Late summer rain - from Farewell the Dragon

 We ran through the late August rain to the apartment, sliding on the grass, laughing and splashing and pushing each other. There was a crack of thunder and the late summer air carried a clean, purifying, electric tingle.

Soaked through to the skin, for just a moment children, jumping at each flash of lightning, we ran into the apartment’s vestibule and the rain turned to torrential downpour as we reached shelter.

The apartment was on the south side of the Youyi grounds, a campus setting like that of an upscale New England college. The older brick building looked stately from the outside, but there was no air conditioning and the humidity was stifling. We opened the windows in the apartment and the breeze instantly refreshed us with the smell of the late summer rain.l

The bathroom had a small shower in a bathtub, something that my own place lacked. I stripped off my wet clothes and turned on the hot water. 

Zhou came in, without looking at me, but without embarrassment, peeled off and stepped out of her flimsy blue and white dress, hung it over the towel rack.

I drew the curtain and the water was hot and my eyes were soapy as Zhou slowly enveloped me with her long smooth legs.

...

Buy Farewell the Dragon

I arched my back, picking her up, driving us deeper, closer together. She put her feet on the back wall and did wonders by merely flexing her ankles. We found a good rhythm and the hot water was unending. Her body was much stronger than what it seemed with her flimsy clothes on. ... She helped me keep my balance without touching the floor, undulating endlessly until  bestial rioters stormed out unbidden and we slowly, gracefully, slid into the tub without losing our place. We filled the tub with the inexhaustible hot water and somehow started up again. Her flexibility was astounding. After a while, there was nothing left but a vague timeless awareness.

 Not much talk, she softly sang a popular song about love and sorrow. When she finished, she brushed my hair and I sang a song I had made up with some foreigners in a bar in Guangzhou the previous spring.   

 The Shanghai girls are hip, I really dig those styles they wear,

And the Guangdong girls, You know the way they talk,

They knock me out when I’m down there,

Ooooh,

The Sichuan farmer’s daughters, Really make you feel all right,    

 And the Xinzhang chicks, You know the way they kiss,

The keep the Weiwuers warm at night,

Baboom, baboom,

I wish they all could beat Beijing girls,

I wish they all could beat Beijing girls,

I wish they all could beat BeeeeiiiJingggg girrrrrrls……

The end of Chapter 5 "Farewell the Dragon" Leaving the Friendship Hotel After a Long Evening of Drinking

 My bike, a well-oiled, fat-tired, solid machine, pedaled easily. Zhou
rode on the handlebars, fearlessly, expertly. The night was beautiful as
we rode away from the hotel.

Recently I had been taking my bike to an old street tinker who oiled
and adjusted it. He worked off of a blanket where his well-used tools
were laid out clean and straight. He never set up in the same place, and
he fit his shelter and tools on his bike with intricately designed baskets
and bars. The tune-up cost me fifty mao, half a yuan, about a nickel
in dollar value. I paid him twice that, a whole kuai, and refused the
change. I remember the old street vendor gave me a smile that promised
something extra for the tip.

The night air was cool and the crescent moon was suddenly very
close. I leaned back and my well-oiled machine took off for the stars
and soared above the earth. My bike handled perfectly, banking from
one side to another, seeming to lose all attachment to gravity as we
flew into and then out of a cloud bank. I looked down and could see
the Great Wall at Badaling to the north and the Forbidden City to
the southeast. We dropped down to flying at treetop level and Zhou
relaxed and leaned back on my handlebars and I stood and pedaled
hard, and we were riding fast,  cheek to cheek; the thick-framed,
fat-tired bike was a magic carpet, sailing us through all time and space
with ease. The night had cooled off after the hot day and I knew she
wasn’t thinking about her fiancé. I made her laugh somehow as we breezed
down The Western Gate Road and past the Beijing Zoo. 

The moon was  still bright, bright in the clear open sky, and a little breeze picked up, making the temperature so comfortable that it seemed like a crime to
go inside even for sleep. We turned at a little hutong (胡同) and went
down a construction road past a half-finished apartment complex. Just
beyond that there was an old wall that looked to be half torn down.
The wall was hundreds of years old and would soon be bulldozed. Time
stood still and we stood at the edge of her hutong village, next to that
crumbling wall. We kissed, just kissed. It was so nice in the summer
breeze under the splintered moon. I said good night and rode home.

First 20 pages of "Farewell the Dragon" THE MOVIE! (Financing pending)

 Farewell the Dragon
By
Lee Barckmann
Based on the Novel "Farewell the Dragon" by Lee Barckmann
copyright # 1-13313878013
 lee@barckwords.com
Farewell the Dragon
CREDITS:
OPENING CREDITS
MUSIC: Chinese style "Klezmer" music played on the Erhu and
Chinese percussion
SUPERIMPOSE: 3rd Century BC, Xianyang China
EXT. ANCIENT CHINESE SCENE
An outdoor scene, officials and women dressed in ancient
Chinese clothes, and (perhaps) a warrior with a sword, staff
or bow & arrow is exercising. Establish the scene in ancient
China.
Continue music and credits
SLIDE FROM EXTERIOR OF SMALL PALACE TO INTERIOR
INT. ANCIENT CHINESE STUDY (ERHU MUSIC AND CREDITS CONTINUE)
Two men, in an ancient Chinese study. A scroll is opened with text in ancient Hebrew.
A man with Middle Eastern features, in Chinese robes pointing with satisfaction to the text.
A sitting Chinese man also in robes is ascribing Chinese into a clay tablet, nodding.
Establish by silent motions, or props, that a translation is taking place. The decor of the room is a mixture of Jewish
and Chinese iconry.
MUSIC & CREDITS FINISH
FADE OUT AND IN
SUPERIMPOSE: BEIJING, FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTITUTE, JULY 1987
INT. NATE AND MOLLY'S 3 ROOM "SOVIET-STYLE" APARTMENT -
BEDROOM
Molly is hurriedly packing, half-dressed and frazzled.
            MOLLY
(loud)
We have to get going soon!
(beat)
CUT TO:
 INT. - KITCHEN
   NATE is casually dressed for travel, drinking tea and eating
    a bowl of yogurt.
    NATE notices something on the end of the table.
CLOSEUP:AN OPENED FANNY PACK IS ON THE KITCHEN TABLE.
            MOLLY (O.S.)
        (louder, distraught)
Nate! did you call the taxi?
CLOSEUP:FOCUS INTO THE FANNY PACK - AN OPENED ENVELOPE.
    After a hesitating, NATE fingers the letter.
    `        NATE
The taxi is waiting for us outside.                                                                                                                                MOLLY
 Do you have the tickets?                                                                                                                             NATE coaxes the letter out, opens the letter.
    A second note falls out of the letter.                                                                                                                     NATE                                                                                                                                                         Yes, I of course I have the tickets!
            MOLLY (O.S.)
    Dammit! Have you seen my fanny pack?
    NATE reads the note.
            NATE (V.O)
(AS NATE IMAGINES MOLLY'S FORMER BOYFRIEND'S VOICE)
Hey Babe!
Come home, all is forgiven! (Ha Ha! I
hope so anyway). This is Krazy!!!
Becky says you will be home soon. For
good! (Right?)
I just want my "cowgirl" back! You
know what I am saying! See you soon!
Caleb

            NATE
    (whispers to himself)
Cowgirl?                                                                                                                                                        NATE stuffs the letter and note back into the envelope
    Then puts the letter back into the fanny pack, and zips it.
            NATE (CONT'D)
            (Aloud TO MOLLY)
Your fanny pack is here, on the
kitchen table. Are you ready to go
yet?
            MOLLY
Almost.
    (beat)
Yes - let's go!
CUT TO:
INT. TRAIN STATION
SUPERIMPOSE: BEIJING TRAIN STATION
    NATE and MOLLY are sitting on a bench with their luggage
    nearby.
            MOLLY
I thought we were lost when he turned
into that alley!
            NATE
I wasn't worried.
            MOLLY
I didn't expect to be ravaged this
morning! (She leers, and leans in and
kisses him)
            NATE
You were the ravager - Buckaroo style.
MOLLY looks at him and starts to say something and stops.
(beat)
            MOLLY
I got a letter from my sister.
            NATE
Everyone will be glad to see you.
            MOLLY
Mom is upset that you aren't coming.
            NATE
If we went back - together - we
probably wouldn't come back to China.
            MOLLY
So what if we didn't?
NATE shakes his head.
            NATE
Molly, Business is about to break open
here. This is an opportunity...
            MOLLY
I know, I'm just...
            NATE
Chinese market - think about those two
words.
            MOLLY
Yeah - you are right - its big.
    She leans over and kisses him.
            MOLLY (CONT'D)
Remember the night we meet?
            NATE
(laughs)
Yeah.
            MOLLY
You had this - aura - or something.
    FADE IN
     INT. FLASHBACK TO LOUD, CROWDED COLLEGE BAR. A BLUES MUSICIAN
    IS PLAYING THE HARMONICA
    NATE is leaning on a post, talking to a couple of men,
    watching.
            MOLLY (V.O.)
I swear you had a glow about you. Like
you knew something nobody else did.
MOLLY is slowly dancing toward him. She bumps into him.
            NATE (V.O.)
Yeah...I had just learned I had a job
teaching in China!
NATE looks at her. Smiling. She looks at him. They slowly
begin gyrating together to the music.
    INT. TRAIN STATION
            MOLLY
And the next morning you asked me to
come to China with you!
            NATE
I had escaped! I was free - no more
tutoring bored undergraduates! Free
from the endless, nitpicking
criticism...
            MOLLY
...of your history thesis.
            NATE
Yeah. My department advisor didn't
like...
(beat)
Why did you say yes?
            MOLLY
Why did I say I would come with you?
Because I didn't know you would only
make $40 a month.
            NATE
        (laughs)
China had been practically closed off
for almost 40 years. It was a chance
to explore a new world - almost.
Yeah.
            MOLLY
You're right, its pretty cheap to live here...
...Its almost time. I'm gonna miss you -
be good!
            NATE
You too. My train's right after yours.
        PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
        (in Chinese)
"THE TRAIN TO GUANGZHOU IS READY TO
BOARD."
FADE OUT
            MOLLY
This it?
DEXTER, lurking in the crowd, is watching MOLLY and NATE.
            NATE
        (Standing up)
Yep. This is it.
CLOSEUP:MOLLY - FEAR, SADNESS, AND BEGRUDGING MIRTH.
    MOLLY stands - They kiss. NATE gently pats her chest.
            NATE (CONT'D)
Keep your money and passport tucked in
there safe.
            MOLLY
Write me how its going!
    MOLLY heads for the departure exit.
    NATE makes a face as he watches her go.
    A young Chinese woman catches his eye, and smiles at him.
    NATE smiles back. She walks on.
    NATE becomes thoughtful. Sits, time passes.
            PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
            (in Chinese)
"TRAIN TO XIAN IS READY TO BOARD."
        NATE gets up and walks out of the waiting area in the
station.
CUT TO:
 INT. (DAY) - TRAIN SLEEPING COMPARTMENT
     NATE is looking out the window. Chinese countryside is
rushing by. The compartment door is open.
    DEXTER walks by and looks in at NATE, then continues.
NATE does not notice DEXTER.
CUT TO:
EXT. DAY CROWDED STREET IN XIAN CHINA
    NATE is lugging his heavy suitcase computer and backpack.
    ZHANG and QUAN walk by NATE
    QUAN stops and looks at NATE just as NATE notices him.
            QUAN
Mr. Nate! Zhang look! It's Mr. Nate!
    QUAN and ZHANG approach NATE.
            NATE
Ni hao, Quan! What a coincidence!
    NATE puts down his computer and shakes hands with QUAN.
            QUAN
You are here! What is the word you
used?                                                                                                                                                                     NATE
coincidence!
            ZHANG
        (petulantly)
Pengqiao.(碰巧.)
            QUAN
Yes! We don't expect you here. My
colleague tell me that you left the
Kone company?
            NATE
I sell computer software now.
            QUAN
Software! No more medical equipment?
Do you continue teaching at the
Foreign language Institute?
            NATE
        (Nods)
Its summer vacation, no classes to
teach. Trying to make a little
money...I am here for a business
conference.
        (NATE raises his voice)
Hello Zhang.
            ZHANG
Ni hao Nate.
    NATE and ZHANG stare uncomfortably at each other.
            NATE
On vacation?
            ZHANG
Yes, We are tourists this week.
            QUAN
Time too short! I am flying to Los
Angeles next week. Because of your
help from the Kone company, I get this
chance for advanced training on the
latest imaging technology.
            NATE
We should meet and perhaps eat
together tomorrow. I am at the Golden
Flower Hotel.
            QUAN
I will contact you there tomorrow.
            NATE
I look forward to it.
            QUAN
Zhang's English has improved more than
mine. How that possible? I live in
America for six months and she still
speak better than I do!
I think your English lessons have
great success.
            ZHANG
Yes. Nate has helped me to not forget
what I learned in class.
            QUAN
We will let you rest now. Bye.
            NATE
Zaijian.
    Deep look from ZHANG as they leave. NATE is a bit shaken as
they depart.
CUT TO:
 INT. HOTEL BAR
    NATE is sitting at the bar. IRINA sits two stools down.
    DEXTER, sitting at a table behind them, glances up, then
unobtrusively stares at a menu.
    IRINA, A pretty Caucasian woman at the bar smiles at NATE.
            IRINA
Need change in your luck?
    NATE smiles and nods
            NATE
What are you drinking?
            IRINA
Screw driver. Strange name for drink,
no? (smiles). I'm Irina.
    Nate looks at the bartender and points to her glass.
            NATE
I'm Nate.
            IRINA
American.
            NATE
Yes - Russian?
            IRINA
        (Makes a face)
No. I am from Ukraine, Not Russian!
    ZEV, late forties, tall and fit, casually dressed, enters the
    bar spots IRINA and sits down. IRINA lets ZEV peck her on the
cheek.
            IRINA (CONT'D)
This is my old American friend Nate.
Zev is soldier of fortune.
            ZEV
Former soldier seeking a fortune. Not
quite the same thing Luv. Pleasure!
    ZEV extends his hand which NATE shakes.
            NATE
What fortune do you seek?
            ZEV
Whoa! Direct questions! I like that.
What are you drinking Mate?
            NATE
Vodka and lime.
            ZEV
You mean a gimlet? Tommy -
    ZEV points to NATE and IRINA (who chugs) then himself.
            BARTENDER
Johnny Walker?
    DEXTER strains to listen while reading the menu and is still
    not noticed by NATE.
    ZEV nods to BARTENDER
            ZEV
        (To NATE)
I am in antiquities. Checking out a dig nearby.
            NATE
So you're a tomb robber! Where you from Zev?
            ZEV
    (laughs heartily)
Last known address in Brisbane. And before that - well - we all have a
past, don't we?
    ZEV and NATE exchange business cards.
            ZEV (CONT'D)
As to tomb robbing, no funny business.
I represent a small museum.
            NATE
So nearby you say? Let me guess.
Xianyang - Near the Terra Cotta
soldiers and Qin's tomb right?
            ZEV
        (Smiles, nods)
Yeah. That's where the action is for
sure. I am just - an expediter. A
little muscle, a little hustle. What
do you do?
            NATE
I sell software that writes Chinese.
And teach English on the side.
            ZEV
Oh, computers! That's a comer! Irina,
why don't you find that friend of
yours to join us.
    IRINA downs her 2nd drink and leaves.
    DEXTER leaves, still not noticed by NATE.
            NATE
So what are you finding at the dig?
    ZEV holds his finger to his lips, and then pantomimes
    headphones with his hands and points up.
            ZEV
Are you staying here? Interested in Irina?
            NATE
Thanks, but no.
            ZEV
Oh, OK. Thinking about somebody else?
            NATE
I just saw her with her fiancé.
            ZEV
Well good luck with that.
    (They ironically click glasses)
You said you teach at the Foreign Language School?
    NATE nods                                                                                                                                                                 ZEV                                                                                                                                                          Do you know a German woman named Erika?
            NATE
Yeah. Erika Neubender. She an English
teacher.
            ZEV
You mean German?
            NATE
        (LAUGHS)
No. She teaches English.                                                                                                                                            ZEV                                                                                                                                                                 Really?
    NATE laughs.
            ZEV (CONT'D)
I met her up in Shenyang last week.
            NATE
Pretty thick German accent to teach
English, right?                                                                                                                                                     ZEV
Yes.
            NATE
Yeah - (in German accent) Der Fräulein ist bery bery Korrect.
            ZEV (LAUGHING)
(Brit accent) But with a touch of the Prim and proper.
    NATE and ZEV laugh together in agreement.
            ZEV
Well, maybe I'll see you in a few
weeks. She gave an open invitation to
come visit, so...
            NATE
...So tell me what you found in
Xianyang?
    ZEV hesitates, signals NATE to move closer.
            ZEV
        (Soto voce)
The diggers found a terracotta stele.
Ancient stuff, before Christ even. But
now you see it, now you don't! Seems
to have disappeared.
            NATE
Disappeared?
            ZEV
Clay fragments with inscriptions - One
piece though, is dead on, perfect. I
mean unbroken, legible.
But it is all rumors, so far - the
Chinese deny finding anything.
            NATE
Wow.
    ZEV takes a photo inside his jacket hands NATE a photo.
    NATE stares at the photo. ZEV looks around nervously.
            NATE (CONT'D)
Its old - The characters look like
those on those Zhou dynasty ceremonial
caldrons.
            ZEV
Can you read it?
            NATE
No.
    NATE give the photo back to ZEV.
            ZEV
I think it is in Beijing.
    NATE nods.
            NATE
I'll listen for any word about it.
Should I mention you to Erika?
            ZEV
I'd rather you not. Spoil the
surprise.
    NATE and ZEV shake hands.
            ZEV (CONT'D)
Good meeting you.
            NATE
Thanks for the drink. Maybe see you in
Beijing.
            ZEV
Yeah, you will.
    NATE shakes ZEV's hand.
CUT TO:
 EXT. DAY OUTDOOR MARKET
    Uyghurs are selling shishkabobs, Chinese are frying cakes,
    and steaming buns.
    An old Chinese man in tattered clothes is intensely bowing a
    slender two-stringed instrument. The sound of his Erhu is
    continuously playing above the hubbub of the market.
    QUAN, ZHANG, are walking among the merchants.
    NATE is buying shishkabobs from a Uyghur.
            NATE
        (Chinese - subtitles)
Three. Yes.
            KORBIN
        (In English)
Where you from?
            NATE
America.
            KORBIN
America great. Uyghurs love America!
    KORBIN passes NATE three shishkabobs sticks.
            NATE
        (whispers)
Hashish?
    KORBIN Laughs - but looks around and becomes very serious.
            KORBIN
I give you!
    KORBIN passes NATE a lump wrapped in a newspaper.
    NATE tries to hand him more money, but KORBIN waves it off
and holds his finger to his lips.
            NATE
Thank you!
    The Erhu player falters, and his playing comes to a stop.
    The Erhu Player is obviously blind.
    ZHANG approaches the old musician, and they talk.
    NATE walks over and passes shishkabobs to Quan.
            QUAN
That old man is Gang Xunzhu. He was
famous erhu musician before the
Cultural Revolution... He is hero to Zhang.
    QUAN and NATE watch ZHANG talk to GANG, and eat in silence.
    ZHANG returns. QUAN gives her the shishkabob.
    ZHANG and QUAN speak softly together, and seem to argue in
    Chinese out of earshot.
    ZHANG emphatically gets the last word and QUAN is chastened.
            ZHANG
I am going to help him now.
    (to Quan - In Chinese - subtitles)
I will meet you back at the hotel.
            NATE
Why is the old man leaving?
            ZHANG
He said he could 'smell' a foreigner.
He is not well.
    NATE looks around and sees that his is the only Western face.
            NATE
I need to return to my hotel now. I
have a meeting later this afternoon.
            ZHANG
It was nice to see you. Goodbye.
    NATE and QUAN goes separate ways as ZHANG helps GANG.
TRANSITION TO:
 EXT. MORNING - OUTSIDE THE PUBLIC SHOWER BUILDING
    NATE, in his bathrobe, walking quickly across the college
    campus, carrying his soap razor etc. in a bag.
    NATE enters the concrete shower building.
CUT TO:
 INT. PUBLIC SHOWER BUILDING
    Finishing his shower, and drying himself, NATE comes out of
    the shower into the dressing area.
    DAGMAR and ERIKA have just arrived.
    The two German women begin to casually undress.
            ERIKA
Nate! Where have you been?
            NATE
I just got back from a business trip.
            ERIKA
Molly is gone, no?
            NATE
Yes. Back to the States for a month.
            ERIKA
I went to Shenyang recently.
            NATE
So did you take the Kim Boys with you?
            ERIKA
Only two of them.
            DAGMAR
She had other adventures too.
            ERIKA
Stop it!
    NATE and DAGMAR smile at each other.
    DAGMAR and ERIKA continue to undress, unfazed by NATE's
    presence.
            ERIKA (CONT'D)
No - I went for the food. Not all
North Koreans are named Kim, by the
way.
            NATE
How was the boiled pork and cabbage?
    (looking at DAGMAR)
I don't believe we have met...
            ERIKA
I am sorry! I am forgetting my
manners. This is Dagmar. She is from
the East! Berlin!
            NATE
Ah, the old capitol.
            DAGMAR
Its still the capitol. I am from the
Democratic side. You are Amerikan, no?
            NATE
Yes, or as the Ayatollah calls us, The
Great Satan.
            ERIKA
There is no such thing as Satan.
            NATE
Lucky for you.
            DAGMAR
Your wife is gone, No?
            NATE
No - just vacation. She isn't actually
my wife...
            DAGMAR
That must be hard for you...
            ERIKA
I am sure it is very hard, isn't it
Nate? (Smirks)
            NATE
    (Closes his robe, embarrassed)
It is sometimes difficult, yes. But
being alone is nice too - sometimes.
            DAGMAR
Yes! Sometimes...
    NATE looks at DAGMAR.
            ERIKA
Perhaps Molly will see her old boy
friend on her vacation..
            DAGMAR
I saw your Cossack Dance with the
Russians last spring. it was very -
what is the word? Notorious.
            NATE
Too much vodka.
    NATE and DAGMAR look at each other.
            ERIKA
You must come out more Nate!
    NATE shrugs.
            DAGMAR
Maybe I will pay you a call.
            NATE
That would be great. I'll see you later.
    NATE smirks at ERIKA as he leaves.
TRANSITION TO NATE'S APARTMENT
 INT. NATE AND MOLLY'S APARTMENT
    NATE, dressed, sits in front of his "suitcase" Portable
    Compaq 286 computer, staring at its small LCD screen.
    NATE pulls out the hashish he bought in Xian, still wrapped
    in newspaper. He crumbles some and rolls a cigarette mixing
    the crumbled hashish with the tobacco.
    NATE wraps up the joint and puts it in his pocket.
    NATE shuts down his computer, slings his small backpack on
    his shoulder, and heads for the door lugging his computer.
CUT TO:
 EXT. DAY - OUTSIDE NATE'S APARTMENT
    NATE walks out his door, into the alley.
    NATE glances up at the campus noontime "nap" preparation.
    In windows in the apartments above, Chinese couples are in
    various stages of undress. Shades are being drawn.
    As NATE walks outside into the noon day summer sun, old
    people, some holding small children by the hand, amble in
    wide round sunhats, or sit fanning themselves.
    Across the courtyard DAGMAR comes ambling toward NATE.
    She wears a green tee-shirt imprinted with the Albrecht Durer
    engraving "MELANCHOLIA"
            NATE
Nice shirt. Innocence lost in the
worker's paradise?
CLOSE UP: DAGMAR'S TEE SHIRT
She is not wearing a bra.
            DAGMAR
Looks down at her shirt
Perhaps they are Asian factory
worker's taking a rest from making
sport shoes for rich Americans.
            NATE
            (Beat)
So?
            DAGMAR
So.
   NATE looks away
            DAGMAR
I am told that brick keeps these
apartments cool in the afternoon.
            NATE
Yes. It is true. The are cooler.
            DAGMAR
It is so hot.
    (beat)
    NATE looks at his watch.
            NATE
Yes...but I have to meet someone right
now...
    NATE lifts his suitcase computer.
...Business...What about later?
            DAGMAR
Later.
    (beat)
    DAGMAR pouts.
Who knows?
    DAGMAR turns and walks away.
    NATE stares at her with regret.
CUT TO:
 INT. CHINESE BUSINESS OFFICE
    NATE, lugs his computer into the nearly deserted office
    A picture of DENG XIAOPING is prominent.
    A couple of Technicians are sleeping with their heads on
    desks by computers.
    LING YE, wearing a "Dr. Evil" style Mao Zedong suit, sees
    NATE and walks out of his office and approaches him.
            LING YE
Hello Nate. Big news! I received a
fax. I think we have big opportunity.
    Mr. TAI, A very dapper, western dressed, middle aged Chinese
    man comes out of the corner office and walks up to NATE and LING
            LING YE (CONT'D)
        (Chinese - subtitles)
Oh! Leader Tai! I was telling Nate
about the new customer!
    TAI ignores LING YE
            TAI
Nate, Please come into my office.
    NATE follows TAI back to his office
            TAI (CONT'D)
Please sit!
            NATE
Thank you.
            TAI
You have been with the company for
only 6 months and sales have increased
significantly.
            NATE
We have had some success.
            TAI
Yes. Your strategy was sound. I have
discussed it with the board of
directors back in Vancouver. You
remember the salary we discussed? We
will provide a nice apartment as well.
            NATE
That is great!
            TAI
So we agree? You start Oct 15?
            NATE
I should talk to my wife - or actually
my girl friend - she is in the US now
- so...
            TAI
We need to know. Do you want the job?
            NATE
        (beat)
Yeah - Yeah. OK. Its a deal.
    NATE and TAI shake hands.
            TAI
I'll see that the paperwork gets started.
    NATE returns to where LING YE is waiting.
            LING YE
So -
    LING YE waits in vain for NATE to tell him what TAI said.
            NATE
Tell me about this new customer.
            LING YE
He is an important businessman from
America! He sent a fax to our number.
            NATE
Can I see the fax?
            LING YE
I'll have Pan make a copy for you.
CUT AWAY:
PAN is filing her nails, reading a beauty magazine.
CUT BACK:
            LING YE
This American says he will place many
orders.
            NATE
OK. I'll go and meet him.
            LING YE
    (Chinese - subtitles)
It should be easy to find him, he is
staying at the Friendship Hotel. Here
is his room number.
    LING YE hands NATE a note.
CUT TO:
 INT. PRESTON'S APARTMENT - BUILDING HALLWAY
    NATE knocks at an apartment door. An older white lady wearing
    a white dress with blue polka dots opens the door.
            MARTHA
  Preston!
            PRESTON
        (voice muffled from down the hall)
Come in! Come in!
NATE walks down the hall into the living room.
CUT TO:
 INT. PRESTON'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM
    The room is very middle American, with straight-backed
    imitation Chippendale chairs and a large, dark Queen Ann
    table. A brown-stained antique cupboard filled with Americana
    knick-knacks hovers over the table.
    A Chinese man and woman sit at the table, which is covered
    with reports, letters and contracts.
            PRESTON
These are my interpreters Paul and Hanna.
Would you like a ginger ale?
            NATE
No thank you.
            PRESTON
            (Yells)
Martha, bring me a glass of ginger ale.
    They sit quietly as MARTHA brings the drink, and then leaves
            PRESTON (CONT'D)
So you are Nathan? That is a good
name. He was a great prophet!
            NATE
Actually it's Nathaniel.
            PRESTON
I see. Well to the task at hand. I
have discovered that the Chinese have
a deep respect for the written word.
Did you know they have been keeping
records for thousands of years?
            NATE
Hmm. Yes, I read that somewhere.
            PRESTON
I need documents to do business with
these people! I need your...
    PRESTON has a coughing fit, then settles himself, and emits a
    mirthless chuckle.
I understand you have a computer program that can print Chinese?
    NATE looks around and spots a cheap clone PC in the corner.                                                               NATE
Yes.
            PRESTON
I'm going to build a modern office
building near here from which to run
an interlocking group of joint
ventures dealing with oil, natural
gas, and manufacturing.
            NATE                                                                                                                                              Wow.
            PRESTON
I have been called to China.
            NATE                                                                                                                                              Called?
            PRESTON
Opportunity is about to explode. Every
company I know is about to build
factories here.
            NATE
Do you think China is ready?
            PRESTON
In more ways than one! Yes - they are
ready! You know who the Chinese are
don't you?
            NATE                                                                                                                                                        Ah-mm...
            PRESTON
They are the lost tribe of Israel!
They are Jews!
            NATE
Umm, Oh, I didn't...
            PRESTON
You will see! What would you say if I
told you that an ancient fragment of
Chinese text quoting the Bible has
been discovered and will soon be
revealed to the world.
            NATE                                                                                                                                               Huh?   Fragment?
            PRESTON
Terracotta. Obviously part of a larger
archaeological trove!
            NATE
Obviously? I mean...
            PRESTON
Its called a stele. Have you heard of
such a thing?
            NATE
  Well...Yes - I have I suppose anything
is possible...
So you want to buy our software?
            PRESTON
I also believe that anything is
possible!
            NATE                                                                                                                                                          Well...
            PRESTON
I have many irons in the fire. Many
irons! Here - look at this...
    PRESTON passes NATE what appears to be a telegram.
CLOSE UP: A TELEGRAM:
            NATE (READS)
...all necessary instruments ... as
prescribed by the laws of
Oklahoma...etc. etc.... The transfer
of $704,526.00 to Mr. Preston Newhouse
of Beijing, China, has been approved.
Etc.
            PRESTON
That is only the beginning.
            NATE                                                                                                                                                          Wow.
            PRESTON
When can you deliver the software.
            NATE
I can deliver one now and the rest
next week. Install it on that
computer?
            PRESTON
Yes! Excellent! I will pay you for
five copies now! $3500?
            NATE                                                                                                                                                         Yes.
    PRESTON opens an old fashion checkbook and ledger, and
    elaborately writes out a check, tears it out.
            PRESTON
We will be moving to more prestigious
offices, more staff, more everything!
    NATE takes the check, looks at it and nods.
    He sits in front of PRESTON's computer.
CUT TO:
 EXT. LATE AFTERNOON SWIMMING POOL
    NATE in street clothes, carrying his heavy suitcase computer,
    enters the crowded swimming pool deck.
    The Russians YEVGENY, BORIS are diving.
    ERIKA, DAGMAR and MONIQUE, a French girl, and XIMENA, a black
    Cuban woman, sit on the edge of the pool, dangling their feet
    and holding up fingers to signify scores for the dives.
    SANDOR and GREGOR lounge back by the fence, in the shade.
    On the other side of the pool, JUDY and MARGIE, young
    American tourists, sit in lounge chairs, watching the action.
    Nearby two young Chinese women, CHEN and ZHOU, wade in the
    shallow end.
    RENNIE, ZHOU's American boy friend watches from poolside.
    NATE leans over and is splashes water around his face and
    armpits.
    DAGMAR slowly approaches NATE.
            DAGMAR
How's business?
    NATE shakes his head.
            NATE
Actually, it is good - I guess. But I
am feeling bad about it for some
reason.
            DAGMAR
Capitalist regret? Oh that is a pity.
            NATE
Yeah - I have regrets.
            DAGMAR
What do you regret?
            NATE
I regret thinking business before
pleasure is always the smart choice.
    DAGMAR laughs
    YEVGENY butterflies through the water toward them.
            YEVGENY
Come in the pool! We can have battle!
    DAGMAR smiling, shakes her head no.
            YEVGENY (CONT'D)
Come on! It will heal your spirit!
    DAGMAR pulls off her tee-shirt and takes off her shoes, and
    is wearing a bathing suit.
    YEVGENY looks at NATE
How about you? Come join us!
            NATE
No swimming today.
    DAGMAR jumps into the pool and climbs on YEVGENY's shoulders.
    CHEN climbs on BORIS' shoulders.
    NATE signals the WAITER who nods knowing what he wants.
    NATE retreats to sits with GREGOR and SANDOR.
            GREGOR
...if that pig Russian keeps putting
his hand on Chen's ass, I am going to
make something bad happen to him.
            SANDOR
You're not jealous are you?
            GREGOR
Psst. I just hate Russians.
    SANDOR laughs and shakes his head.
            GREGOR (CONT'D)
Nate, I am sorry to hear your
beautiful wife is gone for the summer.
We all love watching her swim!
            NATE
How come you are not in the water with
Chen?
            GREGOR
She tired me out this morning.                                                                                                                GREGOR makes a fucking gesture with his hips.
         GREGOR (CONT)                                                                                                                                      But I still can't understand her. She
must be the only Chinese woman in
Beijing who can't speak English.
            NATE
Chen's father is some big shot, right?
            GREGOR
Big Korean War hero. Now he's
quartermaster for the Red Army. Or
part of it. He took us to one of his
armories outside the city. You have
never seen so many AK-47s, Grenades,
mortars, pistols - Its all just lying
in boxes.
            SANDOR
Gregor sees dollar signs.
            GREGOR
            (laughs)
    The Chicken fight is heating up.
    MONIQUE gets on XIMENA and they proceed to knock DAGMAR off
    YEVGENY.
    ERIKA, wearing a towel covering her bathing suit, enters the
    pool area and approaches them.
            ERIKA
Can I join the boys club?
            SANDOR                                                                                                                                              Please, sit!
    At poolside, YEVGENY and DAGMAR sit on the side together and
    watch the Chicken fight. He kisses and fondles her.
            GREGOR
I thought Dagmar was going to stop sleeping with Russians.
            SANDOR
Yevgeny is from Ukraine.
    MONIQUE and XIMENA bowl over CHEN and BORIS to win the
    chicken fight.
            ERIKA
Dagmar is giving him a bump in his
bathing trunks ...This is what is
wrong with Communism. She has no self-
respect.
    NATE looks at ERIKA above his sunglasses
            ERIKA (CONT'D)
She is a Schlampe! What is the word in
English?
            SANDOR
Slut.
            ERIKA
Yes. I know what you are thinking. But
no I am not a slut! I am in control.
    SANDOR, GREGOR and NATE laugh.
    The WAITER brings NATE his gimlet.
    ERIKA maintains a severe sang-froid
            ERIKA (CONT'D)
The Kim boys, as you call them, do
exactly what I say!
  NATE looks at SANDOR
            NATE
Control.
            SANDOR
Yes. Control.
            ERIKA
Dagmar can't control herself! That is a slut.
    NATE continues to look at ERIKA over the top of his
    sunglasses and shakes the ice in his glass.
    ERIKA does not smile.
    DEXTER walks by outside the pool area, glancing in.
ERIKA (CONT'D)
Nate - You aren't missing Molly are you?
    NATE smiles but says nothing.
            ERIKA (CONT'D)
Maybe you should get in line for
Dagmar.
            NATE
I don't need to get in line.
    ERIKA laughs.
            ERIKA
Not like you'd be the first.
NATE downs his drink.
            NATE
I'm going to go. Maybe I'll see you
guys tonight.
            ERIKA
Maybe when Dagmar finishes with the
Russians, you can enjoy her.
    NATE gets up and waves to the people by the pool as he leaves.

Prologue to Chapter 18, "The SwiftPad Extinction"

 ERICK DUKE, MERCENARY, MEETS HIS TROOPS
Early October

 

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Erick Duke’s father, Parnell, had made a fortune in direct marketing. When Erick was born, his family lived in a single-story, three-bedroom red brick house in St. Louis. Parnell was an Army helicopter mechanic, but he left the service under a cloud after the failed Iranian hostage rescue during the Carter years. Erick was only an infant then.
    Parnell joined the first Pentecostal Fellowship Council and started a multi-tiered direct marketing company called NewLife with a partner who later died under mysterious circumstances. NewLife sold ammunition, handgun components, and various other combat paraphernalia. It also sold women’s make-up and “survivalist feminine hygiene” products plus self-help books (How to NOT be a Homosexual, Clean and Sexy Makeovers, The Psychiatry Cult, Jesus in 30 Days, etc.).
    It took almost eight months for Parnell to cull through all of his potential business partners, who were promoted as an exclusive group, and he was very public in his sermons at his growing church about the need to be very selective (as well as the sacredness of the number 12).
    He sold the lifestyle to the associates. He made them feel special and exclusive. It was the lifestyle of the committed evangelical. Lots of meetings, deep regret about nothing, deep amnesia about the really bad shit. But that was just theatrics, the “small talk” before the short strokes. Parnell
instinctively knew he needed to convince them to be “slaves” (to the spirit of Jesus), and make them believe their business served a higher cause. For the first six months  they war-gamed their plans. They were to burn through family, grade school buddies, buddies’ parents, plus anyone else they could guilt into paying 5–10 times more than they would pay at Target, or Cabela’s or even online for stuff they didn’t need.
    Maybe 1 out of 20 people had the willpower to go outside their own “circle” and find strangers to buy the shit. They had to be determined not to end up with boxes of the shit in their garage. That’s the trick. Find those people, the 1 out of 20. Parnell taught them to be their own cult leader. They had to be as careful in finding their first “12” as Parnell had been. Once they learn the trick of lying, the rest is easy; there are an unlimited number of suckers out there.
    Those people who shamelessly promote the shit are your “bottom bitches.” You just need to find some good bottom bitches. Everyone has those people in their lives. They depend on you for their self-worth. So do them a favor, and put them to work. It’s what they want anyway. They understand what’s going on, but what they get out of it – self-worth, a reason for getting up every day – THAT is all the payment they need or expect. Just teach your bottom bitches to feel like royalty, better than royalty, and for them to do the same to their bottom bitches. There is an endless supply of BBs. And once you show them how you did it for (to) them, they will know how to do it themselves, and they will all believe that they are going to get rich too. Erick watched his father carefully through his youth and early teenage years as he grew his business.
    In actual fact, 98% of all “associates” in all multi-level marketing schemes (pyramid selling), regardless of the products, lose money. The math proving it is simple. And his always ends up the same. You need the maniacal qualities of a psychotic narcissist to be a leader in multi-level marketing. It is Cult Leading 101.
    Erick, or ED (not Ed as in Edward), understood his dad’s business and knew he could do it better. He thought his dad was lame and declared loudly that he didn’t need his fucking money or his bullshit company (or his evangelical religion for that matter!). He left home after finishing his homeschooling and getting an approved Missouri GED, joined the Navy, then quit that and with the secret help of his dad’s money got into Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Graduated with a degree in Geopolitics. 

    Joined the Navy (again) via Officer Candidate School. He got very fit and made it onto SEALs and within a year, on his second deployment, was charged with machine gunning 19 Arab villagers. He spent six months “under house arrest” but was never brought to trial. He was thrown out of the SEALs, but the murder case disappeared. Rumors said a lot of money flowed for a little silence. Congressional investigations circled all around his “honorable discharge” but again, crickets. Nobody would talk.
    Meanwhile his younger sister Martha became a Christian Internet sensation. Little innocent sister – caught in the maelstrom of our perverted culture! She was shrewd, built her image as a cult slut – long bizarre rants about how rap music and vaccines had stolen her sense of right and wrong – called out over fifty celebrities for “psychically” raping her as a child, had actual sex with three rich, local notables, all older men, one after the other, over a single week, videoed it all, and then outed them. She started an S-Plog that morphed into a high-production popular show on RFD network about the Satanic influence in popular culture along with cooking tips. She dressed in white, and wore daisies in her hair.
    On Sundays she delivered screeching video sermons in tight t-shirts and often would spin around when delivering a punchline, to show off her tramp stamp of Jesus on the cross just above her low-slung, cut-off jeans. She claimed prominent Dees were recruiting young girls into a sex cult and she had nearly been caught in it herself! They came for her, but she had fought them off, attacks which she described in graphic detail, attacks that nearly lost her newly restored virginity! No place or person was safe!
    On her show Martha interviewed another young woman who claimed to have been violated in her own bed by demons (“They told me that Black-Prez had sent them and that he was laughing and jizzin’ all over me!”). The woman gave tearful, long detailed descriptions of being raped repeatedly by big men – white men, “Chinamen,” and bringing up the rear, a Black man batting clean-up with a huge dick! How big? asked Martha. How is that possible, she asked, looking at how far her hands were spread apart.
    Martha talked about the power of her visions, and how those visions told more truth than anything – they told her the future, and most importantly, they told her what was in the hearts of people. Millions of views.
    She soon was preaching at her father’s mega-church, and quickly became the star attraction, driving attendance and collections too of course, higher and higher. And then – ED’s little sister was asked to be the Official Chaplain of the White House.
    Erick, a civilian again, hiding from his SEAL fuckup, had taken over his father’s business. His father had died on the pulpit while preaching. Some say he was trying too hard, competing with his daughter, who watched in what appeared to be fascinated horror as he flopped around on the stage like a walrus trying to get off the beach into the water. For the first 30 seconds of his death throes, the congregation clapped in unison to the strange rhythm of his convulsions. But when the true nature of his moribund condition was finally evident, they all burst into “Nearer My God to Thee.” When he died, Parnell was worth nearly a billion dollars.
    The autopsy found strychnine. The church had had recent infestations of rats, and the theory was he had accidentally eaten some of the poison left out. An investigation failed to find any evidence of foul play.
    ED sold his shares of his dad’s pyramid marketing company, NewLife, to Amway for $16 billion. He immediately kick-started a domestic protection force, based on the SEAL model. It was all white men (except for Echo Devious) and came to a certain kind of fame during the rise of Hassan Coleman. There were kidnappings of squatters, shootings, and social media campaigns against Hassan. Some of his guys got caught and begged for forgiveness. But there was no extrajudicial action; trials were judged fair by all accounts. After the (V)ICE debacle in Portland, when it was slowly revealed how Coleman had been closely involved in the defeat of the (V)ICE forces, the battle for Memphis’s soul was over and a warrant was issued for Erick Duke in Memphis.

From The Fall of It All – A History of the Big Dump

Reviews from READER VIEWS

 I occasionally write reviews for the book review site Reader Views.  

Reader Views 

It is a great site that helps new and mostly self-published authors (such as myself) to be reviewed.  The philosophy of the site (and of Sheri Hoyte, who is the main curator of the site) is to be firm, honest, but gentle if possible.  Because these are new and often unedited authors, their prose isn't always the most scintillating.  And  - those who live in glass houses etc.  - Reader Views has also reviewed my stuff - which I include at the end of the list below. 

I sometimes verged on being a bit mean - especially if the content was unartfully titillating or was too blatantly riding the coattails of current events - you know - "ripped from the headlines" stuff.  But I take the job seriously  - I am paid an honorarium for each review. I am currently taking a break from reviewing for the site,  as I am working on a new project and recovering from the election, but I hope Sheri will let me return to join her cadre of reviewers down the road. 

I have learned a great deal doing this - about spotting mistakes and weaknesses in my own work by seeing them appear in others - but also I find some really innovative narrative techniques that push the boundaries, yet often do work very well. And the ideas presented or the characters portrayed are often very unstereotypical, and can be boldly crafted.   One other reason I am taking a break is that it is hard work. Because I get paid, I take it very seriously. I read the novels closely, taking notes, and writing and revising the reviews to provide some value to the authors as well as their potential readers. Anyway - if you are looking for new fiction (and non-fiction too) to read and support authors who deserve a chance to be read - check out Reader Views to look for some interesting titles. 

 Here are my reviews.

Knights of the Alliance” by Stefanie Chu - a very engaging novel for teens into fantasy

 

Mutually Beneficial - a blackmailer has sexually provocative pictures of the Vice President 

The Encounters of Quintas Livius - A young, orphaned Roman living in Israel arrives late to Jesus’s miracles

Splendors of Quanzhou, Past and Present -a history, as well as an archaeological and architectural tour of the Chinese city

 

The Serpent Underneath - Describes a “Near Term Dystopia”—what can happen to our society and country if, in the next twenty years or so, things go off the rails. 

 

The Evolution of China’s Anti-Poverty Strategies - A collection of 20 stories about Chinese people who have risen from poverty to have successful careers. 

 

 The New Empire - set in Northern California in the mid-1700s, alt-history of how the Chinese beat Europe to the punch during the 15th century’s Age of Discovery.

 

 Casadora Island - A burnout retreats to a Caribbean Island - a story of rediscovered love, and a dreamscape of escape, an idealized vision of the perfect life with wonderful friends

 

Vietnam was a Just War - An unabashed rejection of any viewpoints sympathetic to North Vietnam or the Vietcong or anything critical of the US.  

 

The Intrepid Brotherhood - A memoir of a long running bureaucratic knife fight between the author, an IT systems manager, and his organization’s CEO 

 

No Peace with Hitler - is a 700 page survey of Churchill’s life and why refused to parley with Hitler in the spring of 1940 

 

The Plot to Save America - Springtime, 2024 – the January 6, 2021 insurrection succeeded – the rioters broke through, captured and killed Vice President Pence, set the Capitol on fire, where half of congress died, and the other half were put in detention.  

 

Dancer of Death - is based on the life of the Spanish bullfighter, Manolete, who was the most famous matador of the 1940s 

 

 Full Circle Freedom's Firewall - An android cop intercepts an intergalactic cargo ship, beginning a civil war between the corrupt humans and the androids (and their human allies).

 

The Hidden Game - A thriller about modern American pro football, and it brings together the mechanics of how and why games might be fixed for the benefit of “the product.”  

 

Trump Dog – Wild Tales of Lies, Hair Dye and Dog Poop - A funny, light satire that is very prescient, about a world divided over politics, where people can quickly find their allegiances in all sorts of cultural markers.  

 

The Truth Effect - a story of a fearless woman journalist who’s trying to warn England of the government’s plan to impose an artificially intelligent-powered thought control regime in 2030. 

 

 Here are some notes about my novels by other Reader Views reviewers

Farewell the Dragon - With twists and turns and surprises unraveling, this book depicts China’s cities and sounds extremely well...This makes the book not just entertaining to readers but also eye-opening.

 

Digging Up New Business: The SwiftPad Takeover - Satire that is brutally honest, hysterical, and unforgettable. Not a dystopian world; this is a very real, bare bones, trash-talking world that all of us are still living through to this day.  

 

Digging the Golden Fungus: The SwiftPad Insurgency - SwiftPad, Inc, becomes the number one social media site in the world. Based in Portland, Oregon, the company is also the prime ‘enemy’ of the President of the United States.  

 

Digging Around the Pandemic: The SwiftPad Extinction - - Kip “Chubby” Rehain (who is SwiftPad’s co-founder) is journeying though Alt-world, meeting up with the fear, terror, and panic that’s all around. A trail takes him across Asia, Siberia, and eventually to the very source of it all. 

 

And an interview with yours truly..

 

Interview with S. Lee Barckmann – Author of “The SwiftPad Trilogy”