The afternoon summer sun streamed in through the dormer windows of Liberty’s bedroom as she thoughtfully packed clothes and a few other items into two large suitcases, occasionally referring to a checklist in one of the spiral-bound books from Lyceum. Suddenly she stopped, and a mischievous grin appeared on her face. She dashed out of her room and down the stairs.
Bursting into the living room, she grabbed the phone and invoked one of the numbers stored in its memory. “Hi, Dad. I have a big favor to ask. Would it be okay if we went into Philly earlier tomorrow so I could have an hour or two to say good-bye to some old friends?”
As she listened to his response, her excitement changed to disappointment. “Yes, Dad, I understand why you’d feel that way. And if you say no, I’ll handle it... But some of them were good friends, and it would be in the middle of the day, and I just want to say good-bye, share a coke or something...”
Her face brightened as she listened. “Yes, I promise. No running around...
no alcohol... no drugs... no sex. Really, Daddy — I’m just about to do something I totally want to do, and I’m NOT going to blow it... Oh, thank you! I won’t let you down, I promise!”
She hung up the telephone and dashed back upstairs to continue her packing.
The eighth of July dawned clear, promising a warm and eventful day for
Liberty. She was up early, feeding the horses for what she figured would be the last time in at least several weeks, maybe the last time forever. She lingered for a half hour longer than necessary to talk to her four-legged friends and make sure the barn was just the way she liked it.
When she finally, with much reluctance, returned to the house, she poked around in her room, making sure all of her projects were in order. The finished doll house stood proudly on its own table. She had done a complete archive of her computer’s disk just the night before. Her art work was all neatly stored in portfolios, and her books were sorted, a box ready to be given to whatever charity Mr. Neils chose on his next trip to town. She dragged first one suitcase downstairs, then the other, and set them beside the front door.
Mr. Neils was standing at his desk in the living room, looking over his list of things to do for the day. “Your father should be here any minute.”
Liberty walked over and stood before him with her head bowed.
“What’s the matter, girl? Second thoughts?”
“No. Guilty feelings.”
“What about, young one?”
“About finding a place when it was really your job...” she said, and then continued a moment later with an even sadder look on her face, “and... about leaving you and the horses...”
“Oh, don’t worry yourself a moment over who did what. I’m just very happy you did find a place, and I’m very proud of you for having the courage to try a place that... how do I say this... wouldn’t have been your first choice a year ago.”
“You’re right about that!”
“The horses and I will be just fine, too. In fact, I will have to get to know them again!”
“No hard feelings?”
“None. And don’t forget — I’ll still be looking into places for you in case this doesn’t work out.”
“Thanks, Mr. Neils!” she said, and hugged him tightly.
A moment later they heard a car pull in through the gravel and honk as it came to a stop.
“There’s your father. All packed?”
She released the caretaker, but at that moment her voice wouldn’t work and her eyes threatened to do the same, so she just nodded.
Liberty said little during the drive to Philadelphia. It was the reverse of the journey she had made more than a year before, but now she was saying good-bye to the horses, the cows, the hills and gravel roads, and the small towns with their little grocery stores and pinball machines. She held mixed feeling about the expressways and cities she was heading toward.
They arrived at the Buchanan’s Philadelphia apartment in the early afternoon, with three hours to spare before they had to leave for the airport.
Her father had things to do, but made her repeat the promises she had made to him on the telephone.
Liberty remembered with mixed humor and sadness the clothes she had selected the last time she had left the apartment for the streets. This time she wore an almost new pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved blouse, and took along a small shoulder purse. She exchanged pleasantries with Matthew the doorman, and strode out onto the streets of downtown Philadelphia.
She hadn’t gone too many blocks when she turned into a small cafe, surveyed the familiar room, and noticed a few more patches on the old vinyl booths along one side. The cook, a boy of about eighteen, was cleaning the grill behind the counter and hadn’t seen her come in. The only customers were four teenagers in the last booth, who had their heads low in conversation and giggling. She hopped onto a stool at the counter.
“Hi, Jimmy!” she said in a confident, but slightly guarded tone.
He turned. “Oh, my God! Liberty! Hey guys! Lib’s back!”
The four youth immediately came over and surrounded Liberty at the counter.
“Liberty!
Where have you been?” one boy asked.
“Hi, Ben,” she said with longing showing in her voice and eyes.
One of the girls immediately put her arm around Ben. “You’ve been gone a long time, Lib. Things have changed.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Hey, it’s... as it should be,” she said as she resigned herself to the new situation. “Can I buy you guys burgers?”
“Rad! Thanks, Lib!” the younger girl said.
“Dad’s money again?” Ben teased with a smile on his face.
“I earned it this time. Blisters to prove it,” she said, holding up a palm for all to see.
“You? Earned money? By working? You have changed!” the other boy said.
“Maybe. You guys hungry or not?”
“Sure!” Ben said.
“Five
deluxe burger baskets, coming up!” the cook said and turned toward the grill.
The quiet boy brought out a hand-rolled joint. “A smoke for old times?”
“Um... no thanks,” Liberty said. “But you guys go ahead, okay?”
“Jesus, Lib, are you going prudish on us?” the cook said over his shoulder.
“I don’t know what I’m doing right now, Jimmy. I’m looking into some new options, thinking about what I want to be, letting go of some things I don’t need anymore...”
The burger baskets were tasty, but the conversation was guarded for the remainder of Liberty’s visit with her old friends. As much as she had planned on not doing so, she found herself motivated to share a few things about Lyceum, as the younger girl seemed genuinely interested in the changes Liberty was going through, and Liberty noticed that the girl wasn’t completely comfortable with her current circle of friends. And anyway, she could tell the things she said went right over the heads of the others.
She said good-bye after about an hour, and used the rest of her time in Philadelphia to visit a few other places that had been dear to her — parks where she had played when younger, malls that she had frequented, back alleys where she had crept up fire escapes to forbidden parties. She didn’t run into anyone else she knew. That was okay.
Liberty was no stranger to airports and jet airliners, as she had already traveled to a number of destinations in North America and Europe by air, although many of those trips had been before she was old enough to remember much. She was in a quiet but happy mood as she and her father drove the eight miles south to the airport, and she waited with their suitcases
just inside Terminal A as he parked the car in one of the long-term lots.
Even though Philadelphia International Airport was by no means a popular destination of international travelers, there was just enough of the cosmopolitan feel to excite Liberty: foreign languages being spoken, colorful dress from other countries, foreign words on luggage tags, international souvenirs and newspapers. Liberty could pride herself on being able to read quite a few words of French, German, and Spanish, but she had not yet felt motivated to become fluent in any of them.
As soon as her father had confirmed their first-class seats to Portland, she found a phone booth and called one of Lyceum’s numbers.
“Hi! This is Liberty Buchanan. You guys are expecting me and my dad this evening, and I have a flight number now... Yep, at Portland International... It’s flight 438, and it should get there about seven o’clock...
Really? How come?... Okay. Thanks, Brother Paul... Bye!”
She spent a few minutes in the gift shop, and couldn’t resist a small but very skillfully made porcelain horse. It looked almost exactly like Chelsea, and was mounted on a hardwood base with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania engraved on a little brass plate. She made sure it came with a box in which it would be well padded, and she had just enough room in one of her suitcases to squeeze it in.
Father and daughter rolled their luggage to the baggage check counter, and then realized they had time for a light snack in the restaurant. Liberty ordered a seafood salad. Mr. Neils was a meat and potatoes man, and she had seldom had fish of any kind during her year at the country house.
“So, how was your visit with your friends?” her father inquired as he doctored his tea.
“Kind of... unexpected. They had changed, but... I think I had changed even more then them. It was a little unnerving.”
“That can happen when you haven’t seen people for awhile. Any trouble?”
“Nope. I thought I was going to have a hard time resisting, you know, a little sack time with Ben. But now Kyra’s all wrapped around him. They look happy. Temptation avoided.”
“Some temptations... are better just avoided.”
“Yeah. By the way, when I gave Lyceum our flight number, the guy on the
phone, I think his name was Brother Paul, said we were lucky, but he wouldn’t say why.”
“Hmm. We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.”
Their flight left shortly after six o’clock, and dinner was soon being served.
Liberty still enjoyed the little plastic compartmentalized trays that the dinners came in, even as she had treasured them when she was younger. She had selected another seafood item, which came smothered in a tasty pineapple sauce, and served with steamed broccoli florets, rice pilaf, and a crumb covered fruit dessert. She savored each bite, not so much because the food was finer than what she was used to, but because she knew that a part of her life was quickly passing away, as quickly as the miles were passing beneath the huge jetliner.
After dinner she read everything interesting in the travel magazine that was provided, spent an hour in the first class lounge sipping soft drinks and playing cards with some young executive types who obviously would have loved to get to know her in more private circumstances, and finally relaxed in her seat to watch the Rocky Mountains pass by beneath them and browse through her Lyceum books.
The weather was clear and the sun had already set in front of them as the jet lined up with the long runway beside the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon.
As soon as they emerged from the boarding tunnel, Liberty spotted a lady holding a sign with the Lyceum symbol and her own name printed clearly on it in large letters. “Look, Dad!” she said, pointing out the lady to him.
“That must be our ride,” he said.
Liberty dashed up to the middle-aged lady, who was dressed in a uniform of some kind with patches on the shoulders and chest. “I’m Liberty Buchanan!”
“Hello Liberty! I’m Sister Erica. And you must be Michael?” she said, greeting the senator.
“Yes, although I must admit I’m not very used to people using my first name,” he said while shaking hands.
“No disrespect implied, it’s just that we’re in the habit of leaving the
announcement of last names and titles to the person who owns them, especially in public places, so that privacy is maintained to whatever degree is desired.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that,” he said as they walked toward the baggage claim area.
Father and daughter collected their suitcases and Sister Erica started to lead them toward an escalator.
“Isn’t the exit that way?” the senator asked.
“Yes, but you were lucky enough to arrive at a time when we could put you on our helicopter schedule.”
“So
that’s what Brother Paul meant!” Liberty speculated as they headed toward E Concourse.
“Do you have any other business in the Portland area?” Sister Erica asked.
“Just a flight to Tokyo tomorrow evening,” Senator Buchanan said.
After a few minutes, they approached Gate E-16, which had a small waiting area of its own. Liberty could see that there were just two people there, a young man wearing a uniform like Sister Erica’s, and an older man of about sixty. Everything was dark outside the glass walls.
Sister Erica introduced the man in the uniform as Brother Kyle, and the older man as Brother Al.
“Brother Al... I think I know you,” the senator said. “Yes, you’ve testified before my committee. Dr. Albert Radcliff! How are you?”
They shook hands heartily. “Senator Michael Buchanan! It’s been years.
How are things on the hill?”
As the two older men renewed their acquaintance, Liberty gathered that Dr. Radcliff was a scientist involved in genetic mapping. A minute later an airport operations lady arrived and unlocked the heavy door that led outside.
“I’ll go warm up,” Brother Kyle said to his fellow pilot. He slipped out the door into the dark, and a moment later bright lights flooded the entire landing pad, revealing Brother Kyle approaching a gleaming white single-rotor passenger helicopter. Liberty pressed her face to the glass to see better.
The helicopter was a beautiful sight to her, perched there on the pad like a hungry raptor ready to leap into the air. Suddenly the words to an old song came to her, one she had always liked...
Like a wild bird of prey, like a thief in the night,
You can take what you want, and you don’t think twice...
A minute or so after Brother Kyle had disappeared into the helicopter, Liberty could faintly hear its engines start, first one, then the other.
“Our bird is just about ready, gentlemen,” Sister Erica announced.
Liberty and her father rolled their suitcases out the door while he and the scientist continued their conversation.
“Yes, funding at Lyceum is an interesting, and sometimes even mysterious, topic. I’ve got an excellent example for you...” He interrupted his explanation to climb into the open side passenger door of the helicopter. Liberty and her father followed. There were four rows of three seats in the rear of the bird, and Liberty took a seat in the very front row so she could see everything the pilots were doing. When the lady pilot had finally entered and secured the sliding door, the sound of the engines was reduced to a low hum.
“All passengers inside,” she said as she slipped into the seat beside Brother Kyle.
“Tower, this is Ranger K371 on pad E-16, requesting permission for rotor start,” Brother Kyle said into his headset.
“K371, your area is clear for rotor start,” a voice came through a speaker.
Liberty could hear the jet engines over her head slow as the pilot engaged the eighty foot diameter rotor blades.
Sister Erica picked up a microphone. “Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Pacific Northwest. We will be making one stop in downtown Portland before proceeding to Lyceum. There is no smoking in flight, but I have a variety of snacks, beverages, and air sickness remedies should anyone desire them. A restroom is located in the rear of the cabin.”
“So as I was saying,” the scientist continued his explanation to the senator in the row of seats behind Liberty, “the last time I was out at Lyceum, I picked up this idea. It wasn’t just any idea. It was the kind of idea that can give birth to a whole new field of study. Lyceum is like that. There are so many good minds that float in and out of there that really good ideas just sort of spring into being!”
“Tower, this is Ranger K371, ready for departure from pad E-16, heading two-two-five,” Brother Kyle said as the rotor blades whirled faster and faster.
“K371, you are clear for departure,” the speaker said.
“My indicators are all green,” the pilot said.
Sister Erica looked out her right side window, looked back at her passengers, and checked a small computer screen in front of her. “Co-pilot concurs.”
Liberty could feel her heart beating faster as the helicopter gently lifted off the ground, higher and higher until it was a good two hundred feet up, and then turned slowly until it faced southwest. She could see the tall buildings of Portland, several miles away, still glowing in the orange sunset light that lingered in the sky. Another verse from the song came to her.
Her soul was strong, her heart was tough,
And when she felt... she had enough,
She tore herself... away.
The giant bird leaned forward and began to move toward the tall buildings.
“...so I took that idea I had picked up,” Dr. Albert Radcliff continued, “put about fifty thousand into developing it and working a few bugs out, and then sold it to Jackson Laboratories for a quarter million.”
“How fast can it go?” Liberty asked the co-pilot.
“About two hundred, but we’re only allowed to go fifty over the city.
Would you like a fruit juice or something?”
“Sure!”
Sister Erica reached into a little refrigerator at her feet and pulled out a small ice-cold can for Liberty.
Dr. Radcliff went on. “I’m going to relax for a few days, recharge my batteries, teach a class, and leave a check for about fifty thousand, maybe more if they have something in the Art Gallery that catches my eye, which, I must say, they usually do.”
The buildings of downtown Portland were rapidly getting nearer.
“So you guys are both members of Lyceum, and you fly helicopters for your work assignment?” Liberty asked.
“Yeah, mostly. But nobody at Lyceum does the same thing all the time. I also do some childcare and some waitressing.” Then she called back to her other passengers. “Senator, Doctor, can I get you anything?”
“Nothing for me, thank you,” Senator Buchanan said.
“Crackers, please,” Dr. Radcliff said, and was handed a basket containing an assortment of individually wrapped items.
Sister Erica picked up her microphone. “Please check your seat belts. We are about to land.”
“Where?” Liberty asked with some concern in her voice.
“Top of a building,” Sister Erica said.
Liberty could hear Brother Kyle speaking into his headset. “Interstate Tower, this is Ranger K371, request brief landing for passenger pick-up.”
A female voice responded. “You’re clear, Lyceum, as long as you’re off by eight o’clock. Two of your people are here waiting.”
“See it? The one with the circle of lights on top,” the co-pilot said to Liberty, pointing at one of the tallest buildings.
“Yes! Is it hard to land on a building?”
“No. But there are a lot more rules to follow when flying through the city.
We’re in a twenty-five zone right now, and we have to stay at certain altitudes.
It was almost dark as the pilot gently set the helicopter down in the middle of the circle of lights. The rotor blades stopped, but the jet engines continued to hum. Sister Erica opened the passenger door as a man and a woman emerged from the building and headed toward them. They climbed in and took seats in the third row back.
As soon as Sister Erica had closed the door, the rotor was again engaged.
“Liberty, Michael, Brother Al, this is Sister Keiko...” The Korean woman shook hands with the two visitors and the non-resident member. “And this is Brother Daniel.” The black man shook hands all around. Liberty noticed that both were dressed as if they had just come from executive board meetings.
The helicopter again rose high above the city, and then continued its journey southward.
‘Cause the world’s in your hand, you got all you want,
and you won’t change a thing, you’re the lucky one...
Liberty could now see millions of city lights gleaming below them. She had always loved how cities looked at night from an airplane taking off or landing. From that distance, you couldn’t see any of the dirt, any of the ugliness — just the gleaming jewels and pearls of the city’s lights. Her father
and the scientist had even fallen silent as they watched the spectacle below.
“We’ll soon leave the speed limits behind, and Kyle will show you what she can do. With the permission of our other passengers, of course.”
“Is two hundred miles per hour okay with you, Dad?” Liberty asked.
“Fine. How about you, Al?”
“Stomach’s in good shape. You only live once.”
“I already know that Keiko and Daniel love it,” Sister Erica said. “You have everyone’s permission to put the pedal to the metal, Kyle.”
“I’m coming up to the line,” he said. “Radar is negative.”
Soon the giant bird began to tilt forward more and more, as Brother Kyle increased the angle of attack of the huge rotor and drove the jet engines to a higher level of output. Sister Erica kept a watch on Brother Al as the pilot called out one hundred, one hundred fifty, and finally two hundred miles per hour. The ground was moving rapidly by about a thousand feet below them, but the lights were thinning out as they quickly left the metropolitan area.
“Where did you guys learn to fly?” Liberty asked over the increased sound of the jet engines.
“I learned in the Air Force, but Kyle learned at Lyceum. We have complete pilot and aircraft maintenance training. Would you like to learn to fly?”
Liberty was dumbfounded. It had come like a splash of cold water on a hot day, like a boy you have secretly liked for years finally announcing out of the blue that he also liked you. “Umm. Gosh. Umm... yeah!”
You can break away, or you can stay.
You choose your life, you’re free to fly.
Go on and fly...
“I have to slow down now before we get to Texas!” Brother Kyle announced.
“Awww!” the two members in the back expressed light-hearted disappointment.
Liberty cringed at the innocent mention of Texas, knowing she would be going there if Lyceum didn’t work out.
“We’re over the foothills of the Cascades now,” Sister Erica said. “Lyceum is just slightly above two thousand feet elevation. She’ll be coming up in just a minute.”
“Is it hard to fly in the dark?” Liberty asked as the last light of evening faded.
“It’s different. We’re both instrument rated. All of our pilots are eventually. There she is!”
The senator moved up beside Liberty so that he could see better.
Surrounded by a sea of almost complete darkness, Lyceum suddenly sparkled like a box of jewels. The glass walls of many of the buildings and walkways glowed from within, and all the outdoor walks and gardens twinkled with thousands of lights. The entire surface of the Main Plaza was illuminated and people could be seen out enjoying the warm evening.
“What’s that?” Liberty asked and pointed to an area of thin winding pathways.
“One of the theme gardens... the European Garden I think.”
“And over there?” she asked, pointing to a lighted space where people and animals were wandering around, surrounded by old-fashioned log buildings.
“That’s the petting zoo. Do you like animals?”
“Horses.”
“K371 to base, request permission to land,” Brother Kyle said.
“Port one is clear for you, White Raven. Wind is close to zero.”
Liberty could see that they were approaching a lighted circular landing pad that was actually inside a huge roofless building. Two other adjacent buildings were similar but had domed roofs covering them.
A moment later they were directly above the port building and Liberty could no longer see it. The helicopter lowered itself slowly until the upper walls of the building became visible to the passengers, then the control room window where a black-haired lady wearing a headset could be seen at a control panel, and finally the glass doors to a comfortable indoor waiting area where several people watched as the huge machine touched down.
Liberty felt the helicopter touch the ground, and heard the rotor disengage. Sister Erica made sure that everyone had their carry-on luggage, and a little while later the rotor came to a complete stop and the jet engines fell silent.
Life is a dream, the lucky one...