If you remember back to episode 3, television reporter Tristan Mack confronted Johann with top secret information that shocked him because Johann was unaware that XenTek’s involvement in the project was public knowledge. In today’s installment we’ll begin to learn exactly what Tristan was referring to and why it was such a surprise to Johann Pfizer.
A Personal Note: At first I was a little concerned with how serialized long-fiction would work on the Steemit platform. I’m happy to report this experiment has exceeded all of my expectations. I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying it and the story is keeping your interest. I look forward to your comments and encourage you to ask any questions you might have along the way.
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Did you miss Part 7 of Alarm Clock Dawn? If so Click Here to read it.
Part 8
“Come in,” Johann commanded.
Turning around slowly in his chair, he watched Seth Busby slink into the office, fumbling with a stack of files as he struggled to close the door behind him. “Let’s make it quick,” Johann hissed. “I have no patience today.”
Although Johann’s personal net worth had grown by hundreds of millions of dollars after yesterday's unveiling of Holo, he was having a difficult time moving beyond his exchange of words with Tristan Mack. More than anything it was Tristan’s insolence that infuriated him. However hard he tried, he couldn't seem to wipe the conversation from his memory.
Johann shook his head in frustration as Seth took a seat in front of his massive desk, nearly dropping the stack of folders perched perilously high on his knees. Seth Busby was a mouse of a man, thin as a wire. His thinning blond hair was cropped short and messy, giving him the appearance of a newly hatched chick. His features were chiseled; his chin bore a deep cleft and his blue eyes were framed by perfectly round tortoise shell glasses that conveyed a certain studiousness. At first, Seth’s insecurities had made Johann doubt him, but Seth constantly reassured him and always far exceeded expectations when it came to his work.
Seth brought a closed fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. “Sir, as you've said many times in our industry, we must never stop innovating and we must continually think years ahead. It's time to start thinking about what's next to ensure this organization's future profits.”
Seth shifted in his seat and the leather creaked beneath him. “We've set the bar very high this time. The public and, more importantly, our shareholders have come to expect radically new technology from XenTek year after year. We will need a groundbreaking new product, something that really captures the imagination of the consumer. With the launch of Holo, the storehouse that was once filled with parts acquired by your father is now nearly empty. This product will carry us for a few more years, but there is nothing left from the wreckage that appears to hold any potential.”
“What do you suggest we do? Wave a magic wand?” Johann chuckled at his use of the exact same phrase as his nemesis, “World Wise” reporter Tristan Mack.
Seth was so excited to share the news, his voice sounded as if it might crack. “This is what I wanted to tell you, Mr. Pfizer. While you were introducing Holo yesterday, we had a very important breakthrough.”
“What are you talking about?” the director of XenTek asked as he turned to stare out the window again.
Seth pushed up his heavy tortoise shell glasses and spoke in short, rapid clips. “Sir, we have always known that—that something like this could be theoretically possible. Time is intricately intertwined with space, and just like space, time should be possible to travel through. We just haven't had the means to do it yet. I always had the utmost faith in our physicists. They told us that the plans were incomplete, but they believed these were precise instructions to build a machine designed specifically to transport people back and forth in time.”
“Get to the point, Busby!”
“It's Project Phoenix. We've done it! Our physicists reconstructed the missing ten percent of the plans and one of our scientists in the Reverse Engineering Division has just recently solved the puzzle of the missing piece of the machine. This small metal box was from one of the crashed spacecraft and sat undiscovered on our warehouse shelves for years. No one else could theorize what its purpose was. Our technology was advanced enough to make all but this one piece—this box made of a special alloy that we can't reproduce. The alloy is strong enough to contain the incredible energy created from the collision of the atomic particles. Sir, we have powered the machine up and have no reason to believe that it's not ready for travelers.”
Seth leaned over and carefully placed a red folder marked Top Secret on the director’s desk, slowly pushing it towards him. “The high-level details can be found in this dossier.”
Although he might not always understand the technological details, Johann didn't stand masterfully at the helm of a trillion dollar corporation for being dull-witted. He touched his finger to his tongue, and as he quickly flipped through the hundreds of pages of explanations and simple diagrams, he experienced a rush of excitement so strong that it launched him up out of his chair.
“Busby, this is wondrous!” Project Phoenix was a huge gamble, but Johann had realized when he gave his approval two years ago that as big of a gamble as it was, it also had the potential of paying huge dividends for the future of XenTek.
A silence descended on the room and for a few moments the only thing that penetrated its density was the tick of the ornate clock on the oak davenport.
Johann clapped his hands, breaking the silence, and Seth nearly dropped the stack of files perched on his lap again. “This is incredible, but is it safe?”
“Sir, this is the conundrum we currently find ourselves in. We have no way of knowing if it works until we send the first team. Also, as you can see from the data contained in the dossier, this machine takes an extraordinarily large amount of energy to operate.” Some people think it could create a black hole so large our planet would be consumed.”
Busby touched a pencil to his deeply cleft chin before scribbling figures on his notepad. “But our scientists think the risk is minuscule. However, this machine will require so much energy that it will take several power stations to provide enough to operate it. And there is always the chance that the team will be lost. We just don’t know for sure. This is completely new territory for us, sir.”
Johann looked up from the dossier. “And this concerns me why?”
“Sir, as you know, the power grid is already stretched well beyond capacity. Taking a single power station offline for even a few hours a day will cause massive blackouts and the price of electricity is sure to skyrocket.”
“Just get it done.” Johann barked.
To be continued. The next installment of Alarm Clock Dawn will appear at the same time tomorrow.
Alarm Clock Dawn is the first novel of a trilogy. The sequel entitled, Truth Is Stranger, will be published in the Spring of 2017.
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