The Unofficial Biography Of Kimmay

Book 2: The Nature Of Power

by G. L. Hudson

 

 

The next day, Kim and Claire began to carry out their plan. They went shopping and Kim bought a denim skirt, two sweaters, one white cashmere and a powder-blue turtleneck, and a pair of dress shoes with two inch heels. She bought some Jasmine makeup because that was the brand her mother preferred in her salon. Kim chose a light pink lipstick and a light shade of blush, and she also purchased some eye shadow and mascara. Claire bought her an early birthday present; 14-carat gold hoop earrings.

On Monday, Kim tossed aside the jeans and t-shirt, and began dressing more professionally. After her Transport Phenomena class, she and Professor Keystone met in the professor's office and drew up a list of questions pertaining to the topics in class. They also rehearsed Kim's answers. They came up with some answers that allowed Professor Keystone to ask follow up questions if they wanted to extend the show. They worked through lunch on their presentation, and once again Professor Keystone bought lunch.

They both returned to their classes and administrative duties in the afternoon. The professor checked the lecture hall schedules and then sent out a notice to all students and professors. Kimmay would give her lecture that Thursday. She decided that there was no need to delay the lecture, as Kimmay wouldn't need much preparation time. At 5:00, Kim returned to the professor's office and waited for Claire to finish some paperwork. Professor Keystone drove them to three different consignment shops where they shopped until 8:00. Kim bought several skirts, blouses, sweaters and two more pairs of shoes. Claire also helped her pick out a light, leather coat for use on cool evenings. They decided to hold off on dresses and business suits until later. The delay would give Kim more time to find the styles with which she was most comfortable. They finished the evening with a fast food burger on the way home.

On Tuesday, Professor Keystone slipped into the lecture hall just before class started. She sat in the front row on the far right-hand side of the room. Just as Kim called for attention, Professor Keystone stood and announced her presence. Kim welcomed her to the lecture, and Professor Keystone asked if she could ask a question. Kim responded with, "Please do."

Professor Keystone threw her questions at Kim rapid-fire. She followed up one question with a request for Kim to show her the math. Kim went through the math proof in less than a minute. The professor gave her a reluctant well done, and then threw another question at her and asked for an additional proof on the front board. Kim wrote out the proof, then turned to the students and with a smile said, "It's nice to have someone who has done her homework." She received a few polite chuckles. She turned back to Professor Keystone and asked, "Do you have any other questions for me?"

Professor Keystone replied, "I don't have any more questions for you Ms. May. There is no need for me to test your knowledge or preparation. You are far more prepared than I am." She gave Kim a smile and then walked to the front of the lecture hall. She turned to the class and began her speech.

"I would like to apologize to all of you students, and particularly to Ms. May. I should have stopped by the first week of school to introduce your new instructor and to welcome Ms. May. Some of you students may have already identified who your instructor is. For those of you who haven't, please let me enlighten you. It is my great honor to present to you the foremost expert in the world, and yes I said the world, on theoretical physics. Her specialty is energy tunneling and string theory. She has written dozens of papers, received many national and international awards, and traveled the world giving lectures. Stanford University is extremely fortunate to have the world-renowned Kimmay joining our faculty. And each of you is even luckier. You will be able to tell your friends and colleagues that you have studied under Kimmay. It is indeed an honor that all of you should cherish. Ms. May, welcome to Stanford and the College of Engineering." Professor Keystone began to applaud and the class followed her lead.

After the applause finished, Professor Keystone again turned to the class. "I am also extremely happy to announce that Kimmay has agreed to present a lecture on Thursday evening in the great hall. The title of her presentation will be 'Fun with Multi-Dimensional Magic'. For those of you who have the time, I highly recommend that you stop by. Kimmay has promised to make the lecture as fun and as non-mathematical as possible."

"Ms. May, forgive me for my interruption and again, welcome to Stanford and the College of Engineering. I will leave you to your class." Professor Keystone made a point of shaking Kim's hand and then left the hall. 'Let's see if that has the desired effect,' she thought to herself as she walked out.

As Professor Keystone made her exit via the steps up the middle aisle, Kim watched her walk out. Half way up the aisle Kim saw Amanda Carson. Amanda gave Kim a smile and wink as they caught each other's attention.

When the professor was gone, Kim returned to her lecture. Afterwards, Amanda walked down to the front of the hall to greet Kim. "It's about time that she gave you a formal welcome. I think you shocked a couple of kids. I heard a few whispers from them. Everyone has heard of you, but none of them seemed bright enough to put two and two together."

"Thanks," said Kim. "It was nice of her to stop by."

"Are you going back to your office?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, would you care to walk along? Are you free now?"

"Yea, I don't have another class until after lunch. I'd love to walk back with you. It's nice to be able to talk with a professor on a friendly basis. Most of the professors around here are either too busy or too intimidating to try and get to know."

"I'm not a professor, Amanda. I'm only a teaching assistant, TA. I am as much a student as you are. I teach this class to make a few dollars, and then I have classes of my own."

"Somehow I can't imagine you in a class. It's hard to believe that the teacher would know more than you, especially in math. Do you ever catch your professors making math errors?"

"No, I can't say that I've ever seen that. But then, most of my math classes were with some very bright mathematicians."

"What about your other classes? What kind of classes do you take?"

"I'm taking engineering classes that will give me a stronger background in the practical side of computer chip manufacturing."

"Can I ask why? I mean, you are, as Professor Keystone said, the world's foremost expert on theoretical physics. Why are you studying manufacturing and engineering?"

"Because I don't know enough about those areas. To me, it's a waste of time to spend all of your work on the theory of something. I think you should get out in the real world and prove your theories. And if you can prove them, then do something useful with them. And if you can't prove your theories, then maybe you're wrong."

"Do you think you are wrong about your theories?" Amanda seemed concerned, as if a hero was about to fail a great test.

"Not at all," Kim smiled slyly. "I have the utmost confidence in most of my theories. Some of them, I have to admit, are a bit of a stretch. But that is why I am doing this, to prove to myself that I am right. And maybe to accomplish something useful also."

"So, you're going to school to get the skills needed to prove that your theories work. Does that mean you want to develop a major breakthrough or technology? Are you going to develop time travel or space travel?"

"Nothing that dramatic. I just want to prove something to myself and for someone else."

"Someone else? A mentor or critic?"

"Actually, it's for someone I never met."

"Really? That's neat. Does he know that you are doing this?"

"I don't think so. He died a couple of years ago."

Amanda was taken by surprise. At first she wasn't sure what to say. "That's too bad. Because I am sure that you will succeed. It's too bad he won't be able to see what you do."

"Yea, it is. But hopefully, his family and friends will see."

Amanda followed Kim back to her office where they talked until lunch. For lunch they walked down the street to a fast food restaurant. Lunch was quick, and both of them were off to their afternoon appointments. They agreed to meet after dinner at the library where they could do their homework and study.

Late in the afternoon Professor Keystone caught up with Kim and asked her how the rest of the lecture had gone. Kim thought that everything had proceeded well, but it was really too early to know if their show had helped with Kim's respect and discipline problems. They both agreed that they probably wouldn't know much for another week or so. But whether they accomplished much or not, Kim was happier. They had tried something and she did feel better about the welcome speech. After all, everything that Professor Keystone had said was true.

At the library that evening Kim chatted with Amanda about her speech for Thursday night. "What should I talk about?" Kim asked.

"Talk about the title. Talk about magic. Don't overwhelm everyone with equations and math. Show us how smart you really are, and make it simple. And then tell us about the really wild and different things that could potentially come from your theories. Tell us about magic. Theoretically can you defeat gravity? Can you travel through a wormhole? Can we travel to parallel universes? Can we walk through walls? Can we travel faster than the speed of light? Can we travel through time? Tell us something that no one expects to hear."

"Those are all interesting topics, but each one deserves a full presentation. I can't do all of those topics justice," Kim said.

"Sure you can, forget about the proof and the reasons and how to's. Give us the glossy pictures without worrying about the details. Make it 'fun' night. How about telling us what you are going to make? You're learning chip technology for a reason, and you have something that you want to prove. You said so this morning. Can you tell us about that?"

"No!" Kim said it very adamantly. "That I can't talk about. It isn't time for that."

"Ok. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have brought it up. Sometimes it is easiest to talk about current affairs. I thought that might be a current affair for you."

"I'm sorry to jump at you," Kim apologized. "It is a current affair, but there are some very good reasons not to discuss my personal work and goals."

"Well, there is one other thing you can do. Don't talk about anything. Just answer questions."

"I tried to do that once. It didn't work out very well. Part of the problem was the audience. First it was a disjointed talk. I gave the talk to physics experts, and they each wanted to talk about their own little niche and their own little problems. They wanted me to cover areas that were of limited interest to the full audience. The other part was trying to get them to string a coherent topic together. We jumped all over."

"Well here is my last idea, give everyone a card when they walk in and tell them to write down a question or topic. Then take a few minutes before the speech and glance through the cards to see if you can string the discussion into a coherent line of thought."

"Or, I could call in sick. I could tell them I had to stay home with my sick cat."

"You could try, but your cat never gets sick."

"How do you know?"

"I think like a cat. Meow."

Thursday evening rolled around and Kim had only a partial idea of what to talk about. She liked the idea of talking about magic, but she had to narrow down the subject a little more. As she was walking to the engineering campus she passed a large billboard advertising the latest science fiction movie. That gave her an idea.

After an introduction by the dean of the College of Engineering, Kimmay began her lecture. She gave a quick discussion about her difficulty in picking a single topic for the evening, and she explained why it was easier to try and stick to that single topic. Her physics research covered all things large and small, and it filtered into every aspect of life. So to make the evening's discussion easier to handle, she was going to narrow the discussion to space travel. She spent a quick half hour talking about faster than light travel, the science fiction concepts of warp travel and hyper jumps, sliding through wormholes and even going through black holes. She touched briefly on how to build a micro-black hole in your backyard. She laid out some rules on things you could or could not do, and then opened the evening to questions.

It was a huge success. Everyone had seen enough science fiction movies, so they were all conversant in the various modes of traveling across the galaxy. It was a fun evening, with a few people offering some truly unique ideas, and Kimmay discussing the possibility of making them work.

Kim's most interesting question came from Amanda. "Now that we are traveling across the galaxy, there is a chance we might meet aliens. And by definition, aliens are different. We don't know what their motives and actions will be, so we have to be prepared to defend ourselves. How do you build a phaser that fits into the holster around your waist?"

It was a question that Kimmay would have loved to talk about in depth. But it was a question she was reluctant to even acknowledge. 'How did Amanda come up with that specific question?' she asked her self. It was too much of a coincidence. She decided to skirt around the issue as best she could. "Miniaturization of coherent light has developed far enough that we can already build a hand-held energy weapon," Kimmay started. "With development efforts aimed in the right direction, the question comes down to wave length and energy. With enough energy, visible light could be a death ray. Move the frequency to short enough wavelengths and you could have an x-ray death ray. The question then becomes energy. How do you build batteries strong enough to kick out gigawatts or terawatts of energy? Theoretically, the physics says it can be done. But the engineering obstacles are well beyond our ability today." She said nothing about tomorrow.

Again, Kimmay asked her self, 'Why did Amanda bring that up?' It hit too close to home.

Kimmay asked for more questions on space travel, to get the discussion back on topic and away from high energy weapons. She fielded another half dozen scenarios on crossing the cosmos and then had to call a halt. She had been talking for two hours. The time had passed quickly and no one had left. It must have been a successful lecture she thought.

Most people filed out the back doors of the hall, but some people came forward to personally meet or thank Kimmay. The dean thanked Kimmay and then introduced her to a man who had been sitting in the front row. He hadn't asked Kimmay any questions, but his attention never lagged for even a second. He had been thoroughly mesmerized by the lecture. "Kimmay," the dean began, "I would like to introduce you to the undersecretary of the Department of Energy, Mr. Brian Kaliber. Mr. Kaliber, it is my pleasure to present Kimmay."

Kaliber gushed with enthusiasm, "Ms. May, it is truly an honor to meet you. I have followed much of your career, and have been constantly impressed by your knowledge. And even more impressive than your intellectual ability is your beauty. You are a beautiful young woman. I found your lecture very stimulating. It was an excellent choice of topics. Everyone has seen enough science fiction movies and space shows to make them all experts. I was intrigued by some of your scenarios for crossing the galaxy."

"Thank you very much Mr. Kaliber. You're very kind. I was hoping it would be a popular topic. I didn't think about it until I was on the way to the lecture and I saw a billboard advertising "Worm Holes" the movie. So I'm glad my last minute decision worked out."

"Will you be giving more lectures? I would love to see you give another," he said.

"I haven't given it any thought. I suppose if people want, I could consider doing it again."

"I would love it. Dean Halverson, what do you think about another lecture, or even a series?" Kaliber asked.

Before the dean could answer, Kimmay jumped in, "I'm not too sure about a full series of lectures. I do have other items to keep me busy, such as schoolwork. I am a student after all."

"Of course," said Kaliber. "It would be an imposition on your time. It would be only fair to compensate you in some way. I think the Department of Energy could provide an honorarium for the lecture series. What do you think Dean?"

The dean was the ultimate politician. He heard the word honorarium and he knew it not only meant money, but attention. Attention for the college and himself. Of course he was all for the idea. "Mr. Kaliber that is an excellent idea. Kimmay, I hope you can consider such an effort."

"May I think about it Dean Halverson?" she asked.

"Of course you can. Please call me tomorrow and let me know what your decision is. Mr. Kaliber, perhaps we could discuss the details of your suggestion." Already the dean wanted to know how much money might be involved. Part of the honorarium would go to the school. That was normal procedure.

Kaliber wasn't about to be side tracked by Halverson. "Ms. May, each semester the faculty and grad students must present their progress on projects that are being funded by the Department of Energy. Usually the graduate students, under the aegis of their advisors, make the presentations. Timetables are presented, progress and set backs are discussed and an informal review from the entire department is held. Will you be attending the reviews?" Mr. Kaliber was most interested in seeing her again, and it was becoming evident.

"Not that I am aware, Mr. Kaliber. I have no grants and am performing no work for the government."

"Maybe we can discuss that sometime. I am sure that someone with your talents would have numerous suggestions and ideas that would be worth pursuing by us. We can easily arrange grants to support almost any kind of research that you might be interested in. We could start as early as next semester."

The dean was seeing dollar signs dance before his eyes. It was a royal pain in the butt trying to get money out of the government. Numerous forms had to be completed and filed, interviews and reviews had to be held, and the waiting period was upwards of two years to normally get an approval for a research grant. And here was the undersecretary of the Department of Energy basically throwing money at Kimmay. She had to say yes. He would tell Professor Keystone to help her see reason.

"That is very generous of you, Mr. Kaliber. I'm really not sure if I have any ideas worthy of your support though. Most of my work is more along theoretical lines that don't lend themselves to experimentation or exploitation. The practicality of my research is very limited. As we discussed tonight, I don't think we are ready to build an intergalactic spaceship." The last thing Kimmay wanted was the attention of the government. No way did she want them to review or overview the work that was of interest to her. She still remembered Todd Reimer, and she intended to keep everything as quiet as possible.

Dean Halverson and Undersecretary Kaliber both urged her to keep an open mind. "Perhaps you should talk with Professor Keystone," Dean Halverson suggested. "She might have some interesting input for you." 'Like take them up on the grant or rethink your TA position', Halverson thought to himself.

"I'll do that Dean," she acquiesced.

The undersecretary turned to the dean, "Please consider the idea of additional lectures. Ms. May should also be invited to the grant reviews. You know, just in case she changes her mind."

"Excellent idea, sir. I will send Kimmay a formal invitation." The dean turned and smiled at Kimmay.

Several other professors had been politely waiting their turn to speak with Kimmay, and Kimmay quickly acknowledged their presence so that she could change the subject. She didn't like being manipulated or used. The dean followed Mr. Kaliber as they both walked away. Professor Keystone gave Kimmay another couple of minutes before she rescued her and put an end to the evening. The professor had stood on the edge of Kimmay's conversation with the dean and undersecretary and she had really wanted to join the group. Unfortunately, she didn't have the reputation or position yet. But the situation with Kimmay was looking very promising. Next time, she might be able to insert herself into the conversation.

"Kim, I thought the lecture was excellent. I don't know if we have ever had such a turnout. And I know we have never had this many people stay after to talk with the lecturer. The dean and undersecretary were very impressed with you. There may be some very nice opportunities opening for you."

"To be honest, I'm really not that interested. I'm just here to get an education, not get involved in research projects and have to fill out thousands of forms for the government."

"Kim, it is never that bad. And I can guarantee that you would get all the help you could possibly use in filling out the paperwork."

They were going to gang up on her. 'Help!' She smiled at Claire hoping her exasperation was showing. But Claire didn't return the smile. Professor Keystone was thinking of her own career and opportunities.

The drive home was silent. One was dreading the upcoming discussions and pressure, and the other was relishing the potential. At home, Kim picked up Andromeda and carried her to the kitchen. The two of them ate a pint of ice cream before going to bed.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

 

Source: Valerie Samantha May

 

The next morning Kim was back in front of her Transport Phenomena class. The atmosphere seemed a little better. It wasn't the turn-around that Kim had hoped for, but the attitude of the students seemed a little more respectful. After class Kim returned to her office and was quickly joined by Professor Keystone. "How was class today?" she asked.

"Maybe a bit better. I was hoping for more of a change."

"Give them time. They will take a while to change their attitude and approach. I would give them at least another week. And things should improve just because some of the malcontents have dropped the class. If we don't see a change by next Friday we can stage another demonstration of my support. Maybe even our dean would be willing to stop by. In fact, I'm sure he would be happy to do that."

Kim could feel the pressure coming. "I'm sure that with the right decisions on my part, he would be happy to stop by." Kim said it with more than a bit of disdain.

"Kim, please keep an open mind. The undersecretary made a very generous offer to you, and of course the university would also benefit. Dean Halverson's job is to promote the university and advance our prestige. He is only doing what he is paid to do. Please don't hold it against him."

"I know," sighed Kim. "I apologize for my animosity. But Professor, please understand my position. I have some serious reservations about working with the Department of Energy and the United States government. If I could get the money without having to work with them, I would hand all of it to the university. Honestly, I have no desire for the money."

"That is most interesting. You are afraid of your own government?"

"I have some reservations. Let's leave it at that."

"Kim, you can tell me. Trust me. I am your friend."

"I am truly sorry. I have a very good reason for not wanting to work with, for or even tell the government about my intentions, or research."

"Then you do have an agenda, don't you?"

"Please professor, for your own good, we can't talk about it."

"My own good? You seem to be paranoid, Kim. Why?"

Tears started to form in Kim's eyes, and she refused to answer Professor Keystone's question. She sat at her desk and stared forward.

"I'm sorry, Kim. You must have some very strong reasons for your stance. I won't ask you again. But I would ask you to keep an open mind towards the offer. Please, don't rule out the offer. Would you at least go to the reviews with me? I ask only because it is important to the university. It is also part of my responsibility to promote the school. Your presence would be a plus for the College of Engineering and you don't have to agree to anything."

Kim looked up at the Professor, but still said nothing.

"The reviews will last a couple of days. There will be a couple days of presentations, and then on Saturday there is a formal dinner. Would you join me at the dinner as my guest?"

Kim dried her eyes with a Kleenex. She thought about the offer. "May I think about it?" Professor Keystone nodded. "I'll let you know tomorrow. Are we still having our Saturday dinner and movie?" Kim asked.

"Absolutely. I look forward to our dinners. It may sound odd, but our dinners have become the highlight of my week. I don't want to miss a single Saturday with you." The professor thought for a second and then continued, "Kim, I have an idea. What would you think of making Saturday an old-fashioned pajama party? I'll get another movie or two, and we can stay up late and watch them all. What do you think?"

"Can I bring Andromeda?"

"Of course."

"That's probably a good idea. Will all of the movies be Krysallis movies?"

"It's up to you. I love Krysallis movies, but you can pick anything you want."

"Krysallis is perfect. It sounds like a good idea."

The professor left and walked back to her office. She sat at her desk and opened up her e-mail. At the same time she punched the number for Dean Halverson's office on her AV-phone. After a couple of rings, the dean answered his phone. "Professor Keystone, thanks for calling back so quickly. Well, how did your conversation go?"

"Dean Halverson, I was not successful. However, I might have kept the door open just a bit. Kimmay seems very adamant about not accepting a grant from the U.S. government."

"Why?"

"Perhaps it would be best if we discussed it this afternoon. Can you come to the student union today?"

"I might be a bit late, but I'll be there. You said you might have kept the door open though. What does that mean?"

"I think Kimmay will come to the closing dinner with me. And she might even sit in on a presentation or two. She didn't say yes for sure, but she didn't say no either. I think she will attend."

"You didn't open that door very wide." The dean was obviously disappointed. "Keep with her Claire. I want that grant money. Our budget is barely scraping by. I'll see you this afternoon."

 

Professor Keystone and Dean Halverson met at the student union. While they discussed the situation concerning Kimmay, Kim and Amanda met at the library.

"I loved your speech last night. It was excellent. I have to ask a question though. You were very balanced in your discussion about the various potentials for space travel, but you never gave us your opinion. What do you think?"

"I think there is no doubt that we will eventually travel across space and visit other planets and star systems. And I also think we will colonize some of those planets." Kim thought for a minute and then added, "Maybe we won't do it in the short term, but eventually we will get our act together. Then we can go exploring."

"I think we will also. But why do you say 'not short term'? Why not? Because we don't have the technology yet? Is that what you mean?"

"No, not because we lack the technology. I think we can have the technology whenever we want. I think we have the grasp on the necessary theories. The problem is political, not technical. We have a totalitarian …" Kim came to a stop.

"What? Is something wrong?"

Kim became a bit nervous. She had almost forgotten about the potential surveillance. She liked Amanda and felt very comfortable talking with her, but she had almost forgotten that other people would likely be listening. "I'm sorry, I started becoming pedantic. There was no reason for me to wander off like that. I think we can travel through space relatively soon. There are only a couple of technical problems that have to be overcome, but I don't think any of them would take more than ten or twenty years to solve. If we want to, that is."

"So how do you think we will do it? Warp travel, faster than light speed, jumps?"

Kim lowered her voice. "I think jumps of some sort. I haven't given it a lot of thought - at least not yet. I've been busy considering other items. But when I finish, I think space travel would be a fun subject to take up."

"I thought Kimmay was a very strong proponent of multi-dimensional interactions? Why not travel by passing through adjacent dimensions?"

Kim was amused. "You seem to know more about my theories than I realized. Adjacent multi-dimensional travel? I believe that adjacent dimensions are accessible. But I think that their internal physical laws and dimensional stability are too alien to our own. My theories say that we can pass energy back and forth between dimensional realities, but I am not sure about mass, and I'm especially uncertain about complicated molecules. Human beings might be too complicated to pass intact through those dimensions."

"Do your theories say it is impossible?"

"No, but I just don't see how it could be done. At least not safely, and not with our current technology," Kim added.

"You said we could overcome any technological problems within ten or twenty years."

"Maybe not this technology. I think it would be extremely difficult."

"I think it would be an elegant solution. It would be fun to step through a portal and travel a million parsecs. Don't you think so?" Amanda shared a little smile – no, a smirk – with Kimmay. Kimmay missed or ignored the smirk.

Kim smiled. "Absolutely. It would be an amazing trick."

"It would be magic. Your kind of magic, right?"

"My kind of magic. We seem to think along the same lines at times. Do you read minds?"

"Maybe," she said mischievously. "I have read almost everything you have ever written. I love your logic and your ability to see solutions to little things before you see the big picture. Some people start with the big picture, set up the rules, and then solve specific problems and situations. You go the other way. It is an interesting approach."

Now Kimmay was very interested. "You have read all of my work? Weren't you bored?" Kimmay was only half joking.

"Not at all. I was very impressed with your theories."

"You understood all of it?"

"Most of it." Amanda smiled. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"How? No one else has ever been able to follow all of my work, especially the math. How did you? I mean I have never seen you at any seminars or lectures. I've never seen any publications by you. You have never come forward and said anything. Do you really understand everything?" Kimmay found the situation rather incredulous.

Amanda leaned forward and pulled a piece of paper out of her notebook, then reached into her attaché and picked out a pen. After scribbling something on the paper she slid it across the table to Kimmay. Kimmay looked at the paper. "So?" Kimmay asked.

Amanda replied, "You do recognize it, don't you?" She grinned at Kimmay as she asked the question. The equation on the paper was one of the corner stones of Kimmay's theories. If the equation was correct, it opened the door for energy tunneling between some of the other dimensions.

"You still haven't proven anything." Kimmay was taking this as a challenge, and it looked liked it might be fun. She hadn't been questioned about her theories for a couple of years. After she had proven a couple of major breakthroughs, people basically accepted her ideas. They spent their time trying to prove her theories, not disprove them. Kimmay slid the paper back to Amanda.

Amanda wrote something else on the paper and slid it back to Kimmay. "What about this?" Amanda asked with a smile.

Kimmay looked at the new equation. She picked up the paper and continued looking at it while she leaned back in her chair. Kim looked at the paper for several minutes. Eventually, a smile slowly spread across her face. Neither Amanda nor Kimmay said anything for at least ten minutes.

Kimmay finally looked over at Amanda. "Not bad," she said. "You have my compliments. I am impressed."

"Now it's my turn," Amanda said. "So?"

Kimmay thought for a minute. "Not here. We can't talk here. Let me think for a minute." She looked at her watch. It was 6:00 P.M. on a Friday evening. A thought came to her mind. "Pack up she said. We have to go someplace else." They both packed up their belongings and Kimmay led Amanda out of the library. They walked a couple of blocks away and stopped in front of a beauty salon. Amanda looked quizzically at Kimmay. "Let's go in."

Kimmay led the way. She walked up to the receptionist and asked to see the owner. The receptionist brought over an older woman. "Hi. I am Tonya, and I'm the manager. Can I help you?"

Kimmay extended her hand and shook Tonya's hand. "My name is Kimmay, and this is Amanda. I have a rather strange request, but it is very serious. We would like to sit over there, by your hair dryers and have a conversation. I know it is a strange request, but please, we will not interfere with you or your beauticians. My mother owns a beauty shop in Milwaukee and I know how to stay out of the way."

"What's the name of her salon?"

"`Lissa's."

"I know of it. And what is your mother's name?"

"Melissa May."

"Ok," the manager said. "Go ahead."

Kimmay led Amanda to the drying area. "We're here because of the interference …"

Amanda interrupted, "I know why we're here. You really are paranoid."

"Yes, I am. And I'm still not sure about you Amanda. Your new credentials are awesome. And I want to talk to you about them. But I obviously don't know who you are, or where you came from. For all I know, you could be with the government."

"Is it the government that you are afraid of?"

"Yes. But it might be someone else also. I know the government has me under surveillance, but there may be other people as well. I am paranoid because I believe some people have been killed because of what they know. Whether I am right or wrong, I have to be cautious."

"That makes life very difficult. You spend your life looking over your shoulder. You become afraid to live your life, and you even become afraid to pursue your dreams. Are you going to become locked in fear?"

"No. I am trying to pursue my dreams. And I am trying to restore validation and respect to someone else. But I am trying to be prudent also."

"Kim, you're only eighteen and you're a national treasure. You shouldn't have to be paranoid. Let's talk."

"Ok, let's start with who you are. Nobody with your talent and understanding of physics just shows up. Have you been spying on me? Pretending to be my friend?"

"Believe it or not, I am your friend. And while I haven't made myself evident, believe me when I say that I haven't just shown up. I have studied physics for a long time. Like you, I have a talent for math. I never did much with that talent until I read about you a couple of years ago. I was amazed by your talents and your youth. You were a couple of years younger than me, and an international celebrity. I was a shy kid who had very strict parents. My parents made it clear that kids, and especially girls, shouldn't show off, brag or do anything extraordinary.

"So I had some talent, I didn't know how much, and then I saw your picture and read about you. Like I said, you were younger than me and you were doing everything my parents told me I shouldn't do. You became my role model. I decided that I could do extraordinary things too. So I went to college against my parents' wishes. I took math course after math course, and I whizzed right through them. And when I thought I was ready, I found a professor who was pretty good with physics and started studying string theory and energy tunneling and cosmology. Eventually I became rather good at them. But it wasn't in my nature to write papers or give lectures.

"I continued to follow your work, and I must say I was tremendously disappointed when you dropped out of physics and came here to study engineering. It seemed like such a waste. You were throwing away a great gift. You were a treasure to humanity and you took your gift away. But I still envied you. So I came to Stanford to meet the famous Kimmay." Amanda was a very convincing liar.

"Let me ask you straight out, are you involved with or work for our government?"

"I do not. Kimmay, look at that equation that I gave you. If I worked for the government and I knew what was on that piece of paper, why would they send me to talk with you?"

"You do have a point. That equation is farther along than anything that I have published."

"Anything that you have published?" Amanda repeated. "Do you mean to tell me that you had already solved that equation?"

"To be honest, I would have to say yes and no. I had worked the equation farther, but I hadn't gone this exact direction. This is why you wanted to talk about dimensional travel. You think this proves that not only energy but matter can pass through multiple dimensions and reenter our universe at any point you desire."

"It beats teleportation."

Kimmay stiffened. She never discussed teleportation with anyone. In fact, she never said the word out loud. Kimmay decided to change the subject.

"What else have you solved?"

"That's about it. Isn't that enough?"

"It is impressive. I have to admit that. I'm not sure what to say, Amanda. You have caught me totally by surprise tonight."

"Yes!" Amanda yelled out while she pumped her fist in the air.

Kimmay grinned. "You just wanted to take me on didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. I thought I was smart, but it is wonderful to hear it from you. You have made my day. My year!" Amanda was grinning from ear to ear.

"So now that you know you are right, what are you going to do next? Publish?"

"I'm going to have a burger. I'm starving. And I'm buying! Are you coming?"

"If you're buying of course I'm coming." Then Kimmay became serious and she said to Amanda, "But I have to tell you something. And I am serious about this, because I am paranoid," and she gave Amanda a wink and smile. "I will not talk to you about this where someone can hear us, or where it is possible to easily spy on us. Ok?"

Amanda agreed.

"And one more thing, don't ever mention teleportation again." That request confused Amanda. They hadn't even discussed teleportation. Amanda's expression showed her confusion. "I mean it," said Kimmay. "Never." Amanda shrugged her shoulders as an affirmative.

"Is that all?" she asked Kimmay. "Good, then let's go eat."

 

That evening Kim wrote me a letter, recorded it on a disk and used one of her random cryptology programs to encode it. She mailed the disk to Simon's private post office box the next day. When I first asked Simon if Kim and I could use him as an intermediary he wanted to know why. I told him that two teenage girls needed to have a private communication route that mom couldn't intercept. Simon understood. Kim sent me an e-mail message and told me about her week. She didn't tell me anything about Amanda. She put that information in the letter and on the disk she mailed. At the end of the e-mail message, Kim left the proper clues as to how to decode her disk when it arrived. It was the third time she had sent a coded letter. I was looking forward to seeing what Kim was sending.

 

Saturday night was spent at Claire's house. Kim had a nice time in spite of the heavy clues that Claire continued to drop concerning the Department of Energy's grant offer. To appease Claire, Kim did agree to attend a couple of presentations and she accepted Claire's invitation to the closing dinner. Claire settled for those small successes. Actually, Claire was very happy that Kim agreed to go to dinner. Claire was going to use the opportunity to show off her protégé.

"You know Kim, the dinner is formal. We will have to go shopping this next week and start looking for a nice dress for you to wear."

"How formal is formal?"

"I intend on wearing a long black dress with sequins. Let me show you. Wait here and I will model it for you."

"You don't have to model it for me," Kim pleaded.

"It's ok, I need to try it on. I haven't worn it for a long time. I need to make sure that it still fits and there is nothing wrong with it. I'll be right back," she shouted as she headed down the hall to her bedroom.

Kim sat on the couch and surfed through the television channels while waiting for Claire. It took almost fifteen minutes, but Claire made her grand appearance. She was wearing an ankle length black dress with a slit up to the knees in front. It had three quarter length sleeves and a surplice bodice. The dress was covered with sequins. She wore three-inch black heels with the dress. "What do you think?" she asked as she twirled around. "Do you see any hanging threads or tears?"

Kim walked over and gave the dress a very close inspection. "You have one little thread here, but everything else looks good," she reported. "Is this what you mean by formal, because it looks VERY formal to me."

"Yea, I think most of the women will be wearing something similar. But being a student and a lot younger, I don't think you should wear anything like this. I would recommend a very nice dress but nothing this fancy. Something about knee length or a bit shorter, long sleeved and a modest bodice would be fine. It would be nice if we had our hair done and got a manicure also."

"I'm having second thoughts," Kim teased.

"It's too late for that. You agreed to go and there are no take-backs," Claire grinned.

"I don't even know where to go shopping for something this nice."

"Not a problem," Claire said. "I've been thinking about that. Have you ever been up to San Francisco?"

"No, never."

"It's about time you saw it. It is a beautiful city. Let's drive up next Saturday. We can spend the day shopping, take in a few tourist spots, and then spend the night. I'll check to see if there is a show we can see. We'll sleep in late Sunday and drive back in the afternoon."

"It sounds expensive."

"Don't worry about that. I'll pay for dinner and a show. How are your finances? Do you need help with the dress?"

"How much do you think it will cost?"

"For a nice dress, and I highly recommend a nice dress, about $200 to $300. It sounds high, but you will always have it. You will need shoes, another $75. A matching purse will cost at least $50. Hose, and new makeup, another $40 or $50. Hair and manicure …"

"Slow down, already." Kim said. "I can't afford it. That would almost wipe out my savings and I would be back to living hand-to-mouth. I don't like that, and I don't want to ask my mother for more money. She works too hard to be sending me money for luxuries. And besides, I convinced her that I was old enough to live independently. If I keep asking for money she'll think that I can't make it on my own."

"Ok, hold on just a second," Claire said. "I have an idea. Would you be willing to give another two or three lectures on physics?"

"Yea, I don't mind doing that. Actually, the last one was kind of fun."

"Ok. There is your money. That undersecretary guy from the Department of Energy said that he would pay an honorarium if you would give a few more lectures. You agree to a few more lectures and I'll twist a couple of arms to get you a nice honorarium."

"How much do they usually pay?" Kim was warming up to the idea.

"Usually not much, a couple hundred dollars at most. But not to worry, both he and the dean are desperate for you to accept a grant. We tell them you are still thinking about the grant and that you need a little more persuasion. Leave that part up to me. You won't ever have to discuss money."

"You are devious," Kim laughed. "When I go pro, will you be my agent?"

"For twenty percent, you bet."

"I guess I can do it then, assuming I get the honorarium. So when does all of this happen?"

"Not this week, but the week after. There will be a series of grant reviews all week. The Department of Energy sponsors a lot of research at Stanford. On the last Saturday they will have the dinner. We can go to San Francisco this coming weekend. I'll set up another lecture for you this Thursday. That way you will have one lecture and one payment, before we go to San Francisco. If you promise to do two lectures, I'll get them to pay for both up front."

"Ok. I'll do two lectures."

"Excellent Kim." Progress was being made, Claire thought. "Kim, would you help me get out of this dress and then we can sit down for our movies. Do we need popcorn?"

 

Kim returned to her apartment Sunday morning. Andromeda asked to stay out, so Kim let her go. Kim had just started getting ready for a shower when there was a knock at the door.

"Good morning," smiled Amanda. "It's a beautiful day out, and I just happened to be in the neighborhood. I thought I would take a chance and see if you might want to go for a walk. We could catch a bagel and coffee down at the Koffee Shack."

"I was just getting ready to take a shower. It sounds like a good idea, do you mind waiting for me?"

"I'll tell you what, why don't I meet you there in say thirty minutes? It's so nice out I might take a little detour on the way over there. Is that ok?"

"Sure," said Kim. "Let's see if I can get my cat back inside before I go. See you there."

It took Kim almost forty-five minutes to get to the Koffee Shack. Fortunately, Andromeda was waiting by the door when Kim was ready to leave, so Kim didn't have to spend any time calling for her. In spite of taking forty-five minutes she wasn't late. Amanda walked in right behind Kim.

"What a glorious morning," Amanda said. "How about we get our coffee to go? We can walk over to the fountain and sit down there. We can enjoy the sun and the noise from the fountain."

Kim knew the significance of the fountain's noise. Amanda wanted to talk. "Sounds like a plan, Amanda."

They sat down on the upwind edge of the fountain, took out their bagels and began eating. Amanda washed hers down with a gulp of coffee. "I tried to call you last night. There was no answer. I thought you might want to go down to the student union and listen to a blues band."

"I spent the night at Claire's house. We stayed up late and watched movies."

"Who's Claire?" Amanda sounded very disappointed.

"Professor Keystone. On Saturday nights we have dinner at her house and then watch a movie. Last night I stayed over and we watched a couple of movies."

Amanda sounded even more dejected, "I guess that's one way to get an A."

Kim didn't think that was very funny. "I don't have to suck up to anyone to get an A," she stated.

"I know you don't," Amanda apologized. "I wish I had an advisor that I could talk with once in a while. Undergraduates don't get much attention. Maybe we could go to the union next Saturday. I think they have a jazz band scheduled."

"I'm sorry, I can't," said Kim.

"You already have another evening scheduled with Claire?" Amanda couldn't hide her disappointment a second time.

Kim was finally starting to sense Amanda's frustration. She realized that Amanda probably didn't have many friends and wanted to spend more time with Kim. "We're going to San Francisco to go shopping." She decided to paint a picture of helplessness. "Everyone here has been badgering and pressuring me to accept a grant from the Department of Energy. But that is the last thing I want. To get them off my back a little, I agreed to go to their wrap-up dinner in a couple of weeks. I had to give them something, they were becoming unbearable. The problem is that the dinner is formal and I have to dress up. But I don't have any formal clothes, so Professor Keystone agreed to take me to San Francisco to buy something."

"So it will be an overnight shopping trip?"

"She also wanted to see a show. Since she was helping me with the shopping, I thought that I had to agree."

"Sounds like an expensive weekend."

"She said she would pay for everything."

"She's going to buy your dress too?" Amanda was getting very depressed.

"Oh no. I refused to let her do that. I have to give a couple more evening lectures, and the Department of Energy will pay me an honorarium. That is how I will pay for the dress and clothes."

Amanda returned to her bagel. She was very quiet and sulking. Kim felt bad. She liked Amanda. She liked her more than Claire, and she didn't want to lose her as a friend. "Is there a band on Friday night?"

"No," Amanda answered.

"Well there must be something we can do on a Friday night. A movie maybe? Are there any shows or plays in town?"

"There is always something. The problem is money. Most places have a steep admission price. The union stuff is free."

"I'm sure there is something that we can do together. We just have to check the activities board. How about we agree to do something Friday night and we'll decide later what it is?"

That seemed to perk up Amanda. "That sounds ok. I'll stop by your office after class tomorrow and we can look through the Intranet."

"Good," said Kim. She felt a little better about their friendship.

"Are you going to be giving more lectures, then?"

"Yes, I will have to agree to two more. What should I talk about?"

"I'm not sure," Amanda said. Her attitude changed again. She seemed worried about something. "Kim, I was thinking about what you said the other day. About how you are so paranoid."

Kim shook her head and looked into the fountain. "Yea, I guess I am paranoid. But I think I

have good reason."

"Why?"

"Partly because of some of the things that I have seen, and partly because of some comments that Professor Barnhardt once made. But mostly because of what a friend told me. She told me that I was almost certainly under surveillance by the NSA."

"The NSA? And you believe her, right? She is someone you trust?"

"Without a moment's hesitation. I trust her totally."

"And do you think she would really know this surveillance stuff? She would know for a fact?"

"If she said so, yes. She would know."

"Who is she? How can you be so sure?"

"She knows, but I can't tell you who she is."

Amanda looked around the plaza and took another gulp of coffee. "Kim, why did you say they were watching you?"

"Because of what I know."

"What is it that you know?"

"I think it has to do with my theories and the potential for practical application of some of the more interesting ideas. Some things could potentially be turned into weapons."

"So if someone else knew the same things and theories that you know would she be a

surveillance target also?"

Kim was thunderstruck. She hadn't thought about that. Of course she would also be watched. That meant Amanda was in as much trouble as Kim was. "I never thought about that Amanda. I'm afraid you would be a target."

"Does that mean that I have to be paranoid also?"

"Does anyone else know about you?"

"My physics professor knows a little, but I don't think he realizes how smart I really am."

"Then you're ok. Nobody else knows and we will make sure that we don't tell anyone else."

Amanda looked worried. Along with being a good liar, she was also a good actress.

 

On Monday, Professor Keystone put out an announcement on Kim's next lecture. Amanda stopped by Kim's office after class and they flipped through the schedules and posters for Friday night. They found a movie marathon at a local theater for only $2 per person. The theater was going to show some old cult movies.

Kim spent most of her free time in the litho lab that week. She had convinced one of the other professors to try and build some of her ideas into a demo chip. In the evenings, Amanda and Kim met at the library and studied together. They did not discuss anything about their favorite subject.

Thursday night found a standing room only lecture hall waiting for Kim's speech. She decided to cover some of the basic math and interactions between basic particles, photons and gravitons. She didn't want to talk at all about applications or development of the technology. She had had a very successful week in the lab, and she was afraid of giving something away at this point in her work. Because of this, the lecture was rather dry. The enthusiasm was down considerably from her first lecture.

Sitting in the front row were Professor Keystone, Dean Halverson and Undersecretary Kaliber. She doubted that Kaliber had the slightest idea concerning what she was talking about. Nevertheless, he greeted her very enthusiastically after the speech. He congratulated her on another great lecture and made a large presentation of giving her the honorarium that he had promised. Again he made his offer to provide her with a large amount of grant money if she would work on DOE sponsored items. Kim politely declined. Dean Halverson looked at Claire and rolled his eyes.

Kaliber tried another approach. "Kim, perhaps you are not aware of all the benefits that come with a DOE grant. Can I invite you to dinner this weekend and explain some of them to you? I can make reservations at one of the premier restaurants in Monterrey. It is only a short drive down there. Watching the sun set over the Pacific is a beautiful sight. Please say yes." He was almost begging.

"I'm sorry Mr. Kaliber, but I already have plans for the weekend." She glanced at Professor Keystone for some help, but Claire said nothing.

"Are you busy both Friday and Saturday? Either night would be perfect." He was acting like a high school boy begging for a date with the love of his life.

"I have appointments for the entire weekend," and she tried to look apologetic.

"Perhaps some other time then," he said. His voice became more assertive and determined, "I can help your career, Ms. May. You really should reconsider." It was almost a warning.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Kaliber. I will reconsider. But I really do have appointments scheduled for the entire weekend. I don't want to break any promises that I have made."

Dean Halverson pulled Professor Keystone aside, "What do you know about her weekend?"

"I don't know about Friday night, but the rest of her weekend is booked. I know that for sure." Professor Keystone wasn't about to say what they had scheduled. If Halverson knew, he would order Keystone to break their date.

"And she can't break or postpone her appointments?"

"I'm sure that she can't," Keystone answered.

"Damn it!" The dean was very unhappy. He saw dollar signs spiraling down the drain and he didn't like it. "She is still coming to some of the presentations and dinner next week, right?"

Professor Keystone assured her that Kim would attend.

Dean Halverson returned to Undersecretary Kaliber. "Mr. Kaliber, Kim will be attending the reviews next week, and she has promised to come to our awards banquet on Saturday. Maybe if you talked with Ms. May then, she might be able to find an open date to accept your offer. What do you think Kimmay?" The dean tried to use his eyes to force her to say yes. His expression made it very clear that he wanted a yes from Kimmay.

"Maybe I can find some open time then. I am very busy in the laboratory. I would hate to lose any of my open time or opportunities."

"Don't you worry about that, Kimmay. I'll make sure that you get all of the scheduled time you need. You can rest assured of that."

'I'm sure I can', Kim thought. She shook her head affirmative and gave the dean and the undersecretary a smile. Kaliber's mood lifted immediately. It was like the rain cloud hanging over his head had evaporated. It was becoming clear to everyone watching that Kaliber had a crush on Kim. Kim could see that and it gave her the shivers.

The meeting broke up and a couple of professors with legitimate questions concerning Kim's lecture walked up and dominated the conversation. Amanda had been standing off to the side and realized that she probably wasn't going to get a chance to talk with Kimmay. She caught Kimmay's eye and gave her a good-bye wave. Kim waved back. They would see each other tomorrow.

 

On Friday, Kim wore her favorite skirt and blouse. She was going out with Amanda and she wanted to look her best. Kim had been following Professor Keystone's suggestions on how to dress, and she was slowly upgrading her wardrobe. Kim never wore slacks to class anymore. She had started to wear nicer and shorter skirts, something more age appropriate. The majority of the time she still wore sweaters, but was now changing to blouses more and more. Truth be known, she was looking forward to shopping in San Francisco for a nice dress. Mom's upbringing was starting to resurface. Melissa would have been very happy.

Kim saw Amanda in class and she looked a bit more dressy than usual. She also was wearing a skirt and blouse. It was almost as if she knew what Kim was going to wear. Amanda stopped by Kim's office after class, and they set up a schedule for the evening. They were going to meet at 5:00 and get a bite to eat, and then wander over to the theater and kill a bit of time before the movies started at 7:30. Both of them had heard about Rocky Horror Picture Show, but neither had ever seen it. Then they were going to follow that with The Day the Earth Stood Still. It was in black and white!

Amanda was in a much better mood than last Sunday. She asked Kimmay about Thursday's lecture. "It was a little dry," she said.

"I know. I did that on purpose. I have to give one more lecture, but I don't want to encourage them more than I have to."

"Well last night's won't encourage them," Amanda laughed. "You decided to stay with theory and math? Nothing on application? Nothing on the fun stuff, the magic?"

"Nope. I don't like that undersecretary guy. I don't trust him and I don't want anything to do with him. The last thing I want to do is encourage him in anyway about this grant idea."

"Maybe it's just my imagination," Amanda started, "because I couldn't hear the conversation, but standing back and watching his body language, I'd say that Kaliber guy has the hots for you."

"Ewwww, don't say that," Kim grimaced. "He's a creepy old man, but I got the same feeling from him."

"I thought so. Are they still pressuring you to accept the grant and work with them?"

"Yes. That's the last thing I want to do. I have absolutely no intention of doing anything with or for them. By the time they find out what I'm working on, there will be nothing they can do about it."

In retrospect, it wasn't the smartest thing Kim had ever said. They were listening.

Kim and Amanda had a nice evening together. It was going to be their last evening together in Palo Alto.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

Excerpted from personal conversations with Senator Horn and Jennifer Gayle

 

Once again, Senator Horn and her personal assistant Jennifer Gayle were enjoying the perks of office. They were on another international fact-finding trip. This time they were in Seoul, South Korea. They were staying at the upscale Hilton Hotel in the Itaewon District on the north side of the Han River. They were ostensibly in the area to inspect the readiness of United States military bases in the country. In fact, they had spent a grand total of four hours at the Osan base, well south of Seoul and the de-militarized zone. The rest of their five day trip would be spent shopping and sight-seeing in Seoul and Pusan.

Senator Horn and Ms. Gayle boarded the shuttle bus along with fourteen other dignitaries. They enjoyed the ride down winding roads, from the mountain top into the heart of the Itaewon shopping district. Cheap, but well made leather goods were on the minds of the junketeers. The bus stopped in front of the run down Hampton Hotel and the passengers disembarked. Kristal and Jennifer crossed the street and turned right, walking along the main street. They were window shopping and looking through the wares of the many street vendors.

"Want to buy a leather coat?" "Come look at our jade." "We can make custom suits in 24 hours!" "Large screen plasma TVs; we ship anywhere in the world." The cries of the vendors and hawkers rang out.

Kristal and Jennifer slowly worked their way through the crowd, losing the rest of the shopping group. About four blocks down the street they stopped at the McDonalds restaurant. They stepped in and bought a cup of coffee, then left by the back door. The two of them made a round trip through the underground shops and ended up at the Redneck Saloon. In the middle of Seoul they walked into a club with a preposterous sign announcing that no unaccompanied Koreas would be admitted. The two of them climbed the stairs to the third floor. Jennifer knocked on a private door and they were quickly admitted.

Ms. Gayle took up station just inside the door and Senator Horn walked towards the back. A familiar man walked over to an antique jukebox and dropped in several thousand won. The music blared from the speakers. Mr. Dunn walked over and shook the senator's hand. "It is good to see you again. It has been way too long, almost two years I believe?"

"At least," Kristal answered and flashed a big smile. "It is good to see you also, Mr. Dunn."

"How goes the war?" he asked.

"Not well, not well at all. To be honest, we and the rest of the world are losing. The administration is winning. Realistically speaking, Big Brother has taken over. They are firmly entrenched and have thrown a net over all of Washington. There is very little that I can do anymore. I feel that the situation is approaching the hopeless level."

"Senator, I have never heard you this defeatist before."

"I feel like I have been defeated, Mr. Dunn. I have supplied you with nothing of substance for too long. We're hardly better than mosquitoes anymore. We haven't even caused them the slightest scratch in over nine months. Damn it! I can't get anything."

"The President and his henchmen do seem to have tightened the noose. You have been officially outed as part of the opposition, and it is only your personal reputation and popularity that have kept you in office."

"And that probably won't last. They are already starting the third party gossip and rumor mills to try and discredit me before the next election."

"I understand your frustration, senator. Unfortunately, it is causing me just as many headaches. I don't see where I can be of much help to you anymore. You have too little to offer me, and I … I am getting old. I am afraid for myself, my wife and my children. While there was hope of doing some good, I was all for our alliance. But frankly, I don't see this tree bearing any more fruit."

"I understand, Mr. Dunn. Is there anyway that we can keep communications open, even if they are mothballed?"

"Senator, I am sorry but we don't have much time. I don't see how I can afford to keep any active lines of communication anymore. I'm very sorry. Hey! We tried. That's more than most people did." Mr. Dunn stood and offered his hand to Kristal. "Good-bye Ms. Horn. It was a pleasure working with you."

They shook hands and Mr. Dunn immediately left by way of a back door. Jennifer watched him leave, and then she walked over and sat next to Kristal. "Kristal, we don't have the opportunity to talk like we used to. We have been together for somewhere around thirty years, and in those thirty years I have seen you accomplish wonderful things. You have never failed to get what you wanted. I have admired that in you. Everything that you have been involved in, you have improved. You have done everything better than everyone else, and you've always raised the standard. You have never been a quitter. I am starting to see something in your eyes that I never thought I would see. And it bothers me. I have too much respect for you to keep quiet any longer."

Kristal reached over and took Jennifer's hand. She wrapped both of her hands around Jennifer's and looked in her the eyes. "I know where you are going. And I admit that I have started to feel that way. I have started to quit. And I assure you, I don't want to go down that road. But I'm starting to feel slow. I'm starting to feel half a step behind. Every time I come up with a plan, this administration either beats me to it, or shuts me down. They have 51 cards and we have one. In a game of war, we don't have much of a chance."

"Then may I make a suggestion? Don't play that card until it is an ace. Don't quit." Jennifer pulled her hand away and held it in front of her face. She slowly clenched her fist and then opened her palm. "I don't want to quit." Her voice became very soft and she looked at her feet. "I have nothing else to do. Nowhere else to go. And god damn it, I am not going to sit in a rocking chair and think about what ifs and why nots. At least not yet." A tear ran down her cheek.

 

Collected from the Department of Energy using the Freedom of Information Act

The Secretary of Energy, Allen Kurtland, started to laugh out loud. He laughed so hard that he started snorting and had tears rolling down his face. This was just too funny. Too ironic. Life really did have a sense of humor. Brian Kaliber, his undersecretary and bag man, was hot to trot for an 18 year old girl. He had lust written all over him. It was obvious to everyone. Kurtland could see it as plain as the nose on his face. And now, Kaliber's little girl friend could see it also. And the best part was that she hated him. A creepy old man she had called him. How utterly hilarious.

He had to call Brian. He had to sniff around and she how the randy old hound was doing. This was just too funny to let slide. 'Ok,' he said to himself. 'Calm down. Take a deep breath. Better yet, let's walk down the hall and grab a coffee. Then when we get back, we can call the old fart without laughing in his face.' Kurtland stalled for a full twenty minutes before he called Kaliber.

"Brian, Kurtland here. Are you on a secure line? Then find one and call me back. You have three minutes." That helped calm him down. He could act pissed at Kaliber and that would help keep him from laughing.

Two minutes later the AV-phone rang. Kurtland picked it up, "Yea?"

"Mr. Secretary it's me, Brian Kaliber. You caught me off guard. What can I do for you, sir?"

He still knew how to genuflect, Kurtland thought. That brought another smile to his face. 'Stop it!' he thought. "Brian," he bellowed, "How is your vacation going? Enjoying the sun?"

"Sir, you know better than that. I'm working my ass off. And besides, it's been raining for two days."

At least he wasn't a total sycophant, Kurtland thought. He's got some strange quirks, but then didn't all killers? The man was loyal also. Ok he thought to himself, don't go mushy. He's a good man., don't destroy him.

"How's this Kimmay thing going? Making any progress?"

"I think so. She still hasn't agreed to work with us, but she hasn't totally ruled it out."

Yes she has, you're just too horny to see it. "What exactly has she said?" Kurtland asked.

"She is going to join us for some of the reviews next week; sit in and see what it is all about. I have her giving a few lectures and I am forwarding a nice honorarium to her. Kind of giving her a taste of money. Her advisor and the dean are leaning on her hard. They want the money too. She has agreed to come to the banquet dinner next week. I really think I'm making some progress here."

Kurtland couldn't help himself, "She is coming to dinner? With you?"

"No, she will be coming with her advisor. I'll talk with her again. Maybe point out a few more reasons why she should work with us. Maybe some friendly cajoling will help."

'Friendly cajoling?' Kurtland began laughing to himself. "Is this a formal dinner? Tuxes and gowns, Brian?"

"Not quite that level. But it will be semi-formal."

"Bottom line man, will she come aboard? No bull shit, Brian!"

"I think so, sir. I would say its 50:50 right now, and I can be very persuasive when I need to be, sir."

Kurtland almost burst out laughing. 'You had better be very persuasive you creepy old man'. It was time to explain the facts of life to Kaliber. "Listen Brian, I'm going to be blunt. I know you like this girl, but don't lose track of the fact that she is dangerous to us. Do you know what she is up to? Why the hell is she in Stanford studying undergraduate engineering?"

Kaliber hesitated for just a moment. That was all it took for Kurtland. "You don't have a fucking clue, do you?" Kurtland said. "You're out there trying to get in her panties and you've forgotten what your job is." He was almost accusing Kaliber of dereliction of duty. It brought Kaliber back to earth.

"Sir, I know what I am doing. Give me two weeks. She either buys in or she bows out. Two weeks and the situation will be resolved."

"Make sure, Brian." End of conversation, end of joke. Secretary of Energy Allen Kurtland was back to serious business.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

 

Excerpts from the Diary of Claire Keystone

 

I picked up Kim early on Saturday. I wanted to get to San Francisco and start our shopping and sightseeing. It didn't take long to drive there, but it was a world apart from Palo Alto. Kim would be out of her element and more vulnerable than usual. I had asked for an early check-in at the hotel. It was my plan to drop off our clothes for the evening, rather than leave anything in the car. It just wasn't safe.

We took the elevator up to our room and unlocked the door. When we stepped in, I saw that they had followed my instructions; there was one double bed. I put on a nice act. "I told them I wanted two beds! Doesn't anyone ever listen anymore? I'm calling the front desk and raise hell," I declared. I even raised my voice. I picked up the phone and punched in the numbers. Then, when Kim looked the other way, I hit the disconnect button. I carried on an animated conversation with a dead line. After a five minute tirade, I hung up and announced that we had no choice. The hotel was full and we would have to settle for this room.

"That's ok," said Kim. "We'll manage."

Mission accomplished. We would spend the night together. We hung up our clothes and then set out for our shopping. We started near the Westin Hotel and made our way counter clockwise around the square. There were several up-scale women's stores in the area. I gave Kim an old pair of three-inch heels to wear on our shopping excursion. I told her they were for checking hem lengths, but I had no intention of letting her choose a long dress. I intended on convincing her to buy a short, sexy dress. The heels would help set the mood for the day. I wanted her to feel and act feminine.

We wandered in and out of at least ten stores and I made her try on dresses in at least seven of those shops. I joined her in the dressing room so she would grow more comfortable with my presence. I made sure to help her in and out of the dresses, to pull up shoulder straps and pull down hems. I even pushed up her bosom once or twice to give her more cleavage. She seemed to accept my physical contact as the help it was intended as.

We finally found the dress that I wanted. It was a short, red dress that ended a full two inches above her knees. It had full-length sleeves that flared at the wrist. The neckline was round and while it came low, it exposed only the very top of her cleavage. With a push-up bra it would expose a bit more, but it wouldn't be too daring for an eighteen year old TA. We found a pretty clutch purse and red three-inch heels to go with the dress. I had some nice jewelry at home that I would loan her for the evening. With some new makeup, she would be the center of attraction. And with her on my arm, I would be the envy of most everyone there.

We returned to the hotel and dropped off her new clothes. The bottom line was a bit over $300. She was a little stunned, but I assured her that it was a bargain. She was about to step into the big time and first impressions were more important than she could possibly imagine. That went for both of us.

By that time we were both famished. Kim's feet were taking a beating, so she switched back to some leisure shoes and clothes. I made sure that she still wore a skirt and nice blouse. No jeans or t-shirts were permitted this weekend. We jumped on the trolley car and rolled down to China Town, where we found a restaurant for a late lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon touring through China Town and along the bay. We stopped at all of the typical Fisherman's Wharf tourist spots, watched the sea lions and took pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked over to Ghiardelli's square and bought some chocolate for munching as we hiked around the area.

As the sun started setting we went back to the hotel and freshened up. I took her to a late dinner at a unique Thai fusion restaurant. It was a drag restaurant and all of the waitresses were guys. Every half hour they would take turns dressing up in lavish dresses and costumes and they would dance and strut down a walkway behind the bar. They looked very pretty and very convincing. The food was ok, but the show was the epitome of San Francisco. I was feeling rather horny, and I privately wondered what it would be like to bed one of these young beauties. It might be fun I thought.

After dinner, we took a taxi to a local theater that was getting ready for their second show of the evening. It was burlesque with a chorus line of beautiful women, and lot's of dancing and singing. It was a lively show and it had the audience clapping along. The show finished about midnight. Since we were only three blocks from the hotel and it was a beautiful night, I convinced Kim to walk back with me. I slid my arm through hers and hugged it tight as we walked back. We talked about the dinner and the two shows and the beautiful city lights. "How did you enjoy your day in San Francisco?" I asked.

"It was wonderful," she said. "I spent too much money, and so did you. But thanks for everything."

We walked arm in arm into the hotel lobby and took the elevator up to our floor. I opened the door and we stepped into the room. "Do you mind sharing a bed with me tonight?" I asked in an apologetic voice.

"Not if you don't."

"I'm looking forward to it," and I gave her a big smile. "Would you like to use the bathroom first?" I offered.

"Thanks," she said and she gathered up a few items and closed the door behind her.

I was floating on air. Everything was going perfect. I didn't know where the evening would end up, but I had high hopes. I cautioned myself that she was still very young and this would be new to her. I urged myself not to push her too hard, but I was almost shaking with hope and anticipation. I took a small bottle of wine from the refrigerator and opened it. I was hoping it might calm my nerves.

Kim didn't take long in the bathroom. When she came out I was totally disappointed. She was wearing a cotton t-shirt that was five sizes too big for her. It said Stanford across the front and hung to her knees. "All yours," she announced unceremoniously. It seemed evident that she didn't have the same expectations that I did. Some of the polish was coming off that 'promising evening', but the game wasn't over yet.

I took over the bathroom and prepared myself as best I could. After washing, I put on a sexy, see-through baby-doll that barely covered my cheeks. I applied a tiny bit of perfume, fluffed my hair and headed out to impress Kim. What a let down. She was already asleep in bed and snoring softly. That was the end of my evening. I slid into my side of the bed, turned out the light, and then leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She moaned but didn't respond.

 

I awoke the next morning to the sound of the shower. Kim was already up and going through her morning routine. I propped my pillow against the headboard and sat up. A few minutes later she came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around her. "Good morning," I said.

Kim jumped. I had obviously startled her. "Oh, hi. Good morning to you too. I hope I wasn't too loud."

"Not at all," I answered. "You look very pretty this morning." I wasn't going to totally give up hope.

"Thank you," she said. I could see her blush a little. She walked over to her suitcase and took out a fresh bra. She was facing away from me, but I could see her from the waist up in the mirror. She had beautiful looking breasts. She quickly slipped on her bra, and then picked up a pair of panties. I watched her slide the panties up her legs and then she seemed to spend a couple of seconds adjusting her crotch. She squatted a bit and slid both hands in front of her. It was rather odd. I was wondering if she was having trouble with a tampon maybe.

I was going to say something but decided to remain silent and watch her finish dressing. She had a young, teen-age body, but it seemed wider and more muscular than I might have imagined. I thought she looked very sexy from the back. She finished dressing and it was time for me to get up.

I threw back the comforter and stood up. She could see my breasts through the baby-doll, and I noticed her blush. "That's a very pretty night gown she said."

She had opened the conversation, so I decided to take advantage of it. I turned to face her so that she could see me straight on. I slipped a foot to the side and dropped my hip to give a stylish pose. "Thank you. Do you like what you see?" It was a little bit too forward but I really wanted to test the waters, and her.

"Yes, I do. It is a little sexier than my usual style, but it looks wonderful on you." She was regaining her composure.

"Well thank you again. I was hoping that you might like it. It's silk. Can you tell?"

"I'm not very good with fabrics."

Her cheeks were still bright red. I wasn't sure if I should back away or push her a little more. I decided to push just a bit more. "Here, let me show you." I walked over to her and held the hem up so she could feel it. "Go ahead, feel it." She slowly took it in her fingers and slid it back and forth. I could tell she wasn't real comfortable, so I decided to back away. "They are wonderful to sleep in. They feel very open and you don't get wrapped around in them." I started to back up and move towards the bathroom. "You should think about buying one, I know you would like it." I walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

I looked into the mirror and mouthed a few bad words. I hoped I hadn't been too forward and pushed her away from me. On the other hand, maybe I had helped set the table for next weekend. I wasn't sure how to read her. My mind was flying back and forth between hope and apprehension. I took off my gown and started the shower. A million thoughts went through my mind as I stood under the hot water. I decide to take it slow when I went back out. I would try again next weekend to bed her, so there was no need to be too aggressive and chase her away now. I would take it easy this week and slowly try to prep her for an assignation next Saturday. I really wanted her. Being so close last night was pure frustration.

I must not have scared her too badly. When I exited the bathroom she was pleasant and almost exuberant. I liked her attitude. I finished dressing and we packed our bags. We went down to the lobby and checked out, and then enjoyed their brunch while the bellhop brought our bags down. Kim was talkative on the trip back to Palo Alto and everything seemed fine.

I decided to bring up the week's schedule. I told her that we would be having grant research reviews in the afternoons and the presenters and selected faculty would have dinner each night. Since I would be sitting in on all of the reviews, I invited her to dinner. She politely refused. I gave her the schedule for Saturday. Cocktail hour began at six. I said that I had made reservations at the beauty salon for both of us. The reservations were at 10:00 A.M. I would pick her up at 9:30 and drive us over to the salon. We would have our hair styled and we would both get a manicure. I would take her back to her apartment to pick up her things, and then we would go back to my house to get ready. We could help each other with our dresses and makeup.

"Does that sound ok?"

"Sure," she said. I could tell she wasn't very enthusiastic. I decide to push a little to see if the problem was with me.

"Kim, you don't sound overly excited about this. Is something wrong? Is it something I said or did?"

"No, you have been wonderful. I really appreciate everything you have done for me. You have been a lifesaver here. I hardly know anyone here and I think I would have gone insane without you." That's a relief I thought. "The problem is something else. Can I be honest with you? Will you keep it just between the two of us?"

"That's what girl friends are for," I said. "We look out for one another and make sure we're there for each other." Sentimental gibberish, but it couldn't hurt.

"I really thank you, Claire. It's the Department of Energy and that Kaliber guy. I don't like either one of them. I have a visceral hatred for the government and that Kaliber guy is just plain creepy."

"Tell me how you really feel," I said with a laugh. I was relieved. The truth was finally exposed. She liked me and hated the government. She was even smarter than I thought. I hated the arrogant bastards also. But unlike Kim, I knew that I had to play ball with them. I decided to be honest with her.

"Kim, I understand perfectly. Just between you and me, I don't like any of them either. But I want you to know that you do have to stay on the good side of them. I will not push you any longer to take them up on their offer, but be careful as to how you turn them down. Whether you like it or not, they will be around forever. And guys can carry a grudge even longer than that. You know that Kaliber likes you, don't you?"

"Yes, and it's so gross!" She wasn't mincing words.

"Ok, just so you know, you should turn him down gently. Don't give him a reason to hold a grudge. Tell him you're unsure of where you're going. Tell him you're homesick and you're thinking of going home. Give him a valid sounding excuse. Let him save some self-respect."

"I like that, Claire. Homesick. And it's not that far from the truth. I can convince him of that. I can let him down easy. Thanks, that is a wonderful idea."

I was feeling good. I had her in a good mood. I thought now was the time to go for a commitment. "And after the dinner, since all of your clothes will be at my house, will you spend the night with me?" I didn't need to add 'with me', but I did. I wanted her to think of it as a little more than another pajama party.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea." I was walking on clouds. Now if I could get her in a baby-doll outfit ….

 

Collected from the Department of Energy using the Freedom of Information Act

Brian Kaliber picked up his phone and dialed. A woman's voice answered. "Are you on a secure line?" he asked.

"No."

"Then get on a secure line and call me back. Pronto!" He hung up.

Two minutes later his phone rang, "Yes?"

"It's me darling, what can I do for you?"

"It's that time again, I need your help. This time it will be a little different."

"How is it ever different, darling? The end result is the end result. No?" She was teasing him and he didn't like it.

"No! It's different this time. I don't want you to take out the target. I want to persuade her to work with us."

She was getting more interested. "You're peaking my curiosity. What do you have in mind?"

"Our target doesn't look like she will cooperate with us. But I don't want to lose her. I want to convince her that we have her best interests in mind."

"How juicy. I would love to convince her."

"Back down girl. We're not going to do anything like what you have in mind. We need to be slightly more subtle. We need her free and willing. We want her to use that genius level brain to help us, and it won't be of much use if she resents us. Instead, I want you to chase her into my arms."

"Now you're asking for the impossible," and she laughed into the phone.

"Don't piss me off, darling. I'm not in a good mood right now. I want you to kill her girl friend. I want you to set up the Kimmay girl, and stage an ironclad case against her. I want someone as stupid as a city prosecutor to be able to nail her with his eyes closed."

"And how does that help you?"

"I will be her only alibi. While you take care of business, I will take our little girl to dinner. When the police pick her up later, they'll be their usual selves. They'll bully her, scare the shit out of her, harass her, leave her in solitude without a lawyer, verbally attack her, gross her out with the pictures and evidence, and generally be their usual ass-hole selves. By the time they're done she will be putty in my hands. I'll provide the alibi she will desperately need. When I come riding in on my white horse she will be forever grateful to me."

"Ohhhh, my shining knight on a white horse," the woman snickered.

"Why must you be so insubordinate?" Kaliber was getting pissed again. He didn't appreciate her typical flippant attitude.

"Listen, I want you to tell me one thing. I want an honest answer Brian, because I'm going to be hanging my ass out on this one. Are you getting personal?"

"That's none of your business."

"Because it sure sounds like it to me. You know full well that leads to stupid mistakes. One mistake leads to a second mistake leads to a friggin' disaster."

"Don't worry about my end."

"But I do darling, and I want an understanding up front. I want you to give me a concrete deadline for turning her. Because if it doesn't happen, I'm taking her out. I will not allow mistakes to snowball."

"I said don't worry."

"Timetable, Brian. We agree now on a timetable. Two weeks. No more. If she doesn't come around, I take her down."

"Give me three weeks."

"Two weeks. And you don't make the decision. I want a solid commitment from your boss that she is ours. Otherwise, I tie up loose ends."

"Damn it. I'm not sure that I can get a solid commitment that fast."

"Then come up with another plan."

"You're a bitch when you want to be."

"Two weeks, and tell your boss that I will contact him. I want it straight from his mouth."

He conceded. She didn't give him much of a choice. "Stop by tomorrow at 9:00A.M. and we'll set the details and timing."

"See you, darling."

 

(continued)

  

  

  

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