Chapter 33

When I left the house and went back to town I stopped off at the lab. Edgar showed me the ruby laser in operation. There was more dispersion in the beam and Edgar said, "We are doing other crystals too to get the strongest results. The chrome works great. What else can we use?"

"Pick something and try it. I want your name out there too and not just as the guy that built the device for me. I do have two more kinds of crystals to make then we are going public. We could get more done but I think others are working on the same things we are."

"What do you want?"

"Make the next YAG with erbium not neodymium. Better go around fifteen percent this time. I expect this to be in the short infrared range. I don't see this as much of a problem to make. When you have a dozen extra units made start from scratch with neodymium-doped gadolinium gallium garnet. We can call this Nd:GGG. I am not sure but we may get some x-rays here so be careful."

"This good for a dentist or a doctor's office?"

"It will burn through you. I need this for the very short wavelengths. Some things can be made but we need very small groves or exposure when we build some specialty chips."

"What kind of chips you thinking of?"

"Light emitting diodes have been around a long time. Researchers just put the wires from a battery across the crystals and some gave off light. I want to make some diodes that produce laser light."

"I can get these two jobs done in a few weeks. When do you want to start on the diodes?"

"When our lasers come out there will be more excitement here than a naked woman running through an outdoor revival meeting. I need my new house and the guesthouse fixed and the furniture moved back. The apartment building needs to be completed and the workers shifted over to the other unit. Here I need completely new lasers with their own crystals. Can't have you just shifting crystals. You have to finish my lens system and we start to cut metal for me then for demonstration. Finally I need to go help Charley get his unit working."

"You have to write the patents too."

"You're right. Finish the patents first. It is going to take me weeks to write them. How about aiming for the end of July?"

"I can do my part easy enough and Charley just needs to tweak it somehow but he doesn't know exactly how."

The apartment building was finished in a week. Grass and trees had even been put around the structure to make it look like a home. People from all around came over to see the building and the individual units. From the notoriety and the interest I knew I could rent the units for a high price if I wished to do so. There were already sales of counter top units that had to be shipped to Toronto and elsewhere.

Two men had gone to John's home to measure it. I could have done the measuring while I was there but other things like the size of the doorways had to be considered. It was Mrs MacIntee that was consulted though for the choice of counter tops and even the door fronts.

Mr Brown and his family were doing well. The mother was now helping her two men while her daughters worked at the carwash. I had a leaf blower now but switched products on them and gave them the pressure washer to build. I was aiming for over three thousand pounds but the lower pressures were better for some things. They got the high-pressure hose and the fittings but needed to make or buy everything else.

I worked with Charley too. Something was wrong and I had no idea what it was. Our laser was for continuous use and had the gas being discharged while fresh gas was allowed to enter. A very good pump assured that the pressure was kept very close to a vacuum even with fresh gas coming in the other end.

As a test, we got it to work with a static gas but not when it was moving. Charley was happy with the minor success and worked on to find the answer while I did other jobs. The other work this time was the patent on the static gas unit. We had to still work on varying the percentages of the gases and then the pressure.

Edgar was having his own problems. I had brought erbium when I made my first order but not the materials for what would one day be a 'Star Wars' type weapon. The best thing I could do financially was to have the Star Wars' book published even if it was at my own expense. The laser and the book would help sell each other just like the cartoons and the dolls.

We had a lot of electrical engineers and I put them to work on the portable tape recorder. They had the cassette now and the patented Congdon A and B circuits that used to be Dolby. The heads and chassis had not been cut and I wanted to do this as a practical application of the lasers.

Edgar gave me the ruby cutting head but I had no pump to drive it. The mechanical engineers had been working on the pump for a while now and I directed them to just use a diesel engine for the first version.

As the end of July drew near I knew we would not have enough done. Charley got his laser done and I had the patents but there were just too many other things to deal with.

James put on his old hat and visited the last two houses that I didn't own on that strip of land I was after. He invited the Carsons and the Polfrys to a private tour of the apartment building. One unit had been filled with furniture and all the appliances to show what it looked like. Photographs of the insulation and the plumbing showed them that they would save a lot of money living here just in heat.

When the day was done the two families agreed to take a two-bedroom unit each. I bought their houses and they paid rent to me. The rent was high but it was still lower than what the apartments were worth. They agreed to keep the rent a secret too but I knew it was a false hope. In four days I had five more of those that had owned the homes now want to move into the apartment building with their friends and old neighbours. In a week the remainder of those renting their old homes would get a chance to move in. After that my own people would take over the building.

The cousins jumped at the offer and Edgar somehow got the furnished unit. Their families were already on the way.

During the he first part of August I took Paige's family and my own to the guesthouse. They spent hours going through it, trying to find out all the new and interesting things. Jack drove his car and Jane drove one she borrowed.

I said to Jack, "This house is owned by NADI. I am now involved deeply with this corporation. My research in laser research is very important to the corporation. This property is now mine to use as I see fit." There were no lies but I tried to still keep the information from him that I ran NADI.

"That's great. This is the most beautiful home I have ever been in. The land around here is so beautiful I think only a millionaire could own it. Are you going to move soon?"

"I am but I am not going to live in this house."

"Your not? Jeff, this house is so much better than what you now live in. My advice is to move as soon as you can before somebody else gets it."

"I don't want to be far from Paige."

Paige had heard and said, "Take the house Jeff. I can still visit. This is my dream house in almost every way."

I said, "Dad, Mom, I am going to live someplace nearby. I want you to have this house."

Nora said, "You earned this house, not us. It wouldn't be right to take it."

"Mom, you are not going to be carried. You pay the same rent as you did for your old house. All you have to do is cut the grass with the tractor provided and plough the snow in the winter."

They were both very quiet and I was sure their minds were going a mile a minute. Jack said, "What's the catch?"

"You make the payments like before. You keep the house in good shape but since it is completely new inside that will not affect you for many years. You use the tractor and the mower to cut the grass and in the winter put the blade on and plough the roadway."

"That's it?"

"That is all the corporation desires. They want the house kept up as well as the property. There is the added expense of keeping the tractor and the equipment running but that is not much."

Paige and Jennifer were jumping up and down saying, "Take it! Take it!"

Jack said, "What do you think Nora? The house is everything we ever dreamed of and more."

Nora said to me, "Do you honestly think we should take this?"

"There is a saying that opportunity only knocks once. I think you should grab this deal as fast as you can and hold on tight."

She had a big grin and nodded to her husband. Jack said, "We'll take it." The family was jumping up and down but my own family was not as happy. I think they wanted this beautiful house too.

"We'll see an officer of the company this afternoon to sign the papers. I wanted to show you my house now if I may?"

"Sure."

We drove up the winding driveway and past a cut off to my house. We got to the road then I directed the way to make it as confusing as possible and in ten minutes we came back by another road and turned into my driveway. The first fork went to what was Jack's new home and the next fork went to my house. The next fork went to the carriage house.

We got out and admired the last structure. It looked like a nice home but with most of the ground floor taken up by large and very ornate doors. I unlocked the thick door and invited everybody in. I showed them around and we saw two luxury apartments.

The girls liked it but saw that it was not large enough. They then were shown the large expanse for cars with a new cement floor. I pointed out an overhead hoist for removing engines.

Jamie was quite sympathetic for he said, "Wow."

I went back to the living area and unlocked another locked door and I walked down the wide concrete steps. The bottom area now had brand new machines for working metal, ceramic and a lot of other things. Some test equipment was here but I knew I could make far more accurate machines later.

They then saw the same kind of view as they had from the other house. This one faced east on the hill and it was difficult to see either my home or Jack's from this position. The view was compared but Jane said, "This is great Jeff. You can work here and make lots of nice things but there is not enough bedrooms."

"Oh, there's more. Do you want to see them?"

"I'd love to."

"This is just my area and I thought you should see this first." I led them to the next locked door and into the tunnel. Lights were very bright here and the tunnel wide enough to drive a car in. We climbed a small grade and then into another very large room. This was the area for large gatherings. The ceilings were twelve feet high and any supports were actually stone columns. I had to stop because nobody was following. They were just staring at the decor.

"I thought you wanted to see the number of bedrooms."

Jane came hesitantly because she was trying to remember or understand everything around her.

There was a large bar with mirrors, glassware and lots of bronze. Small meeting rooms were off to one side with all the needed furniture. A commercial style kitchen that would be assisted by the one on the main floor if the need arose was to one side. The wide steps made a gentle curve and climbed to the main floor.

The rest were staying with me but only just. I went through the house slowly and now said nothing. There was a grand piano the equal of John's in the music room. Brocade chairs and couches were everywhere. They had all been recovered in new fabric. The floors were hardwood but there were some small rugs here and there.

The library had been restocked but desks were in the room to accept computers when they became available. Everybody spread out now and I just took a seat and opened a book I had not read yet.

Individuals came back once in a while but they left me alone as they continued to investigate. I heard every few seconds Jamie's voice as he screamed at some new and important discovery.

It was Maggie that finally got me. "Jeff whose house is this?"

"It is owned by NADI. I get to use it. Did Jane find enough bedrooms?"

"I lost count. How many are there?"

"Nine large ones at one end but there are two that could be turned to nurseries very quickly."

"Are you going to live here?"

"Along with all of the rest of you."

"This house is so big the only thing it reminds me of is the school. It is frightening in its size."

"You will get used to it very quickly. You get a separate bedroom now but the beds are all king size and you can have lots of guests."

"Where is my bedroom?"

I knew she was hooked now and I held her hand and walked with her up the wide marble steps that had originally been here. We walked down to one end and I pointed to a very large room with a specially made bed. "This is the master bedroom. I sleep here and there is room for a lot of guests."

I went down the hallway and said, "This room is for Paige if we have guests over and they are looking at our house."

At the next I said, "This one is for Jamie and again if he is not with me. The rest of the rooms are for anybody but those at the far end I want to keep empty."

"What for?"

"If Jane brings home a man she can go down there for more privacy. The same is true for all the rest of you."

Maggie started to shake she was so happy and then started moving her feet. She finally had to hold me and then kiss me as hard as she could without hurting me. She then abruptly ran off.

Everybody else came running up to this level and Maggie gave the three bedrooms that were allotted then ths the stipulation for what was to stay vacant but she called it the guest room. Everything was phrased differently because of Jack. Nora knew some things and perhaps suspected others but actually knew little more than I made love to her daughter.

I escorted everyone out to a balcony from the master bedroom and pointed to my shop. They all looked around then but in a moment Jack came to me. "I see part of a house over there."

"You should, it is the one you are going to live in."

"But — we — ours?"

"When we left your home there was a driveway to the right. It came to this house."

"But — "

"Let's go back the way we came, but out the front door and above ground this time."

I closed the doors and we left by the front door. There was no unsightly garage but there was a driveway for deliveries and a walking path. We took the path and found the carriage house. We walked through the trees beside the drive back the way we drove. At the first cut off I said, "This leads directly to the house but the building is hidden by the trees." We stayed on the drive and soon it intersected with the one we drove up a few hours ago. In a few more minutes we were back at the first house. We had walked onto the well cut grass for a short cut. I showed them the other house that was further away and up higher on the hill at the crest of the escarpment.

At the bottom of the incline I said, "This is where our children will slide down the hill in the winter. With a good sled or toboggan they can make it to their grandparents for a hot chocolate and then return for another ride. I guess that means when they get to the top I have to undress them so they can remove the used hot chocolate so they can go and get more." Paige was already holding me and did so much tighter now.

We climbed the original steps that I had improved upon and we walked around the house to see it from the outside. Jamie was very excited and Maggie kept him to her so Jack would not see him being attached to me. Just before we got in the vehicles I said, "Some inventions are going to be put in the newspaper and a lot of people are going to come and see them. I would like to move as soon as possible. Some people will be staying at our new home but beds have to be found for the rest. I don't think there are enough hotel and motel rooms available. Rental homes can hold some guests too. I will get the corporation to pay the rents for the month of September. The rush should be over then."

Jane said, "Can we rent a truck?"

"The guys that worked on the two houses will come over and help move us. There is very little though that has to go. The houses are furnished. All we need is a lot of boxes for clothes and keepsakes and a marker to say what room they go into."

We got home and both Jane and Jack went out to find boxes. When they left I said to Nora, "Now is the time to get rid of all the stuff you don't need. The new shop has a lot of woodwork tools coming and we can make some very nice furniture and Jack can make some accent pieces."

"I'll talk to Jack about it. He is a pack rat and I don't know how I am going to get the stuff away from him. What if we have to leave though? We'll have no furniture."

"There is a ten year, renewable lease. Most of your furniture would have worn out by that time and you would have had to buy more. Just save the money you would have spent."

Mr Mason came over later and had Paige's parents sign the rental agreement. It was all a sham anyway for I knew they would not take the house without thinking that they were paying their way.

The move was orderly though the girls were literally running around getting things packed. Giovanni came over at my request and we watched the hurried activity. He asked me, "Are you moving?"

"I am and that is why I invited you. The corporation that bought the lumberyard bought the man's home too. The directors want me to use the home. I do a lot of work for them. The house is very nice and a lot of people have been working on it recently to get it ready."

"I have heard," he said in his dialect. "It's a palace."

I pulled Giovanni over and whispered as if it was a secret. "There is going to be a lot of excitement soon with the inventions. They need a palace to impress the people buying what is being offered for sale."

He nodded his head in understanding. "That makes sense."

"Would you like to come and see the house? I set a bedroom aside for Susan and Maggie's best friends. Just because I have to take the house to sell the inventions doesn't mean that we have changed. My family would get very sad if people stopped coming to visit."

"We have a spare bed in the attic that you could have."

"The corporation put new furniture in or redid what was there. We have to get rid or our own furniture now. We are only taking our clothes and things important to each of us."

That night I took Jamie to bed with the ladies watching. They didn't watch for long and filled the bed with groans of their own. Paige had talked to me days before and now she slid under Jamie so she could save the comforter from getting messy.

I spread myself around and managed to make everyone happy at least once. The bed did hold all of us when we slept but only just.

The city fathers had been warned months ago about an influx but that had been put off once. They did clean up some of the mess that a city has even though this one was fairly clean as cities go.

We gave Mr Chile another exclusive and he had three days to get the article in shape before it had to go to print. The wire service bought the article and the next day a great many papers put the information out. Reporters came flocking back to the Bay to find out more.

They had seen the apartments and other household articles before but they got renewed coverage. The many kinds of lasers were shown then various kinds of material were cut. Welding was done but it needed human interaction because we had no computers and video cameras. As a result it was done only a bit at a time until the engineers understood the process. Thin metal was marked then cut then welded back together. The reporters were impressed.

My four part head had been made and it went into the portable tape player and the reporters were shown how it would be a great tool for them. This tape player played either side of the tape at the flick of a switch. Only the studio version would use all four at once. The girls and the band had been working with Miss Floit to make these recordings and in a way they would help launch this product.

When the reporters now saw that the metal was cut for the production of the chassis by the laser they were even more impressed. A press handout talked of all the things a laser could do. I had to stick to the simple things for the more exotic machines that used the laser were not around. The CD was now not going to exist. The DVD would take its place but its use for music was curtailed so it would not interfere with cassette sales. Laser diodes didn't exist yet so the entire proposition was explained as a probable development.

The other products that I had tried to sell in the United States were on display too or those that had been actually fabricated. There were lots of bubble wrap because the bubbles strength just had to be tested by the reporters.

Phone calls came in from a great many research firms. I hit them with what I thought happened and even supplied the mathematics verbally. They were now going to have to come and see for themselves.

The reporters left as they had not seen my discoveries as Earth shattering but they had got all the information they thought pertinent.

The procession of researchers started the next day. Our own engineers did the honours, for the new arrivals were not that high in their labs. I was pretty sure that after the reports got back that more important people would come.

The expected number of people never came. I was disappointed and now I had egg on my face because of what I said to the city and my own people. When I knew that nothing further was to be gained by waiting, the vacant homes we owned were now gutted and the city extended the grants. It provided a lot of employment. We had a lot of growing pains and I contacted Mr Forsyth from Bank of Commerce. I bought a great many of his products and he was happy to talk to me.

"What I really phoned for was to find out what the bank is going to do with the Camden Wood property. I will offer thirty thousand for it."

"I looked into that problem when we talked before. It is worth considerably more than that."

"You are right but I am the only one buying. The market is very limited."

"The bank stands to loose a lot of money on this property."

"You will lose the money today or in five years. You at least have a buyer now. I have more than enough land for expansion. You just have a building that I will not have to fabricate when I need one."

"I will see what I can do for you."

School was about ready to start once again and I registered for my new classes. There were fewer problems this time. Through a little slight of hand I went into Home Ec with Mrs Cameron along side Paige and Jamie.

Gym would be with two other classes but Jamie would be with me. Jamie also took machine shop though there was little here for me to learn. Other than lunch and music we had no other common classes.

Angela, Jennifer and Susan were still involved with the car wash and other small companies. When things slowed down they would be taking some advanced training with our bookkeeping staff that now numbered six others. When Miss Floit was free after school, they would now get private lessons at our house and with the band.

The music room was out of bounds so they played in my shop. Their music was good but not for a constant diet. Mark Fenton found that he liked the equipment side and experimented with our studio recorder. It was not that good, and the mistakes would been rectified in the next version.

The band experimented with the device and found they could simulate a much larger band. I said to them after their first success, "Mr Johnson is going to get one of these machines in the spring. He has sound engineers but you people will know much more than they do. Now if you experiment as if you were in science, then you will be able to teach them. He will give you a job."

"Mark, I want to have you work for Mr Johnson. I want you to learn all you can about everything he does. If you learn enough then I will give you a job here managing the sound equipment as a recording executive. The cassettes have to be made and this is your chance to shine far beyond any of your friends. The money will be good and your career should last until you retire."

"An executive? I never thought of that."

"There are positions for all of you. The music business is not just singers and bands. You may improve so much that you will have a lifetime job performing. If you learn about recording then you can play new sounds that may sell a recording. If the public turns to somebody else you can work on the other side of the mic. All you have to do is learn."

The band worked as labourers for a few hours to make some spending money and to exercise. I gave them a small pay cheque too so they would continue with the music.

I bought more instruments and worked on 'The House of the Rising Sun' by the animals. Tom had to sing the lyrics and did quite well. So far we had not been able to find a suitable voice and instrumental coach.

At the end of September the Bank of Commerce got back with their second counter offer. They thought the rock on the land must harbour gold. I went to Toronto now and talked to the Bank of Nova Scotia about setting up a line of credit and switching over my debts to them.

While there, I talked to John and then Carlo about what I was doing. John sympathised with me about the bank but talked about what things we could change. My needs for more factory space could be handled here in Toronto but I still wanted it in the north. Stelco had finally mentioned that they had made the sheets and were now ready to set up some tests.

"John, will you find out how much of a test they want to do? I want some four-acre buildings for my products. They give me a cheap price and I will not only test them, but I'll promote them. If they get off their butts, I can still get the cement poured and the beams up in the spring."

"Can you afford that? You need well over a mile of walls alone. The roofs, support steel and trusses are going to cost a fortune. The concrete cost will be enormous."

"I think that we will not only get Stelco to give us a cheap price but also finance putting the buildings up. They then hold the mortgage for five years. They may as well do the architectural work too. If it works, the plans will be used a great many times."

John thought on what I said.

Carlo said, "Do you need my concrete equipment?"

"I need lots of it. I even need some contractors that know how to deal with your power trowels."

"There are many now. They sell like what you say 'hot cakes'."

"Did you make the concrete transport trucks or do I have to use the rail system"

"I have only one and it is not selling."

"If it is sold in Toronto — wait. I will buy one of the trucks in the spring. I need mixing trucks too. How many I need, depends on how many buildings I am going to put up. I can't justify the concrete pump or the stone slinger on this project."

Carlo said, "I have no trouble selling those units.

Before I left I found out a bit more gossip about the Banano family and its current problems with the law. Goldbalm was singing loud and clear. He had kept records when he could and these were seized. Carlo also gave me some additional information for he knew of some musicians that should be able to help both the band and the singers.

News got around quick and the Bank of Commerce took my offer of thirty nine thousand for the old Camden property. By the end of October, our tape recorder facility had been moved.

At this time many of the labs now sent their upper echelon researchers to find out what we were doing. With no great influx the hotels accommodated them. I was asked to work for Bell Labs one more time. I was going to get much more money and my own facilities. I was polite but said I was doing just fine the way I was.

Our x-ray laser was now a reality but it was still rough. We hired many more physicists and chemists to work on the lasers and other projects. Now a tweak could mean a major improvement in efficiency or in the purity of the wavelength produced. I think that when the laser was discovered before there was much more hoopla than what was happening now. I had purposely wanted it low-key and it surprisingly stayed that way.

My total of active cyanobiphenyl materials was up to twelve and I chose eight that when mixed would function in a wide range of temperatures. Again Mr Chile was called and this story went out to the papers. Accompanying it was a wide range of uses. Mr Bain's name was used prominently but it was my name on the patent. Small viewing screens were made with the YAG but kept very secret. We still didn't have a microprocessor to hook it too. The one that would drive the calculator was far from being done.

AT&T sent another lowball offer to us. They had no idea that we were working fibre optic cable and I wanted to keep it that way. The trunk lines could be switched to this product and though it would cost more it would carry them much further. Edgar was aware of this and security was very tight here too.