Core Beliefs - Chapter 30 - New Key - New Door

Core Beliefs – Chapter 30 - New Key-New Door

Suchet, Chris, Doug, and Ellie had been working long hours at a frantic pace. They were so close to starting the next round of experiments that it was almost impossible to get them to stop before midnight. When he could, Charley was there helping.

***

On September 2nd, Suchet confirmed they were ready to go. With the modifications to the beam generator complete, they could control every frequency individually.

Suchet proposed that they begin by duplicating the original experiment and, as they approached the critical point, vary the inputs to derive the effect of each change.

With over six thousand frequencies, the process became slow and tedious. Still, one at a time, through endless hours of experimentation, they eliminated hundreds of frequencies that seemed to have no impact. In fact, after deleting one closely grouped set, they found that the formation of antimatter hydrogen elements accelerated. Everything, even the minutest fluctuation, was double-checked and documented.

The new computers, coupled with Doug’s new programs, sped up the analysis time.

***

About a week into the experiments, the first startling breakthrough occurred. They repeated the standard protocol with a new frequency combination. As the test proceeded, it took longer to generate the initial phase of the antimatter event.

Ellie monitored the air composition, which they now had streaming in real time.

“Shut it down!” she shouted.

Doug cut the power.

Suchet and Chris hustled to Ellie’s terminal, and both nervously asked, “What is it!”

“We were not generating hydrogen,” Ellie excitedly said. “It’s helium.”

“No! That’s not!” Chris paused. “We have to back up and check everything!” His gaze raked the room.

Others nodded in understanding.

They reviewed the data, corroborating every sensor, every interpretation, and every conclusion. Unmistakably, the new molecules were helium.

“Good decision to shut down Miss Coblentz,” Suchet said. “If we had converted helium to antimatter, the affected area would have been much larger, and we might have lost everything in the silo.”

They took a break to come to grips with what had transpired.

“We actually converted standard air to helium?” Doug asked.

“Yes,” Chris said, “everything indicates that we did.”

“How many other elements can we create?” Doug asked.

Suchet stumbled to a chair as the full impact of Doug’s words hit.

“We could theoretically manipulate atomic structure to create any element or molecule we want,” Suchet stuttered. “Do you realize what this means?”

The others had their imaginations in overdrive, pondering possibilities.

“We could clean up the air,” Chris said.

“How about generating water so no one would ever be thirsty ever again!” Doug added.

“We could create medicines so they would never be in short supply,” Ellie chimed.

It was an hour before they resumed the experiment. By the end of the day, they had recorded five elements and one compound molecule, water.

It was after midnight when Suchet ordered the shutdown and sent the crew to bed.

***

For a week, they sorted through pattern after pattern. Frequencies, power levels, and new formulas to predict the next result. It became intuitive for the team to discern the sequence that most likely would lead to change.

More elements materialized, and one additional compound, CO2. Every day brought discoveries, and the four fed off each other with energy and ideas flowing like Niagara Falls.

***

Suchet had a dream one night. The next day, he and Chris worked on a marking board on the lower floor of the control room. Suchet had filled the board with equations.

“This is purely hypothetical, but based on what we have done, it could work!” Suchet grabbed Chris by the shoulders and stared fiercely into his face.

Doug and Ellie showed up after 2:00, and Chris summarized what Suchet had shown him. Suchet had gone topside to call Matt. What he planned to do was too important not to tell Matt.

“Matt, I am shaking in my shoes that this might be possible,” Suchet shivered in the cold fall air.

“We are on this path to discern what good can be found,” Matt said. “All I ask is be safe. Keep our family safe.”

Suchet swallowed, understanding the truth of Matt’s words. Each person he had met through Matt was family.

***

Matt knew about the conversion experiments, but Suchet’s vision was radically different, with promise and dangers far beyond anything they had done.

“What if you end up destroying the generator?” Matt asked.

“We will build a new and better one!” Suchet said.

“You have my blessing,” Matt said.

It would take weeks to assemble the components before they could attempt to see if Suchet’s dream was more than fantasy.