The Two Worlds of Billy Callahan

by Richard Friedman

  Greg’s eyes rolled with that comment from the President.

  “You have a problem with that, Mr. Miller? asked the President.

  “No sir, it’s just that—ah, never mind.”

  “I’m giving you permission to speak freely Miller, what is it?”

  Greg sat up in his seat; leaned forward, thought carefully about how he was going to choose his words, “Respectfully, Mr. President, that’s the same lip service I’ve heard you say since your days at Princeton. Nothing much has changed. A little clean up here, a few acres of wetlands to protect a frog, but nothing substantive that will change the country or lead the world. That’s terrific on a press release, but nothing along the lines that Billy has outlined in his proposal.”

  The President stood and walked toward Greg. It was a show of dominance and was effective. Greg slunk back in his seat as the President spoke.

  “Proposal? Yes, let’s talk about that document. Demonde, read the first five items on the list out loud.”

  The Vice-President of the powerful Ways and Means committee opened the proposal that Billy had sent to the White House, “how to save the country in ten easy steps.”

  The pudgy 45-year-old stood triumphantly. His voice had a distinctive New England accent.

  “Item one, elimination of the entire nuclear arsenal. Two, develop new technology to clean manufacturing facilities, and eliminate the pollutants dispersed into the soil, the water, or the air. Three, shut all nuclear power electricity plants immediately, and remove any contaminated fuel rods at yet-to-be determined safe location. Four,—”

  “That’s enough, thank you,” said the President. “Billy, your pie-in-the-sky ideas have ZERO chance of making it out of a sub-committee hearing. The only one who might endorse these proposals is Robert Kennedy Jr., and the last time I checked, he’s in the family vault! You have no voice here in Washington. We’re certainly not going to allow the rest of the world to remain a nuclear threat to us and lose our capability to have weapons as a deterrent to those rogue leaders that want to hurt us. What business owner is going to support me if I place stricter guidelines and controls over how they disperse their waste products? We’re all here for the ‘now’. I can’t be bothered about which river in Illinois may be too hazardous to swim in fifty years from now. Everyone in this room might be dead at that point. Not our problem.”

  “I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” said Greg. “What a bunch of short- sighted fools you are. I’m ashamed to say that I once voted for you, Mr. President.”

  “Thanks for the vote Miller, but what did you expect me to say?”

  Billy turned to the President, “I had hoped for your support. If you can’t help me at this level, I’ll go directly to the people, and when there are three million of them at the Lincoln Memorial, maybe you’ll begin to see the light. If you’re not interested in my proposals for saving mankind, why are we here?”

  “Ah, now we get to the good parts,” said the leader of the free world, rubbing his hands together, “it’s my job to protect the citizens of the United States of America. We may disagree about the long-term solutions to a few tough problems. We’ll agree to disagree on a number of those issues, but we could probably both agree that my primary job is to protect the people…at all costs.”

  The President pointed to the two soldiers guarding the doors. He nodded at them and they walked to the doors and locked them.

  Billy and Greg turned to see what made the noise.

  Greg whispered to Billy, “They locked the damn doors. That’s not a good thing.”

  The President continued, “Thanks to Greg’s assistance, you’re going to help the country. I’ve read some of the reports that mention those machines that found minerals deep under the earth. We’d like you to try and give us in-depth details of those machines, along with the particulars of those weapons you claim to have seen. Surely, you must have been given a birds-eye view of that action and perhaps you can give an idea of the designs of those weapons?”

  “That’s insane!” shouted Greg.

  “Please have Mr. Miller removed from the room,” said the President.

  “No WAIT!” said Greg.

  The guards didn’t wait. They were under orders of the Commander in Chief of the greatest superpower in the world. Two young men, their chests decorated with medals of merit and bravery, grabbed Greg’s elbows and led him away. Greg was kicking and screaming the entire way. Billy froze with fear. The rest of the staff sat uneasily and watched the guards follow orders without hesitation. A long, silent minute later, Billy began to voice his disapproval of the President’s actions.

  “Mr. President, this is a violation of Greg’s constitutional rights!”

  President Dodge waved his comments off with his right hand, “These are unusual times, Callahan. The country is ripe for me to get tough with all groups of people that don’t fit what an ideal American is all about. If we need to suspend certain rights, the President can do it. It’s part of the new amendments in the constitution. I’m here to secure America. I’m sure I don’t need to remind anyone from New York about that. Am I correct?”

  Shocked by the events, Billy stood, and yelled at the president.

  “No, Mr. President, but we’re not at war with anybody! It’s not 2001!”

  “Oh, you’re wrong sir, quite wrong. We’re at war with many countries that don’t like us. China won’t play fair. You’re the environmentalist. You wouldn’t be pleased with them. Have you seen the smog that proliferates in their country? It’s a stink bomb of epic proportions. If aliens are pissed at anyone, the first place they’re going to is Beijing. I have no doubt about that. And we haven’t mentioned the Muslim nations. Do you know how many American lives were lost fighting to protect all the peace loving Muslims? Of course you don’t, you were in a coma for fifty fucking years, and now you have the stones to march in here and tell me to get rid of our nuclear arsenal. That’s a good one old man. We’re going to get rid of them all right. We’re going to find any reason we can, as soon as I can, to bomb them into oblivion. I’m sick and tired of losing young American soldiers to road side bombs because Abdullah doesn’t want the woman in his country to learn how to read a book. Is that the dumbest thing ever? And, for good measure mister, we’re already at war with the people coming to kill us. I hold carte blanche to make decisions based on what’s best for the country in wartime. Now that the election is over, and our party won, we’ll begin to implement some of these actions. If certain groups of people in the country are under suspicion, it’s my duty and my right to protect the rest of the citizenry. Preparations are underway to provide more funding for the military. Within six months, the Joint Chiefs of Staffs have assured me that we’ll be ready to send our troops anywhere in the world to maintain the American way of life.”

  Billy countered, “What? Are you gonna start a war with China?”

  “That’s enough back talk!” demanded the President.

  “Mr. President, I don’t understand. Where’s Greg? First you sent me to the hotel and now you’ve taken Greg, are you going to hurt him?” asked Billy.

  “He’s fine; he’s in no danger, assuming you cooperate with our efforts to help the country defend itself. Can we count on your support?”

  Billy nodded. He didn’t know what else to do, and in reality, he had no other option.

  “It’s settled, you’ll be meeting with our top scientist as he assists you in recalling what you observed in that other world of yours. His name is MacIntyre, and he’ll be with you in short order. The guards will escort you out of the room. God bless America, and God bless you, Billy Callahan.”

  The President dripped with sweat. His deep seeded hatred of minorities exposed. The scent of trouble was in the air.

  CHAPTER 40

  December 30, 2060 - The Pentagon, Washington DC

  The security guards escorted Billy to a small room in the rear of the building, and told him to sit on the black leather sofa pressed against one wa
ll. A small sink and vanity faced the door. The light from a strip of florescent bulbs bothered Billy’s eyes. The white tile reflected the light and made it difficult to see. A smallish man with fading red hair entered the room shortly after Billy’s arrival.

  “Hello Mr. Callahan. My name is Dr. Theodore MacIntyre.”

  Billy was not in the mood to meet new doctors. “Where is my friend? Why am I being held here? I’m ready to go home.”

  Dr. Macintyre chortled, “Mr. Callahan, you’re not being held. Your country needs you. You can help protect America. You’ve spent so much time and energy talking about saving the planet, now’s your opportunity to prove that you mean it. Something tangible, not a speech at a convention. We’ll begin our tests in the morning.”

  Moments later, four men shouldering rifles brought Billy out of that room and led him down a set of stairs, and to a bank of elevators. They turned left when the ride stopped at the sixth floor, and led Billy to room 614. The room was open and a fifth member of the armed forces greeted his guest.

  “Hello, Mr. Callahan, there are fresh towels in the closet, a fully stocked fridge, there’s no alcohol, but there is a coffee machine in the back of the suite. We’ll be here in the morning to wake you up at 08:00. Goodnight, sir.”

  The agent departed the room along with the escorts and when Billy closed the door, he put his eye to the peephole and glimpsed the shadows of two soldiers on either side of the door.

  He thought to himself, “Looks like I’m their guest tonight.”

  He clutched the telephone and picked up the receiver, decided he’d been through that routine in Colorado, and slammed the piece down, and it fell off the night stand and on to the carpet. He slept restlessly that night, tossing and turning, and wondering why God had spared him, only to find himself locked in this army building, alone with his thoughts, again.

  CHAPTER 41

  December 31, 2060

  The morning light crept through the draperies and woke Billy. He showered, and when he returned to the main part of the suite, two soldiers stood inside the front door.

  He jumped when he saw them, “Jesus! Couldn’t you have knocked?”

  Without making eye contact, the taller of the two men said, “Sorry sir, orders are orders. We’re here to get you to your appointment on time this morning. Please hurry. We don’t want to be late.”

  Billy dressed quickly and the guards escorted him to a laboratory. There was one seat, and it reminded him of the type of chair he recalled from the dentist’s office.

  Dr. Macintyre appeared from around the corner and greeted Billy.

  “I trust you found your accommodations satisfactory? We have a big day ahead of us. Please, let’s get underway.”

  “Wait a minute. What type of tests are you going to be running? I never agreed to this. I want to talk to Greg.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know who Greg is. I’m sure you understand how the Army works. Every group is compartmentalized. Please, relax. Nobody is going to harm you. You’re special to us. You may have the ability to help mankind in ways no one thought possible. I’m here to help get that info out of you and in the hands of professionals that can put that information to proper use.”

  Billy was relieved. The harsh words of the President were a distant memory.

  “Finally a human being from this century that understands me. The teacher told me that getting the orb was the key, and when we’re able to safely interpret it, we may be able to solve world hunger, or new methods of transportation, or generating electricity. The possibilities are endless. A cure for cancer may be tucked away inside that thing.”

  MacIntyre flipped on the recording devices, temporarily giving Billy a chill as he flashed back to his time at the Keller Institute of Care. He remained calm, believing that MacIntyre had his best interests at heart. Nothing was further from the truth.

  The doctor turned his back to Billy for an instant and when he turned to face his patient, a small ventilator mask obscured his mouth and nose.

  Gas began to seep into the room from the ventilation system.

  Dr. Macintyre gave the thumbs up signal to his assistant and pressed a button that activated the mechanism to lock Billy in place.

  “Hey! What the hell!” shouted Billy. “What’s going on?”

  MacIntyre said, “It’s a light sedative to help you relax. Breathe deeply. I promise the gas won’t hurt you.”

  “I was relaxed until you decided to poison me! Turn it off!” demanded Billy. He struggled under the restraints. They grew tighter the more he struggled. “Teacher! Where are you?”

  Macintyre remained calm, “You’re here to provide information. You’ll be asleep momentarily.”

  By the time the doctor finished his sentence, Billy had slipped into unconsciousness. The rest of the medical team entered from behind a closed door and spun into action. Two female nurses removed Billy’s shirt and placed small metal receptacles on his chest, one near his heart, the other closer to his neck. Two technicians shaved his head, and placed a metal band on his forehead. There were two lights on the front of the band, one green, the other one a crimson red. Each light was no bigger than an eraser at the end of a pencil. They flicked on and off, alternating in a rhythmic beat. Red…Green…Red…Green… There were two spots on the band that remained empty.

  “Hurry, he’s almost there,” said the doctor.

  A nurse tied the last of the electrical links.

  “Good to go, doctor,” she said.

  Dr. McIntyre lifted Billy’s left eyelid. He shined a small beam of light into the retina and flipped the light off.

  The nurse began reconnecting Billy with the orb, and said to the doctor, “I hope we don’t hurt him. We’ve lost five people during this testing, but they were all criminals. This is a decent man. You and I can’t possibly imagine the life he’s lived.”

  Macintyre raised an eyebrow to the nurse, “Nobody is getting hurt. We’re probing his head. He’ll never even know it happened. We’ve improved the technique so much there won’t even be a scar.”

  Two medical personnel assistants entered the room wheeling in a cart. There was a metal covering over the top of the container.

  “Bring it closer please,” commanded MacIntyre.

  As they did, the room illuminated with a flood of lights. At the same time, the shutters on the second floor windows retreated into their housing and exposed twenty military personnel fixated on each move MacIntyre made.

  The doctor checked the microphone attached to his lapel, “Testing…testing…”

  “We hear you loud and clear,” said a voice from the speaker system located in the ceiling tiles.

  “Let’s proceed,” said the doctor.

  The nurse slid the cart next to Billy, who was completely out of it. She affixed all the wires and monitors to Billy as they had done with the previous five failed attempts to communicate with the orb.

  MacIntyre lifted the lid off the cart and exposed the object on the cart. It was the orb. Clean, shiny, and free from the debris of the Negev desert.

  “She’s a beauty, that’s for sure,” stated Dr. MacIntyre, “but a man eater if you’re not careful. If you don’t believe me, ask Stinson, Marks, or the other three. Let’s hope this time is the charm. We’re banking on his previous connection with the machine to help us crack the code.”

  Adjacent to the bed was a 60-inch monitor. Cables ran from Billy’s chest to the input jacks on the monitor.

  Dr. MacIntyre had prepped for this moment since the Army had shown him the orb. Up in the gallery, a group of American and Israeli officials waited for the doctor to begin the procedure.

  He fiddled with the headset and spoke to the crowd, “I’ll walk you through the sequences that I perform on the patient.”

  He checked his laptop and pressed F9. The screen turned blank for an instant, and within seconds the computerized image of Billy’s brain appeared on the screen.

  “As you can see, here is the patient’s brain
. Once I turn on the activation sequence, the orb should download information quickly. The patient will not have to be under for long. We’ll electronically send the downloaded information through the machine to the monitor and those images will fill the screen… at least, that is the plan.

  A husky voice came crashing down on the doctor. “This is Rafael Gali, from Israel. Why, if you have the belief that you can gather information from the orb, do you need to reconnect Billy to the orb? It’s too risky for him. You’re playing God. I want to go on record that I vehemently oppose this connection.”

  Dr. Macintyre answered the question with a nod of his head, “Point noted, Professor Gali. Please remember that the two of them; Billy and the orb, already have a connection. We’re anticipating the orb will recall the connection with Billy’s brain. Once we establish the link, we’ll keep it intact and extract as much information as we can. The orb may download all of its data in five minutes, or five years. Frankly, we simply won’t know until we try. He was the one who told us about this device, and his profound experiences with it. He’s been ranting about saving the planet from destruction. He said once we understand the orb, we can learn from it. We may remember him as the most unique man of all time.”

  A different voice rained down from above, “You mean he doesn’t know the possibilities of how long he may be connected to that thing? Do you think that’s fair?”

  Dr. MacIntyre was firm with his reply, “These are challenging times, and we must make difficult decisions. I assure you that this was not my choice alone. If it was, I wouldn’t change a thing, but full disclosure on my end allows me to sleep at night. I’m confident that if Billy knew we were doing this for the sake of the country, he’d be at the front of the line volunteering to assist us.”

  “You’re killing him!” declared a third voice from the gallery. “This is not what we agreed to when we reached out to you for cooperation in ascertaining what secrets lay within the orb.”

  “Nobody is killing anybody. We’re monitoring his entire body functions. The multitudes of monitors track his life functions. He’s doing great at the moment. If there are no more questions, we’ll continue,” said Dr. MacIntyre.