Chapter 22

WEDNESDAY 4:30 P. M. CST White House Residence, Washington, DC

When the door to the Residence opened the first thing Art noticed was the relaxed, yet determined look on The President's face. He motioned Art forward and said, "Art, I need you to have The Vice President come to the Oval office, please. After that, we'll need about thirty minutes undisturbed, thank you."

"Yes, Mr. President and thank you, Sir," Art replied as he watched the firm stride of his boss headed for his office. Flipping open his cell, Art made the call and ten minutes later there was a knock on the Oval office door.

"Come on in Al," The President called out. "Have a seat, because we've got things to discuss and you need to get your game face on."

"Yes, Mr. President. What can I do for you today, Sir?"

"Well, it's not so much what you can do for me, as it's what I can do for you. As of 7:01 P.M. CST this evening you are going to be The President. Just make sure you wait until 7:01, because my resignation takes effect at 7:00. I can't imagine the legal mess that would ensue from an overlap, but I'm sure some legal beagle would come up with a fly in the ointment."

"Mr. President ... I mean, Miles, are you absolutely sure? You're not ill, are you? I know your poll numbers have never been higher. What's going on?" asked The Vice President.

With a hearty laugh, Miles Williams answered back, "Keep your shorts on Al. I'm fine and yes my numbers are looking pretty good, but it's time to roll up the tent and move on out. Let me preface what I'm about to tell you by apologizing for dumping all this on you at once"

"Now, I'm assuming that you have been kept up to date on the contact with our recent visitors? That being the case; I need to fill in a few blanks for you. I'm sure you've been briefed about the Dragon Gate in Chicago. What no one in the Intel food chain could tell you is that it's connected to thirty six brand spanking new worlds ... human habitable worlds and they are just the beginning. Tonight from the Navy Pier in Chicago, Mankind is going to take the first step in establishing a thirty eight world interstellar trading federation."

"But..."

"Hang on, no I didn't miscount. There will be the thirty six new human worlds, plus Earth and one of the visitor's worlds. It turns out that one of the visitors resemble an Earth bloodhound except that they are equipped with six limbs and have a sense of smell that would put our bloodhounds to shame. The best part of this is that our visitors have already found something here that would make fabulous trade goods out there. Guess what they have to trade in return? How about an instantaneous matter transport network to anywhere on the planet and yes, that means people too. Are you getting the point about how huge a change this is?"

"Miles, I'm stunned. If this were coming from anyone else I'd know they were pulling my leg, but to the best of my knowledge you've never lied to me, so it has to be true. It's just going to take some time to wrap my brain around all this."

"Tell me about it. Two weeks back, I thought we were the top of the food chain. Now I know how small a cog we are in the vast machine we call reality. That's a lot to swallow and I've had a week to work through it. That's also why I started this out with an apology. If there was ever a paradigm shift ... this is it."

"OK, if that's what's coming, then what do I do here after you've flown the coop?"

"Hang on a second," Miles said, then stared off into space for thirty seconds, after which, he said, "Al, I need you to lean back in your chair and relax. Make sure your head is comfortably supported. In a few seconds you'll feel a slight tingle on your right temple and then we'll talk."