Ultraviolet Catastrophe(20)
Author: Jamie Grey

She tapped on her tablet and then nodded. “I think we need to keep researching the historical piece while some of us start to tackle the actual experiment. Lexie, why don’t you go back to the library? Max, you can help me today.”

He glanced at me before nodding, and I could read the disappointment in his eyes. I was kind of disappointed, too. I had a feeling it was going to be a long, lonely day in the library.

Amy sauntered in wearing a cute sundress and sandals. She trailed her fingers down Asher’s arm as she sank into the seat beside him. “Hey, guys. What’s up?”

My heart did a weird little twist in my chest. They made the perfect couple — gorgeous and brilliant. Were they together? I stared down at my tablet and pushed away the twinge of disappointment. I wasn’t interested in him like that, no matter how nice he’d been to me last night.

Asher yawned again. “What do you want me to do, Z? Or do I get a free day? I could use a nap.”

Zella shook her head. “Oh, no, you don’t get out of it. I need you and Amy to tackle the computer models and design. We are going to blow Dr. Avery away with this project.”

Asher saluted. “To the lab it is.” He got to his feet and slung Amy’s bag over his shoulder before holding out his arm to her.

Amy slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow with a giggle. “Such a gentleman.”

“Not always,” he said with a wink.

I tried not to vomit.

Zella got to her feet, pointedly ignoring me. “You coming, Max?”

He paused to smile at me. “I’ll catch you later, Lexie?”

“Of course. Have fun, guys.” My whole team left the room together, and I sat there like a loser. So much for things starting to look up.

8

I spent most of the day in the library again. It was quiet, and nobody paid much attention to me. The panic was back, and I had a dozen different windows open on my computer screen as I searched for answers. I was going to show all of them that, despite the drugs, I wasn’t stupid. I could make it at QT.

First up, I needed to figure out what exactly an ultraviolet catastrophe was. I’d read the definition yesterday, but I still had no idea what it meant. I did a few more online searches and found some good descriptions. Probably a good place to start our paper.

I chewed on the end of my pen. Still didn’t know what it meant, but at least I had something. I stared at the graph beside the definition. The catastrophe predicted that, as the wavelength of light got shorter, the intensity would continue to go up, emitting radiation until it reached infinite levels. Okay, it was starting to make sense. I did a little more searching.

Max Planck was the guy who’d come up with the solution to the ultraviolet catastrophe back in 1900. And that solution was the starting point for the whole branch of science called quantum physics. His research had formed the basis for Einstein’s later work with photon theory.

I pulled together a few more pages of research on the ultraviolet catastrophe and its history. It amazed me how small a community of scientists it was back then. The same names kept popping up: Planck, Einstein, Millikan, Rosen.

Rosen. Could he be related to Asher? I scanned the library to make sure no one was watching and did a quick search. Really, I wasn’t being a stalker; I was honestly interested, especially if his grandfather had worked with Albert Einstein. He’d always been a hero of mine. The Einstein action figure I’d had to leave behind in Ohio had been a birthday gift from Mom, meant as a joke, but I’d secretly loved it.

The first link confirmed it. Nathan Rosen, Asher’s grandfather, had been Einstein’s assistant at the Institute for Advanced Study in New Jersey, and there, they’d come up with a mathematical solution for a type of wormhole connecting distant areas in space. The Einstein-Rosen Bridge. There was also a reference to the Manhattan Project.

I skimmed through the rest of the article and noticed the names John A. Wheeler and John von Neumann, who were also physicists. Same last names as Zella and Max. They’d all worked on the Manhattan Project. I was willing to bet that wasn’t a coincidence at all.

I knew Oak Ridge had been created as a secret town where many of the Manhattan Project’s most important scientists had lived and researched. To have all of those descendants together again seemed a little strange.

“What kind of secrets have you uncovered today?” Asher asked, dropping into a chair beside me. He tugged something out of his pocket that looked like a mini remote controller.

I clicked the browser window shut so he wouldn’t see my research. I did not want him get the wrong idea. “Nothing too exciting. A few more days and I should have the UVC stuff pulled together.”

He grabbed my pen and balanced it on the edge of the desk. “Cool. I’m sure Z will be relieved to have it done.”

I leaned back in my chair. “Where’s Amy? Did you guys finish your computer models?”

“We made some pretty good progress. She had a meeting with Avery this afternoon, so I figured I’d come here and get something done for a change. Unless you’d like to distract me?” He gave me his heart-stopping, crooked grin.

I shook my head and tried not to roll my eyes at him. “Somehow I don’t think Amy would approve.”

“Aw, don’t be so serious, Lexicon. I’m just flirting with a pretty girl — there’s no harm in that. Besides, Amy and I are just friends.”

“I don’t think Amy would agree. And what did you just call me?”

“What — Lexicon? You know, a dictionary of terms. It suits you, what with your performance yesterday with Zella.”

Heat flooded my cheeks, both at the fact that he’d called me pretty and that he’d actually witnessed my little display. “What’s your nickname then?”

He fiddled with a button on the remote before smiling slowly. “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“I can give you some suggestions if you’re having trouble…”

My mouth opened and shut. His blue eyes blazed into mine, and I swallowed. Hard.

Then he sat back, breaking the tractor beam of his gaze. “How about I give you some time to think about it?”

I shook my head, mortified and yet strangely fascinated by the dimple in his cheek as he grinned at me. Pull it together, Kepler. The guy’s just flirting. You can handle this. “What does Amy call you?”

“Ah, that would be telling.” He winked, pressed a button, and the pen on the edge of the table disappeared.