Wanda

by carl smothers

  Harry almost jumped to his feet with excitement. “Are you kidding?”

  “Not about that, Harry. I want you back. Will you come?”

  “I have to finish my class, but it’ll be over in a week. Yes, I’ll come back. I hope Scott won’t be mad.”

  “I’ve already talked to him, and he’s delighted about it.”

  “What happened? I didn’t think there was any way to get this cleared up. It looked hopeless to me.”

  “You’re not going to believe this. As it turned out, one of the defense rags ran an article about the protest. Someone leaked the info about the money exchange, and the rag made a big deal about it and the ethics issues involved.”

  “So what happened?” Harry asked.

  “A young program manager named Carlos Mandel was at one of the government labs trying to sell a new off-world mining program. While waiting for his appointment, he happened to pick up a five-month-old copy of the paper and read the article. After he got back to his company, he talked to his boss who called me. As it turned out, he was at that restaurant on the night when you and Marc were in front supposedly exchanging money for favors. He walked right by you and recognized you from another article he had read earlier. Anyway, he saw the bill and it really caught his attention. He’s also an avid collector of confederate money.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Harry said. “Not in my wildest dreams.”

  “Well, believe it. After we talked, I asked his boss to have their legal department take his deposition and send it to our legal beagles at Justice. They agreed, and he came to D.C. to testify. He even took a lie detector test. The justice department dismissed the case. Defense Weekly News reported it in their latest issue. I made sure of that. Please come back to us. We need you. I’m sorry about this whole mess.”

  “Who accused me?”

  “It was Alpha One. Their CEO has sent us a formal letter of apology and fired the person responsible.”

  Harry was overwhelmed with the news. He was so happy and tried to talk but nothing came out that made sense. He just babbled silently. Finally, he muttered, “I … I’ll be there in two weeks. Thank you, Bill. I’ve never been so relieved. I owe Carlos Mandel a lot. I hope someday to be able to thank him in person.”

  “It’s my great pleasure. Welcome back to the hunt. See you in two weeks. We’ve got a lot of work to do. By the way we kept your apartment for you.”

  “Thank you, Bill, I’ll see you in two weeks.” I can’t wait to tell mom and Wanda. I think they’ll be ecstatic. Wonder if Wanda will miss the university. It’s a shame she can’t stay and get her degree, but I need her. Well, I have to give her the choice. I’m not going to try to persuade her to do anything she doesn’t want to do.

  Harry entered W234 on his Qtab and Wanda materialized.

  “What’s up, Harry?”

  “Bill Hart asked me to come back to NSTA. They’ve cleared everything up.”

  “That’s wonderful news. When do we leave?”

  “In two weeks when I finish up my class. How do you feel about it?”

  “I’ll miss Tech, and my friends, Joey and Janie, but I’m anxious to get back and work on the wormhole. Both of us have wanted to do this since we were kids. I wouldn’t miss it for anything. I can always complete my degree on-line.”

  “I’m sure Scott will allow you to stay and finish up.”

  “Harry, I’m going with you. End of discussion. You’re not about to leave me out of this.”

  I wouldn’t dare say anything to Harry, but I’m really going to miss the interaction and fellowship I’ve had with the other students. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun in my life. The only way it could have been better was to be a real person. I wonder what it would be like to kiss a boy. The other girls seem to enjoy it. I would have liked to know Joey a lot better. Wonder if he’s a good kisser. Funny, all of a sudden feel totally isolated and lonely. I hate being constrained to the limitations of cyberspace. Denied the opportunity of experiencing the rewards and problems of living as a real person. Someday, somehow, I’m going to escape this box I live in and join humanity as a living, breathing being. Oh, well, Harry needs me, and I really want to work on that project. Glad my homes still in place. It’s a lot of work to do all of the redesign and remodeling over again. Especially when it’s exactly what you want.

  Chapter 9

  NSTA

  Washington, D.C.

  Harry could hardly wait to get out of the elevator. When it got to the 10th floor, he burst out of the door and hurriedly walked to his office. To his surprise, Pepper was waiting for him.

  “Hello, Tiger,” she said. “Welcome home. I missed you. Are you and Wanda ready to get back to the grind?”

  Harry laughed as he sat his case on the desk. “You don’t know how ready. I missed you too.” He couldn’t help but undress her with his eyes. He still thought she was one of the hottest women he had ever seen. He partied down with many young female grad students at the university. However, Pepper was always at the top of his list of most beautiful and desirable women. Right there with Jamie.

  Company rules forbid personal relationships between colleagues in the same department, but he hoped he would be able to figure it out without hurting her professionally. She always made his pulse speed up when she was around him. He had never met a woman who excited him as much as Pepper. Well maybe Jamie. They had never been able to get enough of each other. It usually took him a day to get over one night with her.

  “What do you think about dinner tonight, so we can get caught up?” she asked. “By the way, how’s Wanda doing? Did she like being at the university?”

  “She loved it. My students objected to her at first. After I let her present a couple of lectures, they all wanted to have her in their study groups. She was sad to leave, but I told her we needed her help. She had a lot of fun at Tech. I’m sure Kimberly would have let her stay. She tried to conceal her feelings, but I know she wanted to finish her degree on campus, and I feel bad about that.”

  Pepper nodded emphatically. “There’s no way Wanda would miss out on this project. So, are we on for that dinner tonight?”

  Chapter 10

  NSTA

  Washington, D.C.

  Intersystem data flow had been the nemesis of the original wormhole project and a key cause of its horrible demise. System data overload caused the designers to lose control and the wormhole went unstable. Unfortunately, STL had not solved this critical problem to Harry’s complete satisfaction. Analyses indicated there was sufficient bandwidth margin, but Harry wasn’t convinced. Neither was Wanda.

  He had given STL the go-ahead three-and-a-half years before, and most of the hardware, software and facility design was complete. He had scheduled the System Critical Design Review (SCDR), to occur within the next month. That would be the final hurdle before STL could complete the prototype and initiate a full system test — the precursor to several robotic flights and then a manned space flight through the wormhole.

  Harry finally felt he was in complete control of the project. They had experienced some difficult issues, including two attempts by the oversight subcommittee to shut them down and transfer their monies to another project. Despite that, and a few technical road bumps, he had successfully taken the project to the most critical point in the program, the SCDR.

  Harry called Marc Anthoni at the STL desert laboratory in New Mexico. Marc had led the STL proposal team and was now the wormhole project director.

  “Marc … Harry Stevenson. How are you?”

  “I’ll be better when we get the SCDR over with. I’m anxious to start the robotic flights. What’s up?”

  “We want to hold the review at the project site in three weeks. If you think you can be ready I’ll send the notice out to the review team.”

  “No problem. Do you know who’s coming and how many?”

  “Twenty. Most are from universities and government labs. We have a couple from Oxford and Cambridge and one other person
from the University of Moscow. The rest will come out of MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford and the Naval Research Laboratory. There are two sons of bitches coming from the Argonne National Laboratory who are going to be a pain in our ass.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Martin Romanski and Gerald Cook. Hart told me Romanski wants to shut the project down. They’re consultants to the R&D Congressional Oversight Subcommittee so they have enormous influence. I’m not sure why they object, but we’re going to have to get buy-in from them if we want to go forward. I swear, all we need is a couple of tight-ass bastards looking to cause trouble.”

  “What’s their problem?”

  “I don’t know, but Romanski sure has a cob stuck up his ass. I’ve run the traps, but came up empty. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “Thanks for the heads up. Tell Pepper and Wanda hi for me.”

  Chapter 11

  Albuquerque, New Mexico

  The flight to Albuquerque was pleasant and uneventful. Pepper sat beside Harry looking out the window and tapping a pencil on her tray, something she often did when she was deep in thought. He was anxious to learn more about his beautiful co-manager. After a round of drinks, Harry smiled, and then asked, “Pepper, where did you grow up?” He took a drink of his Bloody Mary. I’d rather have a rum and cola, but I guess this will have to do. Vodka doesn’t do it for me.

  She put her pencil down and looked at him. “My father was in the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Corp and we lived all over the world. Our last residence was in London.”

  “Sounds like you had an interesting childhood.”

  Pepper reflected for a moment. “I really did.”

  “Are your folks still in London?”

  “Yes. Dad’s still a ways off from retirement.”

  Harry thought for a moment. “So how did you wind up at NSTA?”

  Pepper chuckled and brushed her hair back. “I liked math and physics, so I decided to major in it. I did my undergraduate and master’s work at Stanford, and then finished my PhD as a Rhodes Scholar at Cambridge. Bill Hart recruited me right after I graduated.”

  Harry was impressed. “What do you like to do for fun?”

  “I’m a sailor. I love to sail. And you?”

  “Scuba diving. I’ve been diving since I was in high school. Matter of fact, I have a Dive Master certification. Sailing and scuba diving sort of go together. Don’t you agree?”

  “Yeah. I’d like to learn to dive …. Sometime. I think it would be fun.”

  I’d love to spend an afternoon with her sailing. Maybe I could get her interested in diving and we could head down to the Caribbean for a few days, he thought.

  Harry hesitated. I have to ask this. “I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but are you seeing anyone?” He was nervous about her reply. He hoped she wasn’t. He wanted to date her even though it would mean violating NSTA policy.

  She smiled, and Harry stifled a relieved sigh at her expression. “No, I haven’t had much time for a personal life since I joined NSTA. I’ve traveled so much, it seems like I’m always on the go somewhere. I’m sad to say my personal life seems to have just slipped away from me.”

  “How about you?” she asked.

  “Oh, about the same. I’ve dated a little these past few years, but nothing serious.”

  “Where did you grow up?”

  “My folks have a small horse farm outside Monterrey, California. The property fronts on the ocean and is beautiful. We moved there just before I started high school, so my folks could prepare for retirement. It was an ideal place to observe the stars, and that’s something my dad, Wanda and I did quite a lot.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for landing, and welcome to Albuquerque. The local time is 1:30 p.m. and the temperature is ninety-five degrees. Enjoy your stay and thanks for flying Global.”

  Wouldn’t you know it, just as I was making some progress? She’s such a neat woman. So beautiful and warm. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I really want to go out with her. I’ve never seen a woman that turns me on the way she does. Well, maybe Jamie.

  The trip from the spaceport to the hotel took them through downtown Albuquerque.

  “What a beautiful town, Harry. I hope we get a chance to visit some of the art galleries before we leave.”

  Here’s another chance, he thought.

  “Why don’t we make a day of it? Tour the galleries and enjoy a nice lunch? Besides being a software scientist, my mom is also an artist. I bet she has some of her work displayed in one of the galleries here. I’ll call her and see which ones we should visit. She’s familiar with most of ‘em.”

  “That sounds like fun. I wouldn’t mind buying a couple of original pieces. I just love some of the Southwestern artists. What kind of work has your mother done?”

  “Mostly watercolor, and some oil, but she doesn’t like oil — says it smells. Her first work was a mother and child series of ten paintings. Many of those won awards. Lately, she’s been working on a new series of abstracts and moving into sculpture. I’ve always loved my mom’s art and there’s some pieces I feel very close to.”

  “I can’t wait to see her work.”

  Excited about the prospect of spending a day with Pepper, he was especially pleased they had finally gotten around to the more personal side of things.

  The STVs computer announced, “Westin-Excelsior hotel. Where do you want to get out?”

  “Pull into the registration entrance,” Harry replied.

  The registration desk clerk gave them an apologetic look when they checked in.

  “I’m sorry. The rooms we had reserved for you are not available.”

  Harry asked the clerk, “Didn’t you have our reservation?”

  “Yes, but something strange happened in the reservation system. I can’t quite figure it out. We’re going to have to upgrade your rooms to penthouse suites — same charge of course. Funny, everything else is taken.”

  The travel god, Wanda, has smiled on us again. First-class sub orbital travel, STV upgrade and now this, Harry thought. After registration, he turned to Pepper. “Let’s get settled and I’ll call Marc about dinner. What time would be good for you?”

  “About seven. That should give me time to unpack and check my mail. I’m sure we both have a ton of it to tend to.”

  “Unfortunately that’s true.”

  When Marc and Ronnie Forrester came through the lounge door, Harry’s face lit up at seeing his old pal from Cal Tech. Harry had always thought Ronnie was a nice looking man — the girls they had chased at school thought so, that was for sure. His brown hair was shorter and he was clean-shaven. He was also a few pounds heavier, but he still kept his six-foot- three frame trim and muscular. His brown eyes always seemed to smile. You couldn’t help but like the guy. He exuded charisma and was perpetually friendly to everyone.

  “Ronnie, how are you?”

  “Hey, Bud, I’m just fine. I think I’ll be a lot better as soon as we get a drink.”

  Harry signaled the barkeep. “Hey, guy, a couple of Margaritas for my friends, and bring some more chips please. Marc, it’s good to see you.”

  “You too, Harry. How you doing, Pepper?”

  “Fine, Marc. I’m looking forward to the next few days. Ronnie, got any new girlfriends?” Pepper asked, grinning.

  “Do I wish? Marc’s been keeping me too busy,” he replied, chuckling. “I’m getting the dull boy syndrome.”

  “We have a lot of interesting things to discuss and see. I think you two will be very pleased at our progress. Where do you want to go to dinner?” Marc asked as he scooped up a hand full of peanuts from a bowl on the bar and took a big slug of his margarita.

  Pepper’s response was immediate. “How about some of that Southwestern cuisine we keep hearing about.”

  “You got it. I never get enough,” Marc said, patting his stomach and laughing.

  After dinner, when Harry got back to his hotel room, he called Scott Kimberly. The phone
rang several times before Scott finally answered.

  “Scott, this is Harry Stevenson. You got a minute to talk?”

  “What a surprise. Sure, what’s up?”

  “Pepper and I had dinner with the guys from STL tonight. They told me they’re still having problems with their data compression technology. I wondered if you’d like to take a leave from Cal Tech and join the project to help us out.”

  To Harry’s surprise, Scott answered immediately. “That’d be great. I’ve really been down in the dumps lately thinking about my wife. Since she passed five years ago, I feel like I’m wandering in the dark, lost. She was the world to me. The nights seem so long without her. We had so much in common. Did I tell you we spent our honeymoon at the Hawaiian Mona Key Observatory checking out an eclipse so we could validate the General Relativity equations?”

  “No, but I’m not surprised. Marc told me she died. I’m so sorry. I can only imagine how traumatic and painful it must be losing someone you love so much.”

  “Thanks, Harry. You know, I think it’ll do me good to get away for a while. When do you want me to come?”

  “Right away, if possible. I’ll arrange everything for you, including a letter from the Secretary of Science and Technology to the university requesting your assistance.”

  “The university will be more than pleased for me to help out. I’m between classes now, so I can be there within two days.”

  “Thanks, Scott! See you soon. Your tickets and all arrangements will be made for you by NSTA tomorrow morning.”

  Harry was extremely pleased that Scott had agreed to join the project. He felt a lot more comfortable about their probability of success with him on board. He hoped he could keep Scott on the team.