The Gift (19 page)

“No. He left right after that.”

“Sara, I know this is difficult, but it is also very important. I have to step out for a minute. Please think about where Sam could have gone. Are you sure I can’t get you something?”

“A water, please.”

“Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Please don’t leave the office.”

Web walked out of the office and toward a guard he’d had stationed down the hallway. “Have someone bring her a water and make sure she doesn’t leave my office.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Dan saw Web approaching the conference room in which the team had been discussing finding more people willing to accept gifts. He’d been on his way to tell his team about the opportunity to volunteer for a gift, but decided to take advantage of the chance meeting to save some time.

“A moment of your time, Colonel?” Dan asked.

“All right, but please be brief. I’m in the middle of something.” Web replied.

“We’ve come up with a plan to complete the team needed to activate the EG and I need your permission to release the required gifts.”

“What’s the EG?”

“Oh, sorry, that’s what we’re calling the Maker's data store. It’s less of a mouthful, short for Encyclopedia Galactica. Corny, we know, but we have to call it something. Can I get your permission to release the gifts?”

“Yes. See Captain Andrews. She has my instructions for how they are to be managed. She will accompany them until they are accepted and make sure we document who has accepted them. Is that all?”

“I thought you’d want to hear more details of our plan.”

“Later, Doctor. I’m sure they’re adequate. Now, if you’ll excuse me?” Web left the conversation at that and continued down the hallway, heading toward the area Angela’s team was working from.

Seeing Angela a moment later, he caught her attention and gestured her into an empty office.

“Can you use the network you detected to communicate with Sam?” Web asked her.

Angela consulted with An before answering. “Ultimately, yes. That’s what it’s designed for. I don’t know if it will work yet, though.”

“Try.” Web directed.

Angela attempted to contact Sam. After several seconds, she stopped. “Either he’s ignoring me or the network isn’t mature enough yet.”

“Keep trying. Let me know when you can.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Web walked back into his office and took a seat. Sara was no longer visibly emotional. Grateful for that, Web asked, “Have you thought of where Sam might have gone?”

“There’s only two people beside myself I can think of that he might turn to for help, though I don’t know how much good either of them would be to him under these circumstances. Dan is one of them. The other is a man named Jim that Sam talks with at the community center. They go fishing together sometimes. They seem to be good friends, but Jim is much older than Sam, in his seventies. Like I said, I don’t know how much help he could give Sam even if he wanted to.”

“Do you know Jim’s last name or where he lives?” Web asked.

“I’m pretty sure he lives in Pueblo, but I’m not certain and I don’t know his last name. I didn’t talk with him much. Sorry.”

“Could you describe him?”

“Sure.”

“Sara, I’m going to ask you to go with the captain that brought you here to the base police station. You’re not in any trouble. I just want you to work with a sketch artist to help us put together a picture of Jim. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes…you’re going to help Sam, right?”

“I’m going to do everything I can to help him.”

Web went to the door and gestured for the guard to come to his office. “Please escort Ms. Bryant back to the officer who brought her to me. Advise him that I want her taken to the PMO to work with a sketch artist. Tell him to call me when the drawing is completed.”

“Yes, Sir. Please come with me, Ma’am”

Sara got up and moved to accompany the guard.

“Thank you for your help, Sara. You’ll be back home in no time and we’ll work all this out.”

Web closed the door behind the departing pair before picking up the phone. “Jack, come to my office immediately. I have someone I need you to find.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-T
HREE

Jim pulled up to Lisa’s house outside of Lewistown, Montana. Sam was the first one out of the vehicle. He looked the house over while waiting for Jim and Esther to join him. The old ranch house had seen a lot of wear and not much maintenance. Its white paint was chipped and peeling. The steps leading up to the porch were so worn in the middle, they sagged dangerously; what little paint remaining on them was hidden in the cracks in the wooden treads. On the right side of the steps was a roughly hewn ramp made out of unpainted plywood. It didn’t look very safe, but clearly saw a fair amount of use. There were parallel black tracks running down its length and a small depression at its base.

Sam’s assessment was interrupted by the front door opening. A young man, tall, gangly and awkward as only a teenager can be, stood in the doorway looking out at Sam’s group. When he recognized his grandpa, he let go of the door and ran toward the car, skipping the steps in a single bound. He crossed the fifty or so feet more quickly than Sam would have thought his skinny legs could carry him and slammed into Jim with enough force that Sam would have been worried about Jim being injured if he hadn’t recently accepted a gift. Sam wondered if Matt could tell the difference in Jim as they hugged for a good while. Jim was clearly as happy to see his grandson as Matt was to see him.

Finally letting go of one another, Jim took a step back from Matt and, holding Matt’s shoulders in his hands, said, “My God, look at you boy! You’re almost as tall as I am. How’ve you been, Son?”

“I’m good, Grandpa. I didn’t know you were coming. Did mom?”

“Not this time, Son. It’s kind of a special visit, that’s why we didn’t call ahead. It’s also why I brought some friends to meet you guys. How’s your mom?”

Matt looked at Sam and then Esther before returning his attention to Jim. “It’s not one of her worst days.”

“Why don’t we all go inside so I can introduce my friends to her?” Jim asked as he started walking toward the front door.

Everyone followed him up to the small home. Sam and Esther waited on the porch while Jim and Matt went inside. While he waited, Sam instructed Adia to begin inconspicuously constructing as many nanites as they could control. Moments later Sam heard a woman’s voice, soft but surprisingly beautiful. He couldn’t tell what she was saying. He could tell that she was happy. Jim’s voice was clear, however. He was telling Lisa about Sam and Esther. Another minute or two passed before Jim came to the door.

“Come on inside. Lisa’s in the kitchen putting on a pot of coffee. I told her she didn’t need to, but she wouldn’t have any of it. Did I mention she’s a stubborn girl?”

Esther said, “Excuse me,” as she left the living room for the kitchen to offer Lisa some help.

“Yeah, I believe you did, Jim. I’m sure it’s not genetic.” Sam responded.

Jim grinned in reply. “Have a seat.”

The inside of the house was neat and comfortable, showing no signs of disrepair or neglect. The furniture was basic and sturdy. It reminded Sam of the furniture in his parent’s house when he was growing up. There were paintings and pictures on the walls, though not too many of them and precious few knick knacks set about, just the way Sam liked it. There were also two recliners. Sam waited for Matt to take a seat on the couch, then asked if his mom used one of the recliners. Matt told him that she didn’t. It was too hard for her to get out of them. She preferred sitting next to him on the couch.

“Which one do you want, Jim?” Sam asked him.

“You’re the alpha male on this trip, Sam. You don’t know how happy you’re making me. Take any damn chair you want.” Jim replied.

Sam smiled and took the recliner most directly opposite where he suspected Lisa would sit. He and Jim had agreed during the drive up that Sam would tell Lisa the story while Jim and Esther would support it. Jim had maintained his appearance so that Lisa and Matt would recognize him. Esther, having no such reason, had allowed her gift, Haya, to do whatever it wished to return her to optimal health. Except for her hair, which she’d pulled back and tied up, she looked to be in her twenties. When they picked her up, Sam had asked her to bring a couple recent pictures of herself. He thought the contrast might help Lisa understand the potential of the gifts.

While they waited for Lisa, Sam had a brief conversation with Adia.

“How’s the growth of the network coming, Adia?”

“It’s nearly complete in North America, excluding Alaska and some of the northernmost portions of Canada. Eurasia is nearly complete, again excluding some of the northernmost portions. The rest of the world is a bit farther behind.”

“Do you have enough information to provide me an ETC for the most populous regions yet, say the top 90 percent?”

“If trends continue, less than 12 hours.”

“And is Angela still trying to contact me?”

“Angela and others. Do you want me to continue to ignore them?”

“For now. Are there enough bonded pairs in North America yet so that we’re a little less conspicuous.”

“No, Sam. Having three pairs so close together is still unique outside of a few locations. Four will be even more so. I have done as you asked and created decoys with network nodes, but that ruse will not last forever.”

“Keep working on a better idea, then, please.”

“Of course.”

“How long will it take you to get the sensor net we discussed on the way up active?”

“It is marginally active now. We are detecting on all radio bands. I’ll have visual and radar detection active in the next few minutes.”

“Excellent. That’s faster than we discussed.”

“The rate of humans accepting gifts is accelerating. Our percentage of the excess capacity of the Worldnet is increasing apace. Partly because of this, we can now control more than sixty times as many nanites as we could when we departed Pueblo.”

“More good news. When the government finds us, they will likely conduct aerial reconnaissance. Be sure we have the means to prevent that.”

“Yes, Sam.”

Lisa and Esther entered the room as Adia answered. Sam was sure that Jim had taken a moment to catch up with Adam as well. Matt must have wondered why they were so quiet. Sam made a mental note to be more considerate to the kid.

“Lisa wouldn’t let me help her make the coffee, but she did let me carry the tray in. Smells good. Who wants some?” Esther asked.

Turned out everybody did, including Matt. While Esther happily served everyone—she could hardly contain herself—Lisa took her place on the couch. It was painful to watch. She clearly had just enough strength and balance to get the job done. It took every bit of willpower Sam had to not offer assistance, but he knew a lot about pain, injuries and weakness. So long as she could do a task without help, she would. It was a reminder that she still had purpose and meaning, that she wasn’t just a burden to others. Taking that away from her would be the worst thing that anyone could do. Sam could see on Matt’s face that he understood this as well. It was a hell of a thing for a fourteen year-old kid to understand, Sam thought.

When Lisa was settled and Esther had taken her seat, Jim introduced everyone. He then explained to Lisa and Matt that we had something to share with both of them, but that we had to tell Lisa first, without Matt.

Esther asked Matt if he had baseball equipment. Matt did. “Well go get it. I haven’t played catch in a very long time and I really want to!”
 

Matt left the room to get the supplies. Esther told Sam to come get them when he was ready, “But don’t be too quick about it. I have a few things I want to teach this kid.” Esther waited until Matt returned and they walked outside together. Both of them were smiling.

“Okay, Dad, what’s going on?” Lisa asked.

Now that he could hear it clearly, Sam found her voice even more compelling. He could tell she had been physically beautiful once, when her brown hair still had sheen and her matching eyes held more glimmer and less pain. He was pleased the illness had at least left her such a beautiful voice. She was in for quite a surprise.

“You always did go straight to the point, didn’t you? Stubborn and forthright, hell of a combination. Sam, you’re up,” Jim replied.

Sam took a moment to gather his thoughts, which wasn’t as difficult as it had been when they’d left Pueblo thanks to Adia’s progress on their interface to the Worldnet, but still wasn’t easy. “I like straight to the point, so that’s what I’ll be as well. Lisa, your dad and I have been friends for a couple of years now. He helped me through the roughest part of my life. After I lost my wife and son, I didn’t see any reason to live. Truth be told, he saved me. It wasn’t any one thing, but rather who he was. I won’t go into details because it would embarrass him. Suffice it to say that when I needed help for something really important and potentially quite dangerous, he was the man I turned to for advice and help. He didn’t let me down. He never has.”

Sam stopped. He realized he wasn’t being as direct as he said he’d be so he took a deep breath before trying again. “I know I said I’d get right to the point and I sort of am, but I’ll try to do better. He’s only ever asked one thing of me, aside from asking me to stop blaming and pitying myself, and that was to help you. I wanted you to know that about your dad before I told you something fantastic.”

Sam paused again, partly to assess the impact of what he’d said to her on Lisa, partly because he wasn’t sure how to continue. He decided there had been enough preamble. “We believe we can cure you.”

Lisa looked away from Sam and toward her father. “Why, Dad? You know I can’t be cured. I don’t even think about it anymore. I’m just trying to hang in there long enough that Matt won’t have to go to foster care if you’re not around to take him.”

Sam looked down at his hands. There was something noble about this woman he’d just met that made him feel unworthy.

“Just listen to him, Angel. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.”