by S. P. Perone
He had to take action. And the path was clear. The StarSight project must be sabotaged. It could not be allowed to develop now. The question was how to accomplish this with the minimum risk of discovery.
For the next hour, the Bear sat in his penthouse apartment, overlooking a colorfully lit Manhattan skyline, selfishly regretting the gap that had been created by the attack on the World Trade Center towers. He contemplated carefully and logically the possible actions that might be taken against the StarSight project. Eventually, it became clear. The project should be observed vigilantly. Max had the means to accomplish this. If there appeared to be any chance for success before November 24, Max, or one of Ali-Sheikh’s agents, would have to take drastic action. The most effective action would be to eliminate all of the key scientists. An “accident” could be arranged, and this would bring the project to a halt. But, the Bear needed to avoid overt action for as long as possible; he could not afford to tip his hand. Nevertheless, he was ready to order the project’s destruction at a moment’s notice.
He laid out the overall plan in detail, transmitted it to Ali-Sheikh, and Max’s new orders were delivered to him. Max would not know why, but he would know that it was urgent to provide daily progress reports. And the Bear was confident that Max was absolutely the best person to do the surveillance required. He was an expert at computer espionage, as well as all of the conventional high-tech surveillance methods. The protective fences, both physical and virtual, of Lawrence Livermore Lab would be of little defense against Max’s intrusion. The Bear would know instantly if the StarSight project were on the verge of success. And immediate action would be taken.
Chapter 9
Homecoming
It was one of those glorious October Saturday afternoons in the Midwest. Football weather. Crisp, clear, dry air; brilliant sun; azure sky. The deep-green grassy field mowed in a discernible pattern from sideline to sideline. The stadium filled with 62,000 shrieking fans in a glorious array of brilliantly colored garments. The field of play filled at first with hundreds of uniformed marching musicians and scantily-dressed baton twirlers, and then with fast and powerful helmeted men in heavily padded costumes designed to evoke rabid screaming encouragement from those in the stands who identify with the familiar regalia.
Tony and Sarah had seats on the 20-yard line about two-thirds of the way up, just about as good as faculty seating could get in the Daniels University football stadium. Seated next to them were Harry, Luci and their two kids, Gary and Heather. Tony and Harry had gotten six season tickets together for the past six years. Tony would usually bring a guest. Sometimes it was a visiting speaker who would stay over the weekend; sometimes it was one of his foreign research associates who had no idea what American “football” was all about; and occasionally, it was a “date”. This was the first game where he and Sarah had appeared together. When the University Band had begun to play the familiar notes of the Star Spangled Banner…and the whole crowd had joined in the stirring lyrics…Tony had felt a lump in his throat and a moistness in his eyes that told him this was a very special day indeed. Grabbing Sarah’s hand, and glancing down at her face, he knew her emotions had been similarly stirred. It was their “coming out,” and the colorful fervent pageantry on the field was symbolic of their own passionate commitment to a future, however uncertain, together.
Following this moving event, the opposing teams rapidly took the field, and provided the crowd with perhaps the most exciting of all football plays, the kickoff and return. With the crowd stirred in a different, animalistic way, their emotions were abruptly channeled into enthusiastic clashing cheers of inspiration to the opposing gladiators on the field. And, shortly, the 60-minute mock warfare, conducted by two sets of eleven players repeatedly crashing into each other with violent abandon…directed by a small army of strategists on the sidelines and up high in the Press Box…began in earnest.
As the game evolved, Shane’s mind periodically reflected on the sequence of recent events. Since Tuesday, there had been non-stop activity preparing for the upcoming California venture. There had been flurries of e-mails, and a few scrambled phone calls, with Nagle, Carson, and the Senator. Sarah and Bill had worked tirelessly to bring the existing self-organizing neural network software up to the standards that would be required on Livermore’s White computer. Data files were organized and copied for transport. And, Shane had continued his classified studies, evaluating the accuracy of the cluster analysis results with the historical “control” data sets. He would be glad when Sarah could take over that task with the classified studies. She was the real expert among them regarding interpretation of cluster analysis results, and modifying the inputs to evoke the desired response from the neural networks.
On a personal note, Sarah’s handling of the Clarkson thing had gratified Shane. She had informed Janus that she couldn’t go with him to the party after the game. Most importantly, she had told him why. She and Tony had agreed that their relationship should no longer be kept a secret. And they would let the chips fall where they may.
Confirming Harry’s premise, Clarkson had admitted to Sarah that he had known about her and Shane. Also confirming Harry’s speculation, Sarah had told Shane that it was Clarkson who had been hounding her ever since he had learned of her break-up with Shane. (Shane was amazed and impressed with Clarkson’s extensive pipeline to departmental gossip.)
Despite the many feel-good things that had happened in his personal life, Shane remained troubled by the last of Harry’s speculations. Harry had been convinced that Clarkson was up to no good in attempting to strike up a relationship with Sarah. He suspected Clarkson was trying to get inside information regarding the nature of Shane’s classified DOE project. Harry was certain that Clarkson might try to use his position as chair of the University Research Committee to shut down any classified research (i.e., Shane’s project) on campus. Shane wasn’t politically savvy enough to understand why Clarkson would want to do this. Only Harry, with his sharp political instincts, could make sense of these things. Shane made a mental note to discuss it with Harry later. Because Harry also served on the Research Committee, he might have some insight.
The Daniels University Demons had not been victorious for the homecoming crowd that afternoon. It was Wisconsin 21; Daniels 19. But, it had been an exceptionally exciting game. Only a narrowly missed 50-yard field goal in the final seconds preserved the margin of victory for Wisconsin. Nevertheless, the crowd had fervently cheered the dejected Demons, for putting up such a valiant fight against the team favored to win the Big 10 crown this year. Daniels normally fielded a strong football team, and played many of the recognized independent football powers in the country (like Notre Dame), as well as several of the Big 10 teams. Despite its name, the university was a state land-grant university, established at the same time as the University of Illinois. Because Daniels was chartered to emphasize science and engineering, it was supposed to complement the U of I in Champaign. Over the years, those lines had blurred, and both universities had developed strong departments across the board. But, the U of I retained exclusively the professional schools of medicine and law. That Daniels had been named after its first President, rather than “Illinois State University,” was probably an unanticipated fringe benefit. Across the country, most people thought that Daniels was a private school with very strong academic and athletic programs. The fact that it was state-supported was well known primarily to citizens of the state of Illinois.
With a total full-time student population of 30,000, and a very active alumni association, the homecoming game had attracted many thousands of former Daniels students from several past generations and from all around the world. Many of these were prominent in business, entertainment, sports, politics, education, and other fields. Half time had seen a handful of the best known of the visiting alums presented on the field. The CEO of the Aamdeck Computer Company; two former astronauts; and an academy award-winning actress were all honored for their contributions to alumni ac
tivities. Many more alums in the stands were planning to visit their fraternity or sorority houses, old haunts in the village, former teachers, and various parties with fellow alums during this festive weekend. Everything, except the final score of the game, was cooperating. The weather was perfect, and the heavily forested city of Rockville was adorned with brilliantly colored leaves in various shades of red, orange, yellow, purple and green. The fall rains had not begun in earnest yet, and the trees had retained most of their foliage to delight the visiting alums.
It was in the midst of this atmosphere that Sarah and Tony, along with Harry and Luci, walked across the campus after the game, to the older area of town wherethe House was located. Having left the kids off at home, Harry and Luci were enjoying the adult company and looking forward to joining their dear friend Tony and his lovely Sarah for an evening of socializing with the post-game graduate student “party” crowd. There was nothing more delightful, for a couple of “aging” academics, than to mingle with grad students at a party. This highly intelligent cross-section of American young adults, in the midst of perhaps the most uninhibited period of their lives, provided a most stimulating environment in which to enjoy conversation, music, food, drink, and dancing. You couldn’t buy this kind of experience at the most expensive nightclubs in the world.
As they approachedthe House , the music could be heard from half-a-block away. They could see that the crowd had overflowed onto the huge porch that surrounded the large home on three sides. Several couples could be seen arriving ahead of them. The front door was completely open, as were most of the windows. From out on the street you could see that every room was filled with partygoers. The strains of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” could be heard drifting over the pulsating crowd and out through the windows.
Walking up the steps and through the front door, Tony and Sarah were immediately grabbed by Bill Campbell. “Hi Doc…Sarah,” he said. “It’s great to see you here…finally.” They knew exactly what he meant, as Bill and Sandy had been the only ones in the group (at least as far as Shane could tell) who had known about him and Sarah.
As Harry and Luci walked in next, Bill greeted them also. “Hi, Dr. Churchill, Mrs. Churchill. Good to see you again. Come on in.”
Looking around, Shane saw many familiar faces, and quite a few new ones. He searched expectantly for any sign that Clarkson had shown up, but did not see him. “Lots of new faces here I see,” he commented to Bill. “Are you recruiting some new room-mates?”
Chuckling at the thought of trying to squeeze any more lodgers intothe House , Bill replied, “No, Doc, we’re not in the market right now. But, I think most of the new faces are alums. I even recognize a few. I’ll bet you’ll know some of them for sure…you’ve been around here longer than I have.”
With that, Shane took another look around, and remarked that, indeed, he did recognize some of the “new faces”. But, they had changed since their austere student days. They all looked more prosperous, better-dressed, and perhaps just a little bit uncomfortable thrust in the middle of the contemporary occupants ofthe House and their student peers. It was a grim reminder of the contrast between the carefree student days and the up-tight real world of work, family, mortgages, and credit card bills. Shane was beginning to really enjoy himself now. He was a natural born observer. He loved to watch people…especially such an interesting mix of people.
Sarah and Luci went off to find the powder room, while Tony and Harry sought out the inevitable keg of beer that would likely be either in the kitchen or the back yard. Finding it in the back yard they picked up a couple of huge plastic cups and drew a couple of foam-topped drafts. Enjoying the coolness and openness of the back yard, they decided to hang there for a while. Their conversation casually turned back to the afternoon’s game, lamenting once more the heartbreaking missed field goal at the end.
Suddenly, to their joint surprise, Janus Clarkson appeared at the back door, and then strode determinedly in their direction, bypassing the beer keg. In his hand was a previously drawn cup of beer. Dressed in an inexpensive dark blue suit and tie…in contrast to the typical garb of sweater, jeans, and sneakers…he looked as out of place as a pelican in a chicken coop. With his short-cropped receding curly red hair, pale freckled complexion, and rimless spectacles, he looked much like the stereotypical college professor. Apparently, Clarkson had preceded them tothe House , and had been out of sight when they arrived. Regardless, it appeared he was determined to engage them in conversation, and there was no way to avoid it.
Coming up to them, one or two inches shorter than Shane, and nearly half a foot shorter than Harry, Clarkson looked up at them and said, “Greetings, Gentlemen.” Extending his hand first to Harry and then to Tony, he continued, “Glad to see you both here. I assume you got to the game?”
“Yeah. We were just talking about it,” Harry replied. “I bet the place-kicker makes two out of three of those 50-yard field goals over the season. And he made four previous kicks today. Too bad he missed the last one.”
“Did you get to the game?” Tony asked, knowing Clarkson was not a sports fan, and did not ever purchase football tickets to his knowledge.
“Yes, I did,” Clarkson replied. “Had some visiting brass from the legislature that the Provost asked me to entertain this weekend.”
Shane and Harry shared exactly the same nauseating thought in response to Clarkson’s statement.What a pompous sonofabitch , they thought in unison.Who’s he trying to impress…not us, I hope , their synchronized minds continued.
Out loud, Harry inquired, “What’s the deal? Are these guys alums, or something?”
“Ohno ,” Clarkson replied as if he was shocked that Harry would consider his assignment so trivial. “These legislators are members of the Higher Education Committee, and we needed to give them the royal treatment.”
His emphasis of the word “we” sent the clear message that he, Janus Clarkson, was part of the “ruling clique” at this university, and obviously they were not. Clarkson was enjoying himself. So, Tony decided to take him down a notch.
“I hope you weren’t trying to impress them by bringing them to thishigh class party, Janus. We might lose all of our funding next year!”
“Ohno ,” Clarkson said again. “You don’t think I would bring themhere , do you? They had to return to Springfield after the game. So, I decided to come here myself and see what was going on.”
“In fact,” he continued, “I was hoping to see the two of you here. I had some business to discuss with Harry. And, Tony, you might be interested, too.”
Shane and Harry glanced at each other, puzzled looks on their faces. They couldn’t imagine anyone coming to one of these parties to talk “business.” But, Clarkson was a different breed of cat. They turned their attention back to Clarkson, waiting for him to go on.
“Harry,” Clarkson began, “at the Thursday meeting of the University Research Committee…the one you weren’t able to attend…there was a resolution passed to investigate the negative impact of conducting classified research on campus. And, Tony, I thought you should be aware of this too.”
“Excuse me,” Harry interrupted. “That issue wasn’t on the agenda. How did that come up?”
“Professor Harrison brought it up under New Business,” Clarkson replied. “And, it was passed by the committee.”
“Wait a minute, Janus,” Harry interrupted again. “You can’t bring up new business and vote on it at the same meeting. That’s a violation of Robert’s Rules of Order.”
Looking uncomfortable, with his beady gray eyes glancing nervously back and forth between Tony and Harry, Clarkson answered hesitantly, “Well, in light of the urgency of the issue…”
“What urgency?” Tony cut Clarkson off with a blast. “What are you talking about, Janus?”
Quickly re-gaining his composure, Clarkson looked directly at Shane and replied, “I’m really not at liberty to discuss that.”
“Not at liberty to discuss what?” Shane demanded.
“Since when are the deliberations of your committee confidential?”
“Well, actually, it has nothing to do with committee deliberations,” Clarkson stated calmly. “And I really can not talk any more about it.” Then, with his tone rising slightly, Clarkson continued, “I thought I was doing you a favor by giving you advance word of this action. And, I’m offended by your implying there was anything out of order. Believe me, you will be hearing from the Provost’s office soon regarding the investigation, and you should be thanking me for giving you some warning in advance.”
Tony and Harry stood there simmering and speechless while Clarkson began to back away from them. “Believe me, Tony, I’m truly sorry about this investigation. I tried my best to head it off. But, I can see you’re upset; so, I’d better move on.”
“So long, gentlemen. I’ll see you later,” he said over his shoulder as he briskly walked away. The spring in his step signaled his sheer delight with himself. He knew he had ruined Tony’s evening and pissed-off Harry Churchill. It was turning out to be a pretty good day after all, he thought.
Looking at each other, Tony and Harry remained speechless for many seconds. Finally, Harry said, “Tony, there’s something really smelly about this. The topic of classified research was discussed nearly two years ago when you and the university were negotiating with DOE. It has not been brought up again since it was approved at that time. But, you know I was suspicious that Clarkson was going to try and do something about it. It looks like he waited until I was absent to sneak it into the agenda.”
After a brief pause, Harry continued, “I’m sorry, Tony. I should’ve been there. Clarkson called the meeting on short notice, and I had a conflict.”
