“I know. Okay, I’ll take your advice Doctor. Thank you for your encouragement.”
“It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Myers. I’ll walk you out, unless you have any other questions.”
“No…No, I guess I need to be patient, as you say.”
“You have my office, and my home number. Please call me anytime if you have any questions or concerns.”
“I will, Dr. Phelps, and thank you again.”
Both rise to leave, and within three minutes the First Lady is escorted out of the building and into the waiting limousine. Seconds later the car, and its occupants, are driven away.
As the First Lady grapples with her personal dilemma, her husband occupies himself with the ongoing demands of national governance. In his fourth year as President, Kenneth Myers has an approval rating of over seventy percent, and seems poised to easily win reelection. The respect and affection that millions of Americans feel for him is genuine. A powerful speaker, his persuasive oratory has an almost hypnotic appeal for the American people. As popular as he is at home, he’s even more celebrated abroad. When he spoke to European parliaments on a goodwill tour in the second year of his administration, his mastery of language was impressively displayed. Fluently speaking in French, German, Spanish, and Italian, his power to communicate with masses of people is unequaled.
Despite his popularity, he is not without critics. A vocal minority of mostly conservative politicians regard both him, and his policies, as being somehow inimical to the nation’s best interest. Pushing for development of solar energy, he staunchly opposes all forms of nuclear power whether used for weapons or energy production. Those in both government and private industry who see his position as threatening to their self-interest view him as obstinate, averse to compromise, and even dangerous. His unabashed egalitarian political leanings became evident early on when he pushed through Congress additional laws providing new benefits and protections for millions of average working Americans. Coupled with legislation that effectively curbs the influence of corporate money on the political process, his push for more ethical government is lauded by a strong plurality of public opinion. The core element of his support derives from the fact that most Americans regard his programs and policies as eminently sensible, and beneficial to the country. It’s this that keeps in check, at least for now, the desire by some to see his political fortunes fall by any feasible means.
As the black limousine turns into the driveway at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, returning the First Lady from her appointment, we find the President on the phone trying to persuade an undecided Senator to vote for the upcoming energy bill.
“Senator Clayborn, How are you today? Good, I’m glad to hear that. Senator, I want to express my condolences to you, and the people of your state for what you’ve been through, and let you know the federal government is ready to do whatever we can to help you rebuild. Uh huh. The latest report I have is that all fire should be extinguished by next week. That rain was a blessing, wasn’t it? Absolutely. Senator Clayborn, as you know the energy bill comes up next week. I’m not asking you to commit yourself, but I would like to tell you why I support it, if you’ll grant me that…Well, in essence, this bill provides the incentive for every household to produce, at least in part, its own energy. Literally all domestic power will eventually become self-generated. That’s right. It will revolutionize energy production in this country. Energy storage technology is the last piece of the puzzle. With that we have complete energy independence…Uh huh. Well, you and I both know there are powerful interests who want to keep energy production a centralized monopoly. That doesn’t serve the public good anymore. I understand that. Yes, but if this bill passes, millions of families in this country will in time see their power bills come down dramatically. That’s money that will find its way back into the general economy. It sounds like a win-win proposition to me.…I understand. Yes, well, thank you Senator, for hearing me out…Yes, you too. Goodbye.”
As President Myers continues to garner support for his legislative agenda, not far from the White House in an office at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the FBI, Frank Slaughter, is reviewing a number of low-profile cases. Periodically assessing all of them to determine whether any might warrant a change in status, he pauses when he comes to the file of Phillip Garrett.
The case of Phillip Garrett is something of an oddity. For the past two years Mr. Garrett has been making public statements about the President that most regard as simply ludicrous, suggesting that he’s an impostor, possibly an agent for a an unnamed foreign government with hostile intentions. Once a roommate with the President when they were in college, he alleges that Ken Myers is someone very different than who he claims to be. Inclined to dismiss Mr. Garrett as someone who is not tightly hinged, the FBI relegated his case to low priority, but his persistent claims, mostly in the form of writing to government officials, has provoked renewed attention to his case. Mr. Slaughter has already decided to gather as much information as possible about Phillip Garrett, and what his real motivations are. As he peruses the file on him, the knock on the door signals the arrival of field agent Tim Colby, Mr. Slaughter’s choice to handle the case.