2022 (6 page)

“I still don’t get it,” Mikhail said. “I
guess we’ll see where this leads, though.”

“We will! It sounds like things are going
well here; I wish I could say the same for the public side of the
foundation.”

“What’s going wrong there?” Mikhail
asked.

“We’re getting a lot of opposition from
corporations and governments as we try to get the foundation’s
message out to the people. Nobody likes the negative-growth
message. Take, for example, the Work-From-Home Initiative that I’ve
tried to get traction on at several levels of government.”

Mikhail raised his eyebrows. “What’s that all
about?”

“Simple really—provide incentives for
companies to enforce a full-time or near full-time work-from-home
policy. There are so many jobs and even whole companies that could
be run this way.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea—what’s
wrong with it?”

“Not too much. There would be fewer cars on
the road, less gas used, less infrastructure on highways, less time
wasted on commuting, less office space, more family time. The list
goes on and on. Nonetheless, in all but a few places, I’ve run into
well-funded lobby groups from real-estate developers, car
manufacturers, and even from restaurants that have made enough
noise to stop it.”

Mikhail nodded his understanding. “In other
words, good for pollution, good for natural resource consumption,
and good for society, but all trumped by economics and profit.”

“That’s the way almost everything works. I’m
getting lots of pressure to fund research on new vaccines, support
better farming techniques, conservation, recycling, and clean
water. All of which, if you look at the big picture, supports the
economic engine and exasperates the real issues by increasing the
population.”

“But those things don’t sound that bad. Most
of the green-earth foundations and rich individuals I know are
supporting these activities.”

“That’s the difference between them and me,”
Richard said, poking the air in emphasis. We have the same end goal
of living in harmony with this planet. But they believe that
conservation and increasing food production will prevent us from
living beyond our means. Then somehow, we’ll all glide into
sustainability.” He rose and got ready to leave. “I, on the other
hand, believe that we’re already living way past our means and that
there’ll soon be a rude adjustment. Then after that, just maybe,
stability will be reached. It’s the adjustment period and the time
directly afterward that I’m preparing for.”

Mikhail escorted Richard to the door and they
shook hands.
That adjustment period may come sooner than you
think
.

Diane wondered if she was at the right place.
She looked at the large, unmarked building. It was early evening,
and she had driven for several days to reach the address on the
Virtuesh job website. She stopped her RV at the edge of the road
and looked at the building. What she saw was not what she had
expected. There were armed security guards at the front gate,
several visible security cameras, and a chain-link fence with razor
wire surrounding the structure. A searchlight regularly circled the
grounds around the building. It appeared more like a prison than a
non-profit foundation headquarters.

She pulled away to find a place to park.
Luckily, a nearby road led to the ocean, and though likely illegal,
she parked her RV behind some trees to keep it hidden from the main
highway.

She felt tired and looked at the clock.
8:22—too early to go to bed
. She decided to go for a walk on
the beach.

As she strode along the shore, she remembered
summer vacations with her family and the fun she had with her
brother on similar beaches. A warm glow filled her and made her
feel as if he were beside her. She walked for several hours,
unwilling to relinquish the mood. It was past midnight before she
returned to her RV.

Having slept later than she intended, it was
nearly noon by the time she approached the headquarters building
again. It didn’t look any less foreboding in daylight. She fought
the urge to turn around and continued through the main gate until
she was stopped by a guard.

“Are you looking for directions?” he
asked.

“No, I came to find out more about the jobs
posted on the Internet.” She held up a printed copy of the Virtuesh
web page.

The guard examined it for a moment then asked
her to pull over.

********************

Olivia sat in the reception area outside
Mikhail’s office hoping that she was doing the right thing. She had
tried to focus on work during the last week following her
discussion with Mikhail. But her thoughts kept drifting back to her
friend’s murder as well as to Mikhail and the decision he asked her
to make. After internal debate, she determined that her best course
of action was to stay close to the virus and vaccines where she
could be helpful to Mikhail. This may not solve anything, but it
would buy her time to figure out a better plan.

The large double doors to his office opened
and he came out to greet her.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Please come
in.”

She had never been in his office before but
was not surprised by its opulence given that no expense seemed to
be spared on this project. He shut the doors and motioned to one of
the leather chairs in front of his desk.

“Have you thought about your future with
Pleasant Belief?” he asked, as he sat down in the chair opposite
hers.

“Yes, I have, and I think I’d be most useful
on the construction crew for Percipience. I could also train
residents in both Virtuesh and its vaccine.”

“Excellent!”

“I just don’t think I’m ready for a lifelong
commitment the residents need to make. There are so many things I
want to do, and I frankly think I’d die if I couldn’t buy new
clothes and eat in restaurants.”

He laughed and said he understood. “I’m very
pleased you’ll be on the team for a while longer. The site is a few
hundred miles away, and I was planning a trip there in a week. You
can come up then if you wish.”

The phone on his desk buzzed, and he rose to
pick up the receiver. “Put him through,” he said, after a short
pause.

She fidgeted as he moved to the other side of
the desk. He stood listening for a few minutes then opened several
programs on his computer and stared intently at the screen.

Still listening to the caller, he turned
towards her with his hand over the mouthpiece. “Something has come
up that needs my attention. Let’s get together next week to talk
about Percipience and the details about the work there.”

She felt grateful for the interruption and
smiled as she quickly stood up and left, closing the doors behind
her.

He returned his attention to the computer
screen. “Yes, that’s her. Let her through, tell her to park near
the front doors and that someone will be out to meet her.” Then he
hung up and immediately picked up the phone again. He punched in
the code for the person in charge of testing.

“Mikhail here—I know that the candidates have
already been selected, but there’s someone driving up to the front
doors right now. I don’t think she knows much about our program,
but I want you to treat her like a VIP and convince her that she
should take the tests.”

Then he then sent an encrypted text message
to Hope, telling her to stop the search as the person she was
looking for was now at the foundation. He received a text reply
almost immediately that asked if he could arrange for a tracking
device to be put on Diane’s vehicle and said she would be there in
a few days.

He put his phone down and stood to admire the
view from his office.
This must be a sign
that the work
I’m doing is on the right path
.”

********************

The guard was gone for ten minutes, and when
he returned, he handed Diane the website printout. “Sorry for the
delay—applicants usually have an appointment. Follow this lane to
the other side of the building and park near the front entrance.
Someone will be out to meet you.”

As she started to pull away, she noticed that
a security camera followed her.

She waited five minutes until a well-dressed
young man came out to greet her.

“My name is Gordon, and I’m the coordinator
for the hiring program.”

“I’m Diane. There’s a scary amount of
security here for a public foundation.”

“Yes, there is, and more inside. If you get
into the program, you’ll understand why. Please follow me.”

He led her through the main entrance and into
a lavishly decorated waiting area that led to a conference
room.

“Can I get you anything?”

“I’d love a coffee, black please.”

He returned in a few minutes with her coffee,
shut the door behind him, and invited her to sit in one of the
chairs at the large conference table. “What do you know about this
job offer and the project behind it?”

“Nothing beyond what was on the website,” she
said. “I have some free time now and love the work this foundation
is doing.”

“Okay,” he said, smiling. “Let’s start with
the program itself, and then we’ll talk about the positions. The
project is more like a long-term experiment in finding a way for
people, say, a village numbering a few thousand, to live a
purposeful life in a way that doesn’t ruin the planet. We’re
currently building four such villages around the world, one just a
few hundred miles from here.”

“How long-term are we talking about?”

“Hundreds of years, actually. We started out
looking for two types of people. One we called builders, who would
be around only for a year or so and do the majority of the village
construction. The other group would be the residents, who would
assist in the building while taking a rigorous one-year training
program. They’d stay in the village for the rest of their
lives.”

“Yikes! People are signing up for this?”

He ignored the question, turned on the
overhead projector, and started to run some slides. “These are
pictures of the village near to us under construction, called
Percipience, taken a few weeks ago. As you can see, things are
moving extremely well, and we’re not hiring any more builders now.
But there are a few more openings left for residents.

“Getting to your question, we’ve had
thousands of people go through our week-long testing process for a
few hundred resident positions. This wasn’t really surprising
considering the number of people that signed up for the one-way
trip to Mars. Or the many people who initially came to this
continent. Both these groups signed up for the new location and the
adventure and knew they would never be coming back. We’re offering
all of that plus a new way to live.”

“And nothing is stopping these residents from
leaving if they want to?”

“Well, sure, they can leave. The hike out is
only about twenty-five miles, and, of course, they could never go
back. They’d also be returning to the world with nothing since part
of the agreement is that you sign all of your assets over to the
foundation.”

“I don’t think I’d ever sign a deal like
that. The girl I talked to on the phone didn’t mention any of this.
I may have driven a few days for nothing.”

”All of this should’ve been explained to you
beforehand. Let me see what I can do.” He got up and left the room
briefly, returning with a grin on his face. “I feel bad that you
were misled during your phone conversation. Would you consider
staying for the next week and taking the tests that all candidates
go through? I’ve just arranged for you to stay in one of our luxury
suites here on the compound, all expenses paid. Are you
interested?”

“No commitments now?”

“None at all. Take the week to get through
the tests, and read up on the program. Then, if you qualify, you
can decide if you want to go for it or not.”

“I guess that’s a hard deal to turn down. But
I do have a question. What exactly is Virtuesh? That’s the website
that I found all of this on.”

“It’s the name of the project. They wanted a
unique name and that’s what they came up with.”

She didn’t believe him.
Maybe I’m on the
right trail to find out what happened to my brother

Gordon kept her busy for the rest of the day
reviewing promotional information and having her complete
questionnaires and forms. He took her on a short tour of the campus
showing her the cafeteria, pool, and fitness center, and finally to
her suite. She would be expected at the main entrance the next
morning to begin the tests.

With the stress of the day and the troubled
sleep of the night before, she lay down on the bed with the
intention of taking a short nap and was surprised when she woke up
at ten o’clock that evening. She debated whether she should try the
cafeteria that supposedly stayed open all night, or return to her
RV and make a meal for herself. She chose the cafeteria.

When she arrived, she was not surprised to
see the sitting area empty. The chef greeted her and noticed her
VIP badge.

“Good evening. My name is Mario and I don’t
believe I’ve seen you before. Bedtime snack?”

She smiled. “Yes, as long as your snacks are
the size of a steak.”

He laughed “A late dinner it is. Were you
serious about the steak or would you like something else?”

“Don’t you have a menu?”

“Perhaps things weren’t explained to you. You
can order anything you wish here. If you want something exotic, or
a dish that takes time to prepare, you may have to order it a day
in advance. Other than that, everything is fair game, and my back
room is extremely well stocked. I can do a perfect steak in a jiffy
if that’s what you want.”

“That would be great—medium rare,
please.”