We
soon arrive and drive up to a high and wide guarded gate. The Guards
open one
side of the gate and we enter onto a large estate landscaped with trees
that hide
the winding road. I hand Reuben the summary and he places it back in
the box
and locks it. We continue until we enter through wide garage doors that
open
into a building too large to be only a garage. The Chauffeur and Guard
get out
and open the doors for us and we get out; the Chauffeur takes the
clothing bag.
Reuben reaches into the car and pulls the two boxes across towards the
edge of
the door opening “Here you take these Willson.” The Chauffeur quickly
helps
Reuben change into a new shirt. I follow Reuben towards the other side
of the
garage holding in each hand a slightly heavy box by the top handles.
The
Chauffeur leaves with the clothing bag and the Guard stays with the
car. “So
what do you think Willson?” The question I dread. “I didn’t do all that
well
with literature in school but I think from the outlines there is room
for
character development, growth, and interaction. And it has teachable
moments.”
“If we had more time I would have let you read a script for a full
episode” he
gives me an amused smile. “The Family is away at a resort few people
know about
in High Centennial. There they will decide who will come to the Candidates Conference. It is held here
at the Compound a year or so before every major election. We will be
able to
look around at the Conference Center. I have not had too much of a
chance to explore it myself.” On the other side of the parking area we
come to a
double door and another Security Guard. “This is my new man Willson; we
are
here to place critical documents in the Secure Vault.”
So
Reuben and ‘My Man Willson’ go through the doors and get onto a small
motorized
cart and go down a hall and reach another Security Station counter next
to high
metal vault doors. We get out and Reuben tells the Guard something I
can’t
quite hear except for the words ‘attire’ and ‘associate’. The Guard
looks at me,
shrugs, and walks into a large closet. “You will attract less notice if
you dress
like the Associates.” Associates? The Guard returns with several dark
sets of
clothes he hands to me saying “you can change in the Guard Station rest
area;
one of these should fit.” And I follow him around the counter through a
small
door; the Guard leaves me to change. After I change I find that I am
dressed
completely in black except for a white pattern on front. The
long-sleeved shirt
has a hood. There are black soft cloth shoes and gloves. I silently
walk out
and Reuben says “here you have to pull this up” and he pulls the hood
up over
my head with my ears inside. He pulls at the top and says “now those
are even.”
The hood fits tightly and only my face is exposed. I feel the top of my
head with
one hand and find a set of pointed ears there. The Guard comes out
carrying a
small bag with my clothes and says “don’t forget your tail.” And then
much to
my discomfort, and his, he attaches the tail “be careful when you walk
that the
tail doesn’t swing around and knock stuff off the tables.” Reuben hands
me a
mask with a face that looks like a cat with a dumb pleasing smile “you
can wear
this hanging around your neck but pull it on when we are around other
associates.”
Other? I pick up the boxes again and walking carefully follow Reuben
through
the vaulted doors.
After
we leave the boxes in the Secure Vault we come out and get back into
the
motorized cart. I have to sit in the seat behind. “You better pull your
mask on
now.” This costume itches. As we move along I see ‘other associates’
dressed
like I am cleaning floors and silently hurrying back and forth. We
drive for
some minutes down another long corridor. “We are entering the
conference wings
now; we should be pretty much alone.” I pull down my mask and the cart
stops
and Reuben says “first we will see the Woman’s Sanctuary”. We look into
a large
ornate room where there are several round tables in the center floor
area and a
platform next to the wall with a longer table and chairs. On the wall
above the
platform is a sign We Vote where our Vote
Counts; Within our Families. At the back of the room opposite
there are
long wardrobe doors. And a door to one side that says Changing
Room. Reuben slides one of the doors and I see rows of
attire similar to mine, but for women. Most of the costumes are black
with the
white front, and a few are white and one is red. At the other side is a
set of
doors marked Women’s Hallway. And
then he says “that hall leads to the Conference Center we will see in a
while."
We
go back out into the corridor walk to the end and go into another large
room.
There is an ornate metal plaque that identifies it as the Mounting Area. The Family must have an
interest in horses. The
floor area in this room is highly polished and clear of any furniture;
there
are ornate wooden counters along three of the walls like in a barroom.
I see
large cabinets that have what appears to be polished leather saddles
and metal
hardware. And the whips used in horse racing. More because of the
horses they
have. There are photos of politicians on the walls. One is a photo of
Nation’s
Security Advisor Stuhl and on it written by hand ‘To The Family, I
agree in
Principle.’ Another photo shows LoneStar Vice Governor Snad with the
inscription ‘I do things all the same the next time.’ There is a large
bronze
tablet on the wall with lettering The
World is Evil and Out of Control; More Evil brings Order.
Smaller lettering
tells that this is ‘Stuhl’s First Precept.’ Following just below is The Correct Reaction to a Bad Situation is
to Make it Worse, and then ‘Stuhl’s Second Precept.’
I
follow Reuben towards a set of double doors that have a sign above Starting Gate Hallway. Reuben is speaking
softly now “this hall also leads to the Conference Center. You better
pull up
your mask.” The floor is actually dirt, soft dirt that has been raked
like at a
racetrack. We leave footprints as we walk. The corridor is about ten
feet wide and
has scuff marks on the wooden walls. It goes about sixty feet where we
enter an
open area under a sign Dismounting Area.
This
is a large but not a very large room for a conference center. We are
standing
on a wooden floor again and are off to the side of circular seating
like in a
theater. In front of the seating is a slightly elevated stage. A
Security Guard
stands by a small door in the corner up front next to the stage. At the
other
end behind the last row of seats is an open area. On the back wall
there are
heavy double doors and another Guard. There are more associates
cleaning and
polishing. As we walked in two immediately took rakes out into the
hallway. Two
others sweep and mop where we brought in dirt on our shoes. I say
quietly to
Reuben that the family must have a great love for horses. “Willson, I
have
never seen horses anywhere around here.”
Across
from the seating on the opposite wall there is a large glassed-in
seating area.
The glass is dark so you can’t see much inside. “That is where the
Women’s Hallway
leads so they can watch the events here. They will be mostly wives and
family.”
I ask if women are not allowed for the Candidates Conference. “There
are some.”
And then in a very low voice “the people that will be seated here will
be the
richest in the World, or they will be representing the richest in the
World. They
enter down a stairway from the Family Sanctuary upstairs.” The stairs
must be
behind the double doors in back. “I don’t think I will ever be invited
up that
far” he adds. I take a cleaning cloth and try to wipe off the last of
the dirt
off my cloth shoes. By now the associates have all stopped their work
and look
at me behind the same silly mask I am wearing. “Let’s get you started
back
Willson” and as we quickly leave the Security Guard opens the small
door by the
stage for us.
We
are in a hallway and another Security Guard walks up to us carrying the
small
bag with my clothing. “Thank you for coming Willson. I won’t be going
back with
you but we will get you home soon.” The costume still itches and I look
forward
to changing in the limousine on the way back. Reuben, the Guard, and I
exit
outside the building and on to a large paved area. I see what at first
looks
like a large motorcycle. But it has a round clear bubble protecting the
seating
and a propeller up on top. Before I can say anything the Guard pushes
me through
an opening in the bubble up into a seat, ties me in with several large
belts,
and puts my clothing bag on my lap. The same costumed Chauffeur gets in
next to
me where the controls levers are. Just before the engine starts Reuben
says “maybe
a New Ax will appear at some time
and
tell about all this” and he quickly turns and walks away.
Then
the engine is running and the Chauffeur is looking at the levers with
some
confusion. After starting to take some he nods to himself and takes
some
others. We come off the ground tipping over to one side and then the
other and
back and forth end to end and wobble up higher and higher. Then we
start
forward. I guess I get to keep the cat costume. I didn’t ask. The tail
makes it
uncomfortable to sit. I find I can look straight down from where I am.
I see
the roads we drove in on. I think about how it would be better to be
with the
rabbits down below and not where I am up here. If I get all the way
back home I
am going to think about how I make decisions from now on.
The
trip back does not take long and soon we are coming down rocking back
and forth
side to side circling lower and lower over Foothill. I realize we are
going to
land on the top of a building. I close my eyes and hang on to the sides
of my
seat. We bang down and bounce and tip a few times. As soon as the
helicopter
stops moving I get out of the belts and almost stumble as I run
carrying my
clothing bag towards the door to the stairway. I go through the door
and down a
few stairs into a hallway and see that I am in the same building and on
the
same floor where I had that first interview for the Nation’s Research
Center. I
am still dressed in the cat costume and now I have to go through the
building.
And it would be at the end of the work day when people are leaving.
I
pull up the mask again and walk like I belong there. I don’t see where
the
stairways are so I walk out into an elevator. It is almost filled and
ready to
go down. Right next to me is Pity Woman I first interviewed with. She
moves
closer to me and actually smiles. I am tempted to do several things. But so far nobody seems
much concerned that a
full grown man dressed like a cat is in the elevator with them and I
don’t want
to change that. I get to the street. It is hard to walk so that the
tail
doesn’t swing back and forth. A few people look at me and shake their
heads as
I go on towards the parking lot by the Library. I am happy we are on
The Coast
where people don’t carry guns around. At my car I manage to get the
tail off
the costume and pull the hood down off my head before I drive away. My
ears itch.
I leave on the street that goes under the bridge where I first saw that
woman
in the cat costume. I hope I don’t have any bad dreams about this.
***
(continued on Page 3)
Thomas McDonald, Arroyo Country, 2015 ©Contents