The Nothing (10 page)

It was now cooler and quieter in his
station without the electronics buzzing. James felt like he was in a bunker waiting for the bombs to hit. It was an isolated feeling much like hiding while the real men fought battles outside. His mood went back and forth between feeling weak and small to feeling superior and capable. When James didn’t get the responses from people that reinforced his feelings of superiority, he would go through a short period of helplessness, self-doubt and regret. Sitting in his station waiting for something to happen made James feel like a failure. First, there was the college degree in Philosophy that he barely achieved in eleven years. Second, his job doesn’t scream glamour or bravado. Then third, there was a record with females that was down right sad. James was not feeling very good about himself. He decided he would masturbate while thinking of Staff Sergeant Gloria Stevens in the corner of his station. Then he would open his laptop and surf the web.
Damn, forgot there was no Wi-Fi or cell signals anywhere. Not even LTE. I was hoping to see if I had any responses on Hook’em.
This is going to be bad.

A game of p
olitics

Two flies circled the bottom of the
lampshade on the secretary’s desk. When they would finally attack each other, it would almost coincide with the yells coming from behind the Oval Office door. The voices were easier to hear because the thick inner door was open and only the garden door was closed. Yelling about Russia, China and sanctions made Dr. Zachariah Abernathy think about the news on TV recently. The whole world, it seemed, was turning against the United States. Some were saying we had been bullying everyone long enough. There was talk of manipulating oil prices, the value of the dollar increasing while other currencies were suffering. Sounded pretty bad and Dr. Abernathy expected it to get worse before it gets better.

Now he
had been waiting for twenty minutes and was getting impatient. But he had to keep his thoughts to himself.
This is absurd! I am in the middle of my research. Research, which this administration assigned to me, and then boom, President Moore wants his update. I have to fly thousands of miles wasting precious time that is better spent working. Working on a project the President and the Congressional Committee on Consumerism Practices and Spending forced on me.
Dr. Abernathy isn’t a political man. Being a scientist is what he always wanted to be.
A scientist answers to the people for whom the science is to benefit.
Dr. Abernathy has felt for a while that this study was only meant to booster the President during his upcoming re-election campaign.

“
Ok Doctor, the President is ready for you.” Without a word, Dr. Abernathy lifted himself from a very comfortable armchair and walked through the door with a pace that someone would use in their home. The President stood in front of Dr. Abernathy with his hand outstretched. Apparently the other voices had left the room.

“Zachariah, thanks for coming.”

“Did I have a choice Mr. President?”

“Oh hey, don’t be like that.
You are here because we are giving you a lot of money for this project and would like to know how our money is being spent.” An uneasy five seconds passed. When Dr. Abernathy noticed a decline in the President’s enthusiastic demeanor he said, “It is going good sir.” President Moore gave a straight glare, tilted his head sideways as if examining a rare flower, then walked to his desk and sat down. “Good? You say it is going good? Tell me Doctor, what am I supposed to get from that?” Dr. Abernathy stayed standing and stared at his toes. When he felt successful in pressing the President’s nerve, he sat in front of the Presidential desk. “Mr. President, or can I call you Preston?”

“
Preston is fine.”

“Thank you.
As I was saying Mr. President, it is going good. For precise data on how the research is progressing I would need to reference my notes back in Nevada. Notes that I was in the process of developing until I got a phone call that a car would be arriving in two hours and that I had being requested by the President for a meeting in Washington. And to quote any progress would be premature due to the study still being conducted.” President Moore leaned forward sternly and rapidly said, “Doctor if you had been returning emails and phone calls then a request like that wouldn’t have been made. This is taking away from my time as well because the committee is crying that they can’t get any responses from you. I have much more important matters to attend to like the problems with Russia and China. But I had to break away in order to have this discussion with you. Your research is what we are going to depend on when it comes to the new consumer legislation. I need to see how reckless our citizens are with their spending and leisure time. I need data that will wake them up. Most importantly, I want something that will show them it is their own fault that we are in this mess and to quit blaming me, the government and anyone else. We need progress and results ASAP. I would like to make sure the final report is done in three months at the end of August. Isn’t that the timeline you gave the committee?”

“Yes sir, and you will have all the resu
lts you need by then. That is what we have planned. But to be honest, I didn’t want this project. I took it because no one else had the capacity or resources to do it. And it needs to be done right. I didn’t want it because I don’t like dealing with public money or politicians. This is the first project that I have ever done with government funds. And my research relies upon utmost secrecy and inner cooperation amongst my staff for a successful set of results. So you have to understand my isolation and resistance to communication with the committee or outsiders.”

“I understand.
Politicians and scientists are two different breeds, but we always end up in bed together don’t we? Then we give birth to greatness and progress for our citizens.” President Moore spoke with a sarcastic, yet conniving grin. The Committee on Consumerism Practices and Spending was formed as a tool to help the economy recover in a faster and healthier manner. After breakdowns in trade relations with Russia and China, the American economy was at it’s weakest. When it was formed in November of the previous year, credit card debt, mortgages and population mobility was at an all time high. For years the United States of America had been on a recovery roller coast. Markets and profits across the board would be great for a couple of years, then they would be horrible for a couple of years. The good years were not long enough for most to get back on their feet. Average duration of home ownership had dropped to three years. The number of employees who had been with a company for more than ten years was declining. Less and less were retiring. There has been much public outcry at Preston Moore’s administration due to a lack of attention paid to the need for stable inflation and employment. Plus the schoolyard politics behind the trade disputes with Russia and China weren’t anything the American public was concerned about.

Fluctuating
economies caused companies to move operations from state to state based on tax breaks and incentives. But the main problem was that most workers didn’t have the money to move with their company. This was a new tactic against the law passed ten years earlier eliminating overseas outsourcing for American based companies. If a company couldn’t lower costs, they would make a deal in another state for new employees and cheaper land. But what the Committee and the President envisioned with Dr. Abernathy’s study was that it would tell the public that it was up to them. They were to take control of their own destinies and take responsibility for their own financial dilemmas. In other words, they hoped the study would show that it was the American people’s fault, not the government, on why things were so unstable economically. But show it with nice encouraging wording with promises of prosperous results for the American people. President Moore was counting on this as part of his re-election strategy. It would make his administration appear more competent in the face of the dire economic situation.

President Moore
left his desk, stood closer to Dr. Abernathy and leaned against the front of his desk. “I tell you what Zachariah. The committee chairman Bob Austin is in town for a few days. If you have dinner and drinks with Bob and I tonight, and give us a basic unofficial rundown on what you have so far, then I can promise total autonomy until August. We have to make the committee chairman happy somehow and I think this is the way to do it. Good steak and liquor can solve all of the world’s problems!” He moves his face closer to Dr. Abernathy, smiles, then says, “And we don’t take no for an answer.”

“Well I
guess I’ll have to Mr. President won’t I?”

“Hey
Doctor, call me Preston.”

Dr. Abernathy rose from his chair
and buttoned his blazer. “Thank you Mr. President.”

“
My secretary will arrange a hotel room for you. We will have you picked up at six.”

Six
o’clock huh? Will probably be around eight if it is presidential time. I knew it was a mistake to do this project. I am getting old but I wanted to go out with a bang. I have been carrying this frustration with my fellow man for such a long time. This study became an opportunity to show the country, and even the world, how overindulgent, selfish, distracted and oblivious to reality that they really are. Come August, the President will have all the results he needs. Everyone’s eyes will be opened. Yes there are other Scientist that studied consumerism and related issues, but I felt like I was the only one who could do this right. Even though it meant being a prostitute to the government.

***

A rapid knocking on the hotel door alarmed Dr. Abernathy. He didn’t remember falling asleep. With an eighteen-inch mattress that a person sinks into, one finds it difficult to stay awake. The Doctor rolled off of the bed against his own wishes and walked to the door; clothed in the same white dress shirt, khakis, and bowtie that he first stepped onto the airplane with. “Doctor, your car is downstairs waiting.”
What a delightful smile this young lady has!
“Thank you Ma’am.”

“Sir,
for your convenience, may I have your cell phone number? Or if you want, we can use your Facebook account to give you messages and notifications.” The prospect of being reached anywhere at any time alarmed Dr. Abernathy. “I don’t have a cell phone. You’ll have to come knocking if you want me.”

“Very well sir, not a problem.
May I walk you down?”

“Certainly young lady, let me get my glasses.”

The smile never left the young concierge as Dr. Abernathy retrieved his glasses from the nightstand and walked back to the door. “You know sir, you remind me of my Grandfather. He was a happy man and never bought a cell phone either. Grandpa said, ‘Why get one o’ dem little things? I only need to yell and yer Grandma comes a runnin’! And I know where ya live little darlin’. Ya can’t hide from yer dear ole’ Grandpa!’”

“Miss what is your name?”

“I am Leigh Ann.”

“Well Leigh Ann, I bet your Grandfather was one of the few who made this nation great and it would have been a pleasure to know him.”

“Thank you Doctor, very special of you to say. He and my Grandma passed away several years ago.”

“Sorry to hear that Leigh Ann.”

“Thank you Doctor. Actually they were killed in a car accident. Gives me peace that it was quick.”

“I k
now we all hope it is quick when the time comes. What happened to the other driver? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Nothing.
Not a scratch. Ran right into the back of my Grandparent’s while talking on his cell phone. It was a huge truck.”

“Did he go to jail or anything? “

“No. They said he wasn’t breaking any laws by talking on his phone while driving. He got a ticket for reckless driving, and then went on his merry way. And I swear I saw him make another call on his cell phone as he drove off. The truck barely had a scratch. But my Grandpa’s Mini Cooper was totaled.” Dr. Abernathy couldn’t help but to stay silent for a few moments. Stories like Leigh Ann’s are part of what fuels him to do his research.

How many years have we seen this?
How many people have been hit by someone talking on a cell phone while driving? How many have died. Not one politician has addressed this issue, but everyone knows how dangerous and stupid it is to talk or text on a cell phone while driving. Yet everyone keeps doing it! Studies have shown that it equates to driving drunk. Our society is full of followers; everyone keeps doing it because everyone else does. It’s the old elementary schoolyard song and dance. If he is allowed to do it, then I should be too! Mommy, Mommy it’s not fair! He gets to stay out late; why can’t I? Sad that Mommies and Daddies, or our authorities, give in and not care. Oh but they sure do a lot of talking!!

“I don’t mean to pry little lady, and forgive me if this is none of my business.
Did any of your family sue this man to make him responsible for his actions? Since our government doesn’t seem to be capable of it.
”

“No we didn’t.
It would have been too expensive and none of us had much money. If you can keep a secret, I will tell you what we did.” With a grin, Dr. Abernathy said, “I will take it to my grave.”

“My brother and f
ather found him one day. That guy was in his backyard mowing his grass. It was perfect. The sound of the mower covered the struggle. They took him to a secret place. I don’t even know where they went. Then they brought him back home and dropped him in his drive way. He was unconscious of course it was at night. But what they did was brilliant. They poured small drops of acid in each ear. Enough to destroy the guts that make the ears work. Plus they burned off the corneas of each eye. The world is a little safer now that he will never talk on the phone or drive again. I would have liked to see him killed though. I mean it is time to get tougher with people. It seems like pain and suffering is the only effective language to change someone’s behavior. The language our leaders are using now isn’t working.” Leigh Ann fell into an uncomfortable silence. Dr. Abernathy could tell that she wasn’t sure if she had said too much. But the unorthodox and unusual is what is needed. He felt that there were more Leigh Ann’s out there who sit in silence and wait for our leaders to get brave enough to do what is right.

“
Well Leigh Ann, all I can say is that I hope to honor your Grandparents with my research and that your secret will stay safe with me. And soon I promise you, people will be suffering more and paying the price that they should have been paying all along.”