Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Water (04/26/04)
TITLE: Water: The Great Divide By michael e. evans 04/29/04 |
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It would have been an honor for some high strung Grad student or first year rookie, but Josh was a star. A star that had just been slapped back to reality by the son of the founder of, what was arguably, the best engineering firm on the East coast. That lime green flourescent folder slid right by his prize model of the Charleston project and it made him want to puke. There it lay, addressed to: The National Science Foundation • 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230, USA. Josh picked up the brochure that had fallen out on his desk and read.
“Congress established the Alan T. Waterman Award to mark the 25th Anniversary of the National Science Foundation and to honor its first Director. The annual award recognizes an outstanding young researcher in any field of science or engineering supported by the National Science Foundation. In addition to a medal, the awardee receives a grant of $500,000 over a three year period for scientific research or advanced study at the institution of the recipient's choice.
Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must be 35 years of age or younger or not more than 7 years beyond receipt of the Ph.D. degree by December 31 of the year in which they are nominated. Candidates should have demonstrated exceptional individual achievements in scientific or engineering research of sufficient quality to place them at the forefront of their peers. Criteria include originality, innovation, and significant impact on the field.”
Thirty-five! In six months, Josh could have dodged this deluge. Moses, sensing his disappointment, tried to cheer him up. “Josh, I know this seems like a step back considering your new found fame. But that’s why I gave it to you. A lot of people work hard because they’d love to be famous. But the creativity, innovation, and genius that tend to produce fame usually come out of people like you, who simply love the work.” He paused, hoping for a sign of understanding. Josh just stared at the folder. “I don’t want you to lose your love for the work Josh. That’s all.” “Yeah. Whatever.” Josh had heard all he wanted to.
As he was leaving, Moses told Josh that this year’s challenge was to address the cataclysmic extremes that years of damage to the Ozone by air born pollutants could potentially create. “What if suddenly there were no air to breathe?” Could Josh come up with a form of liquid inhalant that would not only provide needed Oxygen but potentially reduce, if not reverse, the damage of the carcenogens and pathogens that we have been breathing all our lives? Josh immediately remembered his bible study lesson from last week about God establishing a firmament in the midst of the waters and thereby dividing the waters from the waters. It was then that he thought to himself; “If we ever get forced out of this galaxy, we had better carry S.C.U.B.A. gear.” He looked at the file and then past it to his precious model and finally his eyes met Moses’ as he turned for the door. He paused for Josh’s parting comment. “If people could breathe water Moses, there would be no bridges.” Moses laughed as Josh looked for comfort in the model on his desk.
There were only six weeks left before contest entries were due. Josh had been dragging his feet, to say the least. And then the agents arrived. Josh had never believed the Men In Black hype until that very moment. Never before had he seen such humorless stares. These were jaws of granite. Rigid rocks that repelled rip tides. They terrified poor Miriam, the receptionist. Josh thought she was too perky any way. And then, in what seemed like nanoseconds, they exited Moses’ office with a life and death urgency. And they whisked Josh and Moses off to a “secure location,” leaving the water cooler crowd drooling over the fate of the firm.
Josh had heard whispers of IRS investigations and CIA probes. And the national terror alert seemed in constant motion from yellow to orange to other specious spheres on the spectrum. Everyone knew that Josh’s wife had worked at in the North Tower and that a last minute excursion to the Hamptons had helped them escape the grief that so many others still bore from that horrid day. But, Josh could never have imagined what the agents were about to tell him as they entered a “secure room” in NSA headquarters -- just steps from ground zero.
“This is not a contest.”
Fear boiled every drop of the water that dominated his sweat drenched body as he and Becky found a seat near the back of this week’s bible study. The pastor started slowly, with a brief recap. “As you will recall, I talked last week about God establishing a firmament in the midst of the waters and thereby dividing the waters from the waters.” Josh was certain that he remembered better than anyone. “Well, this week, I want to continue on the theme -- Water: The great divide.”
As despondent as he had been, Josh couldn’t help being drawn in by this divine coincidence. “Water,” Pastor Miles, continued, “has always been a substance of separation. It was water that cleansed the earth of sin during Noah’s flood and by water, according to 1 Peter 3:20, eight souls were saved." Josh Begin could not believe his ears. Was God speaking just to him? Surely no one else had been asked to engineer a liquid miracle that would save humanity that day?