“Still. Someone would have figured that out by now.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean?” James said frowning.
“Everything is easy to discover after someone has figured it out. I mean look at Einstein’s equation of e=mc squared. Everyone knows it now. You even see it on T-shirts. But no one figured it out until Einstein did. Sure energy equals mass times the speed of light squared but who in the world even thought about using the speed of light. More than that, squaring it. It seems so simple now.”
“Well, granted, that is true but here we are talking about a physical presence that is not an abstract mathematical formula. This is something you can actually see,” James retorted.
“Like the one in Russia.”
“Okay, okay, one got by but nothing the size you are talking about.”
“Actually I hope you’re right. Hopefully the thing exploded into a billion pieces and nothing is lurking out there yet to be discovered,” Abigail said.
James was just about to ask another question when Ruth and Jeff came in.
“Hey guys. We are right on time. By the way, you probably already know this but it’s going to get really cold in the next couple of days. You might want to wear something heavy. It gets pretty cold in here,” Jeff told them.
“Thanks for the heads up. I was a little chilly tonight so I’ll definitely dress warmer tomorrow,” Abigail said.
James went over the previous shift's log and by the time he was finished Abigail had already gone. He packed up his stuff and headed out. When he got to his car a note was on the windshield.
Went for breakfast at the Sunshine Coffee shop. Care to join me?’
A.
Okay, what the heck was this about now? She didn’t say anything negative during their shift. He got in the car and started it. The Sunshine Coffee shop? Where in the heck was that, he wondered?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Louis Mendoza rubbed his eyes. He had been looking into the Antu Telescope at the Cerro Paranal site in Chili, South America. That is but one site that makes up the VLT or Very Large Telescope array located at 2635 meters above sea level. It gives an unprecedented look into our universe.
There are four huge telescopes at this particular site that are state of the art and can be used independently or as a group. The VLT is part of the ESO or European Southern Observatory system. Fifteen different countries, all in Europe, operate under the ESO agreement.
Louise Mendoza was in charge of the Cerro Paranal site. A world renowned astronomer, he had many discoveries and credits already attached to his vita. For the past year he had been looking into the vast universe, and cataloging celestial bodies as far as 4 billion light years away.
Tonight, Louise was just thinking of calling it a night. Seven hours was long enough. He glanced through the view finder one more time and then took his eye away. He stopped and quickly looked back. He had caught something but now, searching the same area, it was either gone or his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Louise was tenacious about most things but this time he decided it was nothing more than his tired eyes acting up. At sixty-one they were not what they used to be. This was getting to be a younger man’s game. He sighed and shut everything down for the night.
The last thing he did was note the location of the object and some thoughts about what he might have seen. He would look at that area again tomorrow. He was tired and he dreaded the long drive back down the mountain and across the valley to his home. When he stepped outside he couldn’t help but look up and marvel at the Milky Way that was visible from this altitude. It was always an inspirational sight. He never got tired of the view.
He threw his briefcase into the back of the Land Rover, started the engine, and just sat there looking out of the front windshield. He was certainly enjoying the view but most of all he was waiting for the heater to kick in. Soon a trickle of warm air started filling the cabin and he put the Rover in gear and started down the mountain.
Even with the clear night, the road seemed to eat up the headlights. Every twist and turn made him squint into the darkness. His night vision had been deteriorating for years and it was getting so that he hated to even drive at night. Halfway down the mountain he ran into a dense bank of fog. He was forced to slow down even more.
He made up his mind that from now on he would wait until sun up to drive down the mountain. Of course this was at least the hundredth time he hand made that decision but this time he was positive he could stick with it.
An animal leaped onto the road just in front of him. Without thinking he yanked the wheel and slammed on the breaks. The Rover fishtailed and the back shot out to the right. He knew he was in serious trouble. It was still 1500 meters or more before the road leveled off.
The Rover skidded, trying to find purchase but it was no use. He felt the nose of the vehicle start to tip down. He yanked the Rover into reverse and gave it gas but the rear wheels were starting to lift off the ground. He could hear the rocks pounding into the undercarriage.
Everything seemed to suddenly take on a surreal slow-motion effect. The nose pointed down. His briefcase smashed into the windshield. The headlights pointed off into space. He was pushing back in the seat with his hands on the steering wheel but his brain told him it was a losing endeavor.
The Rover angled even further down and then the noise stopped for a second. He could feel his rear come up off the seat. Almost instantly he felt his head press into the top of the vehicle. It seemed so strange. He could see shards of glass flying by, his briefcase spill open and the contents being ejected. As if by magic the microphone attached to the CB suddenly rose up in the air and hit right by his head.
Then the noise rolled over him. The pace seemed to pick up with glass shattering, metal being crushed, and plastic breaking. He felt his head hit hard against the side window almost knocking him out. And then that sickening feeling of free falling.
There was nothing he could do at this point. His life didn’t flash before him like they always say it will but he did have a brief thought of what he thought he saw in the telescope just before he stopped. He wished he had left notes for someone.
And then it ended. No sound, no feelings, and no thoughts.
CHAPTER NINE
“No, no, no. This cannot be true.”
“But it is. The Carbineros have confirmed the identity. It was Mendoza’s Land Rover.”
“This is terrible. How did it happen?”
“No one knows for sure. He may have fallen asleep going home. The reason is less important than making sure the current experiments are controlled. We will have to appoint a replacement immediately,” the General Director of the ESO, Dr. Fassbinder, said.
“That is always a delicate decision. Every member nation feels like they should have the director be someone from their country.”
“Could you prepare a list of potential candidates, Dr. Basilone?” the director asked.
“By all means but you know no matter who is picked, the others will fuss about it,” Basilone replied.
“I suppose they will but what are we to do? Having no one in charge will lead to chaos and infighting. We will just pick the person we feel is most capable and that will have to do.”
“Do you intend to get the entire board involved?”
“I would rather not. It will take a month if we start involving them in daily operational decisions,” Fassbinder replied.