Read Online Timecachers by Glenn R. Petrucci - Free Book Online Page B

device had, Tom envisioning the military and law enforcement applications and Sal contemplating the treasure-hunting possibilities.
    The day quickly progressed toward late afternoon. The temperature was unseasonably warm even within the deep shadows of the forest valley. As the sun climbed higher, the trail was flooded with intense beams of stippled sunshine as it filtered through the newly sprouted leaves of the treetops. Pollen bursting from the budding trees, suspended in the air and illuminated by dappled shafts of light, sparkled all around them like floating embers from a campfire. It was a springtime only event; in a few weeks the treetop canopy would flourish and the trail would be in shadows for nearly the entire day. The team basked in the glorious surroundings, reinvigorating them all after the long, snowy Delaware winter. The deeper they ventured into the forest, the further they drifted from the stress-filled urban life, as their souls embraced the warming sunshine, the fresh air, and the placid sounds of Georgia’s Chattahoochee forest.
    The team advanced southerly along Mountaintown Creek Trail as they continued to execute the first day of testing. They maneuvered through several more stream crossings and were treated to a few small waterfalls along the way. About four miles from the trailhead, they came across a natural swimming hole formed by the large boulders in the creek. Although the day’s temperature reached nearly eighty degrees, the creek water was still icy cold; too cold for a swim but inviting enough for a quick stop to dangle tired feet in the frigid water while they munched down a few protein bars for lunch. The total length of the trail was only about six miles of descending terrain, but the side trip up and down Rich Knob added about four extra miles of climbing and bushwhacking; a decent workout for their winter-softened muscles.
    Between splashes and mouthfuls of protein bars, Tom and Sal continued to laud the capabilities of the LANav. It had performed flawlessly throughout the day’s testing, impressing the entire team with its capabilities.
    Alice nodded toward Tom and Sal. “You might have to look for some more objective testers. These guys are usually critical of everything we test. Good heavens, this LANav has them acting like they can’t wait to head up the TSO marketing department!”
    “I think it’s just the “new toy” syndrome. We’re all prone to get more excited about a new product that works really well; especially one that we think would be a fun or useful item for ourselves. When you think about it though, we really haven’t seen any earth-shattering new technology yet. Yeah, the TSO LANav seems to be a tremendous improvement on our current geo-positioning tools—and I’m not trying to understate that achievement—but those types of technology improvements are typical, even expected, by our tech-loving society. The high-res SAT map overlays are really great, and so is the route finding software, but it’s actually the improvements in all the supporting technology, like satellite imagery and communications, that make it possible.”
    “You make it sound like no big deal,” she answered. “I thought you were looking at testing this product to be a breakthrough that would open new possibilities for us as a testing group?”
    “And I still think that—absolutely. It’s just that I don’t think we’ve really seen much of the breakthrough stuff so far. All of the testing we’ll be doing for the next few days will be dealing with terrestrial navigation and communications, so all we are going to see are enhancements to existing technology. Since we don’t have the capabilities to test in outer space, I’m hoping that the beacon tests will give us the chance to see some really exciting new technology.”
    “In other words, the beacon tests better turn out to be something more than just a dead-end. Otherwise we have a great time testing in the beautiful