October 15th, 2043.
Before school that Wednesday morning, I had a talk with my parents concerning Miss Daina. I asked for permission to allow Miss Daina to become a member of our family! Mom and Dad were both understandably shocked. The reason was that I was one to mind my own business. I explained what had been going on and things got a little heated at one point. Dad even threatened to take away the laptop! But I remained firm.
"You are not the same little boy who made mischief with Samuel, are you?" asked Mom. I shook my head in the negative. "Alright then, talk to her and see how it goes. If she refuses, then let it be. Understand?"
"Understood; thanks, Mom!" I grinned widely. Of course I would not simply 'let it be'. I went through high water to get this far.
Armed with their permission, I laid out my idea on Miss Daina after homeroom was over. At first, she did refuse, saying "that she couldn't possibly" and that I had already done enough. But with the help of Lauren and Tanaka, she finally gave in and agreed. She moved in with us that very afternoon. When she gave my parents her story, the whole truth might I add, they had compassion and were genuinely sorry for her. She was officially accepted into the family via the Punjabé Group Hug. She became very happy from then onwards. I had finally succeeded in fulfilling my silent promise.
October 17th.
Friday, week seven saw the 8th grade on a field trip to Lava Side Island. We were heading to the L.S. Plasma Research Center to learn about Pyrium, the resource that made Santa Pyre so rich and was named after it because it could only be found here to our up-to-date knowledge. Honestly, I was super excited about this.
Three large buses were hired for the trip. In the bus for Class 8-A, I sat near the front with Miss Daina, Lauren and Joseph. It was a little after 11:00 AM and we were just passing West Sun International Airport and entering into West Sun Suburbs. I saw a jumbo rising up into the sky.
"Isn't this exciting, Miss Daina?" asked Joe. Although she had given him and Lauren the permission, they still preferred to refer to her formally.
"Indeed," giggled Daina. "From what I've heard already, Pyrium is a scientific marvel! It's thanks to it that we have all the wonderful stuff we do today. It is even capable of easily reaching the fourth state of matter."
"The fourth state of matter!?" I exclaimed in shock. My Integrated Science class was just learning about the fourth state of matter, known as plasma. Well, plasma was more like an elevated gas state. It was the state that lightning existed in, which explained how it could move so fast; the gas state has the most kinetic energy out of the first three states. The plasma state could carry electric charge, so if it was an elevated state of gas, then its kinetic energy would be phenomenal. Oops, sorry for the physics and chemistry there, if I bored you.
Soon, our convoy was crossing Sir Midian's Bridge, which connected the mainland to Lava Side Island. I settled to look out of my window. I spotted a small pod of dolphins chasing a sailboat. "Daina, look!" I pointed them out for her.
"Oh! How cute! Good eye, Billy!" she cried, her features brimming with childlike joy. "They are so fascinating! I love dolphins!"
It was revealed to me that Miss Diego had antagonized her from her very enlistment at the school. After what happened with me and Tanaka, Miss Diego had no longer caused any trouble, actually becoming mellow and doing her job properly. Regardless, Daina was very happy in school. And moving in with the Punjabé family was the best thing that ever happened to her. After a single day of awkwardness, she became good friends with Ameera and evolved into an older sister to us. She was not even recognizable anymore. I could no longer say with surety that she was once a depressed, broken individual on the verge of suicide.
"Bill? Bill! Hello?"
I broke out of my thoughts, "Oh! Sorry, I spaced out there."
"Oh... Well, um, we have just entered Lava Isle City. It won't be long until we get to the research center."
"Oh, okay. Great!" We exchanged smiles. The bus took us to the south east of the city, even out to the edge of the island. I could see the building as we entered the parking lot.
When we finally piled out of the bus into the parking lot, I could barely contain my excitement. We were finally here. I was shaking with anticipation. "Calm down, Billy! You look like you are ready to burst!" laughed Daina.
She was joined by Matthew Kirkland and Cory Reynolds, 8B and 8C homeroom teachers respectively.
"Alright everyone, gather around and listen up," called Matthew's bass voice to order. "I want you all on your best behavior today. Especially you, Mr. Samuel Fuller. You are still in hot water." I saw Sammy cringe up. "Moving on, I want to say that this trip is not just for fun. Form groups of three and learn as much as you can."
Cory took over. "Everyone is responsible for their members. Report all problems as soon as they come up, okay? Next Monday, each group will have to make a report on Pyrium to be handed in to us, your respective homeroom teachers. That will be all. Enjoy!"
I quickly formed a group with Lauren and Joseph. I would have gone with Sammy, but then again we were in different classes. Soon, we were on our way.
At the door of the building, we were greeted by a tall man with steel grey eyes and a huge deal of silvery hair. He must have been in his middle to late forties, or even his early fifties. "Hello, hello, everyone. Thank you for coming. It is good for the youth to learn about our nation's greatest asset. Come with me to the auditorium. We will begin the presentation at once!" He turned on a heel without waiting for any of us to answer and we followed him into the facility.
Inside was not very stylish, with lots of white walls and exposed steel reinforcements. Workers, scientists and their assistants hurried to and fro with smiles. They seemed to enjoy their work. The auditorium was a good walk from the entrance but soon we were there. We piled into it and sat down according to our groups and classes. My group sat near the front rows and Daina came next to me. We began to wait. It was a large room and a little chilly thanks to the A/C units.
"Isn't this exciting, children?" asked Daina. I nodded a little too enthusiastically and my two friends sighed.
Soon, the man and a woman came onstage from the left. "Hello again, everyone. I apologize for my rudeness earlier and the wait. I am Doctor William Williky, Head Scientist of the LS Island Plasma Corp Research Center." He placed a hand on the smiling woman's shoulder. "This is my darling wife, the CEO of SP Plasma Corp Energy Inc, Doctor Julie Williky."
"Good morning, all!" She greeted us with a wave. Everyone waved back, even if they did not feel like it. She was very beautiful and attention drawing. Her hair was dark and she wore glasses. They appeared to be about the same age, so their contrast in hair colors was odd.
"I hope you enjoy your time here. Sorry, but I must go now. Please give her an attentive ear for the next half hour or so. Bye." With that, he hightailed it away. He must have been a very busy man, wanted on every square inch of the facility at once!
"Alright everyone, without further ado, let us begin." She went to a podium and picked up a stack of papers, presumably her notes. "Larry, lights! Roll the projector!" She said suddenly. The curtain behind her rolled away to reveal a giant white canvas screen, followed by the killing of the lights except over the stage and behind us. A beam from the roof projected onto the screen. I looked up to see a super duty projector. Looking back to the screen, I saw pictures. There was one of a bright red stone, Pyrium ore, and one of the atomic structures. Julie began to read her paper, "Pyrium, Symbol 'Py' and atomic number 150, is the heaviest metalloid known to man, a scientific marvel of an element. It has three isotopes discovered so far, two which are solid room temperature and the third is liquid. The first two are called Pyrium SRT and Pyrium Unstable, while the third is called Pyrium LRT. Pyrium SRT, mass number 300, is mined as an ore in the mine near SP Plasma Corp Power Plant. LRT, mass number 310, is obtained from pools in the Vermillion Resource Mines on the west. In the Boiling Swamp on Lava Side Island, Pyrium LRT can be found as well, but it is at its boiling point of 350 degrees all the time, constantly releasing Pyrium gas. The Boiling Swamp is restricted from the public."
The slide changed to show a picture of the inside of one of the Vermillion Resource Mines. We could see a worker standing at the left of an orange pool. It looked like red colored mercury. Next was a shot of the Boiling Swamp. The bubbling water was muddy red; most likely chock full of the LRT Pyrium mixed in. The Pyrium gas looked like bromine gas in a test tube, even having a reddish-brown color.
"So far, Pyrium Unstable has not been found in nature. It was only discovered by chance through experiments on SRT. Anyway, Pyrium has many uses despite its eccentric properties. It is primarily used today as an energy source. When LRT is boiled, the high energy steam produced can be used to turn turbines at high speed to produce tons more of electricity, and it releases no greenhouse compounds, making it far superior to fossil fuels, which as you know ran out in the year 2033."
A sad look appeared on her face for a moment. I wonder if what she has to say next is troublesome, I thought.
"The world was heading into chaos over that loss, and the Earth was already so hot by then." The look disappeared as the slide changed to show all the wonderful uses of Pyrium of today's world. Liquid Pyrium powered engines for cars, ships, and aircraft. SRT could form a heat resistant steel alloy with iron by adding the metal tungsten into the mix. SRT was also used to produce super long-lasting batteries by combining it with lithium for direct application in lots of different devices, such as; phones, laptops and power tools to name a few. They were specially insulated to avoid danger of strong electric shock unlike regular batteries, though. Anyway, if something ran on electricity, you could bet your bottom dollar that there was a picture of it on that slide as proof that it was either being developed or out on the market already. This presentation must have taken forever and a half to make. "Even as I speak, SP Plasma Corp is pleased to supply our nation's electricity needs at a generously cheap rate!" The long string of pictures ended to show the Industrial Grade Plasma Power Generators located at the Power Station near Saint Pyre, the capital of Santa Pyre. They were rated at a hundred PetaWatts each.
A serious look came upon Mrs. Williky's face as she took off her glasses. "While Pyrium is undoubtedly wonderful, it is very dangerous if misused. Sadly, when things were still hectic in the past, attempts were made to weaponize it. One organization of Arms Dealers, known as the Burning Solaris, made a powerful explosive of LRT. In 2037 they sold it to South Korea during the Inter-Korean war. The aftereffect of the explosion was a tremendous heat in the form of an almost solar level plasma shroud." The next slide was different. I actually had no idea what I was looking at, but it could be likened to a strange kind of fire. The picture was all wavy with a crazy miss-mash of colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, cyan, purple, silver, white and black. "North Korea was forced to give in the following day. The entire world took that experience as a very crucial lesson and began to look coldly towards the Burning Solaris. They are no longer in operation as of our current knowledge. To that, I say thank goodness!"
We all shared a laugh.
"Thankfully, more beneficial practices through world cooperation are being researched and undertaken, such as the provision of world energy. Right now, I've heard that they are developing an aircraft to fly to the atmosphere to collect all that trapped carbon dioxide and to return it to the surface, which should help in the fight against Global Warming. Alright everyone, we have come to the end. To conclude, I want to say that Pyrium is just wonderful. It is my hope that it will remain beneficial to man for a long time to come, and that young minds such as yourselves will take up the great task of further research. I thank you for giving me your time and attention." She gave a little bow as the screen shut off and the lights came back on. Applause rang out from the room.
Dr. Williky came back on stage just then. "Thank you, everyone, for listening to my wife. Now, it's time for an intermission. And then class by class, as there are a lot of you to manage, we will take a tour through the facility. Who knows; some of you may come to work here in the future! So, I'm sure that it would be great to get familiarized." Even as he spoke, I somehow knew that this was what I wanted to do. I was sure that I could excel at Chemistry under Miss Daina's guidance. "We will start in forty minutes. Refreshments can be purchased near the entrance. You might remember the bar that was there."
As Daina and my group left the auditorium with the others, I could not shake off a bad feeling in my belly. Was I developing an ESP for that sort of thing? I hoped not.
It was about 1:20 PM when we began and naturally Class 8A went first, much to the dismay of the others. Hey, it was not my fault that they had not made the cut six weeks ago; those tests were of medium difficulty. Regardless, where was I?
When I thought of a term to describe the place, state-of-the-art was my misjudgment. It was an understatement. Futuristic was more like it. They had the latest equipment. Every room we went into elicited a shower of "Ooh!" and "Ah!" along with the occasional "COOL!" from my classmates. Daina was enjoying herself as she explained what some of the machines were and did from her knowledge of Chemistry.
"Oh! That is a Fractional Distillation Column! It separates a mixture into different parts based on the individual boiling points of those parts. Did you know that long ago, a few countries of the world used giant versions of these to process crude oil?"
"Whoa!" exclaimed the more interested students, not knowing this fact since it was no longer being taught. Fossil Fuels were not relevant to our contemporary time anyway.