“Abandoned? No, we still use it occasionally, although not for some time. It’s sort of an all-purpose lab and work facility,” the general said, walking over to Eller. Is there something in particular I can help you with?”
“No, not really. I was just checking out what goes on in the different levels. This is one level I hadn’t gotten to really explore so it seemed like as good a time as any,” Eller said.
“Well, as you can see, not much is going on down here now. I’m sure it will be used again at some point. You’re sure there is nothing I could show you?” the general asked.
Eller could see that his eyes were looking at him hard and his jaw seemed tight. It was obvious that he didn’t like him coming down here. This was the first level he had visited where the general just ‘happened’ to show up.
“I’m pretty much finished, but thank you. I’m ready to go up if you are,” Eller said.
“Yes. I think that would be a good idea. I have some work to do,” the general replied.
They rode to the top level in silence, like two strangers always do on elevators.
Dr. Yuriss was watching as the container was remotely opened and the cone shaped core was maneuvered by mechanical arms to the lathe. It was a tedious and delicate procedure that had to be perfect. It took the better part of an hour to finally lock the cone in place. She typed in the instructions for the robotic lathe and hit the start button.
She watched intently as the cutting blade made contact with the spinning core. She was taking so little off that she couldn’t even see the material being minutely scraped off. Thirty minutes later the machine stopped and the computer readout blinked ‘Process Finished’. It had taken a lot longer to get it prepared than the cutting.
Once again the core was removed from the lathe and placed back in the containment box. She had the box immediately sent from the machine shop on Level–4 to Bay-1. If this worked, it would be the breakthrough they had been searching for.
Lynn hurriedly put on a full radiation bio-protection suit and pushed the cart to the flux reactor. Using an overhead hoist, she opened the cone and inspected it. Everything was ready. She opened the containment vessel and lifted the core out of the box. It only weighed 30.25 pounds but it seemed much heavier.
Carefully, she placed the core into the cone receptacle. She cautiously lowered the sphere dome and sealed it in place. Next, she checked the RAD counters to make sure the radiation level was safe before she took off the hood of the suit. While the suits were ventilated, it didn’t make much difference if you were a bit on the claustrophobic side like she was.
Laying the hood down on a worktable she went over to the computer and typed in the code for the start-up sequence. She pushed the ‘enter’ button and immediately the power dials started to climb. The reactor and platform were vibrating ever so slightly. Lynn held her breath as the power level climbed past fifty percent.
It was usually around the sixty-five percent range that everything started to become unstable and the platform would start to wobble around. She watched transfixed. Sixty, sixty-five, seventy, seventy-five, eighty and it continued to climb. The platform just vibrated ever so slightly. Ninety percent. Ninety — five percent. She had done it. It reached one hundred percent and held steady. She didn’t know what to do next, cry, scream or just laugh.
Sixty years of work by some of the greatest minds in the world had been devoted to this moment and an off the cuff comment by a non-scientist led to the elusive solution. Instead of trying to make the container fit tighter, all they had to do was establish an air cushion, just a fraction of an inch, acting as insulation between the wall of the cone and the core.
Lynn shut down the reactor and watched as the power level slowly drifted back to zero. She walked over to a desk chair and just sat staring at the flux reactor. The magnitude of what had just transpired was just starting to sink in.
At this very moment in time, she had solved one of the biggest obstacles that they had faced in getting man to distant planets. She knew plenty of work still had to be done to get to the point to where it could be used for interplanetary travel but it was no longer theory. It would be the practical application.
Raymond stepped out of the elevator on Level–1 and started to get into his Hummer and head back to his quarters when he suddenly decided to walk to Bay-1.
He told himself he was just checking on the progress being made, but he was really hoping to run into Dr. Yuriss again. After all, he had been here going on two weeks, and she was the first attractive woman he had seen.
