Scout said, “What are we going to do then? Bake sales and car washes every weekend until we have enough?”
Kathy said, “We should make people who have money chip in to cover expenses. Let them know that while we don’t grub money, we still live on Earth where money is king.”
Scout said, “You mean money is God.”
Jordan said, “Yes, but that’s why we need money to escape it.”
The group ate their snacks as the meeting went on for the next four hours. The only breaks allowed were restroom breaks. Some ideas were ludicrous, like selling trading cards of the group. No one thought that had any merit. Others had great merit, like raising dues for joining the group at the time a new person joined, and monthly dues. Many other ideas were put forward and discussed at length for the duration of the meeting. Eventually, the core members had a plan to raise $7,500,000 plus cover the secret expenses. They would only need to find another two or 3 million by the time of the first launch.
Scout said, “We had a productive meeting today. I’d like to thank you for coming with so little rest, and for all your work. This thing will come together sooner than you think. You’ll soon be on a ship headed for Mars remembering these first steps on the way to the first human colony away from Earth.”
Kathy said, “Thank you for showing us that this was even a possibility.”
Scout said, “You’re all free to go.”
He turned to Kathy and whispered in her ear, “But could you stay for a few minutes after everyone else leaves?”
Kathy nodded her head and watched everyone else walk out the door. She didn’t know what to expect. Should she be afraid? Was he going to ask her to do something immoral for the group? She had no idea what this might be about. Was it crazy to think he might want to begin a relationship a little sooner? As the door closed and Scout walked over to her she began to sweat. She was very nervous, and her breathing was shallow. She became more apprehensive with each passing moment.
Scout looked nervous as he asked, “Do you think that you might want to go on a date now, instead of in a few days? I know that I was standoffish last night, but the fact is that I’ve been crazy about you since the first moment that I laid eyes on you. I want to get to know you so much that it’s the only thought in my mind most of the time. Today, when I was making the snacks, all I could think about was trying to impress you. That’s why I made the snacks. I won’t be able to think about the mission properly until I let my emotions for you out.”
Kathy said, “I’ve been hoping you felt that way about me. You’re the person I want to be with, and I hoped that you felt the same way. I would love to go out with you. When would you like to go?”
Scout answered, “How about right now?”
Kathy asked, “Where would you like to go?”
Scout answered, “We don’t have to go anywhere. We could just hang out here and discuss things that are in no way related to the mission.”
Kathy said, “Sounds like a plan to me.”
Scout asked, “Can I hug you? I‘ve been wanting to touch you since we met, but I was afraid that you might be offended by anything more than a handshake.”
Kathy said, “Only if I can kiss you. I’ve wanted to kiss you from the moment I laid eyes on you up on the podium, and that peck last night wasn’t enough for me. I want a real kiss.”
Scout picked Kathy up off the ground with a huge bear hug as she pressed her plump lips against his. They both felt amazing as they released each other. They thought that this must be right. They spent the rest of the night talking about their hopes and dreams. They avoided talking about Mars or the mission at all costs. The point of the discussion was to get to know each other and not to plan the mission.
They decided to have their first official date that Saturday at the café on the corner near Kathy’s apartment. As they parted ways for the evening, the two of them felt warm inside. They were also excited to be beginning another great adventure.
Chapter Eight
Bob and Cindy
Bob had told Scout that he would sell his ranch in Montana, but his wife, Cindy, was not happy with this decision. She wasn’t as committed to the mission as Bob, but she had too much respect for Scout to let him know that. The two of them arrived at home about a half-hour after the meeting adjourned. Cindy needed to go to work the next morning at the bakery. She took her coat off and hung it on the rack.
She looked at her husband and asked, “What if this thing doesn’t work out the way you think it’s going to? Then where will we be?”
Bob replied, “It’ll turn out fine. Scout and I have been working on this plan for a very long time. Ever since we were in the fourth grade, we’ve been planning a way to start a new society without money. If you don’t agree with that premise, why are you still here? You’ve always known that the mission is the most important thing in my life.”
Cindy snapped, “What about me? Aren’t I pretty damned important?”
Bob replied, “Of course you are, but this has been with me for too long.”
Cindy said, “But I don’t want to play second fiddle to another woman, Scout, this mission, or anything else.”
Bob replied, “You knew how important this is to me before you ever agreed to marry me. If you can’t support my life’s work, then what the hell are you still doing here?”
Cindy said, “I’m here because I love you, but you and Scout still need to convince me that you can make this plan work. Especially since now that plan involves going to Mars.”
Bob said, “He sort of sprung that one on all of us, but I think it’s the only way to make the rest of the plan work.”
Cindy said, “Can you honestly tell me that you have 100% faith in Scout? I mean, the whole thing is just crazy now."
Bob said, “Of course I can. That’s why he’s gone through the trouble to find people who can help us to accomplish the mission. We’re about two core members from having a perfect command structure. I know Scout will find an astronaut and an accountant to work out the particulars of the plan.”
Cindy asked, “Are you willing to give up our only security to gamble on the mission?”
Bob answered, “If you want a guarantee, you’ll only find it in death. Life has no guarantees, and sometimes the greatest rewards require the greatest risks.”
Cindy said, “I’m trusting you to lead us to the promised land, but I’m not as convinced as you. I’ll only be satisfied when I take my first breath of Martian air. Maybe when I see Earth from space, but absolutely no sooner than that.”
Bob said, “Then we can sell the ranch?”
Cindy replied, “Yes, you have my permission. But if you really want to make this dream a reality you’ll need to get significantly more than a million and a half dollars for it. The animals alone could get us a million. The land could be divided up into parcels and get us about three million. That would give us not only enough to contribute to the mission, but also enough to live on while we prepare.”
Bob said, “I hadn’t considered breaking up the ranch into parcels, but it would raise more capital. Then the money we make working could go toward the mission.”
Cindy said, “Or we could stop working and dedicate our lives to the mission.”
Bob said, “I thought you weren’t as committed as I am.”
Cindy replied, “But if we dedicate our lives to the work of the mission, then we’re way more likely to succeed.”
Bob said, “That’s the kind of thinking I like to hear! But one of us needs to work as a hedge bet.”
Cindy said, “Now it sounds like you’re not convinced.”
Bob replied, “I’m just being pragmatic. I think I should continue to work part time until we know the financial situation of the mission is stable.”
Cindy said, “That’s so sweet. You’ll let me quit my job.”
Bob said, “I know you don’t really like it there anyway.”
Cindy said, “I knew you loved me.”
They
went to bed for the night. They had resolved the conflict between them and formulated a plan.
They awoke the next morning and Cindy went to work for the final time at the bakery. She informed her boss that it would be her last day, and her boss allowed her to work her final shift. At the conclusion of her shift, Cindy’s boss deposited her final pay into her account. Cindy went home and began packing for Montana.
Bob had already packed to go to Montana the night before. He had packed most of Cindy’s things as well. Cindy packed the final few things into her bag and they loaded the car. They planned to leave first thing in the morning.
The trip to Montana was quick and uneventful. They drove there on Interstate 80 from Portland to the junction with Interstate 25. Then they turned north onto a road that headed to their ranch. They drove for an hour at 160 kilometers per hour. Montana had no speed limit for cars. When they arrived at the ranch, they unpacked all of their things and called Scout.
“We’re here in Montana,” Cindy told Scout. “We just got in.”
Scout replied, “Everything’s falling into place, then.”
Cindy said, “Well, it will if we can get as much as we want for the land.”
Scout asked, “Bob said it was worth about a million and a half, right?”
Cindy replied, “Yeah, but we’re going to try for more.”
Scout asked, “Well, Kathy and I await your return.”
Cindy answered, “What do you mean ‘Kathy and I’.”
Scout said, “We’re dating now. She agreed to be my girlfriend.”
Cindy said, “Well good for both of you.”
Scout said, “Thanks. Bye now.”
Cindy hung up the phone and turned her attention to her husband. She wanted to know how they were going to proceed with the sale. She didn’t even really know just how much land they were selling. She had never been on this land before, and she had no idea what the size of the ranch could be. After searching through the house, she found Bob.
Cindy asked, “How much land do we have?”
Bob replied, “One thousand seven hundred acres, but a lot of it is unusable hills. Another section is beautiful, but has no access to water, so whoever we sell the land to will have to build water pipes and towers.”
Cindy said, “So we should probably advertise the sale to developer types, right?”
Bob said, “Maybe, but sometimes you can get more for the land in private sales than in one big deal with a developer. We’ll have to take bids for the whole thing and for individual lots and see which of the offers is better.”
Cindy said, “Sounds like a plan to me.”
Bob walked out of the house and surveyed the ranch. He needed to write a clear and concise description of the land to place for an advertisement. He placed an advertisement in The USA Today.
He wrote, “Selling a beautiful place in the Montana hills. It is 1700 acres of unspoiled land, ready to build. Developers are welcome to make an offer. We will show the land by appointment only.”
Bob sent the advertisement to the local paper and the real estate agents in Helena and Missoula. He hoped to get responses soon, but he didn’t expect what happened next. Within hours, his phone was ringing every few seconds with people interested in purchasing the land, and his email box very quickly reached its limit of 10,000 new emails. He needed some help to go through all of them, so he went back into the house and had Cindy assist him in going through the mass of emails while he answered the phone queries.
It took them the better part of two days to sort through all of the junk inquiries to get to the 500 people who were actually interested in the land. A flood of automated calls wanting to sell them services had to be weeded out, and then the serious inquiries were ranked. Three hundred and seventy people and organizations were serious contenders, so Bob set up appointments. Cindy knew that they were going to be in Montana for quite a while, so she called Scout.
She said, “Hi Scout. We have a flood of offers to sort through. We’re making appointments to show the land, and I don’t foresee us coming home any time before December. The offers need to be sorted out and then we need to close on at least one, but probably several. We’ll rejoin you in the winter for sure, if not in the late fall.”
Scout replied, “Sounds like a winner. I knew that this process wasn’t going to be fast. When Bob said he had land to sell, I knew that this was a long-term project. Take as much time as you need to get the best deal possible. I feel like a traitor to our cause just saying that.”
Cindy said, “It’s the way this world works. We can’t change it, so we need to start another world.”
Scout said, “Sounds like the reason we’re doing this in the first place.”
Cindy said, “You taught us well.”
Cindy hung up the phone and got back to work on the land deal with her husband. She was not looking forward to the months of hard work ahead, but she knew the reward far outweighed the work.
The first few people that inquired about the land wanted only small portions of land. So Bob happily sold them quarter acre and half acre lots. This took about the first ten acres, leaving a huge amount of land to sell after the first week of selling ended. Closing on these parcels would happen within a month, as banks only allowed people who had been pre-qualified to make offers on land. They had tightened their restrictions after a wave of banks failed for the third time in the last century because of poor market regulations.
The next five weeks were largely the same as the first week, and by the end of the first six weeks Bob and Cindy had disposed of the first hundred acres. All of the deals from the first two weeks were now closed, and the land rush showed no signs of slowing down.
Bob thought, “Right now, I feel like I’m an evil corporation. I’ve been so focused on making money that I feel like my soul is being sucked out.”
It was during the seventh week in Montana that things went wrong. General Rich had somehow intercepted a communication between Bob and Scout. He knew that Bob was a member of Scout’s team, so he decided to attempt to sabotage the group.
Rich thought, “I’ll cut off their funding. Those fools think they can sell their assets to fund this ridiculous plan, and then rob us of our future. I’ll show them. No one messes with this nation’s wealth.”
Bob received a phone call on Tuesday of the seventh week.
He answered, “Hello, this is Bob. Is this about the land?”
General Rich replied, “Yes, it is. I’m interested in a parcel of about one thousand acres. Do you still have a parcel that can accommodate my needs?”
Bob replied, “Of course. We still have about twelve hundred acres. How much were you looking to spend for the land?”
General Rich asked, “Well, how much are you asking?”
Neither one wanted to commit to a number until the other one did. Bob wanted to get the best deal, and the General wanted to get Bob’s hopes as high as possible. He could not let on that he only wanted to tie the land up in court for years.
The General thought, “Not every military action requires force. Sometimes you need to be a little more subtle to get what you want.”
Bob said, “I want about six million for that.”
The General replied, “I’ll be down there tomorrow to check it out.”
Bob replied, “Make sure to bring your bank approval with you. That way we can just move forward.”
The General got nervous. He didn’t have a bank approval. He didn’t have anywhere near the amount of money needed to purchase the land. A long pause followed Bob’s last statement.
Bob asked, “Are you still there, sir?”
The General said, “Is it really necessary to bring the bank paperwork with me? I mean that’s really just a formality. Can’t you just trust that I’m good for it?”
Bob said, “What are you up to?”
Rich replied, “I’m not up to anything. I just want to see the land. If you must have the documents, then I can retrieve them. It’ll tak
e two extra days, though.”
Bob said, “There’s no rush.”
The General thanked Bob and hung up the phone. The General moved quickly to acquire the required documents. He didn’t necessarily need them to be genuine.
He commanded his assistant, “I need a bank approval for six million dollars for the purchase of land. It doesn’t need to be real, just believable. Make it happen.”
Rich’s assistant jumped out of her chair and began to gather the necessary documents. She found a paper document with a bank seal, and she scanned it into the computer. Then she used the bank-sealed document to type an approval letter from a civilian bank. She knew that the General would not allow a military bank’s document to be used. That might arouse suspicions about who he really was.
Two days after General Rich first contacted Bob, he arrived at the ranch in Montana. The virgin land impressed him. It had never been developed, so it retained its natural beauty. But that was not what impressed the General.
He thought, “What a potential boon for the economy. The housing potential alone here is awesome and the business opportunities are endless. This land must be developed.”
Bob reached out his hand and said, “Welcome to my ranch. Do you have the bank approval?”
The General reached into his pocket and produced the bank document on a memory chip. Bob placed the chip in his device to verify that it was a valid bank approval. Rich was very nervous as Bob validated the approval. His fears were soon relieved when the document passed the screening.
“Very good, sir,” said Bob, “We can go see the land.”
The General said, “You lead the way.”
Bob lead the General to a position about 200 meters north of the ranch house. The parcels that had previously been sold were marked with beacons, and they were just past those at the point where they stood. The land opened up into a wide valley with a small stream running through the middle of it, and it was covered with lush green grass. At the back end of the parcel, the mountains began with a sheer cliff rising 500 meters. The blue and gray granite was in stark contrast to the green valley of the land in the negotiation.
MARS: Renaissance Page 7