Scarcity
Robert Calbeck
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and organizations portrayed in this novel are either creations of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.
SCARCITY
Copyright © 2019 by Robert Calbeck
All rights reserved
Original cover art by Wyatt Strain
ASIN: B07T86L8RV (e-book)
ISBN: 9781074850661 (Paperback)
First Printing: June 2019
Acknowledgements
The book you have in your hands has been in the works for almost a decade. I’ve had to rewrite sections more times than I can count because events that were supposed to happen 20 years in the future happened too early. At another point my laptop was stolen and I lost a year of work. Aspiring authors note: back up often! I’ve had to balance a challenging job as a math teacher, volunteer work, and now a baby to get this bad boy finished. Completing Scarcity has truly been a labor of love, but not all of that labor has come from me. There are many to whom I owe far more than a paragraph on this page that I’d like to thank for helping make Scarcity a reality.
I would be making an egregious error if the first person I mentioned wasn’t Andrew Lance. Andrew is one of my best and oldest friends and was the one who helped me get into this writing mess in the first place. Over the course of several years we wrote a novel together, Flame Bearer; and no, you can’t read it because it never came together well enough. But we learned the craft together and discovered the joy of building a world together. Lance is a far better writer than I have ever been; I hope to see a novel of his on the shelf someday. Cheers to you, Lance!
I also must thank my impossibly patient wife, Kristi. Not only is she far lovelier than a nerdy math teacher obsessed with rockets deserves, but is patient enough to encourage me to finish. She has read and edited many of my drafts and frankly deserves any and all royalties I earn—but don’t tell her I said that!
My friend JT has also been hugely influential in helping Scarcity see the light of day. Not only was he one of my best beta readers, but after publishing his debut novel, he walked me through the minefield of the publishing industry. Without him I would certainly have been lost and probably metaphorically blown up.
I’ve got to give a shout-out to my awesome students! A number of them have read early drafts of Scarcity and given me great feedback on how to improve. So if you are at Nine Mile Falls, Mahomet-Seymour, Douglas County, or Heritage High School, thank you so much for being the best students a lame dictator, err…math teacher could ever hope for! Hope you enjoy my “lit” novel.
Thank you to my long-suffering parents and my brother Cam for always being there. Wyatt, the cover is awesome. Thank you for the incredible design. To the rest of my friends, family, and neighbors I don’t have time to mention here, thank you for enriching my life. There is no scarcity of friendship or love in my life thanks to you.
And I thank you, dear reader, for buying this book. Thank you for taking a chance on an unknown author, thank you for your time, and for the questions this novel may plague you with.
To my son, Luke:
May you grow up in a happier world than I have envisioned.
Prologue
Phone call: United States of the West
“You aren’t taking this seriously enough.”
“You’re taking it too seriously. What harm could a physicist do, for carbon’s sake?”
“It will be clear once you hear the rest of the conversation.”
Over the highly encrypted satellite signal, the two men listened to the same tapped phone recording despite being on opposite ends of the Atlantic Ocean. It had been recorded two days before, then forwarded and emailed a half-dozen times before it ended up on each man’s digital desk.
The man on the European side pressed the play icon and both men heard the recording simultaneously.
“You are talking about perpetual motion.”
“Not at all. Perpetual motion is impossible.”
“Is it? You seem to have discovered it.”
“Perpetual motion violates the laws of thermodynamics. You know as well as anyone that makes it impossible. This is different. My device uses a trick of relativistic geometry to create a situation where an object is continuously falling. It is—” The recording stopped abruptly.
“Did you hear what he said? I am not overreacting.”
“I was listening. This guy thinks he found a way to break physics.”
“Maybe.”
“I have heard other recordings of crackpots dreaming up perpetual motion machines, and we ignored them. You aren’t ignoring this particular crackpot, so I assume this is more than a maybe.”
“It is a probably. I have strong reason to suspect that this could be real. Both of these men are high profile scientists: Luthor Tenrel from Fermilab and Eli Al’Halsimi, a professor teaching at CERN’s graduate program. It seems implausible that they would discuss something like this if it was not actually happening.”
“Okay, so let’s assume it’s real. How is he managing this sort-of perpetual motion?”
“Apparently he is utilizing a heretofore unknown property of element 126.”
“Which is?”
“He claims Element 126 has enhanced gravity.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“I am shitting nothing.”
“But gravity? That just sounds impossible.”
“I believe it is real.”
“If it’s really happening, why hasn’t anyone figured this out before? The Censors’ background notes say 126 was discovered 20 years ago.”
“It was. But no one has been able to create more than a few atoms; little chemical or property analysis has been possible.”
“It says something here about an ‘island of stability’ and that the element is stable and inert?”
“Element 126 has no discernable half-life. But not necessarily inert.”
“Damn straight. Hard to call enhanced gravity inert.”
“You could put it that way.”
“And this son-of-a-bitch can synthesize it in measurable amounts. So what is he going to do with it? Create a black hole in the middle of Chicago?”
“Worse.”
“Worse than a black hole?”
“He is using it to generate electricity.”
“Shit. Smogging shit.”
“Must you swear so much? It makes you sound like a moron. I can’t abide employing morons.”
“You pay me to shoot people in the head at 800 meters, not to hold my pinky out when I drink tea. So how is he making electricity with this shit?”
“It seems that was what the ‘continuously falling’ part was about. Our best guess is that the device uses the 126 to create a closed system. First water or some other medium falls through a turbine, then the 126 allows it to then fall back up through another turbine into the original container.”
“A goddamn hydroelectric dam in his bathtub… does it work? I mean has he created a prototype?”
“Just listen.”
The connection was so sharp the tap of the mouse was audible as it was clicked.
“Unbelievable! You are telling me that you have a device that will continually generate power with no other input? Does it really matter what it is called so long as it works? It does, in fact, work?”
“Just look at my electric bill! It has been powering my entire home for almost six months.”
“Fantastic Luthor, simply fantastic. It is hard to believe that in my lifetime someone would discover how to control gravity.”
“I think you give me too much credit.”
“If anything, I am not giving you enough credit! When you told me you had something huge, I thought it was ju
st something you were going to publish; I did not think it was going to be world-changing.”
Click.
“This is a smogging disaster!”
“You see why this needs to be taken care of.”
“This has the potential to destroy everything we have been working for.”
“Everything we have already achieved.”
“If this polluter can honestly create energy out of thin air it—”
“—would be the single most valuable discovery in the last one hundred years.”
“That might actually be an understatement.”
“Very possibly. Call up his utility bills. We can find out very quickly if this is real or not. I would very much prefer to forget about this.”
“Six months he says he has been running this huh? Let me check.”
“Check back to October 2047 as a reference. Look for a dramatic change in the bills.”
“I know how to do my smogging job.”
“Then do it.”
“I am, these high-efficiency processors are slow as—damn!”
“What is it?”
“It says here that he went from paying his power bill every month, to suddenly having a negative balance in February. Six goddamn months ago.”
“He is making enough energy to sell some off to the utilities?”
“Yeah. And it looks like he is making more every month than the month before.”
“He is optimizing his device.”
“We definitely need to kill him. Like yesterday. We need that tech before it spreads.”
“My sentiments exactly. Fortunately, he took the liberty of telling us where he is going to be next week. Listen to this.”
Click.
“It has already revolutionized my life. The energy savings alone are allowing me to afford to attend the International Energy Convention in Geneva next month. When I figured out I could sell off the excess power, I made enough to bring my girlfriend. She hasn’t been to Europe since before the war. I’m even buying passage for my intern to attend the convention with us.”
“Amazing.”
“I know. If it could do this for me in a matter of months, think of what it could do for the world if implemented on a large scale. Not to mention the applications for this stuff that I haven’t even imagined yet.”
Click.
“So we nail his ass when he is over there at the IEC. Perfect.”
“Convenient at least.”
“We gotta take care of this intelligently. Quietly.”
“I will make the necessary arrangements.”
“What arrangements are you planning? Bringing in the Sabers on a respected scientist would be risky.”
“We will wait until he arrives in Europe; it will be less suspicious.”
“Good idea. What about Al’Halsimi? How much does he know?”
“That is still unclear. Our phone tap doesn’t indicate that he has any specifics on synthesizing 126.”
“Any ties with the Chinese? We could get the media to brand him as a spy and then ‘arrest’ him.”
“There are not any obvious connections.”
“Spies don’t need obvious connections. That’s why they’re called spies. You said he is teaching at CERN? Maybe he’s selling tech secrets to the Chinese.”
“Our Government is trying to open up talks with China. They are pushing the media to suppress any stories with anti-Chinese sentiment.”
“Fine. Then we go back to our normal M.O. We kill him right after he spills his guts on everything he knows.”
“That is why our normal M.O. involves the Sabers.”
“What will you do with Tenrel once you have his gravity-perpetual-motion thing?”
“Kill him too. Along with his whole team.”
“No loose ends huh?”
“Like you said, I pay you to kill people at 800 meters, not to second guess me. Do what you need to ensure there are no ‘loose ends’ on your end. No one else in Fermilab can see that technology.”
“That could be a problem. How many people have his data? Shit like that spreads faster than the plague.”
“It seems from the tape he hasn’t told anyone. I think he wants to make a big splash at the IEC.”
“Let me hear.”
A short pause indicated that the file was loading a specific part of the conversation.
“…you understand. Everyone needs to have this—even the Chinese, for it to work. Businesses too. Who knows what would happen if only a single government controlled the knowledge of 126 and it’s production? World War III started because China tried to control all the energy sources. I can’t let that happen with 126.”
“You are right, old friend. Of course. I was just thinking of the credits you could have earned.”
“I will be fine. Once this gets out, nations and businesses will pay me handsomely for my expertise.”
“Let us hope so, I would hate to see your altruism unrewarded.”
“I don’t think it will be a problem. Like you said, no matter what, I have a guaranteed Nobel Prize and the money that comes with it, right?”
“Yes, and you’ll never have an energy bill again.”
“True. One other thing, while I want to share this with the world, I do also want credit for its discovery. I haven’t even told anyone in the lab out of fear someone would steal the research. They don’t even know I found a way to manufacture 126 out of our puny cyclotron. So please don’t say anything before I present. I don’t know what would happen if it got out early what we’re really working on.”
“You aren’t going to try to publish anything in advance of the conference?”
“No. You know how the Censors are these days. If I send research like this to a journal, the censors would get at it first. America would never let me give it to China.”
“I see. Now that you mention it, I imagine a monopoly on limitless, free energy would be a rather strong temptation for any government.”
“That’s it. I sure do miss the good old days when I could have put something online for everyone to see without a government Censor reading it and editing it first.”
“You’re sounding pretty old, Luthor. Just don’t start talking about dollars and euros okay?”
“Very funny. Anyway, you can see why I want this kept quiet.”
“I will not speak of it. However, I am going to push very hard for you to be a keynote presenter on Saturday night. This deserves some pomp and circumstance. I will tell the planning council that you have a very important surprise for them.”
“That would be splendid.”
“I am confident I will be able to reserve you a spot as speaker. If not Saturday, perhaps some other day, but you will need to bring a prototype for demonstration.”
“I already packed it.”
Click.
“So Tenrel hasn’t spread it around because he wants credit for the discovery. How very smogging scientific of him.”
“And very convenient for us.”
“Yes. All you need to do is eliminate his ass and get that prototype. I will have a team here ready to raid his house and their lab. I think we should be able to get everything without too much trouble.”
“Do wait for us to make our move before you strike. It would be a shame for you to tip our hand by acting prematurely. I don’t want Tenrel getting any phone calls that is home has been broken into by a team of well-armed men.”
“I will wait for your signal. Just take care of your shit. Then we will have the prototype, the synthesis method, and Tenrel’s corpse.”
PART I:
EUROPE
Chapter 1:
Marseille, France, European Union
Luthor found it hard to believe that a few common ropes could moor such a massive vessel to the dock. The nuclear-powered seabus had just made the weeklong transatlantic journey from New York to Marseille carrying almost 15,000 passengers, now it was held in place by braided twine. Of course, there had been plenty of t
ime to consider the resistance and tensile strength of the rope as well as the mass of the ship because he had been standing on the exit gangway staring at it for an indeterminate time approaching eternity. Even his girlfriend, Tanya, normally entranced with boats and the sea, stared glassy-eyed somewhere at the sheer white side of the ship.
Luthor gripped the railing a little tighter as they shuffled a few more nanometers. He tried not to think about the twenty meter fall to the water below, but it was hard not to as the line snailed forward. Luthor was terrified of heights. He wanted off that walkway. To distract himself, he focused on Tanya’s sandy hair fluttering in the breeze, her blue eyes locked on his and she gave him a smile. It helped, but his stomach was still performing summersaults.
In the distance, Luthor had a glimpse of the giant offshore wind farm off the coast of the iconic Île du Planier. It churned the air providing the majority of the power for the energy-starved city of Marseille ten kilometers to the Northeast. Surrounding the small island, thousands of stately white masts rose out of the sea in perfect rows. The three massive composite blades topping each windmill marched in the air together like something from the blackest nightmares of Don Quixote.
The second hand on his watch actually appeared to be slowing, each tick more reluctant than the last. Luthor cursed Einstein for teaching the world just how relative time really was. But I’ve just proven that Einstein was wrong, haven’t I? Luthor thought. He said that the closer you get to the speed of light the slower time passes, theoretically leading to time stopping completely at the speed of light. In actuality, he got it backward. I've just proven that time actually moves slower at slower speeds. It is physically impossible for this damn line to move any slower, and look! Time has stopped completely.
According to his watch, it was another fifteen minutes before they made it into the warehouse-like port authority building and another thirty before they made it to the immigration security checkpoint. However, he was certain that due to the slowing of time, the rest of the earth had already passed well into the twenty-second century and his discovery of synthesizing element 126 was now hopelessly outdated. Mental note: write satirical paper disproving relativity. Luthor thought.
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