A Thirteenth Hour Read online

  It occurred to me that something had slipped from my mind! “Is Samuel going to be alright? Can you do something?”

  She said with a slight edge to her voice. “You have to hope they find him- or you do. I’ve seen lesser minds perform greater feats. No-one can beat you on maps of the stars.” She was backing up slowly- “Find him. Find Him. Find Him!” With that she literally disappeared.

  I put aside my wandering minds’ worry about my own sanity. Finding Samuel was the most important thing. I tried to catch my previous thought line and I couldn’t. I decided that there was very little hope of bouncing radio waves off cold and very little reflective meteors. In fact it was a terrible idea!

  I typed Air Traffic Control into my tablet and I was besieged with information. After an hour of reading, it occurred to me that if we diverted air traffic over the area; pilots might spot him; if they knew to look for Samuel!

  I called James first. He told me, to my surprise, that the rust in his texas-moon-tea spirits had fallen into the jar from Billy’s utility shed shelf. “Billy is really broken up. He wants to know what he can do?”

  “Does he know any air traffic controllers?”

  James brightened. “Some-one always owes Billy a favor. He’ll get it done!”

  I sighed with relief. Samuels’ chances just went up another ten percent.

  I turned off my tablet and leaned back in my super-deluxe-executive chair. I somehow fell asleep and dreamed that I was a Neurologist doing brain surgery on the President of the United States of America. It ended well; so it was a happy dream. I woke up and looked at my watch. I had been asleep for an hour.

  “So you might have saved the day?” Paula looked at me with the look she gives me when she wanted and needed a favor. “Can you do more? I wouldn’t ask, but it’s very important. Many times there’s more that we can do, but we don’t do it because we think we’re done.” She smiled wistfully: “I’ve been learning a lot this past year.” She gave me a happy smile that wiped the other partial smiles from my mind.

  I thought about what she had just said. I rubbed my temples and considered all of the parameters of the problem I could bring to mind. “I won’t be a victim! I’m going to be strong. But my choices are limited…” I thought: “maybe I’ll stretch the boundaries of the finite.” I had a thought…”

  Paula backed away with her poker face on. “I have to go. I’ll see you soon.”

  My eyes closed momentarily but habitually, and then she was gone.

  I used a trick that I used when I was writing. I sketched to give myself ideas.

  I noticed that the aircraft I sketched was close to some meteors. Then I remembered my previous thought of bouncing radio waves off of hot air balloons. Aircraft might be better. There would be a greater dispersal of aircraft much sooner than they could get summoning hot air balloons. The only problem is that the static might cause the aircraft to dip suddenly which might cause some-one to have a heart attack. I also realized the aircraft should be very level. I called James.

  “Guess who’s here” James said? He answered his own question: “Bishop Theodore and Billy! The aircraft from all over the state have diverted over all of the area. We haven’t found him yet but we will! We will!”

  I explained my heart attack and flight dilemma to James and Father Theodore was listening. He, Bishop Theodore, said “I’ll arrange the pilots to be ’clued in’ and for wine coolers to be served and for the pilots to be notified of the, what…”

  “The static bursts,” I added.

  He said “give me an hour.”

  My stomach was twisted so I reached for a semi stale pastry; left over from last night. I remembered that slightly stale bread could calm a person’s stomach. I ate a blueberry jelly filled donut pastry and my stomach calmed down in twenty minutes.

  I set up several sets of general patterns for interfacing; by my radio-telescopes; with aircraft over my target territory. I worked out projections and stored the results in my tablet.

  The phone rang it was Father Theodore with a phone number and URL for me to connect to Phoenix air traffic control which connected to the statewide system.

  I hooked; after securing my top secret super frame, by design and content, computers; to air traffic control in Arizona. It took me twenty-five minutes to master the mathematics and maintenance functions. I programmed for twenty minutes and passed all the information to Jake. Jake was a licensed pilot and was ideal for the task. I made a mental note that we, the observatory, needed to appeal for a couple of aircraft, to the board; I left a note in Jakes basket. By the way, he was my second in command of fifty-two personnel. The others had the day off due to some massive accumulated hours on a government project. To tell the truth the only person I could really use was Jake. And Jake just told me the others had joined the search.

  I rubbed my temples and had another thought. Some private aircraft companies had, though it was kept secret, flares. Samuel might respond to that and that would upwardly accelerate his survival chances. I called James; “we’ll wake them up at air traffic control!” His cheer. I knew, was for my benefit. James continued: “I called both of my boys,” his sons. “The one in the Navy, Joeb, has his ships’ Captain’s ship linked with an infra-red satellite to our area. He says that in two hours he’ll have one hundred percent coverage. He says it’s not foolproof but he has a hundred dollar bet that your boy will be drinking co-co by nine-thirty tonight!”

  “Joeb told him what you do and the Captain told him he’ll see you for his family vacation in the spring!” “I’ll treat,” was my reply. “He doesn’t pay for a thing!” “Big bull Bar-B-Q at my place too,” was James response. I hung-up relieved.

  “Did you figure something out?” I heard Paula’s voice saying. I looked behind me and she was standing there. Still in her very white uniform with insignia. Her uniform had no marks of perspiration; yet I was drenched despite the cool office central air-conditioning.

  This was beginning to feel odd. I directed myself to answer her question. “I thought of several things. Samuels’s chances are good!”

  She turned my chair around looked me in the face. She straightened to a full standing position and took two steps backward. She said quietly “there are saints Paul and their sacrifices are real. I took a chance that I felt sure of! The baby who’s life I saved and the children of six other families can go on to have very meaningful lives if I was right. Their lives and the welfare of their families can be impacted in a very good way if I’m right. Am I right?”

  I said with more confidence than I felt “give me an hour and a half.”

  She looked at me with a return of trust and confidence and said “don’t forget. There are saints and sacrifices can be real. Very real!

  I said as I turned to the cappuccino machine “I need a little java.” When I turned back she was gone.

  I was deep in thought for half an hour, and I had only drank half a mug of java; because I had forgot that I was drinking it. My concentration paid off!

  I remembered an equation that took two dimensional problems and projected them into three dimensions! Those kind of equations were nothing new to me, but this particular one was very well suited and very concise for my purposes. I reversed the equation; then I checked Jakes work and found he had five new probable hits. Our accuracy and specifity was up. He had tried three times for two minutes each.

  I applied my equation and left three timers on for the radio-telescopes for twenty minutes to make sure they turned off, the telescopes could be dangerous. I applied the second super-frame computer to check the work of the first one.

  “Any progress?” She came at me from just out of my vision on my left side. I gulped some cold java; that had returned to my hand almost without my knowing it. She stopped me with some luke warm java in my mouth. “Don’t answer! I didn’t mean to ask! I’ll be back for the last time in two hours. Be brav
e!”

  As I carefully set my mug down I lost sight of her. I looked away before turning back; childishly I hoped that would ensure that she would be there when I turned back. She wasn’t. I cursed softly and realized I could view the results of computer as they came in from one of our on-site portable computers!

  I switched one on. I had fourteen “hot” spots! Two of them showed a dampened field that indicated movement! The two “hot” spots indicated a steamy environment. I called James and told him.

  James called me back a half an hour later. He had “synched” with Joebs’ Captain, and they thought they had located Samuel. The Captain won his bet, but James told me out of earshot, of the others, the Captain had told him that he wouldn’t have won his bet without my co-ordinates. I had a sudden thought and told him, James, to check his e-mail in two hours. I said “don’t discuss it!” He said “sure thing, Paul. By the way that steam probably comes from a hot spring; that’s what the Captain said had thrown him off. He also said he’d like to go over your technique by secure link later this week.” I said “I’d like that and sincerely thank everyone for me, James.”

  I spent the following couple of hours dictating this story. I left it on James’ office mail which fortunately has a two hour limit. Farming can be an odd business. Long phone messages happen.

  I was sure that Paula was gone, but I felt good anyway, and I was grateful to her.

  “Don’t be grateful to me,” she said. “You would have found him just not as soon!”

  I turned my chair around so that I could see her. I felt very happy, but consternated. “Why did you show up at all then?”

  She looked me straight in the eyes and said “I told you there are sacrifices! The nature of the universe and everything else is much better known in heaven. To save the universe, in a sense, and many lives I wagered our family happiness!” She seemed a little worried; I was one of the few people who could detect that particular look she had.

  She stopped for two seconds and then said: “I can’t come back, but you can come with me.” She look at me seriously again. “James can raise the children and his sons would be a great influence. If anything happened to them we’re blessed we have “gobbs” of family; besides James and Brenda love the kids.”

  She held up a finger and smiled confidently: “I’ll be back in a half hour, and then you can tell me your decision. If you decide to come it will look like a brain stroke.” She added “Whatever you decide; don’t leave loose ends.” I looked up and she wasn’t there.

  I had recorded my office mail cell call, a second recording, while talking to James’ on his office phone service by using my tablet. I have a high speed translation program in my tablet, and I used it. I added my last conversation with Paula from memory. I made a note to Father Theodore. I added that the appearance of a saint is usually not publicized in the first ten years of an appearance. I made the point of Paula’s goodness that way. I titled the conversations under “Paul and Paula in the Thirteenth Hour.” I also sent a copy of my will too. With Paula’s’ insurance and my insurance money along with my first books proceeds and savings It came to nine million dollars.

  Paula appeared then. She seemed tipsy?? “Are you ready” she asked?

  I asked “the children?”

  She said “all I can say is that they and many other people will be, believe it(?), happier. They will be better off financially as well. Other than that, for them, there will be no difference. This was mostly for others. Paul-?”

  I said “I’ll go. If the children are happier and better off financially; I’ll have done my job!”

  “Ten minutes to pray; by the way, they all succeed much more than us; which,” she wagged her finger up and down, “says a lot. They do need authors in heaven’ by the way! See you at ten o’clock!”

  That was the last entry.!

  James Snowedon

  Nature Electric

  I like to read. How much of our intelligence and memory development is determined by having a curious nature, and encouragement to read when we are young? I don’t know, but I assume that our greatest thinkers have those two attributes in common.

  I was in the eleventh Special Forces group after I received my Bachelor in Science degree in Mathematics. I had graduated Summa Cum Laude. A desire to see the world and (quaintly) serve my country pushed me to enter the Army; where I completed training and advanced training and eventually officer’s candidacy school. I was a “Green Beret” officer who saw two years of heavy combat.

  I ended up with three DSC’s, Distinguished Service Crosses, and two Silver Stars along with unit citations and other medals. I also became close friends with Roger Celebry my best subordinate officer.

  His life was ended in an attempt to rescue some “short time” captured American soldiers. He had received a posthumous Medal of Honor and I had gotten my third DSC. All together we (six of us) rescued twenty American soldiers and Roger was our sole loss of life. None of the rest of us had even been wounded.

  Rogers’ death presented me with a problem. He came from a poor Oklahoma family and he had talked my ear off about how he was going to send his “genius” brother to M.I.T. for college. He had kept a good size insurance policy, but that would go towards providing a home for his parents and his three other siblings as well. The policy contained a small annuity (pension in this case) for his mother and father. The policy just didn’t provide enough for his younger brother, William, to attend M.I.T. His brother qualified for two scholarships, but living expenses until he achieved his PhD were high.

  I was at the end of my second consecutive tour just after our little “raid,” and I received a letter from the government asking me to apply for the Secret Service. I did and the steady pay check was more than enough to save for me, and pay Williams living expenses. He had received his PhD fifteen years before; a year ahead of schedule.

  I also sent him monthly checks for a year after he had graduated; to help him get a “start” in what turned out to be a brilliant career.

  During my twenty years I had received the Secret Services highest citation for bravery twice.

  When I started I was in a commando type outfit for quick responses. Under heavy fire I recovered a senior congresswoman from capture and delivered emergency medical treatment; due to which she was able to make a full recovery. The second occasion I recovered the Vice Presidents’ five year old daughter from a children trap, by extremists, at a zoo. We escaped through the lion pit. They, the extremists, were afraid to follow us. Even today I wake up shaking from nightmares about that one experience. I now own a cat as a thank you to those lions for not attacking us.

  The Secret Service included my military service time as part of my total years of service and after over twenty-two years of service I was ready to retire. I had a desire to go back to college and perhaps earn my PhD in Mathematics; I had already accumulated a few Masters’ courses in that course of study, and I felt a need to re-acquaint myself with academia.

  I had been offered a few choice high level positions when I “put in” my resignation. I was determined, though, and I turned down the offer. The President who was in the second to last year, third year, of his second term called me “in to see him.”

  I walked in to his office at 2p.m. sharp. I was retiring the next day; so in effect this was my last day on the job.

  The President had his back to me as I entered while facing the main oval office window; yes, just like you see in so many popular pieces of art depicting any, or no, particular President. By routine habit I stopped at the side of the “guest” chair and said in an automatic sounding voice “Mr. President.”

  He turned to look at me, and as he noticed, for sure, it was me a wide smile crossed his face: “Dennis it is so good of you to see me today.” He motioned to his secretary, who was behind me, and she left. I said by protocol “It’s always a pleasure and honor to see you sir.
Thank you for inviting me.”

  Just then his secretary brushed past me with a pitcher of a hard liquor cocktail. She smiled at me and said, as she set the pitcher on the table nearest the chair; “I’ll keep them coming: Presidents’ orders!”

  I was a little embarrassed by both of their familiarity and the President seemed to sense that and he said “close the door, for now, Gladys and Dennis take a seat.” He pulled two large tumblers off the side bar he had, I assume, had wheeled into his office, and set both on the table. “Could you pour,” he said? I replied quickly “of course sir!” He responded “It’s Charles from now on Dennis. You’re to consider yourself, if you don’t mind, family from now on.” I smiled politely and said “thank you sir. I mean Charles. This is quite a sendoff. I’m overwhelmed.”

  He looked at me with more than a little consternation. “Dennis I think that you should know that when I say that you are a member of my family; I mean it. You had a job to do and I respected that. We all have our ‘life bubbles’ based on our choices and the restrictions in those ‘bubbles’ based on the course of those choices, over time, that also shape that particular bubble, but you have altered your course and your bubble has changed and calling me Mr. President now no longer makes sense. I’m not being polite when I say to call me Charles! It is something that would give me ‘infinite’ pleasure.” He took a sip out of one of the full glasses and walked a couple steps to his desk and sat leaning against it.

  I tried to interest you in politics over ten years ago, but you had other objectives. That’s fine; we all have to chart and follow our own stars, but you are a member of my own family. I am very serious! Right now your father and mother are moving to the Baltimore office of his corporation, and the other family members, including siblings, are being moved to secure locations. Each ‘nuclear’ family unit has their own detail.”