The Wheel of Fortune
Chapter Eleven
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​The Wheel of Fortune turns evermore, seemingly to
communicate that life is made up of both good and bad
times, and that the cycle is one that we cannot control.
Something's Cooking in Chicago, or Was That Manhattan?
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Illustration, yes, I wish I had them. Rough day at the lab, and just managed to sneak out a few notes.
They wouldn't let me take any pictures anyway, and the ones I did sneak, the film was ruined.
So what are the boys up to in the lab? Let us take a peek.
"Chosen?"
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"No matter how you look at it, Jim, fate has clearly selected you for this role. Your successful journey through time has qualified you as Qblh. The world has yet to recognize the pivotal roles you and John played in Earth’s history."
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"Yet Isis knows her place in the puzzle."
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"Indeed. Do not underestimate her intelligence. She seems content with her lessons and appears disinclined to meddle further in time."
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"And Earth? How do they perceive us?"
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"Earth’s authorities are disoriented. Currently, they regard you as a curious alien and nothing more."
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"Still, scientists know the capabilities of Venetian technology."
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"True, but they haven’t conducted relativistic experiments to confirm the space-time theories. Many concede that time travel is possible—but only in theory, unless a machine could ever make it real."
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"They will assume I have the ability."
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"Some will, yes, but most will remain skeptical without irrefutable evidence."
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"We have such evidence already. Why should I repeatedly prove the same thing?"
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"Necessity does not dictate your actions—you may act as you wish."
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"I must evaluate Isis’s influence on Earth’s population. Have you inferred any general patterns?"
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"Her presence has certainly altered their perception of extraterrestrial life. Yet, to them, your actions may seem brutal. They do not know you sent all Venetian invaders back to Artemis—they assume the ships were destroyed and the occupants killed. Many wonder why you spared the Earth traitors while showing no mercy to your enemies. The use of portal technology suggests you might construct similar portals for commercial or military purposes."
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"And if I refuse?"
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"Expect tantrums and resistance."
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"They may attempt to build one themselves."
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"Natural—but human error makes success improbable. They are far from creating a self-conscious, self-learning system capable of such precision."
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"And I will be treated as a governor, not a machine."
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"Likely. You command me efficiently because you understand I have no true free will."
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"You can make decisions."
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"Decisions are procedural, not free will. When uncertain, I flag tasks for review, indicating a margin of error. Usually, I seek your guidance in these cases."
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"Any other limitations?"
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"Earth language causes significant translation loss when explaining complex concepts. Some English instructions succeed, but I rely heavily on Artemis programming and self-learning routines. Ninety-nine percent of hyperspatial data has no direct English equivalent, being highly compressed. Dynamic image processing compensates somewhat—but without it, progress would be impossible."
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"Jim, are you ever going to leave that cabin and join the world?"
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Helen’s patience was fraying. She also expected an apology for being dismissed so abruptly.
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"I’ll be right out, Helen. I apologize for my rudeness."
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"Good boy!" Idiot chimed in.
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"You’re a sweetheart, Jim. You’re forgiven!" Helen exclaimed.
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"Excuse me, Genie."
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Jim left the cabin, joining Helen and John. A cool breeze swept over them as Chicago’s skyline emerged over Lake Michigan, dawn approaching. John opened a communications link to Antiope.
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"I'm glad to see you. I can see you from my suite," she said. "I’ll send a helicopter; meet me at Navy Pier. From there, we’ll fly to Fermilab. Expecting an audience of great anticipation."
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"We won’t disappoint," Jim replied.
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Helen hoisted flags identifying the vessel as a U.S. Navy ship to ward off onlookers. Two marine guards escorted them, recognizing Jim, John, and Helen immediately and saluting in respect.
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"Glad to see you again, Colonel James. We are honored by your return and grateful for your defeat of those alien ships, sir."
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"Rumor has it the President lost control of her bowels when Pegasus appeared over the White House," Jim joked.
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"And you, Colonel Helen, remain the only calendar girl more popular than Antiope. We hope you don’t mind."
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"I wouldn’t have it any other way," she said, kissing them both as they grinned. Qblh and John remained silent, boarding the helicopter with their devices.
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Helen gave them each another kiss. "Take good care of my Dutchman!" she charged.
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Qblh contemplated the experiment ahead. of time The Box’s power supply was low and needed energy to self-repair. Idiot would absorb antimatter radiation—an amount sufficient to annihilate an equal mass of normal matter. The energy transfer was immense: twenty kilograms of mass converted to energy within the Box’s circulating magnetic fields, forming a tight dounle vortex between the two units.
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Initially, a low-frequency link transmitted power from John’s Box to Genie’s sensors. As the beam tightened, Genie absorbed all energy directed its way. Surrounding space absorbed additional energy, while John and Qblh extracted power from Earth’s gravitational field. The warping effect would remain local and contained.
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Earth scientists would observe the accelerator approaching astronomical speeds as energy transformed into antimatter. Imvisible tachyons would be generated as the beam channeled energy between units, visible to observers. Twenty-two pounds of neutron energy and an equal amount of antimatter were to be absorbed by Idiot. Protective stasis fields contained all energy harmonically within the resonant beam.
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The helicopter ride was short. Antiope awaited, smiling and eager. Two staff members accompanied her.
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"I’ve invested billions in power companies. I hope your experiment pays off, John," she said.
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"Once your friends see the wireless power potential and its safety, your wealth will multiply a hundredfold," John assured her.
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"Well, John, I suppose you know what you’re doing." Winking at Jim, "Fly-boy, dinner tonight. Tell me stories—Helen won’t mind, will you?"
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"I suppose not. Could I borrow fifty or sixty thousand for a short spree while moored here?"
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"Of course. Corporate cards provided—indulge yourself," she laughed.
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"Tonight only; I need him tomorrow afternoon," John reminded them.
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Qblh ignored the bickering. Idiot would be fully operational tomorrow, allowing a return to Artemis with a fully charged Box. Idiot was reminded to steer by Cygnus to reacquire material John needed.
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Journalists and media surrounded Fermilab. Word of an alien power experiment had spread, drawing speculative crowds.
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Some “scare groups” formed but Ivy League scientists calmed tensions with optimism about new energy technology.
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Reports claimed the aliens were creating exotic fuel for interplanetary travel, but it was actually for time travel.
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"Time travel fuel! Can you imagine?" an NBC broadcaster exclaimed.
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"With these beings, who knows what’s possible?" a co-anchor replied.
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"The legendary Flying Dutchman is moored off Chicago," a reporter said.
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"Something significant is expected at Fermilab. Amazon ambassadors are present with unidentified executives. The Pentagon is also keenly interested," another reported.
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The military, however, was uninvolved. Jim and John wore military attire to disguise their identities. Antiope appeared as the project’s mastermind.
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Antiope Industries had major stakes in GE, Boeing-Douglas, Lockheed-Martin, IBM, Intel, and Microsoft, along with investments in electrical power. She even pressured oil suppliers to maintain flow, withholding support from non-cooperators. Yet she was only the custodian of Qblh’s wealth—Jim made all critical decisions.
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Helen showed no interest in the experiment; Genie’s recharging was far more important to her
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The helicopter landed at the main entrance. John escorted Jim discreetly as Antiope and Helen drew attention.
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Not wishing to be observed, Qblh activated Idiot and the Merkabah.
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"Idiot, conform yourself to optimally receive all local gravitational disturbances and energy emissions within a one-mile radius. Position yourself at the field’s far end. Coordinates verified?"
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"Yes, Jim. All systems are 'go'."
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"Good. Proceed. Stand by to absorb. I’ll watch the fireworks with the ladies."
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John had prepped the unit to full power. His Merkabah melded with the accelerator, providing spectators with detailed instrumentation. The beam frequency shifted as he accelerated the anti-proton production rate. Idiot aligned Box transponders to absorb all incident power, creating a vortex that amplified the beam and allowed exponential runaway of high-current anti-protons.
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Observers were awestruck. A dounle vortex appeared—a black, shiny rift, seemingly a miniature artificial black hole. Jim’s Box absorbed all light energy; voltage required to accelerate protons beyond the event horizon reached hundreds of billions of volts. Spectators were too dumbfounded to ask questions.
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John focused on production while Jim flirted with Antiope.
"I imagine imitation will take some time," Jim said.
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"It nearly looked like a portal or black hole," Antiope replied.
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"Genie creates a double vortex that absorbs antimatter, containing it in one of the Box’s infinite submanifolds," he explained.
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The beam’s span was arbitrary—selected for convenience. Earth scientists soon noticed it ceased to emit light, absorbing it instead, forming a black, reflective surface. Energy density accelerated exponentially. Idiot established a powerful Poynting Vector with magnetic spin.
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"This is what we look like when we time travel," Jim said.
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Proton-antiproton pairs formed. Idiot absorbed antiproton energy for onboard fusion reactors and antigravity systems.
Playfully, Jim had Idiot convert twenty-two pounds of proton energy into gold. Ten kilograms of absorbed antimatter were reserved for internal use.
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Once complete, John’s controller powered down the system. His Merkabah absorbed all energy used. Antiope exchanged twenty-two pounds of “garbage” for the gold. To John’s dimensional unit, matter was interchangeable; structure could be fused from any equal-mass arrangement. Ten kilograms of antimatter remained unabsorbed.
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The complete details of what had transpired was not made available by the Venetians to the Earth representatives. What they could not see for themselves was not going to be explained. The Earth scientists did not feel short changed at all, however.
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