Chapter 15
Note: all persons in this novel are fictitious. If you are looking for a great deal of explicit sexual activity, this story is not for you. Those scenes that are included will be evocative rather than just for the sake of sex itself. This story is for your reading pleasure. Its length is undetermined at this time, because I do not know where my mind will take me along the way. I hope you will stay with me during this journey until it reaches its inevitable conclusion.
61.
Crime and Punishment
Gordon opened his bedroom door a few inches, and saw Montgomarie staring at him disapprovingly. He closed it immediately. He felt like a prisoner in his own home. His dad and mom had never punished him before. Well that wasn't exactly true, his mom had punished him when he was very little, but he learned to be good, and to make very good choices. He idolized his dad, because of what he taught him, and how he gave him so much freedom to use and learn from computers. His parents had given everything and anything he ever wanted. Now they were angry with him, because he wanted more. So what if it was late at night. No one would ever come into the building, because there were guards to keep intruders out. He was testing his hypothesis on hyper light speed and nuclear fusion. If they could jump past nuclear fission and into the realm of nuclear fusion prior to completing the reactor there was a possibility of reaching warp eight. They could reach stars so distant so quickly, Big Blue balked at the numbers. He had to know, that's why he worked so late at night, and that's when he got caught.
His dad did not even give him a chance to explain why he was there. All he talked about was the law, and not wanting to be in jail. The hell with jail, this was much more important to him.
When he sat down to lunch with his mother and brother's, he didn't say a word.
Jennifer asked him why they were getting the silent treatment.
Gordon replied, "Do you really believe this is necessary? Do you believe dad is right? Did I do something so terrible that I should be locked away in my room for a week, without access to a computer, books, or a television?"
Jennifer's answer was simple. "Yes."
"How can you possibly agree with him? He's acting crazy over something so insignificant that all he had to say was 'Don't do it again."
"Would you have listened to your father if he said that to you?"
"Of course not, I love working on that big computer. I'm at home with it."
"Do you know what would happen if you were caught there at night by the police?"
"No, not really; what could they possibly do to an 11-year-old boy?"
"First, there would go all everyone's dreams of flying to the stars. No one would be allowed to fly that ship out of this planet's atmosphere and prove that Delicious was right about her engines. All the money people invested in that wonderful machine would have been wasted. So many people, put so much time and effort to bring that machine together, and your hubris would have torn it apart. You came before everyone else, and you didn't care.
They could arrest your father for breaking several child labor laws. He could go to jail for 10 years or more, and you didn't care. They could place you in a foster home, with another family, until your 18 years old. We would have nothing to say about how they raised you, or how they treated you. We would not even be able to see or talk to you for the next seven years.
Your father would be treated as a pariah by the scientific community for the rest of his life. Everything he has ever done, and everything he does in the future would be tainted, because of what you did to him.
I would lose a husband, and a son. You would lose a father and a mother. Your father would lose his whole life's work, because he tried to save yours. All the money in the world could not wash away the stain of him being called 'A Criminal.' Many of his erstwhile friends would desert him. Others would stand by him, because they know what type of man he really is.
Your testimony would be discounted, because you are an impressionable 11-year-old. They would say he brainwashed you into saying what a wonderful man and father he is. They would ask you how many hours he worked you a week, and when you answered 60 to 80 hours a week the jury would be shocked into silence."
That one sentence would convict your father. Anything else you said wouldn't matter to them. You were an overworked, abused young boy, taken advantage of by an older man, who should've known better."
That would be the end of your father's life as you know it. If he survives those years in jail, he will not come out the same man. No man does. They make you live in a cage, like an animal. Those people who commit horrendous crimes belong there. Do you think your father belongs in jail?
He loves all of us more than he loves his life. He has proven that over and over again. He asks you to do one thing for him, and you won't do it, because you are too important. You are more important than this entire project. This project falls apart without Gordon Oliver Stars Luck; isn't that right?"
"Mom, the things I'm working on could get us to other planets faster than dad ever dreamed about. If a planet is not good, we can get to other planets without any problem."
"As I said Gordon, without you this whole project falls apart. We don't need the engineers to fabricate the three layers skins to protect the occupants on the inside of the spacecraft from harmful radiation, and gamma rays. We don't need the electricians to run 2000 miles of electrical and fiber-optic lines throughout the ship. We don't need the technicians to install the computers and control modules for the engines. We don't need the installers for the hydraulic pumps for the landing gear, and the outer doors of the spacecraft to push out the nuclear engine, and then pull it back in when we are finished using it. We don't need plumbers to install piping for drinking water, and showers. We don't need the thousands of other specialists, who are putting our spaceship together. We just need you."
Gordon got up from the table, excused himself, ran to his bedroom, and slammed his door closed.
Montgomarie opened his door. "Get over here this instant and close this door properly."
He knew better than to argue with her. With tears in his eyes he walked over to the door and closed it softly.
Montgomarie opened it, and walked into his room.
"its tough hearing the truth isn't it Gordon?"
"Not now Monte, I just want to think."
"What is there to think about? You screwed up. You have to find a way to make it right. You haven't talk to your father all week. You sat across the table from him and didn't say a word. If it were me, I would've reached across the table and smacked you into next month.
Your father is a very easy-going man, and you disobeyed not only the laws of this country, but one of his laws. He wanted you to be in bed at a decent hour so you could get proper rest. Partially, it is my fault that you didn't listen to him. I am too fond of you, and I should quit because of it. I've been guarding you for too long. You need a stricter hand than I have been using on you. I will speak with your father about this when he gets home tonight. I will let him make that decision"
"Don't leave me Monty please. I promise I'll be good. I'll do whatever my father tells me to do as long as you stay with me. I can't tell you how much I love training with you."
"I'm not going to promise you anything. I have to speak with your father first. He is in charge of your welfare, not I. If I am not good for you anymore, he should replace me."
Montgomarie turned and walked out of the room.
Gordon, who thought the world ended with his mother's lecture, was sure of it when Monty told him she might leave him. He bit his pillow and cried. He had no idea how to handle the situation with his dad. He fell into a deep and fitful sleep. He did not dream, and could not escape the blackness his mind was dropping into. He felt like he was falling into an abyss that had no bottom."
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62. STONE WALLS and WOOD FROGS
"Mom, I've hit this stonewall so many times my head hurts. I'm not sure we are ever going to solve this problem. What are we going to tell Doctor Luck? All his hard work will be for nothing, because we can't solve it."
"What do you mean we; I am only the assistant on this project. You volunteered Laura. You are the one that wants to go to another part of the universe. Are you giving up on your dream?"
"Mom sometimes you're a real bitch."
"Don't you dare tell that to your father, he might believe you."
Laura laughed, and embraced her mother, even though there were tears in her eyes.
"What am I supposed to do mom? I don't have a clue at this point. In every simulation we run, people wind up dead after a few light years. They shrivel up and die due to a lack of hydration. We can't hook them up to intravenous lines, for any extended period of time, because their veins will explode. We can't submerge them in liquids, because their bodies will absorb so much of it they will die of congestive heart failure. Where is the middle ground? I can't see it, can you?"
