“I apologize for your, uh, office that Mattie set you up in. We have been given a new building to work in and as soon as they renovate it and install some new equipment, we will be moving to somewhat more roomy quarters. You will have a bigger office and some much better computer equipment there. I have been given a generous budget for setting up this team so if there is something that you think we need then let me know. If I am not around, then you can also tell Mattie, as she will be coming to the new team as our secretary.”
Peter grimaced at that information.
Mike laughed and said, “Mattie is not that bad. She has saved me from making an ass out of myself quite a few times. She may come across as a marine recruit’s nightmare of a drill sergeant, but when you really need something done she always seems to manage to find a way to do it. But I digress; I am sure you have a hundred questions, so pick your top few and ask away.”
“Well, I do have a few,” admitted Peter. “Actually, I have more than a few. Dr. Casselman said that I was to give my thesis to you as soon as it is completed. I have still not actually graduated, and I was told this could be considered a work or internship position until then. It is rather unorthodox not to have your thesis reviewed by the professors at your school so I was wondering about that, and is this actually going to be a full time position, or just temporary?”
Mike considered his response and in the end he chose to be honest. “Peter, in all actuality your position here, although important, could have been filled by someone much more experienced than you. I asked for you to be here for two reasons. I recognize intelligence and perseverance when I see it. You have initiative and sort of a bulldog like approach that reminds me of myself at your age. In addition, it is to keep you quiet about your discovery for a few weeks. I think you still do not realize the full magnitude of your discovery, and the possible ramifications. For that reason your thesis paper is to be reviewed by myself and Doctor Mary Beth Davis. I do not know if you have met her yet, but she is presently the project director for the Hubble project. We are both alumni of Cal Tech and can officially be viewed as professors emeritus and thus able to review your paper. That will keep news of your discovery safe for a little while. You have completed your course work at Cal Tech and will be awarded your Doctorate with the rest of your peers in May providing there are no major problems with your research paper.”
Peter winced. “I believe I may have met Doctor Davis. My impression was that she does not have a very high opinion of me.”
Mike laughed. “Don’t be overly concerned about Mary Beth. She is very rough at the edges but she is one damn smart lady. She can also drink you and me both under the table if she wants and has the vocabulary of a sailor. Rough and tumble she may seem, but she is one of the best minds that JPL has to offer.”
“I am still just a little confused over all this secrecy,” Peter admitted. “I understand that the end of the world nuts will probably have a field day with this news, but once it can be shown that this is merely an opportunity to advance our knowledge of the formation of the stars and universe they will eventually be forgotten. After the Brown Dwarf passes by, we will have increased our knowledge of these processes a hundred fold. It will be worth all the hoopla the fanatics will raise. They can camp out with Elvis and watch the sky for UFOs while we do some real research.”
Mike eyed Peter closely before answering. “There is a little more to it than that Peter. I assume Mattie did have you sign all the security and confidentiality statements, right?”
“Yes, they made me do all that my first day,” Peter answered.
Mike leaned forward. “How close do you think this Brown Dwarf is going to pass our solar system Peter?”
Peter shrugged “I really don’t have the information to make a good educated guess, but it would be quite an opportunity if it would pass within a half light year of our solar system.”
Mike lowered his voice. “What if I told you that some of us are starting to think that this object is going to pass much closer than that?”
“You have already determined that?” asked Peter excitedly.
Mike replied in a hushed voice. “We are in the process of deploying some classified equipment to do that as we speak. In about three to four weeks, we should be able to narrow down this objects trajectory, speed, and distance pretty closely. That is what your job is going to be. You will be taking the data as it comes in and collating and working all this out. A lot of this will be done by some very powerful computers as the calculations can be quite involved, but it still takes a human to put it all into perspective. Your job is to take that data and give that input to me as expediently as possible. Other people will know bits and pieces of the puzzle, but you will have all the pieces to work with. I am counting on you to do this. Only after we have firm data in hand can this be released for public knowledge. To do so prematurely could be a publicity nightmare for JPL, NASA, and the current administration in Washington. You should also know that we are under somewhat of a time constraint. Even though you were first to discover this dwarf, you will not be the last.”
Peter shook his head in affirmation. He then grinned and replied, “When can I get started?”
Chapter 13
April 2nd, 2016
Pasadena, California
The weekend found Peter and Susan lying on a blanket under the stars out at the beach on Saturday night. It was the first time they had spent together since the previous Sunday at Susan’s Uncle’s house. Peter had been working late at JPL trying to get his work organized and Susan was getting ready for finals. Susan was laying back on Peter’s shoulder as they gazed at the sky and they listened to the sound of the waves.
Peter turned his head and gave her a kiss, which she gently returned with a contented sigh. “Susan, you pretty much know my life history. You know how and where I grew up but you rarely speak of your family or your childhood.”
Susan turned her gaze back to the sky. “My childhood was not quite as happy as yours was, Peter.”
He nodded. “I sort of got that impression by the way you never speak about it. You want to tell me about it?”
“I have never really talked about it to anybody,” she said, “but I guess you should know if we are going to keep seeing each other.”
“I grew up in Seneca, South Carolina. Seneca is a small town southwest of Greenville and near Clemson University. My mother was going to school here at Cal Tech when she evidently met some guy and they had a whirl wind romance. She got pregnant with me and not wanting to get married, she moved back to Seneca where my Aunt Sandy lived. I did not know about any of that though until later, when I was seventeen years old. My mother’s mother, my grandmother, had died of breast cancer at a very young age. The only family my mother had left was my Uncle Eric here in California and Aunt Sandy.”
“My mother stayed single until after I was born. She then met and married Charlie. He adopted me. When I was eight years old he was killed in a car wreck. I was pretty broke up over it as I had always thought of him as my father and my mother had never told me any different. I can remember that my mother, oddly enough, never cried at his funeral. I never saw her shed a single tear after his death. At the time I did not really realize it, but she never loved him. She was still in love with my real biological father.”
“When I was fifteen, my mother was diagnosed with the same aggressive breast cancer her mother had. She died nine months after being diagnosed. I had no choice but to go live with my Aunt Sandy. Before my mother died she encouraged me to contact my Uncle Eric here at Cal Tech and apply to attend college here. I did not even know she had a brother until she told me right before her death. She just said that they were too different and had drifted apart over the years after my grandmother had died. I had to go get a copy of my birth certificate when I decided to apply for school here. I was shocked when the birth certificate listed my father as “not named.” I questioned my Aunt Sandy and she said that yes, Charlie was not my real biological fa
ther. It was a major shock to me to learn that the man that I had known as dad was not my real father. My Aunt then told me of how my mother had gotten pregnant with me and moved back to South Carolina to be near her since she was the only family she had except for her estranged brother. Aunt Sandy said she did not even know the name of my real father.”
“So here I am. I am a junior Biology student at Cal Tech in love with a crazy guy who may be famous someday for discovering a Brown Dwarf. Right now though, I am tired of talking about me. Just kiss me and tell me you love me.”
Brett obliged her with a deep kiss. Then, he kissed her again. Both of them felt their barely contained passions overflowing. It seemed it was appropriate that the first time in their relationship that they joined their bodies together was under the watchful eyes of the stars in the night sky.
Chapter 14
April 25th 2016
Pasadena, California.
It had been a very busy five weeks for Peter since he had started at JPL. The team that had been assembled to study the Brown Dwarf consisted of Peter, Mike Banscott, Mattie, Bobbi and Robby. Bobbi and Robby were a pair of gifted computer technicians who also happened to be fraternal twins. They had all moved into a suite of offices that had been re-furbished and outfitted with the most up to date computer systems and high speed data links connecting them to NASA and the rest of JPL. They had a live link with the Hubble Space Telescope and could view its images as they were transmitted to Earth. In addition, several days ago they had obtained live access to some type of infrared imaging satellites that were providing far better data than even Spitzer had previously produced. Whenever Peter or the twins asked Doctor Banscott about the new infrared imaging satellites, he just shook his head and said that the source was classified. The pair of satellites was obviously of the most recent technology, several generations beyond the Spitzer. Peter and the twins speculated that they were some type of spy satellite that was capable of looking for hidden thermal sources here on Earth that had been pointed skyward instead.
It was the data from these classified sources that was causing all the excitement today when Peter arrived. The satellites had been maneuvered by their controllers into positions where they could attempt to triangulate the exact position, speed, and trajectory of the approaching Dwarf Star. The satellites were in position and feeding data down to Earth that was being added to other data that was also being obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope. The main frame computer at JPL was crunching data and feeding it back to their computer terminals here in the suite of offices dedicated to the study of the Brown Dwarf. The twins had jokingly started calling the object Peter’s Star after they had learned of how it had been discovered.
Peter walked in just as the latest positional data starting downloading from the main frame. He rushed over to the monitor where the twins were hunched over watching.
“Here we go,” said Bobbi, as she pulled her hair back and tried to wrap it into pony tail with a rubber band. Robby was busy making notes as his sister read off the data being displayed on the computer terminal. “Speed is about zero point two percent the speed of light. Wow, it is trucking along pretty good. Distance is zero point zero five four Light Years.” She slapped her brother on the back. “Fork it over sucker, I win!” she exclaimed.
“Damn,” said Robby as he pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket.” He grinned sheepishly at Peter. “We had made a bet about the distance to the dwarf. I had guessed closer than zero point zero five Light Years.” He pulled out a calculator and did some quick estimates. “That puts it passing the solar system in about twenty seven years, plus or minus a few days. Damn, I will be middle aged by then!”
“Do we have a trajectory yet?” asked Peter. “How close will it approach the solar system at its closest point?”
“Just a minute, give old HAL the computer a minute to figure it out,” said Bobbi.
“Tick. Tick. Tick.” Robby was saying as he tapped his fingers on the desk.
The data finally updated on their monitor. Robby stopped tapping his fingers and Bobbi stopped messing with her hair. They looked at Peter who was frozen in place staring at the displayed data.
“That cannot be good,” whispered Robby.
Peter finally spoke. “Run these numbers again, and then do it manually.” He sat down and waited, his mind trying to grasp the vast speeds and distances involved.
Bobbi looked up, “HAL comes up with the same trajectory.”
“So do I,” gulped Robby about five minutes later.
They both sat back and looked at Peter. He slowly picked up his cell phone. “Hey Mike, this is Peter, how far away are you? Okay, as soon as you get here we have some preliminary numbers for you. Mike is pulling into the parking lot,” he said to the other two. Peter felt his heart pounding in his chest. “No Robby, this is not good,” he said as he patted Robby’s shoulder.
Mike walked into the office about five minutes later. “Well, it is about time. Almost three weeks those birds have been up there taking pictures. So what do we have?” He looked at Peter’s drawn face, and then the twins staring at the floor. “How close?” he asked softly.
Peter looked at him. “It will pass through the solar system.”
“When?” Mike asked, even more subdued.
“Twenty seven years give or take,” said Peter. “Damn, said Mike.” “Peter my boy; I don’t think famous is going to be the right word to describe you when this gets out. Infamous would be more fitting. I need a print out of these results. Is the mainframe working on a more precise trajectory?”
“Yes,” said Bobbi, but there are a lot of variables involved, positions of the major planets and their gravitational influence, we can probably get a rough trajectory in about ten to fifteen minutes.”
Mike nodded. “I will be in my office, let me know.”
As he passed her desk on the way to his office he said, “Mattie, I need a secure conference call to David Honstein set up in my office, and get Mary Beth over here if she is on site.”
Mike was sitting in his office when Mary Beth came in about five minutes later. She plopped down in the easy chair in his office and exclaimed, “What is all the damn doom and gloom about around here?”
Mike just looked at her. Peter came in and handed another data sheet to Mike. Mike looked at it and winced. “Sit, Peter,” he said. He hit his intercom. “Anytime now Mattie.”
“I have been waiting for all of you to get in the office first,” Mattie replied sarcastically. “You’re live with Doctor Honstein in Washington now.”
Mike handed the printout to Mary Beth. “David, this is Mike. I am here at JPL and have Peter Rockwell and Mary Beth with me.”
“Hello Peter and Mary Beth. Have you guys finally got some information for me?”
“Holy Shit,” exclaimed Mary Beth as she looked up at Mike.
Peter looked at her in amazement. He had still not gotten used to such crass language from such a brilliant woman.
“What are you guys doing there?” intoned David on the other end of the call after hearing Mary Beth’s outburst.
“David, this is Mike. We have some pretty firm preliminary data on the Dwarf now.” He looked up as the twins came and stood in his door way. “And it is not very good news,” continued Mike. Taking the sheet back from Mary Beth he read off of it. “Mass is about twenty one Jupiter masses. That makes it a middle of the road Y class Dwarf. It is giving off very little heat, so it appears to be quite old. Surface temperature is around seventy three degrees Fahrenheit. It is traveling about zero point two percent the speed of light. It is about zero point zero five four light years away, and at that speed and its current trajectory it will pass through our solar system from four degrees above the ecliptic just inside the orbit of Mars in about twenty seven years.”
There was dead silence on the other end of the line. Finally, David spoke. “Mike, I want you and Peter on a G-9 and in the air on the way to Washington this morning.” How good are those tw
in computer geeks you have working for you there?” asked David.
Mike looked up at the twins standing in his doorway.
“We’re the best there is,” whispered Robby. Bobbi nodded in agreement.
“I believe they are pretty damn good,” Mike said. He placed his hand over the microphone. “And pretty damned cocky also,” he said while giving them an evil eye.
“Get them running the calculations on what the position of the planets will be in twenty seven years when this thing arrives. I want that information by the time the two of you land. We have to have a rough idea of what we are going to have to plan for. There will be a car waiting for you. You will be going straight to the White House when you land. I will see you there.”
The connection went dead. Bobbi whistled and looked at Peter. “Man, the President is going to be pissed at you when you tell her where your star is going to go.”
Mike just stared at all of them.
“We’re screwed,” was all that Mary Beth could say.
…
David Honstein sat back in his chair in his office at the NASA administrative offices in Washington. He realized that he was going to have to think this one through very carefully. He pressed his intercom buzzer. “Dana, call the White House Chief of Staff and arrange for a meeting with the President this evening. When he asks why, tell him we have some answers from the previous topic we had met with the President about.”
Having taken care of that, he tried to concentrate. The ramifications of what was going to happen in twenty seven years slowly came to him. Being sixty three years old, he probably would not even be alive then, but what he did now, starting today, could drastically affect the lives of his children and grandchildren. There was going to have to be some long range plans developed.
Dark Star Rising Second Edition (Pebbles in The Sky) Page 11
