Monsters and magnets Part one

The sounds of electricity coursing through systems could be heard as Stuart opened the door. He could always swear that he felt the static building in his clothes and hair the longer he stayed in there. Static shock was something he had become used to, even taking off his socks at home after a hard days work would result in the crackling of expelled electricity.

"Morning Stew" a voice said from behind a console at the far end of the room.

"Hi Wendell, God I love late shifts" Stew spit back in the cheeriest voice he could muster at 6 P.M.

Wendell snorted and talked through his nose"If we don't get this done tonight we will miss our deadline, I don't want to tell the high ups that we couldn't get this magnetic propulsion engine working"

Stuart smoothed down his light brown hair and adjusted his half moon glasses as he got closer to the prototype engine. two large cables designed specifically to carry large electrical current were draped from the ceiling of the lab and attached to a large engine. The engine had two small antenna resembling Tesla coils poking out of the top with two shiny silver ski's attached to the bottom to support the weight. The company logo was printed on the engine in steel blue {Magnes Lithos Corp} with the company motto just below it {We Make our own future!}

"You know. I really feel this whole thing started because someone took a ride on one of those trains in japan that glide on magnets and thought, hey why not a car next?" Stuart joked.

Wendell Shrugged " Yeah I think no one considered the logistics of this thing, I could do this no problem if we could put tin or steel all over the road. Oh yeah then pump high voltage through it to get the engine something to push off from."

" I can't believe your idea of electrifying every road in the country got shot down." Stuart said sarcastically.

" Theoretically we can use the natural magnetic field of the earth, we just need to tap into it. I need to take a minute I'll be right back" Stuart said as he walked for the door.

Stuart walked through the hallway to the bathroom pushing open the door. He pulled a comb from his shirt pocket and ran it under cool water then through his hair. This was his way of tackling hard problems, concentrating on the ritual of combing his hair and putting everything out of his mind. He stared into the mirror looking at his face and trying to decided if he had gained weight.

A thought hit Stuart right in the back of his head and he suddenly had a great idea.

"you smart bastard, I think you got it!" Stuart shouted as he pointed at himself in the mirror and smiled.

He laughed so hard you could see the gold fillings in the back of his mouth gleam brightly as he put away his comb and proceeded to the hallway. He ran to the onsite gym for employees and laughed hysterically as he grabbed what he needed.

Wendell sat staring at the console looking over the different knobs at his command. He day dreamed about flipping up the cover on the red kill switch and pressing the button in some dramatic way and then being praised for saving the company. He even started working on his thank you speech and how proud his mom would be as the door flew open and Stuart came running in.

"Turn the engine off for a moment and get down here I have an idea" Stuart strained to talk in an almost calm professional way.

Stuart put two scales on each side of the engine and instructed Wendell to help him lift the ski's just enough to slide each one under them.

"If nothing else the engine is balanced well" Wendell noted as he observed each scale reading 100 lbs.

"why did we do that anyway?" Wendell asked.

"Well, we keep looking to see this thing get off the ground, we aren't looking to see if it is even getting any lighter. For all we know we're just pumping power into the ground." Stuart explained.

Stuart continued "We saw the smaller model get off the ground... a couple times, during the proof of concept. I believe for whatever reason the magnetic fields were stronger either on that day or the location we were testing. We never did figure out the magic ingredient, we just built a bigger one and expected it to work."

Stuart walked over to a cabinet filled with parts and started rummaging. Picking things out and looking them over Stuart would make a little stack of pieces he was interested in. Once he was done he walked back to the tool bench and grabbed a welder and a few feet of cables.

"It's not going to be pretty, but I think it is going to work!" Stuart spat as he covered his face with a welding mask and started welding.

Wendell started to shout a warning but stopped himself. The cables from the ceiling may have some current still built up, but as Stuart brushed his arm against them nothing happened so he figured they were safe. Stuart worked like a mad man and Wendell wondered if he had finally snapped under the pressure of the job. Deadlines weren't something that sat well with Stuart, just last year Stuart had a small break down when he missed a deadline and had to let go of a project for health reasons.

When Stuart had finished he took a step back and looked over his work. Satisfied he returned the tools and walked over to Wendell. His hair was frazzled and his glasses sat slanted, Stuart took a deep breath and arranged himself before speaking.

" I added a antenna to the bottom, tuned to pick up on the fields. It should draw the fields towards it finally giving us the lift we need. I also added a light to show the antenna is getting power"

Wendell nodded and motioned toward the green start button, Stuart nodded back in agreement. The cables began humming again. They both sat for a minute and watched as the engine woke up and the light Stuart had installed dimly lit up. Stuart began tapping his foot impatiently and Wendell checked his watch. Stuart walked to the machine and checked each scale. He shook his head and turned to Wendell.

"Now the two in front says ninety nine pounds and the two in back say one hundred one one!"

"What is the power level set at on the console?" Stuart asked.

Wendell replied "It's about ten percent, but that is capacity for an electric car battery any more and its out of range of what a battery can put out on the road"

Stuart's face twisted as he realized that he had hit a wall. He stomped over to where the console was and stared intently, absolutely sure one of these buttons was just a press or turn away from fixing his problems. Stuart reached for the Power knob and was quickly brushed away by Wendell.

"We need more power!, I am not going to show our bosses a one pound difference on a scale and tell them that's our best. If it needs a better battery that's the battery guy's problem!" Stuart spat angrily.

"You need to calm down. We found the issue and can tweak as we need until we get it right. People will be understanding and we made some good progress tonight" Wendell said trying to keep his calm.

"When have you ever seen them be understanding? These people don't want to hear technical issues,We need to get this thing at least a few inches off the ground." Stuart said trying to regain his composure.

"OK, I will turn it up to twenty five" Wendell said reluctantly.

The lights dimmed slightly and you could hear the sound of equipment being pushed into a higher gear as the new surge of electricity came to the engine. They let it run for a minute, hoping to see the ski's break free from gravity and float like a balloon on a string. After a few minutes Stuart went to check the scales.

"140 on the back two and 60 on the front" Stuart yelled.

He tried to lift the large engine himself. Hoping to see it break free from gravity like a little bird that only needed a push. After a few minutes with no progress he made a signal with his hands to cut the power. Wendell shut it down and just as he did he could swear he saw a small purple spark flicker on the floor under the engine at the last moment. Soon the lab returned to its normal lighting and the loud humming of overworked machines died down. Stuart eyed the control panel from over Wendell's staring at the power controls and debating in his head if he should just go to a hundred percent. Wendell saw this and quickly spoke up.

"I see what your thinking. We can't just crank it to a hundred. Their are other experiments in other rooms that depend on the power to keep them stable and working. If we did that we would black out the building for sure and probably most of the surrounding area. If my math is right fifty percent should give us just enough to see the scales read zero."

Stuart stood silent for a moment mulling over what Wendell had said. He ran his hands through his hair and scratched a nervous itch from his cheek to the end of his nose then put his hand on Wendell's shoulder and leaned closer.

In a whisper Stuart said "OK"

The engine came to life once more as the lights began to dim. The buzzing of electricity was louder then ever. A sense of impending doom flowed over Wendell as he worried what the side effects of using so much juice on this equipment would be. Stuart on the other hand was staring intently on the front of the engine trying to will it air born with his mind. He took two steps before he noticed something strange. The front scales were still on the bottom of the ski's however they were no longer touching the ground, They had become magnetized. As the front Ski's slowly rose into the air the scales followed, they were solidly stuck to them. The engine continued to rise in the front until all that was touching the ground were the very back tips of the engine ski's.

Wendell puzzled "those ski's aren't Magnetic, They're actually a synthetic type of silver with copper and gold mixed in. Why are they stuck to it?"

" I don't know, its not hurting anything. Let's worry about the main issue now and we will sort out the other issues later" Stuart Snarled.

Stuart walked over and gave the slightest push to the back end of the machine. It went up in the air slowly until the machine was sitting 4 feet off the ground perfectly parallel from the floor. Then the back end slowly sank back down like a balloon that had only enough helium to stand up right. Stuart then started to adjust the antenna on the bottom with one hand while holding the engine aloft with the other. Wendell watch wondering if turning down the power slowly while Stuart was under there would be funny or spark a fight. He also wondered if Stuart knew what he was messing with. One slip of his hand could redirect the electricity bringing the electricity directly through his heart.

Stuart finally moved away from the machine and shouted to Wendell

"I think the antenna isn't centered that's why it was floating crooked, that or the polarity is off"

Satisfied with his tweaks he returned to his co workers side and they both just watched the machine bob up and down slightly as if it were on a choppy lake after a boat went by. Slowly the tail end sank back to earth and landed with a small clang of metal against the floor. Beneath the antenna there was another spark. Wendell was sure of it this time and pointed it out to Stuart as the small purple flashes continued to shoot from the floor. Stuart headed for the machine again, but was quickly grabbed by the arm and held there as he heard the machines power being cut back and the sparks began to dissipate.

"Whatever that was, I think we should call it a successful night and try to figure out our sparking problem tomorrow" Wendell said with an air of caution.

"I think it just needs a second antenna and.. just a little more juice" Stuart smiled.

Wendell spoke in an irritated voice "No more power! We already are going five times what is normally possible by a modern battery."

Wendell found his composure and continued "It floated, that's,what you wanted, we are all set"

With that Wendell began to grab his coat and proceeded to pat himself down to make sure he had everything he needed to go home.

"We have been on this for weeks and made more progress tonight then the last two months. God knows what those sparks were. We need to give this some thought. I highly doubt when we show other people they will like the risks we are taking. Who knows what we could of damaged? There are projects here that cover all corners of science. Whose to say what could be effected if we slip up in here" Wendell said in a firm but kind voice.

Stuart spoke back in a reluctant tone "So there is no convincing you for one more test? I feel like we are right there at the edge all we need is a few more adjustments and we could get this to be a slam dunk in an hour"

Wendell shrugged " If you don't know what those sparks were from I would leave it be until someone with fresh eyes can give us a hand"

Defeated Stuart grabbed his coat and walked towards the door. They both made there way down the hallway in silence, feeling the weight of what they had done and trying to process what needed to happen next.

The parking lot was empty except for their two vehicles. Wendell owned a sensible looking blue Camry only a few years old with an interior he took special pride in keeping clean. He started the car remotely and waved good bye to his co-worker as he got in. Stuart had an old jeep, It looked like it was built to climb mountains. The body was covered in dirt and dust up to the top of the door panels. The only things clean on the beast were the roll bar on top and brush guards that covered the grill. The roll bar and brush guard were painted bright yellow to offset the paint job which was black making it resemble a bumble bee, when it was clean which it often wasn't.

Both men began their drives home. Wendell in the front with Stuarts Jeep headlights shining directly in his rear-view mirror. After a few miles Stuart turned off to his street and Wendell adjusted his eyes happy to have those headlight removed from his vision. Wendell breathed a sigh of relief and felt the tension from the day start to quickly become just a memory. He pulled into the driveway of his ranch style home and turned off the engine.

Stuart sat in his driveway. Engine still running as his headlights reflected off the garage of his house. He went over the multiple scenario's in his head where he would have to explain tonight to management and them explaining to him that set back were failures and failure was not an option. He even thought about putting it all on Wendell, but that wouldn't get him anywhere. He sighed deeply and shook his head, realizing he wouldn't be able to sleep with things so close to being completed. The backup lights came on and He began the five minute trip back to work.

The lab felt colder than usual when Stuart walked in. He wasted no time, throwing his coat in a corner on the floor and proceeded to rummage through the cabinet once again looking for a matching antenna. Soon he had found what he needed and in a few minutes had attached the antenna on the bottom of the engine. He ran to the controls and began to look them over to make sure all the settings were correct. After a through check he hit the start button and he could hear the electricity pumping it's way through the cables. He stared at the engine waiting to see it finally get off the ground.

It started slowly at first. Only enough space to slide a piece of paper between the floor and the scales. Soon the gap was enough to stick a finger under. Stuart smiled as he saw the machine rise to six inches off the floor. After a few more minutes the sled had gained a solid 4 foot gap between it and the floor. He ran down and waved his hand through the air under the machine. The engine hung there in mid air rocking gently back and forth for a few minutes as Stuart enjoyed his feeling of accomplishment.

It started with a small purple spark, just one. Then in seconds that spark became many and it looked like someone had lit a sparkler and thrown it onto the floor. Stuart stood and watch more in curiosity than shock. The sparks soon covered a five foot patch, then they began to rise like they were being drawn to the motor. As the sparks got closer they began to take a more solid form. They now looked like small purple marbles floating just a foot off the ground. The marbles began spinning around each other like they were in a whirlpool.

He noticed that his coat had begun sliding towards him, the pocket with his keys leading the charge. The coat made a leap from the floor and was now attached to one of the purple balls. The coat swirled in the vortex like it had been dropped in an invisible washing machine. Stuart pulled at his coat uselessly trying to rip it from the grip of the strange orbs.

The orbs seemed to be getting bigger until they were closer to the size of oranges. More orbs joined their friends until they shaped a column from the floor to the antenna's. They circled faster and faster until they all seemed a blur. Stuart leaned in close but was quickly slapped by his coat that was still stuck in the middle of this.

From the floor rose a green translucent sheet that covered the whole floor. It reached the bottom of the purple rotating orbs and just hovered there like the ghost of a parachute stuck in a wind only it can feel. Stuart felt his ankles where it touched the ghostly sheet tingle, whether it was really effecting him or just in his head he couldn't decide. The lights began to flicker and dim and the equipment hummed louder trying to keep up with the energy it was tasked with supplying.

Becoming concerned Stuart decided to walk over and cut the power. As he turned he felt resistance. He tried to walk away, but he couldn't bend his ankles. He realized that he had no feeling at all with any body part below the sheet of green. He tried to lift his feet above the line and once he did he had feeling in it again until he set it down. Repeating this process he made it a few feet before feeling something pull on his back teeth.

His fillings were pulling him into the swirling purple orbs and his feet were not listening. He went onto his knees pulling away as best he could before loosing feeling on those body parts too. He felt a snap in his teeth as the fillings cam loose and instantly lodged in the back of his head trying to cut there way out. Stuart swore and screamed for help as he was dragged into the middle of the purple column. His screams were stifled by the coat hitting him in the face every few seconds.

The last thing Stuart saw was the lights go out and he heard a loud click as the electric grid finally gave way. The Purple orbs shot out in all directions, flying through the walls as if they didn't exist. The sled came down with a crash right on top of Stuart with a loud crash and the sound of crunching bones. Stuart's coat landed on his body, draping over him as the last signs of life drained out.