For 45 minutes Alexander rode in a helicopter while receiving a crash course on the historic sites of New York City. The ability to hover in the air while moving 110 miles per hour was surreal. He began to wonder if perhaps he had died on the battlefield and was now in some level of the afterlife. Everything was too extraordinary to believe.

As they were nearing the conclusion of their flight Alexander examined the topography below with a general’s eye.

“Where are your city’s defenses?”

“What are you talking about?” Sammy responded.

“What would prevent an invading army from laying siege to your city?”

“No one would ever invade us.”

“Such hubris makes it likely at some point.”

“The oceans protect us from our enemies and Canada is our ally. It would never happen.”

“Fascinating. I bet I would find a way to do it.”

“But why would you want to.”

“It is my destiny to create empires. This city would have to be conquered and rolled into my empire.”

“The United States Army is too powerful. You would never stand a chance.”

A half dozen battle plans were floating through his mind.

“I think I could do it.”

“Who are you?” Sammy asked.

“I already told you. I am the great king Alexander.”

Not knowing what to do with that information Sammy changed the subject. “Once the helicopter lands what do you want to do?”

“Take me to the library.”

“Why would you want to go to the library?”

“There is much I need to learn.”

“Just use the phone I bought you man. You can look up anything you want to learn from there.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“The vast wealth of human knowledge is contained within this little box?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, then find me acceptable lodging for the evening.”

“Where were you staying before today?”

Alexander pointed to the Central Park Tower and said he had been staying on the top floors there.

“Why not go back there?”

“My prior host and I were suffering from ideological differences.”

“What does that mean?” Sammy asked.

“I means I am more likely to kill him than say anything nice about him. For the time being it is better to separate from him.”

“You speak a violent language.”

“It is not just words.”

“I believe you.”

Adell returned to the penthouse suite after fruitlessly walking through Central Park. Once the door was safely closed behind him he pulled out a secondary cell phone and dialed the number he had memorized.

“What’s the problem?” the female voice on the other side of the line asked in an annoyed tone.

“I lost him.”

“That reflects poorly on you.”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“It doesn’t matter. You were assigned to receive his answer and to monitor him until he made his choice.”

“Well I didn’t get his answer.”

“Where do you think he would go?”

“Come on Mackenzie, if I knew that I wouldn’t be calling you.”

“So you are hoping that I can swoop in and save the day?”

“You have resources. You can learn things.”

“You let him get under your skin didn’t you?”

“He is a Neanderthal. Of course he did.”

“Is he intimidating?”

“You find him and then I will answer all of your questions.”

“All of them?”

“All of them about Alexander.”

“I will see what I can do. He is an ancient man. Even in a city of 19 million he will stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Just get him back here before he gets killed or kills someone.”

“I will do what I can.”

Thanks, Kenz.

Alexander and Sammy were back on solid ground and ready to continue their outing. The helicopter ride had been something that Alexander had immensely enjoyed. The ability to move so quickly and efficiently see the city was surreal. What would have taken hours or days of reconnaissance had been accomplished in short order.

“Do we need to meet your friends or can we move on?” Alexander asked Sammy.

“What do you mean?”

“You were arranging to rob and murder me for this evening.”

“I don’t know how to avoid trouble if we go that direction.”

“I will create the trouble.”

“They will have guns.”

“I don’t know what those are.”

“I will show you. I know where our next stop is.”

“Where?”

“The Westside Rifle and Pistol Range.”

Alexander followed Sammy into the lobby of the building on 20th street and then they took a winding staircase below ground. After exiting the stairs they walked down a long corridor until they reached the shooting range. Sammy high fives the attendant who was checking everyone who entered to ensure they had a license to fire a gun inside New York City.

Sammy showed him his license and then handed it to Alexander slyly while enthralling the attendant with a story about a mob hit that went sideways back in the heyday of the five families crime families. While he was doing this he had Alexander flash the same license. The attendant didn’t look closely and allowed Alexander to pass as Sammy finished his story.

Soon Sammy selected ear protection for both of them and then he selected a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 TS, 30 round, rifle and an Sig Sauer P229,12 round magazine, pistol.

Looking at them Alexander was perplexed. Without knowing their function they seemed like strange things to fear. Why should he care if those who wanted to do him harm had these strange items. He quickly realized their value as Sammy explained proper gun etiquette and then took aim at his first target. Using the semi automatic Smith & Wesson Sammy fired 15 shots in a matter of seconds and totally obliterated his target. Heath then allowed Alexander to fire the remaining shots. Then they repeated the process with the Sig Sauer.

“Not everyone is allowed to have these? I saw your use of subterfuge to get me into this place.” Alexander said after requesting Sammy to get more ammunition.

“Well, it depends on where you live.”

“How’s that?”

“Each state has their own gun laws, so some places make it hard to get guns and other places let you carry them at will.”

“What is the most powerful weapon?”

“The nuclear bomb.”

“What is that?”

“A city destroying invention.”

“One weapon destroys an entire city?”

“Yeah, just type in nuclear explosion on your phone and you can see video of it.”

Alexander watched video of nuclear testing and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Can I get one of these weapons?”

“No, there are only like 5 countries in the world that have these.”

“And that is why your city is not fortified as it should be. You have this weapon to destroy anyone who would try to attack you.”

“Yeah, something like that. There is thing thing called MAD. So like these five countries don’t attack each other because MAD is mutually assured destruction. Because if one side uses them then the other side uses them and then there is nothing left.”

“Can these weapons be used for anything else?”

“What like nuclear power?”

Tell me about that.”

“They are big power plants that run on nuclear energy.”

“Which is the same thing as in the nuclear bomb?”

“Well I don’t really know but I think so.”

“Which came first?”

“Oh the bomb of course.”

“Once again the military makes advancements that benefit all the people.”

“I don’t follow.”

“The military creates new technology to subdue its enemies and then once that happens the technology is repurposed for civilian use.”

“Ok sure I guess.”

“How many times has your country used this nuclear weapon?”

“Twice.”

“Why only twice?”

“It is too destructive.”

“They should be used in every war. Every empire you encounter must pay you tribute and submit to your rule or their capital city receives a nuclear weapon.”

“That would destroy the earth.”

“What are you talking about?” Alexander asked.

“Nuclear winter.”

“The concept is foreign to me.”

“Ok think of it this way. The bombs are so powerful that they would basically like block out the sun if enough of them were used. Then it would get really cold and everything would die.”

“I am not so sure about your explanation.”

“Hey, I might be totally wrong, but you can look it up on your phone and find out all about it.” Sammy said.

“I am trying to decide if this thing is a vast wealth of wisdom easily accessed or if it is a crutch.” Alexander said.

“How you mean?”

“I mean, does it stifle the imagination and curiosity of men? Instead of grappling with ideas and discoveries people shut down and rely solely on this block to do all the work for them.”

“It makes life easier. Everything is at your fingertips.”

“Does it dull your senses? Do you still act instinctively or do you have to consult your new technology before you can act?”

“Nah man. I do what I want to do without needing to look at my phone.”

“How about this, if you had to travel to a new location could you do it without using your phone for directions?”

“Why would I need to. The phone can give me directions anywhere.”

“But what if it gets lost and you need to get to a meeting?”

“I could always borrow someone else’s phone for directions.”

“Or you could master your surroundings and learn to navigate independently. That way no matter what you can always find your way.”

“The phone works just fine for me.”

“It is clearly a crutch.”

“Just wait until you start looking at social media.” Sammy said with a laugh.

“What is that?”

“Something that is a true waste of time.”

“You will have to tell me more later. I believe it is time to go and meet your friends.”

“Woah, woah, woah, they are not my friends.”

“That’s right, they are your masters. Either way let’s not keep them waiting.”