Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars

by Matthew Opdyke

  Eliza enjoyed being able to meet Joseph and looked forward to meeting Hannah next week, and from what Joseph shared, she could tell they were a wonderful couple. Eliza had always appreciated a good education, and she was impressed with the fact that James valued a good education as well, and he even made conveyances for his crewmembers and their significant others or extended family members to reach their academic goals.

  “That’s amazing, Joseph. Sorry, Hannah couldn’t make it. I am sure you look forward to seeing her on Monday. How about you and your family, Paul?”

  “My wife and I are originally from the projects in Chicago, Illinois. However, after an escalation in violence, we decided to uproot and move to a quieter part of our country. I worked in Bay City with YY Corp for years and right when James started, I could tell he was going to do very well, for the employee, the employer, and the customer. There was something special about James. I can tell you now, many campouts later, that his parents raised him well. He, during his early years and on through to the present day, has had an honorable character, an excellent work ethic, and he cares deeply about others. When he finished his Bachelor’s Degree in Management, I was up for promotion, but I didn’t want it. Knowing James, I pushed him up for that position. I will tell you, Eliza, he has never, and to this day, ever let me down. I am glad I requested thirteen years ago to move my family when James did, to Grayling, when he set up The 97. It is because of James that my wife and I felt we saw enough hope that it would be okay to have and finally raise a child. We named Jaimie after James because he is such a good role model. With James, we have no fear of our future, and we know Jaimie will also have a lot of promise as he matures into the man he will become in the not-too-distant future.”

  “I’m sure you, Molly, and Jaimie are excellent leaders and role models, even now. There will always be room for untold potential, and every day we awake there lies more room for us to bring joy to others, by simply being kind and gentle in all that we do.” Eliza responded knowing she was seeing a great part of the future sitting right there with her.

  “Wise words, Eliza,” said James, he smiled at Paul, then Molly, and then Jaimie, before looking at Mike.

  “My wife, Heather, my son, Alex, and I have been on these outings ever since Alex was born. I met Heather more than thirteen years ago, Alex was born, and working with James has been a great help in so many ways. He fought for our wage increases, staying ahead of inflation and finding a way to work a small percentage of revenue for worker’s pay based on the value of our efforts in our work. With 97 of us working together, we’ve gotten a lot done, and I’ve been able to ensure Alex gets a high-quality education.” Mike wanted to say more, but he held back and looked toward Heather and Alex.

  “Mike married me when I was eighteen and pregnant with Alex. It was because of the stability that Mike’s job provided him as well as our morale and the healthy environment of The 97 that James’ leadership provided that Mike was able to find the courage to raise Alex as his own. Alex’s birth father didn’t want to have anything to do with me when he found out, and his parents had very few kind words to say. Mike made me feel loved and valued again.”

  “I love my Dad,” said Alex. “The guy who left my Mom high and dry, I feel sorry for him. He was lost, but I hope he grows up and finds his way someday. My Dad is Mike. He raised me and loves my Mom. With all these changes going on as I am getting older, he gives me perspective and he seems to understand. I’m human, I make mistakes, but he loves me anyway.”

  “He’s a good young man,” affirmed Mike, “and no matter what, I love him as my own. I love Heather very much, and I couldn’t ask to work with a better crew. All of our words carry weight with James. He listens, he watches, and he truly cares.”

  “Thank you, each of you. You are too kind,” responded James, blushing in disbelief. “Our youngest member of this crew is Brandy. She has worked with us for a couple of years now, and she has been a phenomenal asset to our team.”

  Brandy took over for him, fearlessly, without the need for anxiety. “My father is a carpenter, I watched him and then worked with him, between studies, growing up. I used to help my Dad with his business before corporate bought him out. Luckily, it was enough for him to retire. I’d heard about YY Corp and I didn’t think much of it until I saw the pristine quality of a couple of edifices in Bay City. Both were everything a person could appreciate, especially someone with my background. I started doing web searches to find out who the architects and builders were, and it was The 97. When I asked around, I found out that there was a job opening in Grayling, so naturally, I applied. After my interview with James, I got a good vibe. He’d taken me on a tour around the Grayling facility, with its parks, its waterfalls, and the beauty of the architecture, all riddled with purpose. He introduced me to the team, and everyone was professional, upbeat, and they each told me how wonderful of a place it was to work. I accepted, began with Team 04 and the rest is history. Every team I’ve been in has been a gem of its own, the projects have been amazing as well, and I have been able to finish my associate’s degree in Carpentry and quite a few certifications. Soon, I will go for a juggle as I am studying scientific infrastructure, plan to finish my BS in Biotechnology Infrastructure, and then see where I’ll go from there.”

  “She’s ambitious,” said James, “I am proud of her.”

  Everyone was so polite and courteous, but it was due to their reciprocal love for James and thus they were loyal to him. They would follow him to the ends of the Earth if asked. Eliza was impressed, and she knew he was the guy for her and Yesha’s gargantuan undertaking. He had the right kind of character, experience, perspective, and wisdom necessary for the technologies they were going to reveal.

  At a certain point in the evening, Eliza began to talk to her audience about a new company she called Pathway LLC. She also got James to talk about YY Corp. Everything went well, and with the crew, their families, and James, she had hit it off.

  He and his friends each expressed their desire to move on from YY Corp eventually, mentioning that it was a good deal for each one of them for a myriad of reasons, all of which stemmed from James’ leadership style. However, aside from the situation experienced by their own crew, the toxicity within the corporation was something they deemed unethical, unhealthy, with the capability of spreading like a plague, and the likes of which, if any humanity prevailed at all might lead to the company’s undoing. James explained how YY Corp used to be a wonderful employer, and while he protected “The 97,” it was painful to see other crews being torn to shreds with little to show for it. The rest of the corporation was steeped in non-agile management, ideas from other crew members were scoffed at or increasingly ignored, on-the-job-training was non-existent, the revolving door was greased with the blood of its employees, and every penny of every dividend or investment had to go to the investors and its shareholders.

  The conversations carried on blissfully, time flew, and it was actually quite refreshing to vent to and be understood by this fascinating young lady. Before dessert, the young lady’s friend arrived, and both of them sought approval from James’ crew to take him away and talk business with him for a while at their estate. Things were going to be quite spectacular and amazingly different for James, his crew, and their families, in the not too very distant future.

  Chapter 13: James Cooper, Section 3

  For a moment, within her training in the Virtual Universe, Vesha Celeste could feel a shift from mind-to-mind. Yesha Alevtina whispered into her mind, before they both drifted back into Eliza’s, Yesha’s, and James’ shared memories, as if in passive yet up-close observation, “James’ experience during this particular dinner setting, Vesha, was well documented within the archives of Pathway History, and so was this experience as shared from the minds of Eliza, myself, and James. Going back to earlier that evening, please enjoy our shared perspective and then the amazing, beautiful, and promising results.”

  ~ * ~

  While Yesha wen
t for a jog, Eliza had decided to go to the T.O.; which was her favorite eatery, and after a few moments of waiting in line, the line behind her began to grow. She looked back, and then kind of felt herself blush or even glow a little. Eliza was still somewhat adapting to the latest updates to her optimizations and was trying to keep her glowing under control. How could it be? Perhaps all of that work, research, learning, and more kept her nanos fired up full-bore almost too consistently? It seemed as though it were a chronic condition. Luckily, thus far there had been no devastating side effects, only a few quirky ones, with the worst being the potential for awkward moments. Plus, she knew the mind is constantly working and trying to create normalcy out of anything that is bizarrely different or inconceivable, so in most cases, no one even noticed the glow. On top of that, this break might help. Food, that’s all she needed, or at least that is what she enjoyed, and that tended to reduce the glow a little.

  The man standing behind her looked like the man in the pictures she’d seen while doing her research on James Cooper, who also happened to be a very handsome man. Upon seeing him, she momentarily forgot everything else, was instantly smitten and had to take special actions to pull herself together and engage in an unplanned, non-practiced, much studied, very opportune conversation, which also happened to be very necessary. Luckily her mind was optimized.

  “Okay, Eliza,” she coached herself mentally, “You have seven real world Ph.Ds.; so, you know you can do this with ease. You have been neurologically optimized and have dealt with far greater challenges and have literally millions of years of knowledge in that mind of yours.” Her mind tapered off, as she focused on the task at hand. This was different from what she had planned, however, and something she hadn’t considered. It was as if some unseen force had seen fit that she meet him that very day. To top that off, the last time she was drawn to anything remotely close to flirting or talking to someone who she wouldn’t mind dating, it had ended tragically. She hadn’t considered physical or any other sort of attraction ever since. For all of her robust neurological networks, synaptic pathways and strengths, and the quantity of time she had invested into science, she hadn’t thought of how she would deal with meeting an individual she might actually be attracted to, and as with all of her abilities, this would take time and practice to perfect as well. As she very lightly gazed around the room and then in his direction, she felt her neuro nanos kick in and she returned to her alert, intellectual, friendly, and engaging self.

  “Have you ever eaten here before, Ma’am?”

  “Did he just call me Ma’am? Oh well. Now is as good a time as any to make this happen and throw on the charm brigade so we can work with him to build Pathway’s infrastructure. This is how it all starts.” Thought Eliza, caught again, just a little off-guard, “Yes?” She turned around again as she spoke, making the most of the situation.

  Although Eliza didn’t realize it outright, James was kind of struck by her professional allure and her captivating demeanor, not to mention he found her quite stunning in a physical sense as well. He still tried to be respectful, just as he would have been for any person he talked to. The line seemed long anyway, so he thought he might as well get her attention; his friends had given him their food orders, so he was waiting like the others in the line to make the orders, pay for them, and then return to the table until the meals were brought out.

  Since the line was rather long, he considered all of the reviews on this particular eatery, which were all very good, and thought that the setup here must have been the norm. He also thought he might as well take the time in waiting to get to know someone he hadn’t met before. His crew would have chided him if he hadn’t tried to speak to the young lady right next to or in front of him, since they were adamant that he ought to reach out to women and date with romance and honorable goals in mind every once in a while—he appreciated their intentions, since he knew they didn’t want him to be single forever. Most of his employees admired him as a kind, charming, and an exemplary older brother, and some as a younger brother, and as such, they felt like he deserved the joys of a good relationship.

  While he appreciated the honorable intentions of his crew members, pushing himself on others wasn’t his way of going about things. He had no desire to cave to the natural evolution of mixed results, and he had pretty specific criteria for what type of interests and standards would draw him into dating. Overall, he thought there were much greater ideals to pursue in life. Still, she seemed like an outstandingly pleasant individual, so he made his best effort to start the conversation, keep it going, and as such he was merely trying to be polite and seek some advice.

  “I’m visiting from out of town with my friends over there,” he pointed at the three booth tables lined up, with ten adults and three teenagers, and continued, “I was wondering if you’ve been here before… maybe you know of some recommended entrées?”

  He put Eliza at ease with his calm and non-overbearing demeanor, and she obliged an answer to his question, “This is my go-to restaurant. I come here all the time, so I do have quite a few favorites, do you have anything in particular in mind?”

  “Here is the list, it’s for me and the people over there,” he said as he nervously pointed a second time toward his crewmembers and their family members. He then handed his ordering list toward her, trying not to seem so nervous, or at least as nervous as he was, he didn’t want to seem to be too awkward.

  Eliza perused through James’ meal ordering list, while considering with the clarity of an optimized mind the menu items, and then the obviously unacquainted options made by James and his friends. After looking it over fairly quickly, she knew that this certainly wouldn’t do, and with a natural, “Oh my,” she turned back toward James and made some quick recommendations based on flavor, nutrition combination optimization, and recipe matchups.

  “There are quite a few orders, James. Do you mind if I talk to your friends to offer some more ideal suggestions? Oh, we’ll lose our spot in line, but it will die down soon, and I assure you, your friends will be grateful if we took our time.”

  “Oh, of course, I am sure they will be.” Then, with consideration for her, and not wanting to ruin her plans in any way, he politely asked, “Did you come here with someone, by chance?”

  Eliza was impressed with how charming he was, the fact that he was trying to be polite, and the awkward truth his question revealed; and she answered, “I am a professor at Harvard, but I was doing some extra-curricular research with a friend earlier, I found myself famished, and I decided to come here. This happens to be my favorite restaurant to eat at. I’m Eliza party of one.” She said with a pleasant smile that was flirtatious and confident, yet it donned on her that it may have been interestingly and nervously wordy.

  “I’m James Cooper. I’m sorry, I must have left my manners at the door,” and they both chuckled and felt naturally at ease with each other throughout the rest of the night. After a brief pause, he asked: “I suppose we can step out of the line, for now, I can introduce you, and you can make recommendations to my friends?”

  “Sure, that works for me. You know? You seem like a pretty cool guy. I wouldn’t mind getting to meet them,” Eliza looked up at James, who was a well-chiseled six feet and one inch tall, based on the digital readouts before her, and after some more small talk, she smiled again, before both made their way to the tables and booths occupied by James’ crew members.

  “These wonderful people are my co-workers,” James said as they arrived at where they were seated. He had insisted on submitting and paying for the order—the restaurant was unique in some ways, a person or party of people would look at the menu after sitting down and then check the boxes next to the menu items, using the supplied markers, as well as write down the quantity of servings they wished to have served on a dry-erase card provided at each seat, so the party representatives could proceed to the line with the cards to make and pay for their order. The restaurant staff would then bring out the food when it was ready.
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  James introduced his crew and their family members who were present. Unanimously, they moved over to make space for Eliza and James to sit next to each other.

  If his employees were amazed by Eliza’s overwhelming and breath-taking presence, aura, and lovely scent which permeated the air and filled them with ease and admiration, they hid it well. They were kind and very attentive nonetheless, and both young men sitting with their parents couldn’t stop staring at Eliza and her superb physique in awe. She understood and didn’t mind. After all, if you are the beautiful flower in a room, is it a problem being appreciated, noticed, or even adored? She was about the health of it all, and these boys grasped that.

  “James is actually our boss, and we’re all here on vacation together. The rest of the crew is otherwise engaged and are in various locations throughout town at the moment. We meet up late in the mornings for brunch and then split up into smaller groups,” said one of the women of remarkably large stature and a brusque yet friendly voice, who looked at her with approval. “My name is Anne,” she said, affirming James’ introduction.

  Eliza pored over their requested menu items, listened to each individual, and one by one made suggestions for appetizers, entrees, wines, spirits, and desserts—she paired up each order for texture, flavor, nutrition, and aroma. If she had anything to do with it, everyone with James that evening would have the best meal they’d ever had. This was the first time she had witnessed such a close-knit crew, and James was at the helm. Eliza’s neural optimizations kicked into high gear. “No wonder he received so many awards and has kept YY Corp afloat,” she thought. If what she was witnessing between he and his crew and their relationship equated in any way toward their demeanor and toward each other at work, they were most assuredly a phenomenal team. “Because of James, each member of his crew is a phenomenal leader themselves.