William Redman CarterChapter 51
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The small town in Texas where John Carter had grown up had not changed much since Ed Biggers had last visited it. It was as if the place was frozen in time except that the people looked a little older. A handful of the very old had passed and there were babies to take their place. For William, the changes were practically unnoticeable.
Once they reached the house, Ed walked into John's old bedroom and looked at the stark furnishings. The Ansel Adams posters on the wall had faded with time. The books on the shelves looked old. Probably half of the material in them was inaccurate. Ed said, "This room reflects the essence of John. He wasn't flashy. He was a simple man in awe of the natural world around him."
"There are no toys," William commented.
Ed looked over at William with a smile and said, "His favorite game was Hunt the Bug Eyed Monsters. He didn't need toys."
"I remember playing that with him," William said. It had been a long since he had played that game. He realized that it had been a long time since he had played any kind of game.
Running a hand across the wooden footboard of the old bed, Ed said, "I'll stay in his old room while we are here."
"Okay," William said knowing that his father missed John.
Lucy walked around the room and looked at the old Ansel Adams posters. She wondered how long they had been hanging there. The paper felt brittle to the touch. She moved over to the bookcase and looked at the books. Some of the pages looked as if time had gotten the better of them. She said, "I like this room. It has an old smell to it that reminds me of used bookstores."
"I noticed that, too," William said moving up to stand behind Lucy. She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her. Looking over her shoulder, he said, "I bet half of the science in those books is wrong."
"I wouldn't take that bet," Lucy said.
Laughing, Ed said, "I bet all of the material in the wilderness books is accurate."
"I wouldn't take that bet," William said with a smile.
Lucy looked over at Ed and said, "Tell me a little about John Carter."
Ed settled on the bed and looked around the room for a moment. In a soft voice, he said, "Most of what you need to know about John is in this room. He was happiest when he was in the middle of nature. It didn't matter where he was; he appreciated the raw natural beauty that he found there. Woods, swamp, plains, mountains, seaside, and desert were all just as beautiful to him. I think that of any man who I have ever met, John's love for the Goddess was absolute and total."
Gesturing to the closet, Ed said, "John was the most self sufficient person I've ever met. He was a minimalist in terms of what he needed. I'm sure that you've heard that old expression that needs are few and wants are infinite. John didn't have any wants. Occasionally he'd say that he wanted to go hiking when he really needed to go. It is a lot like a person saying that they want to breathe when you know they need to breathe to remain alive.
"John would go out into the wilderness for a month with the same supplies that the average person took for an afternoon picnic. He'd have a backpack with a tarp, a little food, a knife, some matches, an old boy scout cook kit, and a change of clothes. With nothing else, he'd be able to live outdoors for a month.
"John cared about nature. He never came out and said it, but I think he was driven to invent the fusion cell to save the Goddess from a long painful death. I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but this planet was dying. I doubt you two could have breathed the air that we grew up with. You could actually see it some days. It smelled vile. His little invention cleaned up the whole world. With cheap power, it became possible to do the impossible.
"It was a noisier world back in those days. It seems to me that everything made noise. Today, you can actually hear a jet fly overhead. Back then, you'd never even notice that it was in the air."
Ed was quiet for a moment and then said, "That picture over there is of John, his older brother, Eric, and Doug Wilkins. Those three were wild in their day. Then one day, John and Doug had an argument with Eric. In a drunken rage, Eric drove off in the car shown in that picture. He wrapped it around a tree and died. John sobered up right away and never drank again. John loved his brother. He loved his family. Family always came first for John.
"Eric was the first great loss in John's life, but it wasn't the last. The next one he lost was Betsy. She was a beautiful woman with a heart of gold. They were going to get married, but she was killed in a refugee camp trying to help women and children living lives of great desperation. Knowing her helped heal me," Ed said looking back at the past.
Lucy and William moved to sit beside him on the bed. Lucy had her head resting on William's shoulder. Tears trickled down her cheek. Ed said, "Beth was a beautiful woman. You will never meet a doctor with such dedication to her profession. She was the kind of doctor who would work on a patient for as long as was required to save them. It didn't matter if it was ten, twenty, or thirty hours; she'd be there fighting death with every spark of life within her.
"Beth was going to be the first mother, but it didn't happen. She was hit by a driver who had suffered a stroke. My first thought was that death was tired of losing to her. Kelly said that the Goddess gave her the highest quality of life available in exchange for quantity of life. I believe Kelly's version."
"The deaths of the women struck John hard. He came to terms with their deaths and then helped us accept them. Sometimes though, you would hear him say that Betsy would have enjoyed some particular sunset and that it was a shame that she wasn't there to share it with him. I'd hear that and think about how a love that could last beyond death was possible."
"Even though he was a private person, John loved people. Despite his love for them, he kept himself separate from them. William, you're like him in that way. You come in, stay a while, and then leave. In the process, you help some folks. After having saved a life or changing a person, you walk away leaving an acquaintance behind. Over his lifetime, John occasionally brought one of them into his life as friend and then family.
"For a long time, John helped people one at a time. Like I said, he really loved people. He saw that helping one or two people at a time was not making a dent in the misery that was the human experience. With his resources he built something that would last generations. The Fusion Foundation has been helping poor and needy people break the cycle of poverty."
Ed looked down at the floor of the room for a second and then said, "I'm supporting you in fighting this crisis of followership for one reason. I think that we need a lot more changes in our political leadership before we can rid this country and the whole world of the forces that feed the cycles of self destruction. John wanted that more than anything. He saw the Druid College as an instrument that could bring around that result."
Turning to look at William and Lucy, Ed said, "You are a lot like John in many ways. He was the smartest human being that I ever had the pleasure to know. I think that both of you are just a little smarter. Don't let that go to your head. Both of you do dumb things on occasion.
"John understood love better than anyone. John had no limits when it came to loving someone. He knew what people needed in order to grow into better people and he gave it without reservation. Don't get me wrong, but I think you both still have a lot to learn about love. You both have placed artificial limits on it.
"John also understood evil better than anyone without being evil. He knew that there were some people who were born without a shred of goodness in them. He did all that he could to protect people from evil. We would spend months tracking down pedophiles, serial murders, and hard core criminals."
Ed stood up and walked over to the bookcase. He looked over the books on it for a few seconds. He said, "John was many things. I guess to me, the most important thing is that he was my friend."
Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Thank you for sharing that with us."
Getting prepared for the meeting that he was to have the next day with Mark Howell, William was hard at work at the dining room table when he looked up from the stack of papers he was reviewing. Turning to Lucy, he said, "We have company."
After rising from the couch, Lucy went over to the door and opened it. She found that she was facing a young woman with short black hair. She was about to greet her when a very large crow flew into the house. Rather surprised at the actions of the bird, she jumped backwards giving a small shout.
Looking at the large black bird that had landed on the back of the chair across from William, Lucy asked, "Is that a friend of yours?"
William said, "Hello, Blackie. I take it that Birdie came with you."
The bird answered with a raspy caw. Hearing the crow respond, Lucy said, "I'll take that as a yes."
"Hello," Birdie said smiling at Lucy, "You must be Lucy."
Lucy stepped back from the door enough to allow Birdie to enter the room. As she moved, she said, "Excuse my manners. Please come in."
Birdie entered the house and looked around. It hadn't changed since the last time she had been inside. Turning to Lucy, she said, "I'm Birdie."
"Hello, Birdie. I take it you are a friend of William's," Lucy said still somewhat distracted by the crow that was cawing at William.
"Yes."
Lucy turned to look at Birdie and said, "I'm half tempted to ask how you knew that we were here, but I'm almost positive that you'll answer that a little bird told you."
Birdie laughed at the comment and said, "William said that you were smart."
William rose from the table and held out a hand. Blackie flew to it and continued to talk to him. Entering the living room, William said, "Blackie says that things haven't been the same without you around here. He wants to know if you're going to take him with you when you leave."
"I hadn't thought about it," Birdie answered looking at the crow in surprise. She said, "Sure, I'll take him with me."
Satisfied, Blackie took off and flew through the door that Lucy was still holding open. She looked out the door and then closed it. Shaking her head, she said, "That was different. It is not very often that we get visited by a crow like that."
Birdie laughed at the comment and said, "I'm sure that stranger things have happened around William."
"True," Lucy said.
For the next two hours, Birdie told William and Lucy what had been happening in town. She filled him in on what was happening in the lives of the people that William had known. It was a pleasant visit.
Colt had been standing in the hallway and heading towards the door to answer it when he had observed Lucy jump back as if pushed by someone. He had pulled his gun and nearly fired upon the crow and the figure standing behind it. A hair more pressure on the trigger and there would have been a dead bird. He might have been able to stop in time to prevent killing the young woman.
Having returned his pistol to the holster, Colt had stepped into the backyard. Barely able to control his anger, he said, "I damned near shot that bird."
"If I hadn't realized it was a bird, that girl would have joined it on the ground," Colt said looking around for something to break. There wasn't anything at hand so he stomped around the backyard trying to work off some of his anger. He was going to have a long talk with William one of these days.
Representative Mark Howell was busy talking on the phone and didn't see the pair of men enter the room. There was a young college coed who wanted to help him get elected. She was very attractive and kept telling him that she'd do anything to help him. His fertile imagination was considering all of the things that she could do for him.
William and Ed entered the office without announcing their presence. The secretary had taken one look at them and told them to go right in. Amused by the look on the secretary's face, William took a seat. He gestured to his father to take a seat beside him. Ed had his hands over his ears. He didn't know who the woman at the other end of the phone was, but he was tempted to tell her to run for the hills.
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Seated in the student center, William drank a glass of iced tea while waiting for Lucy to get out of her class. She was taking her mid-terms and had been feeling the pressures of late. This afternoon was particularly rough since she had two exams one after the other. He had come along to provide emotional support fully confident that she would ace each exam. An angry young man carrying a tray of food approached the table next to his. The young man threw his tray down on the table and then...
A shiver went through William when he woke in a nice soft bed. The last thing he remembered was lying on the hard ground. Even before he had a chance to open his eyes, he heard Lucy say, "He's waking up." "I'm awake," he said opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was Lucy. She was looking down at him with an expression of concern on her face. She immediately hugged him and then stood back to give him some space. He was comforted by her hug and reached up for her hand. "I was so...
William walked out the front door of his house to await his visitor. His daytime bodyguard, Colt, walked behind him wondering why they had come outside. For all he knew, they had left the house just to stand around all day in the sunshine. His eyes automatically checked the surroundings for any threats. The two men headed over to the driveway with William leading the way. A minute later, a rental car pulled up in the driveway. Colt glared at it as if it were a direct threat. He relaxed when...
Used to being sent to answer the door despite the fact that no one had knocked, Ken headed towards the door as soon as William had told him to answer it. He shook his head in puzzlement the entire trip. Although he knew from experience that there would be a person at the door, he hadn't given up wondering how William did it. Colt looked from William to Ken wondering what was happening since he hadn't heard anyone knock. The door opened to reveal a very tired looking green robed Druid while...
William looked across the table at Patrick and asked, "So how are things going?" "They are going well. Once I got over the initial shock, I found that I can deal with the nudity," Patrick answered although he wasn't going to mention the unease he felt when talking with Lucy. "Good. After two years here you'll be able to handle most things that life throws at you. You'll need that when you become a Chief," William said choosing his words with great care. It was time to plant a seed...
"Congratulations, Dr. Carter," Oliver Brown said with a grin. He was seated in a large chair in one of the emptier rooms of the mansion sipping on an iced tea. He was wearing a pair of silvered sunglasses. Despite years of living with his gift, it still hurt him to be around too many people. William took a seat across from the Grand Druid and said, "Thank you. What are you doing in here?" "I'm hiding from the President of the University. He wants me to send some of our graduating...
Cupping a match in his curled fingers to protect it from a light wind, William lit a cigarette. He shook his hand putting out the match and dropped the extinguished stick into a bucket. Holding up a hand, he said, "The screen door will slam in a minute." Despite the warning, Dale jumped when the screen door slammed shut making a noise like a rifle shot. He said, "I'm glad you warned me." "The cook takes out the trash every night about this time. It used to startle me every time I...
The months passed without much of anything too remarkable occurring. William spent most of his time working with the candidates running for office. Lucy worked on the program trying to find ways to represent the quality of the society graphically. Construction on the facility for holding the computers was progressing nicely. The young couple kept the staff very busy as well. With the ever increasing need for data, Victoria spent nearly every hour of the day searching for new sources of data...
Spreading margarine on the slice of toast with long smooth motions, William was getting ready to enjoy breakfast. Lucy watched him, waiting for him to cut his slice of toast along the diagonal. Rich enough to afford butter, it always amazed her that he actually enjoyed margarine more. William looked up from his toast and winked at her. Rock, the nighttime bodyguard, was watching him with narrowed eyes. The other three bodyguards were seated at the far end of the table eating their eggs....
William stared at Lucy in shock. Unable to believe what he thought he had heard her say, he asked, "Excuse me?" Pointing to the woman at the front of the conference room of the Carter House, Lucy said, "I asked her to remove her clothes." "I thought I misunderstood you," William said. He glanced over at Mary Gold. The woman had her head down and was hiding her mouth behind her hands. The twinkle in her eye suggested that she was trying not to laugh. The twenty-four year old woman...
The Catholic religious wedding ceremony for Cathy Black Thorn and David Light Wind started at noon. It was a traditional Catholic service and lasted for almost an hour before they exchanged their vows. The Catholic priest provided a nice service in which he blessed their marriage. To tell the truth, Lucy had found it rather boring. She also felt that the bride wasn't given the kind of attention that most women sought in the wedding ceremony. At two, the bride and groom met at their future...
"Is it working?" Lucy asked watching the array of monitors at William's desk. Shaking his head, William answered, "I don't know. We've only progressed ten years in the simulation. We've got another ninety to go." "It's been running for twenty hours," Lucy said looking over at the clock. They had started the program the previous day at noon and it was now just a little after eight in the morning. "That's right," William said woodenly. His eyes examined the curves of the...
William shook his head in amazement while going through the stack of papers Barbara had handed him. She had all of their expenditures typed up for the accountant complete with receipts. The confirmations for chartered jets were in a neat little stack. The agenda for the meetings had been typed up with copies for everyone. Looking up at Barbara, he said, "You are amazing. I don't know how you keep up with everything." Upon hearing more praise from William, Barbara squirmed in her chair. It...
William stepped out the front door of the hotel and froze. Rather than facing a run down street in San Diego, he was in a meadow. There in front of him was a contrived scene of life and death. To his right, a man was facing death as a giant wrecking ball swung towards him from behind. To his left, a different man faced an identical death. He shouted, "Duck." Both men stared at William as the wrecking balls swung through them. William stared in horror at the result. Two broken bodies lay on...
The activities being performed by the occupants of the house would never be the subject of a Norman Rockwell type of picture. The scene just wasn't cute enough. Lucy, seated at her desk, was busy writing up her solution to the math problem that William had given her. At his desk, William was busy changing his program for predicting economic and social trends. Over at the dining room table, Jan was writing on a pad of paper; capturing another chapter of her book. At the other end of the...
The gymnasium of the activity center was empty except for a long table at which the tribal elders of all the local tribes were seated. All eyes were watching the door at the far end of the room for their visitor. The tension in the room was high. Most of them expected their visitor to argue with them about their conservative stance and they were not looking forward to it. They were sure that they would lose this argument with this particular visitor. Looking around the room, Robert White...
Talking quietly with each other, Lucy and William waited in the theater for Eddie to arrive. The theater room had four rows of ten seats each facing a large screen. Each chair was large and comfortable with a holder for a soda built into the armrest. Beth had ordered the chairs from a real theater supply company. Like a real movie theater, the floor slanted down towards the front of the room. At the entrance to the room, there was a snack bar complete with a typical theater-style popcorn...
Greetings had been exchanged and the guests shown their rooms in the Carter home. The next order of business was to relax. William stripped off his clothes and headed towards the pool. He jumped in feet first, reveling in the feel of cool water against his bare skin. Lucy and Ann, naked as well, slipped into the pool right behind him. Before they had even moved a dozen feet from the edge, Betsy charged into the poolroom throwing off her clothes even as she ran. Without pause, she jumped into...
William and Ed returned to the hotel refreshed from their little swim at the Mayor's house. William felt confident that another candidate had been found with a good chance of winning. They entered the suite laughing about the mayor's reaction on discovering them swimming in the pool. The laughter turned to surprise when William spotted his mother relaxing in the living room of the suite. She was seated next to Lucy. He said, "Momma Kelly! What are you doing here?" Seeing that William...
Lucy watched the screen through red eyes that saw the world through a blur. She hadn't sleep for the past thirty hours. The programmers were asleep on the floor having exhausted the last of their stamina under the nearly constant pressure from Lucy. Even if she hadn't been so tired, it would have been hard to interpret the results. There were a hundred curves all overlaid one upon another. After running twenty four hours, the model had projected ahead only twelve years. Considering the...
Amused by what he was doing, Derrick led the little horse using the reigns. Lucy was seated on its back holding onto the saddle horn with white knuckles. She was nervous; feeling like the horse was huge and ready to run away at any moment. She looked over at William and, voice tight with tension, said, "I've never ridden a horse before." "You don't say. I would never have guessed," William replied with a grin from atop the horse that Derrick had given him. It was a nice quarter-horse...
"Your mother and I watched your meeting with the White Buffalo on the news. That's how we knew to go to the ranch," said Lucy. "Pardon?" William was not aware that there had been a television camera at the ranch. "Someone filmed the whole thing with their video camera. It was on the television within half an hour of it happening." "So what did you think?" "Strange. It was like you weren't there. Your face was blank. Your voice was strange with an odd echoing quality to it. When...
Following behind Rock and Natalie, Lucy and William entered their home with a sigh of relief. They had both been very busy since their graduation. The summer had started with locating, hiring, and delivering Dante to Harry for the purpose of creating a statue of the elderly Druid. That had been followed by their wedding with a week of parties, their honeymoon, visits to a number of tribal councils, and a few visits to Homeless Hotels around the country. Exhausted, they planned to stay at home...
Ling and Betsy stopped the car at the front gate leading to William's place. Over the past year, the front of the property had changed to where it looked more like the entrance to a military base than a ranch. There was a little guard shack that sat beside a closed metal barrier. Ling's trained eye recognized the retractable barrier was capable of stopping a charging dump truck. Worried about the kind of reception they would receive, Betsy asked, "Are you sure that he'll see us?" "It...
Wearing nothing but a loincloth and a small leather bag around his neck, William walked to the edge of the stream. Once there, he paused and looked down at the ground. At the border between water and land was a stone that caught his attention. Kneeling, he picked it up. The stone was the diameter of a quarter with a thickness of a quarter of an inch. The edges were worn smooth. There was nothing remarkable about the stone except for one feature -- the center of the stone had been worn away...
"Uh oh," William said as he pulled into the driveway. Rock, Colt, Natalie, and Nicole were standing in the driveway with their arms crossed and a frown on their faces. They didn't look too happy to see him. "I forgot about them." He turned off the motor and stepped out of the car. Looking at the four body guards, he asked, "How did you enjoy your vacation?" "You dumped us in the middle of nowhere," Colt said. "Sorry about that," William said. He glanced over at the front door to...
"Do you think I should open a publishing house?" William asked. "No," Linda answered putting the manuscript on the table. She had just finished reading it and had been very impressed. She knew Happy Harry, but not many of the other homeless. She had noticed that the manuscript had Forest Shadow crying like a baby by the time she had finished it. "Okay, so who do we take the manuscript to?" "Al Maloney would probably be the best person. His publishing house has handled a lot of best...
John Carter, William's older brother, squatted down by the campfire and picked up the coffee pot. While pouring a cup, he asked, "So what do you think of Betsy's legal problems?" Shrugging his shoulders, William answered, "I don't know what to think. I keep hoping that the father will drop the charges. It would be a disaster for the prison system if she were to go to jail. The thought of that sends shivers down my spine." John laughed and asked, "What do you think the chances are of...
The last test, marked with an A+, joined the rest of the tests stacked on the left hand corner of William's desk. Looking over at Lucy, he said, "That's the last one." "So how were the grades?" Lucy asked looking up from her work. "Not bad," William answered patting the stack of test papers. The first eight weeks of teaching had been hard on William. He didn't have any real experience of dealing with high school students. Getting his early education at the Druid College had not...
William rushed into the hotel and looked around the lobby. The elevator door opened and Lucy stepped out looking around the lobby. They met halfway with a hug that was just on the tasteful side of being publicly acceptable. William said, "I've missed you." "I missed you," Lucy said burying her face into his chest and enjoying his scent. It felt good to feel his arms around her. "I'm so glad that you could make it here," William said running a hand across her back. It felt so right...
It was the day after Thanksgiving and William sat in his hunting stand watching the area in front of him for an older buck to appear. Several does and a young buck had passed in front of him a little after sunrise, but they were young animals that would strengthen the herd. He was waiting for an older deer to come through. There was a nip of cold in the air that was usual for that time of year. He could actually see his breath. Frost had covered the few grasses that grew along the banks of...
The squick of a white board marker flying across the white board filled the air. William looked up and watched Lucy work through the equations on the board; her hand moving at almost a blur. She stepped back for a second and then dived in for another round of simplifications. Her hips swung from side to side as she worked her magic on the mathematics. With her entire body participating, her long hair started swaying in a most seductive manner. William was entranced. Frowning, Lucy stepped...
Lucy stepped out of the truck and went around to the back to get her suitcase. Before she had a chance to pick it up, Ken had grabbed it while looking at her as if she should have known he'd carry it. The van with Linda and Ed pulled up beside the car. Looking around the parking lot in front of the country hotel, William said, "We'll get checked in and then I need to get on down the road." "Are you sure that you don't want me to come?" "Lucy, I'd love for you to come, but you...
"So you're going to become Dr. Carter?" Eddie asked while watching his brother pack up his books. William looked over at his little brother. The boy was turning into a good looking young man. His short black hair, piercing grey eyes, and subdued Native American features gave him an exotic look. William knew that it wouldn't be long before the girls started following his brother around town. Pulling the roll of tape over the top of the box, he answered, "Yes, if I ever manage to get out...
"Son, you know I have to tell the truth," Ed said looking William in the eye. He had finally caught up with William before his son had entered his office. "Yes, I know that," William said with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He looked away from his father breaking eye contact. "You know that it isn't always an easy thing for me to do, don't you?" "Yes, I know that." Shaking his head, Ed said, "You can't hide away from the world forever. Your little brother has asked you...
Ken removed his clothes and placed them on the patio table. The past four weeks had wrought major changes in his physique. He had lost fifteen pounds, with even more fat having been turned into muscle. His shirts were too large around the waist and too small at the shoulders. He glanced over at his wife to see how she was reacting to stripping outdoors. Lisa's body was a soft red color, flushed as a result of embarrassment. After a month of morning exercises with William, Ling, and Tim...
"Where's Betsy?" "She's grounded," Eddie answered. He shrugged his shoulders and, looking over at his mother, said, "All she did was have a little swim." "Naked, in a public aquarium, and with sharks," Ling said filling in a few details that Eddie tended to forget. Putting an arm around his little brother, William pulled Eddie against his side and said, "At least she didn't get threatened with a spanking." "True," Eddie said. He was tired and wished that he had been able to...
Seated at his desk, William listened to the sound of a twelve-string guitar emanating from the guest room. He liked the music Greg Banner created. Lucy loved the music and could listen to it all day. Turning to Ken, he snapped his fingers to get the man's attention. Once he was sure that Ken was looking at him, he said, "Doug is here." Ken reached the intercom in time to hear the signal from the guard. Pushing the button, Ken said, "Let Doug in." "Sure," came the answer. It sounded...
William looked up at the stars overhead. The sight of the summer sky was always special to him, particularly on nights without a moon. The stars seemed so low that you could reach out and touch them. Turning to the dark shape seated next to him, he said, "I love looking at the stars out here." "I do too," Eddie said with a smile. In the dark, his white teeth seemed to stand out. William pulled out his pack of cigarettes and took one out. He handed the pack to his brother and said,...
"Vera." "What?" she answered without even looking away from her computer screen. Her fingers did not slow down in the least bit. William frowned at the tone of voice that she used in answering him. It seemed to him as if she was upset about something. Dismissing his concerns, he said, "I need you to research the sex industry." "Excuse me," Vera said drawing out each word twice as long as would be normal. She saved the file she was working on before turning to face William. The...
"You're going to be heading off to college soon," William said looking across the fire at Eddie. He added another small log to the fire and sat back to watch it catch. "I've got another two years of high school," Eddie said poking a stick into the fire and watching the end start to burn. He pulled the stick out of the fire. The weak flame flickered and died. The small glowing bud at the end of the stick slowly faded. "Enjoy them while you can," William said. Everyone was telling...
The students trickled out of the classroom in ones and twos as they finished their final exams. William sat on the floor across from the door watching them leave. Some looked confident, others angry, and a few as if they didn't care how they did in the class. Those who looked blurry-eyed or were sloppily dressed had spent the previous evening cramming in the hopes of learning the material at the last minute. When Lucy stepped out of the class, she rolled her eyes and smiled. Closing the...
Chuckling to himself, William shook his head as elements of the near future resolved themselves in his mind. Ken, seated at the dining room table, looked over at him wondering what he had found so humorous. He was about to ask when William said, "It is time for one of my mothers to make an appearance." Lisa, in the kitchen with Tim, wondered why he hadn't asked her to prepare one of the guestrooms. She came out of the kitchen and looked at William with concern. This was the first that...
The underground bunker for housing the computers had been completed. A work crew sent by Dan Biggerstaff was busy wiring the room to support the network that would tie the computers together. It was a massive job considering that they were linking ten thousand computers together. It was made even more difficult due to the fact that they were physically located on four separate floors. The room was cold. The air conditioner was set up to cool ten thousand machines, but there were only empty...
Head in William's lap, Lucy was busy reading a math book. His hand was busy stroking her arm in an absent minded manner while he was reading his book. Lucy put her book down and said, "She's got a crush on you." Frowning at the sudden introduction of a new topic, William asked, "Who? What?" "I said she has a crush on you." "Oh, that's nice," William said wondering who had the crush on him. He turned the page and continued reading. "You don't know who I'm talking about, do...
Nancy Darnell, Mistress of Ceremonies for the Druids, stood at head of the platform. She had finished explaining the significance of the ceremony that was to take place and now she was waiting for the bride and groom. This was her first wedding ceremony in which none of the individuals involved were a Druid. Oliver had volunteered to perform the ceremony, but she had insisted that she be allowed the honor. It was, after all, her service. A very serene Lucy walked to the platform from the...
Jack sat in his new office unable to believe the difference that twenty four hours made in his life. His office was larger than the room he was renting. The furnishings were much more luxurious. Barbara Gray had told him that it had been the bedroom and exercise room, but they had converted it to his office. He would have been quite happy if they had left the bed in the room, but he wasn't going to tell them that. He got up and made his way to the break room to get a soft drink. That was...