Next came questions from Sam. A small man with an intense look. Always seemed to be thinking two steps ahead. He had the annoying habit of answering your next question. “And what is the prize? You mentioned money, but that’s only half of it, right?”

“Yes. Each player will post a bond for five million dollars. The winner of the tourist competition wins this.” There were whistles around the table but James had chosen that number very carefully. It was big enough for publicity but small enough for each of them to handle.

“And the winner of the other part? The ‘historian’ portion?”

“Wins some serious pride. The other five of us will take out a full page ad in every big paper declaring that their Wonder is the best of them all.” He knew that this was the hook that it all depended on. None of them would turn down the money but it wasn’t the driving factor for any of them either. Five million was a drop in their financial buckets. Their accountants would scream but their everyday life would go on as normal. But to have their peers publicly acknowledging that they had been bested, that was a rich prize indeed.

“Five million is not a small number.”

Rex again, “Sammy, you can afford it. And can you really pass up a one in seven chance at 30 million? Hell, James, you can count me in right now.” A big smile for the table. “I like them odds.”

“Yes, you can count me in, too.” This was from Xian.

“You sure you can swing that kind of cash, Shan? I thought you telecom types had to play it pretty close to the vest.”

She smiled. “Rex, I’m confident that I can design something that will bring back at least twice that amount in tourism profits. Very confident.” Her smile broadened. “And I’ll enjoy spending your money.”

He laughed. “You do that. Make sure you buy something pretty with it, won’t you?”

James was surprised that it was going this well. Two people had already agreed in principle. Of the four that were left only one was leaning against it. Time to see which side of the fence the other sitters were on.

“Lydia, what do you think?”

“Well, it’s intriguing, of course. And very tempting. To match wits, not just with my peers but also the ancients. To compare to their most glorious. Very intriguing.”

“I’ll take that as leaning towards but not committed. How about you, Roger?” He didn’t expect any problem here. Roger was easily the most laid back of the crew.

“I doubt it. I don’t think that I can.”

“What, come on Rog! Where’s your manhood?” Again Rex played the bad cop to James’ good one.

Roger took in stride. “It’s all in good order, thank you. It’s just that this year I’m planning on taking a step back from business and spending more time with the boys. The oldest graduates from high school and the youngest will be gone in a few years. They’ve missed their father too much as it is without me taking on some kind of crazy bet.”

That was hard to argue with but James did his best. “Talk it over with them. Maybe they’d want to help you out.”

“I’d already thought of that but I really do doubt it. Between football and high school musicals they really won’t have time for this either. Not to mention studying and girls!” A laugh around the table and then a pause as everyone expected James to continue convincing him. He surprised them by staying quiet. Finally Roger continued, “I will talk to them. And my wife of course. Not saying ‘no’ yet. Just don’t count on me.”

“Fair enough. That’s the best we could hope for. And of course your family comes first.” Roger had a wonderful family life and many of them were jealous. His ‘family first’ reasoning shamed them. They were playing games while he had his eye on something more important.

But the seed was planted. It had found some fertile ground and some pretty rocky stuff too. Everyone looked down at their set of the rules. James knew that each of them would consult their attorneys before signing anything here. That’s why he had his own legal staff work so hard on getting this just right.

“James, what are you going to build?”

“I don’t think I should say just yet.”

“Is this all with our own money or can we appeal to the public to help out in the name of tourism?”

“Hadn’t thought of that. Well, I prefer the idea of each of us putting their own money out there. Makes the risk more personal. Does anyone have an objection to that?” No one did. “Any other questions?”

Xian again, “Yes. Who picks out these historians? Are we to trust your good judgment and honor?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. I’ve got two different ideas on how to do it. We could each add some historians to a board and go from there. Or we could appeal to the Smithsonian or someplace and ask them to help us out. I’m open to either approach.” Some discussion followed and they decided to table that until they’d each looked over the material more fully.

“Anything else?”

A short silence and then Sam raised his hand. “I’ve often heard that whomever the gods would humble, they first make proud. Are we asking for trouble here?” They were laughs all around but Sam had planted another seed, this one of doubt. This one would grow and pop to haunt them at different times over the next few years.