18. He would go all the way with her. She was like no other. Her radient lines energized him as sunlight on leaves of green carbon or blue silicon. Like he was beginning to do, She saw simultaneously in black and white, shades of gray, and all the colors of the spectrum. In multi sensory fusion she saw the past and the future... Perfecting in her Power she saw Deeper... and he could feel the warmth of her radience in the Dream.
19. What would the new day bring? He queried all oracles. She had foreseen so clearly the winds of change days earlier, the Bishop was moved by the blustery "F5" winds. The forces of nature twisted the zephyr into a whirlwind and elsewhere castles fell, but the foundation upon which they were building their Dream was strong. Yes, Mars was up 27.75 in the financial constellations and in the stars Mercury in Taurus squares Neptune in Aquarius in yet another faith. By evening his Faith would turn to Hope as Venus sings beneath the Pisces Moon... and Hope often turns to... to...
21. The usual cast of characters were gathering around the conference table. Ken displayed the strategy on the Smartboard. Today, it would be all about oil. Sweet crude, now over $140 a barrel and climbing with no end in sight. The US pump price was over $3.50 a barrel and climbing. With china and india joining the "free market," Adam Smith's "invisible hand" was apparently mocking us with obscene gestures. Where was that Iraqi oil, anyway? When would the Saudi's begin pumping again?
23. And just as quickly as Doyle spoke up with irritation, goading ken into getting to his point, his attention diverted back to Sheila's knee, and navy blue tint hose, and patent leather navy blue 4 inch heels, her foot tapping a beat to some romantic ballad that had played early in the morning, just as the clockradio came on, with Vanessa Williams silky voice introducing the day, and a bright warm sunrise, thank heavens, for the first time in a long time, and his arm over her waist, and kissing her cheek, and . . .being . . .close . . . .closer than in a long long time, and remembering, and feeling connected, very very connected.
26. And yes, patient reader (if in fact there actually any left out there, as this must truly be a tedious trudge to slog through), the Queen enters the game. She moves forward just a little now, to the table, to accept her assignment, and influence the Asian market through strategic purchases in Kazakstan. The proposed oil pipeline to china must not be allowed to be built.
27. "Well Doyle," Ken said hesitantly, finally getting to the strategic point in the briefing, "If we are going to make a move on the oil and energy market we need to move quickly." Ken was bold but cautious in matters of business, he normally liked the idea of controlling a strategic component of the whole rather than the whole itself. Ken had an unexplainable momentary mental fixation on the invisible holes in the variety of donuts on the plate at the conference room table He knew that while not nearly as outrageous as trying to control global chocolate, oil would not be a walk in the park. "Tomorrow is May Day or Unity Day as the Kazakh locals call it. We need to be there for their Holiday and after the festivities meet with representatives of KazMunayGas." Ken contemplated early retirement as The Company prepared for yet another venture into the "Great Game", but he was way too young even with early out authority. He tried to think of a line from Kipling but couldn't. He concluded his talk, handed Doyle a copy of Zbigniew Brzezinski's "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives" he happened to have in his brief case, and took his seat. Even though his uniform was now a suit, Ken was a faithful soldier, and obeyed the lawful orders of those above him in the chain, but he could see a loose thread in the quilt. Oil would be $200 a barrel before the end of May.
29. The Council of Economic Advisors, the United Oil Ministry and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries were meeting in Bern to discuss how many droplets of oil they would put on the market. The arguments ranged from let's rake it in now to let's rake it in later. The only point of agreement was that the known reserves were depleting and new discoveries were predicted to fall short of the world's needs, once china and india geared up full throttle. The only strategy that made sense was to optimize the take.
30. In the US, "W" was intensely contemplating the spring baseball season. How on earth could the Texas Rangers be .333 for the year so far at 9 and 18? The symmetry of those numbers were fascinating. 9. two times 9 = 18! 9 + 9 + 9 = 18!!! There was something behind this! A conspiracy had to be in play. He called an NSC meeting.
32. And thus it came to be that a certain "White Castle" relocated to a position rather distant from the actual action. The opponent had foolishly Castled Queenside, so to speak, diverted by spurious attention in the wrong direction. However, even a somewhat sharper focus, on oil, might not have been "enough" discernment, as the "Oilers" were only mid-pack at 13 and 15. It was becoming clearer by the day that the Texas Oil Cartel was in serious trouble.