“Lan, finally. I was going to call you priority today if I didn’t hear anything. Where are you?”
“At JPL in California.”
“Good God. What do you know about the confusing stories we’re hearing from everywhere? No two sources seem to be saying the same thing.”
“That’s what I’m here to straighten out. It seems there’s politics involved, even at a time like this. Don’t ask me to go into it.”
“I won’t. But is it as bad as some people are telling us?”
“Worse. I don’t know if it’s general knowledge yet, but the President will be making a statement at six tonight, Eastern Time.”
“Yes, they announced it last night.”
“It probably won’t go into everything. . . . Look, Marvin, major evacuation and emergency measures are going to be set into motion very soon. When it starts, the public authorities are going to be swamped. I think Amspace should start putting a plan together now to get its own people out to somewhere safer and then take care of them for a while. There isn’t going to be much for them to do at Kingsville.”
Curtiss compressed his mouth and nodded. “We might really lose some of the coastal areas, then?”
“Marvin, we might be losing all of the Central Plains. This is what I’m urging you to do. Collect all the transportation you can muster—the firm’s trucks and buses and whatever people have got that’s sturdy and rugged, and also anything that can fly. If things deteriorate rapidly, it may be a question of use it before you lose it. Try to keep the people together before they start scattering, and have them sort out things they’re going to need from stuff that can be left, and have it packed and ready. The rule is, travel light. Begin now on stocking food, fuel, and so on before the restrictions. Stake a claim on any piece of real estate you can get them to that’s high. I’d like to include my people over at Protonix in it too.”
Curtiss nodded his head and swallowed. “Yes . . . yes, of course.” His eyes had a glazed look. “I’ll start on it today. . . . When will you be back?”
“I don’t really know yet. But here’s a priority code that will get me if they start restricting the public system. I’ll talk to you again tonight, after we hear what Hayer has to say.”
“Very well, Lan. And thanks. . . .” Curtiss took in a long breath and shook his head. “Phew! . . . I don’t know. All of a sudden you find you have to rethink everything. I’m not really sure what’s the thing to say.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Keene replied. “I’ve been seeing it a lot lately.”
Next, he called Vicki, who had also been wondering what had become of him. He summarized his call to Curtiss and asked her to let the girls at the office know to begin their own preparations accordingly. Apparently Karen hadn’t shown up the day before. Vicki thought she might have changed her plans and gone to Dallas already.
Uncharacteristically, Vicki seemed to be looking for something further to say when there really wasn’t a lot more, as if she wanted to keep him there just a little longer. Keene realized with a start that, for the first time in the years he had known her, he was seeing her close to tears. “Oh . . . it’s not so much me, it’s Robin,” she told him. “You give your whole life and do everything you can for them, and it comes to this. . . . What did he ever do?”
What was Keene supposed to say? “What do any of the kids ever do?” he grunted. “Or most of any of the people, come to that? There was never any contract that said it has to be fair. This is the way the deal came out.” He wanted to be consoling, but to his own ears it came out gruff and callous. Maybe he was weary of the subject already; or just tired. It seemed to help, nevertheless.
Vicki nodded and brushed her cheek quickly with a knuckle. “Sorry, Lan. I’m being silly.”