Chương 74: Chapter 73: Dymaxion Consolidation (05/14/1986)

DATE: Wednesday, May 14, 1986 LOCATION: San Diego City Hall | Mayor's Office (202 C Street) LOCAL TIME: 10: 15 AM PST The low, industrial hum of the building's aging air conditioning underscored the heavy silence in the office.

"John, I appreciate the gesture on the Coronado Bridge," the Mayor said, his voice laced with the reflexive suspicion of a career politician.

"But let's talk about the reality of the Broadway Complex. You're asking me to uproot the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse. You want to move the Central Jail on Front Street, the County Administration Center, and the very building we are sitting in right now. The unions will strike. The judges will revolt."

"It is only a nightmare if you move them into another broken system, Mr. Mayor," Buckminster Fuller's reedy, measured voice cut through the tension. Patterson stepped forward, unrolling a thick sheet of vellum and slapping it flat across the mahogany desk. The heavy thwack echoed off the wood paneling.

"What you currently have on Broadway is a monument to urban friction," Bucky explained.

"Your citizens must walk six blocks in the midday sun between the tax assessor's office and municipal records. You are bleeding kinetic energy and tax dollars just by making them cross the street." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"And your solution?" the Mayor asked.

"Dymaxion consolidation," Bucky said warmly.

"We have purchased a forty-acre footprint ten blocks east, directly adjacent to the Interstate 5 corridor. We are not going to build you scattered offices. We are going to build you an engine. The new Central Jail and the new Superior and Federal Courthouses are entirely separate towers, but they are connected by enclosed, secure sky-bridges. You will never put an inmate in a transport van again." Patterson seized the silence.

"We buy the land in the East Village, Mr. Mayor. We hire the contractors. We pour the concrete. The city does not float a single construction bond. And tomorrow, you get to stand at a podium and announce that under your leadership, San Diego is entering the 21st century."

"And all Archstone wants in return is the vacated land on Broadway," the Mayor said. He leaned forward, the politician's skepticism evaporating into raw, calculating ambition.

"You just want the old waterfront."

"We want the dirt," Patterson confirmed.

"What we build on it afterward is private commercial enterprise. But the plaque in the center of the new civic plaza? That will have your name carved into the stone, Mr. Mayor. For a hundred years."

"I'll need to fast-track the zoning approvals," the Mayor muttered, his eyes already tracing the blueprints on the desk.

"The funds are already in a blind escrow account," Patterson replied.

"Sign the Letter of Intent, Mr. Mayor. Let's build the future."