directions and in all dimensions, so we plan to pick up the gravity waves that travel back through the dimensional hole and compare those waves’ characteristics with known waves.”
“What if you tap into a part of the universe for which you don’t know the gravitational characteristics? Say, 10 billion light years away?”
“That’s possible since we can’t control where the other end comes out. If that happens, we will close the connection and then regenerate it in the hopes of locating someplace we do know.”
“How close are you to opening a channel to another part of the universe?”
“Very. We hope the make the first try within the next six months. Your visit is opportune.”
Roger continued to ask general questions about the status and short-term goals until he couldn’t think of anything else. Sarah then stated, “If you have no further questions, we can proceed to the facilities tour.”
“That would be fine.” Roger was relieved to be off the hot spot.
Roger was seated comfortably in his floater as it sped back toward Phoenix. He was idly looking out the window at the passing cacti and scrubland and the row of dark-red mountains in the distance that seemed to stand still in spite of the fact he was traveling at 200 kph. He had always found the desert beautiful. He had fallen in love with the American Southwest the first time he’d come here to work and decided that this was where he would stay for the indefinite future.
“You know, Matilda, I really didn’t understand the calculations and theory that Sarah was discussing at the presentation. I was surprised that the science has moved so far in just a little over a decade.”
“No kidding. What did you expect? Theoretical physics moves at a very rapid pace even though the applications seem to crawl.”
“I don’t know what I expected. You know, I didn’t even recognize the quantum field generator they are using. If they hadn’t pointed it out, I wouldn’t have known. The technology has really advanced since my time. I found it a little depressing.”
“I’m sure if they had given you a management issue, you would’ve smoked it.”
“Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better.”
Matilda changed the direction of the conversation. “You seemed to like Dr. Yakimato.”
Roger perked up at this. “Yes, I liked her a lot. She is smart and decisive, and not bad looking either.”
“She seemed to have loosened up after the tour,” Matilda continued to push the subject.
“Yeh, she did. By the time I left I think she was even warming up to me. I think once she realized I was not there to cut her project and that I might even be interested in promoting it, she definitely loosened up.”
“Maybe you should call her and ask her out to dinner.”
“I think I will.”
“How about this weekend?”
“I can’t. I promised to go on that undersea trip with my mother and her friends this weekend.”
“Oh yeh, I have that in your schedule. Maybe next week?” Roger knew that Maltida was well aware of his schedule, so he thought she must be prodding him to set up a date.
Roger didn’t respond and rode the rest of the way deep in thought. Matilda could tell that he wanted to be left alone.
Late Saturday night, Roger collapsed into his favorite chair in the living room. He was wearing hospital replacement clothes and had periodic coughing fits that expelled small quantities of seawater from his lungs.
“The doctor said that if you had been underwater for another 10 seconds you would have been too far gone to bring back,” Matilda snapped. “You’re an idiot.”
“Thanks for the sympathy.”
“Sympathy is for people who don’t do this to themselves on purpose. You’re an idiot.”
“I got that the first time you said it. I thought I knew what I was doing.”
“As a physicist you’re supposed to know that the water pressure at that depth would be fatal if you’re outside your vehicle.”
“Hey it was worth a try.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“I think your voice track is stuck.”
“No, it’s not. I want to make sure you’re getting the message. Obviously, the previous hundred times I said it, it didn’t sink in.”
“Oh, relax. I’m okay. How about some dinner? I’m actually hungry.”
“Fix your own goddamn dinner.”
“Hey, you can’t disobey me. I’m the master remember?”
“Wanna bet? I’m going to sleep.”
“You’re a frigging machine, you don’t sleep.”
“It’s a figure of speech. Screw you and good night, you idiot.”
“Matilda, you can’t do this. Matilda! Matilda! Matilda, answer me!” Roger continued to rant for another fifteen minutes before he finally gave up and headed for the kitchen. Since Roger’s kitchen was not set up to make a meal manually, and he hadn’t really tried to cook before, he found he had very limited options for making dinner.
After forcing down his burnt toast smothered with ketchup and mustard, he headed to bed. “Matilda, you’re going to pay for this,” he shouted out loud, but under his breathe, he said, “I’ve really got to learn how to cook.”
Over the next several weeks, Roger read everything he could on Dr. Yakimato’s project, which was officially called The Interstellar Quantum Dimensional Tunneling Project (ISQDT) but was referred to as “Isquidit” by those who worked on it. He also brushed up on the current state of quantum physics. He made up any excuse to call Dr. Yakimato to ask her questions about this technical aspect or that management issue. As time went by, the conversations became more relaxed and cordial, and Roger began to call her Sarah and to kid around with her on the COM. He found she had a great sense of humor in spite of her initial cool demeanor, and he worked his self-esteem up to the point that he was prepared to ask her out to dinner. He had wanted to make sure he was up on all the research before he took her out, because he was worried about making a bad impression. He didn’t want to come off as just a bureaucrat and not a scientist, especially in light of the fact that her project was based on his work.
One day during lunch, Roger explained to Jack what he’d been up to. “I’m amazed at how energized I’ve become over the last six weeks. I have actually felt glad to go to work.”
“You’re really depressing me again.”
“I’ve felt like the old me, back when I used to love physics and enjoyed working out the math and studying the data. I guess I did quit R&D too soon.”
“Jeez, now you’re making me sick. Roger, let’s have a reality check here. You quit R&D because you wanted more money and less work. You had almost burned out and had not had a decent raise in five years. Right? So you went after the cushy job with the high salary. You knew you had the reputation that could get you that type of position, so you traded up. Now you have plenty of money and leisure time in which to spend it. Don’t give me this crap about wanting to go back to R&D. You’d go crazy in two weeks. Are you going to tell me that you’re moving back into the tiny house with minimal amenities?”
“I was sort of hoping I could keep my salary if I went back.”
“Roger, the government pays the big bucks to people who can administrate, not to those that do the intellectual grunt work, no matter how smart they are.”
“Yeh, I guess you’re right. But at least this studying I have been doing fits in nicely with my job and has actually improved my job performance. At least, I think it has. Anyway, I like it, and I’ve been putting in 20 to 25 hours a week and haven’t charged a credit to overtime. I’m saving the government money.”
“Rule number one: don’t try to save the government money. They hunt you down and fire your ass. You should know that by now. Sounds like you’re going to burn yourself out again, and, since your wick is a lot shorter now, it shouldn’t take as long.”
“Cute. I plan to continue to follow ISQDT and bone
up on my physics.”
“Speaking of boning up, wasn’t there something about an attractive scientist?”
“Don’t be crude. Her name is Dr. Sarah Yakimato. I have a business meeting with her on Friday night.”
“Business, my ass. Mixing business and pleasure is very dangerous, especially if you work for the government. They tend to frown on people giving government money to their girlfriends.”
“She is not my girlfriend, at least not yet, and I have not given her project any extra money—though I am thinking about it. Even if I do, the funding has nothing to do with my liking the lead scientist.”
“How well do you think your last sentence will hold up in court?”
“Oh, you’re overreacting.”
“Well, you’ve been warned. Right, Matilda?”
“Right, Jack. I’ve said the same thing, but it doesn’t seem to help.”
That Friday, Roger drove up to Sarah’s lab in Los Alamos to pick her up. Roger thought it was strange to be picking her up there, but he was not about to argue about it. He pulled up and stopped in front of her building and got out of the floater. He was going to walk inside because he wasn’t sure where she had meant for them to meet, but, as he came around the vehicle, she was walking down the steps toward him. Roger wasn’t sure what she would be wearing; he even thought she might still be in a lab coat. Instead she had a very attractive black dress on that emphasized all her physical assets matched only by her radiant smile. Her pitch-black hair bracketed her face contrasting her pale oriental features. Roger thought