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  The manual and physical specs had to be included at the build and assembly stage of the nano growth platforms, which were the heart of the ingot manufacturing process. They were incredibly advanced, thanks to David, and one of Omni’s most closely guarded secrets. Accurately scaling them up to include the breakthrough technology had been key and was the cornerstone of continuous nano strand production—technology that rival organizations would do anything to have. Getting the machinery parameters 100 percent right was a painstakingly slow process and had meant they’d been unable to start fitting out the production line until now.

  “These guys sure know their stuff,” said Freddie as he cable tied an arm’s thickness batch of wires together. He was kneeling over an open channel that had been cut into the floor to hide and manage the endless miles of wiring. “Pass me some more ties, will you?”

  Bar tossed over a fresh bag of cable ties, which Freddie expertly caught in one hand.

  “Yup, they are good at what they do. I’ve worked with them before over at AES, nothing quite as comprehensive as this, though,” replied Bar. He looked over the rows of machines. “It will be quite something to see when they’re all up and running, thousands of filaments all being grown and spun at the same time.”

  “That it will, but I’m more interested in the final stages. Getting to see the tether that will actually stretch into orbit and hold a sky platform weighing thousands of tons, that’s the real payoff.”

  “Don’t forget the eventual carriage that rides the tether—I wouldn’t mind a shot in that.”

  Freddie stopped what he was doing and thought about Bar’s vision. “Yeah that would be spectacular. That’s if the military doesn’t commandeer it as a platform to launch nukes.”

  Bar widened his eyes. “I never thought of that.”

  “Well, I ’spect someone has. Come on, they’re getting too far ahead.”

  The eight engineers had been relentlessly lifting, positioning, and bolting equipment solidly for over a week, following the blueprints and floor plans with ease and moving forward station by station.

  As they completed a section, Bar and Freddie would hurriedly follow along behind to make the final connections. A job that soon became repetitive but both agreed was oddly satisfying.

  Bar was working his way through connecting up the feeds to the nano growth bed platforms, which he handled in robotic fashion, mumbling, “Screw, screw, flick, screw, twist, twist, plug,” under his breath as he methodically attached the fiber optic feeds and plugs to each bed before attaching a small diagnostic machine that he had swinging from his belt. He would then run a quick systems check before sliding the tray into position and securely locking it into place.

  “And another one bites the dust,” he sang smiling. “Only 61,957 to go.”

  Freddie laughed. “Don’t worry. It’ll be all hands to the pumps soon enough, brother, and we’ll all be singing your ‘screw plug twist’ song before long.”

  The engineers had moved on, leaving Freddie and Bar to continue in peace.

  David had the production facility incorporated into the initial design of the new lab so that all of the processes involved with producing a finished product could all run directly in line with each other and be a self-contained process that had “clean room” status.

  The first area, which was immediately behind the toughened see-through glass partitioning wall of the main lab, allowed a clear view of the impressive array of machinery and electronics.

  Each of the five filament growing stations was three and a half meters wide and stood around two meters in height. They resembled five squared-off Mayan pyramids. In full production, the complex setup would produce continuous nanofilaments that would, without interruption, run through several stages to emerge as a huge reel of completed, full spec tether. Every stage of the process controlled and monitored in minute detail by a myriad of sensitive equipment that in itself contained groundbreaking technology.

  David and Jayne had continued to plow through the rare earth metal alloy permutations which was now proving far more efficient than they originally anticipated. The production facility hoped to be fully trialed and operational by the time they had the ideal alloy matrix composite identified. Then it would just be a matter of producing umpteen samples of tether so that it could be subjected to every possible test imaginable, and many that were not.

  This offered David’s team some leeway, because they wouldn’t be able to start actual production until the final product stress testing was successfully approved and they were given the green light. Only then could they start the ongoing program of the mass growth of the ingots that in turn would be used to grow the miles of nanofilaments.

  “I should think we’ll hit the home run with this permutation,” said David, as he adjusted and tightened the test bed’s support frame.

  Because of the disruption and upheaval caused while the installation was taking place, they had set up a small test area in the main lab behind three of Freddie’s specials, the name they had given to the now indispensable, moveable partitions that had been their open secret all those months ago.

  Jayne was looking past him at Freddie and Bar through the glass partition. “I’m quietly confident,” she said, raising herself on tiptoes to get a better view of the mess of wires that were everywhere in the growth area. “Do you think we’ll be ready?”

  David looked up, and, seeing her concern, he joined her gaze. “Oh, don’t worry about them. You’ll be amazed how the entire production facility will come together. It only looks daunting because of the volume and numbers of growth beds. The real concern is how we produce enough of these ingots to keep the monster fed.”

  Jayne lowered herself and sighed. “Well, at least we’ll have some time to work on that problem while the stress tests take place,” she said.

  David nodded. “That we will. Now let’s get this last gig on the road. I want to start growing this before we leave today.”

  They returned to their tasks and, very soon, were quickly absorbed in completing the setup.

  ***

  Jean had been up most of the night poring over the data that she had been given by her team. It was a lot. “My, my, haven’t we been busy,” she said to herself.

  David had kept her supply of coffee coming whilst he attended to Carlton on the several occasions that he had woken up. He didn’t mind, as he knew how much Jean had been dying to resume her project.

  They had felt excited for each other as they had enthusiastically relayed the progress of their respective projects over dinner earlier in between bouts of admiring their new son.

  Jean had started her analysis soon after and was quickly deep in concentration, stopping only to affectionately call out to David, “He’s a child, not a parrot,” as she once again heard her husband saying, “Who’s a pretty boy, then?”

  Jean finally made it to bed at 04:30 in the morning. She knew she would oversleep the alarm, but she didn’t mind, as she knew the coming day would be pivotal and long.

  It was 08:30 when Jean was awoken by Carlton. She felt surprisingly sprightly for someone with only four hours of sleep.

  After attending to Carlton, she quickly showered and readied herself, and, before long, she was entering her lab, having successfully deposited Carlton into the awaiting arms of the crèche nannies.

  The lab was alive with harmonious activity as Jean made her way through the streams of “Good mornings” on the way to her desk. She had relayed her findings to the board via email in the early hours, once she was fully satisfied with the results, and, as such, she was expecting an immediate response.

  Scrolling through her inbox, she saw it. A short Omni Headquarters message that simply read, “Congratulations to you and your team. Please proceed immediately to phase two.”

  Jean called her four team heads over. She was smiling as they stood around her desk.

  “Guys, we are in business,” she said. “Phase two is a go. I’ve just received the confirmation
.”

  Their applause and exclamations of “Yeeeah” and “Whoohoo” drew the attention of the entire lab, who was now looking over intently, wondering what the commotion was all about.

  “Now go and congratulate your teams. You’ve all done a brilliant job in getting us this far so quickly. This afternoon, I want you in the boardroom to go over the coming strategy and the additional protocols that we have to implement. In the meantime, you’d best clear anything outstanding that you are dealing with.”

  They all nodded in agreement and returned to their eagerly awaiting teams. Jean headed over to Guy’s office to give him the news.

  As she entered his office, which was always open, he was already smiling.

  “I thought you might pop in. Omni called not fifteen minutes ago and gave me the good news.” Jean flung herself down into the comfy chair.

  “Have you informed your staff yet?” he asked.

  “Just did,” she replied. “I’ll be going through the detail with my heads this afternoon.”

  “What’s your plan?” Guy asked.

  “Well, as you know, phase two is the precursor to human trials, so it’s a lengthy process. In short, it’s a seven-year program, no shortcuts. I’ll be dividing the teams into four areas so that I can get the best groups together to cover the analysis, preliminary delivery systems, and monitoring, etc. It will mean rearranging our existing ‘clusters,’ as we like to call them, but it means I can maximize talents for given fields. Let’s face it, some are average with say, cell analysis, but excel in dissecting cause and effect.”

  “Omni is keen on the delivery system development,” said Guy.

  “I know they are,” said Jean, nodding slowly. “They know how massively far ahead of everyone else we are. They’re paranoid about the competition, especially India. I picked that much up from that Leon Whittaker chap. I guess that’s why they are pushing. Fortunately, there are a few little gems hidden within the data that neither they nor the independent audit and verification guys picked up on.”

  “What does that mean?” Guy asked, a little surprised.

  “Well, it doesn’t always pay to show your hand too early, especially if other labs are trying to get our secrets, and I want us to be able to offer Omni something positive during the long trial program—seven years, don’t forget—which is still at least ten years ahead of anyone else. If we’re on the right track, we’ll be able to give good news and earn some goody points along the way that will keep us in favor. Plus, it’s safer if we’re the only ones that know exactly how far ahead we are with our research.”

  “You’re already in the board’s good books, Jean. Right now, as far as they are concerned, the world is your oyster.”

  “I realize that,” said Jean feeling a little humbled, “but I’m thinking about my team and ACR in general. Right now, we are considered to be the apex authority in the field of cryogenics. I want to keep us there. I’ll leave Omni to worry about what the other labs are doing. I just want to concentrate on pushing the boundaries and follow my passion. Luckily for us, what Omni, ACR, and I want is all very much the same thing. Regular wins and successes, no matter how small, will see to ensure that.”

  Guy raised his eyebrows and cocked his head. “I never thought of you as the corporate strategist type, but I have to say, I think it’s a brilliant plan. I’m all for keeping us in the positive limelight. It pays dividends with all of our projects, and more importantly our budgets. But make no mistake, Omni is watching us like hawks.

  “Everyone knows the importance, and, of course, the potential commercial value, of your work here, which is why you have been given such a high priority. As much as we all love the pure research, at some point, it always boils down to the money.”

  “That’s sad but very true,” said Jean. “But if we are right, then we’ll definitely be putting plenty of smiles on the Omni board’s faces. “If we’re not, then no harm no foul, we still have the up and coming successes of the live organic trials to keep the wolves at bay. We know they will yield positive results, so we’ll be able to keep them fed with that,” Jean added.

  “I hope you’re right. Be sure to let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” offered Guy.

  “I will do that, of course, Guy, but to be honest, it’s going to be months before we’re settled enough into the program and can really get our teeth into the delivery issue. Up until that point, we can only compile and shortlist the most promising ingredients. This cake is one that needs to be cooked properly. Only then might I need to call in a favor or two.”

  Guy smiled and nodded. “You know where to come. My door is always open, as they say.”

  Jean stood. “I’ve got to run. I want to stop by the crèche before my team meeting.”

  “All righty,” said Guy. “I’ll see you later.”

  Jean left his office. She didn’t really need to go to the crèche at all, but whilst talking things through with Guy about the delivery systems, a train of thought had flashed through her mind, giving her a eureka moment. She had to get to her team.

  ***

  By the end of the day, the rare earth metal alloy matrix ingot test was underway and had been running for a little over an hour. Rose was tapping away on her PC recording information, while David was organizing piles of computer readouts into relevant files that Jayne had manufactured from thin air.

  “I don’t know,” said Rose casually. “Maybe we can just call these ‘Remblocks’ or ‘RMIs.’ Rare earth metal alloy matrix ingot is such a mouthful, especially when you have to type it in as much as we do.”

  Jayne chuckled. “RMIs works for me.”

  David looked up, clearly happy for a chance to break the monotony of the last forty-five minutes’ worth of admin. “Me too. RMIs it is then.”

  He glanced over at the testing bed and jumped up, startling the other two and upending sheets of figures across the floor. “Will you look at that,” he exclaimed.

  The three scientists hurried over to the viewport to see a well-formed, small, shiny, silver ingot on the growing platform.

  “Just look at the size of it already,” said Rose. “That is fantastic.”

  David was wide-eyed. “This is the mix that was the culmination of the best of the best, so I expected it to react at a quicker rate, but I never for the life of me imagined that it would be as much as this. What do the readouts say?”

  Jayne was enthusiastically scrolling up and down the monitor.

  “David,” she said quietly, “if I’m reading this correctly, it’s off the scale.”

  David looked over. “What, you mean above our upper growth rate predictions?”

  “No, David, I mean it’s off the scale, literally.”

  David walked over to the monitor.

  “My god,” he gasped. “We’ll have to re-calibrate to get the exact rate of growth, but looking at this, we could have a completed ingot somewhere within the next four or five hours. I just hope the integrity is as good as the others.”

  Jayne was nodding profusely. “For sure,” she said. “If the integrity checks out, then we very well may have solved the question of how to ‘feed the monster.’ It will give us the last thing we need to actually start production. I’m happy to hang around and wait for completion and get a head start on the analysis.”

  Rose, ever eager to assist, said, “I’ll help. I was going to stay a while and get stuck in with the boys anyway, but you, David, need to get off home to that gorgeous baby.”

  David felt a definite “goo” moment coming on from the girls and decided to take them up on their offer.

  “Okay, that would be just great. If you can make a start, we should be able to finish it by mid-morning and determine if we need to run a further test.”

  David picked up his coat and bag and looked over at the RMI as he made his way to the door. Gently shaking his head, he muttered, “Amazing, utterly amazing,” and he left the lab.

  ***

  Jean’s team was alread
y deep in conversation in the boardroom. Coffee cups and paperwork dominated the otherwise spotless table, suggesting they had been in there a while.

  Jean took her seat at the head of the table. “Thanks, everyone. I want us to get straight into it, so, firstly, let’s go around the table. Bring me up to speed on exactly where we are as of this moment.”

  One by one, they each relayed their team’s status. When they had finished, Daniel offered a précis from his usual position—to the immediate left of Jean.

  “In short,” he started, “all of the assignments are complete or will be by the end of the day, with nothing outstanding with the exception of some admin, which is being distributed amongst the clusters. I suspect most will either stay late tonight to clear it or finish it off first thing.”

  Jean was nodding, aware that all eyes were on her.

  “Good, so we have a clear board. That makes things easier. Now, tomorrow, we officially start with phase two, so have your teams prepped and ready to move positions. Not everyone is to move, but there will be some re-shuffling of the clusters.” The four scientists started looking around at each other. Jean picked up on their concerns.

  “Nothing to worry about,” she said, as she handed Daniel four sheets outlining the new cluster arrangements to pass around.

  “These are now your teams for the duration of phase two, which, as you know, could be several years, so in a way, makes it permanent. There shouldn’t be any surprises there, but if you feel something is off or just won’t work, please speak up.”

  They were all intently studying the new teams list. Beatrice was the first to speak.

  “This is perfect. I can see exactly what you’ve done here. All the strengths have been centralized to show a clear concentration of talents in compatible fields. This suggests to me a clearly defined outline for the clusters to champion the main areas of the phase two program.”