"Aurora borealis," Pierce whispered quietly to himself.

They ran two more experiments on the SEM using new wafers. Both lit up the screen like Christmas and Goddard was satisfied. Pierce then had Grooms go over the other lab projects with him once more just to finish things off. After all, Goddard would be investing in the whole program, not just Proteus. At 12:30 the presentation ended and they broke for lunch in the boardroom. Condon had arranged for the meal to be catered by Joe's, a restaurant on Abbot Kinney that had the rare combination of being a hot place and also having good food.

The conversation was convivial -even Bechy seemed to be enjoying herself. There was a lot of talk about the possibilities of the science. No talk about the money that could be made from it. And at one point Goddard turned to Pierce, who was sitting next to him, and quietly confided, "I have a daughter with Down's syndrome."

He said nothing else and didn't have to. Pierce knew he was simply thinking about the timing. The bad timing. A future was coming when such maladies might be eliminated before they occurred.

"But I bet you love her very much," Pierce said. "And I bet she knows that."

Goddard held his eyes for a moment before answering.

"Yes. I do and she does. I often think about her when I make my investments."

Pierce nodded.

"You have to make sure she is secure."

"No, not that. She is secure, many times over. What I think about is that no matter how much I make in this world, I won't be able to change her. I won't be able to fix her… I guess what I am saying is that… the future is out there. This… what you are doing…"

He looked away, unable to put his thoughts into words.

"I think I know what you mean," Pierce said.

The quiet moment ended abruptly with a loud outburst of laughter from Bechy, who was sitting across the table and next to Condon. Goddard smiled and nodded as though he had heard whatever it was that had been so funny.

Later, during a dessert of key lime pie, Goddard brought up Nicole.

"You know who I miss?" he said. "Nicole James. Where is she today? I'd like to at least say hello."

Pierce and Condon looked at each other. It had been agreed earlier that Charlie would handle any explanations in regard to Nicole.

"Unfortunately, she is no longer with us," Condon said. "In fact, last Friday was her last day at Amedeo."

"Really now? Where did she go?"

"Nowhere at the moment. I think she's just taking some time to think about her next move. But she signed a no-compete contract with us, so we don't have to worry about her showing up at a competitor."

Goddard frowned and nodded.

"A very sensitive position," he said.

"It is but it isn't," Condon replied. "She was focused outward not inward. She knew just enough about our projects to know what to look for in regard to our competitors. For example, she did not have lab access and she never saw the demonstration you saw this morning."

That was a lie, only Charlie Condon didn't know it. Just like the lie Pierce had fed Clyde Vernon about how much Nicole knew and had seen. The truth was she had seen it all.

Pierce had brought her into the lab on a Sunday night to show her, to light up the SEM screen like the aurora borealis. It was when things were falling apart and he was desperately grasping for a way to keep it together, to hold on to her. He had broken his own rules and taken her to the lab to show her what it was that had drawn him away from her so often. But even showing her the discovery had not worked to stop the momentum of destruction that had enveloped them. Less than a month later Nicole ended the relationship.

Like Goddard, Pierce missed Nicole at that moment, but for different reasons. He grew quiet during the remainder of the meal. Coffee was served and then removed. The plates and utensils were cleared away until all that was left was the polished surface of the table and the reflection of their ghostly images in it.

The caterers cleared out of the room and it was time to get back to business.

"Tell us about the patent," Bechy said, folding her arms and leaning over the table.

Pierce nodded to Kaz and he took the question.

"It's actually a stepped patent. It's in nine parts, covering all processes related to what you saw today. We think we have thoroughly covered everything. We think it will hold up to any kind of challenge, now or in the future."

"And when do you go with it?"

"Monday morning. I'll be flying out to Washington tomorrow or Saturday. The plan is to personally deliver the application to the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office at nine A.M.

Monday."

Since Goddard was sitting next to him, Pierce found it easier and more nonchalant to watch Bechy across from him. She seemed surprised by the speed with which they were moving. This was good. Pierce and Condon wanted to force the issue. Force Goddard to make his move now, or risk losing out by waiting.

"As you know, it's a highly competitive science," Pierce said. "We want to make sure we get our formula on the books first. Brandon and I have also completed a paper on this and will be submitting it. We'll send it out tomorrow."

Pierce raised his wrist and checked his watch. It was almost two.

"In fact," he said, "I need to leave you and get back to work now. If anything further comes up that Charlie can't answer, you can reach me in my office or in the lab. If there is no answer down there, that means we have the phone cut off because we're using one of the probes."

He pushed back his chair and was getting up when Goddard raised his hand and grabbed his upper arm to stop him.

"One moment, Henry, if you don't mind."

Pierce sat back down. Goddard looked at him and then deliberately cast his glance into every face at the table. Pierce knew what was coming. He could feel it in the tightness of his chest.

"I just want to tell you while we're all here together that I want to invest in your company. I want to be part of this great thing you are doing."

There was a raucous cheer and a round of clapping. Pierce put out his hand and Goddard shook it vigorously, then took Condon's hand that was stretched across the table.

"Nobody move," Condon said.

He got up and went to a corner of the room where there was a phone on a small table. He punched in three numbers -an in-house call -and murmured something into the receiver. He then returned to his seat and a few minutes later Monica Purl and Condon's personal assistant, a woman named Holly Kannheiser, came into the boardroom carrying two bottles of Dom Pérignon and a tray of champagne glasses.

Condon popped the bottles and poured. The assistants were asked to stay and take a glass.

But both also had throwaway cameras and had to take photos in between sips of champagne.

Condon made the first toast.

"To Maurice Goddard. We're happy to have you with us on this magical ride."

Then it was Goddard's turn. He raised his glass and simply said, "To the future!"

He looked at Pierce as he said it. Pierce nodded and raised his almost empty glass. He looked at each face in the room, including Monica's, before speaking. He then said: "Our buildings, to you, would seem terribly small. But to us, who aren't big, they are wonderfully tall."

He finished his glass and looked at the others. Nobody seemed to get it.

"It's from a children's book," he explained. "Dr. Seuss. It's about believing in the possibilities of other worlds. Worlds the size of a speck of dust."

"Hear, hear," Condon said, raising his glass again.

Pierce began moving about the room, shaking hands and sharing words of thanks and encouragement. When he came to Monica she lost her smile and seemed to treat him coldly.