Lifter: Proton Field #2 Read online

  They all moved towards her. Ellen stepped closer than the others and, as she got close to Myr, she felt her own hair lifting. She felt the focal point above Myr pulling her upward and towards Myr. Ellen stumbled a little and wound up falling against Myr, putting her hands on Myr to stabilize them. Everyone laughed as Ellen had to push herself away from Myr against the attraction of the field. Myr shook her head, “I think this is a problem that some of you bright folks are going to have to figure out how to solve.”

  Vinn shrugged, “If you had some rotating blades spinning above your head, everyone would be naturally careful about getting too close to you. But, you’re right, since the field isn’t visible and doesn’t seem dangerous, people aren’t going to be afraid and they’re going to stumble into it, at least until they get used to the tech.”

  Myr said, “Well, here goes. Stay kind of close,” she giggled, “just not quite as close as Ellen did.” She bent forward a little at the waist and started gently drifting across the grass. However, the change in vector made her lose a couple inches of altitude and her feet immediately started to drag. That made her lean forward further. Despite her attempts to lift her feet by bending her knees, tilt by arching her back and thus come back up, she continued leaning even further, skidding her feet, then knees, harder against the grass and falling while moving forward faster and faster. Vinn was the only one quick enough to catch her arm and help keep her from doing a sliding face-plant. “Damn!” she said, shrugging the arm Vinn held. “I’ve turned it off, let me stand back up.” As she got up, she said, “I should’ve thought of that little problem and given myself a little more altitude to start with. Then, when I started to lose altitude I would’ve had time to turn up the dial a little more.” She looked around the green. Ellen thought she looked like she was hoping no one else had seen what’d happened to her. “Okay, let me try it again.”

  “Don’t go up too high,” Ellen said.

  “Yeah, it doesn’t take much of a fall to put a serious hurt on you,” Randy said. “I’d stick with very gentle flexion or extension of your hips to begin with.”

  Myr floated gently up into the air, stabilizing herself when her feet were about twelve inches off the ground. Then, with very small movements, flexing and extending her body, she was able to move around quite nicely, even leaning to the side and banking around a clumsy turn. However, she kept having to ride the dial to keep herself the same distance off the ground. “Damn. This is fun, but it’s a pain trying to maintain my altitude.”

  Randy said, “I think you’re going to have to let me set you up with some radar buttons. Not just for collision avoidance, but so they could use a feedback loop to adjust the power in order to maintain you a certain distance off the ground.” He got a little bit of a faraway look in his eye, “Well, I guess that wouldn’t be completely foolproof. If you jackknifed quickly, pointing your field generator at the ground, when the loop increased the power it’d just jam you into the ground harder.”

  Ellen said, “If you used one of the new short-fat designs, maybe it could be mounted on gimbals at the top of the backpack so the field focus would always stay above you.”

  “How am I going to move forward and backward then?” Myr asked in a mildly irritated tone.

  “Maybe with smaller field generators on the front and back of the vest. They could pull you either direction?”

  “Aargh!” Myr moaned unhappily, “Back to the drawing board to build something even more complex. What happened to K.I.S.S.?”

  Vinn said, “We’re too stupid to keep it simple.”

  Myr flipped Vinn the finger and started back toward the building.

  “Wait!” Vinn said. “You’ve got to let me take at least a little ride in version 1.0! I’m going to want to tell my grandkids about it.”

  Myr had been undoing the straps to the vest. Now she looked up sharply at Vinn, “You’re planning to reproduce?!” She turned to the other two with a horrified look on her face, “Isn’t there a law against that?”

  “Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want,” Vinn said darkly as the others chuckled. He took the vest and started shrugging into it, “I’m gonna tell my grandkids how I got the second ride ever on a flyer.” He eyed Myr, “And, since Myr won’t be having children, there won’t be any kids their age telling them their grandma got the first ride.”

  Myr’s face fell, “You’re right. I can’t risk having kids because I’ve got the muscular dystrophy gene.”

  Vinn’s eyes widened in horror, “Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking…”

  Myr interrupted him with a laugh, “I don’t have the gene you idiot, but you should’ve thought about it! I loved the look on your face.”

  Vinn stared at her for a moment, then slowly said, “And here I was starting to think I liked you.”

  “Oh, come on! You know the thing you like best about me is my sense of humor!” She got a serious look on her face for a second, “Before you try to go up, I need to explain what’s going to happen shortly before the strength of the field gets high enough to lift you off the ground.” She explained to them about the disorientation she thought was coming from swirling of the liquid in the semicircular canals.

  Ellen said, “Ah, is that why you get that little grimace on your face right before you take off?”

  “I do?”

  “Yeah,” Vinn said, “I was wondering what caused that.”

  Vinn took his flight, and eventually Randy and Ellen had theirs. Ellen watched Myr and Vinn’s interactions thoughtfully. I’m beginning to think those two really like each other, they’re just really bad at showing it.

  ******

  Ellen was getting in bed when her AI said, “You have a call from David Chua, the founder of Mindanao Volunteers.”

  “Who?” Ellen said, unable to associate the names of either the person or the organization.

  “David Chua moved to the United States from the Philippines and founded a successful business. In an effort to help the poor people on the island of Mindanao where he was born, he founded Mindanao Volunteers, an organization dedicated to improving the infrastructure in small towns…”

  “Never mind. I remember now. What’s he calling about?” Somewhat irritated, Ellen said, “Is he wanting money?”

  “He’s calling because you’re listed as Mark MacGregor’s next of kin on the Mindanao Volunteers’ application forms.”

  Horror flooded over Ellen. Sitting up she said, “Oh my God! Put him through… Mr. Chua? What’s happened to my brother?!”

  A man with an accent responded hesitantly, “We… We don’t know for sure. He’s apparently been kidnapped… You’re probably aware that kidnappings aren’t uncommon in the Philippines and are usually carried out for ransom, but…”

  “But what?!” Ellen asked, distraught.

  Jeff, Ellen’s husband, put his hand on her shoulder as if to say, I’m here, but thankfully didn’t try to interrupt, or ask her questions.

  “But, some of the groups are extremists and can be violent. These people, they… they killed the leader of your brother’s group.”

  “But, not Mark?”

  “No, they’ve left camp with six people. Mark’s one of the hostages. We don’t know where they are or… or what they’re doing at present.”

  “Have they, have they…” Ellen ran into a storm of emotions and distressing mental images that overwhelmed her. She thought fiercely, I’ve got to get it together for Mark! To Chua, she said, “Have they demanded a ransom?”

  “No, we’ve been waiting to call you because I wanted to be able to tell you, but they haven’t made a demand yet.”

  Aghast, Ellen said, “How long has it been?!”

  “Ten hours now. It’s eleven in the morning there in Mindanao. They captured our people in the middle of the night.”

  “Oh my God!” Ellen buried her head in her hands and whispered, “Oh my God. What can we do?”

  “I’m trying to find out. For now, I suppose your pr
ayers are as good as anything else.” Chua paused for a moment, then said, “Hopefully you know the Philippines has a very aggressive anti-kidnapping task force. They’ll be trying to find your brother and the other hostages. As soon as we know more, or get a ransom demand, I’ll be back in touch.”

  Ellen couldn’t think of anything else to say. After another pause, Chua said, “I need to call the rest of the families now.”

  “Okay,” Ellen said, her voice sounding broken even to herself.

  She buried her head in her hands for a couple of minutes. Finally, Ellen’s husband Jeff touched her shoulder, “What’s happened?”

  She turned and threw her arms around Jeff while she sobbed on his shoulder. When she got back in control she told him what she knew.

  Jeff asked her a number of questions she realized she should have asked Chua. “How could she get in contact with the Filipino anti-kidnapping task force herself? Did the US State Department know about the kidnapping? Was there a way for her to get in touch with the families of the other kidnap victims? How large were the typical ransoms?” Finally, he asked her one she knew the answer to, “Had Chua told her parents already or did she need to?”

  “No,” she said, another spasm of dismay shooting through her. “Mark didn’t want Mom and Dad to know where he was going. He listed only me as next of kin. I’m going to have to call them.”

  Jeff said, “Call them in the morning. You’re not going to get any sleep tonight. No reason for your folks to have a completely sleepless night too. Besides, in the morning you might have more information. A ransom demand or something.”

  Guiltily, Ellen let that rationalization allow her to push off the dread task of calling her parents. She had her AI forward Jeff’s questions to Chua in text format, thinking he was probably busy calling other families and, anyway, might not have the answers without some time to check into them. In case he needed to know, she told him that she’d be happy to be contacted by the families of other kidnap victims so they could start working together to get their loved ones back.

  In the morning, Ellen put off calling her parents by calling Myr instead. Myr answered, “Hey Ellen, what’s up?”

  Trying to keep her voice from breaking, Ellen said, “I don’t think I’ll be in today. My brother’s been kidnapped.”

  “Kidnapped?! Oh no! Why? Is he wealthy?”

  “Um, no. He’s been in the Philippines, working with a volunteer group that’s building a community center in a small town over there.”

  “What? Why would anyone kidnap a volunteer?!”

  “It’s…” Ellen paused for a moment to get her voice in control, “it’s kind of a minor industry in the Philippines. Kidnapping foreigners and holding them for ransom. Terrorizing them and, and…” she whispered the last bit, “and their families.”

  “Oh crap! That’s awful! What can we do to help?”

  “I… I really don’t have any idea. The Philippines has an aggressive anti-kidnapping task force. Presumably they’re working on it as we speak.”

  “Do they usually get their people back?”

  “Um… sometimes.” Ellen rasped, “I don’t really know how often.”

  “Can we just… just pay the ransom?”

  “They don’t like for people to pay the ransom. It encourages the terrorists to kidnap more people. Apparently some people do find a negotiator that pays the ransom for them and they get their family member back. I’ve got the impression that ransom’s more successful than the task force, but I don’t know for sure.”

  “Well, if you need money…?”

  “I, don’t know. I think we’ve got enough but… If we don’t…”

  “Call me! I’ve got too much money. And if there’s anything else I can do, just let me know.”

  Wistfully, Ellen said, “You could call my parents and tell them about this for me.”

  This request produced a stunned silence. Then, Myr said, “They don’t know?”

  “No,” Ellen snorted, “Mark didn’t want them worrying so he listed me as next of kin and didn’t even tell them he was going. I’m not sure they even know he quit his last job. Mom and Dad are… difficult.”

  “Oh,” Myr said, then paused. “Well, I love you, and I’ll call your parents for you if you want, but I really think it’s something you’ve gotta do yourself.”

  “Yeah,” Ellen said with a long sigh. “I was just kidding. But, it’s something I’ve been dreading all night. Ever since I first learned about Mark’s kidnapping. I keep wanting to just send them a message, but I know that’s wrong.”

  “I feel for you. If there’s anything else I can do for you, just say the word.”

  “Thanks,” Ellen said forlornly.

  Knowing her father was going to be full of incisive questions, Ellen tried to spend some more time learning what she could about Philippine kidnappings. She found a lot of news items, but not very much in the way of useful information. It seemed that most of the groups who kidnapped people claimed to be some kinds of Islamic terrorists, but there seems to be some doubt about whether they cleaved very closely to Islamic thought or just used it as an excuse.

  Unable to think of any other reasons to put off the call, she told her AI to connect her to her mother and father.

  A moment later, she heard her mother’s voice, “Ellen! It’s so good to hear from you! Are you and your family going to come visit us in Wichita?”

  That was an old saw Ellen frequently heard from her mother. Her mother never wanted to visit them up in Kansas City, she just kept begging Ellen and her family to visit Wichita. Ellen reminded herself that this was a minor irritation and told herself to ignore it. Not surprised that her father hadn’t said anything yet, Ellen tried to speak calmly, “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

  Now her father spoke, “That crap at Miller Tech’s turned out to be nothing but smoke and mirrors, right? I told you not to leave Livermore.”

  “Um, no. Miller Tech’s fine. A great job really.” Ellen realized she was talking about Miller Tech partly because her dad’s attitude about it pissed her off, but more because she didn’t want to get on to the real meat of the phone call. Steeling her nerve, she said, “No, it’s about Mark.”

  “Aw crap!” Ellen’s dad said. “He’s not quitting another job, is he?”

  Wanting to fend off her dad’s constant attempts to criticize, Ellen cut to the chase, “Mark’s been kidnapped.”

  Silence reigned in the conversation for a moment and Ellen found herself sickly satisfied to have shut her dad up. Then her mother started to wail. Her dad asked incredulously, “Why would anyone kidnap Mark?!”

  “Mark’s been on a volunteer mission to the Philippines,” Ellen said. “Kidnapping foreigners is something Islamic extremists in the Philippines do to get money.”

  “Mark’s in Oregon!” her dad said, in a tone somehow part-way between emphatic and disbelieving.

  Ellen could hear her mother sobbing, but her mother hadn’t actually said anything for Ellen to respond to. So, she addressed her father’s statement. “Mark got depressed in Oregon. His therapist thinks he has Seasonal Affective Disorder and recommended he move somewhere that had more sunshine. He lived with Jeff and me for a while, then decided it’d do him some good to go on a volunteer mission.”

  Now her mother spoke up plaintively. “With you! Why didn’t he stay with us?” she asked.

  Ellen considered trying to soften the blow, but her dad’s comments had infuriated her so she spoke truth instead. “Because Dad would’ve been riding his ass as if his depression wasn’t real and acting like he was some kind of pussy for not staying at his job.”

  That did generate a shocked silence. After a moment, her father said, “I would not…”

  “Get real Dad,” Ellen said disgustedly. Her parents said nothing, but then Ellen heard her mother sob. Suddenly she felt horrible. Bad enough that Mark had been kidnapped and Ellen’s life, as well as her parents’ lives, had been ripped apart. Now, Ellen had ma
de everything so much worse—tearing her own family apart with horrible accusations which, though true, would make it even more difficult to come together in support of Mark. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Ellen’s AI said, “Your father has disconnected from this conversation.” The only thing still audible were her mother's soft sobs. Ellen didn't know what to say. After sitting in silence for a minute or two, listening to her mother cry, Ellen said, "Sorry Mom. I guess I could have handled that better. I'll send you guys a summary of what I know so far about the kidnapping and try to keep you updated on what's happening. For now… for now, I'm going to get back to trying to figure out what we can do to help Mark."

  After she disconnected, Ellen sagged in her chair. A good daughter would go to her mother and try to comfort her, she thought. For a moment she contemplated driving to Wichita but then decided she couldn’t take the stress. It really will do everyone the most good if I try to work out what, if anything, we can do for Mark, she decided.

  Ellen wandered around her house in a daze for a while, trying to come up with a rational and organized plan for dealing with the crisis. I’m a physicist for God’s sake, she thought, rational thought’s supposed to be my forte.

  But her mind kept going around and around in circles, coherent thinking shattered by random paroxysms of mental offshoots and detours.

  Her AI said, “Mr. Chua has responded to the questions you sent him last night.”

  Ellen had the AI put the responses up on the closest screen. She sat staring sightlessly at them, trying to discern something useful she could do with the knowledge provided in those answers.

  Ellen’s AI said, “You have a call from Ardis Quan.”

  “Who the hell’s Ardis Quan?” Ellen said, irritatedly, even though she’d been interrupted in the middle of accomplishing absolutely nothing.