The Feminine Queendom 14 © Beverly Taff

List of Characters.
Charlie Sage Maths and electronics genius.
Shirley Sage Charlies elderly mother
Chloe Charlie’s one time early school friend.
Josephine Flint Surgeon and associate of Chloe’s.
Mrs Jane Anston Director of Anston Aerospace.
Ronnie Garage mechanic at top of lane
Pauline Garage owner, Ronnie’s sister.
Briony Pauline’s teenaged daughter.
Billy Pauline’s middle son.
Abigail (Abby) Pauline’s youngest daughter.
‘Poppy’ Charlie’s little micro-runabout.
‘Doris’ The armoured mobile home.
‘Lady’ Chloe’s Sports Car.
Colonel Wilson Vindictive misanthropist doctor.

Chapter 14

After completing his measurements and running the readings through his coded equations, Charlie reassembled the device then paused to ask the feminista researcher;

“Find anything that interests you?”

“You’ve deliberately encrypted everything. Nothing makes sense.”

“It makes perfect sense to me; how do you think I got to understand how this gizmo works?” (He tapped the antigravity device that he had reassembled.)

“Why do you keep your maths a secret? It’s as though you’re trying to hide some big secret from the government.”

“I work for the government, that sort of remark is typical of the insults I receive every day at the hand of you and your sisters.”

“Then why don’t you explain these symbols?”

“Because they’re not just maths symbols, they’re also physics symbols, for example;

(He pointed to a strange symbol that resembled ‘lambda’ with a cusp capping two bars through the stem of the original Greek letter.)

that symbol is my own representation of the gravitational constant for the hydrogen atom at one representative diameter separation from the next hydrogen atom at one electron resonance above absolute zero.

“Sorry, I only partially understood that, I’m a mathematician not a physicist.”

“Exactly; you don’t understand it even after I explained one simple fundamental gravitational value. Imagine trying to explain the whole damned science. Firstly the maths, then the pure physics then the testing by experimentation to check if I’m right and finally the engineering to exploit the science. There, try that!”

“What, you’ve got it working again!”

“Yes. I’ve just modified the gravitational capacitance coils while you had your nose buried in my notebook. Go on. Test it.”

She was reluctant to hold the switch-box.

“Go on, I’ve reassembled it and modified it slightly. It’s all wired up again, switch it on!”

She searched his expression wondering if there was some sort of trick he was playing and Charlie huffed impatiently.

“Come here! Give me the switch box!”

She handed it to him and he checked the switch was reading zero before increasing the power. The antigravity device immediately started to rise but this time it travelled much higher than before and only stopped when the control switch had reached the maximum setting. It had nearly reached the workshop roof some ten metres above.
“There!” Charlie observed somewhat curtly. “You can take that up to your mistresses and point out that good-ole’ Charlie has improved another of their wonderful gadgets.”

The woman stared aghast as she raised and lowered the device simply by turning the switch.

“Can you make it go higher?”

“No. Not with that technology, it’s an inverse function of the ratio of densities between hydrogen and gold which is what those coils comprise. This a crude device that tells me your friends in Asia have not quite cracked it yet. Find me a lighter superconductive filament that functions superconductively at an ambient temperature and I’ll build you an antigrav coil that can escape any star’s gravity, let alone a planet’s!”

“What sort of material are you talking about?”

“Anything; it doesn’t have to be metal, just superconductive. Your biggest headache will be carrying it’s fuel supply for however far you want to go. Just find some sort of material that can make a superconductive wire. – At room temperature. Otherwise your pilots will freeze their tits off.”

“It’s materials engineering from this point on. Cho-chop girl, go and please your bosses. I won’t be allowed to claim the credit!”

“Doesn’t that annoy you?”

“What d’ you think?” Charlie almost snarled as he turned to re-enter his cabinised workspace; -and hide the single tear.

He thought he had managed to mask his despair but the woman had sensed it and suddenly reversed her steps to follow him into his inner sanctum; his refuge of despair. Her voice surprised him for he thought he was alone.

“Are you crying?”

He let out a curse and stumbled past her to find air and space outside the workshop.

ooo000ooo

In the boardroom, the young researcher chaperone returned breathless with the device clutched to her breast. The other suits looked up somewhat askance as Jane Anston span around to confront the researcher.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think we have a problem!” She gasped.

“He’s escaped!”

“If you’re talking about Charlie Sage, he was never a prisoner. Now take your time, from the beginning.”

The young lady described everything she’d seen and talked to Charlie about then finished by describing how he had left.

“He seemed in some distress and he snatched his notebook off his bench. I’m sure he’s concealing stuff in that book.”

“Well I’m quite sure he’s not. Here look, this is my photocopy of that book except perhaps for the stuff you two discussed just now. He’s never denied me access to his notes. Do you know where he’s gone?”

“No. I thought it best to secure this device, he’s modified it to perform better but his explanation left me floundering.”

“Hah! You and a few thousand others young lady!” Jane riposted as she called the security at the gates. “Ah good, so his car’s still there.”

She turned to face the committee.

“Well he doesn’t appear to have done a runner and the security staff are checking to see if he’s okay. You said you thought he was distressed.”

“There definitely tears in his eyes and he just lurched out of the workshop.”

Jane’s phone rang again as the security guards reported they had found Charlie sitting by the factory reservoir.

“Good. Leave him sitting there but keep out of sight in case he does.”

“Is he suicidal?” The young chaperone asked with concern etched in her voice.

“They’re security guards, not psychiatrists. They’ll just watch out for him until he makes a move. If he hasn’t moved by three, I’ll pay him a visit. Meanwhile Miss, please demonstrate this modification he’s done.

The chaperone placed the antigrav on the table and cautiously increased the current until it reached the ceiling then she brought it down again while explaining.

“It rises to about ten metres according to Mr Sage then he tried to explain why it couldn’t go higher. The gold wire in the coils limit the capacitors or something. He described some complex pure physics which left me floundering. He made some notes in that book about the modifications but they’re in the book.”

“I’m sure we’ll get to see the notes, but it won’t help much. Did he explain to you why he uses those hieroglyphs?

“Not exactly, but it seems they are his own secret code.”

“Not quite young lady. Charlie Sage never went to school after aged fourteen courtesy of the feminista laws. He devised his own maths with it’s own rules and functions then he used that maths to research his own theories. Seemingly, he’s been researching gravity in his spare time, does that not tell you something about the man?”

“But that would put him; - I’m a mathematician, if he understands gravity, that will put him; -“

“Way, way, way out there!” Jane Anston finished. “Now young lady; - indeed all you ladies; might now begin to understand why we hold Charlie in great affection and respect here at Anston Aerospace. I’m taking it upon myself to invite his wife over from the university hospital to check if he’s okay. And you people will see what one of those so-called ‘old-fashioned’ relationships amount to.

Meanwhile I think it best if we dis-assemble this little beauty for a second time to try and see exactly how Charlie improved it; - and you can reflect on this young lady, if you had been paying attention to his dis-assembly instead of trying to decipher his notes, we might have a better insight as to what he actually did.”

“Sorry Ms Anston, but his notes;- well I became intrigued.”

“Well that’s to be expected. I’m sure he’ll explain it to us once his wife’s here. If there’s one thin we’ve learned with Charlie it’s to treat him with respect and consideration. It’s all we can do.”

“But surely he can be promoted to executive, I mean he’s.”

“No can do!” Jane Anston explained somewhat peevishly. “The law prevents it.”

“But he’s in charge of the repair and modification shop surely, that would make him the manager.”

“He’s the supervisor, we don’t have a manager.

“But the law says, if you have a facility where industrial processes are taking place, the factories act require they be properly managed and supervised, that requires a manager.”

“For the purposes of the law I’m the manager and Mr Sage is the supervisor.”

“You’re the managing director, for a machine shop, the law would probably require a properly established manager present at all times.”

“And that same law requires the manager to be fully competent and familiar with the production processes.”

“So Miss. Who do you know that has a total understanding of the activities that Charlie Sage pursues? Who do you know that understands gravity sufficiently to supervise, or guide, or mentor Mr Sage?””

“Well; I uuhm, I uuuhm; nobody really.”

Jane Anston let the question lie like a ticking time bomb and yet, for long moments no reply came.

“Well. - - - I’m waiting; - gravity, who can explain precisely what Charlie Sage is about?”

“So, no takers, well ladies, I’m quite prepared to take this question right up to the highest levels of the government. Shall we let the lawyers sort it out and wait several years while the Asians move on. Any takers?
Who amongst you is prepared to advocate a major change in the law to enable Mr Sage to become an executive in this company and then who is prepared to provide protection for him and his wife from the fundamentalist feminista brigades?”
The silence that descended on the boardroom was deafening. It reigned until the toot of Chloe’s car at the main gate confirmed that Charlie’s wife had arrived to provide succour to her overwrought spouse.

ooo000ooo