Reboot
Chapter 64

The race was organized in Eugene, Oregon. We first looked at places like Willamette Speedway, but we needed more space. We anticipated up to fifty thousand people. It got so popular. It was all people ever talked about.

Eugene had been abandoned and left in complete disarray. To build our racecourse, mayor Rather organized teams to move so many cars out of the way that it took eight weeks of full time work with a crew of ten tow truck operators. It took another five teams on fuel duty full time making tons of methanol. The ruined cars were put on the outer sides of the road that would become the track around the Eugene arena, Autzen arena, to make it possible for people to sit all along the raceway and on the outside of the Arena. The racetrack would follow a generally oval pattern around the arena using existing roads. Those roads weren’t in the best of conditions of course, so the car designs took that into consideration.

Furthermore, Ms. Rather wanted to adapt the arena to make it possible for the people to go either inside the arena or outside of it. In order to do that, she had simply piled up various items all the way up to the top on the outside of the arena using cranes and heavy machinery to lift old squished cars and trucks, and a lot of old containers, anything that could hold safely together. In the end, she’d created a new type of arena; one with seats inside AND outside so people could have two viewpoints. They’d punched holes strategically throughout the walls for easy access in and out.

During this time, Colby was ubiquitous. Seen by everyone. People went up to him and ask about the government all the time. He didn’t really have to travel because everyone was coming to Eugene. He just made sure he could be seen.

Eugene became a race town. And the race was the new gold. Eugene attracted many people who came for the excitement. People ended up moving back there. It becomes a meeting place, an attraction. Bars popped up, hotels, restaurants, gambling, fights, etc. a typical western town straight out of the 1830’s.. We needed an actual Marshal and Ms. Rather asked Mr. Colby for help. Colby stepped up and actually did a good job. He ended up being asked to do what he’d been sent to do in the first place. He became a public figure overnight. Rather started to depend on him for logistical and clerical help. He was very good at it and seemed to enjoy doing the work.

The course was 1,6 miles (2.6 kilometers) long and made a circular run around the arena using Martin Luther King Blvd. and Leo Harris Parkway. It started and ended inside the arena to make sure we had enough seats. It was thought that the race would be extremely popular. The drivers would go around that track one hundred times. There weren’t many rules. Start the race, end the race if possible. “Interaction” between the cars was permitted. It was thought that a little friction between the racers would add a little spice. We did have strict safety rules though. The driver had to be very well strapped in and protected in a very solid cage. All cars had to have this.

Again, people accepted no payments for anything. Deals were made though.

“You can stay in this hotel that I cleaned up and prepared if you get me this or that.”

“You can have this food if you give me this.”

Gambling was done using these IOU’s.

“I’ll bet this U for three dinners from granny Morris on Morgan coming in first.”

“I’ll take that bet. If Morgan loses, I’ll give you this one from Mr. Restor for two bags of seeds.”

“Done”-

Bookies organized gambling by taking a “cut” similar to other IOU’s. It was a complex system. Difficult to see how we could avoid an eventual monetary system. There was simply no going around our baser instincts. However, this present bartering system was a very good way to get to know people. Each exchange had a personal twist to it. People’s credit went up and down. Granny Morris had her name on all kinds of “money”. It was in her best interest to back her tickets because if ever there was any kind of lag in her payments, people would hear of it and her credit rating went down. If her credit rating went down, her U’s decreased in value. She’d have to give more “Food tickets” in exchange for a chicken for example. If her food was better than elsewhere, her U’s picked up in value. So the credit system was immediately up or downgraded and people were responsible for it. However, there was no credit per se. If you couldn’t pay, you got your sandwich for free. No one starved. The credit was important though.

It’s easy to see how fluid a transition from U’s to paper money must have been. The problem is that when you trusted someone else with the management of money, like bankers or money managers, you gave access to a select few to a pot of gold that is difficult to resist. Those people then created a financial system that only they could understand and under the guise of “financial management”, these guild members created layers of complexities that served only as a deterrent to the uninitiated. Regular people lived their lives while the greedy accumulate wealth. This led to the war. Greed killed 8 billion people in a conflagration unequaled in history.

We knew all this now. So we weren’t about to let it happen again. But it would involve a lot of work fighting against the tide.