Fold Wormhole

1 Return to the Desert

The Marine guards stationed at the desert compound had been notified to clear the helo pad and then standby for an early arrival of a group of people. The guards were on their desert rotation from the Fold compound located in Dallas, Oregon so they were familiar with the Fold technology, but they had never witnessed a Fold bubble departure or arrival. It was for them one of the more exciting mornings on guard duty.

Then the bubble appeared and hovered inches off the ground. They recognized two of their own, Castor and Donna as they got out of the bubble and took up the front position. Then a very beautiful young woman emerged who they had never seen before. She was followed by another of their own, Orlando.

Then they recognized the helo pilot that periodically flew one of their gunships back at the compound.

She was followed the person they knew as the genius and his partner.

The last two that got out they knew as two of the FBI bodyguards assigned to protect the genius.

They watched as the group walked away in the dark of the morning and headed out into the desert.

The night was pitch black. Millions of stars twinkled overhead that seemed to be behind a thin white veil covering the face of heaven. Bram couldn’t see his hands in front of him. He took the lead up the almost invisible path. His feet knew the way through their body memory.

The bright shimmering star light made the surrounding grasses and sage brush appear alive as the light morning breeze caused them to waver and the limited number of leaves to rustle.

He was followed by Pat, Zuri, Amy and then the rest of the protection detail.

Einstein was in his pocket.

He let everyone know that Pat, Zuri, and Amy were the only ones going to sit on the boulder that he had sat on during the development of the Fold equation. The four of them would watch the sunrise from the place where he had finally realized that he had made the breakthrough. A breakthrough that now he believed was guided by another hand.

He had thought of this outing as a way to bring Einstein for a visit to his home and to share with Zuri that instant of time that led to the miracle that she represented.

Somewhere, in one of the cracks in the boulder, was where Einstein had previously lived. Now at least five years old, Einstein would once again get to visit home.

Bram joked that Einstein had guided him in the quest to develop the Fold equation.

When they got to the boulder, Bram helped Pat, Zuri, and Amy up and then he sat down in his usual spot. He took Einstein from his pocket and placed him down beside him.

Einstein circled around once and then disappeared down the side of the rock.

Pat asked if he would come back.

Bram said that he thought so but only when the sun broke over the horizon and its rays hit the boulder.

Zuri smiled and commented that she was honored to visit the place where Bram had sat and thought through the maze of equations that had transformed her from a very crippled person to a one with a normal body. It was, she said, a body about which she was still learning. She said that it was like a stranger returning to her home after an extreme remodeling and not recognizing most of what she saw. In her case everything about herself felt different and unknown.

Bram replied that her transformation was for him the grand reward, for his efforts here in the desert. He added it was a reward that would carry him through the rest of his life.

Pat gave Zuri a hug and said that her physical transformation was a positive reward for everyone working on the Fold project. They all believed that they had witnessed a miracle.

Amy added that she had first learned of the Fold capability sitting on the boulder and thought at the time that she had witnessed something that could never be exceeded. Then she had witnessed Zuri’s transformation and knew that she had witnessed the real miracle of the Fold.

A thin bright line cut across the dark night horizon as the sun light broke over the mountains to the east and the star light seemed to wane. The line travel across the desert as if seeking the boulder. It worked its way like a thief in the night sulked up toward an open window. Its first streaks of light hit the boulder and slowly worked its way and worked upward like the thief climbing in the window. It seemed to slow as if trying to find its way, the way a mountain climber would look for hand holds as she made her way up the cliff.

Moments later Einstein came out and surprisingly another mouse followed him.

Pat commented that it seemed that Einstein had found a mate.

Bram nodded and put out two crumbs and said that he had probably lost his Fold confidant to a love affair. He said that Einstein deserved to have such an affair.

Einstein got up on his two hind legs and Bram lowered his hand. Einstein got into his palm and then the second mouse did as well. Einstein circled and lay down and the new mouse did as well.

Zuri commented that she could not believe what she was seeing.

Bram lowered his hand and both mice got out. Einstein then led the way down to the crack from which he had come and disappeared.

Bram commented that he would return in a couple of months to see if Einstein would return to greet him.

Small bubbles, holding tea, a sweet roll, and some cherries, appeared. There was one for every person in the group.

Bram said that they should enjoy the sunrise snack that Marcus had arranged and then take a walk in the desert.

Amy got up and as she went down the boulder said that she would be picking them up in a helicopter and bringing them back for a full lunch.

Bram left his cookie crumbs on the rock and then led the way out to the desert.

He was heading out one degree from true north. That was one degree more than the last time he had made such a walk. He knew that Amy would know where to take her helo. He was silent as he thought about what seemed like only yesterday but then all of the achievements that had taken place since that time seemed to be flashing through his mind.

He felt lucky to have made the discoveries that had so far kept getting better and better and it had reached a point that he was not sure where it would take him next.

Pat quietly asked if he was OK.

Bram smiled and replied that Einstein had been a good partner in his developmental surges. He gave Pat a hug and commented that giving Einstein a hug and getting a reply from him was always a short coming and that Pat would have to step up and take up the slack.

Zuri had been walking behind them and was thinking about the wonderful relationship the two had and her heart stopped when by chance she saw the rattlesnake. She stopped and quietly said that the two soapy people walking mindlessly ahead of her should pay attention and not tangle with the rattle snake they were about to walk into.

That caused everyone to stop. Both Bram and Pat looked to where Zuri pointed with her stick to where the snake was laying in the rays of the sun. It was still lethargic from the cold of the night.

Orlando said he would take care of the snake, but Bram stopped him and commented that the snake must just have moved into the sun’s rays but had not yet been able to get warmed up. He said they were on its turf and should respect its territory.

He thanked Zuri for having been alert and then led the group around the snake.

He then related the story about having walked out from a center point and having recorded the terrain at one-degree increments until he had been able to match the topography he mapped in his mind and computer to a specific location in the United States.

He said that it had taken him a year and that today they were walking out along the three hundred and sixty first degree line.

Pat asked why the location had been so important to him.

He replied that it was a matter of principle. He was angry that sufficient security could be provided to so many important people, but he had to be treated like a criminal who was sent into isolated confinement. He was sure that it had to do with the fact that the folks had decided his ideas would be extremely powerful and they had wanted to ensure that the power it represented would not leak out of the country.

He pointed out that the leaks so far had come not from those associated most closely to the Fold project but from the very people worried about the leaks.

Zuri asked what he had done when he finally determined the location.

He replied that he had confronted Jeffrey and Erica and threatened to leak the desert location to the media. He made the point that the confrontation with the two was the beginning of the change that led to the social environment that they were now living in at the Fold compound.

He highlighted the fact that the confrontation had changed his relationship with Erica and subsequently changed her life.

Up until that time Erica wanted to be in control and thought that he wanted her role. She was upset because Jeffrey had given him the best apartment to live in. She believed that she was not being respected.

Pat commented that she had talked to Erica before coming back to the desert and had learned that for Erica the return to the desert would have been a return to a time that she now considered a dark time that she had successfully escaped and that she preferred leaving it in the desert.

Bram nodded and said that Erica was now living a different life with a new set of values and had found her soul mate and would most likely be happy for the rest of her life.

They had been walking for almost two hours when Zuri commented that she could not see the helicopter, but she heard it.

Bram pointed to a dark spot that seemed to be just above the ground that was fast approaching from the center point that was the compound buildings.

He commented that Amy had always flown her helicopter awfully close to the ground so she could pick him out as she passed over him.

He shared the fact that when he had some sort of place to hide he would do so on her first pass and then continue walking and wait until she realized that she had missed him and returned to pick him up.

It was a game of cat and mouse between the two of them the whole time they had been in the desert.

Pat shared that Amy had shared the fact that she knew that the two of them were always playing a cat and mouse game that she had learned to enjoy. It was, she said always the most fun part of her day.

Bram smiled and said that it was also a great way for him to start each day and that game had earned Amy the privilege of being the first person with whom he had shared the Fold breakthrough. He had taken her to the boulder and there he had introduced Einstein to her, and they had the same breakfast snack that they had just shared earlier.

Zuri commented that Bram had a desert experience that became the fabric that was still guiding the Fold program and one that she now personally embraced.

Bram smiled and commented that it was a very positive influence in his life and that the fabric of that life had been woven by his mother when as a young boy, she repeatedly told him that he had to treat others the way he wished to be treated. She had also said that if he embraced that one saying, his life would be rich whether he was a pauper, a wise man, or a genius.

He added that he tried to practice that philosophy even when he had the urge to kick some people in their derriere.

Pat laughed and said that most people would just say that they had the urge to kick some people in their butt.

Zuri asked what word she should use when she attended Oxford University.

Pat said that she thought Bum or arse depending on the social situation.

Bram laughed and said that they should get into the hilo and enjoy the ride back to the compound.

Amy landed her hilo in an open area and waved them onboard. She had Zuri sit in the front seat. Once everyone was in and had their safety harness on, she handed them each headsets.

They all got in and watched as Orlando led the rest of the group on foot back toward the compound. He had them singing a ditty and led off at a good jog.

Bram then told Zuri that she was about to experience a hair-raising flight that he had to endure every morning before working on the Fold equation and that she would learn why he finally had to make a breakthrough. He said that Amy had frightened him into being successful.

Amy laughed and then took off and flew out away from the desert compound. She flew just above the surface at a dizzying speed. She had arranged with Orlando to fly out long enough to let him get back to the compound.

Zuri shouted that she did want to live to enjoy going to Oxford.

Bram laughed and said that Amy would make sure that Zuri was so afraid to fail that she would graduate at the top of her class.

Amy took a sharp bank and headed back to the compound. She did a little up bob and then set the helo down at the center of the landing pad.

She looked over at Zuri and asked if she had enjoyed the ride.

Zuri nodded and said it had been much, much more exciting than the Wheel One flight to the back of the moon.

Bram added that the flight in from the desert had always been exciting for him and that he had made sure that Amy went to astronaut training in an attempt to train her to be a normal pilot. He now realized that it had not worked.

Amy said that flying a helo had been and still was one of the most enjoyable things that she did. She said that she had convinced the Marines back at the compound to let her fly one of their gunships on a regular basis. It had allowed her to keep up her flying skill during her time back at the Fold compound.

Bram said he would now worry about who was flying the protection helo when he jogged into work in the mornings.

Pat said that she had just thought of a good ditty for their next jog in

Who’s that flying in the sky?

Who’s that flying way down low.

Is that someone that we know?

If its Amy then it’s so.

Who’s that flying in the sky

Is that someone that we know?

Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho

Look how low, Look how low.

Fly crazy, Ho, Ho, Ho.

Bram pointed to Orlando, Castor and Donna who were standing with Zoe and Eric at the side of the helo landing area. He commented that they had made good time getting back and he was sure that they would all have a great lunch before heading back to the Dallas Fold compound.

The return to the Fold compound via bubble was scheduled after their lunch.

2 Alien Engagement

Sunday morning Bram rode the two-person elevator to his basement office. He made himself a cup of pour through coffee and sat down at his computer. He worked his entire equation with negative time to see if it would give him an insight to what might happen. What he learned was that his equation using negative time seemed to go in a circle or at least it became nonlinear and perhaps be a spiral. It seemed to defy definition or relation to one particular shape.

Pat, Zoe, and Eric came in and said they had been worried about where he had gone and that he had broken the protection protocol.

He nodded and said that it had never registered when he got on the elevator to come down to his office. He suggested they put in a camera and alarm so that when he did it again, they would immediately know.

Pat reminded him that they had agreed to go to the neighborhood recreation center for lunch where Melisa had gathered some of the younger children who they were going to play various games with.

Bram knew that his time thinking about negative space was over for the day.

He woke up on Monday ready to attack the day. On their five thirty in the morning jog into work, Castor took up the ditty that Pat had shared when they had gotten off the helo in the desert.

Who’s that flying in the sky?

Who’s that flying way down low.

Is that someone that we know?

If its Amy then it’s so.

Who’s that flying in the sky

Is that someone that we know?

Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho

Look how low, Look how low.

Fly crazy, Ho, Ho, Ho.

Both he and Donna pointed to the helo overhead and Bram watched as it came down low to one side and wiggled and then went back up. He had not been able to see the pilot but figured it was Amy.

At that moment he was thinking about the response he was waiting for from the Aliens. It had been sent to them the day after Christmas. He figured that it would take them time to react to the message. The few days had passed, and he hoped a reply had been returned.

He, Marcus and Mallica were scheduled to check the location where they had originally intercepted the Alien’s first message to see if a reply had been sent back.

Linda welcomed him back and reminded him about his meeting and asked about the rest of his day and when he wanted to update his two-week calendar.

Bram suggested that updating the calendar should take place in the late afternoon. He asked that she set up a meeting with Remi and check with Jose to see when he could take possession of the first giant bubble.

He then asked to get a meeting set up with Erica to discuss the building of another bubble and to check on any other financial issues.

Linda gave a small laugh and asked if this was just today’s items or was it the two-week items.

Bram said he would be in his office to start the day and then he would meet with Marcus and Mallica.

Bob and Thomas took their chairs as Bram pressed the heat lever on the water pot.

Bram sat down at his desk and put his hand at the center of the Milky Way Spiral picture that was under the glass on his desk. He was thinking about the Wormhole equation and the negative space aspect of the reversing process. He was anxious to investigate what going into negative space would mean.

He fired up his laptop and reviewed the equation yet again. He had it burned into his mind and really did not need to see it but doing so let him imagine what might happen. It was like having a book in his hand that allowed him to feel the weight of the story. He was trying to envision the resulting shape of his negative equation.

Linda’s call that he had ten minutes before his scheduled meeting with Marcus and Mallica brought him out of his speculation about the negative part of space. He realized that he had spent almost an hour deep in thought and that he had not made the tea that he had intended to make.

He looked over at Bob and Thomas and realized that the two of them had used the hot water to make themselves tea and had made him a cup as well, but it was still sitting at the refreshment center.

Unlike Zoe that was willing to pull him up from the depth, these two were not willing to take that chance.

He smiled and thanked them for the tea and said that it was time for them to go with him to his next meeting.

Marcus and Mallica were waiting outside of his office and suggested they go to the lab where the bubble that had been sent out to see if the Aliens had responded had just been returned to its holding area. They had arranged for Remi to retrieve the computer recording. He had volunteered to review it on his computer.

Bram thanked them for getting everything ready. He hoped that there would be a response.

Remi greeted them and said that there was something on the computer, but he had resisted getting into it until they all arrived. He pointed to a large screen and said he would now open the folder with the message.

When the message came on the screen, Bram had an immediate smile on his face. The first line was in English, “Greetings, we on Swoosh are elated that intelligent beings have received our message and were able to respond to us using our language. We are extremely impressed. To be offered aid dried our eyes and caused us to surface and breach.”

Then the messaged changed to the alien language and provided more information about themselves, their population numbers, and the number of species in their world. There was an explanation that they did not have physical structures as had been described existing on Earth. They were amazed that the human species lived on land and breathed air directly.

They added that the energy required to send the reply had exhausted their energy resource and it would take at least another journey around their star to rejuvenate it.

They then gave some data about the condition of their star.

Mallica commented the lack of power, and any significant structures had signaled her that rescuing the Aliens and transporting them to another water world had just gotten more complicated.

Marcus wondered how a species that could think deeply and develop a Fold message transmitter would not have developed the ability to build a large energy source.

On Earth, electricity, gas engines, and steam engines all existed in abundance. Often the power source had preceded the use it was eventually used for. He said it was hard for him to understand how the technology to send out the Fold message had been developed.

Bram agreed that it seemed inconceivable, but reality said that it had been done. He speculated about the whales and the dolphins and wondered if on Earth they had superior thoughts but were not able to develop the technology to communicate with humans.

Mallica then brought them back and asked about the response and pointed out that Earth would have to supply the short-term capability for the Aliens on Swoosh to begin to make the move to another water world.

Bram agreed. He pointed out that the first transport that would hold two maybe three of the Swooshians was ready for delivery. The three of them had to agree on the delivery coordinates and then make the Fold from the hangar in Seattle to the coordinate.

Marcus suggested a coordinate near the Alien water world that they had previously used since it would save time since he would not need to verify the spot did not have a field of debris.

Bram agreed and let Marcus know that the Fold would happen that afternoon. He had a meeting with Erica with the objective of her ordering a second bubble. He asked Marcus to call Jose at the building site to verify the coordinate of the bubbles center.

Then they would meet at three and Fold the bubble out to the coordinate near Swoosh.

Mallica asked whether they would respond to the reply from Swoosh.

Bram suggested that she get a message ready that asked the Aliens for the current chemistry on Swoosh and how soon the Swooshians would be ready to check out the new water worlds that met the parameters that were agreed on.

Mallica suggested they also ask how quickly the Swooshians were planning to make the transition to a new world.

Bram agreed and added that with the current Fold capacity it would take more than their lifetime to get just a small percentage of Swooshians to a new planet. He said they would need to figure out a way to set up a transport system that had higher capacity and one that did not rely on the Earth for the materials or the manufacturing of the bubbles.

He asked if she and Marcus might take that on as a project. They could recruit other folks, like Remi or anyone else that could add the knowledge they needed to set up a remote bubble production system.

Mallica said that a project like that would be exciting for her. She said that she was up for it and would get a group together to flesh out who needed to be on the team.

Bram thanked her and said that Marcus already had his hands full with determining where bubbles should Fold and making sure the Fold location was clear of debris. He expected that Marcus would be extremely critical in determining the coordinates for a bubble factory.

Marcus agreed and said he was excited about suggesting locations within the Swooshian solar system that might position the production facility near the materials needed to make the giant bubbles.

He then added that perhaps some even better locations would be in some other solar system near a planet that had the materials critical in making the bubbles.

He said that once he was given the ingredients from which the bubbles were made, the files with the data from the previously discovered planets could be examined and an optimum location could be selected. Perhaps the facility could be on the surface of such a planet but at a minimum it could be nearby, and materials mined and sent out to the production facility.

Bram said he had heard enough, and he was going back to his office and begin to work on his next project.

He was walking back to his office thinking about the negative realm of his equation when Erica intercepted him near the cafeteria.

She asked if Bram knew that it was lunch time.

He shook his head and said that it seemed that the time was flying.

Erica suggested that he follow her, and they would meet up with Pat for lunch.

Bram followed her into the cafeteria and waved at Pat, who was sitting by herself at their usual table.

Erica had selected an Italian salad and was almost immediately on the way to the table.

Bram was not sure what he wanted. He looked over the offering and went for a slice of beef, asparagus, and a small, baked potato. He carried his tray out to the table and then decided that he wanted a lemonade to go with what he had selected.

Pat asked how his day was progressing.

Bram commented that he seemed to be constantly behind in what he had been planning to get accomplished.

Erica waited until Bram had finished and was sipping his lemonade and then asked him what their meeting was about and could they have it now.

Bram smiled and said that it was a short topic. He was having the current bubble moved out of the hangar in the afternoon and he was interested in getting another one on order.

Erica nodded, made a note on her phone, and then said it was done. She then said the order would be in by the end of day.

Bram thanked her and said that her meeting was one that had happened quickly and ahead of time. He said that when he got back into the office he would be able to focus on his next project.

He was leaving the cafeteria when he decided that where he needed to go was to the Lab and see if a bubble was available that he could use. His turn toward the Lab caught Castor and Donna by surprise and they hustled to get back in the lead and then asked where he was going.

Bram apologized and said that he had decided to see if a bubble that he could use was available.

Remi had left the cafeteria on Bram’s heal and overheard the exchange. He said that he had several bubbles ready, but they would need the Fold coordinate programed in.

Bram replied that he was going to use the Neptune coordinates and that once they were programed in he was going out to try an experiment.

Remi asked about the experiment.

Bram shared that he was going to nibble at the impact that negative time had on the Fold reverse equation.

Remi asked why he did not send out the bubble on its own.

Bram said that he had done that previously and that there was nothing recorded on the visual or the coordinate calculator.

Remi shook his head and asked if there was a way to hook up a second bubble that could pull him back.

Bram said that he did not know how to program such a bubble and said that he felt that once he had a personal experience, he would be able to figure out how to navigate the negative space region.

Remi then suggested waiting until morning so that Bram would have an entire day.

Bram thought about it and said that the suggestion made sense, and they should plan to use the next day to do the initial exploration of the negative Fold space.

He spent the rest of the afternoon deciding what he wanted to learn in the negative Fold space.

That afternoon as they were riding back to the house, when Pat asked what he was planning for the next day, Bram shared that he was planning to venture into the negative Fold space.

He was surprised by the silence that followed.

He asked why there was no reaction.

Pat replied that she was thinking through what was bothering her and she would share her thoughts after dinner.

Bram found it hard to wait. Finally, after dinner he led the way down into his office and sat down on the two-person recliner. He was pleased that Pat sat down next to him and said that she was ready to share her concern and to ask him to do several things when he ventured into the negative Fold area.

She said that she was afraid that the scientific laws that were more or less absolute in their current reality would not hold in the negative Fold reality. She then asked how he thought time and space would function in the negative reality.

Bram admitted that he was not sure about anything in the negative Fold reality.

Pat asked whether he would consider waiting before Folding into the Negative.

Bram replied that he had considered that but there were no additional actions or developments that he could envision so he was planning to make the negative Fold to see if he could personally learn what was going on.

Pat then said that she wanted him to take enough food and water for a week with him.

She asked if he could use his body to gauge time. Or was there a way for him to separately keep track of time other than his computer.

She had no idea how he would be able to gauge distance and asked if he had an idea.

Bram thanked her for the food and time ideas and admitted that he was relatively clueless about everything that he might encounter.

He mentioned that her questions had triggered several ideas that he would act on in the morning.