Science Fiction: Null Infinity

Chapter 3

Harry started graduate school ahead of many of his fellow students because of his experience with his compact gravity wave detector. But in other ways he was behind, especially in his mathematics. He would have to catch up.

As with his undergraduate studies he didn't have much time for any activities outside his studies. It was because of this single-mindedness that he met Lauren.

Lauren Cauley was slightly shorter than Harry with brown hair and sparkling eyes. She too had no time for anything but her studies and that is why they soon became good friends.

“Harry, did you get the answer to problem five in Mechanics class?”

“I got an answer Lauren, but I don't know if it's correct. You want to check me?”

“Sure,” she said.

They both went back to work. They were in one of the library's study rooms, where they often met to go over their homework. Harry liked that it was a corner room with abundant windows in both walls. He could sit and look out over the campus or the city whenever he needed to rest or think. He could sit back and listen to the rush of air from the HVAC or the random noise of others outside the room.

The library no longer had physical books on its six floors, only on the first. The other floors had been converted to small work rooms or larger meeting rooms. There was talk of turning the top floors into classrooms, Harry hoped not, he liked the little study room on the sixth floor with the view, and with Lauren.

“You just made a slight mistake, here Harry,” she said, holding up her Emmie, her AI-assisted tablet, to show him. “I think the answer is correct now.”

Harry looked from Lauren's Emmie to his where Lauren's corrections now appeared in his solution.

“Thanks, Lauren, I always make a little mistake somewhere. I'm lucky you are so meticulous and can find them for me.”

Lauren noticed Harry staring at her again. She was uncomfortable at first with his attention, but she didn't mind it so much now.

“You're welcome Harry,” she said. “That's it for mechanics, should we go over emag?”

She always called the electromagentics class, emag.

“I think I need a break, it's almost two and I haven't eaten anything,” he said.

“Pizza?” she asked.

The pizza place was small, dim and not well ventilated but the pizza was delicious. Tasty crust, tangy sauce, pepperoni, peppers, onions, and thick cheeses. Sometimes someone would start the music and the chatter would leap in volume. Harry and Lauren always sat in the corner up front. They had been there so much that the waitress only asked if they wanted the usual.

After the drinks, two sweet teas, but before the pizza arrived Lauren asked Harry, “What about your gravity detector Harry? What are you going to do with it?”

“Well, until I'm assigned a thesis adviser I can't continue developing it here at the university.”

“Didn't you have some inquiries from companies?”

“Yeah, I did. But I don't know, I feel like if I go with a company I'll have to give up some control of how the detector is developed.”

“You're probably right,” said Lauren.

The pizza arrived.

“How about Dr. Zee, have you heard anything from him since he joined the Army?”

“That's one way to put it,” said Harry, “but no I haven't. But I have heard some rumors.”

“Like what?” said Lauren.

“Well, I've heard that the military is interfering with the experiment. They want a battlefield version as soon as possible but and want Dr. Zee to help but he is resisting.”

“Really? How will they use it?” asked Lauren.

“My guess is that they want to use the effect that accidentally damaged the stadium. You know about that?”

“Yeah, I heard about it,” said Lauren.

“Well that damage was done with a miniscule warp bubble with a relatively small amount of input energy. Imagine the results if a larger, more power laser, say several gigawatts, created that warp bubble with a correspondingly faster superluminal speed.”

“You're talking about a major energy weapon Harry.”

“Yes, and that energy could be delivered at several times the speed of light,” he said.

“So, the faster it goes, the greater the radiation at the target,” said Lauren.

“With a large enough laser, the energy delivered could destroy any target I can think of,” said Harry.

“You were right to not continue with the project Harry. The country isn't at war, there's no need to develop such a weapon.”

“Well, I can understand why people do it, but I've always thought I wouldn't,” he said.

“Me neither, I'd quit first,” she said.

Harry finished his first piece of pizza and started his second, Lauren wasn't far behind.

A few weeks later Harry and Lauren were busy preparing their classes when Lauren brought a news report to his attention. They were in one of the school's cafeterias having a morning coffee when she joined him.

“Look at this,” she said, showing him her Emmie before she left to get her cup of coffee.

Harry looked at the article, it was a report on a New Mexico website describing a strange occurrence that had happened near a small town called Magdan. A rock formation called The Old Man on the Mountain had disappeared. At the same time, locals had reported a tremendous lightening storm in that direction, in the general direction of a distant military base. A military spokesman denied any connection.

“What do you think, Harry?” said Lauren, sitting down.

“You think this has something to do with Dr. Zee's warp bubble weapon?” he asked.

“Obviously, Harry. It makes sense doesn't it? Lightening storm? Rock formation totally destroyed? Military base? What more do you want?”

“You might be right but I don't know what I can do about it,” he said.

“Nothing, I guess. But I'm so glad you didn't go, it sounds terrible.”

“I'm glad too. I wonder how Dr. Zee and the others feel now?” he asked.

“I think like some of the physicists that worked on the atom bomb, it was just a physics problem until it worked. So, I would guess they are just now waking up to the fact of how powerful a weapon they've created,” she said.

“I guess I think the saddest thing is that it's kind of sidetracked the original purpose of his research which was a revolutionary new space travel technology,” he said.

“Maybe we could get it back on track,” she said.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Why don't we start the experiments again?”

“Well, I have my detector to work on and anyway, there are groups at other universities doing experiments,” he said.

“But they don't have your intimate experience with it and you are just making tweaks to the detector, right?”

“Yeah, the detector is pretty far advanced and I'm just making improvements at the margins,” he said. “I'd have to think about it and talk to my thesis adviser, Dr. Nabors. He's more an experimentalist, I think if we do it we'll need to have a theorist on board.”

“You sound like you'll do it,” she said.

“Maybe, let's go talk to Dr. Nabors,” he said.

Dr. Nabors agreed that it was an important experiment that should be continued, he even recommended a theorist in the department. But there was a problem, Dr. Zee was still on the faculty and it was still his experiment. He would have to agree to any new investigation. Harry would have to contact him and explain what he wanted to do.

“We should go Harry,” said Lauren.

The pair were in the pizza parlor for dinner after meeting with the Dr. Nabors.

“How?” said Harry. “It's a military installation, they won't let us in. We can't just show up.”

“I bet he doesn't stay on the military base all the time and when he leaves you know where he would go?” she said.

Harry was confused by her reasoning, he shook his head no.

“A pizza joint. I bet there's a nearby town and if there is a pizza place, I bet Dr. Zee shows up there at least on Saturdays, if not other days.”

“I don't know,” said Harry. “I mean, he loves pizza and beer, but if you think we could just show up at the pizza place and run into him, that's kind of crazy,” he said.

“Well, let's see where the military base is and see if there is a nearby town and see if there is a pizza place in town, then we can decide what to do,” she said.

Harry looked on his Emmie and found a military base, Bracken Air Force Base, which was near a town called Magdan, New Mexico, and he also found a pizza parlor there, Rozella's Pizza.

“Okay, we've found the place but it's still a crazy idea to go all that way and depend on chance to see him,” he said.

“It's the only way. We can't call him or email and sending a letter is taking as big a chance as going out there. We can ask the people at the pizza shop if they've ever seen him and when, then we be there when he shows up. I think it's a good chance,” she said.

“Okay, except I'm going to send a letter anyway, and tell him when we'll be in Magdan and where. It couldn't hurt,” he said.

“Okay, let's do it,” she said, holding up a piece of pizza as a salute.

The pair were able to get a student discount for a flight to Albuquerque and then a small rental car which they drove to Socorro and then west for an hour over a narrow county road to Magdan. They took rooms at Magdan Motel and after unloading their suitcases left for the pizza place.

“There it is,” said Lauren to Harry who was driving.

The pizza place shared a small building with a coffee shop next door. The adobe building was painted white with a sign above the pizza parlor in a southwest theme. Inside, the theme was the same. Harry and Lauren took a booth near one of the windows and waited as a waitress finally showed up with menus. She was not dressed in western clothes but looked and acted like young people pretty much anywhere, casual and uninterested.

“Can I get you some drinks?” she said, handing them menus without introducing herself.

“I'll have a coke,” said Lauren.

“And I'll have the same,” said Harry.

The girl left without saying anything else.

“Not very talkative,” said Harry.

“No, but that doesn't mean she won't know something,” said Lauren.

When the girl returned she took there order and before she left Lauren asked her, “Do you ever see anyone from the military base in here?”

“Military base?” said the girl.

“Yeah, Bracken Air Force Base,” said Harry.

“Never heard of it,” said the girl who turned and left.

“That was weird,” said Lauren. “I thought the base was close by.”

“I did too,” said Harry.