A legendary pro football running back, idolized Mohawk athlete and acclaimed role model for youths of all cultures, turned his many talents away from the gridiron to pursue his earlier dream of being an astronomer.
Chapter 1
Angus Thomas and Pat Yamaguchi sat down in front of the desk of Dr. Ann Rivers, senior member of their working group of nine astronomers and physicists at the University of Arizona. This meeting was regarding a new procedure Dr. Thomas had developed.
Dr. Rivers, a thin, smallish, hawk-nosed woman of fifty-five with frizzy, salt and pepper hair, greeted them warmly. “Welcome gentlemen. Let’s get right down to business.” The two nodded their heads in agreement. “Angus, we’ve put together a set of trials for your new procedure and I’ve asked Pat to help you with testing, improving and standardizing it.” She handed Angus a fresh, tan file folder containing a few papers. “Here’s a list of nearby stars for test subjects and a tentative schedule of time on the telescope at Kitt Peak. You’ll have to confirm the schedule. Do you have any questions?”
Angus looked at Pat and back at Dr. Rivers. “Not from me until I look through the stuff in that envelope. I know we’ll have questions then.”
Pat nodded in agreement. “I have none at the moment either.”
Dr. Rivers, her slightly rumpled suit hanging on a gaunt, angular frame, stood up in an obvious signal of dismissal. “Then let’s see how well your procedure works.”
Pat Yamaguchi was the newest member of the group. A small, thin man with a big heart, Pat became Angus’ closest friend when they were in grad school together. His father, who taught high school chemistry in Fresno, was a multi-generation American of Japanese decent and his mother was mostly English. They lived their entire lives in the central California city where Pat and his two sisters grew up. When he walked out of Dr. River’s office beside the burly Mohawk, Pat looked almost tiny .
* * *
Angus Thomas, whose name in Kenienkeha, the Mohawk language, is Anias Otonwa, was thirty-one when he received his doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Arizona. The famous Mohawk had come a long way from his days as a star high school soccer player on the St. Regis Reservation in New York. Recruited by Penn State University as a place kicker, he starred in that role as a sophomore. During a mid-season game, his team behind by four points and bogged down on the opponent’s thirty-five, the burly place kicker trotted onto the field to try for three points. When the high snap bounced off the holder’s outstretched hands, Angus snatched it from in front of an onrushing lineman, tucked it instinctively in the crook of his arm and headed down the field. Running around, through and over would be tacklers and aided by blocks from his startled teammates, he scored the winning touchdown. In that famous moment a great running back emerged. This powerful and talented ex-place-kicker was soon ripping through opponents and setting records.
By the time he graduated, Angus had added his name to the college record books, become a scholastic All-American and was a top pick in the NFL draft. He graduated with honors from the science school in physics with a minor in astronomy, his first love. He toyed with the idea of staying in school and getting a master’s degree, but the lure of the multi-million dollar pro contract soon changed his mind. By his second season he hit his stride as a premier running back and his fame grew rapidly.
In November 1995, near the end of his seventh season in the pros, he sustained a career ending knee injury. After several surgeries had rebuilt his knee, Angus could walk quite normally, but there was no chance of his return to the gridiron. While everyone expected the popular athlete to become a coach or sports commentator, Angus had other ideas. With his considerable income wisely invested, he could go almost anywhere and do almost anything he wanted. When he decided to pursue his earlier dream of becoming an astronomer, he enrolled at the University of Arizona in Tucson. It amazed everyone except his immediate family. He chose Arizona because of the excellent program and their nearby observatories. After earning his doctorate, he stayed in Tucson as a faculty member and researcher concentrating on searching for planets around nearby stars.
At first, Angus’ colleagues had great difficulty taking a football legend as a serious researcher. When he developed a significant, new and far more accurate method of comparative spectral analysis of light from the stars, the attitude of most of his colleagues changed drastically. They realized he was serious about his new career and was a valuable member of his group at the university.
* * *
Early in June of 2000, more than six weeks after the meeting with Dr. Rivers that initiated the current project, Angus stalked in like a man on a mission and dropped a printout of the spectrum recorded for Barnard’s Star on Pat’s desk. He leaned over with a look of puzzlement on his face, pointed to the print and remarked, “Take a look at this. These two faint spectral absorption lines don’t belong there at all, but they certainly look real. That’s gotta be an error in the equipment. If it’s not an error, then it’s something weird. We would run into a problem on the last test reading of the whole series.”
“Lemme see.” Pat examined the print carefully, trying to match it visually with the standard he pulled from his desk. “They look real enough, like a faint image of strong lines superimposed on - you sure this isn’t a double reading? Another star on top of Barnard’s?”
“They show up on both the plot and this print. I don’t see how a double reading could give us those lines; they align perfectly. They just don’t belong.”
“Let’s look over some earlier images and see what we can find,” Pat said as he swivelled his chair to retrieve the earlier images from the computer behind him.
Angus came around to Pat’s side and leaned over his shoulder to look at the screen as Pat displayed earlier images of spectra from Barnard’s star. They could find none with the errant lines. Angus stood up, a blank, questioning look painted his face. “Somehow I must have messed up, made a mistake when I took that reading. I’ll have to take another shot as soon as practical.”
“Since we finished our scheduled use of the telescope, it’ll take a while to get back in,” Pat commented, frowning up at Angus. He was not hopeful. “The schedule at Kitt Peak has been tough since they shut down the old Mt Hopkins MMT for an update. It may take a month to get a date for another spectral analysis.”
“Got no choice. I’ll go see about a time right now.” Angus hurried back to his desk to arrange to do another spectrum. A few minutes later he phoned Pat. “We’re in luck. I got a spot three weeks from tonight. Let’s pray for a clear night.”
* * *
“Look at these danged lines! They’re even more distinct than before,” Angus exclaimed to Pat when he walked in holding the new spectrum print from his redo. He plopped the print down in front of Pat and quickly sat in the chair at the side of the desk. “What the devil could be generating them? I still can’t find a match anywhere.”
Pat picked up the print, looked at it closely, scowling, then placed it back on the desk. He paused thoughtfully and leaned back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head. “You can’t tie them into any known lines? Can’t recognize their pattern? Of course, that’s nearly impossible with only two lines. That’s really weird.”
Angus leaned forward, pursing his lips and shaking his head in frustration. “One thing I know for certain, they don’t belong where they are.”
Pat looked perplexed. He picked up his coffee mug and fondled it for a moment, seeming to examine it closely while thinking. “If you’re as baffled as I am, why not take the whole thing to Ann. She’s done lots of work on matching spectra. Or, show it to the guys at our next group meeting. More, older, and hopefully, wiser heads should at least be able to point you in a direction. I’m completely out of ideas.”
* * *
At Dr. Rivers’ suggestion, Angus brought this new information before their group of nine scientists at the university. He and Pat explained the circumstances thoroughly during an open, casual discussion.
After the group had examined the spectra, group leader, Dr. Rivers, looked as puzzled as Angus and Pat had been. “You’re correct! Those two lines are definitely out of place where they are. Could it be a ghost image? You know, a photographic anomaly, lines reflected from inside the instrument?”
Dave Hopkins, the jokester in the group and quite jealous of Angus, leaned back in his chair and grinned with sarcastic derision. “Yeh! You must have a ghost in that marvelous program of yours, a ghost instead of a virus. It’s making new lines for you to confound the rest of us. Can’t the famous football kid come up with an answer?”
Angus looked directly at Dave, cool and emotionless, ignoring his sarcastic jabs. “You’ll notice, all the plots also indicate those same features. Both plots and spectra were made without benefit of my program, so it can’t be the cause.”
Bernie Frank’s clenched teeth and closed fists showed how ticked he was at Dave. “That’ll teach you to wise off. Why don’t you get off it, Dave? This could be something new and different.” Transformed by his words and with a laugh and a wink at Angus, he suggested, “Since it’s Barnard’s spectrum, let’s call it Barnard’s Ghost. I can see it now, with headlines, Football star discovers ghost in the heavens.”
“How about a headline at the checkout counter, Ghost discovered in sky by running back. They could include one of your football pictures,” Jack Kershaw joked.
The kidding continued for several minutes, mostly good-natured, but at Angus’ expense. Not one to put up with much nonsense, Dr. Rivers stood up to corral her group and get things back on track. “All right, you’ve had your fun. How about some serious suggestions. Are any of you capable of serious thought or are you all vying for clown of the month? Now, does anyone have any ideas?”
“Am I the only one?” Bernie asked as he looked around at the group and saw all blank faces. He turned to Angus, quite serious by the look on his face. “As you explained, it’s obvious the lines do not belong where they are. There are no known absorption lines at precisely those positions. They are quite faint, so I’m suggesting they are very strong lines, shifted from another part of the spectrum. Could you have focused on another object near Barnard’s, perhaps a faint galaxy or supernova with very strong absorption lines? You could be dealing with a red shift. Unfortunately, with only two lines, it will be almost impossible to match.”
“If there was anything close by, it was either masked by the light of Barnard’s Star or so faint it couldn’t be resolved. Pat and I both checked carefully at several resolutions. A distant, bright object, almost directly behind Barnard’s could be hidden, yet still contribute light to the spectrum. We found no known object Barnard’s is occluding at this time. Background light from Tucson or elsewhere nearby has been ruled out as a possible source. That leaves us nowhere. We thought you might be able to help.”
Dr. Rivers looked around the group, questioning with her eyes. “It looks as if no one has a thought other than Bernie. I would check other astronomers to see if they have any recent spectra you could use for confirmation. Keep me informed of any progress. Now, let’s get on with the next item on the agenda.”
Angus was thoroughly dejected when he and Pat left after the meeting. “So much for the idea of help from the experts. They’re as stumped as we are. This stupid thing is driving me nuts. I guess the next step is to do what Dr. Rivers suggested.”
“I guess so. We can start first thing in the morning. It’s late and Beanie’s waiting for me, so I’m buggin’ outta here right now. See you in the A. M.”
“I’m going to get on the net for a while and see what I can find. Tell Beanie I said Hi.”
After several hours of searching, Angus found no available recent spectra of Barnard’s Star. The next day they searched for similar data from other research groups. None had a duplication of the strange lines, but none of the data was very recent. Angus began to think this might be something new and unknown. When the third spectral analysis showed the same faint, unidentifiable lines, Angus began looking for ways to get confirmation from other sources.
* * *
With first light of the new 6.5 meter MMT telescope on Mt Hopkins a year away, Angus needed another giant telescope to better search for the source of the lines. When Pat brought this up at a group session, he made a proposal that would soon change Angus’ life completely.
“With the Mt Hopkins MMT in process of being replaced, our viewing capacity here in Arizona is considerably diminished. Why don’t we help Angus get time on the new, 8 meter Gemini in Hawaii? It’s past first light and will soon be turned over to astronomers. Its near infrared capability is outstanding and it suits Angus’ research quite well. I think it’s a great opportunity. Maybe there he can discover the cause for those crazy lines.”
After Pat’s suggestion and with his group behind him, Angus applied for and was granted research time on the giant new Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii.
When the time came to leave, Pat was helping pack the instruments for the trip and harassing him about the change. “Here you go, deserting me and heading for a tropical paradise. I can just see you now with all those Hawaiian beauties dressed in - what do they call those long, form-fitting Hawaiian dresses, moo-moos or something like that? You’ll be dancing on moonlit beaches, sipping Mai-Tais, wearing Aloha shirts and -”
Angus momentarily stopped stuffing padding around the last instrument. “I suppose you expect me to feel sorry for you.”
“No, but you could take me along - at least for a while.”
Angus began stuffing again. “And just how do you think your little Chiricahua sweety would like that?” He threw a handful of the packing material at Pat. “She’d do an Apache war dance on your body if you even mentioned it. I’m on her side, remember? We injuns have to stick together.”
“Alas! True love has its drawbacks,” Pat said, speaking dramatically with a flamboyant wave of his hand and finally gazing skyward in parody. After standing frozen in the last pose for a moment, he returned to help Angus lift the packing crate on end.
Angus leaned on the now upright, but still open crate and brought Pat back to reality. “Come on, pal. Beanie’s about the best thing that ever happened to you and you know it. You’d be lost without her.”
“How right you are. Seriously, I’m really excited for you,” Pat said as he finished nailing the lid on the crate. “A new opportunity, a new challenge and maybe the chance to make a great discovery, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is and quite exciting,” Angus replied as he rested against the crate, legs crossed casually and staring thoughtfully into space. “I’ve been dreaming about discovering something really new. It would be a completely different excitement than when I played football, but just as heady. Maybe I can discover something important.”
Pat grabbed the dolly and brought it up to the case. “I hate to bring you down to earth, pal, but we’ve got to get this crate on the truck and you off to the airport.”
The two friends talked about the separate paths their lives were taking as they rolled the heavy crate to the waiting truck.
* * *
Man has been wondering about and reaching for the stars for thousands of years. For this continuing quest we demand bigger telescopes, faster computers and more commitment.
* * *
Mililani Namahoe nimbly dodged fresh rain puddles as she walked purposefully from the parking lot into the Gemini Operations Center in Hilo’s University Park. Lani, as everyone called her, a recent astronomy graduate of the University of Hawaii, worked full time for the Gemini Project. When Lani walked in, Jenny, the receptionist motioned for her to stop.
Jenny brightened the room with her friendly smile as Lani approached her desk. “Have I got news for you! I have your first permanent assignment. No more shuffling all over the place. This should be a good one.”
As Jenny began thumbing through a stack of brown envelopes under the counter, Lani beamed and leaned over to watch. “OK! Who’s the lucky one?”
“It’s the new guy, the one coming from Arizona next month. You heard about him, didn’t you?”
Not knowing whether to feel pleased or not, Lani frowned at the news. “No, I didn’t. I was hoping to work with someone I knew. I’ll just have to wait and find out what kind of man he is.”
Jenny continued fumbling with the stack of envelopes. “He’s that famous football player, Angus Thomas.”
Lani looked puzzled. “Never heard of him, but then I’m no fan of football.” She was definitely unimpressed.
Jenny frowned, her face showing disapproval of Lani’s lack of interest in the famous jock. She finally found the right envelope and handed it to Lani. “It’s the information about your new assignment. Take it to Director Carroll’s office. He’s expecting you and will give you the whole run down on Dr. Thomas and his project.”
She took the envelope, started to open it, paused and then furrowed her brow and looked knowingly at Jenny. “He’s probably some Neanderthal in a white coat with an ego as big as Mauna Kea.”
Jenny leaned forward and said earnestly and almost in a whisper, “Not so! I hear good things about him. He was a star player. Held all kinds of records in college and the pros. More important, he had a reputation for being a really good guy both on and off the field. I didn’t realize he was an astronomer until I heard he was coming here.” Jenny sat back and crossed her arms on her chest. “That’s quite a switch, football to astronomy. I understand from at least one of our people familiar with his work that he is quite well respected professionally.”
Lani took an aloof, almost haughty stance to demonstrate indifference to the fame of her soon to be boss. “At least he has some redeeming traits. To me that’s far more important than his celebrity. Still, I’ll wait and make my own judgement about Dr. Thomas.” Lani looked directly at Jenny as she emphasized the last phrase, then turned and headed for John Carroll’s office.
* * *
Her session with Dr. Carroll confirmed Jenny’s comments and provided specific information about her new, permanent assignment. Afterward, Lani headed for her workstation to tackle her new responsibilities with an aura of excitement. Her first task was to go through the list of Angus’ requests she received in the envelope. The list included a number of items: several maps of the area - a list of references to be made available - a specific computer configuration for his network workstation - arrangements for his equipment to be transported to the observatory when it arrived in Hilo - a preferred layout for his office - and a number of minor items. She was also asked to find him a nearby, comfortable apartment with a guest room suitable to be used as a home office. That terse request left much room for question, but she would try to find what she imagined would be suitable.
One request intrigued her. It was for detailed information about the local people, their history, their customs and a dictionary or thesaurus with any native words or language still in general usage in the area. This was certainly an unusual request for a haole to make. She used her computer to access the university library for that information. It was the first thing she did before organizing his other requests and then filling them.
* * *
Monday, September 11, Lani was introduced to Angus in his new office. She was quite surprised at this burly, amber-skinned man with black hair and dark eyes much like her own. His smile radiated his friendly nature. His warm handshake and cheery greeting quickly began disarming her apprehension about working with her new boss.
“I really want to thank you for the information you sent,” Angus remarked. “It gave me a good understanding of my new home.”
He stood for just a moment, drinking in the vision of this rather tall, beautiful young Hawaiian who would be his assistant. He wondered, Working with her will certainly be different from working with Pat. She could be a model, but an astronomer? I hope she works out as great as she looks. Finally tearing his eyes away, he walked about to familiarize himself with the layout and furnishings. Admiring the plants Lani had so carefully placed, he asked the name of each as he looked at them.
“I’m really impressed with how you set up my office. If you’re that good at the technical stuff, we’ll get along just fine,” he commented as he fingered through the small pile of documents on his desk.
Despite the friendly introduction, Lani remained somewhat aloof. She knew first impressions are not always accurate and that working closely with a person will eventually bring out the true nature of both. Slow to relax her guard with men, she would wait a while before passing judgement on her new boss.
* * *
By late afternoon it became obvious to Angus that his new assistant had brains and was an excellent worker, in addition to being drop-dead gorgeous. He looked admiringly at his now neat, orderly office. “We’ve had a very productive day. All that new material I brought in has been organized and put where it belongs. I never thought we’d have it done before that four o’clock meeting. I have to commend you. You’re very efficient and easy to work with.”
Lani sent him a controlled, mildly appreciative look. “Thank you. It did go rather well.”
“I’m sometimes a bit careless, but with what you did before I came and what we did today, things are really shipshape.”
“Let’s hope we can keep it that way.” Lani’s words and manner sent a veiled message that she fully intended for him to do his part.
Angus noticed, but ignored the hidden challenge and sat down for a momentary rest. “We have about fifteen minutes before our meeting. I’d like to learn a bit more about you. I know you graduated from the University of Hawaii and are hoping to achieve an advanced degree, but that’s about all. I’m certainly not prying, just interested.”
“Where would you like me to start? What would you like to know?” Lani was immediately on guard as she wondered, Oh my, is this a come on?
“I’m particularly interested in your culture. It’s so different from my own Mohawk culture, yet I read of some similarities in the things you sent me. It’s obvious you are native Hawaiian, but are you from nearby or one of the other islands?”
Still cautious, but so far less apprehensive after working with him all day, she decided to relax her guard. Her look softened noticeably as she got up, turned her chair to face Angus and settled back into it. “I’m a local native you might say, with lots of family nearby. I grew up just a bit south of Hilo in Kalapana. Do you know about Kalapana?”
“I remember reading about it in the information you sent me. It’s the city destroyed by a huge lava flow from the active volcano isn’t it? You would have been quite young then. Were you involved?”
“If you call watching your family home being devoured by the cruel, black lava involved, I certainly was,” Lani replied, a pained, almost teary expression flowing over her face.
Angus winced as he responded, “I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories. I didn’t know you lost your home. That must have been devastating. You don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
Reacting to the obvious compassion in his voice, Lani relaxed a bit more. “No, I don’t mind. It’s been eleven years and my whole family has rebuilt their lives since then. Kalapana was the home of my family for many generations. I was eleven when I watched our home being burned and swallowed by the lava that buried almost the entire town. I will never forget that horrendous experience. The tears streaming down my father’s face as he watched his home slowly being destroyed made an indelible impression I still see in my mind. I had never seen my father in tears before. He just stood there quietly watching as the house crumbled into ashes that were gradually swallowed by the slowly moving lava. He was born in that old house.”
Angus shuddered, watching her understandably pained expressions. “What a horrible experience. I can hardly imagine.”
“It happened over such a large area. Replacement of the lush green forest landscape by the stark black lava flow was the worst kind of complete devastation. It left absolutely no hope for rebuilding. Kalapana was utterly destroyed, permanently entombed by miles of black stone desert and will remain so, probably forever. The profusion of tropical plants, the birds, the flowers and even the incredible fragrances all vanished. There were palms, banyans and Plumeria everywhere. Orchids and Ginger grew wild and the Ginger smelled so lovely when in bloom like it is here in Hilo right now. It was a lot like Hilo, but a bit wilder and less populated.
“The main highway joining the southeast section of the island with Hilo and the northern coast was buried, isolating this part of the island. It changed what had been a rather short drive through lush country into a tortuous journey of many miles around the volcano. In between two fresh green areas lay total destruction and miles of cruel black wasteland with molten rock flowing just a few feet below the hardened surface. The lava still flows to the ocean where it steadily adds to the island as it boils into the surf. The eastern part of the Big Island was cut in half changing forever the lives of thousands.
“Like many others, my father lost his business as well as his home. Our family went from comfortable affluence to a hand-to-mouth existence. I remember staying with relatives near Hilo for several months before the lava reached our house. Knowing the oncoming lava would destroy anything in its path, my parents moved into storage everything they could take. My dad removed many of the fixtures he would later use in our new house. He moved all his construction equipment and machinery from Kalapana to a rented location several miles north of the cooled lava flow on route 130. He was even able to break down his storage buildings and haul them away as well. Taking a loan on his equipment, he acquired a suitable piece of land and was back in business within less than a year.
“After more than six months that seemed like forever, we moved into a small new house my dad built on a corner of the new construction company location. It was rather stark compared to the lush greenery around our old home. I remember watching my dad reassemble his storage buildings and build an equipment shed. He set up his office in an old portable office building on our new land. We used much of the furniture from our old house, mainly some older pieces that had been in the family for many years. My folks did what they could to provide us a home that would have at least some of the flavor of our old house. We shed some tears when we moved in among the reminders of the home we lost.”
Angus could feel the pain of loss in Lani’s voice. “How is your family doing now?”
She smiled thinking about her family. “They’re doing fine. Since my sister, brother and I grew up and moved away, the little house suits my parents well. My dad’s business is flourishing and both parents enjoy good health. I worked part time here at Gemini while in college and became full time after I graduated. You’re my first permanent assignment.”
Angus thought sadly of their loss, showing it in his voice and on his face. “What an intriguing story. You must have a close, strong family. You speak of them with such - care. I think that’s the right word. You seem to have survived and adapted quite well.”
“We’re real survivors and found strength we never knew we had. We got right back to the business of living. Life moves on. I don’t suppose the pain will ever go completely away.”
“I always find the twists and turns of people’s lives fascinating. I’m looking forward to our working together.”
Lani leaned back, crossed her legs and slipped her hand up under her hair. “What about you? You now know my life history. I’ve been told you are rather well known as a sports figure.”
“That was in another life,” he said, clasping his hands and leaning his elbows on the desk.
“I’m not a football fan and your name was unknown to me until Jenny told me about my new assignment. Sorry about that.”
“No need to be sorry. It’s refreshing to be seen as just another astronomer. I rather like that.” He glanced at the clock. “I’ll have to fill you in later. Right now, we need to leave for that staff meeting.”
As they walked to the meeting, Lani thought, No come on this time. Maybe he’ll be okay. That would certainly be refreshing.
* * *
In November, five months after Angus’ last spectral analysis of Barnard’s Star, his first observations were made. He was anxious to see what this giant, state-of-the-art telescope would show him. He was startled at the clarity of the strange spectral lines in the first analysis. They were more evident and there were more of them. There was no doubt this was something quite unusual.
While examining several recent images, Angus asked Lani to confirm his observation of another unusual item. Pointing to one of the stars in one image and then to the same one in another he asked, “See that object? Tell me what you think.”
Standing and leaning over the desk, Lani examined the photos carefully. “That star seems to be slightly elongated in this photo, but perfectly round in the other. All the other stars in the first one look perfectly round. It couldn’t be a photo distortion or all stars would have the same shape.”
“Very good! That image is fuzzy, but it reminds me of a similar photo that led to a major discovery some years back. Do you know the discovery I mean?”
Lani dropped into the chair at the right end of Angus’ desk and grinned, pleased she knew the answer. “You’re referring to the photo of the planet Pluto that lead to the discovery of Pluto’s moon, Charon, right? Could that be a planet orbiting the star? It would have to be a large one, wouldn’t it?”
Angus leaned back and changed into lecture mode. “Right discovery, wrong conclusion. In the nineteen-sixties, one group claimed to have found two planets, bigger than Jupiter, orbiting Barnard’s Star. They used an apparent wobble in its motion as the evidence for their conclusion. Later observations with the Hubble Space Telescope could find no indication of any large planet near the star, although they did not rule out smaller ones.”
Lani sat thoughtfully for a moment. “The only other conclusion is that it is another object, possibly a galaxy, but probably a star. Since it couldn’t be much smaller than Barnard’s and still be a star, it must be farther away. If it were a near-earth body, a comet or asteroid, it would have moved during the exposure and left a streak on the image.”
Angus leaned forward again. “The lady gets an A. Check the archives for some other images of that same area, several months apart and back as far as you can. Then we’ll try to find out more about that lump on the star.”
* * *
The “Aha” experience of finding something truly new is one of the greatest joys of being a scientist.
It took Lani a few weeks to obtain the prints from the photo archives. When finally she had several of them ready, she spread them out on the table in Angus’ office to view and compare. They sat down, side-by-side at the small table.
“Look at this!” Angus exclaimed, pointing to the image on a photo from a year ago. “There, see that slight distortion? It looks almost like a faint smear. Something is definitely there.”
“I can just barely see it,” Lani remarked. Bringing the two prints as close together as possible, she stared at them and then exclaimed. “Only in this photo it’s on the north side of the star and much fainter. We know what it can’t be, but what is it?”
“It has to be a very faint star or even a galaxy. The change in position is solely because Barnard’s Star has moved. It can’t be visual evidence of a new object near Barnard’s Star. I wonder why no one has seen this object before?”
Angus shuffled through the older photos. “I don’t see any evidence of that object on the photos from before that one taken a year ago. We would never have noticed that faint smear if we hadn’t been looking for it. Now we have two mysteries: this object and the strange spectral lines I showed you before. Maybe it’s a supernova in a distant galaxy. That would explain its relatively sudden appearance.”
Lani turned and looked at Angus. “Wouldn’t the spectrum tell us that? Wouldn’t it have a red shift?”
“If it’s far enough away, it should. A supernova has a definite spectral pattern. Maybe that’s why we couldn’t identify it.”
Lani’s eyes widened in realization as she stared intently at Angus with excitement. “It seems like those two mysteries are really only one.”
“A good, probable conclusion. Okay, Miss Namahoe, what is the next logical step? Where do we go from here?”
“I’d suggest we run some more spectra. We can block out the star and try to get a spectrum on the object itself. That would make it much easier to analyze.”
“Excellent! I’m impressed. It will take some time, but we are in position to get those readings right now and for several more months. I’ll check the schedule and see when we can get to it.”
Again Angus checked through several newly found records of earlier spectra taken of Barnard’s Star before the strange spectral lines first appeared. Not one showed any of the strange lines.
* * *
It was Thursday, December 21 and in the relatively short few weeks since the last viewing, Barnard’s fuzzy image had elongated noticeably. Whatever it was, the object was definitely brighter relative to the star. Using the technique Lani suggested to block most of the light from Barnard’s Star, Angus obtained several spectra of the distortion alone. Finally, he and Lani sat down to look at the spectrum directly on the computer display.
They gazed at the screen as Angus panned across the spectrum using a split screen. “Whatever that object is, it is definitely the source of those strange lines. I find no obvious match between the new object on the top and the supernova reference spectrum on the bottom. Of course, with this broad spectrum it would take forever to find a match visually unless we were close. I’ll run that computer comparison again with this latest data. Those line patterns must match somewhere.”
Lani sat back. “Surely your program will find us a match,” she commented as Angus set his program in motion.
They watched the display as the computer ground away and after fifteen minutes it displayed the terse words, “NO MATCH.”
Disappointed with the results, Angus ground his teeth and grumbled in frustration, “I can’t believe it.”
Lani looked intently at Angus, trying to cheer him. “If it’s a distant supernova couldn’t it have a rather large red shift?”
Angus restarted the program, moving the search criteria far into the red. “Okay! Let’s see what comes from your idea.”
They were dumbfounded when again the computer proclaimed there was no match.
“This is crazy! Spectral lines have to match somewhere. What are we doing wrong?” Angus remarked, his face skewed in a quizzical expression.
Again and again, his program ran with negative results. “That’s impossible! What kind of weird object is that anyway? The lines must match some part of the spectrum. That’s the third time I’ve set up the computer and it just grinds away and then reports no match.” Lani could see him becoming more and more frustrated.
Suddenly, her face brightened with realization. “Look outside the box. That’s what my father used to say whenever we were stumped by a problem. Most people box their minds into a limited view of a problem and must break outside the box to find the solution. I’m sure you experienced the old join all the dots with just four straight lines problem at sometime in your life, haven’t you?”
Angus chuckled to himself, remembering well that very puzzle posed to him at some time in the distant past. “I know what your father meant. I was positively elated when I solved that puzzle by drawing the lines outside those imaginary limits. How do we apply that here? I’ll have to rethink how to go about solving this mystery. Why don’t you help me get out of the box. I’m so close to the problem, it may be difficult for me to escape my tunnel vision. You could provide a less biased view.”
Lani was ecstatic being asked to help with a real research project. “I’d love to. Most of what I’ve been doing is what I call paper clip work: searching the files for needed records, getting photos ready for comparison studies and converting older paper documents into computer data. You know what I mean - necessary, but not really creative research. Challenges are what really turn on my mind.”
Angus was encouraged by her enthusiasm. “Let’s see what you can come up with.”
Lani thought carefully and with that sudden insight that often leads to unexpected discovery, finally said out loud, “Blue! I wonder if we could find a match toward the blue end of the spectrum. We’ve been looking at the infrared where Gemini works best. Maybe we could find a match farther up the spectrum toward the blue or even ultraviolet. We could have an object that’s got a blue shift.”
Using the same starlight blocking method as before, Angus obtained several more wide range spectra in the blue area of visible light. Again, he and Lani watched intently as the computer ground away at its task, testing match after match as it was moved farther and farther up the comparison spectrum. After what seemed like hours, it began divulging the results.
“Look at this!” He almost shouted to Lani. “We’ve found a match. If it’s correct, the light from that object has an incredible blue shift.”
After a quick, rough calculation, Angus sat back dumbfounded and nearly speechless. “Unless my calculations are off, that object is a wild star, moving toward us at almost 90 percent of the speed of light.”
They looked at each other silently for several seconds in amazed disbelief. Angus opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Finally he forced a hoarse whisper. “That’s absolutely impossible. Nothing that big can move that fast.”
The startled look on Lani’s face gave way to concern. “Maybe we made a mistake. Let’s do it over.”
Testing another set of data produced the same results. “Of all the unexpected surprises research at the fringes of knowledge provides, this has got to be one of the biggest,” Angus remarked, his face registering incredulity. “I know no one has ever reported such an object before. We’ll have to get someone to check and recheck both old and new data with confirming calculations. I know! I’ll call Pat right away.”
Within a few minutes Pat was on the phone. “How are things in Hula land? Met any Hawaiian beauties?”
Angus wouldn’t mention Lani at this time. “Hundreds! All over the place, but I’ve got something really important to send you. Are you ready for this?”
“Yeah! So what cooks, pal?”
Angus’ voice was shaking with excitement. “I”ve found an object moving in our direction at nearly the speed of light. I believe it’s a star.”
“Come on! You’re kidding of course.”
“Never been more serious in my life”
“Really? You’re not pulling my leg? That’s impossible!” Pat was caught between believing and being certain Angus was joking. His emotions were wavering quickly and wildly.
Angus was beginning again to be frustrated. Pat should know he wasn’t kidding. “No, I really mean it. That sucker’s coming directly at us at more than ninety percent of the speed of light and I want to set up a secure method of communicating with you so you can check out my findings.”
Pat finally got with the program. “You’re really serious, aren’t you? Is it those crazy lines that got you to Hawaii?”
“Right on partner! That is them. We knew they had to be shifted from somewhere, but we’ve only been looking in the red. Never dreamed they could have a blue shift. Now I need confirmation. Can you do it?”
“How are we going to transfer data? Email?”
“Encrypted email would work. There are encryption programs available that even the feds can’t crack. We can use one of those. I’ll have my assistant find us the best method. She’s quite good at things like this.”
“She? You have a female assistant? What’s she like? I’ll bet she’s a doll.”
Angus watched Lani’s expression as he answered. “Nah! She’s an old hag, about three hundred pounds, warts, scraggly hair and missing teeth.”
Lani almost fell off her chair trying to keep from laughing out loud.
Pat was extremely dubious. “I’ll bet!” After a pause he got back to business. “As far as the email is concerned, I know you have my personal address, so let’s use that. Use you-know-who’s name as the initial password until we get the encryption in place. If what you say is true, you will want to keep this under wraps. Sometimes even the phones have ears, so lets keep it light. Use email to send the details.”
“Right you are. I’ll be sending within a day or two. Tell you-know-who I said hello. I wanted to hear your reaction to the news, so that’s why I called. We can do the rest by email.”
“Tell that fat old hag to keep you on the ball. Okay?”
As soon as Angus cradled the phone, Lani reacted. “What was he asking? That was quite a complimentary description. I take it your friend Pat kids a lot?”
“We worked together long enough to become good friends. Used to harass each other unmercifully. He’s a friend I can count on.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, who’s you-know-who?”
Angus laughed. “That’s Beanie. Pat’s lady friend. She’s another Native American, a Chiricahua from Arizona. I won’t try to pronounce her Chiricahua name. Her language is as far from Mohawk as Hawaiian.”
“How did she get the name, Beanie?”
“I think it came from her childhood when she used to wear one of those little beanie caps. The kids started calling her Beanie and it stuck.”
Lani put on her serious face. “You want this kept under wraps until you have confirmation?”
“You bet! I don’t want to let this out until I know we’re accurate. I know of the premature announcements of other findings that were later refuted by additional work. That did great damage to the credibility of those responsible. It could even be a career ending fiasco under certain circumstances. We must make certain this is valid. I hope you can handle that.”
Lani would still not abandon caution. “As long as you play the game fairly, I’m with you. No one will hear a word of this from me without your knowledge and okay.”
Angus became emphatic. “If our preliminary work is not flawed, we may have a monster discovery on our hands. Let’s hope we handle it properly.”
“What about someone else releasing knowledge of the discovery before you? Couldn’t that happen and wouldn’t that be a disastrous blow?”
“That’s a chance every researcher takes with every discovery. By sharing with Pat, I secure the date of discovery. It’s sort of a, who found it first situation. We’ll most likely be okay. People have been looking intently at Barnard’s Star for many years. It’s doubtful there are many looking now, if any. I was only shooting Barnard’s as the last test in a series of tests to prove and refine the comparison program I developed. That’s when those crazy lines appeared.”
“Is there anyone here you could use for confirmation?”
“I really need someone elsewhere in the world with different instruments and seeing conditions. Pat may soon be able to use the new 6.5 meter MMT on Mt. Hopkins. I think that’s scheduled for first light in the near future.”
Lani leaned forward to emphasize her words. “I’m a bit nervous being the only one here at Gemini, other than you, who knows about this.”
“I’ll go talk to John Carroll to get his opinion. Maybe that will help ease your mind. One more thing. We now need to take a parallax reading on that star, just in case it’s near enough to measure.”
Lani stood up and walked over to the large wall calendar. “You know, don’t you, the first parallax readings could be taken in just a few days. You have the time scheduled for a different purpose, but this would be the time to do it. Then comes Christmas and the real millennium end. Lots of people will be gone over the holidays.”
“I almost forgot about that. We barely have time to set up for a parallax image. Maybe I’ll wait until things quiet down before talking to John. That will be two or three weeks at most.”
Lani began gathering the paper strewn around the table and Angus’ desk. “Makes sense to me. I can handle three weeks okay. Now, the day’s almost over and I’ve this mess and my own desk to pick up.”
Angus started picking up papers. “I guess I’d better help. I still remember that first day and what you told me, no ordered me to do about keeping the place neat. How have I been doing?”
Lani had completely forgotten her first tense days three months ago before Angus earned her professional respect. Since then, they developed a comfortable working relationship. She was a bit embarrassed by what she had said, but he would never know it. “I never knew that even registered on you. It worked though, didn’t it? I must say, you’ve been helpful keeping your office clean and orderly. Was I really that obvious?”
Angus laughed. “Yes you were, very stiff, very cautious and quite obvious.”
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Chapter 1
Angus Thomas and Pat Yamaguchi sat down in front of the desk of Dr. Ann Rivers, senior member of their working group of nine astronomers and physicists at the University of Arizona. This meeting was regarding a new procedure Dr. Thomas had developed.
Dr. Rivers, a thin, smallish, hawk-nosed woman of fifty-five with frizzy, salt and pepper hair, greeted them warmly. “Welcome gentlemen. Let’s get right down to business.” The two nodded their heads in agreement. “Angus, we’ve put together a set of trials for your new procedure and I’ve asked Pat to help you with testing, improving and standardizing it.” She handed Angus a fresh, tan file folder containing a few papers. “Here’s a list of nearby stars for test subjects and a tentative schedule of time on the telescope at Kitt Peak. You’ll have to confirm the schedule. Do you have any questions?”
Angus looked at Pat and back at Dr. Rivers. “Not from me until I look through the stuff in that envelope. I know we’ll have questions then.”
Pat nodded in agreement. “I have none at the moment either.”
Dr. Rivers, her slightly rumpled suit hanging on a gaunt, angular frame, stood up in an obvious signal of dismissal. “Then let’s see how well your procedure works.”
Pat Yamaguchi was the newest member of the group. A small, thin man with a big heart, Pat became Angus’ closest friend when they were in grad school together. His father, who taught high school chemistry in Fresno, was a multi-generation American of Japanese decent and his mother was mostly English. They lived their entire lives in the central California city where Pat and his two sisters grew up. When he walked out of Dr. River’s office beside the burly Mohawk, Pat looked almost tiny .
* * *
Angus Thomas, whose name in Kenienkeha, the Mohawk language, is Anias Otonwa, was thirty-one when he received his doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Arizona. The famous Mohawk had come a long way from his days as a star high school soccer player on the St. Regis Reservation in New York. Recruited by Penn State University as a place kicker, he starred in that role as a sophomore. During a mid-season game, his team behind by four points and bogged down on the opponent’s thirty-five, the burly place kicker trotted onto the field to try for three points. When the high snap bounced off the holder’s outstretched hands, Angus snatched it from in front of an onrushing lineman, tucked it instinctively in the crook of his arm and headed down the field. Running around, through and over would be tacklers and aided by blocks from his startled teammates, he scored the winning touchdown. In that famous moment a great running back emerged. This powerful and talented ex-place-kicker was soon ripping through opponents and setting records.
By the time he graduated, Angus had added his name to the college record books, become a scholastic All-American and was a top pick in the NFL draft. He graduated with honors from the science school in physics with a minor in astronomy, his first love. He toyed with the idea of staying in school and getting a master’s degree, but the lure of the multi-million dollar pro contract soon changed his mind. By his second season he hit his stride as a premier running back and his fame grew rapidly.
In November 1995, near the end of his seventh season in the pros, he sustained a career ending knee injury. After several surgeries had rebuilt his knee, Angus could walk quite normally, but there was no chance of his return to the gridiron. While everyone expected the popular athlete to become a coach or sports commentator, Angus had other ideas. With his considerable income wisely invested, he could go almost anywhere and do almost anything he wanted. When he decided to pursue his earlier dream of becoming an astronomer, he enrolled at the University of Arizona in Tucson. It amazed everyone except his immediate family. He chose Arizona because of the excellent program and their nearby observatories. After earning his doctorate, he stayed in Tucson as a faculty member and researcher concentrating on searching for planets around nearby stars.
At first, Angus’ colleagues had great difficulty taking a football legend as a serious researcher. When he developed a significant, new and far more accurate method of comparative spectral analysis of light from the stars, the attitude of most of his colleagues changed drastically. They realized he was serious about his new career and was a valuable member of his group at the university.
* * *
Early in June of 2000, more than six weeks after the meeting with Dr. Rivers that initiated the current project, Angus stalked in like a man on a mission and dropped a printout of the spectrum recorded for Barnard’s Star on Pat’s desk. He leaned over with a look of puzzlement on his face, pointed to the print and remarked, “Take a look at this. These two faint spectral absorption lines don’t belong there at all, but they certainly look real. That’s gotta be an error in the equipment. If it’s not an error, then it’s something weird. We would run into a problem on the last test reading of the whole series.”
“Lemme see.” Pat examined the print carefully, trying to match it visually with the standard he pulled from his desk. “They look real enough, like a faint image of strong lines superimposed on - you sure this isn’t a double reading? Another star on top of Barnard’s?”
“They show up on both the plot and this print. I don’t see how a double reading could give us those lines; they align perfectly. They just don’t belong.”
“Let’s look over some earlier images and see what we can find,” Pat said as he swivelled his chair to retrieve the earlier images from the computer behind him.
Angus came around to Pat’s side and leaned over his shoulder to look at the screen as Pat displayed earlier images of spectra from Barnard’s star. They could find none with the errant lines. Angus stood up, a blank, questioning look painted his face. “Somehow I must have messed up, made a mistake when I took that reading. I’ll have to take another shot as soon as practical.”
“Since we finished our scheduled use of the telescope, it’ll take a while to get back in,” Pat commented, frowning up at Angus. He was not hopeful. “The schedule at Kitt Peak has been tough since they shut down the old Mt Hopkins MMT for an update. It may take a month to get a date for another spectral analysis.”
“Got no choice. I’ll go see about a time right now.” Angus hurried back to his desk to arrange to do another spectrum. A few minutes later he phoned Pat. “We’re in luck. I got a spot three weeks from tonight. Let’s pray for a clear night.”
* * *
“Look at these danged lines! They’re even more distinct than before,” Angus exclaimed to Pat when he walked in holding the new spectrum print from his redo. He plopped the print down in front of Pat and quickly sat in the chair at the side of the desk. “What the devil could be generating them? I still can’t find a match anywhere.”
Pat picked up the print, looked at it closely, scowling, then placed it back on the desk. He paused thoughtfully and leaned back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head. “You can’t tie them into any known lines? Can’t recognize their pattern? Of course, that’s nearly impossible with only two lines. That’s really weird.”
Angus leaned forward, pursing his lips and shaking his head in frustration. “One thing I know for certain, they don’t belong where they are.”
Pat looked perplexed. He picked up his coffee mug and fondled it for a moment, seeming to examine it closely while thinking. “If you’re as baffled as I am, why not take the whole thing to Ann. She’s done lots of work on matching spectra. Or, show it to the guys at our next group meeting. More, older, and hopefully, wiser heads should at least be able to point you in a direction. I’m completely out of ideas.”
* * *
At Dr. Rivers’ suggestion, Angus brought this new information before their group of nine scientists at the university. He and Pat explained the circumstances thoroughly during an open, casual discussion.
After the group had examined the spectra, group leader, Dr. Rivers, looked as puzzled as Angus and Pat had been. “You’re correct! Those two lines are definitely out of place where they are. Could it be a ghost image? You know, a photographic anomaly, lines reflected from inside the instrument?”
Dave Hopkins, the jokester in the group and quite jealous of Angus, leaned back in his chair and grinned with sarcastic derision. “Yeh! You must have a ghost in that marvelous program of yours, a ghost instead of a virus. It’s making new lines for you to confound the rest of us. Can’t the famous football kid come up with an answer?”
Angus looked directly at Dave, cool and emotionless, ignoring his sarcastic jabs. “You’ll notice, all the plots also indicate those same features. Both plots and spectra were made without benefit of my program, so it can’t be the cause.”
Bernie Frank’s clenched teeth and closed fists showed how ticked he was at Dave. “That’ll teach you to wise off. Why don’t you get off it, Dave? This could be something new and different.” Transformed by his words and with a laugh and a wink at Angus, he suggested, “Since it’s Barnard’s spectrum, let’s call it Barnard’s Ghost. I can see it now, with headlines, Football star discovers ghost in the heavens.”
“How about a headline at the checkout counter, Ghost discovered in sky by running back. They could include one of your football pictures,” Jack Kershaw joked.
The kidding continued for several minutes, mostly good-natured, but at Angus’ expense. Not one to put up with much nonsense, Dr. Rivers stood up to corral her group and get things back on track. “All right, you’ve had your fun. How about some serious suggestions. Are any of you capable of serious thought or are you all vying for clown of the month? Now, does anyone have any ideas?”
“Am I the only one?” Bernie asked as he looked around at the group and saw all blank faces. He turned to Angus, quite serious by the look on his face. “As you explained, it’s obvious the lines do not belong where they are. There are no known absorption lines at precisely those positions. They are quite faint, so I’m suggesting they are very strong lines, shifted from another part of the spectrum. Could you have focused on another object near Barnard’s, perhaps a faint galaxy or supernova with very strong absorption lines? You could be dealing with a red shift. Unfortunately, with only two lines, it will be almost impossible to match.”
“If there was anything close by, it was either masked by the light of Barnard’s Star or so faint it couldn’t be resolved. Pat and I both checked carefully at several resolutions. A distant, bright object, almost directly behind Barnard’s could be hidden, yet still contribute light to the spectrum. We found no known object Barnard’s is occluding at this time. Background light from Tucson or elsewhere nearby has been ruled out as a possible source. That leaves us nowhere. We thought you might be able to help.”
Dr. Rivers looked around the group, questioning with her eyes. “It looks as if no one has a thought other than Bernie. I would check other astronomers to see if they have any recent spectra you could use for confirmation. Keep me informed of any progress. Now, let’s get on with the next item on the agenda.”
Angus was thoroughly dejected when he and Pat left after the meeting. “So much for the idea of help from the experts. They’re as stumped as we are. This stupid thing is driving me nuts. I guess the next step is to do what Dr. Rivers suggested.”
“I guess so. We can start first thing in the morning. It’s late and Beanie’s waiting for me, so I’m buggin’ outta here right now. See you in the A. M.”
“I’m going to get on the net for a while and see what I can find. Tell Beanie I said Hi.”
After several hours of searching, Angus found no available recent spectra of Barnard’s Star. The next day they searched for similar data from other research groups. None had a duplication of the strange lines, but none of the data was very recent. Angus began to think this might be something new and unknown. When the third spectral analysis showed the same faint, unidentifiable lines, Angus began looking for ways to get confirmation from other sources.
* * *
With first light of the new 6.5 meter MMT telescope on Mt Hopkins a year away, Angus needed another giant telescope to better search for the source of the lines. When Pat brought this up at a group session, he made a proposal that would soon change Angus’ life completely.
“With the Mt Hopkins MMT in process of being replaced, our viewing capacity here in Arizona is considerably diminished. Why don’t we help Angus get time on the new, 8 meter Gemini in Hawaii? It’s past first light and will soon be turned over to astronomers. Its near infrared capability is outstanding and it suits Angus’ research quite well. I think it’s a great opportunity. Maybe there he can discover the cause for those crazy lines.”
After Pat’s suggestion and with his group behind him, Angus applied for and was granted research time on the giant new Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii.
When the time came to leave, Pat was helping pack the instruments for the trip and harassing him about the change. “Here you go, deserting me and heading for a tropical paradise. I can just see you now with all those Hawaiian beauties dressed in - what do they call those long, form-fitting Hawaiian dresses, moo-moos or something like that? You’ll be dancing on moonlit beaches, sipping Mai-Tais, wearing Aloha shirts and -”
Angus momentarily stopped stuffing padding around the last instrument. “I suppose you expect me to feel sorry for you.”
“No, but you could take me along - at least for a while.”
Angus began stuffing again. “And just how do you think your little Chiricahua sweety would like that?” He threw a handful of the packing material at Pat. “She’d do an Apache war dance on your body if you even mentioned it. I’m on her side, remember? We injuns have to stick together.”
“Alas! True love has its drawbacks,” Pat said, speaking dramatically with a flamboyant wave of his hand and finally gazing skyward in parody. After standing frozen in the last pose for a moment, he returned to help Angus lift the packing crate on end.
Angus leaned on the now upright, but still open crate and brought Pat back to reality. “Come on, pal. Beanie’s about the best thing that ever happened to you and you know it. You’d be lost without her.”
“How right you are. Seriously, I’m really excited for you,” Pat said as he finished nailing the lid on the crate. “A new opportunity, a new challenge and maybe the chance to make a great discovery, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is and quite exciting,” Angus replied as he rested against the crate, legs crossed casually and staring thoughtfully into space. “I’ve been dreaming about discovering something really new. It would be a completely different excitement than when I played football, but just as heady. Maybe I can discover something important.”
Pat grabbed the dolly and brought it up to the case. “I hate to bring you down to earth, pal, but we’ve got to get this crate on the truck and you off to the airport.”
The two friends talked about the separate paths their lives were taking as they rolled the heavy crate to the waiting truck.
* * *
Man has been wondering about and reaching for the stars for thousands of years. For this continuing quest we demand bigger telescopes, faster computers and more commitment.
* * *
Mililani Namahoe nimbly dodged fresh rain puddles as she walked purposefully from the parking lot into the Gemini Operations Center in Hilo’s University Park. Lani, as everyone called her, a recent astronomy graduate of the University of Hawaii, worked full time for the Gemini Project. When Lani walked in, Jenny, the receptionist motioned for her to stop.
Jenny brightened the room with her friendly smile as Lani approached her desk. “Have I got news for you! I have your first permanent assignment. No more shuffling all over the place. This should be a good one.”
As Jenny began thumbing through a stack of brown envelopes under the counter, Lani beamed and leaned over to watch. “OK! Who’s the lucky one?”
“It’s the new guy, the one coming from Arizona next month. You heard about him, didn’t you?”
Not knowing whether to feel pleased or not, Lani frowned at the news. “No, I didn’t. I was hoping to work with someone I knew. I’ll just have to wait and find out what kind of man he is.”
Jenny continued fumbling with the stack of envelopes. “He’s that famous football player, Angus Thomas.”
Lani looked puzzled. “Never heard of him, but then I’m no fan of football.” She was definitely unimpressed.
Jenny frowned, her face showing disapproval of Lani’s lack of interest in the famous jock. She finally found the right envelope and handed it to Lani. “It’s the information about your new assignment. Take it to Director Carroll’s office. He’s expecting you and will give you the whole run down on Dr. Thomas and his project.”
She took the envelope, started to open it, paused and then furrowed her brow and looked knowingly at Jenny. “He’s probably some Neanderthal in a white coat with an ego as big as Mauna Kea.”
Jenny leaned forward and said earnestly and almost in a whisper, “Not so! I hear good things about him. He was a star player. Held all kinds of records in college and the pros. More important, he had a reputation for being a really good guy both on and off the field. I didn’t realize he was an astronomer until I heard he was coming here.” Jenny sat back and crossed her arms on her chest. “That’s quite a switch, football to astronomy. I understand from at least one of our people familiar with his work that he is quite well respected professionally.”
Lani took an aloof, almost haughty stance to demonstrate indifference to the fame of her soon to be boss. “At least he has some redeeming traits. To me that’s far more important than his celebrity. Still, I’ll wait and make my own judgement about Dr. Thomas.” Lani looked directly at Jenny as she emphasized the last phrase, then turned and headed for John Carroll’s office.
* * *
Her session with Dr. Carroll confirmed Jenny’s comments and provided specific information about her new, permanent assignment. Afterward, Lani headed for her workstation to tackle her new responsibilities with an aura of excitement. Her first task was to go through the list of Angus’ requests she received in the envelope. The list included a number of items: several maps of the area - a list of references to be made available - a specific computer configuration for his network workstation - arrangements for his equipment to be transported to the observatory when it arrived in Hilo - a preferred layout for his office - and a number of minor items. She was also asked to find him a nearby, comfortable apartment with a guest room suitable to be used as a home office. That terse request left much room for question, but she would try to find what she imagined would be suitable.
One request intrigued her. It was for detailed information about the local people, their history, their customs and a dictionary or thesaurus with any native words or language still in general usage in the area. This was certainly an unusual request for a haole to make. She used her computer to access the university library for that information. It was the first thing she did before organizing his other requests and then filling them.
* * *
Monday, September 11, Lani was introduced to Angus in his new office. She was quite surprised at this burly, amber-skinned man with black hair and dark eyes much like her own. His smile radiated his friendly nature. His warm handshake and cheery greeting quickly began disarming her apprehension about working with her new boss.
“I really want to thank you for the information you sent,” Angus remarked. “It gave me a good understanding of my new home.”
He stood for just a moment, drinking in the vision of this rather tall, beautiful young Hawaiian who would be his assistant. He wondered, Working with her will certainly be different from working with Pat. She could be a model, but an astronomer? I hope she works out as great as she looks. Finally tearing his eyes away, he walked about to familiarize himself with the layout and furnishings. Admiring the plants Lani had so carefully placed, he asked the name of each as he looked at them.
“I’m really impressed with how you set up my office. If you’re that good at the technical stuff, we’ll get along just fine,” he commented as he fingered through the small pile of documents on his desk.
Despite the friendly introduction, Lani remained somewhat aloof. She knew first impressions are not always accurate and that working closely with a person will eventually bring out the true nature of both. Slow to relax her guard with men, she would wait a while before passing judgement on her new boss.
* * *
By late afternoon it became obvious to Angus that his new assistant had brains and was an excellent worker, in addition to being drop-dead gorgeous. He looked admiringly at his now neat, orderly office. “We’ve had a very productive day. All that new material I brought in has been organized and put where it belongs. I never thought we’d have it done before that four o’clock meeting. I have to commend you. You’re very efficient and easy to work with.”
Lani sent him a controlled, mildly appreciative look. “Thank you. It did go rather well.”
“I’m sometimes a bit careless, but with what you did before I came and what we did today, things are really shipshape.”
“Let’s hope we can keep it that way.” Lani’s words and manner sent a veiled message that she fully intended for him to do his part.
Angus noticed, but ignored the hidden challenge and sat down for a momentary rest. “We have about fifteen minutes before our meeting. I’d like to learn a bit more about you. I know you graduated from the University of Hawaii and are hoping to achieve an advanced degree, but that’s about all. I’m certainly not prying, just interested.”
“Where would you like me to start? What would you like to know?” Lani was immediately on guard as she wondered, Oh my, is this a come on?
“I’m particularly interested in your culture. It’s so different from my own Mohawk culture, yet I read of some similarities in the things you sent me. It’s obvious you are native Hawaiian, but are you from nearby or one of the other islands?”
Still cautious, but so far less apprehensive after working with him all day, she decided to relax her guard. Her look softened noticeably as she got up, turned her chair to face Angus and settled back into it. “I’m a local native you might say, with lots of family nearby. I grew up just a bit south of Hilo in Kalapana. Do you know about Kalapana?”
“I remember reading about it in the information you sent me. It’s the city destroyed by a huge lava flow from the active volcano isn’t it? You would have been quite young then. Were you involved?”
“If you call watching your family home being devoured by the cruel, black lava involved, I certainly was,” Lani replied, a pained, almost teary expression flowing over her face.
Angus winced as he responded, “I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories. I didn’t know you lost your home. That must have been devastating. You don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
Reacting to the obvious compassion in his voice, Lani relaxed a bit more. “No, I don’t mind. It’s been eleven years and my whole family has rebuilt their lives since then. Kalapana was the home of my family for many generations. I was eleven when I watched our home being burned and swallowed by the lava that buried almost the entire town. I will never forget that horrendous experience. The tears streaming down my father’s face as he watched his home slowly being destroyed made an indelible impression I still see in my mind. I had never seen my father in tears before. He just stood there quietly watching as the house crumbled into ashes that were gradually swallowed by the slowly moving lava. He was born in that old house.”
Angus shuddered, watching her understandably pained expressions. “What a horrible experience. I can hardly imagine.”
“It happened over such a large area. Replacement of the lush green forest landscape by the stark black lava flow was the worst kind of complete devastation. It left absolutely no hope for rebuilding. Kalapana was utterly destroyed, permanently entombed by miles of black stone desert and will remain so, probably forever. The profusion of tropical plants, the birds, the flowers and even the incredible fragrances all vanished. There were palms, banyans and Plumeria everywhere. Orchids and Ginger grew wild and the Ginger smelled so lovely when in bloom like it is here in Hilo right now. It was a lot like Hilo, but a bit wilder and less populated.
“The main highway joining the southeast section of the island with Hilo and the northern coast was buried, isolating this part of the island. It changed what had been a rather short drive through lush country into a tortuous journey of many miles around the volcano. In between two fresh green areas lay total destruction and miles of cruel black wasteland with molten rock flowing just a few feet below the hardened surface. The lava still flows to the ocean where it steadily adds to the island as it boils into the surf. The eastern part of the Big Island was cut in half changing forever the lives of thousands.
“Like many others, my father lost his business as well as his home. Our family went from comfortable affluence to a hand-to-mouth existence. I remember staying with relatives near Hilo for several months before the lava reached our house. Knowing the oncoming lava would destroy anything in its path, my parents moved into storage everything they could take. My dad removed many of the fixtures he would later use in our new house. He moved all his construction equipment and machinery from Kalapana to a rented location several miles north of the cooled lava flow on route 130. He was even able to break down his storage buildings and haul them away as well. Taking a loan on his equipment, he acquired a suitable piece of land and was back in business within less than a year.
“After more than six months that seemed like forever, we moved into a small new house my dad built on a corner of the new construction company location. It was rather stark compared to the lush greenery around our old home. I remember watching my dad reassemble his storage buildings and build an equipment shed. He set up his office in an old portable office building on our new land. We used much of the furniture from our old house, mainly some older pieces that had been in the family for many years. My folks did what they could to provide us a home that would have at least some of the flavor of our old house. We shed some tears when we moved in among the reminders of the home we lost.”
Angus could feel the pain of loss in Lani’s voice. “How is your family doing now?”
She smiled thinking about her family. “They’re doing fine. Since my sister, brother and I grew up and moved away, the little house suits my parents well. My dad’s business is flourishing and both parents enjoy good health. I worked part time here at Gemini while in college and became full time after I graduated. You’re my first permanent assignment.”
Angus thought sadly of their loss, showing it in his voice and on his face. “What an intriguing story. You must have a close, strong family. You speak of them with such - care. I think that’s the right word. You seem to have survived and adapted quite well.”
“We’re real survivors and found strength we never knew we had. We got right back to the business of living. Life moves on. I don’t suppose the pain will ever go completely away.”
“I always find the twists and turns of people’s lives fascinating. I’m looking forward to our working together.”
Lani leaned back, crossed her legs and slipped her hand up under her hair. “What about you? You now know my life history. I’ve been told you are rather well known as a sports figure.”
“That was in another life,” he said, clasping his hands and leaning his elbows on the desk.
“I’m not a football fan and your name was unknown to me until Jenny told me about my new assignment. Sorry about that.”
“No need to be sorry. It’s refreshing to be seen as just another astronomer. I rather like that.” He glanced at the clock. “I’ll have to fill you in later. Right now, we need to leave for that staff meeting.”
As they walked to the meeting, Lani thought, No come on this time. Maybe he’ll be okay. That would certainly be refreshing.
* * *
In November, five months after Angus’ last spectral analysis of Barnard’s Star, his first observations were made. He was anxious to see what this giant, state-of-the-art telescope would show him. He was startled at the clarity of the strange spectral lines in the first analysis. They were more evident and there were more of them. There was no doubt this was something quite unusual.
While examining several recent images, Angus asked Lani to confirm his observation of another unusual item. Pointing to one of the stars in one image and then to the same one in another he asked, “See that object? Tell me what you think.”
Standing and leaning over the desk, Lani examined the photos carefully. “That star seems to be slightly elongated in this photo, but perfectly round in the other. All the other stars in the first one look perfectly round. It couldn’t be a photo distortion or all stars would have the same shape.”
“Very good! That image is fuzzy, but it reminds me of a similar photo that led to a major discovery some years back. Do you know the discovery I mean?”
Lani dropped into the chair at the right end of Angus’ desk and grinned, pleased she knew the answer. “You’re referring to the photo of the planet Pluto that lead to the discovery of Pluto’s moon, Charon, right? Could that be a planet orbiting the star? It would have to be a large one, wouldn’t it?”
Angus leaned back and changed into lecture mode. “Right discovery, wrong conclusion. In the nineteen-sixties, one group claimed to have found two planets, bigger than Jupiter, orbiting Barnard’s Star. They used an apparent wobble in its motion as the evidence for their conclusion. Later observations with the Hubble Space Telescope could find no indication of any large planet near the star, although they did not rule out smaller ones.”
Lani sat thoughtfully for a moment. “The only other conclusion is that it is another object, possibly a galaxy, but probably a star. Since it couldn’t be much smaller than Barnard’s and still be a star, it must be farther away. If it were a near-earth body, a comet or asteroid, it would have moved during the exposure and left a streak on the image.”
Angus leaned forward again. “The lady gets an A. Check the archives for some other images of that same area, several months apart and back as far as you can. Then we’ll try to find out more about that lump on the star.”
* * *
The “Aha” experience of finding something truly new is one of the greatest joys of being a scientist.
It took Lani a few weeks to obtain the prints from the photo archives. When finally she had several of them ready, she spread them out on the table in Angus’ office to view and compare. They sat down, side-by-side at the small table.
“Look at this!” Angus exclaimed, pointing to the image on a photo from a year ago. “There, see that slight distortion? It looks almost like a faint smear. Something is definitely there.”
“I can just barely see it,” Lani remarked. Bringing the two prints as close together as possible, she stared at them and then exclaimed. “Only in this photo it’s on the north side of the star and much fainter. We know what it can’t be, but what is it?”
“It has to be a very faint star or even a galaxy. The change in position is solely because Barnard’s Star has moved. It can’t be visual evidence of a new object near Barnard’s Star. I wonder why no one has seen this object before?”
Angus shuffled through the older photos. “I don’t see any evidence of that object on the photos from before that one taken a year ago. We would never have noticed that faint smear if we hadn’t been looking for it. Now we have two mysteries: this object and the strange spectral lines I showed you before. Maybe it’s a supernova in a distant galaxy. That would explain its relatively sudden appearance.”
Lani turned and looked at Angus. “Wouldn’t the spectrum tell us that? Wouldn’t it have a red shift?”
“If it’s far enough away, it should. A supernova has a definite spectral pattern. Maybe that’s why we couldn’t identify it.”
Lani’s eyes widened in realization as she stared intently at Angus with excitement. “It seems like those two mysteries are really only one.”
“A good, probable conclusion. Okay, Miss Namahoe, what is the next logical step? Where do we go from here?”
“I’d suggest we run some more spectra. We can block out the star and try to get a spectrum on the object itself. That would make it much easier to analyze.”
“Excellent! I’m impressed. It will take some time, but we are in position to get those readings right now and for several more months. I’ll check the schedule and see when we can get to it.”
Again Angus checked through several newly found records of earlier spectra taken of Barnard’s Star before the strange spectral lines first appeared. Not one showed any of the strange lines.
* * *
It was Thursday, December 21 and in the relatively short few weeks since the last viewing, Barnard’s fuzzy image had elongated noticeably. Whatever it was, the object was definitely brighter relative to the star. Using the technique Lani suggested to block most of the light from Barnard’s Star, Angus obtained several spectra of the distortion alone. Finally, he and Lani sat down to look at the spectrum directly on the computer display.
They gazed at the screen as Angus panned across the spectrum using a split screen. “Whatever that object is, it is definitely the source of those strange lines. I find no obvious match between the new object on the top and the supernova reference spectrum on the bottom. Of course, with this broad spectrum it would take forever to find a match visually unless we were close. I’ll run that computer comparison again with this latest data. Those line patterns must match somewhere.”
Lani sat back. “Surely your program will find us a match,” she commented as Angus set his program in motion.
They watched the display as the computer ground away and after fifteen minutes it displayed the terse words, “NO MATCH.”
Disappointed with the results, Angus ground his teeth and grumbled in frustration, “I can’t believe it.”
Lani looked intently at Angus, trying to cheer him. “If it’s a distant supernova couldn’t it have a rather large red shift?”
Angus restarted the program, moving the search criteria far into the red. “Okay! Let’s see what comes from your idea.”
They were dumbfounded when again the computer proclaimed there was no match.
“This is crazy! Spectral lines have to match somewhere. What are we doing wrong?” Angus remarked, his face skewed in a quizzical expression.
Again and again, his program ran with negative results. “That’s impossible! What kind of weird object is that anyway? The lines must match some part of the spectrum. That’s the third time I’ve set up the computer and it just grinds away and then reports no match.” Lani could see him becoming more and more frustrated.
Suddenly, her face brightened with realization. “Look outside the box. That’s what my father used to say whenever we were stumped by a problem. Most people box their minds into a limited view of a problem and must break outside the box to find the solution. I’m sure you experienced the old join all the dots with just four straight lines problem at sometime in your life, haven’t you?”
Angus chuckled to himself, remembering well that very puzzle posed to him at some time in the distant past. “I know what your father meant. I was positively elated when I solved that puzzle by drawing the lines outside those imaginary limits. How do we apply that here? I’ll have to rethink how to go about solving this mystery. Why don’t you help me get out of the box. I’m so close to the problem, it may be difficult for me to escape my tunnel vision. You could provide a less biased view.”
Lani was ecstatic being asked to help with a real research project. “I’d love to. Most of what I’ve been doing is what I call paper clip work: searching the files for needed records, getting photos ready for comparison studies and converting older paper documents into computer data. You know what I mean - necessary, but not really creative research. Challenges are what really turn on my mind.”
Angus was encouraged by her enthusiasm. “Let’s see what you can come up with.”
Lani thought carefully and with that sudden insight that often leads to unexpected discovery, finally said out loud, “Blue! I wonder if we could find a match toward the blue end of the spectrum. We’ve been looking at the infrared where Gemini works best. Maybe we could find a match farther up the spectrum toward the blue or even ultraviolet. We could have an object that’s got a blue shift.”
Using the same starlight blocking method as before, Angus obtained several more wide range spectra in the blue area of visible light. Again, he and Lani watched intently as the computer ground away at its task, testing match after match as it was moved farther and farther up the comparison spectrum. After what seemed like hours, it began divulging the results.
“Look at this!” He almost shouted to Lani. “We’ve found a match. If it’s correct, the light from that object has an incredible blue shift.”
After a quick, rough calculation, Angus sat back dumbfounded and nearly speechless. “Unless my calculations are off, that object is a wild star, moving toward us at almost 90 percent of the speed of light.”
They looked at each other silently for several seconds in amazed disbelief. Angus opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Finally he forced a hoarse whisper. “That’s absolutely impossible. Nothing that big can move that fast.”
The startled look on Lani’s face gave way to concern. “Maybe we made a mistake. Let’s do it over.”
Testing another set of data produced the same results. “Of all the unexpected surprises research at the fringes of knowledge provides, this has got to be one of the biggest,” Angus remarked, his face registering incredulity. “I know no one has ever reported such an object before. We’ll have to get someone to check and recheck both old and new data with confirming calculations. I know! I’ll call Pat right away.”
Within a few minutes Pat was on the phone. “How are things in Hula land? Met any Hawaiian beauties?”
Angus wouldn’t mention Lani at this time. “Hundreds! All over the place, but I’ve got something really important to send you. Are you ready for this?”
“Yeah! So what cooks, pal?”
Angus’ voice was shaking with excitement. “I”ve found an object moving in our direction at nearly the speed of light. I believe it’s a star.”
“Come on! You’re kidding of course.”
“Never been more serious in my life”
“Really? You’re not pulling my leg? That’s impossible!” Pat was caught between believing and being certain Angus was joking. His emotions were wavering quickly and wildly.
Angus was beginning again to be frustrated. Pat should know he wasn’t kidding. “No, I really mean it. That sucker’s coming directly at us at more than ninety percent of the speed of light and I want to set up a secure method of communicating with you so you can check out my findings.”
Pat finally got with the program. “You’re really serious, aren’t you? Is it those crazy lines that got you to Hawaii?”
“Right on partner! That is them. We knew they had to be shifted from somewhere, but we’ve only been looking in the red. Never dreamed they could have a blue shift. Now I need confirmation. Can you do it?”
“How are we going to transfer data? Email?”
“Encrypted email would work. There are encryption programs available that even the feds can’t crack. We can use one of those. I’ll have my assistant find us the best method. She’s quite good at things like this.”
“She? You have a female assistant? What’s she like? I’ll bet she’s a doll.”
Angus watched Lani’s expression as he answered. “Nah! She’s an old hag, about three hundred pounds, warts, scraggly hair and missing teeth.”
Lani almost fell off her chair trying to keep from laughing out loud.
Pat was extremely dubious. “I’ll bet!” After a pause he got back to business. “As far as the email is concerned, I know you have my personal address, so let’s use that. Use you-know-who’s name as the initial password until we get the encryption in place. If what you say is true, you will want to keep this under wraps. Sometimes even the phones have ears, so lets keep it light. Use email to send the details.”
“Right you are. I’ll be sending within a day or two. Tell you-know-who I said hello. I wanted to hear your reaction to the news, so that’s why I called. We can do the rest by email.”
“Tell that fat old hag to keep you on the ball. Okay?”
As soon as Angus cradled the phone, Lani reacted. “What was he asking? That was quite a complimentary description. I take it your friend Pat kids a lot?”
“We worked together long enough to become good friends. Used to harass each other unmercifully. He’s a friend I can count on.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, who’s you-know-who?”
Angus laughed. “That’s Beanie. Pat’s lady friend. She’s another Native American, a Chiricahua from Arizona. I won’t try to pronounce her Chiricahua name. Her language is as far from Mohawk as Hawaiian.”
“How did she get the name, Beanie?”
“I think it came from her childhood when she used to wear one of those little beanie caps. The kids started calling her Beanie and it stuck.”
Lani put on her serious face. “You want this kept under wraps until you have confirmation?”
“You bet! I don’t want to let this out until I know we’re accurate. I know of the premature announcements of other findings that were later refuted by additional work. That did great damage to the credibility of those responsible. It could even be a career ending fiasco under certain circumstances. We must make certain this is valid. I hope you can handle that.”
Lani would still not abandon caution. “As long as you play the game fairly, I’m with you. No one will hear a word of this from me without your knowledge and okay.”
Angus became emphatic. “If our preliminary work is not flawed, we may have a monster discovery on our hands. Let’s hope we handle it properly.”
“What about someone else releasing knowledge of the discovery before you? Couldn’t that happen and wouldn’t that be a disastrous blow?”
“That’s a chance every researcher takes with every discovery. By sharing with Pat, I secure the date of discovery. It’s sort of a, who found it first situation. We’ll most likely be okay. People have been looking intently at Barnard’s Star for many years. It’s doubtful there are many looking now, if any. I was only shooting Barnard’s as the last test in a series of tests to prove and refine the comparison program I developed. That’s when those crazy lines appeared.”
“Is there anyone here you could use for confirmation?”
“I really need someone elsewhere in the world with different instruments and seeing conditions. Pat may soon be able to use the new 6.5 meter MMT on Mt. Hopkins. I think that’s scheduled for first light in the near future.”
Lani leaned forward to emphasize her words. “I’m a bit nervous being the only one here at Gemini, other than you, who knows about this.”
“I’ll go talk to John Carroll to get his opinion. Maybe that will help ease your mind. One more thing. We now need to take a parallax reading on that star, just in case it’s near enough to measure.”
Lani stood up and walked over to the large wall calendar. “You know, don’t you, the first parallax readings could be taken in just a few days. You have the time scheduled for a different purpose, but this would be the time to do it. Then comes Christmas and the real millennium end. Lots of people will be gone over the holidays.”
“I almost forgot about that. We barely have time to set up for a parallax image. Maybe I’ll wait until things quiet down before talking to John. That will be two or three weeks at most.”
Lani began gathering the paper strewn around the table and Angus’ desk. “Makes sense to me. I can handle three weeks okay. Now, the day’s almost over and I’ve this mess and my own desk to pick up.”
Angus started picking up papers. “I guess I’d better help. I still remember that first day and what you told me, no ordered me to do about keeping the place neat. How have I been doing?”
Lani had completely forgotten her first tense days three months ago before Angus earned her professional respect. Since then, they developed a comfortable working relationship. She was a bit embarrassed by what she had said, but he would never know it. “I never knew that even registered on you. It worked though, didn’t it? I must say, you’ve been helpful keeping your office clean and orderly. Was I really that obvious?”
Angus laughed. “Yes you were, very stiff, very cautious and quite obvious.”
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