The Mall Read online

  He carried Cora outside and set her down beside her mother, returning one last time and just missing the pounding of the battering rams as suited firefighters opened the sealed doors of the Mall. When he returned with what remained of Simon, Owen stared blankly at the uniformed men rushing around his mother and sister.

  One of the firefighters gripped him firmly by the shoulders and peered into his eyes with a penlight. When Owen answered the man’s questions sufficiently, he let himself be led to the open door of the Mall where Chance waited with an army of emergency vehicles scattered about the empty parking lot.

  Chance took the blanket that lay loosely over his shoulders and pulled it over Owen’s shoulders until it encompassed them both. Neither spoke a word, instead continued to watch as paramedic teams rushed in and out of the Mall with stretchers.

  Finally, Owen rushed to his mother’s side as she was revived with smelling salts. Shoving one of the uniformed men away from her protectively as he tried to load her onto a stretcher, Owen went to his knees beside his mother and sister.

  Lara looked around in a daze, taking her children securely in her arms and asked through hysterical tears, “Are we outside or am I dreaming?”

  “We’re out, Mom,” answered Owen, a fresh wave of shame driving tears from his eyes.

  Owen found that he was unable to stop himself from thinking. Where will we go now?

  Then the answer came to him.

  Home was wherever his mother and sister were.

  55

  Blinking in wonder, Lara indulged in a slow look around, took a deep breath and finally rose with the help of several paramedics. Allowing herself to be guided with her children toward the awaiting trucks, she froze suddenly in her tracks. Acknowledging Cora safely clutching her brother’s hand, she turned to notice for the first time the object lying in the center of a crowd of rescue workers. She pulled away from the paramedics urgently trying to force her onto a stretcher. The uniformed men cleared a path for her as she returned to the torn body of the Bot she had once known as Simon Peter.

  Going to one knee, Lara bowed and gently touched her lips to his, awed at the prospect that this machine, this artificial creature, ultimately gained his humanity by sacrificing his life for her and her family.

  Armed anew with unexpected hope, she rose and followed her children out into the awaiting dawn.

  APPENDIX: The Butterfly Effect

  Author’s Note: In the course of writing the Mall, I decided to create an alternate history of current events as a way of introducing each of the three sections. Initially, I had planned for it to be only three paragraphs long (one for each “book”) but the exercise ballooned into eight pages. (It could have gone even longer had I allowed it to, because it intrigued the hell out of me.) The reason it ends so abruptly is because I realized I was spending too much time on creating the peripheral world where the novel takes place instead of focusing on the novel itself, so I just called a stop to it after President Reagan. What has always fascinated me was how a singular event had the potential to act as a catalyst to completely change the course of history (ie. The Kennedy-Nixon debate of September 26, 1960). The only reason I include the full body of the text here as an appendix is because I felt it was interesting enough on its own.—B.D.

  “A Brief History of the Presidents of the United States of America,” from the Uni-pedia on-line resource

  In one of the closest election in U.S. history, Richard Milhous Nixon was elected president in 1960. The decisive moment in his campaign against challenger John Fitzgerald Kennedy seemed to come during the course of four debates conducted on radio when technical difficulties within the burgeoning young medium of television prevented televising the debates as planned. During these debates, Nixon came off as more forceful, experienced and knowledgeable, emphasizing over and over grave doubt that Kennedy could truly separate his allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church from his duty to the nation. Even so, Nixon’s margin of victory—both in the popular and electoral vote--proved to be the closest in American history.

  Nixon was sorely tested during his four years in office beginning with the capture and defeat of the U.S.-trained Cuban exiles during the Bay of Pigs invasion, which had been conceived during the Eisenhower administration where he served as Vice-President. Following on the heels of this, US intelligence discovered that Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro clandestinely placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. Nixon saw the act as a personal challenge to his Presidency in light of his embarrassment with the failed invasion of the Bay of Pigs. Nixon pushed for a direct full-scale invasion of Cuba, but cooler heads prevailed. VP Henry Cabot Lodge and eventually even former President Eisenhower advocated for an offensive blockade, which Nixon ultimately approved. During his first public speech on the crisis, it was clear from his language, though, that Nixon fully intended to utilize his first choice of military action if the Soviets did not comply with the US ultimatum. Eventually concessions were reached between the two nations and nuclear war with Russia narrowly averted.

  It was later revealed in the memoirs of Soviet General Anatoly Gribkov that when the dust had cleared, Khrushchev had confided to some of his closest aids that he would have “much preferred to deal with that Kennedy.”

  The Nuclear Standoff in Cuba, as the crisis came to be called, along with the Civil Rights movement, and the Vietnam War, seemed to take a toll on Nixon and he did not run for re-election in 1964, leaving the field wide open for a second run at the top spot for Kennedy, which he won decisively against Republican Barry Goldwater.

  Though many historians saw this reversal of Nixon’s well-known ambition toward public office (and especially the top spot) uncharacteristic of him, there were, and continue to be, those conspiracy theorists who speculate that he was “forced to take an early retirement,” by interested parties who may have held information that would have corrupted his image had it been revealed. Despite the lack of any hard facts, the rumors nonetheless persist to this day.

  Nixon retired with his wife first lady, Pat, to La Casa Pacifica in San Clemente, California, becoming a respected elder statesman and continues to be a voice on the political scene even today.

  John Fitzgerald Kennedy took office on January 20, 1964. The next eight years of the Kennedy Administration was a historic time in US history. Domestically, Kennedy implemented his policy of the “New Frontier” that saw an improved economy due in part to tax cuts and unprecedented job growth, mostly in technical fields, which Kennedy was a strong advocate of from his first days in office. He pushed for the first manned mission to the moon before the end of the decade and saw his vision completed during his administration on July 20, 1969. His personal interest in technology and space led to many foreign policy successes including several talks with the Soviets regarding joint missions during his second term in office (though no agreement was ever reached) and a landmark agreement with Japan, which allowed the sharing of technical advances in the field of electronics and computers (which would eventually lead to the first discussions of robotic technology in the early years of the Humphrey administration).

  Despite all his successes, Kennedy seemed to be plagued by criticism during the final years of his administration. He was viciously attacked by many conservatives for his laissez-faire policy toward Vietnam, pulling all but a few of the 16,000 advisors sent early in his administration when the fighting grew more heated in January of 1968 during a massive battle between North and South Vietnamese forces. Many of his most vocal critics would, in years to come, agree with Kennedy’s difficult decision, believing that in order to win a land war in Vietnam would have ultimately required an unprecedented investment of both monetary and human capital. By late 1970, the conflict in Vietnam had all but ended with the Northern Vietnamese’s final defeat of the South.

  To add to Kennedy’s grief, early in 1971, while campaigning for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, his brother Robert was shot and died twenty-six hours later
. As the obvious successor to his brother, Robert had already surged as the Democratic favorite over Hubert Humphrey in several primaries, when he was assassinated.

  In addition to this personal tragedy in 1971, Kennedy faced allegations of sexual impropriety in the White House for the last year of his administration. Between the constant daily protests between Vietnam critics and the growing ranks of the “Moral Majority” in 1971, Kennedy left office a much changed man from the one who entered office, demoralized and dispirited despite the much improved state of the nation that he had directly shaped with his own vision.

  Before Robert Kennedy was assassinated, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson had every intention of retiring from politics. The last eight years had taken a toll on him emotionally and physically. His personal doctor had diagnosed him with severe heart disease due to a lifetime of drinking, smoking and increased stress of his office. But with the death of Robert Kennedy, all his plans for retirement dissolved and he was persuaded to run for the office of President along with running mate Hubert Humphrey. Johnson won the presidency by a landslide over the Republican’s choice of Nelson Rockefeller. During his inauguration speech on January 20, 1973, Johnson spoke of continuing the prosperity that Kennedy had ushered in and expressed his desire to continue the technological advancements that he had begun, going as far as to propose a permanently manned base on the Moon before the end of the decade as well as sending robotic probes to Mars in order to pave the way for manned missions.

  Johnson never had the chance to see his plans through, as he died two days later of heart failure, the shortest term of any U.S. President in history, displacing the former record belonging to William Henry Harrison who had died of pneumonia only one month after delivering his inaugural address. As a result, Johnson has often been referred to as the “Two Day President.”

  Hubert Horatio Humphrey became something of a curio as he served two days short of a full term as the 38th president of the United States without ever having the opportunity to give an inaugural address. George McGovern was confirmed as Vice-President later that year to fill the seat left vacant by Humphrey.

  He started his term during an on-going Cold War with the Soviets and the dawn of a looming energy crisis. Keeping nearly the exact same staff in place as his predecessor, Humphrey began by implementing many of the policies proposed by Johnson before his sudden death. In October 1973, President Humphrey was put to the test when the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) declared an embargo, directly leading to an oil shortage. Humphrey opened up the oil reserves thus relieving some of the pressure the public felt at the pumps, though the shortage would turn into a full-blown crisis by the end of his term.

  Throughout the intervening years, unemployment increased and inflation soared. The progressive government programs created under his term seemed to do little to stop the steady “stagflation,” a new term coined during this time, and in an attempt to stop the slide, Congress voted to raise taxes during his last two years, which only cemented public resentment against him. As a result, his approval ratings steady decreased during his years in office.

  Though Humphrey’s presidency was considered by many to be a failure, one of the biggest successes of his administration was a landmark cooperative venture with Japan and Germany, in both domestic and space technology.

  Humphrey chose not to run for a second term, citing his recent discovery that he had bladder cancer. President Humphrey died on January 13, 1978, almost one year to the day after leaving office.

  For the 1976 presidential election, the Democratic Party chose the logical choice—and what many saw as the safe choice--of incumbent Vice-President George McGovern, though a strong and vocal party contingent had wanted Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy instead. Initially leery to run because of family issues both health and personal, Kennedy eventually accepted the position of McGovern’s running mate and threw himself fully into the election process, using every element at his disposal including taking his brother former president Kennedy on the campaign trail with he and McGovern, creating what Time magazine had called at the time, an “almost irresistible engine of electability.” Unfortunately, analysts say that the twin specters of Chappaquiddick and his brother’s failures in office (both politically and personally) haunted the McGovern ticket and contributed to the Democratic Party’s ultimate defeat in 1976.

  The Republicans chose well-known actor and former California Governor, Ronald Reagan, narrowly over House Minority Leader Gerald Ford.

  As his running mate, Reagan chose Secretary of the Treasury and former Governor of Texas John Connally, who had recently chosen to switch his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Connally had been chosen as Secretary of the Treasury by his long time friend and mentor Lyndon Johnson before his death and served under Humphrey during his administration. This choice of Connally as Reagan’s running mate was seen by political pundits as an attempt to garner votes from the other side of the aisle. It was even rumored that Reagan’s original choice of running mate had been George H.W. Bush, but that advisors had made a clear and convincing argument for Connally’s political value to Reagan. (Ironically, Connally had stated publically in his memoirs that he and Bush despised each other.) After Reagan was elected, Bush was given the position of Secretary of State, which many saw an appointment of compromise.

  Reagan won a substantial victory over McGovern to become the 39th President of the United States and took office on January 20, 1977.

  In his first years in office, Reagan implemented broad sweeping reforms which were dubbed Reaganomics, a combination of reduced government spending (“Government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.”), tax cuts, and business incentives. These changes proved to be effective, lowering inflation and spurring job growth, and ultimately returning the nation to its former Kennedy-era prosperity. In addition, the price of oil began to drop again as price controls on domestic fuel--which had initially sparked the energy crises--was loosened, essentially ending the shortages of the mid-70’s. Once the economy was back on track, Reagan concentrated his energies on science and technology.

  Meanwhile, the Cold War continued. As the Soviets continued to reject offers of joint space ventures with the U.S., Japan and Germany cooperated on several successful missions, including four more moon landings in which Washington Base, a permanent outpost was constructed. This lunar outpost contributed greatly to research into the miniaturization of circuits, which produced smaller and faster computer technology, directly leading to the MECH1, the first bi-pedal mechanized prototype (popularized by science fiction author Isaac Asimov as a “Robot”). Another fruit borne of this collaboration was ECO1, the first electric car, which gave further hope of relieving American reliance on petroleum and loosening the hold of Arab’s nations. (As a result, this technology decreased avid speculation of war with Middle Eastern nations out of material interest in their reserves.) Sales of electric cars, boosted directly by the energy crisis, began in 1974, though mass production would not begin until 1976. (It is generally believed that the Soviets self-imposed isolation in the face of technological advancement led to the decline and eventual demise of Communism during the Reagan administration.)

  Reagan’s first term saw both the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan war and the Iran Hostage Crisis, in which the American embassy in Iran was seized by militant students. To his credit, Reagan acted swiftly and decisively. The hostages were rescued within three weeks of their detainment, although all of the terrorists were killed in the process, sparking outcries from both Iranian citizens and peace activists with the U.S.

  During Reagan’s second term, the nation was threatened by several by anti-Israel, pro-Arab terror organizations. Since the first days of his presidency, Reagan had secretly began a conversion of some of the space-borne technology to military use and within the course of one month, five clandestine strikes on elicit weapons stockpiles took place in various locations in the Middle East, including
Iran, Iraq, and Korea. Once “Operation Open Eye” had been de-classified and publicized, it came to be known in the common vernacular as “The Star War,” and the satellite that played the pivotal role was forever after known as “the Death Star,” playing on the popular science fiction movie of the same name.

  Reagan is largely credited with ending the Cold War.

  About the Author

  Bryant Delafosse was born and raised in Southeast Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and holds a degree in Radio/TV/Film. He currently lives in Southern California with his wife, son, and Miniature Schnauzer, Luna.

  Look for his next novel Hallowed coming to Amazon Kindle October, 2012 (see an excerpt from Hallowed on the following page)

  You can email the author at [email protected] and become a Fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BryantDelafosse.

  Excerpt from Hallowed, a new novel from Bryant Delafosse

  PROLOGUE:

  In the dream, I clear the tall grass and see the House for the first time, a three story Victorian monstrosity that stands in the hills overlooking my town.

  As I step awkwardly onto the porch of the house, I realize for the first time that I am not who I should be. My legs are short and stubby and I realize that I am five or six years old again, making the present situation even more overwhelming.

  I climb onto the porch and gaze at the walls of the house. The color of the house is a black so completely dark, so all-consuming that it disorients me to the point that I’m not sure if I’m stumbling toward it or the house itself is advancing.