Tia looked over at me, waiting for my response. The expression on her face told me that whatever I chose would be her choice, too. She put her whole life in my hands with one look, and waited with calm certainty, as if she had no doubts in her mind that I would make the right decision.
“I think we’re going to be okay,” I said. “I’m not sensing any danger to us.”
“Okay,” Tia said, “then we stay here, too.”
Two weeks later we received word that a U.S. nuclear submarine had surfaced in San Francisco bay and a naval officer came ashore in a small rubber raft. The submarine disappeared under the water as soon as the officer had moved away from it. The officer, a Navy Lieutenant, was asking to meet with John. John sent his Learjet 45 to San Francisco and brought him to Denver.
“Guys, this is Lieutenant David Saltzman,” John said as he introduced us. “He is here to observe and learn as much as he can about us. I have promised him access to everything we do.”
“Did you get our message from John?” Tia asked. “What did you think of it?”
“Was there really an order to send missiles targeting the U.S.?” Ed asked.
“What is the submarine fleet prepared to do?” I asked.
“What are your orders pertaining to—“ Major Samuels asked.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” John said, interrupting our questions. “I’m sure Lieutenant Saltzman will answer your questions, one at a time, if you give him half a chance.”
“And you can call me Dave,” the Lieutenant replied. “This isn’t anywhere near as formal as you may think it is. To answer the young lady first, yes, we did receive John’s message. That, in a nut shell, is why I am here. As to the content of any encrypted messages we may, or may not, have received, I cannot comment on those issues one way or the other. I am prepared to say that we have discussed it among ourselves and have decided that we needed to get to know you better. That’s why I am here.”
He looked at Tia and smiled. “I love the two colored eye thing, is that natural?” he asked.
“Yep,” Tia said, “born this way.”
“Fascinating,” he replied.
“As for my orders, I’m here on a fact-finding mission. I have no authority to negotiate anything, ask for anything, or grant anything. I’m just here to get to know you.”
I glanced over at John. He was looking for my reaction to all of this. I cracked a knowing smile. John moved slowly away from the group. As the Lieutenant continued to answer questions I slowly drifted away from the group and met John on the other side of the room.
“Well?” John whispered.
“Mostly he’s telling the truth,” I whispered back.
“But?”
“He has the authority to negotiate an arrangement,” I whispered, “but my guess is that he won’t get into that until he’s satisfied we’re trustworthy.”
John glanced back over at Lieutenant Saltzman. “That was what I suspected from the beginning,” he whispered back. “What I don’t know is who sent him, and why.”
CHAPTER 28
John continued to get updates from around the country and around the world. The places that were doing the best were next to hydroelectric dams. The electric generators were protected under tons of concrete so they were operational. Only the transformers had to be fixed and wire restrung and electricity became available to factories. Residences would have to wait for more transformers. We needed the factories up and running first.
I checked to see if there was anything new from the robot’s head in the communications room. As I sorted through the items on the screen I was interrupted by a message.
guardian? appeared on the screen.
“Yes,” I answered.
Are we alone? appeared on the screen.
“Yes.”
We have monitored your radio traffic and what you have been doing to help people. We know you have the capability to communicate globally and are currently helping people on other continents. We are also aware of your lack of energy resources. We have an offer.
“What would you like?” I asked.
We would like you to share the following information.
The printer started running. I looked at what was coming out of the printer and asked, “What do you want from us in return?”
We would like you to share this information with everyone without cost.
“We agree,” I said.
We will continue to monitor how you handle this information. If you do well, we will share more information with you in the future. Speak to no one of our monitoring.
“I agree,” I said.
The screen went blank and the printer continued to run. As I read what was on the sheets I opened the door to the small room and shouted. “Tia.”
“Yeah?” she answered.
“Get John in here, fast.”
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Bring John, now,” I replied.
When John and Tia arrived I asked John, “How much neodymium can you put your hands on?”
John stopped and thought. “Like for super magnets?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I’ve also got a list of other materials that we can use, but the neodymium is the big item.”
“We have members who make super magnets. I can make some inquiries. What do we need super magnets for?”
“The robot in Tibet just sent us complete plans for what they call a Magnetic Effect Generator. According to the description, once you spin this thing up to speed, it will continue to run on its own. It will produce electricity without the consumption of any other fuel,” I said.
“How long will it run?” John asked.
“It looks like you need to recharge the magnets once every six to seven years,” I replied.
“And how much electricity does it produce?” John asked.
“Depends on the size of the unit,” I said. “There’re plans here for a unit that produces four hundred megawatts. And units that weigh as little as five pounds for personal use.”
“What do they want in return for the designs?” John asked.
“The only condition is that we give it away without cost,” I replied.
John staggered a bit and leaned against the door jamb for support.
“Seriously?” he asked.
“Seriously,” I replied.
“Carl,” John said, “this can make such a difference. Can this thing power a car or a truck?”
“From what I see it can power a locomotive or an airplane or a ship at sea,” I said.
“And it’s clean? No pollution or environmental impacts?”
“From what I am seeing, it’s perfectly clean. No pollution, no hazardous waste, no emissions.”
“And we can give it away?” John asked.
“That’s the only requirement. We have to give the information away. You can receive a fair price from building the units, but the knowledge of how to build them is free to everyone.”
“Okay,” John said. He started to snap his fingers repeatedly as he looked up at the ceiling. “Phoenix… Phoenix, Arizona. We have a super magnet company member who can build a test unit. I’ll get on the radio and see what we can do. Tell the robot thank you,” he said as he headed out the door.
I didn’t tell him that the robot in Tibet also considered this a test of character for John. I reminded myself that tests of character come in two versions: adversity and authority, and between the two, adversity was easier. The real test of a person’s character was authority.