by Potts, Allie
Juliane soon lost herself in the work at hand. Juliane was aware that Betty was speaking, but her voice was like white noise. It wasn't until a distracted Alan suffered a burn from an ill-placed soldering iron that she returned to the present. Alan glared at Betty as he moved to take over the mechanical portion of the assembly. Juliane realized that hours had slipped by, but unlike before, she wasn't troubled by their unnoted passage. She almost felt alive again.
Finally, the last bolt was tightened. The device was just as Juliane had designed it in the simulation, a series of interlocking tubes surrounding a grouping of transformers and power generators.
“Well, I guess that’s everything,” stated Chad. “Who gets the honors of flipping the switch?”
“Should the rest of us go behind a screen or something?” Betty asked, eyeballing the device. Juliane took a deep breath, calming her racing heart. She told herself she had no doubt about the device's performance. They had logged hundreds of hours in the simulation environment for just this moment. Did Betty think that time spent had been merely for fun?
Juliane spotted Alan as he took a step forward placing him in between Betty and the device. Betty appeared to relax as if his presence was all the reassurance she needed. Betty might interpret the gesture as heroic, but Juliane wasn't convinced his motivation was as selfless as it seemed. I miss a few days and Alan immediately thinks he has been in charge this whole time, she thought.
Juliane realized that she was frowning and forced her features back into a neutral expression. If Alan and Betty were in a relationship, it meant she was well and truly outnumbered. Chad would shy away at the first sign of tension. Of course, if Louis were here, there would be no question as to who should take the honors.
Thinking of Louis again, Juliane's eyebrows knit in confusion. Where was he anyway? When she had last tracked him, his trajectory had suggested that he would be in the general area by now. Juliane tried to get another reading on his location and was shocked to discover that she could no longer locate him at all. It was as if he were no longer on the grid. Her pulse quickened. Had something awful happened to him in transit? His jet was safer than most, but accidents still happened.
Lost in her own concern, she did not protest as Chad led her back into an observation room along with Betty. Alan moved to the center of the room, the twinkle in his eyes blurred by the oversized safety goggles he wore. He paced around the perimeter of the device as if this last inspection might find some undetected design defect. Juliane snorted at Alan’s attempt at showmanship. Out of the corner of her vision, Betty’s chest swelled with pride. No doubt about it, they are definitely in a relationship. It was everything she could do not to roll her eyes.
“I feel as if I should have prepared some formal statement,” said Alan, “as this moment will go down in the history books for sure.”
“What? You didn't prepare for this moment? Here I was hoping to be inspired.” Juliane might have spoken with more venom a year ago, but she had to admit that Alan’s childlike glee was infectious. It couldn’t cut through all of the fog from the loss of the link, but it softened the fog's effect.
“I am sure that Juliane and Chad will agree to sign off on whatever speech you want to claim you made in the final report,” said Betty. “The suspense is killing me! Say the magic word or something, and turn it on.”
Alan laughed. “What a marvelous suggestion! Chad, make sure you are recording this. Three . . . two . . . one . . . Abracadabra!”
The device lit up as it came online indicating that all systems were functioning normally. Even in the other room, Juliane thought she felt the barest tingle on her skin. A layer of water materialized on the lab floor, just as it had in her simulation.
Chad took a step back. “We’ve done it,” Chad whispered before correcting himself. “You’ve done it . . .”
“Glad to know you never doubted us, Chad.” Alan’s voice vibrated as if his teeth were chattering. Juliane broke her gaze away from the growing puddle to really look at him. Alan saw the light of the sun about as often as she did, but could he be paler than he was just moments ago?
“No arguing with me this time, Juliane. It’s time to celebrate!” Betty ran over to the small cooler in the back of the lab and pulled out a bottle of champagne. When Juliane looked back at Alan, whatever she thought she had seen in his expression was gone; if anything, Alan’s cheeks now looked flushed as he swung Betty up into an embrace with uncharacteristic abandon.
“You did consider the increase on my insurance premiums, and made sure to install appropriate drainage in this room before this little experiment, correct?” a voice she hadn’t heard in weeks spoke up from the lab doorway.
The bottle crashed to the ground, sending fizzing spray across the room. The sound barely registered in Juliane's ears. She spun toward the doorway, not bothering to watch for broken glass on the ground as she leapt toward Louis. Only then did she notice that there was something off about his expression. Juliane realized then what was missing was his characteristic smile. Without it, he looked older, less forgiving. She pulled up short.
He hadn’t made any move toward her. His posture was formal, matching the tailored suit he wore. Juliane detected a figure in the shadows behind him. Louis turned, and the smile she missed bloomed once again on his face, only this time it wasn’t directed at her.
“I received a call that the project was nearing finalization and thought it was time to schedule an impromptu inspection. Had I realized that you were already preparing for the trial, I wouldn’t have dawdled at the airport.” His voice was pure business, only softening with a hint of mirth when he mentioned being delayed at the airport.
Juliane was confused. Why wasn't he rushing to meet her? Why wasn't he pulling her into one of his crushing embraces? Hadn't he worried about her? She looked at her teammates. Chad eyes immediately dropped to the floor. Had any of them even tried to reach him about her health? If he didn't know she had been out of commission for a week, it would explain why he didn't arrive sooner, but why wasn’t he making eye contact?
A female voice spoke up behind him. “Are you going to make me stand here in this hallway all evening?”
“Where are my manners? Dr. Dronigh, Dr. Faris, I would like to introduce you to Elena.” A delicate-looking woman stepped into the lab light. She had long blonde hair that flowed down her back in soft curls, blue eyes, and flawless skin. Juliane’s eyes darted between Louis and the woman like a hummingbird seeking sustenance. A wave of hot blood hit her ears in a futile attempt to block out Louis’ next words. “My wife.”
Nineteen
Although Louis had always spoken with a slight accent, it was as if he now spoke a different language. Each syllable leaving his lips blended together as if the words fought against the forward movement of time. Though Juliane clearly saw the woman standing next to him, a double vision of her entering the lab and Louis encircling her waist with his arm played over and over again in Juliane’s mind’s eye.
She looked to Chad in a desperate attempt to find someone who could make sense of the situation. His gaze was at least off the floor, but his expression lacked the sense of shock she felt. Juliane began to question whether she had heard Louis’s introduction correctly. None of the others had made any attempt at greeting the new arrival either. Is this a bad dream? No, the pain of crawling out of bed was much too real to be a dream. Am I hallucinating? Juliane wondered. Is that woman even there?
Juliane closed her eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. When she opened them, the woman was still there, Louis’s hand continued to rest upon the small of her back, and Louis’s smile still had an idiotic dreamlike quality to it. Chad’s eyes met hers and softened. Pity. A quick glance showed a similar reaction on Betty. This couldn't be happening. She would not be pitied! The taste of copper filled her mouth as she bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She felt as shattered on the inside as the broken glass that marred the lab f
loor, but drew herself up like an empress. She would not shed tears. Not in front of this woman. Not in front of Louis. Not in front of anyone.
“Rest assured, Evans, we are more than equipped to deal with a little water here. As you can see, it is already finding its way to the drainage system.” In an instant, Alan had snapped back into crisp business demeanor.
“I don’t understand. What is all the fuss about a little water?” the woman, Elena, asked.
"The fuss, as you so put, is not about the water, but where the water came from." Alan launched into his lecturing tone. “I will try to keep this to the high-level concepts. Nearly half a century ago, researchers were able to finally confirm the existence of a particle, dubbed the Higgs Boson. This particle is important because it is what gives an object mass. Without it, you and everything with mass around you would merely be raw energy. There have been a number of attempts to study the power of the Higgs Boson over the years through various experiments, but until today, no one has been successfully able to control its power and modify the particle’s bonds at will with such a small and deployable mechanism. What we have done here today is, well, you could effectively call it magic. In simple terms, the water you see here was created out of thin air.”
When Elena did not immediately respond with gushing praise, Alan sighed. “I am sure your husband can explain this all to you while you travel to wherever it is you are going.” Turning back to Louis, he continued, “Evans, we’ve had a rather eventful day, and while I can’t speak for the others, I am exhausted. I’ll issue our formal report at the end of the week along with a demonstration. You would be welcome to attend, or if you would prefer, you can have your people contact me to schedule a more convenient time.”
Without waiting for a response, Alan began collecting his things. Betty fidgeted nervously in the corner of the room as she attempted to pick up the shards of glass from the broken bottle. “Err . . . yes, it has been an extremely busy few days. We can celebrate after the formal report . . . unless any of you would like to come out with me after this mess is cleaned up. Juliane? Chad?”
“I'm supposed to meet Nadia in the next thirty minutes or so.” Chad continued to look at Juliane, his shoulders slumped in apology.
Juliane said, “No, Alan’s right. There is still quite a bit of work to do, and I’ve been away from the office for far too long as it is." The image of Betty's pitying gaze burnt in her memory. She had to get back to her office where things still made sense. "Betty, if you can take care of the rest of the cleanup, I believe I'll head that way to get started on some paperwork.”
Juliane began walking toward the door directly into the path of Louis and Elena, frowning when it became clear that neither was moving out of her way. Whether Elena’s vacant expression was a result of not understanding Alan’s explanation about their work over the last several months, or if she truly had come into the room without any thought to what her reception might be, Juliane saw no point in wasting her breath asking either of them to stand aside.
Juliane glared at Louis. His grin slipped, but Louis appeared more irritated at Alan’s borderline insubordination than ashamed of his own actions. As she continued her approach, Louis raised the arm not currently attached to Elena’s waist briefly. Juliane arched an eyebrow in disbelief. At least a part of him acknowledged our past connection, Juliane thought to herself. Immediately, his arm dropped back to his side.
Louis moved first, but only to take a step closer to Elena. Juliane briefly paused on the threshold, taking another deep breath before taking the first step into the hallway. A large part of her wanted Louis to say something to break her professional demeanor, anything that would explain this sudden change in their relationship.
As she walked away, she heard Elena barely whisper to Louis, “Did Dr. Dronigh call her Betty? I thought you said Dr. Faris’s name was Juliane?”
“Juliane was the one who just left, but don’t worry about keeping the names straight. Alan Dronigh is the only name that will matter.”
Juliane stopped and stared at the hallway lighting fixture in an attempt to regain her equilibrium. She envisioned funneling the tempest of her anger and hurling it into the light. She imagined that the LED bulb pulsed in response.
The lab door had not entirely closed, and Juliane heard Betty exclaim, “Alan, did you turn the generator back on? We’ve got a situation. Everyone get back! I don’t know what's happening here!”
Juliane found herself back in her office, although she didn't remember making the trip. She debated going back to see what the commotion was about, but that would mean coming back into contact with that woman again and Betty's pitying eyes. No. She wouldn't go back. She couldn't go back. Only forward. Just then, Alan entered the room.
“You missed all the fun, Juliane.”
“What fun would that be?”
“Well, just after you left, there was an energy surge, and the generator came online by itself.”
“I guess it's possible that some of the capacitance didn't fully discharge.” Juliane leaned over the papers on her desk again. They were surrounded by technology, but the ACI had still never fully embraced going paperless. She could access all the documents in the world digitally, yet her inbox remained full. Normally, she hated paperwork, but right now, she was grateful for the distraction caused by the waste. “You can ask Chad to take another look at the groundings.”
“Ah, but I haven’t told you what happened next.”
“I'm on pins and needles.” She continued to move papers from one pile on her desk to another, adding the occasional signature.
“Well, it seems that there must be an error in at least one of your equations.”
Unable to ignore such a statement, Juliane put her pen down. She folded her arms and gave Alan her full attention. “I didn’t make any mistakes. You saw the results of the simulation. Everything went exactly as I had anticipated.”
“Well, then, how would you explain the lack of stability in the resulting water?"
“What lack of stability? When I left, the water was draining exactly as it should.” Her forehead knit in confusion. Juliane knew she was being led along, and she wondered what grand point Alan was trying to make.
“Yes, when you left, it was, but almost as soon as the door closed, the outer perimeter of the pool ignited. Then boom!" Alan spread his fingers wide like a child describing simple fireworks. "The floor is completely damaged, and poor Mrs. Evans”—Juliane felt her lips tighten at his casual use of the name—“may have gotten herself a little singed. It's a wonder the entire room didn’t explode.” He casually examined his fingernails as if the nail beds might still show evidence of ash. “I dare say, neither of the Evans left impressed. We may have just lost our funding.”
Juliane felt a flutter of panic. She could not understand why Alan seemed pleased to deliver such devastating news. They both had leveraged much of their reputation on this project. Such a failure could set them back years within the ranks of the ACI. “No, I can’t believe Louis would do that to us. This is only a mild setback.” The words rang false even to her ears.
“Right. And Louis has proven how loyal he can be. If he could toss you aside so easily, why wouldn’t he do the same with our funding? As far as he is concerned, you and our project were merely distractions. Now that he’s occupied elsewhere, we will all be forgotten.”
Juliane slouched in defeat. “I just don’t understand. How did this happen?”
“I suspect some of the hydrogen and oxygen bonds began to break down. Then, with all that pure oxygen floating about, it wouldn't take much, maybe just the spark from some static cling or some preservative in the champagne to ignite the hydrogen. Fairly basic chemistry.” Alan shrugged. The smile plastered to his face told Juliane that he was purposely misinterpreting her question.
Juliane closed her eyes and took a calming breath to center her emotions. Had Chad or Betty been in front of her, she might not have had the strength
to continue, but she would not break down and cry in front of Alan. “You know what I mean, Alan. None of you were surprised when Elena,” Juliane spat the name, “entered the lab. What did you know? What happened while I was ill?”
The smile dropped from Alan’s lips. “You really had no idea at all? After all that moping around the lab over the last few weeks, I thought for sure you were reading those rumor rags that Betty so enjoys. You definitely seemed to be paying them a lot of attention when you were featured in them every other day.”
“I admit it. I read the occasional article about myself. I’m only human, but the magazines aren’t exactly high on my daily reading list.” As she had started to fade from being a regular feature in the tabloids, other more farcical stories had taken her place. Stories about athletes rumored to be shooting up with extremely experimental performance-enhancing drugs, giving them competitive edges, but the drugs had monstrous side effects, such as fingernails hardening into claws and gums that receded back, making teeth look like tusks. Ridiculous stuff.
“Then, I am sorry you had to find out the way you did. You were so calm in there—rightfully pissed, but overall calm. I thought you had to have heard the rumors even if you didn’t know for sure.” Alan ran his hand through his hair, taking a few steps closer to her.
“I still don’t know. What are these rumors you keep referring to?” Juliane pushed her seat back, wanting to keep the distance between them constant. Alan recognized the move and stopped his forward progress.
“You may need to talk to Betty. She's the one who told me, but what people are saying is that Louis suffered a nervous breakdown, anxiety attack, or something like that about a month ago, and this Elena person saw him wandering the street. Supposedly, she had no clue who he was. She had no idea about his fame or wealth or anything, and took him back to her home where she nursed him back to health. They got married by the end of the week. Betty tells me it is being portrayed as quite the fairy tale romance."
