2024-2120

by Russell Fine

  In early 2026, Kingman decided to set up a Marine Division. Their first task was to design an electric replacement for outboard motors. In February 2027, they announced a line of electric outboards. The smallest was a 20-horsepower motor and there were also 50, 75, 100, and 150 horsepower versions. The price for these motors was half of the equivalent gas-powered motors. Additionally, these new motors required no maintenance and they weighed nearly seventy-five percent less. In under two months, Kingman had captured over eighty-five percent of the outboard motor business.

  There were still a few applications for electric vehicles that remained to be resolved. There were no electric motors for the big eighteen-wheel trucks available yet, but Kingman was working on those too. Additionally, motors for ships, airplanes, and construction equipment were not even being worked on at that time.

  At the end of the summer of 2027, about sixty-five percent of all the vehicles on the road were electric, and thirty-five percent of homes and businesses got their electric power from power modules.

  Oil Companies

  After the initial drop to twenty-two dollars per barrel for crude oil, the price continued to drop but much more slowly. By the summer of 2027 crude oil sold for just under twelve dollars per barrel. Gasoline in the United States was selling for seventy-five cents per gallon and almost all of that was tax. Almost nobody used heating oil anymore and even the use of natural gas had dropped by over sixty percent.

  The only bright spots for the oil companies were big trucks, airplanes, and ships. But that was not enough to keep most of them in business. By the summer of 2027, there were only three oil companies left; Western American, Universal, and Craver. The other oil companies were bought by one of these three for pennies on the dollar.

  Gas stations were disappearing as well. Drivers who still used gas-powered cars discovered they couldn’t let their gas tanks drop below half full because they ran a substantial risk of running out of gas. It was especially bad in rural areas, where there had not been many gas stations to begin with.

  The reason these three companies survived was that they had diversified and made other things like plastics, cleaning products, and pharmaceuticals.

  In the summer of 2024 oil companies employed over two million people. By the summer of 2027, that number had dropped to less than two hundred thousand and was still headed lower.

  POLITICAL CHANGES

  The political changes as a result of the decreased demand for oil were extensive. As stated previously, many countries were either completely dependent or very dependent on the sale of oil to keep their economies running smoothly.

  The part of the world hit the hardest was what was referred to as the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Dubai, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain were all facing bankruptcy by the summer of 2027. The citizens of these countries were, for the most part, given everything they needed or wanted from the government. That changed quickly, and the people were growing frustrated with government interventions. There were riots and threats of revolution in most of these countries.

  There was one positive change in the world, which mostly involved Iran. The government was a theocracy, based on Islam. Additionally, they felt their religion should be practiced by the entire population of the Earth. To meet that goal, they financed acts of terrorism all over the world. However, when the money disappeared they could no longer afford to do that, and the Islamic terrorists disappeared as well.

  Other major oil exporters like Russia, Mexico, and Venezuela were facing bankruptcy as well. The wealth their countries had was never really seen by the ordinary citizens. It was kept by the politicians running the government. When the ruling politicians saw their lifestyle changing, they tried squeezing more money from the people by raising taxes, resulting in democratic revolutions in Venezuela and Russia. In both cases truly free elections were held for the first time and the corrupt people in power were thrown out of office, if not exiled or imprisoned.

  Mexico was different because of close financial and geographical ties to the United States. It became part of the United States in April 2027. Many historians believe this was the first step in the process of forming the government we have today.

  Silver became the most valuable precious metal by the end of 2026. At that time gold was selling for $1410 per troy ounce and silver was selling for $1435 per troy ounce. The price of silver continued to rise and by the summer of 2027, silver was selling for $1610.

  Although Kingman tried to keep the price for the power modules constant they were forced to raise prices several times, and by the summer of 2027, the cost for a home power module was two thousand eight hundred ninety-five dollars.

  The increase in the price of silver was good news for the corporations that owned silver mines. Many mines that produced low-grade silver ore or mines that appeared to be almost devoid of silver were reopened and being actively mined. This increased the supply of silver by fifteen percent. It didn’t increase the supply of silver to the point where it had a negative effect on the price, but it was definitely good for consumers.

  However, like all minerals, there was a limit to the supply. Some scientists estimated the supply of silver would be exhausted in as little as ten years, while others estimated it would last over one hundred years. But they all agreed at some point, in the not too distant future, there would not be enough silver to meet the demand.

  ALBERT AND SUSAN

  After several weeks of searching, Albert purchased three acres of wooded land in Marshville, Tennessee. Albert and Susan met with an architect to design a house. Following several discussions with her, the architect had a fairly good idea of what they were looking for and about a week later she showed them some preliminary plans. After a few minor modifications were made, they were ready to start construction. Albert made arrangements with the architect to act as the general contractor for the home and he set up an account for her to handle the construction expenses. The architect estimated the construction would take a year and the cost would be about four million dollars. Obviously, that wasn’t a problem.

  With the house situation resolved, Albert and Susan decided to go traveling. Susan wanted to spend some time in Paris. She had been there before but never had enough time to really explore the city. Also, Susan spoke some French and she wanted to use it. They drove to Atlanta, turned in their rental car, and purchased first-class one-way tickets to Paris. During the flight, Albert made reservations for a hotel and car rental so they would be prepared when they landed.

  After they checked into their hotel and got comfortable in the room Albert said, “Susan, please sit down. I want to discuss something with you.”

  With a look of concern on her face, she said, “You sound very serious. Is there a problem I’m not aware of?”

  “No, in fact almost everything is perfect. To make everything perfect I would like you to answer a simple question. Okay?”

  “Sure, ask anything you like.”

  Albert said, “Susan, in the past few weeks we’ve spent a lot of time together.” Then he hesitated for a moment to build up his courage. Then he said softly, “During that time, I’ve been very happy and have grown to love you more with each of the days we have spent together.” Then Albert knelt down before her and opened up a small blue box, containing a ring. Then he said, “I hope you feel the same way about me. I want to spend the remainder of days, weeks, years,” he takes a deep breath, “my life with you. So, my question is, will you marry me?”

  “Oh my God, Albert! I’ve loved this time we’ve spent together, and I love you too. So, my answer is yes. Yes, I’d very much love to marry you. But, as you probably know I’m very wealthy now. Are you sure you’re not marrying me for my money?” she asked with a big smile on her face.

  They hugged each other tightly and kissed passionately for several moments. Then, breaking the embrace, Albert looked into Susan’s eyes, wiped the tears of joy from her cheeks, and said gently, “I promise I’m not marrying you fo
r your money. I don’t want to wait. I think we should get married while we’re in Paris. Who should we invite besides Tim?”

  Susan thought for a few moments and replied, “I would like to have my parents here. They’re kind of old-fashioned and they were upset we went traveling together. When they find out we’re going to get married it’ll make them very happy.”

  “Anybody else? I have no relatives to invite. You and Tim have been my only family for the past few years.”

  “I’ll ask my parents if there’s anybody they want to invite. I suspect my mother will want to invite my aunt. I’ll call her and ask later today. Do you know what’s involved in getting married in France?”

  “I have no idea, but I suspect the hotel concierge will be able to handle everything. Let’s go talk to them.”

  They went to the concierge desk and explained what they wanted to do. The desk clerk said the law was recently changed and a license was no longer required, so he could arrange everything. Then he asked if they wanted to have a religious ceremony or a civil one. Since neither Susan nor Albert were religious, they asked for a civil ceremony. Then they asked if the clerk could schedule it for the following week, so they could plan for the guests to arrive. The clerk asked how many guests they were expecting, and Albert told him there would probably be less than ten, but they would let him know for sure by the end of the next day.

  When they got back to the room, Albert called Tim and invited him to the wedding.

  Once Tim recovered from the surprise, he said, “Congratulations! Of course, I’ll be there. Is it okay if I bring my parents? They’ve never been to Paris. This would be the perfect opportunity for me to give them the vacation of a lifetime.”

  “Sure, I’d love to meet your mom and dad. If you want to invite anyone else just let me know so I can arrange hotel reservations for them. Do you guys have current passports?”

  “Yeah, I got mine renewed two years ago when I went to Japan for a conference. I’m sure my parents have current passports because they go to Canada frequently. Have you set the date for the wedding yet?”

  “No, not yet. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Okay, I’ll be waiting for your call. I’m very happy for both of you.”

  Albert didn’t realize that while he was talking to Tim on the phone Susan went into the bedroom. When she came back from the bedroom she had a big smile on her face.

  “I just spoke to my mother. She was very pleased with our decision to get married. She and my father want to get here as soon as possible to become more acquainted with you. They barely know you. I think there’s a travel agent in the hotel. Can we go talk to them now?” Susan blustered out in nearly one breath, her excitement level was off the charts.

  “Sure. I just spoke to Tim. He’s also coming with his parents. I told him I would call him when we have the date set. Did your mother want to bring your aunt as well?”

  “She was going to call her and then call me back. I want to arrange first class tickets for everyone,” she said while zipping around the room, getting her things together for an outing.

  “Of course. We could even charter a plane to pick them up and bring them to Paris if you like,” Albert said, putting on his leather shoes.

  “I don’t think that’s necessary. In fact, it might frighten my mother since she’s a little afraid of flying anyway. I’m sure she’d be more comfortable on a big plane.”

  Albert and Susan decided the wedding would be on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. That gave them the time they needed to make the travel arrangements. Albert called the concierge desk and told them the date they had picked and asked them if he would be so kind as to arrange the hotel rooms for his guests. He also asked about flight reservations. The desk clerk told him he could take care of that as well. Albert said he would stop at the desk later and give them the information they would need for the travel reservations.

  Albert and Susan had thought the world had forgotten about them, but they were wrong. On the Friday before the wedding, there was an article about it in the newspaper. They started receiving calls asking for interviews, but Albert turned them all down. They wondered how the newspapers had found out, but at this point it made no difference. Albert called the front desk and asked them to screen his calls and not allow any calls from news agencies. That seemed to work, but about two hours later the phone rang.

  When Albert answered it a woman said, “Hi, you must be Albert. My name is Lisa Thomas. I was a roommate of Susan’s for our freshman year at college. I live in Paris now and I read about the wedding in the paper this morning. I wanted to call Susan and congratulate her.”

  “Okay, I’ll get her for you.” He turned toward Susan and said, “Somebody named Lisa Thomas is on the phone for you.”

  Susan smiled and walked over to get the phone. “Hi Lisa, it’s great to hear from you! How are you?”

  “I’m fine. I live in Paris now and when I read about the wedding I had to call. Actually,

  I’d like to come over and meet your future husband. Would that be okay?”

  “Sure, when do you want to come?”

  “I’m a doctor now and have appointments until 4:00. Could I come over at 5:00?”

  “That would be perfect. Albert and I would love to take you to dinner. We’re in room 1640.”

  “Sounds great, I’ll see you at 5:00.”

  Susan told Albert they were going to dinner with Lisa and that Lisa was a doctor now. Albert said that was fine with him. Then they put together a list of the guests who were coming for the wedding and included their addresses and phone numbers. When the list was completed, they went down to the concierge desk and gave the clerk the list. He asked the clerk to contact each guest and book roundtrip first class flights for the days and times they requested. Albert also told him to charge his credit card for everything.

  After making the travel arrangements, they decided to take a walk. They strolled around the area near the hotel, stopped at a few stores but didn’t buy anything, got back to the hotel at 4:30, and went up to their room.

  A few minutes after five there was a knock at the door. Susan looked through the peephole and told Albert it was Lisa.

  Susan opened the door and said, “Hi Lisa. Oh my gosh, it’s been what? Seven or eight years since we last saw each other and you look great! I guess being a doctor agrees with you.”

  “Thanks, you look pretty good yourself. I assume this is Albert,” she said. She walked over to Albert and kissed him lightly on each cheek. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too. Susan told me you live in Paris now. How did that happen?”

  “Well, after I graduated from medical school I did my residency at a hospital in Orlando. While I was there I met some people from a charity that provides free medical services to people in poorer countries,” she stated, continuing, “After my residency was completed I went to work for them and they sent me here for additional training on STD’s and to become fluent in French. In six months or so I’ll be assigned to work somewhere in Africa where French is the primary language.”

  “That sounds very rewarding,” Albert said.

  “I agree,” said Susan. “This is something you talked about doing when we were roommates.”

  “I know, and I’m very happy. When I saw you were here I wanted to see you, but I also have an ulterior motive. We’re trying to set up some medical facilities in the more remote parts of Africa and we really need Albert’s invention to make it possible. We’ve been using gasoline generators, but it’s often difficult to get the gas we need. We can afford to buy them, but there’s strict rationing because of demand and they’re simply not available. I was hoping you could help us.”

  Albert replied, “I would be happy to help in any way I can. How many do you need?”

  “Ten would be okay, but twenty would be better.”

  “I don’t think that will be a problem. I’ll call my contact at Kingman and ask him to ship them to the hotel. Do you
want 110-volt or 220-volt units?”

  “We’d prefer 220-volt units, but we’ll take what we can get. How do we pay for them?”

  “You don’t pay for them. We will, and we’ll give you an additional two million dollars as well.”

  Lisa’s eyes welled up with tears. “Wow! That’s very generous. I don’t know how I can ever thank you.” She wrapped her arms around Susan and they hugged tightly. She looked over at Albert and he accepted a hug from her as well.

  Susan said, “We appreciate what you’re doing and Albert and I are happy to help. Let’s go to dinner now because I’m hungry.”

  “Give me a minute to call David and ask him for the power modules,” Albert said as he walked into the bedroom to make his call.

  ***

  When he called he was surprised to discover David was also aware of his impending marriage. He didn’t think the news had made the US papers, but he was wrong. David said he would have twenty units shipped to Albert’s hotel and they should be there within a week. Albert thanked him and ended the call.

  When he got back into the living room he said, “Lisa, it’s all taken care of. The power modules will be here within a week. If you give me the account number and routing number for the bank your charity uses, I’ll have the funds transferred tomorrow.”

  “I will be happy to. Thank you, so much. This is incredible,” Lisa said to Albert, looking at Susan, “You have got yourself a good one. I am so happy for you.” And Susan just smiled back. She knew.

  ***