There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 29

Raquel asked, "How did you get him to join your group. He is a very secretive man?"

"That is privileged information."

"May I print that?"

"Yes you may."

We walked around and she took pictures of everything. When she came to the surgical suite, she stopped.

"You have a complete hospital here."

"Raquel, where we're going, we can't exactly call 911. If one of us gets hurt, we have to fix it here. We made sure to have everything possible on board."

"Who is your Doctor, and did he volunteer for this flight?"

"His name is Doctor Joseph Finch, and yes he did volunteer."

"Is he married, does he have children?"

"He is divorced. His wife's name is Sandra, and he has two beautiful daughters by the name of Rebecca, and Deborah. I had the pleasure of meeting both of his children, as they toured our scientific building."

"Why would they be here, if the couple is divorced?"

"A father is entitled to see his children every once and again, even if he is divorced. They could have been saying goodbye to their father for all I know."

"Does Doctor Finch have nurses, or nurses aides to assist him?"

"At this time no. We have been trying to find a nurse or medical assistant to join us on this mission. No one has responded positively to our efforts. Doctor Finch will train members of our staff to help him as we go along. It is not the best answer, but it will be of some help to him."

"We have been down here for 90 minutes Doctor Luck, and I have not seen the 'Magnetic Drive Engines'. Where are they?"

"If you haven't seen them, you must be blind. Do you see the white panels against the walls that go from ceiling to floor?"

"Yes."

"Touch one of them please."

"It's metal, and they are warm. I thought there was no metal allowed on this ship."

"What are magnets made of Raquel?"

"They are made from metal, and when you reverse polarity they push against one another."

"That's the basic theory. However, they only push away from each other for half an inch or so. Delicious found a way not only to push us away by a half an inch, but by thousands of miles, and at speeds of hundreds of thousands of miles per hour. Remember it will only be these engines that will push us away from Earth initially. Then the engines in the forward part of the ship will join in, and pull us towards the Moon, and to Mars, while increasing our speed exponentially. It will be like a four-wheel-drive automobile. The front pulling us towards these planets, and the rear pushing us away from Earth. We have not extended the nuclear engine, yet, just in case there is a malfunction. We don't want to cause a nuclear incident this close to earth."

She nodded her head, and continued taking pictures, and asking questions. She was truly a professional photographer, and a very good one.

It was nearly dark when she finished taking pictures, and asking questions. I invited her to dinner, but she refused. She said she had to get back to Austin and start putting her article together. I reminded her about the pictures she took on the third floor. If she published them, before we saw and approved them, the terms of the NDA would be enforced in full."

She agreed, and we went our separate ways.

*********************

Jeff came over to me and said, "Anytime, Anyplace."

"When did you turn into a dirty old man Jeff?"

"When I saw her legs come out of that car, I was a goner. No woman should have legs that long."

"I know a poster you should have."

"Do you think my wife would approve?"

"No, I think you would be a dead man."

"Well that answers that question doesn't it."

"Aren't you working late tonight? I thought you got off at six?"

"I did, but I wanted one more look at her, before she left."

"She's coming back Christmas Day."

"She'll be sitting in the press corps box?"

"No, I put her in the VIP area."

"You are my idol doc. That's the area I'm working."

"Remember to keep your hands off her ass. Your wife may see the pictures."

"If I was going to chance anything, it wouldn't be her ass. Good night Doctor, I'll see you tomorrow. We have a match set up for Gordon tomorrow evening, are you going to be there?"

"What time does the match start?"

"7 o'clock, we wanted everyone to have a chance to change and warm-up."

"I just remembered I have an appointment with my dentist tomorrow at 6:45."

"Your son is very good Doctor, I've watched him several times. The man he's up against is probably a little better. It should be a good match. I will be doing the scoring, at your son's request."

"Monty must have really pissed him off when he was fighting with Liz, and scored their match 50-39."

"Your son has been sparring with Liz?"

"Yes he has, for several weeks now."

"I'm amazed he's walking."

"I wouldn't call what he's doing walking. You should see his legs when he's walking around the house in shorts. He's not white, he's black and blue."

"That's Liz; she can get to your legs, before you know she's left the ground. Good night Doctor."

*********************

The following morning Newton accompanied us to work. We sat in a little meeting room, and we asked him to explain his theory to us. He tried for four or five minutes to explain it to us, in words. We wanted to know what he wanted us to do, but he got as frustrated as we did trying to understand where he was going. Finally, he took a marker and went to the whiteboard to try to make it look a little clearer for us, and for him to understand.

When he was finished drawing he was ecstatic, because it was exactly what he could see in his mind. When he turned around and looked at us, we were more confused than we were when he was speaking to us.

He spoke directly to Gray.

"Teddy said this was going to take a lot of hard work Dad, please don't give up on me."

"No one in this room is going to give up on you Newt. Not your mother, grandfather, cousin, or me. We just have to figure out what were are looking at, so we can start this project of yours. If we don't have a starting point, we can't get to the end."

"Starting point, that's what I forgot. That's what Teddy said Grandpa. Where did you start with your radio waves that went around mountains? She said that was our starting point."

"My starting point was an accident Newton. I added too much heat into an equation, and it worked. I had been working on that project for almost a year, and I was getting nowhere. I must have been very tired, when I dialed the heat coefficient into that equation. However, when the new equation went into the Sequoia that baby started spitting out numbers faster than lightning."

"We will start with your heat coefficient grandpa, do you remember it?"

"Would you remember something that made you a multibillionaire overnight?"

"I don't think I would ever forget it."

"Neither would I my boy, neither would I. Gentleman I think we are going to need a larger room, and more whiteboards. Gordon why don't you help Newton with that one."

Newton jumped on the table, and then on to Gordons' back.

"Newt, somehow I don't believe that's what your grandfather had in mind."

"I don't know what you're complaining about Gordon. I'm pulling the top of the board."

"What do you think would happen if I let go of the center of the board?"

"I think we would move a little bit slower."

"I believe we would stop dead in the water."

"I didn't realize you were in water. Should I get you a pail and shovel?"

"Remember, Newton, you have to get down, and I could make it very painful for you."

"You wouldn't do that to me, I would sic Teddy on you."

"I would take my chances with the little red."

******************

"What took you two so long?"

"Do I have to point out the obvious?"

"Newton, you were told to help your cousin, not ride his back."

"He was in water, and I didn't want to get wet."

"Don't ask Gray; just get him down safely, before I drop him on his head."

"Okay everyone fun time is over, let's put our heads together, and get to work."

"Thank you grandpa, it will take Gordons mind off his back, and wet shoes."

"The shape I drew is not a gun grandpa, but the housing at the end looks like a trumpet. If that's the way the sound is going to come out of it, it is definitely directional."

"We are getting ahead of ourselves. We have to work from the heat angle first. We will worry about the speaker system later. Can you think about anything else from that drawing Newton?"

"There's only one thing that has all those colors, and that is black. Black is the essence of all colors. White is the absence of all colors. Which one are we looking for?"

Delicious said, "That's easy. You don't use hot water on colors."

"Okay, what's the hottest thing in the universe?"

"Gee whiz, another easy answer. It's a pulsar, and its white hot."

"Do me a favor dad; don't drive us through one of those things. We will be toast before we know it."

"Don't worry Gordon, you won't feel a thing."

"That doesn't make me feel any better dad."

"Will you feel better at 7 o'clock this evening, when you get your ass kicked?"

"The guy I'm supposed to fight tonight is supposed to be my equal."

"I was speaking with Jeff, when Raquel left yesterday evening. He only had people below your level, or high above it. He didn't bother telling Monty, and neither did I. This conversation never happened, and everybody in this room will agree with me. Have fun tonight my son. Now let's get back to work."

"Okay, Newton from your design can you see if we are going down the correct path using high intensity heat, or are we supposed to use light to transmit sound. That's what we are doing on earth now. We are using fiber-optic cables to transmit voice and data. It's fast, but not as fast as what you're thinking."

"A pulsar emits one other thing besides light grandpa, it emits high intensity radiation. Look at my drawing. It has a little warning sign on it. Could it be telling us to use light and nuclear energy to transmit sound? I didn't understand why I put that sign there before, but it could be a possibility?"

"It could be telling us we are going to need a lot of energy to send a message at light speed or above also."

"That's a very good supposition Gray, but using something that would need that much energy to send a message, would burn up after its first use."

Delicious said, "We would have to be careful that it did not start a fire."

"If there is 1 chance in 1 billion of that happening, it does not come aboard the ship."

Newton said, "Dad, it doesn't come onboard the ship. It sits on the end of the 'Mickey Mouse' arms. All we do, inside the spacecraft, is put the message into it, and when it is completed, we hit transmit, and it goes. The component is 45 feet from our ship, and the exterior temperature is at least minus 257 degrees Fahrenheit to keep the components almost as cold as liquid nitrogen. There is no oxygen in space, and therefore no chance of a fire. It will work."

Just like the day Gordon broke the code for the Nuclear Fusion Reactors; we stood up, and applauded 13-year-old Newton Luck Thyme.

He looked at the ground and blushed, until Gray took his son into his arms, kissed his head and told him how much he was loved.

"Son, you have answered questions many brilliant scientists would have struggled over for years, and not come up with an answer. You are brilliant. You are hitting your stride, and soon you will be smarter than your mother and me."

"Please, dad, don't tell mom. She will lock me in a closet forever."

Delicious yelled, "I heard that Newton. You are already smarter than your father is, because you know when to keep your mouth shut. When you become smarter then I am; we will lock your father in a closet. I could not deal with two people in my household smarter than me."

Teddy was carried in by her baby sister just in time to hear this conversation. She said, "5 smarter you."

"You couldn't walk in two minutes later?"

"I'm sorry Mrs. Thyme, but I have a class at 4 P.M., and I have to leave."

"Cee Cee it's fine. It's just blabbermouth knows something she's not supposed to know, and she will spread it all around the town."

"She doesn't talk all that much and what she does say is very cute."

"I'll sell her to you for a penny, let me change that, I'll give her to you and give you a penny."

Gray said, "What would you say if I changed that deal. I'll keep the kids and give you away for a penny."

"I guess that's my signal to stop."

"You can take it that way, or it's your ticket to ride."

"Okay, I'll be good."

"Does someone need an appointment?"

"No, I think I'm fine. I'll know when I need one."

"I'll tell you when you need one."

"I can deal with that. Pay Cee Cee so she can be on her way."

"Why is it always me?"

"Because you are supposed to be the man in the family."

Teddy took Delicious face in her hands. "Nice mommy. Nice mommy."

With those simple words what ever was bothering my daughter disappeared, and a loving mother came out of the shadows.

"Mommy has to go to Doctor."

"Mommy solve problem, be okay long time."

"Okay, no Doctor, I'll save the penny."

"I know."

"I think I'm going to get you chocolate ice cream with vanilla syrup."

"I know."

"I think you are going to like every kind of ice cream ever made."

"Tall like daddy."

"What happened to the other half?"

"Mouth filled ice cream."

That was it; we couldn't take anymore. We were on the floor laughing our asses off. I don't remember how long it took us to calm down, but each of us had to go to the restroom to wash the tears stains from our eyes. I wasn't sure if that baby should be Captain of our ship, or a standup comedian, because her timing was phenomenal.

"Did you say I was going to have five babies who were going to be smarter than I am?"

"Six me."

"Look at your father, he's beaming."

"Why shouldn't I have a smile on my face? Every time you get angry with me, I'll get you pregnant."

"Daddy lose."

"Daddy doesn't think sometimes. When I get pregnant, I have at least eight months to stay angry with him. There's nothing he can do about it. He has to listen to me, and every one of my complaints, and yours. Isn't that wonderful Teddy?"

"Big problem daddy. Good time mommy."

"You women aren't fair. What should be the happiest time of our lives, you turn into the most dreadful period of a man's life. It's just not fair."

"You dug this hole for yourself Gray. How are you going to climb out of it?"

Teddy waddled over to him and reached up her arms. Gray picked her up, and kissed her.

"Answer easy daddy."

"Your mother has me in a corner, little red, what am I supposed to do?"

Teddy raised her arm and tapped Gray's head. "Think daddy."

She wriggled out of his arms and came to me. I kissed her and asked, "What do they have to do now?"

"Love."

"That's easy, because they would not know what to do without each other."

"Sometime easy, say hard do."

Gray asked, "Gentlemen, and Little lady, may I have the room for a few moments. I have to speak to my wife."

I stood up, carrying Teddy, while waiting for Newton, and Gordon to leave before I did.

Teddy said, "Grandpa lock door, put sign."

I looked at the little terror in my arms. "That's what she meant by love," and smiled to myself.

I locked the door and put up the sign,

"IN CONFERENCE: DO NOT DISTURB."

I said to the boys, and to my tiny redhead, "We will go to the cafeteria to see if there is anything interesting to eat. If not we will get ice cream at 'The Creamy Cow."

I don't have to tell you which way Teddy was leaning, and unfortunately, for the boys, the cafeteria was closed, while they cleaned up, preparing for the dinner hour.

We left a note with security to advise Mister and Mrs. Grayson Thyme we would be back within 90 minutes. We had an urgent mission to accomplish at 'The Creamy Cow.'

I added, "I hoped you had fun cleaning up your room." Dad

**********************

Thank God for bibs, wet wipes, napkins, bathroom sinks, and Dyson dryers. I don't know how people with babies ever got them cleaned up after eating ice cream before they were invented. I realized why Teddy wanted two scoops of ice cream, with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and cherries. One scoop of ice cream was on the bib, along with half of the syrup, and most of the whipped cream. She ate all of the cherries by hand. Actually, she ate the entire ice cream sundae by hand. I had never seen that done before.

The boys left the table spotless. However, since Teddy and I had to visit the bathroom to get her clean, they had to tag along with us. Thus began the water fight. Much to my amazement, Gordon started it, and Newton had to respond in kind. By the time I finished with Teddy, the only way to get those two boys dry would be to put them into a commercial dryer for an hour, or take them home to change their clothes. I did neither. I took them back to the science building, and we got back to work.

I'm not sure who yelled louder when we walked in Gray, or Delicious, but Delicious got to Newton first.

"Did a faucet break?"

"No mom, the faucets were working properly."

"Did your grandfather do this to you?"

"Why is it always me? I was cleaning Teddy. She was a mess, and as you can see, she's clean now."

"Who started this Newton?"

"It was him." He pointed straight at Gordon, who had an angelic look on his face.

"Me, what did I do?"

"You put your hands under the faucet and directed the spray at me. Remember what you told your father. If you tell one lie, you have to tell another lie to back it up. And then a third lie and a fourth lie. Soon you forget what the truth is. Have you forgotten the truth already?"

"Gordon, brother of mine, since I love you so much, and I think your skills at 'Tae kwon do' have increased exponentially, I am going to arrange a match between you and Jeff. He is the only one I believe that is in your class."

Gordon stunned her. "Okay, right after we finish this project you can set up a match against him. I think it's about time somebody knocked him down a wrung or two."

She didn't have an answer for him. She just looked at him in awe. She thought he must be crazy, nobody goes up against Jeff, and survives.

**************************

"Did you tell grandpa daddy and I were going to make love?"

"I know, did not say."

"How nice of you."

"I know."

"If you say that again, I am going to wash your mouth out with soap."

"Okay, throw up bed."

"I lost again, didn't I?"

"I know."

"Would you please stop that, we have a lot of work to do."

"I know, told Newton yesterday."

"What did you tell Newton yesterday?"

"Must hurry, much work to do."

"There is no sense in arguing with you, I always lose."

"I know."

"Teddy if you weren't my own, I would kill you."

"Wouldn't, nice person my mommy."

I said to my granddaughter, "Teddy, you are stretching the truth. Your mommy is an angry mommy."

"Not, just bored, now she fine. Big problem to solve. No one solve it, cept my mommy."

"Do you know the answer to the problem?"

"Yes, answer easy, finding the way very hard. 1 plus 1 not always 2."

Delicious said, "Oh God, give me the strength I need to deal with this little one."

Teddy laughed, "Grandma say, you not always Angel."

"I know."

"My answer."

"Sue me."

"You lose big money. Jury no like you. Bad adult. Love me. Tiny baby. I win."

All of us broke into laughter, even Delicious. A 19-month-old baby just told her mother how she was going to lose a court case, and why.

"Give up baby; she's got you on the run. She also has help from higher up, and there is no beating them."

"She's been running my life since she's been in my belly dad. I doubt very much it's going to change anytime soon."