In Extremis
Two Novels by W.H. Collier
by
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When the East Asian man was gone, the European looked down at him pleasantly and extended a hand.
"Edgar Benjamin," he said. "And you must be Mr. Nguyen."
"Uh, no," he said as they shook hands. "I'm Mr. Caldwell."
"That's not possible," the man said as he headed back into the inner office. "Mr. Nguyen is my 4:15."
"Actually," he said following the other, "I'm your 3:30."
The balding man pounded a tab bar on the desk computer and stared intently at the wafer thin screen.
"And you say your name is Coleman?"
"Caldwell. William Caldwell. Bill."
The other continued his pounding.
"I don't seem to have you in here, Mr. Caldwell."
He opened the large brief case and pulled out the one page resume.
"I have a hard copy here."
The balding man looked up from the computer for a moment then returned his gaze to the screen.
"I can hardly read print anymore. It gives me a headache." He continued scrolling. "Ah, here we are. William Caldwell. I knew you had to be in here."
He looked up from the screen.
"Please, have a seat."
Bill seated himself while the balding man turned back to the screen.
"By the way you have something on your pants."
Bill belatedly covered the stain with his hand.
"Must have done it at lunch," he said.
"It says here you are thirty-five, single, and have no children," the man said.
"That's correct."
"And your racial profile is 8/8ths European."
"Yes."
"So, you last worked for Exxon Mobil Chevron a year and a half ago. What happened there?"
"I guess I got caught in the numbers game after the merger with B.P. Amoco Shell."
"I see. And you graduated from Hanover University?"
"Yes."
"I've never heard of it. Is that a net college?"
"Yes."
"Have you attended any other colleges?"
"Yes, Franklin Technological Institute and Hampton College."
"They're net schools as well?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever attended any fixed campus universities?"
"Well, Louisiana State. For a short time."
"Oh, very good," he said, making a notation on the screen. "What courses did you take there?"
"Uh, Cut Flower Arranging. It was actually an enrichment course. My girlfriend at the time sort of made me take it with her."
"Okay," he said as he removed the notation. The man sat back in his chair. "Let me be frank with you, Mr. Coleman. Penthion is a very large company, yet we have only twelve accounting jobs open worldwide. And new software is becoming available all the time further reducing our employment opportunities. What's more, we have very specific personnel needs. Of our twelve openings, six are reserved for women. Of the remaining six, three must be filled by those of at least 5/8ths African heritage, one by a 3/8ths or better East Asian and one by a 3/8ths or more Indian or West Asian, though a person having a disability of between 25% to 50% can be substituted for either of the latter two. You aren't disabled are you?"
"No."
"Too bad. So, anyway, even if we get a couple of combos, we have precious little availability for an 8/8ths European. Moreover, your academic record is, to say the least, less than sterling."
The man leaned back in the chair and clasped his hands behind his head.
"If I were you, I think I would go back to college, a real college, and try to beef up my academics. In fact, I would probably change fields altogether. With the computers these days, the field of accounting is becoming something of a dinosaur. I would try something with growth potential, such as, well, I haven't really given it much thought, but anything other than accounting."
"I'll consider that. Thank you."
The man leaned forward and thrust out his hand.
"It's been nice visiting with you, Mr. Coleman. Good day."
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About the Book
A giant comet is hurtling toward Earth, and the world learns that all life on the planet will be obliterated in just seven days. Stanley’s Comet is a gallows humor view of the precipitous decline of civil society upon the news. Events unfold from the perspective of Stanley Caldwell, a thirty-five year old assistant copy shop manager who resides with his mother in Baton Rouge , Louisiana, and Dr. Herschel Stanley, an embittered junior grade NASA astronomer whose accidental discovery of the comet catapults him from obscurity to momentary notoriety.
In The Third Love, the followers of Smith, an executed convict who taught that good and evil are physical qualities controlled by the laws of “the physik,” acquire a nuclear weapon with the intent of putting Smith’s teachings into practice. The novel is set in the near future at a time when computers and efficient economics have relieved the majority of the need or even the opportunity to work. Instead, most pass their days in meaningless isolation watching multivision, a form of three-dimensional television and internet with a picture “more real than reality.” The novel centers on the life of an ordinary guy in such a society, while following the President’s political calculations that in the end coincide with the aims of the followers of Smith.
Although the two novels of In Extremis are separate in conception, both are darkly humorous studies of individuals and societies under extreme stress and each explores the role of choice, chance and fate in determining the final outcome.
About the Author
W.H. Collier is an attorney, historian and columnist who resides with his wife, Nicole, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He is the author of numerous works of short fiction, and his columns appear in various newspapers and magazines under the pen name, Nigel Bob Collins.