by M J Kendrick
It took Carlton seven hot, hard hours with his jeweler’s furnace to bond the small slices of the irradiated iridium before he had successfully achieved a stable fusion and transition point with the lens composite material.
It was late when he finally finished, and he was exhausted. He would have to do his force tests in the morning. He set the cooled alloy mix up on the growing platform and started the growth program. By using his knowledge and the experience that he had gained when he was working with his father at the farm, Carlton figured he could successfully grow the three different iridium alloy nanotube matrixes in two days. It didn’t take him long to set everything in place and start the process, and when he was satisfied, he took himself off to bed.
***
The following day, after he had checked on the progress of the growth program, he began his force tests on the irradiated iridium with the original lens composite sample that he had completed the day before.
He had a target force of 600 pounds to achieve. He knew that if he only achieved that figure, then his bonding theory was a complete failure. He was nervous and had to take a moment to calm himself. After a few moments of double checking that everything was switched on and recording, he slowly began adding current to the block.
Starting at just one-tenth of a volt, the dials almost instantaneously began moving, and the monitors showed the force was present.
The readouts indicated that over 100 pounds of force were being exerted.
As he slowly increased the power, he could see the readouts rising steadily until at one-half volt the readings reached 816 pounds of force and began leveling out, finally peaking at 1,021 pounds at one volt. This was amazing. His bonding theory ap-
peared to be working.
Carlton stopped the test. He was giddy with excitement. He still needed to do his repeat tests through the different planes to see how much produced force was being lost through the sides. The more that could be focused in one direction, the greater the outward force would be. But first he would have to do some serious reinforcing of the holding setup. It was already showing signs of catastrophic failure.
For the rest of the morning, Carlton made good use of Miles’s tools and constructed a solid steel platform, which he bolted to the floor. It was time well spent, and by midnight Carlton had completed his tests and had all the data he needed.
He had been working on pure adrenalin but still showed no sign of flagging, so he set about analyzing the force data, and by 3a.m. was even more excited when he confirmed there was still more to be had, which meant there was more directional energy still available to be focused.
Now he was beginning to flag. He reluctantly cleared up and headed off to his room.
Carlton remained awake until the early hours that night as he mulled over the endless possibilities. However, he did eventually fall asleep and stayed asleep until 1 p.m. the next day.
***
When Carlton awoke, he had a heavy head. He was aching all over, and he was starving. He knew he had overextended himself the day before, and he felt it.
After a long hot shower and some food, he felt back to his old self. He still had a mountain of things to cover, starting with the analysis of the new iridium alloy nano tube matrixes, which should now all be fully grown.
It wasn’t long before the adrenalin kicked in again and Carlton was back at his electron microscope with the first of the three ingots up on the display.
At eight that night he had completed his analysis of the ingots and was now 100 percent certain that the introduction of the carbon atoms had worked.
All of the ingots had shown an increased efficiency which far exceeded those of the original batch, but it was the second ingot that had shown the greatest, near-perfect alignment and uniformity, with the nano tubes now all facing the same way, like a pack of straws within its structure. The produced force could only have one way to travel. It was streets ahead of the other two. Carlton knew that batch number two would be the perfect foundation for his EPC.
By now the diamond lens composite had completed its fusion cycle. The material was incredibly tough. He knew he would only just have enough time to pour it while it had enough viscosity to flow over the sliced samples of irradiated iridium and settle long enough for fusion to occur.
He had twenty-five minutes until it was ready. He cleared an area on Miles’s workspace floor to make his “pour,” as he needed all-round access and room to handle the clumsy tongs that he would use to hold the crucible.
When the egg timer rang, he had everything at the ready line, and swiftly opened the pressure chamber. Within less than a minute he had his hot molds in position and had begun his careful pour. The sweat was running off of him as he quickly and methodically worked his way around, ensuring the same amount of glowing composite material was added to each of the iridium samples. When he had finished, he quickly replaced the crucible and tongs and practically ran out into the backyard to cool off. He was dripping with sweat and out of breath.
After a cool drink, Carlton realized that there was nothing else he could do that night, so he would just leave everything to cool.
Tomorrow would be another long day. He would make an early start.
***
It was seven in the morning. Carlton had already finished breakfast and had just ended a Skype call to his parents. He had wanted to catch them before they left for work.
He had carefully laced his eager update of his MIT studies and Smartie exploits with little hidden references and messages amongst seemingly innocent news that he knew only his parents would understand and decipher. The hidden message was that he had almost completed his discovery tests and trials, which were better than he had hoped, and he would use the money to start Quantum, and that his discovery had drawn no attention.
His parents acknowledged his message by building into their conversation that they ‘understood, but that things were not good there and were becoming harder. They were still being pushed out and didn’t feel safe, as they were being constantly watched. Rose had left. They managed to convey that they supported Carlton and told him to go for it.
The only news that worried him was them not feeling safe, but he wasn’t sure if that had come across correctly. He was deeply saddened that Rose had resigned her position and left the farm—probably to spend some time in New York with Tom and Brendon before they returned to settle back down with her family in Australia.
Despite that, Carlton felt quite pleased that he had gotten his message across successfully, as he had spent some time in bed thinking how to phrase his call to include everything. Fortunately, there was more than enough going on at MIT and the house to easily build his secret message.
Feeling as happy as he could with his parents’ reassurances, Carlton went to the nerdlab to continue with his analysis.
It was painstaking work. Each sample from the new batch of nonirradiated EPCs was identical in all the data. When he was finished, he spent an hour comparing the new data with his first successful set of results. He was amazed at the scale and uniformity. It had indeed carried through to the diamond composite lens and had greatly enhanced its properties.
He estimated that he would achieve a 200 percent increase in exerted force with the new fully aligned triple-walled iridium alloy ingots once they were irradiated. That should equate to over 4,000 pounds of force.
Carlton didn’t actually need to achieve more force, but the one thought that had always been on his mind ever since his childhood would continue to drive him to seek the absolute maximum, and that thought was all about power to weight ratios.
Since this latest discovery, Carlton’s subconscious had been self-questioning him: “If the Saturn V rocket engine’s power to weight ratio was 94 pounds of thrust per 1 pound of weight, then what could over 4,000 pounds of thrust per half-pound of weight achieve?”
He would need his gamma source before he could find out.
***
Trent was frustrated. He was
getting nowhere. He’d put as much pressure on his bosses as he dared. He needed something else. Their plan to promote the Reeses was not what he had in mind, but he would deal with that later; his men were doing a good enough job in Gainesville.
He watched quietly from his car as Al left for the evening. It was late, and not many people were around. Good, he would be alone.
Time to help things along a bit.
He smiled to himself as he opened the door and got out of his car. Heading back into the building, he spat on the ground in contempt, “That’s what I think of your plan. Enjoy the rest of your life... What’s left of it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
In the early morning, Carlton was awoken by the sound of the front door closing. He looked out of his window to see Per’s Smart car on the drive. It was just before six. Carlton quickly dressed and went to the kitchen to find Per brewing some fresh coffee.
“Hey, Per, what are you doing back so soon? Thought you’d be in Sweden for another four days,” said Carlton as he handed Per his cup.
“Yeah,” replied Per with his slight Swedish accent. “Things are a bit, well, difficult at home right now, not much fun.”
Carlton sat down with his coffee and said, “Really, Per, what’s happened, then?”
Per gave a heavy sigh and joined him at the table. “It’s my parents. They’re going to be made redundant, you know, you would say laid off, from Saab. They’ve been there forever, and it’s hit them hard.”
Carlton winced. “That’s sad to hear, buddy. What are they going to do?”
Per shook his head. “Well, they have some things to follow up on, and they have a few months yet, but their whole lives have been Saab Aerospace—as has mine and half the town where we live. It will mean we have to move. I think they are more upset about that than work. I know they’ll be okay. It was just a bit out of the blue, you know.”
Carlton briefly thought about his mom and dad and just how their careers were their whole lives and what it would mean to them if they were suddenly let go. He would be as devastated as they would be. Knowing how deeply it would affect them made it easy to understand what Per was going through. He felt for the Svenssons and for his friend, but he also saw an opportunity to sound Per out about his plans. He wanted Per to join them at Quantum, but he hadn’t planned on asking him until everything was in place. His recent rapid advancements were escalating his timelines, and
he was reaching the point where he would need to think further ahead.
“How is that going to affect you, Per? We all assumed you would spend a year or two with a smaller company before going to Saab,” Carlton asked with concern.
“Yeah, that was the plan, but now I don’t know. All of the smaller companies are going to be flooded with ex-Saab staff, so finding a job in the aerospace industry is going to be tough for me.”
Carlton felt the time was right to bring him in. Per needed to have something to aim for, and Carlton knew that his long-term plans for Quantum were practically made for Per. Carlton was nervous; he had become overly cautious almost to the point of paranoia about divulging details of his discovery. But if he wanted Per with him, he would have to give him the full picture, even more so than he had with William or Lucy. He had to trust his own judgment.
Carlton just sat quietly staring at the table. Per could see he looked pensive and was thinking hard on something. After a moment Carlton raised his head and looked Per straight in his eyes.
“Per,” he said with a serious tone, “there’s something I want to tell you.”
For two hours, Carlton spoke without stopping. When he had finished, he stood and picked up their coffee cups and went to refill them. When he returned and placed a cup in front of a still-dazed Per he said, “So, what do you think? I know it’s a lot to take in but, well, I guess I’m asking if you would like to join us?”
Per finally closed his mouth, which caused Carlton to smile. Now Per just sat silently for a moment. Finally, he said, “4,000 pounds force... half pound weight?”
Carlton knew Per was hooked. He continued, “And that figure may very well increase, but, Per, I want you to think of it not as force but as thrust.”
Carlton could see Per’s mind was spinning at the possibilities. His eyes were rapidly flicking back and forth, eventually coming back to Carlton.
Per was thinking out loud and excitedly said, “But... but... that would mean you could power an aircraft indefinitely at incredible speeds and without the need for fuel and, and . . .”
Carlton held up his hand to calm Per down a little.
“You could,” he said, again with a serious tone. “But, you’re thinking too small. I don’t want to build an aircraft.”
Per gave a slight frown, “But, Carlton, it would be a waste if you just used the force for making generators and stuff like that, why... the possibilities are endless just to use it for that.”
Carlton smiled, “Of course not, EPC generators are just for starters. They are a means to an end. No, Per, we are going to build a spacecraft capable of interstellar travel, and you’re going to design it!”
Carlton postponed working on his tests in the nerdlab. Instead, he spent the day going over details of the plan with Per, explaining how Lucy and William were involved.
At the end of the day, Per was as excited as the others had been and was 100 percent on board. Carlton had revealed more to him about his ultimate aim to eventually build his ship than he had to Lucy or William. They didn’t know of that part of his big plan and he wouldn’t tell them just yet, although he was sure Lucy had a good inkling of his intentions, as they had openly shared their same dream of space travel.
Per had promised to keep that part of Carlton’s plan to himself until Carlton was ready to go into full R&D and had informed the others. In the meantime, Per would be happy to work on the Quantum projects until they had enough resources to start. That would take a few years at least, as this wasn’t going to be a cheap exercise. They would need serious funds.
***
Per had volunteered to spend the morning in town refreshing and stocking up on the food supplies for everyone. It was always a big job, and one that none of the Smarties particularly liked, but Per enjoyed shopping in America, even if it was just for food. To him, it was different, and whenever it was his turn, the food stocks were always plentiful and varied and you could easily tell that he enjoyed the experience.
Carlton would use the morning to complete his analysis while Per was out shopping. He had asked Per to join him in the nerdlab in the afternoon to observe and help with the re-trials of the samples. Carlton felt it would be good for him to witness the incredible power the two irradiated samples exerted firsthand. Per was only too eager to agree.
That evening, after a very successful day, the pair sat in the kitchen talking about the discovery. Per had been thinking about the other Smarties and in particular Miles and Haru.
“You know, I think Miles is onto something with his composite sheet material,” said Per.
Carlton was doodling a captain galaxy spaceship on a scrap of paper, “Yes,” he said, “I’m sure of it. He’s been experimenting with different ways to laminate his prototypes for added strength.”
Per looked over at his sketch and smiled. “I think he will come up with a new material. I’ve been helping him with the lighter stuff because that would be ideal for the aircraft I’ve been designing. Had you thought of bringing him into Quantum? I know he doesn’t have any plans for after he leaves MIT.”
Carlton looked up. “Actually, yes, I have. I think with a proper focus, Miles could be very valuable to everything Quantum does. The only reason I haven’t approached him yet is because I would probably have to spill the beans about the spacecraft to get him excited. I don’t think an EPC generator would be enough to convince him.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” said Per. “He often talks to me about life after MIT. He loves it here, especially this house and the Smarties. I think
he likes to feel a part of something. I know he would rather be with the Smarties than back home in England.
I get the impression he’s quite lonely there, with all his family in the army and not taking any interest in what he does.”
Carlton was nodding. “You may be right. It would be good if he joined us sooner rather than later. I’ll talk to Lucy and William. Let’s see what they say.”
“What about Haru?” asked Per.
Carlton sighed. “Ah, well, Haru’s a different story. He seems intent on making a name for himself in Japan in consumer electronics. I know he’d be more than willing to help out from time to time, but I doubt he’d be willing to give up his plans to work with us at Quantum.
Don’t forget how tough it’s going to be at first. We’ll almost be self-funding until William can organize our first project to produce revenue. I don’t know how Haru would feel about that.”
Per looked thoughtful. “He and Anton have become quite close. Maybe they will end up doing something together. Perhaps if Anton could be persuaded, Haru might be more open to it.”
“Look,” said Carlton, with a resigned face, “in truth, there’s a place for both of them with us in Quantum, and I would love for them to be on board. Both their skills would be an absolute asset, but again, I think Anton is Florida-bound to work in the same field as his parents, maybe for one of the smaller affiliate companies within his parents’ organization, I’m not sure if that’s 100 percent his choice, but I think the plan is for him to eventually join his parents after a year or two of experience. I don’t think he’s even considered anything else. You have got me thinking though, maybe with us all taking the plunge, who knows... Let’s sort out Miles first, then see where we stand.”
They left the conversation there, but Carlton had been mentally slotting their skill sets into his plan. He knew trust was never going to be an issue with any of the Smarties, and they would all be valuable assets, with the sad exception of Calisto, who he couldn’t include because of her commitment to taking over her father’s mine. It would certainly keep the Smarties together—and Carlton very much liked the idea of that.