The Last Message

“This can’t be possible! We've been examining this damn thing for days, and we still can't make any sense of it!” The exasperation and agitation were evident in Randolph's voice as he addressed the gathered team members. For the past four days, the optimism of everyone in this elite group had been steadily declining—along with their physical stamina. The team had spent virtually all of their waking hours confined in this tightly secured facility less than fifty miles from Manhattan. Could the world's future really depend on this small team's efforts? Could the bizarre object they were examining actually cause the end of civilization? The emotional breaking point was painfully close for many of the exhausted researchers. Randolph Schiller was the nominal head of the research team, personally selected by President Arbust. Randy, as his politically connected friends in Washington knew him, had an impressive background. He had advanced steadily through the academic world and had attained wide recognition for his research in elementary physics. With dark brown hair and even darker brown eyes, Randy personified several traits of a typical leader. A physically imposing figure at six feet four inches and 210 pounds, Randy was in excellent shape despite his age of fifty-six. He was quite self-satisfied about having maintained a daily six-mile jogging regimen throughout his adult life. Regardless of the weather or his frequent business trips, maintaining a rigorous exercise regimen was a key part of how Randy lived. It always amazed him that so many associates had failed in life by not controlling their desires and actions. To perpetuate his string of career successes, he knew it would also be essential to control the researchers assigned to this project. Randy had a style of dealing with people that made their conversations with him seem more like being on the receiving end of a lecture. Everyone was aware of his sharp intellect, but he was even more aware of it, so he routinely expected others to defer to his superior thinking. If they would not, Randy could always replace them with others who were more appreciative of his capabilities. Most of the team had gathered in the lab's impressive conference room to update each other with their respective progress, or more accurately that day, their lack of progress. Under normal circumstances, this advanced research site would have been a highly desired assignment for the selected team members. The spacious office and laboratory areas were outfitted with the most sophisticated test equipment available. The rolling, park-like grounds and highly secured entrances to the complex heightened both the attractiveness and the prestige of the facility. All the accoutrements affirmed that those chosen to work here were regarded as being among the most successful in their respective fields. Unfortunately, any current appreciation for the beauty and prestige of the setting was totally overshadowed by the dire task at hand. “All of us know the dwindling time frame to solve this dilemma.” Randy addressed the group in his usual grim manner, omitting unnecessary civilities. This was the first team meeting where fatigue had become apparent in his usually robust voice and appearance. “I'm not trying to add to everyone's stress, but we're rapidly running out of time. I'm providing a briefing to President Arbust at 5 PM. That gives us three more hours. Let’s at least put together a better guess at what we're dealing with!” Randy had not reached his level of accomplishment in the academic world by failing at tasks—this was a new and exasperating feeling for him. He also knew that not everyone was hoping the team would be successful. When the pending catastrophe was first recognized, the research team had been hastily assembled, with the unavoidable political mishaps from recruiting many individuals within only a few days. A number of notable and highly visible candidates were left outside the team, several of which elected to cavil among themselves and to any media journalists willing to listen. How could the selection team have overlooked their publicized Nobel Prize achievements, their stellar academic reputations or their innovative inventions? Too many outsiders with a vested interest in the breakdown of the selected group were waiting and hoping for an opportunity to nudge the team toward failure. A number of these arrogant leaders in science and business would jump at the first chance to take charge of such a crucial project. Among all the investigation team members, Rob Thornton had quickly risen to become the real team leader, solely due to his unequaled competence in attacking the problem. His even-tempered method of synthesizing all the research data was not rare in the scientific community, but it was definitely impressive when applied in this unique and extraordinarily stressful situation. Rob was well aware of the respect the others had for him, but he also knew they considered him an outsider to their established Washington network. The fact that he was still in his thirties was an obvious variance from the older age of most of the team members. He had an athletic build, kept lean by his frequent tennis matches and generally active lifestyle. His dedication to his work precluded much of a social life, which was always something he intended to remedy but never quite got around to. Since most women found his deep blue eyes and his dry humor very appealing, he always figured there would be plenty of time for a long-term relationship, perhaps when his career wasn’t consuming so much of his time. The selection committee had chosen Rob primarily because of his recent near-celebrity status achieved by solving a decades-old engineering challenge. Scientists had long dreamed of a device that could efficiently transport objects between Earth and an orbiting space station. Rob’s background in physics and his experience in structural engineering enabled him to creatively employ a laser beam as a power source for a space elevator. The working model of the elevator was capable of rapidly ascending and descending a thin carbon nanotube to a height of over six hundred feet, laying the groundwork for future enhanced versions. The attendant publicity marked him as an extremely bright scientist who was equally adept with both traditional research techniques and with innovative outside-the-box thinking. As the team members moved out of the conference room to continue struggling with the dilemma, Rob returned directly to C Lab, the building that contained the bizarre object. C Lab was located only a few hundred yards away from the team’s conference room. As he quickly walked by himself along the paved path between the buildings, he was oblivious to the manicured landscape and the balmy spring weather. Focused on the pressing crisis, he couldn’t help but wonder how many more days they might survive. They had to figure out how this object seemingly defied the laws of physics.