2030_ The Real Story of What Happens to America - Albert Brooks [76]
“I know. That’s the hard part. One thing I was thinking, maybe we should contact that guy on the T-shirt.”
“Who is that?”
“Walter Masters.”
“What does he do exactly?”
“He puts old people out of their misery.”
“He murders them?”
“I don’t know. I think he does it with their consent, but obviously something is going on there. Maybe he would join and have some ideas. I’m going to get one of the people who know him to put me in contact.”
“That’s a good idea,” Kathy said, and she meant it, even though murdering large numbers of old people was not something at the top of her to-do list.
* * *
Walter Masters was back in his Kern County home after an exhausting trip to the earthquake zone. He had helped a hundred and ten people transition in Southern California, and now he was spent and a bit depressed and wondering what to do next. He couldn’t really make a living out of this; people paid him for his expenses and a nominal fee, but it was never meant to be a business. It was born out of a need to help others, and now he was tiring of it.
He tried to keep up with his correspondence while traveling, but when he got home he had hundreds of E’s waiting for him. He had standard one-key replies that thanked people for contacting him but graciously told them he was unable to help for whatever reason he chose, distance, type of illness, age of patient, and so on. He even had a reply for when he sensed the sender might be someone trying to make trouble; it simply said, “You have the wrong person.”
He finally got around to an E from Max Leonard, who introduced himself, gave plenty of references, and asked if they could have a face-to-face at his convenience. Not a screen meeting, but a real one. Masters was not used to people Max’s age asking for help, so he contacted him.
“Hello?” Max said, looking unshaven and almost as if he were asleep.
“Walter Masters here.”
“Oh my God, hello.” Masters saw the screen go blank for a few seconds and then Max came back with a clean shirt and his hair combed. “You caught me unprepared.”
“Sorry, do you want to do this another time?”
“No. Not at all. I wanted to sit down with you and talk in person if you would do that.”
“What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing. It’s not about that. I just wanted to talk. I’m an admirer of your work and I wanted to meet you.”
“Where are you located exactly?”
“I’m in Indianapolis.”
“Gee, I’m in California. I have no plans to travel east at this time.”
“May I come and see you?”
Masters thought a moment. He was a bit confused. “May I ask what this is about?”
“Mr. Masters, I am head of a group called Enough Is Enough.” This was the first time Max had used the name and it sounded great. “We are concerned about the ongoing expense of allowing people to live beyond their natural lives, and you have many fans in this group. I want nothing more than just to sit in person and talk to you. I could be out there in a day.”
“What do you mean ‘allowing people to live beyond their natural lives’?”
“Please, I don’t want to explain everything like this. Let me come see you. Just for an hour. I promise it will at least be interesting.”
Walter stared at Max’s face. The guy did seem smart and sincere and he had changed his shirt just to talk to him. “Come on Friday. I’ll meet you at a restaurant in the town where I live.” And Walter proceeded to give him all the particulars. He felt it was best not to invite Max to his home, but what could the harm be to meet him for an hour in a public place?
“Thank you, sir! Thank you!” And Max disconnected and let out a cheer.
“What is it?” Kathy asked.
“He agreed to meet me.”
“Who?”
“The hero on the T-shirt. Masters.”
“Wow. That’s great. Should I come?”
“It’s in California. He was so hesitant that if I bring another person he might freak out. Let me fly out for a day and see if I can make him comfortable.”
Kathy understood. It made sense to her. “That’s great,” she said. “He sounds like a genius or something. Maybe he’ll join the group.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
As the Air Force jet