blood is the cure FOR cancer; I stated that it CAN cure cancer. There is no way in hell your body will ever produce enough blood to wipe out cancer; not at 100 to 500 MILs per person.” Corba relaxes back into her chair, realizing that she has broken him down. “Now that you’ve been kind enough to waste half an hour of my morning with your tantrum- I would appreciate your doing the hospital a favor.”
“Sure.” Rory says quickly, just wanting this meeting to end so that he can get back home.
“Are you familiar with the show Our World Today?”
“Yes, it’s a late night talk show.”
“That’s correct. Sheldon Miller has asked that you appear on his show and he is offering a $100,000 grant for fifteen minutes of your time. I would like you to attend that interview.”
“Are you kidding me?” Rory asks, folding his arms again defensively.
“The hospital,” she begins, holding out her hand, “has agreed to give you $50,000 if you will take the interview. No- I’m not kidding you!”
Rory opens his mouth, then closes it again, feeling like a small child for a second as she answers his next question before it can leave his lips.
“Fine, when is the interview?” Rory, asks impatiently.
“It’s tonight at eight p.m.”
“Jesus Christ, and you people don’t bother to ask if I have any plans?”
“Do you have any plans?”
“I’ll be there,” Rory gives in with a deep sigh, “just… try to keep me more informed.”
“Thank you, Rory,” Corba replies dutifully, rising from her seat to shake his hand, “and please don’t wear these… clothes; wear something nice. Well, before I leave, do you have any other bones you’d like to pick?” Corba asks with threatening eyes.
“No, we’re all good.” He answers, looking away from her for a moment.
“Thanks for your time, Mr. Chambers; I look forward to seeing you on television this evening.” She winks at him with a winning smile, then steps purposefully across the tan carpet and out of the room.
“Break a leg, buddy.” Doctor Yahmir says with apologetic eyes, patting Rory on the arm as he gets up to make his rounds.
“Yeah…” Rory blurts out with wide eyes, sighing with frustration as he continues to process the conversation like a bad car accident.
Later that evening, Rory is sitting in the green room at a studio in Burbank, trying to relax before appearing on Our World Today with Sheldon Miller. For the second time this week, he is dressed formally in his black pinstripe suit wearing subtle, brown dress shoes, and a new snakeskin belt. He closes his soft brown eyes for a moment, holding a cold bottle of water to his temple.
From the large, overstuffed black leather chair, the feeling of watching a show that he will soon make an appearance on is unnerving. He tries to focus on the program, studying the guest who is currently featured on the show, attempting to understand what will be expected during the interview. His eyes glaze over a bit as he watches Josh Asherton, a former Army Engineer, talking about how to fix the United States economy. The man speaks with a great deal of passion, as does the host, and there is a rapid exchange of talking points. Rory observes carefully as they swap hand gestures and elevate their voices every so often. Soon he hears the audience coaches telling everyone to prepare to cheer as they return from the commercial break.
The studio audience goes wild as the cameras zoom in toward Josh Asherton and Sheldon Miller while the Our World Today logo splashes across the screen with a metallic animation. Each man displays an obligatory smile to the camera as they sit across from one another at a solid white oak desk.
When the applause die down, the host, Sheldon Miller, quickly welcomes everyone back from the commercial break; his distinctive tuft of gray hair on proud display under the corporate mood lighting created by the set. The rest of his hair is short and black, which looks debonair for the Spanish American in his early thirties. He is dressed in a studio approved black suit and yellow tie with blue stripes, which was chosen to match his bright blue eyes.
Josh Asherton sits across from him with a more human look in his dark brown eyes. He presents himself as, in his own words, ‘an Anglo Saxon turned hippie,’ showing off a crop of messy, sandy brown hair, and completing the look with thick eyeglasses. He is dressed in a bright orange button-down shirt and tan cargo pants.
“I have been talking with former Army Engineer Josh Asherton,” Sheldon broadcasts with his authoritative voice, smiling for the cameras with pizzazz. “Our topic is modern day ghost towns, and Josh has been telling us how to fix the US economy within just six months?” Sheldon ends his statement in a question, nodding his head a bit and prompting his guest to speak.
“Yes, that’s correct,” Josh says more to Sheldon than to the rest of the studio. His voice has a rough, good-old-boy tone, and he speaks with a steady passion. “I actually have a plan that will fix the economy for over ten years, and lead to prosperity.”
“Yeah, but isn’t that the Government’s job?” Sheldon asks with a boyish smile, winking at the cameras.
“Well, Sheldon, that’s like saying if a guy ran over my dog with his car, but then told me he was a vet, I should go ahead and trust him to fix my dog.”
“That depends,” Sheldon says with a smirk, “what is the dog’s name?”
“Sheldon.” Josh replies with a knowing smile.
“I love that name!” The young host exclaims, nearly jumping out of his chair. Then he feigns sheepishly at the camera and instantly returns from his comedy antics back to a serious conversation. “So again the book is called ‘Modern Day Ghost Towns,’ and it talks about fixing the US economy by repeating history, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Josh confirms, “but good history.”
“Right,” Sheldon responds with an electric smile, “we don’t want to fix the economy with any bad history; they’re already going forward with that plan.”
“Exactly,” Josh says with a laid back nod, “years ago, America used to be filled with all these towns. But pretty soon there came along these big places called cities; filled with indoor plumbing, electricity, telephones- and after a short time nobody wanted to live in the towns anymore.”
“You had me at indoor plumbing,” Sheldon says with both fists under his chin and his elbows pressed against the white oak desk.
“Now these cities were successful because they had better planning than the towns; they brought more services to people that were needed. But over the past hundred years, our telephones have evolved at a geometric rate, along with our entertainment mediums like iPods and such, but our cities remain antiquated, Sheldon.”
“So what do you propose we do?” Sheldon asks with a fierce grin. “Do you want Apple to design new cities for us? Could we evolve back to towns so they could be called iTowns?”
“Sure, I don’t care what the hell you call them as long as the Government doesn’t design them.”
“Amen to that.” Sheldon agrees with a bright white smile.
“Well we really don’t need a new design- that Walt Disney World in Florida was designed with amazing efficiency. The casinos and resorts in Vegas are designed with efficiency to use renewable energy, eliminate waste, and so on.
Hell, Sheldon, we already have all the best blueprints for creating the next evolution in cities, and the goal should be to cut 30% or more of the waste out of the American lifestyle.”
“But what’s more American than throwing stuff away?” Sheldon beams sarcastically.
“Being rich from being smart is more American.” Josh quips dryly.
“Well played, Sir,” Sheldon says with a genuine smile, “I believe being rich is every American’s favorite pastime. So we are running out of time… Can you just tell me what you propose we should do?”
“Certainly,” Josh begins with proud eyes, “we take $400 Billion, buy some land parcels in transportation hubs, and start building two new cities as the models for the future of American life. The goal of each city is to be as efficient as possible and cut the cost of living by 30%. Now as the cities are being built, we put them into an IPO so that Wall Street can fight over them for ten years. Then after ten full years of economic stimulus, the Federal Government sells off its shares to the IPO and uses that to payoff some of The National Debt.”
“Nah,” Sheldon says with a smirk, “I think we’ll just keep printing money instead. All that stuff you’re talking about sounds too exhausting, and how is it going to create jobs? All that glass, asphalt, electrical wire, and steel; will only create jobs for the people who make those things… in China.”
The audience bursts into laughter for a few seconds as Sheldon wraps up by thanking his guest for his time and gesturing for him to exit the set toward the dressing rooms.
“Now my next guest has become an overnight sensation; apparently his blood is able to cure certain illnesses such as AIDS and even some forms of cancer. Please everyone give a warm welcome to Rory Chambers.” Sheldon announces with enthusiasm.
Rory walks out