The Rangers Are Coming

by Phil Walker

  Additionally a Special Education unit is being formed with duties that may not be directly connected to Ranger operations. The requirements of this unit are we are looking for brains, not brawn. An advanced curriculum of science, mathematics, engineering, and industrial design will be offered. Benefits are the same as Ranger duty, and the term of enlistment will be not less than fifteen years. For those individuals regardless of sex, race, or national origin, who believes they possess these qualities, interviews, will be conducted at the same time and place as Ranger enlistments.

  Robby was certain they would be very busy. He was not briefed on the “Special Education” element of the personnel search, but he suspected that Arcadia was engaged in a program to give the United States the edge in fields other than warfare.

  The next morning the Rangers who were assigned to recruit more Rangers met with First Sergeant Pierce. He was the senior non-commissioned officer of the detail. He pulled out the questionnaire to be used for questioning candidates. It was much the same as the one he had at his enlistment interview.

  “Remember men we are looking as much for character as we are physical qualities. Each one of us has paid a big price for the right to wear the Ranger patch. Think about that as you interview the candidates. Ask yourself the question, ‘would I feel comfortable with this man next to me when the going gets tough’.”

  Robby also met with the leader of the special education detail. He was a full Captain. “Sir, I read the ad. I assume you are looking for people who can stand advanced training to develop technology that will give the United States a trading edge over other countries. Excuse me for making assumptions, but based on my own education, the weapons we employ, and the advanced equipment we possess, I believe that there can be no other explanation than you, the rest of the permanent party, and especially Arcadia have come to us from some time in the future. It seems reasonable to assume that you will not just hand over this body of technology in whole to these students, but rather give them the tiny hints they would need to push our existing technology to the next higher level. My question, if you are able to answer at all, Captain, is how far into our future do you intend to push our technology?”

  “About a hundred years,” said the Captain. “Congratulations Sergeant, you’re only the second person to have reasoned out the reason for the existence of all this advanced technology. Of course, there is a good deal more to the whole story, and I can’t tell you that, however, now that you’ve gotten this far, we’ll enroll you in the same special education program. It will be very hard on you. General Compton has you pegged as a drill instructor for a platoon of new recruits.”

  “General Compton,” said Robby a little surprised. What about General Washington?”

  “General Washington is busy lining up his candidacy to become the first President of the United States at the election in November. There’s no question he will win, and he might have something special in mind for you. He likes you a lot, and will be thrilled when I tell him you’ve figured out the masquerade.”

  Almost 1000 men and women showed up for the interviews. Rangers went down the long line and determined which were there for Ranger interviews and which had come for special education. When the split was known, Robby and the Captain got together and determined how many people could be interviewed in a day. For the Captain, the interview time was 45 minutes, for Robby it was 30. They divided the groups by the number of interviewers they had, and made appointments for each of the people in the line. They passed out cards with the interview time and date written on it, and sent everyone on their way, to return at their appointed time.

  Then they started the interviews.

  The first man who came into the tent cubicle for Robby was cocky, certain he could beat any Ranger and was ready to get started. Robby thanked him for coming and said that if the Rangers had any further questions they would be in touch. The young man exited the tent.

  Robby was surprised to find how few real candidates there actually were. After a full day of interviews by him and the rest of the team, they had a group of less than 40 men. When he checked with the Captain, he found they had qualified even fewer, 14 men, one who was black, and 6 women.

  At the end of the six-day interview process, a repeat of what Robby had experienced, the Rangers had 267 recruits and the Special Education group had 89. Arrangements were made to transport all of them by Chinook the following month. The recruit detail went back to Fort Independence.

  Robby was astonished to find there were now two Forts. Both of them were identical in size and configuration and were ten miles apart. The new camp was called Fort Freedom. He had no idea how such a fort had been constructed and equipped in the month he’d been away. He suspected it was part of the time travel concept he had discussed with the Captain.

  Immediately on arrival, Robby was ordered to the office of General Washington. He reported and was ushered into his office. “Have a seat, Sergeant Pierce,” said Washington smiling as he shook his hand after they had exchanged salutes. “I understand that you’ve figured out our mystery. I was hoping you would be one of the few. I’ve always been impressed with your ability to solve puzzles and your intelligence. Actually, it’s something of a relief. How did you figure it out?”

  “That speech you gave me for the people of Concord,” said Robby, “It had such a depth of planning to it. I figured that someone had already seen this time in the future and had devised some way of coming to this time to change the future for an unknown reason.”

  As he was speaking, Arcadia came into the room. “Everything you suspect is true, Robby. Let me tell you a story. Arcadia told of the attack on the United States in her time of 2025, and the death of 150 million Americans. She said her family had always had a special relationship with God, and He had told her where the alteration in history would have to be made, and gave her the means to do it.

  “We built Camp Independence first in my time, and it was transported to this time. We also pushed four modern Navy warships into the past. They are three ships called Destroyers, and one submersible ship called a submarine. These are the ships that attacked and sunk the troop ships with British reinforcements. We then left one destroyer on patrol in the Atlantic and moved the other two and the submarine to the Caribbean to take on the French, the Dutch, and the Spanish warships. We sank a hundred of them. We didn’t sink any commercial trade ships. They were all permitted to land normally. We bombarded and destroyed all the important forts in the Caribbean and the Rangers moped up in Mexico and Central America.”

  “Everything we’ve done up to this point is to establish the United States as the largest country in the world. In the process, we interfered with the slave issue with our Foundation Company and the establishment of Emporiums as stores for the former slaves. It was a fundamentally better plan and more profitable for the plantation owners. This made it possible for us to get ratified the new Constitution for the country. It’s not completely the original. In the next 250 years, there are 30 amendments to the first one. We rewrote the constitution to correct the problems that the founding fathers had no way of anticipating, such as the question of slavery. We know in 2025, the country was divided by a terrible civil war with the death of over 700,000 Americans in a four-year war. Now that’s not going to happen.”

  “In fact we’ve already changed your current history. General Washington here had to fight the British for over seven years before he was able to defeat them. The country had a different set of laws to govern for several years after the Revolutionary War. We’ve erased all of that. Phase 1 of our plan is now substantially complete.”

  Robby had spent the last five years listening to powerful, thought provoking and very deeply religious sermons. Hearing her speak in this fashion was a true shock. All he had done and learned in his time with the Rangers now came into crystal clarity. “What is Phase 2,” he asked?

  “What do you think,” asked Arcadia.

  “If it’s important that we maintain n
eutrality, we must be secure from attack and superior in technology.”

  “Correct,” said Arcadia, “Why don’t we just hand over the technology to the people of America.”

  “America must make these improvements on their own,” said Robby, “Otherwise we would handicap our people in a way in which the general population would not have assimilated the information independently. Any breakthrough by any other country would make us weaker and vulnerable.”

  “I could not have said it better,” said Arcadia.

  “Therefore, the special education schools,” said Robby. “My guess is that you are recruiting only the very best in each of the fields you think are important. In their studies, the introduction of even the slimmest clue to a major improvement would appear to come from the American inventor.”

  “Also right on the mark,” said Arcadia. “How could you improve the entire system?”

  “You have already begun the process by educating former slaves. You need an educational system that is universal and provides a very first class education, with the best students fed into your special education program. If you do that, some of your students are going to come up with technology even you don’t know about.”

  “What are the dangers to this system,” asked Arcadia.

  “Technology will become like a religion in its own right. We run the real danger of losing our faith in God and the truth of Christ on the resurrection of sins by accepting him.”

  “Right again,” said Arcadia. “How would you approach that problem?”

  “I suppose I would begin by demonstrating to your special students that science does not kill God, but authenticates God.”

  “Exactly our intentions,” said Arcadia, “but there are risks to revealing the Genesis Code to our students. It’s rather advanced science.”

  “Assuming you can overcome that issue and keep America on track as a Christian country, what are your plans for building a trading empire of the United States?”

  “Excellent question, Robby,” said Arcadia. “We already know that the British are on the verge of an industrial revolution that will bring forth an avalanche of new technology. Our plan is beat them at their own game. If we can provide the products that will be the result of the Industrial Revolution cheaper than they can produce them, we’ll have a trading advantage. They will get all the results of our technology without us having to show them how we did it.”

  “The British are already having trouble feeding their population. How about exporting food products to them?”

  “That’s one good idea,” said Arcadia. “We also think there’s a market for steel goods, textiles, and transportation.”

  “You aren’t thinking of giving them a bunch of ATVs”

  “No,” said Arcadia seriously, “we think we can sell all the European powers new ships.”

  “They already have plenty of ships,” said Robby.

  “Not for long,” said Washington speaking up for the first time. The major European powers are very upset about losing all their holdings in North America and the Caribbean. Our ambassadors’ report there are secret meetings going on with the British, Dutch, French, and Spanish, to combine into a huge armada aimed right at us.”

  “If they send a thousand ships, can our Navy stop them?”

  “Unfortunately not,” said Arcadia. Some of the troop ships will get through and be able to land on our shores. That’s why we need another Brigade of Rangers.”

  “We will still win,” said Arcadia, “despite the loss of lives. It will leave the Europeans short of money, ships, and the ability to feed their people. We’ll demonstrate a Christian nation does not hold grudges and start doing all the things the Europeans can’t do for themselves. Of course, they won’t be able to pay for all this, so we will extend them credit. In the end, we’ll initiate a great trading relationship and with the Europeans owing us so much money, they will think twice before offending us again. Our neutrality will be secure.”

  “Does this solve all our problems for the future,” asked Robby?

  “Not by any means, there will be new issues and new problems beyond your lifetime, and these may not be in our history books. We might have to find new answers to new threats.”

  28

  Fort Freedom, Virginia

  The new recruits were pouring in. Sergeant First Class Robert Pierce watched them as they stepped off the Chinooks, wide-eyed over their first air flight. They were eager and excited, but also very apprehensive. Robby remembered his first impressions and understood the feelings. In his case, none of the men who came for the formation of the first brigade had any idea of what they had actually signed up to do. This bunch had read the extensive coverage the Rangers had received in every paper in the country. There were even a few eyewitnesses to seeing the Rangers in action.

  Robby had chanced upon Sergeant Thomas Seacrest, the man who first interviewed him in Boston a lifetime ago. He was now Sergeant Major Seacrest, the top non-com in the brigade and working for the new brigade commander, General Forrester.

  “You’ve come far, Pilgrim,” said Seacrest. “I’m proud of you. Now you’re going to have a platoon of your own to train. Who’s helping you?”

  “Sergeants Wilkins and Thomas,” said Robby.

  “Good men,” said Seacrest, “they’ll keep the lads on their toes. They are old hands at this kind of work. Don’t be too proud to ask for their advice.”

  “You can relax on that, Sergeant-Major, I hardly know what I’m doing here myself.”

  “New drill instructors have a tendency to coddle their troops too much. Don’t do it. Remember not all of your fifty men are going to make it through the training. You will lose about 20 percent, who just can’t cut it physically or academically. When we get out in real action, you’ll lose another 5 percent, at current numbers. Be tough, but fair, reasonable, but demanding. You’ll do fine.”

  Now the moment was upon them. He had 50 young boys standing in front of him in disorder. He walked out in front of them, his two sergeants flanking him.

  “Good morning, recruits,” he said. “I want you to line up in rows ten across and five deep. I want the shortest man in the front right corner as you face me, and tallest man in the back left row. Now move it!”

  The men shuffled around, Wilkins and Thomas used their batons to help the pokey ones move with a sense of urgency. When the formation was finally formed, Robby went back to the front. “This is the formation you will have anytime you are ordered to fall in. Try to remember who’s standing next to you, because if you get it wrong, you will have to pay a physical penalty in pushups.”

  “My name is Sergeant First Class Pierce. These are my bothers in arms, Sergeants Wilkins and Thomas. The three of us are Rangers. None of you are Rangers, and some of you will never be Rangers. For the next twelve months, you will be tested physically, mentally and emotionally. This is a volunteer army, you can quit and go home, whenever you like. In fact, we hope you do ring the bell in front of the mess hall and save us the trouble of having to write home to your family that you just got killed in battle because you were stupid, or got tired, or couldn’t stand the stench of a battleground. The first words that come out your mouth when you speak to us are ‘Yes Sir, or No Sir, Drill Sergeant’. Do you understand?”

  A loud chorus of “Yes Sir, Drill Sergeant,” came from the recruits.

  “I can’t hear you,” shouted the First Sergeant.

  The recruits screamed at the top of their lungs, “Yes Sir, Drill Sergeant!”

  “We are not officers, so in real life we don’t rate a Sir or a Salute, but you will see and take classes from a lot of officers who do rate both of those. We just want to make sure you don’t forget proper protocol.”

  “Now, the first thing we are going to do is turn you over to the medical people, who are going to vaccinate you for every disease we know about. After that, you’ll go to the quartermaster to draw uniforms and equipment. Then you will be assigned your quarters, two men to
a room, or two women, for you four. You’d better make up your minds with whom you are going to live with for the next year. After that, we will go to lunch. You will spend the rest of the day taking tests so we can find out who can read and write and separate you into classes. There is no shame in not being able to read and write. We guarantee you will be able to do both and a lot more before your training is over. Now we are going to march over to infirmary and get started. Move in single file, starting at this end and filling in when each rank has cleared.”

  The three sergeants ushered the recruits into the infirmary. When the last had entered, they relaxed, knowing that they would not see the recruits for several hours. They took the time to get better acquainted. “I’m John Wilkins, First Sergeant. Aren’t you the one they call ‘Hawkeye’”?

  “That’s me.”

  “It’s an honor to serve with you. Some of your exploits are legendary.”

  “If that were the case, I would be the General,” smiled Robby.

  “I’m Mathew Thomas, First Sergeant. I don’t need to be told about you, I was in Veracruz when Willis Grant got killed. You may not remember me I was just one of the troops, but you saved a bunch of us that day, and the way you handled that cavalry outfit was really smart.”

  Robby looked at Thomas, “I thought you looked familiar to me. I’m glad to have such a veteran in my staff.”

  The sergeants picked up their platoon as they emerged from the quartermaster’s building. They had all been to the barber and were completely bald. They were now dressed in fatigues, and looked incrementally more like soldiers. They moved the men to the barracks. The recruits had all doubled up and so the Sergeants let them have ten minutes to admire their new quarters and wonder at the lights, mirrors, large beds, running hot and cold water and the flushing toilets. They dumped their piles of uniforms and equipment. Instruction of how to square away a room would come later.