Note

“Everything ends and it’s always sad. But everything begins again too and that’s always happy!”

Doctor Who

 

 

 

 

A short note to the book: Theresa calls Peter "Herr" Professor, it is the german word for Mister.

1. March 15th 2004 A disastrous decision

“If not now, then when, Edward?” The tall scientist looked challengingly at his friend and supervisor.

When he received no answer Dr. Robin Winter and his wife and research partner left their boss’ snobbishly furnished office at the AFS upset.

Edward Barnes thoughtfully watched them leaving.  Lonely, he stood in the large room. At the time the forty-five-year-old man could not know, but these few words should haunt him in his worst nightmares for the rest of his life. His bad conscience would take care of it, as these were the last words he should hear from his best friend.

Outside his field of vision, a man in a black suit silently entered the room through a second door. As was his custom he wore no tie to his elegant outfit, and he had casually left open the top button of his white shirt. His right hand stroked in a jerky, fast movement over his stubby, white blond hair. As sudden as it had begun, it was already over again. Only this one little tick showed that he was a human being. The man in the black suit allowed himself this gesture from time to time, but only when no one was watching him. Apart from that, he had his movements under control at all times, meticulously as an android.

“What are you going to do now?”

Barnes startled slightly when he heard in his back the voice of the man-in-the-suit which was not much more than an unpleasant whisper. He loathed the man’s weird habit to turn up always and everywhere without making the slightest noise. When he now was standing in front of him all of a sudden, his piercing almost completely colourless eyes watched every little emotion in the plump face of his superior. Although the latter was at least 4 inches smaller than the man-in-the-suit, he could with his stately size of 5 ft. 10, by no means be called fat, yet the predisposition was clearly there.

“What possibilities do I have? They don’t want to listen.” His voice was desperate, and he slumped into a chair, helpless.

“Leave the matter to me.” The whispering voice became more urgent.

Barnes rested his elbows on the table, put his face in his well-groomed hands and was lost in thought. Then he rubbed his hands over his bald patch and looked up with his blue eyes that were full of doubt.

The handsome blond man in the black suit gave him a look that he would have liked to tear at his few remaining dark brown hair, which  he wore closely cropped.

Instead Barnes ran his fingers unconsciously through his fashionable, slightly grayed balbo. These gestures were always the same when he was nervous. His thumb and index finger stroked his mustache reversely then his fingers wandered along the narrow pieces of beard down his cheek to meet again on the chin-beard. Back to the beginning they ran over his soul patch and his narrow lips. He used to repeat this time and again.
 It was only with great difficulty that the other could keep himself from stopping the nervous play of the two fingers with a jerk.  Self-possessed as he always was, he just stared at the fingers with stoic calmness. But in his mind he heard the loud cracking with which the finger bones broke in his imagination. This cheered the man-in-the-suit up so that he allowed himself a slight grin. He did not often let himself get carried away with emotion, actually this almost never happened. And only an attentive observer would have noticed the nasty grin on the striking face.

Then at last, a hesitant short nod from Barnes, and already the athletic man-in-the suit had disappeared.

2.

The out-of-town scientists were accommodated in the adjoining dwelling house of the institute, this also held true for the Winters, a German couple from Berlin. This made sense, since all researchers tended to work late into the night. The overnight stay in a hotel would not pay off, since already in the early morning they would start working again.

 

Quickly the Winter couple went to their room and packed their documents.

Dr. Sabine Winter interrupted her activity and looked at her husband. Doubtfully, she asked, “Are we doing the right thing?”

 

The two had been summoned to the research centre in the Swiss mountains to present their latest report. Thus they could meet up with the people who were working on the project together with them. These were other scientists, but also business representatives.

The “Space Adventure Project”, in which the Winters were involved, had been launched by a research department of the “Association of Free Scientists” (AFS). Behind this Association of Free Scientists there stood no government, here the great bosses of a variety of industrialized countries had teamed up.

It was no longer a secret that the earth was on the verge of the total exploitation of its natural treasures. In order to expand, humankind needed to venture into space. There could be found the raw materials of the future, and the AFS wanted them at all costs. The organization operated underground, nobody knew about it, because competition was fierce. The program was kept absolutely secret.

Whereas in the early years of space flight, only the large states had had the resources to develop, build and operate space vehicles, this had changed considerably in recent years.  Now space launches offered by private organizations such as the AFS were available also for commercial companies. The private investors did not want the bread be taken out of their mouth by such institutions as the Darpa, the “Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency”, which was a public research department of the US Department of Defense. They worked on similar projects as the AFS, but shared their results with the public or at least most of them.

Now the AFS granted the couple admission to their sacred halls since the organization had high hopes of the two brilliant scientists. Although they were only in their mid-forties, they already ranked among the leading luminaries in the field of quantum physics. Last but not least Professor Edward Barnes, who held a high position on the board, spoke highly of them.

If they had then already known what they now knew about their bosses, Robin and Sabine Winter certainly would not have joined the project. The new insights the two scientists had gained at the research centre were extremely fascinating … but at the same time rather frightening. Already before, they had been supplied with a technique which was so progressive that it was a pleasure to work with. Without problems, the two researchers had been able to develop it further.

When they wondered and asked themselves where this technique came from, they silenced their conscience with the opportunities that it offered them. To this day, this construct had worked. But now they had shown them an alien spaceship that went far beyond their wildest dreams. And they were sure also far beyond those of other research organizations including state institutions.

Of course, it was a matter of common knowledge that the Darpa participated in the race to the stars. As part of their program “100-Year Starship Projects” created to learn more about long-term flights they researched a new drive. As the name says this project was designed for at least hundred years, and was subsidized by the government with half a million dollars. The similar Space Adventure project had at its disposal half a billion dollars instead of half a million. Or even more, if necessary.

But the fact that today’s technology should already be so far advanced, that it explained this spaceship, took the Winters nevertheless entirely by surprise. According to the documents to which the Winters had been given access, their research colleagues had further modified the faster-than-light speed drive. It was hard to believe, but they had been able to significantly reduce the need for energy.

Edward Barnes, their American superior and one of their best friends, informed the two scientists face-to-face that their research results had been the starting point for the construction of a spectacular drive. Now the possibility of the implementation of a Warp-drive which, up to now, had been considered to be impossible was rated absolutely feasible. The scientists involved in the project were now able to lay the foundations for interstellar travel. And this was only thanked to their results.

It now actually was within their grasp to advance further into space in less than half the time the Darpa was taking as a basis. The two scientists asked themselves how this could be, if not with the help of a foreign technology.

Robin's remark at the ship's presentation had been, “Warp drive? Seriously now? That’s what it will be called?”

A young scientist from the AFS looked slightly piqued. Enthusiastically, he answered with a counter-question, “What other name would it deserve?”

“But ... Warp drive? For real?” Robin raised both hands demonstratively, as the young man opened his mouth to try again. “Hey, okay, you're absolutely right. It expresses exactly what it is going to be - a Warp drive.”

For already one week now had the Winters been in the research center. During this week, Robin and Sabine had done a little research and made scary discoveries.

3.

Robin answered his wife’s question with a counter question, “Do you believe in it? I mean, do you really think it's true what we found out?”

“You mean that the material the space ship is built up of is a material we have not known in that form up to now? That all our results are based on - whatever?”

She thought about it for a while then she replied, “It has nothing to do with belief, Robin.” She paused for a moment, and then said emphatically, “These are facts.”

"You're right. But are you fully convinced that we should go public with it?”

His cold brown eyes looked at her challengingly. He had once again completely switched to his science mode. When he was in this scientific mode, then only facts were counting for him. She had never been able to be like that and she was not now.

So she snapped at him, “Knock off the bullshit. I don’t want to think like a machine. If we decide to take this step, it’s because we are human beings and not emotionless scientists.”

“We must not leave out the logic in our considerations. Edward and his bosses, whoever they are, will not put up so easily with us making it public. That must be absolutely clear to you. We’ll be in great danger.”

“Edward is our friend, our best friend,” she cried.

“Logic, Sabine. Try to be logical. He cannot let us do that. He has clearly told us what he thinks humankind is not yet ready for this revelation.”

She repeated his words from before, “If not now, then when?”

“Perhaps never.” He sounded resigned. "You also have to be aware that we are violating our contract with the AFS. They're going to haul us to court and screw us up. We will never be allowed to do research for other companies again, because we would no longer be trustworthy.”

She ran her long fingers through her dark blond hair, her light brown eyes staring at him frustrated. “It’d be better we don’t do it? Is it this, what you want to tell me? Because of a damned contract?”

Now he looked at her with eyes that had completely lost their cold. "I don't give a damn about the contract. Our careers will be over, but I'm afraid we've gotten involved with people who are threatening us with something worse. Something much worse than a simple breach of contract penalty. We have to think about our children too, love."

„I’m thinking of nothing else than of Theresa, Nathalie and Sabrina, and the future of billions of other children on this planet. If this technology is in the wrong hands, there will no longer be a future, not even for us.”

They knew what the public had in mind. The people thought that governments were acting unscrupulously and stopped at nothing. But they were very wrong there. Behind the scenes of the AFS the industry bosses pulled the strings and compared to this the governments were school boys. The industry was a society apart, a merciless and unscrupulous society, and it protected its secrets at all costs.

“We should have listened to Peter Calder. That arrogant bastard was right after all. Regarding AFS, Edward, everything. His friend, the Interpol agent, could have helped us get out of this thing.” Frustrated, Robin slammed shut his suitcase.

“Reproaches don't help us now. We’ll contact him as soon as we get out of here. Unhurt.” Confidently, she pressed his arm.

Despite the couple’s doubts, it was decided. They quickly packed two further briefcases and left the building through the back exit. They hoped Edward had not done anything yet. Perhaps he thought he could convince them, after all. Only half an hour had passed since their conversation. They got into their SUV. Robin Winter sat on the driver side. The engine roared shortly when he hit the gas.

 

Edward Barnes awoke by the sound and hurried to the window. He just saw as the car left the parking lot of the research institute, which was leading in the field of quantum physics.
Sadly, he stared after them, thinking that a hard time was lying ahead of them.

The man-in-the-suit would remind them in his relentless way of who they were committed to. In addition, he would force them to abide by the contract which they had signed and thus agreed to a confidentiality clause.

What Edward did not know, however, was that the suit wearer had already received different orders from a higher authority. And it consisted of four words, they must not survive.

4.

During the short while the Winters packed their stuff, he was standing in front of the open window and stared down at their car with utmost concentration. He did not even notice the bitter cold that surrounded him. The man-in-the-suit almost looked into the interior of the SUV with his expressionless eyes to such a degree he visualized the circuits of the electronics. At the same time, he remembered what he knew about the weaknesses of this technique. Before his inner eye, he followed the cables until he reached the control centre inside the on-board computer, and then he saw it practically in front of him. With a jerk he detached himself from the pictures, and without changing his facial expressions, his mind was wandering back to his office.

Emotionless, he sat in front of his laptop to hack into the electronics of the ultra-modern family car and manipulate it. The killer used a weak spot in the component of the security and entertainment program. He reprogrammed a chip in the entertainment system, copied fake control commands on the car’s electrical system, and thus switched off the brake control. After about fifteen minutes driving, the brakes would fail at his command. Without the brakes, the automatic car would not be able to shift down. On the steep and winding road, this was equivalent to a death sentence. He unscrupulously switched off the entire control electronics, which had been installed by the manufacturer’s engineers for security reasons.

He was an artist in this field. Sometimes he described himself as a scientist, a scientist of killing. He rather liked the idea. It was part of his job to detect each weak spot in software programs, including those in the security system of the brand of car the Winters drove. No one would notice, even on closer inspection, that the car had been manipulated. And a carefully conducted criminal investigation would not take place his bosses would take care of this. This had always been the case with his assignments so far, he could rely on this one hundred percent.

 

“Don’t drive so fast, you're going to kill us.” Sabine laid her hand on Robin's arm.

Soothingly he put his left hand on hers. “Everything’s going to be alright, love.”

But the next moment he was wondering about the high speed. He had lifted his foot off the throttle already a few minutes ago.

“Robin, go slow,” yelled Sabine, as the car kept accelerating and began to slide.

He stepped on the brake as hard as he could, yet it did not react. He pumped his foot up and down, but he met no resistance. The heavy SUV did not slow down. When it made no longer sense to continue stepping on the brakes, Robin gave up wondering what he could do. The road led around the gigantic rocks on the right. In his head, he went through the only scenario that could possibly save Sabine.

At the same time, he shouted to his wife, “You must jump when I’m on the other side and tell you to. I'll try to slow the car down with the help of the rocks.”

She looked at him blankly.

“Sabine, did you understand me?”

Shocked, she shook her pretty head. “Let's jump together, now!“

“We're way too fast. We would break all our bones. I need to slow the car down first. Get ready. I'll follow you.”

He knew that once he would be so close to the rocks that they slowed down the car, he would not get a chance to jump out. He had only one chance: he had to stop the car.

At the risk of crashing into an oncoming car, he drove to the opposite lane. There was not much traffic on this route, the road led only up to the institute and there were not many tourists around there. He steered the long SUV close to the rocks, metal hit on bare rocks, sparks spurted.

But time was running out. The piece of road, on which there were no rocks on the left and right side, which could have slowed down the car, came inexorably closer. Until then, Sabine had to get out of the car, because his logical mind had already calculated that there was not enough time to stop the car.

The SUV suddenly became much slower perhaps his calculation had been wrong. “We're going to make it,” he thought his nerves taught as bowstrings. "Not much longer, and the shit box will come to a stop.”

Just when he wanted to tell Sabine that she should jump he saw the damn rock formation coming towards them as if in slow motion. It was too late, he could not avoid it. The car was stopped and hurled to the right lane with the stern first and was gaining speed again. Robin no longer had it under control when it started to turn. The tyres found no grip on the slippery, little trafficked roadway.

He looked sadly at his wife, who was sitting next to him as stiff as a poker. Everything happened very quickly now. He leaned over to her, trying to open her door to push her out.

“This is her only chance,” he still thought, as the car broke through the crash barriers. They could not stop the heavy SUV, which crashed into them with full force. Robin did not manage to open the door before the car went over the cliffs.

Sabine clung to her husband desperately and whispered in his ear, “I love you, dearest.”

One last time, she looked at him, thinking of her fabulous children, whom she would not see growing up. Not her own life passed by in the mind of the loving mother within seconds, but the lives of her daughters. So Sabine saw them, finishing their degree, proudly holding their diploma in their hands. She imagined the men they would marry some day and the grandchildren she would never meet. And finally she saw herself sitting on the sofa together with her husband having turned grey.

That was how they both had imagined their twilight years. Surrounded by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. Nothing of this they would live to see now. But the certainty that, their children had the chance to make the world a little better and to live a happy life consoled her suffering mother's heart.

With these last consoling thoughts she embraced her husband tightly as the big family car, which the young couple had been so proud of when they had bought it, hit the ground and exploded. This cruel act of violence put a senseless and far too early end to all their genius and far-reaching ambitions.

5. September 13th 2004 Theresa Winter

When Theresa Winter woke up this morning, she did not feel particularly good. Six months had passed since the deadly car crash of her parents. Since then, no morning had passed, where she had not gotten up with tears in her eyes.

The tears always welled up in the brief moment after waking, when the night of dreams, which made her think she had a perfect world, was over and she once again was painfully aware that no one was waiting for her downstairs. That no one had already prepared breakfast for her and her two sisters. This time of the day had always been so special for all of them.

All family members would gather around the kitchen table and discuss the events of the previous day. For this they had gotten up extra early, and after the scramble, who was allowed to use the two baths first, there was peace and quiet. Their family time was in the morning, because in the evening it was never sure if they could make it all for dinner.

Now Theresa was the one who had already prepared breakfast for Sabrina and Nathalie when the two sat down at the table. The eleven-year-old twins were no more able to get over the loss of their parents than she was. Now each morning they were forcing down their cornflakes, where once they had enjoyed their pancakes. Without having discussed it directly, Theresa and her sisters had come to the agreement that the older sister should not try to replace the parents. That would not have been possible anyway. So they had plain cornflakes with milk and a cup of cocoa for breakfast. Their sandwiches for the lunchbox they made themselves.

“We're old enough, after all,” they had said.

Too painful were the memories of the lovingly prepared lunch snacks of their mother that had always contained a small surprise. Sometimes it was a funny cut carrot or a laughing face carved into an apple. Often at break time, they had laughed out loudly so that the other pupils looked at them questioningly. Now laughter had become rare in the house of the Winters. Where in the past the house had been filled with the lively chatter of the four Winter women which had time and again caused the only man in the house to pull a wry face, there was now only a sad silence. Words of consolation, which would never have been able to fulfill their function, had been said enough. Now only time could help. Perhaps at some point it would be easier for them to bear the certainty that their beloved parents would never again sit at this table with them. Theresa could only hope so.

As every morning Theresa tried to start a conversation, “Will you directly return home after school, or do you have any other plans?”

And like every morning, the answer took just a moment, “We'll go to the library and do some homework.”

While they had buried themselves at home in the first few months, lately they had hardly been there. Her big sister was worried, because she was not sure if the twins were really studying hard at the library. But she wanted to give them time to recover, and to come to terms with the death of their parents in their own way.

“I'll go to the university today and try to catch up on what I’ve missed. I don’t, know when I'll be home again.”

The twins shrugged their shoulders indifferently. “Don’t worry about us we can have a snack for diner.”

They packed their sandwiches and had already disappeared into the bathroom to brush their teeth and then leave the house.

Theresa followed them with sad eyes. When the front door had snapped shut, she fell into a chair and rested her head on her outstretched arms. It was all too much. Being just eighteen years herself, she had applied a few months ago for the child custody of the two. For the young woman it had been out of the question to send them to a children’s home. They were the only family she had. The life insurance of her parents had almost completely gone on the installment of the house. So they had not been forced to move into a rental apartment. The rest of the money had kept them above water for the first few months. But now money had become tight and the young woman was desperate.

After a few minutes, she lifted her head, wiped away her tears and straightened her body. There was no point in despairing. She was looking forward to attend courses at the university and was glad to finally get out of the house and see something else.

Despite their difficult situation, she did not want to give up her studies. Somehow she would cope with everything. She had been granted the scholarship she had applied for, and she had also been entrusted with the child custody. She was aware that the money from the scholarship and the orphan's pension would never be enough for her and her two sisters. Maybe they should sell the big house, but the mere thought of it still hurt too much. She wanted to think about it when the time had come. Now she had to hurry, if she wanted to catch the bus that would soon set off for the university.

6.

When Theresa got off the bus at the university stop she took a deep breath, she had been missing the campus so much. She entered the hall of the main building. Without looking right or left, she rushed straightaway into the direction of the secretariat. There were brochures available, which would show her the selection of courses.

The fair-haired young man she did not notice until he barred her way. He simply grabbed her hand and pulled her into the ladies’ room, which she just passed. He pulled the rubber band from her fuzzy hair then he tore the glasses from her nose. Everything went so fast that she could not defend herself. Without saying a word, he pulled out a brush and was about to brush her hair. After she had finally come to her senses, she fended him off and escaped into a toilet room.

“Who the hell are you? And what do you want from me? Are you a hair fetishist?” Theresa's voice did not sound amused at all.

“Hell, who are you? Why are you doing this to you? Who hides such a pretty face?” The stranger sounded very angry, as if she had done something unforgivable.

Not aware of any guilt, she replied angrily, “Use your eyes! You see what I look like. I’m certainly not a beauty, and you certainly won’t change that.”

“You bet! You're hiding behind these incredibly ugly glasses ... and what you’re doing with your hair is a crime. You ought to be locked up for that.”

“Are you the fashion police or what? Leave me alone!”

“Sorry, but I can’t” Hesitantly and sheepishly he added, “I need you.”

Slowly the door opened and she looked out at him cautiously. “What do you mean by that? Why would you need me?”

He raised his hands soothingly, as if he were afraid that she would immediately disappear again in the toilet room. Soothingly, he talked at her, “Okay, I explain it to you, my boss and I made a bet. Well, he's not my boss yet, but my future boss, I hope. If I win this bet, then he wants to employ me on a regular basis. So there's only one job at stake, mine.”

She interrupted him, “Sooo what? Why should that be of interest for me”? Her tone was impatient.

“I'm trying to explain, listen to me. I am a trainee in a model agency, and I want the agency's boss to employ me on a regular basis. And I told him in my juvenile folly that I could make a model out of every girl. He asked: no matter what she looks like? And I with my big mouth: each girl, no matter how she looks. Then he sat me in his car and drove me directly to the university. Seemingly self-confident, I got out of the car, but I cried inwardly.”

Craving sympathy, he looked at her. When he saw no understanding in her eyes, he continued, “to the university, of all places. How can you find pretty girls here? I mean really pretty girls? Either there are scarecrows like you.” He looked down at her, twisted his mouth almost in disgust, and shook his head reproachfully. “How can you let yourself go like that?” Once again he shook his head then continued quickly, “Or they’re all dressed to the nines and excessively made up. Luckily I saw you. And I immediately decided for you.”

With a theatrical gesture, he pointed to the young woman his arms wide spread. And as if it were a great honour, he beamed at her.

“Oh, how good for me. So I suppose, can feel blessed.” She twisted her lipstick-free lips into a wry grin.

“I must say that your disguise is brilliant. My boss simply grinned at me. Without hesitation, he agreed with my selection. His malicious laughter still echoes in my ear. But when I'm done with you, I'll be the one to laugh. For at first glance I saw what you’re hiding under this inconspicuous façade.”

Now he fell down on his knees in front of Theresa, who was still waiting ready to jump at the door of the cabin, “I beg you! Let me prove that I’m right. Come over to me. Come, come.” He lured her like a little dog, while he tapped his thighs with his delicate artist's hands.

She only asked, unimpressed, without stirring, “What’s in it for me?”

“Let me do it first. Then we'll see if I'm right. Maybe a job will be in it for both of us.”

With almost 6 feet, Theresa was rather tall for a woman. She had to kneel in front of the mirror, so he could reach her hair with his mere 5 1/2. The young woman, who had initially come to choose a subject of study, could not believe what was happening to her the next half hour.

7.

Theresa had learned already at a young age that for some people only her appearance counted. No one was really interested in her extreme intelligence. She could not stand it, so she decided to change her pretty looks. This plan she put into practice when she moved on to grammar school. This was the first time she skipped a grade and thus started her secondary school career in the sixth grade.

Although her primary school teacher, Ms. Kreis, had recommended her parents early to allow Theresa to skip a class or perhaps two, they did not want to hear about it. Of course, they were aware of the extraordinary high intelligence of their daughter, but she should have a normal childhood as long as possible. With her intellectually gifts she would still be able to learn enough. This decision turned out to be a blessing for her still very young teacher.

“Ms. Kreis? This is not right. I can’t find a solution and that’s impossible.”

Secretly the young woman rolled her eyes. But that was not because of the clever girl that was standing in front of her almost shy, but because of herself. What had she overlooked this time when she had compiled the tasks? Theresa had spoken in a low voice so that the class in her back did not notice. For her ten years she was very understanding. The girl never pushed herself to the fore, she regarded her intelligence as a matter of course and she felt no need to prove herself. She had quietly gotten up from her chair to point out a mistake to her teacher.

The former did not doubt for a moment that the girl was correct. As it often had turned out in the past, she herself was the one who was mistaken. As humiliating as it was for her, this fourth-grader had helped her during the last four years overcome not only one hurdle in her first job as a full-time primary school teacher. Since the first class the girl had saved her day many a time. What would she have done without Theresa?

And yet every year she had advised to the parents to let their daughter be transferred to a higher class. For her, the wellbeing of her pupils always came first, even when it was to her own disadvantage. Since the parents, who were renowned physicists and intimidated the young teacher with their brilliance, she accepted that they rejected her proposal every time anew.

So Ms. Kreis tried to promote Theresa in a different way and to challenge her intellect in various ways. Among others she often asked her to go through the tasks for the next test while the young teacher let the class solve other arithmetic problems.

And once again Theresa had discovered a mistake. Perhaps she should not think so much about Mike when she prepared the tests. But she was newly in love and her thoughts just kept wandering off. For the young girl, it was time to change school so that she could better realize her potential, but she would really miss her. Wistfully she gave the pretty girl a grateful look.

 

In order to change her appearance, she got herself thick glasses, though only with window glass, as she actually did not need to wear glasses. Her hair she wore unkempt looking and in a thick braid. And right away the boys saw only the outward experience, the plain Jane. In school, they were not interested in the intelligent girl with the bad skin. Other girls covered their pimples with makeup, while she painted on her face the most horrible spots, although she was lucky enough to be spared by them during puberty.

Though her classmates were not interested in her the way boys were interested in girls, they talked to her about things they could not discuss with the pretty girls. The fewest of them had a thing for science fiction and fantasy. That is for the topics boys of this age are fascinated about. To these not very intelligent and intellectually uninterested girls the boys turned for the things they were not looking for when it came to Theresa. And this was alright with her. So it had become her second nature to wear wide clothes, which concealed her perfect figure.

If her parents were surprised about her metamorphosis into an ugly duckling, they did not show it. As scientists, the looks of their daughters were not important to them. They had healthy intelligent children and that was all that mattered to them.

“Beauty is irrelevant,” Robin Winter had told his wife. But secretly Sabine feared that her daughter had a deeper problem. But Theresa’s explanation was well-considered and this put her mind at ease. So she stopped talking about it. Deep down inside, however, Sabine hoped that this phase would simply end and her beautiful daughter would come out again.

But Theresa was happy with what she achieved with her new self. Even as she grew up, she invested a lot of time in her inconspicuous appearance.

8.

And now this young guy came along and wanted to destroy all this with his make-up utensils and his professional round brush. Who on earth carried such a brush around with him? According to her steadfast logic it was already absolutely clear to her that he had found exactly what he had been looking for.

There was a scenario in her mind, which on the one hand did not appeal to her, but on the other hand could probably be the solution to her problems.

Up to now, Theresa had devoted her young life to her intelligence and suppressed her other side. But now her beauty should be used to free her from her predicament. She could not yet make the money she needed to raise her sisters just by her intelligence, but here there was the promise for quick money.

“Come on, then! And if my beauty can help me to get what I need, I’ll make use of it.” This thought had absolutely nothing to do with arrogance. She was always honest with others just as with herself. If things were this way, so be it.

„Before you’re starting off doing whatever you’re up to, I want to know your name.” Provocatively, she looked into his sky-blue eyes.

“Andre.” His answer was brief, because he was already in a different world, and she realized that he loved his job. He got completely carried away with it. Absent-minded, he brushed back his blonde hair, which had been perfectly styled until a few seconds ago. He did not even notice how tousled they got.

Hardly half an hour later he was standing in front of her, flabbergasted. He had known she would look good, but what he saw now exceeded his boldest expectations. Her beautiful, light-brown eyes, with a hint of green, shone under extremely long eyelashes. Her beautifully curved eyebrows underlined her almond-shaped eyes. There was absolutely nothing to complain about her elegantly shaped nose, and these lips made everyone mad. But what he had done with her hair was his masterpiece. Her hair, which she had formerly worn tightly pulled back now fell in big curls over her shoulders. It shimmered in a warm red-brown colour. He took off her shapeless blouse, which concealed her sensational figure. Her perfect breasts and flat stomach were emphasized by the tank top, which was tight on her body. Her well-shaped buttocks were accentuated by tight jeans.

All he could stammer was “You should be imprisoned for hiding something as perfect as this from the world”. Now her cheeks showed an adorable red due to embarrassment.

Andre took her by the hand and pulled her out into the hall. His new boss was already waiting eagerly for the result. He was walking around the two looking for something. Then he rushed into the ladies room and continued his search there. He had kept an eye on the door all the time, no one had gone in. It was not break time yet, and the students were in their lecture rooms and did what students usually do. The hall outside the ladies room had the whole time been empty. It was impossible that someone had swapped places with her. So he stormed out of the ladies room completely stunned. Three feet in front of her, he stopped and studied her from head to toe. He circled around her several times and yes, he ogled her and yes, he was quite aware of this, but he did not care.

Then he looked at Andre with big eyes. “You’re a true artist. Even if I can’t get rid of the feeling, that you’ve taken me in. You’ve known all along what an unpolished diamond you had chosen, true?”

“Hellooo, I can hear you” she waved her arms about in front of his eyes.

In mock disbelief, Andre looked at him. “You didn’t, Matthias? It was as plain as the nose on your face.” He could not resist the temptation to tease his boss.

“I'm still here.” she waved her hand in front of Matthias’ face.

The handsome man in his thirties grabbed the delicate hand and kissed it. “Oh, I'm well aware. And I must say I am charmed by your beauty, Madam.”

“So tell me. Do I get the job with my new discovery?”

“How could I let you go? And how could I let this girl go?”

My name’s Theresa, and I think I have some say, too.”

“I'll give you everything you want.”

Now, she grinned at him cheekily.

 

Nature had been generous with Theresa, she was not only highly intelligent, but also a true beauty. And from that day, her career sky-rocketed, and soon she was a sought-after model. She and her sisters no longer had to worry about money. For the next twelve years, she was able to support herself and her two sisters with her modeling job.

9.

Today, at the age of thirty-one, Theresa had earned a huge amount of money. Yet there had been tough times as well, as it had not looked so bright between her and the twins at the beginning.

Theresa had been right with her reservations. The sisters, who once had been rather popular, had gotten themselves into trouble everywhere and with everyone. They had been on the verge of going astray. Finally their big sister had gotten help from a psychiatrist who had worked with the girls to come to terms with the traumatic event of the tragic accident. Slowly they had accepted the early death of their parents and learned to deal with their grief.

The insight into psychology the girls gained while they were in therapy inspired them to study exactly that. They wanted to help people with similar experiences and to show them new perspectives so that they would be able to overcome their grief. After completing their basic studies in psychology, Sabrina and Nathalie had chosen the University of Bonn for their further studies.

Theresa was happy she had got her life and that of her sisters back together.

 

The young woman had always been there for her sisters, but now that they had moved out, it was her turn. She could fulfill her dream and finally continue her own studies. Upon graduating from high school at the age of sixteen, top of the class, she had started studying physics. And at eighteen, she had, after two years, completed her bachelor's degree, though the degree course was designed for three years.

At the time, twelve years ago, she had not been sure yet what she was going to specialize in. Over the past several years, she had frequently been reading about quantum physics in various scientific journals. It was a quite new field of research and she had become more and more captivated by it. Especially the research work of Peter Calder fascinated her. In her spare time, she had written several papers on his field. They had been published in various journals. Due to this Theresa by now had made up her mind that she wanted to focus on quantum physics for her master degree.

All these years she had been supported by an old friend of her parents. Her American godfather Edward Barnes was nobody less than the dean of the faculty of physics at the University of Berlin. He already held the position for several years now. He helped her with her papers and with her own subjects, so that she kept up. Her uncle had not approved of her model job at all. She still remembered the heated discussion they had had at the time.

 

“Uncle Edward!” Theresa's voice sounded rather horrified than indignant, when her uncle suggested to her to place her sisters in foster families.

“No, Darling. Listen to me. I’ll support you financially, which is my job as your godfather after all. You don’t have to sell yourself like that to make money. What would your parents say? They would be horrified if I let you do that. Your talent would be wasted. Your studies are important you should focus on them and not allow anything or anyone to distract you.”

“You mean, not even my own sisters? Nothing can be more important than Sabrina and Nathalie. How do you think could I ever place them into a family or a children’s home?”

“They’re good families. You can trust me the two will be well accommodated.”

“Separate families? How do you imagine that? They would never be able to cope with that. How can you ask me to do such a heartless thing?”

Vehemently she shook her head. Then she added with fervour, “I’ll never do that. No, no chance. Going to university must wait.”

He knew he could not convince her. When Theresa had set her mind on doing something, she did it.

Resigned, he asked, "What about your studies then?" She gave him a mischievous smile.

“I've been thinking about continuing my studies on my own. With your assistance, of course.”

“I'll have to go back to Switzerland soon. You're going to be on your own. How do you think you can handle your new job your studies and your sisters?”

"There's still Anna. She wants to stay and run the house for us. She had planned to move to Munich to live with her sister, but she will postpone this project for a few years. The good soul will move in with us so that Sabrina and Nathalie won't be alone when I'm away for a longer time. She gave him an impish smile. “And as for my studies there's this new-fangled invention, Uncle, it’s called the Internet. I had hoped I could send you my homework, and you’ll go through it with me. You have a computer at your disposal, don’t you?”

“A what?” He looked at her clueless.

She stared back in disbelief. Now it was his turn to smile mischievously.

Edward Barnes could not stop her from accepting this job, so he decided to support her best he could.

 

So she had accepted the job and all those years she had waited patiently for her chance to return to the university. Now the time had come. Just in time, because this was the last course of studies in this field that Professor Peter Calder headed in Berlin. Her uncle had told Theresa that Calder planned to return to Scotland or change to a university in another country. Depending on which made him the more interesting offer.

The much-sought-after and famous professor never stayed particularly long in one place. The fact that he had lectured at the University of Berlin for six years was only due to the fact that the dean was a very good friend of the professor. It was strange, but there had not yet been an opportunity for the young woman to meet her idol in person. Edward had kept promising to organize a meal together, but there had never been the opportunity. Either Peter Calder sent his regrets or Theresa got cold feet and backed down.

Now three exciting years of learning lay ahead of the student and the time when Peter Calder would leave was still far off. Three years was a long time for a young woman. She no longer was the kind of woman who worried too much and spent lots of time thinking about the future. This she had left behind. She lived in the here and now and enjoyed life as it came.

10. October 17th 2017 Peter Calder

“And once again, a new semester starts.” With that in mind, Professor Peter Calder entered the lecture room and sighed. The room was packed with students who were looking at him expectantly. “And here they are: the little stupid lambs.”

He was not really sad about the fact that more than half of them would leave this course during the next few weeks. The for the most part young men and the few young women would inevitably be depressed and devastated. For the majority would not come up to the expectations he had. And once again he wondered why he was doing this at all.

Then he caught the eye of a student in the front row. She did not look at him in a particularly friendly way, but expectantly and keenly. He was tempted to smile, which he did not do very often. Then he shook his already slightly graying head. The almost friendly look in his face gave way to the strained expression, which was normal for him.

Already with his first words, he underlined his reputation of a hard and always frank lecturer, “I don’t intend to remember your names. Not because I’m not able to, but because I don’t want to waste any brain capacity. It’s needed for more important things I can assure you of this. Most of you will not be able to follow me and the complex subject anyway, so you will soon leave the course.” His Scottish accent was unmistakable, but his knowledge of the German grammar was perfect.

“My name and correct academic title is Professor Doctor Peter Calder. You’re free to simply address me with professor. There’s nothing much you’ll need to know about me - I think most of you will already have googled me - just one thing I want to tell you: I'm tough. If someone, and by that I mean those of you who will stay with me until the exams, fails only one of them, he or she will be out.”

 

Full of expectation, Theresa looked directly into the professor's eyes. He was around 6’1’ and rather skinny. His curly hair was tamed by a short haircut, which made his narrow face look younger. What really surprised her was that he seemed to prefer an outfit that many could be seen wearing these days when they wanted to dress a little more elegantly: a jacket over a tight fitting shirt or T-shirt. He looked very handsome in it, and the professor seemed charming to her. That is he was charming until he opened his mouth.

“What a nice guy,” Theresa thought when he introduced himself. When she looked at him more closely, she remarked, “With his black jacket over the – wow, it’s actually buttoned up to the neck - white shirt he looks rather handsome. Distanced and stiff, but it definitely suits him".

Only the top button of his jacket was closed. His slender legs were dressed in black not overly elegant, trousers. This suited him she could not even imagine him wearing jeans. He also wore heavy, shiny shoes, almost boots.

She did not know why, but suddenly a picture of David Copperfield appeared in her mind's eye. Peter Calder could also easily have performed in a magician show. “But in some way he looks cool in that outfit." She estimated him to be in his mid-fifties.

The middle-aged man gave his lecture standing in front of his students. They still had to find out that he liked to keep his hands in his trouser pockets, if he did not need them for gesticulating. Doing this he looked really smart.

In this impressive pose, the professor presented the first module of the three-year course:

The standard model of particle physics.

“If you’ve successfully completed the Bachelor's degree - and that’s what I suppose, otherwise you wouldn’t be here - and possess the appropriate access criteria, and this I suppose as well, or you would not have qualified for my course – many  universities offer you the opportunity to concentrate on quantum physics within the framework of your master program. I would advise you to do that instead of wasting my time here. If you want to specialize in the quantum theoretical aspects and actually stay in my course, you should be aware that you have not chosen an easy subject. After all, the chances are that your studies will demand a great deal of you. You should not only have the necessary curiosity, but also a fair amount of talent. If you have no talent, there's the door.“

He was standing there bold upright, pointing at the door with an outstretched arm and a long index finger. Automatically everybody followed his finger with their eyes staring at the exit. In their faces he could read that several among them were wondering if they should grab their stuff right away and leave.

When his gaze returned to the student in the front row, she was the only one to stare back. She did not knit her brows like the others did, but smiled at him with anticipation.

Now he recognized her, despite her inconspicuous appearance: Theresa Winter. He also knew her brilliant papers, even though he still was not convinced that she had written them herself, because he also was informed about her professional career as a model. But he had not yet been able to get a word out of her godfather. Edward simply did not admit that he had written the work or at least most of it himself.

“She'll probably be the first to leave my course.” Strangely enough, for a moment he felt regret. Then he thought with a shrug, “But that can’t be helped.”

If, however, she had written the papers herself, then this young woman possessed an astonishing perceptivity, which definitely astonished him.

At this moment he remembered what Dean Professor Barnes had asked him: “Peter, please be kind to her and give her a chance. She deserves it.”

He would show himself grateful if he backed the young woman he had added. Proudly, he had shoved a photograph of Theresa in Peter’s face, so that he would not fail to recognize her. Well, up to now, he had managed to avoid meeting his friend's highly praised goddaughter. He had always found new excuses so he did not have to show up at the diner dates. Only once, Edward had pinned him down to a fixed date. Reluctantly he had agreed to come. He was not too keen on displaying a forced politeness towards a stranger, either because of her social position or, in this case, because she was the godchild of his friend. Besides, the fact that she was a big fan of him, as Edward had told him, made things even more unpleasant for him. For Peter it was an absolute horror scenario to be sitting next to a young woman who was making sheep eyes to him all the time. All the more had he been relieved when she had canceled the appointment.

11.

As far as Theresa was concerned, she also thought there were still too many students in the course she would have preferred a small, intimate work group. But the name of Peter Calder attracted many students who came out of curiosity and thus lowered the advanced level of his lectures at the beginning. Theresa, who was about eight years older than the other students, did not take his words too seriously. Since she was a high flyer, it would be no problem for her to follow the lectures. She, too, could easily have worked as a lecturer, but she had not attended enough lectures and did not have the necessary certificates in the field of quantum physics.

She only noticed that her thoughts had drifted when suddenly there was silence around her. It was an almost dynamic silence.

 

When he had regained the attention of his students, and they hesitantly looked away from the door to listen to him, Peter asked a question. Unconsciously, he gaped at the dean's charge. He had noticed that she had her head in the clouds and did not listen to what he was talking about. For she only did realize that he had asked a question and expected her to answer when all the others were frozen to the point of motionlessness and she felt his intense gaze.

In a dangerously low voice and with pretended interest he asked: "Am I boring you, Miss?"

Embarrassed, she cleared her throat. "Of course, you could never bore me with your genius, Herr Professor. I just came up with the solution to a problem that has occupied me for a long time, and I made a note of it in my mind. Your mere presence seems to make me wiser. Could you please repeat the question?”

Laughter was to be heard from the numerous other participants of the course.

Professor Calder raised his eyebrows indignantly. “Perhaps you could let us take part in the problem by portraying it and explaining its solution.”

He did not want to leave her off the hook so easily.

 

Theresa did not let show that he had caught her dreaming. She pointed to the blackboard. “May I?”

He nodded eagerly. So she stood up, took the chalk, and moved down the blackboard so that it was at eye level. She had in fact been dealing with a problem for quite some time now, so this had not been a pretense. Unfortunately, she did not have even the slightest idea about the solution for the last part of her problem. So she told the students first that it was about the AEGIS experiment and what the task was, “Using the Boltzmann constant, calculate the mean velocity v¯ in the experiment and determine how much percent the initial velocity v0 fluctuates."

She briefly described the relevant experiment. Then she asked who of the students was familiar with the Boltzmann constant. Together they managed to put it up, and she wrote a formula on the board:

12⋅mH⋅⋅vv2 = 12⋅kB⋅T with kB = 1.3806488⋅10-23JK.

Of course, Theresa knew this constant by heart she had extensively dealt with it in the last few months. So that was not the problem. Much to her regret the mere presence of the renowned professor had not really increased her brainpower.

So she tried the following tactics: she turned to her audience and asked questions. She was

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: CD Sanders cdsanders2014@gmail.com
Bildmaterialien: CD Sanders cdsanders2014@gmail.com/pixabay.de
Cover: CD Sanders cdsanders2014@gmail.com
Übersetzung: Elke Keilhofer-Schmidt
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 22.11.2017
ISBN: 978-3-7438-4256-4

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