The Orthogonal Galaxy
Chapter 15

After doing his best to encourage Paol as theyleft the courthouse, Warron and Monay walked quickly together towards theparking garage, each holding a black umbrella to protect them from therain. The storm was starting to clear,but a dampening drizzle encouraged them to seek shelter as they walked.

The silence began to disturb Monay. She was not one for awkward fits of silence,even if it was her boss. “Warron,” sheengaged the sullen attorney, “do you still really believe that Paol isinnocent?”

“Absolutely,” he affirmed. “I can feel it. I have no doubt that he is innocent. We just need to replace better answers to thequestions of the case. I really wishedthe jury had been more convinced that these questions were pertinent andserious. If I can replace an answer or two,I’ll convince them in the appeal.”

“The case seemed so open and shut to me,” sheconfided. “If I was on that jury, Iwould’ve voted him guilty also.”

“I know, I know, I would have too. That’s why this is so difficult for me toswallow. I have a client who is a good,honest, and innocent man. I have failed to represent him adequately,and now he’s been sentenced to serve a prison term he does not deserve.” He stopped in his tracks and gazed intentlyat his paralegal. “But I will not failhim in the end, Monay. Mark mywords. Paol Joonter will beacquitted.”

She turned one corner of her mouth up in a halfsmile. “I’m sure you will replace a way…that’s why I work for you, you know.”

Distracted, she turned back towards the window frontof an electronics store that the pair had stopped in front of. Televisions of all sizes, synchronized to thesame channel were just starting to broadcast the evening news. A pair of speakers above the window allowedpassersby the opportunity to watch and hear the broadcast.

A male news anchor dressed in a dark suit coat,white shirt and red paisley tie announced, “Our top story of the night comesfrom Houston, Texas, where our reporters are picking up the latest details fromthe incident on Camp Mars. RilynnStewbridge comes to us live from the press room at the Johnson SpaceCenter. Rilynn, can you fill us in onwhat we know so far.”

The television screen split to show both theanchor and field correspondent side-by-side. A caption at the bottom announced, “Tragedy on Mars.”

“Well, Milas,” began the correspondent,strategically placed with an empty press podium and NASA logo in thebackground. “Dr. Vurim Gilroy just gavean announcement that NASA will attempt a mission to rescue the astronauts onCamp Mars. Communication has still notbeen made between Mars and Earth, and there is no word on the status ofastronauts Garrison O’Ryan and Dmitri Boronov.

“He stated that a team of NASA specialists havebeen assembled, as well as renowned astrophysicist and CalTech professor,Carlton Zimmer, to assess the cause of the incident. We talked with Dr. Zimmer earlier today aboutthe incident.”

“A newsreel then showed the interview withZimmer. Warron lowered his umbrella,since the rain had completely ceased now, and took a couple of steps closer tothe largest TV.

Wow!” he exclaimed. “Would you look at that?”

Monay playfully hit her boss over the head withher umbrella. “What is it with you menthat make you drool every time you see a large-screen TV?”

He turned abruptly. “No!” he said. “I’m not talking about the TV… I’m talkingabout how haggard Carl looks.”

“Carl?” Monay asked as she turned back to the television. “Just because you’re one of the top lawyersin the country doesn’t give you a right to be on a first-syllable basis withevery important scientist, you know.”

He turned away from the store window and beganwalking away from Monay. “Not unlessthat important scientist just happens to be your brother.”

Monay’s jaw dropped. “Carlton Zimmer is your brother! I… I… I hadno idea!”

She bounded several steps quickly in order tocatch up to Warron Zimmer, the younger, and certainly less popular sibling ofthe Zimmer family.

“I mean, sure you have the same last name andall, and maybe Zimmer isn’t all that popular, but I never would have made theconnection.”

“Well, we certainly took a different course inlife,” Warron said. “I was still indiapers when Carlton was already intently studying every move of NASA. Every young boy his age was captivated by theannounced development on Mars. Carl justtook it more to heart, I guess. He knewthe first astronauts’ names. Hemonitored construction of the camp intently. He became quite the areologist.”

“Airy what?” asked Monay.

“Areology,” began Warron, “refers to the study ofMars. Carl made sure I knew the correctword, when I kept referring to him as a Martian-ologist. The poor chap looked exhausted in thatnewsreel, I’ll tell you that much. Idon’t think he should continue to work at the pace that he does… he’s juststarting to get too old for that to be any good on his health.”

“Well,” retorted the paralegal. “I’m not so sure he looked a whole lotdifferent than you during your pre-trial efforts.”

“That’s different,” the lawyer countered. “I’m younger than he is… by eightyears.” He cut a glance out of thecorner of his eyes, spying on a reaction from his assistant. He was disappointed when all she did was rollher eyes.

“Anyway,” Monay switched the conversation back tothe current event. “I saw a headlinethis morning in the newspaper regarding the Mars incident.”

“What did the paper have to say about it?” Warron asked.

“Nobody seemed to know what was going on, but itsounded like a couple of astronauts may were in serious danger.”

“And that’s how my brother comes in. NASA called on him to help them replace asolution to saving the astronauts. Well,if anybody can do it, he’s their man. The best problem solver I know. He’d have made a better lawyer than me.”

“Well, he certainly makes a better Martian-ologist,or whatever you call it,” Monay asserted. “Your brother is Carlton Zimmer, and I know more about what’s going onat Mars than you do?”

“It’s not like Carl works on the Mars thinganymore. He’s chasing bigger challengesat this stage of his career.”

“Oh, that’s right. Didn’t he attempt to study black holes?”asked Monay.

“That was his main project a couple of yearsback, and I don’t think it ended on a positive note. It was a beginning of a rough relationshipwith NASA funding of his programs. Itturns out that it’s really hard to understand something you can’t observe, andsince black holes are known to be gravity sources so large that nothing—noteven light—can escape, well, it’s not like you’re landing an astronaut on oneof these things to take soil samples, are you? He mentioned that it was one of his toughest and most frustrating piecesof research. I know that he wasn’t happywith the results. Either way, he’sreally been interested in just one objective practically since he was in gradeschool.”

“What’s that?”

“He’s trying to replace a parallel earth outthere. You know, I really respect hisdream, but it seems so unreasonable. Ihope he’s not chasing some dead end path. But… he is the expert, and I know he has his theories for goodreason. I just don’t understand it allwhen he explains it to me.”

“Well, I wish him the best. He’s made some fascinating discoveries alongthe way. It sounds like a parallel earthwould be a crowning achievement for him”

“It really would be. I sure hope he can replace it.”