"Uhm- Professor?"
Williams was enjoying the moment- no he was savoring it. Wait was that someone talking to him? He looked down at Mick. Mick was pointing a the screen where a window had flashed into view. He had seen the window only once before when Mick had been showing it off to that little red-headed intern- what's her name- wait why it is the window flashing?
"It's flashing because the trajectory of the ripple is collide with a orbital object."
"What? what do you mean collide?" Williams leaned in to peer at the numbers in the box. Trajectory Widget- that's what his resident Mac Geek had called it. It was some kind of mini-program that was somehow attached to one of the Radio Telescopes in New Mexico that was slaved over to tracking all incoming object.
"That's no ripple." Fred said. "The intensity of the signal just hit solid radio wave frequency!"
The three of them watched the numbers, their minds collectively translating the geometries into their own images of what must be happening up there in space. The ripple breaking through the sub-space field and slicing through the fabric of space and...
Williams gave himself a shake. There would be no visuals- this wasn't Star Trek, these signals had no visual evidence for the naked eye to track. Signals bounced all over the void and were never seen. The guys in the Space Station would not be looking out view ports- they would be staring at their instruments, talking to NASA and praying the collision was with a satellite other than anything they would need to repair or replace.
"Whoa." Fred and Mick said together. The Trajectory Widget beeped out a message- "Collision Imminent" and the numbers went crazy and then the noise filled all of the sensors and the Mac computer froze up as data overloaded the processors.
"Dammit." Mick said and reached around the back of the Mac to pull out the power cable on the tower and then reconnect it. Fred pushed the power button.
"Reboot." Mick said as a way of apology to Williams.
The two assistants spent the next five minutes in nervous silence as Williams paced around wondering what had just happened. Finally, the Mac was back up and reconnected to the Telescopes and the Sensors. Something had happened, there was a lot of noise now in the lower atmosphere where the Ripple had been. Where was it now?
The phone rang. Williams bit his thumb.
Fred answered it.
"Hello? This is Fred Smithson. What security clearance? Oh wait, I will get him."
Fred looked at Williams who dropped his thumb and walked over to the phone. Fred handed it to him and mouthed something like "it's the Feds."
Williams put the phone to his ear.
"This is Williams."
"Hey Bill, this is Gary Newman- do you remember me?" a familiar voice said.
"Yes I remember you." Williams answered coldly.
"Well, Let me start by apologizing on behalf of NASA..."
Williams was enjoying the moment- no he was savoring it. Wait was that someone talking to him? He looked down at Mick. Mick was pointing a the screen where a window had flashed into view. He had seen the window only once before when Mick had been showing it off to that little red-headed intern- what's her name- wait why it is the window flashing?
"It's flashing because the trajectory of the ripple is collide with a orbital object."
"What? what do you mean collide?" Williams leaned in to peer at the numbers in the box. Trajectory Widget- that's what his resident Mac Geek had called it. It was some kind of mini-program that was somehow attached to one of the Radio Telescopes in New Mexico that was slaved over to tracking all incoming object.
"That's no ripple." Fred said. "The intensity of the signal just hit solid radio wave frequency!"
The three of them watched the numbers, their minds collectively translating the geometries into their own images of what must be happening up there in space. The ripple breaking through the sub-space field and slicing through the fabric of space and...
Williams gave himself a shake. There would be no visuals- this wasn't Star Trek, these signals had no visual evidence for the naked eye to track. Signals bounced all over the void and were never seen. The guys in the Space Station would not be looking out view ports- they would be staring at their instruments, talking to NASA and praying the collision was with a satellite other than anything they would need to repair or replace.
"Whoa." Fred and Mick said together. The Trajectory Widget beeped out a message- "Collision Imminent" and the numbers went crazy and then the noise filled all of the sensors and the Mac computer froze up as data overloaded the processors.
"Dammit." Mick said and reached around the back of the Mac to pull out the power cable on the tower and then reconnect it. Fred pushed the power button.
"Reboot." Mick said as a way of apology to Williams.
The two assistants spent the next five minutes in nervous silence as Williams paced around wondering what had just happened. Finally, the Mac was back up and reconnected to the Telescopes and the Sensors. Something had happened, there was a lot of noise now in the lower atmosphere where the Ripple had been. Where was it now?
The phone rang. Williams bit his thumb.
Fred answered it.
"Hello? This is Fred Smithson. What security clearance? Oh wait, I will get him."
Fred looked at Williams who dropped his thumb and walked over to the phone. Fred handed it to him and mouthed something like "it's the Feds."
Williams put the phone to his ear.
"This is Williams."
"Hey Bill, this is Gary Newman- do you remember me?" a familiar voice said.
"Yes I remember you." Williams answered coldly.
"Well, Let me start by apologizing on behalf of NASA..."
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