The Long Road Home

by Max Swan

  The primitive phone rang and Paul picked it up. “Err, ah, hello?” he said feeling slightly foolish.

  “Oh hey baby, its Stacy here,” said a young woman’s voice.

  “Ah, Hi Stacy, how are you?” Paul said not knowing whom Stacy is, but suspecting she were another of the Professors girlfriend’s.

  “I’m missing you so bad. You were supposed to call me but you haven’t.”

  “Sorry Stacy, but I’ve been busy and I err forgot?” Paul said feeling suddenly embarrassed.

  “Well what about tonight? I heard you split with your wife, so come over and I’ll make you feel better,” she said huskily.

  “Sorry Stacy, but I ah can’t see you any longer,” Paul said wanting the floor to open and swallow him.

  “Are you blowing me off, Richard? You told me you loved me, is this how you treat people you love?” Stacy sounded angry.

  “Do yourself a favor and find a man who can love you the way you deserve to be loved,” Paul said embarrassed for her.

  The tone of her voice suddenly became low pitched, “I grow weary of playing these games with you. I’m certain you’ll be dead soon.”

  Paul forcibly hung up the phone. He leaned back in his chair thinking, what the hell is wrong with these women. Richard Starr’s womanizing turned out to be a much bigger problem than he ever thought. All these angry women circling him like hungry sharks made him more nervous than facing a Garan squadron. Jane found it highly amusing, of course, but it made Paul jumpy.

  His phone rang again and he sighed. “Hi, Richard here.”

  “Richard, two policemen are here and they want to speak with you,” Lynda said in a hushed voice.

  Paul bit his lip. “OK, send them in.”

  Two large men entered wearing dark suits, one looked in his late thirties, the other late twenties. They had that determined look that police officers always seem to carry when on official business. Paul stood and walked around his desk to greet them.

  “Hello, I’m Professor Starr, how may I help you?” he asked in a friendly tone.

  One of the men produced a badge to show Paul his qualifications. “I’m Senior Detective Andrews and this is Detective Johnson. I’m sorry to disturb you Professor but we have a few questions we’d like to ask about a car accident here on campus a few weeks ago.”

  Paul nodded glumly. “Yes, I remember it well. The car nearly ran me over. The poor driver was tragically killed. But please, have a seat.”

  The men pulled out some chairs and Paul sat on the edge of his desk.

  “So you were a witness to the event, yet you didn’t come forward. Why was that?” the younger detective asked.

  “I was running late for an appointment on the day, and there were enough people around when it happened, so I thought it’d be OK. I’m sorry for that,” Paul replied with a weak smile.

  “Do you know a Janice Watkins?” the Detective Andrews asked.

  Paul thought for a moment, he remembered the name from one of the papers he had scanned this morning for Dexter to mark. “She’s one of my students. What has this to do with her?”

  “She was the driver of the car,” Detective Andrews said watching for Paul’s response.

  Paul’s eyes bulged and his mouth gaped briefly. “Oh, poor Janice. That’s a shock to me.”

  Paul tried to sound sincere though he didn’t know the young woman at all. The Detectives didn’t look impressed.

  “Professor, I’d like you to look at this.” The Senior Detective pulled out a photograph and handed it to Paul.

  The photograph showed Professor Starr with whom Paul assumed is Janice, having intercourse. Paul’s face went bright red. A date on the photograph indicated it had been take two years ago, and Paul hoped it were right. He handed it back to the Detective.

  “Janice and I had a fling a while ago, but it’s over now, it’s been over for a long time,” he said.

  Detective Johnson said, “She left a note saying if she couldn’t have you, she’d kill herself and take you with her. What do you say to that?”

  Paul stood and took a deep breath. I say Professor Starr deserves to be taught a lesson, he thought. “So you’re saying that the accident was an attempt on my life?”

  “Yes,” Senior Detective Andrews said.

  Paul walked to the window behind his desk and peered out thinking about his next move. He turned to the Detectives and said with a shrug, “I’m sorry it doesn’t make sense. Our affair ended long ago. I had no idea she still had feelings for me. This is heartbreaking news.”

  The senior detective nodded saying, “That’s what we don’t understand either. According to her friends, Janice gave the impression she was over you too. Have you seen her recently?”

  “I’ve seen her in lectures, and I can assure you I haven’t done anything to give her any false impressions about how I feel about her. Come to think of it, I have noticed her absent the week.”

  “She was absent, and you didn’t ask why?” Detective Johnson asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Paul stiffened. “This is a University, not a Primary School. Students often don’t show to lectures for many reasons. They usually get their friends to record it for them anyway.”

  Detective Andrews stood and the other quickly followed. “Yes, I have a son at Uni who does that. I’d like you to come to the station, when it’s convenient. We’ll need a formal statement because her suicide note mentioned you. I don’t think you need worry about anything, as far as we’re concerned.” He handed Paul his card.

  “Thanks, that’s a relief. I have a free morning tomorrow so I’ll come down then. Is that OK?” Paul asked, taking the card and reading it.

  “Sure, but if you think of anything before then please call us,” Detective Johnson said, and they left a stunned Paul alone.

  Paul sat watching the door for a moment, wondering about how much the Professor must bedevil the minds of these women for them to take such extreme acts. He worried that the police might uncover evidence that would look as if he lied. There’s nothing he could do about it now. The phone began to ring again, this time it were Marcus.

  “Hi, Richard, how are you?” Marcus said.

  “Oh, not that good, I just heard one of my students committed suicide,” Paul said.

  “Yes, I heard about Ms. Watkins too. But what’s worse is that I heard it from a friend who works in the media,” Marcus sounded annoyed.

  “Yeah? Look Marcus, I didn’t know that accident the other week was her, I swear,” Paul said with a lump in his throat.

  “It’s going to press tomorrow under the headline ‘Kinky Professor Causes Suicide’,” Marcus said.

  “Oh fuck, my affair with Janice ended two years ago. Besides, the cops don’t think I’ve done anything wrong,” Paul complained.

  “Richard, from what I’ve heard the article isn’t just about the suicide. They’ve been questioning students for a while now, and this suicide gave them the by-line they needed to break the story. They’re publishing your whole dirty past.”

  Paul closed his eyes thinking how this could ruin their mission. “I’m sorry Marcus. But I need to push on as the only way I can recover my reputation is build this energy plant.”

  “The board won’t approve your request now. I’ve been trying government channels to see if I can get you plutonium, and the answer is a big fat no. Especially when I mention your name as heading the project.”

  “I need that plutonium, Marcus, you promised me you’d get it,” Paul said pointedly.

  “There’s another thing. Given the scandal about to break, the board wants you to resign,” Marcus said grimly.

  “But Marcus—”

  Marcus cut him off. “This scandal about to befall you is going to be big, Richard. If the University means anything to you, you’ll resign immediately.”

  “Very well, I’ll resign because I value your friendship, Marcus. But my research comes with me, you can’t have it both ways,” Paul said convinced now the
mission is bust.

  “I understand. Look not all’s lost, my contacts in the private-sector are interested in the GFM. If you let me, I think I can make things happen there for you,” Marcus sounded upbeat.

  “Looks as if I have no choice,” Paul said glumly.

  “I’ve been discussing your idea to build a gravity propulsion engine for vehicles with Forcedes, and they’re interested. Would you like me to contact them and setup a meeting?” he asked.

  “You’ve been discussing my work with Forcedes, behind my back?” Paul asked dismayed.

  Marcus guffawed. “You’re famous, Richard. The man who unified string theory and quantum mechanics, of course people are asking me about it. So are you interested?” Marcus seemed insistent.

  “The most famous physicist to ever get fired from a physics department, I’m sure,” Paul said sarcastically.

  “Come on, don’t give up on me know. One door closes, another opens. So what’ll it be?”

  Paul hesitated. “I suppose it won’t hurt to hear them out,” he said grudgingly.

  “Good, I’ll set it up and get back to you. Now I don’t think you should go home as the press will be waiting there, as the carrion they are,” Marcus said.

  “I do have somewhere I can go and hide, for a while. Can you call Emma, and warn her what’s about to happen?” Paul said, thinking poor Emma is about to have her dirty laundry hung out for all to see.

  “Yes, I’ll call her for you, though it breaks my heart to have to tell her such shitty news,” Marcus said.

  “What about my secretary Lynda? I don’t want her to lose her job because I’m getting canned.”

  “Professor Axford needs a secretary, so she can be reassigned to him,” Marcus offered.

  “All right, I’ll have Lynda deliver my resignation to you later today, and I’ll clear off before anyone knows any different.”

  “How will I contact you?” Marcus asked.

  “I’ll get a new cellphone number, and call you with it so you can let me know when your private-sector contacts are ready to meet and talk,” Paul said.

  Paul heard a loud sigh on the other end of the phone. “Take care, Richard. If you need anything call me, OK?”

  “Will do. See ya Marcus. Talk soon.”

  Paul hung up the phone feeling worried for the future of their mission. His suspicions though were now peaked, suddenly the Professors past is going to be uncovered in the press, at the same time Marcus is talking with his own contacts about the GFM. He knew the University wanted to fire the Professor anyway, before the GFM came along, and wondered if the media story had been a backup plan to get him to leave. If the Professor knew enough to keep his job intact, they could use a public scandal to force him to resign while looking as if they hadn’t crossed him. Now Marcus has forced him into the private-sector, and that spelled danger as Paul knew they’d try to take the GFM away from him, so they could use it for financial gain. History is filled with smart businessmen taking inventions and making millions from them, while the inventor is left with nothing.

  He picked up his cell and tapped Jane’s number. Jane is in China, negotiating with a chemical plant to make the xelion wash, and other chemicals needed in building a qdrive. Paul told her about the police, and that he’d been fired because of a brewing public scandal. He expected her usual smart mouth comment on how he had mucked everything up as usual, but she remained remarkably calm.

  “This scandal is a shitty break for us. So what now?” she asked.

  “Marcus claims he has private-sector contacts he thinks will help,” Paul said.

  “Do you think he could’ve engineered this scandal to push you toward his contacts?”

  “I’m not sure, it’s possible,” Paul said.

  “Hmm, I’m gonna look into Marcus when I get back. We can’t trust these primitives, however much we like them. These people are so narcissistic, have you noticed?” she asked.

  “Yeah, with Professor Starr the Emperor of Narcissism,” Paul said, then chuckled coldly.

  “It’s more than likely Marcus is selling you and the GFM to the highest bidder,” Jane warned.

  “I agree, but we need the plutonium, and sadly the University door has now been firmly slammed in our faces.”

  “So what now?”

  “I’ll need a place that’s private, I’m heading to one of the houses you rented,” Paul said watching students walk around outside from his office window.

  “Don’t go where I’ve setup my base-of-operations, if you’re discovered there it’ll ruin everything. I suggest you go to the safe house near the Kingslake National Park. It’s isolated, and there’s a shuttle there that can come and pick you up,” Jane suggested.

  “Good work, Jane, your performance on this mission has far exceeded mine,” Paul said feeling amazed by her efficiency.

  She laughed. “My job has been easier though, I suspect. We can buy everything we need, except plutonium and xelion crystal. The greed of the people here beggars belief.”

  “I’ll play along and see where that leads to, for now. That’ll give you time to get everything else on the shopping list. We’ll talk soon, anyway. Take care.”

  “You too, bye” and the call disconnected.

  Paul went to work removing any trace of the equations or designs related to the GFM from the computers at the University to keep Marcus interested in helping him. The important thing now is to keep control of the technology for as long as possible. He told Lynda that he’s leaving, and of her new position at the University. To Paul’s surprise she cried on hearing he had been fired.

  “How can they fire the man who’s made the most important scientific discovery of all-time?” she sobbed.

  Paul put his arm around her and squeezed her. “I’ve brought this on myself, Lynda. I’m sorry, and I’ll miss you,” he said.

  He dictated a letter of resignation to her, explaining that the scandalous newspaper article made his position untenable at the University. Paul asked her to box his personal belongings, and have them delivered to his home. He gathered up the GFM, his palmcorder, and walked out of the building for the last time. He had to admit, he felt relieved he didn’t have to pretend to be a Physics Professor any longer. Although Paul did feel a pang of guilt for the real Professor, whose career he has ended. Professor Starr had recently been credited with making the greatest scientific discovery in the history of this Earth, he’s also been fired. Life is weird sometimes, Paul thought.

  *****

  The media sensation known as the ‘The Kinky Professor’ went all over the country in a short time, and got worldwide press coverage. Nadir wondered why after the terrible devastation of the Garan attack, people on this Earth found something as sordid as the Professors past so fascinating. Mr. Crimpson had told him that it’s merely a form of distraction, used to keep people’s minds off the real difficulties they faced. It happened in their Earth’s past as well he told him, a ‘celebrity culture’ was used to stop people from seeing what was really going on. News became a form of entertainment instead of information, and stories about scandals like the Professors took on a form of mass hysteria. While the questionable activities of Governments, Corporations, and the wealthy were brushed over in the most superficial manner.

  “I have to wonder whether this scandal has been organized to drive the Major into the hands of people wanting to profit from the GFM,” Nadir said at their breakfast meeting.

  “I agree, but it’s the Professors past that has created this setback. Nothing the Major has done,” Dexter said, sensing Nadir looking for someone to blame.

  Blake guffawed, then said sarcastically, “Oh, of course, the Majors never fucked up a mission in his life, has he.”

  Nadir opened his mouth to speak, when Lt Huang said, “Sir, shouldn’t we tell the Professor what’s happened? I mean I feel kinda bad for the guy.”

  Blake laughed coldly, “You feel bad for Professor Poon?”

  “Gordon is right. The Professor has
brought this on himself, so it’s none of our concern,” Nadir said.

  “The Major told me they were about to fire him anyway until we threw Quantum-Relativity into their laps. So I have to agree that it benefits nobody to tell him of it,” Dexter said.

  “How is he going anyway?” Nadir asked.

  “He’s been testing his environment, as I predicted. Trying to find a way out. He’s no longer cooperating with the routine I setup for him, indicating a resistance to serup is starting to develop. He still thinks he’s on Earth, though,” Dexter reported.

  “What of Goddard? Having a holiday while we work our asses off, I suppose,” Blake said.

  Nadir shook his head saying, “No, he’s been in Western Australia surveying xelion crystal, and he’s found a suitable deposit for our needs. Gordon, you’ll be going down to help him mine a sphere for us.” Nadir looked at his friend knowing the old engineer isn’t going to be happy about it.

  “Me? That’s fucking grunt work,” Blake said slapping his hand on the table.

  Nadir shrugged. “Well who else do you suppose I send?”

  Blake looked at Lijuan, and at Dexter, and grunted his disapproval. He pushed his plate away and stood, “I suppose you want me to setup the mining rig as well.”

  Before Nadir could answer, he turned and left the mess hall in a huff, heading toward the lift.

  *****

  Stealth mining is considered by marines as one of the worst assignments in the EMC. Being cooped up in a mining rig that quickly becomes hot, dirty, noisy, and smelly, while mining nonstop, isn’t much fun. Trying to keep your presence a secret from the indigenous population the whole time only adds to the stress. Paul had been waiting for Blake to land the mining rig for several hours now. While he waited he had spoken to Marcus on his cell, and a meeting is setup in three weeks with Forcedes to discuss developing a GFM powered vehicle. Eventually his console beeped as the mining rig slowly lowered itself from above, over the coordinates Paul had sent.

  Paul touched his console and said loudly, “About time you showed up.”

  Blake sounded angry in his response. “Don’t get me started. I mean what if something happens to me? Whose gonna build the damn qdrive?”