Wicked Messenger by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Chapter 20
The light skinned Darkies in Boise, Austin, Jersey City, Memphis, Little Rock, Sacramento and other cities made inroads into establishing themselves as welcomed and accepted new-coming citizens. They found it not a fully believable event. In only two months on Earth they were able to make slight economic and social advances. Coming from generations of factory workers, they were well skilled in fixing most anything which broke.
Earth neighbors appreciated their quick and free service, especially after having suffered through a lifetime of having difficulty finding an honest, competent and affordable workman, as for thirty years America had become a high tech bastion.
Upwardly mobile young people invariably did something involving computers, leaving the workings of machinery to the difficult, overpriced, incompetent and I-didn’t-feel-like-showing-up lazy.
“Gratuities” were offered in the hope of keeping the Darkies happy, in case of the need of a repeat performance. They were taken after two disingenuous refusals, as they needed the money and wanted to be polite. While this may not sound like any great achievement, on Eli the Darkies had endured generations of steady decline. They did fret about the terrible news they were hearing, but didn’t personally have the negative experience.
There was a material disconnect between what they saw on the public airways and their real experiences.
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Though it turned heads, inter-species dating and socializing was a natural outgrowth of meeting as conversations flowed. They seemed to have to make a special effort not to talk into the morning hours comparing notes on the look-alike, but extremely different societies. Though generalities are rife with exceptions and the psychological underpinnings of actions are debatable, it seemed that the Elis were drawn to what they saw as the openness of Earthlings, possibly misinterpreting what was truly an American penchant for appearing to be “just folks.”
American Anglophiles, in turn were fascinated by the perceived Eli “reserve,” which they associated with British patricians, no doubt having drawn the conclusion mistakenly from the Eli dispassionate disposition. Even the foulest of Earthly troublemakers said things like; “At least they’re white,”
“They’re so white they’re blue,” and “They’ve got a future in mechanics.” Their Eli nature prevented them from being too openly gleeful about their pleasant circumstances as they sometimes wondered if the Earthlings were merely temporarily intrigued with the new season’s exotics. Still, their overall countenance changed from one of perennial gloom to what might be an oxymoronic phrase; “guarded hopefulness.” Some old timers simply said; “So far, so good.”
Darkies fully enjoyed seeing and feeling the warmth of the sun, but were careful not to spend too much time in it. Not
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having to have the noisy and expensive heat running constantly and being able to use the natural light to illuminate their dwellings created a more cheery atmosphere than any had previously known.
On the other side of the coin the formerly cheerful and privileged Sunny Elis quickly became less sunny. Thoughts of three of them having been shot; their energy based largesse gone; their relative status becoming a thing of the past; and their darker skin a possible detriment to their acceptance, preyed on their inquiring and increasingly suspicious minds.
Like Americans, their skills were primarily high tech. As a result, American “techies” regarded them as an overabundance of unwanted competition. People needing computer services had a more complicated reaction. Some sought their services if their fees were extremely low. Some wouldn’t consider them for a job, as; “Computers on Earth are different from computers on Eli.”
Some merely dismissed them as more undesirable dark skinned foreigners. Some questioned their unverifiable credentials with degrees from unrated and unknown universities. Some irate American techies lured them to bogus locations and beat them when they got there. It became obvious that Sunny economics was a problem. And without the work-related “introductions” obtained by the Darkies, the Sunny socialization was more appropriately called Sunny isolation.
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MARKET DIVES IN SELLING TIDE
Dow Drops 15% in First Hour of Trading
Wall Street Bugler. 9-15-58. A massive selloff hit the Street hard yesterday which was attributed to government reports released overnight. They indicated that inflation, as measured by the CPI, had risen from the annualized rate of 2.2% in July to an overwhelming 13.3% in August. To compound matters the unemployment rate spiked in a startling manner from 3.8% to 9.3%
in the same period. Neither figure had been anticipated. In addition, a rumor circulated that the US government was considering covering Elis in the Social Security program. After a mid-day dead cat bounce, at 2:30PM EST a wave of institutional sell orders decimated trader resources and the market closed the day down 25%, the largest single day drop since February 15, 2020, when a rumor circulated that the Chinese yen had become the world currency.
“It was scary. You couldn’t find a buyer with a St. Bernard,”
said Wallace Bernstein of Goldberg Auchincloss. Ira Braithwaite, Chief Trader at Nutting, Rosen and Calabrese was more opinionated, saying; “It’s those ******* Elis. Their sheer number causes the snake to choke trying to swallow them all at once.” His choice of analogy aside, his direction is borne out by the slightest bit of inference applied to the cold hard numbers.
The housing rental and food price aspects of the CPI were responsible for the entirety of the increase, and it is clear to this writer that Eli demand was the simple reason. It is less clear, but easily within the realm of probability that Eli employment has negatively affected American ability to find work. Of course the long term effect of increased demand, as has been shown by the Elis, customarily has been a positive influence on the GNP, GDP and employment. However, it’s been said many times that in the long run we are all dead. Right now we seem to have aged ten years in the last two months, and the political unrest is an incalculable which .....................
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As a result of the rise in unemployment, upsurge in inflation and the loss of wealth attendant to the stock market crash, the overnight less wealthy Americans at the higher end of the economic and education spectrum, and the uneducated rural blue collar, (Most actually preferred variously-hued T-shirts displaying a witty phrase or the logo of their favorite lager.) displaced from jobs or thinking so, demanded the deportation of the “illegal aliens,” a term which they apparently felt comfortable in using with their pocketbooks under attack. The
“marriage” of the upper and the lower left the middle feeling as though they were somehow out of step; missing something; a vague gnawing with which they were all too familiar. Along racial lines the majority of black Americans felt that Preacher Al was spending too much of his time with the aliens and not enough with their undisclosed issues.
The Preacher got death threats, most coming through public access computer e-mails, saying; “Don’t come here, Eli lover, or else.” and “Don’t go there, Eli lover, or else.” The dour, deeply wrinkled, black man on the POCKET board shrugged and mumbled; “I told you so.” Mexican émigrés without papers thought they too had an issue; though after the impassioned diatribes were stripped away, it boiled down to something about their being in America longer, a consideration with which they were uncomfortable. The inter-species dating, which didn’t previously
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win any popularity awards, became intolerable to most, especially when it involved a Sunny man and a white American woman. Right wing evangelicals were vitriolic in their denunciations, citing chapter and verse of God’s condemnations of bestiality. Public opinion polls showed that a majority now wanted police to resume looking for Eli illegals.
Cronos remained 99% sure that the Earthlings did not have Eli comparable weaponry. He became extremely wary of the louder and louder rumblings coming from all directions and again made his case for war. This time, rather than calling a special emergency session, he waited for a regularly scheduled Ministerial meeting. He didn’t expect to have his plan approved, but he relished being on the record regarding the issue as it left him with the future opportunity to say to the public; “I repeatedly told them so,” in the event hindsight proved war the correct option. He was surprised to find that this time Marshall Ordnance, who was upset with the loss of three of his Dallas men, was now in agreement, but insisted on an all-out attack.
Regardless of scope differences, it didn’t matter as they were outvoted by the “We Need More Information” trio and Zeus, who in practicality was the only one who counted. Cronos took him as being mildly encouraging when rather than being totally
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dismissive, he said; “It is premature. As events unfold we can reassess.”
President Frank Stabile received a plethora of calls from the largest contributors to his party. Some saw the Elis as positive long term potential growth. Some saw them as parasites requiring extermination, and barring that, deportation or incarceration. Some wanted their labor to be encouraged. Some wanted it contained. Everyone agreed on three things; they wanted inflation to drop; they wanted an end to the unrest; and they wanted the market to go back up. Frank had made his political life with a genius for giving the money people what they wanted and at the same time giving them what they didn’t want, but leaving them convinced that it would soon come. But, this time the groups were diametrically opposed, having divergent positions on all issues. In addition he felt it necessary to at least somewhat placate the stated positions of the non-money people as he was up for re-election in a little over a year. While he had no solutions, he did have the experience to know what to do. He decided to make a speech.
After working his masters of saying nothing with many words, sometimes referred to as speech writers, around the clock, Frank had his people pre-empt prime time television, in an effort to set the American public straight on what was going
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on and how it should be viewed. Most of the electorate was used to the game, but continued to play it because it was the only one in town. They knew at least 90% of facts would spin a mule dizzy and that the whole thing was going to be dragged out with appropriate pauses for obligatory applause. Some chose to divert to the internet, concentrating on sites specialized in the filming of the first days of newborn birds, anything on Youtube, UFOlogy, celebrity news and depictions of black femdom prurient interests.
Those with the shyness and sense of humor to remain on traditional TV watched the clone programming abruptly end, and after some interference, saw a congregation of American flags.
They hung down seemingly desperate for a breeze to afford full extended glory. The stripes made do, as they were able to make their rumpled presence known, however the stars were buried in folds and were generally invisible to onlookers. A prudent TV
director suggested the utilization of a wind machine, but was overruled by representatives of the President, who were concerned that the resultant draft might expose his painstakingly coiffed bald spots.
Smiling Frank walked to the podium, while making condescending nods and ersatz grins to those in the money with front row seats. After reaching the pedestal, he collected his notes, cleared his throat and read; “Thank you all. Mr. Speaker,
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Vice President Weller, members of Congress, members of the Supreme Court and diplomatic corps, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens. My fellow Americans. And I mean ALL my fellow Americans, regardless of place of origin.” Spontaneous applause from the back of the room almost hid a low groan in front.
“Our country is considered so desirable a place to live that the good people of Eli have come light years to share in our bounty. Our reputation is no longer merely world-wide; it is inter-galactic. Now, I’m not saying that they have yet earned the rights of full citizenship, but they have earned the right to be treated with respect and dignity.” He paused and loud hoots and whistles accompanied enthusiastic applause, mixed with a longer lasting audible grumble.
“Recently our nation lost a decisive, charismatic and popular man who reminded America of its founding ideals and pursued a noble dream. Today we are comforted by the hope of a happy reunion and we are grateful for the good life of Robby Allison.” Loud, spontaneous applause and whistles from the front of the room drowned out surprised calls of “What?” from the rear.
“Every time I come to this rostrum, I'm aware of the history we’re seeing together. We have gathered here in moments of national tragedy and in moments of national comedy.” He paused, wrinkled his brows and looked to his left, presumably
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where the speech writer sat. He got mistaken obligatory applause from a few embarrassed supporters who weren’t paying attention.
“We are serving this great country in one of the most important periods in history. We always must keep in mind that in the check and balance system brilliantly established by our founders, with two major parties, two houses, four races and two species there will always be disagreement. But it must be debated in a civil manner, and our differences cannot become hatred. To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another.” He paused and one drunken congressman clapped, thinking the respect mentioned applied to him. He quickly stifled. What he now tried to convey was his mock enthusiasm when he saw that the rest of the room appeared puzzled, remained silent and stared at him.
Frank smiled, surveyed the room and received perplexed stares of his own. He shuffled through his cards, skipping many.
In an apparent attempt to return to a common ground subject, said; “Our stock market is the best capital managing tool the world has ever known. However, its day to day fluctuations cannot be predicted by the best of minds; and they have been trying since inception in the nineteenth century. However, I’ll tell you this. By law my assets are in a blind trust. But, if they weren’t I’d be buying on the dips. The underpinnings of the economy are fundamentally sound.”
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Having received unanimous applause after the last sentence, Frank re-shuffled his cards, and proceeded to spout banalities for the duration of the speech. When concluded he walked off and waved off any questions.
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