Read Online Descent from Xanadu by Harold Robbins - Free Book Online

our newest passenger model. Carries twenty-four passengers and crew. The newest Hughes model carries only fourteen.”
    Barbara nodded.
    “The flight will take only twenty-five minutes,” Merlin said. “That’s less time than it takes to drive to downtown San Francisco.”
    “From what I hear, Judd has built a whole city,” she said.
    “That’s right, Mrs. Crane,” Merlin said. “Six hundred apartments, one hundred private homes and twelve office buildings. Of course, there are schools, malls, shopping centers and, needless to say, a hospital.”
    Barbara looked at him. “But why
here?
” she asked. “The company headquarters has always been in New York.”
    “Yes,” Merlin answered. “But if you remember, ten years ago sixty percent of manufacturing was in the East and South. Now forty-five percent is in the West, and only fifteen percent East and South. Microchips and computers grow like weeds in Silicon Valley. We make more wine in Northern California than Italy and France. Aerospace manufacturers are all around the states of Washington, California, Nevada, and Colorado. Projections show us in another ten years our growth will be up five hundred percent.”
    “But a whole city?” she asked.
    “That was an idea Mr. Crane lifted from the Japanese. He saw that all the big Japanese companies—Mitsubishi, Nissan, Asahi, National, Panasonic and Sony—weld their production to their labor by guaranteeing lifetime security from the cradle on.”
    “I wonder if Americans will feel the same way,” she said.
    “We’ll see,” Merlin replied. “But as Mr. Crane says, it’s only an experiment.”
    The car stopped. Merlin stepped out and held out his hand to her. His other hand gestured to the helicopter. “There it is,” he said. “Mr. Crane said that the first one should be named for you.”
    Barbara stood there for a moment. The tears sparkled at the sight of the silver-colored helicopter. The letters were bold across the side: BARBARA ONE .

9
    “It seems like a college campus,” she said. “They all look like children. I think not a one of them is over thirty.”
    Judd smiled. “Except me.”
    She laughed. “Excuse me.” She took out the plastic card that served as the key to her suite. “Come in for a nightcap.”
    He nodded.
    She opened the door and he followed her. The door closed automatically. She led him to the bar in the living room. “Scotch on the rocks?”
    “No, thanks. I’d prefer a cherry Coke.”
    She looked at him. “That’s something new.”
    “Yes. Alcohol doesn’t do it for me.”
    “But Coca-Cola does?” she asked. “Caffeine and sugar?”
    “Something more,” he said.
    She glanced at him.
    “Cocaine,” he said.
    “Isn’t that dangerous?”
    “Living is dangerous for your health,” he said. “But the combination keeps me on the
qui vive
.”
    “I don’t know,” she said questioningly. “I’ve never done it.”
    “I don’t recommend it,” he said. “Just that it works for me. I checked it with my doctor and he said that it’s no worse than alcohol abuse. The idea is to use it carefully.”
    “How do you know when you overdo it?” she asked.
    He laughed. “Your nose falls off.”
    She grimaced. “That sounds terrible.”
    He laughed again. “Okay, then. I’ll have the Scotch.”
    She put the ice cubes into the tumblers and splashed some Scotch over them. He took his glass. “Cheers,” she said.
    “Cheers.” She looked at him. “You’ve taken other drugs?”
    “Of course,” he said. “You have to understand. This is the age of dope and chemicals. Just as my father’s age was the age of beer and alcohol.”
    “You’ve been doing it long?”
    “Since prep school and college.”
    “Funny,” she said. “We never knew it.”
    “I was never at home very much.”
    He crossed to a chair and sank into it. “Tell me about yourself,” he said. “It’s been about two years.”
    “It’s been different,” she said. She sat opposite him.