Read Online Exodus (The Exodus Trilogy) by Andreas Christensen - Free Book Online

here. No, I’m talking about making sure the colony doesn’t turn out the way this country has been going since Holloway.” Thatcher got up and stretched his back. None of them said anything for a moment, and Trevor thought hard about what he had just heard. President Holloway had started the slow descent, with his so-called reforms, such as the financial reforms. In retrospect, these reforms had built a foundation on which President Andrews later had been able to establish structures that placed all power in the hands of a few, with no checks and balances left to speak of: an impotent congress and a subservient judiciary; a press owned by a business elite surrounding the President; and mega-corporations that were deeply intertwined in a government that made every critic turn silent or disappear. Trevor sat in the middle of it all, and knew exactly what Thatcher was speaking of. He hesitated for a moment, before speaking, choosing his words carefully.
    “ So what is it you want, really?”
    “ I want them to have what we wasted. Freedom, to read what they want, and speak whatever is on their minds. To be the masters of their own destiny, not slaves to the will of a few. I want the true Constitution to come back to life. It cannot be done here. Not anymore. It would only destroy us in these few years that we have left. But there is a new world out there somewhere, and maybe this is a chance to start over. Maybe we don’t have to repeat the mistakes of the past.” He smiled again, and then offered his hand to Trevor. Trevor hesitated, and then took it slowly.
    “ I’ll be in touch,” Thatcher said. Trevor stared after him, while confusing thoughts raced through his mind.

October 2073 ~ Washington, DC
    The phone rang at almost exactly nine thirty, on a Wednesday evening, while Ohio Senator Joe Buchanan was having a late dinner with his wife in their home. He didn’t want to interrupt the meal, so he decided to ignore the call, and let it ring until it stopped. He didn’t give it a second thought, and resumed his conversation with his wife, Cecilia. Then it rang again, and this time it didn’t stop. Cecilia smiled fondly, and motioned for him to take it.
    “ Come on, Joe, I know you’re wondering who it is. Just take it and be done with it.” A little annoyed at the caller, he got up and walked over to the sideboard, where he kept his phone. The number was hidden, but since he’d already gotten up, he decided to take the call anyway. He took his phone into his study and closed the door.
    “ Yes,” he said, waiting for the caller to identify himself.
    “ Senator,” the voice on the other end answered. It sounded vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite place it. So, he figured it had to be someone he knew from way back.
    “ You may not remember me, but we worked together on the Stephenson bill, I guess it’s been about twenty years ago now … My name is Richard Thatcher. I was on the team of the late Senator Williamson back then.” Joe had to think hard for a second before it dawned upon him.
    “ Yes, that’s right. I believe I heard your name mentioned a couple of years ago, though I can’t remember the occasion; you’re with the Energy Committee now, aren’t you? Still working behind the scenes?”
    “ Well, I was for a while, before I started working for the Presidential Alternative Energy Initiative.” The PAEI had been former president Holloway’s green alibi, and had gotten a lot of support from environmentalist groups, although those within the inner circle and the PAEI managers knew it had nothing to do with environmentalism. It was yet another security measure, as Holloway had been just as obsessed with security as the current president. Of course, it did have an effect upon the dependency of fossil fuels, which was necessary, because the available sources were quickly dwindling, but there were secrets within secrets, and some suspected the ultimate goal was to develop entirely new