The Orthogonal Galaxy (35 page)

A hand raised among the
crowd. Ming acknowledged the visiting reviewer, “Yes, Mr. Callahan.
You have a question.”

“
While it may be good that
most of the particles will deflect, it seems to me like it would
only take one particle approaching at the worst case condition to
impale the shield, and perhaps the vehicle,” expressed
Callahan.

“
If you were to take cross
sections of the shield,” Ming answered quickly, “you will notice
that the cone is perfectly circular until you get ten centimeters
from the nose of the shield. At that point, the circular cross
sections begin to slowly morph into octagons, which is calculated
to reduce the rounding effect at the tip of the cone. Continue down
and these octagons will get smaller and smaller until about three
centimeters where the shape of the octagon becomes irregular. In
this region, you will notice that the nose begins to point slightly
downward until it comes to a point. That point actually is bent
three degrees below the directional axis of the vehicle. In order
to get a direct ninety degree impact of a particle on the shield,
it would need to approach the vehicle at three degrees from below.
While the vehicle is traveling at sufficiently high speeds, it is
impractical for any object to impact the shield at zero degrees. In
fact, the vast majority of particles will impact at angles well
below fifty-five degrees.”

Satisfied with the answer,
Callahan gestured to Ming to continue with her
presentation.

Ming clicked on her
presentation controller to advance the presentation. “On this
slide, I show the layers of the shield. The skin consists of a
three millimeter single-molded sheet of a highly specialized
metal-matrix composite material. It is extremely light and very
impervious to high-speed particle impact. It is molded into a
single sheet to avoid any seams which might cause degradation in
performance.

“
The second layer of the
shield consists of a two-dimensional array of impact sensors. The
sensors relay the amount of pressure on the shield to the main
guidance computer system. There are over twelve million microscopic
semiconducting sensors in the array, placed in immediate proximity
in order to assess not only the force of impact but also the size
of the particles in question. The computer calculates the size by
assessing the simultaneous force of impact on neighboring sensors.
The larger the object is, the more sensors that will transmit a
simultaneous reading to the computer. Size and force together are
the two key components which dictate the potential damage to the
shield.”

Ming paused and looked
around for questions, but she had apparently described the second
layer sufficiently for the reviewers to comprehend the usage of the
second layer.

“
The third layer consists
of electronic pulse generators, or EPGs which can pulverize larger
particles into smaller ones just prior to impact. For the most
part, the vehicle will prefer to decelerate in areas of higher
density debris. However, some objects will be too large to safely
deflect but too small to avoid. In these instances, the vehicle
will first decelerate to an acceptable speed and will engage the
EPGs. These can turn a basketball-sized particle into multiple
golf-ball sized particles as soon as it approaches within twelve
centimeters of the shield, even while the vehicle is traveling at
Warp 0.5.

“
Miss Ming,” interrupted
another reviewer. “How long can the vehicle sustain the amount of
energy required to engage the EPGs, and how is that energy
restored? I trust we will not be able to place interstellar gas
stations along the route, right?”

Ming chuckled respectfully
and answered, “At Warp 0.5, we expect to be able to navigate
through dust fields as large as 500 astronomical units. We expect
these events to be rare, compared to the asteroid fields that the
shield will completely avoid impacts altogether. In most galaxies,
dust has coalesced to form asteroids. Only in very new galaxies,
will the vehicle have to contend with large quantities of dust. The
most typical use of the EPGs will be while navigating through
chunks of ice scattered behind the tail of a comet. However, these
will only cause the EPGs to be turned on for a very short period of
time.

“
I am afraid that I am not
able to answer your second question, since that comes from the Star
Energy team, who is handling the energy generation and consumption
requirements for the vehicle. We were given a specification from
the team that the EPGs must consume no more than 100 kilowatts of
power in a single burst. From this, we calculated the numbers I
provided before. That is, 500 astronomical units at Warp
0.5.”

“
If there are no further
questions…” There were none. “I would now like to demonstrate the
shield in the wind tunnel.”

The team was able to note
the deflection of wind across the shield. They paid particularly
close attention to the effects of the wind at the tip as well as
along the flat octagon-shaped portion of the shield. They briefly
examined the effect along the curved portion as well.

One reviewer asked if an
EPG demonstration could be provided, and Ming was able to oblige by
leading the party into an electronics lab. She took two three-foot
square metal screens and placed them upright in front of a small
canon-like device. She took a couple of average looking rocks each
about five inches in diameter and loaded them one at a time into
the canon. The first one was fired directly into the metal screen
with the EPGs disengaged. The screen was completely impaled by the
rock as was evidenced by the five-inch hole in the middle of it.
Ming then turned on the EPGs, which caused the shield to dance with
blue glowing pulses of electricity. The second rock was fired into
the new screen. The effects were vastly different. Several gasps of
air and a couple of high-pitched whistles convinced Ming that her
party was impressed. To finalize the effect, Ming took the screen
and showed them the profile, where there were several dents in the
screen, none of which were larger than about five millimeters. Then
she showed them the floor below the screen where a collection of
fine dust had accumulated from the disintegration of the
rock.

“
Miss Ming,” announced a
senior reviewer, “it appears to me that your team has done a
magnificent job in your research and development. Congratulations
on a job well done, and keep up the fine work.”

Ming bowed graciously.
Words nearly escaped her, until she was able to fumble out an
emotional acceptance of the praise. “Thank you, Dr. Janos. I am
glad to have been able to demonstrate our work here
today.”

…

At 8:45pm, Maril collapsed
into the leather seat in his office. In the quiet of his office,
the only sound he could hear was a dull ringing in his ears. After
introductions, design reviews, and debriefing sessions, Maril found
himself alone for the first time since walking into his office
earlier that morning. Had it really been just that morning? It felt
so much longer than that.

Heaving a deep breath of
air and finishing off a bottle of water that sat on his desk, Maril
collected his computer bag, and started to walk out of the office.
He paused as he noticed a freshly pressed tuxedo bag on a hanger
behind the door. He smiled and reminded himself out loud, “I really
do need to give that girl a raise.”

19

“
Well, what do we have
here?” A prisoner sat down next to Blade Slater with a tray of
food. “Looks like Doubting Thomas has himself a new
friend.”

Blade looked across the
table at his ‘new friend’ with a smile. “Ever since Goat Herd here
started readin’ the Bible, he’s been callin’ me Doubtin’
Thomas.”

Extending a hand across
the table, the newcomer introduced himself. “The name’s Guntherd
Schenthtzen. Some folks around here find it easier to remember my
prison number, 689214—or, for the numerically challenged, Goat Herd
works too.”

After looking to Blade who
gave an almost imperceptible nod of approval, Joonter reached out
his hand to find a deceptively firm grip from the otherwise scrawny
looking Guntherd. “Paol Joonter.”

Not comfortable in how
much he should say, Joonter decided to keep his communication with
other prisoners as succinct as possible, since he still wasn’t sure
of the intricacies of proper communication with inmates.

“
Sharp dresser,” Guntherd
said matter-of-factly.

Paol looked down at his
prison garb and then scanned the rest of the cafeteria. With a look
of confusion, he found it to be no different than any other
prisoner in the commissary.

“
What Goat Herd here is
tryin’ to say,” Slater clarified for his cellmate, “is that you is
pretty well groomed. Short hair. Clean shave. No tats. It gives yer
wardrobe a different appearance, like it’s newer than the rest of
us.”

Eyeing Joonter with
suspicion, Schenthtzen announced, “I hear there’s some fancy-pants
three-piece-suit businessman due to arrive soon. That would be a
real boon for those of us in a position to help him learn the ropes
and keep him safe, if you know what I mean.”

With a disgusted look on
his face, Blade turned to face their uninvited guest, “Since when
do you have any power to protect anyone ‘round here? You may be
able to herd some goats, but you know that wolves eat goats,
dontcha?”

Guntherd pushed his tray a
few inches away from him and stared down at the blank table in
front of him. “Are you threatening me, Thomas?”

Turning back to cut a
piece of his Salisbury steak with his spoon, Blade attempted to
defuse the situation. “Be reasonable, ‘214. You was the one to
suggest to extortin’ money from my friend here.”

“
I ain’t doing nothing
different than what you’re doing? You’re just trying to pick his
pocket by being his friend.”

Could this be true? Could
it be that Blade was trying to get on Paol’s good side to receive
favors in the form of extra money for the commissary? Or was this
Guntherd character really good at manipulation. Paol wondered if he
had let his guard down with his new cellmate and was too quick to
abandon the rule Warron had given him to “trust no one!”

“
No matter,” Blade stated
shrugging his shoulders. “Joonter ain’t worth nothin’
anyway.”

“
You’re lying,
Slater!”

“
Let me rephrase my
sentence,” Blade responded in measured tones. “He ain’t worth
nothin’ in here. Fo’ the last three days, Paol’s been followin’ me
‘round to learn all ‘bout the prison. In three trips to the
commissary, he ain’t bought nothin’. So, I asked him, ‘why ain’t
you buyin’ nothin’? He says, ‘I ain’t got no money.’ So, I asks,
‘Whatcha mean? Every prisoner’s got money. We all work, we all get
paid—not much, but ‘nough to buy stuff.’ And you know what he
says?” Slater turned back to Guntherd who was still looking at the
table.

Blade went on after
pausing long enough to know that Schenthtzen wasn’t going to
respond to the question. “He says, ‘I arranged with the warden to
send all of my money to my family.’”

“
This stuffed suit’s
family doesn’t need any money,” Guntherd pointed an accusing finger
at Paol. “You are full of—”

Slater raised his hand to
cut off Schenthtzen before he could complete his sentence. “I ain’t
full of nothin’, ‘214, ‘cuz you won’t let me eat my meat and
potatoes. You see, Paol ain’t sendin’ money to a needy family. He’s
a smart man, and he learned how to survive tough competition. That
business survival instinct is servin’ well in prison. The reason
he’s sendin’ his money home, is ‘cuz he knew he’d be a target. If
he ain’t got no money, he can’t become prey to nobody, includin’
you, Guntherd. Sorry to disappoint, but you might wanna spread the
word that Joonter ain’t worth nobody’s time.”

As prisoner number 689214
stalked off with his tray of food untouched, Paol looked Blade in
the eyes and gave a grateful nod. In the commotion of the courtyard
after lunch, Paol got a chance to ask Blade about the
exchange.

“
But we haven’t even been
to the commissary once, Blade.”

“
I only go on Mondays, but
Goat Herd don’t know that, ‘cuz his commissary schedule is
different than ours.”

“
I suppose this means that
I won’t be able to buy anything while I’m here,” Paol opined, “but
that appears to be better than the ugly alternative that I just
witnessed back in the cafeteria.”

“
I thinks you just need to
wait a few weeks. Once Goat Herd’s intel makes the rounds, you’ll
be hands off, and the dust of the newness will settle down. Then,
you should have no problem buyin’ anythin’ you want. But, you might
wanna give it to me for safe keepin’ until we get back to the
cell—just in case we pass one of Guntherd’s goats.”

...

That night, as Paol lay
sleepless in his bunk, he couldn’t help but think that he dodged a
bullet already in his brief tenure at the penitentiary. He wondered
how many more close calls he’d have with prisoners, but at least
for now, he was grateful for the quick thinking of his
cellmate.

How could he have such bad
luck to end up in prison in the first place, and yet have such good
luck to be led to the most helpful person in the entire prison? And
how is it that a self-educated young man from the ghetto could be
so important to the well-being of a post-graduate engineer and
successful businessman? It all seemed so ironic. Perhaps it was
fate. Maybe fate led Paol here to become acquainted with Blade.
Perhaps Warron would soon find the evidence he needed to bring the
case to justice once and for all, and when released, the roles
would be turned. Whereas Blade Slater was Paol Joonter’s savior in
prison, Paol would be there to protect Slater as he adapted to
society in his post-prison life.