The Two Worlds of Billy Callahan

by Richard Friedman

  Dr. MacIntyre moved closer to the orb and placed Billy’s middle finger on the slight indentation that was the third of such indentations on each side of the strange device. Billy touched all three spots on the orb in the Negev.

  The nurse switched the monitor control to the channel that connected to the lead wires running from the green wire on Billy’s headset. She took turns placing Billy’s fingertips on a combination of the indentations on the orb, hoping to find that right sequence that might produce magic.

  The first hour passed with nothing. Each failed experiment dejected the gallery.

  They were halfway through the myriad of possibilities when a glimmer of hope filtered throughout the crowd.

  The index, middle, and ring finger of Billy’s right hand were set on the right side of the orb. A low, steady thrumming emanated from within the silvery metal.

  Heads popped closer to the window from the gallery as the throng searched for any visual images on the monitor. They didn’t have to wait long to get their wish.

  The screen on the monitor populated with a string of zeroes and ones. Four more computers helped facilitate the increasing data flow from the orb.

  There was no break between the digits and the stream of numbers ran continuously for the next sixteen hours, before stopping as quickly as they had begun. Dr. Macintyre stayed in the room, stepping out briefly only to use the restroom. He placed a call to the White House and relayed the possibility of good news to the President.

  “Mr. President, MacIntyre here. I hate to disturb your New Year’s Eve celebration, but I believe you have an extra reason to celebrate this year. We’ve had success with your boy Billy. We don’t understand exactly what we’ve got, but we’ve got something out of that metal orb. (pause) Yes sir. (pause) You’re welcome. It’s been an honor. Goodnight, Mr. President.”

  The nursing attendants rushed back into the room and detached the wires and electrodes connected to Billy. He was free from the orb a second time. He remained sedated and his status was indeterminable.

  “Dr. MacIntyre,” asked the head nurse, “How long will it take until we know if he’s sustained any damage from being the liaison with the orb?”

  “Who knows? We’re all on uncharted waters here. Perhaps someday the world will thank him for saving us.”

  The nurse turned and began wheeling Billy away to the recovery area. She stopped, turned, and asked the doctor, “Who is he saving us from?”

  “Why, ourselves, of course…ourselves.”

  CHAPTER 42

  January 10, 2061

  Billy awoke to the fragrance of a woman’s perfume. He thought he was dreaming. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he focused on the guest sitting next to his bed.

  “Nurse Corley? Where am I? Am I back in the Keller Institute? Jesus, they connected me again didn’t they? I never gave them the right to do that! That’s not fair! What in the heck are you doing here? How did you…”

  She tried to calm him down, “Shhh. Slow down, Billy. Take it easy. You’re still in the capital. Nobody is taking you back to that awful place. Don’t ask any more questions for now. You should rest. You gave me quite a scare again. You were out of commission for less than two weeks. I see you’ve been up to your old tricks again. When they asked me to come here, no, check that, actually, I was told that I had to come here, and be your nurse while you recuperated. So, here I am. And let me tell you, these guys pay a whole lot more than that stink hole did in Cleveland. I would have come for free, so the money’s a bonus.”

  “I want answers! You have no idea what I’ve gone through with this president.” Demanded Billy.

  “You’re right, and we’ll have time to talk about that. I’ll tell Dr. MacIntyre that you’re awake. He’s anxious to speak with you,” Nurse Corley wiped his forehead with a cool cloth.

  “I do not want to see him...ever! I might try to strangle him. It’s great to see you. I apologize for the things I said when I left Keller. By the way, have you seen Greg? I’m worried about him. This is my fault. He should have left me to rot away and none of this would have ever happened to him.”

  “Apology accepted. Let’s not go there. Greg did all those things for you because he’s your friend, and you needed him. I wasn’t aware that Greg was here, too. I’ll try to track him down for you.”

  “Good luck with that. They shuffled him out of that meeting in a hurry when he disagreed with President Dodge. I’m worried about him.”

  “He spoke to the President? The President is going on the TV in ten minutes. I heard it was going to be a big announcement.”

  “Dodge told me I was going to save the country. I don’t trust him. He’s crazy. He wants to start a war with China. We have the ability to fix so many problems and Dodge is on a power trip. The teacher told me we didn’t have a lot of time. It’s hard to say how much. Time is a funny thing where I’ve been. It doesn’t translate in a logical way. I thought I was going on a worldwide tour to save the world, and the next thing you know I’m back in a hospital bed. I’m too old for this. I remember being strapped in, and I was yelling at some doctor, and now, you’re here in my room. What if the information inside of my head is going to help the President destroy the world instead of save it? Talk about a guilty conscience!”

  Corley smiled, “I did overhear someone talking about you being connected to that precious Orb of yours. So it actually exists? I suppose I owe you a great big apology. I’m stunned. I saw you on television during the Green Party convention. You were amazing. I was so proud of you. I wanted to tell everyone that you were my patient for all those years, but you know, with all the privacy laws, I just stood back and watched you take over that arena. You were a star that night. Then you disappeared. What happened to you?”

  “Let’s just say that the President went the extra mile to keep the Green Party down. This room is probably bugged and I don’t want to say anything that will get you or Greg in trouble.”

  Corley lifted the lamp on the nightstand and turned it over.

  “I don’t see any hidden cameras or microphones.” She smiled. It lifted his spirits immensely. “Are you in pain right now?”

  Billy ran his fingers up and down his body. “I feel tired, but nothing hurts. I don’t recall seeing the orb or touching it again. Thank God for small favors. I trust the scientists were able to figure out what that orb is all about. The teacher said that was important.”

  Corley swiveled the television set so Billy could see the screen from his hospital bed.

  Cable and satellite affiliates stopped their regular programing to switch to the signal coming from the White House. A stoic President Dodge came from the left hand side of the screen, and strode to the lectern.

  “Good day my fellow Americans, 2061 will go down as the year that America reclaimed her title as an energy independent nation. We haven’t been able to say that in a hundred years. As many of you are aware, tensions in the world are high. The battle for control of our planet’s natural resources has reached an impasse. The Chinese, the Russians, the North Koreans, and the countries in the Middle East, have chosen to play hardball with us. They’ve driven up the price of oil to levels never imagined by our parents’ generation.” He stopped to take a sip of water, and pressed on with his speech. Small beads of sweat formed above his eyebrows. He grabbed his handkerchief and wiped them away.

  “In recent days, we have made remarkable advancements in our technology to penetrate the earth’s crust safely. Yesterday, I authorized the United States Navy Pacific fleet to secure an area where enormous oil deposits have been located in the Pacific Ocean. Our flotilla is en route and will be in place within the hour. We’ll use any force necessary to build, extract, and protect our interests in this region. My first responsibility to the people of the United States is to protect you. Protecting this new massive oil field will assure our energy independence for decades to come, and will bring a surge of growth and prosperity not seen in this country for years. Once the technology is fu
lly developed, and the Pacific field is running at full capacity, the United States of America will lead the world in oil exports. The United States of America will set the price for crude oil. This deep core drilling technology will allow us to supply oil for the citizens of the United States of America until which time newer renewable sources become more affordable. To the leaders of the rest of the world I make this pledge…Do not mistake this declaration as an idle threat. I do not make idle threats…”

  Billy flashed back to the scene in his head when he was in the building where a hostile Talath swore he did not make idle threats either.

  Billy turned to Corley, “We’re screwed. The President has lost his mind. He’s taken the information from the orb and is using it for evil. He missed the point entirely. I gotta try and convince him to stop this madness. That drilling will ruin the planet. That will lead to more fighting. You can’t send a bunch of ships in the middle of the ocean and not expect other countries to do something about that. He should be using the orb to build peace that will support this world, not to drill for oil. It’s all explained inside the orb.”

  Corley cocked her head, “Right or wrong, cheap oil will guarantee prosperity.”

  “And our destruction! You don’t understand. They’ve tapped into my memories. They downloaded the information from the orb, and saw the machines that drilled deep within the earth’s core. It will ruin everything. Why don’t they see that?”

  Billy threw his arms out in disgust, “Oh my God, how can the President be so dumb!”

  “He’s not being dumb. He’s trying to keep us in power. You told me about the people you met that let power corrupt their ideals and choices. That still happens in the real world. You’re getting a dose of it from the President.”

  “I’ve got to stop this madness!” said Billy. He stumbled out of bed and headed to the door. Two muscular arms greeted him as his feet hit the hallway.

  “Please get back in the room,” declared one of the guards.

  Billy eyed the rifle on the man’s right shoulder. He retreated to the room and slammed the door shut.

  “Assholes! You’re a bunch of God-damn assholes following orders like you don’t have a brain of your own!”

  CHAPTER 43

  January 14, 2061

  There was a knock at the door. Two armed guards entered Billy’s room carrying a package of clothes and escorting Greg.

  “Get dressed!” yelled one of the guards.

  Billy jumped up, “Greg! Where have you been?”

  The guard tossed the clothes on the bed.

  “We’ll be back soon. Hurry up, and get ready.”

  Greg and Billy spent the next few minutes catching up. The government held Greg in another part of the building. He was well cared for, but prevented from leaving the building.

  “This is total bullshit, how can they keep us locked up like this?” fumed Greg.

  “Easy Greg… the President is a nut. I’ve seen men like him before.”

  Greg shook off the remark, “Where have you seen a nut like Dodge?”

  “On Tenegraw. When that type of man gets power, they get all crazy in the head. Our President is at the top of the list. I overheard a rumor they’re shipping me out of the country, or even killing me!”

  Greg shivered in horror, “They’re not going to kill you for God’s sake. I’ll make sure I tell everyone what’s happened to you. The President can’t get away with this abuse of power.”

  “I give them this amazing gift, stuffed inside my head, and they’re going to turn it into new weapons that are made to kill people, or destroy the world,” said Billy.

  Greg remained in disbelief, “Can you believe the incredible path our lives have taken and now we’re sitting here, unaware of what will happen next to either of us.”

  “I hope we do it together. It wouldn’t be right to split up now.”

  “We can’t split up. I’m your legal guardian.”

  Nurse Corley entered the room with the armed guards. The behemoths dwarfed her. Her tiny body, all 120 pounds of it, almost disappeared between the men.

  Billy hoped her smile was a positive sign.

  “Good news, boys. I have a message for you from the President of the United States.”

  “What does it say?” asked Billy.

  “Dear Mr. Callahan and Mr. Miller, on behalf of the citizenry of the United States, I wish to thank you for allowing us to tap into the orb and gain indispensable information that will propel the country into the future. Our prosperity and the ability to make the world a safer place are due to your assistance. We are just scratching the surface of the lessons buried within the orb. Mr. Miller, preparations are in order to fly you back to Colorado, and Mr. Callahan, we needed you for more decommissioning at our McMurdo station. You’re flight leaves in the morning. Take care gentleman, and God bless the United States of America.”

  The taller of the two guards could tell by their lack of response that neither man knew where McMurdo station was located. He spoke for the first time.

  “You better dress warm. McMurdo is a little chilly in the winter.”

  “I’ll handle it just fine. I grew up in the Midwest, I know all about winter and snow.”

  The guard busted out a laugh that thundered down the hall.

  “You have no idea where McMurdo is, do you?”

  Billy bowed his head, “Not exactly, somewhere I cold, I suspect.”

  “It’s in Antarctica!” screamed the guard, “It’s the southernmost tip of the world. The average temperature in October is five degrees above zero.”

  “You’re finally going to get to Antarctica, too bad your father isn’t here with you,” said Greg.

  “He’s always here with me,” said Billy, touching his heart. “I’ll take his passport with me, that’s the least that I can do. I must have pissed off the President if he’s sending me all the way to the end of the world. I know you care what happens to me, but don’t come with me, Greg. That’s crazy, go back home to Ballard.”

  Greg declined.

  “I signed up to be your guardian. It’s like the marriage vows, in sickness, and in health, in good times, and in bad. Well, I’m sick as a dog, and times are bad, so we’re stuck with each other a little longer. I am going to need a warm pair of long johns.”

  Billy stared at Nurse Corley, and become aware of the tear in her eye.

  “What’s up with the tears? You’re busting out of here, too!”

  She wiped away the tears, along with part of her mascara that lined her brown eyes. “I always wondered when our paths would come to a conclusion. Taking care of you was a passion of mine. I prayed at night for God to take you to heaven or let you wake up. It wasn’t fair to keep you there month after month, year after year. You woke up, and we see how that ended…I’m still here with you, but I think this is the end for us. I barely know you and yet… I’m going to miss you, you crazy old man.”

  “Hey, I’m not crazy, remember, they did find the orb. You could come with us. We’d be like the three Musketeers,” he said, smiling at her.

  “I’ll pass, I’d rather return to my house in Cleveland.”

  She hugged both men goodbye, turned towards the door, and was gone.

  “I guess that’s that, huh? Too bad, I liked her,” said Billy.

  “Lovely girl, cries too easily for me, but cute,” said Greg.

  The talkative guard offered one last comment before he left the room.

  “The only females near McMurdo Station are polar bears. I prefer my girls with a little less hair. I’d have tried a little harder to get that cute piece of ass to come with you guys. The two of you and 400 male scientists sounds like a party for a bunch of queers,” he smirked, pleased with the thought of the older men spending time at the ice bound station without any women.

  The other guard chipped in, “He’s wrong about the 400 people. They moved most of them out of there last year. Only a hundred or so people are there today and more are coming home tomor
row. It’s going to be rather lonely down there.”

  Greg scoffed at the man. “You’re an idiot; polar bears live in the Arctic, not the Antarctic.”

  CHAPTER 44

  January 17, 2061 - Durango, Colorado

  The recent snowstorm dumped eleven new inches of snow on Durango, Colorado. Ballard Miller clicked off the snow blower and watched a military style vehicle pull into his half cleared driveway.

  Two men dressed in Navy blues exited the vehicle. The falling snow began to accumulate on the driveway.

  “Are you Ballard Miller?” asked one of the men.

  “I am. What’s this all about?”

  “It’s regarding your father, and the man he was guardian for, Billy Callahan.”

  Ballard didn’t miss the morbid use of the word “was” in the man’s statement. A million thoughts rushed through his head.

  “They weren’t in the Navy? If something happened to them, they wouldn’t send the Navy, there must be a mistake.”

  “Sir, I’m afraid we’ve been sent to relay news of their passing. On behalf of the President of the United States of America, he sends his condolences. This letter will explain what happened to your father. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

  The second man gave Ballard an envelope.

  “I’m sorry, but I need the letter back before I can leave your property. I’ll wait in the car, but my associate must come with you to make sure you don’t make any copies of the letter.”

  Ballard walked in a fog back inside the house and opened the letter. It had the presidential seal at the top of the paper. Ballard sat on a kitchen chair, his boots dropping piles of fresh snow on the tile floor, which turned to pools of water that grew with his tears. The second military man took his position under the archway between the kitchen and the family room, not too far from the ancient picture of Greg and Billy showing off their broken arms.