“Well, make sure Wolford keeps up the pressure on them. We can’t sue the Professor, but we can make life miserable for those shysters.” said the Bear. “Ask Howard to drop by my office.”
Thus dismissed, I went off in search of the Porcupine. In the process, I ran into Condo.
“What’s new in the world of clandestine communications?”
The Condor sighed. “No new traffic. The Cougar is obviously aware of the Muskox’ demise and has stopped sending to him. In fact, he’s not active at all which strikes me as passing strange.”
“Got a theory?”
The Bird replied, “He’s probably lying low. I’m sure, by now, he knows his identity and collusion have been blown. He’s been excluded from the group’s activities and any attempt to rejoin the club has been rebuffed. I know you guys think General Turmoil has a hoof in this and you may be right. I think I told you that the Cougar’s links have been very strongly protected by a techie source well above his personal capability. But even those links are no longer active.”
“The cops and FBI are searching for him at this moment. They have declared him an ‘Animal of Interest’ in the Professor’s death. Any ideas where he may be?”
“Maury, Space Enterprises LLC has offices in Florida not far from the Kennedy Space Center. They have been involved in funding a number of experimental space shots with other non-governmental organizations. Covington Cougar’s principal forté seems to be packaging programs and selling them to interested parties. His role with our group seems to be structuring ventures to create off-planet electron coupling. He is not a technological wizard, but he does understand the logistical and financial pluses and minuses of creating space-based projects. If he’s there, he’s not using their telecom facilities. I suspect he has taken a bunk.”
“Do you think he may have been in Detroit when the Muskox took his swim?”
“Well, he’s high on my personal list of possible Professor Pushers but I have a hard time coming up with a motive unless of course, the Muskox became too demanding or refused to live up to any financial arrangements they had made.”
“That would certainly fit the Professor’s Personality Profile, Condo. His popularity index was about as low as you can get and still exist.”
“Which he no longer does!!”
“Too true! Oh, here comes Howard! His Bearship wants to speak with you in his office.”
“Oh great! Just what I needed. This will certainly make my day.”
“Actually, all things considered, he seems to be in a pretty good mood.”
“Well, I’ll try not to screw that up.
The Development of Civilization - Volume 7 Part 3: Welcome to the Sub-Atomic World
(From “An Introduction to Faunapology”
by Octavius Bear Ph.D.)
Most animals have a rudimentary familiarity with Physics, the natural science that seeks to precisely define and find relationships among the most fundamental measurable quantities in the universe. It involves the study of matter and its motion and behavior through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. We are pretty comfortable with those phenomena that we can see, hear, taste, touch or mentally visualize. We have an incomplete but usually sufficient understanding of electricity, magnetism, hydraulics, optics and sound, for example, to lead our lives without too much concern. It’s when the dimensions of the universe expand incredibly (intergalactic space, black holes, light speed) or contract to the infinitesimal that we get nervous and often want to hide somewhere.
Let’s take a moment and look at the world inside the atom, once thought to be the absolutely indivisible makeup of the universe. Turns out it’s not. There’s a lot going on inside the atom. That’s what Particle Physics is all about. Often referred to as Quantum Physics, scientists have been exploring, quantifying and cataloguing sub-atomic components with exotic names like fermions, quarks and leptons. One form of lepton, the electron, may sound familiar because it has been used and misused in all sorts of situations.
Near the end of the twentieth century, to put a little order into this apparent chaos, scientists pulled everything they knew about Quantum Physics into one massive equation - the Standard Model of Particle Physics. It is very much a work in progress. So far, twelve basic particles have been identified but they can be combined into more complex entities. In addition to the particles, there are also four fundamental forces that propel this part of the universe: the strong force, weak force, the electromagnetic force, and gravity. Unfortunately, gravity is not a good fit for the Standard Model. The other three forces are supported by particles known as bosons. A major use of the Standard Model is not just to identify and catalog. It has a major predictive role. In 2012, the so-called Higgs boson that provides particles with mass and had been predicted by the Model was found at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator.
There is a massive amount of literature, some of it understandable by the average bear, dealing with Particle Physics. Recommended Reading if you are so moved!
This is all very interesting (?!) but does Particle Physics have any practical application besides keeping a lot of scientists very busy and spending a lot of money on exotic equipment? The answer is “Yes!”
Nuclear batteries; biomedicine and drug development; cancer therapy; diagnostic instruments; nuclear monitoring; turbulence analysis and prediction; enhanced power transmission; computing and telecommunications tools; cryptographic and other security technologies; super enhanced light sources, just to name a few.
As far as Particle Physics goes, the old saying applies: “Be Sure to Sweat the Small Stuff.”
Chapter Fourteen
Is the Dolphin a mammal or fish?
You can choose either one as you wish.
While the mammal cavorts
In aquatic resorts,
The poor Pompano’s served on a dish.
“Come on in, Howard. You too, Maury. Let me get Marlin and Ursula linked into the conversation.”
L. Condor and the UUI techies had set up an in-house video and data network so the Dolphin could communicate from his outsized tank with anyone and everyone inside the mansion and labs, selected areas in UUI and any of the multiple aircraft and vehicles in use by the team. He also had access to Ursula, external Internet connections and smart phone hookups. In short, Marlin was the ultimate sharer. Given his brain power, he was a welcome participant in almost any discussion. To ensure his privacy, he controlled access to his system, but he could be overridden by Octavius and Howard. All in all, an efficient communication and research environment.
“Marlin? Octavius! Howard, Maury and Ursula are here with me and we want you to join us in discussing the events of the past few days. (That was news to Howard.)
A bottle-nosed face appeared on the office screen and after a few adjustments, the Dolphin’s squeaky sounds converted themselves into American English courtesy of the UUI Underwater SeaPod Translator, a product of the combined genius of Howard, L. Condor, Ursula, Marlin and UUI technicians.
Originally developed for the Prince of Whales as a “Thank You” for his assistance in tracking down undersea anomalies in the North Sea (Book Three - The Case of Scotch) the device had become a best seller for UUI. Profits are shared with the Prince and have thus extended Marlin’s stay with The Great Bear’s team. His original assignment was as the Prince’s Court Jester cum Technical Guru. He may have to return to the Prince’s realm someday, but for the moment, he is more than earning his keep with Octavius.
“OK, let me get right to it. The short version: The work you and your confidential team have been doing has been compromised. We strongly believe Covington Cougar is the culprit and was responsible for passing data on to the Professo
r. The Muskox probably promised him a share of any money he extorted through his lawsuits. My personal belief is that the Cougar didn’t stop there. After all, he’s probably too smart to fall for the Professor’s harebrained schemes but still too greedy to take a pass on even a wildly improbable opportunity to make a profit. I’ll bet that’s what the law firm thought as well. Even screwballs hit it right once in a while. What have we got to lose? Plenty, in the case of the Phoxes.”
“But who else would have an interest in what you must admit is pretty esoteric science? Interplanetary coupling of electrons may be good for a possible Noble Prize but is there a pot of gold at the end of that particular rainbow? We’re involved because of our Multiverse Project. Alternative worlds have major consequences for our civilization. We’ve already experienced a few. Quantum capable alternative worlds are as yet indescribable, but the implications are certainly there. So, I ask you two. Who else is in this space? (No pun intended!) I’ll bet on General Turmoil and his underlings. Are there others? Are we the only game in town?”
Howard snuffled and then said, “L.Condor and Ursula have been busy tracking the e-mails of our group. We probably should get them in here.”
“Good idea! Maury, can you get a hold of Big Bird? Call up Ursula. While you’re at it, bring in the Colonel. He’s been checking the scientists credentials and backgrounds.”
Off I went. As I left the office, I practically fell over Condo. I tugged on his wing. “His Bearship requires your presence in our discussions. Do join us! Why should we be having all the fun?”
Calling on his embedded speech generator, (Another UUI wonder. Condors do not have a voice box.) he did a perfect Bugs Bunny, “Nyaah! What’s up, Doc?”
“We’re trying to define the wobbling electron landscape. You and Ursula have had your probes in the e-mails of Howard’s team plus any other players who may be involved.”
“That we have! (Back to Condor normal) Happy to share our ill-gotten knowledge.”
Octavius shouted, “Come in, Senhor Condor, come in. We are brainstorming the situation with the science data leakage and Covington Cougar. Your brain and Ursula’s are more than welcome.”
“Thank you, Doctor Bear! Well, it’s clear that there was substantial traffic going on between the Cougar and Muskox. Howard and Marlin will have to tell you just how much information was transferred and how valuable it was. We have created a sequential file of all the transmissions. Just about all of the messages were one-way - Cougar to Muskox with only acknowledgements of receipt from the Professor. The encryption used was fairly sophisticated and we believe, beyond the inventive skill of either of the parties. Some other technical support was at work. I’m not going to guess who that might be but since you seem to think General Turmoil and The Business might be involved, let me say that this is well within their capability. Oddly enough, there is no evidence of any interchanges by the Cougar and The Business.”
Ursula added, “There are a series of rather innocuous network maintenance documents sent out to the Cloud that may hide encoded material. It would call for state-of-the-art techniques but well within the realm of possibility. I haven’t tried to analyze any of them, but I will, if you wish.”
“Please do, if you can spare the time.”
“Of course. Those cloud-based documents could be available to anyone who had the proper credentials.”
“In other words, accessible to the highest bidder or bidders armed with the technology?”
“But remember, I doubt the Cougar could handle the technology by himself.”
Octavius turned to Howard and Marlin’s image. “Do we have any inkling as to where the Cougar is?”
Marlin responded, “He’s been quiet for almost twenty-four hours. Condo has been monitoring his Florida facilities.”
The Bird intervened, “I suspect that once he realized he was being shut out by the rest of the team, Covington decided to go silent.”
The Colonel joined us. “Or,” said he. “he has been silenced.”
Speaking of silence, that’s what the Wolf’s remark evoked.
“Well,” the Bear finally replied, “there’s an interesting prospect. OK, you two, just what the hell has your group been uncovering that could cost the life of one, possibly two involved individuals. Let us suppose that the Professor’s death had nothing to do with the lawsuits but instead was tied to the information he possessed courtesy of the Cougar. I doubt if the Muskox cared what the information really meant as long as he could use it for his extortion plans. Let us further suppose that the Cougar had no realization of the true value and impact of the stuff he was feeding the Muskox. After all, of the team, he had the least scientific credentials. He was on board primarily for packaging and promoting the work you guys are developing. Am I right?”
Howard and Marlin both agreed.
“Then, may I suggest that we embark on a very careful analysis of who your team is and what they have uncovered on the assumption that a knowledgeable third party already knows the implications of your discoveries and may find it worth killing for.”
Howard jumped in. “Whoa, Octavius, you are leaping to a lot of unsupported conclusions here. First, we don’t know whether the Professor’s death was tied to the information he had. Two, we don’t know if anything has happened to Covington Cougar. Three, we don’t know what the Cougar had in mind providing the Professor with the data. Four, we don’t know if a knowledgeable third party really exists although there is some evidence to support that theory. I want to scrub those e-mails that Condo captured and see what, if anything shapes up.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me, Howard, but first let’s talk about the team. Then, have at the e-mails. How much time do you and Marlin need? You’re not the ‘Animal of Interest’ here in the death of the Professor. I am. In addition to getting to the bottom of this whole mess, I want to get my name completely cleared ASAP.”
“Give us twenty-four hours. We could use some help here, Condo. You too, Ursula.”
“Delighted to assist.”
“OK,” said The Bear, “but first let’s do a little vetting of your scientific compadres. First on the list. Professor Karl Shepherd Ph.D.-MIT Quantum Mechanics Laboratory. What’s his background and why did you team up with him?”
The Colonel intervened. “Octavius, I’ve been checking credentials on all of this team. If there is a ‘Who’s Who in Quantum Physics,’ Karl Shepherd will lead the list. His curriculum vitae goes on for pages; he has pulled down just about all the relevant awards except the Noble Prize. He is affiliated with most, if not all, of the Quantum Mechanics societies and research organizations; has authored several books and God knows, how many papers. He has worked with the US government on several major projects and still carries a teaching load at MIT.”
Howard looked over and said, “Thanks, Wyatt. The real question is: ‘Why did he team up with us?’ The Alternate Universe aspect of our work is what captured his attention. He is a disciplined manager of experimental processes and he and Susanna Shrike have been taking our theories and putting them into meaningful practice.”
Octavius let out one of his characteristic “Hmmms” and said to Howard. “Let me ask you this. Do you think he’s a killer?”
We were all dumbstruck at the question.
Howard gulped and asked, “Are you serious?”
The Great Bear snorted, “Need I remind you that I am currently regarded as an ‘Animal of Interest’ in the Professor’s death. Is it any more likely that I killed him than Doctor Shepherd? We have to take every possibility into consideration, no matter how improbable it might seem. Now what about Dr. Shrike? You characterized her as a tough bird. She comes from a long line of bloody killers, but I doubt she’s big enough to take on a Muskox by herself. Just what are Extraterrestrial Studies as practiced at Caltech?”
Ursula responded, “Just what
the name suggests. The study of other worlds. She came to us as a result of one of her colleagues mentioning Project Multiverse. Alternate biospheres and ecospheres are right up her alley. She’s brilliant, opinionated and very frequently correct, but she can also be very nasty. Marlin and Howard have had some rather unpleasant episodes with her. She does not suffer fools gladly. I guess I could see her teaming up with some others to dispose of the Professor. She’d probably take the lead. Oddly enough, she gets along rather well with Doctor Shepherd. Professional respect, I suppose.”
“OK,” said Octavius, “Who else is left?” Commander Cornelius Cormorant - US Navy Advanced Research Command and Alfred Armadillo - Sr. VP Communication Technology - Goggle Plex.”
Ursula again, “As you might suspect, the Navy and for that matter all the services, are very much into Quantum Computing and Quantum Communication. Ditto the private sector which accounts for Alfred Armadillo being on the team. These two are not deep techies. Their interest is in any techniques, instruments and devices that can be used to further their objectives. It may well be that the Commander is tied into General Turmoil. We don’t know yet. Armadillo is on the lookout for anything that will give his company a competitive leg up in network design, implementation or management. “Entangled electrons” is something of a long shot for both of them, but still enough to keep their interest. Covington Cougar spends much of his time “liasing” with the two of them. It’s possible the Professor tangled with them with his attempts at extortion. Military advantage and technological profitability are strong motivators.”
The Suit Case Page 8