Jane Foreman, her enterprises, her bank, her news service were all very popular. There was a tremendous demand for new computers with built-in Wi-Fi. It was not surprising that most of these computers were sold by an enterprise company. To avoid the appearance of having a monopoly, the enterprise sold circuit boards and chipsets to other manufacturers. Some of the competing products were more advanced. Jane always said, “We love competition. This is how we all end up making better products.”
It seemed that everyone was setting up websites all at once. Every day, the Phoenix search engine kept up with all of the new pages. It all seemed like a miracle.
The biggest changes were in personal finance. The Constitutional Bank offered a range of services to help low income and low asset customers improve their positions. Bank offered attractive financing for the purchase of equipment that helped people earn additional income. There were free computer applications to help with budgeting and personal financing advice. Those close to slavery could get a free in-person consultation with a banker. The basic tools of personal finance were rigorously applied to those who were at the edge of slavery. The Constitutional Bank offered help drafting realistic expense budgets, attractive re-financing, and free access to all available job listings to those in need of assistance. The number of grateful customers of Jane's bank kept growing.
Slavery was a big problem, but it was difficult to deal with in one sweeping change. The problem was the amount of money at stake. The value of all of the slaves in America was close to the value of all of the industrial equipment in the country. The same was true in 1860 as well. To purchase the freedom of all the slaves would take more money than anyone could imagine. To free all slaves would force losses beyond imagination. To continue slavery would force suffering beyond imagination. As an institution, slavery had to go. There needed to be a political framework that would allow for the compromises that would bring emancipation to reality.
Jane's enterprise issued a drumbeat of propaganda to declare that one day America would be slave-free. In the meantime, the enterprise pushed for changes to laws, rules, insurance requirements, and social attitudes to make these changes:
Jane's most ambitious effort was to set up a network of slave processing centers in major cities across the country. These centers kept someone newly seized and handled all the examinations and paperwork for the seized person to be sold as a slave. These centers operated on a fee from the slave purchaser. But Jane's centers had an agenda to divert the flow of people away from slavery. This effort was controversial since Jane was directly involved in the slave processing business.
With the massive funding from The Constitutional Bank and with very low fees, these centers drove all the competition into bankruptcy. Instead of the horrible dungeon that Jane remembered, these centers were built to look like modern clinics. Trained staff carefully interviewed each person who was newly enslaved. All the paperwork was carefully checked. If there was a legal issue, lawyers would push for the person's freedom. The staff struggled to find some way to keep the “client” away from slavery. Even the “dorm rooms” were tastefully arranged. The doors of the dorm wings were locked at night, but no one was kept in chains. Only when there was no other choice was a slave collar attached, and the person was sold as a slave. Just this one effort cut down on the number of new slaves in major cities by about two-thirds.
Further, to be honest about it, the people who were now pushed into slavery were people with massive addiction problems, mental illness, or other intense social pathologies. The value of new slaves fell sharply.
Jane got frustrated at the slow pace of the public movement to a Constitutional Convention. It was clear that if Jane pushed hard and nothing happened, valuable political capital would be spent to no avail. She knew she could blackmail key people, but that was no way to build a public movement. She needed a fresh approach. She needed to be willing to compromise significantly to reach this important goal.
Jane was determined to move the negotiations forward. She finally realized that she needed the support of Julie Hildebrandt. Jane said, “Well let's have fun with this.” She called up Julie and said, “I would like to talk to you in private about a significant offer that I have for you. We need to meet in neutral territory. How about meeting in Denver?” Julie wanted to know what she would get. Jane answered, “I will help solve several of your problems, and you will solve several of my problems. We will both leave the meeting very happy. Is there an opening in your schedule next week?” Julie just said, “Can we just discuss this on the phone? What do you have in mind?” Jane replied, “I am very sorry, but there needs to be an exchange of documents. We need to meet in person. I cannot tell you what we have in mind. But I will say it will be a very big surprise. Let's not make a big deal about this. How about saying we show up alone or with just one staff person. How about meeting Wednesday at 11 AM at the restaurant of the Maxwell Hotel in Denver?” Julie said quietly, “Yes, I will be there. But I do not want any tricks.” Jane said, “I promise there will be no tricks. See you there. Bye for now.”
On Wednesday, Julie and her assistant showed up at the restaurant. Jane asked, “How are you? Good to see you. Are you hungry? Do you need to freshen up?” Julie sat down; she said, “I am doing fine. So what is the big secret?”
Jane said, “We have plenty of time. Let me make a quick introduction. As I understand your situation, you are in the worst of all possible worlds; you are in debt in a society without a Constitution. This society does not have the economic mobility to help you go from negative to positive. The best possible position is to have money in a vibrant economic society. If you answer ‘Yes’ to all of my questions, your own situation will be much better.” Julie just said, “Let me judge what is best for me.”
Jane lowered her voice, almost to a whisper, “Julie, please lean in close, I do not want anyone to overhear. I have been keeping a secret for quite a few years. I know that you invested a lot of money in the stock swindle when I lost most of my money. It is OK, but you should know that I have been having my staff investigate the heist. My people have talked to the perpetrators. They have been scared out of their minds that they would be caught. They never used the money. They thought that as soon as a bearer bond surfaced, the serial number would ring alarm bells, and they would be put in jail. Who knows? They might be stripped of their internal organs! They would like to return the bonds to us, as long as we sign documents promising that we will not sue or prosecute. Do you think you could sign such a document?”
Julie looked shocked. She said quietly, “So, I just sign something and I get my $94 million back?” Jane answered, “Yes. And when I sign, I get my money back as well. I am very much hoping I can get you to agree.” Julie suddenly looked alarmed, “Wait, how do I know if this is some sort of trap? You are going to use this document to prove that I was swindled and that I am more interested in money than justice.” Jane sighed, “OK, you sign the paper and your assistant comes with me to watch the exchange. I assure you that this is legit.” They both signed the document. Jane and Julie promised not to prosecute or sue based on their being swindled. They both agree that they have been made whole.
Jane and then Julie's assistant got up and walked to the stairwell. They went up two flights of stairs. A man wearing a hooded cloak yelled, “Stop.” Jane held up the papers. The man opened a briefcase and pulled out a handful of bearer bonds. They slowly walked towards each other and made the exchange. Jane took the briefcase. The man took the signed documents. As they descended the stairs, Jane handed the briefcase to Julie's assistant. She whispered, “You can tell your friends years later that you carried a briefcase holding over $100 million.”
When they got back to the restaurant, Julie could not believe what was in the briefcase. Jane suggested they do a rough division, one-sixth for Jane, the rest for Julie. It certainly looked like all of the stolen money. Julie laughed and said, “You are a very good detective. But I wish the people responsible were caught.” Jane replied, “You should be grateful. If this money was not stolen, it would have been lost in the crash. You should be sending a thank you note to the thief, for preserving your money from your own mistakes, and then for returning it to you.” Julie just said, “Jane, you are the most frustrating person I have ever met. But I suppose you are right. I am grateful that I was ripped off and that I am getting my money back.”
Jane said, “OK, that was issue number one, now for the really big one. I am putting two papers in front of you. If you sign the first one, I will sign the second one.” She slid two pages over to Julie. Julie asked, “What are these?” Jane answered, “In short, the first paper declares your support for a Constitutional Convention and allows groups to use your endorsement for this. The second is my pledge to prevent any attempt to find you legally responsible for the deaths of our decoys. I promise to hide evidence and stop any attempt to find you legally responsible. It further restricts my efforts to find you morally responsible to this simple face-to-face conversation we are having now. This paper says that I need to stop 15 minutes after I sign the paper.” Julie looked at Jane and said, “No tricks?”
Jane answered, “No tricks. I will further promise to be your friend and to assist you in finding good opportunities in this new world. In fact, I will very soon be inviting you to a party to celebrate my pregnancy. But the friendship and the parties require the signature of the first paper. You can do this. You can be part of a new world of opportunities.” Julie changed her expression and said, “I am not doing this. You are just going to parade me around as one of your conquests. I will not stand for it.”
Jane laughed. She said, “If I can get you to support a Constitutional Convention, you can put a leash on me at every social interaction. How about this: I will always treat you with respect and never do anything to act superior to you. Clearly, we need some time to get used to each other. We have a relationship fraught with complexity. As a former slave, I do have a tendency to assert myself. As the head of the Supreme Council of Sunnyvale, you have a strong desire to show that no matter how things change, you still have a major role to play. I suspect that you will find a very important role in whatever provisional government follows a Constitutional Convention. I may end up playing a role as well. So we may have social and political interactions in the future. I would hope we can always be on the same side, since, damn, I do not ever want to be your opponent.”
Julie was quiet for about two minutes. She said, “Fine, I will sign, but you have to sign the other paper at exactly the same time.” Jane said, “Sure, no problem. Are you ready?” And that is how Jane got Julie to support a Constitutional Convention.
Jane said, “Now for the icing on the cake. Julie, you have the briefcase with the bearer bonds? Well, I am going to gift you my bearer bonds if you can do two favors for me.” Julie said, “What? That is $17 million. What do you want me to do for $17 million?”
Jane said, “I want you to write letters to the parents of the deceased of that recent unpleasant business and also send $2 million to each family. So you end up with an additional $13 million. Remember, I signed a document saying that I would not attempt to find you morally responsible, except for the 15-minute window that has not expired yet. I am not in violation of any agreement. This is my one chance to persuade you. Your efforts can be in secret. As you point out, I am not trying to humiliate you in any way. I think it will be good for your soul to clear this up so that you can hold your head up high. Or you can decline this offer. Either way, all of our conversation is totally private. None of our discussions or these papers will ever see the light of day. These compromise me and compromise you. I will be seen as a hypocrite for publicly urging justice for the deceased. Look what I am doing here. In private, I am away from justice, and for what? Just to help get you to join my political agenda? Trust me, all of this makes me look like a jerk. This last deal is up to you.”
Julie asked, “How can I write a letter taking moral responsibility without taking legal responsibility? I am just putting the noose around my neck.” Jane answered, “Oh no. Not at all. You can say, ‘I may have said something that someone else misunderstood as instructions to do something terrible.’ You can lie. You can say, ‘This was done by my staff without my knowledge. The fact that these people were on my payroll makes me feel terrible.’ Remember I have promised to do my best to stomp on any investigation or legal maneuver against you. I have your back. All you need to say is, ‘I feel bad this happened, and I know money does not help, but I would like to offer some money to help ease the pain.’ The key requirements are that this is something from you, written in your words and is not something your staff writes. The other is the money. But you get to walk away with well over $100 million.”
Julie said, “I look forward to working with you in the future. Congratulations on your pregnancy. I hope all goes well. I do agree to all three of your propositions.” Jane reached over and stuffed $17 million of bearer bonds into the briefcase. It had been somewhat scary carrying all that money on her person to the meeting in Denver. She was glad to see Julie have to worry about the briefcase now. She signaled to the waiter that it was time to order lunch. She was hoping that when Danny ordered room service from their room, he had taken his hoodie off. Sharing a room with Danny was interesting. It had been many years since their love affair. But now she was a married woman. Jane thought, “Now that Danny is not guarding the bonds, I will ask him to stay in a different room tonight.”
Julie recorded a very remarkable video for the Phoenix News Service. Julie argued for a new Constitutional Convention. She said, “Our current form of government was ideal for handling an emergency. We are well past the emergency stage. Jane Foreman has shown that all the Supreme Council can do is to prohibit various technologies. Well, Jane showed that we are not as effective at stopping the spread of new ideas as we thought. What do we do now? Can we put the genie back in the bottle? No, there is no way to do that. We must embrace the future.”
Julie paused and then continued, “Many of my peers have expressed the idea any constitution would treat everyone equally before the law, even billionaires. They react in horror to the idea that under a Constitution, they or I could be brought to trial. I reject that idea. Neither my peers nor I should be treated differently than anyone else. I have reached out to the parents of Cynthia McCarthy and Paul Hanna. With my help, they are forming a scholarship fund for promising students from their hometown. We are working together to turn this into something positive that will always preserve the memory of Cynthia McCarthy and Paul Hanna. I ask everyone with financial means to find positive things they can do with their resources and to support a new Constitutional Convention. It is my opinion that the wealthy citizens of America will gain more from these changes than the average citizen. We should embrace the future, guided by the best principles of American history. Thank you all for listening to me.”
Of course, there is more to changing regimes than good videos. Jane and her associates got down and dirty at this point. There were many sectors of the economy such as agriculture, steel, industrial goods, and the railroads that were not affected by the reboot of technology. The families that owned these companies were not interested in a new Constitution. Jane's network used the banking resources to pull loans systematically to disrupt these industries. One by one, the most vulnerable companies were squeezed. Once some companies signed on, Jane's network of banks switched their attention to other companies in their respective industrial sector. To each one, they threatened to pull all funding and to fund fully the companies that had signed on. If Jane could collect a dollar for each curse word that was uttered in a sentence containing her name, she would be able to double her holdings.
Of course, the irony was that by forcing a change in the political structure, she allowed the owner families to multiply the value of their holdings in the coming years. It is always better to own a minority stake in a vibrant economy than to own a majority stake in a stagnant economy. After a decade had gone by, Jane was being compared to Franklin Roosevelt, who also had to force capitalists to save themselves and to enrich themselves.
Public opinion shifted rapidly when it was clear that Julie Hildebrandt was embracing Jane Foreman's political agenda. There was great excitement when the police encampments around the Ten Cities began to be dismantled. The Second Constitutional Convention was scheduled for May 20, 2062, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There were fifty members of the Supreme Councils. Twenty of them were delegates. There were political caucuses across the country. Every class was represented. Jane made sure that fifteen recently freed slaves were delegates. Altogether, there were 125 delegates. Jane was given the title of “hostess.” She said that she would act as just another delegate. She also reserved the right to turn over her duties to someone else, if the Convention proved to be too time-consuming. Unlike the First Constitutional Convention, the Second Constitutional Convention was televised.
This book could report each twist and turn of the Convention, but that would triple its size. Instead, this narrative will focus on the key battles and how Jane helped to build a compromise.
Jane opened with a speech that covered the high and low points of the previous US Constitution. She said, “Regional differences were paramount in the 1780s. Now we have to deal with income and wealth differences. I like the idea of two chambers: I propose one based on geography and one based on income distribution. I am not sure how to do it, but I would like as much government business to be run through Congress. I say we stay away from an imperial presidency. Our biggest challenge is our judicial branch. We have allowed a proper judicial system to atrophy. I urge that we declare most of the laws passed in the last 30 years to be null and void. We should appoint a panel of several dozen professors of legal history and law to draft a series of laws to get us started. Once we have the Constitution in place, we can try to pass as many laws as possible. Our legal system needs to start from scratch.”
Since the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were chosen by income distribution, having the Senate based on income distribution seemed very logical. At each major election, you would show your credentials and be able to vote in one of six different sub-elections. Jane Foreman and Charles Mitchell would be able to vote with the billionaires. Roger Carter's ex-slaves and Julie Hildebrandt would be able to vote with the millionaires. And so it would be down the line.
As the days wore on, it was clear that slavery was the most contentious issue. There were also arguments about taxation, limiting the role of the president, restructuring the police, and creating a military force. Just to refresh everyone's memory, the current police combined the roles of the military and the police. The police seemed to obey a set of laws known only to themselves. To get the police to stand down was very difficult. The billionaires and the banks had to cut off the funding for the police. In many areas, the police tried to sustain themselves by increasing their fines and increasing their power. The billionaires had to threaten to create a civilian militia to fight and execute all police officers that refused to stand down. There were some skirmishes. Over 200 police officers were lined up against the walls of their police buildings and shot. Police buildings across the country were burned to the ground. By the time the Constitutional Convention opened, police all across the country had been disbanded. Crime and disorder were reduced tremendously whenever the police were disbanded.
A week after the start of the Constitutional Convention, Jane needed to take a break. She needed to give birth. Jane checked into a clinic and gave birth to a daughter. Jane and Amir named her Rose Cynthia Foreman. Three days after giving birth, Jane returned to the Convention. She took very frequent breaks and used staff members to keep her up to date. It was hard to give birth to a baby and a new Constitution all at once. Both were totally exhausting.
Taking time out to care for her daughter gave Jane time to think over all of the issues. She knew that there were not enough votes or money to free all slaves. But there had to be a route away from slavery. She addressed the Convention and asked the question, “Can we all agree to write a clause that says that slavery will cease twenty years hence?” She found that this proposition was acceptable to three-fourths of the delegates. Jane then asked, “Can we all agree to ban the enslavement of those under the age of eighteen, including those born to a slave mother, provided that a guardian can be located?” She found that this proposition was acceptable to two-thirds of the delegates. She finally asked, “Can we all agree that anyone who is seized and processed into slavery is entitled to a legal proceeding so that any alternatives to slavery can be presented to the creditors?” This idea caused many arguments because of the time it might take to accomplish this. Jane rewrote this proposition with a clause that these court proceedings were limited to three days. She found that this proposition was acceptable to two-thirds of the delegates.
The court proceedings kept the most capable people away from slavery. In the end, the institution of slavery was teetering on collapse seven years after the Constitutional Convention. On the seventh anniversary of the signing of the Second Constitution, Congress abolished slavery in America.
Over the years, Jane became famous for her Three Propositions. They were considered one of the important political compromises in all of American history. In the 1860s, an ocean of blood was needed to end slavery. In the 2060s, a series of political compromises and an ocean of money from the Five Couples were used to end slavery.
Jane and Amir never held political office. Once the Constitutional Convention was over, Jane was very proud of her role as a member of the Convention. She could have been president or senator. She could have held any office that she wanted, but Jane declined all offers. She just said, “I have a business to run. I have a family to take care of. I may speak out on issues now and then.” Deb was elected Senator several times, representing the corporate interests of the enterprise. She became the political voice of the enterprise. Deb often traded off with Cathy, since they shared the job. Deb and Cathy liked to spend time with their kids.
The various enterprise companies did well, up to a point. As more people got back on their feet, they found the weaknesses of the enterprise company policies or products. It was inevitable that some people resented Jane, Amir, and the Five Couples for just dominating the economy. They wanted this whole colossus of companies broken up. They wanted The Constitutional Bank broken up into a series of regional banks.
Jane remembered how happy John D. Rockefeller was when the Rockefeller oil company was broken up in 1892. The stock value for some of the constituents of the Standard Oil Trust doubled, and some tripled in value. She set up a committee of enterprise staffers, legal experts, business consultants, and congresspersons to work out the arrangements. Jane and Amir accepted the recommendations. In the end, about 65 separate companies were formed from the enterprise. Jane decided to become the CEO of The Constitutional Bank of New York. This Bank set policies that were largely copied by other pieces of The Constitutional Bank. In turn, the banks helped to shape policies that were reflected across America, but especially in the companies that were once a part of the enterprise.
The breakup of the enterprise made Jane and Amir even wealthier. They now had about $45 billion. The other four couples were each worth about half of that. In reality, about two-thirds of the holdings were charitable enterprises, but it is useful to think of the value realized by this group of friends who met in high school or college. The Five Couples lived in different places around America. Once a year, on the anniversary of Jane's capture, in the beginning weeks of the summer, the Five Couples would come back to Warren Ohio with all of their kids to a festival of eating and catching up that lasted for about four days.
Unlike so many other meetings of the Five Couples, there were no grand planning meetings, no desperate agendas, and no lists of projects that needed to be done. Deb always gave a short speech about how she felt once she realized that Jane's family was enslaved. She was hoping that the next generation would learn the history of their joint projects. But the children ignored the speeches and ran around the room. Deb continued, “Now the people around the table control a huge portion of the American economy.” Deb always reminded everyone about all the twists and turns of their efforts. She always ended up saying, “I remember when Jane declared a new epoch. She was thinking about a computer epoch. But now we have a new epoch in our society. Thank you one and all.”
One year, Deb realized that the kids would never listen to her speeches. They were not fellow Senators. She hired a dozen kids from the high school and paid them to re-enact The Battle of the Cafeteria. Instead of having the boy turn purple, the “spectator” high school students crowded around and said, “Look, his face is turning purple!” No one was seriously hurt in the re-enactment. The gang's children loved it. They tried to crowd around to get closer to see what was happening inside the circle of high school students. It was educational for the high school students too. It was one thing to take a class in the Jane Foreman wing of the high school. It was another thing to play the role of Jane Foreman for Jane Foreman, her gang, and all of their families.
When the little drama was over, Jane sat down with the students and told more about her life as a high school student. She gave them all advice on how to do better in school. She told them that even the oddest book they come across might be a clue to a world-changing insight. It had been that way for her.