The Rangers Are Coming (64 page)
Read The Rangers Are Coming Online
Authors: Phil Walker
Curtis took office in 1936. His first actions were to reduce the size of government, and rescind all of the Executive Orders of his predecessor. He also took a hard look at the current fiscal health of the nation and wisely declared a tax holiday for the next year, the third such time that had happened. His popularity soared long enough for the country to realize what an outstanding President he actually was. He and Arcadia were great friends. She even took to putting on a hat and a pair of sunglasses to visit “Art” at the White House. This was entirely parenthetic. The two had direct contact with each other on the almost lifelike screens that connected her Georgetown mansion and the White House. It was just that they liked each other’s company.
Curtis was the President who got to announce in a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly the completion of the solar band and tell all the countries of the world that a simple antenna, tuned to the right frequency would interface with the electrical grids and that gas operated Power Plants were no longer necessary. This came as something of a shock to most of the world. America had built the solar band from trading profits over a period of 40 years. Now, almost free power was available to the entire world. A very small surtax was added to the cost of outgoing trade from the U.S. and this maintained the Solar Band, making improvements, and repairs as needed. Nobody complained.
His second big achievement was to announce that nearly 15 million Jews lived in the land America owned in the Middle East. He said that the Jews had petitioned for self-government and membership in the United Nations. Not even the Syrians or Iranians objected.
America started to unload a good deal of its backlog of modern technology to the world. Curtis was careful to hold on to some of the more exotic developments, but the world didn’t really notice. They were busy soaking up the improvements for their own countries, and life became very pleasant, indeed.
The world population was actually decreasing. The need for big families to maintain farms and do work was eliminated and most families were having only one or two children. In many cases, they had none at all. By 1950, the population of the earth hovered just below 5 billion. The populations of China and India fell to under 750 million each, owing to a concentrated policy of encouraging birth control.
It became fashionable for the United Nations to initiate projects that involved the whole world. These were things that everyone could support and receive the fruits of the labor. One of the “Global Projects” involved weather control. It turned out to be possible after all. The scientists erected entire fields of giant ionizers to generate waves of negative ions, which rise into the lower atmosphere and attract dust particles. The dust particles, in turn, attract condensation from the ambient air, and when enough condensation is achieved, the clouds can't hold the water anymore and a downpour of rain is unleashed.
The first practical application of the principal was with the Sahara Desert. In a few years, enough rain was falling every year to turn that enormous barren wasteland into a rapidly growing number of vast farms. It worked the other way too. The Americans set up ionizers that produced a counter storm near tornadoes and hurricanes and caused them to dissipate. This reduced damage and loss of life that had been a way of life for the east coast and Caribbean, and for Tornado Alley in the Midwest.
Buoyed by their success and public approval with weather, the United Nations became fascinated with space travel. The U.S. had a huge foothold in space and used it to expand the space station extensively. From it, regular missions to the moon were started and a permanent colony was established there. In 1956, the combined scientists of Earth built a vehicle to go to Mars. With a crew of eight, the roundtrip took three years. The whole world followed the flight, landing, and exploration of Mars and the return flight like it was a television series. Every week planet Earth tuned into the Mars program. It was the most popular program on television.
In 1976, Arthur Curtis stepped down after 40 years in office. He was a very healthy 75 years old. His replacement was 35-year-old Thomas Frost and he served longer as President than any of his predecessors, owing to a rapidly expanding life expectancy, there was nothing odd about him serving into his 80’s. His Presidency lasted for 50 years, and was considered the Golden Age of America specifically and the world in general.
The major accomplishments for Frost was to see the moon colony top 100,000 people and the colony on Mars grow to 10,000 people. Missions were sent to the Jovian moons and the think tanks in America announced they were working on a radical new propulsion system that could send ships from Earth to far planets at multiples of light speed.
Another major step by Frost, in cooperation with the United Nations and the approval of the United States was to make the Ranger force an international police force. The expanded Ranger force recruited from many nations using the same rigorous standards the Rangers had always maintained, and set them up in scattered locations, never more than an hour from any place on Earth. Their installations were off limits to the public since the Rangers were now using technology far advanced over anything in the world. They were just as efficient and lethal as some factions learned, but were loved universally by all people. Being a Ranger was the most prestigious profession a man or woman could aspire to be.
It was summer of 2025. Arcadia was sitting on a comfortable park bench. It was in the mall near the Capitol in Washington. She closed her eyes in the warm sun. A voice close to her said, “I would imagine you’ve just about run out of things to do?”
Arcadia opened her eyes and smiled, an informally dressed man, was grinning at her. He sat down on the bench and said, “I’m very proud of you. Everything has worked out perfectly, and the best part was that humanity did almost all of it on their own.”
“It’s been a long, almost three hundred years. I miss my family, the Park, the animals and all that was normal before you set me to working this considerable task. In my opinion, You can open the gates of time and let them run freely. My guess is that no one will notice any difference in their lives. I assume the bombs never went off, and all of that was just a bad dream.”
“You could certainly put it that way,” said the man, “and you would be right.”
“With your permission,” said Arcadia, “ I think I have done what you asked. I would like to go home now.”
A wave of disorientation swept over here, and she opened her eyes. The scene in Washington was fading and in its place, the air grew cool and the familiar sight of the Emerald Cathedral came into focus. She was not alone. The familiar shining globe hung in air.
“Is it over?” she asked.
“Yes, it is now complete. You’ve done very well, and I am proud of you.”
“Are the cities of America intact and are our people alive?”
“You would know that better than anyone else,” said Jesus. “The world outside is the one you created. Your family is holding lunch for you, they think you’ve just gone for a walk. The memories of the America you’ve created has replaced the ones they used to know. It’s the same all over the world. The dam of time put in place in 1770 is gone. The past as they used to know, has been wiped out.”
“Because you actually lived through the interruption to do your work, you were enfolded in the warp. For you, no time has passed. It is the same for all those who went back with you. However, you retain the memories, all of them, of the past 275 years. Unfortunately, none of the people of earth realize anything has happened. From their point of view, the future you crafted is the way it’s always been. It says so right in their history books. So, no ticker tape parades, no adulation of the masses. You’ll now live out your normal life, although I would say it will be anything but normal. You possess an understanding of history, like no other. You have a vision for the future that will be an inspiration to everyone. I promise your life will be beautiful, exciting, and filled with many adventures. Your Presidency will be long and prosperous. Everyone will be happy that their president is a blued-eyed girl named Arcadia.”
“Lead the world as you have. The Golden Age of Earth has truly begun. Have no fear. I am with you always.”
Arcadia Martin left the Emerald Cathedral and walked back up the hill to join her family for lunch. As she came in, her father, Jacob said, “There you are, we were just about to start without you.”
“Sorry, Dad,” said Arcadia, “I had a lot of things to think about.”
“Come to any big conclusions,” asked her mother?
“Yeah, I’m gonna be President one day!” said Arcadia.
Table of Contents
10 Fort Independence, Virginia
11 Fort Independence, Virginia
12 Fort Independence, Virginia
14 Outside Boston, Massachusetts
17 Fort Independence, Virginia
19 Fort Independence, Virginia
20 The Black Hills, South Dakota
21 Fort Independence, Virginia
25 Fort Independence, Virginia
29 The New District of Columbia
33 Fort Independence, Virginia
36 Fort Independence, Virginia
37 Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
38 The Great State of Sioux, United States
45 On the Road to Three Rivers, Pennsylvania
46 Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
47 U.S. Congress, Washington, D.C.
