Dark Light E-Book

George G George

• Herausgeber: WS
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 381

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Einstein is proved wrong, the speed of light is achievable and has been greatly surpassed. A 14 year old boy has achieved the impossible, he has discovered. Dark Light.

Dark Light is a story of a place the US would never admit existed, but does. Telstar a 14 year old boy with an IQ 371 and only just higher than his dad Delta or any person alive or dead discovers. Dark Light. With a mum like Venus who is a top computer scientist and a dad who’s Americas top rockets expert, could he be anything else. Both his parents where born in the same hospital ward at the very moment Neil Armstrong stepped on to the moon. While his dad Delta was raised as a normal American, His mum Venus was born to British Diplomat's and brought up to be very English. 
Telstar was using Area 101’s vast Hadron Collider without permission, which is far bigger than the Cern Collider. He discovers Dark light while trying to create more weapons for his robot, some of the best discoveries are made by sheer accident. With the ear of the first lady, they get the funding needed to build a ship to travel faster than the speed of light. The Wanderer. They are a motley crew Venus, Delta, Telstar, Leroy, Kip and Bum. Not forgetting the two robots, Guardian. Enforcer. Offensive. Robot. Genetically. Engineered George and Artificial. Life. Force. Intelligently. Encoded. Alfie. 
They travel to places man could only dream of and head for Gliese 667Cc, while on route they discover aliens and a new world. Upon there return though they discover something far worse, as they arrived 7 years in to the future the earth has been hit by a large asteroid. Computing there way back to there own time, they now have to convince the world to build thousands of ships to evacuate the earth. The clock is running as apocalypse closes in and the certain destruction of the Earth.

Leseprobe

George G George

Dark Light

Dark Light

The Birth of Interstellar Travel

The sirens screamed as two ambulances raced towards the hospital each carrying a pregnant woman and her husband, their blue and red flashing lights bounced off the buildings and wet road as they passed. Alice Darcy-Evans and her husband Robert arrived first with the second ambulance carrying Anna Lee Rockford and Stan Rockford only seconds behind them. It was July 20, 1969, at 19:55 UTC and as the women were rushed in to the birthing ward Apollo 11 was minutes away from landing. This was without any doubt mankind’s greatest moment, to land a man on the moon and return him to earth.

Stan Rockford is 6’ tall with broad shoulders and crew cut blonde hair and a pair of wire framed glasses. He was dressed in a check shirt and jeans, his wife Anna Lee had brown hair and was from the Deep South and her southern drawl accent was very strong.

Stan Rockford had worked on the moon mission while Alice Darcy-Evans work on the computers that were on board the Eagle landing craft. The two couples had never met before even though they worked at the same place, but now found themselves sharing a room with just a curtain between them. Stan left Anna Lee and rushed out in to the hallway, he returned minutes later pushing a table on wheels on which was a small black and white TV. He plugged it in and tuned it the local station, the landing was on every channel in America. The commentator was reading out lots of facts and only stopped when the astronaut’s voice came over the air. Alice leant over and pulled the curtain aside and smiled at Anna Lee.

“Would you mind awfully if we watched the TV as well dear sir?” she said in her posh English accent.

“Jeez just what we need, goddam limeys,”

“Stan y'all show some manners you hear now, you may come from the lone state but any more of that talk and you’ll be all alone. Now you apologise Stan, come on honey don’t ruin our day now.” Anna Lee scowled him.

“That’s alright, when you have had the biggest empire the world has ever seen, you will always find jealous people. We Brits are used to it. My name is Robert Darcy-Evans and this is my wife Alice.” Robert said proudly. Robert Darcy-Evans was working for the British embassy and stood 5’8’’ tall, small thinly built with a bald head, he spoke with a very posh English accent as did his wife. Alice was 5’ tall with brown hair and green eyes, a mathematical genius and computer designer.

“Well you aint got it now fella have ya and what’s your interest in the moon landings anyhow? This it’s a USA affair I don’t see no limey’s about to land on the moon, unless I need to change these spectacles.” Stan said as he took his glasses off and looked at them.

“Stanley Rockford y'all say sorry now or you can leave this here room right now ya hear, I’m afraid he’s a bit anti British.” Anna Lee replied as she stared at her husband.

“No need to apologize dear Stanley, I’m sure it’s the pressure that’s getting to you and for the record I work on computers and one of my designs is on the Eagle Lander and I’d like to see if it all goes well.” Alice smiled and then grimaced as a sharp pain ripped through her body, and she bit hard on her sleeve.

“Darcy-Evens, mam I’m sorry for the cussing and name calling, so that’s what the D-E stands for under the control panel. Stan Rockford rocket designer,” “and all round big mouth.” Anna Lee said grinning,

Stan and Alice started talking about the mission in between spasms of pain which both women were now going through. The minutes ticked by and two doctors came in with four nurses, to make more checks on the women. They all left after saying that the births were still some hours away and to remember their breathing. The time now was 20:17 UTC and everyone was glued to the screen, listening to every word said by the astronauts as they came in to land. All the minor corrections that were needed to land safely were mimicked by Stan, he moved left and right as the words were said and then at 20:18 UTC they all heard Neil Armstrong say the famous words.

“Houston the Eagle has landed.”

The whole hospital cheered and people were shaking hands and clapping each other on the shoulder, Stan was punching the air as Robert got out a bottle of champagne. He was about to open it when Alice glared at him, “Robert that’s for our Venus and no one else.”

“Yes dear.”

Anna Lee looked over and half smiled and half grimaced. ‘Mines like a child as well honey, Venus now that’s a pretty name. This fool wants to call our son Sputnik after the commie satellite, over my dead body honey child. So, he comes up with Yuri same as the Russian cosmonaut.’

“Are you a communist Stanley?” Alice asked.

“Hell, no mam, but Sputnik was the first thing up there and Yuri was the first man to go up there as well.” Stan explained to no one.

“Stan honey you were the first man up me and as you call your thing Wilson, maybe we should call him that.” Anna Lee said laughing.

Stan went bright red and stuttered some sort of reply, his wife was the one thing he loved more than his work but she did have a foul mouth on her. Robert chuckled as he said, “you call it Wilson?”

“I’d say nothing dear or shall we discuss Wellington?” Alice said as both men went red.

“I’m going for a smoke, you wanna come Rob?” Stan stated. “Yes, why not thank you.” He replied.

The two men left to the sound of both women laughing wildly and each shook their heads as they disappeared down the long corridor. While they were gone, the women chatted and got on like a house on fire they were soon exchanging phone numbers, even though they came from very different backgrounds the pair had become firm friends. The hours ticked by slowly for the women with every minute now hurting more. Eventually the doctors were called back and the date was July 21 at 02:56 UTC.

Then just as Neil Armstrong stepped on to the moon and uttered the most famous few words ever spoken, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" both women pushed and screamed at the same time and two small heads appeared, moments later their whole bodies flopped out and two loud cries could be heard. The babies were checked wrapped and brought back to the waiting mothers, they hugged them while the men stood looking down proudly.

“And what’s the names of these two darlings?” the midwife asked.

“Venus Elizabeth Darcy-Evans.” Robert said as Anna Lee stared at her man waiting, she’d agreed he could name the baby if it was a boy. He looked at her rubbing his chin and slowly a smile crept across his face.

“Delta Rockford, that’s my boys name mam and he waited for Anna Lee to start protesting but she just nodded exhaustedly and smiled. Little did anyone know that on the day that man had reached his highest pinnacle ever in exploration that another future space landmark had been given life when Delta and Venus were born, they would go on to do the major work on interstellar travel.

The Discovery

The year is 2015 and looking in the mirror in his bedroom Delta studied himself, it was his and his wife’s birthday today they were now 46 years old, strange how he never felt like he was that old. He turned slowly to see his wife Venus gently breathing in the bed, he smiled and still to this day had no idea why she loved him. 5’11’’ tall of medium build with cropped, grey/blonde hair. His face was square jawed with thin lips and brown eyes with thick rimmed glasses. A genius and the USA’s top rocket scientist, he’d been named after the rocket system used by the Americans for years.

He was your stereo type geek, hair and clothes were always a mess no matter how hard his wife tried to tidy him up. A deep thinker and until his son Telstar was born he had the highest IQ in the world, now that honour was his sons. A totally focused man who would normally work without food, if what he was working on engrossed him that much. His dad had also been a rocket scientist working on NASA’s early missions and he’d followed him. Turning back to the mirror he knocked a book off the side board and it woke Venus, she rubbed her eyes and pretended to glare at him then smiled warmly.

“You’re better than an alarm clock Hun, what time is it?” she asked.

“Six thirty Babe you go back to bed, I’ll do breakfast.”

“Yeah like I want burnt toast and runny eggs, give me a moment, you go and wake Telstar up. You know it’s a good ten minutes before he rises.”

Venus watched him go and shook her head, slightly smiling, she did love him for all his oddities. He was a great rocket scientist but a crap cook, he was the only person she knew who could burn water. She thought and laughed to herself.

Venus like her mother was a computer genius, her face was pretty and petite with a light complexion, she rarely wore make up as she never needed to and her eyes were a bright green she had light brown hair tied back normally with a red ribbon.

Her build was small but well proportioned, her bum had been voted 'rear of the year' for the last five years by the whole of the personnel in Area 101. In her youth, she’d been a gymnast and still looked like she could do a floor routine even now. She wore a dress suit for work, but was very casual out of work, she looked perfect every day.

Born in the USA she had dual nationality and having very British parents, she had some strange ways that Delta even today didn’t understand. Having been a keen gymnast she still remained fit, and her knowledge of computers and programming was one of the best in the world. Her son Telstar was as good as her if not better, she would do anything to protect her family. She’d been born in the same ward as Delta and they had been together ever since, even going to the same schools and university. They had then gone on to NASA and worked on many projects together, so it was a forgone conclusion that they would marry. Their only child Telstar was born late in their life, work was so much more important to both of them. It had been on the night of the new millennium that he was conceived, neither really wanted children and took every measure to make sure they didn’t have any. That night after a lot to drink and a late party they made love inside the Eagle moon Lander, just like the one their parents had watched land on the moon when they were born. The end result of that night was a son Telstar, he had inherited his mum’s computer genius and his dad’s engineering and design skills.

Venus had breakfast ready on the table waiting for her two men, she smiled and kissed Delta as he sat down and when Telstar came in she ruffled his hair and kissed him on the forehead. He smiled and in seconds had wolfed his breakfast down, a bad habit he had gotten from his maternal grandfather and one his mum hated as did her mum. Robert Darcy-Evans was famed in Embassy circles for his speed eating and unofficially held the world record for eating 141 Hard Boiled Eggs in 7 minutes 55 seconds.

Telstar Rockford was Delta and Venus only child and was named after the first American commercial satellite, Delta his dad wanted to name him Hubble because it was the first space program they had both worked on. Venus had said there was no way she was standing for that and there was more chance of the moon crashing in to the earth than her son was being called Hubble, not if he wanted her to stay his wife. They settled on Telstar, a satellite that both their parents had been involved in and mainly because neither liked their father’s names.

With blonde hair cut in the modern style of short around the sides and long on top, he was the image of Delta except for his green eyes. Aged 15 Telstar was keen on sports and in the last few months had also become keen on girls, he was 5’10’’ tall and wore mainly baggy jeans and T shirt to match his West Ham United baseball cap worn backwards. Why his son preferred an English football team to the Dallas Cowboys was a mystery to Delta, then again, his wife was a Hammers fan. Soccer seemed a strange game to him and Venus would always say to him and anyone else who was in favour of the NFL over proper football “Why do you Americans call it football? When you only kick the ball to start the game or score a goal. It should be called, picky up, run a bit and chucky ball.” She always chuckled when saying that.

Telstar was a genius and had an IQ score of 371, ten points higher than his dad. However, he was like most teenagers, in to shoot them up video games and built things with that in mind, much to the dismay of his parents. As with most little dudes he was at that strange age when he did everything that they didn’t want him to.

He also had a quick temper which his mum blamed on his dad, who then blamed his dad who was known for it. Even after all his faults both Delta and Venus would have him no other way, they were so proud of their son and often told everyone that. Telstar had the run of Area 101 and all the laboratories, he could design and build almost whatever he wanted as long as it didn’t interfere with anyone else’s work. Venus had designed and with the help of some of the other scientists built a very new type of computer, it was so far advanced and secret that only a few people knew about it. Artificial. Life. Force. Intelligently. Encoded or ALFIE.

Alfie was blue in colour and the size of a football he could float using a new form of magnetic Helium lift, it was also how he moved and was really just a big artificial brain that was encased in impactium. This was an experimental substance that was as soft as a jelly fish, but when it sensed it was about to be hit it could turn instantly in to one of the hardest substance man had ever known. This made him almost indestructible and only certain top secret weapons could stop him. Venus had been working on him for years and it was only when Bum had discovered a way of making energy using micro cold fusion that he worked. He could do over an Octillion calculation per second and Telstar had an idea to triple that if not more. This was far more than any known computer, Alfie achieved this by using a hydrogen fluid like compound instead of chips. Venus had designed this some years ago, but needed a heatless power source to work it, Bum’s cold fusion couldn’t be enlarged to power anything bigger than a very small electric motor still that was more than enough for Alfie. He spoke with a soft posh male English accent and Venus had used her father’s voice as the base, he would talk constantly unless told to shut up. Alfie was also able to connect with any other computer wirelessly and even take over and control their software.

Venus, after Telstar had rubbished her robot Alfie for having no weapons, had challenged him to build one better and he had spent many weeks working hard, he even stopped going to football practice to finish him. Fearing his mum and dad would curtail his ideas he sought the help of Bum.

Bum wasn’t his real name. Bartholomew Umbridge-Morton or Bum for short was an aircraft propulsion designer plus a true mad scientist and friend to Delta. He had grey hair in a big afro 70s style, his face was big and round with the looks of a coloured man, except he was white. His great, great, great granddad had been a Negro and his features had come out in him, except his skin was pure white. Bum was 56 years old but looked a lot older than that, a big man 6.6’’ tall with a huge belly and hands, his sarcastic sense of humour wasn’t to everyone’s taste. He did make most people laugh it was more like his timing wasn’t the best and his bad habit stating the obvious could get under people’s skin. His designs and ingenious ideas kept him in his position at Area 101, Commander Horn the man in charge of the whole complex hated him and had tried to get shot of him many times only for Delta and Venus to get him back. His dress style was at best bad like his hair, dressed normally in a bright green, pink and yellow shell suit with blue flip flops and white socks, he always had a man bag with him or as Telstar called it, “his bitch sack.”

The big day for the robot challenge was only one month away and everyone would be there, it was to be held at the area’s testing site and no matter who won no one outside of the people there would ever know about it. Area 101 was the USA’s most top secret weapons and research centre, the world believed Area 51 had all the secrets but they were wrong.

Area 101 was set in the middle of the Mojave Desert surrounded by mountains and there wasn’t another human being within 50 miles, except for the two Hundred Special Forces that manned the hidden guard posts. The area had been built in the fifties and had grown far bigger than anyone knew and above ground the town was laid out like any normal American Midwest town. With everything of importance underground its true size was over 15 square miles set at different levels. In its centre was a newly built Hadron Collider, it dwarfed the one at CERN. While theirs was 27 kilometres long, Area 101 had built theirs 51.26 miles long and would be far more powerful, when it was fully operational, which was only days away. The only way in and out of Area 101 was by air, the accommodation had everything that a small town had. Shops, schools, sporting facilities and even a cinema. When you committed yourself to Area 101 it was a lifelong commitment and even when your time was over you were monitored and protected by the state. That was the price for having almost unlimited access to funding and research, a price that only the most committed or insane ever agreed to. Delta had said that it reminded him of the old sixties show, The Time Tunnel which was set underground in the desert.

Telstar was working in the main lab, he had designed a new type of weapon for George, this was the name of the robot he’d designed for the challenge and wanted to see if he could get it to work. GEORGE stood for. Guardian. Enforcer. Offensive. Robot. Genetically. Engineered. He was a rectangular box with a matt black body, he looked cold and hard with small red eyes set in the top of the body.

George was one metre high and each of his four long sides were 60 cm in width, the top and bottom panels were 60x60cm. No matter what way he faced his eyes shone through that panel. Inside he was loaded with every sort of weapon available and some that weren’t. Telstar had shrunk them down while increasing their power, his brain was offensive orientated, attack and defend was his primary function. The limited computer power he had was boosted when Alfie connected to him and when that happened they were a formidable foe. He used the same way of moving as Alfie, but was boosted by a miniature particle reactor built by his dad who didn’t know it was inside George. He could run flat out for over fifty years before it needed replacing and ran all his weaponry. Telstar had used a black ghetto man’s voice for him when speaking normally, which his mum changed to a soft Scotsman’s from the highlands voice unless he was in guardian or attack mode then the ghetto voice came out.

A few weeks ago, he had by accident discovered a hidden power source, one that he believed no one knew about and as it had no technical name he called it. Dark Light. His plan was to use it as a laser type weapon, all he needed was to figure out how to control and focus it.

He’d hacked in to the main frame computer and was using it to align crystals and filters in part of the new Hadron Collider. Telstar was just finishing his alinement when he heard his dad coming with his mum and Commander Horn as well as many others, he knew he wasn’t really allowed to be working on it and quickly hid under the desk and held his breath.

The large party entered and starting talking about their first test experiment which to his horror had been set up the night before and he had now moved everything about. Bum looked down and spotted him under the desk and raised his eyebrows, he then pushed a chair in front of Telstar to hide him from the others. Telstar watched the lab filled with a mass of people, he saw that there were men and women from every service of the armed forces all with chests full of medals. There was a lot of suit wearing people as well and then to his horror he saw the President John Walker and his wife. This wasn’t going to end well, he knew that much. His dad had said the test for tomorrow, crazily he was only minutes from doing his little experiment and then he’d have set the Collider back to where they had left it.

“Mr President this is what all the American people’s hard earned tax dollars has been spent on, I give you the world’s biggest Hadron Collider. Kevin.” Bum said proudly.

“Dr Umbridge-Morton is Kevin the best name you could come up with?” laughed the President and then the whole room.

“Sir, Kevin was my dad’s name and his dad before him,”

“that figures.” Commander Horn replied dryly.

“I meant no disrespect Dr, but Kevin? I really do not think the American people will go for that.”

“We can sort that out Sir, in fact I’ll deal with it personally.” Commander Horn said.

The next ten minutes were spent with Delta, Venus and Bum explaining how it worked and what they hoped to gain, the word hoped was quickly changed to expect by Commander Horn for everyone’s benefit. Just as the thought of his meddling had gone away Telstar heard his dad speaking softly to Bum and even though he was shaking his head Commander Horn pointed to the bank of computers and desks. His heart stopped as he heard Horn say, “Sir we can show you what it does. We were expecting to do our first test tomorrow, but it is set up and can soon be made ready. That is correct Dr Rockford is it not?” Delta looked at every one of the scientists and nodded, he wasn’t happy about it but this was the President of the United States. Who was he to say no to the most powerful man in the world, not him that’s for sure and it seemed neither did anyone else either. The whole group went to another part of the lab and Bum dropped his pen by the desk that Telstar was under, he slowly bent down making out to search for it.

“The look on your face little dude tells me we shouldn’t be testing yet?” Bum whispered.

“I moved some of the crystals, lens, filters and stuff and I was just about to reset them when you all came in, shit Bum what should I do?”

“Holly fuck ups Batman.” He whispered, Bum always used sayings from the old sixties show Batman. “Nothing little dude, there’s nothing you or I can do but pray the whole thing doesn’t blow up and we kill the President.”

The blood drained from Telstars face and he had a look of pure horror for a moment until Bum grinned at him, “as your mum would say done like a kipper little dude.” He chuckled.

“You’re a fucking ass hole Bum.”

“Just sit tight what can go wrong little dude?” Bum said and then he was gone as the others waited for the Collider to start. The whole room watched in anticipation with in an atmosphere of happy excitement, everyone except Telstar. He wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole, a million and one things could go wrong he thought. Bum did try weakly to stop the test but failed, he knew he would and as the lab hummed with electric motors he whispered in to Venus ear.

“Telstar is under Nick’s desk hiding, just thought you should know that’s all.”

“Why?” she whispered back, but before he could answer her the siren sounded and the big red button was pressed, the test was set in motion there was no stopping it now.

“Because he was working with Kevin and moved some stuff about,” Bum said with no concern at all. Venus glared at him and then at Telstar under the desk, she was about to say something when her arm was tapped.

“Venus, it is okay to call you Venus, is it? Just how fast do think the particle will travel, do you think we will see the speed of light reached?” The First Lady asked.

This totally threw her and she took a moment to compose herself, “hopefully yes but it is only a test.” Was all she could say as there was a long loud whooshing sound?

Suddenly red lights started spinning and a loud pulsing screech filled the air, lab technicians started shutting things off and running around as the screeching stopped. The air was filled with the noise of machinery slowing and shutting down was the only sound for a moment, then Commander Horn roared. “What the hell was that Rockford?”

Delta shrugged his shoulders, he had no idea what had caused the alarm but Bum and Venus did. She stared at her son and smiled as she rolled her forefinger at him, he pushed the chair aside and went up to her looking at the floor and not her face. She ruffled his hair and put her arm around him, “what did you do this time?” she asked in a soft motherly way.

“It’s not my fault you all said the test was tomorrow not today, so how can it be my fault?”

“What did you do Telstar?” she said in the same manner.

Before he had a chance to reply Commander Horn pushed his way towards Telstar and he was in an angry mood, this was his command and in front of his boss the President he’d been made to look a fool and someone would have to pay.

“Goddam it Rockford, can’t you control your own son, we’ve spent billions of dollars on this place and he’s broken it. What do you think this is son, your own personal goddam playground? Get him off my dam site and do it now” he roared.

Venus moved and stood between Horn and Telstar, she glared at him and he returned it. “You are a bully Horn and most of the people here let you get away with, well that stops now. If Telstar has to go then so do I,” her words were hard and had a lot of force behind them.

“And that goes for me as well.” Delta said.

“And me. Bum added as he went to a computer for a read out.

Then a lot more scientist joined them as they all stood together in the lab and it was the President who broke the stand off. He waved for everyone to quieten down and that took a few moments, he then turned to Commander Horn.

“Commander Horn how much damage has been caused?” he asked.

“That Sir I will have to wait and access, but these pieces of equipment are very delicate and it doesn’t take much to destroy it.” Horn replied.

“Son you may have cost the tax payer a lot of money because of your mindless action.” The President said sternly.

Telstar swallowed hard and knew he’d gone too far this time, “sorry mum I was just.”

“Just what son?” The President said as his wife tapped his arm and shook her head at him. “What?” he said at her.

“And who fired an Inter-continental ballistic missile from the USS Upstanding last year John?” his wife said accusingly.

“The boy slipped on the wet deck,” he replied weakly as she stared at him.

“Slipped my ass, John Jr fired it because he wanted to see it fly and if it hadn’t had a self-destruct, God knows what might have happened.” She replied and smiled at Venus, she was no different to any other mother and would protect her son to the very end. The silence was smashed as Bum staggered back from the printer holding a sheet of paper.

“HOLY FUCKING LIGHT SPEED BATMAN.” Bum shouted as he lifted a printout up and like everyone else, was staring at it. He slowly walked over to Delta and handed him the print out and in seconds he handed it to Venus. The sheet then went around the rest of the scientists ending up with the President staring at it, he looked at it for over a minute and then asked what all the numbers meant.

“Sir it means the little dudes broken the extremely delicate and the world’s most accurate timing set up and probably more.” Horn answered.

“I didn’t break nothing and it is called Dark Light.” Telstar replied in his determined and usual cocky teenage fearless manner that most little dudes of his age had.

Dark Light

The whole room was staring at him which made him feel really uncomfortable, he wasn’t used to being the centre of attention and admitted to himself that he didn’t like it at all and moved behind his mum. Three lab technicians started to check the speed timing equipment while others ran more checks on the whole set up, Delta, Venus and Bum were stunned into silence as they checked the speed again.

“Dr Rockford let us just say for the moment that everything is correct, so what do all the numbers stand for?” The President asked.

“Sir, if and it is a monumental if, the figures are correct then it means that we, no my son Telstar has achieved a speed 29 979 245 800 meters per second.” Delta replied.

“And?”

“Sir it means that the particle reached not only the speed of light but a Hundred times faster. 29, 979, 245. 8 kilometres per second or 18, 628, 239. 7 miles per second. Roughly Sir, give or take a mile or two.” He said the last part really slowly not being sure himself about the numbers he had just quoted.

“It means a round trip of the moon would take less than four minutes from start to finish, quicker than Roger Banister could run a mile. Now that’s fast dude.” Bum beamed at the group, until he saw that Commander Horn was giving him daggers so he added. “Err, Sir not dude Sir.” Bum said quickly and joined Telstar behind Venus.

“Dr Rockford correct me if I’m wrong but I was on the understanding that nothing could travel faster than the speed of light? According to Albert Einstein the world’s greatest Theoretical Physicist as well as just about every other Theoretical Physicist on the planet, or are they all wrong and your 12-year-old son is correct?” The President asked somewhat sceptically.

“I’m 15 not 12 Sir.” Telstar replied.

“Whatever son, it doesn’t matter.” Horn said.

Bum came from behind Venus and looked at all the people, he then slowly turned to face the President. “Mr President, Einstein wasn’t a bad Physicist for his day, but that doesn’t mean his been right about everything. A Theoretical Physicist is when you boil it down to its basics, just a good guesser and all their Theories are just that. A guess based on others guesses and not always on facts, when man started using steam engines the best scientist of the day said. “If man travels faster than 25 miles per hour his head would explode.” It didn’t and there are many other examples which I’m sure will bore you to tears, all I’m saying is that until something is positively proven its just guess work sir.” Bum then moved back behind Venus who was nodding in agreement as were many others.

It was over ten minutes before the checks were complete and it was established that there was nothing broken and Telstar had made the discovery of the century. As much as the President wanted to see it repeated it wasn’t possible, when the alarm and safety alerts went off they automatically lock everything down for 24hrs. It was a fail-safe percussion built in to the Collider and couldn’t be over ridden, so he and his party left the scientist to figure it out and report back to him.

Delta was detailed with working out just what they had and how to control it, Commander Horn had banned Telstar from the labs until Venus explained that he was for the moment the only one who knew what had been changed, but still he was banned. Much to Horn’s distaste he had to agree and when at home with his wife, he admitted that he had a lot of admiration for the little dude because what he did took guts plus courage and they were two qualities he liked. Sipping a Jack Daniels in the kitchen alone, he made up his mind to bury the hatchet with the Rockford’s and the others as it was clear that his strong military stance wasn’t working.

In the three weeks that they had all been working on the new discovery it had become clear that this was so new that no one really had any ideas and trial and error were going to be the way to sort it out. What none of them had realised except Telstar was that he hadn’t fired Dark Light around the Collider. No, Telstar had done the exact opposite, because he had found a way of attracting the Dark Light. What he had invented was in layman’s terms a magnet that attracts light, not any light just the Dark Light that was unseen, but that was everywhere in the universe.

Back in the kitchen the Rockford’s with Bum and Harrison Chan were having dinner and as with most of their dinners the talk was all about Dark Light and Venus was the first to ask Telstar.

“Where on earth did you come with the name Dark Light, Telstar?”

“What’s wrong with it mum?” he replied.

“Nothing darling just wondered that’s all I mean it is contradiction in words, light by the nature of its makeup isn’t dark hence the word light.” She said in that strange way of talking she would adopt every now and then, it was a mixture of American and posh English.

“Mum anti matter is the same aint it and no one’s moaning about that.”

Venus put up her hands as if he had a gun pointing at her and said, ‘I wasn’t moaning just curious darling and I actually like it a lot. Dark Light hmm yeah it just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it boys?”

The three men nodded and went back to their meatloaf, she made the best meatloaf in the whole world according to Delta, Bum, Harrison and Telstar. For a few minutes, no one said anything and just ate their food and as per normal Telstar had finished his almost before she had started hers. Later in the front room they started talking about what to do with the new light and how best to use it, it was obvious that the military would want them to find a use but how was far from clear. The one thing they all knew was that almost every theory on light speed was wrong and the worst part was they couldn’t tell the world, well not yet anyway.

Bum was looking at ways of using it to power a rocket to go to the other planets, while Delta and Telstar was thinking bigger much bigger. This if they could work it out was what mankind had dreamed about and it was almost within their grasp, the one thing this wasn’t going to be was cheap, they all new that.

“You ready for the comp Mum? Me and my robot are going to kick your ass.” Telstar said cock sure of himself.

“You use that language in this house again boy and it’s your ass that’s gonna get a whooping, is that understood young man?” his dad said angrily.

“How come you can say it and I can’t? That aint fair.” Telstar bleated, he’d forgotten his dads golden rule. “You can swear at me but never at your Mum or where she can hear you.” He had told him that from a very young age.

“Life aint fair little dude, look at me I’ve everything a woman could ever want in one man and no girl wants it.” Bum said in a serious tone, which sent the whole room in a fit of laughter.

“Your dad’s right little one you shouldn’t cuss around ladies and not one as lovely as your mother.” Harrison said.

“Little one? I’m taller and bigger than you Grandpa,” it was his nick name when no one of importance was around, Telstar said and stood up to make his point. Harrison also stood up next to him and nodded in agreement and then said. “Only in body and mind but not in skills little one.” He bowed and sat back down again.

Colonel Harrison Chan was the USAF and NASA’s top experimental pilot he’d been retired for many years, but was still considered the number one Top Gun.

Harrison or Grandpa as he was known and called by most of the personel, was the best pilot of his age, he was the ace of aces having made over fifty kills. His skill in the air with any plane was legendary, that’s why he went on to be the USAF top test pilot. Given any posting for his many years of service by the president, his choice was a job for life testing the very newest experimental planes. Being of American Asian descent, it was thought that he was a Kung foo expert when he was young. Truth was he couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag, but put him in a plane and everything changed or when he was angry.

Harrison’s head was shaven while his face was long and thin with a big chin, call sign ‘Chinaman’ and this was not only for his looks, but he did have a long mandarin moustache. He was thinly built and was of average height, Harrison was 62 years old going on 20.

Harrison normally dressed in a red vest under a white shirt, cargo shorts with army desert boots and over that he would wear an air force bomber jacket, but only when at work or flying. Day to day he wore the same clothes as Telstar might wear, baggy jeans with trainers not done up with a T shirt that would fit someone four times his size and his baseball cap worn backwards.

“Why you so interested Grandpa? This is not for any plane or anything else that’s gonna fly in the sky.” Telstar joked. Harrison replied in a very serious manner which was one he very rarely used these days and one Telstar had never heard.

“Little one I wasn’t born when man made his first jet powered flight and I know you think I was but I wasn’t. Also, I was too young to be the first man to break the sound barrier and I wasn’t the first man to walk on the moon. In fact, I’ve never been recognised as a first for any major aeronautical event that has taken place in the last Hundred plus years. I want to be the first man to break the light speed barrier and I’ve every intention of being that pilot.”

“But why?” Telstar asked him.

“Yeah what’s the big deal about being the first Grandpa?” Bum said backing up Telstar.

“Okay little one and big one it’s time to use those huge brains of yours, who was the first man to complete a powered flight? Who was the first man to break the sound barrier? And who was the first man to walk on the moon? Now answer me them there questions?”

“That’s easy Grandpa, Orville Wright on December 17, 1903. Chuck Yeager October 14, 1947. Neil Armstrong on July 21, 1969 mum and dad’s birthday.” Telstar looked at Harrison and grinned, “got anything harder Grandpa?”

“Yeah now name me the fifth person to do all those feats?”

Both Telstar and Bum were chewing their bottom lips and wrinkling their brows and after two minutes they both gave in and shrugged their shoulders.

“Okay Grandpa who was it?” Bum asked dejectedly.

“I have no idea boys and that’s the point I’m making. The first person is always remembered never the second, third, fourth or fifth, second place only makes you the first loser. That’s why I’m going to be the first, so let’s get to work geeks and put me in the record books. That goes without saying that it doesn’t include you Venus.” He laughed and sat back contented.

Competition Day

For the moment all work on the Dark Light project was stopped as the day for the competition was here, both Venus and Telstar were at their separate stations. Telstar had no idea that his mum had also worked on his robot and would only find out when the tests started. First up was Venus who so wanted to lose, but had to prove her idea and it was why she’d worked on Telstar’s robot. She was at best hoping for a draw knowing that to win would severely dent her son’s confidence and to lose would mean she’d never hear the last of it.

Venus walked in to the centre of the large area and nodded to all the hundreds of staff and scientists that were watching her every move. The decision was to be voted on by the whole of Area 101 and not just by a few top scientists, if it was a draw then Commander Horn would have the final vote. He normally wouldn’t have allowed everyone to attend such an event but the new man that he was saw it as a small distraction, one that would build morale and give them all a welcome break.

Venus smiled at Telstar and then began. She opened a silver square metal box and inside was Alfie, she walked a few paces back and said.

“Wake up Alfie,” the round sliver blob glowed and two blue circles that were his eyes lit up. For a moment, he just throbbed and then he floated upwards and stopped facing Venus, she smiled at him and ran her hand around his body to show there was no wires attached.

“This is my robot which I might add isn’t a very good description, but the one we agreed on at the start. He is an Artificial. Life. Force. Intelligently. Encoded, or Alfie.

“How are we today Alfie?”

“I’m very well Venus and, how are you?”

“Good thank you this is the test I was telling you about, are you ready?”

He just glowed more brightly and she continued, “So for our first test can you go to Commander Horn and tell me what the last website he was looking at was please?”

Alfie floated over to Horn and circled him once before he returned to her, “Best I do not say Venus his wife is here.” The room went completely silent until Alfie laughed in a strange machine like way. “Only joking Commander Horn, he was searching for flights to Hawaii for himself and his wife. The dates were,” “that’s enough Alfie thanks.” Venus smiled and raised her eyebrows at Horn in I’m sorry look. Next, he took over the lighting and climate control systems, he followed that by stopping every digital watch in the room.

Venus knew he was capable of so much more but she and Delta had said they’d not show anywhere near his full capabilities. She explained how he floated on a form of magnetic Helium lift and that he could connect with any computer wirelessly but no more information was given.

The crowd clapped as he went and landed on her hand as she pointed to her son to start his presentation of his robot. Telstar had asked Bum to speak for him while he showed off George, he did this for two reasons firstly he was crap at talking to people and secondly Bum would have the respect of the crowd.