Casey tried to dispel it once more, “Are you seriously suggesting that he,” hooking his thumb at James, “takes one trip to Europe and the rest of us have to build amusement parks?”

“I don’t think that an amusement park is the way to go. Don’t imagine that it would fly well with the history part,” James had been ready for some kind of suggestion along those lines.

Rex, this time, “Well, what happens if we all decide to build the same kind of thing. Maybe we should call dibs on stuff or something.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I mean, we shouldn’t all build the Pyramids. That would look kind of stupid, wouldn’t it?”

Lydia, with a snort, “I wouldn’t dream of building the Pyramids. The world has enough of them as it is. Still, you may have a point. What if two of us both decide to build a new Colossus of Rhodes? Or replicate the Statue of Zeus?”

“Or that labyrinth that the bull thing was in.”

“Do you mean the Minotaur? Rex, the labyrinth was never one of the Seven Wonders.”

“Well, I’m calling dibs on the new one then!”

There was general agreement that this was a good way to go about it. Each of them would let the other’s know the basic theme of their idea so they could avoid building something similar to the others. James agreed to wait at least a week before ‘calling dibs’ on anything since he’d had more time to think about this than the others.

They decided to call it a night and went back to their respective cabins.

James lay awake looking at the ceiling. He loved this idea and was pleased with the reaction so far. Two confirmed to play along with himself. He ran down his mental checklist of the others.

Sam was cautious but when wasn’t that the case? The man looked at every problem from as many angles as he could think of. This had served him well, especially when it was time to sign contracts. The gears in his head were turning, though. If a good idea got caught in the teeth, he’d play for sure.

Lydia loved the idea, he could tell that. She was crazy about anything ancient. He half suspected that she thought of herself as the reincarnation of Cleopatra or something. Her Wonder would be grand and vain. It would also flop when the public had a chance to go see it. James smiled as he counted her money in his head.

Roger was the tough one. There really was no good counter-argument to why he should spend time away from his family to work on this. Even if he built something in his own backyard, it would take up quite a bit of his attention. Maybe an appeal to his family? What if one of his sons took an idea and ran with it? Perhaps a little bird could whisper something in someone’s ear.

Of course that idea would work better with Casey. To be more specific, a message in his wife’s ear would carry great weight. An appeal to her vanity? That would be exactly the way to go. James decided to wait a few days and then call the ‘wrong’ number and ask her what she thought of the idea. If he could break the news to her, everything would fall into place.

He lay back on his bed and smiled. This was the thrill he lived for. He enjoyed making money but after a certain point his fortune could look after itself just fine. Going from zero to millionaire had taken great skill and persistence. The time from millionaire to billionaire had just taken patience and a little thought. But this…this was a game that he didn’t know if he could win.

Seven people for whom money was no object. Each of them would be given time and motive to create something historic and grand. He wondered what they’d come up with. Hopefully they wouldn’t take his idea! A week’s worth of time was the least that he could give them since he had the advantage of thinking up his before any of them even knew they were playing. Seven days. He had a few backups, but he loved the primary idea.

Rex’s labyrinth. A smile and chuckle at that. Imagine a maze built by a Texan. It would probably be the size of Rhode Island. Families would come visit and go missing. Search parties and rescue helicopters would have to be part of the design. Maybe even Saint Bernards with little things of brandy.

Xian was difficult to read. She was the youngest of the seven and the most closed. Her agreement was quick. Did she have something in mind already? Probably something very creative. That’s what led her to the top of her industry so quickly. That and the absolutely crazy tech boom that blossomed just as she hit her stride.

James rolled back over and tried to clear his mind. No easy task and he doubted that sleep would come at all. Construction figures and possibilities danced in his head. If someone took his first idea, he still had a second. After that…

After a short time, shorter than he ever would have guessed, the combination of the waves did it’s trick. His eyes closed and he fell asleep. A strange grin stayed on his face.