Weeks before, Bernstein had sat down with the three most important people in the House of Representatives and the three most important senators, four Democrats and two Republicans, to inform them of what was about to happen. He also asked John Roberts, now in his twenty-sixth year as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, to attend. Bernstein thought having Roberts there would give the meeting gravitas, since Congress and the Supreme Court rarely mingled, except at the State of the Union.
White House staff had already cleared the idea with Roberts. They needed assurance that this was constitutional. Roberts said what they had hoped, that becoming a financial partner with another country was not even dealt with in the Constitution and therefore should not present a problem.
When the meeting adjourned, the President was pleased. There was virtually no resistance from anyone in the group, aside from perfunctory concerns about national security, but Bernstein convinced them that if anything, this would make America more secure, with two countries now having a stake in keeping the homeland protected.
When everyone left, the President said to John Van Dyke, “Ten years ago there would have been no way that those seven people would have signed off on this. This should prove to us more than anything what dire financial straits we are in.”
The speech was scheduled for a Wednesday night at nine P.M. Eastern Standard Time. The First Lady and all of the president’s cabinet accompanied him to the East Room, where the broadcast would take place. Bernstein was remarkably calm considering what he was about to tell the nation. But his calm came from the fact that he had grown to love the idea. Each day he was able to sell it better than the day before, and the fact that the U.S. had no choice—well, that made it easier. It was a little like surrendering in a war. You’ve lost, but at least it’s over and there was no other way out anyway. But this no longer felt like surrender. Quite the opposite.
Bernstein sat down behind the desk that FDR had used when he announced the attack at Pearl Harbor. The setting was elegant and clean, with just the American flag and the Chinese flag behind him. The President had the speech on a prompter, but he didn’t need it. It flowed out of him like conversation. At exactly nine P.M. he began.
“Good evening. Tonight has been billed as a historic speech, and for once it might actually live up to the billing.”
Bernstein smiled. He looked in control. He looked as if he was excited to tell the American people this information.
“As you know, one of the great cities of the world, Los Angeles, was destroyed on June twelfth of this year. Destroyed so thoroughly that it is now unrecognizable. It was as if nature turned back the clock to the time of the Old West. We now have huge swaths of land where great buildings once stood. Homes are gone, schools wiped out, lives ruined, commerce ground to a halt.
“Tonight I am happy to announce that all this is about to change. The United States, at this moment in its history, does not have the funds to rebuild a city of fifteen million people from the ground up. There is no way to give this a positive spin. The price tag to bring Los Angeles and the surrounding areas back to where it once was will be at least twenty trillion dollars. I repeat, twenty trillion dollars. With our debt load being what it is, there is no possible way to borrow this amount of money. No nation can afford to, or would be willing to, advance our country this sum. If we simply printed it, our economy would come to an end. Our currency would be worth nothing, so that has never been an option.
“The United States, in order to rebuild its largest city, had to come up with a new plan, something that has never been conceived of before. I am pleased to tell you that in this, we have succeeded. The richest country in the world, China, has agreed to become our partner in rebirth.”
This was a particular phrase the President was proud of. He made it seem as if it were the United States’ idea to divvy up Los Angeles.
“China would not loan us this money. They are aware of the fact that we would not be able to pay back a debt of this size for a century, if ever. So a new idea was born. The Chinese government has had phenomenal success in building great cities. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to visit Shanghai or Beijing or Tianjin have marveled at the magnificent architecture. The great area known as Southern California, the very same area that now lies in ruins, has the capacity, when up and running, to produce billions and billions of dollars each year in revenue. From its ports, to its farms, to its science, to its entertainment industry, what now lies dormant is about to change. And the Chinese are going to be a big part of it. They have formally agreed to help America bring one of her greatest cities back to life.
“In helping us with such a great task, they will, for the first time in history, become our partners. They will share in the cost and share in the revenue. The old-fashioned way of borrowing colossal sums of money and forever paying it back will no longer work. The amounts are too great. So we will give China a real interest in rebuilding Los Angeles.
“Chinese citizens will come and live here and work side by side with hundreds of thousands of Americans on the greatest building effort the world has ever seen. And out of this catastrophe will emerge a new friendship, a new partnership, and a new city.
“America and China have always had much in common: love of life, love of commerce, love of the future. And now we will enter that future together. Never in history have two great countries joined as one in such an ambitious project. But sometimes in life there comes a moment where a nation, just as an individual, must take a step that has never been tried. That moment for us is now. And so we welcome China as our partner in the rebirth of Los Angeles. We ask God to bless this historic moment and we ask all of you to give us your blessings as well.
“Thank you, my fellow Americans, and good night.”
The reaction from the room was a sustained applause and a standing ovation. It was important that the nation saw this. The President believed strongly in first impressions and he wanted the country to see that at least his people were on board.
And now all they could do was wait. Wait for this to sink in and see how America reacted. Again, the President was calm because there was no other choice. He was surrendering. But it was an economic surrender, which had been happening for decades anyway. This was just the moment that made it official.
The audience for the speech was the largest ever for a presidential address. And the city with the biggest audience was, of course, Los Angeles. People watched there in huge crowds gathered around screens set up in the remains of parks and malls, on street corners, everywhere. It looked like a scene out of 1984, thousands of people gathered around as a giant head spoke to them. The reaction was unanimous: pure excitement. No one whose life had been destroyed—which was everyone in that city—gave a shit about who or what was going to make it better. If the President had told them Nazis were coming to rebuild their homes, they would have cheered, so certainly the Chinese were welcomed with open arms, as they had a good reputation in the United States to begin with. They were smart, their gang activity was at the low end, they kept to themselves, and, of course, their food was great, which is very important in accepting people from another part of the world. It was the main reason why the Russians and Germans never had much success in America. Their food was lousy. But the Chinese faced no real resistance to begin with. Even the Aryans, who hated everyone, hated them the least. China was the perfect country to come to the rescue, and the reaction throughout America upheld that. Editorial pieces in both the right and left news outlets were positive. “It’s about time,” one said. “The United States has been living off China’s money for decades. Why not stop the charade and bring them into our system.”
The White House was thrilled. They hadn’t known what the reaction would be since nothing like this had ever been done before, but this was beyond their expectations. The President, after all, was soon to start the third year of his first term. He was going to run again, and this looked like it would help him win. Obviously, it had to pla
y out without unforeseen disasters, but this was a good start, and it was the best Bernstein had felt since taking office. If he couldn’t get his world currency off the ground, if he couldn’t get people to seriously question life extension, this seemed like the next best thing.
* * *
On the other side of the world, the reaction was even better. The Chinese were delirious. Even though they owned much of the United States anyway, this was something they could understand and feel proud of. “We are now part of Los Angeles,” said The People’s Daily. “We will bring our best to the United States and show the world that we are the most advanced and technically savvy nation on earth. When this is completed, we expect other cities of the world to line up. The Age of China has officially begun.” The editorial was dramatic, but the Chinese people loved it. Pride was everywhere. And no one was happier than Shen Li.
From that first meeting with Zhou Quinglin, when it was alluded to that something big was going to happen, Shen had sensed that he would be heavily involved. And he was right. His company was chosen to handle all issues of health in the new city. He was overjoyed. All at once he was on the inside in the biggest way imaginable. He would show America how health care could work, and he felt the sky was the limit.
What he needed to do immediately was train people. He needed nurses and doctors and support staff who could run the new centers. He figured, given the population and the size of the area, that he would need at least forty health centers set up and running within twelve months.
When Shen Li arrived in Los Angeles for the first time, about two weeks after the deal was announced, he, like everyone who saw the city in person, was speechless. The images could not compare with the actual devastation. And images didn’t convey the spirit of the people, which had been torn to shreds. But this was something Li had seen many times in China and knew how to fix.
He had always known that most health care in the world did not address the spirit, which he felt was the most important issue. If you had the right medicine and the use of robotic surgery, you could repair most physical issues, but to get inside people’s minds and make them feel hopeful and realize that they should be happy to be alive instead of just existing—well, this is what Li felt he did better than anyone. And if there was ever a place that needed mental healing, it was Los Angeles. He almost felt guilty for being so excited about what could be accomplished. He would never wish tragedy on a scale like this just to show off his ability, but since it had been thrown into his lap, he was ecstatic.
The Army Corps of Engineers took him from triage center to triage center and he lied to them, telling them they had done wonderful work, while secretly amazed at how backward they were considering this was the United States. He knew that with very little effort he would surpass what they had done in a matter of weeks. And when he was through, the people of the United States would never accept anything less than what he was about to offer them.
* * *
Brad Miller watched the President’s speech with his son and tried in vain the next day to get in touch with someone to see if the Chinese would give him his money. Of course, no one knew any details, but it was obvious that if this was ever going to happen it wouldn’t occur for months, maybe years.
In one week Brad would board The Sunset and his life would take a new direction. He had to admit he was getting excited. He not only kept the worn-out brochure close by, but he watched the short movie about the ship and how great a life it was. The movie made it look so wonderful. People were happy, had great food, enjoyed activities, breathed clean air, took long walks, and had a constant change of scenery. Each day looked like an adventure. The movie had interviews with older couples and singles who had been retirement cruising for years, and all of them said they would never go back to the other life. Of course, these people were in the movie, so what else would they say? And maybe because Brad wanted to like it so much, or maybe because it was true, it was starting to look like the only life he could imagine. He thought of meeting a woman and falling in love and both of them cruising the world for the rest of their days. He didn’t bother with details in his fantasy, like that the actual cruising time was only three months out of the year. But so what? The ports still offered adventure, and when fantasizing about love, none of the details are important anyway.
The one thing Brad had to admit was that in his old life, the one in which he lived in his condo and saw the same friends day in and day out, he never met women. He wasn’t someone who liked dancing or other activities where women congregate, but now, he thought, he would be only a deck away from all kinds of activities women usually loved. Maybe he would meet someone by one of the five pools. Five pools! He wondered which pool he would like the most. So, as departure day came close, he was eager to board the ship. And it was mutual. His son and his daughter-in-law couldn’t wait to get him out of their cramped house.
As he lay in his cot the night before he left, Melissa talked to him in the dark. “Grandpa, are you excited to go on your trip?”
“Yes, honey. I am.”
“Were you as poor as Daddy is when you were his age?” What a strange question. He wasn’t expecting it, had never heard it before, and didn’t know how to answer. So he was honest.
“No, honey. I had a very good job when I was your father’s age.”
“Will I get a good job?” He didn’t know how to answer that, either. This time he didn’t want to be truthful because he didn’t see the prospects being very good for her or anyone in her generation. Even worse than his son’s, he thought. So he lied. There are times when the truth does absolutely no good and people who tell it then are just mean.
“You will do fine, honey. You’re going to have a good life.”
“How do you know?” He wished she wouldn’t ask him any more questions. He didn’t know how long he could keep this up.
“I just know, honey. I feel it in my repairable bones.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s a joke. They’ve just come up with something that people my age can take if our bones hurt.”
“Do your bones hurt?”
“Only my eyes, because you won’t let them close.”
“Grandpa, I hope you have a nice trip for the rest of your life.”
What an interesting way to phrase it.
“Thank you, honey. And I’m telling you the truth; you are going to make a lot of money and be very successful. I’m rarely wrong about this kind of thing.”
“Did you ever say that to Daddy?”
“Never.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Max and Kathy watched the presidential speech in a restaurant in Dallas, after several hours of sightseeing. Max was irritated. He thought that if the Chinese were going to start taking money off the top, it was going to leave even less for people, especially the younger ones. Kathy thought it might be an interesting idea. She had always romanticized Asia and wondered what Los Angeles would look like with its influence.
After dinner they took a walk, and on their way back to the hotel there he was. Sam Mueller. And his son. They were standing near the front entrance talking to a woman who was speaking into a recording device. She looked as though she was organizing something. “That’s them!”
“Who?”
“There. Mueller. I’m going to say something.”
Max walked quickly over to the lobby entrance. He waited until the woman sounded as if she was finished. “Dr. Mueller? I wonder if I might have a word with you? My name is Max Leonard and I’m here for the stockholders’ meeting.” Before Mueller could answer his son spoke up.
“Weren’t you at my dad’s speech?”
“Yes.”
“Which speech?” his father asked.
“He was in Chicago.”
“Are you from Chicago?” Sam Mueller wanted to know.
“No,” Max said. And then realized he should have lied and just told him he was.
“What made you go to the speech in Chicag
o and also come here? Are you from Dallas?”
Max wanted to blurt out everything he was thinking but he knew this was not the right moment; he needed to get Mueller alone.
“Yes, I’m from here. I was visiting Chicago and happened to see you speak. I am a fan of your work and also a shareholder of your company. I was planning on seeing you at the stockholders’ meeting tomorrow, but I wanted to speak with you beforehand.”
Dr. Mueller was tired. He didn’t want to talk business with an individual shareholder and thought that was what Max was getting at.
“Listen, what is your name?”
“Max.”
“Max, I’ve had a long day and my son and I are going to get some dinner in our suite and hit the hay. If you want to ask questions at the meeting, I will look for your raised hand and call on you. It was nice to meet you.” And before Max could say anything else, Sam Mueller disappeared into the hotel with his son in tow.
“Goddamn it! That was stupid,” Max mumbled to himself.
“Why did you tell him you were from Dallas?”
“What difference does it make? He obviously doesn’t want to engage anyone in conversation if he doesn’t have to. I’ll be right back.”
Max walked into the hotel just as the Muellers were getting on the elevator. As the elevator door closed, he could see that they were the only ones in there, so when the pointer stopped at ten, the highest floor, he knew that was where they were staying. He nodded to the security guard, showed him his floor pass, and grabbed the next car. Max was smart to have stayed in the hotel. If he wasn’t a guest, the elevator would have gone nowhere.
Max got out on ten and heard a noise at the end of the hall. He walked down and stood before a double door that said RONALD REAGAN SUITE. From the lack of other doors anywhere nearby, it was obvious this suite occupied half the floor, and that this was where they must be staying. He was about to ring the bell, but stopped at the last second. He had waited a long time for this moment, but now he had to think through exactly what he would say. He needed to prepare. He went back downstairs to get Kathy, who was in one of the gift shops, looking at what was very likely the most expensive watch in Dallas.
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