Chapter Nine
Mayra Sklodovska
Cameron found an iron bench in a secluded part of a small park and sat down. He withdrew Rosa's note from his pocket, then read it carefully.
Dear Hound,
Sorry to have missed you at the good doctor's, but I had to run. Maybe I'll see you at noon on the winter solstice, in Marie Curie's garret.
Fox
This will be easy, thought Cameron. He knew exactly when to find Rosa — this year, at noon, on the winter solstice. Cameron called upon his knowledge of the solar system. He remembered that the winter solstice was the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It was the day when the earth's South Pole most closely faced the sun. This happened in December of each year. He also knew that there were two solstices each year, the other being the summer solstice, when the North Pole faced the sun in June. This was the longest day of the year and marked the beginning of summer.
He slid his multiCom from his pocket and typed in a request for what date the winter solstice fell on. Immediately, the screen flashed "December 22". Since Rosa did not suggest a change in years, Cameron Rush reasoned that he would find his Fox at 12:00 PM on December 22, 1893.
Now, all he had to find out was where. This should be easy too, he told himself. Rosa Costas would be in the garret of Marie Curie, the world famous scientist who discovered radium. He had learned about Marie and Pierre Curie in the Academy earlier that semester. If he recalled correctly, Madame Curie lived in Paris, France.
Cameron was about to set his IHT to transport to the correct day and time in Paris when he remembered how he had made a hasty decision when he came to see Dr. Watson instead of Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle. He decided that he had better double check the multiCom before he went off searching in the wrong place. Cameron typed in 'Curie, Marie'.
Curie, Marie 1867-1934 born Marya Sklodovska in Warsaw, Poland. Married Pierre Curie on July 26, 1895. Young Marya grew up in an oppressed country ruled by Russia. It was a country in which women were not allowed to go to the University. In order to go to school, she had to leave her family and homeland.
≠≠≠≠ more ≠≠≠≠
Cameron tapped the screen.
In 1890 she moved to Paris where she studied at the Sorbonne, the University of Paris, getting a degree in physics in 1893 and a degree in mathematics in 1894. In 1903 Marie Curie became the first woman in Europe to be awarded a doctoral degree. Later that year she shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Henri Becquerel and her husband, Pierre, for their work on radioactivity. A year after Marie's death, her eldest daughter, Irene, also won the Nobel Prize for Physics.
It amazed Cameron how much one person could accomplish in a lifetime. And to think, he was going to meet such a remarkable person as Marie Curie! (Or at least a remarkable facsimile.) What would such a great woman be like? What would he say to such a master of discovery?
He would find out soon enough. In the meantime, he had discovered some important information. Since he was traveling to December 22, 1893, Marie Curie did not exist. That is to say, she wouldn't get married until 1895, so her name would still be Marya Sklodovska.
Cameron also noted that the multiCom did not mention exactly where Marya Sklodovska lived. All he knew was that she went to the University of the Sorbonne. The multiCom was able to display a small map of Paris. He could see that the Sorbonne was a group of buildings south of the River Seine in a section of Paris called the Latin Quarter. He would transport himself to the Sorbonne well before noon on December 22, 1893. Once there, he would find some students and ask them if they knew where Marya Sklodovska lived. Surely not many people went to the university way back in the 1800's, and all the students probably knew each other. It would be fairly easy to locate the young Marie Curie.
Cameron reset the IHT and said goodbye to London.
It was bitterly cold when Cameron faded into the new location. He might as well have been outdoors in his own time and place. Wind-driven sleet pelted against his body as he stood on a street corner. Across the thoroughfare was a huge iron gate — the entrance to the Sorbonne. Cameron stole a glance at his IHT. It was 10:00 in the morning. There was little movement on the streets of Paris.
Cameron pulled up the collar of his wool coat (he noted that he was dressed in the same clothes he had worn in London), and stepped into the street. What happened next happened in a flash.
Cameron heard a clatter to his left and reflexively spun about to see what was causing the noise. A carriage, drawn by a team of powerful white horses, burst through the gray veil of sleet. It was racing straight towards him. Cameron stood motionless, like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Things like this never happened in a simulation.
Cameron's focus was drawn to the coachman who sat exposed to the inclement weather. He was bundled with a heavy scarf wrapped to cover his mouth and nose. Muffs covered his ears and a tall hat was pulled down tight over his head. Dark, penetrating eyes peered through the small slit between hat and scarf. He surely saw Cameron standing in the path of the carriage, but he whipped the horses onward.
Suddenly, Cameron felt a powerful tug at the left side of his coat collar. His foot caught the curb as he was yanked sideways. He twisted awkwardly and fell facedown onto the cold, slush-covered pavement. He turned his head in an effort to catch a glimpse of the carriage. It was gone. Not even the receding sound of hooves and wheels over the cobbled street testified to its existence.
– End Chapter Nine –
