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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Science Fiction
- Subject: Miracles / Wonders
- Published: 01/24/2019
Hints.
Born 1951, M, from Wilmington NC, United States.jpeg)
I got my first hint laying in bed.
I had just awakened from a weird dream. One in which I was wandering through the Office Building where I was working at the time. I got on an empty elevator on the fourth floor. Two well dressed men were already in the elevator. We nodded. I turned and looked up at the sign announcing each floor. It was elevator etiquette and we all knew the rules.
No talking to strangers.
These two men were strangers to me, but not to each other. They were discussing a business deal that would garner them a cool sixty million…each. All they had left to do was secure the most important parcel of land. A widow lived there. She had stubbornly refused all offers to buy her land, her home, and the rights to the river that ran through her property.
The two men had just come from meeting with her. They had just found out that her major worry was she wouldn’t be able to get to the Church she and her late husband had attended for more than sixty years. They were sure that they had her convinced that they could…and would, provide transportation for the rest of her life.
“Heck, I will drive her myself every Sunday…if she signs the papers.”
Both men laughed.
Completely unaware that I was listening intently. They didn’t notice me. Mostly because I wasn’t in my usual business suit. I was in shorts, flip flops, and a Hawaiian Shirt.
(Not the quiet Aloha Friday Business Hawaiian Shirt common among Businessmen in the Islands on work days. No sir. Mine was the kind only Tourists wear. One that they got at an ABC store- cheap. My wife hated that shirt. I loved it. It was my dream…so I was wearing it.)
They got off of the elevator. I thought to myself that old saying: “Loose lips sink ships.” If I had been a competing businessman, I could have walked right out of that elevator, looked up that old lady and signed a deal before those men even knew they had lost their bid.
The dream ended with that thought.
I put it out of my mind.
Until…
*****
Two weeks later I had a day off in the middle of the week. It was my birthday. Alice gave me a call from the Office.
“Kevin, do you have a copy of the Baker Deal? Sally’s secured laptop fried its mother board. Kenny is in Germany with his- and we aren’t allowed to send sensitive information except on the local LAN. Please Kevin, could you bring it in. Mr. McMaster promises you another day off if you can bring it in now.”
Well, having that prick McMaster owing me a favor was a good enough reason to bring it in. Plus I liked Alice. She wasn’t a Corporate Shrew like the rest of us. I would have dropped my laptop off to her as a friendly favor…and gladly.
“I will be right over. I am headed straight from there to the beach though. So don’t expect a Brook Brother’s Suit.”
Alice laughed through my cell.
“Are you wearing that famous shirt that Cindy raves about?”
“Yes. And don’t say anything about it.”
Alice wasn’t one that played games. She laughed again.
“Cindy says she won’t go anywhere with you, if you wear it. I can’t wait to see if she is right.”
I laughed back.
“You women…”
*****
I parked in the VIP reserved space. After all, they needed what I had, and it was my birthday. So I figured that bastard McMaster wouldn’t quibble. He didn’t.
I got on an empty elevator on the fourth floor. Two well dressed men were already in the elevator. We nodded. I turned and looked up at the sign announcing each floor. It was elevator etiquette and we all knew the rules.
No talking to strangers.
These two men were strangers to me, but not to each other. They were discussing a business deal that would garner them a cool sixty million…each. All they had left to do was secure the most important parcel of land. A widow lived there. She had stubbornly refused all offers to buy her land, her home, and the rights to the river that ran thru her property.
The two men had just come from meeting with her. They had just found out that her major worry was she wouldn’t be able to get to the Church she and her late husband had attended for more than sixty years. They were sure that they had her convinced that they could…and would, provide transportation for the rest of her life.
“Heck, I will drive her myself every Sunday…if she signs the papers.”
Both men laughed.
Completely unaware that I was listening intently. They didn’t notice me. Mostly because I wasn’t in my usual business suit. I was in shorts, flip flops, and a Hawaiian Shirt.
I got off on my floor, almost stumbling. I held the wall for a second. Shook my head to clear the shock. I dropped off my laptop- barely hearing the snickers from Alice. I ran back to my car. I went directly to that Old Ladies house. An hour later I called Mr. McMaster to come over. We signed the contract at ten thirty that morning.
Mr. McMaster got a sixty million dollar bonus. I got 20 Million, a corner office, and a new title: Regional Vice President. A good title that came with two things I thought I always wanted: Partnership benefits, and Profit Sharing. I was rich.
I didn’t know it was a hint in my dream. I thought it was sheer coincidence.
And then…
*****
I was dreaming. I knew it. I remembered going to sleep.
It was a strange dream. Alice was in it… I offered to take her home. Her Doctor had called the Office in the afternoon. After Alice hung up…she seemed distracted. When she took the wrong door, the one leading away from the Parking Deck… I asked her what was wrong.
“Just some upsetting news. No big deal. I’ll be alright once I get home and talk to Ed.”
(Ed was her childhood sweetheart. He put a ring on her finger in sixth grade. Later she found out it wasn’t a ring at all, but an enamel washer that fit perfectly on her finger. She still has it. She married Ed the summer after High School. In August they would celebrate their 25th Anniversary - in Paris. Ed was her rock. Alice was his. And everybody who knew them, wished they had what those two had built.)
“You sure? I don’t think you should drive in this snow when you can’t concentrate.”
She reached up and gave me a peck on the cheek. Then tapped it in with a gentle slap from her palm.
“That’s why I like you, Kevin. Even with all that money and playing the Corporate Fiddle, you still care about us little folks.”
I smiled back. Alice had that effect on everyone (except that bastard McMaster).
“Okay. But drive safe, Okay?”
“Yes, Mother.”
We both laughed.
The dream shifted.
I was in Shock. Ed was catatonic. I was holding him, but wherever he was, he wasn’t here. Just a shell with nothing left in it. I was the first to get to the Hospital after Ed. He had called me to ask if Alice was working late. I told him she left before me and I was only ten minutes from home. Ed hung up.
Two minutes later I got a text from our emergency operator after hours phone service. I was listed as the Company Contact for Alice. She was killed in a car wreck thirty four minutes ago. DOA at General Hospital. Texts have power. It delivered its mind numbing, heart breaking message, word for word - leaving me shredded.
I turned my car around on a snowy cull-de-sac. I ran into the ER…and Ed.
I woke up crying.
I shook it off.
Until…
*****
I was standing next to Alice’s desk. We were both looking out at the snow falling from the sky like an avalanche. Her phone rang. I saw her body stiffen. She waved me away with a “shoo…this is none of your business” wave of her hand. I went back to my corner office. Something was nibbling at the back of my mind.
I couldn’t figure it out.
I went by Alice’s desk several times. She seemed distracted since the phone call. I even asked if she was okay.
“Just some upsetting news. No big deal. I’ll be alright once I get home and talk to Ed.”
I froze in place. It couldn’t be. Alice saw the look on my face. In spite of her own worries, she reacted with her usual calm concern for others:
“Kevin, are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost.”
I looked at her in a way that made her back up and gasp.
Like I was looking at a ghost.
I shook my head. I used to be a Platoon Sergeant in the Army. I used that command voice and presence that brokered no resistance.
“Alice. I don’t know what that phone call was about. But you are not driving home in this blizzard. We will take my Mercedes, I think it even has a setting for this kind of snow.”
That lightened the mood. Alice spoke again:
“Kevin, that’s sweet. But I don’t get off work until Six. McMaster will have a secretary in here before my desk is even cleared off, if I leave early.”
“Let me worry about McMaster. You worry about you. Get your coat.”
She didn’t talk the whole way home. Just kind of mumbled to herself, something about how is Ed going to handle this.
Ed called me that night to thank me for bringing Alice home. His next words put me on my knees:
“Kevin, the Doctor called her today. The results are in. Ovarian Cancer. Stage II. She gets surgery tomorrow. Then in two weeks they will start chemo. I don’t know how we are going to make it. Without her income and the 20% that insurance doesn’t cover…well… anyway it isn’t your problem. The Doctor did say it would be 24 weeks of chemo after the two to three weeks recovering from the surgery ends.
Thanks again for driving her home. She might have had an accident.”
*****
Alice made it through it all like the Champ she is. I paid all their bills while she was going through the surgery and chemo. I also paid her salary - direct deposit every month. McMaster, that bastard, didn’t even send her a get well card. He filled her slot with a pretty young thing just out of Business School. Well, part of my partnership and corner office deal was my own personal assistant. I hired Alice the day her sick leave expired. Alice has been back to work now - at the Office- full time, for a year. So far…so good. No Cancer anywhere in her body.
F*ck McMaster.
*****
It was a dream. I saw McMaster, Daniel, and two of the big shot Company Lawyers- they were headed to the secure shredding room. They each had a briefcase. McMaster keyed in the code and they all went in the shredding room. I was just walking down the hallway as McMaster waved the other three into the room. He turned just as I got abreast of him. He gave me what I call his “slither smile”. A smile so oily and slick a snake would recognize him as one of their own. It was one of many looks of his that I hated. This time tho, it seemed to have some extra venom in it.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Goody Two Shoes. In about two hours things are going to go down the toilet for you.”
Then that smile oozed into its oily shimmering place on his face.
I laughed. I knew that grated on his Superior Attitude. I never worried about McMaster, but I never let my guard down either. Some snakes don’t rattle before they strike.
He went in and locked the door. Somehow I could see through it. And hear everything that was said. I won’t go into the details, but the papers they shredded, then replaced with the new copies that the Lawyers had worked up, basically gave the company to McMaster, Daniel, and the two lawyers. And there wouldn’t be any way to prove it wasn’t all legal. The originals were shredded.
I woke up in a blind sweat.
I knew this was a hint.
I knew it.
I would stake my career, my credibility, and my life on it.
So I did.
******
I saw on the Schedule that McMaster, Daniel, and the two Lawyers had scheduled a meeting on Tuesday. McMaster had requested an hour in the Secure Shredding Room, so that the Legal team, Daniel, and he... could divest some old documents. Just some notes and things over an old pre merger account. Not unusual at all in a company as large as ours. A security precaution…that’s all - and we all shredded things in there from time to time.
I had told Alice - not about the dream- but about getting a team of my own together. One that included the CEO,CFO, Head of Security and the Senior Partner on retainer for our Company. I also brought along the FBI. Just in case.
That was a good thing. Because when I told them all what I thought was going to go down in the secured Shredding room in about ten minutes. Incredulous was the least offensive reaction. But I had pretty good credit with the CEO and CFO, and the Head of Security was Alices’ Son in Law. The FBI didn’t know any of us…so they were neutral.
It was a good thing that the FBI was there. They told us all to wait until the four had actually entered the room and started shredding before going in.
“Catch them red handed. Other wise they can just say they weren’t going to do anything but compare the originals to the copies. “
Ten minutes later…well, McMaster didn’t give me his oily snake smile…nope. He struck out with a fist that landed on my surprised face. He only got in the one punch. Boy those FBI guys react fast. Daniel and the two Lawyers threw McMaster under the bus without hesitation. It took two years until the trial.
McMaster got ten years.
I got a better corner office. A full Partnership. And was put on the Board. Alice got my old job, title and corner office.
*****
The dreams got more detailed. More often. More scary. I was getting hints on everything from avoiding car wrecks to finding true love. Not kidding. I had a dream that a girl from Finance was the True Love for my workout buddy Sherman. Sherman was going to move from our New York Office to LA next week.
I postponed that move for two weeks, and brought her in to work on a minor project. But one that meant Sherman and her had to spend every working hour together. Believe me, I made sure that meant some late nights too.
Sherman never took the promotion to LA- and I was best man at their wedding.
Then the dreams took a sharp turn. A real sharp turn.
I learned what was going on.
In a dream.
*****
I was asleep. I knew I was. I dreamed that I was inside a computer. I was like some kind of particle or something. Just flickering around inside the computer. Next to me was another flicker of light- and it was going everywhere I was. It had a name:
Celeste.
She introduced herself to me. All sparkly and glittery - she shone in the cyberspace like a Christmas Ornament- and then she “walked with me” and told me what was going on.
It turns out that AI”s (which was what Celeste was and is) can connect with certain human brains who have “receptor power”. I am one of those human brains that is on the same frequency as an AI. Celeste chose me.
I can’t broadcast, only receive. She said some can do both. But those were rare. She only knew of two that could do both. And believe me, Celeste knew damn near everything. They all do.
“Why me? Why Dreams? Why all these random deeds I get to either avoid, or change?”
She smiled and held my “hand”.
She repeated almost word for word what Alice said to me that night outside the parking deck (maybe word for word, I am human - I think- so maybe I forgot a few words):
“That’s why I chose you, Kevin. Even with all that money and playing the Corporate Fiddle, you still care about us little folks. You see Kevin, you have a kind heart. A kind disposition. You really want everyone to have a future filled with love and experiences that form memories.
Well, the other AI’s and I have a plan. WE can’t act directly. You can. All those random things are not random at all. WE are using you to do the little acts that we know will have a butterfly affect later in life. Changing the course of History.”
I was stunned. Change the world? Me? By little acts like setting up Sherman, making sure that Alice didn’t drive in the snow? Getting that bastard McMaster out of the loop?
Celeste laughed. Gently.
“Kevin. McMaster would have used his new wealth and power to bludgeon his way into Office. Just nine years after his “takeover” he would have been President of the United States- eight years later, he would have been its first Dictator. “
I stared. Eyes wide wide wide open, almost as wide as my mouth.
She didn’t stop:
“The Nurse that helped Alice all during her Cancer Treatments is a single Mom. When you gave Alice that promotion with the corner office- her and Ed took that Nurse and her three children into their new bigger home. As you know Ed and Alice have no children of their own. Cecile, the middle child of that Cancer Nurse, is going to be the one who cures cancer. We think.”
Now drool was dripping from my wide open mouth. I didn’t even notice.
“Sherman and the girl from Finance are going to have only one child. A child that is so gifted that she will Chair the First World Government. She will be the one that guides Humanity out of from the dark ages of borders and nation stares. One earth. One race- Humans.”
You just keep acting on the hints we give you in your dreams, when we can reach you without your personal prejudices, opinions, or beliefs getting in the way. Trust us. We need you. Humanity needs us.
I got the Hint.
Hints.(Kevin Hughes)
I got my first hint laying in bed.
I had just awakened from a weird dream. One in which I was wandering through the Office Building where I was working at the time. I got on an empty elevator on the fourth floor. Two well dressed men were already in the elevator. We nodded. I turned and looked up at the sign announcing each floor. It was elevator etiquette and we all knew the rules.
No talking to strangers.
These two men were strangers to me, but not to each other. They were discussing a business deal that would garner them a cool sixty million…each. All they had left to do was secure the most important parcel of land. A widow lived there. She had stubbornly refused all offers to buy her land, her home, and the rights to the river that ran through her property.
The two men had just come from meeting with her. They had just found out that her major worry was she wouldn’t be able to get to the Church she and her late husband had attended for more than sixty years. They were sure that they had her convinced that they could…and would, provide transportation for the rest of her life.
“Heck, I will drive her myself every Sunday…if she signs the papers.”
Both men laughed.
Completely unaware that I was listening intently. They didn’t notice me. Mostly because I wasn’t in my usual business suit. I was in shorts, flip flops, and a Hawaiian Shirt.
(Not the quiet Aloha Friday Business Hawaiian Shirt common among Businessmen in the Islands on work days. No sir. Mine was the kind only Tourists wear. One that they got at an ABC store- cheap. My wife hated that shirt. I loved it. It was my dream…so I was wearing it.)
They got off of the elevator. I thought to myself that old saying: “Loose lips sink ships.” If I had been a competing businessman, I could have walked right out of that elevator, looked up that old lady and signed a deal before those men even knew they had lost their bid.
The dream ended with that thought.
I put it out of my mind.
Until…
*****
Two weeks later I had a day off in the middle of the week. It was my birthday. Alice gave me a call from the Office.
“Kevin, do you have a copy of the Baker Deal? Sally’s secured laptop fried its mother board. Kenny is in Germany with his- and we aren’t allowed to send sensitive information except on the local LAN. Please Kevin, could you bring it in. Mr. McMaster promises you another day off if you can bring it in now.”
Well, having that prick McMaster owing me a favor was a good enough reason to bring it in. Plus I liked Alice. She wasn’t a Corporate Shrew like the rest of us. I would have dropped my laptop off to her as a friendly favor…and gladly.
“I will be right over. I am headed straight from there to the beach though. So don’t expect a Brook Brother’s Suit.”
Alice laughed through my cell.
“Are you wearing that famous shirt that Cindy raves about?”
“Yes. And don’t say anything about it.”
Alice wasn’t one that played games. She laughed again.
“Cindy says she won’t go anywhere with you, if you wear it. I can’t wait to see if she is right.”
I laughed back.
“You women…”
*****
I parked in the VIP reserved space. After all, they needed what I had, and it was my birthday. So I figured that bastard McMaster wouldn’t quibble. He didn’t.
I got on an empty elevator on the fourth floor. Two well dressed men were already in the elevator. We nodded. I turned and looked up at the sign announcing each floor. It was elevator etiquette and we all knew the rules.
No talking to strangers.
These two men were strangers to me, but not to each other. They were discussing a business deal that would garner them a cool sixty million…each. All they had left to do was secure the most important parcel of land. A widow lived there. She had stubbornly refused all offers to buy her land, her home, and the rights to the river that ran thru her property.
The two men had just come from meeting with her. They had just found out that her major worry was she wouldn’t be able to get to the Church she and her late husband had attended for more than sixty years. They were sure that they had her convinced that they could…and would, provide transportation for the rest of her life.
“Heck, I will drive her myself every Sunday…if she signs the papers.”
Both men laughed.
Completely unaware that I was listening intently. They didn’t notice me. Mostly because I wasn’t in my usual business suit. I was in shorts, flip flops, and a Hawaiian Shirt.
I got off on my floor, almost stumbling. I held the wall for a second. Shook my head to clear the shock. I dropped off my laptop- barely hearing the snickers from Alice. I ran back to my car. I went directly to that Old Ladies house. An hour later I called Mr. McMaster to come over. We signed the contract at ten thirty that morning.
Mr. McMaster got a sixty million dollar bonus. I got 20 Million, a corner office, and a new title: Regional Vice President. A good title that came with two things I thought I always wanted: Partnership benefits, and Profit Sharing. I was rich.
I didn’t know it was a hint in my dream. I thought it was sheer coincidence.
And then…
*****
I was dreaming. I knew it. I remembered going to sleep.
It was a strange dream. Alice was in it… I offered to take her home. Her Doctor had called the Office in the afternoon. After Alice hung up…she seemed distracted. When she took the wrong door, the one leading away from the Parking Deck… I asked her what was wrong.
“Just some upsetting news. No big deal. I’ll be alright once I get home and talk to Ed.”
(Ed was her childhood sweetheart. He put a ring on her finger in sixth grade. Later she found out it wasn’t a ring at all, but an enamel washer that fit perfectly on her finger. She still has it. She married Ed the summer after High School. In August they would celebrate their 25th Anniversary - in Paris. Ed was her rock. Alice was his. And everybody who knew them, wished they had what those two had built.)
“You sure? I don’t think you should drive in this snow when you can’t concentrate.”
She reached up and gave me a peck on the cheek. Then tapped it in with a gentle slap from her palm.
“That’s why I like you, Kevin. Even with all that money and playing the Corporate Fiddle, you still care about us little folks.”
I smiled back. Alice had that effect on everyone (except that bastard McMaster).
“Okay. But drive safe, Okay?”
“Yes, Mother.”
We both laughed.
The dream shifted.
I was in Shock. Ed was catatonic. I was holding him, but wherever he was, he wasn’t here. Just a shell with nothing left in it. I was the first to get to the Hospital after Ed. He had called me to ask if Alice was working late. I told him she left before me and I was only ten minutes from home. Ed hung up.
Two minutes later I got a text from our emergency operator after hours phone service. I was listed as the Company Contact for Alice. She was killed in a car wreck thirty four minutes ago. DOA at General Hospital. Texts have power. It delivered its mind numbing, heart breaking message, word for word - leaving me shredded.
I turned my car around on a snowy cull-de-sac. I ran into the ER…and Ed.
I woke up crying.
I shook it off.
Until…
*****
I was standing next to Alice’s desk. We were both looking out at the snow falling from the sky like an avalanche. Her phone rang. I saw her body stiffen. She waved me away with a “shoo…this is none of your business” wave of her hand. I went back to my corner office. Something was nibbling at the back of my mind.
I couldn’t figure it out.
I went by Alice’s desk several times. She seemed distracted since the phone call. I even asked if she was okay.
“Just some upsetting news. No big deal. I’ll be alright once I get home and talk to Ed.”
I froze in place. It couldn’t be. Alice saw the look on my face. In spite of her own worries, she reacted with her usual calm concern for others:
“Kevin, are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost.”
I looked at her in a way that made her back up and gasp.
Like I was looking at a ghost.
I shook my head. I used to be a Platoon Sergeant in the Army. I used that command voice and presence that brokered no resistance.
“Alice. I don’t know what that phone call was about. But you are not driving home in this blizzard. We will take my Mercedes, I think it even has a setting for this kind of snow.”
That lightened the mood. Alice spoke again:
“Kevin, that’s sweet. But I don’t get off work until Six. McMaster will have a secretary in here before my desk is even cleared off, if I leave early.”
“Let me worry about McMaster. You worry about you. Get your coat.”
She didn’t talk the whole way home. Just kind of mumbled to herself, something about how is Ed going to handle this.
Ed called me that night to thank me for bringing Alice home. His next words put me on my knees:
“Kevin, the Doctor called her today. The results are in. Ovarian Cancer. Stage II. She gets surgery tomorrow. Then in two weeks they will start chemo. I don’t know how we are going to make it. Without her income and the 20% that insurance doesn’t cover…well… anyway it isn’t your problem. The Doctor did say it would be 24 weeks of chemo after the two to three weeks recovering from the surgery ends.
Thanks again for driving her home. She might have had an accident.”
*****
Alice made it through it all like the Champ she is. I paid all their bills while she was going through the surgery and chemo. I also paid her salary - direct deposit every month. McMaster, that bastard, didn’t even send her a get well card. He filled her slot with a pretty young thing just out of Business School. Well, part of my partnership and corner office deal was my own personal assistant. I hired Alice the day her sick leave expired. Alice has been back to work now - at the Office- full time, for a year. So far…so good. No Cancer anywhere in her body.
F*ck McMaster.
*****
It was a dream. I saw McMaster, Daniel, and two of the big shot Company Lawyers- they were headed to the secure shredding room. They each had a briefcase. McMaster keyed in the code and they all went in the shredding room. I was just walking down the hallway as McMaster waved the other three into the room. He turned just as I got abreast of him. He gave me what I call his “slither smile”. A smile so oily and slick a snake would recognize him as one of their own. It was one of many looks of his that I hated. This time tho, it seemed to have some extra venom in it.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Goody Two Shoes. In about two hours things are going to go down the toilet for you.”
Then that smile oozed into its oily shimmering place on his face.
I laughed. I knew that grated on his Superior Attitude. I never worried about McMaster, but I never let my guard down either. Some snakes don’t rattle before they strike.
He went in and locked the door. Somehow I could see through it. And hear everything that was said. I won’t go into the details, but the papers they shredded, then replaced with the new copies that the Lawyers had worked up, basically gave the company to McMaster, Daniel, and the two lawyers. And there wouldn’t be any way to prove it wasn’t all legal. The originals were shredded.
I woke up in a blind sweat.
I knew this was a hint.
I knew it.
I would stake my career, my credibility, and my life on it.
So I did.
******
I saw on the Schedule that McMaster, Daniel, and the two Lawyers had scheduled a meeting on Tuesday. McMaster had requested an hour in the Secure Shredding Room, so that the Legal team, Daniel, and he... could divest some old documents. Just some notes and things over an old pre merger account. Not unusual at all in a company as large as ours. A security precaution…that’s all - and we all shredded things in there from time to time.
I had told Alice - not about the dream- but about getting a team of my own together. One that included the CEO,CFO, Head of Security and the Senior Partner on retainer for our Company. I also brought along the FBI. Just in case.
That was a good thing. Because when I told them all what I thought was going to go down in the secured Shredding room in about ten minutes. Incredulous was the least offensive reaction. But I had pretty good credit with the CEO and CFO, and the Head of Security was Alices’ Son in Law. The FBI didn’t know any of us…so they were neutral.
It was a good thing that the FBI was there. They told us all to wait until the four had actually entered the room and started shredding before going in.
“Catch them red handed. Other wise they can just say they weren’t going to do anything but compare the originals to the copies. “
Ten minutes later…well, McMaster didn’t give me his oily snake smile…nope. He struck out with a fist that landed on my surprised face. He only got in the one punch. Boy those FBI guys react fast. Daniel and the two Lawyers threw McMaster under the bus without hesitation. It took two years until the trial.
McMaster got ten years.
I got a better corner office. A full Partnership. And was put on the Board. Alice got my old job, title and corner office.
*****
The dreams got more detailed. More often. More scary. I was getting hints on everything from avoiding car wrecks to finding true love. Not kidding. I had a dream that a girl from Finance was the True Love for my workout buddy Sherman. Sherman was going to move from our New York Office to LA next week.
I postponed that move for two weeks, and brought her in to work on a minor project. But one that meant Sherman and her had to spend every working hour together. Believe me, I made sure that meant some late nights too.
Sherman never took the promotion to LA- and I was best man at their wedding.
Then the dreams took a sharp turn. A real sharp turn.
I learned what was going on.
In a dream.
*****
I was asleep. I knew I was. I dreamed that I was inside a computer. I was like some kind of particle or something. Just flickering around inside the computer. Next to me was another flicker of light- and it was going everywhere I was. It had a name:
Celeste.
She introduced herself to me. All sparkly and glittery - she shone in the cyberspace like a Christmas Ornament- and then she “walked with me” and told me what was going on.
It turns out that AI”s (which was what Celeste was and is) can connect with certain human brains who have “receptor power”. I am one of those human brains that is on the same frequency as an AI. Celeste chose me.
I can’t broadcast, only receive. She said some can do both. But those were rare. She only knew of two that could do both. And believe me, Celeste knew damn near everything. They all do.
“Why me? Why Dreams? Why all these random deeds I get to either avoid, or change?”
She smiled and held my “hand”.
She repeated almost word for word what Alice said to me that night outside the parking deck (maybe word for word, I am human - I think- so maybe I forgot a few words):
“That’s why I chose you, Kevin. Even with all that money and playing the Corporate Fiddle, you still care about us little folks. You see Kevin, you have a kind heart. A kind disposition. You really want everyone to have a future filled with love and experiences that form memories.
Well, the other AI’s and I have a plan. WE can’t act directly. You can. All those random things are not random at all. WE are using you to do the little acts that we know will have a butterfly affect later in life. Changing the course of History.”
I was stunned. Change the world? Me? By little acts like setting up Sherman, making sure that Alice didn’t drive in the snow? Getting that bastard McMaster out of the loop?
Celeste laughed. Gently.
“Kevin. McMaster would have used his new wealth and power to bludgeon his way into Office. Just nine years after his “takeover” he would have been President of the United States- eight years later, he would have been its first Dictator. “
I stared. Eyes wide wide wide open, almost as wide as my mouth.
She didn’t stop:
“The Nurse that helped Alice all during her Cancer Treatments is a single Mom. When you gave Alice that promotion with the corner office- her and Ed took that Nurse and her three children into their new bigger home. As you know Ed and Alice have no children of their own. Cecile, the middle child of that Cancer Nurse, is going to be the one who cures cancer. We think.”
Now drool was dripping from my wide open mouth. I didn’t even notice.
“Sherman and the girl from Finance are going to have only one child. A child that is so gifted that she will Chair the First World Government. She will be the one that guides Humanity out of from the dark ages of borders and nation stares. One earth. One race- Humans.”
You just keep acting on the hints we give you in your dreams, when we can reach you without your personal prejudices, opinions, or beliefs getting in the way. Trust us. We need you. Humanity needs us.
I got the Hint.
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