Reboot

It seemed like “everyone” showed up. They started trickling in a week before the start with trinkets to trade and stories to tell. Towns were left empty for hundreds of kilometers in all directions. People walked, ran and rode to Eugene. They slept in tents or they simply moved into an abandoned houses and cleaned them up. Food stalls, drinks, booze, info booths, picnic areas were ready and waiting for them. U’s were sometimes asked for, and for other things no payment was requested. If you couldn’t offer anything, you certainly weren’t turned away. Services were provided for the fun of it. Maybe also for a bit of glory. Many people weren’t interested in the race. They were more interested in meeting people, so the kiosks were filled with volunteers who like to gab. It was a first after all, so everyone wanted to be part of it. There was a carnival atmosphere. There were jugglers and clowns, magicians and musicians, colorful banners and all types of decorations. It was warm summer weather. People were dressed in colorful clothing they had made themselves, often in support of their racer who had been given a particular banner. There was a feeling of happiness and togetherness.Each team was given a space and a garage near the starting area. Nothing fancy, just tents. Mayor Rather was enjoying the attention and obviously liked to organize events.There was a large sound system for the commentary, which would be supplied by Veneta’s vociferous and ample mayor, Mr. Stevens. We parked him high up in the arena where he could see everything. He’d be heard on giant speakers all over the area and on the radio.

Dutch, William and I were walking around looking at the people and the various

stalls that had been set up. I was looking at some jewelry.

“This is very good work”. I said looking at the lady behind the table. She smiled.

“These would look good on you Robert.” Dutch was holding up a pair of earrings made from finely detailed crystals.

“Don’t get too excited,” I replied and turned back to the lady. “This is very nice, exquisite work.” I continued. She was obviously very proud of it. She was beaming. “What are you going to do with them?” I wondered because she couldn’t really sell them.

“I want to talk about them. See if I can find others who can teach me how to get better. Then I’ll give them away or trade them and then I’ll go make more.” She said.

“Can I have these?” I showed her the earrings. “I know a nice girl who will appreciate them very much.

“Of course. Just make sure you tell her that you got them from Emily, from Roseburg.” She smiled as she gave me the earrings. She made me very happy this woman. People were now perfecting their skills because they wanted to, not because they had to.

As I was looking at a particularly appealing locket, and thinking about Joanna, a man came by and started discussing processes with our artist. We listened for a while. He was asking about grinders. I promised to come back. She smiled and said ok. As we were leaving, we turned around and came face to face with Rourke.

“I’ll be damned,” exclaimed William happily. “Look who’s back”.

“Hello to you too big man.” Rourke smiled up at William who was a head taller. He shook hands and his disappeared in William’s.

I grabbed him by the shoulders. I was genuinely happy to see him. “I was hoping you’d come see our little party. It’s really good to see you Rourke.” He flushed a bit. “Well thanks, it’s nice to be missed.” He smiled. “But I didn’t come to watch.

“What?” asked William.

“I came to drive.”There was a happy gasp in the group.

“Why am I not surprised,” snickered Dutch. William was smiling and shaking his head.

“You have a car?” I asked.

“Well obviously. You want to see it?”

“Absolutely,” we all replied at once.

As we walked with him I asked the obvious question: “I suppose you’re aware of the specs limitations for the ride?”

“Yes. I’ve been monitoring your comms. And we’ve been working on these cars long before you people got to it.”

“Of course.”

He took us for a short walk to where his car was parked on a trailer. It looked no different than mine.

“Very nice,” said William.

“No tricks though, right?” said Dutch.

“You don’t trust me?” laughed Rourke.

“Oh I trust you alright,” he went on. “I trust you to surprise the heck out of us”.

We went off to get some food and sat down at one of the picnic tables. When we had some privacy, we started talking about more important things.

“How was the radio message received? Did people react?” I asked him. He was in an ideal position to watch their reactions.

“I think it’s working. Folks have no problem believing your story. That what I saw in my group anyway. There’s doubt of course, I mean, no one is going to take up arms and attack government forces anytime soon, but it’s going in the right direction. They don’t really know how to react. It’s like, what now? You know?”

“Mmm. I guess that’s fine for now. Let’s see what happens when it gets heavier”..

“Heavier?” asked Rourke.

“Yes, when the Marshals start flexing.”

“Of course. You’re expecting trouble?”

“Absolutely. I see two possible outcomes. Either they do what’s right, organize elections, or they do what I expect and start pushing.”

“How do you mean, pushing?”

“They’ll do what has worked before. They need to demonize me so they’ll cause some mayhem and blame me. They need people to accept the old monetary system? So they’ll create a need for security forces. The first step towards that is sending out these marshals. I would watch Colby like a hawk.”

William asked Rourke about his plans. “How is your transition going? You know from camp counselor to politician?” He smiled at Rourke’s grimace. It was clear that Rourke’s new direction towards respectability as mayor of a small town was disconcerting as well as surprising to him. It clearly wasn’t the direction he’d thought his life would take.

“Well, you roll with the punches, you know. But it’s going ok.”

“How’s the move going?” Asked William.

“Some of us have moved to Idaho Falls. Haven’t had much to do really. People are doing it by themselves, getting their stuff together and going out there. It takes time because we don’t have that many vehicles, so we have to do a lot of trips. Not very complicated though. I’m finding other aspects of the job a little daunting.”

“Like what?”

“Well we had a pest problem I had to take care of, one of my neighbors was very interested in getting his hands on our stuff. And then there’s plumbing and waste management. Childcare. Parent-teacher associations. Divorce settlements. Sunday picnics. Hell, I’ve even got a priest breathing down my neck.”

“Heehee….” We all laughed. He giggled too.

“Welcome to public service,” I said.