The Fold

1 Conscripted

At five in the morning the far and faint twinkling starlight and the hint of the Cheshire moon provided the only light. Bram moved cautiously as he took each step up the narrow foot path he had made through the ragged greyish green leafed sage brush of the desert.

A slight breeze put a chill in the air. He was glad that he had on his warm windbreak that held back the surprisingly frosty chill of the desert air.

At this time in the morning all vegetation looked black to his eye and seemed to challenge the existence of the path he had made in the days since he had arrived at the camp, that he thought of as his personal gulag.

The sharp brown glass like particles crunching beneath his hiking boots spoke of some ancient volcanic activity in the region.

He envisioned the large boulder, which was his destination, being pushed by the glacier for thousands of years until one side was worn flat. This flat area had become his morning throne.

The large commanding boulder appeared ahead and loomed above him. Using several projecting knobs and several pock holes, he climbed up and claimed his East facing throne.

Soon after his discovery of the boulder and while sitting and waiting for the sun a friendly desert mouse befriended him and joined him each morning to watch the sunrise. His little friend always waited until the morning sun was ready to warm them both. He was a great listener, and they got along admirably.

The sun broke over the far horizon and Bram turned his face to let the morning light fall on and warm it. He watched as Einstein, the name he had given his small, brown fluff of a desert mouse, scurried up and sat by his side.

In the flat valley below lay the airfield, the few houses with yards, the helicopter hangar and the expansive block building that housed his apartment, his lab and housed the rest of the people in what had become his home. The facilities were new, luxurious, and well appointed. He knew the whole complex had been built specifically to house him and everyone that was there to keep him in and to make his stay comfortable.

He had been surprised when told that a chef would cater to everyone’s desire. He knew that his current life was more lavish than he had ever experienced.

His previous years had been much more utilitarian. He had been an assistant professor living in Boston. He had discovered that the combination put him on the edge of starvation.

Yet, being held in luxury against his will and not being told where he was made him feel like a well-kept prisoner.

They would not tell him where in the world the compound was located. This was a point that irritated him and made testing of his theory more difficult.

He was dead set on finding out where he was being kept and on changing how the program, he was the center of, was managed.

For the last one hundred and eighty days, with the exception of a few trips east or to other secret locations, this had been where he was “kept and protected.”

He had established his morning routine that began by greeting the morning sun, then feeding and talking with Einstein and then hiking out into the desert.

He had logged many hours among the sage brush. He had surprised many unwary jack rabbits or had been surprised by the rattle of an angry rattlesnake upon whose territory he had encroached.

He learned that rattlesnakes were sluggish in the morning cold but chose to wear high leather boots with a metal lining slipped in.

The warmth of the sun and the aroma of a cup of hot mint tea held between his hands, slowly wore away the early morning chill.

The sun rose slowly and created a shadow that pulled away from the base of the boulder he was sitting on.

He had positioned a timing stone. When the shadow hit that stone, it was time to leave for his hike in the desert.

Einstein and he had shared many a morning in this manner. Bram thought he and the mouse would have been well known to each other had they been able to converse.

The routine was consistent.

Bram would arrive just before sunrise and climb to his perch. As the sun broke over the eastern horizon, the mouse would poke its nose out from a hole at the base of their mutual boulder and climb up the boulder and sit with him.

Bram had told Einstein all his woes at least once, maybe more. He had asked him for advice and to review his scientific theories. He now felt an attachment to his lone desert mouse and always brought it a morning treat of biscuit or cookie crumbs.

The mouse would turn his head and seemed to agree with many of the complaints and comments Bram threw his way.

The surrounding desert, with its sage brush and yellow desert flowers was his one escape from himself and the government that was now “helping” him fulfill his goal.

He was virtually their prisoner. Well, treated but monitored and tightly confined.

Sitting out on this boulder or hiking through the desert was a victory that he had gained by consistently refusing to work if he was not given the time to get out.

He was sure he was being monitored even when he sat on his boulder. He wondered if those monitoring had seen him talking to Einstein. If they had Bram figured that by now, they would have taken him away in a straitjacket.

Each morning, he would wish his mouse well and he would then head out on a brisk walk away from the complex in a specific compass heading. His first four excursions had been the main compass headings of North, East, South and West. For the last half, a year he had gone out hiking on one degree increments clockwise away from North.

Each time after approximately an hour, a helicopter would arrive and tell him he must return to the lab. The first few times he hiked back. Then he began to ride the helicopter back. This saved him time and he enjoyed bantering with the pilot. She seemed to be about his age. He wondered how she had been chosen for this duty.

This morning, day one eight five, he was now traveling south plus five degrees. He was slowly plotting a circle with the center being the site of his lab.

Bram carried the instrumentation that transformed him into an altimeter. He was creating a detailed topographical map of the terrain around the lab. This information had already reduced the possible location of his lab to just three areas in the United States.

On a daily basis, in a morning project meeting, he requested the information about where he was, and he was always politely refused.

He continued to ask about the location every time there was a meeting. He had decided that until the program leaders changed their mind about how they handled the team he would not provide them with any more information about his space-time Fold breakthrough.

He thought of his breakthrough as having stumbled on the knowledge that when activated would change how travel through the universe would be achieved. He was close to opening the universe to humankind.

He was not going to let his breakthrough remain a secret but publishing the concepts of his ideas in a leading scientific journal had gotten Bram into his current situation. He had been sitting at his desk running his fingers through his hair in frustration when the doorbell rang. He looked through the peek hole and saw a very beautiful woman dressed in a black business outfit. He opened the door, and she introduced herself as Ms. Erica Wilson with the US government.

Her shoulder length black hair that swept over a perfectly formed ear and exposed the right side of her smooth, flawless face placed her looks in the beautiful woman category. Her smooth introduction, smile and greeting put her in the good sales ability category.

Her smile though clearly was not genuine but lit up her face.

He took it all in as he listened to her polished introduction and her pitch about how his article had captured her imagination. He wondered about her imagination since he had not described anything that might be imagined but he invited her in and pointed to the couch.

She explained she was with NASA and invited him to come to Washington and share his knowledge with her team. The invitation was enticing and of interest to him. When she highlighted Elizabeth Miller renowned the theory of Ethical Behavior in Science as a member of the team and a person he had read, as a member of the team, he agreed to attend the meeting.

He asked a few questions about his theory, and it was clear that Erica had little understanding of his article, but he was excited that his work had been deemed significant enough to get him invited to a NASA team meeting. It was important enough to send their project leader to personally recruit him.

Erica informed him that the meeting was for the following Wednesday. He was to review his article with a team that was focused on the same problem. She asked if he could make the meeting, as she reached into her purse. She hinted that there was a hefty salary if he made the team.

He said that the timing was very tight, but he would attend. He was about to tell her not to ruin things by trying to buy his participation but thought better of it.

Erica pulled out an envelope and handed him a plane ticket and hotel reservations as she stood to leave. She informed him that he would be met at the airport and escorted to the meeting. It was clear to Bram that she had come prepared for him to say yes.

He stood looking at the tickets in his hand as he realized that over the weekend, he would need to arrange to have his classes covered by his graduate students. He had not expected anything to happen this fast.

He looked out the window and watched as Erica got into a black limo. He was surprised at her ride. It seemed to him that she was well connected.

The weekend was a scurry of calls to his graduate students as he assigned them to cover his lectures.

On Wednesday as Bram was getting ready to leave to the airport, he was met at the door leading down to the street by an individual in a dark blue suit. Bram was intent on getting out to the walk where he expected to be picked up.

He excused himself and proceeded down the steps. He was followed down the steps and out to the edge of the walk.

There the man continued to engage him and invited him to meet with the president of the firm that was interested in funding his research. After giving Bram a card with the time and place for the meeting at a posh restaurant in Boston, he walked to a black limo and departed.

Bram had the card in hand as he got into the car taking him to the airport. He noted that the article had stirred the interest of more than the US government. He wondered what funding a private firm would pay.

He now had doubts about Erica’s team.

Clearly people thought his idea was important. He had two people that had come to his apartment and that alone gave him cause for concern.

He wondered why was there this sudden interest in his theories?

The flight to DC left Boston early. He took note that if things didn’t go smoothly with the US government, he now had a private company that was interested in supporting his research.

As Erica had promised when he walked into the arrival area, he saw a person holding a sign with his name on it. The sign welcomed him and had Erica Wilson written below his name.

He had not checked luggage, so he walked out with his escort to a waiting grey Ford sedan.

He was taken to NASA Headquarters at East Street Southwest. He felt good that NASA was so interested in his work. Its reputation was another reason that he had agreed to the meeting.

He wondered what group he had interested and what they wanted with his breakthrough.

He went through security and then was guided down a long corridor around several bends and finally guided into a meeting room where he was seated at the end seat on a long table.

Bram noted that all the seats had been taken. He looked down the table at the rather handsome Asian heritage person sitting directly across from him. Erica was sitting to that person’s right. Bram recognized only one person from the rest of the people at the table.

The meeting was called to order, and everyone gave a brief introduction of themselves. Jeffrey Mikelson sitting at the head of the table introduced himself as the Space Technology Mission Director. He was currently leading a program named STCP (Space Time Continuum Program). He welcomed Bram and then asked everyone to introduce themselves.

As Bram listened to the introductions and watched the team’s interactions, it seemed to him that this team had been formed quickly and had done little work together.

When Elizabeth Miller, a person who he had admired and followed for years and now sitting to his left introduced herself, Bram stood and extended his hand. He said that she was one of the persons who had inspired him.

They shook hands and Elizabeth pulled him in for a hug. She whispered that it had all been set up for him and that NASA wanted him badly, but it was real. Bram smiled at her and nodded his head. If she was on the team then Bram was certainly interested.

After the introductions, Bram was asked to go through the presentation that he had brought with him.

The five-slide presentation that he presented to the team confirmed his suspicions. The team was of top talent, but they didn’t seem to know each other and seemed to only know what he had written. He noted that the few questions asked were general and lacked depth.

He thought that the team was fresher than just churned butter. He now understood Elizabeth’s whisper.

He concluded his presentation and after a final question and answer session, everyone on the team but Jeffery and Erica left the room.

Elizabeth patted him on his shoulder as she past him on her way out.

It was clear to Bram that the meeting had been rehearsed and that the participants had each played their part. He knew that the two persons remaining in the room were the decision makers.

Bram put his left hand on the spot that Elizabeth had patted. Bram knew Elizabeth was globally known for her focus on human ethics in space exploration and would not have participated if she had not thought it important.

Jeffery made him the offer to get on team.

Bram was surprised that there was no small talk, and the offer came with a title, the highest government ranking and pay possible and a signing bonus.

Bram was offered the technical leadership of the team.

The salary offer was more than twice as much as his current salary and the signing bonus of five thousand dollars made it even more attractive. It made him wonder if the offer from private industry would be significantly more. When he asked for time to think about it, the atmosphere in the room changed.

Jeffrey and Erica looked at each other.

The answer surprised Bram.

Jeffrey quietly said, “No!.” We are aware of an offer that might have been made to you this morning and we know about several additional offers that will come with conditions that would seem to be more attractive than the one I just offered, but each would make you their captive.

We are concerned about you and about the US national security.

Bram listened as Jeffrey emphasized that he was giving him everything that could possibly offered, and it was an offer that could not be refused.

Bram realized that he was not being asked but told that he was on the team. Jeffrey went on to inform him that he was immediately being put under government protection because of the importance of his scientific work.

He had been given best possible deal but the choice about joining was not an option.

Bram asked how it was possible that he had been noticed by so many organizations at the same time.

Erica assured him that he was already on the most wanted list of people to either recruit, abduct or eliminate. She shared that his actions since his publication had been monitored and that he was put under guard since the moment she had met with him.

Two men in black waited outside of the meeting room. Jeffrey introduced them as FBI bodyguards that would guard him until he interviewed and selected four that would live with him. They escorted he, Jeffrey, and Erica to lunch.

There they briefly discussed the arrangements that were being made on his behalf.

He would retain his position on the MIT staff, but he would be posted as taking a sabbatical.

That was the end of lunch.

He and his two men in black were flown to an undisclosed location. He arrived in the dead of night and was escorted to a spacious and well-appointed corner apartment on the top floor of the building. He walked slowly through his new two-bedroom apartment that had a huge common room and large open veranda.

It was an apartment that could have been featured in one of the luxury apartment magazines. It made his apartment in Boston seem like a squatters shack.

The spacious exterior deck provided a place to sit and enjoy the desert view at sunset and it was large enough for him to practice his Tae kwon do and Aikido.

Windows formed two walls of the apartment. He was using one room for his office and the other, that featured a shower stall, for his bedroom. The apartment came with someone to cook his meals and with another person to clean it periodically.

It was clear that if he were a prisoner he was a pampered one.

He was, by his own estimation of the circumstances, a valuable asset that was getting the best treatment possible but, in all respects, he was now a prisoner of the government. He wondered if it was the same situation for the rest of the team.

He would soon find out who would be staying at the compound with him.

He decided to enjoy his deck and sit and relax.

When his belongings arrived, he arranged his meager belongings and developed a schedule that he would follow.

He recalled both of his martial arts master’s asking him what he planned to do with the capability and knowledge they were giving him.

He replied that he planned to do good.

They both seemed pleased with his reply. He really had no clue why he felt the need to pursue these martial art skills, but he had become a third-degree black belt in each.

Now he put the exercises to work to reduce the stress he felt by his current situation.

Tae Kwon Do and Aikido became his early evening exercise routine.

He added the early morning hikes into the desert to his exercise routine.

That is where he met his confident and counselor Einstein.

He thought about the fact that he had been given a brain that had a capability that was taking him on a journey that if he succeeded would be change the world.

He wanted that to be used to do good.

This morning, like all the mornings for the last six months, he said good day to his pet mouse as he left the boulder. Bram then focused on his footing as he walked carefully down the rocky slope. This was his one hundred eighty fifth radial hike away from the compound. At the bottom, as he rounded a ragged boulder about twice his height, he came to a dark gapping opening. A cool breeze washed past the beads of sweat that had already formed on his brow.

The breeze surprised him. He was not sure what he had discovered but he was intent on exploring it. He pulled out his flashlight and entered the ten-by-ten-foot cave entrance.

The breeze meant that there was another opening somewhere ahead. He let the breeze guide him through the dark cave. His light bounced off the smooth well-worn ancient path and he slowly made his way forward.

He realized that what he was doing would certainly confuse his routine helicopter pickup pilot.

Amy began suiting up, it was time to retrieve Bram from his radial hikes away from the compound. She was not sure why he went out on his morning walks, but she had come to believe he was mapping the surrounding areas. Anything else made little sense to her.

She rated her current assignment as an easy one but very visible. She had heard this assignment was high up on the recognition list of special assignments, so she had volunteered in hopes it would look good on her service record. She was one of a short list of volunteers and she was the only female.

The assignment was not highly sought since it was an assignment that put a person in the middle of nowhere. She, however, was happy to have gotten the assignment.

She knew her performance ratings had always been high. What she wanted was a gold star in her record to improve her chances at getting accepted into the space program. She wanted to be an astronaut and the barriers leading to that opportunity were many.

She finished suiting up and walked out to her helicopter. The red beauty sat on its skids on the landing pad. The tail rotor with a shark like fin above the bright red rotor shrouding and the long thin white tubular connection to bright red main body brought a dragon fly to her mind.

But her toy had a sleek body that could host at least seven people and if necessary, it also had a winch to lift a person from the ground. It was the best ride she had ever piloted. She looked forward to each of her morning flights.

Amy climbed into the cockpit, went through her flight checks, and brought the engine to life. She slowly lifted off the pad and headed out on the heading of one hundred eighty-five degrees toward the south. She dutifully added the one degree each morning. She had figured out Bram’s pattern.

She soon knew something had changed. She had flown out slowly, so she could spot Bram. This had become a normal morning routine. She would spot him hiking through the desert. He would wave at her as she passed over him and then she would swing around, land and he would approach and jump into the seat beside her. He always had a desert flower or some other small trinket to give her.

Today he was nowhere to be seen.

Her immediate reaction was alarm. Had he fallen down some ravine?

After several circular search runs, Amy made a call back to the base. She asked if Bram had returned to the base. A few moments later she was informed that he was in his lab.

Amy cursed under her breath and headed back to the landing pad. She was pissed. She figured Bram should have let her know that he had not taken his normal hike.

Amy took off her helmet and carefully hung it on its hook. She was fuming mad at Bram. For more than six months she had made this same flight, and she had always found him. After the first two weeks he had always flown back with her. It had become like clockwork. She wondered what had happened to change the arrangement.

Still mad, she decided to go ask him what had happened and if the change was permanent.

A second person was also going to find Bram.

Erica was free to come and go from the compound as she pleased. She did not have to be at the compound but none the nonetheless she was upset that Jeffrey had given Bram a salary that was at least twenty per cent higher than hers and he had put him in the best apartment. She privately had her eyes on it and had been planning to move into it. She figured she deserved it. Instead, she had been assigned a one bedroom on the second floor. Jeffrey told her that she would only be there part-time and did not need anything more.

Damn him. She was the one who was supposed to be in charge of the project logistics.

He was getting the best of everything.

She bit her tongue and moved into an apartment she felt was below her pay grade.

She was sitting in the meeting room where she held her daily meeting when she was on-site. She watched as Bram, Marcus, Elizabeth, and Mallika walked in chatting. They seemed to have developed a good working relationship.

It had become clear to her that Bram did not need the support of any of his team in the realm that he was working in. He was quite independent and engaged the rest of the team in philosophical discussions but seldom in the science he was engaged in.

Elizabeth seemed to be the exception but when Erica asked, she was clear she had no clue about the math and science that Bram was developing.

Erica decided she needed to have more control of what Bram was doing. She needed a timeline to the completion of his work. She would insist on a work plan from him.

Bram saw the look on Erica’s face and knew that she was going to push. She would be trying to get control of the science part of the effort. This was a part of the project that Bram knew she had no clue as to what was happening.

He did not want her involved.

He put her in the category of a person who was too self-engrossed and not really interested in the science but interested in control of the environment around her.

She was only interested in getting herself recognized and rewarded.

Bram categorize her as self-aggrandized. He saw little use for her in the scientific arena.

He decided to try to shock her. He had determined the location of the base. He was ninety-nine with six nines after the decimal point sure where the compound was located.

He stood and looked at Erica but instead of asking his normal question about where the compound was located, he gave a latitude and longitude and stated that it was the location of the compound and gave the specific altitude of the room in which the meeting was being held.

Bram looked at her and softly said I know where I am and unless you quit playing games with me the rest of the world will know as well.

There was total silence in the room.

For the first time in her life, Erica did not know how to proceed. She had never faced anyone like Bram. Why was it so important for him to know where he was?

She put up her hand as if to deflect what he had said. She wanted to shout obscenities at him, but this was beyond what she had anticipated. Her self-control won out.

She canceled the meeting and said that she was bringing Jeffrey into this discussion.

Bram nodded and said he was pleased to meet with them both.

The sky was still a somber grey the next morning when Bram climbed on his boulder and looked down at the compound. The lights gave the complex an eerie shimmering appearance as the early morning mist began to rise.

The scene really looked like area 51 in all the sci-fi movies. In this case, Bram felt like he was the alien. He knew that the upcoming meeting focus would be on him.

The sun slowly drove the grey mist from the air and filled it with its clear rays of warmth.

The morning came awake like sleeping beauty after her lover’s kiss.

Einstein came out of his hole for his morning treat. Today he listened to Bram’s analysis of what would transpire at the coming morning meeting.

Bram left the rock and headed out at one hundred ninety second degree clockwise from North.

The morning air was brushing past him and hitting him on his right cheek. Now that he knew where the compound was located, he could almost predict what his hike would encounter. The few surprises were made up of boulders and cactuses that rose up in his path. But the elevation and the up and downs were visible in his mind’s terrain map.

The location had never been of any concern to him other than as a lever to pull that would cause the mouse trap to open.

It would make it easier to test the space-time Fold transmitter, but he could have done it without knowing his current location.

He had patiently baited the trap so that he could force a change.

He heard the chatter of the helicopter and gave a wave as it passed overhead. Amy had told him he had scared the hell out of her when he had disappeared on his 185-degree hike and had not let her know he had found another way back to the compound.

He had promised not to scare her again. He was becoming very fond of her and enjoyed their morning chatter on the way back to the compound.

Marcus watched as Amy and Bram walked toward him. He was there to warn Bram about Erica’s continuing bad mood. She had almost bitten his head off when he had given a simple morning hello.

He greeted Amy and then turned to Bram. He quietly told him the situation and that Jeffrey was already in the meeting room with a fuming mad Erica.

Bram smiled as Elizabeth joined them. He always felt better when he had his morning hug from her. She was old enough to be his grandmother. Her mind was the most powerful one in any room she was in. Bram used his interactions with Elizabeth to clarify his mind.

He let out a mental sigh of relief as Mallika joined them and they walked into the meeting room together.

Bram greeted Jeffrey and said good morning to Erica who was seated to Jeffrey’s left. He was not surprised but disappointed that she did not reply. He concluded that Marcus had been right about her current mood.

Bram purposely chose to sit to Jeffery’s right, so he could look directly at Erica. He also took noted that Elizabeth chose to sit next to him. It was clear to him that everyone expected sparks and fire.

Jeffrey opened the meeting by describing Erica’s frustration with the behavior of the team. He went on to describe the concern over Bram’s determination in constantly requesting the location of the compound.

Jeffrey listened to Erica, as she vented her fury at the disrespect she felt was being shown by Bram. Jeffrey said he understood her frustration but was surprised at her intense emotion. He thought to himself that it was clear that she would not last in the long term if this was how she felt.

He turned his attention to Bram to find out about his interested and focus about the location of the compound.

He looked at Bram and asked what the issue could be.

Bram looked around to each person on the team and then focused alternately on Jeffrey and Erica.

He began by stating that he cherished his freedom. He made the point that the breakthrough he was working on would affect the entire world. He went on to state that changes needed to take place if he was to continue his work.

Bram stood up and described how he envisioned the breakthrough being managed. It would be managed similar to the joint space station or Antarctica. It should be a concerted effort by a team made up of representatives from all the major countries of the world.

Bram sat down and asked if such a team could be formed.

Jeffrey looked to Erica and saw her face was a livid red. It seemed clear to him that she did not think much of Bram’s vision.

He in turn stood. He looked at each team member and asked each to state their opinion of Bram’s proposal.

Elizabeth was first to support the idea. Then the entire team supported Bram’s approach.

Ok, I will pursue this program change with my superiors. However, I would like to reserve the right to time the sharing of any breakthrough so how and the timing of the information can be planned and controlled.

Now what is the fixation about knowing the location of the compound? You have driven Erica crazy with this constant request.

Jeffrey sat and looked at Bram.

Bram looked across at Erica.

He asked her how hard would it be to ask someone to meet her if she didn’t know where she was.

It would be impossible she blurted out but what the hell does that have to do with your request?

Bram leaned back as she leaned across the table as if to grab him.

He looked at Jeffrey and asked him the same question.

Then he looked at the rest of the team and asked them as well.

Elizabeth smiled.

She stood and took a piece of paper and made two round spots on it. She then slowly folded the paper, so the two spots met. She pointed out that she was able to do it because she knew where each point was located. It required her to know the location, so she could properly Fold the paper. She went on to say everyone should think of the paper as the fabric of Space.

Erica slapped the table and shouted, “Why the hell didn’t you just say so?

Bram knew he could have made a similar point, but he had wanted to bring the issue of how the project was managed to a head. He also knew that he didn’t need to know the location at all.

He stood and stated that now it was time to talk about freedom. He was not going to continue to work on the concept and had not for as many days as they had been in the compound.

He stated that the team should be free to come and go as they desired. He made the point that top security was provided to many people who were doing much less important work.

“Who the hell do you think you are,” Erica blurted out?

She looked to see if Jeffrey was as mad as she was and was surprised that he was completely relaxed.

Jeffrey remained seated, but he was nodding in agreement.

He let the team know he agreed on both points. He asked the team to leave the room. He asked Bram to stay.

Jeffrey looked from Bram to Erica.

He made the observation that the two of them seemed to interact like oil and water and that it was clear to him that the technical side of the project did not need overseeing.

Bram would lead that part of the project.

Erica would manage the project resources and logistics of the effort.

The three of them would have weekly meetings to ensure a successful outcome for the effort.

Erica stood and left the meeting room without saying a word. She went out to the plane that would take her back to the DC area.

Jeffrey stayed to verify that Bram would continue his work in earnest.

Bram agreed but highlighted that they had not set up a work plan that would lead beyond the invention of the hardware to implement the breakthrough. He needed assurance that he would be involved all the way through the first use of the space-time Fold capability.

2 Elizabeth

Elizabeth had given Bram a squeeze on the shoulder and winked at him as she left the meeting room.

She had covered the bullshit about needing to know his location to do any of the work he needed to do.

She was also aware of the ton of work he had been doing in building a variety of electronic control systems.

She might not understand much of what he was doing but she was certain that he was making progress. His behavior and attitude indicated that he was moving steadily ahead. His private workshop was a series of tabletop experiments.

Bram had invented a magnetron like honeycombed chamber that created the space time Fold.

Interacting with Bram made her wish she was forty years younger. She would have loved to be one of the people that would make the first trip to some distant star.

If she were forty years younger, she would certainly have been vying with the young helicopter pilot for his heart.

The daily conversations they engaged in were all focused on the ethics and impact of the ability to instantly leap across hundreds and thousands of light years.

Bram was of the view that such an action should be done in unison with all the people of earth.

He was keenly aware that his technological leap would leave the current development of the space program in the same position as the discontinuity the advent of the car created for the buggy makers.

Tremendous financial business crashes would occur. People at all levels would suffer. He felt those at the bottom of the ladder would suffer the most.

He had shared with her that he would not disclose the mathematics and the method of folding the fabric of space until a global approach was agreed to.

Even then he would try to limit the scope that would be shared.

A balanced, secure global group like the United Nations Security Council would need to be formed. He doubted the countries of the world could come to an agreement in time to be part of the implementation of the Fold capability.

They would need to come together to guide the long-term implementation of Fold destinations and potentially the interactions with intelligent life that might be discovered.

He had also expressed his concern about the actions various companies and countries might take to either gain access to or to gain control of the effort.

He was not sure Jeffrey and Erica were ready for such an onslaught. He placed himself in the too naïve to know what to do category.

The question Bram had posed for her was if Jeffrey wielded enough power?

Elizabeth had come to one realization.

Bram was the most disciplined and fair individual she had ever met.

Thinking about Bram took Elizabeth back to her days on Coochiemudlo Island in Australia.

She and her husband had lived there for twenty very pleasant years.

The Island was in Moreton Bay and was shielded from the Pacific by several larger islands.

Her morning swims were invigorating. Her daily morning and evening walks were soothing, and they provided time to think and ponder.

She was the typical Australian pad-old lady. Her husband went to work each day and expected his breakfast, lunch, and dinner ready and waiting when he walked through the door.

Twenty years of living with her mate had taken a toll on her. She had fought back and developed herself by reading the classics. She then continued her mental journey into exploring the sciences.

Her husband had stayed mentally where they both had started their union. He came home one afternoon and demanded a steak instead of the soup and salad she had prepared.

She complied and prepared steak, fried onions, and asparagus. She ate her soup and salad. He got up from the table after only eating half of what he had served himself.

He told her the food tasted terrible as he sat down in his recliner.

After clearing the table and cleaning the kitchen she came into the study to see if he wanted coffee or tea.

She discovered that he had passed away while sitting in his recliner.

She called the police. She did not know what else to do.

She immediately felt liberated, and she always felt guilty that she celebrated his death as the day of her freedom.

The year after his death she entered the University of Southern Queensland. She sold her home of twenty years and rented one on Fleet Street in Toowoomba. She bought the home based on its location. She was within an easy bicycle ride through the Japanese garden to the university. She would not need to own a car. She wanted to grow her mind and to live a simple life.

Her move of a little over one hundred fifty kilometers might as well have been a move of a thousand miles.

She went from being a pad-old lady to a reborn old lady of forty-eight.

She was at last free to pursue her own way. This thought did not escape her. Even though she had been comfortable and able to pursue her mental growth, she had been living an empty life. She recognized that it lacked a clear purpose.

Her educational goals were like a cross-stitched scarf.

On the one hand, she enjoyed the penetration of the minds psyche and intellect. She marveled at how the mind functioned and ticked and the personality each person developed to protect the being that was sculptured by the choices they either made willingly or were pressed into making based on their fear.

She had concluded that fear was the prime lever that formed a person’s personality and guided many of their actions.

Her interest in the expansion of mankind into space and the science involved with astronomy and space drew her into the cross-stitch of the fabric she was weaving for herself.

This fabric was a mix of studies in many fields. Her advisors did not know how to advise her. It was clear to her that she was a student anomaly to her advisors.

She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Spatial Engineering.

She was not satisfied. She went on to get a master’s degree in Phycology.

She then applied to the most prestigious schools around the globe.

She was surprised by her aggressive approach.

She did not really expect to break into the next upper tier of universities.

Several months went by and just when she was about to look for work, she was surprised to get accepted to Oxford. She must have read the acceptance letter at least twenty times.

Each time she would laugh and hold the letter up and shout.

It was a shout of victory.

It was a shout against her fears.

Elizabeth realized her move to England and attending Oxford would deplete her finances.

She feared becoming destitute.

She began to write and submit articles in hopes of selling them to various publications. She hoped to make a small living to finance her PhD.

Her submittal to the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society was accepted!!!

The submittal was for a series of articles focused on the ethics of travel by humans into the vast areas of space.

This was more than she had hoped for. It would not pay her way, but it would give her more credibility as a published author.

She submitted articles to at least twenty additional magazines. She was accepted by at least a half dozen. She was able to establish a credible story arc that was accepted by each of the magazines. Each had a slightly different slant. Each flowed easily from her fingers and to her typewriter.

Each magazine provided a small but steady income that together was a significant income that made her quest for her PhD a much surer and comfortable journey.

She sold the possessions she could and gave the rest away. She left Australia and made the move halfway around the world to England. She had only one large chest and a small suitcase with her.

She arrived at the city of Oxford. Oxford was a city of almost ninety thousand and had a vibrant environment that was a mix of about forty percent factory working people and forty percent university students and the remainder in various supporting office and store work functions.

She learned that the university was teaching as far back as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in continuous operation.

She also learned that the University of Oxford was spread throughout Oxford. It did not have a centralized campus.

Elizabeth rented an apartment that was close to and convenient to the parts of the University she would be attending. She purchased a new bicycle and then began her pursuit of her PhD.

A short time later, Elizabeth was completely surprised by being chosen by the Royal Astronomical Society to receive a grant that covered her expenses. The grant was like found gold. It made her life that much easier.

She continued to publish and to explore the concepts and implications on human space travel. She was able to consolidate all her writing into a single manuscript that was more than five hundred pages long.

It became a best seller among the scientific community. This meant it sold at least a thousand copies. It did not, however, pay her living expenses. She knew she had been very lucky to have received a grant. And it did get her invited to several scientific conferences. The conferences in turn made her name recognized in the world of science.

It took her several years to earn her PhD. With her PhD in hand, she became a guest lecturer. She traveled to Amsterdam where she lectured for a year.

Then it was on to MIT where in the second year there, NASA approached her to engage the NASA leadership in a series of discussions on the ethics of human space travel and the risk posed on the persons sent out into space. The offer was not employment but came with a significant stipend. The stipend was large enough and renewable on a yearly basis that she would be set for life.

Elizabeth accepted. It seemed she would be spending time with people interested in the same field as herself. She was not exactly clear about her role, but it seemed that her book was the reason for the offer. She thought more highly about her book after that. In the end it had paid for all of her effort in writing it.

It was Jeffrey who had made the offer. He engaged with her in the topics covered in her book and seemed to be deep into the concepts presented. She enjoyed his perspective and was impressed with his passion for the topic.

She spent a great deal of time over breakfast discussions with him. He sponsored several workshops with a variety of government leaders. A few weeks later Jeffery asked her to be on a team working on the topic of folding time and space. She had no clue how or what the topic entailed but she was willing to be part of the effort. She did wonder where in the world Jeffrey had come up with that concept.

Elizabeth came back to the present. She had just met Bram. It was clear he was being forcefully recruited and that everything about the team Jeffrey had pulled quickly together had been aimed at him. She was about to leave the meeting room. She knew Bram was in a trap. She wanted to help him.

She made a comment to Jeffrey about his personal quest and that of the ethics of the situation.

She continued to look at Jeffrey and made the simple statement.

“Let’s have breakfast and discuss the ethics of this meeting.”

The look on Jeffrey’s face let her know he understood her message to him.

Break