The differences would not end with appearance, either. The new currency would be loaned into existence, but would have no interest attached to it. Individual people would borrow money at no interest and pay it back over an extended period of time. In addition, loan payments would not begin for a period of ten years, giving people a chance to become economically stabilized before repayment of the loan started. Businesses would borrow larger amounts of money with a payment schedule stretched out over the next hundred years, depending on the amount the business needed to borrow. Anything having to do with infrastructure came under the direct spending of the New America.
As soon as the meteor storm ended, John had asked for a survey of how many people survived and what resources were available and what was needed. Within three days, a stark picture of what life remained was pieced together. Best estimate was between six and seven million people had survived the meteor storm, but most of them were either out of food or nearly so. Very little in the way of shelter remained, and what did had no source of heat to get them through the winter months. Almost all sources of water were contaminated. No electricity was available. Some people had generators, but the fuel for them had run out within a few days.
Clean water became the top priority, followed by food and shelter. Water filtering stations were established, and stored food was made available. People gathered in areas where remains of brick and stone buildings still stood and make-shift shelters were being constructed. The fire-damaged trees were being cut down, sawed up and split for firewood. Everything was accomplished through manual labor.
The first real sign of recovery was the announcement that three steam locomotives had been saved and restored. Transportation of goods and people was the next rising priority. The second announcement came from Alexis DeVille and her steel mill in Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie. She had iron ore and other materials, but the coal reserves had burned during the meteor storm. All that was left was a huge pile of cinders. She needed coal and was willing to pay top dollar for it. People started to bring her coal in wagons and wheelbarrows. Alexis stated that the first product of her steel mill would be railroad track.
The train route from the coal mines in Kentucky to the steel mill in Ohio was the next priority. Men recovered train track from badly damaged sections of railroad and carried them by hand for days to get the track to the new section. Mile after mile, the first steam locomotive inched its way closer to the steel mill in Ohio. Coal cars, recently repaired, were added each day as the hope of the New America was being built one day at a time. In mid-February, the track was complete to the steel mill and the furnaces were fired up for the first time since the meteor storm. The steam locomotive was turned around and the cars were loaded with new train track from the mill. The remaining section of track to the coal mines was completed by mid-March.
In Duluth, Minnesota an ore freighter had survived the meteor storm and took its first short voyage into Lake Superior. The fuel oil burners had been converted to operate with firewood. Deemed sea-worthy, the loading of iron ore began for its journey to the steel mill in Ohio. Without automated equipment the loading of iron ore by hand continued through the rest of the winter months. As soon as the ice on the Great Lakes broke up, the freighter embarked on its first delivery to Ohio. The freighter full of iron ore and the train full of coal arrived at the steel mill on the same day: April third. People treated it as a new National Holiday with celebrations and cooking festivals. America was coming back.
John gathered me, Tia, Ed and Major Samuels into the communications room.
“I have received word that the President has come out of his underground city in Virginia,” John said. “Needless to say, he did not receive a warm welcome from the people.”
“No surprise there,” Ed replied.
“What is a surprise is that he wants to meet with us, me in particular,” John said. “We have a place and time set.”
“It could be a trap,” Major Samuels said.
“I’ve considered that possibility,” John replied. “We will have enough of our own people there with weapons that I think we should be all right. That’s also one of the reasons I want Carl to come along with us. He’s our early warning system, and with his recent skills, he can give us an insight into what the President is thinking. If anyone doesn’t want to go, now is the time to say so.”
John looked around at us. We were enthusiastically in. “Okay,” John said, “We leave tomorrow morning at sunup.”
As the sun broke over the eastern horizon, we rode our bikes over to John’s private hangar for his Lear Jet 45. John had two 10,000 gallon tanks of jet fuel in his hangar. After the plane was fueled, we boarded and took off for the east coast. We landed at a private air strip in Virginia, controlled by our people, and we continued by car from there. The meeting took place on the top of a gentle hill in what used to be a National Park. Our people were gathered on the western side of the hill and the President’s people were on the eastern side. As we drove up to the meeting place, two cars left the president’s group and we arrived on top at the same time. We got out of our car as the President and his entourage got out of their cars. The President was surrounded by six large Secret Service Agents who clustered around him, forming a human shield. To my shock, General Strom was there with him.
“You must be John,” the President said as he offered his hand.
“I am,” John replied without offering his own hand in return.
The President smiled and let his hand fall to his side.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” the President said. “You have done a great job of pulling people together and getting them working again. I admire that kind of skill and dedication.”
John stood there waiting. I looked at General Strom, wondering if he would recognize me. He didn’t. Then I began to realize why the General was there. He and the President were first cousins. They grew up together. They were working together; they always had.
“We can accomplish a great deal of good by working together,” the President said. “I want you and your people to be a part of my new cabinet. Together we can lead this world into a renaissance and prosperity that will benefit everybody.”
“The whole world?” John asked.
“Of course,” the President replied. “We have the banking expertise, the heads of all the major corporations with all of their resources and the military to back it all up. We are going to be the ruling council of the world. There isn’t anyone who can effectively oppose us, and you are going to be a crucial part of the global power structure. So what do you think?” The President smiled at us, glancing from one person to the next, trying to get a read on us.
“I think,” John replied, “that there isn’t a person alive in this country who doesn’t know that you betrayed them, that you lied to them, if not directly, then through your agencies. Every person alive knows you hid in your underground city and left them all out here to die, alone and without any real warning.”
“There’s a way to explain all of that,” the President said. “We have the best PR people on the planet. You need the wealth and experience of our heads of corporations and our bankers. You need our resources.”
“Actually, we don’t,” John replied. “We’ve implemented some new laws. Corporations are no longer a valid form of business. The only form we allow is cooperative, where all of the profits are returned to the people the business serves. Banks are no longer allowed to charge interest or any other fees. Property is no longer taxed, neither is any type of income. There is a simple tax only on non-essential purchases. Food, medicine, shelter and energy are all tax free.”