“That would be great. Don’t tell him what it’s about if you can help it. I want to see the look on his face when it goes above seventy-five percent,” she said and started toward the opposite bay exit.
“You’re brilliant,” she yelled across the bay, the words echoing off the walls. He gave her a little shrug.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
It didn’t take long to locate General Devin. He was in the security center watching various monitors.
Raymond stuck his head in the door and said, “General, do you have a minute? I think you might be interested in something.”
“Yes. I can spare some time if you feel it’s important,” the general replied.
He looked at the monitors and saw one labeled Level–9. It was on. Another one was next to it without a level number on it. He knew this wasn’t the time to say anything.
It was always going to be tense between the two men. Eller had been around long enough to know that some people just don’t mesh and there is little that can be done about it. He wasn’t going to spend any time worrying about it. The general walked along side of him to Bay-1 but said nothing. When they got there, Lynn and her staff were standing by the isolation booth.
“General,” she said, extending her hand.
He quickly shook it, “So what have you got?”
“Why don’t you suit up and join me in the booth?” she asked.
“Is it necessary?”
“Just a precautionary measure. I think it will be worth the effort,” she said.
He took off his hat and coat and laid them on a bench. He quickly got into the suit and in a few minutes was standing beside Dr. Yurris.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Sure. I guess, for what that’s worth.”
He had been in this room hundreds of times when they thought they had achieved a breakthrough, but always left discouraged. Lynn quickly initiated the startup sequence and pointed to the power meter. Devin’s eyes were fixed on it as the needle started to climb.
It was not like the other tests he had witnessed before, this time it went past sixty-five percent and in a few seconds was at one hundred percent. She could see his eyes light up and his mouth open as the needle stayed at the hundred percent level and the test platform stayed steady.
He put his hand on it and felt the slight vibration. She had done it. He couldn’t believe that she had actually done it. He felt like jumping as he reached over and squeezed her arm and gave her a thumbs-up sign. She let it run for a few minutes and then shut the power down.
Devin just stood there, transfixed much the way Lynn had been earlier. Finally he followed her out of the booth. The rest of the team was cheering and shouting. Even Raymond was caught up in the emotion.
“Incredible. Outstanding,” the general shouted, joining in the celebration.
No one had ever seen him like this before. He was actually smiling and shaking hands with the team members.
“Dr. Yuriss, you are amazing. You have done what no one else has been able to accomplish and we have had the best minds working on this. You are the best of the best. How in the world did you do it?” he said, the excitement still in his voice.
“We had been going in the wrong direction for all this time. We kept trying to make the core fit the containment cone and instead we needed to give it a little more room. I can’t take the credit for that. Mr. Eller was the one who made the suggestion,” she said.
Devin stopped shaking one of the team member’s hands, turned and just looked at her, like he had just been hit in the stomach.
“You are kidding, right? Mr. Eller made the suggestion?” he asked.
He couldn’t hide the look of astonishment on his face.
“Yes he did. We were talking and he threw out the idea. Sure enough, when I milled the core a few millimeters, it worked. Mr. Eller is the real hero,” she said.
Several people started shaking his hand and slapping him on the back. The general continued to look on, disbelieving.
“I can’t take the credit. Dr. Yuriss is the one who made it work. I just offered a suggestion but she is the one that pursued the idea and made the changes. She deserves the credit.”
“Well, I guess you both deserve the credit. Whatever the source, it works and that is the main thing,” Devin said at last.
Tomorrow we will start installing it in U-1 and if all goes well we should be ready to test in a few months,” Lynn said.
“Just think of it. We may actually be able to see this thing fly. My God, what a momentous day,” Devin said.
He was getting back into the spirit again and as long as the project moved forward, who cares who gets the credit?
J had been awake and standing in his enclosed room when he became aware that the humans had figured out the anti-matter flux reactor. He was concerned. His people had thought that it would be another five to ten years before the humans reached this level. It was a mistake giving them the disc of Element-115. With the advent of the new super computers, the humans were advancing faster than expected.
While the propulsion unit was ahead of their schedule, it would still take some time before they learned to control the craft and could to begin dimensional travel. The immediate problem was the weapon that they had tested.
His world had always been concerned that the people of earth would look for the destructive side of the material rather that its intended use to allow exploration of the rest of the universe. Of all of the species they had encountered they thought perhaps they could find a common ground with these humans so that each could gain knowledge of the other’s world.
The weapon was an unwelcome development and J’s people were afraid of the implications. Even with his intentional slowdown they were still ahead of schedule. He had the ability to regenerate his cells at any time but he would not do so until it was absolutely necessary.
It served his purpose for now to let them think he was too sick to continue helping them. He was trying to decide whether to contact his planet and let them know of this new development or wait and see how much further they could get. He decided he would wait a little longer.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Dr. Yuriss stayed glued to Raymond's side during the celebration in Bay–1. Others had heard about the breakthrough and came pouring into the large hanger bay.
It was the first celebration of this kind in many years. Everyone realized that they were on the threshold of a new era. Even Devin was inspired knowing that they would all work a little harder now. He just might get his platform for the BlackStar before the Su-12 was completed.
After things began to wind down, Lynn asked Raymond if he would like to come to dinner. He was taken aback at first.
“How is that possible? Don’t you live on Level–5 with the other scientists?”
“I do, so what?”
“Did you mean in the dining facility?”
“No. At my place. Haven’t you been in one of the pods yet?”
“Pods?”
“That’s what we call them. It isn’t just a room with four walls. I have a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and study. I even have a laundry room and an exercise room,” she explained.
“Well, in that case, I would be honored. What time would you like me to come by?”
“Eightish would be just fine, I’m in 112.”
“Then eight it shall be. I have a bottle of wine in my quarters, would you like me to bring it?”
“You poor misguided man. I have a rack of wine. Do you think I could stay here this long without a steady supply of fine wine?”
“I guess I never thought about it. Then I will see you at eight he said.