CHAPTER 1
Janine, or Jan, as she was called by her friends, was headed to the University of the Palisades for her day classes. One class was giving her a hard time and she just wanted to get through it. She’d entered the class late because of a mix-up in scheduling. Jan had meant to get in to the beginner’s course of Computer Literacy 101 but ended up in the advanced class. By the time the mistake was caught and corrected she was behind in the beginner’s course and her teacher, the dreaded Mrs. Wren, was giving her no slack. She sat Janine all the way in the back of the class, isolating her from anyone who’d help. So, alas, she had to stay behind today to get more help. The computers were just as unforgiving after class as before. It was about 2p.m. in the afternoon and she had an hour’s break before her next class started when she overheard a heated argument.
“You are not storing any more of that stuff in this school!”
“What are you talking about? It’s air-tight.”
“Don’t come back here!”
“Now you just wait a minute! You’re in this up to your ass and you’re gonna stick to it, understand?!” She listened to the bicker for another twenty minutes then a. A door slammed, ending the conversation. The next thing Jan knew, Professor Tallmadge came into the computer room.
“Oh!” he said, looking surprised to see me. “What are you still doing here?”
“Just trying to make up for lost time.” Jan said as she resumed typing.
“Still? Jan, you really must try harder, Mrs. Wren—” Professor Tallmadge started, but Jan cut him off.
“Mrs. Wren is hell-bent on flunking me, and I’m going to pass!” Jan stated.
“Well, you’re certainly trying! Just keep this door closed, would ya?” Professor Tallmadge quipped.
“Sure.” Jan said flatly. With that, Professor Tallmadge went back down the corridor. Jan flew out of the computer room. Obviously there is something going on, and the less she knew the better. As she rounded the corner on her way out of the lab building she heard the strange man’s voice again. He’d returned and their raised voices were turning the heads of everyone in the building now. Jan left hurriedly not wanting to be a witness to anything almost running over her good friend Jackie.
“Jan! I got to talk to you!” Jackie threw over her shoulder, but Jan just whizzed by throwing back “I gotta go!”
“That girl could invent warp drive!” Sheesh!” Jackie said, continuing on her way to the computer lab.
As Jan slowed to go into the student union, she started to think about some of the rumors all over campus about something major going down, but no one precisely knew what. It had something to do with a new technology. It could be nothing too she thought.
Jan had not taken that quite seriously until today. ‘Maybe I ought to investigate?’ she thought. There had been some late night goings on at the lab that seemed out of place. When she asked the campus security guard that usually escorted her to her dorm room what was going on. He blew her off so now Jan decided to concentrate on others matter like Tony, her boyfriend. He was a studying to be an Astrophysicist, but had been keeping odd hours at the school of late. Jan began to wonder if she wasn’t headed for a break-up. The way his time was so used up already made her wonder if he was with someone else. Jan pushed the thought out of her mind. Everyone said he was such a good catch. Tony was from a good family with a truckload of money, but its hard being a celebrity’s girlfriend.
