Chapter 38: Alecia’s Re-Entry into the Real World

“I’m leaving you.”  Alecia was rehearsing what she would say to her husband when she would speak with him on the phone immediately after the broadcast of the final “Soul Survivor,” episode.  She did not think he would be surprised.  She practiced it silently in her mind over and over again, thinking it wasn’t just him she was leaving behind.  They would work out something reasonable with the girls.  Alecia trusted Henry to do that.  She was leaving her old self, the one who had been running her life prior to “Soul Survivor.”  That Alecia hadn’t done such a good job, Alecia thought now.  Divorce would be hard, but better than living the rest of her life frustrated and unhappy.  Alecia wanted to teach her daughters to live courageously, not in subjugation to anyone or anything, no matter how nice the lifestyle.

Alecia felt different in her own skin.  She felt more alive than when she’d left her family and boarded the boat to head out to the Farallone Islands weeks ago.  She was more sensitive to the feeling of the air on her face and in her hair, as if the nerve endings in her skin were more sensitive than they’d been in years, since she was a child.

She was driven three hours north of San Francisco to a house on a hill above the coast surrounded by redwoods.  The house looked like a barn, made of grey, weathered wood, its roof angled to take the wind off the ocean below.  The windows of the house looked out on land, sea and sky in a way that suggested solitude from other people yet community with nature.  She often saw deer, quails, jack rabbits and the occasional skunk walk on the grounds beneath the windows of the house.

She had been told it would take two weeks to do editing and post-production and to have the FCC screen and approve the final episode prior to its airing.  In Alecia’s second week in seclusion she was out walking in the woods and came upon a grassy meadow where a white baby deer grazed with its brown-colored mother.  The baby deer looked up at her with dark eyes, its dark nose a focal spot in its white, slightly fuzzy looking face framed by large, pink-tinged white ears.  Seeing that white deer felt like a miracle, mystical and appropriate.

Alecia’s food was left in bags in a bin on the porch.  She took the bags into the house and left a note with any requests for the next delivery.  She never saw the person or people who took care of her.  They came and went either at night or while she was out walking.  There were shelves full of books in the house.  The book collection slanted towards three main areas of interest:  classical theater, philosophy and photography.  There were large picture books of photography of the sea and various scenic places.  Alecia found a notebook and a pen in the house and had began writing.  She used pen and paper to reflect on her experience and her life so far.  Each evening she tore the pages she’d written out of the notebook and burned them in the fireplace, enjoying the ritual of smoke and flames.

One day, when Alecia was retrieving the bags of groceries from the bin on the porch she found a note tucked into the top of one of the bags.  “You’ll have a visitor tomorrow,” the note read.  Alecia was grateful for the thoughtfulness of the advance warning.  After having been alone for the week or so it had already been, the idea of spending time with another person warranted some preparation.  She made a point of watching some television that day including the evening news, so she’d be used to the sound of people’s voices and have some perspective on what was happening in the world outside of her secluded haven.

The visitor, a youngish middle-aged man in a suit, arrived by black Lincoln Towne Car with a driver.  Alecia watched him walk up the stairs to the house, noting the confidence in his stride.  She opened the door and gestured for him to come in.  He walked in with the same confidence that had taken him from the car to her stoop, then, perhaps sensing the imposition of another person in such a quiet place, took a deep breath and let it out, somehow making himself smaller, less imposing in the process.

“Hi, I’m Andy,” he said, holding out his hand.  “Andy Thomas.  Did they tell you why I want to meet with you?”

“No.  Nice to meet you,” Alecia said, shaking his hand.  It was the first contact she’d had with another person if over a week.  “Would you like some coffee?  I put some on a little while ago.”

“Actually, if you’ve got something without caffeine, herbal tea maybe?  Or just plain water.  I’d like that better,” he said.

Alecia went to the refrigerator and poured water from a pitcher into a glass and handed it to Andy.  He drank deeply.

“That’s great,” he said.

“Do you want to sit down or would you rather go for a walk,” asked Alecia.  “I assume you’ve been sitting a long time to get here.”

“A walk would be nice,” Andy said.

Alecia got a coat out of a closet and handed it to him.  “You might find this more comfortable,” she said.  “I wish there was a pair of shoes I could offer you.”
Andy took off his coat and put on the one she had handed him.  “I’ll be fine,” he said.  “Thanks.”

They walked out the door.  Andy spoke briefly to the driver.  Alecia pointed out a dirt trail that went into the woods.

In the course of the next half hour, they walked and talked, with Andy introducing himself more fully as a political consultant working for the Democratic party.  He didn’t mention he had previously worked for Jack Callister.  He figured there would be time to cover that detail later.  He quickly got to the reason for his visit.

“The events on “Soul Survivor,” didn’t just happen.  We believe almost the entire show was carefully planned and parts of it were scripted.  And we believe the Republican Party at the highest levels of government was behind it.”

“That sounds crazy,” Alecia said, walking faster.

“Think about it,” said Andy.

“Why would the government want what happened on “Soul Survivor,” to happen on live television,” asked Alecia.

“To distract,” said Andy.

“From what?”

“Take your pick,” he said.  “There’s a lot going on.  In the last six months, the Medicare price tag has almost doubled and top Medicare officials have been exposed as having covered up the total expense and making subordinates lie in reports and in front of congress, to cover the President’s ass and help the Republican party stay in power.  Social Security is going to bankrupt because of mismanagement and the increasing number of eligible elderly vs. the payments going in.  The war in Iraq is still going on with no end in sight.  Israel and Lebanon continue to blow each other’s civilians up, with our government helping both sides.  “No Child Left Behind,” is about to be revealed as an education policy disaster that’s resulted in children being culled from the school system entirely in order for districts to get their scores up to federal standards.  The population of uneducated adolescents in this country is higher than ever before.  And gasoline is above $5 a gallon.  In fact, oil and gas prices have gone up and down while the public has been told of supply limitations and new discoveries of huge supplies happening simultaneously, with oil company profits going up all the while.  It’s become obvious information on these issues and more is false and manipulated, under direction and with assistance from the current administration.”

“You’re right,” Alecia said.  “There’s a lot going on.”

“The current administration came to an intelligent realization,” said Andy.  “What this country needs is some drama to distract from all those political affairs that the public at large can’t even understand, let alone impact in any constructive way.  We have an informant who attended meetings with key Senior Republican administrators, including the president, who fondly reminisced on the days when Luke and Laura of General Hospital dominated office conversations, newspaper headlines and talk show line-ups.  They thought the time was right for something like that to become the national obsession once again.  They thought it would take people’s minds off the government, the state of the country and their own economic welfare.”

“Why should I believe you,” asked Alecia.

“You’re right to ask that question,” said Andy.  “Do you know that two out of three times, when you’re listening to a television commentator, talk show host or even reading an article, you’re getting information from an individual paid to represent a specific point of view, usually the government’s?”

“Like those made up movie reviewer’s quotes on movie posters,” Alecia asked, laughing.

“Something like that, yes,” said Andy.  He stopped walking and took a moment to catch his breath.

“Alecia, in the time you were on “Soul Survivor,” did you come across anything that makes what I’m saying resonate at all,” Andy asked.

Alecia took her time in answering.  She thought of Ned, the fake shark and the fake blood.

“Maybe,” she said.  “Okay, probably,” she added, in response to the look on Andy’s face.

“The way I see it, government involvement in entertainment programming is just the next step along a path we started down a long time ago.  It’s an art form, really.  Which are you more likely to believe, the point of view of a clearly government-owned, government-run publication or the local newspaper you read while sipping your coffee eating breakfast with your family every morning?  Which would your teenage son or daughter tune into on the radio, a government-sponsored policy announcement, or the clever remarks of the deejay launching the newest Red Hot Chili Peppers CD?”

“I get your point,” said Alecia.  “So why meet with me?”

Andy and Alecia faced each other head on.  “We see an opportunity for our party and you could play a key role,” said Andy.  “You’ve watched the live episode?”

“Yes,” said Alecia.  “It was terrible when it happened.  Somehow it was even worse watching it on television, knowing it had already happened, seeing what I didn’t see myself at the time on the island but what I knew must have happened from what I did see.”

“We agree.  It was terrible.  It never should have happened.  But it did happen.  And the opportunity we think it gives us is to organize around what happened, expose it and to take on the issues that come with it, with a leader ready to take it all on who is a hero to the American public.”
“Who would that hero be,” Alecia asked.

“You,” said Andy.

Alecia started walking again.  She could see the meadow ahead of them and followed the trail towards it.  As she got closer she stopped and held a hand up to silence Andy, then pointed at the white deer and its mother.  Andy stopped too.  For a few minutes Alecia and Andy watched the deer together.  Alecia finally spoke to Andy.

“I’m not a hero,” she said.

“You’re as close as we come these days,” said Andy.

On the walk back to the house Alecia thought about what Andy was proposing.  Given her decision to leave her husband, she was going to need a job.  It seemed as though what Andy was proposing had the potential to be a fulfilling one.

“I’ve spent my adult life as a house wife,” Alecia said.  “How does that qualify me for running for public office?”

“We can work with that,” said Andy, “given the leadership and courage you’ve demonstrated on “Soul Survivor.”

“Have you seen all the episodes?  What about the night in the cave,” said Alecia.

“That was infrared photography,” said Andy.  “It was suggestive, but not definitive.  I’d coach you on telling the story of that night so that you didn’t reveal more than you had to, and what you did reveal reflected well on you.”

“What about the other survivors,” said Alecia.  “Would they tell the same story?”

“That can be arranged,” said Andy.  “We’ve already looked into that,” he said.  “Each person who was in the cave has a different story.  Nobody could really tell what anybody else was doing, is what we’ve found in the interviews we’ve conducted.  I really don’t think you have anything to worry about there,” said Andy.  “You did what it took to survive.  It’s part of what makes you a hero.  What is much more important is you’re having risked your own life to save Ned.”
“What about Ned,” asked Alecia.  “What’s his role in this?”
“He was working for the production team but he’s not a political operative, if that’s what you’re asking.  I think he’s a friend,” said Andy.  “But that’s up to you.”

“What exactly are you asking me to do,” asked Alecia.

“Let me help you run for office.  We’ll put you up for a State Senate seat first, then see where it goes from there, what kind of a following you get.  Once you’ve served in that office, we may consider bigger things.  We’ll have to see.”

“Bigger things, like what,” Alecia asked.

“We’re looking for a female presidential candidate ready to run in 2016.  If things go well, you could be that candidate.”

They walked the rest of the way back in silence.  At the house Andy used the restroom then said goodbye to Alecia.

“I’ll be in touch,” he said.

“I’m sure you will,” said Alecia with a knowing smile.  “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

After the Lincoln Towne Car had driven out of sight Alecia sat by the living room window looking out at the ocean and the setting sun, drinking a beer.  How far and how long could she go, she wondered, being used by others?  Could she make anything better, by being that person instead of someone else?  She wondered if this question was common among people in power, as it was common to those without.