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BOZEMAN MONTANA:
Christa is escorted down the hall by a student to a small office with potted plants sitting on shelves under the window and is introduced to the Director of the Science Department. Marcia Story stands and smiles as she steps around the desk to shake Christa’s hand. “I’ve been expecting you.”
Christa is momentarily mesmerized by the woman’s size. Marcia is the tallest woman she’s ever met, but she moves with a bouncy energy you would expect from a twenty-five-year-old, with only a few traces of gray in her light brown hair. Marcia’s hazel eyes seem to sparkle with energy and her smile is warm and reading glasses hang from a florescent green string around her neck.
Marcia waves a hand toward a well-padded chair at one end of the desk. “Have a seat and tell me about this crystal. Alex didn’t go into details over the phone.”
Christa sits, retrieves the plastic box from her purse, and hands it to Marcia. “It appears to be a crystal, Ms. Story, but under a microscope, it has movement, like living organic material.”
Marcia studies the crystal, turning it over in her hands. “Please, call me Marcia.”
“Okay. The laboratory in Alaska doesn’t have the proper equipment for determining its composition.”
“I see. Well, we have an electron microscope and an excellent computer system. We should be able to get a better idea of what we’re dealing with. I’ll be working with you on this.” Marcia gets up. “Let’s go to the laboratory and meet my assistant. He’s a physics’ major, and one of the most intelligent scientists I know.”
When Christa and Marcia enter the laboratory, two young female students and a young man look up from their projects. Marcia approaches the two young women and asks if they could continue at another time, then turns to the young man. “David, this is Christa Avery. This is my assistant, David Conway.”
Christa is surprised. David can’t be over nineteen years old. “Nice to meet you, David.”
A shy grin spreads across David’s face, and his heart rate increases as he stares at Christa. He can’t think of anything to say and keeps staring at her.
“We have an urgent project, David,” says Marcia and holds the crystal out toward him. David isn’t listening, just staring at Christa. “David?” she says and puts her hand on his shoulder.
David’s head snaps around toward Marcia. “What?”
“We need to discover what this crystal is composed of. And we need to hurry. Are you working on anything that can’t wait?”
“Ah, yes. I mean, yes it can wait.” David hesitantly switches his attention as he accepts the crystal and holds it up to the light. “Where did you get it? Is it a polymer or mineral?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Interesting. After we run it through the electron microscope, we should do a spectrum analysis for composition.”
“I agree,” says Marcia.
David hands the crystal to Christa. “I’ll set up the spectrum analyzer.”
“Okay,” Marcia tells him. David leaves, and as she and Christa walk into a small room, Marcia grins at Christa. “You made quite an impression on David. I’ve never seen him act like that before.”
Christa gives her a quizzical expression. “What do you mean?”
“I think he has a crush on you.”
Christa smiles. “He’s just a boy.”
“That boy has an IQ of one-hundred and sixty-seven and spends most of his time with academics closer to my age group.”
Christa doesn’t say anything as they approach a tall structure nestled in one corner of the room. A table supports a computer terminal next to the electron microscope. Christa has used one before and sets up the crystal, while Marcia programs the computer. The video display screen comes on, informing them the unit is ready. Marcia types a command into the computer, and a few moments later, the video monitor shows a magnified picture of the crystal.
The crystal contains thousands of blue, spider web veins in different layers, none of which appear to have an end. Marcia enters another command and the magnification increases. A small section of veins fills the screen, and they see movement inside.
“That’s what makes me think it might be organic,” Christa tells Marcia. “It almost looks like a cardiovascular system.”
“Yes, but I don’t see any internal organs. I’ll increase the magnification.”
The display changes, isolating a crisscrossed group of five veins, and in each one, a luminescent blue substance is slowly moving through the tiny capillaries.
Christa and Marcia stare at the display for a moment until they hear footsteps and turn as David approaches. David stares at the display. “What magnification are you on?”
“Ten thousand,” Marcia tells him.
“Are you ready to increase it?”
“Yes. Going to one-hundred thousand.” Marcia types in another command, and the display isolates a small section of a single vein which fills the screen. Minuscule particles of blue light move across the monitor.
“Can you give me a computer analysis of the composition, Marcia?” David asks.
Marcia types in a command. The display screen goes blank for a second, then a short sentence appears.
INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION
“Interesting,” says David. “Increase the magnification. Maybe we can isolate a single particle.”
Marcia enters another command, and the screen returns to a view of the blue substance. The picture changes again, and large, glowing blue dots shoot across the screen.
“Still picture, please,” David asks, and when Marcia enters the command, all movement ceases, leaving two blue dots on the screen. “My first impression is it’s some type of chemical,” David tells them.
“I’ll see if the computer can identify it,” says Marcia. The insufficient data message appears once again.
“Okay,” says David. “Let’s put it in the spectrum analyzer. I’ve tied it into the mainframe computer. Transfer this computer’s information into it, and maybe the spectrum analyzer will compile enough information for an intelligent answer. Bring the crystal when you’re ready.”
When David leaves the room, Christa looks at Marcia. “He’s a little on the bossy side, isn’t he?”
Marcia smiles. “He doesn’t mean to be. I guess it’s because people have been asking his advice for most of his life. He’s much different when he’s away from the laboratory. He spends most of his time hiking and camping in the mountains. Says it’s his way of escaping. In the summer, he spends weeks at a time up there.”
Christa removes the crystal from the holder while Marcia shuts down the microscope, then they leave the laboratory. Marcia leads Christa into the hallway and down the corridor to a steel door at the end of the building. When they enter, they see David standing next to an open section of a ten-foot long, cylinder shaped device. It’s mounted on a three-foot high metal stand which is bolted to the floor.
The spectrum analyzer gathers data by shooting a laser beam at an object placed in the chamber and reading the different colors of light given off when the object burns. Each frequency of light represents a specific element, and the computer can determine how much of each element the object contains.
When David holds out his hand, Christa gives him the crystal. “This won’t destroy it, will it?”
David shakes his head no. “It’s set on minimum power and we’ll only shoot a small section of the outside edge.”
David slides back the lid on a metal enclosure, inserts the crystal, and adjusts the bracket until a thin red laser beam is shown on the top edge of the crystal. He closes the lid, walks to the end of the device, then presses a series of keys on a computer terminal
David turns and walks toward the door. “I’m all set. We need to leave the room for safety. The laser will fire in one minute.”
David waits until the two women are in the hallway, then steps through and closes the heavy steel door behind him. He stares at his watch and counts down. “Three, two, one, now!”
When they hear a muffled explosion and feel the floor shake, everyone jumps. David’s eyes go wide with fear. “Good grief! That’s not supposed to happen!”
David grabs the doorknob to get back in, but when he pushes, the door refuses to move. He pounds his shoulder against the door, and on the third try, it bursts open, causing him to stagger into the room. He catches his balance and freezes in place, numbly staring at the empty area where the spectrum analyzer had been. Sunlight is streaming in through a gaping hole in the brick wall, and he can see the campus lawn on the other side.
Christa and Marcia stand behind him, neither able to speak as they try to comprehend what happened. David regains his composure and walks farther into the room and up to the gaping hole in the wall. Two furrows in the lawn lead to the analyzer, still upright, about fifty-feet away.
Christa and Marcia follow him through the hole and stand on either side of him. The enclosure has been blown open, and they stare at the crystal, still in one piece.
Bells ring across the campus as someone pulls a fire alarm, and students and faculty stream from the buildings. The College President runs across the lawn to where the trio and the analyzer stand. “What happened?”
David shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t have any idea, sir. I was running a test, and this happened.” He leans forward for a closer look at the crystal. It appears unmarred by the event. He hesitantly touches it, and it’s cold, then he holds it up against the sunlight. It looks the same as when he first looked through it.
David looks first to Christa, then at Marcia. “Let’s find out if the computer managed to gather any information.”
The College President watches them walk back through the hole in the building, and then he stares at the analyzer for a moment, wondering how he’s going to explain this to the directors. He shakes his head in bewilderment, and walks back across the lawn, barely noticing the passing throng of curious students.