Read Online Kinsella (Kinsella Universe Book 1) by Gina Marie Wylie - Free Book Online
Authors: Gina Marie Wylie
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waiting for them, its rotors turning slowly. “Have you ever ridden one of these before?”
“All the time,” Stephanie told him with a grin.
“Well, it’ll be a short flight,” he told her as they boarded.
“Captain, you can be as mysterious as you want. I hate waiting. I don’t like holidays like Christmas; I don’t like anniversaries or birthdays. If I’m going to get a present, I want to know what it is now; I’ve never been fond of artificial delays. I think I got that when I was a kid, watching some space launch and they said something about a ‘planned hold.’ They lost me right there. That’s just PR fluff. You figure the nominal time, factor that in your countdown, and at the critical time, if it’s not ready, then you hold.”
“It’s a difference in approach,” he told her, keeping his voice mild.
“Well, we’re approaching Burbank. Are we going to Lockheed?”
“Yes,” he said, deciding not to bother trying to dissemble further.
“Cool! I’ve always wanted to see what they’re doing.”
“They might be interested in what you’re doing, too,” he told her.
She give him a big grin. “Would that be telling?”
“I don’t think so. You’ve applied for a patent, right?”
“Well, not me personally. Caltech has, Benko and Chang have.”
“Tell me, Professor, will Benko freak if I do that wallet stunt on him in front of the President?”
“I doubt it. He thinks it’s a rich person/peon issue. He thinks that I look down on him because he’s poor.”
“Do you?”
“What he does with his life is his business, as what I do with mine is mine. If he wants to trade half of a can of baby formula for lottery tickets that will never amount to more than icing on a very large cake, no matter how much he wins, that’s his choice.”
“You don’t hold him in very high regard.”
“I’m a physicist, not a map-maker. He needs a road map to find the way to the bathroom.”
“You’re critical of him because he’s not imaginative?”
“Heavens no! Few people are. Most people, though, would cheerfully admit they don’t have a creative bone in their body. He doesn’t have a clue that there’s nothing in the cupboard.”
“And Johnny Chang?”
“His imagination is limited to the horizon. His father owns a successful real estate and construction business in Singapore, and Johnny has been spending a lot of money talking to him. He has, I believe the phrase is, ‘lawyered up.’”
“And you, have you done the same thing?” John Gilly asked.
She grinned. “The first day, I called the best patent attorney in the country, and on the second I was sounding out the faculty patent committee about alternatives. Our department head hates my guts and he ran the application around to a couple of his cronies. Ditto Benko and Chang’s paper, for peer review. As a result I know they didn’t understand it entirely and didn’t understand the implications, or just didn’t care.
“The papers came back marked as technically adequate, and they estimated the license fees from the patent at about a half million dollars a year, ten years out.”
Captain Gilly started coughing. “And you didn’t tell them that they were wrong?”
“They are full professors of physics and most of them have been since before I was born. If I tried to tell them the time of day, they’d have dismissed it unless they could check it for themselves.”
He shook his head as the helicopter was coming in to land in front of a large set of hangers to one side of Burbank airport.
“What can I tell these people? I don’t want to step on any toes back at your home office,” Stephanie asked the naval officer.
“The project proposal you have submitted is secret. After the meeting next Monday, expect it to be leaked six ways from Sunday, although the leaks will start Wednesday. This President, like Bush the Second, is big on making sure no one
“All the time,” Stephanie told him with a grin.
“Well, it’ll be a short flight,” he told her as they boarded.
“Captain, you can be as mysterious as you want. I hate waiting. I don’t like holidays like Christmas; I don’t like anniversaries or birthdays. If I’m going to get a present, I want to know what it is now; I’ve never been fond of artificial delays. I think I got that when I was a kid, watching some space launch and they said something about a ‘planned hold.’ They lost me right there. That’s just PR fluff. You figure the nominal time, factor that in your countdown, and at the critical time, if it’s not ready, then you hold.”
“It’s a difference in approach,” he told her, keeping his voice mild.
“Well, we’re approaching Burbank. Are we going to Lockheed?”
“Yes,” he said, deciding not to bother trying to dissemble further.
“Cool! I’ve always wanted to see what they’re doing.”
“They might be interested in what you’re doing, too,” he told her.
She give him a big grin. “Would that be telling?”
“I don’t think so. You’ve applied for a patent, right?”
“Well, not me personally. Caltech has, Benko and Chang have.”
“Tell me, Professor, will Benko freak if I do that wallet stunt on him in front of the President?”
“I doubt it. He thinks it’s a rich person/peon issue. He thinks that I look down on him because he’s poor.”
“Do you?”
“What he does with his life is his business, as what I do with mine is mine. If he wants to trade half of a can of baby formula for lottery tickets that will never amount to more than icing on a very large cake, no matter how much he wins, that’s his choice.”
“You don’t hold him in very high regard.”
“I’m a physicist, not a map-maker. He needs a road map to find the way to the bathroom.”
“You’re critical of him because he’s not imaginative?”
“Heavens no! Few people are. Most people, though, would cheerfully admit they don’t have a creative bone in their body. He doesn’t have a clue that there’s nothing in the cupboard.”
“And Johnny Chang?”
“His imagination is limited to the horizon. His father owns a successful real estate and construction business in Singapore, and Johnny has been spending a lot of money talking to him. He has, I believe the phrase is, ‘lawyered up.’”
“And you, have you done the same thing?” John Gilly asked.
She grinned. “The first day, I called the best patent attorney in the country, and on the second I was sounding out the faculty patent committee about alternatives. Our department head hates my guts and he ran the application around to a couple of his cronies. Ditto Benko and Chang’s paper, for peer review. As a result I know they didn’t understand it entirely and didn’t understand the implications, or just didn’t care.
“The papers came back marked as technically adequate, and they estimated the license fees from the patent at about a half million dollars a year, ten years out.”
Captain Gilly started coughing. “And you didn’t tell them that they were wrong?”
“They are full professors of physics and most of them have been since before I was born. If I tried to tell them the time of day, they’d have dismissed it unless they could check it for themselves.”
He shook his head as the helicopter was coming in to land in front of a large set of hangers to one side of Burbank airport.
“What can I tell these people? I don’t want to step on any toes back at your home office,” Stephanie asked the naval officer.
“The project proposal you have submitted is secret. After the meeting next Monday, expect it to be leaked six ways from Sunday, although the leaks will start Wednesday. This President, like Bush the Second, is big on making sure no one
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