Beyond the Stars (3 page)

I entered into the two-story lobby and discovered it was nothing as I had imagined. It was large and practically empty. I approached the information desk with an older blonde woman sitting behind the counter, tapping away on her computer. “Hello, can I help you?” she said, taking a quick glance away from her screen.

“Hi, I’m Samantha Gerris. Could you please page Dr. Tess Dixon for me and tell her I’ve arrived?”

“Sure thing, Miss Gerris. You can have a seat while you wait,” she said, looking up briefly with a smile. I let out a sigh and plopped down on the lobby’s firm sofa with my heavy duffle bags.
I’m going to be sick
, I thought.
Why didn’t I just wait until next week to start? I should have said no when they asked me if I could be here today. That way, I could have at least moved into my apartment first. No
, I argued in my mind.
It is time I stop acting like a student
. This was why I’d gone to school in the first place!

I kept watching for Dr. Dixon to appear. I remembered how she described herself on the phone to me as “one the best-looking women you’ll see while you work in the physics department.” Then she had let out a laugh on the phone and quickly clarified her remark by saying, “What I meant to say is that I’ve been the only woman in the physics department. It will be great to have some more estrogen around for a change.” She sounded very welcoming on the phone. It made the plane ride much easier for me. I really dreaded flying. I was the kind of person who liked being in control. On an airplane, you are at the mercy of the pilot and the weather conditions. At least it was a beautiful, sunny, eighty-two-degree day, which left me no excuse to back out.

I patiently waited in the lobby while I struggled to contain my excitement. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. Here I was, about to learn from the best of the best. I loved challenges and was sure that the physics department here would not disappoint. Space development was growing by leaps and bounds. SIG had just begun launching solar power satellites and would soon be constructing its first commercial Space station. Blueprints for an Outer Space resort and elevator into Space were also in the making. It would demand the need for limitless designs. Besides, my new position would keep my feet planted firmly on the ground. Ever since I enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for my doctorate in physics with a concentration in Earth and planetary sciences, I’d been surrounded by astronaut wannabes. I had to endure my classmates’ endless enthusiasm, chattering on and on about how they wanted to be aboard the future expeditions into Space. I usually just nodded, hoping they wouldn’t notice my lack of interest, and quickly changed the subject. Sometimes, though, I would pick their brains for ideas on things we should try to develop in the future. I took notes. Why not? I had a group of highly ingenious people at my disposal with imaginations more interesting than television. I tried to encourage the feasibility of their every fantasy, believing that it was just a matter of time before we figured out a way to do it. This only added fuel to the fire.

Minutes later, I looked up to see a beautiful, tall, shapely black woman approaching me. “Hello, you must be Samantha,” she said cheerfully as she put out her hand.

“Yes, please just call me Sami. And you must be Dr. Dixon,” I said, shaking her hand firmly.

“You can call me Tess,” she reciprocated. “Martha, would you do me a favor and hang on to Miss Gerris’ bags for her today while I settle her in?” Tess asked the blonde lady behind the desk.

“Of course I will, dear. Don’t worry about your luggage, Miss Gerris. I’ll be here all day and keep it safe for you,” she said kindly.

“Oh, um … thank you. I’d really appreciate it. That’s very kind of you.” I quickly surveyed her trustworthiness and handed over my bags. It was a relief not being burdened with my stuff on my first day.

“She really will be there all day. I don’t think I’ve
ever
seen her leave that desk,” Tess whispered quietly after we stepped away. “The lab is quite a walk from here. I hope you’ll enjoy the workout,” she said jokingly. “That’s why I always wear my favorite hiking shoes,” she said with a smirk. I followed her eyes to the three-inch black heels she was wearing.

“I didn’t get to go for my run today, you know with trying to get to the airport on time and everything. So, I’m all for it.” I looked at her perfectly polished ensemble and suddenly felt underdressed.
Maybe I should have worn a suit. After all, first impressions are lasting impressions. Oh, why did I wear my usual polo shirt and khakis?

Tess didn’t lie about her looks, either. She was stunning. She had long, silky black hair, golden-brown skin, a perfect body, and the face of model. She wore a crisply ironed white blouse and black skirt hitting right at her knee, which showed off her long, lean legs and heels. I’m not sure if it was the shoes or her height that caused her to tower over me. Perhaps if she didn’t want to work in the physics department, she could have gotten a job as a supermodel.

We walked down the long hallway and stopped at a closed, unmarked door. Tess entered a numerical code on the key pad on the wall, pulled her ID from her blouse, and slid it under the sensor. “You’ll get your password and ID before we leave today,” she stated matter-of-factly.

The door quickly slid open, and we entered the lab. There were three men sitting at their work stations who never lifted their eyes when we walked into the room. I let out a sigh of relief. They were dressed casual, like me.

“Ahem,” Tess cleared her throat to gain their attention. It worked. All three men jumped up and quickly sized me up and down as they walked forward to greet us. “
Miss
Gerris is here,” said Tess proudly.

“Hello,” I interjected politely.

“This is Josh Forester, Michael McCullen, and Noah Peterson. It is Noah’s first day as well. That’s why we were so eager for you to start today,” Tess said in a professional tone.

They all shook my hand and welcomed me warmly.

Noah leaned down into my ear and whispered, “It’s nice to meet you. I think they plan on orienting us together.” He sounded excited by my arrival. He’d obviously arrived on time and sized up the schedule for the day.

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” I said, feeling at ease, knowing I wasn’t going to be the only one at risk for asking stupid questions.

Tess told us that Josh would be in charge of our orientation and briefing us on all of the current projects over the next few weeks. “I will join you once you are up to speed,” she stated, sounding relieved that she was not going to be bothered with the break-in period of new hires.

Noah Peterson looked like he could still be in high school with his wrinkle-free skin and boyish face. He had tousled brown hair, bright brown eyes and cute dimples when he smiled. Oh yeah, he was downright adorable. Did he already have his doctorate? And here I thought I was young. I was considered a high school prodigy, graduating at the age of fifteen. He must really be
smart
. No wonder the SIG sucked him up.

Josh walked us down the hall into a bright windowlined room. “Welcome home.” He motioned for us to sit down at the large wooden table in the middle of the room that looked like it was a catch-all for the department. There were boxes piled up in rows that almost reached the ceiling at one end of the room, three computer terminals on the other end, and piles of paper that were neatly stacked on the floor along the room’s border, covering the carpet and leaving only a narrow walking trail.

“This is the best room in the house, our multipurpose room. I know it’s a mess, but you should see our storage room.” He chuckled under his breath at his own joke. “It’s funny how we all used to believe computers would completely eliminate the use of paper,” added Josh when he saw our faces cringe as we sized up the chaotic space. “Anyway, it’s one of my favorite spots. It’s where you find the coffee,” he jested.

“Great,” I quickly agreed. I didn’t even notice the coffee pot until I fully entered the room because of all the piles of paper.

We all took a seat at the table. At least it was clean. Josh handed us each a four-inch red orientation binder, which he proudly announced he had put together. He tapped each binder with his index finger. “If you just memorize everything in here—you’ll do just fine,” he said with a smirk.

“Sure, no problem,” Noah said confidently. He had a glint in his eyes that looked like it was going to be an easy chore. I just followed his lead and confidently nodded my head in agreement as if it was a done deal. How could Noah be so cocky and look so innocent at the same time?

The days turned into weeks as Josh went on and on about the successes and failures of the previous lab experiments. He was a man of great detail and could
really talk
. We focused on the current design of the solar power satellites and how they could be transported safely into Space. The panels were enormous and would span out once in orbit. Space solar energy was an untapped power source expected to provide clean energy for our planet. The solar power collected in Space was to be beamed back to a power grid on Earth by a microwave beam, which was no stronger than a cell phone. Noah and I diligently listened while we referred to the pages in the red binder. Occasionally, Noah would throw out possible solutions that we could try in the future to help ease the delivery of the satellites into orbit. Josh’s eyes would light up in astonishment as if he never looked at things the way Noah did. I think baby Noah was holding back on just how intelligent he was. We spent every day together. I felt like I was being home-schooled with my little brother.

I really thought I knew Noah until I accidentally spilled my coffee across the table one day during break. I grabbed some paper towels and hurried to move our notebooks out of the way when I noticed some strange notes in the back of Noah’s binder. I was alone in the room, so I flipped through the pages. The sheets were covered with complex diagrams and had text written in a foreign language. The lettering style was particularly disturbing. I didn’t recognize it. The elegantly written cursive letters slanted to the right, taking on an appearance of penmanship centuries old. I heard his voice coming closer to the room, so I quickly blotted up the mess and returned everything back in its place. I wanted to ask Noah about the notes, but what if he was a spy? I had heard of people infiltrating developmental fields in order to steal their technology. Clearly, he had the mental and physical capabilities needed for espionage. I liked Noah and prayed he was good. He spoke with no trace of a foreign accent. Still, I could not think of a logical explanation for the bizarre writing. I was dying to take another look at the writing, but he didn’t leave my side for the rest of the afternoon. The next day, I planned to take a picture of the pages when he stepped away, but the notes were gone. I kept looking for other warning signs. Nothing else seemed off, so I tried to forget about it. Days later, I was happily relieved to discover that Noah was a die-hard history buff in his spare time. Knowing him, he was probably memorizing a dead language. He could rattle off exact dates of historical events like a news anchor broadcasting the nightly news. Perhaps he should have pursued a career in the field of archeology.

We completed our orientation, and Josh announced, “Congratulations, class, you’re both up to speed now. Tess and Michael will be joining us on Monday,” he said, sounding a little disappointed.

“Great!” I blurted out enthusiastically. I couldn’t wait to hear someone else speak. Josh got more dry and monotone the longer he spoke. If it weren’t for the copious amounts of caffeine I ingested, the sound of his voice could induce me into a nice, sound sleep.

“Oh, wonderful, I’m glad you think we’re ready to get to work,” said Noah, smoothly covering my overreaction. I was grateful he had my back.

Monday morning couldn’t arrive quickly enough. I walked into the lab and was immediately handed a new binder by Tess. “I hope you’re up for the challenge. We have our work cut out for us,” she said with a smile. “We have to fine-tune the regenerative environmental controls for the life support system of the future Space stations,” she said like an advertisement.

“
Really?
We’re not going to be working on the solar power satellites?”

“No. I would like you to concentrate your energy on something else. We have enough people working on the solar sats.”

“Of course, I want to pull my weight around here,” I said reassuringly. “What do you want me to do first?” I asked eagerly.

“Our job is to develop ways to make life in Space resemble life here on Earth, while considering the limits of available resources. The book is just a start. We need to come up with more ideas.”

I looked through the binder. There were outlines for hydroponic food production, oxygen generation, and water recycling.

“Great, I know just where to begin.” This was right up my alley and exactly why I wanted to work here in the first place. Where else could you make up the most outlandish ideas and have the people around you say, “Oh yeah, that would be great; let’s build it”? I kept a list of ideas on hand for moments like these. If only I could call up my MIT classmates right now and tell them about this.

“I thought you might.” She smirked.

“Where’s Noah?” I asked when I realized he wasn’t around. “Isn’t he going to help us?” He had become my shadow.

“No, he is going to be working with the engineering department for a while. We need him to work on the alternate propulsion systems for the unmanned transport of the ETs,” said Tess matter-of-factly.