Chapter 7

As soon as the building was complete, Larry and Rachel began working on their studies and ‘inventions’ once again. By this time, they had a complete understanding of the generating system and were ready to apply for patents before they attempted to release the generators for sale to the public. They were still unsure whether to license the technology, sell the patents or try to manufacture the generators themselves. They were pretty certain they would not manufacture them personally because the demand would be so great, if their belief was correct, that no one plant could possibly make enough of the generators to satisfy demand. The generators worked equally as well with water power, wind power, you name it. All they required was some force to turn the shaft and they would turn out kilowatt after kilowatt of power.

Perhaps the best thing about the generators was they could easily be assembled using normal earth metals. They were not quite as efficient using earth metals because the purity was not as great as that used in the alien design but they were about 90% as efficient.

The couple hired the most prestigious firm of patent attorneys in the U.S. to research their patent and shepherd the application through the patent process. While the patent was pending, Larry and Rachel continued to work in their laboratory. The first thing they did was build several more of the generators. They installed them on every conceivable motivating power source they could envision—wind, water, even on Larry’s old truck. This brought about their next patent in fact. The flow of air through the turbine they used to power the generator generated enough power to keep batteries charged indefinitely.

They had what could be called a perpetual motion machine. After they saw how well the generator worked in the truck, they built an electric motor, using an alien design, to operate the vehicle. It was still connected to earth manufactured batteries but used the alien generator and motor for power. Can you say “infinite miles per gallon”? It used no petroleum other than a small amount of grease for the bearings and vehicle running gear. It used nothing for power other than the wind generated while the vehicle moved. Run your batteries down? No problem. Push the vehicle to where the wind would flow down the tube leading to the turbine that powered the generator and it would begin recharging immediately. As soon as there was enough power to move the vehicle, the charging rate increased exponentially. Hell, you could push it off down a hill and generate enough power to move slowly until the batteries had more charge.

The major drawback to the vehicle was speed. They could only get about 105 MPH out of it! A race car it was not. The electric motor could pull any load Larry managed to get on his small truck at the same speed however. It did lug down slightly on a steep hill as would an internal combustion engine.

Back to the patent attorneys they went. Uh, oh. There was barely a hiccup when the generator patent was made public knowledge. There was a clamor for purchase of the more efficient generators but nothing the licensed manufacturing plants couldn’t handle. The generator was, after all, just a refinement of existing generating technology. Sales took off like a rocket but no one lost their jobs or income because of it.

When the patent for the automobile incorporating the generator and the new, more efficient electric engine became public once again, the fecal matter hit the rotary air movement device. The car companies screamed, the oil companies screamed, the service station operators screamed. Congress became involved. After all big business kept them in power and big business was threatened by this damn upstart engineer in Podunk, Ar. This had to be nipped in the bud. Nearly 40% of the U.S. economy depended on the status quo for the automobile industry and petroleum industry as it was.

If this new vehicle was manufactured there would be an almost immediate reduction in gasoline and oil sales. The car companies would either go broke or have to license the new technology. The auto companies would have to drastically retool. Oh, woe. No, this could not be allowed to continue. It had to be nipped in the bud RIGHT NOW.

The first break in attempt at Larry’s shop—well at the research facility of the now incorporated New Age Electronics Company—was recorded three days after the patent application was submitted. No one was surprised the U.S. Patent office leaked information like a sieve. The corporation and their attorney’s were prepared for the eventuality. They expected break ins and industrial espionage. The only surprise was the speed with which the competition began their information gathering.

Papers, television, the internet began discussing the patent and vehicle five days after the application for the patent was filed. Larry filed his first lawsuit on the sixth day to quash the information flow citing industrial secrets. The media countered with FOI suits. Larry was called to testify before congress. Two bills were written to prevent the manufacture of the new vehicle. They cited the fact there was no data available on the safety of this new technology. Larry’s attorneys countered with data for normal electric vehicles using the same batteries and braking systems.

Ultimately, the patent was awarded but manufacture of the vehicles was prevented until the lawsuits were adjudicated. Of course, during the time the cases were wending their way through the courts, the old line vehicle manufacturers were busy trying to design their own version of the vehicle. Many came up with a good design but unfortunately, they did not have the technology to make them truly dependent only on their integral generator and engine. They had to use Larry’s technology and it was protected by patents! Earth engines just were not efficient enough to run continuously without external charging. The good thing was they could run for five to seven hundred miles before drawing the batteries down to the point they needed outside recharging.