Land of Promise by James Wesley Rawles

be some opportunity for me to get actively involved in stemming the tide, as it were.”
    There was a long pause.
    Alan asked, “How shall we proceed, sir?”
    “For the record, I’m going to be assigning both of you to do research on a long-term transnational database project that we’ll call ‘Project SWILL.’ Just between us, that acronym is actually is short for Sovereign Will, because I believe that this is all happening by divine appointment. Nothing happens by chance, my friends. You will be reassigned from your current responsibilities within the company, and you’ll be given a shared two-desk office and carte blanche on travel expenses to pursue this. And if God wills this thing to happen, I’m going to set aside one billion NEuros to be divided equally: half for establishing a mint and vault storage company in country, and the other half for a benevolent fund to rescue people out of persecution and get them settled in the new homeland nation. Oh, and in exchange I expect to get 20 passports for my family and my closest friends -- and that my personal passport will be a diplomatic one, with the designation Roving Ambassador.”
    Heston suffixed that with a self-deprecating snort. Then he said, “I’m also going to help open some doors for you, through friends and friends of friends. By that, I mean Christian friends. These are people who will want to buy second passports and who will want to help invest in this start-up nation. The Caliphate must be stopped, and there must be a safe harbor nation established for those who are being persecuted.”
    Alan cocked his head and said, “A billion NEuros is lot of money.”
    “In the grand scheme of things, not really. That’s only about one tenth of my net worth. So even if my investment there yields nothing, I’ll just consider it a sort of tithe . It sure beats setting up some lame feel-good multigenerational foundation, like my estate planning and tax attorneys keep pushing me to do. By the way, it will take a year or more to liquidate some of my positions and unwind some hedges to free up that much cash, so don’t expect it all to be available immediately.”
    Lunch was served a few minutes later, and Heston offered a blessing. As they ate, some of the finches moved in to hop around their feet, hoping to find some crumbs.
    They began eating in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Heston glanced down and warned, “Oh. Please don’t toss them anything, or it will turn them into pests. Sort of like dispensing welfare.”

Chapter 4: SWILL
    “Morale is the state of mind. It is steadfastness and courage and hope. It is confidence and zeal and loyalty. It is elan, esprit de corps and determination .” -- General George C. Marshall
    Edinburgh, Scotland -- Late May, Three Years After Declaration of the Caliphate
    By the time they got back to their desks, an e-mail from HR was waiting for Rick and Alan, informing them of their new office assignment and their new status as “Direct Reports” to Harry Heston. Their respective managers were CCed on the e-mails. Twenty minutes after Rick was back at his desk, a technician from the IT/Facilities staff came to relocate Rick’s workstation and printer to his new office. The Tech had a goatee and was wearing a T-shirt with “IT Staff” on the front and “Have You Tried Turning It Off And On Again?” on the back.
    The vacant office was on the first floor, just across the hall from the GlobalMAP gym. When Rick arrived, Alan was already there, unpacking a box of items from his desk. He greeted Rick with a smile and commented, “Once he makes his mind up, Harry Heston doesn’t waste any time. And I’ve taken our office location as a none-too-subtle hint. I’ve been meaning to shed a stone, anyway.”

     
    Rick Akins and Alan Pilcher began a team exercise regimen the next day, and they continued this whenever they were both in Edinburgh. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, they would lift weights, do