“A new source?” Amos asked.
“Actually, a very old one. It turns out that America’s earliest highways, including the interstate highway system, used a very specific mineral aggregate in their road base. A substantial portion of that mineral aggregate was mined in Oklahoma.”
“The only place in the old world where okcillium has been found,” Amos added.
“Right,” Jed said. “Okcillium was first identified in 2005, but it was in such trace amounts that it was almost disregarded, except as a scientific oddity. The U.S. government classified as Top Secret everything to do with okcillium, and since there were no large deposits discovered, very few people even cared about the discovery. Non-governmental scientists weren’t even let in on the find.”
Amos rolled his hand to indicate that he knew all of this. “Get to the part about the roads.”
“There isn’t much to figure out. Most of the okcillium in Oklahoma was dug out prior to anyone knowing what it was or that it even existed. It was in the mineral aggregate that went into the interstate highways. And now Transport knows about it, and they’ve gone back to rip up the roads and dig it out,” Jed said.
Amos nodded, but he didn’t speak.
“I guess I don’t see the point in sucking me into all of this, Amos,” Jed said. “Dawn could have done everything I’ve done, and probably faster.”
Amos smiled. “That’s where you’re wrong, brother. Dawn would never have found out about the roads.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because she would never have thought to look back in 2050,” Amos said.
There was silence again for the space of a few minutes, and during that time a very rudimentary avatar appeared in the room. Amos turned to the avatar and greeted it. The avatar had no identifying characteristics—just a plain face and no expression.
“Ah… Mr. Rayburn,” Amos said.
“It’s Pook,” the avatar said, “or just Rayburn. I’m not an officer, sir.”
Amos put his hands behind his back and approached Pook. “Well, that is an oversight I intend to remedy, Mr. Rayburn.”
“Why does his avatar look that crude?” Jed asked.
“Mr. Rayburn?” Amos said. “I take it that you’ve met my brother, Jed?”
“We’ve met,” Pook said without any emotion. Pook was all business.
Amos turned back to Jed and explained. “Mr. Rayburn does not have a BICE implant. The rendering you see here is done by a special helmet. He is also wearing—temporarily, of course—an electronic bracelet I invented that reads the movements of the ligaments in his hand. He can use his hand to interact with the system.”
“Interesting,” Jed said. He nodded at Pook. “Well… Mr. Rayburn…”
“Pook.”
“Okay, then. Pook. If you’ll just give me a moment with my brother, I want to finish up and then I have to get back.”
“Yes,” Amos said. “Jed here has farming to do.”
It was a jab, but Jed ignored it. He actually wanted to hurry and go look for Dawn, but he wasn’t going to let anyone know that. Pook’s avatar nodded, and then went dormant. Once it was clear that Pook was no longer there, Jed turned to his brother.
“TRACE,” Jed said.
Amos looked at Jed, but didn’t speak.
“The name of the resistance is ‘TRACE,’” Jed said. “I find that fascinating. All the documents I read said that only trace amounts of okcillium were found in 2005.”
“A coincidence.”
“Or maybe not. Maybe it’s like that window in the basement of Pook’s shop.”
Amos shrugged. “And what else, brother?”
Jed fixed his gaze on his brother once again. “I also find it interesting that Transport has suddenly come upon a source of okcillium, at the same time that you seem to be flush with it.”
“The coincidences are unrelated,” Amos said. “Correlation does not necessarily imply causation, and all that.”
“I have to go harrow Matthias’s new field,” Jed said.
“Send him my best.”
(27
LOST AND FOUND
Matthias rubbed his head and sat back in his chair. “This is a pretty fantastic story, Jed.”
“I know it is,” Jed said.
“And by ‘fantastic,’ I mean unbelievable.”
“I know.”
Matthias stood up and went to one of his kitchen cabinets. He pulled out a bottle of some clear liquid and a glass, then sat back down at the table.
“What’s that?” Jed asked.
“Rheumatism medicine,” Matthias said. “Gerald Miller makes it.”
“It’s booze?”
“Well, that is kind of a crude and English way to put it, but yes. I need something right now after hearing that story.” Matthias poured a small amount into the glass, then hesitated before taking a long pull directly from the bottle instead. “I’m sorry,” he said, wiping his mouth. “Do you want some?”
Jed shook his head. “No. I want to go find Dawn.”
“Right,” Matthias said, then he downed the liquor that was in the glass.
“So you say it’s unbelievable, Matthias. Does that mean you don’t believe me?”
Matthias laughed. “No. It doesn’t mean that. That’s why I needed the drink. I do believe you, and that is now my problem.”
Jed had told his friend the whole story. From the beginning all the way through to his conversation with his sixty-seven-year-old brother. Throughout the telling of it, his friend hadn’t said much at all. He’d asked a few questions now and then, especially when it came to the parts about the window with the coffee can pane, and the wild savage named Eagles with the green towel.
“So what are you going to do?” Jed asked.
Matthias pushed the cork into the bottle, walked to the cabinet, and put the bottle away. “I suppose I’m going to help you find your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my… well… she’s…”
“She’s your girlfriend and you love her, so we need to go find her,” Matthias said.
“Okay.”
Their conversation during the buggy ride was a little more animated than Jed had expected. Matthias was full of questions, particularly about the animated BICE visions and how Jed had hacked into his brother’s head. The questions didn’t stop until the two young men were standing on the Yoders’ porch and knocking on the door.
Marcus Yoder answered the knock, and when he opened it Jed could see that two of Marcus’s cousins—a husband and wife from the family that had been bringing food to Jed and Matthias—were seated in the great room. Matthias had arranged with Marcus to give Jed a tour of the farm, so Jed was a little curious as to why the other Yoders would be there.
Introductions were made, and Jed and Matthias were invited to sit.
“It is a strange thing, Jedediah Troyer,” Marcus said, “for visitation to be taking place on a Saturday. As you know—and I suppose it is still the way things are done back in the old world—every other Sabbath day is set aside for such things.”
“I understand,” Jed said, “and I’m very thankful that you were willing to receive us today.” He didn’t offer an explanation, though it was obvious Marcus and the rest of the Yoders were expecting one.
“Well, then,” Marcus said. “Shall we take a look around?”
Marcus Yoder gave them a fairly comprehensive tour. He started by showing the two friends his house, which was an unremarkable and very typical Amish dwelling. The cooking and lighting in the house was provided by either propane or natural gas, but Jed didn’t bother to ask which it was. There was a large area rug in the great room—something that was definitely not typical for an Amish house. Jed wondered to himself if the ordnung allowed for the rug, and he made a mental note to ask Matthias about it later.