by Rob Roth
On the first floor were several sitting areas and guest bedrooms down two hallways. The left hallway contained the room Jace and Dooley were staying in. The dining room and library were more centrally located. They discovered additional bedrooms and a large game/entertainment room upstairs after they climbed the centrally located wide winding staircase that connected the two floors.
Outside in the back was a large green lawn with trimmed shrubbery pleasantly placed with a gazebo in the center. In the front was a stone circular parking area from which a driveway meandered down through a manicured lawn toward the gated entrance in the distance.
Jace and Dooley eventually arrived at the kitchen, located in a back room off the first floor where Edward their chauffeur was dutifully waiting. Edward was a pleasant young man who didn’t mind if they called him ‘Eddie’.
“Ok, Eddie, our tour of the house is done, and Dooley and I are ready for some sightseeing. Let’s get some fresh air, if you don’t mind,” Jace said pleasantly.
“Certainly sirs. Where would you like to go?”
“Well, this is my first time in Melbourne. Why don’t you just take us to some of the typical spots people seem to enjoy in this city,” Jace replied.
“Excellent. Let me bring the car around front and I will meet you there.”
Jace and Dooley made their way to the front steps while Eddie fetched the car and drove it around to the circular drive. Once they were buckled in, Eddie headed down the driveway toward the roadway saying, “I think we might as well start with the old city center near Flinders Station.”
Jace and Dooley quite enjoyed the old feel of the heart of Melbourne, and were soon walking, as most did in this part of the city. Beautiful cobbled laneways dotted with outdoor cafes threaded their way between wider boulevards where shops, businesses, and imposing historic old government buildings could be seen. Electric trains running down the centers of some boulevards made snapping noises as they moved riders from one part of the city to the other.
They found a nice cafe outside and ate a quick lunch while watching the vibrancy of the city represented by the diversity of people on foot, as well as those moving about the city by trains and trams. The nearby Flinders Street Station was a particularly impressive building centrally located from which they walked one direction to St. Paul’s Cathedral and the impressive Parliament House, then the other direction to cross one of the pretty walking bridges spanning the scenic Yarra River and then over to the National Gallery of Victoria.
Eddie picked them back up after they walked around a bit, and drove them to see Eureka Tower, the city’s tallest building, from which they got a spectacular view of the city from the Skydeck. After that they went for some shopping at the Queen Victoria Markets, the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere. For a little history, Eddie took them to the Shrine of Remembrance, a building with colonnaded porticos commemorating World War I. It reminded Dooley of neo-classical buildings one would see in Washington, DC, somewhat like the Lincoln Memorial, although the top was more pyramid shaped.
The last stop on their tour, basically right across the street, was the Royal Botanic Gardens. Since it was an easy walk to the gardens, Jace and Dooley chose to go on foot. While it had been autumn in Arizona, here in the Southern Hemisphere it was spring, and the gardens were glorious. The temperate oceanic climate of Melbourne provided ideal conditions for a rich diversity of species of plants. In some ways, the Royal Botanic Gardens reminded Jace and Dooley of Central Park in New York City.
They encountered lots of peaceful walkways winding through green areas populated with a rich variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers, and their map indicated a couple of beautiful lakes ahead containing small islands. They slowly made their way along the peaceful paths curving through the lovely grounds and leading toward the lake. Both felt the tensions of the last few days melting away, and a sense of peace and calm took over.
Walking in this more relaxed state of mind for a few minutes, Jace noticed that his pocket was growing warmer. He hadn’t felt that anywhere else throughout the day, but now the blue stone seemed to be activating for some reason. Jace halted his walking and took the case out of his pocket and the blue stone out of the case. He rested the stone in the palm of his hand and put the case back in his pocket.
“Dooley, look. The stone has warmed up a bit and the color has become a richer blue. It may even be glowing, although in the sunlight I can’t be sure.”
Looking around to make sure no one was visible in the area of the gardens where they currently were standing, Dooley said, “Go ahead and grab it in your fist and see what happens, Professor. I’ll keep lookout to make sure nobody comes by.”
Jace gripped the stone, and sure enough, an outline of the oval appeared in front of him. While it was still somewhat dim in bright daylight, it was much more vivid than it had been in the room. Jace held it for two or three minutes, but when no further changes were evident, he put it back in the case and in his pocket.
“This stone must have been created for a more important purpose than creating a dim image. While that may be an interesting parlor trick, I suspect that is not all it was meant to do,” Jace said somewhat frustrated. “It clearly brightened here in the gardens. I suppose it could be some sort of image projection device. Maybe the image is supposed to mean something or is intended to relay a message to us.”
“Help me Obi Wan Kenobi… you’re our only hope…”, Dooley said jokingly in a falsetto voice.
“What?” Jace said somewhat lost in thought.
“Never mind, Professor. Shall we continue?”
Jace and Dooley resumed their walk and soon came upon a stone bench.
“While we are away from any listening ears, let’s sit for a moment and analyze our current situation,” Jace suggested. “What did you think about everything Allison told us today?”
“It explained most of the missing pieces, so I guess I believe a good portion of what she told us was true, Jace. I’m not sure I completely trust her, but I think we can accept for now that what she said was true. But I’d like to hear what Van Dyne has to say. If we knew what that secret project was all about, maybe we could figure how the blue stone and the fiery mirror fit into it, or at least we’d have a place to start. Right now, we are flying blind.
"One more one thing that bothers me is what is Severs all about? I believe he really thinks aliens are mixed up in this somehow. Why would he think that? And how would he know aliens were looking for an egg and wanted it back? It’s too bizarre to believe, but he and the other dude he was with sure seemed convincing.
"And, darn if he wasn’t at least somewhat right about what you found… it split apart like an egg. And something came out of it for sure. And you say it’s probably not of this Earth. Severs is an unknown factor we really need to understand better, and maybe that would get us closer to the truth about your little blue stone. Even more than what Van Dyne may tell us.”
“I couldn’t have said it better, Dooley,” Jace said smiling. Then more seriously he added, “For now, let’s go along with our Miss Trask, but we shouldn’t trust her fully given she’s both military and apparently working for Van Dyne’s interests. After we see what Van Dyne wants, we can decide whether or not to help him.
"Then, we should consider some sort of follow up with Severs. Since we are apparently being pursued by the U.S. military, we will need to come up with some plan that maintains our freedom and independence from them. If they snare us, I’m afraid they won’t be as gracious as our Mr. Van Dyne has been.
“Dooley, there’s one other thing. In the locked room where we were held, I was having a dream right before I woke up. Only, I don’t think it was a dream. It was so real. As if it was a vision of a real place, a place so gorgeous I can hardly describe it. I was flying over forests and lakes, and then I came to a shining tower and flew in a tower window. And sitting in a chair or throne was the girl we saw in the fiery mirror. In person she was even more beautiful tha
n in the picture. I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful, and when she smiled…”
“What?” asked Dooley
“Well, I woke up,” Jace replied, not wanting to share with Dooley these feelings stirring inside him, not even wanting to admit them to himself. It just wasn’t logical for him to start feeling that way again.
“Geez, that’s it, Professor? You just woke up?” asked Dooley. “Well, I know drugs can do that, and we were hit with a potent knockout. And who knows what Trask gave us after that? I’m sure it was just the aftereffects of being doped. I wouldn’t worry about it, Jace.”
“Yes, I guess you are right,” replied Jace, although, what worried Jace was that it was only the drugs, and that the woman and the place did not exist. That was his biggest worry even if he wouldn’t admit it, not even to himself.
Eddie drove Jace and Dooley back to the Van Dyne estate, and by then it was dinner time. Mr. Van Dyne had arranged for his chef to prepare them a gourmet dinner, and while it smelled sumptuous, they both were thinking they would feel somewhat alone sitting by themselves at the large dining table. Allison was nowhere to be found and they assumed they may not see her until tomorrow morning.
Not being ones to stand for formality, they asked both the chef and Eddie to join them at the table for dinner. But it was too great of a breach in protocol for them to comfortably accept, and they both graciously declined. However, that may have contributed to the chef’s subsequent enthusiasm in delivering with some flair and apparent joy the various courses that had been prepared.
Jace and Dooley were well satisfied after their meal, and a dinner cordial topped off the evening. They even managed to coerce Eddie and the chef, Gerard, to enjoy a glass with them, since the formality of the dinner had successfully completed. Although Jace and Dooley had travelled for over a day in an unconscious state during the trip to Melbourne, by now the time zone change was catching up to them, and they turned in early that night in order to be fresh and clear-headed for their meeting the next day with Connor Van Dyne.
Allison showed up at the Van Dyne estate around 8 am the next morning. Jace and Dooley were already up and dressed when she arrived. Jace wore comfortable grey slacks and a blue shirt, and Dooley chose brown slacks to go with his favored red shirt. Dooley couldn’t help but notice Allison’s green knee length skirt and matching sweater which accentuated her shapely legs and matched her eyes.
After sharing a quick breakfast with them, she encouraged them both to be ready to depart from the front driveway by 9 am, as they had a meeting scheduled with Connor Van Dyne at his current location at 10 am. In a little while they gathered at the front of the estate. Allison took the driver’s seat and Jace and Dooley climbed in the back. She chose to drive them in the car herself since she knew the location and had appropriate clearances. She was also familiar with driving on the right-hand side. Jace and Dooley were happy to let her act as chauffeur with them in the back. The two of them had agreed earlier to be friendly and talkative in order to set Allison at ease and gain more information.
“So, can you tell us where we are headed, Allie?” Jace asked.
“I’m driving to Monash University, just a few miles away. We’ll be there right proper in thirty minutes or so.”
“Hey Professor, you should feel right at home being back on campus,” Dooley said jokingly. “So, Miss Trask, why the university? I assume there’s a reason for meeting Van Dyne at that location.”
“Bugger, Dooley… how about you start calling me Allie again? I’m not the bloody enemy. I understand you have trust issues with me, but can’t we make this a little less formal?” Allison asked. “And yes, there is a reason why we are going there. The Australian Synchrotron is located on the campus.”
“Isn’t that some sort of particle accelerator?” asked Jace.
“Sure enough,” replied Allison. “But it isn’t a particle collider like scientists use when searching for new elemental particles. It's a light source facility where a beam of high energy electrons is created and then directed into a storage ring. From there several different beamlines can be directed to stations for specialized purposes. This synchrotron produces X-Rays and infrared radiation that is a million times brighter than the sun.”
“A million times? Are you serious?” Dooley asked in a surprised manner, much in contrast to Allison’s matter-of-fact tone. “Is that what this secret project is all about?”
Allison laughed. “No mate, this is well-known to the scientific community, and many different people come from all over the world to gain access to the beamlines. But I will admit we use the Synchrotron as a necessary component for our secret research project. But that’s all I can say for now. I will let Mr. Van Dyne explain the rest.”
Before long they found themselves entering the campus, and as they drove down one of the main campus roads, Jace noticed a side road with a sign indicating ‘Australian Synchrotron’. The Synchrotron was visible from where they were on the main road, as it was quite huge and rather like a round football stadium. However, instead of turning there, Allison continued to a nearby university building housing classrooms and offices.
Because of Van Dyne’s generosity to the university, he was given a large space that was previously a classroom, to use as his onsite office as well as for strategy and planning. It was secured at the entrance and subdivided into three glass-enclosed offices and an open central section where project team members periodically gathered for project planning meetings. An oval conference table was in that center space, and it was there that Allison led Jace and Dooley after having entered the building and passed the security of the lab entrance door using a special badge.
No one else was in the center room but they could see through the glass-walled offices that Van Dyne, they assumed, was currently sitting in one of them. When Van Dyne noticed the others had arrived and were at the conference table, he came out to join them. Van Dyne was quite tall and slim, with greying wavy hair, round spectacles and dressed in a suit, reminding Jace of a history professor.
“G’day, gentlemen. I am Connor Van Dyne. And of course, you already know my associate Allison Trask,” said Van Dyne. “I’m sorry I had to instruct Allison take the extraordinary measure of shanghaiing you both from Arizona, but I’m afraid we had no other choice, as I hope she explained to you. I do hope you forgive that somewhat rash action, and after I explain Project Stardust to you perhaps you will appreciate the gravity of the situation you were in and see that our hand was forced, for your own protection.”
“Mr. Van Dyne,” Jace began, “I’d like to say it’s nice to meet you, but I would prefer to withhold that judgement until we’ve heard what you have to say. But I will say this — so far you have proved to be a gracious host, providing nice accommodations, new sets of clothing, the use of a chauffeur and car, and wonderful meals. So, for that at least, Dooley and I do have to thank you.”
“I suppose that will have to do for now,” said Van Dyne with a friendly smile, “But I hope I can win you over after I’ve explained Project Stardust to you, and why we have need of your services. And feel free to call me Connor. Has Miss Trask explained what the Synchrotron is?”
“I believe so,” replied Jace. “If I understood it correctly, in simple terms it’s a particle accelerator that can produce an intense beam of light a million times brighter than the sun, in either the X-Ray or the Infrared spectrum.”
“Bravo, Dr. Larkin. Since you already know that, let me tell you a little about how our project began. As you may know, I own a company called Panterra Enterprises. Its mission is to find exo-planets in our galaxy that are somewhat Earth-like. Ones that could support life. The hope is that someday one or more will be identified with the right characteristics that could even support human life. Now, why would we do that, when we have no means to get to those planets? They are simply too far away for any known technology to ever make the trip. The answer is simple — we hope someday to discover some technology that would permit us to get t
here. But the very first step is that we must find some place to go. That is the mission of Panterra.”
“I understand completely, Connor, and share many of those same goals myself. As a planetary geologist I not only analyze the formation and composition of the stellar objects, but when it comes to planets I often ask myself if it would be habitable, or what it would be like to live there. I guess it is part of human nature. I’m also somewhat familiar with various approaches taken to locate exo-planets. May I ask what approach Panterra takes?”
“We tend to favor the transit method. And since this is important to understanding Project Starlight, let me provide you all with the basics. What we do is measure the light coming from various stars. If a planet happens to orbit the star such that the plane of the elliptic periodically places the planet between the star and Earth, that is called a transit. Although a planet is often so very much smaller than the star, it does reduce the light output sufficiently for us to measure it. As we notice regular periodic variations in light output, we can calculate the orbital period and the relative size of the exo-planet based on the reduction in light intensity. By measuring in the infrared spectrum as well as visible light, we can determine other characteristics as well, such as detected elements.”
“So, let me take a guess here,” said Dooley. “Analyzing these light fluctuations has something to do with your need for the Synchrotron.”
“Yes, Mr. Marz, you are absolutely correct,” replied Van Dyne. “First of all, some stars with transiting planets are very large, much larger than our own sun. We wanted to be able to reproduce the light intensity using the Synchrotron, especially in the infrared spectrum, so we could perform experiments that would determine if light that intense permitted further refinement in determining size or composition of the planets.
"In addition, it was discovered not too long ago, that directing beams of that intensity through certain crystals created quantum entangled photons of light. This permitted some interesting tests to be performed where we could analyze composition of planets without the light actually having to pass through the object, making it easier to analyze the heavier compounds.”
