There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 15

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A Scientist Inherits His Neice, and the story continues.
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Part 15 of the 34 part series

Updated 06/07/2023
Created 05/19/2014
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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."

***********

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?"

"We have to contact someone who can tell us how the 'Wood Frog' freezes itself over the long Arctic winter, thaws itself out for spring and summer to mate and reproduce, then repeats that cycle year after year. Some 'Wood Frogs' have been known to live for as long as 38 years. We have to find out how they do it year after year, without damaging their cells."

"We did that a few years ago. Do you want to take another trip, or do you want to do this one by telephone?"

"Laura this one is a hands-on project. We are going to fly there to see what they have on file, and on film to see what we may have missed. This is too important to us, and to this project. I call them, and advise them we're coming."

"I guess that means we are a team again?"

"We always were a team baby; ever since the day you were born."

"It didn't feel that way when I was a teenager."

"Your mother has grown up. I should have kept my fears to myself, and let the three of you grow up without my constant interference. It was very hard for me to let you go, but it was the right thing to do."

"You bet your ass it was Patti."

"Holy shit; I know that voice. I'm not sure if I remember the man it belongs to, but I think it used to be my husband. I have not seen him in ages. I believe he ran away from home."

"You know damn well I didn't run away from home. I'm taking care of your money, and this damn project. I'd like to run away with you to Tahiti and bury my head in the sand for a few weeks just to get away from it."

"Why don't we?"

"If you saw what my desk looks like, you would scream. If I left for two weeks on vacation, and looked at my desk, when we returned, I would die. The spacecraft is being put together. In a few years it will take off. Now I am ordering everything for a surgical suite. They should have a hospital purchasing agent doing this, but they have me doing it instead. I have been told to order the best of everything, from diagnostic equipment, to alcohol swabs. It's like I'm supposed to know the difference. I had to come home this weekend just to clear my head."

"Who told you to order the stuff by yourself?"

"Doctor Luck sent me an email telling me he wanted me to start ordering everything in the way of medical necessities for our trip."

"Did the email say: Order these supplies 'personally'."

"No, but the email did not go through the normal system, it came directly to me."

"You are an idiot Stephano. Who does the hiring and firing for this project? Who subcontracts vendors to bring in specialty supplies?"

"I should've stayed in Charleston. Now I have a headache. I feel like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot. You're burning the candle at both ends, and you are exhausted."

"Do you think you could make me dinner?"

"Dinner, what's dinner? Robert is at the University of Michigan, and Ana is at the University of Virginia. I don't believe Laura or I have seen the kitchen in two years. We order in, and we eat down here. I know you believe you have the toughest job of all, but we are all working towards the same goal. What did you have in mind for dinner?"

"I wasn't hoping for anything fancy: a small antipasto, bruschetta, veal cutlets with spaghetti marinara, a nice red wine, and a tossed salad. You know something quick."

"Laura do you want to kill your father or should I do it?"

"Mom, you said we were a team; let's kill him together."

They got up from the computer and charged him.

He turned, and ran up the stairs to the main floor of the house laughing. He turned and ran towards the kitchen, with his wife and daughter close behind. They noticed the aroma of food as they closed in on the kitchen.

As they burst into the room, the table was set, candles were lit, the appetizer was on the table, and the wine was open.

Stephano said, "Sit down, dinner is served."

Patti heard the clanging of pots behind her. She turned and saw a woman her age working in the kitchen.

"What is that woman doing in my kitchen?"

"Sabrina is in the kitchen because you have not been in it for many years. It is not a healthy way to eat for either of you. Today that comes to an end. Both of you will eat properly from now on. Sabrina will live in the house next door to us. She will serve you breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

If you argue with her, she will report it to me. I will have to take time out from my hectic work schedule to come home. I will be very angry with you, because I'm getting further behind in my work than I am already. I will take that anger out on your behind. Do you remember what happens to your behinds, when I get behind my work? Do you two understand what I am implying?"

"Dad, I'm 20 years old; you can't spank me anymore."

"You are absolutely correct; I wouldn't dare spank a 20-year-old woman. I have a paddle that will do it for me. Isn't that correct Patricia?"

"Yes Stephano.

"You are going to follow my instructions; aren't you Patricia?"

"Yes dear."

"How about you Laura; are you going to behave according to these rules?"

"Mom, you have never given in to daddy that easily."

"You've never seen him with that paddle in his hand."

"This is your last chance Laura. Are you going to obey this rule?"

"If mom is, I certainly am.

"I have such a loving and understanding family. Let's eat; then we'll go downstairs to see what you have accomplished."

Patti said, "Can we just stay up here and talk?"

"Is it that bad?"

"Almost 3 years of hard work, and the computer is laughing at us. We are going to Alberta to do more research on the Wood Frogs. We have to find out how they freeze and thaw, year after year, without damaging their cellular structure."

"Didn't you do that study two years ago?"

"Yes we did, but there has to be more to it than what we observed. They live longer than most amphibian species, under the most inhospitable circumstances. They have to hold a secret we haven't discovered. As Laura said to me today, we are knocking our heads against a stone wall, because every simulation we run people wind up dead."

"I imagine that the 60 or 80 people taking this trip would not like to hear those words. You two have to find a way to fix this problem. Do you want more help?"

"I don't know if more people will help the process, but we could give it a try. Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Christian Chase could give you a hand. I am told his sister, Cassie, is also brilliant, but a little on the wild side, like her mother used to be."

Patti grinned, "I haven't spoken to Callie in a few months. Let's eat dinner first, then I'll call her, and yank her chain. She's going to be 50 in February, I can only imagine what Alan is doing to her already."

**********

"Hello!"

"Hi Callie, its Patti how are you?"

"Hello Mrs. Valentino, this is Cassie, how is everything?"

"Cassie your voice is just like your mom's. The pictures we get of you are more beautiful than she was the day I met her."

"Thank you very much, but please don't say that to her. We are barely talking as it is, and if you said something like that to her, she will kill me."

"You don't have to tell me why, I already know. The big 50 is coming up February and she is not taking it well."

"Dad wants to build a nuclear bunker in the backyard just to get away from her."

"Tell your dad it wouldn't work. She would eat through the concrete and steel just to yell at him. Where is she now?"

"She's yelling at him."

"Let's give your dad a break. Tell your mother it's me, and hand her the phone."

*************

In a very calm, cool voice Callie said, "Hello Patricia, it is wonderful of you to call."

"Thank you Callalily; what did you do, drink a quart of liquid Valium to bring your blood pressure down from screaming at Harold to talk to me?"

"Don't talk to me like that you little bitch."

"There's the girl we all know and love."

"Stop that before I reached through the telephone and grab you by your throat."

"I was just being nice. I wanted to ask you a few questions, and to see if your children wanted to help us on the project we are working on. Laura and I could use a great deal of help, if they wanted to come east for a while."

"You want to take my babies away from me?"

"Excuse me, but exactly how young are your babies?"

"You know how old they are."

"Yes I do. Christian is 23, and Cassie is 21. If you tried to put them back into your womb, I don't think they would fit."

"What was your other question, before I say no to both of them."

"First, you can't say no for them, because they are adults. I'm going to ask each of them individually if they would like to come to my home and help us. The second question is more than a personal level, and much harder for me to ask you. I really need your help on this one. Will you do this for me with an open mind?"

"You know I will do anything for you, you little turd."

"Okay, think hard on this one, because I have been thinking about it for an extremely long time, and for the life of me I cannot come up with an answer that is appropriate. What do you get for a really close friend for her FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY?"

"You no good rotten bitch. I should have expected something like that coming from you. You couldn't wait to spring that on me, could you? It's still ten months away, and you are going to call or email me every day just to rub it in, just like Alan has threatened to do. I hate you Patricia, I hope you go bald."

"I am bald in one place, because Stephano likes it that way."

"I guess he's fucked you so often, he can fit his arm up there."

"At what age did you lose your virginity Callalily? My husband knows I was a virgin when we got married."

"You were also crazier than the 'Mad Hatter."

"Does that mean Alan hasn't started in on you already?"

"Don't you dare mention that man's name to me. Every weekend he has a plane sky writing 'Callie's 50' all over the town. I am a laughingstock when I go to church. I am in the bishop's homily every week. When I asked him to stop he said, "NO! The congregation is so focused on what I'm saying because they are waiting for my joke about you, I'm getting my message across much better than ever before. I hope Alan never stops that aircraft from skywriting your name and age."

We had a barbecue last week at Susan's. I swear if I had a machine gun I would've killed him.

He said, "Wait until you hit 59 Callalily. I'm going to have a plane fly over the city every day. They will count down: 364 more days until Callie is 60 years old. 363 more days until Callie is 60 years old."

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