SUNGLASESS AND ROCKETS Part 2: The Machine

PHYSICAL MODEL OF ARMAGEDON

Moses Masterton was not up to socializing. With the tone of an annoyed teacher, he responded:

"Is it clear how to operate the machine? Do you understand the principle of noise? Of the destructive superposition?"

The overwhelmed technician backed down.

"Do you know the geologic composition of the moon?" the doctor asked.

"Do you mean all its compounds and minerals?

"All of them, including amber."

"Well, we have all that data in—"

"Activate V gravitational, one for each and saturate the SVM with giga frequencies."

The doctor got up from his chair.

"Gordo, Darwin," he called. "Follow me."

Our boss headed quickly to the row of controls where Phil was. We followed him quickly, avoiding the rubble on the ground.

"Does the machine deactivate this easily?" Darwin asked when he reached him.

"It doesn't require a particular frequency to deactivate an S or V property...the hard thing is to activate them..."

We moved around the line of controls that was facing the huge window. Phil was working right at the end.

"So, what happened to the base after all?" I inquired with interest.

"Not just the base," the clever scientist explained. "There are regions on the moon that have lost mass...The activation of gravitational S has expanded to adjacent zones..."

"Was the moon demassified?" Darwin asked.

The doctor stopped, and doubted.

"A pretty large part of it. I have ordered to activate the opposite property to recover the original mass..."

Wow!

"But, how did you know that the moon was being demassified?" I asked confused. "How did you know that the SVM was working already?"

"Simple," the doctor answered walking again toward Phil. "Even though, the moonquakes from the Perigee may last long, they don't have a defined period or a defined a propagation pattern." That was Doctor Moses Masterton, the legend. "It could only have been an uncontrolled reaction, unchained by the SVM. When Lucas told me that they had activated the gravitational S of hundreds of materials, I completely confirmed my suspicions and completed the puzzle: the demassification of lunar soil in the SVM had spread to the moon."

The doctor stopped next to Phil.

We stopped behind him.

"It's good to see you," he said putting a hand on Phil's shoulder.

At that moment, I noticed that the doctor's massive friend, whose typing skills were proven to be incredible, was showing an incipient boldness, which, just as the rest of his head and face, was soaked in sweat. The tight blue T-shirt (a Superman one) was dripping...

"Phil?" the doctor called out again.

The self-absorbed character turned his head around, he didn't have a neck. Two tiny eyes inlaid in his round face opened.

"On time, Moses," he said without interrupting the typing. He shook his head. "Freaking Voodoo."

The doctor nodded.

"Colonel Bilsby is on his way..."

He looked toward the entrance. I followed his eyes. The surveillance of two more guards, now made a total of four, watching the hatches of the hall finally shutting down.

Turning his head towards his friend, the doctor said:

"Voodoo is losing people..."

Gunshots were heard. The hatches stopped; the four guards took out their guns through the resulting opening returned fire. Then, they holstered their weapons and the doors finally shut down.

"I think we can work nice and quiet now," the doctor said straining his eyes.

The work atmosphere was not so nice...

"Where's Felix?" the programmer wanted to know, ignoring the threat.

"He couldn't make it," the doctor responded just as calm. "Darwin and Gordo have replaced him. They will be in charge of the machine's verification. They'll work with you during the first phase in order to get updated..."

Phil turned around and showed his teeth in a big smile and scratched his chest.

"Did you bring the M & M's?" he asked to our surprise.

The doctor took out a couple of bags of the craved chocolate and gave them to him!

"I almost forgot," he apologized.

"Thanks Moses. You're the man."

The programmer put the candy pouch straight to his mouth, without opening it.

"I'll have the model in a wink," he said chewing. "Only..."

Darwin was watching him fascinated.

"Pay attention," the doctor said, looking at us. "We need to perform a double verification of the mass recovery," he folded his arms, "one for the sample in SVM," he pointed to the control panel next to the entrance. "That's what you can see exactly in the main monitor," he explained. "We will verify the mass recovery for the affected regions on the moon on this computer."

Right off the bat we were learning ultramodern lab methods.

"This is just a simple cross measurement," the doctor added. "Nothing to write home about."

"And how are we going to do it?" Darwin asked. "Are there any sensors?"

The doctor answered affirmatively with his eyes.

"We will use the seismograph network and all kinds of sensors spread over the moon. Phil has integrated them in a physical model that allows us to easily follow the evolution of disturbances in any region on the moon. The model is fed by the signals used to make predictions..."

The brilliant programmer spit out the chewed wrapper.

"I just needed to integrate the network between longitudes 130 and 150 degrees east, before I was arrested—"

He stopped talking and opened his mouth to let out a big burp.

I admit that Darwin and I would get along just great with that funny doctor's friend after all.

"We wouldn't be here if Phil's model would have not detected anomalies," the doctor burst out satisfied, not paying attention to the rough manners of his buddy. "Now we know what caused those anomalies: the artificial moonquakes caused by demassification. We will use the model to follow the remassification of the affected regions." He put his hands on his waist. "The sensors measurements of the SVM and of Phil's model will be simultaneous and should match at all times. When the mass of the sample has been recuperated, the whole affected mass on the moon will recuperate likewise..."

"Are there going to be any more quakes?" Darwin interrupted.

"No," the doctor answered impatiently. "Activating the V's involves energy absorption; that means, no more shaking," he looked us over thoroughly. "Is everything clear?"

Although I wasn't so sure, I didn't want to seem slow. I decided to approach the topic from another angle.

"But, how exactly did the reaction in the SVM spread to the rest of the moon?"

I got ready for a half hour of odd explanations.

"I don't know," the doctor replied plainly. "We're here to find out..."

"Moses, Gordo and Darwin," Phil announced. "The model is here..."