Alien Among Us (TJ Steele Book 1)

by L. Edwin Brown

  By the way, where is the young man, Dr. Stenson asked? Mary replied, he was in his room reading. She went to TJ’s room and brought him out into the living room, to meet Dr. Stenson.

  I sat down between my mother and father. Dr. Stenson was amazed at my height and maturity as we talked. He told me and my parents all about MIT, including the area around Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT was one of the largest college campuses in the U.S.

  Dr. Stenson said Theodore James could live with him and his wife. Their children were grown and away from home. His daughter is a professor at Harvard Law School and his son, was a broker on Wall Street. He has three grand kids and his wife works as an independent volunteer student advisor, at the university.

  He assured my parents, he would make sure, I got to my classes every day and I had transportation, to and from school. Because of my age, I will have older student supervision with me, while I was on campus. I will have a special student identification card that will allow me access to all the engineering buildings. His meals on campus would be free and he would have breakfast and dinner with my wife and I.

  Cambridge and the size of the MIT college campus can be a challenge, but Theodore James will never be out without an escort, said Dr. Stenson.

  Call me TJ said Theodore. I like to keep some things simple, especially my name, he stated.

  Well TJ, asked Dr. Stenson. What do think about MIT for your next educational challenge? I didn’t have an answer. I wanted to speak to my parents first. Dr. Alford opened a folder, he was holding, and reached inside. He handed my father an envelope. Bradly opened the envelope and inside were three Pan American Airlines, first class tickets, departing from LAX airport on Monday, July 10th, returning from Boston International on Saturday, July 15th.

  Dr. Stenson said he would be honored if the Steele’s stayed with him and his wife, while in Cambridge. He would give them a personal tour of the campus and show them the engineering buildings. He told my mother, one evening they would go to the planetarium, at the top of the Prudential Building, and she could use their large telescope.

  Dr. Alford said this trip would give my mom and dad a chance to see where I would live and what life would be like for me. Unlike his two years at UCLA, I would now be two thousand eight hundred miles away and probably wouldn’t return home until summer each year.

  Don’t make up your mind until you have seen our MIT campus, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said Dr. Stenson. Then you can decide if this is the best place for TJ to come and teach us a thing or two.

  As Dr. Alford and Stenson were walking out to their car, Leonard turned and asked me if I had really solved the string theory question.

  I stepped up to the edge of the driveway and said. There are four fundamental forces in the universe. Gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear forces. Each of these is produced by fundamental particles that act as carriers of the force. The most familiar of these is the photon, a particle of light, which is the mediator of electromagnetic forces. Professor Kruger refuses to accept this theory.

  This means, the instance, a magnet attracts a nail both objects exchange photons. The graviton is the particle associated with gravity. The strong force is carried by eight particles known as gluons. Finally, the weak force is transmitted by three particles, the W+, the W- , and the Z. When I explained these finding to Professor Kruger he said it was nonsense and told me to drop this type of thinking from my research.

  The behavior of all of these particles and forces is described with impeccable precision by a standard model, with one notable exception, gravity. For technical reasons, the gravitational force, most familiar in our everyday lives, has proven very difficult to describe microscopically. This has been for many years one of the most important problems in theoretical physics, to formulate a quantum theory of gravity.

  I went on to say. String theory has emerged as the most promising candidate for a microscopic theory of gravity. And it is infinitely more ambitious than that. It attempts to provide a complete, unified, and consistent description of the fundamental structure of our universe. For this reason, I believe it is the theory of everything. Professor Kruger doesn’t believe fundamental simple gravity, has anything to do with string theory. He will never come up with the answers he’s looking for.

  Both Alford and Stenson were amazed at my knowledge of string theory. One more thing I said, just as the two men were getting into their car. There is now or will ever be a definitive solution to string theory. It is a part of everything in our lives. String theory is everyone, it’s our planet, the universe and beyond. Tell Professor Kruger to give up on S-matrix and string theory and pursue something that has a conclusion, otherwise he’s domed to die a failure.

  My father was standing with his arm around my mother smiling. He knew his son was a genius and probably the smartest eleven year old on earth. In his mind, he knew I would need to get out of this desert and expand my mind.

  I stood next to the driveway and watched Dr. Alford, back his Lincoln Towne Car, out onto the street. I watched as he followed the curve around Roth Street and then out of sight. When I turned around, my parents were back in the house and the front door was open.

  When I entered the house my mother was picking up the lemonade glasses off the coffee table. My father was on the patio getting some fresh air and drinking another glass of lemonade. I returned to my room and my engineering book.

  On Monday my father cleared his schedule, so he could make the trip to MIT. We had fifteen days to get ready for our flight, to the east coast. We would drive to Los Angeles the evening of July 9th and stay at the LAX Hilton. Our flight was at 9:00 in the morning and my father likes to be punctual.

  The next two weeks passed quickly. I was spending almost every day at the air force base mechanic shop and flight line.

  My mother said, I had ruined almost every shirt I own, with jet fuel and engine grease. My father said we will buy him new clothes, when he goes to MIT. It was the first time either of my parents had mentioned, me going to MIT. I knew it was a slip of the tongue, but now I was convinced they would allow me to attend college.

  As we drove to Los Angeles my mother tossed several letters over the back of her seat into my lap. I read the two letters from Dr. Orville Walker, the President of UCLA. The first letter was a simple offer to allow me to return to the university in the fall. The next letter, was from a couple weeks later, and was an admission, the university had made a serious mistake and wanted me to return. They were willing to give me anything, including full control of my classes.

  I asked my mom why she showed me these letters and she responded. I had a right to know, there were other options for me, then just MIT. I tucked the two letters into my backpack and sat silent for the duration of the trip.

  The next day we landed at Boston Logan International Airport at 5:45 PM, Eastern Standard Time. We were met at the airport by a chauffeured limousine. They loaded our luggage into the limousine and we took a twenty five minute ride, crossing several large bodies of water, before driving through the MIT campus and stopping in front of a large three story row house, on Washington Street.

  The area was filled with large homes, owned by some of Boston’s wealthiest residents. Cambridge is an old community and one of America’s first cities.

  Dr. Bryan Stenson and his wife Martha met us out on the front stoop. Martha Stenson was very elegant and sophisticated. She was a true Bostonian, with a long family history, dating back to the Revolutionary War.

  While several servants and the chauffeur carried our luggage into the house, the Stenson’s led us into the parlor.

  Both the Stenson’s and my parents quickly warmed up to each other. My parents were comfortable around them. We had dinner in a large dining room and were served by several servants. That night I slept in a large bedroom on the third floor. This would be my bedroom, if I decided to come to MIT. My parents also had a large guest room, on the second floor, with a private bath.

  Tuesd
ay morning, the chauffeured limousine was out front, to take us over to the university. MIT was only a few blocks away, through some narrow streets. Both Bryan and Martha showed us through the inside of the main engineering buildings. I was stopping at every turn looking at and picking up devices that MIT students had been working on. I pointed out a problem with one of the mechanical parts lying on a table.

  Dr. Stenson’s flag an associate professor, over to the table and I explained the issue with the design. The associate professor said, they have been trying for weeks to resolve an issue with the mechanism.

  I wasn’t showing off, I just could not walk by without saying something. I have a tendency to say what’s on my mind, without considering the other persons feelings. I also have trouble with sarcasm and understanding someone’s jokes. Maybe it was because, I was reading their mines and knew the punchline before they finished.

  We stayed on campus until dinner time, before returning to the Stenson’s house. Dr. Stenson spent some private time with me, while Martha entertained my parents. He told me he sensed I was able to extrasensory communicate with people’s minds. I never responded to his assumption, but I think he knew, I had the ability to read his.

  Wednesday and Thursday was spent touring Cambridge, Boston, Chelsea Revere, Medford, Arlington, Belmont, and Watertown. It was the same thing in every village. Old stately homes and narrow streets. We ate lunch at one of New England’s best restaurants.

  That night Dr. Stenson took us up to the planetarium, on top of the Prudential Building. My mother got a chance to view the evening stars through the large telescope. Special filters blocked the ambient light from the city making the stars seem as if they were only a few feet away.

  Friday Dr. Stenson took me back over to the campus, while my parents were treated to a shopping spree. I was comfortable with Dr. Stenson. He showed me things in the engineering building, he knew I would enjoy. He told me, anything I invented or patent, while here at MIT, the university would own sixty percent. If funds were generated from the patents, I would receive forty percent of any royalties. He assured me he would make sure my parents knew this, before we left on Saturday.

  The Stenson’s road with us to the airport on Saturday. Dr. Stenson handed my father a large yellow envelope that completely outline my education at MIT. Last night, Dr. Stenson and my parents, spent private time in his study, while Martha showed me photos of their two children and grandchildren.

  I was excited about coming here, but had to restrain myself, for my parent’s sake. The limo dropped us at the Pam Am gate and the car was quickly surrounded by porters, who began to unload our bags from the trunk.

  During the flight back to Los Angeles my mother and father sat together, going through the paper work, from the yellow envelope. I sat across the aisle from them looking out the window.

  Sunday after church, my mom, dad, and me sat out on the patio, behind the house, with a glass of lemonade and talked about MIT and the opportunity there. My mother’s concerned was the long space of time I would be away from them. My father quickly jumped in and said he would fly me home at Christmas to be with them.

  It was now sounding like they were in favor of me going to MIT. I was now excited and told them I really wanted to do this. The rest of the day, we sat at the kitchen table and filled out the papers, Dr. Stenson had given my father.

  I turned twelve years old on August 1, 1972 and on Saturday August 19th my parents, put me on a plane, to Boston.

  I quickly settled in at the Stenson’s and began spending every day on campus, getting familiar with all the engineering buildings. I met a lot of the professors and instructors. Classes would officially start September 11th.

  Martha was always buying me clothes for school. I was used to short sleeve shirts, but it got really cold in the winter in Cambridge. I went home for two weeks at Christmas and was happy to be with my mother and father. My father had purchased a color television and we sat on the sofa together and watched Christmas programs.

  By the end of my first year at MIT, I had sixteen registered patents and some were generating funds. My mother set up a trust for me, at the Edwards Credit Union. Dr. Stenson was sending her checks from MIT. I waited until mid-June, before going home. I had some projects, I wanted to finish, before my summer break.

  While at home my father let me go over to the base and work with the engineers. I showed them some of the things, I had designed and built. He made me promise to spend an equal amount of time with my mother, through the summer break.

  I was thirteen when I returned to MIT on August 24, 1973. That year I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Astronomy. I took the Astronomy classes, because of my mother’s interest and maybe I was looking for where I had come from.

  College was easy. All I had to do is attend the classes on time and pass the test, the professor’s handed out. I was the only student in our engineering class that aced every test, put in front of me. I had an additional thirty three registered patents, before the end of my second year, at MIT. I was unaware, my trust fund was now in the ninety thousand dollar range.

  At the end of my third year, I had a Master’s degree in mathematics and in engineering. I was almost fourteen years old and one of the youngest to hold multiple degrees. I was developing things for the military and now held over a hundred patents in MIT’s and my name. The college gave me full and undisputed credit for every patent.

  I stayed at MIT until the end of my fifth year when I received a PhD in engineering and a PhD in mathematics. Dr. Stenson wanted me to stay and continue with my education and to be a paid instructor, but I felt I needed to do more. It took me until the first of July, 1976 to pack up and ship the things, I had accumulated while living at the Stenson’s home, to Edwards Air Force Base.

  I knew my departure was hurting Martha Stenson. She enjoyed having me around. I had made an impact on her life, the same as she had on mine.

  I arrived at LAX airport on July 3rd a day before the fourth of July. My mother and father were waiting at the Pan Am gate for me, to step off the plane. I was now a little over six foot tall and my mother couldn’t wait for me to reach the end of the jet bridge.

  After a few good hugs and kisses, we were off towards home at the air force base.

  My sixteenth birthday fell on a Sunday and my father surprised me with a trip to the base’s deputy registrar on Monday, where I took a simple written drivers test, in the morning and hands on drivers test in the afternoon. When we left the deputy registrar’s office, I was carrying a legal California drivers licenses.

  My father was thrilled, I had taken my driving test in his 1955 Chevy Nomad. The dry desert weather had well preserved his precious station wagon. He kept it clean and in great running condition. He must have waxed it, a hundred times over the years.

  My mother asked me what my plans were now that I would not be returning to MIT. She told me I had around four hundred thousand dollars in my trust fund. I was surprised by her comment, but I also knew, I had been generating a lot of money for MIT as well. She still considered me her little boy, but I felt like a thirty year old man in a sixteen year old body.

  I had read about two young men who formed a software company for personal computers on April 4, 1975. I started looking into the world of personal computers and how they could benefit me. MIT had a university computer installation set up in a suite of rooms, with a large access restricted, air conditioned room, for the computer and a smaller adjacent room, for submitting jobs. Nearby was a room full of keypunch machines, for programmers use.

  Late 1976 I purchased an IBM 5100 portable computer. The computer weighed fifty five pounds and had a built-in five inch CRT display, tape drive, 1.9MHz PALM processor and 64KB of RAM. I was constantly taking it apart and putting it back together. I began to figure out ways to improve the computer’s capability.

  It was late February 1977, when I received a visit from a gentleman, who owned a small aerospace compan
y in Sacramento, California. His name was Brandon Clark and his company was Clark Aerospace. His company supplied parts to the military, especially here at Edwards Air Force Base.

  Mr. Clark had read several article about me over the years and wanted to meet me while he was visiting the air base. He stayed and had dinner with our family and we talked for several hours. He said he had an engineering job, at his company, if I wanted it. Of course my Mother was thrilled, because Sacramento was less than a six hour drive away. I told Mr. Clark, I would come up to Sacramento in a week or two and checkout his company.

  The next weekend my father and mother took me to Lancaster, California, about thirty five miles from Edwards, to a Chevrolet auto dealership. You’re going to need a reliable car now that you will be traveling by yourself.

  We walked around the dealership checking out the new Chevrolet’s. My father always said any car would do, as long as it was a Chevy. I picked out a 1977 bright red Monte Carlo with a white vinyl landau top. It was a big car and looked safe to drive. My parents had to purchase the car in their names, because of my age. We were able to leave the dealership with the car and my mother rode with me, while my dad went on ahead.

  Monday March 20th, I headed out for Sacramento. My mother booked a motel room for me about two miles from Clark Aerospace. I arrived in Sacramento around 4:30 Monday afternoon and followed the direction my mother had given me, to the Holiday Inn Motor Lodge.

  The next morning, I was up and dressed by seven. I went down to the hotel’s restaurant and had breakfast. I was not scared or uncomfortable while sitting at a table by myself. While I ate, I looked at a Sacramento city map. I planted the images into my brain, with street names and highway routes.