John Cramer - Einstein's Bridge

“I know,” said Roger, recalling the wonders described in the Makers’ download.

STEVE APPROACHED THE DESK. “ARE YOU LARRY WALKER?” he asked.

“That’s me,” said the man sitting there. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m Steve Brown. I’m a law student in Tallahassee, and I just drove up from Florida. 1 came because I saw the piece in the Post you did last week about the Super Collider project and the Siciliano memorandum. It was an impressive piece of investigative journalism. It caused quite a stir, even in the Florida papers.”

“I was lucky,” said Larry. “I had some help on that one from a DOE insider.”

“You’re being modest,” said Steve. “But anyhow, I came here to give you more help. There is another whole story on the politics surrounding the SSC that needs to be brought out into the open.”

Larry flipped to a blank page of a yellow legal pad and selected a sharp pencil from those collected in a broken coffee cup on his desk. “Tell me about it,” he said.

Steve opened his briefcase and placed a sheaf of papers on Larry’s desk. “Have you ever heard of PetroGen, Inc.?” he asked.

“Hmm. Yes, I think so. A relatively new oil company that has been using bioengineered organisms to make old oil wells produce again.”

“That’s right,” said Steve. “The founder and president of PetroGen is a man named George Preston. I’ve discovered that his whole identity is a fraud. He appeared out of nowhere in 1987. There are no records at all on him before that, not even a Social Security number. I’ve found evidence that a child with his name, birthdate, and birthplace died in 1959, the year Preston claims to have been born. He claims to have studied in Europe, but the first U.S. passport in his name was issued in 1987.”

“Interesting,” said Larry, “but not particularly newsworthy, I’m afraid, unless he runs for public office. Lots of people change their names for one reason or another.”

Steve nodded. “It’s what Preston’s been doing that I think is newsworthy. Preston has a lot of political influence. He was an influential Bush supporter and contributor in 1988, but more recently he’s done a lot to get Clinton elected.”

Larry nodded, making notes.

“I’ve recently discovered that he’s also been systematically causing problems for the Superconducting Super Collider project in Texas for a number of years. Here’s a list of the anti-SSC organizations PetroGen has contributed to. It includes the Citizens’ Project for Government Oversight that was mentioned in your article.” Steve placed a sheet on the desk.

“Wait a minute,” Larry said, looking sharply at Steve. “This is some kind of conspiracy theory you’re pushing?”

“Oh no,” said Steve, “it’s an elaborate moneymaking real estate deal by a sharp operator. Preston wants to kill the SSC project to shake loose a couple of billion dollars in the federal budget this year. If the SSC is canceled, the eliminated expenditures represent funds that will still reside within the overall budget cap of the energy and water subcommittees in the House and Senate. Preston’s plan is to divert that money from the SSC to an almost completed water project in Alabama. Do you know about the Tombigbee waterway?”

“Ah yes,” said Larry. “I believe that Senator Moynihan once described that project as ‘the cloning of the Mississippi, at taxpayer expense.’”

“Yes,” said Steve. “Well, Preston wants to snatch SSC money for the Tombigbee.”

“This year that wouldn’t be so easy,” said Larry. “The first-term Democrats in the House want to cut budgets, not move money from one pork barrel to another.”

“Ah,” said Steve, “but you’ve been a reporter in this town long enough to know how that works. The congressional old-timers always use the enthusiasm of the freshmen for their own purposes. Tom Bevill, chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee for energy and water, is from Alabama. He’s well known as a master of the pork barrel. For years he’s moved federal money into the Tombigbee project from anywhere it could be found. Now the project is almost finished, and the plum of the SSC cancellation is about to drop into his lap. What do you think will happen?”

“But why is George Preston involved?” Larry asked.

Steve placed more papers on the desk. “These are the deed records of recent land purchases in Alabama. PetroGen has been buying up land along uncompleted sections of the Tombigbee waterway. The land values there are low right now because nobody believes the project will be completed any time soon. But if the SSC money is transferred to the Tombigbee, the land values will go up like a rocket. If this swindle succeeds, Preston will come away from the operation with a profit of several hundred percent, which amounts to perhaps a billion dollars.”

Walker scratched his head. “Interesting,” he said, “but there’s not a story here. At least, not yet.”

“Why not?” Steve demanded, frowning.

“Because it’s all too speculative,” said Larry. “The Post is not the National Enquirer. The SSC has not been canceled, and if the congressional leadership and the powerful Texas delegation has anything to do with it, it won’t be. Even if the project is canceled, it’s very uncertain if the funds generated could be moved anywhere else. And while your information on Preston’s mysterious background and land purchases seems provocative, it isn’t enough to base a story on. Sorry.”

“Look,” said Steve, struggling to control his rising anger, “I’m just a college student who has devoted some time to checking up on this Preston creep. With only the small amount of time I’ve been able to spare from my studies, I’ve turned up all this. I’m certain that there’s a lot more there, that what I’ve found is just the tip of the iceberg. An investigative reporter like you, with the resources of The Washington Post behind you, should be able to turn up a lot more.”

“Yes,” Larry said, “that may be true. You’ve convinced me that something might be going on here. But there still may not be a story in it. I have other work to do, too, you know.”

Steve shrugged. “Well, Larry, you’re the reporter. Now you know what I know.”

“I’d like to know one other thing,” said Larry. “Why is an FSU law student so interested in an oilman with a business in Texas and land purchases in Alabama?”

Steve frowned. “It’s personal,” he said. “Look, I’ve got a long drive back to Tallahassee. I’ve gotta go.” He stood.

Larry gathered up the sheets that Steve had placed on his desk. “I’ll do some further checking,” he said. “Perhaps when things develop a bit further, there may be a story here.” He extended his hand and shook Steve’s. “Keep in touch, Steve,” he said. “You know where to find me.”

When Steve reached his car, there was a parking ticket under the wiper. He cursed and tore the yellow paper into small pieces. He’d show the bastards yet, he thought.

GEORGE AND ALICE SAT IN THE SPACIOUS INNER OFFICE of Congressman Matthews. Joe had seated them here while they awaited the outcome of the House floor vote on the joint committee report that would decide the fate of the SSC.

Congressman Matthews had organized a coalition of about eighty of the first-termers and formed an alliance with the traditional budget-cutting fiscal conservatives and others to stage a House floor fight opposing the SSC project. They had garnered lots of media coverage by denouncing the SSC management for their shameful squandering of taxpayers’ money on what they called “The Four P’s”: plants, paintings, pizzas, and parties. The House appropriations committee had voted to approve the SSC budget and proceed with construction, but on the floor of the House Matthews’s mavericks had overruled the appropriations committee recommendation and succeeded in defeating the SSC appropriation by a 280 to 150 margin.