[War] US: A ghostly visitor

[John Penta]

"A ghostly visitor"
21 July 2014
Pres. John Williams, USA
And a spectral visitor (played by Lisa)
===============
<The White House>

The White House was...quiet at this time of night. Yeah, quiet. Almost
kind of eerie, Williams decided as he walked the third floor of the
Residence.

Luke and Kay were both asleep, but the President was still up, mulling
over events in Azerbaijan. Even the Secret Service kept only a light
watch at night, aided and abetted by modern technology, of course.

The tall cloudy form silently made its way along its decreed path
bound by rules and reasons unknown.  It was aware of where it was and
of it's time here in days long past.  In truth, it did take some
interest in the changes that had happened since those times.  The
gadgets and gewgaws now possible were quite fascinating.

John Williams had always had good situational awareness. Which might
explain his sense of...something amiss behind him. Quietly, he turned,
spying the cloudy form.

Still making it's leisurely pace, the cloudy form slowly shifted into
gradual clarity.  Even then, the form was one as recognizable as those
on the current favourite tv shows.  Though lacking his characteristic
hat, the shade of Abraham Lincoln did politely nod towards the other
in the hallway same as he would have in life.

And this was the point at which John Williams was fortunate he had not
drank that night.

"Mr. President," he greeted his predecessor with rather more
confidence than he felt, suddenly. "Interesting of you to make an
appearance."

The apparition stopped in the hallway and despite it's faint
luminescence, seemed to have a bit of a gleam of amusement in it's
eyes.  "I always did like this place.", it spoke in a surprisingly
normal voice with the vaguest impression of an echo.  The accent was
the same as any from the rural towns of Illinois, "Even if some of my
times here weren't amongst my happiest."

"Never seem to be for anyone who takes this job, sir. Makes me wonder
why anyone takes it. Willingly, anyhow." *Nice understatement, John.*
His mind whispered. But he didn't mention present concerns to
his...spectral guest. He had a sense he knew, anyhow.

Lincoln nodded.  "The armchair politicians commentary doesn't help
either.", he said with a hint of whimsy, "Even Washington had to deal
with them, though history likes to forget that."

He seemed to roll something around in thought before speaking again,
"Though with those of us who have the more difficult choices to make,
as much as others think they have the right way, they cannot
understand until they've walked in our boots."

A chuckle from Williams. "Not the armchair commentators that worry me;
the First Amendment in action is nothing to fear. Mostly. It's the
paid ones." A pause. "And the coffins coming home, the faces of the
dead." A shudder came involuntarily; he could recite details for many
of the dead in this war in his sleep, practically.

This was insane, and he knew it, but what if this were real? In a
weird way, it would make sense...Sort of. His whole term had seemed to
careen from crisis to crisis, after all. It fit with all the other
hauntings.

"So how *is* the Union faring, sir?" He asked finally. "I sense you
don't come around just on a whim." An independent evaluation, even
from the dead and ineligible to vote (except, er, in Chicago), seemed
a fitting thing to seek.

"The Union must always come first.", the shade stated, "The choices I
made were only to keep the Union whole, it was others that ascribed
their own agendas.  For me, it was a horrid cost, and as much as I
weighed other options, I only had the bloody one as much as I wished
there was another.  Our Union is based on precepts that are almost
sacred, and regrettably Freedom can have a bloody cost.  Even in my
day when our War of Independence was still within talking memory, we
had those who forgot that.  I imagine it is harder for you.  In the
end, we do as we can and aspire to the better angels of our nature."

"Harder...Mmm. Indeed, when Freedom's frontiers stretch beyond the
sea. I have no words to explain why, anymore." Williams replied. "Why
it should matter much when it's someone else, not us, whose freedom is
at risk."

Lincoln chuckled.  "It was once said we were the Great Experiment.
Many said we were doomed to fail with our higgledy piggledy thrown
together notions of equality and freedom assuming we would soon fall
into chaos.  Yet, look at us now. The Union still stands in an era
undreamed of by our forefathers or I. This nation was built by those
who aspired to more lofty ideals and set them to action. As oppression
is wrong wherever it is, freedom is equally vital."

"You *did* write your own speeches, huh?" Williams could think of
nothing else to say, then smiled. There was, he knew, some degree
of...not quite hypocrisy, but...blinders to Lincoln's words.
Certainly, Lincoln would have been blindsided by even the little
things. An integrated armed forces, with black men standing alongside
white and Asian and others from throughout the Earth as equals? A
shock to one of his age. Women not only wearing the uniform, but the
stars of a general? A shock to those of even more...recent vintages,
the current President knew.

But suddenly, he did grasp the point of the argument. Those things
were somewhat irrelevant, laid beside the ideals. Of course there had
been imperfections. Were today, always would be. But at the end of the
race, the point was the progress made.

Lincoln watched Williams silently as he mulled things over.  "For me,
I followed our precepts written in the Declaration.  Granted, our
forefathers couldn't've envisioned the future times, but some concepts
transcend time itself."


With that, time let itself be known in the smallest of ways. The baby
monitor on the President's belt blinked red as a tiny voice squealed.

"That, I believe, is my cue," he said quietly. But when he looked up,
nobody was there.

"Sir?" called a Secret Service agent.

"Did you see the same thing I saw? Lincoln?"

A blink from the agent. "Yeah. But I thought it was just the heat."

"I'd hoped it was. But no."

"Nobody saw nothin?" Clued in the agent.

"They'd think us nuts."

"Go take care of Luke, boss."

"Good idea."
---
Actions:
1. Just some minor character development.