Sorry for the lengthy updating process. The schoolwork has kept me busy,
so I've to hurry up.
Chapter 13
7:00am Turin, Enrica missing for 5 days
Sunlight crept over the top of the buildings in Turin. Edward had a big yawn, he had not slept for more than 5 hours since his daughter was taken away. He looked at the drafts on the table and smiled bitterly at it. In normal times, he would be very proud of his work, it was a step towards a great scientific discovery. If the research was successful, it would greatly increase the energy production efficiency during space exploration trips, allowing the spacecraft to access a nearly infinite amount of energy, regardless to their distance to Earth. The first impact would be allowing space colonies to be set up at a further distance away from Earth and also allow deep-space exploration. All the future technological advances and discoveries were based on a simple, but solid scientific phenomenon combined with unchained imaginations and years of hard work. The simple fact that the gravity of the moon is a quarter of that of Earth provided immense opportunity for scientific research. Without air friction and lower gravitational force, energy production efficiency increases in tenfold. The low temperature of Moon's surface also allows higher energy production rate. The only drawback is that since light can only travel in a straight line, provided the distance is not too long and there is no influence by gravity, one can only receive the energy when one sees the moon. Of course, there would be solutions, but time would be needed for further research. Edward collected his paper and put in his bag, then he checked the time and prepared to go. He looked at the sleeping form of his wife, who had just slept for three hours in those few days. He drew a blanket over her, whispered a goodbye to her and took a jacket and the bag, heading for the door. Veronica stirred, but she was too tired to wake up. Edward waited until she fell into slumber again before he went out.
Turin was chosen to be the location of the headquarter for the research center because it has the least destroyed research facilities in Eurasia. The relatively stable atmosphere in politics also allowed the orders to be passed down directly and the researchers could develop long-term projects, which usually spanned through decades, like the projects concerning newtypes. At the time, the Department of Innovation and Development in the Federation was focused on two areas, investigation on newtypes and development of weapons of mass destruction. The research there were mainly applied science rather than basic research, which Edward was more familiar and comfortable with. He was uneasy with the ideas of newtypes, but he felt even more guilty in the step he was planning to take. As he thought about these things, he passed the streets. Edward was quite familiar with the streets in the city center of Turin. He once visited there as a child and then a young man for dealing with family affairs. And there he was, a grown, mature man, walking in the city streets for the third time, with a still-developing plan in his hand trying to save his little girl from a predictable consequence.
8:00 am, Turin
At breakfast table, beacons, egg and toasts have been served. The coffee on the table was still steaming. Edward looked at the middle-aged man across the table. He has a neatly trimmed dark brown hair, a long nose and a pair of glimmering small eyes. He casually poured himself another cup of coffee and looked out of the window of the dining room. "So, you're not coming from Montreal to have a nice breakfast with me, right?" the man asked quietly without looking at Edward. Edward knew that the man before him, his father's brother, knew the purpose of his trip to Turin. He decided to open up the issue directly, "Do you know where I can find my daughter?" He looked straight to Senator Tyrell, whom he knew, was not influential in the Federation, but had an extensive social network in it. Senator Wilfred Edward Tyrell gave a dry laugh, "You know, most of the parents pray for days and nights, hoping their children to excel and fly high. And here, an opportunity is presented before her and you're asking her back?" he shook his head dramatically and laughed again. Due to the lack of sleep and days of restlessness, Edward became peevish. His eyes and face darkened and he spoke in a low and dangerously cold voice, "I've lost my father in the war, mother afterwards. Surely, not my daughter now!" His eyes pierced through Senator Tyrell and it took several seconds before he calmed himself down. He released his grip from the handle of the porcelain cup and pulled a stack of paper and a disc out of his bag. "This is the work I've devoted myself in for years. I hope that the Federation found the results promising and useful." Senator Tyrell took the paper and carefully read it. Although he was not interested in Science, he quickly realized that what in Edward's mind would be a big discovery. He scanned a few more pages and handed it back. It would be beneficial to him to present Professor Edward Tyrell to higher officials in the Federation. However, what if the higher officials were just interested in Edward and not being grateful to his service? Edward must not be too outspoken, or he himself would be of no use. He smiled inwardly, thinking of the event that drove Edward to present his research work. "You're too naïve in thinking that presenting this paper can make them change their mind about your daughter?" Edward, then, was calm and in total control of his emotion, "I'll give it a try anyway." Then Senator Tyrell knew that if he did not present his in time, Edward would go to meet the officials himself. Edward saw the glimmering small eyes sparking with mysterious joy and knew that his plan had worked. They discussed the date, time and what to present in the next solid hour.
When Edward stepped out of the mansion, he felt his heart bounded by bars of lead. He just wanted to wander aimlessly in the streets. He knew what his daughter's future would be if he allowed her to stay in the Federation. He knew that on the day when Colonel Max asked his about his daughter- his 'talented' daughter. How could he allow his daughter to fall into the hands of a group of people who thought human beings and science were nothing more that tools to achieve their goals? Sunshine gently poured on him, softly comforting his body. At last, without any recollection of how he came there, he stood right in front of an exhibition hall. An exhibition about the latest development in Physics was held there when he was a child and his father brought him there. He still remembered the day and could recall the things posted on few of the exhibition boards. He could still picture himself dancing around his father's side, asking questions and attracting a lot of scornful glances.
His father, he thought with a said smile, was a small, thin and nervous man. He never had a high self-esteem, although he was one of the youngest senior engineers in the Federation Army. He worked on the things Edward won't be interested in and all the projects he worked on were still highly confidential. Those projects gave him tremendous stress, he could never stay still, always pacing around to sort out solutions to the problems he faced. Despite of this, Edward's father still loved his job. He loved to analyze data, solve challenging questions and see his ideas to turn into physical phenomenon.
He continued to walk around the exhibition hall. His father was a very clever person, but he was never able to enjoy his life very much. From what he knew from his father and his grandfather, his father was a nervous child since birth. He was born six weeks earlier than usual and was confined to special nursing care for the first few months of his life. Unlike his brother, Wilfred E. Tyrell, he was small and frail child. His face was always pale and he was not particularly good at sports or arts. He usually spoke with a weak voice and did not really talk with other people. He was so nervous that the doctors at that time had to send him to hospitals for different checkups. His father, the great Admiral Tyrell, gravely aware of this and was very disappointed at his younger son, Simon E. Tyrell. Things got better when Simon became a teenager, who happened to have a particular interest in Science. He was less shy and nervous when he discussed his newfound knowledge with others. Though disappointed at first, Admiral Tyrell, the Secretary of Defence of the Federation Government at that time, became very fond of his younger son. Behind the pale face and nervous speech, there was a vivid mind to be molded and nurtured. Maybe, his elder son could be a soldier like him and his younger son could be a scientist. When Simon E. Tyrell finally chose engineering as the subject he would like to study, the Admiral sent him to one of the best college in the world. He graduated with a good honour degree and was immediately sent to work in the engineering team of the Federation.
At this point, the troubled father, the young Edward Tyrell, realized that his grandfather was the source of all the trouble he had. His grandfather knew a lot of people in the Federation and surely a lot of people in the Federation knew him and his two sons. He sighed and strolled along the streets once he left the exhibition hall. Like most of men, Simon Tyrell got married and had a son six years after the marriage. Although Simon Tyrell never voiced out his love for his father, he honoured him by naming his son Edward, hoping that his son would be a great person just like his grandfather one day. It seemed that Simon Tyrell was going to have a good life despite of a rough and unhappy start. Then, all of a sudden, Simon E Tyrell, the senior engineer of FIB, was killed during a secret mission. Even, Edward Tyrell (senior) did not know or hear of the mission and certainly failed to save his son. The body was discovered two weeks later. This was a strong blow to both his family and the Admiral: His son was killed at his prime time and all he could do was to ensure that his only son, Edward Tyrell junior, received the best attention and care. Stroked by the grief of losing his beloved father at a young age, Edward became rebellious against every arrangement made on him, the situation worsen when Edward's mother died two years later. She was died of a chronic disease, but Edward blamed his mother's death to the war. He did not pay attention to his schoolwork, made friends with some dandies intentionally, but this did not turn himself into a dandy. The senior Edward Tyrell proudly and sadly noticed that the junior Edward Tyrell had a way of his own, like his father. When Edward junior graduated from the university, he obtained a scholarship and went to read a postgraduate degree in the Britain. From then on, he did not have any contacts with the Tyrell's in the Mediterranean.
2:50pm, Turin Edward wandered back to the motel he stayed. When he opened the door, he found himself face to face with the tired and pale face of his wife. He shrugged his shoulder and tried to smirk. She looked at him carefully and asked with her alto voice, "Lunch?". Edward nodded, obviously the walking exercise in the morning made him ready for another meal. Actually, he was not eager to have a meal, but for Verona's sake, he would have it, otherwise Verona would have nothing until dinner.
They went to a small restaurant and ordered two simple lunch sets. Soups arrived immediately and they finished the soup silently. Verona was not sure how to begin. She was deep in thought and played around with the spaghetti without putting them into her mouth. During their 'first stage' (Edward's exact wording), Edward has been aware of the weird eating habit of Verona. Whenever there were projects or volcanic activities, Verona always forget that she was hungry. She could skip two meals in a day for several days. At the end of big projects, she would develop stomach problems. It was Edward's major duty to remind her to have something to eat after a considerable amount of time.
"I think within ten year's time, Enrica wll pick up your eating habit and at that time, there will be volcanoes in her stomach." Edward said playfully, but his eyes were fixed on Verona seriously.
Verona took the opportunity. "How's Enrica? What have they done on her?"
Edward swallowed his mouthful of meat pie and took a sip of water. "I didn't get much information from Senator Tyrell. He just said they would do some tests on her, to check her abilities. He didn't know much about the details." He replied casually.
"There should be laws regulating the use of human beings as testing subjects and laws stated performing such tests on children could only be done under their parents'consent." Verona argued. She was angry that her little girl was put into some unknown experiments.
"In times of war, the common laws are largely neglected, only the military order was being followed." Edward's tone was still playful, his eyes gazed elsewhere and his fingers played with the napkins.
Verona could not hold back her anger any longer. "BUT IT IS NOT WAR TIME!" She didn't even care to keep her voice low. The people in the nearby tables turned to the centre of disturbance. Both Edward and Verona took no notice at the attention paid. Then suddenly, came Edward's hollow, low voice, "I'm sorry. It's me who let Enrica go into trouble. I should keep a wary eye..." He lost the casualness in tone, there was something in his eyes that made her worry.
She came to his side, "Oh, I'm so sorry, my dearest. You know I don't mean that, you know..."
He gave a sad smile, briefly patted her forearm, "It's OK. Let's have a walk." They paid the billed and went away.
The afternoon passed without much excitement. However, Verona was restless. She should know that they could do very little on Enrica's fate. Although they had no contact with the Tyrell's in Turin, she knew those family members in Turin were informed for everything about Edward and her, and also Enrica. The brilliant mind of Enrica was no secret. No matter how they tried to hide the diamond-like brain, its radiance shone. She never, and could not, blame her husband. She knew his story and he had tried very hard to shake off any threads linking with the Tyrell's in Turin. He was determined to be an academic, focusing only the thing he loved most – astro-physics. As evening came, she sat down with Edward on the floor. He heart was so full that she could not produce a sound. After a long dead silence, Edward took her hand and softly caressed it.
"It's OK, lassie." He soothed her with a smile, "she'll be OK."
"It's not her whom I'm worried about." She choked out. "It's you, Ed. It's you. I'm sorry."
Edward understood in a second. "These days have already been distressing. Your smile would really be a treasure to me." Verona forced herself to smile, "I have discussed the possibility of exchanging Enrica back with Senator Tyrell." Edward paused, he had to pull himself up before he continued. "I'll offer a research plan and myself to the Federation, in exchange to having Enrica educated by ourselves. Of course, they would constantly checked on her."
"You're going to work for the Federation, aren't you?" Verona couldn't believe this, she knew her husband hated to work there. He has broken his word in order to let their daughter to stay some distance, at least, away from the Federation. Once the Federation accepted his offer, he would have to work in the Federation, away from the basic researches and pure academic atmosphere he enjoyed most. It was a high prize to pay for.
"And you're going to make sure that Enrica does not take up your weird eating habits?' he teased. His eyes were the same as in the normal times when he teased her of an adventure she was about to take. He gently made her head laid on his shoulder and stroked her soft brown hair, sighed in content, waiting for the challenges ahead.
Chapter 13
7:00am Turin, Enrica missing for 5 days
Sunlight crept over the top of the buildings in Turin. Edward had a big yawn, he had not slept for more than 5 hours since his daughter was taken away. He looked at the drafts on the table and smiled bitterly at it. In normal times, he would be very proud of his work, it was a step towards a great scientific discovery. If the research was successful, it would greatly increase the energy production efficiency during space exploration trips, allowing the spacecraft to access a nearly infinite amount of energy, regardless to their distance to Earth. The first impact would be allowing space colonies to be set up at a further distance away from Earth and also allow deep-space exploration. All the future technological advances and discoveries were based on a simple, but solid scientific phenomenon combined with unchained imaginations and years of hard work. The simple fact that the gravity of the moon is a quarter of that of Earth provided immense opportunity for scientific research. Without air friction and lower gravitational force, energy production efficiency increases in tenfold. The low temperature of Moon's surface also allows higher energy production rate. The only drawback is that since light can only travel in a straight line, provided the distance is not too long and there is no influence by gravity, one can only receive the energy when one sees the moon. Of course, there would be solutions, but time would be needed for further research. Edward collected his paper and put in his bag, then he checked the time and prepared to go. He looked at the sleeping form of his wife, who had just slept for three hours in those few days. He drew a blanket over her, whispered a goodbye to her and took a jacket and the bag, heading for the door. Veronica stirred, but she was too tired to wake up. Edward waited until she fell into slumber again before he went out.
Turin was chosen to be the location of the headquarter for the research center because it has the least destroyed research facilities in Eurasia. The relatively stable atmosphere in politics also allowed the orders to be passed down directly and the researchers could develop long-term projects, which usually spanned through decades, like the projects concerning newtypes. At the time, the Department of Innovation and Development in the Federation was focused on two areas, investigation on newtypes and development of weapons of mass destruction. The research there were mainly applied science rather than basic research, which Edward was more familiar and comfortable with. He was uneasy with the ideas of newtypes, but he felt even more guilty in the step he was planning to take. As he thought about these things, he passed the streets. Edward was quite familiar with the streets in the city center of Turin. He once visited there as a child and then a young man for dealing with family affairs. And there he was, a grown, mature man, walking in the city streets for the third time, with a still-developing plan in his hand trying to save his little girl from a predictable consequence.
8:00 am, Turin
At breakfast table, beacons, egg and toasts have been served. The coffee on the table was still steaming. Edward looked at the middle-aged man across the table. He has a neatly trimmed dark brown hair, a long nose and a pair of glimmering small eyes. He casually poured himself another cup of coffee and looked out of the window of the dining room. "So, you're not coming from Montreal to have a nice breakfast with me, right?" the man asked quietly without looking at Edward. Edward knew that the man before him, his father's brother, knew the purpose of his trip to Turin. He decided to open up the issue directly, "Do you know where I can find my daughter?" He looked straight to Senator Tyrell, whom he knew, was not influential in the Federation, but had an extensive social network in it. Senator Wilfred Edward Tyrell gave a dry laugh, "You know, most of the parents pray for days and nights, hoping their children to excel and fly high. And here, an opportunity is presented before her and you're asking her back?" he shook his head dramatically and laughed again. Due to the lack of sleep and days of restlessness, Edward became peevish. His eyes and face darkened and he spoke in a low and dangerously cold voice, "I've lost my father in the war, mother afterwards. Surely, not my daughter now!" His eyes pierced through Senator Tyrell and it took several seconds before he calmed himself down. He released his grip from the handle of the porcelain cup and pulled a stack of paper and a disc out of his bag. "This is the work I've devoted myself in for years. I hope that the Federation found the results promising and useful." Senator Tyrell took the paper and carefully read it. Although he was not interested in Science, he quickly realized that what in Edward's mind would be a big discovery. He scanned a few more pages and handed it back. It would be beneficial to him to present Professor Edward Tyrell to higher officials in the Federation. However, what if the higher officials were just interested in Edward and not being grateful to his service? Edward must not be too outspoken, or he himself would be of no use. He smiled inwardly, thinking of the event that drove Edward to present his research work. "You're too naïve in thinking that presenting this paper can make them change their mind about your daughter?" Edward, then, was calm and in total control of his emotion, "I'll give it a try anyway." Then Senator Tyrell knew that if he did not present his in time, Edward would go to meet the officials himself. Edward saw the glimmering small eyes sparking with mysterious joy and knew that his plan had worked. They discussed the date, time and what to present in the next solid hour.
When Edward stepped out of the mansion, he felt his heart bounded by bars of lead. He just wanted to wander aimlessly in the streets. He knew what his daughter's future would be if he allowed her to stay in the Federation. He knew that on the day when Colonel Max asked his about his daughter- his 'talented' daughter. How could he allow his daughter to fall into the hands of a group of people who thought human beings and science were nothing more that tools to achieve their goals? Sunshine gently poured on him, softly comforting his body. At last, without any recollection of how he came there, he stood right in front of an exhibition hall. An exhibition about the latest development in Physics was held there when he was a child and his father brought him there. He still remembered the day and could recall the things posted on few of the exhibition boards. He could still picture himself dancing around his father's side, asking questions and attracting a lot of scornful glances.
His father, he thought with a said smile, was a small, thin and nervous man. He never had a high self-esteem, although he was one of the youngest senior engineers in the Federation Army. He worked on the things Edward won't be interested in and all the projects he worked on were still highly confidential. Those projects gave him tremendous stress, he could never stay still, always pacing around to sort out solutions to the problems he faced. Despite of this, Edward's father still loved his job. He loved to analyze data, solve challenging questions and see his ideas to turn into physical phenomenon.
He continued to walk around the exhibition hall. His father was a very clever person, but he was never able to enjoy his life very much. From what he knew from his father and his grandfather, his father was a nervous child since birth. He was born six weeks earlier than usual and was confined to special nursing care for the first few months of his life. Unlike his brother, Wilfred E. Tyrell, he was small and frail child. His face was always pale and he was not particularly good at sports or arts. He usually spoke with a weak voice and did not really talk with other people. He was so nervous that the doctors at that time had to send him to hospitals for different checkups. His father, the great Admiral Tyrell, gravely aware of this and was very disappointed at his younger son, Simon E. Tyrell. Things got better when Simon became a teenager, who happened to have a particular interest in Science. He was less shy and nervous when he discussed his newfound knowledge with others. Though disappointed at first, Admiral Tyrell, the Secretary of Defence of the Federation Government at that time, became very fond of his younger son. Behind the pale face and nervous speech, there was a vivid mind to be molded and nurtured. Maybe, his elder son could be a soldier like him and his younger son could be a scientist. When Simon E. Tyrell finally chose engineering as the subject he would like to study, the Admiral sent him to one of the best college in the world. He graduated with a good honour degree and was immediately sent to work in the engineering team of the Federation.
At this point, the troubled father, the young Edward Tyrell, realized that his grandfather was the source of all the trouble he had. His grandfather knew a lot of people in the Federation and surely a lot of people in the Federation knew him and his two sons. He sighed and strolled along the streets once he left the exhibition hall. Like most of men, Simon Tyrell got married and had a son six years after the marriage. Although Simon Tyrell never voiced out his love for his father, he honoured him by naming his son Edward, hoping that his son would be a great person just like his grandfather one day. It seemed that Simon Tyrell was going to have a good life despite of a rough and unhappy start. Then, all of a sudden, Simon E Tyrell, the senior engineer of FIB, was killed during a secret mission. Even, Edward Tyrell (senior) did not know or hear of the mission and certainly failed to save his son. The body was discovered two weeks later. This was a strong blow to both his family and the Admiral: His son was killed at his prime time and all he could do was to ensure that his only son, Edward Tyrell junior, received the best attention and care. Stroked by the grief of losing his beloved father at a young age, Edward became rebellious against every arrangement made on him, the situation worsen when Edward's mother died two years later. She was died of a chronic disease, but Edward blamed his mother's death to the war. He did not pay attention to his schoolwork, made friends with some dandies intentionally, but this did not turn himself into a dandy. The senior Edward Tyrell proudly and sadly noticed that the junior Edward Tyrell had a way of his own, like his father. When Edward junior graduated from the university, he obtained a scholarship and went to read a postgraduate degree in the Britain. From then on, he did not have any contacts with the Tyrell's in the Mediterranean.
2:50pm, Turin Edward wandered back to the motel he stayed. When he opened the door, he found himself face to face with the tired and pale face of his wife. He shrugged his shoulder and tried to smirk. She looked at him carefully and asked with her alto voice, "Lunch?". Edward nodded, obviously the walking exercise in the morning made him ready for another meal. Actually, he was not eager to have a meal, but for Verona's sake, he would have it, otherwise Verona would have nothing until dinner.
They went to a small restaurant and ordered two simple lunch sets. Soups arrived immediately and they finished the soup silently. Verona was not sure how to begin. She was deep in thought and played around with the spaghetti without putting them into her mouth. During their 'first stage' (Edward's exact wording), Edward has been aware of the weird eating habit of Verona. Whenever there were projects or volcanic activities, Verona always forget that she was hungry. She could skip two meals in a day for several days. At the end of big projects, she would develop stomach problems. It was Edward's major duty to remind her to have something to eat after a considerable amount of time.
"I think within ten year's time, Enrica wll pick up your eating habit and at that time, there will be volcanoes in her stomach." Edward said playfully, but his eyes were fixed on Verona seriously.
Verona took the opportunity. "How's Enrica? What have they done on her?"
Edward swallowed his mouthful of meat pie and took a sip of water. "I didn't get much information from Senator Tyrell. He just said they would do some tests on her, to check her abilities. He didn't know much about the details." He replied casually.
"There should be laws regulating the use of human beings as testing subjects and laws stated performing such tests on children could only be done under their parents'consent." Verona argued. She was angry that her little girl was put into some unknown experiments.
"In times of war, the common laws are largely neglected, only the military order was being followed." Edward's tone was still playful, his eyes gazed elsewhere and his fingers played with the napkins.
Verona could not hold back her anger any longer. "BUT IT IS NOT WAR TIME!" She didn't even care to keep her voice low. The people in the nearby tables turned to the centre of disturbance. Both Edward and Verona took no notice at the attention paid. Then suddenly, came Edward's hollow, low voice, "I'm sorry. It's me who let Enrica go into trouble. I should keep a wary eye..." He lost the casualness in tone, there was something in his eyes that made her worry.
She came to his side, "Oh, I'm so sorry, my dearest. You know I don't mean that, you know..."
He gave a sad smile, briefly patted her forearm, "It's OK. Let's have a walk." They paid the billed and went away.
The afternoon passed without much excitement. However, Verona was restless. She should know that they could do very little on Enrica's fate. Although they had no contact with the Tyrell's in Turin, she knew those family members in Turin were informed for everything about Edward and her, and also Enrica. The brilliant mind of Enrica was no secret. No matter how they tried to hide the diamond-like brain, its radiance shone. She never, and could not, blame her husband. She knew his story and he had tried very hard to shake off any threads linking with the Tyrell's in Turin. He was determined to be an academic, focusing only the thing he loved most – astro-physics. As evening came, she sat down with Edward on the floor. He heart was so full that she could not produce a sound. After a long dead silence, Edward took her hand and softly caressed it.
"It's OK, lassie." He soothed her with a smile, "she'll be OK."
"It's not her whom I'm worried about." She choked out. "It's you, Ed. It's you. I'm sorry."
Edward understood in a second. "These days have already been distressing. Your smile would really be a treasure to me." Verona forced herself to smile, "I have discussed the possibility of exchanging Enrica back with Senator Tyrell." Edward paused, he had to pull himself up before he continued. "I'll offer a research plan and myself to the Federation, in exchange to having Enrica educated by ourselves. Of course, they would constantly checked on her."
"You're going to work for the Federation, aren't you?" Verona couldn't believe this, she knew her husband hated to work there. He has broken his word in order to let their daughter to stay some distance, at least, away from the Federation. Once the Federation accepted his offer, he would have to work in the Federation, away from the basic researches and pure academic atmosphere he enjoyed most. It was a high prize to pay for.
"And you're going to make sure that Enrica does not take up your weird eating habits?' he teased. His eyes were the same as in the normal times when he teased her of an adventure she was about to take. He gently made her head laid on his shoulder and stroked her soft brown hair, sighed in content, waiting for the challenges ahead.