Jordan took one look at Scout and asked, “What the hell happened to you?”
Scout replied, “The police came for me earlier.”
Jordan said, “What ?”
Scout replied, “They wanted to ‘question’ me about our group.”
Jordan asked, “Did you tell them anything?”
Scout sarcastically replied, “Do I look like a moron to you?”
Jordan said, “No need for the attitude. I just want to make sure that I’m still on the same page as you.”
Scout said, “You are.”
Jordan asked, “So is that why I’m here, or is there something else?”
Scout said, “I called you here alone because I don’t want anyone else to be responsible or accountable for the information you have. I want to know how you intend to get your hands on an atomic bomb.”
Jordan replied, “I told you, all you need to know is that certain rogue nations have nuclear capabilities and not everyone knows how they got them.”
Scout said, “Yes, I understand that. What I want to know is how you are going to acquire nuclear capabilities. Actually, I don’t just want to know, I have to know. I don’t want to have a liability on my hands for violations of treaties and international laws.”
Jordan said, “Look, some things you just don’t want to know. I’ll be breaking more than a few laws of more than one nation and I’m gonna violate more than one treaty to get us what we need.”
Scout said, “I need to know what the hell you intend to do. Our freedom is in jeopardy if you get caught.”
Jordan said, “No, my freedom is in jeopardy. You should know that I would never give anyone else up.”
Scout said, “I know you wouldn’t, but there’s always someone who knows all. Big brother is definitely watching.”
Jordan said, “You’re just going to have to trust me on this one and let it go.”
Scout said, “I hate this very idea, and you know I don’t let things go very easily. I don’t see any alternative to this horrific plan.”
Jordan said, “I know.”
Scout began to pace the floor in slow steps while putting his hands in his pockets and then taking them out of his pockets again. He was clearly uncomfortable with the very idea of using nuclear weapons, but he saw no viable alternative.
Scout said, “How are you going to hide the bomb once you have it?”
Jordan said, “I’ll take it to a safe place that I have access to in New Mexico. It’ll be completely safe and hidden there.”
Scout said, “And how are we going to get it on a spaceship? We can’t just declare it in our cargo logs!”
Jordan said, “I can alter the composition and appearance of the façade of the bomb. No one will even suspect that’s what it is.”
Scout said, “They’d better not. I’ll hold you personally responsible for any problems that this infernal thing causes us.”
Jordan said, “You won’t have any problems. Don’t forget I’m a former Army Ranger. Covert operations are sort of my specialty.”
Scout said, “They’d better be.”
Jordan assured him, “They are.”
Scout said, “That settles that. Now, let’s move on to the next issue. Are you very sure that this will work?”
Jordan said, “Like, 95%.”
Scout said, “That may not be good enough. The risk to reward ratio is already pretty slim. Any glitch in the plan that causes this not to work would be devastating.”
Jordan said, “I’ve studied this in depth. A planet loses its magnetic field when the core of the planet cools. A nuclear bomb radiates immense heat, and so dropping a bomb should liquefy the core. The only thing I cannot guarantee is the validity of the bomb.”
Scout said, “You mean you might buy a counterfeit, and you wouldn’t even know it until we went to detonate it?”
Jordan said, “No, we would know it as soon as we inspected it in New Mexico. I just can’t guarantee it until then.”
Scout said, “The ratio just got a little bit slimmer. This has to work.”
Jordan said, “I realize that, but we don’t really have a safer alternative.”
Scout said, “There’s one more thing I need to discuss with you.”
Jordan asked, “What’s that?
Scout replied, “I know that I went over this at the planning meeting, but it’s even more important with you. The local authorities are out to stop us. If you are in any way compromised, you know absolutely nothing, is that understood?”
Jordan said, “Didn’t we just cover this a few minutes ago? “
Scout said, “Probably, but it bears repeating.”
Jordan said, “I will disavow any knowledge of the group and I’ll take any rap if I’m captured. I would never betray you like that. The mission is more important than any member of it, and it must be completed.”
Scout said, “I hope that you’re sincere. It seems I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
Jordan said, “The core of the group has been with you through thick and thin. I don’t think you need to worry about any of us.”
Scout said, “Well, someone betrayed us. How else did they know my movements?”
Jordan said, “You underestimate our government. They are capable of mind-boggling evil to accomplish their goals. That’s why I had to get the hell out of the army.”
Scout said, “I don’t like problems, and you’re giving the biggest problem ever. It had better be worth it.”
Jordan responded, “Like I said, covert ops are my specialty.”
Scout said, “They’d better be. Now let’s agree that this conversation never happened.”
Jordan said, “What conversation?”
The two men walked out of the kitchen and Jordan continued out the front door. This meeting had to be kept completely confidential or the group might never leave the planet. Scout was already on edge as Jordan left the office. Then his phone rang.
He said, “Who the hell is calling me in the middle of the night?”
Scout answered his phone, “Who is this and why are you calling so late?”
A voice on the other end timidly said, “I apologize about the hour, but I have to speak with you.”
Scout asked, “Who are you, and what can I help you with?”
The voice said, “My name is Notah Yazzie. I’m a Navajo, and I live in Portland. Ever since the Navajo Nation dissolved, I have been seeking a group of people who have principles that are similar to my people’s ways.”
Scout said, “We’re not that similar to your people. They sold their souls for access to the riches of this world.”
Notah said, “I didn’t mean my people now, I meant my people in their traditional lands before the white men came and corrupted them.”
Scout said, “You are aware that I’m white, aren’t you?”
Notah replied, “I’m aware. You are not the typical white man, though. You want to return to a simpler time when everyone was equal. You even seem to hold all life as sacred, but I’m not totally sure about that point.”
Scout said, “God gave us all the things around us, so they’re all sacred. Everything should be respected and not controlled by the elite.”
Notah said, “That is exactly the kind of group that I wish to join.”
Scout asked, “Do you understand that I am reticent to accept new members at strange hours?”
Notah replied, “I will call you again tomorrow and attempt to show you my sincerity.”
Scout said, “Tomorrow’s no good. Leave me your number and I’ll give you a call in a couple of days. Then we can see if you’re going to fit in with our group.”
Notah said, “I’ll be eagerly awaiting your call with baited breath.”
Notah hung up the phone.
Notah thought, “I don’t want to bring him down. I really believe in this man’s dream, but I’m being paid to betray him. I just don’t know what to do.”
Scout thought, “I don’t know if I can t
rust someone after a single phone conversation. I’ll need to see his face to gauge if he’s really sincere about joining our group. I can’t risk allowing a mole into the inner workings of our organization.”
Scout went to bed. He was exhausted. He didn’t want any interruptions in the night, so he turned his phone’s ringer off. He had a big day of planning ahead of him, and he wanted to be rested before the day began.
Chapter Seven
Funding
The core members of the group met again the day after the first meeting. It had already been a difficult day for Scout, as he spent the day contacting potential colonists. The other members of the crew, having carpooled, arrived simultaneously at 6:27. They were all eager to find ways to fund their great endeavor.
Kathy arrived wearing the same outfit that she wore on the day of the rally. She wanted to impress Scout and recapture feelings from the day of the rally. She needn’t have bothered, as Scout was already taken with her. He had already let her into his heart, but she wanted to impress him all the same.
Jordan was tired after being called into the office the night before, but he was also excited to get this project moving. He wanted this to happen so badly that he felt his soul leaping out of his skin. Even though he knew that the actual launch of a ship would still be years away, he felt that he was working toward something amazing. He wanted to make the work go quickly, because he wanted to see the mission to its completion before he was too old to enjoy it. At age 35, that meant that they had to finish in the next ten years.
Bob and Cindy weren’t apprehensive, nor were they in any hurry. They were still young enough that they could see the project to completion in 20 years and still enjoy the fruits of their labor. They walked into the house last, as Kathy was pushy and wanted to be with Scout.
All of the core members walked to the table and hung their coats on the backs of their chairs. They were ready to start the meeting, but Scout was at the oven. He had made a few snacks for the group, because he knew that this meeting was going to be long.
Kathy asked, “Are we going to start?”
Scout said, “Feel free to start without me.”
Scout was individually plating the snacks he made for the crew because he was a perfectionist, so he would be a little late for the start of the meeting.
Jordan said, “We need to figure out how we’re going to make money to fund our mission. Perhaps we should bring an accountant into the core of the group.”
Bob said, “If you can find an accountant who agrees with our principles, then be my guest. I don’t think you’re going to have much luck.”
Kathy said, “There might be one, though. I think Scout should look through his list and see if any of them are accountants.”
Scout walked into the room wearing a Portland Trail Blazers apron and said, “I already have. I ask everyone who commits to our mission what their area of expertise is. I need to know what we’re going to have when we get to Mars. I also ask their ages, because we’re not leaving right now but in a few years. I need to know that they’ll be able to do what we need when we get there.”
Jordan said, “What’s our time table?”
Scout said, “I know that I said at the rally that I wanted to be on Mars by 2100, but I really want to be there and be established by 2093. I also want to be on Mars and preparing the planet for the colonists by the end of this decade. Do you think we can pull it off?”
Kathy said, “Well, the biggest obstacle we have in our path is money. That’s kind of ironic.”
Bob laughed, “It sure is. Here we are trying to form a society that doesn’t use money, and we have a problem finding money to get it off the ground.”
Jordan interjected, “We also have to worry about the military forces that have been trying to trip us up. General Rich is a formidable foe.”
Scout asked, “What makes you think that it’s General Rich getting in our way?”
Jordan replied, “Because I used to work for the man. The tactics that have been used so far have his calling card all over them.”
Bob asked, “Do you think that the attacks will continue?”
Jordan said, “I think that they’ll increase and multiply. He won’t attack us directly for too long if he sees that it isn’t working. He’ll resort to lulling us into a false sense of security. He’ll plant spies and then go for big attacks when we’re at our weakest.”
Scout said, “Then we’ll have to be on high alert and use constant vigilance to thwart him.”
Jordan said, “We’ll have to do more than that, unfortunately. We might have to resort to fighting him using his own tactics. Right now, though, we need to figure out how to fund this project.”
Scout said, “So, what ideas do you lot have to fund this thing?”
Kathy said, “We could sell off any belongings we have.”
Scout said, “But that will only be a small amount of money. I’ve run the numbers, and we’re going to need at least 14 million additional dollars to even begin this thing.”
Jordan asked, “What do you mean by additional?”
Scout replied, “Well, the group does have some capital to work with.”
Jordan said, “Can you break down the additional need? Maybe then we can find ways to fund smaller portions of the plan, and work on them one at a time.”
Scout said, “Well, the first one is a ship. The last auction I saw had one go for $1,475,000. That’s probably the biggest expense outside of the secret one.”
Kathy said, “We could find a badly damaged ship and repair it, then that might save us some money.”
Jordan said, “Even then, we’re looking at $800,000 to buy the ship and another $175,000 to fix it up.”
Scout said, “Still, that’s a savings of $400,000. We should go that route. Now, how are we going to fund that?”
Bob spoke, “I have a ranch in Montana that I could sell. I never go there anymore. We won’t need it while we’re here, and I can probably get about a million and a half for it.”
Scout said, “Great, then that’s settled. With a million and a half, we can probably even do the upgrades we need to the ship to allow us to carry all the cargo we need.”
Jordan said, “Actually, the upgrades that I’ve drawn up will only add about $300,000 to the cost of the ship. That still leaves us a little over half a million.”
Bob said, “That is assuming that we can find one and buy it for that price.”
Scout replied, “We have to think positively. What’s our next item?”
Kathy said, “I looked at robots last night. They only run about $70,000 each. We can probably use some of that money to buy the robots too.”
Scout said, “Okay, so we have the first potential million and a half. We have $1,200,000 dedicated to the purchase of a ship. The next thing we need to address is the cost of the construction we’re planning on Mars. The buildings will run about $4,000,000 for the entire town and the roads and spaceport are another $1,000,000.”
Jordan said, “If we use sheet metal to build the buildings, then the price goes down considerably.”
Bob said, “But those buildings aren’t as sturdy as concrete buildings.”
Jordan responded, “They can be just as stable if the whole frame is metal. We’ll still use concrete for the foundations, and we can use transparent titanium for windows. The cost for 100 of those buildings, including the massive biodome we are planning is then reduced to $1,500,000. The cost of the roads and spaceport are pretty much non-negotiable.”
Kathy said, “Does your estimate include labor and concrete?”
Scout said, “It includes the concrete, hauling dirt, and moving the water to Mars. We won’t use money on Mars, so there won’t be any labor costs.”
Kathy said, “What if we used Martian soil and rock to add strength to the concrete, and used Martian water to mix it?”
Bob said, “We hadn’t considered that, but the water probably won’t work. Using Martian soil and rocks would reduce t
he cost of the roads and such to $600,000.”
Scout said, “That means the total for this part of the budget is now reduced from five million to $2,100,000. Who has any ideas about how to raise this money?”
Kathy looked at Jordan and said, “Don’t you have a nice bit of wealth that can be kicked in to the group?”
Jordan said, “Yes, I do. But it’s already spoken for. The secret portion of the budget is 6 million. That’s the bulk of my fortune. Anything else needs to be used to fund our lives on this planet while we still live here.”
Scout said, “Anyone have any ideas on how to raise the cash?”
Kathy said, “Well, the sorts of things we did to raise funding in college are out. There's no way we can raise 2 million dollars by doing car washes and bake sales.”
Cindy said, “Maybe it won’t raise all of the money, but every little bit helps. I remember we did a car wash for a church function a few years back, and we raised over $20,000. If we can do a few of those, then we can really put a dent in it.”
Kathy said, “If we get 20 thousand every time, we’d only need to do about 100 of them to raise the money.”
Cindy replied, “That might work.”
Kathy said, “Good, because I don’t want to resort to immoral things like prostitution and drugs to pull this off.”
Scout said, “I certainly hope not. I’m already making a huge concession with my conscience to make this possible. I don’t want or need any more bad karma.”
Bob said, “Oh, I don’t believe in karma.”
Scout said, “Neither do I, but I do believe that ‘whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.’ It’s the same concept.”
Cindy said, “Yeah that makes sense. Anyway, we don’t need any more trouble than we’ve already created.”
MARS: Renaissance Page 6