Resolution

Sometimes we make a resolution too far....

Resolution The snow storm whipped ice crystals down my neck. I ran slipping and sliding from my car to the entrance of the 13th Precinct. I shook my coat. I'd been uptown here once before, delivering papers to a senior partner. My clients came from Downtown Precincts; as a junior lawyer, I only did public defending. Someone had made a big mistake. Over Christmas I'd determined to turn over a new leaf. Hard to impress Daddy, who's a small town judge, that stepping up to big city attorney was more than just a molehill. I could taste the disappointment in his voice and was determined to change. Everyone at the firm were out seeing in New Years. I had a streaming cold and not invited, so I took the call. Being here on New Years was a step in the right direction as far as my resolution was concerned. The ancient Sarge on the desk only kept me waiting five minutes and offered me almost drinkable coffee. Both were firsts. Yup, Uptown was the goal to aim for. I was directed into a small well-lit room, the only occupant on the opposite side of a flat desk was a small, pale-faced man, about mid-fifties. He wore a white laboratory coat and neat bow tie. The glass in his spectacles were like shot glasses. He didn't look like a criminal, more like a doctor. I checked the charge sheet, Dr Wesley Newbold. So he was a doctor, charged with Federal property criminal damage. He didn't look like he'd harm a wet paper bag. "Dr Newbold, I'm Newton Makepeace, attorney." "Why are you here?" he asked, in a cultured New England voice, "I'm guilty." "Well, Doc, we can determine your plea once we've discussed the case against you. Don't give up your rights upfront until we weigh up your options." I had a sinking feeling that my resolve to improve my career might be thwarted. "I don't actually have an attorney, so you are?" "I'm court-appointed." "Ah. My advice Mr ... Makepeace?" "Yes sir." Doctor Newbold leaned forward. "Get out," he said, "go away and forget you ever saw me. Get away while you can!" "Please Doc, it's natural to feel everyone's against you. Being locked up like this does that to you," I replied, as smoothly as any proper lawyer, "I assure you I'm on your side, I'll stick by and defend you with every tool at the disposal of the most prestigious law firm in the city." I may have laid it on thick, I was full of conflict internally, virus infection, anti-cold medication and my resolve to become the best lawyer in town; still as wet behind my ears as the ink on my diploma. He considered me, intensely. It was disconcerting and I squirmed. I desperately wanted to blow my nose but withered under his scrutiny. "So, Counsellor, we have complete confidentiality?" "Of course," I replied, slipping smoothly into lawyer mode, "I'm bound by confidentiality. Anything you say won't affect how hard I defend you. Admitting guilt won't affect your plea." "Oh, I'm guilty, all right." "The charges are damage to Federal property, correct?" "Absolutely, destroyed beyond all salvageability." "I take it that you are a scientist?" "I was but no more. They'll lock me up and toss the key, no trial. I expect to be removed from here and all trace removed. I suggest you reconsider." "I'm afraid we're stuck together," I smiled, "look, cards on the table, I do all the crappy jobs. It's New Years and everyone else at the firm is on their third cocktail." "OK kid, don't say I didn't warn you." "I understand," I confirmed. "I research optics, using software-controlled single beams of light, capturing reflections. I added artificial intelligence interpretation, began getting startling results. I was encouraged and heavily financed." He raised an eyebrow, "Why do you think they'd do that?" "Military applications?" Governments always focus on military. "See, you aren't that stupid," he replied disarmingly. "Resolution," Newbold continued, "ultra high resolution, ideal for mapping targets from satellite, that's Hi-ROD." "Hi-ROD?" I asked, "I hate acronyms." "Hi-Resolution Optical Definition," he replied, "Hi-ROD accurately mapped the surface of a grain of sand to a definition beyond electron microscopes. Hi-ROD made a breakthrough, picking up transmissions from within that grain of sand." I stuttered, "Transmissions?" "Yes, artificial intelligence learns from events. He'll follow a light beam to source and expand receptors to build up pictures of objects otherwise hidden." "What did it find?" I wanted to know. "A microscopic universe, galaxies, star systems, planets, the planet surface and ... aliens." "Inside a grain of sand?" I asked incredulously. Dr Newbold nodded, "Hi-ROD looked inside a speck of dust on that planet surface. He only had a micro-second at that distance which sufficed to record yet another universe." "Really?" "Yes, but then I had to know." "Know what?" He grinned with a grim-set mouth, conveying no warmth at all. "I pointed Hi-ROD at our stars. Hi-ROD recognised a wavelength and captured the echo that beam brought with it." He wiped a hand across his brow, removed his glasses, polished them on a handkerchief. "So I destroyed Hi-ROD, all tapes, all notes. I had no choice, for sanity's sake." "What did Hi-ROD find?" "Through a chink in the fabric of our universe, blue sky." He laughed humorlessly. "Beyond that a system, galaxies, yet another universe." I sat on the edge of my seat, dumbstruck. "Hi-ROD analysed the outer surface of our universe, extrapolated from retractions stored in the light beam. Our universe was a grain of sand surrounded by uncountable grains on an impossible beach." *** I'd barely removed my coat before the doorbell in my cheap apartment rang. No, they weren't New Years' revellers. As the taser hit my chest I knew that despite my resolution, Daddy would have to learn to live alone with disappointment. The end.

Reviews

[Marie]

Great story. The lawyer was warned, though I didn't expect what happened to him.
Midboggleing...worlds within worlds...
I think you missed a word in the second sentence from the end.

[Tony Spencer]

I did Marie, thank you, I will amend.