Foundation

by M J Kendrick

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was two months before the students found their feet and settled down to life at MIT.

  They enjoyed living at the house and soon became very close and made a point of looking after each other, much to the delight of the parents, who were all kept closely informed by the frequent Skype calls the Smarties each made home to relay the latest exciting news.

  Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, the Smarties had all opted to stay together as Per, Haru, Calisto, and Miles were unable to make their international journeys home in the timeframe.

  They had decided to hold their own Thanksgiving party at the house instead, especially as none of the overseas Smarties had ever experienced a good old American Thanksgiving Day before, and, by the time the Christmas break had arrived, Calisto, William, and Lucy where the only ones not to have started to build something in Miles’s garage, opting for written projects and pastimes instead.

  Space in the large garage had become tight, but all of the boys loved swapping ideas and helping each other with their projects, offering new innovative ways to each other to solve problems and improve designs, and, collectively, they started quietly pushing boundaries.

  Miles was working on some new type of composite that would be used in sheet form for body panels on his latest invention, a magneto propulsion drive for marine use, but it was bulky, so he needed to lighten its construction.

  Carlton introduced him to the possibilities of including basic nano tube technology whilst Haru helped with the circuitry.

  Anton was building another laser but promised it wasn’t a big one. Instead, this was a precision flat beam of low intensity. Miles was helping him with the design, and Haru was cleaning up his electronics.

  Per was mocking up a design for a streamlined aircraft that would use very little power. He was very keen to get involved with Miles’s composite and Carlton’s nano tubes.

  Carlton had been intrigued by the box that he had been given by Freddie at his father’s lab just before leaving to join MIT.

  It had all of the research data and the iridium block in it from the time of his father’s accident, and after reading all of the research, his curiosity had been well and truly aroused, so he had decided to pick up where his father had left off and try to solve the mystery of why the block had been ejected from the holding clamp in the first place.

  The one thing that he knew already, and what had spurred him on, was that the clamp definitely was not the cause.

  The Smarties had scattered off around the planet for Christmas—Haru to Japan, Calisto to South Africa, Miles to the UK, Per to Sweden, and William to California. Carlton was the only one to drive his Smart car, Comet, home for the holidays. Everyone else was either flying or taking trains.

  Carlton was itching to see his parents and catch up on what’d been happening at the labs with the stasis pods and the tether car. He also wanted to ask how his parents would feel about him inviting Lucy over at some point to visit and see ACR and his mother’s lab. She had been pestering him more and more, as her studies moved ever closer to the subject of suspended animation and cryogenics, and she was eager to pick his mother’s brain.

  Carlton and Lucy had become close over the last six months and could often be found together discussing the future of space travel and the different planets that Lucy had been studying. Carlton was certain that his parents’ legacies would be a major feature of things ahead and that he would someday be a part of it, a subject that Lucy found fascinating, as, like Carlton, she also had a childhood dream of space travel.

  Carlton was hoping to see all of his friends at both labs while he was home for the holidays, but he especially wanted to catch up with Freddie, Bar, and Rose to ask them all about the iridium block incident. He was also going to try to snag a few pieces of equipment to take with him back to Wakefield, hence driving home in Comet.

  Christmas was always a special, happy time at home and something that Carlton always looked forward to. He could see that this year was going to be no exception, as the glow from all the Christmas lights on the family home could be seen from down the street.

  As soon as he pulled into the drive, his parents came running out of the house smiling, arms wide open, and ran over to greet him with way too many hugs.

  “You made good time, son,” said David when he finally let go. “What time did you set off?”

  Carlton was stretching. “I left just before five this morning, had a couple of stops on the way to take a pi... er, break, so thirteen and a half hours. Comet was great.”

  Jean smiled. “We have dinner ready, so go get freshened up, and we’ll all catch up at the table.”

  “Go on, you go in,” said David. “I’ll bring your bags up.”

  Carlton smiled and said, “Thanks, Dad, I’ll jump in the shower.”

  “Good,” said Jean wrinkling her nose a little, “you need it.”

  Carlton laughed at seeing his mother wince. “It was a long drive, Mom,” he said as he disappeared upstairs in his usual two-at-a-time fashion.

  Throughout dinner, Carlton talked incessantly and enthusiastically about all of the wonderful things he was studying and how many times he’d had to bite his lip about the assumed facts on how metals react under certain conditions, especially when nano technology was involved. He would just sit quietly on those occasions, not that it mattered, as he had still scored the highest ever marks in metallurgical studies and nano technology.

  Jean loved that he and the others had been dubbed as the “Smarties,” and David was more than a little excited when Carlton spoke about their downtime projects in the garage and asked a great many questions, which Carlton answered with equal enthusiasm.

  “Dad,” said Carlton, “I thought I might have a go at solving why that iridium block was ejected. You know, the ‘accident’ one you were working on before you started on the tether program.”

  David was smiling. It wasn’t by chance that all of the research and data had been included when he sent the iridium block over to Carlton to take back to the house in Wakefield.

  He was hoping it might trigger interest in Carlton if he ever read through the data. If Carlton was as curious as he was about their chosen fields, then he would want to follow it through. It seemed he was right.

  “What’s so funny, Dad?” asked Carlton, seeing his father’s broad grin.

  “I was hoping that you might ask that,” said David.

  “You were?” said Carlton, looking a little confused.

  Jean began clearing the table, so Carlton and David moved out of the way and went to the lounge to sit on the two armchairs facing the ceramic log, gas fire that was blazing away in the very Christmassy looking fireplace.

  “Did you read through the data?” asked David.

  “I did,” replied Carlton.

  “Anything stand out to you?”

  “Actually, not exactly, although I did read through it fairly quickly though, Dad, but on the face of it, everything looked as though all was as it should be, with one exception. I’ll need to get down in the weeds before I’m absolutely sure, because I know how thorough you are, and that’s what struck me as curious.”

  “What do you mean, son?” David said intently. He knew that Carlton might be thinking along the same lines that he had been thinking along all those years ago.

  “Well, Dad, the tests and analysis that you did are way more thorough than normal, even for you and with many more variations. The fact that you achieved the same results over and over again can mean only two things. One, you haven’t yet isolated and identified the correct chain of events that can adequately explain cause and effect, or two, it was a genuine accident and the clamp failed.”

  David was nodding. “What do you think, son?”

  Carlton looked at his father and said, “That clamp didn’t fail!”

  For the next two hours, they sat and talked. When the conversation started to get very technical, Jean decided she had heard enough and went off
to bed.

  Carlton had asked in depth about the accident and the research that his father, Freddie, and Rose had carried out and more about his father’s suspicions that there may have been some sort of interaction somewhere in the process that they were unable to find in the short time they had before they had to shelve the whole thing.

  Carlton was exhausted. He had been up for over seventeen hours and was beginning to wilt.

  “Dad, I’ve got to hit the hay. I can barely keep my eyes open.”

  David smiled. “Of course, son, it’s late. I forgot you’ve had a long day. Look, I’ve got to pop into the lab tomorrow about midday to check on a few things. Freddie and Bar should be in, and I think Rose is popping in with baby Brendon. Why don’t you come with me? I’m sure they might remember some other details that may help.”

  “Gee, Dad, that will be just great. I was hoping to catch up with them anyway.”

  Carlton said goodnight and crept up to his room, where he had always felt super relaxed. He was deep asleep within five minutes.

  ***

  It was nearly eleven when Carlton finally awoke. He felt good after his long sleep, and after he had showered and dressed, he made his way downstairs to be met with the familiar sight of his mother pottering around in the kitchen and chatting about work while his father sat at the table reading some documents with his customary cup of coffee. It was like he had never been away.

  “Aah, he stirs,” said Jean, as Carlton sat down next to his father.

  “Good sleep, son?”

  “Yes, thanks, Dad, I was out like a light.”

  Jean put a plate of bacon and eggs down in front of him as he helped himself to coffee.

  “Thanks, Mom, I’m starving.”

  David chuckled.

  Jean sat down and promptly said, “So what’s the deal with you and Lucy?”

  Carlton looked up from his plate, his bulging cheeks stuffed with his bacon and eggs only helped to emphasize his rapidly reddening face.

  Jean smiled. “I knew it. See, David, I was right.”

  Carlton, still chewing, said, “No, Mom, you’ve got it all wrong. We’re just good friends. How’d you find out about it anyway?”

  “Oh, a little bird told me,” said Jean, clearly trying to milk Carlton’s obvious embarrassment a little longer.

  “Your mother’s been talking to the Rondstats. Her and Sylvia are always on Skype to each other,” said David, trying to save his son.

  “Look, you guys,” said Carlton, “Lucy is just a friend. She was hoping to pick Mom’s brain about cryogenics and her exobiology studies. I said maybe I’d ask if she could come over and visit one weekend, maybe take a look around Mom’s lab and stuff. That’s all, really.”

  Jean smiled. “Good, because they’ll all be here for New Year’s!”

  Carlton inwardly smiled at his mother’s antics, but not wanting to let on about his growing feelings for Lucy, quickly finished eating and yanked his dad from the breakfast table to head over to the farm. Carlton had never driven his father before, so it felt a little weird to him. He wasn’t sure if his nerves were because of that or because Lucy and her parents would be joining them after Christmas.

  “Don’t look so worried, son.” Realizing his son’s predicament as he drove them the short distance to the farm in Comet, David changed the subject to ask about Comet. “This is great, son, seems to be quite nippy, too.”

  Carlton settled as the conversation focused on his Smart car.

  “It is, Dad, and we can get four of them into one parking spot at MIT, which is great, so we always find a space. We all love them.”

  David was smiling, “You know, it was Lucy’s father who first came up with the idea about the cars when we all chipped in and bought the house in Wakefield.”

  “Yeah, Dad, we were all wondering about that. What will you do with the house after we all finish at MIT?” asked Carlton.

  “Well, son, we figured you would all be there for about five years, give or take, getting your PhDs. After that, it will be sold. There doesn’t appear to be a shortage of buyers according to William’s father, Simon. He found the house through one of his contacts before it came on the market.”

  “We thought as much,” said Carlton. “I’m hoping to get my PhDs long before then, though, so I’ve been toying with the idea of taking one or two more. I seem to have enough time.”

  “Think carefully on that, son. You don’t want to stretch yourself too thin, and it’s a big workload to undertake.”

  “I know that, Dad, but I’m really getting into what Per and Miles are doing, and I’d like to follow up on it. I’ll know if it’s even a possibility after next summer’s results. It all depends on how far ahead I am.”

  David felt himself having a proud father moment. Both he and Jean knew Carlton would be ahead of the curve in his studies, but hearing Carlton talking with such confidence last night, backed up with the results he was easily achieving at MIT, gave them an overwhelming sense of pride as they watched Carlton transform from a very knowledgeable, gifted boy to a genius young adult scientist practically overnight.

  As Carlton walked into the lab with his father, he was met with the welcoming, smiling faces of Freddie, Rose, and Bar sitting around the coffee machine. They all stood up and hugged Carlton with affection.

  They had all followed his progress closely through David, and they all felt as though Carlton was family. Rose had brought in her new son, who everybody called “baby Brendon.” He was asleep in a carrycot on the bench for all to admire.

  David left them to it and went to his office on the other side of the lab, leaving Carlton to bring the team up to date with all his news.

  It was some time before the subject came around to the iridium accident, but when it did, Carlton enthusiastically relayed what he had surmised so far and his conversation with his father last night.

  “To be honest,” began Freddie when Carlton had finished speaking, “I can’t remember too much about it other than the monitoring program that I had used, and that they had performed well. There was no irregular data anywhere within the program or results.”

  Rose was nodding. “It was a long time ago, and so much has happened since then. All I remember is us having to sneak around and do it on the quiet and us all feeling as though the sword of Damocles was hanging over us.”

  “Yes,” agreed Freddie, “we all thought we were for the chop at one point, especially after Bellows went into one, the little . . .”Freddie pursed his lips stopping short.

  “Bellows?” asked Carlton, not having heard of him before.

  “Yeah, Dr. Bellows,” said Rose. “He had a problem with... well, life I think. He used to have the lab next to ours and was always complaining. He had a real issue with our lab being a bit bigger. He was the one that kicked off all the hoo-hah and made an official complaint about the accident because it ‘may’ have irradiated our lab. He left the farm when we were given the tether contract.”

  Freddie was nodding. “Couldn’t take it anymore, I guess. Good riddance, I say. He was a horrible, ungrateful little man.”

  “Yep,” agreed Rose, “and especially after we went out of our way to help him. Remember we lent him that iridium block. I noticed he never mentioned that in his complaint.”

  “What did he want an iridium block for?” asked Carlton.

  “God knows,” said Freddie. “He was working with a lot of dangerous isotopes at the time, nothing to do with anything we were involved with. He didn’t achieve much in his time here. Anyway, I think he only had it for a short time, if I remember rightly.”

  “That’s right,” said Rose smiling. “We thought he needed it as a paperweight.” They all chuckled.

  “What happened to the iridium block?” Carlton asked.

  “It’s the one you have. At the time, it was considered too irregular in shape. We hadn’t quite perfected the rapid uniform growth methods back then, so it was discarded.”

  “Didn’t you use it
for the tests that you and Dad carried out after the accident?”

  “Actually, we had several others from the exact same batch that were easier to handle, so we used those. They were all grown at the same time, I think. You’ll have to check in the data on that, but I’m pretty sure I’m right,” said Freddie.

  “What about those ones?” asked Carlton.

  “Oh, they were recycled when the tether program started,” said Rose. “Iridium is in short supply, even now.”

  David had rejoined them, having finished his checks.

  “All okay, boss,” asked Bar, who had been sitting, listening quietly. He wasn’t part of the team when the accident happened so couldn’t add anything.

  “Yes, all on track, but keep an eye on pyramid four, will you? I think a bearing might be on its way out in the exit feed channel.”

  “Already on that, boss,” said Bar. “It’s due to have a scheduled maintenance check in two days. It’s going to be swapped out then. The roller’s sensor gives it a few weeks before it enters the stress limit range anyway, so it should be fine.”

  “Excellent,” said David. “Okay then, we’re off. I know how much you love this place, but don’t stay too long. It’s Christmas.”

  They said their goodbyes and headed back home in Comet. Carlton was deep in thought about the accident while they were driving when he suddenly remembered about the equipment he wanted.

  “Dad,” he asked breaking the silence, “what’s the chance of grabbing one of the old growth beds and some gear for a while to take back to Wakefield? I’d like to try a few things, kick around a few ideas.”

  David smiled. He knew his son was as hooked as he was when he first started experimenting with nano tubes.

  “Of course, son, we have a bunch of stuff you can use. We’ll draw up a list over the holidays and get you sorted.”

  Carlton smiled. That was easier than he thought, “Thanks, Dad, you’re the best.”

  ***

  Despite being almost seventeen, Carlton still got excited on Christmas morning and would always rush down to see what had “mysteriously” appeared under their beautifully decorated Christmas tree overnight. To this day, he had never managed to figure out how his parents had managed to sneak the presents there without him seeing.