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Synchronous
Azioni libro
Inizia a leggereLunghezza: 306 pagine4 ore
- Editore:
- Lulu.com
- Pubblicato:
- Dec 7, 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781387426898
- Formato:
- Libro
Descrizione
This is a story of colliding worlds, both on the physical and spiritual plane.
Where science comes face to face with its cosmic reality and receives the deepest truths of history. Where families meet and evolve, while others fade into the distances through the veil of knowledge. Where Art and Science join forces to enlighten the minds and hearts of individuals who not only have discovered the greater part of themselves but alsothe power of the soulto enrich their lives with meaning and Love.
Where science comes face to face with its cosmic reality and receives the deepest truths of history. Where families meet and evolve, while others fade into the distances through the veil of knowledge. Where Art and Science join forces to enlighten the minds and hearts of individuals who not only have discovered the greater part of themselves but alsothe power of the soulto enrich their lives with meaning and Love.
Informazioni sul libro
Synchronous
Lunghezza: 306 pagine4 ore
Descrizione
This is a story of colliding worlds, both on the physical and spiritual plane.
Where science comes face to face with its cosmic reality and receives the deepest truths of history. Where families meet and evolve, while others fade into the distances through the veil of knowledge. Where Art and Science join forces to enlighten the minds and hearts of individuals who not only have discovered the greater part of themselves but alsothe power of the soulto enrich their lives with meaning and Love.
Where science comes face to face with its cosmic reality and receives the deepest truths of history. Where families meet and evolve, while others fade into the distances through the veil of knowledge. Where Art and Science join forces to enlighten the minds and hearts of individuals who not only have discovered the greater part of themselves but alsothe power of the soulto enrich their lives with meaning and Love.
- Editore:
- Lulu.com
- Pubblicato:
- Dec 7, 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781387426898
- Formato:
- Libro
Informazioni sull'autore
Correlati a Synchronous
Anteprima del libro
Synchronous - Robert Santacroce
Synchronous
Author’s Note
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual person’s, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without prior written permission from the author.
And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
Khalil Gibran
Prologue I
Amy sat in the shade of a large oak tree rubbing her temples with both index fingers, trying to relieve herself of the serious throbbing pulsating from left to right across her head. It wasn’t her normal break time, but she needed the fresh air to help clear her mind. She continued massaging, eyes closed and doing all she could to block out any sounds and visual distractions until there was a noticeable relief. It was beginning to become a regular occurrence, and although she had perfect 20/20 vision, she wondered whether it was time to make an eye appointment. She steadied her breathing and alternated the pressure every few rotations. After a couple of minutes, feeling some renewed comfort, Amy opened her eyes slowly and exhaled. She looked around to see if there had been anyone watching and saw she was alone and undetected.
A cool breeze gently passed through the courtyard, and she instantly felt better. The sun was strong reflecting off the glass and aluminum entry of the Griffin Labs building giving it an almost angelic appeal. Amy thought about heading back inside to her Ion Beams lab, although at that moment she would have rather stayed under the tree; knowing her team and their work with Proton Beam Writing could not proceed without her supervision, she reluctantly rose to her feet. The process of using a focused beam of high-energy protons to pattern resist material at a nano-dimension scale is extremely delicate and time-consuming. It was cutting edge work in a field ready to explode, and Amy wished to be part of the first wave in order to reap the benefits and dividends that those at the forefront of any new technology managed to soak up. So with mixed feelings, she reluctantly stepped into the sunlight, walked towards the entrance, began to think about the task at hand and wondered whether or not she would be successful in reaching her goal. It was the drive and attention to detail instilled in her by her parents, who themselves had been scientists and driven individuals that allowed her to have such focus. They had supported Amy through private grade and high schools to Cal-Tech, as they saw in their daughter a special gift in the field of Applied Science and Technology. Amy respected and loved her parents and wanted her research to be successful not only for her professional career but also to repay her mother and father who believed in her abilities and passion. They had spared no expense or energy to encourage her pursuit and dream to be a recognized scientist in the field of advanced Nano-Technology. As Amy opened the door to her lab, she smiled to herself and felt completely energized and ready to make history.
II
Five thousand miles away perched high upon a scaffolding, Josh gently and with great precision removed the remaining portions of mortar holding the Saint Maurice stained glass panel in place. Beads of perspiration began to fall from his eyebrows and run down the inside of his glasses, momentarily distorting his vision. Although the panel had been fully secured, Josh nevertheless still felt his stomach turn as he freed the glass art from its home of hundreds of years. With steady hands, Josh and his four assistants carefully removed the large panel and set it down upright upon the padded surface of the scaffolding.
The restoration work on the Rosslyn Chapel stained glass windows was well underway by the time Josh’s team began the removal of St. Maurice, but the anxiety did not diminish as they moved from one window to the next. The project was an enormous undertaking several years in the making, one that Josh had been consulted on from the outset, not only as a historian but as a master craftsman in the field of stained glass restoration. His previous commission at the Canterbury Cathedral in London more than secured his name among the top restorers in the world, especially with his knowledge of the glass panels depicting the Knights Templar and their historic activities from its founding in the early 12th century to when the Order was disbanded in the early 14th century. Numerous churches and cathedrals throughout Europe honored the Brotherhood with magnificent stained glass panels of radiant colors and exquisite painting, but over the many centuries of being exposed to air pollution, many of these great glass works of art had been losing their luster and initial splendor.
Josh exhaled, removed his safety glasses to wipe his brow and then helped place the panel upon a plywood holder specially designed to transport it to a warehouse close by. There it would be laid flat upon a large table to be fully inspected and then restored. Until it was safely strapped in, lowered, transported and resting securely upon the worktable, Josh’s stomach continued to churn and rumble. The thought of any kind of damage happening to these treasured glass panels had kept Josh on pins and needles. After an agonizing two hours, he was finally able to relax and prepare for the next steps to inspect the glass.
First, each section would be carefully cleaned with a special solution of non-abrasive liquid designed to remove the ages-old buildup of dirt and film softly. It was a time-consuming procedure but one which required a gentle touch and patient mind. Once completed and the panel had been thoroughly relieved of all particles of soot and dust, Josh would carefully begin the slow process of scanning the entire surface of the glass. Using a hi-tech handheld device called the Artec Spider, he would 3D scan the entire surface and perform an extremely detailed analysis to reveal the condition of each pane of glass. While acquiring these high-resolution images captured by this process, they would be instantly assembled by special software on his computer, giving Josh a very detailed and precise three-dimensional look at the condition of the glass and any area needing restoration attention. Although a relatively small device, the Artec ran about $25,000 US dollars, not including the special software needed to reveals its findings. The technology was obviously a required part of doing a professional and thorough inspection to ensure that the final rehabilitation of the panel met the highest standards.
As Josh steadied his right hand with his left, he slowly moved across the surface of the panel at about a distance of twelve inches. As he did, he would periodically glance at the large monitor sitting on a portable worktable to see the images come to life. It would require a closer and more complete study of the images after the scanning was completed, but Josh was always amazed at the speed in which the scanner transferred the data to the program for processing. It would take several hours to cover the entire surface of the panel, and then after viewing the 3D images, he would often do a second scan or perhaps even a third to make sure nothing was missed to acquire as much information as possible to compile the best images it could. As far as Josh was concerned, the amount of time it took to complete this part of the process was of little consequence; what mattered most was to collect the best possible data to do his job.
III
Sara sat in front of her monitor waiting for confirmation of her flight to Scotland, her computer had a slow connection, and she wondered why she still hadn’t updated her service. She bent the knuckles of her left hand under her chin while her right fingers fiddled around with the cordless mouse. She stared at the screen, becoming more impatient by the second as the animated gif spun around and around. Sara switched her sight to her screen-saver; a picture of herself with her older brother Josh taken the day he had left for Edinburgh. It was snapped at the airport just before he passed through security almost one year ago. A bittersweet moment for both she and her brother was made clear by the expressions on their faces, that a long separation was about to commence. Finally, after lengthy discussions with herself and the rearranging of her limited funds, she had decided to meet up with Josh and experience Scotland; especially the magnificent Rosslyn Chapel, where he led the work of the window restoration project for the Rosslyn Chapel Trust.
After an agonizingly long wait, Sara’s flight confirmation appeared, and she sent a copy of the page immediately to her printer. She took one last look at the desktop photo, smiled and put her computer to sleep. Her thoughts raced across the Atlantic to the moment she would be reunited with her brother and once again experience the love and passion for his work, something that was a great inspiration to her. Sara was also a gifted artist, but unlike Josh, she selected the more traditional route and became a teacher. After a few positions and then returning to school to get her MFA from Hunter College, she was now an Assistant Professor of Art and Design at Pratt Institute. With no classes to teach during the summer months, Sara was excited to leave the hot city for the cooler shores of Scotland.
IV
A few miles east of Brookings, Oregon, Andrew stared out at the pouring rain and the lightning off in the distance. The small cabin was damp, and the smell of mildew was becoming more prevalent, and the one thing he hated most in the world was the smell of mildew. He slid the aluminum glass doors open even though some splashing off the deck found its way to the kitchen floor. He took a deep breath and was happy to smell the scent of pine rather than that of fungal crud. As the light faded Andrew wondered whether he would be stuck out in the woods until the morning. Part of him was up for the solitude and part was looking forward to a hot meal back on Highway 101. He began to weigh his options and settled on remaining where he was, as there could be the possibility he would run his vehicle off the road and end up rolling down the mountainside, not to be found until it was too late. He turned to check out what food supplies were left by the owner; perhaps he would not go hungry.
He discovered a can of baked beans in the upper cabinet above the stove but nothing else. As he held it his hand, he looked back out at the darkening sky and cursed his bad luck. He looked for a can opener that he found along with other dirty utensils. He threw it and a fork into the sink and turned on the faucet knowing only cold water would run out, but he gave it a minute anyway, just in case by some miracle he would be proven wrong; he wasn’t.
Andrew shook his head wondering just how everything had gone sideways and that he had ended up alone in the middle of nowhere. Just as no hot water found its way through the pipes, so too, no answer surfaced that would ease his mind. He turned off the water, opened the beans and ate them from the can. He was not in the mood to find out whether or not the cook stove was working, as it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway; beans were beans.
Andrew walked back over to the open door as he ate the legumes and let his mind wander. He knew he was to blame for his misfortune, yet under the circumstances, it seemed better to hold his parents accountable; something he resorted to readily when he thought how his life had been.
Chapter 1
Josh Milton sat in a tight semicircle with Douglas Alistair, Bruce Allaway, Crayton Ramsey and young Michael MacCallum. They had been closely studying the composite of three full scans on the large monitor, taking notes and pointing out a few problem areas that needed to be addressed.
Michael leaned in and then pointed to a section on the red cross on St. Maurice’s garments.
What is that in the painted folds just there on the left side?
Josh zoomed in as the rest of the team adjusted themselves in their seats.
Yes, I think I see what you’re indicating, but it doesn’t appear to be damage to the glass surface; maybe a hairline crack of some kind inside the glass.
Bruce got in real close to the screen, asked Josh to rotate the image a little bit and said, Perhaps it happened when we placed the panel horizontally on the table; maybe the gravity flexed that area?
Josh rotated the 3D color scan and zoomed in as far as he could without losing focus on the area.
I don’t think that happened, but it may have been part of the glass from the beginning.
Douglas was shaking his head, and Josh asked him if he had other thoughts.
I think we should rescan that area again at closer range to increase the pixel ratio of the scanned transfer. Maybe we’ll be able to see something we do not see now.
Okay, I agree. Alistair, could you ready the Artec, please. Michael, why don’t you set up a few more lights at opposing angles focused in on the red section; perhaps add a flat-tone filter to lessen the glare.
Sure thing.
Josh turned his attention back to the monitor and studied the lines traveling through the black painted curves of the red cross. He knew much more about the meaning behind the symbolism of the Red Cross than his team was aware of, or at least he assumed that to be the case. The cross was just the outer insignia of the Knights Templar, the military priesthood of the Catholic Church. Historians believe that Rosslyn Chapel was, and remains, a strong connection to the Knights via their evolution into the Freemasons.
Josh, we’re ready when you are.
Josh broke away from the screen and walked towards Alistair. Great, let’s power it up.
He once again steadied the scanner in both hands, moved in closer, and asked Michael to switch on the lights.
Bruce would you hold up the power cord and USB connector for me, please, I don’t want any drag to distort the images.
Bruce stepped forward, lifted the cords and very carefully moved along one step behind Josh.
This time Josh didn’t glance up at the monitor, but rather stayed totally focused on recording the left side of the cross. Although the Artec was fairly lightweight, it was nevertheless challenging to steady the machine because of the angle needed to get a good scan of the area. He pulled in the ‘on’ button and watched as the lasers began to strobe/flash in the direction it was pointed. After a minute or two he felt his arms start to shake. Michael noticed and reached over to steady him further.
I think we got it, Josh, you can pull it back now.
He was more than happy to comply and drop his arms to his side.
Okay, great; let’s see what we got.
Michael took the Artec from Josh and placed it back in its case and followed him over to the monitor. Crayton had already begun setting up a new file and was watching the composite scans finish their magic. Once the process was complete, he slid his chair to the side so that Josh could take control.
All right, let’s see if something new has shown itself.
The rest of the team once again got in close and took up positions behind Josh and were watching the monitor over his shoulder.
Right there was where Michael noticed the crack or distortion, but we can now see that it appears to be something else.
He indicated the spot with the cursor. It’s most definitely under the paint covering this surface area here, yet it also doesn't paint; at least not the same composition and stroke style.
Josh zoomed in tighter on the tiny section he was describing.
He knew that medieval artisans discovered through alchemical experimentation that adding gold chloride to molten glass resulted in a red tint, and adding silver nitrate turned the glass yellow. The technique resulted in some of the world’s most spectacular stained glass windows. Josh was also aware of scientists having analyzed stained glass from the 16th through 18th centuries and discovering that the technique worked because of nanotechnology. Analysis of the stained glass revealed that gold and silver nanoparticles, acting as quantum dots, reflected red and yellow light respectively. What his team discovered within the red glass was more than just the alchemical use of gold and silver to enhance the color, something much more subtle was recorded on the nano scale; perhaps some mysterious record of the Knights Templar itself.
Josh rose to his feet and stretched his neck muscles.
Well, boys, any ideas what we are looking at?
Chapter 2
Amy sat out on the deck of her condo, a cup of mint tea in her hand enjoying the view of Half Moon Bay. Rarely did she get home in time to see the sunset because her hours at the lab had been off the charts. It was extremely difficult for her not to bring her work home, but tonight she felt the importance of savoring these moments of stillness before she went to sleep. She stretched her legs out over the railing and allowed the aroma of the spearmint to flow up her nostrils and calm her mind. As the sun dropped down below the horizon of the still ocean, Amy felt at peace but also very much lonely. Her work had consumed every waking moment of her existence, leaving little or no time for social happenings with colleagues or prospective partners, although no man or woman seemed to be knocking at her door. At thirty-five she wondered whether she was so locked into her profession that she had allowed the rest of life pass her by, yet at the same time there lived inside her a belief someone was close, hovering on the periphery and ready to swoop in to fill her life with the missing ingredient of physical passion. It had been a long time since Amy felt the closeness of another human being. Her world revolved around science and left little room for free movements of the heart, yet tonight she wished things were different. She looked over at the empty chair next to her and longed for someone to be sitting beside her enjoying the sunset. She reached over and touched the armrest, gently stroking it as she imagined it to be the soft arm of a lover. With closed eyes she opened her thoughts to a change in her life; one that would make possible her love for her work to continue with the support of someone excited to share her world with her. Amy took a sip of tea, moved her hand back to her lap and began to formulate a picture in her mind of what that might look like. She let her head fall back against the chair and looked up at the early night sky, which was beginning to fill with stars. Her melancholy felt like a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she drifted away to the heavens to encounter the lights from the stars. Life was grand and cruel, yet at that moment it didn’t matter to her, which was of greater force. Today had reached its end and tomorrow lay before her with unknown surprises well worth being excited to meet. That was her truth and the way she lived. To some Amy’s exterior looked lackluster and dull of spirit; they would be right. There was much more to her ready to explode into reality, and she secretly wished for it to erupt soon. She believed in herself and sensed life was about to treat her to something huge.
As the evening air cooled and the stars reflected upon the bay, Amy smiled and thanked the heavens for being so generous, so offering. She finished her tea and went inside feeling happy.
Chapter 3
She reached her lab in Palo Alto shortly before seven a.m. very energized and extremely eager to continue and advance her team’s nano-lithography project from the previous day. As she was putting on her white lab coat, she noticed her young assistant, James Coleman, was already at his computer terminal.
Good morning James, nice to see you here at the crack of dawn.
Morning, Amy, I didn’t hear you come in.
James got up and followed her through the office area and into a Clean Room, where their latest testing had been occurring.
So tell me, James, what did you learn from our last study?
James, a candidate for a Ph.D. in Nano Sciences at her old alma mater, was thrilled when Amy contacted him and asked if he would be willing to join her team in their extensive research project. He had heard of her and jumped at the opportunity.
Well, I believe we successfully fabricated and patterned a least one lateral dimension of 100 nm across our target surface.
Which means?
That the material is capable of much faster and more complex functions using significantly less power?
Is that a question James or do you fully understand nano-circuitry?
James suddenly felt uneasy.
Relax, James, I’m just trying to keep you on your toes.
He exhaled and wiped his hands on his lab coat.
You are correct, we have successfully patterned at that level. We have been able to do it before, but the process is now clearer and more defined; wouldn’t you agree?
"I
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