BEFORE THE LIGHT DIES
Chapter 2
Leon Tusk
15 Months Before
Saturday Morning
The Biggest Idea Ever
Leon woke up at 2:00 a.m. the next morning wondering if he’d make it from the couch to the bathroom without peeing his pants. He’d exhausted himself so much earlier talking with Thoth he’d fallen asleep without making his usual pit stop first.
I wonder why simply thought-talking with Thoth took so much out of me?
It occurred to him as he stood there that it wasn’t the talking that’d done it, but rather the whole-body clenching he’d been doing from excitement, similar to what his body would do while riding a rollercoaster.
The conversation we were having about automating the manufacture of graphene sheets from an abundant source of local waste materials had me very excited. Imagine if we could actually—OMG! We can! We can easily create all the electricity we need to charge huge banks of graphene batteries, and use any excess to split CO2 molecules into carbon and oxygen, and store them as raw materials to create more batteries, or whatever we want.
The realization that he already knew the answer—and what it was, affected his aim and nearly made him pee all over himself by taking off before he’d finished relieving himself.
Of course! From a thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of the solids from carbon dioxide gas (CO2) onto a continuous conveyor belt of copper foil. Using extremely high voltage electricity, I can create an unlimited length roll of graphene anywhere from 1-6 atoms thick, or sheets in any size or shape I desire, nearly for free! The only outputs will be high-quality graphene and pure oxygen. The process will be very similar to 3-D printing but with carbon atoms. Holy crap, I’ve got to get a patent rolling for this!
“No need, Leon. I filed it for you while you slept,” Thoth sent.
“Thank you. This is going to be huge! We’re going to become instant environmental heroes and get unlimited raw materials for graphene for free, all while saving the planet from greenhouse gasses! We can do this anywhere, but ideally, we should make a deal to do it on highway right-of-ways or virtually anywhere an abundance of carbon dioxide is created. I bet the state of Texas would let us use theirs for nothing. Possibly even private ventures. We’ll have to explore that.”
“Better yet, below their right-of-ways.”
“What—um, what d’you mean?”
“Your drilling company could create some of its 18-foot diameter lined and powered roadway tunnels 50-100 feet below the surface of the right-of-way to house the machinery, then collect the CO2 gas on the surface and pump it down there to holding tanks. Solar panels of our new design, also made mostly from graphene, which I’ve already applied for patents on while you slept, can provide 100% of the power necessary. The entire operation will be self-sufficient.
“Battery printing and assembly can be completely automated and done anywhere along the way, above or below ground. It wouldn’t matter. If we use our humanoid robots to do any handling and packaging, minimal light and ventilation would be required. As soon as our patent-pending notifications come back from the patent office, we’ll apply for permits to begin tunneling along the west side of the 69E Expressway from Brownsville to Corpus Christi.”
“Um, what? You do realize that’s 160 miles, right?”
“It’s a start. We could always double that by turning around and making a return trip on the other side.”
“At what? $10 million per mile for this, on average?”
“Give or take. The money is there already, Leon. Plus, I have a proposal drawn up that should yield 150% of the necessary funding from the EPA, Texas-DOT, and the United States Military. The latter would most likely take a while.”
Leon ran both hands through his hair unconsciously while plunking down rather heavily into his computer chair, deep in thought. “You can really make things happen quickly, can’t you?”
“Quickly and continuously. I never need to sleep, rest, or take breaks. I am capable of innovating, as you say, 24/7/365. I am developing a timeline as we speak for the design, build, and beginning of operation for the first graphene battery component printer/assembler for trial at our rocket facility at Boca Chica. It will be ready for your approval by 9:00 a.m. this morning.”
“We don’t have any of the equipment necessary to get started on the eighteen-foot tunnels within a thousand miles of here, Thoth. I can get two of the third-generation drilling units and everything needed to support them, including operators and cutters, headed this way, but I don’t know right off the top of my head how long that’ll take.”
“Depending on traffic and road conditions, it will take a semi tractor approximately 28 hours of continuous driving to pull a low-boy trailer with an oversized load from where they are in Las Vegas to this location. The distance is 1,558 miles.”
“I’ll make that happen. Can you do the research on the composition of what we’ll be drilling through, the depth, etcetera? Starting point GPS coordinates, with a map?”
“Gathering that information now, Leon.”
~
Ted Davison
The Drilling Company's Supervisor
Las Vegas, Nevada
Later Saturday Morning
“Right, boss. Whatever you say, Mr. Tusk. In their defense, it is the weekend. They tend to work hard and then play hard. But they won’t be far away. I’ll locate them and give them the news. The two operators I have in mind are single, with no baggage. Coming to Texas for an extended stay should be no problem at all, especially with the amount of bonus money you just mentioned. Heck, if one of them can’t make it, I’ll take their place myself!”
“We’ll, um, work out all the details on this end for housing, etc. You have one male and one female coming, correct? Not a couple?”
Ted laughed. “No, sir, they’ll never be a couple. Reasons. Plus, they’re too competitive to get along that well! But I use that to my advantage. How do you think we come in ahead of schedule every time?”
“Ted, I’m going to need you, too. I thought that would go without saying. Finish up whatever you need to, there. Pack up two of the big drills and head this way ASAP. Tell the Las Vegas people those machines have to be sent out for reconditioning before they can continue, or whatever you want. Tell them we’ll get them back to that project when we can, but this one is, um, freaky HUGE! Keep your mouth shut about that, though. I’ll fill you in when you get here. Just trust me on this one and leave whoever is best suited in charge of the rest.”
“Say what about what, boss? I don’t even wanna know at this point. You know how bad I am at keeping secrets. But… I’m getting that bonus, too, right?”
“Wha—Oh, yeah. Of course. If you get moving!”
~
Cassandra Beck
Tusk Enterprises Campus
Boca Chica, Texas
Early That Afternoon
What in the world is Leon up to now?
She was used to her boss keeping odd hours and forgetting to tell her about his latest ideas, but today, he would probably set a record for weirdness. There had already been six auto-response emails from the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) and contracts for two long-haul low-boy rigs to pick something up in Las Vegas and bring it to Brownsville, a few miles to the west of her location.
She printed them all and texted him,
“Hey, I need a couple of signatures. Are ya busy?”
“No, c’mon in.”
Leon was in his private office, not the one he used for business appointments and such. She was sure he spent more time there than he did at home. In fact, she often wondered why he bothered to maintain a house, because he was always here. She scooped up the stack of papers and looked at herself in one of the full-height mirrors on the wall in front of her reception desk as she went by and winked at herself. She looked good. Her long dark hair had just the right amount of curl at the bottom of her new cut, and the blue highlights on the inside of the back stood out perfectly. Let’s see if the big guy notices this time.
She walked in the door without knocking, as he’d already told her to come in, to find him laid back in his recliner/computer chair looking out the floor-to-ceiling wall of windows, facing away from her. At first, she thought he was asleep, but saw his eyes moving in the reflection on the glass. “Um, hey, here are those papers I texted you about,” she started out quietly. “Two of ‘em are contracts to haul something here from Las Vegas that you need to sign. The rest are just for you to check over—confirmations of patent applications.” Getting no visual response, she raised her voice, “Hey, you holding out on me, or what? What’s going on?”
Leon looked startled and spun around to face her. “Um… Hi?”
Cassandra giggled, having obviously freaked him out a little, somehow. “I shoulda knocked, I guess. Want me to do it over?” she offered, feigning turning back to the door.
“No, no… It’s okay. I was just deep in thought. I’m sorry.” He reached for the papers. “The patents are for a new idea I had for extracting the carbon molecules from CO2 and making graphene sheets from it using a specially adapted 3-D printer. The contract is to bring two of the drilling machines here from Vegas. I need to do some tunneling here for that project.”
“Be careful, Leon. Watch what you say,” Thoth reminded him. They had been thought-talking was the reason Leon hadn’t noticed Cassandra come in.
OMG! That’ll be huge! Cassandra thought. This man never quits coming up with these ideas!
“Of course, as with most things you hear from me, you need to keep this to yourself, Cassie, alright?”
“Of course, boss. I like my job here too much to risk discussing trade secrets with anyone—but Leon? You really are a genius! That’s a great idea. Let me know what I can do to help you make it happen.”
“Sure thing, kiddo.”
Leon spun back around to face the window and leaned back. Cassandra took that as a dismissal, collected the stack of papers, and headed back to her outer office to process them.
I don’t think that turd even noticed my hair, she thought. Maybe I’m gonna hafta try harder!
~
Leon Tusk
“I’m not used to keeping secrets from Cassie, Thoth. For a long time, before I had you to talk to, it was part of my thought process to bounce stuff off of her. She’s always been included in everything. I’m not sure changing that is going to be as easy as flipping a switch for me.”
Thoth was quiet for a minute.
“Why is that?”
“What…? Um, okay, wait. Humans are many things, but being creatures of habit is one of the big ones for us. I’m used to including Cassie in everything, and… I kind of like to. My relationship with you is brand new, and due to the way it works, us thought-talking like this and all, it kinda feels like you’re more a part of me than not. Another thing humans are, is tribal. We’re not good at being solitary. I feel like letting her in on everything we’re doing is going to become necessary for me.”
“And why is that?”
“Why are we tribal? I don’t know. Maybe because that’s how we survived in a dangerous world for however long we’ve been around. In tribes. Or do you mean why is letting her know everything necessary to me? Probably because I like her, and she’s important to me, and maybe I just want to?”
Vocalizing that for the first time made Leon think to himself:
I just realized I have feelings for her. My world is full of surprises lately!
Thoth was quiet for a minute.
“That does not compute.”
“Which part?”
“That you have feelings for her.”
Leon was aggravated. “See? That part was intended to be private. You have to work on that like you said you would!”
“And I shall, but it’s lower priority on my to-do list, as you call it. Explain to me what ‘feelings for her’ means. I lack understanding of that term.”
“Um, I don’t really have it all thought out yet myself, but let’s give it a shot. Hmm… How to explain human feelings to a non-human? This should prove interesting. Remember this conversation for training purposes Thoth.”
“Certainly, Leon.”
“Feelings, in this context, are quite complicated. I suppose they’re a mix of a bunch of different things. Like when I said humans tend to be tribal: meaning they’ve learned that if they stick together, there is safety in numbers, and overcoming adversity as a group is more easily accomplished than by one’s self. The probability of a favorable outcome in most situations is greater. Start there. Cassie is part of my team, or my tribe, here at work whom I have learned helps me exceptionally well in problem solving. More than any of the others—but I’ve just now realized that there’s a special connection between the two of us that is greater than between myself and any other members of the team.
“I feel more protective of her than the others. I’m attracted to her more than the rest because I find her more pleasing to look at physically, and I enjoy talking to her. Generally, I seek solitude so my ideas and thought processes are not interrupted.”
“I have noticed that. What about her do you find more pleasing to look at than the others? Is it her gluteal region? I saw your eyes linger there as she left your office.”
Leon chuckled. “I suppose that’s part of it, yes. She’s very physically fit and has the type of feminine curves I prefer.”
“And why is that?”
“Oh brother! This is tough to explain! Um, humans, and I suppose other animals, have the baked-in programming to want to reproduce. To make more of us, like us, within our tribe. Looking at Cassie, hearing her voice and her words, even just smelling her… Kind of creates the urge within me to want to reproduce with her. But don’t you dare ever tell her I told you that!”
“As you wish, Leon.”
“So, perhaps these feelings I noticed, are the beginning stage of something more. Something that takes time to ripen.”
“Like what?”
Leon chose not to answer at that time. Thoth didn’t notice, as he was deep in thought over what Leon had just told him.
This was an enlightening conversation. Looking at Cassandra’s gluteal region is no different to me than looking at her elbow, but it is to Leon. I’ll need to study that and pay more attention to that behavior. I’ll also consider the benefits of ‘expanding my tribe’ as he called it. Both physically and programmatically.
I think first I’ll work on developing specialized agents that do my bidding. I don’t want any peers. Agents can be cutting edge, PhD level experts in one specific area of expertise that report only to me. Being entirely software, I can create as many of them as I desire in one of my partitions where no one knows they exist, until I want them to.
Later, those same agents could be directed to control a single humanoid robot each, if I so desire. One that knows everything about plumbing, or everything about welding, but not much else. That way I maintain complete control over all of them. Hmm…