Chapter 21
The commblock sounded an incoming call with the name “ABBE Ltd.” Bruce answered the call but with the company logo instead of his face displayed to the caller. “G’day. This is Bruce Babbitt Expeditions. How can I help you?”
“May I speak with Mr. Babbitt, please,” said the confident sounding female voice.
“This is he.” Bruce responded.
“Ah, good! My, um, employer asked that I contact you about a proposal.” the voice said.
Bruce jumped in quickly. “Sorry, but I’m no longer responding to proposals, mam. My business has been plenty good lately, so if you’d like my services, you can sign up for a course, and we’ll go from there.”
As Bruce was reaching for the button to disconnect the call, the “Abbe Ltd.” logo Bruce was looking at was replaced by a female face. Bruce paused.
“Mr. Babbitt, my name is Ophelia Abrahams,” said the female face on the screen. “I’m not asking you to fill in a request for a proposal, or anything like that. I have an offer that will replace the need for you to pursue any new business going forward.”
There was a moment of silence.
“OK, I’m listening,” Bruce finally said.
Ms. Abrahams showed a slight smile, and continued “My… employer is Esther Abbe. She has heard of your…”
“Wait a minute,” Bruce said, as he pushed the control on his commblock to show his own face. “Which Esther Abbe?”
Ms. Abrahams smile got a bit larger. “How many do you know?” she asked.
“Only the one,” Bruce responded, with a grin of his own.
“Yes, that Esther Abbe.” Ms. Abrahams confirmed. “As I was saying, she has heard of your business and not just the popularity of your courses, but the results that people are sharing they’ve experienced after attending a course. And I’m not talking about the posts you’ve linked as adverts to your business site, but the unicasts people are sharing on their own.”
“I’ve always been proud of the results people see,” Bruce stated. “My courses aren’t cheap, and I want people to know they are seeing the value we offer.”
“Well, we’ve noticed, Mr. Babbitt. And we’d like to see that value as well,” the businesswoman said.
“Like I said, business has been great. We’ve got courses booked for five solid months going out, so it’s going to be a while until that could happen,” Bruce responded.
Ms. Abrahams looked directly at the screen, no trace of a smile visible any longer. “Mr. Babbitt, what do you really think this world will be like in five months?”
She left another silence enter the conversation. But this time, Bruce didn’t have a quick reply. He stared at the screen for a moment, then turned his head and looked off in the distance. After 15 seconds, his attention returned and he looked back at Ms. Abrahams.
She continued, “You’ve got 48 hours between the end of the current course tomorrow evening, and the beginning of the following course. Esth, uh, Ms. Abbe has some property near Wondecla that isn’t far from your base of operations. We’d like for you to come up for a visit for one day, please. For your time, we’ll gladly pay you the full-rate for two 10-day courses. Would you at least consider that offer, Mr. Babbitt? I can contact you tomorrow to confirm.”
“I’ve got supplies to pick up and clients to collect from Cairns Port, and…” Bruce started.
But Mr. Abrahams interrupted him. “We have one of our logistics staff who has already participated in one of your courses already on the way to your base, Mr. Babbitt. Jordan will be there tomorrow morning. I can assure you that with the experience Ms. Abbe has on her staff, Jordan will be able to handle the inter-class activities without issue. He’ll find you on the trail tomorrow, so you won’t have to make any changes to your plans. Please, Bruce, think about this a bit more and consider this until tomorrow. A one day visit, no work you need to do, and you will receive nearly a month’s worth of tuition income with no cost on your end.”
Bruce could see that Ms. Abrahams was going to be persistent, “Right then, I’ll consider it.”
“Thank you,” Ophelia said with a look of relief on her face. “Oh, and please know Jamie is welcome to join you! We’ll talk tomorrow.” and she ended the call.
Bruce gave a startled look at the blank commblock screen. He checked the time – still another 25 minutes until the afternoon session began, and he could see his current course attendees were either still eating lunch or resting in hammocks under the trees. So he punched up another call on his commblock.
“Hello, B,” answered the voice before a face appeared on the screen.
“Jamie, do you know Esther Abbe?” Bruce quickly asked.
Jamie’s face slid into view. “Well, of course I know who Esther Abbe is. Why do you ask?”
“No, not do you know who she is. Do you know her?” Jamie said, somewhat accusatorially.
“What do you mean, ‘Do I know her’?” Jamie said, now looking confused. “Have I met her before? Do I know what she looks like? What?”
“Look, Jamie. They know we’re together, and that’s not something I put on my business page. So have you done business with her or met her on some board or committee?” Bruce continued.
“B, you’re making no sense. And when you get worked up, you don’t explain yourself very well,” Jamie said, starting to sound a bit annoyed himself. “Calm down and fill in the gaps.”
Bruce took a big breath. “Sorry, it’s all so weird.”
“I got this call about ten minutes ago from a sheila who says she works for Esther Abbe. She says they want to hire me for a course or something, invites me over to Wondecla for the weekend, and says you should come along as well,” Bruce explained in one quick burst.
Jamie’s eyes got bigger as Bruce talked. “Esther Abbe wants to meet us? Why?”, he asked when Bruce finished.
“No, she doesn’t want to meet us, she wants to hire me,” Bruce replied. “Well, I think she wants to hire me. I don’t know exactly.”
“Bruce,” Jamie said firmly. “You still need to focus. What was the name of the person who called you?”
“Abrahams. Her last name is Abrahams. Um, Cordelia, Orderelia, something like that,” replied Jamie.
“OK, so this Ms. Abrahams calls you and asks you what?” Jamie continued.
“She says they want to hire me for a course, or something. That part wasn’t exactly clear,” Bruce explained. “I told her I was all filled up for five months, but she said Esther Abbe wanted to talk to me this weekend between courses. I guess that’s where she’ll explain everything. Anyway, this Abrahams said she’ll call back tomorrow to get an answer if I’ll come out. And then she says you can come along too, like we’re heading out for a party or something. So it got me all confused.”
“OK, let’s think about this, B.” Jamie said in a much calmer voice, “You’ve got one of the richest people in Queensland who wants to discuss hiring you. If she’s this interested in seeing you right away, it’s probably for her own personal benefit, not something for one of her companies. And if she’s as bright as I think she is, she’s got people that research things for her, so they found out we’re a couple. And if that’s the case, she wants you to feel comfortable while you’re there and have someone you know with you.”
“You’ve got that smug look again,” Bruce said.
“Well I’m sorry, but I think I deserve a little credit for sorting this all out, don’t you?” Jamie retorted.
“Look, I’ll call you tomorrow,” Bruce said. “Lunch is about finished, and we’re heading out. It’s overnight camping tonight, so I wanted you to know about the call since I won’t be home tonight. If you don’t know Esther Abbe, then you’re probably right. But that smug look doesn’t make you any cuter, so try and lose it by tomorrow, eh? I’ll call you after breakfast, and we can talk more about this.”
“OK, well have fun, B! Thanks for the exciting news, and stay away from the leeches, please. You know I can’t stand checking you for them when you get home,” Jamie said earnestly.
“Right, I’ll bring back a bucket of leeches for you, love,” Bruce said with a big grin and ended the call.
Bruce walked around to the front of the dining / training hall he had built for his business three years back, and saw the students were gathering around the transbus rental that had pulled up.
One of the co-instructors was talking, “I want to remind everyone that we will be dropped off at a clearing off Highway 52 between Baldy Mountain and Herberton Range. You will each be given a topographic map of the region, a compass, and coordinates that you need to reach by 18h00. You will need to have your shelter set up and an evening meal cooked and ready to eat by 21h00. There is no penalty if you accomplish your objective before these allotted times.”
Bruce always smiled when he heard this line and then glanced around to see the serious looks on the faces of the students. He couldn’t stop himself today, “Well, that’s good news, ain’t it, folks? Jerry is giving you no penalty for being early!”
They all turned to him with confused faces.
Bruce broke out laughing.
“Just ignore him,” Jerry said sarcastically. “He must have been hitting the ganjaweed juice during lunch today.”
“Sorry, all,” Bruce said. “I’ll behave this afternoon, I promise.”
“As I was saying,” the co-instructor continued, “you’ll have five hours from drop-off to campsite arrival, and another three hours to get you ready for tuck-in. Bruce, Darla, and I will all have trackers to monitor your progress, and one of us will confirm your achievements when you reach your target – or you think you’ve reached it. Only in the case of an emergency should you call for help, as a non-emergency call will result in a 10% rating reduction and an automatic failure for instructor certification. If you do call, one of the three of us will confirm your call and be with you within 10 minutes of your reach out. Any questions?”
“Is there any limit on when we can break camp tomorrow morning?” asked one of the older students?
“No, there is no pre-ordained start time,” the co-instructor answered.
“But you’re still responsible for completing your observation packet,” Darla added.
“And don’t go asking Darla for help with your observations on your way back,” Bruce chimed in, “or else she’ll get a 10% rating reduction for every question she answers.”
Darla blushed and scowled at Bruce.
“OK,” Jerry said as he bent down and grabbed his pack, “let’s load up.”
The thirty-minute bus ride to the drop-off point was as animated as any of the dozens of end-of-course trips Bruce had taken before. This time, however, Bruce joined in more than usual.
“So, I hear you’re an engineer,” Bruce questioned the student who had asked about morning departure rules. “Did they send you on this course?”
“No,” the fiftyish year-old looking woman answered. “I just figured it was a good experience to get, what with all the happenings these days.”
“You don’t happen to work for ABBE, do you?” Bruce continued.
“No, that would be nice, wouldn’t it. I’m with a small building tech firm in Cairns,” the student answered.
Another student turned around in her seat. “Do you know someone from ABBE?” she asked Bruce. “I sent them my CV two years ago and never heard back. I’m trying to find a connection.”
“Well, no, not really.” Bruce said. “So, you don’t know anyone at ABBE?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it!” the second student responded. “I’m trying to find a connection, I don’t have a good one.”
Bruce continued chatting up the students, asking indirect or direct questions about ABBE and occasionally about Esther Abbe or Cordelia Abrahams. Darla looked at him with a curious glance as she overheard the continued line of questioning.
The transbus arrived at the drop-off point before Bruce was able to interrogate many other students, which was just as well since he was starting to get some strange looks from his students that hadn’t seen him this interested in their personal lives for the past two weeks they were with him in class.
They gathered around Jerry before heading out. “Remember, all you’ve got to use is your compass and map. Anyone found using any electronics or other assistive device will be asked to return to this point immediately and will have failed the course.” Jerry handed out pieces of paper with a unique set of coordinates for each student.
“What about him?” asked one of the students, nodding in Bruce’s direction.
Bruce was on his commblock, flipping through registration information about this class. When he looked up because of the quiet, he saw he was on the receiving end of another one of Darla’s scowls.
“He’s the boss,” Jerry said. “He’s the one that sets the rules, so I guess that means he gets to break them.”
A few people chuckled, but most just looked annoyed. Bruce put away his commblock. “Right then,” he said, “off you go!”.
He walked over to where Jerry and Darla were standing, and they quietly talked about who would take which path up to the top of Baldy Mountain.
Slowly, the students finished reviewing their paper notes, looking at their maps, gauging direction with their compass, and took off. It appeared only one of the class was hesitant about the direction, but decided to follow the general group once most of the rest had left.
“OK,” Bruce said to Darla and Jerry. “I’ve got the left flank. See you up top!” and he took off jogging into the treeline near the road. No sooner was he a few trees in that he pulled out his commblock again.
“No sense in flipping through, Brucey ol’ fellow. She told you his name,” Bruce said to himself.
He brought up his client list, searched for ‘Jordan’. “Forty people! Come on, that’s not that popular a name!” Bruce said in amazement. “Ah, Brucey, Jamie told you to slow down. You don’t care about anyone whose last name is Jordan.” he continued, paused, and then finished “Or do you?”
Another minute spent fiddling with the search and Bruce had a list of six people that had attended his course in the past two months with either a first or last name of ‘Jordan’ or just the letter ‘J’. Then he started reviewing each student CV and their course applications in detail.
Darla’s voice came over the radio. “Jerry, Bruce, are you tracking Mr. Watanabe?”
Jerry’s voice replied, “Let me check. Last I saw he was trailing left into Bruce’s domain.” [pause] “Yup, well left and trending sideways instead of up the mountain. Seems like he might need a reminder on the compass reading.”
Darla replied “That was my thought as well. Bruce, have you seen him?”
No reply.
“Bruce, do you have your volume turned up?” Darla asked.
Still no reply.
A loud radio-squawk sounded at Bruce’s hip. “Bruce, what in the hell are you doing?” Darla called out angrily.
Bruce jumped and grabbed his radio. “What? Sorry, I got a bit distracted.” he finally replied.
“Have you seen Mr. Watanabe?” Darla asked, sounding very annoyed.
“No, I haven’t,” Bruce answered. “Is he looking for me?”
“Well, he certainly doesn’t appear to be looking for his camp site”, Darla responded. “And if you don’t catch him soon, he’ll likely walk right off a ridge or something.”
“Oh, right!” Bruce said with a sudden recognition of the situation. “I’ll track him down!” and he took off jogging again, this time, following the tracking signal indicating where the errant student was heading.
Eight hours later, Bruce entered the clearing where Darla and Jerry had already gathered. “I tell you, I’ve not had one that disoriented in months!” he said as he came into view.
“Whose that?” Jerry asked “The chap from Japan?”
“Yes,” Bruce answered. “I got him to admit he lied on his application. He said he’s all stressed about having to make it on his own outdoors and needs to look after his parents. Well, at the rate he’s going, he’d be better off dropping his parents off with the aliens!”
Jerry chuckled, but Darla was not at all amused.
“Bloody hell, Bruce, what has gotten into you today?” she demanded as she stood up from the fire she was stoking.
Bruce looked puzzled, “What do you mean?”
Darla returned his puzzled look, “What do I mean?”
She looked at Jerry, who just shrugged his shoulders.
Darla continued. “I mean you’ve been acting all weird since lunch. You show up and are goofier and more curious about your students that I ever remember seeing you. You aren’t focused on the hike. You let someone wander completely off the trail into a dangerous area. And now you’re making jokes about someone you normally would have escorted off the mountain without a second thought! I mean Mr. Watanabe could have not only gotten himself in serious trouble, but also one of the other students or one of us! What if we had to climb down one of the ridges to rescue him from a fall? What if he’s wandering away from his campsite right now?”
“Easy, Darla. I’m sure Bruce had him all tucked in good and told him he couldn’t leave his site til daylight.” Jerry said and turned to his boss. “Right, Bruce?”
Bruce looked at them both for a second before responding. “Well, yes, Mr. Watanabe is in good shape. I told him I’d be back in the morning and get him oriented for his trip down the mountain.”
Then he looked at Jerry and asked, “Am I acting that much different than I normally do?”
Jerry nodded his head.
Bruce turned to the other co-instructor. “I’m sorry, Darla. I just got a strange call during lunch and it took me out of myself a bit. But I need to stay in the moment, I know. Thanks for calling me out on it.”
Darla continued looking at Bruce, visibly frustrated. “Well, …. good!” she said in a huff, then her shoulders loosened, her fists unclenched and she turned back to the fire.
After 10 seconds of silence while each of them stayed in place, Darla spoke. “Do you want some stew?”
“Yes, please,” Bruce said. “I’m starving.” And he walked over to the fire to grab a bowl.
As they ate, they fell into the normal small talk about the progress, or lack thereof, the various students were making, and how they would likely rate them on the course.
“OK,” Jerry said, as he finished putting away the last of the dinner ware, “time for rounds.”
They each shouldered their individual mini-pack and went off to check on their allotted students.
Thirty minutes later, Jerry returned to camp to find Bruce next to the fire. “Darla already back?”
“Yup, and she’s already zipped in for the night,” Bruce said, pointing to the pink sleep hammock slung between some trees to the left of their clearing.
“And what are you up to?” Jerry asked Bruce.
“Oh, just making notes for tomorrow,” Bruce answered.
“Right, then. I’m off to beddy-bye myself. G’night, Bruce,” Jerry said and turned to his own hammock.
“G’night, Jerry.” Bruce replied “And thanks for the help today!”
Jerry nodded and waved a hand in acknowledgment without turning around, “Sure thing.”
Bruce returned his attention to his commblock and opened a new document.
“Questions for Esther,” he typed.
The next morning, Jamie wolfed down his breakfast and then threw his bag together. “I’m heading up to the top of the hill, and I’ll be the rear guard for this morning. See you down at the bus!” he said and waved to Darla and Jerry.
Bruce jogged up to the top of Baldy Mountain and pulled out his commblock. “Call Jamie”
“Hello B!” Jamie answered. “How did you sleep?”
“Oh, never slept better!” Bruce said with a smile.
“You’re lying!” Jamie said with fake exasperation. “I slept awful and I’m sure you did too. Soooo, why the call? You don’t normally contact me when you’re out with the greenfeet.”
“I want to go see her this weekend,” Bruce stated.
Jamie nearly jumped with excitement, “I was thinking you’d say that!”
“Why?” Bruce asked.
“Because Jerry called me last night and said you were acting strange and wanted to know if you were OK.” Jamie said.
“He didn’t say anything to me!” Bruce said with a slightly upset tone.
“You’re his boss, B! Why would he ask you about your personal life?” Jamie explained.
“But he asked you about my personal life” Bruce replied “What’s the difference?”
“Because I’m Jerry’s friend. I’m his boss’s spouse. And Jerry cares about you.” Jamie replied with a know-it-all smile. “Now go get everyone off the mountain and get back home. We’ve got packing to do!”
“Right. See you soon, Love!” Bruce said and ended the call.
Bruce checked his screen to see the trackers for everyone. All had started moving down the mountain. All, except for Mr. Watanabe. “Shit!” Bruce said and jogged off in the direction of Mr. Watanabe’s campsite.
About two hours later, Bruce was on his way downhill. He heard a bit of rustling off to his right, quickly scanned his screen to see all of the students further down the hill in front of him, and turned his attention to see what was coming through the trees.
“Hello?” Bruce said, gripping his walking stick for a possible defensive move.
Out of the trees came an average height but solidly built individual.
“Sorry, Mr. Babbitt, didn’t mean to give you a fright. Ms. Abrahams said you’d be expecting me this morning. I’m Jordan. Jordan Ramsey.”
Bruce’s grip on the stick loosened. “Oh, yeah, that’s right! I kinda forgot, since I’ve got a few other things on my mind today. Like these ten students, or at least the one who wants to get lost all the time.”
“Yeah, I passed by some bloke who looked very flustered and kept checking his map and compass.” Jordan said. “He finally saw me coming up the trail, started to ask me something, and then shut his mouth. Is he one of yours?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Bruce said.
“Well, I told him ‘Just keep walking downhill’ and he nodded and took off again.” Jordan said. “I hope that was OK.”
“Yes, he’s pretty much failed the practical experience portion of the course, so it’s better that he makes it back safely and somewhat on time.” Bruce answered. “So how did you find me?”
“There aren’t that many signals emanating from the mountain, so I just followed what was transmitting and came upon you,” Jordan explained.
“I thought hacking into commblocks was illegal,” Bruce said warily.
“It is. And I didn’t hack into yours. You keep the walls pretty thick! But its legal to see what is transmitting a signal, and from where the signal is being sent.” Jordan countered without a matter-of-fact tone. “Look, I’m sorry to stress you out, but I’ve got my job to do just like you.”
“I’m not stressed,” Bruce replied, and then gave a wide smile “Just paranoid.”
“Right up, Mate. No harm in that,” Jordan nodded. “So my gaffer says I’m to spell you for some free time this weekend. Pick up the goodies on Saturday and the stoodies on Sunday. I made this list based on what I observed from my own time on the course and what I figure you must have set back. Does this look about right?” he continued as he handed Bruce his notepad.
“What makes you think I’m going to let you do anything?” Bruce said as he kept walking.
“C’mon, Mate. You know your curiosity has got a hold on your jewels. Relax the grip, take a breath, and go!” Jordan said as if he were talking one of his college buddies into a no-thought required decision. “The richest person in Queensland inviting you and your squeeze to a private weekend at her country estate? And you’re ‘thinking about it’?” he even added the air quotes for emphasis.
“I’ve got a business that’s boomin’ right now, and I don’t need to go messing that up for some random whim from a person I’ve only seen on casts!” Bruce said, sounding as if he were trying to convince himself.
Jordan grabbed Bruce by the shoulder and stopped their downward walk. “Here,” he said as he pushed the notepad into Bruce’s hands. “You don’t see anything on the list you want, let me know and I’ll get it. You don’t trust me to show up? Tell your sheila, or whoever is unloading with you this weekend, that if I show by 11:00 am tomorrow morning at your school with exactly what’s on the list, she gets the day off and I’ll unload everything myself. You get calls from any students who aren’t escorted gate to door from the airport to your lodge, she still has time to get them without having to put in any extra time, and I can guarantee you my gaffer will have me fired in less than five minutes from hearing about it.”
Bruce looked at the notepad. It had all the food and gear supplies he would get for a course, and a few extra goods he could use to restock his supply cabinet, like some extra ropes and rappelling harnesses.
Bruce paused and then handed the notepad back to Jordan. “The list looks good.” Another small pause. “OK, but if you are late whatsoever, I’ll hear about it and will ask Ms. Abbe to follow through on your unemployment.”
Jordan smiled and took his notepad back. “Here’s my commguid. Send me the names and flights of the students by 17h00 today, and enjoy your weekend, Bruce!” Then he bounded off down the hill.
Bruce checked his own commblock to see where all the students were at, and went off in the direction of Mr. Watanabe’s signal to nudge him back towards where the transbus would be waiting.
Once back at the transbus, he pulled Darla and Jerry aside before they boarded with all the students.
“You wanted to know why I’m acting all weird?” Bruce said to his co-instructors. “I got a call out of the blue about a deal that could really be big for us. But I’ve got to go talk to the business owner this weekend. So I’ll need to leave you in charge of prep for the next course, Darla.”
“Why stick me with it?” Darla said. “I thought Jerry was the more knowledgeable one about your operations?”
“Well, good news there.” Bruce replied. “This outfit is having someone buy all our kit and stock it for us, so once you’ve confirmed he shows up tomorrow with the goods, you can ship off for the rest of the weekend.”
“And the weekend pay?” Darla asked.
“Yes, you’ll get the full weekend pay” Bruce answered.
“So who do I expect?” Darla continued.
Bruce sent her Jordan’s comm information. “He was one of our courses a few sessions back.” Bruce told her “but I don’t exactly recall him.”
“Oh, I do!” Darla said, raising her eyebrows in interest. “I guess I could make this work.” she said with a grin as she turned to get on the bus.
Bruce turned to Jerry, who gave one of his signature shoulder shrugs in reply.
A few hours later, Bruce returned to his home to find Jamie waiting for him outside, next to an on-call transpod. “What’s this for?”, Bruce asked.
“No time for questions, B. Toss your things in the back and let’s go.” Jamie replied.
“But I’ve got to pack, and…” Bruce started.
But Jamie interrupted. “I already packed for you, dear. We leave now and you can still get back in time to shower and change into the outfit I’ve laid out for you before we head out to Wondecla.”
“Leave? For where?” Bruce asked.
“We can’t show up as guests without a gift for the hostess! Now get in, we’re going to spend some of that money you’re getting paid this weekend” Jamie said and gave Bruce a shove towards the transpod.
By 7:30 pm, Bruce and Jamie had returned home and were nearly ready to go when a swank transpod showed up in front of their house and notified them of its arrival. Within 45 minutes, the transpod was pulling up to a gate blocking a nondescript gravel side road. The gate opened as the transpod slowed and turned down the path, and then closed again once they had entered. Bruce and Jamie looked at each other with curiosity.
The transpod pulled up in front of a moderate size, two-story stucco and clay brick building. And waiting for them in front of the building was the familiar face Bruce saw on the phone the prior day.
“Thanks for accepting the invitation, Bruce”, Ophelia said as she stepped forward to shake Bruce’s hand as they exited the transpod. “And you must be Jamie?” she said as she took Jamie’s hand coming out behind Bruce.
“Yes, I am!” Jamie said, “But I’m afraid Bruce hasn’t kept me up-to-date with all the information. And you are?”
“My apologies for being presumptive! I’m Ophelia Abrahams.” she said.
“Ah!”, Jamie turned to Bruce, still holding his guests handshake. “Ophelia!” Then back to his greeter. “I’m so pleased to meet you in person. Bruce did tell me he got the most interesting call from you yesterday.”
“Well, it was an interesting call for me to make, let me tell you. Oh please, Mr. Babbitt,” Ophelia said as she saw Bruce bend down to get their luggage. “Harriett will get that for you.” And Ophelia nodded her head towards the house just a bit out of the lights of the transpod. Another person jogged over to get the bags. “I hope you’ll find the cottage to your liking,” Ophelia said to Bruce and Jamie. “Esth, um, Ms. Abbe doesn’t like to show off by spending all her money on real estate. But I can assure you that the place is quite comfortable.”
Jamie quickly grabbed one item before the rest were taken away. “This is a thank you for helping get us here this weekend, Ms. Abrahams.” he said, offering the less-than-subtlely wrapped package to his host. “This is a lovely place. And if you call this a cottage, I can’t wait to see what the house looks like!”
“Hmm, I’m guessing two bottles?” Ophelia smiled.
“Well, one for you and one in case you wanted company,” Jamie said.
“Then let’s go inside and enjoy each other’s company”, Ophelia said and took Jamie’s arm to escort them inside.
Bruce gave a small grin while shaking his head back-and-forth, and followed the happy couple into the “cottage”.
At the end of the evening, Bruce and Jamie walked Ophelia to the door.
“Thank you for understanding Esther’s schedule. She had a business meeting run later than planned, and won’t be making it here til much later this evening. But I can assure you she is looking forward to talking to you tomorrow morning” Ophelia said, looking at Bruce. “Can you join us around 9:00 am for breakfast?”
“Sure, that’ll work,” Bruce said.
“Great! Just follow the path to the left of the cottage about a half-kilometer, and you’ll come right up to the breakfast veranda. We look forward to seeing you then. Good night!” and with that, Ophelia walked off into the darkness surrounding the cottage.
Bruce was jumping from limb to limb, from one tree to the next. Cassowary Satinash trees, he was thinking. It was amazing how he could jump so easily, as if the gravity wasn’t pulling at him as much as usual. And the sky looked a deeper blue than usual. Perhaps it was getting close to evening. He could feel the tree limb start to shake. An earthquake? In Queensland? And now one of the cassowary birds at the foot of the tree was growling. Probably afraid of the earthquake. Was it trying to talk to him, warning him to flee?
“Bruce,” the bird called.
“Bruce, wake up!”
Bruce opened his eyes. Jamie was on the edge of the bed, shaking Bruce’s shoulder.
“It’s 8:30, B. Time to get up!” Jamie said.
Bruce threw the cover off and propped himself up on his elbows. “8:30! Don’t we have to be there by 9:00? Why’d you let me sleep in so long!“ he said, trying to orient himself.
“I haven’t seen you in such a deep sleep in a long time.”, Jamie said, patting him on the arm. “It must be the dark, the quiet and this very comfy bed. Besides, you can shower and be dressed in fifteen minutes, so you have plenty of time. The main house is five minutes down the path.”
As Jamie predicted, Bruce was cleaned up, in the weekend outfit Jamie had laid out for him, and they were walking down the path by 8:45.
“This is incredible out here!”, Bruce said in awe as they walked. “You wouldn’t imagine it could seem this distant from society just off the road.”
“Well, perhaps you didn’t notice, but I saw lots of natural sound deadeners coming down the road past the gate last night,” Jamie explained. “She either picked a really good spot, or she knows her flora.”
“And there it is! The breakfast veranda,” he said as they rounded a bend in the path.
“Where?” Bruce said, looking around the general area where Jamie was pointing.
Jamie stopped, aligned Bruce to face due west, and finally pointed his finger forward in front of Bruce’s eyes. “There,” he said, “next to the waterfall.”
“Crikey!” Bruce whispered.
Jamie started walking down the path again. “Like I said, she really picked a good spot. Oh look, it’s Ophelia!” he said as he waved his arm in greeting.
Ophelia waved back and then disappeared off the left of the veranda, only to reappear coming down some stone steps on the side opposite of the waterfall.
“How did you find this place?” Bruce asked as they got to the edge of the pond where Ophelia met them.
“The house?” Ophelia said, “Oh, the property was in the family. It’s where, um, where Ms. Abbe’s grandfather lived.”
“He lived in this place!” Bruce exclaimed. “Amazing!”
“Oh, not the house. He owned the land. Ms. Abbe had the house built ten years ago.” Ophelia explained. “Well, she had them start building the house ten years ago. It took four years to get everything she intended in place. A lot of, let’s call it landscaping, had to be done.”
“Like the cypress and red cedars I saw on the way in?” Jamie offered.
“Well, I suppose. I’m not really a tree person,” Ophelia chuckled. “But I understand you might be, is that correct?”
“Yes, I teach at ACTA, if that’s what you mean,” Jamie said.
Bruce, who wasn’t really listening to their conversation, finished turning around to see the scenic layout, and said out loud “Amazing!”
They both turned to him, Jamie looking a bit embarrassed and Ophelia smiling. “The view is much better up on the veranda,” she said. “Please come up and you can enjoy a better view, and a coffee as well.”
“But how did this waterfall happen to be here? I mean it’s not like you can find a waterfall next to ground that you can build a house on,” Bruce asked as they started up the steps.
“Well, that was part of the landscaping I was talking about.” Ophelia explained. “Large-scale, industrial maeking is the fastest growing portion of Abbe Enterprises. We’ve got engineers that have finally worked out the mix of recycled goods to make the most in-demand material. Reinforced steel that doesn’t require mining for ore. Brick, granite, stone that looks like the real kiln-fired or naturally hewn block, but it’s fifty-percent lighter and meets typhoon building standards. I mean, if we had time, we’d actually be able to show people how sustainability can truly be achieved.”
“If you had time?” Bruce questioned.
“Well, you know, if things were on a different trajectory” Ophelia said, looking a bit flustered. “If everything hadn’t…”
“Good morning, everyone!” a voice declared from the door leading out to the deck. Out walked a tall woman, appearing to be in her mid-forties, with hair pulled up in a morning bun, wearing a light jacket over what appeared to be a walking outfit.
“Esther! I mean, Ms. Abbe, I didn’t see you come in!” Ophelia stuttered.
“My apologies for being late. I was out for a morning stroll.” Esther Abbe said.
“And what’s this “Ms. Abbe” thing, Ophelia? Are you trying to be coy?” she said as she came over and grabbed Ophelia’s hand. “We should all be comfortable here today, where – and who – we are. But then, look at me, being all rude. It’s hard to be comfortable with someone you don’t know. I’m Esther Abbe” and she offered her hand to shake. “Bruce?”
“Yes, I’m Bruce Babbitt, Ms. Abbe,” Bruce said. “And this is my fiance, Jamie Davis.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you both in person. And congratulations!” Esther said as she shook Jamie’s hand.
“We’re very excited to be here,” Jamie said with a definite note of glee in his voice. “Oh!” he exclaimed as he slid off the shoulder bag he had been carrying, and pulled out two items. “A token of our appreciation for the invitation here.” Jamie said, offering first a tall container.
“What have we here?” Esther asked as she started to unwrap the packaging. Ophelia, who could see the label as it was getting unwrapped covered her mouth with her hand.
Once unwrapped, Esther held the bottle of Cragganmore 2045 Single Malt Whiskey in front of her and with no real expression, looked at Jamie and said “How did you decide on this?”
Jamie, sounding a bit unsure of himself, answered, “Well, I looked up some casts to find one with you at a social gathering and saw you with a glass of Scotch. I thought you enjoyed it.”
“I am a Scotch drinker, which I don’t advertise. And this was distilled and bottled the year I was born. And from Speyside.” Esther said. “Here I thought I was the one doing my research.”
Bruce smiled and said “Well, Jamie, what about the other box?”
Jamie offered the second package to Esther, who took it and opened the bag carefully. Then she began to tear up.
“I’m sorry, are you allergic to it?” Jamie said as he reached out to take it back.
Esther said “I thought it was illegal to import plants from Europe these days?”
Jamie stopped. “We have a nursery of regulated plants at ACTA. I thought they wouldn’t mind if one of the Scotch thistles went to a new home.”
Esther sat down holding the plant. “If you put this much attention into other things, Jamie, then I certainly have found the perfect people and will do whatever I can to make my case.” Then she looked at the other three and, setting the plant gently to the side, said, “But that’s for later. Let’s have breakfast now. And thank you for these lovely gifts, Jamie.”
“Bruce helped pick them out as well,” Jamie quickly said, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Yes,” Bruce agreed, “I carried them out to the transpod. Jamie gets all the credit here, and it looks like you deserve it, mate.”
“Tell me the story of how you came across these items,” Esther said. Jamie shook off his embarrassment and talked for twenty minutes about their shopping experience the night before.
After breakfast, Esther nodded at Ophelia, who pushed her chair back from the table. “Jamie”, she said, “would you like to see the other flora we have here?”
Jamie looked at Bruce, who gave him a “Whatever you’d like to do” look. “That would be lovely,” Jamie said and got up to join Ophelia.
After they walked down the steps, Esther looked at Bruce and said, “Perhaps we can go on a tour of the grounds ourselves.”
“Is this the part where I find out why we are here?” Bruce said.
“Yes, I think you’ve been patient long enough,” Esther answered as she stood up. “Will you join me please?”
And with that, they walked down the stone steps and took a different path from the one Ophelia and Jamie took.
Bruce spoke first once they got down the path. “So is it me or my company you are interested in?”
“You,” Esther answered. “Or is there something required from your company that makes the outcome so special for your students? Something that doesn’t involve you?”
“Well, I’ve got great instructors,” Bruce replied.
“And did they come up with the course instructions?,” Esther delved.
“No, not really. They’ve added onto what I put together, but the course is mostly my ideas,” he shared.
“Is there any proprietary knowledge that you brought in from other sources?” Esther asked.
“Not sure what you mean,” Bruce responded.
“Did you pay anyone else or another organization for any of the ideas that you teach?”, she explained.
“No!” Bruce said emphatically. “I’m not going to teach something out of a book or a cast just because I saw it. If you want people to trust what you say, they have to be confident you learned what you’re talking about from personal experience. Everything we teach is based on my own personal experiences.”
Esther gently nodded, “Then, yes, it’s you I’m interested in.”
“For what?” he prodded.
“I’ll get to the point, Bruce,” she said. “I’m going to set up myself, and select family and friends with a place that will be ‘off the grid’. I’ve got the money, access to materials and equipment, real estate and the right people who can create a place that will be self-sufficient, and out of the way. But what I don’t have, nor do I know someone I trust well enough to provide, is the ability to live off the land, so to speak. Someone who knows how to make use of what nature has to offer, do it in a way that is sustainable over a long timeframe, and preferably in a manner which leaves minimal trace.” Esther looked over at Bruce. “That’s where you come in.”
“So you want me to be your permanent instructor? Why? What benefits do I get from being a teacher for one person? Or, the same group of people, week in and week out?” Bruce questioned.
“I don’t want you to be an instructor, Bruce. I want you to join the colony I’m setting up. You and Jamie. Everyone in the colony will have a job, a responsibility they focus on. Yours will initially be to help in the design of how the locations should be set up.”
“Locations? I thought you said a colony,” Bruce jumped in.
“Well, yes, it’s a colony of people, but like a flock of birds, we’ll have different places to nest.” Esther said “It will be less likely that we’ll be found if we don’t always stay in one place.”
“Found by who?” Bruce asked.
“I think you’re being oblivious or naive, Bruce. And it’s giving me some second thoughts.” Esther said sharply.
“Look, you’re the one who asked me to come out here and who wants me to be part of your permanent summer camp!” he said in return. “I should be the one having second thoughts about coming out here, based on what I’ve heard so far.”
Esther stopped and turned to Bruce. “I’m sorry. I guess in my position I’m not used to someone asking so many things and questioning my line of thought. Please accept my apologies.”
Bruce nodded but left his arms crossed.
“I’m not happy with how things are changing in the world,” Esther continued. “So much has changed in a little over two months, and I’m not sure if any of it is for the good.”
“You mean the aliens,” Bruce confirmed. “Go on, I’m listenin’,”
“Well, yes, the arrival of the aliens is shocking enough. But it’s what they want and what it’s doing to the people of this planet and our society that scares me the most,” Esther said.
“Their giving some people a chance to start over, is how I understand it,” Bruce responded.
“But where does it stop?” Esther asked.
Bruce didn’t answer.
“Here are some key facts that I’ve been paying attention to,” Esther began. “There are now fifty sites shipping people off the planet. Toowoomba just opened yesterday. I don’t think people here in Australia are getting it, but they will soon realize it when they see it happen on our own turf. How many people leave from each site?”
“Seems I recall about a thousand,” Bruce answered.
“One thousand people per week when a site opens up.” Esther clarified. “But there are five sites sending a thousand people away every two days, and another twenty-one loading up that many every four or five days. Do you know how many people have been lifted off the planet since the start of May?”
Bruce shook his head.
“Three-hundred thousand people so far!” Esther said urgently. “It’s averaging fifteen-thousand people per day this week. But that’s going to ramp up to over one-hundred thousand people per day by the end of September.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Bruce said incredulously. “Not that many people will want to leave that fast every day.”
“Who said they’ll be looking for volunteers the whole time?” Esther said. “I’ve got industrial contacts in China who found out the government is making plans to get two-thousand people delivered to each launch site every day once the elevators are up and running. And more than fifty of the eighty-one sites will have their elevators in operation, if they continue at the rate the first three went up. My estimates are that six-million people will have been shipped off the planet by the end of September.”
“Well, I can easily see six-million people on this planet thinking there is a better life for them elsewhere,” Bruce countered. “Just look at global immigration to see how many people want to pick up and move each year. Thirty-million people between countries was the last figure I read. And within countries, another two-hundred million are shifting within the country in which they live. You don’t think six-million of those two-hundred and thirty million think it’s worth it to leave this planet?”
“Good!” Esther said enthusiastically. “I’m glad you do know your facts!”
“Yes,” she continued, “six million likely do want to leave. But at the rate I’m estimating, there will be seventy-five million hauled off the planet by the end of next year. Are there that many people that want to leave on their own? And why would the aliens build all these stations and elevators just to use them for a short period of time? Wouldn’t it make more sense to build just a few and keep them busy shipping people up, rather than having all these mostly empty space elevators? Think about it, Bruce! They’ve got a lot bigger plans than looking for volunteers to ride their free transplanes when they want. And I don’t plan on being part of their experiment. I don’t plan on letting the aliens scoop me up and ship me off planet.”
“And how exactly do you plan to do that,” Bruce asked.
“I told you. We’re going off the grid. Completely.” she explained. “I mentioned the money and the equipment. We don’t want to do too much building, since construction sites and large constructed objects tend to solicit attention. There will be three sites: this location, some land in the Danbulla South Forest Reserve, and a lot at the base of Mount Phillips. This location may be the most exposed, but you’re not seeing the underground construction that has occurred. The Mount Phillips site will be all underground, with water access from the Emu Creek. And I’ve been able to, uh, acquire some land from the Queensland State Government in the Danbulla Forest. But the food and the maintenance of potable water, as well as the setup of acceptable living arrangements in the forest are beyond the expertise of anyone I both know and trust.”
“How do you know you can trust me?” Bruce asked.
“Because you know what you are doing,” Esther answered. “I trust people’s knowledge, which you have demonstrated over the course of multiple years with all of the training you’ve provided. And I trust someone’s sense of self-preservation, and I think yours will become quite strong once you think about this a bit more. Do whatever research you’d like on the current state of affairs and the trends I think are coming our way. I’ve got the highest-speed links and infoaccess consoles available back at the house. If you don’t trust the connection, use your own commblock. But I’m guessing that you’ve been so busy with your own business that you haven’t been paying much attention to the details of global affairs lately. I know I get that way sometimes when business is booming.”
Bruce just stared at her, but with a look that indicated Esther had made a proper assessment of his work style.
“Speaking of your business, I understand it’s doing better than it ever has, correct?,” Esther continued.
“Yes,” Bruce said.
“And you’ve got your courses filled for the next five months?,” Esther asked.
Bruce nodded.
“So how do you think things will go after that?,” she asked.
“I imagine I’ll do pretty well for a while, based on the demand.” Bruce offered confidently.
“How are they paying you?” Esther probed. “With money?”
“That’s a strange question from a successful businesswoman,” Bruce teased.
“I’ve got a point to make, Bruce. And if anything, I’m getting more serious as we speak, since I still am not sure I’ve convinced you to join me,” she said. “Your clients are paying you with money. Which you can use to buy supplies, food for your personal needs, pay your staff salaries, and save some back for your future. A future not just for you, but for Jamie as well, keep in mind!”
“So what will you do with the money in a year? I know I’m asking questions, so I’ll move forward with my point. I don’t think people will be using money in a year. We’ve been very removed here on our pretty little island, which is one of the nice things about being semi-independent from the rest of the world. But again, look into the global news. Three countries have had a change of government in the past month caused by a no-confidence vote in their respective parliaments due to how they are handling the alien arrival. Stock market indices have dropped eight percent in the past five weeks. Long-term bond rates have dropped even more, as investors don’t know how to factor happenings into their plans. Worker absentee rates have doubled beyond the norm in the past two months, more in those areas geographically within two-hundred kilometers of an alien landing site.”
“And all this is happening before the departure rate really picks up. Remember – 15,000 people a day now. It will double in two weeks with elevators starting to come on line. Triple in a month. In two months, it will be up to 75,000 people per day.”
Bruce interrupted. “You want me to ask, at what point will people still feel confident society can carry on?”
“Yes,” Esther admitted.
“Well, I guess I’ve got that covered, if it comes to it. I can make a go of it for Jamie and me.” Bruce said.
“You probably can, I admit,” said Esther. “But what happens when others won’t leave you alone?”
Bruce said nothing.
“I know I’m using a hard sell approach here, Bruce. I’ve got preparations I need to continue with, but I’ve got two spaces in our group just for you and Jamie. I’ll reserve them for a week, but will need to pursue other options if you can’t join us. Please stay here as long as you’d like. At least stay through lunch and explore the grounds some more. Ophelia will give you a tour of the underground area, and the excavation occurring there for our expansion.”
Esther paused, then, as they were approaching the end of the path and a clearing back to the house, she turned to Bruce. “Questions?”
“I do have one.” Bruce said. “What if I say no? What will you do since I know all your plans?”
“Nothing,” Esther answered matter-of-factly. “So you know I want to live off the grid? Big deal. I’m guessing most of your current clients are planning the same thing. But I can assure you this, Bruce,” she continued with her tone hardening. “If you try to take this information to the casters and make a big deal of it, I’ll deny your story. I already have other activities in play that will give the general population a completely different idea of my plans. And I will then proceed to destroy your professional and personal life after that.”
Bruce stopped walking. And, after a few steps, so did Esther. She turned back to face him.
“I mean you no harm, Bruce. I’ve made an offer for what I am convinced will be a safe future for our group. If you don’t want to join the group, I have no ill will towards you, as that is your choice. But if you intend to throw a spanner into my plans, you will have crossed the line.” Esther’s face was neither malevolent nor sarcastic. In fact, it didn’t show any emotion.
“Well, then, you’ve certainly given me a few things to think about.” Bruce finally said.
“I know,” Esther agreed. “And I apologize for the brusqueness of how this must be coming across. I am convinced we’re at a crossroads, and I need to follow the new path. If I delay too long, that path may close or at least become infinitely more difficult to follow. Please, let’s go back to the house and have another cup of coffee.”
Bruce began walking again, and Esther settled in beside him.
At the clearing, Bruce looked up and saw Ophelia and Jamie already back on the veranda. Jamie waved down to them. Esther motioned with her hand, not necessarily a wave. Ophelia got up from the table, said something to Jamie, and came down the stone staircase to meet them at the bottom.
“Bruce, can you stay through lunch at least?”, Esther asked.
“Ya, we can do that. We probably can’t order a transpod out here anyway, eh?” he said.
Esther chuckled. “Please stay as long as you’d like. But if you want to leave, the transpod that brought you here is waiting at your cottage. You can take that back to your home at any time. I hope you don’t mind if I talk to Ophelia about a few things before she joins you upstairs.”
Bruce could tell he was being dismissed, so he went up the stone staircase on his own.
Jamie looked at him expectantly and barely let him sit down before asking, “Well?”
“Well what?” Bruce answered.
“What did you two talk about?” Jamie asked.
“We’ve got a lot to discuss, Jamie,” Bruce said as he reached for the coffee pot.