by Matt Rogers
Chapter 14
The Governor was angry and he took it out on his food.
“Nat, I’m telling you, they’ve gone too far” he said stabbing his lettuce with ferocity.
Nat was again in the company of Austin Travis for the sole reason the Governor wished it and Nat enjoyed watching the man hang himself. He’d never actually released the State eviction notice but rumors of its existence became known and he could only reply he could neither confirm nor deny. When Mexico brought suit in the United Nations the cat was out of the bag and the war of words began.
“This is Nick Price with the Channel Five News at Ten. Tonight, our top story. Is Texas spelled with an ‘X’ or ‘J’? If Mexico gets its wish we might all learn we’ve been writing it wrong.”
The News was infatuated with the story because the thing had legs. People who had previously kept quiet were now willing to enter the fray. Unfortunately most only spoke Spanish so their voices were heard but not comprehended.
“Can you tell us your name?”
“Si’”
“You’re name is ‘C’?”
Everyone was talking about it and sides were forming, congealing, becoming hardened. Mexico denied blowing up the Alamo but asserted the eviction notice was legal. They insisted they were indeed the rightful landowners of Texas and thus wanted their day in court. Texas, of course, refused to recognize Mexico’s claim but ran into a slight problem at the World Court; the rest of the world.
Texas had always boasted. It was part of what set it apart and was generally viewed with grudging admiration. Everyone liked a rugged individualist and Texas prided itself on its ability to produce people with the characteristic. Unfortunately, people also disliked braggarts. Governor Travis had, for years, worked tirelessly to promote the business community in his great state. He traveled to other states and countries and boasted of Texas’ business friendliness, low taxes and non-union workforce. He boasted so much he forgot one thing; other lands. People lived there and were not too happy an outsider was coming in and trying to steal their businesses so when the World Court received word Mexico was staking a claim they leaped at the prospect. Texas found itself on the opposing side of virtually every country on the planet. It even had trouble with its own country. The Governor had ticked off so many other Governors it was only by the slimmest of margins the United States didn’t side with Mexico.
“What are you going to do Governor?”
“What can I do? They’ve painted us into a corner, Nat. Other than the eviction notice we’ve got no proof.”
“None? What about surveillance?”
“It didn’t show anything. Well, that’s not entirely true. It showed stuff but it might as well have been blank.”
“Huh?”
“It showed a bunch of gosh-darn floating sticks of dynamite, Nat! it’s like the Alamo was attacked by ghosts with a thing for explosives!”.
Nat almost laughed at the Governor’s plight because he knew the man was up against a force he had no knowledge of and no chance to prevail against. How could someone fight what they couldn’t see? Vamps with ordinances were something the Human race was ill prepared to meet.
“Surely you’ve received some sympathy from California? Their castle was blown up also.”
“You’d think so wouldn’t you? But it hasn’t really materialized.”
The idea was simple; remove another landmark from territory previously held by Mexico. The Castle Fiasco, as it later became known in Wolf lore, wasn’t so much a miscalculation of Human thought as it was a slight misjudgment on who would do the thinking. The children were upset, of that there was no doubt, but the parents of those children were another matter altogether. In public the sentiment was always the same.
“How horrible!”
“What a travesty!”
But behind closed doors, where children were not present, another viewpoint emerged.
“Praise the Lord!”
“Happy days are here again!”
The same adults who publicly condemned the destruction of an American icon were, in private, utterly relieved and overjoyed.
“We can buy a new car!”
“My God, I think we can actually pay the rent!”
The price of childhood entertainment had just plummeted alongside a castle dedicated to the idea with enough advertising the whining of children would be such that even the most spinster of parents would relent and pay whatever asked so they could get some quiet.
“So, Mexico gets a pass on the castle thing?” Nat asked.
“It looks that way. Heck, it looks like they’re not even going to allow Disney the opportunity to rebuild the dang thing.”
The petition was developed by some foresighted adults who were witnesses to previous events similar in nature but different in implementation. They had seen the future unfold first-hand and wished to avoid a repeat. It was, ironically, another entertainment industry which showed them the way. American football had grown leaps and bounds due to its popularity with the majority of its citizens. The majority of its citizens were not millionaires, though, and it was that aspect which caused otherwise indifferent people to band together to stop a recurrence of the events. Football had gotten so popular the owners of the clubs began thinking they could wring more money out of the sport so they destroyed their old stadiums which were reasonably priced and built ones which weren’t. While the sport had grown due to its popularity with the masses it was thought the masses were no longer necessary. They built grand cathedrals and invited the rich. What was once somewhat achievable became a financial impossibility to the base and it was the act of short-term greed over long-term loyalty which was the tipping point. The answer in the Surf-state was easy to see.
“This is Nick Price with Channel Five News at Eleven. We have an up-to-the-minute forecast on the vote in California. We go now to Tim Tidbit. Tim, are you there?”
“Yes Nick, I’m here.”
Tim was once again standing where a castle previously loomed supreme.
“Tim, can you tell us what is happening?”
“Well, Nick, we’ve got quite a few people here watching the returns on the giant-screen. They are waiting with baited breath to see if their side of the proposition prevails.”
“Tim, for those viewers just tuning in could you explain what the proposition is about?”
“Sure, Nick, glad to do so. Proposition 666 is a vote to see if the footprint where the castle once stood should be dedicated a memorial. In essence, a last resting spot for the fallen.”
“But I thought there were no casualties, Tim, am I wrong?”
“You are and you aren’t ,Nick. There were no living casualties, true, but there were other casualties.”
“What other casualties, Tim?”
“Dreams, Nick, they are mourning their childhood dreams which came crashing down at this very spot.”
The proposition passed with an overwhelming majority. Disney, accepting defeat but looking for an up-side began funeral processions down Main Street and what was once a travesty of childhood imagination became a lesson in monetary mourning. Pluto received the bulk of the sympathy for not only did he lose his romping grounds on Earth but he’d previously lost his doghouse in space. His home planet had been reassigned, removed from the Astros as it were by those who felt it was nothing more than a space-rock floating aimlessly in the great void. His tombstone said it all.
REST IN PEACE
PLUTO
YOU MEANT A WORLD TO US
“What’s your next step, Governor?” Nat asked.
“Well, we’re going to delay, obviously.”
“You don’t think you can win?”
“I don’t know, Nat, but I’m looking on the bright side.”
“The bright side?”
“Yep, if we don’t win then I’m not Governor and I can go back to eating real food. You know, a little part of me is actually rooting for Mexico.”