Island IV – Meetings · Part 5

Island IV – Meetings · Part 5 (5/21)
Previous · Next

utchered over in South Island. It’s still hamburger, but a little bit different.” Jim pointed to the menu.

“Okay, I’ll try it. Your advice has been on the money so far; I’ll take the risk. What’s this new project?”

After ordering Jim leaned back in his chair. “Ever hear of a place called Djibouti?”

Virgil frowned. “It sounds familiar, somewhere in Africa?”

Jim nodded. “It’s a tiny place, nothing there, except it sits at the entrance to the Red Sea. Virtually all the shipping from Asia to Europe sails by the place on its way to transit the Suez Canal.”

Virgil nodded in recognition. “Oh yeah, it was in the news, something about pirates. I’m confused though, what’s it got to do with currency trading?”

Jim smiled. “Normally, nothing at all. The economy there is insignificant, miniscule GDP. However, the major industry is coastal military bases, specifically China, Japan, the U. S. and a few European powers, for anti-piracy patrols. Personnel number in the thousands, and they all want western style infrastructure. That means construction, and that’s where I come in. Local wages are paid in Djibouti francs, converted from major trading currencies. I did some research, and it looks like there might be a market imbalance.”

“Okay,” Virgil agreed, “so why don’t the big investment banks gobble it up?”

Jim had that “cat who ate the canary” look. “Not big enough to interest a trading desk. They depend on margins from trading millions. This is in the tens of thousands, way too small to bother, except for the little guy, like you and me. If we time it right, I think we can get five percent ROI with a trade of around 100,000 in U. S. dollars. Does that sound like something you’d get in on? I’m limiting the pool to myself and a few others, starting at a manageable $25K buy in each. There is potential in this being a recurring operation if we keep a low profile.”

Foreign exchange was always risky, especially in an area where a war could break out any time, day or night. Still, the amount at risk wouldn’t be too painful if it wound up a loser. The profit wasn’t enormous but Jim had a talent for finding quite a few of his “imbalances”. Over time the amounts did add to a decent return on his investment, especially if it could be rolled over with the same terms. “Okay, I’m in.

“Good, that’ll fill the pool. A little bird informed me there will be two large construction contracts announced next week in Djibouti City. At least one of the local banks will need dollars to import materials…and the construction company will need the francs to pay local workers. That’s our edge.”

Their food arrived and both men began eating. “So, what do you think? Gonna convert to native African beef?” Jim asked.

“It is different. Not bad, but I’m used to corn fed Midwest US beef. I suppose this is healthier, but if I worried about that I wouldn’t be eating a hamburger.”

Jim shrugged. “Well, at least you can say you had the experience. Speaking of different, how is it going with your Penny and Sheila? I gather from your description they are nearly opposites in personality.”

Virgil nodded. “That’s true. Penny is active, an extrovert, sometimes outspoken nearly to the point where I have to intervene, though she has a good sense of what she can get away with and the point where she has to stop. Sheila is the opposite. She is obsessed with rules and how well she follows them. Anything I say she takes literally, too often as criticism. The two do balance each other out, though. I can see how Sheila tends to keep Penny in check, and Penny’s exuberance helps draw Sheila out. I did take your advice about separate rooms, and coming down hard on any hint of competition or jealousy.”

“Trust me, they need a sanctuary when frictions build up. It’s natural they want to keep their individuality. Giving them a place to go, and a promise it’s sacrosanct, is vital to keeping your house in order. If you ever catch one of them violating the room rule you have to be especially nasty in ensuring it never happens again. Both of them rely on you to keep your promises.”

On the Patio When Virgil arrived home after lunch, he found Penny and Sheila at the patio table on the back porch. They were hunched over a sheet of paper; Sheila furiously writing while Penny held up another page. They weren’t actually arguing but he could tell they were negotiating over some kind of disagreement.

Standing in the living room, they didn’t notice him watching them at first. At some point when Sheila looked up and saw Virgil, she immediately put down her pen and sat up with her hands folded in her lap. Penny noticed and quickly sat down next to Sheila, also with her hands folded in her lap. He didn’t miss the small detail of how they kept to his left-right rule. It might just be coincidence but he liked to think they were being diligent.

He walked out onto the patio and joined them at the table, facing both women. The two boxes under his arm were the center of their attention. The logo of a well-known mobile phone company was prominently visible on each carton. “I stopped to pick up your phones after lunch.” Virgil slid one across the table to Penny, and the other to Sheila.

“Don’t open them here. When you finish what you’re doing you can unpack the phone in your room. There’s a sheet of instructions along with your passwords inside. Remember these are your personal responsibility. You will not share passwords, you will not lend the phones to each other, and it is strictly forbidden for you to try to access the other’s phone. These,” he placed his hands on the boxes, “will remain in your rooms when not in use. They will not leave the house unless you have permission to go out on your own. If you are out with me, they stay home. You are not available on a 24-hour basis for your friends.”

At the Facility mobile phones were prohibited. For Penny and Sheila, the prospect of once again being connected to the outside world was as exciting as finding a huge pile of presents under the Christmas tree. “These phones are configured for the typical North Island profile, so don’t be disappointed when the “ask for permission” screen pops up. My personal opinion some of the restrictions aren’t necessary, so we’ll work those out as they show up. I can change your settings.”

The news didn’t seem to dampen their enthusiasm. “We know about the phone controls, sir. Should we hand them over to you at the end of the day?” Sheila asked.

At the phone store he had asked for light access controls. The most restrictive setting shut off the phones at 11pm each night, and would not turn back on until he reset the daily use timer. He opted for the lenient version, which used a weekly reset. “You are responsible for keeping the battery charged overnight. Sunday evening, I will collect your phones. After I review your activity, I’ll enable them for another week.” He was careful not to mention if they would be returned. Although Virgil trusted them, it was important he still held the pair accountable if he found unacceptable use.

Virgil pointed to the sheets of paper on the patio table. “What are you working on?”

Sheila picked up her stack of notes. “You asked for a suggestion list, sir, about ways you might increase your supervision over our behavior. Penny and I have been going through ideas. I’m writing down the ones we agree on, more or less.” She held out the pages to Virgil. “Would you like to review our progress?”

Virgil held up his hands in refusal. “No, I’ll wait until you’re finished. Your laptops should be ready tomorrow. When they get here, you can switch from paper and pen. Meanwhile, there’s no deadline. The two of you will take as much time as necessary to get it right.” Normally he wouldn’t be so open-ended about a time limit but he appreciated the difficulty in the task assigned to them.

“Sir? I do have a relevant question, for the list. We had several discussions about this at the Facility, with no clear answers. Sheila and I have been at odds over the same issue in adding to the list.” Penny had an apprehensive look, hinting that whatever was bothering her might be construed as a challenge to his position as head of the household.

Virgil leaned forward in his chair. “Maybe if you tell me what this ‘issue’ is? Then I can help to resolve it.”

The two women exchanged glances. There it was, that same unspoken communication, Virgil thought. “It’s simple in theory, sir, but devilish to apply in practice. If I may, I’ll start with a simple question. May we leave a room without your permission?” That was Sheila, the logical one.

Virgil didn’t see any problems with his answer. “If I’m present, you ask first. If I’m not nearby, then it’s a moot point. Okay, what am I missing?”

Before Sheila could answer Penny spoke up. “Sir, what if we’re watching TV and you fall asleep in your chair. Do we sit on the couch until you wake up? That could get, umm, messy. Do we rely on our own initiative?”

“That’s what we’re arguing about, sir,” Sheila interjected. “I’m uncomfortable if I don’t have clear instructions. ‘Winging it’ is not what this is about.” She ran a finger along her collar.

That was the point where Virgil realized he’d made a major mistake. It wasn’t their fault; he had no one to blame except himself. Before anything else he had to reverse course immediately.

“Both of you, stop what you’re doing. Hand over the pen and paper to me. This wasn’t a good idea.”

“Please, sir, we can do better. We’ll finish it today, if we have to work non-stop…” Penny was protesting what both women felt. It was clear to Virgil they assumed they’d done something wrong.

“Hands on the table, left hand crossed over right.” He needed them to focus on him before he started to explain. A firm order was always a good place to start. It worked too; in an instant they complied. He reached out to place his hands over theirs.

“You didn’t disappoint me. On the contrary, though it wasn’t intended you did well to remind me of certain basic principles. When I gave you permission to work on that list,” he nodded toward the stack of paper, "I was lazy. I failed in my duty to you.”

From their expressions Penny and Sheila had no idea what he was talking about. That was understandable; they lacked his point of view. “It’s my job, mine alone, to determine how I choose to run your lives. Your nature is to look for order imposed from without, not from within. Asking you to come up with a definition of the ‘right way’ is inexcusable on my part. I offer my apologies and assurances it will not happen again.”

“Sir, you don’t ever have to apologize to us…” Penny began.

Virgil cut her off. “I will decide how to best make amends when I get it wrong. Now then, forget about that list. I will not be deprived of the pleasure of playing the tyrannical dictator, handing down the occasional edict to you from my lofty position of supreme leader.” He smiled and cocked his to one side. “I look forward to the intellectual challenge, coming up with some particularly nasty requirement intended to turn your days into unending misery.”

Neither of them seemed to be overly concerned at his ominous-sounding statement. “Do your worst, sir. After all, it is what we signed on for, the day we arrived at the Facility.” Penny was speaking for both of them.

“Besides, if we can survive Mrs. Yates, I’m not sure you can add on to the misery.” That came from Sheila, in a voice so low he could barely hear her. Penny stifled a laugh.

“Whatever you wish, sir. Don’t hold back. Penny and I, we do quite well strapped into a tight straitjacket of rules. We need to know what’s allowed and what is prohibited.” Sheila looked him straight in the eye. “May we assume that list is firmly in forbidden territory?”

Virgil shook his head. “Let’s say it’s history and leave it at that. Did you have lunch already? I have about two hours of work in the office this afternoon, so you’re on your own. After supper we’ll spend some time together.” He stood up and turned to go back in the house. “You don’t have to sit there with your hands on the table.”

Not There Yet Penny leaned back in the patio chair and held up her arms to stretch. “I did not see that coming. It looks like we still have a lot to learn about our man.”

“We worked on that list all morning. A few minutes and it’s all for naught. We were very creative, not that it’s worth much now.” Sheila turned to look out over the back yard and to the mountains beyond. “It’s frustrating, especially when he changes his mind like that.”

Penny didn’t reply immediately. She stood up, went to Sheila’s other side and sat down in a patio chair after turning it to face the back yard. The mountains sheltered the town from the bad weather that swept in from the Indian Ocean. There wasn’t much to see, mostly scrub and a few, scrawny looking trees clinging to the steep slope.

“His apology, I’m sure it was sincere. Think about it; we have the benefit of Facility training for more than a year. He’s essentially starting from scratch. Imagine what that’s like.” Penny turned to Sheila. “He’s right, y’know? We should never have offered to make that list. He may not be there yet, but he’s already spotting his mistakes and quickly correcting them. How he manages us has to come from his perspective. What were we thinking?”

Sheila nodded in agreement. “We do have the makings of a good man, Penny, no argument there.” She sat quietly for a minute, thinking. “That request for help, we need to look at it as offering pragmatic suggestions to add to whatever he comes up with. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Penny answered. “Remember that when he picks out matching purple dresses with big yellow polka dots and orders us to wear them to a party.”

Sheila began laughing. “Master’s orders,” she echoed, shrugging her shoulders, “what can we do but obey? We can get away with anything using that excuse, even if we have to look like clowns at the circus.”

Alarm Clock Her door burst open, catching her red-handed. She glanced at the clock, 4:47 AM, way too early. There was no way Penny was going to explain this one. The email was open on her screen, clearly visible. She reached for the screen, thinking she could quickly close it with a swipe.

“Don’t you dare touch that screen,” Virgil warned, standing in the doorway. As always there was no hint of anger in his voice. He never lost his temper, something she found appealing. Which didn’t mean he wasn’t mad at her, only that his self-control would not allow that anger to influence whatever was to come next. She folded her hands in her lap, the proper way, his one right way. There was a right way for everything. Checking her mail this early in the morning was not one of those right ways.

It was no coincidence Virgil had known of her transgression. Neither Penny or Sheila knew about the alerts that appeared on his phone when one of them misused their phone privileges. An early riser, he had been shaving when the phone beeped. A quick glance out the bathroom door was enough to verify Sheila was still asleep in bed. The alert indicated it came from Penny’s phone, which left no doubt as to the culprit.

Penny stared at the innocent looking but oh so incriminating text on the screen. The phone was close to hand, but it might as well have been in another room. Standing behind her his shadow was visible on the screen. No point in denial now, Penny told herself. The smoking gun was on the desk in front of her.

“Not even 5 o’clock. Where are you supposed to be?” Again, she heard that quiet, level tone. She would almost have preferred shouting.

“In bed, sir, asleep.” It was a weekday, and that meant weekday rules were in effect. They were very explicit, detailed, no loophole rules she knew by heart.

“Remind me, when are you allowed to read your messages?” As if he needed a reminder, she thought. She could recite them word for word, exactly as he had dictated.

“I am not to use the phone before ten in the morning. By 11pm I must stop whatever I’m doing and go to bed immediately, if tomorrow is a weekday. That is a hard deadline; I must shut off the phone within 90 seconds.” There was no way to get around the way the phone recorded shutdown times to a fraction of a second. It was impossible to get around the shut off, but she was sure the phone didn’t record early morning activity. It was all too apparent now she had been wrong.

“Can you explain why you are up at,” he paused to check the time, “4:50 in the morning, reading obviously prohibited material for this time of day?”

What could she say? Overpowering curiosity, lack of self-control, the insatiable need to know what was in those precious texts? None of those explanations would temper his disappointment at what she’d done. If anything, it would only make matters worse. Contrite, she spoke in a whisper, “No excuse, sir. I was wrong to get up so early. I was foolish enough to think you wouldn’t notice.”

“Stand up.” Virgil pointed to a corner of the room. “Wall. You know the routine.” Obediently she went to the corner, facing the wall. A timeout? There was no way she was going to get off this easily. He’d never trivialize something as serious as this. No, there was more to come; she was positive about that.

She heard him sit down at the desk, behind her. There was the distinctive tapping on the screen, followed by silence. Then he was behind her, hands on her shoulders. “Turn around,” again in that icy cold tone she dreaded.

She raised her eyes to look up at him, towering over her. There were tears running down her cheeks, yet she could not raise her hands to wipe them away. Not without his permission. For a moment his stern face slipped, showing the tender, caring side. But just as quickly it came back.

“When it comes to your welfare I have to weigh discipline, the consequences of failure, and the punishment needed to prevent future mistakes. I’ve spent many hours on the system of rules for you, the basis for proper behavior. I believe they teach you what to do in most situations. For the rest, those times not covered by the rules, they serve as a guide for you to navigate a safe path through the unknown.”

Virgil sighed. Penny cringed when she heard the disappointment in his voice. “This particular weekday rule I put in place for a good reason. You have a commitment to me. You should show up every morning rested, alert, and ready for a new day. Turning up at the breakfast table in a tired, sleepy, and distracted state cheats all of us. That’s the purpose behind the rule. Failure to obey requires correction. That’s the consequence when self-control fails.”

His argument was simple, direct and irrefutable. She had formed some half-hearted justification, that she could still get her work done, but he’d turned it into an illusion. There was only one question left.

“That brings us to the necessity of righting a failure in self-discipline. Punishment has to be tailored to the specifics. It must reinforce the need to honor the spirit and letter of the law, in this case the email rule. The severity must match the level of disobedience. Above all, it must discourage any repetition.”

Penny didn’t like the sound of that at all. She winced at his use of the word “disobedience”; that hurt. Whatever he had in mind was going to be extremely unpleasant.

“I’ve changed the password on your personal email account. For the duration of your punishment, you are forbidden to access text messages and email, from anyone. Or to send to anyone either. I will monitor your account and pass on anything I deem important. All other senders will be notified you are not available until further notice.”

It was not undeserved, yet still worse than she expected. Totally isolated, cut off from everyone online. And no idea when it would stop, assuming it did have an ending date. She was angry he would impose such a wide-ranging sentence, but there was a little voice in the back of her reminding her she had brought it on, and he was only doing his job. As quickly as it came the anger faded, replaced by remorse and acceptance that he did know what was best for her, even if she sometimes ignored it.

“This isn’t the end of it. Sheila will receive the same punishment, even though you were the guilty party. I’ll leave it up to you to explain why this occurred. I’m sure she will be understanding.” Virgil considered it a sure bet Sheila would be anything but compassionate when he took away her phone due to Penny’s lapse. He didn’t like what he had to do, but it would serve as a reminder in the future that they had to consider the shared consequences of disobeying him.

Ralph’s Story

Enlightened Selfishness Monday afternoon found Ralph Welk sitting on the park bench, watching the boats out in the Channel gliding back and forth between South and North Island. He was a few minutes early for the meeting, just in case. Would she show up? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been stood up at what could only be termed a blind date.

The park was busy, with people taking advantage of the nice weather to get out and enjoy some fresh air. Was she out there, somewhere in the crowd, debating whether or not to go through with it? They had connected through an “Introductions” app, one that acted as a go-between, with the primary function of filtering out the usual suspects on any typical dating site. Ralph had made the cut by proving he was real and his very short background statement held up under scrutiny. He had even managed to catch the attention of a woman who apparently liked what she read. Like Ralph, she had cleared the obvious warning signs. Now came the true test, a face-to-face meeting. Spontaneous, with no preconceptions to cloud first impressions; that was what the app promised. After that it was up to the two of them to decide what came next.

“Ralph?”

There she was, standing behind the park bench. Ever the gentleman, he shot to his feet. “That’s me. And you must be Erin?” The instant of the first impression; she was nicely dressed but not especially attractive. For that matter Ralph didn’t regard himself as being movie star material, except for those potholed, ten miles of bad road for a face drug runners made so popular on TV. She didn’t run away screaming, which he chose to interpret as a positive start.

“Please, have a seat. We have a great view of the sailboats. I find it relaxing, watching them go back and forth.” The requirements of their meeting place were somewhere very public, and nothing but conversation. A park bench in midday struck Ralph as ideal.

It was immediately apparent to Ralph she was nervous. The way she held her purse in a death grip was the first hint. This is the Island, he told himself. It’s up to me to put her at ease. It was on him to start the conversation and provide a direction.

“How does this sound?” he asked. “I’ll tell you a little bit about myself, and the reasons why I posted on that app. All you have to do is listen. If what you hear doesn’t suit you, well then, we part on good terms. Assuming you don’t flee in horror, I’ll keep going until you feel comfortable about joining in. No pressure, okay?”

Ralph could see the relief when her anxiety vanished. She even let go of her purse, setting it down next to her. “I appreciate your offer, sir. I admit I’m not at my best with casual conversation.” There was a change when Erin carefully folded her hands in her lap while turning only her head to face Ralph.

The way she sat with her legs together instead of crossed, and that she had chosen a very conservative, businesslike skirt and blouse, unusual for a casual day in the park, didn’t escape his attention. Most telling of all was the far from subtle shift to “sir”. He’d guessed correctly. Once he pointed the way it was much easier for her to follow him.

“To introduce myself, I’m from Laramie, in Wyoming. I grew up there, went to high school and university. When I decided to be a lawyer I went to law school in Nebraska, a day’s drive away on the interstate. I set up my office back in Laramie, mostly to handle oil and gas leasing around the local fracking oilfields. It can get complicated when mixed with international companies and foreign currencies. Laramie isn’t a big city, and I’m no Perry Mason. My biggest criminal case was defending a cattle rustler, both in court and from the lynch mob. Wyoming, in many respects, is still stuck in the 1870s.

“The gas well leases are what brought me to South Island. In the legal profession it’s a highly specialized niche. It requires a good working knowledge of accounting and engineering, aside from the complications of international law. One of the local engineering companies based on the Island was in desperate need of that expertise after they won the bid for a massive civil engineering project in Central Asia. As it

Island IV – Meetings · Part 5 (5/21)
Previous · Next