Quantum Times Read Free Page A

threatened or insecure. Physically and intellectually he could always hold his own. His years of playing Lacrosse could be traced on his lean and athletic frame along with a scattering of scars including a ten stitches scar on his chin. Also with longish sandy hair and wired rim glasses he still looked like the good looking boy next door that mothers wanted to introduce to their unmarried daughters.
         “Because The Washington Post called me today and basically put me on retainer to write whatever I come up with on The Object. This is the best assignment I ever had!”
         Gabriela regarded her boyfriend of many years with knowing eyes. “What about the story you were working on about the ability of quadriplegics to manipulate controls of their wheelchairs through a mental interface with a computer? I thought you were really excited about that – the whole mind over matter thing.”
         David grimaced. “Yea, that is pretty cool. First you insert a small chip studded with wires no thicker than a strand of hair into the part of the brain’s neocortex that controls movement. Then the motor signals are transmitted to an external computer which decodes them and transfers them on to robotic devices. The ability to use their thoughts, though actually it is electrical current, to activate the controls of the wheelchair is amazing – and I’ve seen it work….But forget about all that! It will have to wait. I can get back to that. The Object is front and center for now.”
         Gabriela leaned back on the sofa as she kicked off her shoes and then tucked her legs under her. It didn’t surprise her that David would jump from one story that just a few days ago he was very excited about to something new. His focus on something could be deep and intense, but rarely lasted for long. He would think of something new then switch to that. Still she was glad that he was not that way about women, just ideas. That trait though served him well as a writer about scientific breakthroughs. “So what are you going to write?”
         “I don’t know yet. I hoped you could help me. What are the brainiacs in your department saying about it?”
         Gabriela shrugged, “Lots of theories but no data. Half of them really don’t want to admit that it is there. But they are all Superstring theorists, so of course they are thinking in terms of higher dimensions. “
         “That could be interesting.”
         Gabriela shook her head, “I think they are all missing the key point. This thing could be dangerous! We all seem to be forgetting what it did to those nuclear missiles that the Chinese and the Russians fired at it. Where did they go? How come they didn’t blow The Object to smithereens?”
         “Smithereens? Is that a technical term you Physicists use?”
         “Don’t laugh! This isn’t funny! What do you think happened to those missiles? Those missiles were the best weapons we have! Don’t you realize that we are probably defenseless against that thing! Doesn’t that scare you?”
         He knew Gabriela was right. Though she had a tendency to dark forebodings which she claimed was a family trait borne out of generations of oppression for being Eastern European Jews, this was more than that. They really did have no idea about the true intentions of The Object. Why had it appeared? And where did it come from?
         “So what do you think we should do?” he asked her.
         “How should I know? But I hope our generals in the Pentagon are thinking about this!”
         “Gabriela – that is a great point! And guess what? I actually know one of those generals. My Dad’s younger brother, my Uncle Mark, is a general at The Pentagon. I saw him a lot when I was growing up. He’s the one who first got me interested in science. He gave me a pretty good telescope for my twelfth birthday.  Of course they have hundreds of generals there but I wouldn’t be surprised if