She was walking across campus and happened to see the University President on his way to the Admissions Building.
“Doctor Dulles,” Abby said, as she caught up to him.
“Ah, Abby. How nice to see you. Getting ready for the semester to begin?”
“Yes and that is what I wanted to see you about.”
“Enrollment?”
“Why, yes.”
“Terrible isn’t it? We are down twenty-three percent across the board. Everyone is so caught up in this KA5 thing that the future suddenly doesn't matter,” John replied.
“But I just assumed that enrollment would skyrocket, at least here. I mean with all the new interest I thought just the opposite would happen. I never dreamed it would drop. We have said all along that the world isn’t going to end. Earth will not be in the direct path of KA5.”
“Well sometimes things don’t go as you would like or expect. This is the largest single drop that the University has had since I have been President here,” he told her.
“Is this all my fault?”
“Absolutely not. You are not responsible for KA5, you just found it. It is just good you did find it when you did. It would have caused much more panic if it just suddenly appeared. At least people know that it is coming and that it will not hit the Earth. Think about that a moment,” he told her.
“Yes but I insisted we get the University on record as the finders. Maybe that acted adversely. Maybe I should have let the JPL take credit.”
“Sometimes when we get what we wish for it doesn’t always turn out the way we had envisioned. Oh, I meant to tell you. I got a letter from President Strong. He thanked the University for loaning you to him and he gave a glowing report on you and the team. It really was quite flattering. I’ll have a copy sent over if you like,” John said.
“That would be terrific. I would like to share that with the team,” Abby said.
“I’ll have Brenda send a copy right over. And you are not the cause of the drop in enrollment. You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“Thank you,” Abby said.
“Was there anything else Abby?” John asked.
“No. Just the enrollment issue. I sure hope we bounce back next semester,” Abby said.
“Well you are in much better shape than many. We actually had to cancel some classes due to low enrollment. It isn’t just here Abby. Universities and Colleges across the nation are reporting record drops in enrollment.”
“I guess education has taken a back seat for now.”
“Yes, I believe survival is the new focus at the moment. Everything else seems to have taken a back seat, even if it is misguided,” he told her.
She turned to go but he stopped her by saying, “By the way Abby, you will be at the President's Faculty Brunch on Sunday, right?”
“Oh, I completely forgot about that.”
“Abby, Abby. I’ve been around students and faculty my entire life. I know an excuse when I hear one. Do you know we have a record number of RSVPs this year? You want to know why?”
“Probably not,” she replied.
“Quite right. They all want to meet and see the University celebrity. Do you know I’ve seen your picture in the news and on the television more times than I’ve seen you the last three years?”
“Point taken. I’ll be there.”
“Good decision,” he said smiling and walking off.
She sighed deeply. She thought she had managed to skip out this time. She absolutely hated going to those things. All fake smiles and plastic people.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Doctor Fritz Metzler had been an employee of the Government ever since he graduated from MIT. He had finished first in his class and was immediately recruited by the Government.
His work included such projects as the B2 bomber, the stealth Nighthawk and other top secret projects that were yet to be released to the general public. Within five years he was considered the most important person in the area of electromagnetic propulsion.
Metzler had always believed the only way to go faster and further than traditional rocket engines was with the advent of a new propulsion system. But like all military projects they always seem to be multifaceted. Many of the spinoffs from the propulsion program had worked their way into weapon systems.
“That was very impressive Doctor Metzler,” Major Peters said.
“Well, you must understand that that was a low power yield test. We simply cannot unleash the full potential here. In fact, we are having a difficult time finding a suitable platform to test its true effectiveness.”
“Isn’t there any place you could try it out at full strength?” the Major asked.
“Not at this point in time.”
“What would you need exactly?” the Major asked.
Metzler smiled and handed him a binder that was a good half inch thick.
“You will find everything I need in there. It seems substantial but really the requirements are not all that great. I added the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what’.
“Alright. I will take this back with me. If we did get the go ahead to precede what kind of time frame are we potentially looking at?” Major Peters asked.
“I guess it would depend on how quickly the materials could be procured and what kind of manpower allocation I was afforded.”
“I see. Alright then. I will report back to Washington and pass along this file. You should hear from me in the next day or so. There seems to be an urgent push to move forward on this.”
“You know where to find me,” Metzler said and walked off.
Major Peters was thinking what a strange bird Metzler was. It seemed to go with the territory when dealing with these 'over developed brain' people. The smarter they were, the weirder they were.
Doctor Metzler not an impressive figure of a man by any means. He was just a shade over five foot one, weighed no more than one hundred and forty pounds dripping wet and obviously had no knowledge of what a comb was used for. He talked to himself insistently and pushed his glasses up on his nose at least ten times a minute.
On top of that, his intelligence made it difficult for him to explain to the layman what he was trying to get across. He just assumed that everyone understood what he meant when he threw out terms and scribbled out the math. Like many super intelligent people, he was quite eccentric.
His latest project was called HPM and stood for High Power Microwaves. His theory was that by altering the wave sine of a microwave and focusing them in a multidirectional configuration, they could be used to move objects.
It wasn’t long before he began to realize that HPM alone was not going to achieve the desired results he was looking for. He went back to the drawing board and theorized that using HEMP, which was High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse in conjunction with high powered microwaves, would result in the energy being produced in the correct configuration. He hypothesized that it could be used as a power source to propel rockets at much higher speeds and for virtually unlimited distances.
His biggest obstacle at the moment was finding a platform for use in adequately testing his theory because the byproduct was an electromagnetic pulse that had the potential to destroy all computer controlled components. How far it would reach was unknown.
While he was sure it would work, he couldn’t risk testing it inside the Earth’s atmosphere. It had to be done in space and even then it was somewhat risky.
Now he was working on a directional shield to ensure the impulses went exactly where directed and would not reflect back to do peripheral damage. The exact configuration and material seemed to be eluding him. The test today had turned out well but it was at such a low power it was inconclusive as to its effectiveness at full power.