The Challenge continuation............. 

 

“Good Night Cecile!” Greg said to Cecile, giving her a kiss and stopping the car in a front of a well landscaped condo complex in Palo Alto suburbs. She was living there for more than one year now, sharing a spacious 3 bedrooms apartment with two other GLab teammate girls. They were both tired, working late hours today. It was close to midnight!

“I’ll give you a buzz tomorrow around 10:30”, Greg addresses her again, knowing neither of them will wake up earlier than ten tomorrow. After a god night kiss he drove away.

 

Tomorrow was Saturday, and with his thoughts on what he and Cecile will do over the weekend, he didn’t realize his place was just a turning street away. The “All night” convenient store was just in front of him, and he suddenly remembers: “I am out of milk!” The store was just two blocks away from the place he lives in - a nice duplex inside the Palms Garden complex. He pulled the car in the parking lot there, entering the store. With a half gallon milk and some veggie snacks in his bag, he exits the store five minutes later, ready to get in the car. He was just about to open the door when suddenly a voice from behind shouts:

“Your wallet sucker!”, and Greg felt a gun sticking in his back.

“OK!, there is no need to be aggressive, I’ll give you my wallet”, Greg said, placing his food bag on top of his car and trying to reach his front pocket with his right hand. All of a sudden two shots were heard, and the last thought of Greg was………..”I am dead!” With this last thought in his mind, Greg collapses nearby his car.

 

An hour later he woke up in his bed, all sweat. It was one a clock in the morning.

“O my goodness, it was just a dream”, he thought, “just a bad dream, that’s all!”

He was in his pajamas, the food bag was on the kitchen table, and the TV was still on with some late rerun show. Then he noticed something odd. The pajamas he was wearing was the one he hated it. He had those pajamas from his former girlfriend, Nancy, and he was swearing to himself never to wear it. And the food bag was still on the kitchen table, the milk was unopened in the fridge, and so were the snacks. He never went to bed without his cup of milk and some snacks. He went right away in the bathroom to check something there, just to be sure.

 

“Yeah, it wasn’t a dream”, he said out loud, checking his tooth brush in the jar. It was totally dry!

“I never go to bed without brushing. And there is no way for the tooth brush to be dry in just one hour”, he just told mindfully to himself this time.

“My god, it wasn’t a dream! Someone brought me here in the house and put me in the bed”. And all of a sudden he remembers what really happened. The guy trying to rob him was actually shot dead, and he then fainted, falling on top of the dead robber.

“Who shot the sucker then”, Greg kept on asking himself.

 Then he suddenly made the connection………..”Sure, those security guys watching over me at all times, that’s the only reasonable explanation of this”, he was saying to him self out loud. He was having mixed feeling about all this, not being sure if he can considered himself blessed or rather screwed. Anyhow, for the time being he was thankful he was still alive. And with this last thought in mind, he fell in sleep……..again.

 

Cecile’s telephone ring was founding him still sleeping. It was 11:00 in the morning, and Greg was still in shock after what happened last night.

“Come here right away”, Greg told her in a coarse tone, without thinking too much.

“It is something wrong? Cecile is asking him at the other end.

“Just come here, please!” Greg is addressing her with a calmer tone this time.

 

“What is going on?”  Cecile asks Greg, right in front of the step door when Greg opens the door. Pulling her in, Greg was closing and locking the door right after her.

“Sit down Cecile, and listen”………..and with a low voice he was telling her in details the last night story and the concern he had about what happened last night.

After a short pause Cecile asks:

“Are you thinking of going to the police?”

“Did you see anything on the TV channels about the incident?” Greg quickly asks.

“No, I didn’t”, Cecile answers.

“And I bet you won’t, they've cleaned up everything behind”. Don’t you see, those are professionals, they don’t leave traces behind, and they certainly don’t like publicity”, Greg whispers.  After a short thinking Cecile replies:

“Yeah, I think you are right on that!” What are you going to do now?” she asks Greg.

“Nothing, not a thing! I will treat all this like it never happened”, Greg wisely answers.

“I think this is the best you can do indeed”, Cecile reinforces Greg’s wise attitude.

“Let’s go have some fun and forget about all this”, Greg said. A short while later they jump in the car heading to Carmel beach.

 

***

 

Greg put his nocturne adventure aside for now, knowing nobody beside he and Cecile knew about it. They both agree to keep it for themselves in order to avoid farther implications. Greg knew now for sure, the surveillance on him is very tight and very real, so he was promising to himself to pay more attention to his living actions from now on. He didn’t speak much about his GLab projects, so he knew he has nothing to be concerned about in this direction. But a strange feeling was overwhelming him, a feeling his freedom was somehow diminished. He was aware the surveillance was for his own good, but still, something was making him thinking his privacy was violated.

 

What he didn’t know is that from the other side of the fence, people watching him close were thinking very much of him and his wellbeing. The scam bag attacking him that night was in jail now, where he will stay for a long time. But people beyond the scene were concerned of the impact the nocturnal event will have on Greg and his work at the GLab. Knowing of him as a strong candidate to be admitted among those few working at sensitive projects deep inside the Amazonian jungle, Greg was too important for all mankind to be exposed to random living events like the one he was facing last night. As Greg will find out soon, his life will take a turn in a direction he couldn’t afford to disregard. But would Greg be strong enough to dedicate his life to the well being of all mankind over losing Cecile? That was the question the ones beyond the scene had to answer before asking Greg to commit to the new life laying for him ahead.

 

Cecile was also a candidate to join the club of the dedicated ones, the ones living for all mankind and not for themselves or some small social groups like family, friends, etc. People from behind the scene were always looking at proper solutions to accommodate those youngsters in the best possible way. How it will be this time nobody knew, and neither Greg nor Cecile will be told of any of this, their decision being totally free of any prior tinting conditions. Their dedication to all mankind has to be unaltered, totally free of any external contingencies. Only their heart can take such a decision!

 

The entire mankind was actually under a universal scrutiny from long time now, all done with one and only purpose in mind………….to harmonize mankind from within in order to maintain and improve the harmony existent all around. Unfortunately man had an agenda of his own, disrupting the harmony present at both levels. Mankind was working hard, and for too long, to its own destruction. That’s why forces from beyond mankind had to intervene in order for mankind to be able to stay afloat. Being out of control from way too many years now, the mankind of today was asking for drastic changes in both directions: from within, and outside in! And, as always in mankind case, the help will come from both directions!

 

What the actual mankind didn’t realize is the fact it was at a crossroad today, and that continuing to go with the current cruise control mode of total alienation will lead to its self-destruction. Only the U.S. and few other countries have realized this, and here was the place from where the future buds of the new mankind will start to develop, those very few meant to save mankind from extinction. How important those very few were for all mankind wasn’t really envisioned at the time, but strong forces from behind knew better, working diligently to protect them and to recruit them when the time was right for them to be.

 

They were almost two years since the Broadband Project started in America, and the people all around the country were having mixed feelings about it. The former filthy rich Americans, as well as the ones famous and powerful by the means of money, were not so happy about it. But they were in minority, therefore outnumbered by the very many others happy now by the new turn of events. The scientists were happy also, knowing of no pressure from behind as they use to have when they were the property of some powerful corporations. But the most cheerful of them all were the youngsters of America, on whom the government was actually counting the most.

 

Getting out of the chuckles the old generation of man was keeping them in, those youngsters were indeed the future of America and the world at large. Kept for so long in low paid jobs, disregard, cubiculums, and having very few happy living events in their life, their self esteem was depressingly low, replaced by frustration and anger. Sent in useless wars all around the world to fight for corrupt governments and airhead politicians, those youngsters were at the verge of collision with the old and degenerated generation of man. The Broadband Project was giving them a chance and a future ahead. That future has to be fulfilled or not for all mankind to be still around or not. The help was there with them from the very beginning!

 

***

 

Frank Montoya was a student in the nano-technology GLab, at the Future Technologies Institute, in Los Altos, California. His team was working on a special nano-technology project able to separate water in hydrogen and oxygen, and store them separately under pressure in special graphite containers after. The hydrogen filled containers could be then farther used as fuel tanks on various transportation vehicles like cars, airplanes, etc., giving an autonomy of about 300 miles per 25 gallons tank - at 65 miles per hour speed. The tanks were easily replaced by using a special robotized machine built for such purpose. The project was progressing very well, and some samples of those pressurized hydrogen containers were already installed in several test cars which were test driven in different college campuses in the U.S. and some countries abroad.

 

A separate GLab project was looking into the use of the other component of the separation – the super-compressed oxygen – as a possible fuel of the near future. A new team was already formed to study the new possibility, brainstorm for solutions and outcomes. The flexibility of those GLabs will become in time an amazing reality, and a subject to make all those skeptic of their success a minority.

 

The main thing to consider here was the danger present by the high risk of explosion any possible hydrogen leak has. In order to avoid this to occur, the graphite containers were tested in very harsh conditions, and very sensitive sensors were placed inside them, as well as all the conduits coming out from them. Special valves had to be put in place also in order to be sure no leeks will ever take place, under any circumstances. The same thing was true for the oxygen.

 

And sure, there was also the risk of a possible vehicle crash to be considered. Special shock sensors were placed in strategic places, all able to automatically shut down the hydrogen supply in case of an accident. All these components were thoroughly tested on specially designed places for such purpose using remotely controlled dummies inside cars. Except for some small kinks, the project was a strong winner, giving to all Americans an amazingly cheap and environmental friendly fuel.

 

The engine inside the car needed to be redesigned in order to accommodate the very fine particle of hydrogen gas. A special designed nano-injector had to be used in order to handle such a fine disbursing of gas, as well as modified titanium based cylinder able to sustain a very high compression. That was the only way to make a super-compressed hydrogen gas “behave”. Otherwise the car would have been like a rocket ready to be lost in space in small pieces.

 

The project’s nickname was “Hydro-motion”, and the fuel was known as “hydro-fuel”, surpassing by far in usage all other existent fuels in the years to come. It was leaving no residue behind, not even inside the engines themselves. The rumor was about a next project able to install inside the vehicle the entire nano-technology process, so that the vehicles will be able to carry just plain water in their tanks, making the hydro-fuel coming out on the other end ready for use. But sure that was something for the future! The odds for both components to succeed were highly regarded.

 

Pete Russell was a good friend of Frank, and they have interchanged their GLabs many times in order to learn from one another and to keep their minds in contact with various technologies related to their field of expertise – alternative fuels. Many like them were doing the same, knowing each other well, and getting closer to a wide range of scientific approaching angles. These new breed of young scientists was totally different from the old scientific establishment existing before the Broadband Project came along.

 

Those young scientists were not interested in profits, fame, or power, knowing of no scientific pride, prestige, or other silly human infatuating behaviors. Their motivation was to be of help to all others, to eliminate pain and suffering among men and make the living on planet Earth better for all, man wise, as well as man’s habitat wise. Such an attitude was totally new, as the Broadband Project knew, and had to be preserved as the only way for man to survive in the future. The old scientific body was a little scared of this new trend, but in time the ones pertaining to this body will identify themselves more and more with this new vision.

 

The GLabs those youngsters were working for, and the Institute as a whole had to make money, of course, but this didn’t mean to make fortunes and build a financial empire out of their discoveries -- as did happen before -- being rather meant to maintain a harmonious social balance and help evenly all mankind as a whole. A perfect balance had to be in place at all times in order for all mankind to be self-sustainable and to prosper, not just a small percentage of it, as it happened before. Only by maintaining this constant balance the mankind and all life on Earth will harmoniously live and prosper.

 

The mankind of the past didn’t realize this cosmic truth, living on the slippery road of greed, luster, and alienation, leading to a total degradation of man and his habitat. As the Prophecy said: "This old mankind has to change or it will be replaced all together!" And this is exactly what the Broadband Project was trying to accomplish: to change the old mankind with a new one – one based on new and wiser ways of living.

 

“Hey Pete! Nice car! What kind fuel is running on?” Frank is addressing to Pete coming down the stairs and walking toward him.

“Yeah! I’ve just bought it 2 weeks ago. It's running on CarboGel, but I think I’ll switch on Hydro-fuel when you will have it ready”, he humorously answers to Frank.

“It will be ready soon as you know!” Frank answers with a large smile on his face.

“I recognize that smile Frank, is the smile of the one smelling the success, right?” Pete said to Frank in a friendly tone.

“It will be an award ceremony for sure, don’t you think?” Pete continues, looking at Frank’s face to see his reaction.

“We will see!” Frank answers, trying to avoid extending the discussion farther.

Frank and Pete are good friends, sharing often their GLabs experiences.

 

  After a short pause, Frank is addressing to Pete again.

“Are you coming this weekend to the Annual “green cars” race?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. The alternative fuels are my second love, you know that”, Pete firmly answers.

“Beside, some of the cars there are using the CarboGel fuel, so I have to be there for the final readings after the race”, Pete continues.

“Is Melanie coming with you also?” Frank asks Pete, knowing of them sharing their weekends most of the time.

“Oh yeah, she loves to see those races, and the “green cars” are her long time hobby.”

“Great! Yvonne is coming with me also. Let’s have some fun”, Frank joyfully says looking at Pete’s face for a confirmation.

“OK, what do you have in mind?” Pete answers with a large smile.

“I know a restaurant nearby with an excellent food and a nice view”, Frank replied.

“Which car we go with, mine or yours?” Pete is addressing to Frank again.

“We will take mine this time, I want to see your reaction on the new Hydro-fuel I am using in it”, Frank said with a sense of pride in his eyes.

 

Continuing with their plans for the weekend they didn’t realize how hungry they were. A minute later Frank was in Pete’s new Chevy Mobile, heading toward the biogenetics GLab to pick up Melanie and Yvonne for lunch. In a short while they were all installed at a table inside the "Déjà Vu" fresh food restaurant. The French cuisine there was the best in town, and the price of food was just right. It was a sunny Friday of September, and the weather for the weekend was announced to be a sunny one as well.

 

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