So new project.  It’s actually the third book in my Sci Fi Trilogy, this one, Margin of Error, should be done this month, but here is an excerpt…..

 

“Did it come Dad?”

The man walked into the house looking carrying a basket full of envelopes.  “I don’t know yet, I have to get to the table and go through all of this stuff.”  He made his way to the kitchen table and sat the basket down.  Then he took a seat.  The eager boy was standing near him almost fidgeting with excitement.

He reached in and pulled out a stack of smaller letters, then slowly looked at each one, pausing to inspect who they were from.  After a few moments the child grew impatient, “DAD!!”

The man laughed as he set the pile aside, “I was just messing with you.  It’ll be bigger, so it should be on the bottom.”  He quickly took all of the smaller items out and set them off to the side, then he pulled out a pile of larger envelops, document size.  “It should be rather thin.  Most of these are bigger documents, so you shouldn’t even have to look at them if they seem too thick.”  He handed part of the pile to his son and they started looking.

“Here it is,” the boy said excitedly.

“Give it here then.”

“I want to open it.”

“I’m sure you do Brian.  But I paid for it, so I get to open it.  Besides I want to see what

your actual GPA is.”

“I told you already.”

“I know you did, and most of the time I let you handle everything that concerns your education.  Except this is your first real degree.”  He took a letter opener and unsealed the end of the envelope.  Then he peered inside.  Finally, he reached in and pulled out three sheets of paper, leaving the thicker piece inside.  He looked at the papers for a moment.

“Well?” the boy inquired.

“I see an A- here.”

“Yeah, Shakespeare.  I really didn’t like the way it was written.”

The man looked at his son with a frown.

“Really Dad?  Over a dead poet?”

Then he smiled.  “No, I’m just messing with you again.  Personally, I just used Cliff Notes whenever I had to deal with him.”

“Cliff Notes?”

“Like shorter summary versions of books, films, or what not.”

“You cheated?”

“Not technically.  Besides, you’re a lot more capable than I ever was.”

“So, what was my final?”

“Let’s see, 3.95.”

“Aww, I really wanted that 4.0.”

“Next time?”

“Yeah, I mean I have to.  You wouldn’t let me have more than one major.”

“That would’ve added a year or so.”

“And?”

“I wanted you done as fast as possible, so it could be today.  From now on you can triple or quadruple major if you want.”  The man set the papers down, then went to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a large box.  He set it front of the boy.  “Happy Birthday, Brian.”

The boy tore open the box and took out one of the fanciest frames he had ever seen.  “It’s beautiful dad.  Is it 17^th century?”

“Good eye.  In the bottom of the box is some matting to help make your diploma fit.  It’s hard to try and find a nice frame from that era to match the size.”

“It doesn’t matter, I love it.”  He ran to his father and hugged him, “Can we put it in now?”

“Of course.”

Brian took the envelope and pulled out the fake parchment.  He held it in his hands and raised it to the window to examine it.  The “University of Chicago” was prominent on the top.  His eyes then moved to “Bachelor of Science in Physics”, finally to his name with the date next to it.  “Awarded this 15^th day of July in the Year of our Lord 1981”.

“I liked physics Dad, but why did you want me to start here?”

“Because now you can get to work on the real stuff.  The computers that are coming out rely on the physics for the hardware.”

“But they’re not that good.  Ours are so much better.”

“I know, so now you get to work on your computer studies, and maybe some engineering.”

“Can I go to an actual school now or still from home?”

“Sorry sport, home.  No one would take you seriously on a real campus.”

“I know.  I just thought I’d ask.  He took his diploma and moved to the frame he had just gotten, sizing up what he would have to do to make it fit.  “Dad?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I get something more, um, fun for my birthday next year?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know.  What do eight-year old’s like?”