The Doorkeeper's Mind Read online

  Copyright 2019 by Leigh C Earley

  All rights reserved. This book nor any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing 2019

  ISBN: 978-1-57397-408-9 (Print)

  ISBN: 978-1-57397-409-6 (E-book)

  http://ELMorrow.com

  Earleybird Books

  This story is dedicated to the dreamers, thinkers, and planners. Dream something that isn’t but might be. Dream a tomorrow that’s better than today—for all people. Dream the possible but not-yet and many will tell you it’s silly, impractical, or bound to fail. So, what? Dream anyway.

  Without a dream, thinking and planning become stuck in the muck of whatever issue grabs our attention at the moment. But without thoughtfulness or plans the dream remains a vapor that blows away with the morning breezes.

  If you dream of a world with greater compassion, acceptance, respect, and equality, then this book is dedicated to you. May your mind be opened to new possibilities.

  This book is also dedicated to those who may be looking for a dream to get excited about. If that is you, perhaps you’ll share the Doorkeeper’s dream.

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  The author gratefully acknowledges the encouragement of friends, colleagues, and readers. Especially the Wichita Senior Center’s Writing Craft group, Starla, Monica, Mary Elise, and Margrete O’Neall. You are among a select group – and I thank you.

  Note to the Reader

  There are date, day, time, and location indicators at the beginning of many chapters and some scenes. These may be particularly helpful in the first ten and last five chapters.

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  An Appendix contains a list of main Characters and a Glossary of terms.

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  The Sheltered Cities Novels

  The Doorkeeper’s Secrets

  The Doorkeeper’s Mind

  The series begins in 2094. Most people live in a sheltered city protected from the harsh environment. The necessity of working together in order to survive became clear 50 years earlier. Economic justice, enhanced collaboration, reduced competition, and working for the common good are outcomes of The Plan adopted by most states, and several nations.

  Powerful forces are aligned to usher in a return to the biased economic policies of the previous centuries, (now referred to as the “age of confusion”) and its greed. To them, the young Doorkeeper and her colleagues are merely a nuisance to be swept aside. But how far will they go to silence the young idealist who warns of deception, and the seasoned scientist fighting to prevent a pandemic of deadly diseases?

  Table of Contents

  The Watchers

  Stop-the-Lies

  Change of Scenery

  The Next Surprise

  Another Piece of the Mystery

  Back to Toronto

  A Few Days at the Office

  The Raven's Nest

  A Game Changer

  Friendship

  Truly Unbelievable

  Counseling

  The Other Guys

  Invitation

  Treasure Hunt

  Seek and Find

  The Box

  The Second Envelope

  Wake Up

  The Raven's Egg

  Red Letter Day

  Apprentice

  Help Wanted

  Flying Lessons

  Almost Betrayed

  Normal?

  Apprentice Arrives

  Lexi's Journal

  Doing Some Good Work

  The V Club

  Surprise: Marie's Journal

  Meet Your Enemy

  Could This Enemy Become a Friend?

  What Next?

  Miami

  The Prom

  Hospital

  A Shower and a Clean Room

  Dr. Andrew Mark Winder

  Depressed Again

  Being Recognizable is Hazardous

  A Birthday Trip

  Are You My Brother?

  Past and Present Make a Future

  This is Not a Drill

  What Does Dr. French Know?

  Working on the Breakthrough

  Will Greed Win Again?

  It's All Over but the Shouting And a Few Questions

  Characters

  Glossary

  THE

  D OORKEEPER’S

  Mind

  One

  The Watchers

  Baltimore

  2094-09-14, Tuesday

  When your enemy is invisible; your survival depends on camouflage. Disappearing in plain view is an ability she has cultivated. No one she meets gives a second glance the woman who crosses the hotel lobby to the elevators. Most people see a slightly overweight woman in her early forties, who is glad another day is ending.

  The colors of her Smart Outer Garment indicate she is a Doorkeeper Supervisor. The smudges of forest green, platinum gray, and deep red identify the Door Services Sector while the predominance of black denotes the wearer as a Supervisor.

  Ninety percent of the hotel’s guests don a version of these Smart Garments, usually called SOGs. These bulletproof, fireproof, tamper-proof outfits are familiar to anyone living in a Structured State. Most SOGs contain bright, eye-catching colors and patterns. Hers is unusually bland—part of being unnoticed.

  A casual observer might easily overlook her, but there is nothing casual about his observations. He is convinced that what he sees is a disguise. Beneath it resides the slim, attractive, 19-year-old he has been hired to locate and if possible detain. Capture will not be possible since it took until yesterday to find her. His attempt to follow her today was thwarted, as she entered a pod, and apparently never emerged. He realized too late she must have changed her appearance while onboard and emerged unnoticed. His employer must never learn he made that rookie mistake.

  She steps on the elevator heading for the eighth floor. Room 803 is her destination. All his efforts to gain access to her suite have been unsuccessful—it seems someone is present even when she is out. After managing to tap into the hotel’s cameras, he found this room and several others on the same floor to be on “black-out,” something only FBI or CIA can accomplish. The woman has impressive connections.

  Believing she will leave tomorrow morning, his best hope is to take advantage of activity around her departure to get close enough to place a pinhead-sized “locator button” on her luggage. He then expects to track her bag all the way to the aircraft. Once the destination is determined, he will report to his boss. Presumably, someone will be at the other end to follow her—but that’s not his problem.

  While keenly observing his quarry, he fails to notice the two others watching him as he watches her. Now he is the one being followed as he makes his way out of the Xavier’s lobby. His goal is a windowless white van in the parking area across the street.

  Surveillance equipment located inside will allow him to view all coming and going from room 803, for that matter the entire hallway. As he opens the back, he is lifted into the van by four muscular arms, who join him inside.

  He is surprised to hear a woman’s voice. “Change of plans Mr. Davenport. Or is it Burnbalm today?”

  Two

  Stop-the-Lies

  Blog to be posted 09-16-2094

  All I ever wanted to do was open people’s doors, keep their property safe, and assist with emergencies. But here I am taking on those who would rather undermine progress than improve the future. It shows what can happen when you pay attention, do your job, and speak up. (Most of us remember this mantra f
rom primary school.)

  I’m Marie, the Doorkeeper in Wichita, Kansas, who challenged the speakers from Grog Institute, to tell the truth. Their presenters attempted to mislead the hearers into believing they had inside information about anticipated changes to The Plan. In the process, they give false names for themselves, their organization, and their so-called research methods. I merely pointed out their falsehoods.

  Since that event, questions are being asked about who I am. I will try to answer the three I’ve heard most often.

  How did I come to be in my position?

  I completed my Masters of Door Facilitation in June 2094. As is customary, my one-to-two-year role as a Teaching Assistant began July 1st. On August 15th I was asked to take an emergency placement at Residential Sector 86, in Wichita. I accepted by repeating what I had been taught, “It is my pleasure to serve.” Next time I will think longer before answering.

  How did I learn all I told in the Open Forum?

  Because my predecessor was unable to provide the customary briefing, I had to learn what I could from electronic files and what others could tell me. As a result, I discovered three things.

  First, Dr. Phillip Walton, my predecessor, did not die of natural causes but was kidnapped and murdered. The assailants entered his home at night, using an ill-gotten Universal Keycard.

  You know everyone living in a structured city no longer needs a physical key. Doorkeepers let us in and out of our homes. Retired people or service personnel use keycards to enter, but the card must be recharged after each use, to work again. Well, back in the early days of the change, someone decided to create some Universal Keycards to open any door at any time. A few were created before the idea was scuttled, and the cards were collected. Only one card escaped destruction. That is likely the one used during the kidnapping of my predecessor.

  Second, a weapon was used to kill a Security Officer on my watch. We soon learned the weapon had been developed in a clandestine operation, using tax dollars. Its purpose? By-pass the safeguards in our Smart Outer Garments. The same Universal Keycard I mentioned before was used to gain entrance through a vacant home to the common area bounded on all sides by houses. The intruder then hid in a resident’s home to await his return from the fitness center. Two Security Officers arrived before the resident returned; one officer was killed the other seriously injured.

  Third, with the help of Security personnel, we identified Dr. Walton’s kidnappers and traced a particular van they had used. When the same vehicle was spotted in Wichita, its ownership by the Grog Foundation could be confirmed. Researching the organization’s agenda makes it clear their focus is to bring an end to the current economic justice principles. A few rich and powerful people want to dominate the world again.

  As you see, I learned what I did by doing my job.

  Where have you been since the interview on September 6th?

  Many of you heard the interview with Teresa Graves, broadcast on the same day the indictments were handed down. What you may not know is Dr. Walton left clues allowing me to locate his final wishes. His Last Will and Testament contained a considerable surprise. I find myself responsible for managing three companies created to produce a computerized kitchen appliance storage system.

  Therefore, I had (and still have) a great deal to learn. You may wonder why anyone would leave such a valuable product to a total stranger. As it turns out, Dr. Walton knew me quite well. He read all my work for Door Facilitation studies and found that we shared the same values. Though he expected it to be a year later, he nominated me to be his replacement.

  Door Services granted me special assignment status to get up to speed on the operation and my responsibilities. Since Door Services will receive all net funds after expenses from the production, it seems an appropriate trade-off.

  The Guidance Committees of several services asked me to write a weekly blog. So, you will be hearing from me for a while. Of course, you are invited to respond, or raise questions.

  With her first blog ready for posting, Marie forwards it to three Sector Supervisors for their approval. Assuming no criticisms, it will post the following day. If there are suggestions, she will make the changes and re-submit it the same gatekeepers. It is essential that every supporting group be satisfied with the content before publication. After all, this is a quasi-official site speaking with more authority than just one person’s opinions.

  A few minutes until my next responsibility. I’m behind on my journaling, so I’ll use the time to catch up a bit.

  Attaching the proper memory chip to her computer and navigating the security she opens the appropriate section.

  Section: What I’m Learning About Myself

  Date: September 14, 10:20 pm EDT

  I feel like a hypocrite. I lead the charge against the detractors—who would undermine The Plan—with all the positive gains it brings to most people alive today. So, I write to counter their lies. All the while, I keep secrets—some would say I’m deceiving. At the very least I’m shaping the narrative by omission. Example: my deceased predecessor is alive under another name in another city—well, his body is.

  According to the law, Phillip Walton is deceased. The person he was no longer exists—brain damage took him away. What a cruel way to die—being put in an unsupervised medical-coma—which naturally failed. While the body lives, the mind that made him an electronics genius is gone.

  But to legally declare him dead, and act on his Will would have taken weeks of court hearings and a battery of medical tests. The Certificate of Life Completion issued by the doctor who put him in the deep coma was already available. It allowed quicker action on his Will. Admittedly my part in deception is minimal. Those older, and hopefully wiser than me, took the lead. They said, and I think they’re right, we can’t afford the time—we must act now before his murderers get away. As it turned out, we lost the most important figures—Bluefoot and his two henchmen. But just the same, I knew about the shortcut and though it is best for all concerned, still it’s not the whole truth.

  A second example: it’s deceptive when I say something happened one way, but it was my reading of energy trails that gave the answer. The public can never learn about this talent. Most people wouldn’t believe it anyway. But the detractors know about the project to create the “perfect soldier.” Likewise, the counter program, established by forward-thinking scientists who wanted intelligent, aware, and compassionate people of peace.

  So, if the Anti-Plan people found out about my abilities what would they do? Try harder to kill me? Worse yet, attempt to force me to work for them?

  I didn’t ask for these gifts, but I can’t ignore them. I’ll die before intentionally using them to hurt others. I didn’t ask to be born the culmination of generations of selective matching of specific qualities. I won’t throw away what others risked so much to protect.

  But is it too much to ask for some normality in my life? A few friends close to my age, the possibility of building a mating relationship; at the moment I’d settle for understanding why sex is such a big deal.

  So, I have two full-time jobs: one as a Doorkeeper, another as the CEO of Phillip’s three companies. In my so-called spare time, I’m the organizer of the Stop-the-Lies movement. All I need to do is save The Plan, ensure the safety of the economy, finish Phillip’s work, and figure out what my gifts can do. Then maybe I can plan my life.

  Am I overwhelmed? Yes. Do I think I can do it? Of course; I’ve mastered every challenge thrown at me so far. I’ll get along OK, as long as I don’t trip up and give something away that makes me look dishonest. I may need to give up sleeping for a while. Am I happy? Well, yes.

  What else worries me? My biggest concern—this whole movement is based on the perception of my integrity. If I show my feet of clay, the entire thing could collapse. Then the deceivers will seem as credible as The Plan’s supporters. That’s the scary part.

  I leave for Toronto tomorrow.

  Three
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br />   Change of Scenery

  The trip to Baltimore was necessary to follow up on documents left by her predecessor, Phillip Walton. Only a highly skilled Doorkeeper could decipher the clues. Among other things, Marie uncovered a letter which must be presented, by her, to Phillip’s attorney before his Last Will and Testament can be opened. In addition to the will, an extensive collection of documents had been entrusted to his lawyer and long-time friend, Miranda Crayborne. Only during the reading of the will, did Marie learn of her responsibility for the continuation of Phillip’s groundbreaking work.

  Miranda also delivered access to a trove of documents Phillip had collected and secured. When combined with others, his resourcefulness helped bring indictments against several sworn enemies of The Plan.

  As indicated in her blog, Marie is responsible for managing several companies created by the genius of Phillip. Three of the factories produce a unique storage system collectively marketed as Compact Kitchens. The potential is well beyond storing kitchen appliances. Phillip recruited investors to get the project up and running. The plan is to repay investments before any other applications are contemplated. Income from these units will benefit Doorkeeper’s work.

  The fourth, not mentioned in the blog, is given entirely to Marie: an incomplete facility to produce robots for the operation of the other three. All four production plants are located in or near Toronto, Canada.

  To prepare for this task, she has spent hours of conversation with Vivi, her friend in the financial sector. And more time on a crash course in business management. Marie now needs to see the operations first hand.