PROLOGUE
The hilltop
was fairly open, only a few sparse trees to block the view. There was just one large, very old maple right at the top, towering over anything else close by. The sun was just at the edge of the horizon but the thick clouds hid the orb itself, while still letting its fiery colors infect their edges. A little farther to the north the clouds were more gray with just the slightest touch of reddish orange but were often set off by flashes of distant heat lightning. It was a hot, damp July evening, high in the eastern Kentucky mountains. Perhaps the distant clouds promised the chance of a cooling thunderstorm before morning. The "red sky at night" of the distant clouds was probably a little far away to accurately predict good weather before the dawn. The wind had dropped with only the occasional slight zephyr to interrupt the damp heat. Fireflies were starting to rise from the grass, flashing their answers to the invitations of their mates on the ground below. Otherwise the world seemed still, frozen in a scene of relaxation rarely achieved in nature. Only the infrequent cry of a whippoorwill interrupted the silence of the evening.
Leaning back against the trunk of the huge maple was a pretty girl with blue eyes and long, corn silk blonde hair hanging loose about her shoulders. A slight smile ghosted across her face as she thought that the tree had been here before her great, great, great grandparents had moved into this part of the country. Its trunk was almost five feet across and it rose above anything nearby. Emily Letton was thirteen. She often came up here to just sit and think and liked to believe that in the distant past some young Cherokee girl had leaned against this same trunk when the tree was much smaller. There was a good chance she was right in her belief.
Emily could be found here most any time of year and many times of day. In fall when the dark clouds scudded across the open sky and the bright colored leaves rattled in the wind. In winter when often the surrounding hills were white with a soft blanket of snow. In spring when the leaves were just budding and violets and other spring flowers carpeted the surrounding land. On a sunny noontime or a cloudy afternoon. Sometimes as the sun was just rising, its rays spreading from the eastern peaks across the land. Even sometimes at night when the stars filling the sky seemed without number. But her favorite time was in summer at twilight, just before sunset. Then the breeze usually dropped, the air began to cool and the world began to settle for the night. From June through August fireflies began to rise from the grass and the occasional call of an owl or whippoorwill was all that disturbed the silence.
Emily had come up here frequently for a number of years. The view across the land was always lovely. And inspiring. To Emily the view wasn't limited to the actual landscape but also included a view into herself and, sometimes, a view into her future.
Sometimes her brother, John, seven years older, accompanied her to the hilltop but most often she came alone. Anytime she had a problem or a decision to make or any other big topic to consider, she found this place most conducive to serious thought. Lately she had been giving a lot of thought to her future. She was getting to an age where other girls she knew were beginning to talk about their future expectations, but theirs were far removed from her own. At thirteen most of the girls had begun to seriously notice boys. In this remote region most of the families had been around for generations and most of the girls thought they would be no different. Almost all were thinking about marriage to some local boy. Oh, not immediately, of course. They would wait until they were at least sixteen. Actually most would not get married until into their early twenties despite the stereotype of the Kentucky hill dwellers. Still, at thirteen, most were looking forward to a limited future. A couple were sure they would be great country singers and move to California or at least Nashville but most thought they would spend their lives in these hills.
Emily was almost unique in that she desperately wanted to go to college and study engineering. She also knew that there was no way her family could afford college. She loved the out of doors and loved the hill country but she realized that here almost everyone was either a farmer or worked for the mines. Farming was not her thing and she had absolutely no interest in the mines, not even their engineering. No, she wanted to build. Buildings, maybe, but if she really had the choice it would be roads. That way she could work outdoors but could still create with technology. She really had no idea where this driving urge had originated. Maybe from a book she had read or, perhaps, from some overheard conversation. She just knew that for the last few years this had been her dream.
It hadn't come from her family. Emily's father worked for a mining company. Not as a miner but as a welder, repairing some of the equipment. Her mother, of course, didn't work outside the home. Very few women in this area did once they were married. Her older brother, John, had managed to escape the trap of the mines by playing football and had gotten a scholarship. His only real interest in college had been football and ROTC. He had told Emily that when he graduated he wanted to stay in the army. See the world. Do exciting things. Still, he didn't seem to have a very good idea just what exciting things. The military did not appeal to Emily. She knew her desired profession would take her out into the world and although she loved the country here she didn't want the kind of future it seemed to offer.
Now Emily watched the sun finally sink below the horizon. For another half hour she remained there, looking out at the darkening sky and the emerging stars, but also trying to see a way clear for the future she so desired. When the first of these bright points of light had just appeared, she recited, to herself, but in a just audible whisper, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight ..." She continued with the silent wish only half formed in her mind. She couldn't actually put it into words, but she knew it was really a wish for an almost impossible future - one in which she could keep the geography but have the kind of life she so desperately desired. She gave a sigh and decided that, at least for now, she would just continue to try and learn as much science and math as she could and maybe, just maybe, something might work out.
CHAPTER 1
It was
again July, two years later. Emily was now fifteen and in high school. Her brother had graduated from college in May and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the army. Her whole family had gone over to the college for the ceremonies. This was only Emily's third trip more than a hundred miles from her home, but that was still three more than many of her friends had made. There were even some of her friends' parents who had never been more than two counties away in their lives - and the counties here about were actually quite small.
Still, it wasn't like it had been fifty years ago when the region was really isolated. Now most families did have satellite TV and thus some idea what the rest of the world might be like, even if a lot of the programs gave a very distorted idea of the real world. It wasn't that people didn't know about the rest of the world. No, it was just that most had no urge to see it. Emily was an exception.
Walking around the campus in Lexington before the graduation ceremonies, Emily felt nearly overwhelmed. Not with the big campus but with emotions. The desire to go to college, to study and learn, was stronger than ever but she saw no way it might really happen. She felt excited at seeing the facilities and at the same time nearly ready to cry at the thought that she would probably never make it here.
Emily had skipped John's tour of the football facilities and instead walked over to the engineering part of campus. She was wandering around the building, looking at the displays in the Civil Engineering Department when a man in his fifties walked by and noticed her engrossed in the exhibits. There was something about this girl, about the way she looked at the displays with such a longing, that he stopped and just watched her for several minutes. Unbidden, the image of a hungry kid looking in a bakery window came to mind. There was a definite longing in the way she examined the displays before her. Finally he went up to her and said, "Hi. Looks like you might be interested in Civil Engineering."
Startled, Emily quickly turned around and looked at him. He didn't look threatening or anything and besides they were in a busy public building. She managed to respond, "Yes, I think so. I don't know an awful lot about it, though."
He smiled at her and said, "Well, I'm Professor Branson so I'm supposed to know something about it. If you have any questions I'll be happy to try and answer them."
Emily was not one to pass up an opportunity and began asking a number of questions. After the first fifteen minutes he had suggested they go over to the nearby snack bar and get a coke and she had ended up spending the next two hours with him, both learning a lot and also telling him about her own situation. He had then even taken her back to his office and given her some handouts describing what courses she should be taking in high school along with a few other things. She had said she wasn't sure her school had all the courses and he had looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then asked, "Do you have internet access?"
