It was a long line up to the front stage. The girl - the woman - could hardly wait. She had worked three hard, long years for this, all through her summers, too. Longer if you counted the Advanced Placement classes she took in high school. But it was worth it. Just another hour, and she would be a graduate of the University.
Shuffling forward seemed to take forever. Her feet hardly moved. Yet, even though time almost refused to pass, it seemed before she knew it... it was her turn up on stage. She bit her lip, skipped up the steps and walked up to where the dean was handing out diplomas.
"...Gertrude Alexandra Ekstein..."
Gertrude reached her hand out, only to have it snatched away by a young man who slid in front of her on his knees.
"Will you marry me?" He snapped out a jewel case and opened it. Amidst the gray crushed velvet was a golden ring topped with a small, intricately cut peridot.
She gasped and then looked down at him, then back at the ring.
"Yes. Oh God, yes."
"I love you."
"I love you too, Jerry." They held hands tightly, and a small jolt of energy seemed to pass between the two.
Still, in a small, poorly ventilated room with her auburn hair tied back in a sticky, sweaty ponytail and her sweat-soaked clothes, she wondered if there wasn't a better job she could have gotten for the summer. Her office was smaller than her closet at home - she thought things like that had been a myth. And it was just one paper-grading session after another. Thankfully, Mariah Carey was there to keep her company. The Daydream cassette had been a Christmas gift from her little brother last year and Jerry had bought her a small boombox for her work.
She reached for her stapler, only to flinch and shake her hand in pain as a large spark of electricity shot from her hand to the metal.
"Ow!" she sucked on her finger. And her static electricity was never ever going to leave her alone.
The tape's Side A ended. Still sucking on her finger, Gertrude stamped down the 'eject' button with her other hand's pinky and flipped the tape around. After several seconds of silence, the music continued. She'd kill for a CD player, they didn't have all these problems.
"Hey button." Jerry poked in his fluffy black-haired head.
"Jerry! Sweetie, what are you doing here?" Gertrude did a quick-fix of her hair in the mirror, cursing all of the random stray hairs the heat and sweat were causing. Her hair was always flying up, even when there wasn't much humidity. She couldn't understand it.
He didn't answer, instead chucking a small white box into her hands. It was warm. She opened it up quickly - it was rice.
"You brought -"
"Yep. Chinese food."
"Did you-"
"Get orange beef? Yes." He grinned and tweaked her nose.
"You shouldn't have! I was just getting a little bit hungry." She pulled a fork out of the drawer and tore open the boxes, shoveling food into her mouth.
"Yeah, I shouldn't have, those love handles are getting a mite too thi- ow!" Jerry's snipe was rewarded with a purse to the head, much as he was expecting.
"You! Out of room! Now!"
There were shouts of 'You tell 'im, girl!' from across the hall.
"I was just kidding! Kidding! I'm sorry!" He laughed out the apology.
"You better be, mister." She stuck out her tongue, and wolfed down some more orange beef. "So what brings you to this corner of the world?"
"You mean on the opposite side of town? Mr. Chou's daughter went into labor early, the restaurant's been closed down for the rest of the day. I took what I could that hadn't been sold for the day. Button, what do they feed you here? You act like you haven't had a good meal in weeks."
"Not here I sure as hell haven't. And grading papers makes me hungry. I'm a victim of learning by osmosis!"
"...What?"
"Some of these kids are so stupid, it's like there's a void in their heads. When I grade their papers, that void sucks in my gray matter! Thus, I must eat to replace it!"
Jerry just blinked. "So you get dumber and fatter by grading pap- Ow!" Another purse to the head. Another 'you go girl!' from Brianna down the hall.
"Just watch it, lover boy." She grinned and kissed him. "Hey, I love you."
"I love you too." They hugged each other tightly, nuzzling each other's necks, then just basking in each other's warmth.
After a few seconds of this, they let go, and Jerry took a seat next to Gertrude's. "So what's on the agenda for today. I meant after you get done with your work," he added, noting her disapproving look. Bad things had happened last time she had skipped out on her job to spend the day with him.
"Mm. Not much. My brother's birthday is coming up; wanted to get your opinion on some gifts. You know games better than I do."
"I can do that, sure. He's not too bad... for a brat."
She sighed. "He's not a brat, just a little... protective."
"He launches himself in a cannonball at me when I'm around him after three years."
"...So?" She shifted her eyes back and forth, mock-nervously.
He laughed, and she laughed with him.
Edwin Kolt frowned and double-checked the simple line graph on his PC. All the fans in the room were running - the computer was in 'turbo' mode, and he wasn't sure how much longer it could sustain it. The heat in the room was overwhelming. But it was necessary. He glared at the giant, mini-fridge sized metal box sitting underneath the desk. He had plugged it into the computer. Though the government had seen fit to give him access to one of their AED Units, they did not give him a computer capable of using it - and thus, on his professor's salary he had to resort to using an old 486 to get the job done instead of a Pentium.
If the readings were right, they had a match. He didn't know how or why or where, but it seemed as though someone on the campus was gifted with electromancy. Project Canaan would be thrilled to hear this.
He ran his finger across the screen, tracing the up and down movements of the graph. It was quite clear that the fluctuations in energy were too much to be random chance. Not much, but it was something to start with.
The computer made a horrible whirring sound.
"Damn! The fan's ball bearings must have gone out." He clicked the small disk-shaped icon in the upper corner of the program, hoping he could save the results before the computer gave out. A thin gray bar at the bottom of the screen expanded in sputters and spurts.
"Come on... you can do it... come on... come on... yes!" It was saved. He punched the floppy out of the computer - as he did so, the computer moaned and the monitor went dark. As they say, 'it's dead, Jim.'
"Well, damn. Hopefully they'll buy me a new one now." He peeled off his sweaty t-shirt and put on a fresh one, then headed out the door, diskette in hand.
Even 9 years ago, Carlos Jimenez was a severe-looking, thin man. Perhaps with a little more hair on his head, and perhaps the hair was a little darker. But he still looked strict and calculating, which is exactly the type of man he is. And was.
In those days, though, he had not moved to Project Athor; he was the Assistant Director of Project Canaan. And his personal project of the moment was, as always, benign - at least in intent. He looked over a few documents. 'Project Dynamo'; a dream of a world that could truly advance without consequences. It was a utopian idealist's fantasy come true.
In those days, Jimenez still believed the world was a place that could be patched up with a little tough love.
The phone rang, breaking Jimenez' train of thought. He pressed a flashing red button. "Yes, Miss Devane?"
A woman's voice crackled over the speakerphone. "A Professor Kolt for you on Line 3, sir. Says he has information that you'll want to hear right away."
"Thank you, Miss Devane." He pressed another button on the phone.
"Assistant Director Jimenez speaking. You have news for me, Professor?" He steepled his hands together. Is this the breakthrough I've been looking for?
"Yes I do, sir. Not something I want to be speaking on an insecure line."
"Excellent news. I trust your address has not changed?" Jimenez started flipping through his Rolodex rapidly.
"No it has not. How soon can you be here?"
"I will take the first flight out. Allow me to make the arrangements and I will call you back. Expect a return call in the hour. Jimenez out."
"Great! Goodb-" Carlos pressed the 'End Call' button. It was a long flight from Maine to Nevada, but it was one that was worth it. He pressed another button on the phone. "Miss Devane?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Start looking into flights from here to Reno. I want the next one you can get, any airline. Doesn't matter the cost. Call me back when you've got one."
"Yes sir, will do."
This was big news. Big news.
It was a little bit more than a week later. Gertrude stretched and pulled herself lazily out of bed to the first glimpse of dawn. The white-gold rays of sunlight gently followed the soft curves of her flesh. She tossed her hair to the side and looked at Jerry, still snoring away. She smiled and kissed the back of his head, then slid out from under the covers. Today was a shopping day. Janice, one of the physics TAs, had offered to take her out to lunch. Why, she didn't know; she barely knew of her existence. But it couldn't hurt. She was always up for a free lunch.
Gertrude pulled up her big floppy sleep-shirt from off the ground where she had tossed it last night. It easily slipped down over her arms and flowed down her form to halfway down her thigh. Still half-asleep, she stumbled her way to the bathroom to wash up.
She looked at herself in the medicine cabinet mirror, shuddered, and decided to stop doing that before liberal amounts of water had been poured over her face. After a quick wash-up, she headed back to her room and adjusted a picture on her dresser that had been knocked over. It was a picture of her, her younger brother, and her older sister from a year or so back. She hadn't seen Aubrey since then; she'd have to give her a call sometime soon.
Jerry stirred underneath the covers. "Mrrph, it's six-friggin'-thirty... blinds... close!" He made feeble motions towards the windows.
"Oh, go back to sleep you big baby." Gertrude closed her bra straps and went rummaging for some proper clothes.
"Close...blinds! Mrrrghr!"
"Just give me a minute, sheesh. I can't dress in the dark."
"Greh, who says you need clothes?"
There was a twinkle in her eye. "So are you saying you want other men to see me naked?"
Silence. He knew when he had lost, and he wasn't in a mental state to fight it.
"There we go." She was clad in Day-Glo Orange and Yellow hiphuggers, with a pink tanktop. She had cut and restyled her hair last week, getting what she called 'a page-boy with an attitude.' And somewhat thick-rimmed oval glasses framed her brown eyes.
"You look like an 80's reject."
"Your mom looks like an 80's reject! Oh! Burn!"
"No, really, you look horrible. Take that off."
"Bah. Pooh to you. You know that? Pooh. To. You."
"At least I don't look like I belong to the 80's."
"Some day, people will think the 80's are cool again."
"Some day, pigs will fly."
"Sunday, you're not getting any."
"What?!" He raised his head from the pillow and groaned.
"Just - kidding. I think." She laughed. "Alright, love, I'm out."
"Have fun with Janice." He waved sleepily. "If you visit Victoria's Secret, I want picture evidence."
"Oh really now."
"Yes, really now. Now shoo. Shoo. Shoo." He made vague shooing motions with his hands.
"I'm shooing, I'm shooing. Want the blinds closed?"
"Yes. Now shoo."
"So you want me to shoo, or -"
"Git!" Jerry rose out of bed and ran after her, a pillow in each hand. She giggled and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her and holding it tight. She was rewarded with the sound of both pillows thudding harmlessly against the door.
"I love you," she whispered. And though he could not hear her, he whispered back. "I love you too."
"Hun, you look like a refugee from the 80's." Janice looked Gertrude over once or twice and raised a disapproving eyebrow.
"Shut up." Gertrude frowned. "I liked the 80's."
"You were the only one. So where do you want to eat today? It's on me."
"Au Bon Pain sounds good. So how're summer classes going for you?"
"Eh, pretty good. Professor Yuan's a pretty cool lady. Not bad to be an aide for. You?"
"Glad to hear that... Professor Wolfson's not too bad, but the religion offices stink! They're like little cages designed to make you sweat."
"Sounds like a bundle of fun." Janice rolled her eyes. "We got air conditioning, woo hoo."
"Blah. I hate you."
"Hey, it's not all shits and giggles. Dr. Kolt has the biggest stick up his ass I've ever seen. He's totally gay."
"Ick. And you know what else, though?"
"It's weird... there's never any humidity around here, it's not like Virginia... but I've constantly got this horrible case of static electricity - ow!" A blue light flashed between her fingertips and a nearby railing. She shook her hand and sucked on it.
Janice's eyes opened wide. "Really?"
"Yeah, really. It's not that shocking, forgive the pun. I probably just need to change my wardro- hey, where are you going?"
"Just a second. I uh... I need to go to the bathroom hun, stay right there." Janice sprinted off on unsteady heels. I didn't think my first attempt would go so well!
Once she found one of the mall's restroom alleyways, Janice ducked inside and quickly opened her purse, pulling out a large, rectangular box that filled up most of the purse. It was a small version of the AED Kolt had been using - an Arcane Energy Detector. It picked up on trace amounts of energy spread by a person's soul. It didn't record results, so if Janice had taken too long to walk away from Gertrude then the effect might be already gone.
She looked at the needle display and peered at the numbers. On the one hand, she was barely detecting anything above normal. It was at about 2.4 Crowleys. Hardly much higher than normal. On the other hand, it was steadily falling... meaning that it had been at something unusual.
Janice slipped the AED back into her purse. Unusual electrical discharge, and an unusual Crowley count. Gertrude seemed to be fitting the pattern. She couldn't wait for lunch to be over. Professor Kolt would love to hear this.
Agent Aeolus, all related trademarks, characters, indicia, story, art, and the like are Copyright 2005-2007
Christopher Rollins