Revelation

'Aye, laddie even down to the dance of atoms.'

Findhorn counted five nickels. 'Keep going.'

'Now, out of the blue, Findhorn of the Arctic is asking me also about the Casimir effect, which by some strange coincidence is also telling us something about the energy of the Universe. In this experiment you take two flat plates and hold them very close together. You have to do this in a vacuum to get rid of air pressure, and you have to make the plates microscopically flat. When you do that, when you put the surfaces of these flat plates very close together but not touching, a force acts to push them together… Cut that out, will you, Helen?'

'You mean a force like gravity?'

'I do not. Gravity comes from matter. This force comes from empty space. It's caused by energy contained in empty space, which we call zero point energy because it's irreducible. There's no way you can get rid of it. Some enthusiasts will tell you this ZPE is the bedrock of the Universe and that everything you see, including us, is just low-energy froth floating on the surface of a deep ocean of vacuum energy.'

'That seems a bit fantastic'

There was a chuckle at the other end of the line. 'Mother Nature is not required to pander to your limited imagination, Fred. Paradox or not, the Casimir effect proves that empty space is a vast store of energy. And since I'm not as dumb as I look, my guess is you're asking me these questions because Petrosian thought he could link the two. Maybe he saw this zero point energy as the common factor, the magic door between the local and the cosmic' There was a brief, curious crackle on the line. 'Now there's a sorcerer's trick for you. To find the key to the magic door. To pull down energy from galaxies. Awesome…'

'Archie, I think I want to speak to Aristotle.'

'He's dead.'

'Aristotle Papagianopoulos, at the University of Patras.'

There was a long silence, and then: 'Papa the Greek. I wouldn't.'

Something negative in Archie's voice. Findhorn was suddenly alert. 'What's the problem? I understand he's a world authority on fundamental physics.'

'Oh aye, he makes Hawking look like the school dunce.'

'So?'

'For a start it's easier to get an audience with the Pope. I've never been close enough to touch his robe.'

'But suppose I do get an audience?'

'He'd have no time for you, Fred. He's the most arrogant pillock since Louis XIV.'

'I'd be wasting my time?'

'Absolutely.'

'I'm going anyway. I have to try.'

'Don't be daft —'

The last coin ran out.

Findhorn put the receiver down. A feeling of unease had suddenly enveloped him. It took him some seconds to identify the cause.

It might have been an altruistic wish to steer him away from an embarrassing encounter, or even a touch of academic jealousy.

But whatever, Archie had been trying to control him.

There was a note for him on the RV steering wheeclass="underline" Stuff this camping lark. I'm having breakfast at the Bright Angel Lodge and I think I've found something.

20 FBI

Romella was sitting at a big panoramic window with the early morning sun throwing an orange-red light on the top of the canyon walls. The Colorado River far below was still in gloom. This morning she was in Levi's, cuff boots and an Aran sweater, and Findhorn wondered where she kept her store of clothes. The long silver earrings, he noticed, were back. Coffee cups and a plate of biscuits were on a low table in front of her, along with a few sheets of photocopied typescript.

There was a serious edge to her expression. Without preliminaries, she handed over a sheet of paper. 'Read this.'

SECRECY ORDER

(Title 35, United States Code 1952, sections 181–188).

NOTICE: To Dr Lev Baruch Petrosian, his heirs and assignees, attorneys and agents.

You are hereby notified that your application has been found to contain material, the disclosure of which might be detrimental to national security. Accordingly, you are ordered not to publish, construct or disclose the invention or any information relevant to it, either verbally, in print, or in any other manner whatsoever, to any individual, group or organization unaware of the invention prior to the date of this order, but to keep the principal and details of the invention secret unless written consent is first obtained from the Commissioner of Patents.

You are expressly forbidden to export all or any part of the invention described in your application, or any material information relating to the invention, to any foreign country or foreign national within the United States.

Breach of this order renders you liable to penalties as described in Sections 182 and 186 of 35 U.S.C. (1952). This order should not be construed to mean that the Government intends to, or has, adopted the aforementioned invention.

Findhorn looked up. 'Wow!'

'He invented something.'

'Which the United States Government suppressed.'

Findhorn stood up and walked over to the big window, to give himself time to take in this new information. The sunlight had crept a little way down the canyon, and a light mist was rising from the snow on the trees along the south rim. A little group had started on the downward trail. Findhorn counted five adults and two children. He turned back and sat down at the table. Romella was rubbing her thighs, clearly enjoying the warmth which the sunlight was now bringing. He said, 'You know what this means, Romella? We're looking for something which the US government doesn't want us to find.'

She nodded. 'Yes. We're in hostile territory. Maybe we're even spies.'

'Do they know we're here?' Findhorn wondered.

Romella said, 'I don't want to find out the hard way. It might be a good idea to get out of America as quickly as possible.'

'How did you get this?' Findhorn asked, waving the paper.

'Didn't I mention that my old man is an attorney?'

'In La Jolla, not Washington.'

'Still, Grigoryan, Skale and Partners have connections, and Dad will do anything for her little girl except part with his money. So, when I went to the Patent Office to search under Petrosian, a smooth path had been prepared for me. Otherwise…' She tapped the papers in front of her. 'And then I went to the FBI and did exactly the same. Dad tells me there's freedom of information and there's Freedom of Information. To get the right sort of freedom you sometimes need a little arm-twisting.'

'So you turn up on Dad's doorstep and say, hey, I want to get material on Lev Petrosian the atom spy, and he said, sure Romella, I'll fix it for you. Didn't he ask any questions?'

'Dad gave up on me long ago. I think he sees me as slightly eccentric, like Mother.'

'Romella, for a woman, you've done brilliantly. We now know there's some machine at the focus of this.'

'The bad news is that somebody's been asking for the same material as us. It's some legal office in Switzerland, acting on behalf of a client.'

'Switzerland,' Findhorn repeated.

'Switzerland,' she confirmed.

Findhorn poured coffee and sat back with a sigh. 'I have to get to Greece as quickly as possible.'

Romella raised her eyebrows, but asked no questions. 'And I want to get the hell out of here before the system catches up. But read the FBI stuff before you go.'

Show: 18. Tape: 3142.

7 November, this is Agents Miller and Gruber, we are with Doctor Lev Petrosian. Um, this is (non-interview dialogue).

Q. Doctor Petrosian, thank you for agreeing to speak to us. This is really just a routine enquiry and I'm sure you'll be able to satisfy us.

LP. Sure. Go ahead.

Q. You're entitled to have an advocate present if you wish.

LP. Okay, but I don't see the need.

Q. Of course we know that, um, we know that your work here at Los Alamos is highly classified and we can't, um, enter into any aspects of that.