Chapter 14 Summary

Hiro and the Librarian begin to review the data on L. Bob Rife. Rife starts his career as a sports commentator in Texas, then goes into business with his uncle, who was an oil man. There is no data for five years, then the newspaper reports pick up with articles from the religion sections of Texas newspapers about Rife's contributions. The common recipient in all of the donations is Reverend Wayne Bedford. Hiro notes that Rev. Bedford was the founder of Reverend Wayne's Pearly Gates, and that Rife owns a majority share of the Pearly Gates. Rife also appears regularly in the business sections of the newspapers at the same time as the donations. Rife has become essentially a monopoly in the television market. Other articles chronicle Rife's purchase of an aircraft carrier from the U.S. Navy to become his private yacht...