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oscilloscope started moving in regular tandem.
    Up to this point, their calculations had all pointed to finding a single rhythm, one vibratory pattern that could be used to convert the wasted energy into usable power. But every attempt they had made at isolating the proper frequency had proven a failure.
    The calculations had haunted them both. They were so clean. So right .
    Then five weeks earlier, Vasquez had traveled to Sofia’s office in the maquiladora. The industrial zone often had service when the city’s phone service was down. Vasquez had called to announce that their goal was not, in fact, one frequency. It was a harmonious multitude .
    Which was impossible, of course. The calculations became unmanageably huge. They had been through all this before.
    But Vasquez had applied a new derivative, one drawn from recent developments in quantum physics and based upon the same principles now used to forecast weather. Vasquez had claimed a breakthrough was within their grasp and begged Simon to come.
    Simon asked Harold, “When did he make this video?”
    “The night before he died.”
    On the computer, Vasquez moved in close to the laptop. His weary features came into vivid clarity, and he offered the camera his famous grin. It was impossible one person could possess so many teeth. Or look so purely happy.
    “I hope,” Vasquez said, “that you are watching carefully.” He leaned away and hit the switch.
    All the lightbulbs at his feet lit up. The light was dim, but unmistakable.
    “What . . . ?” Simon shifted Harold’s laptop around so the screen faced him directly. “He did it?”
    Harold merely smiled.
    The lightbulbs grew brighter and brighter. The light became so strong, the laptop could not handle it. The entire screen turned white.
    “Armando called the device Ilimitado .” Harold’s features glowed from more than the screen’s light. “Unlimited.”
    The camera revealed a portly man humming to himself and dancing in unbridled joy. Then there was a series of bangs, fast as popcorn in the microwave. Then the image vanished, and the computer screen went dark.
    “What just happened?”
    “All I can tell you is, there was a power outage that struck all of Ojinaga. Possibly all of north Chihuahua state.”
    “Because of this machine? Come on.”
    “The timing is too coincidental. And you know what scientists say about coincidence.”
    “Okay, first of all, the machine was not plugged into the mains. And second, the laptop camera has a backup battery. But it went blank too.”
    “I’m only telling you what happened,” Harold replied. “Phones, televisions, computers—everything went down.”
    “Impossible.”
    Harold shrugged. “You’re missing the most important issue here, son.”
    “Which is?”
    “Armando could have reached out to anyone with this invention.”
    Simon pretended to study the blank screen. “He was so close .”
    “Listen to what I am saying. You are his last great hope. He reached out to you. Don’t let him down .”
    The knock on the door startled them both. Juan poked his head inside. For once, the kid’s happiness was extinguished. “Dr. Harold, the van is here. The police, they have brought us another one.”

Chapter 9

    Sofia drove her van along the Texas highway. As they approached the Presidio border crossing, the U-Haul truck filled with donations moved in tight to her bumper. These days, she often served as unofficial guide and hostess to the orphanage’s American sponsors. Newcomers often looked askance at her, asking themselves how this beautiful woman survived as an orphan in Mexico. And why she went back at all.
    The answer was, she lived for the orphanage.
    In her rearview mirror she saw hands point out the truck’s windows. The church group gaped at the border fence. The line of black steel girders marched off in both directions and disappeared into the wavering heat. The tall girders were spaced so tightly that not even a large dog could fit between