Tom was to meet with the committee to recommend a replacement, and it had to be a four star Admiral. Patrick Roughneck was his recommendation, as he had several years as Chief of Naval Operations. He had been a Cruiser and Carrier Captain. His first assignment as an Admiral was as Fleet Admiral Asia. Tom left the committee room and was told they wanted him back tomorrow morning.

When Tom returned the next morning, the Admiral chairing the committee asked Tom when he wanted them to release the results of their selection. Tom was honest with them, saying that the President wanted to appoint him as CJCS. Tom said he was tired, and told the president that when he declined his offer of the CJCS position. The President was very angry, and for the good of the Navy they should release their findings as soon as they were ready. The chairman, a friend of Tom's, said that they had been meeting for over a month, as he knew that Tom wanted to retire, and Lenora Carter had just retired since she would never make Admiral. Tom asked the chairman who they had selected as his replacement, and was told that Patrick Roughneck would take his place.

The recommendation was released the next morning, and four star Admiral Tom Fitzgerald officially submitted his retirement papers to Bupers. At times the Bureau of Naval Personnel can move quickly if it is in the best interest of the Navy. Admiral Patrick Roughneck had been friends with Tom Fitzgerald since their Naval Academy days, when Tom was in his third year and Patrick was a Plebe. As the two talked before Tom met with the selection committee, they had agreed when the decision was made the appointment confirmed as CNO, Patrick would move Tom's papers through Bupers quickly so as to get Tom from in front of the President. So it was.

Tom and Lenora stopped in Las Vegas on the way to Palo Alto and were married. When they arrived in Palo Alto they were met by Robert and his wives. Malissa was overjoyed that her father had a wife, and Lenora would have been her first choice.

Robert laid out the strategy for gathering supplies for Initium Novum, and how to get them there without a lot of attention. It was decided that supply depots would be set up in a couple of countries and transported from those depots to Initium Novum. No extraordinary amount of any item would be ordered at one time, and no two shipments shipped to the same warehouse within six months of each other. They would try to get warehouses located close to airports where underground passageways could be constructed. Then loads could be moved from the warehouse to the hangar and onto the cargo planes without a lot of notice.

Tom set up a worldwide purchasing network to obtain the supplies needed. Every Monday he would send a list of supplies to be purchased for a particular country, or free trade partner to that country, and the funds to pay previous purchases. Sometimes Tom would set up the purchasing agent with Lenora being the contact, and in some other countries the reverse was done. They had a huge board with the types of products, the amount required, and the drop dead dates for the last shipments.

Malissa had ordered a supply of lumber from Canada which consumed an entire cargo ship there was 500 million board feet of cedar. She ordered a similar amount from Latvia, Belize and Mexico. From the USA she ordered 500 million board feet of Fir and oak. Then from three South American countries she ordered 900 million board feet of hard wood. By the time she finished Malissa had over four billion board feet of lumber. The first shipments were taking up most of the third level of the underground. Nancy had caused a holograph that made the USS Mississippi disappear. That would allow for larger shipments to arrive by sea.

Sarah received a call from Daniel Babbitt requesting that someone meet with the construction crew to sort out living accommodations, and all fifteen of them felt that with the amount of work to be done they needed to start as soon as possible. Sarah had just been looking at the delivery specs for the first Embraer 175 on Monday when she asked Daniel if it was urgent, or could it wait until Saturday. Daniel said it was not urgent and a week Saturday would be fine. Sarah said that if he could have the crew and their families at the Redwood California Airport, they would fly everyone to the island for a long weekend. Daniel said he would make it happen.

Sarah was thinking it would be nice to have Nancy here to help her with accommodations for all these people. She heard a chuckle as Nancy appeared at her table. Nancy told her she answered as soon as she was called as she knew she would be wanted, now what could she do for her. Sarah explained that the main house could never house all the people that would be required to complete the build out on time. Could the Palo Alto condo building be replicated on the island not once but three times? Sarah would like to have them on the South shore beaches. Nancy said it could be done as long as she got Robert's approval.

Sarah asked Malissa, Toni, Audry and Robert to meet with her regarding Daniel's request. As soon as everyone was ready, she explained that Daniel had requested a meeting with them regarding the next phase of build out. The construction crew and their families were coming to the island a week Saturday for a four day weekend. Sarah said now the problem was there was not enough room to house that many people in the main house. She and Nancy had been discussing the problem, and thought reproducing this condo building three times would provide spaces for 180 families on the South shore beach. Audry asked how long would it take to build the buildings, and would that not take away from the main purpose of the underground build out. Nancy appeared and said that she had permission to replicate the buildings, and they would be ready by Thursday.

Robert had not said a word since this discussion started, and finally he spoke up. He said no, the condos would not be on the South shore, as that would cause the people to feel they were second class citizens, and he was not going to have that. The condos would be to the left of the main house looking toward the ocean, much the same as the main house. They were all entering into this as equal partners, and to make this work they had to feel that way. The condos would be replicated with every upgrade possible, and would be nicer than the one they were in now. The condos would be allotted by draw by the youngest member of the family. If a single person were to draw, they would select a young person from those present, preferably one between the ages of six to ten. There would be no penthouse condos, as the top floor would be used for classrooms and recreation. All agreed, as they knew that Robert had the final word.

On Thursday evening they were flying to the island, Robert and Brad were talking when Robert told Brad he was his best friend and advisor, and he wanted him and his family to live in the main house with him. Brad was choked, as he knew that he felt the same way about Robert. As they landed in the twilight they could see the three condo buildings silhouetted in the evening sky.

The next morning Sarah and Robert took everyone on the island on a tour of the center condo building. The condos were extravagant, with a balcony view of the ocean from the living room and the master bedroom. As they were completing the tour a GV was landing. A few minutes later Tom and Lenora Fitzgerald arrived, wanting to know when the condos had been built. Robert said they had been turned over yesterday and were ready to be moved into.

That evening after dinner the entire population of the island was in the great room, when Elisa's sister stood and asked if the pilots and maintenance crews could have the bottom floors of one of the buildings. If there was a requirement for them to scramble they did not want to be waiting for elevators to get to aircraft. Also for their family, would it be possible for them to have two condos, as there were seven wives and one husband. That brought a laugh, as Brad and Robert had a competition for the largest family, and with that Robert threw a pillow at Brad. Both Sara and Alice in unison said behave boys, which brought a greater laugh.

Robert stood and explained how condos would be assigned with the exception of the flight crews. He said that his family would remain in the main house as follows: The Callahan family, The Addison family, The O'Connor family, the Agostino family, The Mountbatten family, and the Fitzgerald family. Robert indicated a box about a foot deep and two foot square, and he said that there were seventy-two balls in the box with a condo number on each ball, for the other buildings there would be eighty ball in the box unless there were overriding requirements. The next day when the construction crew and their families arrived, the drawing would commence.

Rodney Mountbatten stood and said he and his wife and children would like to be included in the draw. They loved everyone here, but they had been apart from family for so many years that it felt tight living so close. Turning to his mother and father he said that he loved them both more that he could express, but he hoped they understood. Benson, with a big smile on his face, said if he tried to move his daughter-in-law and grandkids from the island he would have to go alone, because they were not going anywhere until he and Sofia were dead. With that was laughter, as all could see the love between the two men.

As the sun rose Robert, Carolyn, Brad, Roberto and Roger were doing laps in the pool and had just began the cool down phase when Jan, Robert's youngest daughter, jumped on her dad's back for the last few laps. On the last lap she was hanging on for dear life, as she knew Robert would roll over just before reaching the end of the pool. As soon as the roll was completed Jan was screaming with laughter, wanting him to do it again. Robert asked Carolyn to take the growth off his back and throw it in the pool. Carolyn grabbed Jan as Robert snagged Ann, and they threw both girls in the middle of the pool. They played with the girls until Malissa came out with towels and clothes, telling the girls it was time to shower and get dressed for breakfast.

They were cleaning up the dishes from breakfast as Sofia and Benson were talking to Robert, saying how much it meant to them to have Rodney and his family close. Sofia said she may be the head cook, but none of the women would let her back into the kitchen once she sat down to eat until the kitchen was sparkling clean. Robert laughed, as he said they would eat and clean rather than cook.

They heard a different jet engine noise as the Embraer 175 landed. All the men gathered golf carts and headed for the hangar. There were sixteen families aboard, and the plane was a little overloaded as some children were sitting on parents' laps. Malcolm Rodrick led the group off the airplane as forty-five people gathered around Sarah. Sarah told them they would go to the main house and Robert would explain everything. Maddy drove up and Janell Rodrick spotted her. Janell broke away from her mother, running to Maddy yelling "Dr Maddy, Dr Maddy, I can run now, want to see?" Maddy grabbed the girl, swinging her around knowing that she had given this little girl a new wonderful life. Only Robert saw the tears in her eyes.

In the great room Sofia and the rest of the ladies had sat out coffee, milk, juice and fresh cinnamon buns. Robert cornered Injerd and Elisa, wanting to know what would have happened if the US authorities had caught them with an overloaded plane like that. The two kind of hung their heads and admitted that it was not the best thing, but all of them were so excited they could not leave any behind for a second trip. Robert looked at the two, and said do not do it again, call for another plane.

Robert introduced himself as Robert Callahan, the owner of the island that was larger than the state of Connecticut by approximately 1,300 square miles, for a total of 15,600 and change square miles. "Now the first question you may ask is, why only 500 adults when there is so much land. A few reasons are the amount of supplies we can stock, the underground area available to us, the mount of electrical power available, and the time it will take to grow food to restart the food chain. We will try to recruit people that will not only help in the start up, but also help us when we restart building the human race. When we discussed the people to populate this island, the first people that were not to be considered were troublemakers and dissidents. I know in the future as humans there will be people that will want to be the top dog, or have the most wealth. I hope that is long after we are all dead. We can only hope that we can teach future generations that peace is better than war, love is better than hate, and war is not acceptable at all".

"One of the things that had to be done in the present world as required by the UN is a Constitution, a bill of rights, and some laws. Sarah who is a lawyer, one of the few nice ones, has been working on a Constitution and almost has it completed. Fortunately the only person she has to get agreement from is me. Before that I had her draft guidelines that all people on this island will live by. The first addresses marriage. Because we will be charged with repopulating the earth, and because only women can produce children, I have insisted that polyamory relationship be embedded in both the constitution and the guidelines to live by. In my definition of a polyamory relationship, an emphasis on ethics, honesty, and transparency all around are widely regarded as the crucial defining characteristics. All parties must agree and be totally committed to the relationship or it is doomed to failure."

Robert adamantly insisted that the polyamory was not for everyone, and a monogamist relationship would never be looked down on, and ridicule of either relationship would not be tolerated.

Sarah handed out her guidelines for life on the island for people to have and to read. People were amazed that there was only one page, and not a PC law in the bunch. One lady looked them over and said that it was great, as there would very little need for lawyers. Laughing, Sarah agreed and said that she still needed two additional lawyers to get by the next five years. The same lady said "you have found a contract and real estate one if you can use me." Sarah said hired.

Once again Robert got everyone's attention telling then that there twenty floors in each building and four condos, A through D on each floor. He then detailed the method of assignment of the condos, and that the youngest member of the family would be responsible for drawing the ball, if capable. Robert then invited them to visit the condos, and in one hour they would meet here to draw for living quarters.

As the people begin to return, the excitement in their voices could be heard. Robert told Nancy to give them their choice in condos if possible. As they had all returned, Robert asked them if they could live with those accommodations. Mary Babbitt said that she may never want to leave here if she could live in that condo, which brought agreement from the wives. Robert asked who was going to draw first, and the crew looked around when Rod Jones said that their leader Mac Roderick should go first, the crew all cheered. Janell went to the box and tuck her arm in as Robert told her to stir them up real good. People could hear balls hitting the inside of the box as she looked at Robert asking if that was good enough. He told her it was perfect. She came out with a ball that had A20 on it. Reta Roderick smiled, as secretly that was the Condo she wanted.

One of the other crew members said Daniel should go next, because if it had not been for him they would not be here. Four year old Barbara Babbitt walked up stuck her arm in as far as she could and could not feel the balls. Robert picked her up, and laid her on top of the box where the full length of her arm to the armpit was in the hole. Robert suspected that Nancy was helping also. Barbara came out with a ball then ran, handing it to her mother. Mary gasps when she realized that she was next to Reta Roderick in B20.

Suddenly Robert remembered something, and he stopped the proceedings to let everyone know that the first two floors were reserved for flight crews. If any families had aversions to heights something, could be arranged. One lady said anything above the fifth floor might be a problem for her. Robert asked her to send her youngest child up, and they would let her draw now. Her husband said that would be a problem, as their first child was still four months from being free of his mother. Everyone got a laugh from that, as the young woman said maybe Barbara Babbitt could draw for them. Hearing her name, Barbara ran to Robert holding up her hands for a lift. Robert lifted her up, telling her he needed a kiss for all the lifting. She gave him a big sloppy four year old kiss. Robert laid her on the box and, she stirred the balls a little, bringing one out. She started to hand it to Robert, but he told her to take it to the lady in the blue shorts. Barbara ran to the lady and offered her the ball saying "here, Mandy". Mandy took the ball and it had the number C4 on it. Mandy looked very happy, as she was high but not too high. Several of Mandy's friends also drew balls on the 4^th and 5^th floors, and that made them all happy. The last crew member, Rod Jones, walked over to Janell Roderick, asking her to pull a ball for him. Janell stirred the balls as before, and pulled one. Giving it to Rod he looked at it, giving her a hug as he told her she did a perfect job, he was in C20.