Apocalypse Drift (57 page)

His finger hovered over the key for only a moment. He pressed the button and barely glanced at the screen as the destruction of a lifetime of achievement was initiated.

Three minutes later, he strolled by the display of his original machine tools in the lobby. Mr. Fu stopped and touched each one and said his goodbyes. He wished he could take them with him, but that simply wasn’t possible.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Fu was in the back of a taxi headed for the international airport.

Forty minutes later, the wheels thumped the bottom of the Japan Airlines 767 aircraft after takeoff. The flight was only two hours and ten minutes. His family was going to meet him at the Tokyo airport. After waving off the steward’s offer of a drink, Huang reclined the first class seat as far as it would go. For the first time in weeks, he fell into a proper sleep.

Southland Marina, Texas

July 20, 2018

Wyatt stepped out of Boxer’s head, brushing the front of his jacket and fussing with his hair. Looking up at Morgan, he asked, “Well, how do I look?”

Morgan finished her sip of coffee and flashed him a bright smile. “I’d hire you, but then again, I’m a little partial.”

Her husband wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure? I mean, you don’t think the tie is too old fashioned or anything, do
ya?”

Morgan set her cup on the counter and walked to him, pulling on the jacket sleeves and giving him a serious once over. “The jacket looks great on you, babe. You’ve lost a little weight and look fit and tan. I think you’ll do fine.”

Wyatt shook his head, not so sure. “It’s been so long since I’ve had an interview. I feel like a college kid going for my first one.”

“You’ll do fine,” she replied, and then decided to distract him. “Tell me about this company again?
Fu Machine and what?”

“Machine and Tool.
They are a high-tech machine shop from what I read.”

“I’ve never heard of the company before. Do you know how big they are?”

“No, I get the impression they’re new here in the states. The owner, Mr. Fu, seemed uncomfortable with English. I should settle down – there are dozens of jobs on the internet sites. I even read one article that predicted a labor shortage for the next three years.”

Morgan nodded her agreement. “The hospital is hiring like crazy as well. It’s kind of sad in a way – how many people perished. There are over 200 photographs on our wall now.”

Wyatt sighed, “I wonder how long we’ll morn. The grocery store still has hundreds of posters on their bulletin board. It’s so sad – all those people looking for lost relatives or family members. We’re lucky.”

“It’s about time we had some luck Wyatt, but I know what you mean. Our memorial wall at the hospital is depressing if you look at it that way. It’s also a reminder to everyone to never let that happen again. I just wish we had been able to learn our lesson without all those people having to die.”

Morgan’s cell phone began ringing, causing her to pause. She looked at the caller-id and mouthed the word “Sage” to Wyatt. She tapped the screen and said, “Morning sweeties, how are ya?”

Wyatt paused for a bit, fatherly instinct wanting to verify Sage was all right. After listening for a few moments, Morgan broke out in a huge smile and said, “Oh, Sage, that’s fantastic news!”

Wyatt caught his wife’s eye and mouthed the word, “What?”

After listening for a few more moments, Morgan covered the mouthpiece and said, “The Houston Museum of Modern Art is going to display Sage’s art work from the island. She just got the call.”

“Wow, that’s outstanding news! Tell her I love her, and I’m proud of her. Also, let her know I want the first tickets!”

Wyatt glanced at his watch and knew it was time to go. He didn’t want to be late and needed plenty of time to find the place. A lot of traffic signals weren’t working yet, so it was prudent to leave a little early. 

Morgan said, “Hold on,” into the phone and kissed Wyatt goodbye. “You’ll knock ’em dead, babe. Best of luck.”

The End

Epilogue

AP Press Release – Washington, D.C. – U.S.A. 08:00 December 1, 2019

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics today announced weekly claims for unemployment reached the lowest level since the bureau began tracking the bellwether indicator over 100 years ago.

Only 12,700 people filed new claims for unemployment benefits, dropping the nation’s overall unemployment rate to 0.3%.

Most analysts credit the unprecedented growth of the United States economy for the historic low number of people looking for work, citing the 11.4% expansion in 2018 and the anticipated 12.4% growth in 2019.

Economists predict a slight cooling of the
US economy in 2020 as more and more nations mimic the US policy of zero taxation, thus negating the competitive advantage currently enjoyed by American firms.

In related news, the
US trade surplus grew to 1.3 trillion dollars in November. Experts believe resurgence in manufacturing in North America will continue to fuel the trade surplus for another 18-24 months until the remaining industrialized nations catch up with the boom in US output.

Reed’s slides used in the presentation (Chapter 14).