Alizar and the Crisis: An Alizar Adventure (The Adventures of Alizar Book 2) Read online

  [High Council Meeting, it’s Walter Karnaugh. Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking. In addition, I think we should look into the situation in Mountain Pass, California. There are rich deposits of minerals there and a co-located refinery. All situations that we could use to our advantage. I’d like to have high council approval to make an offer for Polycorp, the company that owns those operations.]

  [High Council Meeting, it’s Alizar. If there is no objection, we’ll note that an offer for Polycorp is approved.]

  [High Council Meeting, it’s Walter Karnaugh. There are two other long shots that I think we should be pursuing. The first is seabed mining. The second is mining the asteroids between the 4th and 5th planets. These are items that should be added to the agenda, Claude, when you and I meet in Harrisburg. There are companies that are already looking into both of these areas. We should consider an investment or a consulting arrangement. For example, it may be time to introduce our star drive technology. That would certainly be a contribution to the asteroid mining operations.]

  [High Council Meeting, it’s Alizar. I think that covers everything. If there are no other issue to bring before our meeting, we are adjourned until next time. Thanks to you all.]

  Walter Karnaugh doesn’t leave the meeting room right away.

  [Claude Applebee, it’s Walter Karnaugh. I’m going to need an administrative assistant. Liz Mosby has been doing some of that but we’ve got more important work for her. Do you have anybody in mind?]

  [Walter Karnaugh, it’s Claude Applebee. I just may. We have a young beta who just graduated from Penn State – Berks campus with a business degree who has been living at your Wyomissing, Pennsylvania house as an estate manager while he was going to school. Why don’t I send him to Harrisburg and you can meet him there?]

  [Claude Applebee, it’s Walter Karnaugh. You’re the best, Claude. See if you can get him to meet us in Harrisburg. I’ll see you there in a few dawnings.]

  Chapter 4

  (187th dawning of the 3,687th orbit)

  3rd Planet

  Liz and Walter chat as they enjoy lunch in the casual ambiance of the Coffee Shop of the Little America Hotel across the street from the Grand America Hotel after the conclusion of the high council meeting.

  “Liz, I have two things I want to do before we leave Salt Lake City. As I’m sure you’ve observed, I need to improve my wardrobe. Before I was awakened as a beta, my idea of high fashion was jeans and a T-shirt from a rock concert. My waist was 40 and I weighed 220. I’m now down to 190 and my waist is 34. As you know, this is normal for a newly awakened beta learning to teach our bodies how to grow. I also have an extensive coin collection housed in a vault here that I have seen in this life and I’d like to look at some of the coins. Revisit old friends so to speak. Are you up for that?”

  “That sounds like an idea. You can’t go visit companies like Montana Mining Machinery dressed in those old baggy clothes.”

  “While you check to see if you can find us a motel in Harrisburg, I’ll call the vault company and schedule an appointment for tomorrow dawning.”

  Both attack their cell phones vigorously. After a few minutes, Liz says, “OK, I got us reservations at the Wingate in Mechanicsburg, PA. I’ve also reserved us a conference room for our stay. It was not easy finding a place that welcomes our furry friends. By the way, I just got a text message that our driver is waiting for us across the street in front of the hotel. Do you know where we’re going to get this new wardrobe?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do. I remembered the Utah Woolen Mills from a previous life.”

  As they cross the street the car and driver are waiting. “Driver, we want to go to the Utah Woolen Mills. Do you know where that is?”

  “Yes, Sir, it’s on South Temple.”

  Within a few minutes they arrive at the store. As they enter they’re approached by a distinguished looking gentleman. “Hi, I’m Taylor, how may I help you.”

  “Hi, Taylor, I’m Walter Karnaugh. I’ve recently lost some weight and I need a whole new wardrobe.”

  “We can take care of that. Let’s get some measurements first. Have you shopped here before?”

  “Well, not in this life time,” Walter said, thinking he doesn’t realize I mean that literally.

  “You say a whole new wardrobe, what did you have in mind? “

  “Well, I was thinking a suit, a sports coat, a couple of pair of slacks, some dress shirts, some sport shirts, some ties, a pair of shoes and some socks. Those are the things I need immediately. Then perhaps another three or four suits, another sports coat, three more pair of slacks, and maybe a dozen dress shirts that you could ship to my Wyomissing, Pennsylvania residence. Oh, and I’ll probably need a belt or two.”

  “How long will you be in town, Sir?”

  “We’d like to leave tomorrow afternoon. I’ve got a meeting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in two days.”

  “Ok, let me finish the measurements. We’ll pick out the things you want today and we’ll get the tailor started on the alternations so we can have everything ready for you by noon tomorrow. Where are you staying?”

  “We’re at the Grand American Hotel.”

  “Any particular brand of suit that you prefer?”

  “No, I’ll leave that up to you.”

  Taylor walks to the rack of suits and, after careful consideration, picks out three. “Do any of these appeal to you?”

  “I like the gray herringbone. What do you think, Liz?”

  “I like that one also. The others are fine.”

  “Let’s look at sports coats.”

  Picking out a sports coat, Taylor holds it up for inspection. “I think you’ll like this one.”

  “That’s super,” Walter acknowledges. “What slacks should go with that?”

  Picking out two pair of slacks Taylor says, “Here, try on the suit and I’ll get the tailor.”

  The business with the tailor goes smoothly. They pick out the shirts, socks and belts. They also pick out three more suits, another sports coat and three pair of slacks.

  Taylor leads them to the shoe department. “I think you should consider at least two pair of shoes.” They try on shoes and pick out a couple of pair.

  “Can you think of anything else that you’ll need today, Mr. Karnaugh?”

  “That’s all for me. Is there anything that you want, Liz?”

  “Why yes, I think I’d like to look at a new suit.”

  Taylor smiles. “Let me get someone to help you while Mr. Karnaugh and I take care of the business end of things.” He gestures of a young woman. “Please take this young lady and show her our women’s collection.”

  Taylor hands Walter a sales slip. “Your total comes to $11,700.00. I’m afraid I must add our Utah sales tax which is 6.85%. That brings the total to $12,501.45.” Walter hands him one of his VISA cards.

  Liz returns with two dresses. “This is a very nice store, Walter. I couldn’t find a suit but I found two dresses. I’m going to get them fitted now. Can I have these by tomorrow?’

  “I believe we can do that.” says Taylor.

  “Taylor, add those to my bill,” Walter directs.

  Liz smiles, “Why thank you!”

  [Walter, you’re so good to me.]

  [Liz, well, I calculate that I might as well pay now; otherwise you’ll just make sure it appears on my legal bill at the end of the month.]

  [Walter, oh, you figured that out, did you?]

  Chapter 5

  (188th dawning of the 3,687th orbit)

  3rd Planet

  Walter, Liz, Alizar and Laketa are having breakfast in their suite at the hotel.

  [It’s Walter. I’ve got a treat for you all this morning. While were waiting for my new wardrobe to be delivered, we’ll have time to go look at some of my coin collection. It’s stored in a vault here in Salt Lake City. Is everybody ready to go?]

  As they exit the hotel, the car and driver are waiting. Walter hands the driver a card. “Here’s the address
where we want go to this morning.”

  When they arrived at the designated address, everybody jumps out and enters a formidable looking building. They entered a well-appointed lobby where a young woman sits behind an imposing desk. “Good Morning, I’m Walter Karnaugh. I believe my law firm told you I’d be visiting this morning.”

  “Yes, Mr. Karnaugh, Mr. Reginal Jones is expecting you. Please have a seat and he’ll be with you momentarily.”

  A dark-suited young man enters the lobby. If his hair cut was any more severe, he’d have to be in a military uniform. “Mr. Karnaugh, good morning. I’m Reginal Jones. I understand that you’re the heir to a coin collection that is housed with us. When your law firm called, they said you wanted to see boxes No. 37 and No. 38. I’ve arranged a viewing room for you. Is there anything else that you’d like to see this morning?”

  “No, that will be all this morning. Thank you, Mr. Jones.”

  “Please follow me then.”

  They went down a long hall with doors every 20 feet or so on both sides of the corridor. The doors were lettered. Mr. Jones opened Door H. “Here we go.” The room had a board room style conference table with 5 chairs on each side. A sideboard held what appeared to be a coffee service. There were two bankers’ boxes on the table. A uniformed guard stood next to the boxes. “There’s coffee on the sideboard. Just ring the buzzer when you’re done and I come back and collect you. Will you need anything else?”

  “Thanks, Mr. Jones. We’ll ring when we’re done.” Jones and the guard leave unobtrusively.

  [Some coffee, Liz? Alizar? Laketa?] He starts to serve the coffee.

  [Heavy on the cream and sugar for mine,] Alizar reminds him.

  [Same for mine,] Laketa chimes in.

  Walter starts opening the boxes and passing out smaller boxes from within. [Well, I think you’re all in for a treat. This is my collection of British gold sovereigns. These coins were first minted under the Coinage Act of 1816 and were produced at a new mint at London’s Tower Hill using steam driven presses by James Watt. They were minted originally for circulation as one-pound coins in Great Britain starting in 1817 for King George III. If you’ll recall your history, he was the British King during the American Revolution. They continue today for Queen Elizabeth II. I read in recent article that they are issuing a special coin for the 2017 200th anniversary of the 1st gold sovereign. This collection is complete up to 1980. I’ll have to work on acquiring the coins minted since then. You’ll notice that all of them are enclosed in plastic. All of these have been expertly graded and sealed in these clear plastic containers. That’s called being slabbed.]

  Holding up one of the coins, Liz thinks, [These are lovely. Some of these must be very valuable.]

  [Why yes, I believe some of them are. The most valuable is the one issued for King Edward VIII. He was the king that abdicated and was only king for 326 days. Only about 5,000 were minted and in Proof only. One of these recently sold at auction for £516,000. Perhaps we should make a note to get the whole collection appraised, so we make sure we have adequate insurance.]

  Laketa looking over Liz’s shoulder, [These are really beautiful. What do the numbers in the description mean? I see that most of these are MS60 or a number like that.]

  [That’s the grade of the coin. MS60 to MS70 are uncirculated coins. Usually, the higher the grade the more valuable the coin.]

  [In a much earlier life I remember that the pharaoh had a collection of gold that he had hidden in a mountain cave, we would visit it occasionally just like we’re doing today. I wonder what happened to that collection. It could still be hidden away today,] Alizar thought wistfully.

  [Do you think you could find it again?]

  [Me, no! but Marus was with me in those days and he’ll know exactly where it is.]

  [We’ll have to put that on our “to-do list” because I think we’re going to need some serious money in the days ahead.]

  Chapter 6

  (188th dawning of the 3,687th orbit)

  3rd Planet

  The delivery courier arrived at the airport with stacks of boxes. All of the new clothes arrived as promised. Once these were loaded on the plane, they were able to depart at noon as planned. The flight was uneventful. The best kind.

  Walter thought it would be nice to arrange a meeting with Ralph Steinmark, the manufacturing manager at Montana Mining Machinery.

  [Ralph Steinmark, it’s Walter Karnaugh. I’ve just arrived in Harrisburg and I was wondering if you’re free for dinner this evening? I’m here to visit your factory tomorrow and I was hoping that you could give me the lay of the land. One beta to another. We’re staying at the Wingate in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.]

  [Walter Karnaugh, it’s Ralph Steinmark. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’d be delighted to dine with you. What time?]

  [Ralph, why don’t you meet us at the 18th hour at the hotel?]

  [Walter, I’ll see you at the 18th hour.]

  [Paul Snyder, it’s Walter Karnaugh. Have you arrived in Harrisburg yet?]

  [Walter, yes, I have. I’ve just checked into the Wingate.]

  [Paul, excellent. Meet us in the lobby. We’ll be checking in in a few minutes.]

  [Claude Applebee, it’s Walter Karnaugh. Are you in Harrisburg yet?]

  [Walter, yes. I’m waiting for you with Paul at the hotel.]

  [Claude, that’s great. We’ll be there shortly. Right after we check in we’re meeting with Paul Snyder, as you suggested, to see if we want him to join the team and then we’re dining with Ralph Steinmark, the manufacturing manager, to pick his brains about Montana Mining Machines.]

  [Walter, it sounds like an exciting evening. I can’t wait!]

  Claude Applebee and Paul Snyder are in the lobby as Walter and Liz come into the hotel.

  “Hello, Paul, I’m Walter Karnaugh,” Walter introduces himself to Paul Snyder.

  “Mr. Karnaugh, it’s so nice to meet you,” Paul says shaking his hand.

  “And Mr. Applebee, it so nice to finally meet you,” Walter says shaking hands with Claude Applebee. “As soon as I check in, let’s all go to my room so we can chat.”

  Chapter 7

  (188th dawning of the 3,687th orbit)

  Ganymede Station

  Sabian Wolfe, a mine owner on Ganymede station, and Jared Coleman, the Council Chairman on Ganymede station, are in the Council Chairman’s office.

  [Jared Coleman, I’m glad we’re back on Ganymede. My weight is back to normal. It was a struggle weighing seven times normal during our visit to the 3rd planet.]

  [Sabian, well, I warned you to keep up your exercises. You need to keep your muscles in shape if you’re going to be hopping around the star system. How are you finding our labor unrest situation since we’ve been back?]

  [Jared, if anything it’s much worse. We’ve adjusted the miner’s pay so they aren’t losing money when they’re operating the less efficient machines, but we’re still hearing grumblings.]

  [Sabian, well, keep your eye on the situation and keep me informed.]

  Chapter 8

  (188th dawning of the 3,687th orbit)

  3rd Planet

  Laketa Godeswanger, Alizar el Shelamus, Claude Applebee, Elizabeth “Liz” Mosby, Paul Snyder and Walter Karnaugh are all meeting in Walter’s room.

  [Meeting, it’s Walter Karnaugh. Paul, the reason we asked you here today is that I’m looking for an executive administrative assistant. We’ve just come from a high council meeting where we learned that the People in this star system face a serious crisis. All of us here and the companies that I own are going to be involved in solving the problems that arise out of this crisis. Is that something that you’d be interested in?]

  [Meeting, it’s Paul Snyder. Yes, very much so. I’ve just graduated from Penn State Berks with a business degree and while going to school I’ve been the estate manager at what I now understand is your house in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. I’m looking for the next opportunity.]

  [Meeting, it’s Alizar. Paul
, citing our resume for the People is tricky. You have just gotten a business degree in this life but what did you do in previous lives?]

  [Meeting, it’s Paul. I’ve had many interesting lives and done a variety of things. At one point, I got a mechanical engineering degree from MIT and worked for many years designing railroad cars. One of my most interesting assignments was designing the rolling stock that are used to transport the automobiles on Amtrak’s Auto Train. In another life, I was in the army and was the chief of firing battery in an artillery outfit. 150 orbits ago I was the bouncer in a whore house in Nome, Alaska. That’s just some highlights. I’m in my 65th life. I could go on. I could tell you about my life as a baker in the court of King Louis XV of France.]

  [Meeting, it’s Alizar. No, Paul, I think that covers it. We like People who have had a wide variety of experiences.]

  [Meeting, it’s Walter. So, Paul, my Executive Assistant will work with me and all my companies as we work our way through this crisis. What do you think? Do you want to come aboard with our little band of thieves?]

  [Meeting, it’s Paul. Yes, Mr. Karnaugh, I would like to join you.]

  [Meeting, OK, Paul, welcome to the team. Did I explain that you’ll have to keep your job as estate manager in Wyomissing?]

  [Meeting. No, you didn’t but I figured that that might be part of the deal. My companion is there now taking care of things. The aliens on the staff are used to taking orders from her.]

  [Meeting, it’s Walter. Good. Now that that’s settled, the next order of business is to meet with Ralph Steinmark/Mike Pakkeer who is the manufacturing manager at Montana Mining Machinery. That’s the company we’re visiting tomorrow. They’re also the company that’s not delivering the maintenance parts we need for the mining machines at the Ganymede station. I told this guy that we’d have dinner with him. I think it would be best if we’re not seen in public with him at this point. We have a conference room reserved here in the hotel. Let’s see if we can rustle up some pizza and beer. Paul, that’s your first assignment.]