by M J Kendrick
“Whoops, tell her I’m on my way up to her with it right now.”
“Yes, Miss Janovich, he’ll be with you in ten. Okay, bye.” She hung up. “You’d better get your skates on, boss. She’s meeting someone and wants to get off home.”
David was already out of the door, only to return seconds later to pick up the report he’d left on the bench. “Duh,” he said as he pirouetted around and scurried off down the corridor.
As he entered Miss Janovich’s office, he saw Professor Stanton leaning over her desk signing a document. As he looked up, he said, “Ah, David, I’m glad you’ve popped in. Is that the nano report I’ve been waiting for?”
David immediately wondered why the professor had a renewed interest in his work. He really hoped it hadn’t anything to do with the accident or his little side tests. He tried not to look worried.
“Yes, sir, it is.”
The professor stood up and faced David. “Don’t look so worried, dear boy. I’ve some good news. Come on in and take a seat.”
David felt a little relieved despite being back in that chair again, although the old leather feel did feel very comfortable in the professor’s cool office.
The professor took his seat at the other side of the desk, which had accumulated even more files and paperwork than it had the last time he was in there.
“How are things with the new lab layout? All working well, I trust?” asked the professor with a manufactured smile.
David instantly felt more at ease. This was the old professor they all loved. “Yes, sir. In fact, I think I owe you some thanks for expediting the work order. They did a sterling job and the team loves it.”
“That’s excellent news, and how about the new screen partition?”
David’s jaw involuntarily dropped with a slightly surprised smile. The wily old coot had found out!
“Relax,” said the professor, “after ten years of heading up this facility, not much gets past me.” He chuckled. “Anyway, the reason I wanted to talk to you was that the powers to be have landed a sizeable government contract to do with the space tether project, and we, meaning primarily you and your team, have been given the enviable task of accelerating the development of actual tether, probably because we are that much further ahead in our research than any of the other contenders.”
“I thought since NASA killed all those people a few years back when the Epsilon Mars Mission lift-off failed and crashed down on Sri Lanka, the government space elevator and orbital platform project was canceled. Is that why my weekly report was so urgent?” asked David.
“Partly. NASA took a lot of flak over that, and they’re still suffering as a result, which is why there’s been no new missions in recent years, but the project wasn’t officially canceled. It was put on hold. Your work in nanotechnology has been closely followed. That’s why you’ve been kept in place for so long. They, through Omni, have been waiting for you. Your advancements are the reasons the project is now viable and the government wants Omni to ramp things up. A tethered space platform puts NASA and Mars back on the table.
“I’m happy to say the promotion that you were sure had eluded you goes with the job—all part of the plan, dear boy. But make no mistake, this is going to be big, David, so you and your team will be afforded additional resources. The contract doesn’t come into force until the end of the month. Well, the first of next month actually, so that gives you a full two weeks to identify and draw up what you need. These files you see here”—he waved his arm across his entire desk—“all pertain to the project. I’ll have them sent down to your lab so you can get started as soon as possible.”
David just sat dumbfounded. This was one of his lifetime’s dreams. He opened his mouth as if to say something but couldn’t find the words. It became clear to him why the professor had shown so much recent interest on his rate-of-growth figures. He must have known all along about the contract.
The professor leaned back in his chair, smiling, as he interlocked his fingers across his chest. “Lost for words? I thought you might be. Don’t worry, David. It’s a lot to take in. Of course, you’ll have to expand your team, and no doubt we’ll have to sort out a bigger lab for you. And I wouldn’t worry about what Bellows will think. He somehow found out about your promotion a short time ago, god knows how. Anyway, I’m surprisingly happy to tell you that he has resigned his post and will hopefully be gone by the time you get back to your lab. But don’t think about that just now. Let’s catch up again on Tuesday morning after you’ve had a few days to digest things.”
David couldn’t help but don a wide smile, which the professor returned.
“I’ll be in Washington over the weekend to discuss the project with the Omni board, in particular a Leon Whittaker. He’s their government liaison, and I suspect the one that the White House listens to, so you see the importance here. This goes all the way to the top.”
David was numb, his mind already racing, and he wondered where the hell he was, when he was going to start, and began feeling ever so overwhelmed.
He needed the weekend to contemplate the magnitude of the task he had just been handed.
The professor stood and grabbed David’s hand, shaking it. “Well done, young man, now I suggest you go and inform your team as soon as possible before they hear it elsewhere.”
He ushered David out of his office and immediately went to his phone.
David shuffled his way past a beaming Miss Janovich and out into the corridor in almost zombie-like fashion.
By the time he made it back to the lab, he was a little more composed.
“What happened, boss? Did you get lost?” said Rose, giggling.
David sat down and turned his chair to face them both. “You are not going to believe what’s just happened.”
By this time, he had Freddie and Rose’s full attention as they looked him in the face apprehensively.
“We’ve just been given the space tether project!”
“What, you mean the space tether project?” shrieked Rose, almost bouncing off her chair.
“That’s exactly what I mean. The professor just pulled me in and informed me.”
“Oh, wow,” said Freddie. “Do you realize what this means?”
David still looked a little dazed at the big news. “I’m beginning to,” he replied. “Oh, and Bellows has resigned.”
“What!” exclaimed Rose, as her face beamed. “What exactly did the professor say?”
“I was only in with him for five minutes, but I’ll tell you what I know.”
He relayed the conversation that had taken place.
Rose just looked back and forth between Freddie and David. “Yes!” she said, punching the air.
Freddie jumped up shook David’s hand. “Congratulations,” he said. “This is brilliant, just wait until Gina hears what her hubby is going to be up to now. Oh wow, this is so huge.”
“I think this is going to be big news all round,” added David. “All eyes will be on us for sure. Let’s hope we don’t disappoint. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m heading home. I need to let Jean know.”
Freddie and Rose both nodded. “Let’s call it a day,” said Freddie. “I can’t do anymore here tonight anyway. I’ll pick it up again tomorrow.”
Rose turned to David. “What are we going to do about our little side project?”
“I was thinking about that,” said David. “I still want us to complete the comprehensive data collation and comparison. I think that will be useful anyway, but as far as the tests go, I think we have to admit to ourselves that we’re just not going to have the time. Next week is going to be crucial, and we’ll be bogged down with a ton of new stuff. Big changes are coming our way, and it’s going to happen quickly. All we can do at this point is box up the experiments, data, relevant parts—in fact anything and everything that’s directly relating to it from the time of the accident up until now—and seal it up and put it in our secure storage. Who knows, if we find ourselves with time to spare
at some point in the future, at least we’ll be able to pick up exactly where we left off. Let’s wind things up.”
They hurriedly packed up and secured the lab. Freddie agreed to take care of boxing up the relevant parts and data that made up the test over the weekend. He would have sufficient time between programs, and it would give him something to do whilst he was stuck at the lab.
Forty minutes later, they were all finished. They said their farewells and left the lab.
Chapter Five
Jean had spent most of the previous three weeks on a high, which had apparently been obvious, especially to the people over at her lab. It was of course her closest fellow female scientists that had first noticed the change. Her shoulder-length, wavy, brunette hair had visibly more bounce, and she was glowing, adding to her happier than usual refrain.
Although she hadn’t told anyone other than David and HR, she knew there was no chance of keeping her pregnancy a secret for very long.
She had been making a point of getting in early to avoid any friendly interrogation, choosing to get buried in her research work before the other five scientists arrived. Although today she didn’t have much of a choice. Since David’s big news, he had been like a cat on a hot tin roof. In the three days since he learned of his promotion and the tether project, he’d been talking to her about it morning, noon, and night. As a result, he was up before dawn, crashing and banging around their bedroom in his poor attempt at stealth. Needless to say, she couldn’t possibly sleep through the racket, so she reluctantly resigned herself to getting up as well.
Jean was ACR’s most senior cryogenicist and headed up the Cryogenic Stasis Department with five other proficient scientists, of which Daniel Pierro was the only male and her trusted right hand.
Daniel had previously worked with Jean at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology before she had head-hunted him to join her at ACR. He was both keen and brilliant and was usually the first to arrive at the labs.
Melanie Jones, Susan Patterson, Beatrice Wynn, and Julia Masters made up the rest of her close-knit team. They had all been on the same project now for the best part of eight years and would often socialize together outside of work.
Daniel and Susan were the only two members of the team that were not married, although Susan had recently become engaged to one of the lab technicians that worked in the advanced computing annex on the other side of their main building.
Daniel never spoke of any girlfriends or dates, which often led to the others quietly speculating if he might not be attracted to women.
Jean had been carefully studying a compound under the electron microscope when Daniel arrived a little after .
“Beat me in, I see,” he said as he flicked off his backpack, allowing it to expertly fall on the floor right at the base of the coat stand. “Good job I brought two coffees in.”
Jean smiled. “What, after a promotion are we?”
“Not at all. Well, maybe a little,” he joked. “That looks interesting. What have you got there?” He sat down and flicked on his PC, craning over to look at Jean’s screen.
“It’s the latest batch of the HSP.”
The HSP or Hybrid/Syntho/Platelet possibility thesis had been Jean’s prized contribution to science, one that she had been seriously developing for the past eight years since shortly after joining ACR. She hoped it would be the elusive medium that would enable human blood to remain intact at substantially lower temperatures without losing cohesion and still be able to function normally when returned to normal body temperature. In short, it could be the missing link in addressing the problem of successfully freezing and thawing organic matter and keeping it alive without damage.
“It was ready early this morning,” she answered without looking up.
“This morning—you must have been in at the crack of dawn, then. What did I miss? In all the years we’ve worked together, you’ve never beaten me in before, and now you’re doing it all the time. What’s up?”
Jean eventually tore her gaze away from the display and looked up. “Why does something have to be up?” she said, knowing he wasn’t about to drop the subject.
“Well, for one thing, you don’t work with someone for eight years and not get to know them. Plus, you’ve been skipping around the lab like you just won the lottery for the past few weeks. And before you deny it, I’m not the only one who’s noticed. So what is it? Come on, spill the beans.”
By now, the others had all filtered in and were making no attempt to go to their workstations or don their lab coats, choosing instead to encircle Jean.
She could feel her cheeks reddening. “Okay, okay,” she said. “Yes, something is different... I’m pregnant.”
There was an immediate outbreak of whooping, clapping, and chattering as the girls crowded round to force Jean up out of her seat for congratulatory hugs.
“All right, all right,” said Daniel, raising his voice above the clatter. “Now that that’s confirmed, it’s time to pay up!”
“What?” Jean said, while laughing and crying at the same time.
“Not you, boss, this lot. We’ve had a little sweepstake running on what was causing your newfound sparkle, and guess what... I won!”
“God, was it that obvious?” she said, still unable to contain her tears and smiles.
“Only by a small country mile,” said Beatrice.
“Actually, we pretty much all guessed,” said Melanie, “but Dan got in first.”
“Well, now the cat’s finally out of the bag, can we please get on with some work, and before you all bombard me with questions, I promise to tell all over lunch. Daniel’s buying . . .”
“I am?” he said.
“You better believe it,” said Julia with a giggle, playfully poking him in the back.
“Oh well,” Daniel mockingly sighed, “easy come, easy go.”
Despite Jean’s attempt at containing the exuberance of questions, it was soon apparent that she was fighting a losing battle. They were all too excited, and the likelihood of getting any real work done for the day was diminishing, so she resigned herself to just go with the flow and get it out of the way on the premise that they double their efforts in the morning.
Jean made it home by six that day, happy knowing that her team was now aware and in full support. She had been a little worried as to how they might react given their commitment to the current project, but she felt comfortable that they would keep up the momentum and, more importantly, keep her fully apprised of developments and progress when the time finally came for her to take her leave of absence.
She had no intention of spending months and months away from the lab and her beloved project, despite any new addition to the family, so she would have to work out the finer points of fitting everything in with David, especially more so now with his new project getting underway. Fortunately, there had been other scientists at both labs that had faced similar situations with key projects and families, so she felt confident that there was an acceptable solution out there somewhere. She made a mental note to start the ball rolling to find out over the coming weeks.
Jean was already in bed when David finally made it home. It was late when he came into their bedroom, devouring the sandwich she had prepared for him earlier.
“Hi, darling, how was it?” she said. “You look exhausted.”
“Yef, I mam,” he mumbled through a full mouth as he chewed profusely. “What a day ik’s beem.”
Jean sat up. “Why don’t you finish your sandwich, take a shower, and come to bed. Then you can tell me all about it.”
“Yef, dear.”
David was still chewing the last of his sandwich as he disappeared into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, he was freshly showered and sitting on his edge of the bed. Jean, however, was sprawled across the center, as usual.
As he swung his legs up and under the sheets, Jean said, “That’s better, darling. Now, before you start, let me quickly tell you about my day first. Well, as you kno
w, being pregnant was never going to be a secret for very long. In fact, this morning . . .”
She was interrupted by loud snoring... David was already out like a light!
Jean gently touched his shoulder, and with a motherly smile, she sighed and whispered, “Tough day, I guess.”
She leaned over him and turned off the bedside lamp, then snuggled down to join him in the arms of Morpheus.
***
Jean was awoken by the creaking of the bedroom door just as David was about to leave. Seeing her move, he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Good morning, darling, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Oh, that’s okay. What time is it anyway?” she asked blearily.
“It’s just before six, and I need to get going. We’re jam-packed with meetings for most of the day, and I need to prep some notes before they begin at eight.”
“That’s okay, darling, maybe we can catch up later. What time will you be able to get away?”
“Hopefully not as late as yesterday,” David said, “but they’re really loading us up, so I won’t really know until later. It is exciting, though. Look, I’ll try and be back at a reasonable time so we can catch up, but I really have to get my skates on.” He pecked her on the forehead. “Love you.”
“I love you too,” she said as he stood and went downstairs.
Jean followed his movements in her mind, the carpeted steps, the rustle of his jacket, the chinking of his car keys, and the clicking of the latch as the front door closed.
Jean lay back down thinking about her own day ahead and quickly dozed off only to be re-awoken by the seven fifteen pre-set radio alarm broadcasting the day’s news.
She left the house just before eight, after quickly tidying up and grabbing a muffin on the way out for her short drive to work.
At 08:25, she arrived in her lab to be greeted by a full house.
“Good morning, everyone, I see you all beat me in this morning,” she said as she hurried to put on her lab coat. “Glad to see everyone’s already hard at work.”
As she approached her desk, she saw her PC powered up and the now mandatory cup of coffee on her desk waiting for her.
