Room 9 by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 1

The school day at Deering High School started much like any other, with students scurrying to their assigned homerooms, trying to avoid being late. But this day was different and held the promise of changing the lives of a small handful of gifted youths, those bound for more than ordinary careers. Their focus was on the sciences, and they would soon be off for a one-week tour of Nasa’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, generously paid for by the Department of Education. Those with the highest grades had their names entered in a lottery, with the first five winners being the ones chosen.

The first was Chelsea, a senior who had just been accepted to Harvard Medical College. She had already been taking college-level classes in medical biology and anatomy. Her parents managed to avoid the burden of paying her tuition when she was offered a full scholarship for as long as she attended in her chosen field. The second was John, a promising engineering student who arrived from Italy with his parents when he was merely four years old. For the sake of fitting in, his parent decided to change his name, believing that he would be less of a target for those who might harass him. The third winner was Kyle, who was seen by many as the class clown. His sense of humor sometimes got in the way of classroom order, and many of his teachers wondered if he had a future at all should he be expelled. To avoid such a fate, he was given a lot of chances to correct his conduct, perhaps too many. But he believed himself to be above the rules and repeatedly displayed a noticeable arrogance that left others talking about him behind his back, using words such as High School students tend to use. However, as a gifted teen, his genius lay in nuclear chemistry, and he had already been contacted by the Department of Defense. The fourth in line was Kate, a passionate artist with a special gift for aerospace design. Having already produced several designs, the school sent them off to Nasa where they were quickly acquired by the military and deemed classified. Never having had a boyfriend, there were those who questioned her sexuality based, in part, on her boyish looks. This, however, was of no concern to her, as she was quite comfortable with who she was and had better things to do than worry about what others thought of her. Lastly, there was Ethan, bound for MIT’s mechanical engineering program. As a small boy, he was curious about anything that had moving parts and promptly disassembled them. While once taking apart the gears of a small music box, he thought he might try to force one into its opposite direction using his teeth. However, when his teeth slipped against it his bottom lip quickly became lodged between it and its opposing cog, cutting into his flesh and by his shrieks, attracted the attention of his parents. With the right tools, Ethan’s father removed his bleeding lip from the brass gears and, applying pressure, rushed him to the hospital. One might think this would have been the end of his fascination with all things mechanical. But strangely, Ethan found himself even more curious, and it was this that propelled him into engineering, standing at the doorway of a brilliant college career at one of the country's most prestigious universities. Their parents were thrilled, knowing that the success of their children would favorably reflect on them in the eyes of the community. But even the parents could not anticipate what was waiting for them at the Langley Research Center as the group of teens toured the vast technological arm of the government. Some things happen by intent, while others are brought on by ignorance. What would happen at Langley would be brought about by both in equal measure, bringing a sudden halt to the youth's promising future.