Trailblazers

This trail takes me three miles behind the rest stop. The mountains will further shield me from I-17. There are trails and tunnels back here headed in different directions. If they block my way out by road I’ll make my way back to the interstate or deeper into the hills through the tunnels. This camo net will help the car blend in with the terrain. I need to get everything done before morning. I can’t risk being seen close to the road. I need to set this thing in motion and be nowhere in the area when these small charges detonate. I need to further loosen the rock.

That three miles from here to the roadway is buffer enough to not harm anyone. But the depth this thing is at will make sure that those riding by on the interstate will feel nothing more than a tremor through their tires. It will sound, as well as, feel like so many thunderstorms moving through Black Canyon.

There’s a lot here. If you call something that could last for ten decades a lot. This could pay off our loans and fund our patents as well as more lab space for the experiments. Think about it. What we’ve found is definitely valuable. What if there’s more? What if this mineral spans the length of this desert? Could you imagine. I will, warehouse what I have so far. And then warehouse as much as I can without stirring up suspicion.

It’s all good, Uncle Acie. Like your grandfather told you, we can do anything we set out to do. If we don’t, somebody else will. If you were alive to see me now—I’m doing everything you and Great-Grandpa Acie told me. I’m making it happen. I’m blazing the trail. They’ll quote all these rules and regulations. Behind the scenes, they're changing this and changing that to bend the rules. It’s all good. Like you said, we need to make the most of the opportunities placed before us.

I am and I will. Let them catch up. I’m going to do the legwork, roll up my sleeves, get my hands dirty, wipe the sweat off my brow, and make it happen. No, no. It’s not greed. Great Acie reminds us in his journal: it’s the worship of material possessions that put us in the poor house. No. I have the best interest of posterity at heart, Uncle Acie. All of us.

But Great-Grandpa stated: we gotta be five, six, seven steps ahead. Twelve different passports, multiple currencies, be ready to change locations at the drop of a dime. And have a dime to pay for basics while you hide out in a small town. Like Flagstaff, where I’m headed now. Not too small where everybody notices, but just the right size with just the right mix of people with a lot on their plate like us. Great Acie was applying his espionage days to business, but it helped him stay ahead of the competition.

A decade from now, this mineral will protect and power space stations as well as the ships that carry the cargo to build more space stations, universities and retreats on new planets and far away moons. Great Grandpa Acie was right. Just take the first step. The details of the how will reveal themselves.

So that’s what I’m doing, Uncle Acie. I’m taking the first steps, blazing the trail. Some will not like how I’ve gone about doing things, but some people will put a gun to your head, steal your idea. And some will leave you for dead. Pull the trigger and throw your body in a ravine. Found, if ever, in the canyon a decade later, like Great-Grandpa Acie.

We’re going to make it up to him, Uncle Acie. I wish you were alive to see it. But you're here in spirit. That’s enough. We’re going to honor our family’s original trailblazer. Everything’s all set. The explosives are in place. The sun is setting. The hills are casting shadows. Nightfall is upon us. I’m going to breeze out of Black Canyon and lay low in Flagstaff for a couple days.

Two days later. 

See, Uncle Acie. All went well. No one is any the wiser, as far as I can tell. I was able to rent a home in Flagstaff. And the job at the resort will fund our endeavor. Or at least help. I didn’t see anybody out of the ordinary hanging out at the rest stop. But Great Acie warned us we gotta be five or six steps ahead of our competitors.

And now that I think of it, five different passports and multiple currencies is a good idea. Great-Grandpa Acie had something they knew was valuable and they killed him for it. Killed him because he wouldn’t reveal his cache. He kept it hidden for posterity. Great-Grandpa took care of us, didn’t he? Yeah, he did. And we’ll take care of his legacy.

Four years later.

We did it Uncle Acie. Great grandpa Acie was right. The Emmanuel mineral is the best protection against the solar ion rays (SIR) penetrating those previously built space stations, galaxy cruise liners and military vessels. The military was losing more personnel to the SIRs than any conflict. The Emmanuel mineral prototype proved more than sufficient in protecting military personnel as well as civilians.

I’m still a little paranoid uncle Acie. Well, more than a little. A lot. We’ve secured contracts, but I don’t know who I can trust. I’m constantly on the run. I’ve got to keep moving. I’ve made reservations to fly to Mars, to fly to Saturn, to fly to Earth. But I’m on a flight to the Andromeda galaxy on a military transport. Under an alias. With different currencies on hand. Not hiding from the military. They know who I am. But from anyone else looking. On an Emmanuel mineral grade vessel. Built in secret. A guest. Going to help oversee the building of a space station that after being built, its existence-denied.