EPILOGUE
The aftermath of the events at Fort Knox was surreal. The raid on the depository dominated every news source for weeks, and all points of the globe remained spellbound by widely circulated reports of the world’s first antigravity machine.
At first, General Blake Freeman tried to contain sensational reports surrounding the application of this revolutionary technology, but Jarrod Conrad’s discovery was too big to hide. While the military gained a significant foothold in consolidating the weapons capability of Jarrod’s technology, the president ordered that the discovery couldn’t justifiably be withheld from society. When the White House finally confirmed the existence of the antigravity technology, a maelstrom of press coverage broadcast the story to every world government. Most news sources hailed the discovery as one of the greatest achievements of modern man, rivaling revolutionary discoveries like DNA by Watson and Crick, Einstein’s relativity, and Steven Hawking’s black holes and cosmic radiation.
Jarrod Conrad finally realized his dream of world renown for his lifelong pursuit to harness gravity, the fourth fundamental law of the universe. He ultimately published his research in the Journal of Atomic Physics: “The Grand Unified Theorem-Gravity Demystified.” He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work in subatomic physics, and Time Magazine declared him Man of the Millennium. For years he basked in the limelight of this well-deserved celebrity.
Just as Alastair Holloway predicted, when the industries of the world realized that gravity had been harnessed, unsolicited offers began pouring into Quantum Labs. Many of the biggest Wall Street corporations sought exclusive manufacturing rights to the device. As the surviving controlling partner of Quantum Corporation, Jarrod amassed incredible wealth in the years to come as his antigravity technology made astounding impacts on every existing technology.
The effect of the F-13 scram on the generator used at Fort Knox was miraculously inconsequential. Conrad’s graduate students eventually perfected the mathematical equations that simulated the parameters of the scram. Their research proved that the critical mass Jarrod had feared was averted by a very slim margin. Never again would this technique be used to halt the machine under full operation.
Jarrod remained a faculty member at Stanford University as Professor Emeritus and taught well into his later years. He spent most of his leisure time in Baltimore, Maryland, with Sela Coscarelli. They purchased a home close to Johns Hopkins University, and although they never married, they enjoyed a close, intimate relationship throughout the remainder of their lives.
Sela Coscarelli continued her research to find a cure for neuromuscular diseases at Johns Hopkins. She never lost her zeal in pursuing a cure for muscular dystrophy, the disease that had cost her nephew Jacob Marshall his life. Sela achieved several significant break-throughs from the inspiration she drew from Jacob’s memory, never losing hope that this deadly disease could one day be vanquished.
Alastair Holloway was arrested at his estate on Hilton Head the morning following the Fort Knox incident. His legendary temper and seemingly unlimited access to money and powerful people was no match for Senator Alfonse Coscarelli.
When Senator Coscarelli learned that Holloway was the mastermind responsible for his daughters’ and grandson’s kidnappings, and had precipitated events culminating at Fort Knox, he ordered federal marshals to immediately take him into custody. He was arrested and held without bail despite a battery of attorneys’ best arguments to the contrary.
Holloway’s trial lasted for several months. The prosecution painstakingly linked every aspect of the crime directly to Holloway and Richard Kilmer. When all the atrocities of the case were finally exposed, the jury found Alastair Holloway guilty of conspiracy, murder, kidnapping, and a host of other felonies that netted him a life sentence without possibility of parole.
Alastair Holloway was incarcerated at Hazelton, the United States Penitentiary in Preston County West Virginia, a maximum-security prison for high-risk felons who could never be released into society. Among Hazelton guards, it became common knowledge that Holloway eventually lost his mind, shouting vile threats to anyone approaching his cell, and swearing on his mother’s grave to one day take revenge on everyone.
Months after Holloway’s incarceration, the beautiful Jurassic was sold to a prominent Hollywood producer who delightedly maintained the yacht’s crew exactly as she was constituted. Captain Suarez never relinquished command until his retirement many years after Holloway departed, enjoying Jurassic’s luxurious accommodations with a much more gracious owner.
Emil Struffeneger was also convicted for his role in aiding Holloway and Kilmer’s men in executing the Fort Knox operation. He was sentenced to thirty-years in the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville and is eligible for parole in 2019.
From Richard Kilmer’s original team, only Colt Hamil and Sully Metusack survived the extraordinary events surrounding Fort Knox, and remain at large to this day.
Lieutenant David Morris was given a hero’s welcome when he returned to California. He was widely credited for breaking the case many law enforcement agencies billed “the crime of the century”-defeating Richard Kilmer’s assault on the U.S. Depository at Fort Knox. He visited the White House, testified before Congress, and received the Medal of Honor from the California attorney general for his “unparalleled and selfless dedication” in solving the Quantum and Livermore crimes. He was offered a lucrative contract from Amazon Books for his exclusive account of the events that led from the Quantum Building in Stanford to America’s Treasury in Fort Knox, Kentucky. His close association with DOD Special Agent Jason Henry, Emerson Palmer, and Rafie Nuzam was never disclosed.
Emerson Palmer again lost track of his old partners Jason Henry and Rafie Nuzam. He returned to Washington, D.C. to resume his private detective business with his newly hired office manager, Angelina Navarro. They eventually married and the couple had their first child several years following the events at Fort Knox. A robust family, the stability of married life, and the devotion they share for each other were things neither of them ever thought possible. They maintained a close relationship with Jarrod Conrad and Sela Coscarelli, which never diminished.
The private detective hired by Senator Coscarelli made a full recovery from his injuries sustained in Stanford. The Senator graciously paid his out-of-pocket medical expenses, and doubled his customary fees for the assignment. He proudly displays the United States Senate Resolution from Alfonse Coscarelli acknowledging his bravery above and beyond the call of duty.
It was several months before Ryan Marshall recovered from the extensive wounds he received at Fort Knox. The multiple gunshot wounds he sustained were not nearly as problematic as the fractured hip and sacral vertebra he suffered jumping from the Lincoln Navigator. Months of painful physical therapy brought him back to nearly normal and he eventually returned to oversee Levitation Solutions, Inc. His first outing was to visit the Rio Grande Gorge construction site where his odyssey had begun several months earlier. Ryan was delighted to see the completed bridge that Corky had erected in his absence. It turned out just as he expected-another award-winning high-steel masterpiece by Levitation Solutions, Inc.
Ryan’s multiple legal entanglements were not so easily dismissed. He faced standing warrants in several jurisdictions, from New Mexico to California. But when the full story of his heroic effort to track down Jarrod, Sela and Jeremiah was completely revealed, the media branded him a modern-day superhero. The public demanded judicial leniency, and Ryan was sentenced to limited term probation, which restricted him from leaving the state of New Mexico. The limitations suited him however, as he had no desire to travel anywhere again without Sarah by his side. Like two plow horses, it was very rare to see either of them alone in subsequent years.
Ryan and Sarah Marshall were remarried in a storybook wedding that was attended by the New Mexico governor, various heads of state, law enforcement dignitaries, academicians, and his beloved construction crew. Jarrod was his best man, and Sela and Angel were bridesmaids. Jeremiah, Jason Henry, Emerson Palmer, and David Morris were also in the wedding party. Senator Coscarelli gave his daughter away for the second time to the same man. Their wedding made national news coverage and the cover of People magazine the following spring.
Jeremiah Marshall suffered no long-term effects from the burn he sustained at Wildcat Farm, but several rounds of plastic surgery were necessary to cover the terrible scar that resulted. He graduated with an engineering
