He thought, “I need to plant a decoy in their ranks to feed me information. The police can only do so much without breaking the law. A mole is the perfect way to get into the heart of their organization.”
Rich then called his personal banker. He was the favorite customer at Bank of America. That bank loved not only his business, but also his support when they had problems. They were usually very willing to help him when he called. General Rich wanted to have someone in the banking industry to tell him just how Scout’s group planned to stop using money. He knew that the plan was to leave the planet, but he needed to find out all of the particulars.
Rich said, “Hey, there. This is the general. I need a huge favor from you.”
The banker said, “What’s the favor?”
Rich said, “I need to plant a ringer in this Mr. Ellison’s group. Do you have someone that you could spare?”
The banker said, “There is this guy named Notah Yazzie. He’s a teller, but he’s very ambitious.”
Rich asked, “You offered that pretty fast. Are you just dumping a problem employee on me to get rid of the problem?”
The banker answered, “No, I wouldn’t do that to you. What makes you think that I would do that to you?”
Rich said, “It’s happened before. I hope you aren’t double-crossing me. If you are, there’ll be hell to pay.”
The banker said, “I would never betray my best customer. Besides that, you have far too much power. I would live in perpetual fear of your coming retribution if I sold you out.”
Rich said, “Just remember that. When can I meet with this Yazzie character?”
The banker said, “I’ll send him right over.”
Notah was sent from the bank in Eugene to the army base. He hurried over to the base as he was told that the reward for accepting this mission would be great. He soon stood in the presence of General Rich.
Rich asked, “Are you Notah Yazzie?”
Notah replied, “I am. I understand that you have a mission for me.”
Rich said, “I do, but it is strictly voluntary. It’s dangerous and can lead to death or destruction, so don’t agree to it lightly. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for your demise.”
Notah said, “My demise came long ago. The Navajo Nation dissolved years ago, and my destiny was forever altered. The sacred has been defiled and it can’t be made sacred again.”
Rich said, “So you’re a Navajo?”
Notah said, “I am. It was the heart of my being until my people sold us out.”
Rich said, “That was twenty years ago, and you don’t look older than 25.”
Notah said, “I’m 26, but I had been taught in the Navajo tradition. All I can do now is seek my fortune like the white man who destroyed us.”
Rich said, “I can make that very easy for you with the mission that I propose for you.”
Notah asked, “How do you intend to do that?”
Rich asked, “Have you ever heard of DeNoPE?”
Notah answered, “It’s the Developed Nations of the Planet Earth. What about it?”
Rich said, “I’m the chairman, so I can influence some very powerful people to do my will.”
Notah said, “So what do you need me for?”
Rich said, “I don’t know if you’re aware, but there is a man named Scout Ellison, and he wants to colonize Mars and start a new society without money. I need information about him.”
Notah had heard of Scout. He owned a copy of his book, and he wished that the world could operate in the way that Scout wished that it worked. The sacred ways of the Navajo were much closer to Scout’s dream than to the current system. He did not dare tell the general that he sympathized with Scout and his group.
Notah said, “I’ve never heard of him. What would you need me to do?”
Rich said, “I need for you to infiltrate his group and feed me intelligence about his whereabouts and plans.”
Notah asked, “How do you want me to do that?”
Rich answered, “You will join his group and act as though you are a regular member of his crew. They are planning to colonize Mars, so you may have to go with them to that planet. Then you will feed me intelligence on my own secure channel. No one can break the code, not even my top aides. It will be our little secret.”
Notah asked, “So what is in it for me?”
Rich said, “You will be rewarded handsomely for your efforts. You will have a fat salary, and when you return to Earth, you will never have to work again. I will also provide you with a house and transportation once you are back on Earth.”
Notah asked, “How am I going to get back here from Mars if I have to go there?”
Rich replied, “I will arrange return transportation from the red planet when that time arrives.”
Notah said, “It sounds like I can’t lose in this proposition.”
Rich said, “The only way you can lose is if you betray me. If you become one of them and genuinely believe in their cause, you will be cut off from future funding and you shall declare yourself independent from me. This might be construed as an act of war against me.”
Notah said, “I could never betray someone who is being so good to me.”
Rich said, “You had better not.”
Notah walked out of General Rich’s office and toward the secretary. The secretary told Notah to expect a packet of information about his mission. He would be told how to infiltrate Scout’s group and how to report back to General Rich. Notah then walked out of the base and returned to the bank to collect his things.
He thought, “I don’t know what to do. The offer is so tempting. I could live like a king if I take down the man I idolize, but I’d be Judas. I could have my dream if I just legitimately join the group, but there’ll be so many struggles along the way. Maybe I can find a compromise along the way.”
Notah collected his things and walked out of the bank building. He headed to Scout’s home to attempt to join the group.
Chapter Three
Kathy
Kathy went home after the rally, and she felt excited about being allowed into the inner sanctum of Scout’s crew. Scout had told her that he would call her in a few days to set up a meeting with the rest of the inner circle to discuss how to proceed. Kathy didn’t know which was more exciting, that someone else felt the way she did about the world’s system or the prospect of colonizing another planet. She was also excited because she felt very attracted to Scout.
Kathy thought out loud, “He’s so hot. I wish I could ask him out, but I’m not sure that would be the most prudent idea when I’m trying to get in with the group. If he said no, then I might be left out of the plans altogether. If he says yes, then it may lead to jealousy among the rest of the group. Oh, I’m being silly. I don’t even know if he is attracted to me in the same way.”
Kathy was quite beautiful, so the idea that any man would not be attracted to her was probably ridiculous. However, there is more to what she wanted with Scout than simple physical attraction. She wanted to pursue a relationship with him if he was willing to be with her.
Kathy paced around her apartment in the late morning, waiting for the phone to ring. She was making herself crazy for no reason. Scout had told her to expect his call in the next few days, so there was not even a guarantee that he would call today. There was also no reason to stay in her apartment as her phone worked anywhere in the world, even if the phone itself was not near her. The particular device she used allowed the phone to transmit a signal to it from up to 1500 miles away while retaining clarity. The device also alerted her when the phone was being used while not in close proximity to her. She only needed to have the receiver near her body. Kathy could have been doing anything while she waited for Scout to call, but she felt the need to concentrate on him calling her for this meeting.
Kathy said, “I wish he’d hurry up and call. I’m going crazy here waiting for him. Doesn’t he know that I have a life?”
Kathy was exaggerating about havi
ng a life. She had no job, as she was 22 years old and fresh out of the University of New Mexico. Her apartment was a gift from the city, given to entice her to pursue her engineering career in Portland. Fortunately, she still had six months to find a job before the credit expired. She had no family in Portland, and since she had only moved from Albuquerque two months ago, she had no friends yet. Even when she was in college, her friends were few and far between. She only had six, and four of them lived in cities other than Albuquerque. She really had nothing better to do with her time than wait for Scout to call her, and it was making her angrier at each passing moment that he did not call her.
“Scout promised that he’d call. Why hasn’t he called me yet?” she said as she continued to pace. “He didn’t seem insincere the other day when I met him. He just has to call me today.”
When her phone rang, she nearly leapt out of her skin. She just knew that Scout was calling her. Then she realized that the ringtone was the one she set for her father. She was disappointed, but she answered politely.
She said, “Hi, daddy.”
Her father said, “Hi, kitty-Kat. How are things in the rainforest?”
Kathy replied, “It doesn’t rain that much. The sun is shining right now.”
Her dad said, “Well, it rains more there than here in the desert. So do you have any job prospects yet?”
Kathy replied, “Not yet. I’m following some leads, though.”
Her father said, “Remember that I paid a lot of money for you to get an engineering degree. I want you to follow in my footsteps and make a name for yourself.”
Kathy said, “I’m doing the best that I can. There are no jobs right now.”
Her father said, “Remember that there is no shame in taking a starter job until you find the job you really want.”
Kathy said, “I look every day. There are no engineering firms hiring right now.”
Her father said, “Then why is Portland paying you to live there while you look for one of these nonexistent jobs?”
Kathy said, “The engineering firms paid the city to bring engineers here so that they could recruit them easily. But that was back when there were tons of engineering jobs available.”
Her father asked, “Are you saying that you’re wasting your time there?”
Kathy replied, “No, I’m not wasting my time. I’m putting a network in place. That way, when there are jobs available, I’ll get hired in no time.”
Her father said, “Well, I hope that you can find a job before your money runs out. How are you doing there?”
Kathy answered, “Not too bad. I go to conferences and rallies to keep my skills sharp.”
Her father said, “Speaking of rallies, I heard of this crazy man named Scout Ellison who wants to upend the whole world. They said something about abolishing money.”
Kathy didn’t immediately respond because she knew that her father would not approve of her joining Scout’s group. She needed to play dumb and just agree with her father.
Kathy said, “I haven’t seen anything about him. I guess I’m just in my own little world out here. Everything sort of passes me by.”
Her father said, “As long as a job doesn’t pass you by. You can’t live for free forever.”
Kathy said, “I know what I have to do, dad. I’m not a little girl anymore.”
Her father said, “You’ll always be my little girl, and I’m always going to worry about you. I love you.”
Kathy said, “I love you too, daddy. I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later.”
The next six hours went by, and Scout didn’t call her. She got tired and eventually went to bed at about two in the morning. She had given up on Scout calling today. She hoped tomorrow would bring a better result.
The next morning, Kathy woke up at about eleven thirty. She checked her missed calls, and was disappointed that Scout had not called her yet. She had unrealistic expectations that he would call her and fix all of her problems. What Kathy needed to do was fix her own problems so she could better serve the group when Scout called her.
She thought, “When’s he going to call?”
Time continued to pass, and Kathy ignored the world around her for the next six hours. Suddenly, she realized just how hungry she was. She had not eaten since breakfast the day of the rally. She thought that if Scout called, he might want to call a meeting very soon. She needed to deal with her hunger while she still had a chance.
“I don’t want to be weak and hungry if he calls, so I think I’ll go to the café on the corner and get something to eat.” She thought, “Anyway, I can take my phone with me. Besides, this apartment is making me go stir crazy. Perhaps if I leave and go somewhere else, then I will be distracted by the change of scenery and I’ll be less jumpy.”
Kathy walked two blocks to the café she frequented whenever she had a little bit of extra money. She had received her “persuasion check” from the city the day before the rally, so she had some cash. The city paid her a small stipend each month to come to Portland after she finished her degree. Along with the free apartment, and they gave her a yearly transit pass. She walked quickly, as her stomach was growling. It was as if her body was punishing her for ignoring its needs.
Once Kathy arrived at the café, she walked up to the counter. She ordered a corned beef on rye with mustard. The man behind the counter made her sandwich and gave it to her. She was shocked when he told her the price.
“Sixty-two fifty,” the man said.
“That’s a lot,” she replied.
“Inflation,” the man responded.
Kathy paid the man the money and sat at a table. The sandwich was decent, and she had a bag of chips and some unsweetened tea.
She thought, “That seems ridiculous. Last month it was only fifty dollars. It seems like everything just always goes up. Soon enough, a ‘Benjamin’ won’t even cover lunch. I envy my grandparents. A ‘Jackson’ covered lunch for both of them. But those days are gone now. The need is greater than ever to create a new society that isn’t chained down with money.”
She ate her lunch, and then got up to leave the café. As she threw her trash in the box, her phone rang. Her heart leapt out of her chest. She looked down at the phone and saw that it was not Scout. Her father was calling her again, presumably to ask if she had found work yet or to criticize Scout. She didn’t want to talk with him, as her ideas about how to serve the planet were not in line with his expectations. She also didn’t want to be lectured again, so she quietly ignored his call.
As Kathy walked home, she felt guilty about ignoring her father. She thought she should at least acknowledge him, so she sent him a text message apologizing for her inability to answer the phone earlier. She wrote that she was in an interview, so that he would think she was out looking for a job. She was home a few moments after she sent her father the message. He did not call her again that day.
Kathy walked into her apartment and thought, “Why hasn’t Scout called me? Was he only teasing me? I just don’t understand it.”
Scout had been recruiting new people to join the colony, so he had not had time to set up the meeting yet. Kathy did not know this. This led to Kathy feeling depressed and having unrealistic expectations. The night went by, and still no word from Scout. Kathy fell asleep on her living room floor after she cried her eyes out because he had not called her again. It was three thirty when her body gave up consciousness.
The next morning at 9:27, the phone rang. She knew instantly from the ring tone that this was the call that she was waiting for. Kathy jumped out of her sleep and reached for the phone.
She answered as calmly as possible, “Hello, Scout. This is Kathy.”
Scout replied, “Hi Kathy. I have some news.”
“What’s that?” responded Kathy, trying not to sound too eager.
Scout said, “I’ve been recruiting, and I found 20 people who want to join us and colonize Mars. That’s why I haven’t called any of the core members. But now I’m ready to proce
ed. I want to meet tonight at about 6:30, can you be there?”
She said, “With bells on.”
Scout said, “I hope you don’t mean that literally, because that would be a little weird.”
Kathy said, “No, just a figure of speech.”
Scout said, “Glad to hear that. We’ll see you tonight.
Kathy hung up the phone and began to scream with excitement. She had not felt this excited in a very long time. She started to get ready right away. She took a shower, and got dressed in her best jeans and her nicest shirt. She was simple, and did not have many fancy clothes as she felt they were a bit pretentious. She did, however, have makeup. She felt the need to impress Scout, so she wanted to look as pretty as she could for him. She took the next three hours to get ready, and then she headed out to get lunch before going to the meeting. She didn’t want to be hungry and unable to concentrate on the plans Scout was about to discuss with her.
Chapter Four
Plans
The five people who formed the new core of the mission were gathered together in a kitchen. They were at the table to discuss the plans for terraforming Mars. Scout, Kathy, and Jordan all looked at a blank sheet of paper in front of them. They were joined by Bob, a young looking tall man with a bald spot forming on the back of his head.
His wife, Cindy, a plain woman with long brown hair joined him. They also looked at the blank sheet of paper.
Cindy asked, “Why are we using this archaic junk for getting our ideas down? Paper is terrible for the environment, and when we throw it away it’ll just sit in a landfill.”
Scout replied, “We’re using paper because we’ll need to have copies of the plan we can all hide easily and access when we’re not near our electronics. Besides, the paper is recycled and not bleached, so it’s not that bad for the environment. We won’t have paper soon, so enjoy holding a hard copy.”
Cindy said, “My first question is very simple. How are we going to leave the Earth without anyone stopping us? NASA, the corporations, and the military aren’t going to just let us leave without a fight.”
MARS: Renaissance Page 3