Barnabas smiled, “I would like that.” He turned back to Bethany Anne, “What is it you hope Frank to figure out with my help?”
“I need the two of you to work with TOM …”
Barnabas interrupted, “The alien?” His face, if anything, seemed to become more like a boy at Christmas. Bethany Anne wondered if Barnabas didn’t suffer from a mild form of mental issues due to his aging. If he did, and she figured it out, she was seriously going to feel guilty for all of the names she had called him in her mind.
“Yes, the alien TOM.” She turned to Frank, “We need a way to detect and pinpoint anyone entering or exiting the Etheric. Barnabas can do it from half a world away.”
“I can’t pinpoint it, just the general direction and distance unless it is close.”
Frank asked, “How close?”
Barnabas pursed his lips, “Perhaps ten leagues.”
Frank muttered, “So, about thirty miles.”
Barnabas agreed, “Yes, thirty miles. The farther away it is, the vaguer I am on distance. For a long time, I thought Bethany Anne’s travels were much closer to me due to the strength of her ripples. I’ve never felt anything as strong, so I assumed she was closer. I lost a fair amount of time before I understood my mistake.”
Frank looked back to Bethany Anne, “Are you thinking that if he can sense it, then the ripples can be measured? And if it can be measured, it can be monitored.”
Bethany Anne reached down to where she knew Ashur’s head was waiting and scratched behind his ears, “Not only monitored, but triangulated.”
Frank’s grin grew, “You want satellites, don’t you!”
She shrugged, “You could give me chocolate covered cherry boxes with electronics if they worked. But, you know … if satellites are the right solution?”
Frank continued smiling while he started rubbing his hands together. He had just been informed that he needed to create a new, never before designed method of data acquisition. “For triangulation, I imagine they are.” He turned back to Barnabas, “Except for Bethany Anne, do you have an idea where the other ripples are?”
“Asia and perhaps Australia.”
She picked her hand up off of Ashur who stood and walked towards the door.
“Do you two guys understand what I need?” Both men nodded, “Then thank you for taking on this challenge. Barnabas, thanks for your time and support.”
“Frank?”
He looked at her, “Yes?”
She smiled, “I want them in a month.”
Frank’s smile dropped from his face, but the glint in his eye remained. “Ok.”
She stood and started following Ashur from the room. “Then I’ll leave it to you two, ta-ta!”
Both men absently waved a hand in the air as they started asking each other questions.
