Chapter
Ten
Beta 0.5.1
The GundTech reps informed them the next step would be completion of the personal interview.
“Completion?” asked Rosa.
“Yes, we deliberately sought you out on a Saturday morning to get a feel for how you spend your time. We’ll also take this opportunity to talk with your parents, get medical histories, and the like. We would also like to arrange a time to interview you, Cameron, and your families all at the same time.”
“It’ll be difficult for us to leave…” Mr. Costas began.
The man smiled. “You won’t have to go anywhere — not physically that is.” The man looked at the roll of barbed wire on the ground. “It’s been years since I worked with my grandpa over by Gallup. Got an extra pair of gloves? I’ll give you a hand as we talk. The name’s Anderson. Max Anderson.” He extended his hand towards Mr. Costas.
“Bernardo Costas,” replied Rosa’s dad as he gripped the GundTech rep’s hand. “Call me Bernie.”
Throughout the day, the two reps talked with the Costas and Rush families and coordinated the joint interview. The following Saturday afternoon, they’d return and make a three-way multiCom conference connecting Oslo, the Rush house, and Rancho Verde.
The next week flew by in a flash.
Around noon the following Saturday, Max Anderson arrived, carrying a titanium case about the size of a small suitcase. Mrs. Costas greeted him at the door. “Hello, Max,” she said. “It’s nice to have you back on the ranch.”
“The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for having me early for dinner. The meal you cooked up last week brought back very fond memories of summers on my grandparents’ ranch.”
“That’s very kind of you. I suppose you’ll need to set up in Rosa’s room.”
“Wherever the most convenient multiCom port is located.”
“We only have one. The Holstiens, they own the ranch, put one in for Rosa. Her room’s back this way.”
She led the man down a hall towards the back of the house. “Rosa and Bernie will be home shortly. Ranch work waits for no one, you know. Well, here’s her little domain.”
“This room will be a little cramped. Would you mind if I installed a port in the great room? Don’t worry. It’s wireless… and it’s free.”
It was two o’clock in the afternoon, Wisconsin time, when Debbie White arrived at the Rush house carrying a similar case. Lucky for Cameron, his parents had the entire house wired with multiCom ports. Ed Rush, who was a freelance writer and editor, conducted his business from his multiCom in the downstairs parlor, which had been converted into a home office.
“Cameron’s at the range,” said Ed Rush. “He’ll be back at three. Where’d you like to set up? We have a multiCom unit in Cameron’s room - amazingly, he’s actually tidied up the place - or we have one in my office.”
“You don’t happen to have a port in the living room, do you?” asked Debbie White as she surveyed Mr. Rush’s office.
“Won’t you need the multiCom?”
“No sir, I won’t.” She
lifted the titanium case and patted it.
The interview was scheduled for
two-thirty, Rosa’s time — three-thirty for Cameron. Rosa
saw the set-up in the great room when she arrived home for dinner with
her dad. She wished Cameron could have seen it at the same time, but
she knew it would be another hour-and-a-half before Cameron got home
from his work. All during dinner she kept glancing through the archway
that separated the dining room from the great room. Her eyes focused
on a small black box, maybe six inches square. Is that is? It has to
be. But that small?
As he peddled down the street,
Cameron saw Miss White’s car parked in front of his house. He guided
the bike up the drive, did a moving dismount, and parked it in the garage.
Taking the back steps two at a time, he called out, “Mom, Dad,
I’m home.”
“Go up and shower,” said his mother from the front room. “It’s
already quarter after three.”
“Okay, Mom.” Cameron raced up the steps towards his room. “We’re going to be in Dad’s office?” he asked loudly as he whipped off his grimy shirt.
“No, in the living room,” came Ed Rush’s voice in reply.
The living room? That’s odd, thought Cameron as he stepped into the shower. Five minutes later, he rushed down the stairs, his hair still damp. He was tucking in his shirt when he entered the living room. Debbie White was seated in one of the two wing back chairs that faced a large, comfortable sofa. Mom, Dad, and Jenny were on the sofa. Debbie rose as Cameron entered the room.
“The man of the hour,” she said as she motioned to the empty wingback. “Have a seat.”
Cameron noticed a small black cube sitting on the coffee table between him and the sofa. He quickly turned his gaze toward the room’s multiCom port. There was a small device with a single green light glowing on its surface plugged into the port. He looked back at the black box. Next to it, lying on the coffee table, were five golden pins. His eyes widened as he focused on the GundTech rep. “Is it…”
Debbie White beamed. “IHT
Beta 0.5.1. The latest and greatest. Ready to go to Oslo?”
At twenty-five minutes past the hour, exactly, Debbie White and Max Anderson distributed the pins to the two families, attaching the last pins to themselves. With precise timing the great room in New Mexico and the living room in Wisconsin turned to gelatin. The families were informed they would soon find themselves seated in a large informal discussion area at the GundTech headquarters in Oslo. It was somewhat disorienting as their surroundings wobbled and dissolved into the IHT generated meeting place. Cameron likened the feeling to motion sickness.
As the image cleared, he turned to see Rosa seated in a soft, comfortable chair to his right. Despite all their multiCom visits, he was caught off guard by Rosa’s petite stature. To him, she was always larger than life. Cameron was not tall, by any means, but he guessed Rosa was at least half-a-head shorter than he.
Rosa had much the same impression. Unlike viewing someone on a screen, this made everyone so… How could she say it? So… human.
Rosa’s legs, which didn’t quite touch the floor, were swinging in nervous excitement. She was embarrassed when she saw Cameron looking at her dangling feet. Then she observed Cameron’s right knee bobbing up and down, displaying his own anxiety. They made eye contact, grinned at each other, and immediately relaxed.
To each viewer, everything in the IHT environment was shades of gray, except for the viewer him or herself. The room was vast, with high vaulted ceilings. A large, thick oriental carpet positioned in the center of the room’s hardwood floor defined the sitting area. This area was warmly illuminated by some unseen light source, but the rest of the room faded into blackness. Rosa and Cameron were seated at one edge of the carpet.
The Rush family was seated along the left side of the carpet, while Rosa’s parents were seated on the right. Directly across from the applicants was a natural wood table. Seated behind it, from Cameron’s left to right, were Debbie White,
Gwen Johanssen, and Max Anderson.
Gwen greeted her guests, “Welcome to Norway! How was your trip?”
Jenny Rush seemed to be unimpressed. “Fast,” she said, “but airlines serve peanuts.”
Cameron’s mom was flabbergasted. “Jenny!”
Someone laughed in the darkness behind the table. It was a hearty, man’s laugh. Cameron squinted, trying to see the man in the shadows. All he could make out was the dim shape of a large man with pale hair seated outside the circle of light. Gray hair, maybe? It was hard to tell since Cameron’s view was not in color. Were there others in the shadows with this man?
Gwen Johanssen glanced over her shoulder, in the direction of the man, and began to laugh also. Soon, everyone was laughing, including Mrs. Rush.
– End Chapter Ten –
