Chapter 1
“I don’t know what to tell you, Cassie. There just isn’t any funding for this kind of research. If you had something to back up your hypothesis, then maybe I might be able to make a stand for you with the committee.” Benjamin Hampton was telling his prize investment that the gravy train was ending. Cassie had always been a headache from the moment that she came to work for him. She was always demanding. She was the cause of his premature gray and how his wife didn’t want to touch him anymore. He was going to have to bite the bullet and use some Grecian formula to get back that lovin’ feeling.
“I can’t believe this. I’ve wasted 10 years of my life bending over backwards to please you people. I’ve given you nothing but my best. I ask for one little favor in return and I get shot down. You know that this is the answer that the human race is looking for. It could even be a problem solving measure for those worlds that on the cusp of losing everything that they hold dear.” “I want to slap him, but I know that he’s only doing what the committee has mandated. It’s not his fault and why I’m castrating the messenger is beyond me.” Cassie was the dictionary meaning of the word intellect. She had no interest in showing off her curves to anyone.
The world was vastly different from the one that they both remembered growing up. The first sighting of that alien vessel that had the secrets that would advance their technology had come in the year 2018. At first, they thought that is was a form of subterfuge to lull them into a false sense of security.
The aliens proved to be friendly and willing to share the wealth of their knowledge in return for a welcoming new world. They looked exactly like humans, but their eyes would change color with whatever mood they were in at the time. Green usually meant that they were satisfied and red was something to be avoided at all costs. There was one that they were even afraid of and they called him the conqueror.
“I might be able to set you up with a meeting with those that might be interested in your research. I wouldn’t hold your breath, but it is the only option on the table. I do see some real potential in your research, but you have yet to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. It goes a long way when you can give them something tangible to hold onto. This is the era of convenience and everything has to be right now.” He saw the reflection of his face and the wrinkles. He was most likely going to have to go under some procedure. He had heard of a cream that the aliens had just put on the market, but it would cost a pretty penny to get his hands on.
Cassie was a bit of a hothead, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at her 5’3 frame and 135 pound body. She didn’t exude any sort of attraction to the opposite sex. She avoided relationships and commitments like they were the plague. Being inexperienced at 25 was a little uncommon, but it wasn’t like she was advertising it.
Cassie pulled her lab coat tightly across her chest to hide the fact that she was endowed more than others. It wasn’t hard to see that Benjamin might’ve been married, but he wasn’t dead. “I don’t see how I have any other choice. If I don’t find some way to get the funding, then my mother is going to step in and I just know that means wedding bells in my future. She thinks that I would even consider a blind date down the aisle. I can’t say that his picture doesn’t make me curious, but I would have hoped by now that she knew that I would not bow to her insistence. Set me up a meeting with some think tank or group of Angel investors. I will have to get this company to sign over an affidavit saying that I can outsource my expertise.” “I never thought that I would have to go down this road. If I didn’t think that I was onto some kind of major breakthrough, then I probably wouldn’t even bother. I can feel it in my fingertips and the only thing that’s missing is the required funds and the best equipment to make it happen.”
“There is one that has been looking high and low for something to sink his teeth into. Nobody really wants anything to do with him and they have good reason. It’s a known fact that he can be belligerent and the world leaders are still trying to figure him out.” He wasn’t sure what she was going to say to this proposal, but it didn’t hurt to throw it out there and see if something stuck. “Jorgen has been seeking a scientist and maybe he will take you on with me vouching for you. I could reach out to those of his people and see if he’s willing to at least discuss the matter.”
It was the year 2025 and her recollection of Jorgen went back to when she was in middle school. “That man is a tyrant. I don’t even know if I could even stand to be around him.” “I have to do something and desperate times call for desperate measures. My mother can’t be trusted. She probably already has the wedding cake designed and the ring practically on my finger. The only way that I can get her off my back is to show her that I can think for myself. I don’t need a man to hold me down and make me feel subjugated. Cassie was peering at the results of her latest scan and noticed a couple of anomalies that this equipment was not capable of finding the answers.
“You say the word and I will make sure that you at least get a sit down meeting with Jorgen. They say that he’s going to be in the area sometime in the next couple of days. He usually likes to do it under the down low, as to not to attract too much attention from government authorities. It still amazes me that they leave him alone to conquer other worlds on the pretense that he doesn’t touch this one.” Benjamin was exuberant about the possibility that he could kill two birds with one stone. He couldn’t stand to be around Cassie any longer than necessary. He wanted to pawn off his headache onto a man that needed to be taken down off his pedestal.
“My father would be rolling around in his grave if he were around to see me stoop to this level of groveling. He always said that if research was important enough that somebody would back it. I can only hope that I’m not some kind of disappointment to him. It hurts me to think that my mother was right all along. She claimed that I would never make it on my own and I’ve been struggling to prove her wrong every single day of my life.” Cassie was strong minded and would not knuckle down against the pressure of her mother’s constant verbal abuse. “There’s only one person that can get underneath my skin and that’s my mother. One look in my direction and I feel like I am five years old clutching onto her pant leg as she lambastes into one of the staff. She will always have that ability to strike fear into the heart of many including myself.”
“If it was up to me, I would gladly give you the funding, but everybody is tightening their belts. A lot of that money that was earmarked for research has gone to the government to make weapons of mass destruction. They want to be ready in case of the possibility of an Armageddon. There has been no sign that Jorgen or anybody else has designs on bringing this world to its knees. We actually have a settlement on Jupiter and we got the know how from the alien race known as the Sect. They have warned us that Jorgen can’t be trusted, but it remains to be seen that he’s a threat to us.” Benjamin was aghast. In his 50 years on this planet, he had never seen a government bow down in servitude to anyone without facing the consequences.
Jorgen had shown what he was made of by destroying a national landmark. Mount Rushmore had been obliterated and a reminder of his might was a sunken hole.
“I will be damned if my mother gets me underneath her thumb again. Living underneath her roof is the last place that I want to find myself. I would rather live in a cardboard box underneath the rail road panhandling for money.” She could say that, but she was also accustomed to the finer things in life including hot and cold running servants. “I want to believe in my heart that this is not the end and only the beginning. If I can show that this research can be used to give new life to planets that are on the edge of being uninhabitable, then my mother might look at me with a bit more respect.”
“I still don’t know why it’s a big deal. Your mother has always had your best interest at heart. She was the one that was instrumental in getting you this far. It was her name that allowed those doors to come open and it was your gift that allowed them to stay that way. I certainly don’t want to lose you, but I fear that Jorgen will have use for you other than in a temporary basis. It will be a sad day when you leave this place behind.” Benjamin was basically skipping, but he couldn’t show any of that emotion without ruining what could possibly be the answer to his prayers.
“I know that we’ve had our differences, Benjamin. I know that we have butted heads too many times to count, but we always come away with something for our troubles. It was through my diligence and hard work with a staff that didn’t know what the hell they were doing that we were able to make those gravity defying boots. We made it possible by using technology that we extrapolated from the Sect to take away the need for carbon emissions into the ozone layer. There is still need for cars, but only when long distances are required. Otherwise, they move about freely with gravity defying boots.” She walked over to the window overlooking the vast city of New York. She saw the statue of liberty and it brought a tear to her eye to realize what kind of symbol that was. This country did indeed welcome the huddled masses whether it was here or galactic. “I can only hope that I’m doing the right thing and that this isn’t going to hurt me in the long run.”
“I know what kind of success we’ve had and there’s no reason to remind me. I’ve had several sleepless nights. I tossed and turned until my wife had to kick me out of bed and send me down to the couch for the rest of the evening. All this time away from her has strained our relationship to the breaking point. I’m not even sure if the money that I receive in salary is worth all the hassle. I could probably retire tomorrow and not having to worry about money for the rest of my life. It is something to think about.” Benjamin had wondered what it would be like to have no stress and finding clumps of hair in his shower did not instill confidence. It was only lucky that the Sect had a product that could rejuvenate hair follicles, so that the day of hereditary baldness was behind the human race.
“You deserve to step back and enjoy your hard work. Honestly, I never really liked you and I always thought that you were a kiss ass. I could never play those kinds of politics, but you seem to know your way around like the back of your hand. That has to come from your military upbringing. Your father was a general and your mother was a PR specialist that knew how to sweep things under the rug. It’s a wonder that you didn’t go into one of their professions, but I suppose that makes us kindred spirits. My mother doesn’t understand my need to continually improve the quality of life on this planet.” If I play my cards right, I might be able to improve the quality of life on not only this planet but several others in the galaxy. Our ability to travel from one world to another has given us the idea that most alien races were primarily built from our DNA strands. There are subtle differences like an added digit or long reptile tongue.”
“I appreciate what you have to say. You’ve only begun, Cassie. I know that you have a long and illustrious career ahead of you. Don’t ever give up your principles. Stand up for what you believe in and don’t let anybody tear you down. I may not agree with you all the time, but I do admire your stubborn streak. You never let me tell you what to do and I think that you made me a better administrator by holding me to a higher standard.” Benjamin did mean every word, but he still wasn’t going to miss the outbursts of rage and tantrums that had become a daily occurrence.
“I don’t think that anybody else could have handled me. The only one that can make me feel like a docile lamb is my mother. It’s the main reason why I continually put her off about going to Sunday dinner. I’m not an only child and my twin sister Rebecca found herself trapped within my mother’s gravity. I pity the best half of me.”