Sitting at his desk, working on a calculation while talking to himself non-stop he hit on an idea. He froze as if in a daze. Even when his glasses slid down his nose he didn’t move.
“Oh dear. My goodness. Yes, yes, that certainly could work,” he said, jumping up from his desk and running to the blackboard. Within minutes the entire board was filled with an equation. He stepped back and looked at it. Occasionally he would change one of the values and then recalculate. Covered in chalk dust, he finally laid down the chalk and did a little dance.
CHAPTER FORTY
ABC NEWS
Several riots broke out in California and elsewhere today when stores started limiting the amount of products that could be purchased. Most of the large chains had decided that hording of certain items should not be allowed. Items such as flour and sugar were limited to twenty pounds per person.
“This is the only fair way to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity,” A spokesman for Donner Foods said at a press conference early this morning. Customers endured long lines as crowds started to gather before the store opened. Several disturbances broke out among those waiting in line as people tried to cut in front of others.
A spokesperson for Bay Mont Foods said that it was a sad day when they had to call in security to keep customers from jumping line and causing disturbances. Six people were arrested in Des Moines, Iowa when a group of young adults tried to rob people standing in line to get into the FreshFarm Food Store. The six youths brandished guns but several people waiting in line had concealed carry permits and were able to disarm the youths and hold them until police arrived.
The manager of the FreshFarm Food Store said he was just glad that no one was hurt and was thankful that the situation didn’t escalate into violence. Asked if he thought limiting purchases of certain items was a good idea he replied, “Absolutely. Everyone should have a chance to purchase basic food needs.”
James and Brian were sitting in her outer office when Abby came in.
“Hey guys,” she said placing her briefcase on the secretary's desk.
“Doctor Montgomery,” they said in unison.
“What can I do for you guys? Obviously something is up. What is it?” she asked.
“We need to talk to you for a minute if you have the time,” James said.
She opened her door and led them into the room. Once they were all seated she folded her hands and waited.
“Well, I guess we don’t know exactly what to do so we thought we would consult you,” Brian managed to get out.
“Boys, I need a tad more information. It’s pretty hard to help with what I know so far. You don’t know what to do about what?” Abby asked.
“We are both enrolled in Doctor Lambert's 514 Interstellar Medium and Star Formation class and…well to be honest Abby, the guy isn’t up to speed. I mean he is teaching stuff that we knew in some of the three hundred level classes. Not only is it boring but half the time he gets the math totally wrong,” Brian told her.
She hated these situations. She had complained about Lambert on more than one occasion but the bottom line was that he was tenured and only had two more years to go before retirement. There was no way the University was going to do anything about him. She certainly empathized with James and Brian. Tuition was terribly expensive and they felt like they were just throwing it away. It was especially true for Brian. He probably could have taught the class.
“Guys, I can’t say that I blame you but the fact is; you have to take the class for your advanced degree. There was talk that he may retire last year but he didn’t. He is the only teacher for that class so I don’t see that you have another option without dropping the class and picking up something else. If you are going to do that you need to do it immediately. Next week will be too late without special permission. I know he is boring well monotone at least,” she told them.
“No boring,” James said.
“But he is wrong so many times. We know it but what about the others who don’t know any better? He is going to send them out there with the wrong information. How can the University do that to the others? I mean isn’t that a problem for the University in its own right? I would think they would have done something about it before now,” Brian said.
“Boys I hate to be blunt but we can’t resolve all the world’s injustices. For now it is just a fact of life you are going to have to deal with. I know it is a bitter pill to swallow but you need the class. Look, just take what you can from the class and forget the rest,” she told them.
After they had gone she considered going to talk to Doctor Lambert but what good would it really do? This was just one of those times where you had to let sleeping dogs lie. Her real concern was that James and Brian were throwing away hard earned money. She was more worried about James. He wasn’t real good at hiding his feelings. She could see him just going off on Lambert when he made a stupid mistake.
President Strong sat in the Oval Office with General LaForge and Admiral Kincaid. The two officers had taken their jackets off and loosened their ties. He was one of the first Commander-in-Chiefs they had respect for. He was willing to listen and once he gathered the information he made a decision. Right or wrong, he could be decisive.
“I understand the point of what you are telling me but it seems like one heck of a risk doesn’t it?” Strong said.
“Yes sir. I don’t think we are ready to implement anything just yet but I did want to bring it to your attention.”
“Gentlemen, what do you really think? I guess what I am asking is, does one risk outweigh the other? We pretty much know the story from Doctor Montgomery about what could happen if KA5 does impact the moon. So what happens if we use Doctor Metzer’s device? Would that cause even more damage or would it work and actually get rid of the threat.”
“Mr. President, like you, we only have so much information. We know doing nothing is lethal. And there is the other problem.”
“Meaning?”
“If the media ever found out we might have something that had the remotest chance of success you would be crucified. This may sound trite but we are literally caught between a rock and a hard place,” Admiral Kincaid said sitting back in his chair.
“Boy, I guess this is why I get the big bucks. Okay gentlemen, this is what I want to do for the present. I agree we can’t wait much longer if we are going to have time to act. I want to get Doctor Metzler and Montgomery together immediately and have them talk this over. If they say go, we go as fast as we can.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard. Metzler is at the Skunkworks and Montgomery is back teaching at the University.”
“We have a plan. We need to implement it immediately,” President Strong said, ending the meeting.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
“Abby, it’s Dan.”
“Dan? Sorry, do I know you? I once knew a guy name Dan but that was a long time ago. I hardly have a recollection of him after all this time.”
“Oh come on. It hasn’t been that long. I sent flowers for goodness sake,” he said.
“That’s true but they are dead now. All I have left is an empty vase,” she replied
“Okay. Maybe it has been a little while but how would you like to meet for lunch?”
“Are you here?” she said, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.
“Not exactly. But I will be in a few hours. I want to sweep you away to this really unbelievable place.”