From: la095at8@csulb.edu (Michael Ejercito) Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative Subject: Oval Office-part 5 Date: 12 Dec 1995 01:17:08 GMT Message-ID: <4ail6k$psc@garuda.csulb.edu> Summary: Sam leaps into President Dwight David Eisenhower part 5 Sam Beckett woke up. He looked at the General Electric Clock Radio. It was 7:35 a.m. He got out of bed and went o the bathroom. The bathroom was spotless. He saw Eisenhower's bald head in the mirror. As he stared at Eisenhower's reflection,he heard a voice. "Good morning,Dwight,"the voice said. Sam turned around and saw it was the First Lady. "Good morning,Mamie,"he said. "I was just shaving. I'm going down for breakfast." In the White House dining room,Sam poured Kellogg's Corn Flakes into a white ceramic bowl. On the wall there were huge windows where Sam could see the White House Lawn. As he ate his Corn Flakes,a man in a suit walked in. "Here is the morning newspaper,Mister President,"said the man,who was a servant. "Thank you,"said Sam. The header read,"THE WASHINGTON POST". Below the header read the date,"OCTOBER 10,1955". He was reading an article about his meeting with Republican party leaders when he heard a door slide open. He knew it was Al. Al walked through the imaging chamber door,right in the middle of the dining table. "Good morning,Sam,"said Al. Sam nodded. "Oh,you have company,"Al said as he looked at Mamie and the servant. "I'll wait until you go to the Oval Office." After finishing his breakfast of cereal,juice,toast,and milk,Sam put on Eisenhower's black suit. "I'm going to my office,"Sam said to Mamie. "Have a good day,"said Mamie as she kissed him. Sam and Al were in the Oval Office. Sam was sitting in the President's desk. He was thinking of the many famous people who would one day sit here-John F. Kennedy,Lyndon B. Johnson,Richard M. Nixon,Gerald Ford,Jimmy Carter,Ronald Reagan,George Bush,and,of course,Bill Clinton,whom Sam met personally and who was President when Sam first leaped. Sam knew firsthand how difficult the job of heading the executive branch of government. Why could he not leap into the President during an excursion to Camp David,he wondered. Yesterday was a busy day. And he still wondered what Eisenhower put wrong that he had to put right. "Why am I here,Al?"asked Sam as he did in almost every other leap. "Ziggy does not know,"said Al in an all-too-familiar tone. "Damn it,Al! I am the President of the United States!" "Tell that to Ziggy." Sam decided to change the subject. "So how was your anniversary?"he queried. Al replied,"It was great. All my relatives flew in. Sharon and Maxine gave me this pocket watch." Al showed Sam a gold pocket watch. It read 9:19. "I tuned it to the clock in the control room." Although Al had a large extended family,he did not have an immediate family when he was a child. His mother left his father for an encyclopedia salesman. His father died of cancer. His retarded sister Trudy and his Uncle Jack died during a flu epidemic in Baltimore. Al was left alone after that. "That's great,Al,"Sam said in response. "There is something I have to tell you,"said Al. "Congress is considering abolishing Project Quantum Leap to finance the Congo War. It is part of a new budget bill. They vote on it today." "Since when were we at war?" "The war started when the communists in Ethiopia launched an invasion against Zaire in 1997,two years after you leaped. Zaire is the source of many strategic materials,including the uranium used in the atomic bombs which exploded over Japan,and the type II-b diamonds Ziggy uses as semiconductors. If the communists win,communism will revive and the Cold War will resume." "But if the project is abolished,I can't leap." Sam knew that the mysterious force that guides him through history can not leap him if the quantum leap accelerator is not on. "Will the President veto the bill?" "No. The President supports the bill and will sign the bill into law if Congress passes it." "I wish I could do something about it,"Sam said to Al. Sam was the President,but he dealt with the 1955 Congress,not the 1999 Congress. Sam looked at the stack of papers on the President's desk and paled. He had a lot of bills to go through and a lot of appointments. "Maybe I'm here to do Eisenhower's work." Al fiddled with the handlink. "Ziggy says you are not here to do that,"he said. "Well,I had better get to work." Sam started going through the bills while Al helped him. Two hours later,Sam signed the last bill. "That's it,"he said. "did I change anything?" "No,"Al answered. "You are not here to change the outcome of the bills." "Then what am I here to do?" "I don't know." The telephone rang. Sam picked up the telephone. He said,"This is the President of the United States. How may I help you?" The voice over the telephone said,"This is the dorector of central intelligence. There have been some delays in getting the supplies to the rebels in Ethiopia. As a result,Operation Gecko must be postponed." "When is the soonest you can launch the operation?" "On the twelfth,I believe." "Is there anything else you need to tell me?" "No,sir." "Well then,goodbye." "Goodbye,Mister President." Sam put the receiver down and hung up. "Al,have Ziggy check the CIA databases for Operation Gecko,"he said. "Okay,"replied Al. He pressed a few buttons on the handlink. After one minute,he said to Sam,"Operation Gecko is not on the databases. Apparently it is still on hard copy." "Then I had better call the CIA director and have him mail me a copy of the Operation Gecko file. Too bad this is not the nineties when he could just e-mail me. I have an appointment to go to." "And I have to see Eisenhower,"said Al as he opened the imaging chamber door and left. After al left the imaging chamber,Sam left the Oval Office. In the Project Quantum Leap waiting room,Dwight Eisenhower was reading the New York Times-June 14,1999. The headline read ,"CONGRESS VOTED ON BUDGET CUTS TO FINANCE WAR IN CONGO." Al walked intop the waiting room. "Hello,Admiral Calavicci,"said Eisenhower. "How are you doing?" "I'm felling good,today,Mister Eisenhower,"said Al. "How are you?" "Fine. I was reading these articles;learning about my future. I read that my successor,John F. Kennedy,will be assassinated in Dallas,Texas on November 22,1963." "I was on the aircraft carrier Maelstrom as a lieutenant when that happened." "Maybe,after I get back,I can warn Kennedy about the assassination." "I don't think so. When you get back your memory will be blurred." "Blurred?"Eisenhower asked. "That's right. You will remember you were here,but you won't remember specific details. In fact,you don't remember specific details about your life." "Are you saying I'm senile? I have a good memory!" "Who is your vice-president?" "Richard Nixon." "Probably got that out of the history books. Who is your secretary of state?" "It was John Foster..uh,John Foster...Dulles. it was John Foster Dulles!" "What is your nickname?" "Uh....I don't know." "And what is Nixon's middle name?" "I don't know." "Well,your nickname is Ike,and Nixon's middle name is Milhous. Don't worry,it happened to me too. Doctor Beckett leaped into me once and I can't remember what I did while I was in the waiting room." Al paused for a moment,then said,"I had better be going now. Goodbye,Mister Eisenhower." "Goodbye,Admiral Calavicci,"said Eisenhower as Al left the waiting room. Doctor Jerry Alden was in the Quantum Leap control room,staring at the monitor screen while sipping a Sprite. He was monitoring Sam's condition. Bored,he checked Doctor beckett's brain status. He noticed something odd. "Hey,Doctor Eleese,"he shouted. Donna Eleese went to Jerry. "What is it?"asked donna. "Check this out." "Well,I'll be damned." "I had better print it." Jerry pressed one of the function keys and Sam's condition was printed out from a laser printer in the far corner of the control room. Donna went to the printer and tore out the paper. In the White House dining room,Sam was eating lunch with Mamie. They were having fried chicken. "Have you ever wondered about the future?"Sam asked the first lady. "Uh..yes,"she said. "Well,let me tell you about the future. I predict there will be computers that can fit on a desk. There will be color televisions. Food cooked with radiation.New construction materials. Medical advances. And that's only the technology." "Well,I guess I will be able to see that before I die. Anyway,are you ready for the meeting tonight with civil rights leaders." "Yeah,I'm ready,"replied Sam. Sam knew that people in 1955 might imagine those things coming. But,Sam thought,if he were to say the same thing in 1855,they would not understand him. The concept of a computer would be new to those people,let alone desktop computers. Humans had a tunnel vision when it came to predicting future technology. It is easy to extrapolate from existing technology,but it was difficult to imagine a whole new type of technology. After Sam finished his meal,he went to the Oval Office.