Exodus » Mark

With an approving signal (the American Sign Language version of ‘let them in’) the doors shuffle. Phil & John saunter up to me a few minutes later.

“Excellent” I say with a Mr. Burns (from the Simpsons) accent.

“You could have picked locations a little further. I like driving the 300. I can only do it when my kids are not around.”

“Sorry, tried my best. But the state line was a limiting factor. Can you practice in Nevada?”

“No… I don’t think I can. Except maybe for desert tortoises”

“You studs want to get some food?”

“I should start working on the case. The DA there seemed very energetic”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. I suspect the case will disappear before you get home. But you probably have better food there. Thank you for dropping Phil off. Visit any time you can worm by those officers. Might be harder if the FBI decides to join us”

“Getting past them would be inconceivable. Enjoy your evening and see you and Phil later in the week if your prediction is incorrect”

“Inconceivable!” I say with a smile. “Thanks again”.

The trucks shuffle and a few minutes later John’s 300 pulls away.

EXODUS » MARK

The rolling walkout started Friday — at 10 a.m.. The nearest first markers for these cohorts could be as far as Salt Lake City, Utah;

- 103 -

Boise Idaho; and Phoenix, Arizona. All of the markers were outside California: this was to guarantee this was a ‘national’ action, and California sheriffs, highway patrol, and district attorneys would have no authority any more. Why and how any branch of the government could impede peaceful migration of thousands of citizens was unclear, but the value of these vampires was in the billions. That is a strong incentive to break moral and legal codes.

The US interstate system — has a simple numbering system: interstates running west-to-east are numbered as multiples of 10 starting from the southern border. In the south, the I-10 runs from Los Angeles, California to Jacksonville, Florida. In the north, the I90 (the longest) runs from Seattle, Washington to Boston, Massachusetts. Interstates running south-to-north are numbered similarly, but shifted by ‘5’ and starting on the Pacific Ocean. The I-5 runs from San Diego, California to Seattle, Washington. The I95 runs from Miami, Florida up to Bangor, Maine. This grid bounded by Seattle, Bangor, Miami, and San Diego represents the most-easily accessible (in time, by land travel) locations in the US. More remote towns are within relatively short travel times from each of the interstates and their interconnections. The interstate grid enables navigation techniques similar to finding shops in back alleys within the grid of a major city like Manhattan.

All of the first-day markers were very near these interstate grid points, and subsequent-day markers were also ‘on the grid’ if the final destinations were further east. This was to enable short travel times to any destination, including crossing the country: you followed the high-speed interstate grid until the destination was within a day of an interstate exit.

The goal was for each vampire — to reach their destination in time for their next scheduled dialysis session; i.e. in three days. The furthest dialysis caves were near Bangor, Maine and Miami, Florida, both of which are more than 3000 miles away from most of California. That requires driving 1000 miles every 24 hours, or 16 hours a day at 60 mph. That is too much driving for a person to do

- 104 -