Chapter Nine
Fame
Zaid
joined the crowd in an ever-growing vocal outcry over the University’s
actions. No new issues of The Radical had been put out—the
Communications Department saw the damage done to the room, and immediately
sealed it off. She dropped by the
Computer Science Department, to thank the phreakers,
but was surprised to find them paranoid about the recent developments.
Phil
spent the rest of February feeling a nervous breakdown. It was like the time that he thought he
made a mistake on his Student Aid Application, and got awarded a much bigger
sum than he expected. He spent
nearly a month sweating, waiting for agents to bust down the door and haul him
off for fraud.
Helen
spend the rest of the month plotting her next
move. Phil had become useless,
shaking a lot. In the meantime, she
gauged public student opinion on the growing turmoil and furor directed at the
administration. She realized that a
new level of disruption was occurring, when instructors told students to not
only turn off their cell phones, but to cease discussion of the great
university rip-off.
Culhwch
worked, built models, drafted on AutoCAD, slept, and occasionally ate and
showered. The highlight of his day
was going to work, from 8:00 am through Noon, working on drawings of real
future buildings. He hadn’t
spoken to Ridge since the interview, and slowly the noise of the workplace fell
away from his ears. He felt a
merger between him and the computer, a symbiotic relationship whose only goal
was to realize the possibility of the building.
Nell
grew bored of The Radical. She let
Helen do the thinking, as Nell focused on new things in mind. She realized that her degree in Graphic
Arts was no longer needed for her goals.
She decided to just sit back and watch the administration crumble during
and after the Spring Break, and monitored Zaid’s
weirdly successful attempts to teach Culhwch social
skills. Apparently, like a lot of
classes at the
On
the last week of February, Helen called Nell. “Are you thinking about doing
another issue?”
“No. I don’t see the point in
it.”
“Why not? We’re on a
role.”
“Precisely. There are logistical
problems now. You heard about the
room being closed off, right?”
“Right,
well, I have a plan to get around that.”
“OK,
then. You should carry it out,
then, but I’m not gonna do anymore work on The Radical.”
Helen
started to worry. “Well, why
not?”
“I
just don’t think there is anymore to be done. The chips’re
gonna fall where they may.”
“But what about a month ago, when you wanted
revenge?”
“I
got my revenge. I’m happy to
see the university freak out.”
“But,
you don’t want, or care if anybody gets fired?”
Nell
shrugged her shoulders. “It
will probably come to that anyway. Especially the rape charge. In any case, my work’s done. But, that shouldn’t stop you if
you think that it’s necessary.”
“I’m
afraid that I gotta disagree. I won’t stop.”
“Then
don’t.”
The
conversation seemed to have ended, and Helen thought it would be a good move to
end the call. But then, Nell asked,
“How’s Phil taking it?”
“Taking
what? The
effects?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s
completely nuts. He doesn’t
know how to handle pressure, imaginary or not.”
“He
took it hardest from day one. I
wish that Zaid and Cullen were more involved from the
beginning. That may have helped
him.”
“Maybe,
but Zaid and Phil don’t talk much. They never have. Cullen and Phil are good friends—I
don’t know why—but, I can’t tell you what Cullen would have
said to Phil to make him feel better.”
Now,
it was Nell who wanted to end the conversation. “Maybe so. None of it, though, would have changed
the fact that we chose an alternate route for expressing our views. Phil doesn’t do alternate
anything. I regret exploiting him,
in that regard.”
“I
wouldn’t think of it as exploiting.
He could have refused.”
“He
didn’t, so…what can I say?”
“Yeah…”
“Well,
good luck with the paper.”
“Thanks. See y’around.”
“You, too. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Nell
hung up the phone, and stared at the TV.
Just news, so she turned it off.
She drew a blank on what to do next. She got up and walked to the dining room
table, and re-read a note that she got.
Dear
Ms Stanley,
Please
report to the Administration Department Head Room 32G, Sec 13, at 8:00 am
Tuesday 1 March. I would like to
see you regarding an unrecognized student publication.
…
That
Tuesday, she arrived at the section at 7:45. No one was in, yet. She thought that the lack of people, in
a major bureaucratic section in the University, was strange.
She
sat down in one of the chairs outside the section doors, which were
locked. She pulled out a book, and
started reading. Her
watched beeped at 8:00, and so she tried to get in again. Still locked. Her suspicious kicked into
overdrive. She stepped back a few
steps, pulled out her cell phone, and dialed the University phone system. She punched in all the right buttons to
access the secretary of the Administration Section. When the secretary picked up, Nell
asked, “Hi, is your office open?”
“Yes
it is.”
“So,
why are your doors locked?”
The
next sound she heard was scrambling both on her phone and in the room directly
facing her. A shadow appeared through
the frosted Plexiglas windows, and pushed the door handle down. The door opened, and Nell saw the
secretary. Nell approached the
doorway, and the secretary said as she approached, “The door wasn’t
locked.”
Nell
entered the section, and turned to the secretary. “Really. I mustn’t have pushed on the door
handle hard enough.”
“Probably not.
You’re late, too.”
“My,
be sure to relay my appreciation for the Administration Department Head’s
concern for promptness.”
“I’m
sorry, didn’t catch that.”
The secretary held her finger to her ear, and made like she truly
didn’t understand. Her wide
eyes signaled to Nell that she was lying.
Nell
smiled. “Thank you for
opening the door.” She
continued walking to Room 32G, and along the way, turned off her cell phone.
This
part of the building had a many alcove hallways, which led to multiple
rooms. Thirty-two G meant
essentially the thirty-second wing hallway, Room G. Nell briefly wondered if the
She
later wondered why no one else was here.
The time approached a quarter-after eight, and nobody was in their
offices. Nell began to become
acutely aware of her surroundings. Most particularly, the lack of noise. She walked as quietly as possible to the
thirty-second wing and stopped briefly in that hallway. She controlled her breathing, and slowly
resumed walking again. She
cautiously approached Room G, and knocked.
A man inside yelled, “Come in!”
She
opened the door and saw the interior of a windowless office. The walls were that fake wood paneling
seen in dens and bars of houses during the 1980s. She kept her eye contact with the Head,
so she couldn’t visually confirm if the carpeting was from that era,
too. The fluorescent lighting added
a sickening blue-green tint to the room.
Nell felt like this part of the old
She
said, “Hello. I’m Nell
Stanley. You wished to see
me?”
The sixtyish man at the front smiled and nodded. “That’s correct. Please, have a seat.”
He
wore a Hawaiian shirt, and Nell didn’t think of what else he was
wearing. The bad lighting made his
white hair look like it had a green wash to it, and she felt nausea for the
first time in years. She knew that
this man perceived her discomfort.
She
sat down in one of the chairs, and realized that they were a bit lower than
typical chairs. The man also looked
like he was sitting higher. She
said nothing after sitting down, and the man just kept on smiling. His frozen smile added to the air a
surrealist feeling that she felt was inappropriate.
“Tell
me, Nell Stanley, have you been active lately?”
“In what?”
“Journalistic
endeavors.”
“Not
since mid-February.”
“That’s
soon enough for our purposes, yes?”
“I
suppose.”
“Good.” His voice sounded airy. This whole room seemed to suffer from an
excess of oxygen. Nell felt
light-headed. He pulled up from the
desk a copy of The Radical. “Did you play a part in making
this piece of literature?”
“Yes.”
“Mind
if I ask why?”
“I
wanted revenge.”
“Sounds
like a silly notion.”
“Maybe
it is.”
He
put the paper down. “If
maybe, then why did you do it?”
“My
friends got screwed.”
“Are
these…people,” he gestured to the paper,
“your friends?”
“Some.”
He
leaned over to her. “Who?”
She
smiled. “If this is an
interrogation, I need my lawyer.”
“I’m
not accusing you of anything.”
“Your
words aren’t. Your body, your
clothes, this room, the curious lack of people in this section…all of it
suggests a set-up.”
“I
wanted to make sure that we were…free of distractions.”
“Really.”
He
sat back, and his voice edged back to a normal sound. “Yes, I wanted to know if you knew
about the gravity of your claims.”
“I
do.”
“So,
what are we going to do?”
“That’s
your decision. You called me in
here.”
“I
think you’re right.
You’re a very reasonable woman, Nell Stanley.”
Nell
held her thanks, and began to think hard about her next move. He looked offended at her silence. She smiled again, and said, “Why,
that’s nice of you. Will that
be all for now?
He
held up his hand, and developed a very serious look on his face. That was the signal for Nell to run as
fast as she could. “Sir, I
must leave, now.”
She
got up and as did he. “Ms
Stanley, it would be in your interest to not leave this room.”
She
stopped. “Why are you
threatening me?”
“You’ve
been straight-forward with me, and I will reply in like fashion.”
“That
would be nice, because so far you’ve wasted my time.”
“I’m
sorry for being gentle.”
“I’m
sorry for your wife.”
His
mouth dropped, as she opened the door and left the room. She half expected him to come running
out, or for gun-slingers to appear from the wings as she strode to the
exit. Instead, she heard him say
from behind. “I hope that you
don’t plan on graduating.”
She
stopped and looked back at him.
“I’ve decided that my degree is worthless, but if you want
to add fraud to your list of sins, go right ahead.”
“I’m
surprised that you didn’t ask me how I knew to contact you.”
“Then
you’re dumber than I thought.”
He
stepped back into his hallway, and she got out of the Administration Section.
When
she was in the company of fellow students, she pulled out her cell phone. She noticed that she had several missed
calls. The first two were from a
number dialed within the Administration Section. She called it, and heard the secretary
pick up. Nell said, “Hello,
my name is Nell-”
The
secretary hung up immediately. Nell
realized that this may have been a ploy to get her cell phone to ring during
the meeting, and make Nell appear rude or ill-prepared.
She
ran down the list of numbers that had also called, and she recognized most of
them. There were a few unfamiliar
ones, so cancelled that screen and waited a second to see if anyone had left a
message. The phone beeped and said
that six messages waited for her.
She pushed the button that called the voice mail service, and followed
the instructions.
“You
have six new messages. To listen to
your messages, press one.”
Beep.
“First
message, sent today, at eight-oh-two am.” Helen’s voice came on. “Nell, it’s
Helen. Wanted to know why some
people are talking about you. What
did you do? Call me back.
“Second
message, sent today, at eight-oh-three am.” She then heard a man’s voice. “Hello, my name is Dale Gomez, I’m with WPSO-TV Human Interest. I heard that you’re the one that
has taken on the
“Third
message, sent today, at eight-oh-five am.” Zaid:
“Hi Nell, it’s Zaid. What’s going on? Did you kill someone? The school is all about you, today. Lemme know
what’s up, OK? Bye.
“Fourth
message, sent today, at eight-oh-ten am.” Some guy: “Hey, Nell. I really like what you’re doing to
the University and everything. Hope
to see more of it and you. Later.
“Fifth
message, sent today, at eight-oh-sixteen am.” Phil: “Nell, what are you
doing!? You’re gonna get us all expelled only ten weeks from
graduation! Oh—crap,
can’t talk now. Bye.”
“Sixth
message, sent today, at eight-oh-eighteen am.” A woman: “Hello, this is a message
for Nell Stanley. My name is Carren Voss, and I’m with The San Antonio Chronicle. I’m interested in learning more
about the scandal at the
The
weight of responsibility, but especially the knowledge that others knew more
about something very important than Nell did, felt heavy. She didn’t know which message
called for the most immediate response.
She had little respect for WPSO-TV and The Chronicle. The room
that she was in started getting full, so she exited to the parking garage, and
walked back to her car.
Once
inside, she called Helen.
“Hi, it’s Nell.”
“Hi,
didja get my message?”
“Yeah,
but no, I don’t know why people’re
talking about me.”
“Well,
we didn’t have our names on the paper. I thought we were totally
anonymous.”
“The
University could’ve dusted for fingerprints, but they sealed the room
off. If they tried hard enough,
they could find out. They do know
that I did it, though.”
“How? Is that why you quit?”
“I
didn’t quit when they found out.
I did that before. Anyways,
I admitted to one of my teachers that I participated.”
Helen
began screaming. “What!? Why’d you that? What did you tell him?”
“I
only told him that I was part of it, and that I wanted revenge.”
“You
didn’t tell him, or anyone else, about me, Phil, or Zaid
or Cullen, did you?”
“No. I left that up t’all
of you, to tell or not.”
“Who’d
you tell it to?”
“He’s
a special guest lecturer. I think
his name is Drew Abvain, but he usually goes by
Drew.”
“Drew
Abvain.”
Nell got the impression that Helen had bad things in mind for Drew.
“Is
there anything else?”
“Yeah,
well, expect lotsa phone calls until this dies
down.”
“Already with you there. You were
number one on my list of people to call.”
“Thanks. Has anybody else tried to call you since
you called me?”
Nell
looked briefly at her phone’s screen. “I don’t think so. I think that I may have set my phone to
send callers to my voice box if I’m talking to someone else
already.”
“Yeah? Well, good luck.”
“Thanks,
bye-bye.”
“Bye.”
Nell
dialed WPSO-TV next. She got put on
hold a couple of times, before reaching the voice mail of Dale Gomez. She left a message, confirming that she had
heard from him, and gave him a good time to call her. She called Zaid,
next. Another
voice mail, to which Nell gave a very brief account of what was going on. She looked down her list of missed
calls, to see who the guy was that called her. She saw Zaid’s
number, and Phil’s, but not the number of the man that called in between
them. Then, she called Phil. “Phil? It’s me, Nell.”
“Nell! What’re you doing? Didja get my
message?”
“Yeah,
I did. Hey, listen, it’s not
as bad as you think it is. I don’t
think that I’m in trouble, and nobody else knows that you or Helen or the
rest of the group did this, OK?”
“You’re
not sure?”
“No! How can I be sure, when the only way to
know if they know is only if you get
in trouble yourself?”
“Er…I guess…”
Nell
realized that she had been sitting in the same position for a while, and
shifted in her seat. “Look,
don’t worry. There’s
nothing that you can do about it now.”
“Yeah? Well, Helen is pushing to continue
this.”
“That’s
Helen. Don’t get involved if
you don’t want to participate.”
“There’s
a problem with that, seeing as she is my girlfriend.”
“So what? That makes you her
slave?”
Phil
sighed. “No…it just
means that I’m gonna have to deal with her as
long as she has this crazy idea in her head.”
“You
said it, not me.”
“Yeah,
well, you suggested it!”
“What
difference does it make if I didn’t convince her to back off? She’s not gonna
listen to me.”
“Yeah,
I guess…you’re right…”
“Listen,
Phil, take some advice. Focus on
your own schoolwork until this thing ends.
I’m planning something for Spring Break.”
The
sound of Phil’s voice picked up.
“Really? What?”
“I
don’t know yet, but just focus on that, OK?”
“OK.”
“Bye,
Phil.”
“Bye.”
After
ending the call, Nell’s feeling of unease began to grow. She didn’t feel safe in her car
anymore. She started the car, and
left the garage. Driving down the
Interstate 10 access road, she decided to find a parking lot of a busy
restaurant. She drove down until
she got to the Huebner Expressway, and took the turnaround to head west on
10. During all of this, she kept
checking her rearview mirror for any cars that may be following her. She turned into the shopping area that
sat at the corner of Huebner and 10, and pulled into one of the parking lots
there. She got out and started
walking to a burger place, keeping aware of the cars in the area.
The
burger place wouldn’t open until 10:30, and that was about two hours
away. There was a Jim’s on
the other side of the freeway, but she didn’t want to get into her car
just yet. She started walking to
one of the office towers, looking out for the cars that passed through the
parking lot side streets. She
entered the lobby of one of the buildings.
It was noisier than the car, but she could still make phone calls.
She
dialed The San Antonio Chronicle, and
asked to speak to Carren Voss. Voss picked up. “Voss.”
“Hi,
my name is Nell Stanley. You had
called me earlier and left a message.”
“Hi
Nell, how are you? Yes, I am
interested in learning about the scandal that has erupted at
“I’d
be happy to answer your questions, but first I want to know how you got my
number.”
“Your
number was in the press release.”
Nell
began to feel paranoid. “Press release?
We—I—didn’t issue one.”
“Well,
someone claiming to represent you faxed over information about The Radical, and it had contact
information on it.”
“Faxed…what
kind of contact information?”
“The
chief of operations, lead reporters, stuff like that. You didn’t authorize it?”
“No! That kind of information was not
supposed to be made public! Have
you actually read The Radical?”
Voss
fell to silence on the line, before saying, “No.”
“Then
I suggest you actually read it before we talk. I’m not gonna
repeat what’s already been published. Good-bye.”
Nell
ended the conversation without waiting for a response from Voss. In the lobby, she looked for a place to
sit down. She wanted to be inside. On the other side of the building, she
saw a lounge with some chairs. Once
she sat down, she began to think about what to do next.
She
needed to return to school by tomorrow.
She couldn’t afford to skip more classes. Going home was out of the question. Maybe staying at Cullen’s place
would be good. If anyone came
knocking, he had a security system that was better than some banks. She left the building and drove to back
school.