CHAPTER 207: PRESS CONFERENCES IN PAJAMAS

The first day of festivities was starting to wind down, and Zack looked at his watch, realizing that it was time for their evening meal at Donnie’s. Celeste was the guest of honor, and Donnie pulled out all the stops, creating a traditional Sicilian feast for their table.

Celeste was overcome with emotion—she had not seen some of these dishes since she was a child due to shortages of food and vegetables upon old Earth. She hugged Donnie’s neck and told him that in the city she had all of her traditional cookbooks that were brought from old Earth and Sicily, and he was welcome to them since he had shown her respect and honor for her heritage.

"There will be quite a large party one day because all of my family will be coming to dine here on traditional Sicilian dishes," she also told him.

Donnie knew he had made it then—here was an expert congratulating him on his cooking. Restaurant reviewers be damned; he had the real thing standing right next to him.

The ending of the day found Zack in his office making some special notes for himself. Harold came down and sat next to his mate.

"You did good today. This is a life’s work and dream finally realized by you. Congratulations, my love," Harold said as the baby he carried kicked repeatedly.

Zach laughed. "Won’t be too much longer and this young man will be out wanting his special meals."

Harold patted his stomach. "Yep, won’t be too much longer and he’ll be meeting his father for the first time."

The whole weekend was packed with festivities. Vincent and Jeremiah did have to tell the boys goodbye, but they understood Mr. Zack’s rules and they were going to abide by them. They couldn’t wait until Saturday morning when they could be back with the two very special Genmen who meant so much to them.

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Zack was woken up early Monday morning. Jarvis informed him that there was a line of reporters out front of the Z-1 ranch wishing to gain access to the library learning center and interactive museum. Word had gotten around to the city, and it was the biggest news on the planet. Zach walked out to the front of the mansion, got into the buggy, and went to the front gates that were closed and locked, still wearing his robe.

"Gentlemen and ladies of the news media, I appreciate your eagerness, but it’s only 6 o’clock in the morning," he called out to them. "Please do us all a favor—go back to the township, dine at Constantine’s diner, and be back here at 10 AM for a special guided tour. I ask that everyone stay together and not harass the residents or workers here at the Z1."

He continued, "We’re building a separate entrance to the Learning Center and Museum area so that the public can attend. The new entrance will be open within two weeks. Please bear with us because we just had our coming home ceremonies over the weekend, and everybody is still trying to get their footing back. It was a great event for those that were fortunate enough to attend—they got to see a side of Genmen they’ve never seen. We hope that after you take this special guided tour, you will understand a little bit more about the second set of humanoids that inhabit the planet along with us, and you can show them kindness and respect."

Zack crawled back into the speeder, went to the main house, headed directly upstairs, and got in the shower. Today was going to be a long day.

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Zack came down from upstairs and found Madison waiting on him. He ushered him into the office and wrote down a list of names and extensions for him to call, requesting that these people report to his office at the main house ASAP.

Madison looked at Zack. "Is everything all right, sir? I heard there was a disturbance outside this morning early."

"Not a disturbance, just the press. Well, maybe that is a disturbance, but we’re all to be on our best behavior and put our best foot forward because we’re going live at 10 AM from the center," Zack replied. "I’ve seen cameras and all, so that means there’s going to be live feeds of our little project that we’ve got out here. No doubt it’s going to ruffle some feathers and cause a bunch of history buffs and books to be rewritten. Say what you want, but you cannot deny the truth, and if it’s an embarrassment, so be it."

Madison started making all of the phone calls that were requested by Mr. Z. Tim was the first one to arrive at the office, in full-blown panic mode.

"Dad, what do you mean the press? I thought the press juncture wasn’t for another two weeks, after the main entrance was built."

"Tim, it’s like this—sometimes our best laid plans must be changed to accommodate others," Zack explained. "Between Carter, Emma, you, me, Madison, and a few technicians, we’re going to pull this off and we will blow their minds with it. Then we are going to sit back and laugh at the naysayers."

"I’ve already been talking to Jake and Ed, and we’re going to put a 250-room hotel in the township on one of our extra pieces of property, plus a full retail center," he continued. "The shops will be available to local residents first—no big corporate entities will be allowed leases at any of our properties. Jake just made another acquisition of land, and it’s for residential facilities where local families will be able to buy modest homes at cost plus."

"Father, what kind of acreage are we talking about, may I ask?" Tim inquired.

"Well, it’s divided up into several sections, but I think 2500 acres was the housing area that he figured out, along with schools, parks, and rec areas," Zack replied. "It will be open to humans, hybrids, and Genmen wishing to strike out on their own but yet still within distance of a full-fledged ranch for their protection. There’s one stipulation—they can buy from us at what it cost to build the home. If they take care of the home and live in the home, that’s fine. If they wish not to live there, they must sell back to the original owners after a reasonable period of time at cost plus. There are no taxes or fees within the subdivisions. All electricity will be coming from solar power systems on their homes, and a communal well will service everyone for water. There are some areas for farming through an initiative that is community-based, overseen by the Hawthorne Corporation and Hawthorne Ranch."

"Father, that’s a very ambitious plan, but if anyone can do it, you can," Tim responded admiringly. "Look what you have done with the Z1 since you’ve had it—nothing short of amazing. I guess we need to go meet our guests then."

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The whole press juncture went off without a hitch. They were so amazed by the interactive museum and historical recording of the plight of the Genman. Tim was the biggest hit—yes, he was going to be famous. One female reporter even asked him if he would consider fathering children for human females that desired to have a Genman baby.

Tim smiled and respectfully declined. "My heart is with one person and one person only," he said.