“We’ve implemented AI based shutdown and corrective action protocols that assist us if the system metrics start to deviate,” Harry replied. “These protocols were one of the main system control features we’ve implemented. The first project didn’t have that technology. We plan to review all of this with you tomorrow, and we’ll share all of the data flow calculations and simulation runs.”
“What if the protocols fail?” Cook asked. “Have they been tested?”
“We’ve exhaustively tested these protocols, and the built-in controls give us a good degree of safety. We’ll also cover that in detail tomorrow as shown in your agenda,” Harry said.
Seems to me both Cook and Romanski are going out of their way to give us a hard time, Harry thought. I’m just about tired of their bullshit. Something’s going on I don’t understand. I’m getting the feeling they have some underlying motive. I may be paranoid, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re working with some senator on the oversight subcommittee to shut us down so they can use the money on some other project. Maybe Pepper’s heard something.
Pepper edged close to Harry and whispered in his ear. “Those guys are going to be tough nuts to crack. They seem so negative about everything. I wonder why?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping you had some ideas. Romanski’s a hard person to read. Bill told me he and Cook are both dead set against us going forward. He didn’t know why. We need to see what we can find out from the other reviewers over the next few days. Maybe they’ll hear something from those two that’ll give us a clue as to their intentions. I have a feeling the next four days are going to be trying, to say the least.”
“I’m sure that’s right. I’ll see what I can find out. I have a pretty good rapport with quite a few of the review team,” Pepper said. “Wanda hasn’t uncovered anything either. They’re keeping things very close to their vest.”
Harry nodded at Ronnie and Marc. Ronnie smiled, and he in turn sent a code from his Qtab. Johnson discretely entered the information. Warning claxons sounded loudly and the red alert lights begin flashing at a five-second rate. The sound was almost deafening and everyone looked out at the holographic display and saw the wormhole beginning to fluctuate and waiver. The computer announced:
“Wormhole instability is eminent. Initiate system shut down immediately. All unnecessary personnel have five minutes to evacuate and reach a safe distance from the facility.”
People began to move towards the back of the room. Harry could see some of them looking quite concerned. The computer then came back on.
“Initiate shutdown protocol thirty-one.”
Johnson entered P31 and the simulation shut down within ten seconds. The wormhole display turned off, and the claxons and warning lights shut down.
“System shutdown accomplished.”
Everyone began to laugh and headed back to their seats, shaking their heads and feeling foolish — they had reacted to a simulation. Harry was pleased.
“Dr. Forrester, I appreciate levity as well as anyone, but I really don’t want to attend your memorial service someday,” Romanski quipped. “You made your point, though.” He then gave Ronnie a small grin, looked over at Harry and checked his agenda.
I wonder what that look meant, Harry thought. Man, he’s hard to read. If I don’t get ulcers before this is over, it’ll be a miracle. This whole thing is really getting on my friggin nerves. It should not be this hard.
A physicist from NRL raised his hand. “Dr. Forrester, can we control the size of the wormhole? What about communications? Even at the speed of light it takes electromagnetic signals over four years to travel from our nearest star to Earth.”
“The wormhole can accommodate spacecraft travel,” Ronnie replied. “Communications through the wormhole will be possible in almost real-time, so we’ll always be in contact with mission control.”
The review team spent the next four days in heated discussions trying to resolve strong differences of opinion in virtually every aspect of the design. Wanda attended the meetings but only observed. Both Romanski and Cook hadn’t made things any easier. Several times people blew up at Romanski, and he and Cook walked out of the meeting. Harry and Pepper convinced them the project needed their participation, and they reluctantly returned after cooling off.
At the end of the fourth day, Harry sat at the front table deep in thought about the meetings. They had done everything possible to resolve the issues. The vast majority of the reviewers now supported the project. Normally, this would have been satisfactory, but Romanski and Cook had abstained so far. Without their votes, the outcome was uncertain.
Those two have not given us a single clue about their intentions. Who knows what they plan to do when they get back to Washington. They could sure as hell cause us problems. Nothing they might do would surprise me now. Maybe Scott could get me reinstated at Tech.
He walked back to see Wanda. “What’s your take on these two guys? They sure seem intent on shutting us down.”
“I’m not certain yet. I’m still collating facts and other things I’ve heard and seen. My preliminary thoughts are that they don’t have sufficient rationale to shut us down or delay the project. I think Romanski’s attitude is purely emotional. It doesn’t make sense for a scientist to react this way. Obviously, from what I’ve observed, Cook will just go along with whatever he says. Sooner or later, they’re going to have to put their cards on the table.”
“I’m sure your right. It’s making me a nervous wreck.”
After a few minutes, Romanski and Cook approached him, ignoring Wanda completely. “Harry, we want to talk to you in private,” Romanski said, maintaining his normal stoic look. Cook was not smiling.
Oh, boy, here it comes, he thought. “Certainly, let’s go into that small conference room. We can have coffee and talk.” He glanced over at Wanda who showed no outward emotion. Harry was so nervous his heart pounded, and his breathing had quickened. Man, these people really know how to dramatize things, he thought as they walked to the conference room. His mind was flooded with doubt and his anxiety further heightened by his uncertainty over what he was about to hear from these two. He expected the worst.
Romanski took a drink of his coffee then looked down at the cup as if he were analyzing the processes behind the steam rising from the dark liquid. Harry studied his face looking for some clue. His deep frown gave the impression he was having difficulty trying to make up his mind as to what he wanted to say. Finally, he looked up.
“Harry, you know we’ve strongly opposed this project from the beginning. I guess I owe you the courtesy of an explanation.” He paused for a moment as if he were recalling a painful incident. “Several of my very best friends were killed in the original project. Some I went to college with and one was my best friend in high school. I swore, if I ever had a say, I would never let anyone else die at the hands of this monster. I’m still very cynical, and frankly, my gut says we need to shut you down before others die. I’m worried history is going to repeat itself. I don’t want to see any of you killed, and that’s the honest truth.”
Harry was getting even more pensive as to what Romanski might say next. He could feel his pulse pounding in his ears. Cook, normally gregarious, had been unusually quiet and that really bothered him. He was trying not to squirm in his seat and avoid predicting their words.
“Harry, this is a very difficult decision for us,” Romanski said. “Be that as it may, Gerald and I are going to vote yes on your project. Despite our deep concerns, we’re convinced the wormhole design appears solid, and you’ve demonstrated you have a handle on the issues. To vote no based on prejudice or emotion would be unfair and unethical. I just pray that this technology doesn’t kill anyone else.”
Harry wasn’t sure how to respond. He was convinced these two were going to torpedo the project. Now, surprisingly, they had done a complete turnabout. Before he could say anything, Cook addressed him.
“Harry, we both serve as consultants to the Congressional
R&D Oversight Subcommittee, so we’ll be following your progress closely. We do hope you’re successful. This technology can mean a lot to the people of Earth. I sincerely wish you the best of luck.” Cook gave him a huge smile.
Harry felt like jumping out of his chair and yelling. He had thought, right up to a few moments before, that he would be calling Hart to tell him the bad news. He couldn’t believe his ears. “Thank you, gentlemen. You don’t know how much I appreciate your support.” Wanda was right.
Harry smiled and shook both men’s hands. It felt good to be over this final hurdle so they could move on. Romanski and Cook were tough nuts to crack. Thank goodness, they finally came around. I didn’t think that was going to happen — what a relief! Harry sighed as he watched the two men quietly walk away.
Getting through the review had been an ordeal that caused Harry several sleepless nights. He was tired and wrung out. I can’t believe they bought in. Well, we’re not home yet. We have a long way to go, and they’ll be watching every move we make. He leaned back in his chair, tried to relax and collect his thoughts. After a few minutes, he got up and went over to see Pepper who was getting a cup of coffee. “Pepper, I’ve got something to tell you. Please join Wanda and me in the back.”
“Sure, Harry, just let me fill my coffee cup and I’ll be right there.” She got her coffee and a sweet roll then walked over to them. “What’s up? Hi, Wanda.”
“Romanski and Cook just told me they were supporting the project. Isn’t that great?”
Pepper almost dropped her cup. “I can’t believe it! I thought they were going to try and shut us down.” She let out a low “yeah,” shook her fist holding the roll and smiled broadly. “I’m so excited I almost wet myself,” she said, chuckling.”
Harry let out a huge belly laugh. Pepper can be so funny at times, he thought.
“What happened to change their minds? Did you ever find out why they were so negative?” she asked as she shook back her hair and took a sip of her coffee.
“Romanski told me several of his best friends were killed in that catastrophe with the first wormhole project. I’m convinced he thought the technology was uncontrollable. He said he didn’t want to see anyone else die. They didn’t offer any real explanation, except they felt like we had control of the issues that caused the disaster on the first project.”
“Really? That explains his attitude,” she said. “I’ve heard he’s a tough guy to deal with, but always fair.”
“I’m happy to see they finally put their emotions aside and used logic. Congratulations guys. Guess we can move on out now. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited,” Wanda said. “I can’t wait to turn the wormhole on.”
Harry just smiled. To him the turn on was like facing Godzilla with a stick. He couldn’t help thinking about the idea they may have overlooked something. If the monster got out of control, like it did on the first project, it could destroy its creators. The road ahead was going to be difficult, fraught with troubles and issues. He just hoped they could navigate their way through them without getting anyone on his team killed.
At the conclusion of the last presentation, Marc got up and addressed the meeting.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve completed all presentations and side meetings of our scheduled program. Please note there will be additional facility and spacecraft tours tomorrow. With that, I’d like to turn it over to Dr. Stevenson for his summary and wrap up.”
“Thanks, Marc,” Harry replied. “Once we get the wormhole system up, and running reliably, we plan to conduct several test flights. The first will be to conduct two-way robotic spacecraft flights to test the feasibility of flying through a wormhole. If this goes as planned, the next phase will be a manned flight to launch a deep space telescope, Outpost, and a communications satellite in a stationary orbit near Proxima Centauri, the smallest member of the triple Alpha Centauri star system. Outpost is a new telescope designed for deep space operations by the International Astronomical Agency.” He paused to check for questions, and then continued.
“Proxima Centauri has five planets in its solar system, and we’ve been tasked to conduct routine surveys of the planets, ending with PC1, to collect geophysical data for the International Space Geophysics Agency. They want to study the geological issues associated with a planet orbiting close to a red dwarf star. The last phase of flight two will be to collect data on a recently discovered nebula designated Beluse 321. Astronomers think it has a new solar system forming that’s similar to our own.”
“Excuse me, Doctor, but how will you verify the systems are operating correctly?”
“Good question. We’ll use the ship sensors and Outpost to collect data during both surveys, and then relay it to Earth via the communications satellite. Control will then be turned over to the MCC, who will exercise Outpost and validate final system operational status via the wormhole.”
“You mentioned a third test flight phase?” Romanski asked.
“Yes. The third and last test, or flight, will be to investigate a young solar system near Polaris called Tango 555. Astronomers think it may have a planet similar to Earth and want us to check it out.”
“Has a starship been assigned by the ISA to support your space-borne operations?” one man asked.
“Yes, they’ve agreed to loan us the Starship Orion. She’s just coming out of three years of overhaul and upgrade and will have the latest state-of-the-art systems and sensors. Captain John Starling will be the Captain. He and his pilot, Commander Terrence “Knuckles” Malone, are perhaps two of the most experienced astronauts in the International Space Agency (ISA.) You’ll meet them both on the tour tomorrow. Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t mind saying this is a review I’ll never forget. We appreciate your support, and thank you for coming.”
After adjournment, Harry called Hart to share the good news about Romanski and Cook and to voice a concern he had. “Bill, I’m still worried about system stability. STL has a good safety margin in their compression algorithms, but I’d like a bit more.”
“What’s your plan?”
“Scott Kimberly has an approach to upgrade the compression algorithms that gives us a wider margin of safety. Wanda and I reviewed his calculations. We think he has an excellent chance to make it work even though it may delay us a few weeks. I really want that extra margin, even if it means a little delay.”
“A little more insurance is fine with me. By the way, I think your idea to keep Lars Johansen on site to help Kimberly was excellent. I certainly support it. Lars is an expert at software algorithms, and was eager to relocate.”
“Glad to hear that.”
“How’s Pepper holding up? I asked her to come back to Washington, but she refused to leave the project. She is very brave woman. I just hope she’s all right. I’m really worried about her.”
“I think she’s going to be fine. That shooter scared her half to death. I was impressed she didn’t let it get the best of her or interfere with her job in any way.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less of Pepper. Look, I need you two back in D.C. right away. Secretary Robinette wants to see us about some very serious issues.”
“All right. See you day after tomorrow.” Wonder what that’s all about,” Harry thought.
When he hung up, Wanda appeared. She looked beautiful and so professionally dressed. “I have to report back to D.C. day after tomorrow. I should be back in a few days. You know how to get in touch with me if you need anything.”
“Yes I do. Are you going to the restaurant tonight? It should be a lot of fun. Wish I could go.”
“Yes I am, and I would really like you to go with us.” She’s so lonely in cyberspace. I wish I could help her. It seems like this is getting to be more of a problem as time goes by. I wonder what she might do if she gets too depressed over it. I wonder if an intelligent program would contemplate suicide.
“Thanks, Harry. I’ll be fine. I appreciate the fact that you would like me to attend. Too bad the place doesn’t
have a hologram station, or I could.”
“Some places in town have that capability. The next time we plan one of these, let’s check it out before we make reservations so you can join us.”
“Thank you, Bro. Go have a good time and I’ll see you at the house.”
Chapter 12
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The restaurant had a charming and rustic Southwestern atmosphere, the perfect place to celebrate their successful review. After a couple of rounds, everyone felt a bit loose and the conversation was light and jovial. Ronnie and Harry were talking about their college days and Kimberly, of course, was the focal point. Kimberly loved to tell the story of his punishment of Harry after his oral exams.
Marc was curious about Lars. He didn’t know much about this man who was going to be working with them full-time. He had a reputation for being a fun, affable person who liked to tell jokes. His technical reputation preceded him.
“Lars, were you born in the states? You seem to have a slight but familiar accent,” Marc said.
“I thought I had lost any traces of my accent,” Lars said laughingly. “I was born in Sweden and my parents still live there. I went to college at MIT and got my PhD in physics. I did my thesis on string theory.”
“Do you have a family?”
“No. To be honest, I’ve never preferred women. My partners have all been men.”
That was straightforward enough. I never knew Lars was gay. To each his own. “So what do you do for fun?” Harry asked, rocking back in his chair.
Lars smiled, took a drink of his margarita and then responded, “I’ve spent vacation time sailing around the world on my 60 foot sailboat, the Solar Wind. I spent two years on my last trip. I finally decided it was time to settle somewhere so I hired on with NSTA, got my green card and here I am. What about you, Marc? I detect a slight British accent.”
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