Blasphemy

Chapter 1 Ken Dolby stood before his workstation, his smooth, polished fingers caressing the controls of Isabella. He waited, savoring the moment, and then he unlocked a cage on the panel and pulled down a small red bar. There was no hum, no sound, nothing to indicate that the most expensive scientific instrument on earth had been turned on. Except that, two hundred miles away, the lights of Las Vegas dimmed ever so slightly. As Isabella warmed up, Dolby began to feel the fine vibration of her through the floor. He thought of the machine as a woman, and in his more imaginative moments he had even imagined what she looked liketall and slender, with a muscular back, black as the desert night, beaded with sweat. Isabella. He had shared these feelings with no oneno point in attracting ridicule. To the rest of the scientists on the project, Isabella was an "it," a dead machine built for a specific purpose. But Dolby had always felt a deep affection for the machines he createdfrom when he was ten years old and constructed his first radio from a kit. Fred. That was the radio's name. And when he thought of Fred, he saw a fat carroty-haired white man. The first computer he had built was Bettywho looked in his head like a brisk and efficient secretary. He couldn't explain why his machines took on the personalities they didit just happened. And now this, the world's most powerful particle accelerator . . . Isabella. "How's it look?" asked Hazelius, the team leader, coming over and placing an affectionate hand on his shoulder. "Purring like a cat," said Dolby. "Good." Hazelius straightened up and spoke to the team. "Gather round, I have an announcement to make." Silence fell as the team members straightened up from their workstations and waited. Hazelius strode across the small room and positioned himself in front of the biggest of the plasma screens. Small, slight, as sleek and restless as a caged mink, he paced in front of the screen for a moment before turning to them with a brilliant smile. It never ceased to amaze Dolby what a charismatic presence the man had. "My dear friends," he began, scanning the group with turquoise eyes. "It's 1492. We're at the bow of the Santa Maria, gazing at the sea horizon, moments before the coastline of the New World comes into view. Today is the day we sail over that unknown horizon and land upon the shores of our very own New World." He reached down into the Chapman bag he always carried and pulled out a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. He held it up like a trophy, his eyes sparkling, and thumped it down on the table. "This is for later tonight, when we set foot on the beach. Because tonight, we bring Isabella to one hundred percent full power." Silence greeted the announcement. Finally Kate Mercer, the assistant director of the project, spoke. "What happened to the plan to do three runs at ninety-five percent?" Hazelius returned her look with a smile. "I'm impatient. Aren't you?" Mercer brushed back her glossy black hair. "What if we hit an unknown resonance or generate a miniature black hole?" "Your own calculations show a one in quadrillion chance of that particular downside." "My calculations might be wrong." "Your calculations are never wrong." Hazelius smiled and turned to Dolby. "What do you think? Is she ready?"[read more]