Foundation

by M J Kendrick

  Your mother and I love you very much, and we are so so proud of what you have achieved, and what you will achieve in your life. You will always be amongst friends with the Smarties, and you can trust William’s father to help you whenever you need it.

  The two hard drives are to help you follow your dreams. You’ll know what to do with them. Strive forward and know you are forever in our hearts and that we will always be with you.

  Mom and Dad

  Carlton cried whilst he read the letter. He missed his parents so much. He felt he needed to be alone, for a while, anyway. He left the Smarties to go and lay down.

  A few hours later, Lucy had crept quietly into bed beside him, and, holding him tightly, they both fell into a deep sleep.

  ***

  The following day, the Smarties were all working on each other’s equipment and had made good progress. Carlton felt much better and chipped in to help.

  When they all moved to Miles’s area, Carlton decided to take some time to look at what was on his parents’ hard drives, so, with Lucy in tow, they set up a laptop in the monitoring station and accessed the first of the two units. Carlton scrolled through the files and quickly realized that it contained the entire sum of his father’s work, including all of his research and data. It also contained several files on areas of research, data, and discoveries that even Omni never knew about. Carlton’s father had given him his lifetime's work.

  He frantically scrambled to connect the second hard drive. This contained the masses of files results and data from his mother’s cryogenic research. It also contained several files that Omni never knew about and also represented his mother’s life’s work.

  Carlton knew exactly what the hard drives meant to him, more so than Lucy, who was agog at how this would enable her to leap ahead with her own research. He needed time to think. The information that he now possessed would dramatically advance his ambitions and aims for Quantum, and that would make it hard to keep from the Smarties.

  It was time to bring everyone in on the big picture.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Carlton had planned to have the first ever bona fide Quantum staff meeting once all of the labs were functional.

  Even with everything that had been going on, he had still managed to draw up a design for the generator and wanted to unveil it to the Smarties at the meeting.

  Carlton wanted their input on the design and ideas on ways to improve it. He also wanted to hear what other equipment was needed from each of them, but he would tell them of the spacecraft development first, as he suspected that might have a bearing on what they would need. He expected the meeting to take most of the day once his plans were known, most of which would be taken up with questions.

  Carlton had asked Per and Miles to set up some benches and chairs in a semi-circle somewhere on the hangar floor that would serve as a temporary briefing area for the meeting.

  He was pleased that it looked so professional when he joined the waiting Smarties. There was coffee and water on the long bench in front of the Smarties, and a smaller bench had been placed centrally in the front so that Carlton could face them and head the meeting.

  Carlton began. “Today is the first day that we can say Quantum is no longer a dream but a fully operational concern and we should all be very proud of what we have done. I wanted us to have this meeting so that we can all have a clear understanding of exactly why we are here, what our immediate aims are, and the long-term plan for Quantum.

  “Some of you are already aware of my intentions, and I apologize to those of you who have not been told as yet. Suffice it to say that the significance and ramifications of the long-term goal for Quantum is of such magnitude that all of our safety has been, and will remain, dependent on absolute secrecy. The time is now right for you all to know. But first, we need to discuss the first of Quantum’s projects.”

  Carlton passed over the design of the generator to each of the Smarties. “Here are the first designs of the generator that we will be producing. I want you to pay particular attention to the estimated power output range against the input voltage and also the floating central shaft assembly.”

  Haru raised his hand, and the Smarties giggled. Carlton was smiling. “It’s okay, Haru you don’t have to raise your hand,” he said.

  Haru looked momentarily embarrassed, “Sorry,” he said, “but, am I reading this correctly? According to this, a fraction of a volt of current will result in hundreds, maybe thousands of pounds of torque to the drive shaft! That would, in turn, put out thousands of volts, with the right electrical generating coil setup. Is that right?”

  Carlton was beaming and enthusiastically answered, “Yes, that’s absolutely right, Haru, the bottom line is that the refined properties of the emitted force are so powerful that we can produce a perpetual motion generator that can run indefinitely and produce a constant, phenomenal output without the need for any external power... As it stands, it works on paper, but it is crude in many areas. We need to refine the design, which is why I’m glad you were the first to pick up on the potential.

  “We need to address the electrical generating mechanism and the casing to house the incredible internal stresses. The floating shaft assembly needs to be of electromagnetic design so that none of its surfaces are ever in direct contact with the casing, and the unit, once it is sealed and operational, must be impregnable to any kind of access.”

  Miles and Anton were both frantically writing and sketching as the details unfolded.

  Carlton saw they already had ideas and said, “Lend some thought about this design and see what you can come up with. Miles, I will work with you on the casing material. I have something that you will like, and, Haru, can you concentrate on the electrical and magnetic elements?

  “Per, I need you to work on a practical design for the well, let’s call it the PMG—after all, that’s what it is, a Perpetual Motion Generator. Work with Haru. Anton, I would like you to help me and Miles with the casing material. Again, I have something that will interest you, and it involves one of the processes.

  “I want to explore a few things with you on your flat laser, specifically around incorporating a PMG and my new lens composite material. William, now is the time to compile your list of ways in which we can utilize the PMGs to produce revenue. You already know that we cannot expose its technology or invention, so the challenge is to come up with a way to provide a service of some kind. I want you to understand that we are going to need substantial funds, so please bear that in mind.”

  “What about me?” asked Lucy.

  Carlton smiled. “I’m coming to that,” he said.

  The boys were all chatting eagerly about their PMG ideas, nodding and expanding on each other’s initial suggestions. They hushed when Carlton continued.

  “Now,” he began, “it’s time to discuss the real reason for Quantum. Please keep an open mind and let me give you the overall picture before you ask questions.”

  Carlton looked at Lucy, William, and Anton, who were all more than a little intrigued at what he was about to say.

  Carlton felt a little nervous and had to remind himself of his own advice to have faith.

  He started, “You’ve all had a little time now to think about the implications of exactly what the discovery of the force can represent, including the precarious position it puts us in. Haru coined it in one, when he said, ‘It would be a waste to only use it on generators.’”

  Carlton grinned. “Of course he’s right, it would be a waste. What I have discovered answers the entire world’s energy problems, transportation, manufacturing, in fact, every form of industry would benefit beyond imagination. It would have a positive impact on every person, country, and government on the planet. And there lies the problem. If the discovery is ever made public, no matter how we choose to use it, then the very least that would happen to us is that it would be taken immediately.

  “Make no mistake, people would kill for this technology, so you can imagine what a coun
try would do. Ownership of this technology could topple governments overnight. In the wrong hands, world domination wouldn’t be a possibility. It would be a reality.”

  Carlton paused and took a drink of water.

  The Smarties were trying to come to terms with the full realization of what Carlton’s discovery truly meant.

  He continued, “All of these dangers have been on my mind from the moment of the discovery. As you all know, my parents were leaders in their fields. They were solely responsible for the discoveries that made the tether project and viable cryogenic stasis possible. Their discoveries put them in danger, and I have strong suspicions about the circumstances surrounding their sad deaths. The point is this, what we have is of even greater magnitude and value, so much so that we are severely limited as to how we can safely use the discovery without alerting anyone.

  “The PMGs will be a manageable application that we can contain, and, along with a few other similar projects, we would all be able to retire comfortably well off. But earning more than a decent living is not what drives me, and I’m sure it’s the same for all of you. We, as scientists, look to money as a means to an end, an end that will allow us to invent, discover, and further the boundaries of human knowledge and understanding. That is what drives us.

  “I want us all to learn more, discover more, and achieve more than any other person, organization, or government has ever done before, and now we have the technology to do that. We are going to use the technology to create the necessary billions that will allow us to build a craft capable of interstellar travel. No, we are not going to waste the technology on just building generators. We are going to use it to explore the galaxy.”

  The hangar was dead silent. The Smarties just sat perfectly still, staring at Carlton, not knowing what to say. Eventually, Lucy broke the silence by saying, “When do we start?” and the Smarties all started screaming, whooping, laughing and talking loudly at each other and to Carlton in a cacophony of excited noise.

  Carlton slowly smiled and quietly said to himself, “We just have.”

  ***

  The rest of the day was indeed spent answering questions and discussing the projects, as were the next two days. The Smarties had definitely taken the bull by the horns, showing growing support and enthusiasm with each passing hour. It was only on the fourth day that work really began and the Smarties attacked the development of the PMGs with a dogged determination.

  Lucy had been totally absorbed in Jean’s research and could not be budged from her lab.

  After a full month of nonstop work, Carlton called another meeting. Progress had been swift on all fronts, but he felt he needed to force the Smarties to take a break. He informed them that after the meeting they would all go out and find a spot to just chill and enjoy an afternoon barbecue.

  Although the Smarties were fully aware of each other’s progress, it was still good to hear it all in one sitting. It showed just how far along the PMG design and development was. Miles and Carlton had used nanotechnology to create a suitable housing, and Haru had designed an ingenious way to incorporate the internal wiring and circuitry as part of the casing itself and as part of the electrical generating hub. The only moving part would be the free-floating shaft assembly, which Per had designed to be manufactured as one enclosed piece that sat perfectly within the casing. The entire mock-up unit was less than half the size of a shoe box.

  Any attempt to access the internal technology would render the unit useless and destroy the vital components.

  Carlton was pleased. “This is great,” he said, “We should have a working prototype within a few weeks. We just have to make sure that the design is100 percent viable before introducing our limited supply of irradiated iridium.”

  Once the unit was produced and assembled, the irradiated iridium could never be retrieved or recycled, so it had to be right, at least until his could organize his gamma source and produce more.

  William had been reviewing their safeguards and felt it wasn’t enough. “Look, guys, I’ve been thinking about this, and I suggest going one step further to protect the vital internals and the secrets they hold, by introducing a twin-walled, microlayer of explosive material, just below the internal surface of the casing. Then any attempt at access that is strong enough to breach any part of the outer casing would totally annihilate the internal components.”

  Carlton remembered his father’s advice and took no time to agree with him.

  Lucy had been using some of Jean’s data to start her research and development of a deep space version of the stasis pod design. It would be months, even years, before she would be in a position to even think about a possible prototype, but her early findings showed that it could just be a matter of redesigning and adapting certain parts of Jean’s work to fit in with what she needed. Carlton turned his attention to her. “And how’s our little bookworm doing?”

  Lucy smiled, “Well, Jean’s research is definitely on the next level, everything we need is in her data and with our PMGs we’ll be able to take out the ‘ifs’ in the question of how we make the deep space version of the stasis pod work independently.” Carlton nodded and returned her smile. “All right, what about the ship?” Lucy asked.

  Everyone was hoping that Per was ready to show them several designs of spacecraft, but all Per had was a long list of what the craft would need to incorporate internally, “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but the details are in the devil.”

  Everyone sniggered. Per would often mix up sayings, and his Swedish accent always made it sound amusing. “Once I have the list, it will still take several months. Time to work out where to locate everything and how big the spacecraft would need to be. Only then can I start on the overall design of the exterior, and we can get a feeling of what it could look like.”

  As Carlton had expected, any mention of spacecraft design whatsoever would immediately provoke a flurry of excited suggestions as to what it should look like and there would be absolutely no way of stopping them, which is why he had kept it until last.

  Per’s update was Carlton’s signal that the meeting was over and that it was time to barbecue.

  ***

  William and Anton had been spending time with each of the Smarties in their labs. They needed a definitive list of their equipment needs so that it could be bought when the next supply run was due. Along with Carlton, they had decided to return to Wakefield to locate the equipment, as they knew they would be able to get everything together without having to chase halfway around the country.

  Carlton needed his gamma source, so he would be solely concentrating on that acquisition, leaving William and Anton to take care of everything else.

  Ten days later they were back at Wakefield with a half-full trailer of equipment and supplies. Only Carlton’s gamma source was still outstanding. He was having difficulty finding a unit that was affordable and small enough to transport.

  When Anton and William had secured the last of the supplies and fulfilled the Smarties’ orders of the other things they would need, they asked Carlton if they could help him chase down some possibilities that might give him what he needed.

  Anton had lucked out in the past. He had used a seedy salvage specialist for some of his laser parts. When Anton had contacted him, he had told him that he had some badly fire-damaged equipment that he had “acquired” from a local, upmarket clinic that had mysteriously burned down a year ago. From the description, Anton thought there might be four suitable imaging and cancer treatment machines that the “Mr. Seedy” was happy for them to strip down for some parts. He had told Anton that he and his friends would be more than welcome to go along and check them out. Unfortunately, Mr. Seedy’s salvage yard was in South Carolina.

  But it was worth the trip. With Anton and William’s help, Carlton managed to strip out all of the essential parts from the four expensive machines and also enough parts from other machines and mangled equipment to develop and build his own customized, amplified gamma source without ha
ving to deal with the bulk and volume of the equipment’s outer panels and hefty shielding. Even so, the parts still filled all the remaining space in the trailer.

  The salvage boss was a particularly swarthy man. He was most people’s perception of a dodgy car dealer, the kind that would rob your grandmother in her sleep. Anton, having dealt with him before, negotiated the deal, putting on a good performance of someone being charged an exorbitant amount because they were in a hole and had little choice. The salvage boss was delighted that he had taken the boys for $10,000 in cash.

  The boys, however, couldn’t quite believe they had just stripped the life out of $8 million’s worth of machines. Carlton had worried that his $500k budget wouldn’t be enough, and it probably wouldn’t have been had Anton not come through. They laughed for practically the entire journey back to Quantum.

  ***

  In six weeks, Carlton had sectioned off an area in the far corner of the hangar to fully enclose and house the large and impressive gamma machine that they had constructed. His irradiation process and testing program were finally ready, and, by the end of the following month, he had the completed results of the new enhanced composite lens and fully irradiated iridium alloy matrix triple-walled nanotube surfaces that could be precision shaped for inclusion into the PMG’s internal hub.

  The efficiency of the prototype was staggering. Further refinements and improvements took another month, but, before long, Haru had converted Quantum to run solely on PMG power from a bank of four units that, combined, were no bigger than a small carry-on suitcase and only relied on three PMGs, with one used as a backup. The output had to be tempered down to be usable, but the near silent setup meant that they had unlimited power at their disposal.

  Per had been deep into his design. Now that he had the incredible force data, he could start calculating the thrust potentials.

  Carlton’s first estimates of up to 4,000 pounds of thrust per one-half pound of weight proved wildly inaccurate. The new fully irradiated versions of his new EPC had increased the force produced to 7,500 pounds per five ounces of weight at just 1.2volts of current.