Post by scintor on Mar 20, 2008 22:20:48 GMT -5
This is a section of a story I am working on. Tell me what you think and give me some feedback. Please be ruthless.
Part 1: Changes
Allen’s Remembrances
Everything changed when we heard them. SETI detected them, not from some distant star, but crossing the orbit of Uranus and closing fast. We could hear them talking amongst themselves, but when we tried to talk to them, we were met with silence. This led those in power to decided that we had no choice but to prepare for war. The aliens had arranged themselves in three groups, for reasons known only themselves. The first group was still five years away when we detected them. Luckily, this gave us enough time to panic, recover, and then do what we needed to.
Almost everyone joined the World Defensive League which formed around the UN Security council. All open warfare stopped for a time, and it looked like there would be peace on Earth until the aliens arrived. Then all the crazies with their doomsday cults started crawling out of the woodwork and launching their crusades to save humanity or start Armageddon. There were a couple of really bloody years until we seemed to work this out of our collective system. (Some people still refer to this time as Loon Hunting Season, but in polite company it’s usually called the Troubles.) In the meantime, most people panicked for a while, and then got bored and went on with their daily lives. The only real difference that I could tell was the number of people who were selling emergency kits or ‘how to build a bomb shelter in your basement’ guides on late night TV.
I was glued to the TV set, like just about everyone else, and watched the fireworks during the battle of the Moon. (Everyone says it’s silly to have called it the Battle of the Moon, because the actual battle happened in open space, but the battle started when the aliens crossed the orbit of the Moon and everyone is used calling it that, so I guess we’re stuck with it.) We blew away nine out of the ten ships, and the big one blew up in the atmosphere. Anyway, the world didn’t end like all the whacko’s had been saying it would, so I had to go back to work in the morning.
The last ship, ended up somewhere near Mongolia, and our forces seem to have taken care of it pretty easily. So that seem to be that, until the next group arrived. None of this seemed to have anything to do with me anyway, I was just a nerd working in an electronics store. I figured that it would either pass me by without affecting me at all, or I would be in incinerated by some stray blast, one or the other. Boy, was I wrong!
Strangely enough, it was computer gaming that was my downfall. (What do you know, Mom was right!) I was playing the latest open-ended strategy game from Prometheus Corp, when a dialog box came up and told me that I had proved myself a ‘legendary strategist.’ It asked me fill out a registration form and promised some free bonus material for the game as well as a prize from Prometheus. Well, no green-blooded American nerd could possibly turn down free bonus game material, so I quickly filled out the form and hit send. I figured that I would get a T-shirt or something in eight to ten weeks, and promptly went back to my game. Little did I know that I had set off a flurry of activity at Prometheus.
***************
The next morning, the phone rang and my mother yelled out, “Allen, it’s for you.”
A voice on the phone said, “Is this Mr. Allen Spencer?”
“Yes.”
“Hello, I’m with the Prometheus Corporation prize department.”
“Oh, from the game. Boy, that was quick.”
“I just needed to check with you see if anyone would be home this afternoon to receive a package.”
“Well, I was just getting ready to go to work, but my mom will be here all day. Will that work?”
“That will be fine Mr. Spencer. Congratulations on your outstanding performance in the game. The package that you will receive will contain the bonus material for the game, which I hope you enjoy, as well as instructions on how to claim the rest of your prize.”
“What exactly did I win?”
“I’m afraid that I’m not allowed to reveal that to you Mr. Spencer, at this time. However, I do wish to congratulate you one more time and thank you for using Prometheus Corporation products.”
I hung up phone and thought to myself, well, that was nice and somewhat creepy. “Mom, I should be getting a package from Prometheus this afternoon, will you be home?”
“I have to get some groceries this morning, but after that I should be in for the rest of today.”
***************
That evening as I got home, “Hi mom, I’m back.”
“How was work today sweetie?”
“It was terrible, I have got to get a new job.”
“Allen!”
“I know, I know, ‘don’t quit one job until you have another one.’”
“Well, anyway, your package is in on the living room table.”
“Thanks,” I opened the package, looking for the game disk when I saw something sitting on top. “Mom, come here and tell me if I really seeing what I’m seeing.”
She took them and counted them and said, “There’s $2000 in travelers checks here.”
“Are they real?”
“Yes, as far as I can tell.”
I opened the letter that was in the package and found folded in the letter an airline ticket. The letter read as follows (or at least this is how I remember it):
Dear Mr. Spencer,
Congratulations on winning Prometheus Corporation’s grand prize: An all expenses paid two-week vacation and tour of Prometheus Corporation headquarters. In this package you should find one disk of bonus material, one airline ticket, and $2000 in travelers checks. The cash prize should help defray any costs you might incur while traveling to our corporate headquarters. Please give us a call to let us know when you will arrive and we will have people waiting at the airport to greet you.
Sincerely,
Prometheus Corporation prize department.
“I wonder if I can get any time off,” I said lamely.
***************
Deep within the bowels of Prometheus Corporation, there was a spacious office that was tastefully and efficiently laid out. Within this office, sat an unkempt, though very well-dressed man behind a very messy desk.. An elegant lady walked in, looked at the disarray, and sighed. At this, the man looked up and smiled, “What do you have for me Angelia?”
“Well, it looks like your little computer fishing expedition has finally reeled one in.”
“Is that the folder?” He said reaching for it.
She moved the folder slightly so that was just out of his reach, “Not until you straighten up your desk and yourself a bit.”
He quickly straightened his desk into a decent order, looked up at her for approval. She held up a comb without saying anything, which he took and managed to make his hair a little less untidy. She handed him the folder with a tolerant smile.
He took the file with a look in his eyes that is usually reserved for children opening gifts on Christmas. “OK, let’s see, Allen Spencer, 23 years old. SAT score is 1410, IQ 145, three years of college, no degree, six jobs in the past five years. The perfect profile of a Savant, if I do say so myself.”
“Yes, he is young and he has excellent potential. I look forward to completing his profile when he gets here.”
“And you said this was a silly idea.”
“I was just wondering if I should start calling you Mr. Wonka.”
He gave her an annoyed look and said, “Whatever makes you happy, my dear. Now, what do we have next?”
“Ron and Amber have returned from their meeting with the U.N. Security Council.”
“Excellent, have them come in as soon as they are ready to give their report.”
About 20 minutes later, the pair were waiting at the office’s conference table, when in walked a middle-aged, balding, slightly overweight man who appeared to have been taken straight out of Wall Street. With him was a willow thin blond girl, who looked like she had borrowed her mother’s business suit for an interview.
“Well, Ron, how did it go?”
“In short, Director, we got almost everything that we wanted. Prometheus has been given an individual charter by the UN Security council. We are to investigate all alien technology, develop weapons and raise a rapid reaction force to deal with any alien presence or incursions. You are now Commander of the U.N. special defense force under the World Defense League Treaty.”
Angelia looks at Amber who has an irritated expression on her face, and said, “What happened?”
“Everything was going perfectly, until Ron here, just about blew everything when he got obsessed over the money again. I had to just about hit him upside the back of the head to get him to stick with the plan.”
“This whole enterprise, will come to a screeching halt if we do not get the proper remuneration structure set up.”
Angelia stood and Glared at Ron, “We deliberately set this up so that they had something they could take away from us. Otherwise, even if they had agreed, it would build up so much bad will that the agreement would have been worth little more than toilet paper. If you’d succeeded in what you wanted, we would’ve had a near complete loss today but, thankfully, you listen to your Counselor.”
“It still would have saved time,” said Ron looking a bit sullen.
“I kept telling him money wasn’t the important thing. But that was all that he could think about: Money, Money, Money.”
Angelia smiled at her, and sat down, “You did very well, Amber.”
“Ron, you did very well. In fact, as a team, you two to did just about perfectly. The only thing you haven’t mentioned, is whether we got the personnel concessions we were looking for.”
“Unfortunately, that part went very much along political lines. We were given special diplomatic status that would let us recruit, but they were many who would not allow access to personnel records except under very limited conditions.”
He gave a disappointed sigh, “I has hoped for better, but I didn’t really expect it. You see, Ron I have plenty of money coming in from our arms sales. People, is what I’m desperately short of. I need the type of people who can bring dreams to life. I need enough Savants and Counselors to change the world, or we WILL lose it.” A light touch from Angelia on his shoulder caught the Director’s attention enough to break the intensity he had been building. “But, you two have probably heard that speech so many times that you have it memorized. Ron and Amber, your next task is to work on is getting us strategic combat bases around the world.”
“I have already gotten some progress on that, but they only seem to be interested in giving us a base if we promise to build an arms facility on their soil.” He chuckled to himself while sporting an evil grin. “Your idea worked like a charm, but that is still not near enough total bases.”
“Letting them force you to do exactly what you want, especially when they think it is their idea works very well and is much more fun besides. Anyway the base offers will start to come after they see the full report of what we faced in Russia, but it is still going to be an awful lot of work for you to get what we need. I also need you to keep a close eye on the personnel issue. Try to grease the wheels to get as many through as soon as possible. The people I need are very rare and it takes time to train them after we find them, and time is not on our side. Just remember, although useful, the money is secondary right now, and trust in your partner. That goes for both of you. You two were put together for a reason.”
After some more questions and answers, Ron and Amber left and the Director asked Angelia, “Is that pair stable?”
Angelia smiled maternally, “They’re fine. The bickering they do is part of their dance. The have worked most of the bugs out of their relationship to a father-daughter mentorship with no major foreseeable problems in the immediate future.”
He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Immediate future?”
“Lets just say that anyone who wants to date her is going to have to live up to some tough standards.”
“If I get the influx of people I’m looking for, you’re going to be very busy finding workable pairs.”
“I know, and I have been taking my own advice and delegating more of my work to my assistants.”
“Good, just try to leave yourself enough room to take special cases. Look after Mr Spencer when he gets here, he will be important.”
***************
Well, now I was the big contest winner. Before all of this, I had always considered myself a loser. Nothing had ever gone my way. To say that this left me unprepared what came next, is like saying an atomic blast stings a bit.
I went to work as normal the next day, preparing for a bit of bragging, and wondering how I would bring up the idea of vacation time to my boss. I was called into the store managers office immediately, and HE told ME that corporate had approved my vacation time and I could start it whenever I was ready. By that afternoon I had decided that my vacation would start the next day. (I still don’t remember if I told my boss that or not.)
I went home and pulled out an ancient, moldy smelling suitcase out of the attic and proceeded to fill it about halfway with everything I thought I would need. My mother then came in and reminded me of entire categories of things I had forgotten and I ended up filling the entire suitcase and a gym bag with all of my things. I called the airlines and found , much to my surprise, that once I had given them the ticket number, they had no problem whatsoever getting me a seat on a convenient flight. Prometheus said that they would have someone waiting for me holding a sign on the other end upon my arrival.
So, I get the airport in my comfortable (ragged) T-shirt and sweats, and go up to the counter to check in my bags. I am immediately escorted to the first class lounge and offered all sorts of complementary foods and drinks. I had ‘prudently’ arrived two hours early and since I didn’t really have anything to do while I was waiting, I promptly stuffed myself like a Thanksgiving turkey. ( I’m lucky that I don’t like to drink or I probably would have gotten so sloshed that I couldn’t smell straight.)
Somewhere in my bloated haze, I realized that something was making me feel uncomfortable and out of place (besides my stomach.) The next time an attendant asked if I needed something, I realized what it was. The only times I had ever been called ‘sir’ before in my life was when the girl behind the counter had asked if I would like fries with my order. This kind of ‘sir’ is pure window dressing and of course meant nothing to either person involved. The people here in the lounge were saying it with actual respect, and it was starting to creep me out. For the first time in my life I was being treated like a genuine VIP (Very Important Person) instead of a UL (Unimportant Loser) and I had no idea how to deal with it. I have since learned that the best way to deal with this is humility and grace but, without this knowledge I was stuck with embarrassment.
Fortunately, my flight was called soon after that so I could go and be uncomfortable in front of a whole new set of people! I felt like the stewardesses were watching me constantly. ( I would later learn that this was probably true but for different reasons than I thought.) Anyway, I had never flown in first class before and really didn’t get to enjoy it between the embarrassment and the nausea from over stuffing myself at the lounge.
After disembarking from the plane, I saw a young lady, with far too much energy, holding a sign with my name on it. “Mr. Spencer, or should I call you Allen, it is a great honor to meet the winner of our grand prize, a full tour of Prometheus Corporation, which makes some of the world’s greatest computer games as well as the most powerful military hardware...” And on and on she went, never seeming to take a breath or ever pausing to allow me to answer a question or comment. Everything that she said was probably very interesting and useful, except I was already in a bad mood and really dislike overly perky people, so I tuned her out completely. This did nothing to even slow down her monologue that lasted the entire trip from the airport to the Prometheus HQ Campus. Karen is a nice young lady who does her job quite well, but I’m still glad that I don’t have to work with her often.
As we got to the campus, I started getting excited once again. My discomfort and irritation dropped away as I stared out the window like a little kid. Even back then, Prometheus had quite a reputation. Conspiracy nut-jobs accused them of knowing all the secrets that had ever been lost and being at the center of every plot and problem that ever existed (including those that happened centuries before the company was founded.) I just knew that they made great games, fascinating gizmos and awesome weapons. After getting through an impressive number of gates and checkpoints, we pulled up to the main entrance of the biggest building. As I stumbled out of the limo, I was instantly fascinated by the statues flanking the doors.
I had always been interested by the futuristic military technology shows and had seen several programs on the Type 1 Personal Battle Armor (PBA-I), but I was fascinated to see a full sized and detailed replica this close up. I was going up to examine it closer when some of Karen’s nattering actually penetrated my skull. “... and we really don’t want to bother the security personnel as they are carrying live ammunition and have the authority to shoot anyone who they believe is a threat, because the main entrance was attacked three times out of the five times that the campus was attacked during those troubles we had a few years back, not that the personnel were in any real danger as the defenses here are some of the best in the world...” After which I backed carefully away and allowed her to guide me into the building while tuning her out once more.
I was very surprised when she put me and my stuff into a golf cart like electric car and we took off into the building’s freeway system. (It isn’t really a freeway. It’s a few corridors made especially for such vehicles because the building is so big. I’ve heard that it is actually the largest building in the world now, but I’ve never seen any real confirmation of it.) I think it was during this drive in an electric cart inside a building that I first examined my own mortality and considered that I just might actually die. She never slowed down her stream of conversation while driving, but this didn’t matter as I couldn’t have heard her over the pounding of my heart anyway.
Eventually the ride stopped and I pried my hand off of the door handle with the other hand. She lead me to a door and took me inside where I heard her say something about this being my apartment and someone else would be along soon to look after me after I had had time to change and rest a bit. I looked around at this really nice apartment and wondered why a huge
office and factory building would have apartments in it. I started getting this creepy image that I was going to end up like that guy in that old Twilight Zone episode who was given a nice house on another world only to find out he was a zoo exhibit.
I was thinking similar cheerful thoughts when I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice in the room said, “There is someone at the door for you.” I realized that it was a door announcer almost immediately, but my heart was still racing as I answered it.
I opened the door and a young lady offered her hand, “Hi, I’m Sylvia. I see you haven’t had time to change yet.” She walked right past me and directly toward my still unpacked suitcase. Opening it without so much as a word to me she said, “Lets see what we have to work with.”
***************
Angelia entered the Director’s office. “Your ‘contest winner’ has turned out to be as interesting as we thought.”
“Really what has he done?”
She said nothing, but crossed her arms and waited. He looked confused for a few seconds, then started straightening his desk. When he had finished he looked up expectantly and she continued, “He has done well at all of the strategic and organizational simulations as expected, getting excellent scores with little practice. He seems to be quite as special as you thought he would be. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to get much more testing done in the last two days since he found the battlesuit simulators. Tony has been pestering me to talk to you about it all day. He seems to think it’s really important.”
“Let me contact him then.” After a slight delay, the master at arms came up on the video link. “What have you got for me Tony?”
“This new recruit Allen is amazing. He took to the battlesuits simulators like a duck to water. He has never fallen over and never missed a target yet. It’s like he was born in a battlesuit. I want him in the real thing as soon as possible. Tomorrow if Angelia doesn’t block it. She has been kind of...”
“I’m in the room Tony!”
“Er.. Sorry ma’am, but he could invaluable to us, especially in the R&D section.”
“Well Tony, it looks like we have us another battlesuit pilot.”
“We need them bad, sir.”
After Tony signed off, Angelia looked at the Director disapprovingly, “You’re not seriously considering putting him in the battlesuit program, are you? That’s a combat position.”
“My dear Angelia, I am definitely putting him in the battlesuit program, unless he refuses it. And when it comes time, I am going to make sure that he is assigned to as many combat missions as possible.”
“But Donald, he could be killed and we would lose all that potential.”
“Angel,” he said in a quiet voice, “in this war, we will lose many young people of great potential in battle. Unfortunately, it would be much worse if we were to deprive our forces of their combat leaders. It is men of vision who win battles while keeping our other soldiers alive. If I read him right, he will be the type of man who will take the risks gladly, and even give the sacrifice if it’s needed, to keep others safe. We have to have men like him on the front line if we are to win this war.”
The Director got up and came around the desk and took her hands in his. “I’ve been dreading this conversation for a long time and I have probably put it off far too long. Many times, you have asked me why I look so sad, and I would always apologize and say something like I was thinking about dark things and change the subject. This is one of those dark things. In this war, we are going to lose some of our own. Perhaps worse than that will be those who come back maimed in body or spirit. I can’t help them, but you can. There will be so many, and every one will be so hard on you...”
“But, I’ll do it, because taking care of people is what I do,” she said as the tears flowed freely.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
***************
If you like this (and this is the appropriate place to post such things) I'll put up more.
Scincerely,
Scintor@aol.com
Part 1: Changes
Allen’s Remembrances
Everything changed when we heard them. SETI detected them, not from some distant star, but crossing the orbit of Uranus and closing fast. We could hear them talking amongst themselves, but when we tried to talk to them, we were met with silence. This led those in power to decided that we had no choice but to prepare for war. The aliens had arranged themselves in three groups, for reasons known only themselves. The first group was still five years away when we detected them. Luckily, this gave us enough time to panic, recover, and then do what we needed to.
Almost everyone joined the World Defensive League which formed around the UN Security council. All open warfare stopped for a time, and it looked like there would be peace on Earth until the aliens arrived. Then all the crazies with their doomsday cults started crawling out of the woodwork and launching their crusades to save humanity or start Armageddon. There were a couple of really bloody years until we seemed to work this out of our collective system. (Some people still refer to this time as Loon Hunting Season, but in polite company it’s usually called the Troubles.) In the meantime, most people panicked for a while, and then got bored and went on with their daily lives. The only real difference that I could tell was the number of people who were selling emergency kits or ‘how to build a bomb shelter in your basement’ guides on late night TV.
I was glued to the TV set, like just about everyone else, and watched the fireworks during the battle of the Moon. (Everyone says it’s silly to have called it the Battle of the Moon, because the actual battle happened in open space, but the battle started when the aliens crossed the orbit of the Moon and everyone is used calling it that, so I guess we’re stuck with it.) We blew away nine out of the ten ships, and the big one blew up in the atmosphere. Anyway, the world didn’t end like all the whacko’s had been saying it would, so I had to go back to work in the morning.
The last ship, ended up somewhere near Mongolia, and our forces seem to have taken care of it pretty easily. So that seem to be that, until the next group arrived. None of this seemed to have anything to do with me anyway, I was just a nerd working in an electronics store. I figured that it would either pass me by without affecting me at all, or I would be in incinerated by some stray blast, one or the other. Boy, was I wrong!
Strangely enough, it was computer gaming that was my downfall. (What do you know, Mom was right!) I was playing the latest open-ended strategy game from Prometheus Corp, when a dialog box came up and told me that I had proved myself a ‘legendary strategist.’ It asked me fill out a registration form and promised some free bonus material for the game as well as a prize from Prometheus. Well, no green-blooded American nerd could possibly turn down free bonus game material, so I quickly filled out the form and hit send. I figured that I would get a T-shirt or something in eight to ten weeks, and promptly went back to my game. Little did I know that I had set off a flurry of activity at Prometheus.
***************
The next morning, the phone rang and my mother yelled out, “Allen, it’s for you.”
A voice on the phone said, “Is this Mr. Allen Spencer?”
“Yes.”
“Hello, I’m with the Prometheus Corporation prize department.”
“Oh, from the game. Boy, that was quick.”
“I just needed to check with you see if anyone would be home this afternoon to receive a package.”
“Well, I was just getting ready to go to work, but my mom will be here all day. Will that work?”
“That will be fine Mr. Spencer. Congratulations on your outstanding performance in the game. The package that you will receive will contain the bonus material for the game, which I hope you enjoy, as well as instructions on how to claim the rest of your prize.”
“What exactly did I win?”
“I’m afraid that I’m not allowed to reveal that to you Mr. Spencer, at this time. However, I do wish to congratulate you one more time and thank you for using Prometheus Corporation products.”
I hung up phone and thought to myself, well, that was nice and somewhat creepy. “Mom, I should be getting a package from Prometheus this afternoon, will you be home?”
“I have to get some groceries this morning, but after that I should be in for the rest of today.”
***************
That evening as I got home, “Hi mom, I’m back.”
“How was work today sweetie?”
“It was terrible, I have got to get a new job.”
“Allen!”
“I know, I know, ‘don’t quit one job until you have another one.’”
“Well, anyway, your package is in on the living room table.”
“Thanks,” I opened the package, looking for the game disk when I saw something sitting on top. “Mom, come here and tell me if I really seeing what I’m seeing.”
She took them and counted them and said, “There’s $2000 in travelers checks here.”
“Are they real?”
“Yes, as far as I can tell.”
I opened the letter that was in the package and found folded in the letter an airline ticket. The letter read as follows (or at least this is how I remember it):
Dear Mr. Spencer,
Congratulations on winning Prometheus Corporation’s grand prize: An all expenses paid two-week vacation and tour of Prometheus Corporation headquarters. In this package you should find one disk of bonus material, one airline ticket, and $2000 in travelers checks. The cash prize should help defray any costs you might incur while traveling to our corporate headquarters. Please give us a call to let us know when you will arrive and we will have people waiting at the airport to greet you.
Sincerely,
Prometheus Corporation prize department.
“I wonder if I can get any time off,” I said lamely.
***************
Deep within the bowels of Prometheus Corporation, there was a spacious office that was tastefully and efficiently laid out. Within this office, sat an unkempt, though very well-dressed man behind a very messy desk.. An elegant lady walked in, looked at the disarray, and sighed. At this, the man looked up and smiled, “What do you have for me Angelia?”
“Well, it looks like your little computer fishing expedition has finally reeled one in.”
“Is that the folder?” He said reaching for it.
She moved the folder slightly so that was just out of his reach, “Not until you straighten up your desk and yourself a bit.”
He quickly straightened his desk into a decent order, looked up at her for approval. She held up a comb without saying anything, which he took and managed to make his hair a little less untidy. She handed him the folder with a tolerant smile.
He took the file with a look in his eyes that is usually reserved for children opening gifts on Christmas. “OK, let’s see, Allen Spencer, 23 years old. SAT score is 1410, IQ 145, three years of college, no degree, six jobs in the past five years. The perfect profile of a Savant, if I do say so myself.”
“Yes, he is young and he has excellent potential. I look forward to completing his profile when he gets here.”
“And you said this was a silly idea.”
“I was just wondering if I should start calling you Mr. Wonka.”
He gave her an annoyed look and said, “Whatever makes you happy, my dear. Now, what do we have next?”
“Ron and Amber have returned from their meeting with the U.N. Security Council.”
“Excellent, have them come in as soon as they are ready to give their report.”
About 20 minutes later, the pair were waiting at the office’s conference table, when in walked a middle-aged, balding, slightly overweight man who appeared to have been taken straight out of Wall Street. With him was a willow thin blond girl, who looked like she had borrowed her mother’s business suit for an interview.
“Well, Ron, how did it go?”
“In short, Director, we got almost everything that we wanted. Prometheus has been given an individual charter by the UN Security council. We are to investigate all alien technology, develop weapons and raise a rapid reaction force to deal with any alien presence or incursions. You are now Commander of the U.N. special defense force under the World Defense League Treaty.”
Angelia looks at Amber who has an irritated expression on her face, and said, “What happened?”
“Everything was going perfectly, until Ron here, just about blew everything when he got obsessed over the money again. I had to just about hit him upside the back of the head to get him to stick with the plan.”
“This whole enterprise, will come to a screeching halt if we do not get the proper remuneration structure set up.”
Angelia stood and Glared at Ron, “We deliberately set this up so that they had something they could take away from us. Otherwise, even if they had agreed, it would build up so much bad will that the agreement would have been worth little more than toilet paper. If you’d succeeded in what you wanted, we would’ve had a near complete loss today but, thankfully, you listen to your Counselor.”
“It still would have saved time,” said Ron looking a bit sullen.
“I kept telling him money wasn’t the important thing. But that was all that he could think about: Money, Money, Money.”
Angelia smiled at her, and sat down, “You did very well, Amber.”
“Ron, you did very well. In fact, as a team, you two to did just about perfectly. The only thing you haven’t mentioned, is whether we got the personnel concessions we were looking for.”
“Unfortunately, that part went very much along political lines. We were given special diplomatic status that would let us recruit, but they were many who would not allow access to personnel records except under very limited conditions.”
He gave a disappointed sigh, “I has hoped for better, but I didn’t really expect it. You see, Ron I have plenty of money coming in from our arms sales. People, is what I’m desperately short of. I need the type of people who can bring dreams to life. I need enough Savants and Counselors to change the world, or we WILL lose it.” A light touch from Angelia on his shoulder caught the Director’s attention enough to break the intensity he had been building. “But, you two have probably heard that speech so many times that you have it memorized. Ron and Amber, your next task is to work on is getting us strategic combat bases around the world.”
“I have already gotten some progress on that, but they only seem to be interested in giving us a base if we promise to build an arms facility on their soil.” He chuckled to himself while sporting an evil grin. “Your idea worked like a charm, but that is still not near enough total bases.”
“Letting them force you to do exactly what you want, especially when they think it is their idea works very well and is much more fun besides. Anyway the base offers will start to come after they see the full report of what we faced in Russia, but it is still going to be an awful lot of work for you to get what we need. I also need you to keep a close eye on the personnel issue. Try to grease the wheels to get as many through as soon as possible. The people I need are very rare and it takes time to train them after we find them, and time is not on our side. Just remember, although useful, the money is secondary right now, and trust in your partner. That goes for both of you. You two were put together for a reason.”
After some more questions and answers, Ron and Amber left and the Director asked Angelia, “Is that pair stable?”
Angelia smiled maternally, “They’re fine. The bickering they do is part of their dance. The have worked most of the bugs out of their relationship to a father-daughter mentorship with no major foreseeable problems in the immediate future.”
He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Immediate future?”
“Lets just say that anyone who wants to date her is going to have to live up to some tough standards.”
“If I get the influx of people I’m looking for, you’re going to be very busy finding workable pairs.”
“I know, and I have been taking my own advice and delegating more of my work to my assistants.”
“Good, just try to leave yourself enough room to take special cases. Look after Mr Spencer when he gets here, he will be important.”
***************
Well, now I was the big contest winner. Before all of this, I had always considered myself a loser. Nothing had ever gone my way. To say that this left me unprepared what came next, is like saying an atomic blast stings a bit.
I went to work as normal the next day, preparing for a bit of bragging, and wondering how I would bring up the idea of vacation time to my boss. I was called into the store managers office immediately, and HE told ME that corporate had approved my vacation time and I could start it whenever I was ready. By that afternoon I had decided that my vacation would start the next day. (I still don’t remember if I told my boss that or not.)
I went home and pulled out an ancient, moldy smelling suitcase out of the attic and proceeded to fill it about halfway with everything I thought I would need. My mother then came in and reminded me of entire categories of things I had forgotten and I ended up filling the entire suitcase and a gym bag with all of my things. I called the airlines and found , much to my surprise, that once I had given them the ticket number, they had no problem whatsoever getting me a seat on a convenient flight. Prometheus said that they would have someone waiting for me holding a sign on the other end upon my arrival.
So, I get the airport in my comfortable (ragged) T-shirt and sweats, and go up to the counter to check in my bags. I am immediately escorted to the first class lounge and offered all sorts of complementary foods and drinks. I had ‘prudently’ arrived two hours early and since I didn’t really have anything to do while I was waiting, I promptly stuffed myself like a Thanksgiving turkey. ( I’m lucky that I don’t like to drink or I probably would have gotten so sloshed that I couldn’t smell straight.)
Somewhere in my bloated haze, I realized that something was making me feel uncomfortable and out of place (besides my stomach.) The next time an attendant asked if I needed something, I realized what it was. The only times I had ever been called ‘sir’ before in my life was when the girl behind the counter had asked if I would like fries with my order. This kind of ‘sir’ is pure window dressing and of course meant nothing to either person involved. The people here in the lounge were saying it with actual respect, and it was starting to creep me out. For the first time in my life I was being treated like a genuine VIP (Very Important Person) instead of a UL (Unimportant Loser) and I had no idea how to deal with it. I have since learned that the best way to deal with this is humility and grace but, without this knowledge I was stuck with embarrassment.
Fortunately, my flight was called soon after that so I could go and be uncomfortable in front of a whole new set of people! I felt like the stewardesses were watching me constantly. ( I would later learn that this was probably true but for different reasons than I thought.) Anyway, I had never flown in first class before and really didn’t get to enjoy it between the embarrassment and the nausea from over stuffing myself at the lounge.
After disembarking from the plane, I saw a young lady, with far too much energy, holding a sign with my name on it. “Mr. Spencer, or should I call you Allen, it is a great honor to meet the winner of our grand prize, a full tour of Prometheus Corporation, which makes some of the world’s greatest computer games as well as the most powerful military hardware...” And on and on she went, never seeming to take a breath or ever pausing to allow me to answer a question or comment. Everything that she said was probably very interesting and useful, except I was already in a bad mood and really dislike overly perky people, so I tuned her out completely. This did nothing to even slow down her monologue that lasted the entire trip from the airport to the Prometheus HQ Campus. Karen is a nice young lady who does her job quite well, but I’m still glad that I don’t have to work with her often.
As we got to the campus, I started getting excited once again. My discomfort and irritation dropped away as I stared out the window like a little kid. Even back then, Prometheus had quite a reputation. Conspiracy nut-jobs accused them of knowing all the secrets that had ever been lost and being at the center of every plot and problem that ever existed (including those that happened centuries before the company was founded.) I just knew that they made great games, fascinating gizmos and awesome weapons. After getting through an impressive number of gates and checkpoints, we pulled up to the main entrance of the biggest building. As I stumbled out of the limo, I was instantly fascinated by the statues flanking the doors.
I had always been interested by the futuristic military technology shows and had seen several programs on the Type 1 Personal Battle Armor (PBA-I), but I was fascinated to see a full sized and detailed replica this close up. I was going up to examine it closer when some of Karen’s nattering actually penetrated my skull. “... and we really don’t want to bother the security personnel as they are carrying live ammunition and have the authority to shoot anyone who they believe is a threat, because the main entrance was attacked three times out of the five times that the campus was attacked during those troubles we had a few years back, not that the personnel were in any real danger as the defenses here are some of the best in the world...” After which I backed carefully away and allowed her to guide me into the building while tuning her out once more.
I was very surprised when she put me and my stuff into a golf cart like electric car and we took off into the building’s freeway system. (It isn’t really a freeway. It’s a few corridors made especially for such vehicles because the building is so big. I’ve heard that it is actually the largest building in the world now, but I’ve never seen any real confirmation of it.) I think it was during this drive in an electric cart inside a building that I first examined my own mortality and considered that I just might actually die. She never slowed down her stream of conversation while driving, but this didn’t matter as I couldn’t have heard her over the pounding of my heart anyway.
Eventually the ride stopped and I pried my hand off of the door handle with the other hand. She lead me to a door and took me inside where I heard her say something about this being my apartment and someone else would be along soon to look after me after I had had time to change and rest a bit. I looked around at this really nice apartment and wondered why a huge
office and factory building would have apartments in it. I started getting this creepy image that I was going to end up like that guy in that old Twilight Zone episode who was given a nice house on another world only to find out he was a zoo exhibit.
I was thinking similar cheerful thoughts when I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice in the room said, “There is someone at the door for you.” I realized that it was a door announcer almost immediately, but my heart was still racing as I answered it.
I opened the door and a young lady offered her hand, “Hi, I’m Sylvia. I see you haven’t had time to change yet.” She walked right past me and directly toward my still unpacked suitcase. Opening it without so much as a word to me she said, “Lets see what we have to work with.”
***************
Angelia entered the Director’s office. “Your ‘contest winner’ has turned out to be as interesting as we thought.”
“Really what has he done?”
She said nothing, but crossed her arms and waited. He looked confused for a few seconds, then started straightening his desk. When he had finished he looked up expectantly and she continued, “He has done well at all of the strategic and organizational simulations as expected, getting excellent scores with little practice. He seems to be quite as special as you thought he would be. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to get much more testing done in the last two days since he found the battlesuit simulators. Tony has been pestering me to talk to you about it all day. He seems to think it’s really important.”
“Let me contact him then.” After a slight delay, the master at arms came up on the video link. “What have you got for me Tony?”
“This new recruit Allen is amazing. He took to the battlesuits simulators like a duck to water. He has never fallen over and never missed a target yet. It’s like he was born in a battlesuit. I want him in the real thing as soon as possible. Tomorrow if Angelia doesn’t block it. She has been kind of...”
“I’m in the room Tony!”
“Er.. Sorry ma’am, but he could invaluable to us, especially in the R&D section.”
“Well Tony, it looks like we have us another battlesuit pilot.”
“We need them bad, sir.”
After Tony signed off, Angelia looked at the Director disapprovingly, “You’re not seriously considering putting him in the battlesuit program, are you? That’s a combat position.”
“My dear Angelia, I am definitely putting him in the battlesuit program, unless he refuses it. And when it comes time, I am going to make sure that he is assigned to as many combat missions as possible.”
“But Donald, he could be killed and we would lose all that potential.”
“Angel,” he said in a quiet voice, “in this war, we will lose many young people of great potential in battle. Unfortunately, it would be much worse if we were to deprive our forces of their combat leaders. It is men of vision who win battles while keeping our other soldiers alive. If I read him right, he will be the type of man who will take the risks gladly, and even give the sacrifice if it’s needed, to keep others safe. We have to have men like him on the front line if we are to win this war.”
The Director got up and came around the desk and took her hands in his. “I’ve been dreading this conversation for a long time and I have probably put it off far too long. Many times, you have asked me why I look so sad, and I would always apologize and say something like I was thinking about dark things and change the subject. This is one of those dark things. In this war, we are going to lose some of our own. Perhaps worse than that will be those who come back maimed in body or spirit. I can’t help them, but you can. There will be so many, and every one will be so hard on you...”
“But, I’ll do it, because taking care of people is what I do,” she said as the tears flowed freely.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
***************
If you like this (and this is the appropriate place to post such things) I'll put up more.
Scincerely,
Scintor@aol.com
