Reach for the Sky--Mark Siet- Chapters
Transcript of Reach for the Sky--Mark Siet- Chapters
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Reach for the Sky
Author: Mark Siet
Contact: 949-842-3437 or [email protected]
Chapter One: An Idea Is Born
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It was just past dinner, early in the evening when August days seem to go on
forever. Michael Miller was absently watching the news with the sound turned low. His
journal was there beside him on the sofa. The news was all about oil prices rising, and
trouble in the Middle East. It was the same old story. Shooter, a black tiffany cat stared
up at him with her eyes glowing as she made her way along the coffee table to rub against
his hand. He rubbed the top of her head and under her chin as she purred and then lay
down on the pillow placed near the edge of the table just for her.
“Someone needs to design a better way to deliver all the energy we’re using. This
oil thing has gone on too long. There has to be a way to figure out a cheaper energy
solution.” Michael said looking at Shooter as he picked up his journal.
Shooter looked up and then turned her head to lie on her side with her paws
cradling her nose and whiskers. Michael smiled and thought of the Carly Simon song
“You’re So Vain.” Shooter thought everything was about her. She definitely had a feline
centric view of her world. Michael opened the journal and began to draw designs.
We need a fresh approach, he thought. Somehow by combining technologies
there has to be an answer to this. It is going to come down to how the heat is transferred.
All energy transformations have to deal with this. It’s a shame I don’t know too much
about automobile repair but still what I do know is better than most. Maybe if there were
a controlled reaction that utilized the incredible forces of the atom. He continued
drawing using colored pens to illustrate the diagram. After about forty-five minutes he
was done. The drawing showed a combination of fiber optics, ceramic transistors, a
liquid collection tank, and something he called a miniature accelerator. The miniature
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accelerator used some special wiring encased in a liquid he would have to experiment
with to get the right combination for a maximum transfer rate. He sat back and admired
his design for a few moments.
“Hey Shooter, what do you think? Does this have any chance of working?”
Shooter opened one eyelid slightly, and stretched before rolling towards him and placing
one of her forepaws against his leg. Then she blinked once with both eyes and returned
to a curled up position.
“I love you too, kitty.” He said as he took one last look at his doodling and closed
the journal. He lay back for a while thinking about his design and then sat straight up.
He opened the notebook. The design reminded him of something. Perhaps he had been
drawing from memory but what was that memory. What had triggered this drawing? He
went over in his mind the past few days’ events. He had put in a couple of calls to Tony
Cicco and Ace Lomax his band mates, did some shopping and kept in touch with his
agent. Of course he had spent a fair amount of time playing the guitar and recording
some new tracks. Then there was two nights ago when he was cleaning the garage out
he discovered the box full of his grandfather’s treasures.
His grandfather died less than a year ago. Mike still remembers him bringing
over the box and saying to him, “These are my treasures. I don’t want anyone to have
these but you. You never know they might come in handy for you some day. Give them
a good place to rest here,” Grandfather had told him. It was an awkward moment. They
both knew he had a weak heart. Mike tried to get him to stop taking all his medicines and
to try some alternative approaches to the treatments he was receiving. Perhaps he would
have listened to him if his Grandmother were alive. She was always ready to try
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something new. Ever since her death Grandfather had lost the will to live it seemed. All
he said to Mike’s entreaties to try and take care of himself was, “If it’s my time to go I
don’t want to keep her waiting,” meaning his wife, the love of his life. Mike couldn’t
argue with him. A few weeks after giving him the box of treasures Grandfather passed.
The box had remained unopened for a while on the top shelf in his bedroom. Then he
had transferred it to the garage. He was saving it the same way he was saving the
memories of his Grandfather. When he went into the garage a couple of days ago for a
stereo patch cord he had to move several things out of the way to reach the box
containing the cord. It turned into a general reorganization taking more than an hour to
complete. It was during this that he found Grandfather’s box of treasures set way in the
back. He took the box out and sat down and began to go through the box for the first
time.
Inside were stacks of pictures of his grandmother and grandfather and also of the
two of them together. After he set these aside he found two preserved newspapers from
nineteen forty-five declaring VJ and VE day. Grandfather did not serve as a part of the
military during this time. His work for General Electric gave him a security clearance
and was deemed being of a vital nature to the war effort. He had never talked much
about what happened then. Like most men in his generation he had a hard time
expressing his feelings. Sometimes he would open up and then all of a sudden shut
himself off as if he were remembering something that forbade him from continuing. It
was frustrating. He must have been more candid with Grandmother he thought. The two
of them were always so happy together.
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Underneath the newspapers he remembered that he saw some more papers and a
black valise. Some of these papers had some diagrams on them that he had studied for a
few moments. They were diagrams of circuits and of engines he recalled. He assumed
they were part of his Grandfather’s work. Yes he thought this must be the basis of what
he found himself drawing tonight. He never did open the black valise that night because
his agent had returned his call on his cell phone and he had quickly put everything away
to speak with him. Tonight he had to find out what was in the valise and the rest of the
box. It was still relatively early. Quickly he put some shoes on and went out to his
garage. He grabbed the box and carted it back inside sitting besides it in the middle of
the living room floor.
Shooter came over to give it her characteristic inspection. She sniffed a couple of
times and tilted her head up and made a face. Then after circling the box she sat down to
Mike’s left and began cleaning herself. He opened it and sorted through the various
drawings and diagrams that lay on top. Sure enough here were the two drawings that he
had somehow combined into the sketch he had made earlier. Then he brought out the
black valise. It must have been very high quality leather for even though it was well
worn with age it continued to be soft and there were no discernable cracks anywhere.
Grandfather must have kept it safe all these years. He was about to open it when he saw
attached to one side an envelope with his name on it. Inside there was a letter addressed
to him from his Grandfather.
“My dearest grandson Michael I honestly don’t know where to begin. There is so
much to tell. I wish I could have spoken to you in person but there were other concerns
weighing on me about which you will soon find out. You see for the past sixty years I
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have been a wanted man. I know it didn’t appear that way. I never even had so much as
a parking ticket. All the same I have been under suspicion by our government all this
time. Long ago I took something that wasn’t mine and was able to get away with it. The
valise that is now in your possession is the stolen article. I will tell you the story of this
valise and the man who passed it into my hands with a dying wish. It will amaze you,
perhaps anger you but most importantly I hope it will inspire you.
During the war as you know I worked on various projects for the government
while under the employ of Central Dynamo. Our headquarters were in New York City.
During lunch hours I would stroll around the park and sit for a while to watch life go by.
It happened one day while I was sitting there in nineteen forty-two that an older
gentleman began appearing in the park. He never sat down but he always had some food
with which to feed the pigeons. He dressed elegantly although his clothes were
obviously well worn. At first I thought he was mumbling to himself the way the old and
forgotten sometimes do. I wondered about him after seeing him every day. He seemed
devoted to the pigeons. Sometimes I would hear him laughing as if he were sharing some
joke with the pigeons or with himself. It was in early spring that I first noticed him
during that time of year when the cold weather would linger like an unwelcome guest. I
would sit there and not even get a sidelong glance from him. My lunch visits were
necessarily cut short by the demands of work. Each day I wondered increasingly about
him until one day at the end of April in nineteen forty-two he came to sit by me.
“Hello my friend. I am Nikola Tesla,” He said. At first the name did not register
on me. I was struck by the uncanny light in his eyes that radiated a kindness I would
only see in your Grandmother’s eyes during these days of war. I reached out my hand to
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shake his and introduced myself. He was strangely familiar to me and as we sat there he
began talking about New York City. He said that despite the many avenues her parks
were the most beautiful of all. That first day we mostly sat and listened. He asked me
what I did for a living and I told him I worked for Central Dynamo. He smiled broadly
but didn’t say anything more. It was only after I walked away from our first meeting that
I recognized the name he had given. I felt stupid at the time. I don’t know whether you
have heard of this name but let me enlighten you. Nikola Tesla was the true father of
electricity. Everything that runs on alternating current today has Tesla to be thankful for.
He was an incredible genius the like of which the world may never know again. I know
you have some interest in electricity with your musical equipment. That is why I am
telling you this story and asking for your help in understanding a little bit better the life I
have been leading.
On subsequent meetings in the park we became friends. I would extend my lunch
hours just to spend more time with Nikola Tesla. Once he saw that I accepted him for all
of his eccentricities he gradually began opening up to me discussing electrical theory and
speaking about inventions he was planning to unveil before the world. These inventions
were of the most fantastic nature. I listened carefully to him and did not dismiss his
dreaming up of these unbelievable concepts. You have to understand. This was Nikola
Tesla, the man who lived in a world where direct current ruled and who dared to
challenge the status quo with his own creation, a workable theory for producing and
utilizing electricity using alternating current. I was more than familiar with his work.
Any electrical student of the times was thoroughly versed in Tesla. I considered myself
extremely fortunate to be having these talks with him no matter how far out they were at
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times. In particular he would speak about his ‘harmonium theory.’ This is a concept that
he had proven no less than eleven years ago. What Tesla did was to power an automobile
built with a ninety-horse power electric engine without any external power source. No
gasoline was needed because this was an electric engine but more astoundingly there
wasn’t any battery present in the car. The story so it goes at the time states that all Tesla
did was to push in some rods in the automobile and declare ‘We now have power,’ and
then the car was off and running for a week attaining speeds of over ninety miles an hour.
You can corroborate these reports if you like. They were in all the newspaper in the area
at the time. No one knows how he did it. He spoke to me about this experiment and how
by inducing a magnetic resonance in the upper atmosphere he could literally draw power
down into an engine equipped with a specialized receiver. I listened in wonder but I must
admit I was very skeptical. After all this was a man who talked to pigeons and whose
flights of fancy were legendary. On the other hand so many of his theories were now in
use in today’s power filled world that I could not dismiss him entirely. I was wavering
like this in my belief in his theories when one day he took my belief by storm. After that
I became an ardent advocate of his. It happened like this.
In the park where we used to meet was a small pond where ducks would come in
the spring to sun themselves. He brought over to our bench two devices. One was a tiny
boat which when the cover was removed showed an engine which drove a small
propeller. An equally tiny rudder was attached to the boat that pivoted a full range of
motion. On the mast of this boat was an antenna of sorts. The second device when
opened up revealed a black box with a few transistors inside wired to a transmitting core.
On the outside of the box were two levers. One of them moved up and down and another
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moved left, right and up and down. An antenna was also placed on the outside of this
box. On the side was a switch. He insisted that I examine both objects carefully. There
could be no doubt that these were meant to work wirelessly. I knew too that Tesla had
pioneered the work on wireless equipment a long time ago. There was only one problem
with these devices I told him. They had no power source. He just smiled like a child
who was keeping a great secret. We walked over to the pond. I supported him as we
made the short stroll up a slight incline to where the pond lay. He wasn’t in good health
you could see but that light in his eyes gave a new meaning to incandescent. Once we
reached the pond he handed me the boat and instructed me to set it there on the water. As
I did so he clicked the switch on the side of the black box and then proceeded using the
controls on the top of the box. The boat performed amazingly. It ran the length of the
pond and executing several turns before coming to rest again where I had set it upon the
water. I withdrew the boat and handed it back to him.
“You see,” He said. “We have all the power we need.” I started to ask him
questions but he had already started to move away stopping to speak to some pigeons
handing them some crumbs out of his coat pocket. I stood there dumbfounded. Was
there some trick? Perhaps he was a master magician and just having some fun with me.
Where was the power? I kept asking myself this on my way back into work. I never saw
him again in that park and thought I had completely lost touch with him. It wasn’t until
just after New Year’s Day Nineteen Forty-Three that I received a call from him. It was
after dinner. He wanted me to come up to his room thirty-three thirty-seven on thirty-
third floor of the Hotel New Yorker to meet with him. It sounded urgent. I immediately
rushed off to see him. When I knocked his door swung partly open.
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“Nikola? It’s me, Arnold Miller,” I called in to him.
“Yes, yes of course come in and please shut the door, He answered. It was an
older hotel room he was in. It was a two-room suite. Besides a bed, a desk and chair,
two dressers, a nightstand, an easy chair and a bathroom the remaining wall space were
lined with tall metal cabinets. One of the cabinet doors was open revealing three
packages of Nabisco crackers. There was also a substantial safe in one corner of the
room that was open as well when he came in. The adjoining room contained similar file
cabinets as if this were one large office space rather than a residence. Pictures lined the
dressers and in another corner was another stack of boxes. Tesla was seated at the desk
going through some papers in a black valise. He smiled weakly at me as I approached.
“Arnold I am so grateful that you’ve come. You can never know how much,” He
said as he directed me to sit in the easy chair next to the desk.
“You do not look well. You look exhausted. You should be resting and not doing
work. What do your doctors say?” I asked him.
“Doctors? I’ve stopped taking their medicine. I should never have started. They
know nothing about me. Their poisons and arrogance will kill us all one day. I don’t
have much time Arnold. You must do something very important for me,” He said
agitatedly.
“Of course whatever I can. I am at your disposal,” I answered him leaning over
and taking his hand.
“I don’t have much time. No please it’s okay,” He said as I started to protest as
he lifted to heavy black valise. “Inside this valise is my notebook with notes for all of my
ongoing experiments. There are diagrams and instructions in here that will help the right
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person to continue this work. It is vitally important that you find the right person. I don’t
mean the government either. I learned that entrusting them with anything becomes a
political battle and then a power struggle. In the end it is my experiments that are
scrapped. Their ignorance knows no bounds. I’m sure you experienced as much in your
work too,” He paused as I nodded in agreement. “I know you are not the person who
would continue my work but you are I sense the perfect person to use discretion in
passing this work on. However long it takes before you die promise me that you will
pass along my work to the right person,” He squeezed my hands and placed the valise in
them. I didn’t know what to say but his request compelled me to say yes. When he
thanked me there were tears in his eyes. Then he asked me to help him back into bed.
“Shall I close this window for you,” I asked.
“No my spirit shall soon depart. Let the mountain air of my childhood help
transport me. Now you must go. Thank you for your kindness Arnold. You’ll know too
when the time is right,” He smiled and then closed his eyes and was soon asleep. I left
his room then and as I did I noticed another black valise sitting in the corner identical to
the one I was carrying. I was in a hurry to be away from there and did not stop to
investigate. In fact I hid the valise once I arrived home and placed it inside of a safety
deposit box the next day. On that same day the news reported the passing of Nikola
Tesla. I later found out through my state department contacts that the contents of his
room had been impounded including the identical black valise of which I was in
possession of. His instructions to me became all the more important because in effect
they amounted to a dying man’s wishes.
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I was always haunted that the government would somehow find out and arrest me.
Call me paranoid but I used to think I was being watched all the time. I could never
prove it but still the feeling was there. That was why I never took out the black valise
until just recently. The papers you see on the outside were some of the things that I was
looking into. There is so much more inside of the valise. I kept remembering Tesla’s
final words to me that I would know who to pass this on to. I believe with all my heart
Michael that it is you. In the valise are documents concerning experiments with upper
atmospheric energy, which can be utilized by tuning into the appropriate waveforms. It is
part of Tesla’s harmonium. I thought with your musical interest that you would find
some way to share this with the world. I caution you greatly concerning others you may
let into your confidence about these matters. Be careful. Whether or not I was being
watched all these years I know that they are capable of seeing much more into our
business then we have any idea of. Take your time and know that it is with the deepest
love that I give this to you. Somehow I trust that across the span of time there are
connections both here and now and onward into timelessness. This is one such
connection that I pass to you. With all my love and every blessing Michael please know
that for us you have always been the shining light of our lives. Now as Grandmother has
passed and soon I am to join her I offer you a context of mystery and yes ultimately of
fulfillment. With all my love everlastingly, Grandfather.
Mike was stunned. The letter and Grandfather’s secret were reverberating in his
brain. The black valise and the promise it held were simply astounding. Tesla? He
thought a moment and remembered his name. The Tesla coil that was what he
remembered. It was an air core transformer taking electricity and transforming it from
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low voltage into extremely high voltages. He looked on the Internet and for over two
hours found a wealth of information about Nikola Tesla. He was for real. Many thought
he was crazy too. His Grandfather seemed to think there was something to Tesla’s talk of
energy from the atmosphere. What if this were true? It would create a revolution in the
energy world that’s for sure and he had perhaps the answers to it all. Shooter was zoned
out on the couch. It had all been a bit too much for her. Mike decided to turn in too.
Chapter Two: Starting Out
That night he slept soundly until first light. This was unusual for him. Most
nights he spent tossing never getting used to a good nights sleep. It was because his
working life was spent playing music until the early hours of the morning. Right now he
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was between gigs. It was okay. He needed the rest especially after last nights amazing
revelations. As soon as he caught up on his sleep rhythms were when the work started
coming in again. It was funny how it seemed to work that way. He breakfasted on eggs
and sausage patties, rounded up his wallet and made ready to leave for a morning
appointment with his manager. Shooter had gone back to her sleeping spot from last
night after joining him for a few nibbles when he filled her dish for the day. The journal
too, was in its same place where he left it last night. In front of the coffee table was the
box containing the black valise. Carefully he carried it into his bedroom and stored it on
the floor next to his shoes. He caressed Shooter before leaving and then as an after
thought, picked up the notebook.
It was a cool morning as he stepped into his van and drove a few blocks up to
intersect Venice Boulevard. The morning mist was lingering for now. He would soon
leave it behind the closer he went downtown. The traffic was completely jammed. It
gave him a chance to open his journal to the diagrams he had made last night. Incredible,
he thought. What if this is a working design? If it was a working design and he
combined it with the information from Tesla it would be remarkable. He was probably
just dreaming here. Still, it would be a kick to pursue this idea and see if it gets
anywhere. He remembered his grandfather’s caution to be careful about sharing this
information. There was a computer whiz that lived on Sunset above a bridal shop who
might be able to tell him about the transistors and some of the other parts of his diagram.
She could be trusted he thought and there was the other thing. She was terribly cute. For
now they were good friends but it wouldn’t hurt to have an excuse to see her. His cell
phone rang then interrupting his reverie.
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“Mike? It’s Jimmy at Triple A Talent. Sorry to do this but it is in your interest.”
Jimmy, his manager spoke quickly. He always did this. He also was always running to
somewhere making a deal. Lately Mike suspected he wasn’t doing much running for
him, which was why he was going over to see him today. He had the new masters from
the latest mix.
“Jimmy, I told you I was bringing the masters over. What’s up?
“I’m going over to see Ben Jodare at Le Club d’Etage. He mentioned something
about a steady gig for a trio. I thought of you right away. I think he is already there with
hiring you. We just have to work out some details. This morning was his only time to
meet. He is traveling the rest of the week. I’ll let you know. We’ll work out a time to
listen to the new material. Talk to you later okay.”
“All right Jimmy. Don’t sell me short.”
“Do I ever?” There was a pause.
“Don’t worry Mike I’ll take care of you. I have to run.”
“Right call me and let me know when we start.”
“Later.” Jimmy hung up. Mike didn’t expect much of Jimmy’s efforts. He was
such a skitz. One minute he was working like mad for you and the next ducking you. It
was his luck he thought to have a manager who had attention deficit disorder. Still they
had been together for close to ten years, which was like a lifetime in the music business.
He looked at the journal, which was turned to the page where the diagrams from the night
before were calling him. Traffic began moving again. He turned off and took a shortcut
through to Sunset and found himself in front of Julie Sharps apartment.
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The bridal shop was closed. She lived above it in her computer world of
monitors and cables. Around the side of the building were stairs leading up to her place.
He carried the journal in one hand, putting his keys in his pocket with the other as he
climbed the steps. When he was about to knock on her door the door opened suddenly.
There was Julie smiling with arms open wide. She was still a mystery to him. Short hair
she had blue eyes that knocked you over with their sincerity. Her face was cute like a
pixie and full of mischief. She was wearing a light blue sweater, which was a size too big
for her and blue jeans that were a size too small. She was usually sensitive about her
figure which was generally tight everywhere that he could see. The mystery was why
they had never been together in a relationship. The times he had been with her were
mainly at the clubs he worked in. They talked sometimes after the gigs were over and he
drove her home once but the moment never seemed right. They were both too busy it
seemed with their careers. They did spend a day together when he helped her move into
this place a few months ago with Tony who played Bass in the band. The three of them
had gotten drunk the night she moved in. Tony had left before he did so he had the
opportunity to stick around but again the timing was off. It was really good to see her.
Julie gave him a hug like she hadn’t seen him forever, or he had just returned
from the dead. It was so passionate an embrace, that he was disoriented for a moment
there at the top of the stairs. As quickly as she hugged him she stood back and said.
“Hey. What are you doing here? You should still be sleeping. Did you work last
night?”
“No. We’ve been dry for about two weeks. I need to pick your brains about
something.” He said as she took his hand leading him into her apartment.
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Once inside it was like being in another universe. It was one big room. There
weren’t any walls setup except for a bathroom in the corner farthest along the wall to the
left. The apartment covered the same area as the showroom floor in the bridal shop
below. Julie led him into her makeshift living area, which consisted of a long sofa and
two rocking chairs and a table made out of cinder blocks and a surfboard. He sat down
on the sofa while she removed some technical manuals from one of the rocking chairs
before sitting down facing him.
“Did you write a new song?” She asked him motioning with her hand at the
journal he was holding.
“No it isn’t a song. I am not sure what it is which is why I came over to see you.
I was trying to build something and wanted to talk tech with you.”
“Sure. What do you have there?” She leaned forward and took off her sweater
and placed it on the surfboard coffee table. It was a little warm inside.
“I started thinking about a way to build a cheap energy solution and began
drawing something which I thought would work,” She looked up at him and raised her
eyebrows. “I know its nuts. There was this show last night about oil prices skyrocketing
again and I thought I would doodle a little. The thing is I may have something here. At
least it looks good. If it is nonsense I can always frame the picture.”
He opened up the journal and began to pass it to her, but she moved over beside him on
the sofa. He lay open the journal with the diagram facing both of them.
“It would make a nice kind of modernistic painting. You could put a silver and
glass frame around it. I have just the place for it here. The colors blend together well.
What’s this?” She asked pointing at an area in the center of the diagram.
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“It’s a collection tank. I was thinking maybe water with aluminum dust or some
other kind of liquid solution. It would have to conduct electricity very well in a
controlled manner. Over here is where I’ve put fiber optics. I envision these concentric
spirals to operate like a miniature accelerator moving the electrons from this reaction
taking place over here.” He pointed to a series of connecting boxes labeled transformers
and resistors. In between arrows denoted “chemical reactions taking place.”
“I thought that we could isolate the electrons at the particle level causing them to
accelerate rapidly producing heat and then by stepping down the energy cause a forward
motion. When the transformations were through they would collect here in the water
where the metallic solution would reverse the flow. This would continue the process.
The fuel would be water and whatever metal works best in this solution. What is given
off at the release point is the effect of the momentum of the acceleration of the electrical
ions. This heat and light here can be used to drive motors. I am not clear on how all of
this can be put together if it can be put together at all. I wanted to ask you about the
fiber optic wiring here. This is a key element I think. Also these transformers and
resistors would have to be very special in order to handle the heat coming off of this
thing.” He sat back. Julie was silent. She leaned forward and turned the journal one way
and then another.
“This is incredible. You know what. I know where to get those special
transistors. The Japanese have been experimenting with something just like this. The
reactions would have to be software controlled with an algorithm for the transfer rate. I
think what we have here is an ion generator. We would have to have someone build a
circuit board and find somewhere to test it. I don’t know about the collection tank. It
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may have to be modified. Still this just might work. We need to put together a working
model. “Her face was animated now. She was sitting close to him now. He could smell
the hint of her perfume. Her enthusiasm was infectious. “We need to be careful here.
Something this big can be very dangerous. Have you told anyone else about this?”
“No. I only drew this up last night. I didn’t think it was feasible but just for the
heck of it, wanted to ask you. You know a lot more about these things than I do.” He
said seeing her smile in return. “You really think this isn’t more than ambitious
doodling?”
“Listen. I think it’s worth checking out. A friend of mine over at Cal State has
great lab setup. He has helped me modify most of my PC’s here. He knows tons about
electricity. Maybe we could go there after hours and talk to him. He is there Tuesdays
and Thursday’s. We could go there this Tuesday if you want. I could set it up.” She
leaned forward taking the journal in her hands. “This could work. Take the journal and
meet me here Tuesday afternoon around four. I have to get to an installation over in
Studio City. I’m already late. I wish you were gigging tonight.” She stood and he took
her hands in his.
“Thanks for taking look. Don’t tell anyone about this. You’re right. This could
be a dangerous secret we have here. Don’t even tell your friend. Can you trust him?”
He said as he began walking over to the door pausing a moment to admire the rack of
PC’s she had lined up on one half of her floor space.
“Yes I think so. He is very quiet and usually minds his own business. Besides if
anyone will know whether this plan of yours is workable it will be Ray. He is a great
guy you’ll see. I only hang out with great guy’s right?” She laughed as they went out on
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the landing and down the stairs. Her car was parked on a side street. He walked over
with her. He wanted to tell her about his discovery last night but he held off.
“Jimmy thinks he may have a steady gig for us over at that new club in North
Hollywood, Le Club d’Etage. You know Jimmy always promising. I hope he is right on
about this.” Mike said as he helped Julie with her laptop and a few assorted packages
they maneuvered into the car.
“You’ll get the gig. I have this feeling.” Julie said and hugged him again. Before
she broke the embrace he kissed her on the cheek. She blushed and then looked at him
and got into her car. “Great guys Mike, that all I want to be with.” He laughed, waved
her away and returned to his car.
She thought it could work. Already there was an appointment setup to talk to an
expert about the feasibility of this idea. It wasn’t even twenty-four hours since he had
written in the journal. Things were moving fast. What if this were for real. How would
the information he learned from the Tesla black valise help? He needed to take a look at
what else was in that valise in addition to finding out all he could about Nikola Tesla.
The prospect of finding another way to produce energy was exciting. It would
revolutionize everything. Right now we’re locked into an oil-based culture. It is woven
into everything, even in our food. We’re held hostage by its availability, willing to pay
any price in order to control it or harvest it. What am I getting myself in for here he
thought? I’m a musician. I wanted a simple life. Just give me my guitar, a bass player
and drummer and a few people to listen and that was all I needed. This is crazy. Let me
call Tony and see if he wants to go over the new material. I need to play and clear my
head. Then I can do some research.
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Chapter Three: General Line
General Martin Line. He had the kind of looks that would make you pick him out
of a crowd. Just under six feet tall, his always-fit figure was imposing. His once blonde
head of hair had turned completely white. There was always about him a curious look of
surprise almost as if he had just been awakened. When he smiled, which he did a lot, it
revealed every line and crevice of each campaign he had ever been in.
He had skipped West Point. In Vietnam he had made Lieutenant a week after he
arrived. Most units were taking heavy casualties then. He had a sense for staying alive
and for respecting the chain of command. It did him well. By the time soldiers were
flooding out of the country in 1973, he was a full captain on his way to becoming Colonel
with his own brigade to command. Stateside he was used to teach field tactics at the
operations schools. He soon became attached as adjutant to a four star on the chief of
staff commission for strategic development where he served with distinction. His
promotion to General allowed the army to assign him to head the new ESDT department
or the longer version, the department of Energy Source Development and Testing.
General Line had never married although he did have a thing for blond bombshells. He
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was never able to have a long-term relationship with any of the ones he had hooked up
with. The standing joke was that his women were like his cigars. When he was through
with one he would simply light up another. The truth was he was kind in his way. He
was just so focused that any women who fell for him would have to share him with the
army. All of them up until now had chosen to leave him rather than put up with his
frequent absences because of duty. It didn’t seem to bother the General. There was
always someone else to take her place. Some whispered that he must have been getting
them from a modeling agency that specialized in this type of gal. Of course they
wouldn’t say this to his face. If they did, chances were they would be floating fast
towards the ground. The General’s temper was classic.
There had recently been a major reorganization at the ESDT. The department was
cut in half. The laboratory and listening sites were relocated from Four Corners in
Virginia to a few miles northwest of Mangas New Mexico. They had been settled in their
new location for about three months now. The remaining staff had stopped grumbling
about their unexpected move. They were for the most part single except the Roland’s,
Naomi and Bruce who were a part of the testing team. General Line was meeting with
them in them in his office. Their recent testing was close to verifying the validity of a
new process of cold fusion. Two scientists, Niles, and Highland, at the University of
Michigan, had made the discovery. They had written a paper about it hoping to get
funding from a major corporation. However the paper was never published. Once the
listening post at ESDT had gotten wind of it, the scientists were offered a lucrative
position working in the government labs in Maryland. They both thought they would be
working on cold fusion but they were being put off by work “essential to the security of
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the United States.” They were put under the secrecy act and forbidden to talk about cold
fusion. All this had happened six months ago. Naomi and Bruce Roland began working
on the Niles-Highland thesis and were ready to produce a working model.
“General Line. I think this is the real thing. All of the tests are positive. We
would like permission to produce a working model.” Bruce Roland began speaking
while leaning slight forward in his chair.
“I agree with Bruce. The feedback rate makes this not only viable but also able to
be produced relatively cheaply. I am sure we could get this to work.” Naomi concurred
with her husbands’ findings.
“That is good news. Thank you. Both of you have done your usual great work.
You really think this can be used instead our current reliance on oil? We wouldn’t want
to raise any false hopes would we?” The General sat back in his chair.
“There is a way here to control the heat from the Palladium ions. We still are
unsure what is causing this excess heat but what is important is that by placing a screen
just so we can deflect and cause a measured reaction. It would only take possibly six
months if we could get the equipment to produce a working model for an engine the size
of an automobile.” Naomi brushed back her hair. At this time of day she looked a little
disheveled. Her usual neat morning look had been worn away by her ceaseless energy.
Her light brown hair had come free of the rubber band she used to knot it in the back.
She kept brushing at her bangs while she was speaking as if shooing away an annoying
fly. She was taller than her husband with a kind of fierce good looks that rarely exhibited
warmth. Even her marriage to her husband was based on admiration for his skills and not
out of any ties to her heart. He never understood this. He loved her for her beauty and
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for their partnership, which allowed them both to pursue their passion for science. If it
were up to him they would be at the university living a life free of the insistent
government restraints. She had wanted to take this assignment for the prestige and the
outstanding pay, which they both received. The problem was that once they were in this
kind of a project there really was no way out. The scrutiny would continue for them even
long after they left the program. Still Bruce thought that their lives would be better and
that they could be closer to each other. This he wanted more and more lately. Naomi
was growing distant immersing herself in the work. Their usual lovemaking routine had
become sporadic. She did not seem to notice.
The general paused for a few moments reading their preliminary reports. It was a
significant finding. It was similar to ones he had gone over from two other independent
teams at the other locations in Salt Lake City and Des Moines. Like these others he
would make his report to the oversight committee and expect the same answer. “Let’s sit
on this one until we decide what we are going to do.” It was always the same. He never
once questioned their findings or their instructions. He was a good soldier. However he
was also intelligent enough to know that there was something more to their decisions to
keep these findings under wraps. He would let the Roland’s know how appreciative he
was for their work. They wouldn’t like putting this project to bed. Naomi especially
seemed to be on fire because of this. If they put up too much of a stink he would have
them reassigned. Their contracts ran out in six months. After that it wouldn’t be his
problem any more.
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“This is incredible what you’ve found out. I’ll have to run it by the big boys of
course. We will need all of your records in lockdown before the end of the day. You
know the procedure. I’ll send my report up the line and let you know what they say.”
“That could take forever General. We need to act on this now.” Naomi stood up
her hands on her hips.
“Naomi. We have to follow protocol here. This isn’t our call.” Her husband put
his hand on her forearm to try and calm her down but she brushed it away.
“It isn’t right. This could be the answer to having cheap energy. How can we just
sit on this? I heard rumors about the other teams’ findings and how nothing is being
done. What are they waiting for?” She put her hands on the Generals’ desk. The
General stood and walked around the side of the desk.
“This isn’t my call you know. You are government employees as am I. We do
what we are told. There is nothing else to discuss. I’ll have Sergeant Reynolds escort
you back to your labs. I’m sending in Billings and Tollen to take possession of your hard
drives. It is standard procedure. Take a couple of weeks off. Cool down. Get some
perspective. There won’t be anything for you to do here for couple weeks anyway. By
then I’ll have your next assignment.” He signaled for Sergeant Reynolds who came in as
the Roland’s left his office, Naomi rushing out in a huff with Bruce trying to talk to her.
He also rang Billings and Tollen to meet them at the lab and begin the lockdown of all
their data.
“Don’t talk to me about this. It is wrong and you know it.” She whispered to
Bruce. “Wait until we’re home and we step outside to take a walk in the woods. How
can I speak my mind here when the whole world is listening?” Bruce took her hand and
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stopped trying to calm her down. They would go over this later in the evening when they
were sure no one was monitoring their conversation.
Billings and Tollen arrived and escorted them back to the laboratory. They then
proceeded to take each of the portable hard drives into custody, installing new portable
drives in their place. They also removed the keystroke counters from each of the
computers. Bruce and Naomi having nothing further to do gathered their things and left
the office for their quarters near the edge of the compound.
General Line was back in his office going through the reports again. He dialed
Senator Gabe Carlson on a secure line and gave him the news.
“Senator I’m sorry to disturb you.”
“Martin? It’s good to hear from you. You’ll be up here for the committee
meeting next week right?”
“Yes I can’t wait to get away. Nowhere is not where I want to be.”
“This is important work you are doing General. I wouldn’t trust this to anyone
else.” The Senator leaned back in his chair and began flipping absently through some
reports on his desk.
“We have another confirmation Senator. I wanted to let you know. This one
looks very promising.”
“Well you know what to do with it. Keep them all together in a secure location
and then we’ll go over everything when you are here next week. What about your
scientists?” He asked.
“They don’t like not being able to follow this through. I told them to take a few
weeks off on the government’s expense. I think they are okay. Naomi seemed a bit
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agitated. I’ve set up the usual surveillance teams to keep a watch on them. I just
received an email that they are leaving for Albuquerque in the morning. It will be good
for them to get away.”
“I know this is a little rough for you but you know the stakes. We don’t want this
information to leak out to the press. Cold Fusion is a dead issue. That’s the story. We
can’t go ahead and change the economy overnight. There would be chaos and a lot of
people would be very mad at losing their investments in the traditional energy sources.
We’ll leave it be for now. Who knows one day we may be ready to roll out with this.”
“We’re secured here sir. I understand.” The general answered crisply putting a
salute into his voice. This wasn’t any time to discuss the energy philosophy.
“Great. We’ll leave it at that then. Thanks for the report. I’ll see you next week.
Will you grace us with you company for dinner midweek? Dorothy wants you to meet
someone.” The Senator laughed knowing the General’s response.
“You tell Dorothy to stop making trouble or I’m going to steal her off you
Senator.
“Martin. I am looking forward to seeing. Talk to you soon.”
“Goodbye Senator.” General Line smiled to himself. The Senators wife
reminded him of his sister who had died in a car wreck five years ago. At the time the
Senators wife had helped him through his loss and through the years been a good friend.
It was why he tolerated all of her matchmaking attempts. To tell the truth, after all of
these years of bachelorhood, he was thinking about settling down. Two more years and
he would be retiring. It would be nice to have someone there all the time. The thought
surprised him. There were a lot of things, which surprised him lately including his
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growing frustration with the nature of his job. He began to feel as if he were stopping
progress by couching all of these reports on viable energy solutions. He knew what was
behind these thoughts, but wasn’t quite ready to admit them to himself. Instead he did his
duty as always. Next week he would be returning to the Capitol. At least there he could
feel a part of something even he was just an outside contributor and not in the thick of it
as he had felt when he had a combat assignment or during his work in military
intelligence. He never argued with the Senator or any of his superiors. His opinions he
kept to himself. It is why most people liked him. He was a great listener and never gave
anyone a hard time except for those under his command when they weren’t snapping to
it. As he sat there putting away the reports from the Roland’s he began to have some
doubts about what he was doing. Cheap energy would be good for this country in the
long run. One day the evidence would be too substantial to bury under the rug. Musing
on this he locked the report in the portable files, which were to be removed this night to
the central location back in Maryland. As he left his office that evening he had an uneasy
feeling. His instincts told him that there was trouble brewing. He didn’t know where it
would come from. For now he would forget about it and take the offered ride back his
living quarters. The brisk New Mexico night had a chill, which reminded him of the
coming winter. As the car drove away he thought about the Roland’s and what they were
thinking about all of this.