POI: The Reasons Behind His Names: The Splintered Son - Part Two
Author's Notes
Story updates may be posted less frequently than in the past. My apologies, but Real Life intrudes. I promise this story will not be abandoned.
Heathkit: Build-it-yourself radio equipment, electrical testers, hi-fi (not wi-fi) and stereos; see http://www.heathkit-museum.com/hvmhistory.shtml
Philmont: Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, the world's largest youth camp (in area)
Nimzowitsch variation: an opening strategy in chess. Petrosian vs. Petrovsky, Leningrad, is an actual match
GDP: Gross Domestic Product-the total dollar value of all goods and services produced over a specified time period. It is one of the primary indicators of the health of a country's economy.
Southwestern Bell: the division of AT&T that provided local and regional phone service to Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and portions of Illinois
Residence of the Sutterfield Family
Monday, November 27, 1972
Day - 10,628
Dear Ensio,
… Last Thursday was Thanksgiving here. Everyone celebrates with a roast turkey dinner and a day spent in front of the television watching the Macy's parade from New York City then college football games. The day commemorates the Pilgrims, who were early colonists in the New England states, being thankful they didn't die of starvation because they landed far north of where they thought they would end up. You sail so I know you understand how hard it must have been to navigate back then….
… I'm thinking about asking Peggy Marston to the ninth grade Christmas dance. She noticed I was wearing a new tie and she said she really like it. We started talking and I ended up walking her to Home Ec-that's a course girls take here. If I ask her, I'll let you know how it goes….
… I'm glad you're thinking about a Heathkit assembly business. It's really working out for Pete and me. Pete put an ad in the sports sections of the local papers offering to finish uncompleted projects and now we're paying friends to help us fill the orders. Lots of people start a kit then decide it's easier to let someone else finish it. We're also branching out into calculator repair. Most of the repairs involve replacing the LED display, which isn't too hard now that I have a source for the part. If you want, I'll send you everything I've learned about the TI-2500 and the SR-10 so you can repair them, too….
… I really hope your troop goes to Philmont this summer. I'll ask our scoutmaster if our troop can arrange to go there for summer camp, too. If we can't, I know my parents are considering a trip to California for vacation this coming summer. I'll see if we can drive there through New Mexico so I can meet you in person….
Dear Alla,
Did you really think I wouldn't recognize the Nimzowitsch variation of the Bogo-Indian Defense? Petrosian vs. Petrovsky, Leningrad, 1946. As you shall see, it's not a sure thing for white. My move is d5….
…Mom and Dad and I saw "1776," a musical about the American Revolution. I guess seeing it was part of my parents' efforts to look like normal Americans because the movie wasn't very good either as entertainment or as history….
….When I asked about summer vacations, Dad made a crack about how it wasn't even winter yet, but he did say he and Mom were thinking about a trip to California this coming summer and maybe a trip to Washington, D.C. the summer after that. If we do go to D.C., I doubt I'll be allowed anywhere near the Soviet Embassy-normal American families might drive past it just to say they saw "a Commie," but it's not a tourist destination like the White House or the Smithsonian. If you are assigned to a consulate instead of the embassy, I'll find a way to travel to that city to see you….
Daniel managed to write both letters and reduce Alla's to a microdot before he had to listen for instructions on the radio.
I really want to tell Alla about LPD Enterprises and how successful it is, but it's a bad idea to admit my 'capitalist' career is off to a rousing start… partially due to who she is and who her father is and partially because I'm not certain how many people read my letters to her-for all I know, the Committee has it diverted at the local post office so it can be vetted before it goes to Ensio and then Alla… if that's true, then my parents may be getting a copy… I haven't told them about the company or my earnings… I'm not sure how they'll react and I really want to surprise them by having my college paid for-which also will give me some leverage in the decision on which college I attend… Mom wants me educated in Vienna where her brothers didn't get a chance to graduate… I want to stay in the U.S… electrical engineering, maybe computer systems and definitely management courses… given the wide gap between what my parents want and what I want, it's better to never mention this side of me to anyone until I'm ready… I'm even using a different name for my bank accounts and company paperwork: David Sutter… it keeps the 'D' in LPD and isn't too far from my real name… and I checked-it's not fraud if I use it with no intent to defraud… David Sutter is my nom de plume, so to speak….
Truth was, as Daniel was very happy to note mentally if not in writing, LPD Enterprises was doing so well, Mr. Bennett had filed to incorporate in February.
This means he, Pete, and I will no longer be personally liable for company losses-not that we've had any since we began this endeavor last year… we now have a 2,500 sq. ft. office/manufacturing space with twelve employees: three full-time, including an office manager, the rest part-time to handle the kit building and repair work, packing and shipping, and the bookkeeping and inventory… Mr. Bennett quit his job at the Braille publisher to run our company… he's on the corporate filing as president with Pete and me as the other officers- I can't wait until I'm eighteen so I can enter into contracts without an adult co-signer…. We had to wind down the blue box and phone hack side of production…. we're making more money from legitimate products… and the order for five hundred boxes from that Boston mob boss made all of us very nervous, especially when he sent his "boys" to take delivery ….
Daniel was alone in the house, his mother not having been home when he returned after school.
I didn't find a note… that's odd, but Mom isn't as uptight about keeping track of me as she used to be… I am almost fourteen and a half-I'll be able to get my driver's license in one year, six months, and thirteen days….
As someone else's theme music followed by a series of numbers came from the radio's speaker, Daniel affixed Alla's microdot to his letter to Ensio then he addressed its envelope.
I really hope I get to meet Alla in person, but any chance that might happen is eighteen months away… Ensio is more likely… except that I'm not even sure I'll be a Scout by next summer… LPD is taking up a lot of my time and Dad mentioned again my working at Mr. Egorov's tailor shop… it's not like I need the money-not with my bank accounts and my brokerage account-Mr. Bennett helped me with them since I'm too young to sign contracts or to own financial instruments except in a trust managed by an adult… it's a bad time to be in stocks-we've been in a bear market since the year began… GDP growth is slowing, unemployment is climbing, price inflation is running around 8% … which means people are looking for ways to save money… there's a lot of money to be made by giving people what they want at a price they can afford to pay… and what they want is cheaper electronic products… Pete and I are looking into importing audio equipment from Japan to resell… Sony has been making cheap transistor radios and selling them here, but they're moving into higher-end digital multi-band radios... .I think we could sell a few of those to hams-just to get our foot in Sony's door… I'm also drawing up some ideas of my own… Mr. Bennett and I are meeting with a patent attorney next month….
When six o'clock came and went without word from Mrs. Sutterfield, Daniel headed to the kitchen to start supper.
I don't know what's keeping Mom, but Dad will be home soon… they'll like it if I make dinner for them… we're out of leftover turkey, but there's some ground beef in the fridge and two green peppers… I know we have chili powder and tomato sauce… if I make some rice, cook the meat and add diced onions, garlic, the green peppers and spices, I'll have Spanish rice-or as our scoutmaster calls it, Texas Hash... with a tossed salad, even Mom will think it's a decent dinner….
Daniel had just put the meat and onions in a skillet on the stove when the phone rang. He reached for it then propped the handset between shoulder and ear so he could stir the mixture.
"Sutterfield Residence, Daniel speaking."
"Daniel, it's Paul Lukin. Have you heard from your mother?"
His grip on the wooden spoon tightened.
"No, sir. Is something wrong?"
There was silence then a muffled "Clara hasn't called him" followed by an indistinct reply before Mr. Lukin's voice returned to the handset.
"I was hoping you knew. I have a message from your mother that your father collapsed and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. She wanted me to call you when you got home from school, but I wasn't able to get my messages until just a few minutes ago."
Although it felt like he'd been turned to ice by the news, Daniel carefully set the spoon on the counter and repositioned the handset in case he had to take notes.
Dad? Hospital? No- not Dad… I have to think… find out where Dad is….
"Did Mom say which hospital?"
"No, but I've got someone checking the hospitals to see where he was taken. As soon as I find out, I'll call you."
Daniel nodded, more to see if he could move than in reply.
Okay--Mr. Lukin has that under control… I guess I'd better get off the line in case Mom does call….
"Thank you, Mr. Lukin. I'll wait for your call. Good-"
"Wait, there's another matter. The Dornbergers are on their way to a conference in Chicago and I know they were planning to visit your family tonight. Because they're on the road, I can't reach them. Can you fill them in when they arrive?"
Daniel glanced around the empty kitchen.
Good… I need someone to keep me from worrying about Dad… and Mom… just in case something happened to her, too….
"I'll get our spare room ready for them-that is, if Mom hasn't done so already. It's not a problem. I even have dinner started."
Not that I'm hungry anymore… but maybe the Dornbergers will be….
"Whatever you think best, Daniel," Mr. Lukin told him. "I'll trust your judgment. Now, as soon as I know something, I will call you. Okay?"
Daniel agreed then hung up quickly, just in case Mrs. Sutterfield was trying to call home.
Maybe I should work on a home phone message system… something that would let people leave messages when the line is busy… wonder if I could interest Southwestern Bell in such a thing?
Without giving the actions any thought, he turned the heat lower under the browning meat then ran upstairs to check the condition of the guest room.
Looks like Mom has everything ready-the bed pillows are fluffed and there's clean towels in the bathroom….
Back in the kitchen, Daniel went through the motions of making the Spanish rice. All the while, his mind raced through worries about his dad.
A collapse like that sounds like a heart attack… but Dad shouldn't have had one-he's not old… forty-nine is not old… okay, it seems old sometimes, but it's not… not really… Dad doesn't smoke-or he hasn't since he left the Army… and he eats the right kinds of foods-except when Mom makes smothered pork chops or her schnitzels-and there's the bratwurst she gets from the German deli in Tower Grove… maybe we do eat a lot of fatty meat… Mr. Clemens' dad had a heart attack-a massive one and he died on the way to the hospital… that was last year… what is keeping Mom from calling?
Daniel was putting the casserole dish into the oven when he heard a car-not his mother's VW- pull into the driveway. He set the timer then he went out the back door to greet his guests. Mrs. Dornberger, upon learning his troubles, enveloped Daniel in a big hug while she told him how awful it was and how he shouldn't worry.
Her husband was more practical.
"Let get of the boy," he told her, "and we'll go inside. Better to talk about problems where there's light and heat."
He also offered to find a motel for the night, but Daniel shook his head.
"Mom has your room ready and I've made dinner-that is, if you don't mind Spanish rice?"
"Not at all," Dr. Dornberger replied, "Spanish rice is the epitome of American cuisine."
I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, but he did have two helpings… I only pushed mine around my plate… Mrs. Dornberger urged me to eat, but I wasn't hungry… I kept looking at the kitchen phone as though I could will it to ring….
Finally, as Dr. Dornberger was finishing his second plateful, the phone rang. Daniel shot out of his chair without so much as an "Excuse me" to answer it.
It was Mom, calling from a payphone at the hospital… she said Dad had had a heart attack at work then another in the emergency room… the doctors used a defibrillator to reset his heart… he's resting okay now, but they want to operate him as soon as he's strong enough-tomorrow, maybe… Mom said she's going to stay with Dad tonight… she also said she was going to shred Mr. Lukin with her cheese grater for not calling me sooner… I told her he didn't get her message until almost dinner time and he did call me immediately afterward… I then handed the phone to Mrs. Dornberger after I told Mom I loved her….
While the women talked, Daniel told Dr. Dornberger about his father.
"Ah," the man replied, "a myocardial infarction. Alan is fortunate he was taken to a hospital with the necessary equipment. That operation he needs is a coronary bypass. His surgeon will replace any damaged heart valves with vein sections taken from your father's leg. It's a marvelous procedure and only recently developed."
Daniel gaped at him as he wondered how a rocket propellant expert knew so much about heart attacks.
This must be how Pete feels when I start explaining things….
Dr. Dornberger noticed the boy's expression.
"At my age, Daniel," he said, "it's safest to be informed about anything that could kill me. Now, not to diminish what has happened to your father, but Sonya was hoping she could have some film developed before we leave tomorrow. Can we impose on you?"
Daniel considered the request for a moment.
I don't see why not… it will keep me busy and I know Mrs. Dornberger really likes how Dad handles her work….
"Of course, sir," he replied. "I'll do my best to meet her expectations."
The older man patted him on his shoulder.
"You were trained by the best. I've no doubt but that she'll be pleased-and she'd better be since this forces me to give up our chess game that I was looking forward to."
Daniel smiled at the complement then he promised to make time for chess on the Dornbergers' return stop.
Darkroom
Monday, November 27, 1972
Day - 10,628
This is the boring part… shaking the developer tank for the correct number of seconds every minute for the correct number of minutes… each type of film requires a specific amount of time in the developer fluid… putting the film in the tank is not boring-that has to be done in total darkness… Dad uses a changing bag, a double-zipper lightproof bag with sleeves so your hands can do the transfer from the film's canister to the reel in the developer tank… it's all done by touch and takes practice… Dad had me learn with negatives outside the bag then I had to practice with the bag until he was certain I would not make a mistake… so putting the film in the tank is not boring, but timing and shaking it while it develops is boring. …
As soon as the timer chimed, Daniel flushed out the developer tank with water to rinse the chemicals from the strip of film then he hung the strip to dry.
Mrs. Dornberger's negatives… next step is to enlarge and print them for her… I wonder if she finally found her Ivory-billed woodpecker….
To his surprise, only the first dozen frames of the film showed birds. The last twenty-four were diagrams and schematics of what looked a space ship with large external fuel tanks. Daniel stared dumbfounded at the strip for a moment then he laughed.
Of course… I should have realized-the one couple I thought were actual friends of my parents really are spies…all these years and I totally missed it….
He shook his head as though the fact was nothing.
Well, it is since there's nothing I can do about it-I'm sure as hell not turning them in… that would be the same as ratting out my parents… and I can't arrange a darkroom accident to spoil these negatives-after all the training and practice I've had, no one would believe it was an accident… so I have to help my parents' oldest friends steal NASA secrets for the Soviets… to be blunt, I'm screwed….
Daniel continued the process of printing Mrs. Dornberger's photos: he fed the negatives through the enlarger and made the prints just the way his father had taught him.
This has to be the Space Shuttle… President Nixon announced the project last year… Dad's company submitted a design, but the government chose to work with a competitor… stupid government… I'm probably the only kid who's gotten a good look at the plans… I ought to be impressed… except it's not like I can tell anyone….
As soon as the prints were completed, Daniel put them and their negatives in a manila envelope then he carried it upstairs. The Dornbergers were in the family room watching the Tonight Show from the couch. At his arrival, Mrs. Dornberger stood and held her hands out.
"Thank you so much, Daniel. You don't know what this means."
He gave her the envelope as he said, "Yeah, I think I do know. Those are some really impressive photos."
Mrs. Dornberger's shy smile showed she took his remark as a compliment.
"Thank you," she told him. "They are the result of months of planning and some very good luck."
Dr. Dornberger grunted then said, "The act of planning creates its own luck, Sonya. Good planning has good luck. Inept plans have bad luck."
She turned and stuck her tongue out at him then she said, "Of course, Manfred. Still, if your office partner had not left his keys-"
Dr. Dornberger smiled as he shook his head at his wife's impudence.
"I doubt Daniel is interested in the mechanisms of your work, dear. In fact, he probably would like to relax after all you've had him do this evening."
Mrs. Dornberger turned back to Daniel.
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. Would you like to join us? Maybe some ice cream?"
Daniel held his expression as neutral as possible at the thought of Sonya Dornberger, surprise spy, offering him ice cream in his own house.
"Thank you, but all I really need is for you to call my school tomorrow morning and tell them about Dad so I can be absent. I'm sure Mom wants me to be with her if Dad's going to have surgery."
"Of course, dear. Anything you need."
Daniel smiled his gratitude then wished the Dornbergers a good night. As soon as he was in his bedroom, he shut the door. Too many emotions and thoughts were running through his mind for clear thinking. Daniel sat at his desk and tried to sort through them.
I really want to go back downstairs and yell at the Dornbergers for being spies and not friends… and I want to yell at Dad for almost dying and Mom for not calling school and getting me out of class so she could tell me what happened-I know Mr. Lukin is a family friend as well as her boss, but I'm her son… I'm old enough to handle things… I proved that by taking care of the Dornbergers this evening-making dinner and helping to steal the plans for my country's Space Shuttle….
That thought put a huge lump in Daniel's throat.
As mad as I am, I have to admit the Dornbergers never told me they weren't spies-I assumed that one on my own… it's like Mom and Dad… they didn't lie about their work back when I figured it out … but they always use euphemisms for what they do… they make it seem like a game-Fox and Goose, Hide the Dead Drop, the Committee, supporting foreign agents-no one ever says, "I'm tailing a spy," "I'm hiding a coded message for a spy," "I work for the Soviet Union as a spy…."
The lump shifted down to become a knot in his stomach.
They never told me, "Hey, Daniel-we're raising you to be a traitor to your country"… they just give me German reading assignments from Marx and Hegel, and Russian reading assignments on how wonderful the USSR is - I'm surprised I wasn't taught Chinese so I could read Chairman Mao's Quotations in the original… they ask me to listen for coded messages from Moscow… then I pass those messages on to people who steal government secrets… I develop photos of things so classified I could be jailed for knowing those projects even exist… I've been ducking it, but I have to face the truth… like it or not, I'm a spy… I don't want to be one… I don't want to be a communist… I like capitalism-I couldn't start something like LPD in the USSR… I couldn't make money and own stocks and build a corporate empire in the USSR… and that's what I want to do when I'm an adult… Mom calls them 'robber barons,' but that's exactly what I want to be... President and Chief Executive Officer with the bespoke suits and the corner office with a panoramic view of the city outside my windows… I want to run things and build things and make the world better… communism doesn't do that-it only makes everything the same… it doesn't build-it levels….
The knot tightened until it felt like a snake constricting him.
But I'm a kid… there's nothing I can do to change my life… there's no way I can tell Mom and Dad "I hate what you do and I want to stop" because there is no way to stop-not unless I call the FBI… I'll never do that to Mom and Dad… they chose me when no one else wanted me… and especially now, with Dad in the hospital… besides, I know they're doing what they think is best for me… they're teaching me what they believe is right… I just can't believe it with them… but I can't rat them out… I owe them so much… so the only thing I can do is be a good son to them… a good little spy… but, as soon as I finish high school-that's the end of it….
The pain in his stomach eased as Daniel followed the logic of his decision.
What I do with my life after high school is my business… it's only three more years-I can last that long… I'll pick my college and, when I graduate, I'll start my own company-or buy one… the way LPD is growing, I'll be able to pay for college and still have plenty of capital available…by then, I'll be an adult so Mom and Dad won't be able to stop me… but I'll still keep their secrets because I love them… and I'm so scared right now that Dad won't come home… I sure hope Dad is okay... please let him be okay….
The next few weeks brought many changes to the Sutterfield family. Alan Sutterfield's double bypass operation was successful, but it was followed by twelve weeks of recuperation.
Dad couldn't raise his arms, reach behind or above him, push himself upright in bed or his chair, lift anything heavier than five pounds, climb stairs… the list of prohibitions seemed endless… we made up a bed for him in the family room… the doctors also changed his diet-no fatty meats, rich sauces, no whole milk or cream-Mom said when the doctor told Dad "no caffeine," Dad demanded his old heart valves back because life was not worth living without coffee… the doctor relented, but ordered him to drink it black… we started eating more salads and vegetables… chicken instead of pork and beef… Mom can make anything taste good, but she hates using margarine for her cooking… just this morning, she asked if I wanted 'industrial grease' on my toast….
Have his father around as a invalid meant that Daniel had to fetch and carry for him.
I didn't mind, but helping him put a real crimp in my work with Mr. Bennett and Pete… I had to invent a special Scout meeting so I could with Mr. Bennett to our appointment with the patent attorney… that meeting went very well… we're filing on four of my designs… LDP will hold the patent rights and I'll get a cut of what they make us… some day, when I don't have to hide behind an adult, everything will have my real name on it… Sutterfield Industries, DS Computing, Amalgamated Sutterfield-okay, that one is really dorky… but DS Holdings isn't… I can use that name for all the companies I will buy….
Daniel also made a change to his class schedule for the rest of the school year.
I dropped Shop and picked up an hour of Office Assistant-helping the secretaries in the school office… Mr. Brooks, the boy's assistant principal, asked if I was sure I wanted to do that… he said most of the students who took that 'course' were bone stupid… I don't think he would like my repeating that comment outside his office… I told him I wanted some experience with how offices run and the school's was reputed to be run very well… Mr. Brooks took that as a compliment….
The real purpose of the schedule change was to let Daniel get his hands on the school's files.
As soon as I turn sixteen-sooner if Dad signs the paper to let me work part-time when I'm fifteen-I'll need alternative identification… Dad and Mom have several caches with fake IDs hidden locally… if they get word they're about to be arrested, they can got to one of those caches, take the contents and disappear… once I learn how the school district handles its records-new student in-take, intra-system school transfers, transfers to other states, graduates and drop-outs, verification for college applications-I will be able to fake student records for me if I have to go with them… I do know my school stores some of its files on the school district's NCR computer… if I can convince the secretaries to let me use the school's data terminal, I should be able to learn a lot….