I felt old, closing in on sixty-five years of age. Madison had been ten years younger than me. Terri was only five years younger. She seemed much younger than that, but age was age. Mileage is what people saw on the outside.
When it was time, we all piled into the truck. Diane sat on Charles’ lap and Aeryn sat on Toby’s. They held the baby between them. I drove slowly, taking care. We didn’t have a baby seat, otherwise we would have used it.
I was getting lax in my old age, but then I thought back to the afternoon’s dessert. Maybe I wasn’t that old.
THE NEW COUNCIL
We had nine members on our Council and they were the governing body as much as one body could be. They were the legislature to my executive office. Our duties were all secondary to our day jobs, which were to provide for our families. The Council was a minor part-time job.
Chris was the president of the Council. Amber was there to take notes and Charles and Diane greeted her with hugs. She didn’t look old enough to be their mother as she was barely past her early thirties. She had her other kids and Charles and Diane settled in with them, each holding one on their laps while still holding hands. Lucas sat next to them.
Jo was at the big table and Emma was in the audience with the fully recovered Tony. He was back to being himself, but his interests had turned away from outdoor endeavors, and he was spending the majority of days in the restaurant. Becca was on the Council and Darren found a seat next to me.
“Bill and Maddie?” I asked. He pointed to the back of the room where Bill and Hermione each had one of Maddie’s hands and were swinging her. “The fact that Hermione has a boyfriend is draining the life out of our big friend.”
“He’s been over, and you’d think he was undergoing the trial of Job or something. They’re all growing up. All of them. Look at you, grandpa!”
“I have nothing to say to that, Darren,” I told him, then we made small talk about hunting and fishing. When Ben and Clarisse arrived, Ben joined us for a short while, but he was on the Council and had a seat at the big table.
Ivan Ivanov was on the Council, too. He rarely made an appearance, but I was happy that he was here for this one. Chris and I had worked up quite an agenda.
Abigail and Phillip arrived and both took their seats at the big table. Two newcomers, John and Devlin, people who came in the second group of homesteaders, rounded out the Council.
Chris called things to order, then briefed everyone on the developments with the Navy and the Russian military. He noted the countries that he’d called to get verbal support within the UN. There were a couple of questions, but we had no real answers.
And then Chris introduced me, whom everyone knew, so I could talk about our next steps.
“We’ve declared independence and we’ve taken the first solid steps to secure our future. Sumitomo is here for good and Valdez is in the process of rebuilding. The fishing industry is coming back strong because the trawlers have fuel and a demand. You should have seen the USS Gridley buying everything they brought in. The people were happy to be doing more than just surviving.” I paused to take a drink and look at Terri, whose smile encouraged me. Aeryn and Charles, both surrounded by children and people they loved. Friends old and new were in the chairs, listening patiently.
We were doing it all for them and they were helping us get there.
“We have to take the next steps as part of our independence. We have to show that we can govern ourselves, that we can be a modern nation. That means we need to establish more trade, competition, rules, taxes, oversight, laws. What I mean to say is that we need to be a nation governed by laws as adopted and supported by its people.
“Fewer laws and more engagement in the future of the country. That’s what we must have. I propose that we adopt the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights as our primary document. I can think of no better way. I’m not smart enough to rewrite something like that and make it last for the next two hundred and fifty years. I’d like to start with that and then we’ll work our way forward from there.
“We need a functioning federal leadership body. I won’t sanction a bloated government. At this time, just like when the United States was first established, government positions are all part-time and unpaid. We have to provide for our families first. I don’t see that as a task that the government will ever do. No matter how bad off someone is, there will always be something they can do to contribute.
“We need a President, a Vice President, a Secretary of Commerce, a Secretary of State, and an Attorney General. That will be plenty to start building what we need to join the other sovereign nations in the twenty-first century. I nominate Aeryn Nagy to be the first President of the Nation of Alaska. I leave the Vice President as her choice.” No one made a sound. Maybe they thought I was kidding. The first one to finally clap was Toby, who stood and then took the baby from her. Charles joined and then the cheering began.
I thought President was kind of a crappy job. All the responsibility, little authority, and everyone second-guessing every decision that was made. I felt guilty foisting it on my daughter, but she had the energy and the idealism to make it work.
“I accept!” Aeryn finally said. The council members smiled as the position wasn’t given, but it was Ben who stood up.
“If I understand the Constitution right, it puts age limits on the position of President. Since we have not voted on the Constitution yet, I suggest we table that vote and since I am fully in support of our candidate for President, I think we do need to modify the document. Let’s remove the constraints and do right by the people. What does a well-regulated militia mean? How would the tenth amendment apply if we don’t have states? What would an election look like when we don’t have a census of our great nation? There are many questions that I suggest we convene a tribunal to discuss and then recommend to this Council. In the interim, I move that we, the Council, select our first head of state to serve in a temporary appointment until such time as we can hold proper elections, whatever those two terms will come to mean.”
I’d spent time with Ben, who was usually soft-spoken, keeping his words to a minimum, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t wise. He and Clarisse were world-class readers. They used books to insulate their cabin. I was not surprised that he’d read the Constitution of the United States. I had not made the connection between Aeryn and age. It never occurred to me since I thought she had the most important qualifications for the job. Physical age was second to integrity and dedication.
And longevity. I knew that people there expected me to move into that role, but I was getting older and Aeryn had boundless energy and would have my full support. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is hand over the reins to the next generation, but they’ll be here long after we’re gone. And then they’d have to pass the reins on to the next generation, too.
Once the Council reestablished order, Chris announced that he would step down in order to commit his full energy to the Secretary of State position. I nominated my friend Frank, the most recent of all newcomers, to the position of Commerce Secretary, but his approval was tentatively approved pending his presentation before the Council. Despite my protests, Chris insisted that I take his position as Council president until a volunteer could be found.
Aeryn made the final announcement of the evening. She wanted Terri to be her Vice President.
After we changed positions and I took Chris’s chair up front, I looked out at the crowd and saw smiles and nods of support. I saw my friends, new and old, saw children who were mature beyond their years. Felt the energy of hope. These people deserved to live as modern people with a level of comfort beyond what they could carve from the world with their own two hands.
I raised the gavel, but then put it down and stood to address everyone.
“I thought when we drafted and delivered our declaration of independence that that was a banner day. It is to be remembered, but t
oday is the most important day in the rest of all our lives. Declaration Day was the time we said we’d had enough, but today, we finally say here’s what we’re going to do to move forward. We’ve established a vision of what better looks like. Electricity. Fuel. Food. We have scraped and clawed for the past decade for the things that too many take for granted. It is our duty to ourselves to raise our standard of living and give our children better lives, better Alaskan lives. You still earn your keep, but no one, absolutely no one should be on the edge of starvation. Look at us!” I waved my arm to take in the entire room.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have ice cream every once in a while?” Many snickered. The children had no idea what I was talking about. Charles and Aeryn had tasted a little when we were outside, but that was long forgotten. Booze and cigarettes? Those vices would come, too, but sometimes I just wanted a bowl of ice cream with extra chocolate on top.
“With a modern world comes modern problems. Drugs, crime, freeloaders. How do we limit the opportunities for those types? This is our challenge, to build a better world than the one we left behind. We know our neighbors, and I never want to lose that. I’m afraid of what the future holds, while at the same time I’ve never been more hopeful. I can’t be more proud of who we’ve become. Fourteen years ago when we established the Community of Chena Hot Springs, we lived to higher ideals, not because of any mandates, but because of who we were. We are now a thousand strong and living to those very same standards.
“I also have a secret to share. When Madison died, I was lost; a whole year disappeared from my life. I wanted nothing more than to die, but my kids kept me going. And then Terri came into my life. And then a son-in-law, a granddaughter, and a future daughter-in-law. If we bury our heads, life won’t notice as it passes us by. When we take our heads out of the sand, we’ll find that there are great things to see. When we reach for them, that’s what life is all about.”
I banged the gavel as I sat down, drained. It had been a long day.
A NEW PAIN
At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Japan happened to be one of the non-permanent members present. They submitted a resolution to forestall war between the U.S. and Russia, while at the same time presenting a resolution to the general assembly recognizing Alaska as a sovereign nation. Japan was proud to be the first, and surprisingly, the United States was second to recognize us as part of their posturing. Russia delayed and came in at fifteen.
When Chris reported that there would be no war, we were overjoyed. When the helicopter arrived at the airport with the Russian delegation, a security contingent of suit-wearing men jumped off first, then helped a large man down. I was there to meet them, with Chris. Aeryn wanted to come, but we advised against it; as the head of state, she didn’t need to legitimize the visit until later when we could take pictures and promote cooperation appropriately.
When I saw that one of the suited men was the colonel from the previous trip, I tapped the butt of my .45 as he watched. He opened his coat to show his shoulder holster as well. As Chris greeted the Russian, I went to the colonel and offered my hand.
“So we meet again, Governor,” he said, clearly wondering why I hadn’t greeted the politician.
“I’m nobody now. He’s the Secretary of State and the one you need to talk with. The President is currently engaged in delicate conversations but will meet us later. So, I’ll hang with you, make sure you don’t get into any trouble, Colonel.”
“As you say, I’m nobody now,” he replied with a snort. I slapped him on the shoulder.
“Let’s go see what our masters have in store…” I told him as we walked to our truck.
Russian negotiating was not unlike North Korean negotiating. The first thing they put on the table was a cooperative defense agreement where they had nearly unlimited access to Alaskan territory for a guarantee of protection. The sheer audacity of the proposal was intended to make everything else look reasonable.
Chris smiled warmly and, without opening the proffered packet of papers, he pushed the entire package back to Minister Primakov.
“We appreciate your kind proposal, Igor, but we are not entertaining any defense agreements at this time. Please don’t take it personally. I have to tell you that the Thai Marines and the Philippine special forces were equally put out at our denial.” I knew that wasn’t true, but appreciated how smoothly Chris rebutted the foreign minister.
“We would like to propose a cooperative group to meet and discuss certain trade issues that we think would be mutually beneficial,” the minister said in his heavy Russian accent.
“We would be more than happy to host a small contingent, but such a visit would entail the requirement that they be self-sufficient. They need to bring enough food and supplies for themselves. You see, we currently do not have a hotel or any accommodations for foreign delegations or even casual visitors. But soon, with the help of your country and others willing to invest in us, we will rebuild from the devastation of that attack so long ago, but still held tightly in the memories of those who were here to experience it,” Chris added with a bit of frost. He wanted the Minister of External Affairs to be well aware that any Russian agreement would be the very last under consideration.
“At some point, I hope we can put that nasty business behind us. Those men who ordered that are no longer in power, and many are in jail,” the minister said, studiously avoiding an apology. Welcome to the world of diplomacy where the unspoken was as important as what was said.
Chris didn’t miss it as evidenced by how hard he clenched his jaw.
We wrapped up the conversations and escorted the minister back to his helicopter. I waved goodbye to the colonel and expected that I would see him again.
Chris set no date for any cooperative group conversations, and we didn’t bother having Aeryn meet him. As the helicopter was flying away, Chris raised both hands to give it the one-finger salute.
“I gather you are enjoying your position as Secretary of State?” He gave me the finger, too. Floyd had been a trooper through it all, staying out of the limelight, but he was bored and needed to run, so Chris took the truck, and we walked back.
I had the satellite phone and called Frank. He was having a problem keeping up. Ships were showing up out of the blue wanting an offload schedule. We had almost no equipment of our own and little lay-down space to put new shipments. Plus we had no agreements for any of it.
Frank was getting frustrated, even with the help of a number of the Valdez residents. Frank suspected that ships were using any ports they could find and setting up illegal operations, homesteading even.
I was appalled at how quickly things were going. I wanted to talk with the President about what to do; make recommendations. She’d listen to me, but she made her own decisions. I could not have been more proud.
It felt like I was walking uphill, although I was on the level. Then the world started to spin; I could see myself falling, but there was nothing I could do about it. My hands stayed at my sides as I banged my head into the concrete, and the sparks were quickly replaced by darkness.
A moment later, I was lying on my back and Colleen was looking at me. I tried to get up, but firm hands held me down.
“Chuck, I need you to relax and be calm. You’ve had a heart attack, and then you banged your head on the ground pretty hard, so you have a concussion, too,” she said slowly and clearly. I could hear her just fine. We were in her clinic. Aeryn was there as usual. My head hurt and the room started swimming. I couldn’t help it as I leaned over to puke, but I was restrained. I heaved, but it couldn’t go anywhere. I started choking, then everything went dark again.
When I awoke, I thought it was night. I blinked my eyes, hoping to see light. I wondered if this was it, but then I heard beeping from a heart monitor next to the bed. I was no longer restrained, but I had an IV. I didn’t feel like moving. I sat up, carefully, using the side r
ailing on the bed to support myself.
“Chuck?” Terri’s voice came from the darkness. She sounded like she’d been eating gravel.
“I’m here, lover. You’re not getting rid of me yet. How long has it been?” I heard curtains being moved aside, three different sets before the light shined in. I saw the green of the outdoors. “A drink?” I asked
She looked tired and much older than when I saw her earlier that morning. She poured water from a pitcher into a plastic glass. My throat was parched. My leg hurt. My chest felt weak, like I’d had an asthma attack. She leaned into the hallway of the small building and called for Colleen.
There were a few hurried footsteps and she arrived with Aeryn in tow. She listened to my chest, then pulled the covers aside and checked my leg where there was an incision that had been stitched shut.
“I don’t remember that injury, but things were kind of blurry.”
“Chuck, we’ve had you in a chemically induced coma for just over a month. It took that long to get a real doctor here with equipment to put in a stint; well, three in your case. That second attack scared us all. It’s good to have you back,” she added.
“Wow. A month. How’s my granddaughter?” I asked Aeryn.
“Madison is with her father and that big baby of yours you call a dog. He’s been howling and whining ever since. You know, you probably owe him your life. He made such a racket that Nikolai heard it from the warehouse and came to your rescue. And here you are, one month later, the first patient of our Doctors Without Borders resident physician,” Aeryn said proudly.
“Your doing, Madam President?” She bit her lip and nodded. “Hey, I get to sleep with the Vice President!” I blurted out.
Fury (End Times Alaska Book 4) Page 19
