(Page 1 of 3) My Interview With Destiny: David by Michael Byrd
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SUMMARY: An ashamed physicist gets an impromptu interview, and the chance of a lifetime.I kept going over the calculations again and again, this could work. It was going to work. I spent five hours sitting in the bathroom going over the calculations and trying to work up the nerve to go and talk to my professor about it. Finally as I got into his office I knew I was going to show him the future. I walked into his office and stood motionless in the door frame.
Dr. Pahildoshandi only glanced up for a moment before returning back to his papers, "Ah, Mr. Lipskil. Do you have something to say or are you going to stand in my doorway until I go home."
I stammered and stuttered then regained my composure and sat down in front of him. Dr. Pahi' looked up from his papers crossed his arms and gestured toward me as if to say go on, so I did, "Professor Pahildoshandi I have in my hands the key to interstellar space travel. I have checked and rechecked the figures and I believe it will take nothing more than these calculations to take man to the stars." I spent the next hour and a half going over the numbers with him. He spoke not one word other than an "I see" or "Go on." After that hour and a half I collapsed into his office chair exhausted and covered in chalk dust.
Dr. Pahi' stood up grabbed the papers leafed through them and threw them into my lap, "It's a sound theory, aside from the fact that it's all made up."
"What do you mean? It's all right there in black and white, and some red cause my pencil ran out."
"It doesn't matter. Some of your figures are just not working properly, and frankly I think most of it is just crap you made up. How did you come up with this? My god boy you're a genius and yet you choose to make up such falsities?"
"I didn't make it up, this is actual work. I can't believe you would say it's worthless!" I was livid. I rose from my seat while saying this as more chalk dust drifted down from my shirt and pants. Dr. Pahi' was sitting back down. I slammed my hands down on his desk and got right in his face. "If I were to present this as part of my doctoral thesis, would they even look at it?"
Dr. Pahildoshandi sat there looked into my eyes and shook his head. I left his office and never looked at his face again until his funeral twenty years later. I left the campus and went to a coffee shop in downtown. I ordered the largest size they had, and then ordered a small because I didn't have the money. I went outside sat down and chugged that coffee so hard I didn't even stop to think about what it would do to me. In hindsight coffee wasn't the same as a shot of tequila but I was too afraid to go into a bar. I laid my face down on the table and began to cry thinking no one would ever believe me. The tears collected in my glasses and made the table look blurry. I heard the seat across from me scoot out so I looked up and cleaned off my glasses. When I put them back on there was a kid, not older than 7 at the time staring at me.
"What's wrong?" He asked, genuine curiosity was on his face so I had no choice but to answer.
"Well, the people I've trusted for years just told me that everything I've worked hard for is just a lie." As I said this I pointed to the papers in front of me.
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