William Redman Carter

Chapter 3

Posted: September 28, 2005 - 12:08:57 pm

Used to avoiding black cars out of respect for the hot Arizona sun,

William let Ken pick out any Hugger on the lot except for a black one.

Ken didn't care much about the color and went for the green one. William

made sure that it was fully loaded with all the options.

Entering the office of the salesman, William handed over a plastic card

and said, "I'll be paying for it with this."

"You're paying with a credit card?" asked the salesman staring at the

small rectangle of plastic.

He was about to explain that a loan would give him a far better interest

rate when William said, "It's a debit card."

Ken stared at William unable to believe that the kid could possibly pay

cash for a Hugger. The salesman took the card and looked at the name on

it. Concerned about a minor using plastic on such a large purchase, he

said, "I'll need to see some identification."

From his back pocket, William pulled out his passport. He found it odd

that people believed a passport much more than a driver's license or

state identification card. Expecting the salesman to rush off to his

manager, William handed over the passport and then said, "Here you go."

"I'll need to check with the manager," said the salesman looking at the

passport and the debit card.

"Of course." William watched the salesman leave his office. Shaking his

head, he said, "Ken, you might as well relax since this is going to take

some time. Believe me when I say that getting a loan would take even

longer."

It was almost thirty minutes before the salesman returned. Looking over

at William with respect, he said, "The bank authorized the transaction."

"Of course it did. Now we have to negotiate the price," said William

with a grin.

The smile on the salesman's face fell at the announcement. It suddenly

occurred to him that he wasn't going to sell the car for the sticker

price. Sitting down, he asked, "What price were you looking to get?"

"Before we begin negotiations, why don't you get the manager? I dislike

negotiating through a middle man."

The salesman objected, "I can handle the negotiations."

Shaking his head, William said, "I'll make an offer. You'll tell me that

you have to clear it with the manager. You'll come back with a

counteroffer. If that isn't a middleman, then my name is Shirley Temple."

Knowing that he was defeated, the salesman left the office to get the

manager. Once the two men returned, the negotiations began in earnest.

William knew the fair price for the car and made sure that he received

it. Ken watched the negotiations wide-eyed. He'd never seen anyone

handle a car salesman with such ease.

"You've got to sign some papers. While you're doing that, we'll prep the

car. You'll be able to drive off in it," said the salesman once they had

agreed upon the price. He had never had such a difficult closing.

While William signed the papers completing the sale, Ken went out to

tell the limousine driver that he was relieved from duty. Returning to

the office carrying William's book bag, Ken considered what had happened

to him over the past twenty-four hours. He'd been told he was getting

let go from his job, he'd been ambushed in a bathroom with the offer of

a new job, and he'd watched a kid pay cash for a car that cost more than

he had earned the previous year. Later that afternoon, he was going to

move into a suite that was larger than his current apartment. Nothing

made sense to him.

Once the papers were signed, William pulled out his cell phone and

called his insurance agent. It took him two minutes to get the car

insured with Ken and Lisa as the official drivers. Putting away the cell

phone, he turned to Ken and said, "That's it. Let's go."

"Where to?"

"The school," said William after checking his watch. It was already a

little after noon and he had a one o'clock appointment with the

professor who would be his thesis advisor. He wasn't looking forward to

this meeting. It would be another instance of not being taken seriously

because of his age, but he knew the collaboration with the professor

would be beneficial in the long run.

William knocked on the door. Professor Johnston looked up from his desk

and considered the person standing at the door. In a gruff voice, he

said, "I'm busy. If you're looking for the bathroom, it's down the hall.

The department office is around the corner."

Professor Johnston looked back down at his desk, dismissing William and

turning his attention back to his work. William frowned at the obvious

dismissal. Carrying his book bag, he went down the hall to the rest

room. Once there, he put on his robe knowing that it would give him the

credibility he required. Looking in the mirror, he said, "Just once I'd

like to be accepted for what I am."

Returning to the office, William knocked on the door again. Professor

Johnston looked up and saw the blue robe with white sleeves. Shocked

that a graduate of the Druid College was knocking on his door, he asked,

"What can I do for you?"

"I have a one o'clock appointment with you to discuss my doctoral

research program," answered William.

Professor Johnston looked at William with a little more care and

realized that it was the same kid he had just chased away. Embarrassed

he gestured to a chair in his office and said, "Have a seat."

"Thank you," answered William moving over to the chair. Once seated, he

said, "Two years ago I read your paper on economic models based on the

analysis of households versus big business. I found the ideas rather

intriguing although I'm convinced that a hybrid economic model that

performs an analysis of both households and big business would be much

more powerful."

"That echoes my own thinking on the matter," said Professor Johnston

surprised by the young man's assessment of his work.

"Even in the short time that your work has been published, there have

been some rather significant failures in its application," William said.

"I don't think they are that significant," Professor Johnston said in a

rather defensive manner.

"I respectfully disagree."

"Why?"

"I'm convinced that speculators can invalidate all economic models by

exploiting them to the point where they violate the constraints on which

they are based."

Professor Johnston laughed and said, "So you buy into the old adage that

an economic theory never survives its publication."

"Exactly. I'd like to pursue that topic as the subject of my

dissertation," answered William.

"And you want to use my theory as the basis for your proof."

"Yes."

"Why my theory?" He wondered why the kid would want to work with him to

invalidate his own theory.

"Because it is the best and most comprehensive theory of economic

behavior that I've seen in the literature."

"What about Hoffman's theory?" Professor Johnston asked wanting to test

the kids knowledge.

"You mean Holfman's theory, don't you?"

"You're right."

"It's trash. There are so many holes in it that you could drive a

garbage truck through it."

He understood that the kid knew his stuff. He'd heard that Druid College

graduates were incredibly smart, but he hadn't believed half of the

stories about them. Doctorates achieved in two years, dozens of patents,

and national awards in research seemed to be commonplace among them.

Listening to William began to make him a believer. Sitting back in his

chair, he asked, "So how do you plan to proceed?"

"I'll test your theory against historical records and then identify

specific changes in economic behavior that began shortly after

publication of your paper."

"You will? How do you expect to do that?"

"I've ordered a computer based on a chip designed by Dan Biggerstaff. It

has a built-in random number generator and is designed for use in Monte

Carlo simulations. I'll construct a program based on your theory and

then, using historical data, find behaviors that explain what actually

happened," answered William.

"And how long will all of this take you?" asked the professor. He

figured that it would take at least a decade to accomplish all of that.

"Six months to acquire the data. Three months to write the program. Two

years to run the simulations. I should be finished writing and defending

in three years," answered William.

"I'll need a written proposal of your research."

William reached into his book bag and pulled out a simple binder. He

handed it over to the professor and said, "Here it is."

"I'll say one thing - you're prepared. Were you ever a boy scout?" asked

Professor Johnston flipping through the pages of the binder. He couldn't

believe what he was reading. Never had he had such a comprehensive

research proposal cross his desk. Shaking his head as if to clear it, he

said, "I'll have to study this for a while. There's a lot of material

covered in this proposal."

William stood and went to the door. Turning, he said, "I assume that

we'll have a weekly meeting on this same day and time."

Waving William away, Professor Johnston started reading the proposal and

said, "Yes, yes. Next week, same bat channel and same bat time."

Not catching the reference, William left the office and headed to the

restroom to change out of his robe. There was no sense advertising his

past. As he walked along, he ran into Doug. The young man looked at

William and said, "It seems like every time I'm over in this part of the

campus I run into you. We've got to stop meeting like this. People are

likely to get suspicious."

"Right," answered William with a laugh.

Looking over the robe, Doug said, "I guess you're a graduate student."

"Yes, I am."

"Cool. So am I. Feel like getting something to drink over at the student

center?" asked Doug.

Surprised by the indifference to the robe, William answered, "Sure, just

let me change out of this robe."

"Why were you wearing it anyway?"

"I needed to get someone's attention," answered William.

"I guess that would work. You guys are in pretty high demand and there

aren't that many graduates of the Druid College running around in this

area."

Having reached the restroom, William said, "Wait here while I change."

Doug waited around in the hallway while William changed his clothes in

the bathroom. As he leaned against the wall, Doug wondered what was the

name of his young friend. He realized that it had to be William, since

there weren't that many graduates of the Druid College who fit his

description.

William came out of the restroom and said, "Let's go."

"That didn't take long."

William followed Doug to the student center. Once there, he grabbed an

iced tea while Doug took a cup of coffee. Sitting down, Doug asked, "So

do you think that Oliver Brown is the most important man in America?"

"No," answered William taken by surprise by the question.

"What do you mean? He controls all of the Druids and they are the real

powers behind the throne," said Doug surprised at the answer.

"You're wrong on several accounts. First, he doesn't control all of the

Druids. Each Druid acts independently based on the dictates of the God

or Goddess they serve. Second, the Druids are not the real powers behind

the throne. They don't tell people what to do. They prevent people with

power from taking advantage of those without power. Third, Oliver is too

sensitive to evil to be that powerful. He has to keep his distance from

the rest of the world."

"I guess being the son of the first Grand Druid gives you a certain

perspective on these kinds of things," said Doug thoughtfully. He'd

never thought about the Druids actions in the manner William had suggested.

"Actually, being around a lot of Druids will convince you that they act

independently. It was one of my grandfathers who pointed out that Druids

don't control people in power, just limit them in their exercise of power."

"Who's your grandfather?"

"The Reverend Leroy Jones," answered William with more than a little

affection. Of all the grandparents, the reverend was his favorite. The

old man had never treated him as if he were unusual or strange. There

was something special about being rubbed on top of the head and being

told that he was a good boy.

"Oh," said Doug impressed. Returning to his first question, he asked,

"So who do you think is the most important person in the world?"

"Oscar Meyers," said William.

Doug burst out laughing and said, "That's a company that makes hot dogs

and bologna."

"Not Oscar Mayer. He's Oscar Meyers. His last name is spelled M E Y E R

S," said William.

"I never heard of him," said Doug. "What makes him so important?"

"He's going to bring peace to the Mid-East," answered William. A vision

of four religious leaders gathered together in street in Jerusalem came

to his mind. He recognized two of the men, Oscar Meyers and the Reverend

Leroy Jones. A shiver went down his spine at the vision.

"Hey, are you okay? It looked like you kind of zoned out of there for a

minute," asked Doug with concern.

"I'm fine," answered William with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Do you have epilepsy? My cousin has epilepsy and he tends to get that

same look on his face. If I remember correctly, he has what are called

petite mal seizures."

"No, I have a different problem." William looked across the student

center at all of the students gathered there. He wondered how many of

them would take such a laid back response to knowing that he was a

graduate of the Druid College. Turning to look at Doug, he asked, "How

come you are so indifferent to my background?"

"You mean - why am I not all excited about talking to one of the Carter

Kids?"

"Yes."

"My dad is in a position to meet lots of important people. He taught me

that important people are people first and important second. If you are

dealing with important people, it is best to get to know them as a

person before dealing with them. More often than not, he's liable to

take a VIP fishing rather than to some fancy restaurant," answered Doug

with a shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't going to mention that his

father was the governor of the state.

"Your father is a wise man," said William with real admiration. He

wondered who the father was, but knew that knowledge would come out in

good time.

"I like him."

"So what is your area of study?" asked William.

"History. My dad says that it is going to turn me into a liberal, but I

disagree. I think a proper understanding of history will make me more

conservative."

"Why would you say that?"

Doug was quiet for a moment wondering how William would react to what he

was about to say. Deciding that William wouldn't object too much, he

said, "I think the liberal assumption is that there is an innate

goodness in every man. They think that a bad person is one who has had

that goodness repressed by society."

"You disagree?"

"You bet. I think there are some people who are born without any sense

of goodness in them. Look at sons of rich men who have had every

advantage and still turn out bad. Society hasn't repressed them. It has

given them everything. Two kids raised by the same parents can turn out

on opposite ends of the good and evil scale. Don't tell me that the

parents beat one and loved the other.

"Evil people generate an evil force that propagates through societies,

warping what was once good. History presents hundreds of examples where

good people are overwhelmed by evil. Look at what Hitler did to Germany.

He took a whole country of basically good people and transformed it into

a regime without conscience.

"Liberals think that you can cure evil with love. Trying to talk an evil

person into abandoning their evil ways doesn't work. Evil feeds on love

and grows without restraint with talk." Doug's voice had become

passionate as he talked. It was clear that he really believed in what he

was saying.

As he drank his iced tea, William listened to Doug with interest. It was

not the kind of position on good and evil he expected to find on a

university campus. William predicted that one day Doug would be very

well known for his views, although probably not very well loved by the

press or academic communities. Curious, he asked, "Do you consider

Druids to be liberal?"

"I'm not sure," answered Doug honestly. He knew there were lots of

examples where the Druids had taken direct action against evil. On the

other hand, some of the social programs dealing with abusive people

seemed to have liberal roots.

"Interesting. Do you think Druids are good or evil?"

"I'm not sure I can answer that. A lot of evil looks good until it shows

its true face," answered Doug. Recalling the identity of the person with

whom he was talking, he said, "I hope that I haven't offended you."

"Not at all. It is a refreshing perspective. I guess when you consider

Druids in terms of power and take into account that old adage about

power corrupting, then it is easy to view them with suspicion. I'll have

to talk to my father about that," said William.

"Which one? Ed Biggers?" asked Doug demonstrating his knowledge of the

Carter Clan. He knew that Ed Biggers was the head of all the Druids who

served the Two-Sided One. Ed Biggers was more than willing to take on

overwhelming forces as demonstrated by the events in the Middle East

after the Fusion Foundation Workers had been kidnapped.

"Yes. I would be very curious what Daddy Ed has to say." William decided

that it would be very interesting to watch a discussion between Doug and

Ed. He was sure that points made within the discussion would surprise

both of them. Smiling, he said, "Perhaps you would like to talk to him

when he visits."

The idea of making those kinds of statements to Ed Biggers worried Doug

far more than he was willing to admit. The last thing he wanted was for

a Druid to decide he was a problem. Without making a commitment, he

said, "We'll see."

"Don't worry. I'd never introduce you to him if it would cause a problem

for you," said William. He finished his iced tea and then said, "Let me

call my driver. It'll take him about thirty minutes to get here."

"Oh, the limousine."

"No. I was able to hire a regular driver so that I'm not stuck in that

back of that big car. I hate limousines. I'd rather ride in a taxi."

Surprised to hear that, Doug asked, "So why were you in a limousine

rather than a taxi?"

"My mother is rather security conscious. She couldn't clear all of the

taxi drivers, but she was able to investigate the two drivers of the

limousine company. Since I am fifteen, I do what she asks."

"I guess I can understand that," said Doug. He thought about the

lifestyle that William probably had to tolerate. A child of a very rich

and famous family had to be careful to avoid getting kidnapped. People

would try to take advantage of him. He sighed and said, "Fifteen or

fifty, there are evil people out there who would hurt you."

Winking, William fished out his cell phone and made the call back to the

house for Ken to pick him up. Once the call was finished, William said,

"Tell me more about your theories of good and evil."

The thirty minutes passed quickly and the two young men went outside to

wait for Ken to arrive. When the Hugger pulled up, William bid farewell

to Doug and climbed in the front seat of the car. Ken looked at William

and asked, "You want to sit in the front seat?"

"I sure don't want to sit in the back," answered William.

At home, Lisa and Ken watched William head down to the pond for a quick

swim. As his naked figure disappeared where the path dropped down to the

stream, Lisa said, "He looks so lonely."

"It seems he found a friend at the university. He was talking to some

guy when I picked him up."

"How old was the guy?" asked Lisa still looking out the window.

"Twenty-five or twenty-six."

"That boy is only fifteen," said Lisa, "he needs someone his own age."

"There isn't anyone his age that even comes close to his intelligence,"

said Ken. Shaking his head at the impossibility of finding someone like

William, he added, "Imagine what it would be like if every adult around

you had the mind of a twelve year old."

"I'd go crazy," said Lisa with a shiver.

"To tell the truth, I feel pretty stupid around him. You should have

seen him dealing with the salesman at the Hugger dealership. He was

clearly in control there."

"I don't envy him," said Lisa with a sigh. She turned to return to the

kitchen to prepare dinner.

"I'll get a load of stuff from the house," Ken said thinking about the

work associated with moving.

"Don't bother. William sent a crew over this morning to pack up while

you were at the dealership. They'll be arriving with our stuff anytime now."

"We can't afford that," said Ken.

"He paid for it. Said it was more cost effective for us to work for him

rather than waste our time moving," Lisa said over the sounds of pots

and pans rattling. She had been overwhelmed by the quality of equipment

in the kitchen. Everything was high-end and industrial strength.

Looking out the window, Ken observed a young woman peeking around a tree

apparently in the hope of watching William in the pond. He was about to

comment to his wife that William wouldn't be alone much longer when he

saw her stumble backwards from the tree. He didn't see what had caused

her to stumble. However, once she recovered her balance, he did see a

large black bird chase her away. He chuckled at the sight of her running

while waving her hands over her head.