“So far they've been asleep for forty-seven hours without incident. The technicians are working in shifts, and the Doc is just hanging out. They're bored, but I guess that's good. Also, I have some great news; we have completed the tests of the new biological scanners. They'll maintain a constant watch for biological contamination during the sleep process. This should prevent the need for the further precautionary use of biohazard suits when entering the sleep chambers. Explained Cowan excitedly.

“Great news,” Fitch said continued. “James, they want us to do it,” Fitch said.

This got Cowan's attention. He quickly spun his chair around and stood. He started to speak but caught himself. He stared at Fitch and noticed his uniform and his lower jaw dropped.

“Oh, my!” was all he said as he stared at shoulder boards of the man's dress uniform. These looked like the same shoulder boards that usually had the shiny silver eagles of an Army Colonel. Today they each had a single gold star, perfectly centered.

“Yea, that was my reaction too. They're really serious about this project, and they want me to have all the clout I need to get it done. I guess they figured a mere Colonel would have trouble getting enough stuff in gear to get it done.”

“Congratulations Matt. This is wonderful,” Cowan said as he shook his friend's hand.

“Thanks. I'm excited too. Are you in the middle of anything that can't wait?” asked General Fitch.

“No, I was working on designing the automatic systems for a larger sleep chamber,” Cowan answered.

“Let's go talk,” Fitch suggested.

Captain Travers walked into the room. “Welcome back, Colonel,” she said walking over to the desk to pick up a three-ring binder.

“You're mistaken, Amy. The Colonel didn't come back,” Cowan said with a smile.

Captain Travers looked across at the two men in confusion, before her eyes fixed on the gold stars on General Fitch's uniform. “Congratulations, sir! You must have really impressed them with what we're doing.”

“Something like that,” Fitch said. “How is the test going?”

“So far everything is fine. We're having trouble maintaining the pressure in the chamber; it was never designed for this kind of thing. But it looks like we'll be able to make it work for three more days.”

“Good. James and I are going to leave the building for a while. I want you to meet with both of us in my office at 1300 hours,” Fitch instructed.

“Yes sir, General, I'll be there,” Travers answered.

After the men left the building, Cowan became aware of how quiet the General was. When Cowan had inquired about his trip to Washington, Matt hadn't even responded, apparently lost in thought. Cowan decided to give the man the time he needed. Clearly, something was bothering him.