(no subject)

Fourth Arrival at Milliways + Four Days
Milliways

Last night's sleep: six hours, uninterrupted and with minimal kicking and fussing. Pretty sure this has something to do with Peter.
This morning's events: put up a notice asking for people to help me with the mapping project, talked with Peter about how things've gone in his world, met a girl from New York who really wants to help with the map, met some other people as well. Lots of stuff.
This afternoon's events: Ate.
This evening's events: Got dinner. Figured out approximate needs for PKE beacon project. The Bar was kind enough to provide most of them for me, but I didn't think to ask for selenium. Turned out I didn't have to- would you believe Q showed up again? Q! And he was helpful! I mean, not in the 'you got this part wrong' kind of way, but just pointing out a couple of things- testing venues, transdimensional capability, stuff like that- things I was already considering but hadn't quite gotten to yet. That was pretty funky. So was the fact that he just handed me a box of selenium, elementally pure as far as any test I can come up with can tell.

He says he's helping me because I'm one of the brightest humans he's met. I'm just going to sit here and stare at the wall for a while while I consider that. Wow.

Oh, and he also says the planet's gonna go to hell in the later half of the twenty-first century. I remember Encounter At Farpoint, so I know what he's talking about, but I'm not particularly worried about that aspect of things. I don't think Gene Roddenberry was a precog in my world. On the other hand, it doens't hurt to make sure my nephews and anybody else I can think of grows enough of a spine not to turn into a bunch of McCarthy-era peer group capitulators when the revolution comes, just on general principle. We've got enough to deal with without people turning on each other that way. I can't believe New York's even close to that bad yet, but still, why take the chance? Might as well head it off at the pass.

I think I need to go do something else now before I let what Q said go to my head. Handball out back, maybe. Assuming there's pavement next to the building that I can use.

(no subject)

Fourth Arrival at Milliways + 5 Days
1/2 Hour to Tim Hunter's Funeral
Milliways

The funeral service is in half an hour. I'm going to be attending once I get the bar to make up something more appropriate in the way of clothes. I can't very well go in T-shirt and jeans, but the old uniform... no. Even if I hadn't cut a piece out of it. Just no.

I've done all that I can on the beacon. I got Eska to dope the americium for me. I got the quantum valence compensator to quit complaining. Every individual subsystem seems to be working. I just need to test the device once all of this is over, and then put it into operation here. I can't think of a better place from a purely sympathetic point of view- I mean, not only is this place the nexus of more dimensions than you can shake a laser pointer at, but it's where he died. You can't get a stronger tie than that, except possibly for the place of his birth. So it has to be operated here.

I know that I should be thinking about the funeral or something, maybe trying to come up with something to say, but right now I'm afraid the majority of my gray matter is tied up with something else that keeps coming back to me: if this works. If this device works. What it would mean, and I don't mean from a personal point of view.

If this device works- even if it doesn't make Tim reappear or guide him back through the dimensions or anything like that. If it just manages to put out a genuine signal... then this will be the first purely man-made, non-biological, non-ectoplasmic, non-telluric, WHATEVER source of psychokinetic energy. This machine is designed to emit PKE. If I actually get it to work, it'll be the first... it'll mean that it's possible to make machines that can put off the kind of energy that used to be the province of spirits, psychics, and magic users. Machines.

Machines I made.

I feel like I'm looking at three minutes to Trinity.