Chapter Thirteen
Chapter 13
The news traveled the world at a blazing
speed. The hundred and forty-fourth key machine had descended on Jerusalem on the
fourth of January. The next day, the last nine hundred and ninety-nine ATM's spread
throughout the Middle East. On the Epiphany, the first machine on Monte Alban
disappeared. Well, disappeared is not it exactly. Some witnesses claimed the
machine became hazy and kind of floated up and then transformed itself into a vision of
the Virgin of Guadalupe. Many of those present fell into a state of religious
ecstasy. There was no panic, nor distress. The people simply went home to
pray. Luz Esperanza and her father took their long walk down the hill, for the first
time since all of this had begun without anyone trying to protect them, or harm
them. They were pleasantly forgotten.
The differance left the rest of Mexico, and the
rest of the world in a quandary. Would they be next? Was this a trend?
Would the old world return? But nowhere were these questions of more import than in
the small California town of Greenfield.
Eyes were focused there because Sofia Robles, the
newswoman who had broken the story was ready to reveal the source and purpose of the
ATM's.
"This is Sofia Robles coming to you live
from the Memorial Hall in Greenfield, California, the sight of the very first Bank of
Fortunatus ATM in the United States. This broadcast is not affiliated with any
network, the content is the sole responsibility of myself and my producer Fred
Biggs. For those of who do not know yet, the very first machine on the planet, which
had been located on Monte Alban in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, has disappeared.
While we do not yet know if this will repeated with the other Bank of Fortunatus sites,
this meeting is being held to help us all prepare for any possibility that may
arise."
"Though the Bank of Fortunatus has operated
here for less than two weeks, it is difficult to remember when it was not a part of our
lives. Indeed, the last ten days for me have been so different as to constitute an
existence apart from the past. While I can't speak for everyone in this hall today,
I'm sure I'm not alone in these sentiments. Every power structure in the world has
been challenged. Once compliant workers have found new independence and farmers and
factory owners have had to deal with it. Parents used to controlling their children
with purse strings have had to take a different tack. Households in which spouses
have abused their mates and children because their family members had no other place to go
have been given their comeupance. No relationship has gone unaffected."
Sofia paused and looked at Etienne. She was
staking her future on this guy. She had wanted Jasper to go on, but Etienne said it
was impossible. She thought about it all for a moment. Blacklisted by her
network for trying to mount this independent effort. Her career ruined for foisting
this fraud on people. But she caught herself. This was not a fraud. She
had met Jasper herself. She knew he was real, and that he had left Etienne to speak
for him. She would ride this ride through to the end.
"We have been literally treated to a possible
alternate future for the human race, but many people are scared and confused about where
we go from here. Who put the machines here and why, we all are asking. We have
a man here today who will attempt to answer your questions about the Bank of Fortunatus
ATM's. He has been in direct communication with the men who brought these machines
to our world. Ladies and gentlemen Etienne Duvall."
A panicked Lana Carson blurted out, "Are the
machines leaving?"
The outburst startled Etienne, but he managed to
respond,"Well the short answer is yes. All the machines are going to leave
eventually, unless we decide to maintain them ourselves. But we're jumping ahead of
ourselves here. If you'll all just bear with me a minute, I'll explain all I
know." Etienne was already starting to squirm. Candor? Who would
listen to him?
"And by what authority do you speak, my good
man? Cyril Hedric, Financial Times, London. What organization do you
represent?"
Etienne froze for a moment. He didn't want to
discuss himself until after he had told all he knew about the ATMs. He decided to go
all the way ahead, and save the rest of it for after. "I represent the Bank of
Fortunatus. I am here to negotiate the use of the Banks ATMs should there be
sufficient interest in keeping them here." Etienne paused to let his statements
sink in.
"Exactly who and what is the Bank of
Fortunatus?" pressed the reporter.
"The Bank of Fortunatus is an independent bank
of exchange. They call what they do keeping numbers. They will keep any set of
numbers any group wants kept, as long as they are allowed to do it honestly, and without
overt or covert favoritism. They will also act as an agent of issue for a monetary
protocol if they agree that the protocol is ethical and equitable. Their specialty
is Salmoney, a combination medium of exchange and social dividend."
"And they do this out of the generosity of
their hearts Mr. Duvall?" asked another reporter.
"No, Mr. Fortunatus is businessman, he charges
a fair market fee for his services. But he is not without altruism. Our world is at
a point of crisis, his organization is here to help us through that crisis. We are
something of a desperado curiosity in the universe. Our levels of greed and mutual
exploitation are unusual in such a technically advanced world. There is more than
one voice that would just as soon as eliminate the entire species and start over, but we
are not without our supporters, and one of them is Salmon Fortunatus Aquarius, owner and
operator of the Bank of Fortunatus." Etienne stopped and pointed to another reporter
in the audience.
"Are you telling us this whole thing has
extraterrestrial origins Mr. Duvall? This is a stretch, even with the phenomenon of
the ATMs. You're talking about our planet's bad reputation, bad reputation with
who? You're also implying that someone out there doesn't like and may destroy
us. Please explain."
"Well I know this is a lot to digest, but bear
with me a minute. Our point of crisis began with the first person in orbit in the
1960's. This is the point at which planets must come to terms with the rest of the
universe. Our ability to affect the myriad other sentient beings out there started a
clock ticking. We're now going to be presented with some choices, and our decisions
will affect our future. We will not be allowed to spread our pathologies. We
must transform ourselves or we will be slapped down. Exactly how I can't say but I
believe that unless we learn to treat each other with sufficient care, we will at the very
least be confined to earth."
"But this effort is not entirely
extra-worldly. I've told you about Sal's business principles. They can't
introduce a new type of money on an unsuspecting population, so the money used in this
demonstration of Salmoney had to come from already existing protocols. 144,000 of
our fellow humans earned the money that was distributed by the Fortunatus ATMs. This
was done in secret to protect the people who were doing it. On other planets the
144,000 who do the demonstration can volunteer in the open. On earth, if people get
too, how you say generous, they end up dead, so Sal helped with the secrecy. The
money was amassed over a fifty year period."
"Seth Williams, Toronto Globe. Could you
explain the ‘fair market fee' of a supernatural ATM."
"Well Mr. Williams, while some of the context
surrounding the ATMs may have had a bit of what one might call supernatural, the ATMs
themselves were as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, and they did not use any technology
that is not already available on earth today. Sal has bought and sold on earth, and
he knows the basic price structure here. He believes that he can use one hundred
percent earth components, and one hundred percent human employees, and turn a tidy
profit. But he won't be a monopoly, he'll welcome and help any competition.
The rest of the universe has learned that hope is far more valuable than obligation.
It is more valuable to share an opportunity than to maintain an advantage over
someone."
"So where does the money come from after your
little tea party is over. You expect the public at large to kick their hard earned
money into a big old pot that any lazy bum in the world can tab into. I don't think
you know much about human nature Mr. Duvall," Cyril Hedric commented.
"There is another way Mr. Hedric. The
version of Salmoney that was introduced in this demonstration is known as
Excalibrator. You noticed that the amount of Daily Bread increased each day by a
rate of about a quarter of one percent, one three hundred and sixty-fifth to exact.
Excalibrator does not reach into anyone's pocket. It does just the opposite.
It issues and puts into everyone's pocket an equal amount of money on a daily basis.
It is based on the concept that half of all we produce each year should be divided equally
and half left to those who earn it through their efforts in the free market.
Excalibrator works by increasing the amount of money in circulation by one three hundred
and sixty-fifth each day. Instead of disadvantaging anyone, everyone is simply
advantaged to the exact same degree. And if prices are quoted in Daily Breads they
will maintain a constant ration to the money supply and yield price information far
superior to any money ever used on Earth." Etienne took a breath when he saw
eyes start to glaze over. He pointed to another reporter for a question.
"Aren't you the Etienne Duvall who works for
the Montreal Journal du Monde. What makes you such an expert?"
"And aren't you also a CIA agent."
Etienne recognized the questioner. It was the
agent who had threatened Rodolfo and Sofia. Etienne stammered. He simply did
not know what to say. An awkward silence fell over the hall.
Rodolfo stood beside his mom and started to worry
about his friend. Etienne started to turn pale. Rodolfo decided that Etienne
needed some help. He thought about what Jasper had said to him and decided to
act. He pushed forward and grabbed Etienne's sleeve. He motioned for Etienne
to bend over so he could whisper in his ear. Instead Etienne handed him the
microphone.
"The old Gringo told me what the machine
meant. He said that god sends kids like me in the world. If you protect us and
share with us we can turn out like Jesus or Mary, and if you don't we turn into the Devil
and kill you. Well anyway, that's what that guy Jasper said." Rodolfo
handed the microphone back to Etienne.
"Why should we trust anything you say?"
asked Officer Carson.
Etienne paused another moment and his response came
to him. "I've lived my live as a professional liar. I've struck pose
after pose. I didn't really believe in anything until the last few days, so why
should anyone trust me? The only answer I can give you is don't trust me.
Trust yourself. Look at it closely. I'm telling you to take control of your
money, not for me, not for any elite or priesthood, but in the name of every person in the
world. Do that and you can't go wrong. Do that and you can make a
difference."