Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 'FTL' Faster Than Light The Beginning By Timm

   The beginning of a parody of a different sort.

   Copyright (C) 2005, 2006 Timm All rights reserved.  Use by pay sites is
prohibited.  Do not repost.  All other uses require the written permission
of the author.  Downloading for personal reading enjoyment is encouraged.

   Edited by TeNderLoin

   Authors Notes: This is a totally re-written and expanded version of the
original story, "FTL".  It has been re-titled as "The Beginning", for the
simple reason that it is the original story that started the FTL series. 
Please enjoy this expanded and refined work.  Constructive criticism is
always appreciated.  Whinges, complaints, and idiocies will be filed in the
circular file, where they belong.

   My thanks, in advance, Timm.


Synopsis:
This is the short version of the development of earths first FTL drive

system.  It is told in the spirit of 'the back yard inventor'.  Corporation
and governments can achieve great things.  However, it is the driving force
and spirit of the individual, which creates some of mankind's greatest
break throughs.



   Rubbing his hand over the armrest of an old brown leather chair,
professor James (Jim) O'Neal Flowsman sat at his desk early one evening. 
Taking a moment to look around his apartment he let out a sigh.  He took
comfort from the familiarity of the things around him, even as he marveled
at their age and wear.  Still, it gave him a sense of comfort.  His home
had not changed much in over thirty years.  Ever since he had gotten his
current position at the college.  He reflected for another moment.  The
place looked as old as he felt.  The furniture had last been replaced, when
he had first moved in.  He shook off his melancholy feeling, and returned
to the task at hand.  With any luck, he would be done grading his graduate
student's mid-term test papers by 9 that evening.

   The memory of grading papers back when he was a teen, crept into his
thoughts, that brought a smile to his face.  It had been so many years ago,
when he had been a child prodigy.  His abilities were such that he had
received his PHD in theoretical physics at 19 years of age.  Compared to
his current age of 83 years, it seemed like yesterday to him.  Now he was
considered the foremost authority in his field, even if his theories were
considered 'crackpot' by the rest of academia.

   'Odd' Jim thought, 'even science is ruled by politics'.

   He took comfort in the fact that the same group of 'politically correct'
scientists also once believed the world was flat, and was the center of the
universe.  It was science based on popular vote.

   'Some day' Jim thought, 'another man will prove my theories to be true.'


   If only he wasn't so old, now.  After all, real technological break
throughs were showing up on the market, daily.  Personal PC's with the
power to crunch numbers, fuel cells that could power household systems,
lightweight plasma display units... These were just to name a few.  Somehow
he just knew that the fuel cell was going to be the real break through,
though.

   Jim however believed in the truth of his theories.  Most of all he knew
they were correct.  Jim dallied in his thoughts once again; he remembered
the time he argued them with the great Einstein himself.  That had been
nearly 60 years ago, now.  He had almost won that debate, if only he could
have tested his theories.

   Science is based upon observations, first and foremost.  Jim's theories
could not be tested, until mankind got into space.  With the exception of
his anti-gravity theories, that is.  With that theory, it was the current
level of technology that was holding the testing back.  The power needs to
prove it were astronomical compared to the technology available.

   His memory of the two hours alone in debate with Albert Einstein, had
caused Jim to lose a lot of respect for the man who had been his idol for
many years.  There was, after all, nothing special about relativity.  It
was only a small portion of his theory.  The thought then passed into Jim's
mind.  Maybe that was it.  Maybe he had inadvertently challenged the man's
ideas.  Who wouldn't hold close their own ideas?  Understanding finally
came to Jim, 60 years later.

   It was a shame that life was so short.  By the time one figures most
things out in life, one runs out of time to practice what has been learned.
It is the same old story repeated over and over throughout the ages.  Then
Jim's thoughts returned back to his theories.

   Outer Space.  Professor Flowsman had tried to reach it.  He had gone so
far as to get a job with the fledgling NASA agency at the beginning of the
space race.  However, NASA's 'political science' had labeled his theories a
waste of time.  It was the 'Einsteinian curse'.  The solution 'E=MC²', was
one possible answer that Jim saw in Einstein's equation.  Everybody else
considered it to be the only answer.

   NASA was only interested in hard math for their rockets.  Jim gave them
the hard math they asked for.  It was child's play to him, considering
thrust to weight vectors on a piece of paper.  Escape velocities were
simple matters of calculus, who needed a physics professor when any second
rate math teacher with a BS degree could calculate it all out.  Jim grew
more and more disillusioned with NASA each day he worked there.

   Why use rockets when anti-gravity would have been so much more
efficient? Politicians could be so short sighted some of the time.  From
Jim's perspective, it was 'all of the time'.  Then again, history taught
that over and over, as well.  The only good politician Jim could remember
in all his years had been that Timothy Ford fellow.  Well there were
exceptions to every rule.

   Jim eventually lost his job when he pushed his idea to warp space as a
way to travel faster than light.  That, plus the fact that they had made
him the scapegoat for the Mercury launch failure, had ended his NASA
career.

   It was probably the best thing to happen for him at the time.  Nobody
there took him seriously, anyway.  NASA's sole interest was for the hard
math that facilitated getting into space, now.  Jim's other theories were
far too advanced for them.  No one wanted to listen to him about
anti-gravity systems, anymore than they wished to hear about warp drives.
Jim had become convinced that mankind was its own worst enemy.

   The only high point in his stay at NASA had been the brief relationship
he'd had with Wendy.  God!  He remembered each physical encounter he'd had
with her, as vividly as he did his first love, Ann.  Ann had been his
teacher and his thoughts drifted to when he had been thirteen years old. 
He smiled to himself thinking of Ann as he graded the test papers before
him.

   His thoughts returned to Wendy.  He had always wished Wendy had joined
him when he left NASA.  She didn't, but that was something he lived with.
She had made her own choices in the matter, and that was something he could
live with.  Of all his relationships over the years, Wendy had been the
longest running and most satisfying.  She had been as intelligent as she
was beautiful.

   Jim was a good teacher.  He liked teaching far more than 'playing
politics' with the 'brown nosers' at NASA.  Therefore, Jim was still
teaching at the age of eighty-three.

   He still had to grade his own papers most of the time.  He had just
reached the end of the exam stack.  He had only two more test papers left,
and then he could sleep for the rest of the night.  He checked the clock on
the wall; surprised to see it was only 8:20 pm.  At least it would mean a
good night's sleep for him.  There was plenty of time to rest this night.
Not too bad, he thought to himself.

   He still wished he had that one assistant to help with this.  Of course,
that young fellow had acted more like a son, than an assistant.  Jim
briefly tried to recall the young man's name.  It had been one that he
should have recalled, as the young man always reminded him of himself.  He
sighed, returned his attention to the remaining tests.

   "Ah," he said aloud, "Jennifer Roddenberry's paper."

   Then he remembered that Gene fellow, and wondered if there was some
relationship there.  He began to examine her paper and noted she had even
included an attempt to answer the extra credit question.  Well, he had
promised an 'A' for the year, for anyone that solved the equation
correctly.

   The Professor sat bolt upright when he realized that it was the only
question she had tried to answer.  All three pages of her mid-term exam in
Creative Astrophysical Mathematics were nothing but his pet question.  He
looked at the first page.

   'Someone looks like they have a chance,' he thought.

   By the time he got to the bottom of the first page, he knew he had found
a new assistant, after all these years without.  He would offer her the
position in the morning.  There was maybe one out of every 5,000 students,
who could get this far into solving the problem correctly.

   He looked at the second page.  His heart skipped a beat as he got to the
bottom of the page.  She had figured it out!  The answer, or dare he hope
for answers, on the next page should tell him how far she had taken it.  He
turned the page and scanned it.  Three possible answers, he looked at the
first one.
Equals: E=MC²

   Ahh!  The theory of spatial relativity.  Good he thought he would have
to give her that "A" he had promised.  Now, what were the other answers she
came up with?  His hart skipped a beat as he stared in amazement.
Equals: C=M³*E (or: Speed = Mass Cubed, times energy).
"My lord!  She's got the formula for warping space!" he said, then

wondered what the third answer could be.  He looked at it.
Equals: T=CE²
(Noted possibility for more answers.  Request private discussion about

answers, and about the possibility of Jump Movement)

   The aged doctor was up all night looking at that last equation.  His
student had not only solved for the 'reality' of relativistic speed, she'd
solved it for FTL as well.  But even more amazing to him, she had
introduced him to the possibility of 'jump', and the theory behind it.

   The math was correct, but it was something he himself had never seen
before.  He tested the math over and over again.  He was giddy with
adrenaline overload.  He even had a painful erection in his pants (which
was definitely worthy of note, at his age!).  Soon it was morning, and
almost time for him to go to his first class of the day.  That's when he
finally looked at the last line on the page.

   It was a fourth answer!  It was the one that he had hoped he would see
some day.  It was plainly and clearly stated.
Equals: 'reality' = infinite number of answers.

   'My God,' Jim thought, 'she does get it!'

   Jim grabbed the stacks of test papers and left for class.  He hadn't
slept all night, but he didn't even think about it.  He was overcome with
joy at finally finding another person who understood his theories, even
more than that, the math behind them.

   Something was nagging at him as he stepped out in to the chilly fall
air. However, he wasn't able to put his finger on it.  It was soon
forgotten in his excitement, as he rushed to the university.  His mind was
racing through the possibility after possibility as he drove.

   He was so distracted, that he even failed to note the leaves changing
colors as he drove.  It was most uncharacteristic of him to not take the
time to appreciate the natural beauty around him.  He didn't even realize
he'd run a red light.  Fortunately for him, no one else noticed it, either.


   As class began that day, he started by having one of the department's
grad students hand out the mid term test papers.

   He began by saying in a most excited tone, "Good morning, students! 
It's a wonderful day for your test results."

   He was noted for his dry humor, though some would feel he was making fun
of them.

   He continued, "Every now and then, a student will surprise me, and will
actually understand what it is that I endeavor to impart into those young
minds of yours."

   His statement was met with a few low moans of agony, as students checked
their grades.  Jim was used to it.  They had all passed, but some, only
barely.  Some would even retake his class so that they could bring their
GPA back up.

   Jim was infamous for refusing to grade on a curve.  He figured that it
was either a case of you learned the material or you didn't.  Besides,
mathematics didn't really allow for anything but a correct answer.  Jim
looked out at his students making eye contact with many of them.

   Then his eyes met the confused look in Jennifer's eyes.  He smiled
briefly at her, which only added to her confused look.  He decided it was
time to take pity on the young woman.

   He then said, "The individual that did not get a paper returned should
come to my office after the class, because I have a job to offer."

   The relieved look on Jennifer's face turned to a smile as Jim watched
the recognition of what he had just said sink in.  The rest of the class
time was spent going over the other equations on the test.  When the class
time was completed.  He watched as the students filed out of the room.

   Jennifer was walking with another girl.  Jim looked in amusement as both
of them looked excited.

   'Well, her friend is happy for her,' he thought.

   Jim had packed up his brief case and then he headed to his office.  To
his surprise not just Jennifer there, but her friend was, as well.

   'Oh, yes,' he thought, 'Annette something-or-other.'

   That's when it dawned on him that he'd forgotten even to look at her
paper.  Darn he muttered to himself, that's what the nagging feeling was
when I left this morning.

   Nevertheless, he ushered both of the young women into his office.  Jim
was wondering how best to handle this situation.  They both took seats
across from his desk, both were smiling with the expectation that they were
about to get jobs, and the professor explained that he had messed up.

   He had not graded the final paper, he told them.  he was so excited by
Jennifer's paper, that he had forgotten about it.  Jennifer's smile was
from ear to ear about this.  Oddly, the professor noted (with one raised
eyebrow) that Annette was beaming as well.

   'Well,' Jim thought, 'I might as well look at it right now.'

   He said as much as he opened his briefcase.  Jim pulled both exam papers
from it.  He took the second one out and read it.  To his shock, Annette
had also answered only the bonus question.

   However, Annette's paper had four pages, not three.  He turned to the
last page and looked.
Equals: Infinity = all possibilities.
He turned back to the third page.  It was full of about 20 notations. 

FTL, Warp, Hyper...  and Time Travel?

   He looked up and said "Time Travel?"

   "Yes, Professor," Annette said.  "If you enter folded space in a warp
field, you will, effectively, be traveling forward or backward in time.  Of
course the direction and quantitative dilation of time is pronominal to
factors I have not yet been able to put into theorem."

   His eyebrow went up again.

   He said, "Are you related to that author, oh what was his name, Ray
something or other?"

   Annette giggled, "Yes.  Grandfather Gene said your eyebrow went up just
like that, when he was talking to you.  I guess we now know for sure where
he got the idea for Mr.  Spock."

   Jennifer giggled, "I always thought he was joking when he told us that
story!"

   The professor looked at the two of them as though perhaps they were from
Mars.  He had only watched the TV series once, and then only because he had
been paid for his opinion on the 'video special effects' of the 'warp
drive' used.  He had after all been consulted on the effects of a warp
field.  Well his error of confusing Ray with Gene was at least
understandable, as they were both giants of Science Fiction.

   He stared into the eyes of one girl, then the other for a long moment.

   Both girls started to laugh as they spoke together, "Sorry, Professor,
we are cousins."

   The professor nodded, as if that explained everything.  Then shook his
head to clear it.

   "Do you two study together?"

   The girls spoke together again, "Not since sixth grade."

   He looked at them again, the question plainly visible in his eyes.

   "We used to get into trouble, because the teachers would think we were
cheating.  We didn't, of course, but how else do you explain both of us
coming up with the same wrong answer, derived in the same way?"

   He nodded his head in acceptance.  That was a main concern when children
did something like that.

   "So, tell me, what are your majors?"

   "I am going into space engineering," Annette said.

   He smiled thinking that she already had the equivalent of her BS and
maybe her Masters, at this point.  That could be quite an asset in the
future.

   "I am majoring in advanced mathematics," Jennifer said.  "You could say
I was hoping to be a professor myself, some day."

   He stifled the laugh he felt.

   'You poor child,' he thought.  'You don't know the problems you are
going to face, now that you see the truth in this formula.'

   "I see.  Well, I did promise you jobs.  Even with my blunder, I really
can use two assistants."

   The two girls asked "On what?"

   "Warp was always my favorite," he said.  After a pause, he added,
"Annette, can you build a prototype for testing?"

   "Depends on what kind of power source we have to run it."

   "Whatever power source we use, we can't test a warp device on the
planet," Jennifer said.

   "Yes," said Jim, "Why don't the two of you look at this."

   He reached into his brief case and took out the drawing of his latest
brainchild.  Basically they were the plans for a spacecraft, powered by a
powerful anti-gravity system.

   The girl's mouths dropped open in stunned comprehension.  The professor
had worked on this problem for years.  He was farther along than he had
ever let on, to anyone else.

   "Amazing," said Jennifer.

   Annette chimed in, "Run the fuel cell's power into the warp core, and
make it work like a huge energy capacitor.  Then use the power, as needed,
for the anti-gravity drive units.  I am impressed."

   "Think you can build it?" Jim asked.

   "I can probably come up with something, if I have more information."

   "Yes, it will take years.  I am old, now," he said as he laughed at a
thought that went though his mind.

   "What?" Annette said.

   "It was nothing."

   "Please tell us what was so funny?" Jennifer pleaded.

   "Well, maybe.  But please don't laugh too hard at the lecherous thoughts
of this old man."

   Annette crossed her heart, and Jennifer lifted her right hand as if in a
pledge of honor.

   The professor smiled and said, "Well, it's like this...  I have waited
most of my life, to find someone that could understand the mathematics, and
understand my life's work.  Now, I find two very attractive 'someones' on
the same day, yet I am far past the stage where I could pass on my genes."

   The girls cracked up, and the professor was now embarrassed.  The deep
reddening in his cheeks was plainly visible to the young women.

   "So, you think you are too old to have kids?" Annette asked with a
peculiar grin on her face.

   The professor nodded yes.

   "I doubt that," Jennifer added.

   The professor smiled at them, even as a blush crossed his face.

   "I kind of like the idea.  I mean to have the child of perhaps the
greatest mind of the 20th century?  The idea has some real appeal to it."

   "Yes," Jennifer concurred.  "I could see the benefits for the children,
clearly.  It would be an opportunity I would not be able to pass up."

   Jim stared in disbelief at what he was hearing.  He was no virgin, but
he also had never married.  The thought of having sex with young and
beautiful women in their midtwenties had a predictable affect on his
libido, and a painful one at that.

   "Am I to take that as a 'yes'?  I mean that is that you are both
offering to have my children?"

   The women smiled and looked at each other, as if communicating
telepathically.  They nodded a 'yes' to each other.

   Annette spoke first, saying, "It would be a great honor to both of us to
be allowed to bear and nurture your children."

   Jennifer just smiled and nodded her head 'yes', as well.

   Jim thought about how in the world he was going to keep up with two
women, much less one.  He got a look of real concern on his face before he
spoke.

   "I am sure that the honor will be all mine," he said.  Then he added, "I
only hope I live though it."

   The girls giggled at his comment.

   Jim then thought about the problems that would face the three of them if
one or both of them would become pregnant at the same time.  The scandal at
the college could destroy their chances for a future, not to mention
costing him his career.  He spoke again.

   "Perhaps it would be best to put this off 'till after you graduate in
your fields."

   Jennifer asked, "Why is that?" with a puzzled expression on her face.

   Annette was quicker in coming to an understanding.

   "I think he is worried about the scandal it could cause."

   "Oh"

   Annette, "So I guess that means we are going to have to keep him healthy
until the time is right."

   Jennifer, "I am on the pill, why do we have to wait?"

   "So am I," Annette countered.

   Jim gulped.  He became lost in thought, totally oblivious to the
conversation-taking place before him.  It was unreal to him that they would
want to have sex with him for any other purpose other than getting
pregnant.

   Jim's thoughts corrected himself, 'Well prostitution is not the case
here.'

   The fact was, that for the last twenty years, that was the only way he
had managed to have sex.  He just couldn't bring himself to spend time
wooing little old ladies into his bed.

   Besides, most 'little old ladies' could be quite boring the rest of the
time.

   He briefly recalled one of the young prostitutes.  She had actually been
a student at the college.  The scandal when she became pregnant could have
been worse.  It least he wasn't the father, or so he hoped.

   "Will that be acceptable, Professor?" Annette asked.

   Jim shook his head to clear his thoughts, then he replied, "I am sorry.
Could you repeat that?"

   With a smile Jennifer said, "Of course.  We are asking if our new
positions as assistants would make a good cover for 'taking care' of you.
And, well, you know... practicing making babies?"

   "Umm, yes I think it would work." Jim muttered in disbelief.

   "Good" the girls chimed together.

   They were then making plans to keep Jim healthy, for a very long time to
come.

   Jim thought the whole conversation surreal.

   ************

   Once the college staff became aware of the help the two new assistants
were providing Jim, they became concerned for his aged health.  The college
president himself paid Jim a visit at Jim's home, one day.  They all
thought it was a close call for the three of them.  Jim's pants were really
not all the way back up.  The president dismissed it as little more than
proof of Jim's failing heath, and a need for assistants.  It made it
simpler for him to address reducing Jim's class load.

   The President had no idea how well he was simplifying plans for the
three of them.  Jim would reduce his class load over the next two years. 
He would go into retirement, at the same time the girls graduated.  From
there the three of them would move to his parents homestead, just north of
Omaha Nebraska.

   There, the real work of proving the theory could begin.  That, and the
process of passing on his genes.

   ************

   Two years passed quickly.  The move to the old homestead was made
without difficulty.  Jim thought back to when he bought the Morton
structure.  He remembered the salesman when he ordered the building.  The
man had thought Jim was senile by ordering something like this at his age.
It was huge after all.  It was one off the biggest prefab steel buildings
made by that company.  At over 240 feet long and 98 feet wide, it had a bit
more than 23,000 sq feet of floor space.

   Now that it was complete, it was the largest structure on the property.
The salesman still thought Jim was nuts, among other things, but he keep
his other comments to himself.  The girls convinced him that their
'grandfather' was making sure they had all they would need when the
property passed down to them.  He had to wonder why a 180-acre farm would
need so much square footage for equipment.  However, his sales commission
overrode his mouth, and he stayed silent.

   Jim and the girls step into the oversized 'shed', and looked around. 
Their footsteps echoed off the walls as they walked across the extra thick
concrete floor.  The view inside was almost breathtaking.  You could almost
put a football field inside.  Jim even remembered the tutoring he had done
for the football team back when he was in college.  Then his eyes were
drawn to the ceiling.  The aluminum rafters he inspected had cost extra,
but the reduced weight would be more important later on.  Annette was
remembering the look on the concrete guy's face when he was told the depth
the floor was to be poured to.  He had argued that they should use piers to
get below the frost line.  He couldn't understand why the 'old man' had
been so insistent on solid no shift construction.  It was nothing but an
over sized barn, after all.  Jennifer was the one that convinced him,
saying that they would pay a bonus if it was done they way they wanted,
with no further questions asked.  The man swallowed his comments many
times, after that.  He really needed that bonus, even if he thought the
concrete was being wasted.

   Jim spoke, "So!  This edifice of blue steel walls is were we will build
it?"

   "Yes, Dear," the two young women chimed in.

   It would take years, and Jim's body was in no shape to do the welding
himself.  That, and he worried about the girl's love play.  He was doing an
admirable job of keeping up with them, but he wondered at the cost to his
health.  On the other hand all the 'horizontal exercise' he was getting
might, just be helping.  Then, an inspiration hit him.

   "You two realize that we could pay someone to do most of the assembly
work.  It could save us years in getting this ready."

   "Yes love, we are working on that.  Annette had a good idea about
pre-fab parts.  Most can be ordered off the shelf.  The ship's outer hull
will be the main issue."

   "I know an alloy which just what we need to maximize the antigravity
system."

   Jennifer asked, "Does it have to be the whole ship?  Can't we just cover
the bottom?"

   "No, Love.  It has to be the whole thing.  That way the internal gravity
can be controlled, as well."

   They all thought of the same thing at once.  Each had their own vision
of what they could try on each other, in zero-g.  The trance was broken
when Jennifer spoke.

   "When we get the ship in space, and the prove that warp works, I would
like to take a little side trip."

   Jim moaned, "Do I get three guess?"

   Annette, "You will only need one."

   "That's what I thought, you want to see a double star, and Alpha
Centauri is the closest system.  Not to mention it being a double."

   "Can we?" the girls chimed in together.

   "I don't know.  I don't think the government will let us keep our toy
long enough for a second trip into space."

   "We could plan like we were going to do it on the first trip," Annette
said with pleading in her voice.

   Jim sighed and looked at the two of them.  He knew at that moment, that
he wasn't going to be able to say no to them, ever.  The looks on their
faces made his knees week.

   "It wouldn't hurt to try that," Jim offered.

   His reward was instant and complete.

   Two horny women attacked him in the middle of the barn.  The rest of his
body turned to putty in their hands as the duo double teemed their man. 
Jim melted into the moment, as the girls kissed every square inch of his
now nude body.

   Jim had not really had that much oral sex in his life.  Most of his
relationships never lasted long enough to develop that diversity.  It
served to remind him of his age.  His thoughts became lost the sensations,
as his two girls laved his manhood with their mouths.



   Annette cooed in Jim's ear as the three lovers lay in bed the next
morning.  It was time to get up and get ready.  This was the day they were
going to get the wedding license.  They had been working hard on the warp
core, and the wedding, for months.  The wedding only made sense.  One of
the women had to take his name, so that she could handle the financial
affairs of the household.  Jim was not getting any younger.

   However the girls were conspiring to change that.

   That was plus the fact that a few months back, Jim's 'magic bullets' had
struck twice in the same month.

   They had waited to get pregnant, until after they both had their
degrees. After all, having two pregnant women showing up at the same time,
and by the same elderly staff member...  Well, it would have caused far too
much of a ruckus at the university.

   Jim recalled the day that young co-ed prostitute showed up pregnant.  He
had worried that he might be the father since he had used her services on a
regular basis.  The university had gone ballistic over her pregnancy, or
was it the fact that she was a pregnant prostitute who was attending their
college that was their problem?  The lack of a clear memory of the event
was troubling to Jim.  However, it was quickly forgotten.  In the privacy
of the professor's parents' family homestead, it was the right time for
children.

   A few days later, the girls were working on a chamber to contain the
warp field.  The professor was resting on the couch.  This was the
aftermath of a sexual double-team by the 'dynamic duo'.  The results of the
pairing of minds and bodies had come up with new ideas and uses for the
formula.

   The professor was not really aware of the girl's conspiracy.  They
basically left him exhausted all the time, from their love play.  Play that
had reached new heights with their pregnancies.

   If the charging of the warp field the girls had constructed worked
correctly, it would have an interesting side effect, which could be
measured here on earth.

   Jim had also come up with an oddball theory within the anti-gravity
drive.  The power it required was enormous, but Annette was sure she could
build it.  If it worked, it would free the ship's drive, to work against
atoms found everywhere in space.  Then the drive would function
independently of large gravitational bodies.  Annette had teasingly called
it "Jim's impulse".  None of the three of them realized that with a few
more modifications, it would become just that.

   ***********

   Jennifer had cornered the Professor in the bedroom that morning.  She
had dropped to her pregnant knees, and had given him a blowjob.  He
couldn't say no to either of them, even if he knew it was killing him.  It
was too much for a man of his age and health.  He hoped that he would at
least live the four more months it would take for him to be able to see his
children's birth.

   Annette, had put the finishing touches on the warp coil, and connected
it to the hyperchamber.  She awaited the arrival of her cousin and the
Professor.

   "So what is with the chamber over there?"

   "Oh.  That's a sleep chamber for you, for when you get tired."

   "So why is it connected to the warp coil?" Jim asked with his right
eyebrow raised.

   "So that if someone sees it, they will think its part of the
experiment," Jennifer said as she entered.

   "I know I tire easily, girls, but we don't have to hide it like this."

   "Well, maybe we just didn't want to take chances."

   An hour later, Annette got frisky with the professor.  She dragged him
into the hyperchamber and had her way with him.

   It was a long, slow, passionate mating.  He fell asleep in the chamber
shortly afterward, thinking that the hormones from their pregnancies, were
going to kill him off very soon.

   Annette left the chamber, and Jennifer switched on the power, charging
the warp field coil.  The coil took every bit of power the fuel cells could
feed it.  It would have taken the power faster, if their source had been
able to supply it.  However, the planned ship would not allow room for more
of the behemoth sized alcohol-based fuel cells.  With a kilowatt rating of
one hundred 'K' each, they already had more power than a large atomic
reactor.

   "What if this doesn't work?"

   "Then nothing will happen, and we will have lost nothing," Annette said.
"But if it works..."

   She trailed off as the warp coil became fully charged.

   Jennifer and Annette placed their hands on the switch at the same time.
They kissed each other for luck, and closed the circuit.

   Power raced, as the warp coil fluctuated reality inside the chamber.

   "One year per minute, correct?"

   "Approximately.  We have to stop right at 60 minutes," Annette said.

   "I know.  Any more than that, and we could end up playing 'parents'...
to him."

   "That might be fun," Annette said, "but I think we would miss his dick
too much."

   Jennifer rubbed her swollen belly and said, "Don't worry, little one. 
You will have a father not a brother, to help raise you."

   "I just hope Jim isn't too mad at us, it's not like we tested this,"
Annette said.

   "Oh, I don't think we have to worry about that too much.  He should be
quite distracted with other things."

   "Other things?"

   "Yes!  Us attacking the new SuperStud's body."

   The two giggled like schoolgirls.  Then went back to monitoring the
progress of the warp field.

   ***********

   Jim Flowsman awoke in the hyper-chamber feeling energetic.  In fact, he
felt really good!  He felt better than he had felt in years.  He thought
the girls just might be having a positive affect on his
eighty-five-year-old body.  He reached for the chamber's handle to open the
door, and froze.

   His arm?  Was that his arm?  He stared at his hand.  The wrinkles and
liver spots were gone.  He shook the feeling off, and told himself that he
was imagining things.  At his age, there was no telling what his mind could
come up with.  He opened the chamber door and climbed out, looking for his
clothing.  The girls were staring at him with their mouths gaping open.

   He looked at them and asked, "What?"

   "Um, I am afraid we kind of misled you," Annette stuttered slightly.

   "Misled me?"

   "Yes," Jennifer said.  "You see, the warp field coil actually was hooked
up to the hyperchamber."

   "I don't understand."

   "We powered up the coil while you were sleeping."

   "Oh?" Jim contemplated it for a moment.  He felt fine, fact was he felt
wonderful.  Then he asked, "So what?  Did I grow a second head or
something?"

   Annette handed him a hand held mirror.  He took it.  With growing
concern, he looked at himself in the mirror.

   "Oh... my... God!" he said as he stared at his twenty-one year old face
in the mirror.  He uttered, "How?"

   "The equations predicted a wave form that would accrue in the charging
of the warp coil.  It had the potential to cause cell rejuvenation, by
affecting your DNA's programmed memory, regarding the age of your body."

   He looked at them and asked, "Are you two sure your not really aliens or
something?"

   They laughed at him.

   "No, Studly," Jennifer said.  "We just wanted a father for our
children."

   Jim stared at them, and then said, "So you created a 'fountain of
youth'?"

   "No," Annette said, "the wave can only affect the cells once."

   "So you're saying I can't repeat the process?"

   "That's correct," Annette said.  "It will never affect your cells again,
no matter how many times you are exposed to it."

   "You could say that we found an anomaly in the warp effect, and
exploited it."

   "Ok, so now what."

   "My turn in bed, Studly!" Jennifer cooed.

   And it was her turn, for sex and more sex.  After all, Jim's rejuvenated
body had far more stamina than any of the three had ever imagined.

   The wedding day came.  The parents in-laws and relatives that attended,
couldn't believe that Jim could be retired, much less be a professor.  The
two girls grinned from ear to ear with the knowledge of knowing something
the others didn't.

   Fortunately the parents-in-laws didn't make an issue of it being a
polygamous marriage.  They had talked with the girls frequently, and had
been aware of their tendencies to experiment with each other.  Somehow,
having a man in the picture, and their pregnancies, tended to negate the
unorthodox marriage.

   Only one of the women was legally marring Jim, the other was only
dressed the same.  The priest that performed the ceremony was a Mormon. 
Although he didn't normally perform such a ceremony outside this faith, the
contribution to his personal retirement fund had persuaded him to make an
exception.

   This type of wedding was just not an issue to him, anyway.  He had
performed dozens of similar unions over the years.

   ***********

   The years passed after the marriage and the triple (not a 'couple +
one', but a true 'triple') had six children, split evenly between the two
women.

   They finished the prototype warp drive, and anti-gravity system,
secretly.  They went on to build a ship around it.  Their anti-gravity
system worked off of the charged warp coil, using the coil as a
monumentally huge capacitor.  They planned on using the anti-gravity
effect, to get into orbit.

   Money was never a problem in this endeavor.  Jim had plenty of it from
his eighty-plus years of bachelor life.  His inheritance took care of the
rest.

   The day finally came, and the switches were all thrown.

   The whole family, including the young children, was on board when the
ship lifted from its hiding space.  The prefab metal barn fell apart as the
ship moved though the roof of the structure.  This was aided by the fact
that all but a very few roof screws had been removed, prior to lift off. 
Jim thought it was a sham in a way.

   For the last twelve years, the barn had hidden the real project at the
homestead.  It had worked perfectly for that purpose.  After all, who would
think there was anything odd about a large barn on a farm?  It was located
in Nebraska, after all.

   At T+8 minutes, they were safely in orbit.  The hail of communications
started from all over the planet.

   "Who are you, and how did you get in orbit?"

   The aged NASA agency even had the gall to order them to land and
surrender.

   Jim laughed and answered, "NASA, if you wanted me to obey your orders,
you shouldn't have fired me, fifty some odd years ago."

   The warp coil was brought up to full charge.  The duration for the first
warp test was set to one full second.  Jim had calculated a warp factor of
seven.  Jim had explained to his children, that warp factors were
exponential, not geometric.  That being the case; warp one was twice the
speed of light, warp two was four times the speed of light, warp three was
eight times the speed of light, and so on.  Therefore, the predicted speed
of warp seven would be one hundred twenty eight times the speed of light.
Jim thought that more than that would not be safe, as a first effort.

   The children all looked at their parents with pride.  Jim, Annette, and
Jennifer together pressed the button to engage the warp field.  With the
circuit closed the powerful electro magnetic core came to life.  A
miniature singularity was born in the containment field.  This singularity,
once formed, was what warped the space around the ship.  It literally
changed the rules of matter and energy within its field of influence.  This
is what allowed the ship to move though space faster than the speed of
light.  The field literally changed the 'speed limit', around the ship. 
The balance, fore and aft in this field, is also what propelled the ship.
It was like being pushed though space by a creating a vacuum in front of
the ship and letting normal forces of physics push on the rear.  That is an
oversimplification of the process, of course.  However, it is technically
correct.  Once the process was started the optical effect was quite
stunning.

   The flash was blinding to those on the ground.  It was as if a star had
gone supernova, momentarily, at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere.  At
first, ground controllers and defense agencies around the world thought the
ship had exploded.  Thirty hours later they found it.  They homed in on its
IFF beacon, out near the orbit of Saturn.

   "I think they have found us now, my husband," Annette said.

   "Took them long enough."

   "Um, before we go back and give away this technology to them.  I have a
small request."

   "Don't tell me, let me guess.  You want to go to Alpha Centauri, first."

   Jennifer smiled.  It had been her dream, ever since she'd sat on her
grandfather Roddenberry's lap, and he had told her tales of boldly going
forth and discovering new and strange things.

   The kids clamored that they wanted to go and see it, too.  Well, that
was their mother's influence on them.

   'What the heck,' Jim thought.  'It will only take three days to get
there.  The ship is equipped with food, air and water for a month or more.'

   Jim ordered, "Charge the warp coil."

   Annette said, "Thank you."

   Jennifer added, "Yes, thank you, Husband."

   The kids agreed with, "Thank you, Dad!"

   "I take it you have the course plotted."

   "For years, Dear."

   "The pre-recorded message is now being transmitted," Jennifer said.

   "What does it say?"

   "Oh, we just borrowed a little from our grandfather's literary works,"
Annette said, her tongue firmly in her cheek.

   "We are telling them that the Enterprise is going on its first shakedown
cruise, and we will see them in a few days."

   "Enterprise?"

   The kids laughed at their father.  They had seen all the episodes many
times.  Besides, Jim had promised that that the kids could name the ship.

   "Well, then," Jim said to his wives, "in the manner of your grandfather:
'Engage!'"

   With that word, mankind's brightest minds left for the stars.  What they
found caused them never to come back.

   Earth did receive a message, four years and nine months later.  They
were told, in no uncertain terms, that the people of Earth were not welcome
in Alpha Centauri controlled space.

   It would take the scientists of planet Earth over a hundred years to
understand the plans and formulas left behind.

   By that time, the Flowsman family had grown.

   With the help of the people of Alpha Centauri's fifth planet, the FTL
drive and power systems were perfected.  As well, many more things above
and beyond even the wildest dreams of NASA's meager imagination were
discovered.

   The Flowsman family moved on, creating their own place and their own
legends, among the stars.



   Author's Note:

   This is a work of fiction.  It is not intended to represent reality. 
All mathematical formulas expressed in this story are nothing more than
flights of the author's imagination.

   They are not really the keys to discovering FTL... faster than light
drive... are they?





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