Chapter 13

  SIZZLE

  Deke was suddenly back in the dark garage. The only light was the glow that came from his own chest. He could barely make out the box. It loomed over everything. The field hadn't dissipated. He shifted his attention to the laptop controlling the timer. He had to get very close to the screen to be able to see it. The elapsed time counter continued to increment. He tried to touch the screen to open new tabs. Nothing happened. He looked closely at the power supply and the connectors. Whenever there's a problem, always check the connectors first, he told himself. He was frustrated again when he tried to wiggle the connectors, and his fingers passed through. Everything looked the way it should. He walked all around the box, looking at it from every angle.

  He tried to rationalize. The field had taken longer to dissipate with the larger box. Was that the problem? He shifted back to his position in front of the laptop. The timer switch hadn't toggled yet. He checked out the settings on the timer. The date was correct, but the setting of the hours, minutes, and seconds indicator had been exceeded. That made no sense. According to the display, the box should have shut off more than 40 minutes ago. He went over each item on the dial again. Date, hours, minutes, seconds, everything was correct. Then he saw it. Somehow, the year indicator had rolled to a year in the future. He staggered. This can't be happening! Such a stupid mistake. His situation flashed to his consciousness. Nobody knew he was here. It was unlikely anyone would be visiting the cabin in the woods for at least three months. It had been winterized. He couldn't be tracked with his cell phone because there was no coverage here. He tried desperately to come up with a plan. It was so frustrating. He could have killed the field with just a tap on the kill switch, but that was impossible in his current condition.

  “Ok,” he said out loud. “I am not going to find a solution here. Let’s go back to school.”

  SIZZLE

  Students and faculty were beginning to fill the halls for a new day of schoolwork. He glided effortlessly around the people in the hallway as he made his way to his laboratory. He called out for Dr. Cohen, but there was no answer.

  He hung outside MCB432 for a few minutes. Tilly walked past Kelton with short, quick steps. He rapped twice on the door and pulled the door open.

  Kelton flashed with anger, frustration, and jealousy. He had never used the words popinjay or martinet before. At that moment, they seemed to be the perfect description for Tilly.

  Kelton followed Tilly into the lab. Alex, Beta, and Chaz were busy at their stations. Uncharacteristically, Chaz was wearing a tie beneath his lab coat. The tie had gravy spots and didn't match his shirt.

  Chaz looked up from his laptop. “Good morning, Doctor Tilly. We are nearly ready. Everything's been organized just like you wanted.”

  There was an obsequiousness about Chaz that Kelton had never seen before. Beta caught Alex's attention and rolled their eyes.

  Tilly cleared his throat, “You are all here at my will and pleasure. I will not tolerate any of the shenanigans that have been going on in this lab in the past.” He nodded in Chaz's direction. “Chaz will be the interim project manager until we find more suitable leadership. The university has a significant interest in this project. It must be handled in an orderly and scientific fashion. The device is not to be engaged until we have an approved project plan and protocols in place. I want to know how and why the device works before it is ever turned on again.”

  Alex moved as though to speak, “But if...”

  Tilly turned on Alex. “Mr. Gutierrez, I urge you to think over what you were about to say. If it was another of your sad attempts at humor, perhaps you'd better save it for another day - in the interest of your job and your enrollment in the university.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Alex closed his mouth and drew his finger across his lips, zipping his mouth shut.

  Tilly addressed Beta. “Mx. Beta, I expect you to appear in the lab properly and professionally attired tomorrow. This is an institution of learning and not a rock'n'roll festival.” Turning his attention back to the group, he said, “For the next week, I expect daily progress reports. I want a new schedule and protocol statement on my desk by Friday. I will submit them to the committee for review.”

  “You are all aware of the hearing scheduled tomorrow. If there are any more notes or videos pertaining to Doctor Kelton's experiments and activities I haven't yet seen, I want them by noon today. I need time to assemble a proper presentation for the council. Failure to comply with these requests will result in your immediate termination and expulsion from the university. Do I make myself clear?”

  “You've made yourself clear,” muttered Alex. His clenched jaw clearly indicated he was having trouble restraining himself from further comment.

  Tilly responded with a tight, mirthless smile. “You, and I mean all of you, are on a very short leash. Don't disappoint me. I will see you all at the hearing tomorrow.” With staccato footsteps, he turned and went out the door, singing under his breath.

  “What was that? Was he humming ‘No Business Like Show Business’? That guy is a piece of work.” Alex shook his head in wonder.

  Chaz clapped his hands together and held them at chest level. “We have a lot to do. Let’s get busy. Beta, assemble the notes and videos for Doctor Tilley. Alex, please start drafting the protocols. I'll focus on the theory of operation since I was closest to Dr. Kelton.”

  Beta exploded, “I don't even know where to start. How do we cooperate with that? Chaz, you're an idiot! Tilly has an agenda, and we don't have any idea what it is.”

  Alex put a calming hand on Beta’s shoulder. “It's ham and eggs.”

  “Wha…” responded Chaz and Beta in unison.

  “If we had some eggs, we could have some ham and eggs, if we had some ham.”

  “I don't get it,” said Chaz.

  “We can’t run any more experiments until we know how the box works. We won't know how the box works unless we can run some experiments. It's a catch-22.”

  Beta smiled wryly at Alex. “That some catch, that catch 22.”

  Alex returned the smile, grateful that Beta had caught his literary reference. “I knew there was something I liked about you. You, uh, your group, umm, you all, are pretty sharp.”

  Beta’s face flushed a little in appreciation. Chaz’s eyes rolled at Alex’s awkwardness.

  Kelton was caught by surprise. He looked into Alex’s eyes. “Are you starting something with Beta?” Apparently, Alex was as unsure of addressing Beta’s pronouns as Kelton was, but there was also a schoolboy shyness in Alex that made Kelton smile. Kelton was delighted. The entire team was usually so oblivious to social cues any kind of romantic relationship seemed unlikely.

  Chaz looked back and forth between Alex and Beta. The look on his face was plain to read. He didn't like being left out of whatever was going on.

  Chaz moved between Alex and Beta. “There is no catch. We can make this work. There is always a workaround. I’m good at finding solutions. This work is important to the University and to Dr. Tilly.”

  Beta rounded on Chaz, “We want to see this research move forward, too. What we have seen so far is way too important to be playing politics. It was Dr. Kelton’s insights and modifications that led to the box. Sure, we can do it without him. But should we? This is Dr. Kelton’s project. Tilly’s just trying to take over. He needs us now - how long will it take him to replace us?”

  “Tilly has made it clear – to me - that he wants to bring this technology to the world. He has tasked me with making it happen. I can do it. I can put together protocols that will satisfy the council and Dr. Tilly, and we can continue with experimentation,” said Chaz as he strutted around the laboratory table. “In the meantime, we need to create the documents he asked for. Beta, have all of the videos been uploaded to our shared drive?

  Beta scowled, “Yes, you know they are. Since you shared them with Tilly already.”

  Chaz winced, then advanced, “And your lab notes?”

  “Yes,” Beta said impatiently.

  “And yours, Alex?” asked Chaz.

  “I submitted my notes the day we were escorted from the building. My white paper on the Kelton Field has been uploaded to the shared drive.”

  “The Kelton Field?” asked Kelton, Beta, and Chaz simultaneously.

  Alex tilted his head. “I didn’t like the way things were headed. I wanted to make sure that Dr. Kelton received credit for his discovery. I also delivered my draft to the review committee.”

  Kelton chuckled. “Tilly’s not going to like that.”

  Beta echoed, “Tilly’s not going to like that.”

  “He doesn’t have to like it,” Alex said, crossing his arms. “It’s done. First draft of history. ”