Out of dream books
http://outofdream.com
Copyright © 2017 Amufe Retail Private Limited
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
One
Henry walked through the neighborhood, it seemed to be getting worse by the day. It seemed that the infrastructure was fading, one based on the consumption of energy resources that were finite, and when something was finite it was worth more. People found it harder and harder to make a living and the people at the top began to hard what was left. The power crisis was in its fifth year and it seemed there was no end in sight. Henry was seventeen, a prodigy in enegeering and science but could not afford to pursue it in school. In the current economy, high school was privatized and he did not know his birth parents, nor could he afford to pay for school himself and was forced to drop out after the government stopped paying for it.
Henry mostly stayed afloat by doing random jobs, mostly fixing laptops and personal devices. In the market as it was it was expensive to buy new and cheaper to have your equipment repaired. This suited Henry just fine as it meant more work for him. He learned well by doing and everything he fixed gave him a greater understanding. However, his passion, the thing that got him out in the sweltering heat, was his internship. He had stumbled upon it quite by accident, fixing a broken hard drive of a scientist named Doctor Naomi Winter. He had impressed her with his ability to analyze and figure out any machine he was presented with and offered him a job. She did not pay well but the work was both challenging and interesting. Henry admitted he was in over his head at first but if they could get what they were working on going…it could mean real change. He was learning things like quantum mechanics, theoretical science, and disciplines they did not yet have names for.
The project had been waiting for parts and he had taken some time off to work on other things, however he received a message from Dr. Winter that they had the parts and she needed his help. He walked through his neighborhood, watching lights come on for a second then flicker back off. He got to the street and it was just as empty. He considered taking a cab but the street was strangely devoid of cars.
“No cabs today?” Henry asked as he looked to a noodle vendor that he often frequented that was setup by the road.
“Not today Henry.” The vendor replied. “Gas prices doubled again, who can afford to drive anymore?”
“Makes sense.” Henry added, flipping a few bills onto the stall to get something to go. “Looks like I am walking to the station today.”
Henry made his way through the streets, though there seemed to be little going on he knew that there was an overall sense of uncertainty in the city at large. Things seemed to be getting worse by the day and the only way to deal with it seemed to ignore it and focus on going one day at a time. Unfortunately, the world seemed built on an infrastructure so set on its ways that nothing short of major change could move it at all.
Henry made time faster than he thought and knew he was early for the train downtown. With the power reserves being what they were, they ran less often. He sat on top of a concrete wall and wired his laptop into the city power port and was enjoying both charging and using the power generated. His block, in fact his entire neighborhood had been dealing with the intermittent power problem for two days. The city had assured everyone that they would have it back online soon but it seemed that his people’s quality of life was a luxury the city could not afford. The city had consistent power, mere blocks away, protected by ports that no one had the right plug to access…at least not those who were not technically minded like Henry.
He managed to connect to the net, his custom computer navigating the shells of long defunct web infrastructure and into the free information beyond. He remembered hearing from some older members of his neighborhood on how well organized and pretty the net once was. Now it was like a virtual battleground, information being hidden and stolen and leaving such simple sites like free trade and entertainment nearly destroyed like relics of the past whose bodies were on display for those that came after.
Henry found himself somewhat melancholy and it drew his mind from idea to idea. He shook this off, reminding himself that he indeed had work to do. Not just the work with Dr. Winter, but certain things he could do that he was compelled to do. He searched through the net, moving through the chafe, the unimportant sectors and toward something much more interesting. The city did not have a website, no way to publicly complain or seek information on things around. Instead it was a vast walled garden where the cities cyber assets could be hidden and controlled. Henry knew that the power outage was part of a bigger epidemic. Resources were low, in fact many would refer to them as bleak. The city shared its power with other areas and could not even come close to keep up with the burden of staying on everywhere.
The city had a dwindling resource of people who could maintain or fix the power delivery systems and when there were problems the rich were served first followed by the less rich and the poverty-stricken masses late…if at all. Henry had heard of a city overseas that had its power go out and stay out, the country deciding to cut the city off like a leg that had grown gangrenous.
Henry knew that the city knew about the issues and was assigning the repair staff to get some of the sectors back online. Henry’s purpose this morning was to find these orders, not interfere but perhaps change where they were going. The sun rose higher, the heat beginning to increase. Henry could feel sweat beginning to form on his shoulders and glare came up on her screen. He shifted, putting his legs up on the wall to create some manner of shade for his computer and lessen the heat that would prove oppressive soon enough. He hoped to be done what he was going to do and be ready to fight his way onto a train downtown…hopefully with power soon resorted as well to his neighborhood.
Henry worked away, taking moments to look at the neighborhood he was trying to help periodically. He knew that he could move, in fact he had done so many times before but he had gotten to like the people in this place. He knew there were many older people, unable to move or resettle, left behind by a society that made it clear they did not want them anymore. Henry would get their power back on, it was the least he could do.
The city kept their workings a secret but they were not so well defended. They seemed to assume that no one could find their servers and this provided enough security. Henry laughed at this, as there was nothing on the net he could not find if properly motivated. He eventfully found a chain of messages from the corrupt mayor to the works department in charge of repairing the aging power grid. The messages had not been accessed yet and at any moment would become the blueprint for the crew’s day. Indeed, the works crews were being sent to the richest neighborhoods first, with no listing of the power even being off where Henry was. He saw to that, changing the priority to his neighborhood, removing the rich neighborhood completely from the maintenance list…it was only fair. He backed out of the messages mere seconds before they were received, knowing that within the hour crews would show up and by the time anyone knew what was going on…power would be back on…constantly.
Henry closed his laptop, unplugged his custom cable and put it in his bag.
He then ran up the stairs as people flooded in to catch the train and managed to position himself by a marker on the floor. He had put it there and knew the train would stop and the door would be precisely there. He gestured for a man with a cane to come join him and as the train stopped, the doors opened, the pair were the first on the train.
Soon Henry arrived at the lab, signing into the fingerprint scanner at the door. Dr. Winter spent a lot of money on security and to keep the building going. It would be bad if they got close to a breakthrough just to lose it by someone walking with it out the door.
Henry went inside, going deep into the main lab to find Dr. Winter hanging precariously over the device. It was a tall cylinder made of glass that had several metallic devices set around it. Dr. Winter was adding some parts to the machine at the top, standing atop a rickety ladder.
“Do you want some help?” Henry asked. “Or someone to hold the ladder at least?”
“No need, I have it now.” Dr. Winter said as she finished installing a device. “I just could not wait so I installed the new parts right away.”
“How close are we?” Henry asked. “Do you think it will work.”
“I know if should work now.” Winter replied. “But the question is will it?”
Henry started going over the work that had just been done, properly bracing the ladder, climbing up and doublechecking the parts. “Yeah this should fix the overload problem, I think we should be able to fire it up again after a quick simulation and diagnostic.”
“I agree.” Winter said with a nod, seeming to be hesitant to wait but agreeable to the reasons why. “I think the world needs this device.”
“Yeah it’s getting pretty bad out there.” Henry agreed as he brought up a computer simulation to test the machine. “Everyone seems deep in denial mode and that’s the last real stage before anarchy.”
“People trust in the system.” Winter agreed. “But the system might fail any day.”
“Well people are demanding answers.” Henry replied as the simulation began. “But the people in charge don’t have much to show them.”
“Well this will change everything.” Winter replied. “This will generate and manipulate the magnetic waves of everything from matter to the stars themselves.”
“We will need some real-world applications to pitch.” Henry suggested. “I don’t think the idea of messing with stars will keep hungry people from being hungry.”
“Well most practically it will be a new clean power source.” Winter agreed. “A reactor like we are about to fire up can generate four times more power than the equivalent nuclear or coal. Smaller ones can go into cars, not just powering them but making them defy gravity. This is part of the basic energy of the universe and nothing other than light is more powerful. We will literally will be bending the laws of physics and using it to change our world.”
“I suppose it will be like the invention of electricity.” Henry agreed. “The implications of what it can do will take generations.”
“I think it will move much quicker than that.” Winter admitted. “For example, every piece of matter, every machine, every person gives off a different magnetic signature. Law enforcement for example might be able to use it to track terrorists, air vehicles can use it instead of radar to get a better and more detailed view of the world around them.”
Henry nodded. “Like when a plane goes down they can only find if it if lands somewhere they can track. If it goes down in remote mountains or deep ocean we lose it.”
“Precisely.” Winter agreed. “As long as we have the signature of the plane we could find it anywhere in the solar system, down to its exact position.”
“Well we need to get it to work first.” Henry admitted.
“Well let’s fire it up!” Winter said with a smile. “Simulation looks good, diagnostics look good…lets go.”
“Do you want the honors?” Henry asked, gesturing to the button to start the reactor.”
“No. you do it.” Winter said with a smile. “You earned it.”
-
Two
Henry could not believe how fast things had changed. It had only been five years and the world seemed to go from the brink of destruction and turn around a hundred and eighty degrees. The field had worked, tapping into the electromagnetic fields of the universe and providing limitless power with little to no danger and with no environmental impact beyond the materials used to build the machine. Winter had been smart, she knew that if she gave any company with a public interest the patent, it would keep the machine out of many people’s hands for years. The literal cure to the energy problems of the world would be priceless and any company that had the patent to it could use it to slowly deal out the technology, preserving the worlds dangerous state for generations as it amassed untold fortunes. Winter held the patent herself, and instead of selling how the machine worked, she just put it out there for anyone to access. It was free and open source, anyone could use it and no one would get rich from it without putting in the work to use it to better the world.
Henry and Dr. Winter were hailed as heroes, the profit they made was from consulting and setting up magnetic wave reactors, or MWR’s all over the world. It was like a whirlwind tour of a rock band. The pair found themselves in Japan, France, Canada, Australia, even the Antarctic, only five short years after the release of the technology there were close to two hundred MWR’s all over the world, virtually taking over the power needs of the world overnight.
Slowly things began to die down, the new industry of working with and servicing the machines growing into a mega industry. The world had been fairly reliant on fossil fuels and coal, but as those industries all but fell apart, people were more than ready to embrace a new one. Henry had a nice apartment in New York, something he did not know if he deserved. He had once been struggling day to day and now it seemed that things were easy for him. He had more money than he could ever need and he was comfortable. However, something inside him wanted to give more back, wanted to work more, challenge more. One morning as he had breakfast and looked over the city he got a call which would be the answer to his wish.
“Henry!” Dr. Winter said in an exited tone as he clicked accept on the call. “Glad to get you!”
“Hello Dr. Winter.” Henry replied. “Do we have another reactor to help get online?”
“No…well yes.” Winter admitted. “This is a new job, a new phase of our work. You are in your apartment in New York…I am sending a car to pick you up. It will be there to get you in twenty minutes.”
“Uh…I can be ready.” Henry replied. “But what is the job…where are you bringing me?”
“To the Pentagon.” Winter replied. “I will explain more when you get here.”
Very soon Henry was in the car and driven to his clandestine meeting. Henry had been to a lot of interesting and amazing places in his travels but never the pentagon. He worried about the military applications of the work they had done but expected that it was a part of it. He trusted that Dr. Winter would not allow the work to fall so far into the wrong hands. Eventually the car pulled into the pentagon, going past a myriad of security checks and soon stopping in the underground parking. A guard waited for Henry, directing him to follow him to a large meeting room where Dr. Winter and a tall man in a military uniform stood.
“Henry good!” Dr. Winter said happily. “I want you to meet commander Basta, the director of the newly formed United Earth Space Agency or UESA.”
“I did not hear of such an alliance.” Henry admitted. “Pleased to meet you through…I don’t understand the urgency of why I am here.”
Basta gestured for Henry to sit and got straight to the point. “You and Dr. Winter have used your amazing invention to fix many of the worlds lingering problems. However, the issue remains that even though we are far less reliant on the resources of our planet there is not much left…not enough by far.”
“And you want to find more in space?” Henry asked.
“Precisely.” D
r. Winter replied. “There is a near infinite number of planets out there…even our own solar system has resources we could harvest. It has just been too problematic to do it before now.”
“We have already been testing the space bound applications of your technology.” Basta chimed in. “Things like life support, artificial gravity, even fast travel…all are within years of practicality.”
“What do you want of me then?” Henry asked. “I am just a guy who is good with machines who lucked out into a big project.”
“I appreciate your humble attitude as always.” Winter replied. “But you are like a sponge. “I literally threw equations at you that advanced mathematicians would flinch at and you solved them. This is going to be a project that requires inspiration at light speeds.”
“What is the rush?” Henry asked. “You speak as though we have a timeline.”
“We kind of do.” Basta admitted. “You made all of your technology open source, therefore we are not the only people developing this technology. The UESA is going to be the strongest force of unity in a chaotic space race…but to do that we need to get in at ground floor…well so to speak.”
“Well that is exciting.” Henry admitted. “But I would not begin to know where to start. Doesn’t it take years to develop one of these ships?”
“Well we might already have a prototype.” Winter admitted. “We just need all minds on this…all hands-on deck to get it working. We want this ship functional in space with all the possible applications of the electromagnetic wave technology within ten years.”
“That does not sound possible.” Henry admitted. “But I think I would like to try.”
“This is part of our dream Henry.” Winter said proudly. “We knew that humanity had hit a stumbling block, a plateau that it could not reconcile. We offered the world, humanity, a way to move forward. This is the next step, and we have to follow it.”
Henry nodded. “Let’s get to work.”
Within a week Henry found himself in a massive UESA facility in Florida. It was a facility unlike anything ever built before on earth. It was barely finished; the paint was still wet and it was already hard at work building all manner of things for the new ship. Henry went to work with Dr. Winter, there were no shorter than twenty projects on the go that needed to be built. Tested, and installed to the ship. As they went to work it seemed that every time they would finish one project, another would pop up. There were a lot of variables in space travel and as they got closer and closer to the prototype actually working they would discover more. They needed all the air they could need to breath, all the water they could need to drink, and all the food they would need to eat. The ship would be going to places so far from Earth that if you didn’t come up with a way to provide for the time you were gone…you would have no recourse.
Waves: The Collapsing Universe Page 1
