Hue - pronounced WAY
Hui - pronounced Hughy
Hua - pronounced Huwa
Dati - IndoDutch term for Papa
Baki - IndoDutch term for Brother
Onkla - IndoDutch term for Uncle
It is Bic's turn to shine, he had come so far, an unwanted boy, ready to commit suicide to end his misery in Singapore, all because he was gay. Hue had found him in time to prevent him from jumping into the sea and subsequently adopted him as his own son, much as Hue himself had been adopted in Indonesia so many years ago by the patriarch of the family, Caleb Best. Now, that family was headed to Sacramento to see the latest Best receive his diploma as a Mechanical Engineer, just like his Father and Grandfather before him. Bic had called his Dati two nights before and had told him that he was number one in the Engineering Department. Between them, they decided to keep it as a surprise.
Bic's cousins Hui and Hua were next in line. Hui had just been accepted as a Freshman at Sacramento State University and Hua was a Junior at Fairfield High School. The two boys had an inkling of what was going to take place, after all, Onkla Hue had graduated Class Valedictorian several years earlier. The last cousin, Concho Hue Best, Danny's adopted son was still a little unsure of American customs. Danny had adopted him when they had a job in Peru. Concho, affectionately known as Conchito, was an orphaned Andean Indian boy who had captured the hearts of all those around him, especially Danny and Hue, while they were on a construction job in Peru.
Danny was driving and they had everyone crammed into the Ford Expedition, it was a bit crowded, but it didn't make any sense to take two vehicles. Caleb's other two sons, 'Tal and Jason were already in Sacramento as they had gone up early to assist Bic in clearing out his dormitory room.
Bic was only 4' 11" and had to have a specially equipped car in order to drive. That car was not big enough to carry all his belongings back home, so 'Tal and Jay offered to assist him as Hue was busy finishing up a project in Fresno. They arrived at the stadium where the graduation ceremony was to be held. It was the largest class ever to graduate from Sac-State. They had to have a special pass for parking the car and to even get in to see the graduation.
As they sat down, Conchito said, "I don't see Bic standing with his class." Just then, the band began to play the National Anthem and, as soon as it was finished, the Graduating Seniors marched to their seating area and sat down, but Bic was still not to be seen. Suddenly, Hue was hit with déjà vu, "I wonder........."
The University President stepped up to the rostrum and began to speak, "Ladies and Gentlemen, parents and family of our graduating senior class, I am privileged to introduce to you an outstanding student. He is a third-generation graduate of this University and it seems like only yesterday I was introducing his father on this platform." By now, Hue had tears running down his face. The University President continued, "It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you a young man, who defied all odds and is graduating from Sacramento State University with a perfect 4.0 average for all of his four years at our school. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mr. Bic Hue Best!"
The President stepped back and pushed a step up to the rostrum and the diminutive form of Bic Best walked calmly up and shook the hand of the President before stepping up on the box. He looked around and spotted his family, he bowed to them before speaking, "President Granger, Ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow students and my Family, who is sitting over there." He pointed to his Family before continuing, "Yeah I am short, but good things come in small packages!" The students hollered and cat-called for a few moments, then Bic continued, "Many of you know my story, but for those who do not, I had been thrown away by my birth family because I was different than what they expected. I survived in the wilds of Malaysia for two months, until I could face it no longer. A family was camping and picnicking near where I was hiding and I had planned to jump into the sea as soon as they left. I could not swim, so it was a way out of my pain and misery. A young man spotted me and chased me down with his older brother, they held me, they cared for me and they taught me that my birth family was wrong! I DID HAVE VALUE! That young man nurtured me and became my FATHER, Mr. Hue Daniel Best. He gave me a life, he gave me hope and he gave me the opportunity to be me. I am an American Man now, with a future and, like my fellow graduates sitting before me, WE ARE THE FUTURE. But what kind of future will it be, will it be one like mine would have been, or will it be one like what has been given to me? I challenge you all, and myself, to go through life as my FATHER has, for if we don't, there will be many small bodies washed up on the beach, unable to contribute to their generation. Every day, I challenge myself, what would my Father do? Without those like my Father, there would be none like ourselves."
Bic sat down to utter silence, then one by one, his fellow graduates stood and slowly clapped, not in celebration, but rather in honor of Bic's words. There were no dry eyes among the Best Family, Caleb was bawling like a baby, as was Hue.
As the graduates circulated in search of their families, Bic brought a very short-statured young man and stood before his Father, "Dati, this is Phillip and we have chosen each other as life partners, we ask your approval and blessing."
A startled Hue looked shocked and Phillip, fearing Hue's disapproval, started to back away. Hue reached out and held the young man by his shoulders, looking him squarely in the eyes, "Phillip", he turned to Bic, "Bic, I am honored that you have asked me, I will deny neither of you the happiness you deserve. I ask only that you be good to each other."
Danny and Concho came up and congratulated Bic. Bic introduced Phillip to them and Concho took matters into his own hands, He grabbed Phillip and hugged, he whispered in Phillip's ear, "Welcome, BATI!"
A shaky Caleb came over, leaning heavily on Danny's arm, "Welcome, Grandson," as he hugged the young man. Caleb continued, "Will you join us for supper at Old Town?"
The young man looked sad, "Yes sir, I would love to, my own family refused to come to my graduation."
Caleb started to say something and Bic whispered, "Later, Grandpapa, later."
By using 'Tal and Jay's car, they were able to transport everyone to Hue's Carnivore Delight, The House of Prime Rib. The two new graduates finally unwound from the day's excitement and everyone enjoyed their favorite restaurant.
As they were enjoying an after-dinner coffee, Caleb said to Danny, "It's time."
Danny stood and asked for everyone's attention, "We are making some changes to the company." He turned to Caleb and said, "Dad is now the President Emeritus of Best & Sons Engineering and I am now the President." This wasn't unexpected, Caleb had already told everyone that he was retiring. Danny continued, "I have three packages here." He handed one to Hue, one to Bic and the last one to 'Tal.
Hue got his open first and had to sit down, SUDDENLY! His package of business cards read, "Mr. Hue D. Best, PE - Vice President of Engineering.
As Bic got his open, he also sat down, tears flowing down his face. Phillip took the package from Bic's shaking hands, it read "Mr. Bic H. Best, Mechanical Engineering Manager." Bic said through his tears, "But Grandpapa, that is Dati."
Caleb laughed, "You need to read your Dad's cards!"
'Tal just sat there, not opening his package. Jay reached across 'Tal and took his package from his shaking hands, "Mr. Singh 'Tal Best, CPA - Vice President, Finance."
It was a stunned group that returned to Fairfield that evening.
The next day, Danny asked everyone to meet at his and Caleb's house at 10 am. When they all arrived, Conchito served everyone coffee and then he went to sit with his cousins, Hui and Hua in the back of the room. They were not about to be left out, they were sons also! Caleb was sitting on the couch and Danny started the meeting. He looked to Caleb, who shook his head, "It's your show, Danny", he said.
Danny laid some papers out on the table, "We have an offer from the University of Hawaii to build a Volcano Research Station on the Big Island, Hawaii. It will be up on the top of Mauna Loa, with satellite stations on Mauna Kea and Kilauea. There is to be an administrative center in Hilo and a datalink system to Honolulu. It is partially funded by the US Government and they are offering a management fee of $13,000,000 plus 32% T & M. They will include all transportation and living costs for both management and employees, including two weeks paid vacation per year and health costs. They estimate the project to be four years. There is no early completion bonus.
Hue, remembering Peru, asked, "What are the living arrangements?"
Danny replied, "Custom-built trailers on-site and modular homes in Hilo."
'Tal asked, "How long do we have to make a decision?"
Danny said, "Not as long as I would like, only two weeks."
Hue said, "OK, I want to go out and take a look, I want 'Tal and Bic to come with me." He turned and looked at Bic, "Yes, Phillip may come with us." He laughed and looked at 'Tal, "Jay, too?"
'Tal replied, "Not without Hui and Hua!"
Danny laughed, "Ok, Bakis, I give. They all can go!"
Jay got busy and made flight reservations for them all to depart on Wednesday, only two days away! Bic had not been on a plane since he arrived from Singapore. He sat in his room wondering what to take.
Phillip sat down beside him and gave him a hug, "I know, I am only a lowly electrical engineer among all you mechs, but even I know, you gotta take clothes!"
Bic jumped up, "I will be right back!" He ran downstairs to see his Dati. "Dati, you know that Philip is an EE, don't you?"
Hue said, "Well, is he interested in working with Best & Sons?"
Bic looked at him, "You are joking, aren't you?"
Hue replied, "Well?"
Bic ran back upstairs as fast as his short legs would carry him and grabbed Phillip, dragging him back down the stairs. He said, "Dati, ASK HIM!"
Hue smiled and handed Phillip a small package, "You want these?"
Phillip opened the wrapper and screamed, "YESSSSSSSSS!" The cards inside the package read, "Mr. Phillip L. Basque, EE-Electrical Engineering Manager, Best & Sons Engineering". Phillip clung to Hue, "My own family has disowned me, telling me to never show my face to them again. You hardly know me and you take me in, give me a home and now give me a dream job!"
Hue comforted the overwrought young man, Bic had clued him in earlier on what had happened in Phillip's family and he and Danny had decided to make this offer to Phillip.
Just to be fair, Danny sent Conchito along with them to Hilo. He and Hui were about the same age and thick as thieves. He didn't envy Hue or 'Tal, riding herd on that tribe! Danny took them all to the airport in the Expedition, excitement was running pretty high among the boys, it was kind of, "they were old enough to know all about it, but not old enough to do anything about it!"
Hui was determined that he was going to try a thing called a Mai Tai. Concho said, "Better talk to your Dati or Onkla Hue first."
Hui said, "Shhhhh, they ain't gonna know!"
Concho shook his head, it sounded like trouble to him. They had only a small amount of luggage, they were only going to be gone for a week.
They checked in their luggage and collected their tickets and boarding passes. Hue glared at the security agent as he perused their passports, but nothing was said. After all, Hawaii was still part of the United States! They waited in the Premier Lounge for almost an hour, the flight from Los Angeles was late. As they boarded, the stewardess was surprised to see so many young men claiming Business Class seats, but she checked their boarding passes and they were in order. Because the flight was already late, as soon as all the passengers had boarded, the pilot started the engines and rolled the plane out onto the tarmac. It was only a four-and-one-half-hour flight to Hilo, so all they got was a bagged sandwich for a meal.
As they were walking off the plane at the Hilo airport, Phillip's stomach gave a loud rumble, poor Phillip got red in the face, but Hue said, "My sentiments, EXACTLY, let's find a place to get some food!"
They had rented a mini-van and they were all headed to the Hilo Meridien Hotel when Bic spotted a sign, "ITO's Genuine Japanese Cuisine". He said, "Let's try that."
'Tal said, "Are you sure you want to eat Japanese food?"
Bic said, "How bad can it be, it's just food!"
Hue was driving, so he turned in and parked the van. Everyone traipsed into the restaurant and waited to be seated, ON THE FLOOR! Bic and Phillip grinned when they saw the tables, "Ahhh, just our size!" They decided the food was mostly good, however, the pickled octopus arms were still in their dish! Concho thought they were all crazy, he ate everything he could get on his plate!
They were met the next morning by a young staffer from the Volcano Observatory and he took them up the mountain to the Kilauea Observatory. There Professor Ian MacDonald outlined what the objectives were for the project and showed them pictures of where all the facilities were to be built. They asked questions about available electric power, fresh water and road access. The question of available manpower was of particular importance to Hue, so a local contractor was called in from Hilo.
That night, Hue called Danny on the telephone, "We need to put some caveats in the contract about local labor and utilities. These locations might just as well be in Borneo, they are so remote a couple of them require a helicopter to get there!" Danny was taking notes as Hue was talking. Hue continued, "Other than that, it looks pretty good so far. Tomorrow we are going to go to the bore location. That one has me kinda worried, they want to bore down 38,000 feet! That's 7 miles!"
Danny replied, "Bati, this is your decision, if we don't take the job, there are others we can take. Don't worry about turning it down if it looks like a bad deal!"
The next morning, the staffer and Professor MacDonald met them at the helicopter pad. Hue, Phillip and Bic went on the helicopter, the rest went back to Hilo to wait for them at the hotel. The helicopter took them to a shelf of land sticking out into the ocean. It was here that they were proposing to begin their bore.
Hue crawled all over the rocks and asked about storms and rain runoff coming down the mountainside. He noted where the nearest electric facilities were and Phillip took pictures of the small substation just above the shelf.
Professor MacDonald seemed rather anxious, "Do you think it can be done?"
Hue thought for a few minutes and replied, "Yes, it can be done, but there will need to be some safety improvements. That single road access and the helicopter are not sufficient. If I am going to put any of my people out here, I want a power boat tied up so escape by water is available."
Professor MacDonald said, "That is what I told them in Honolulu, but they keep saying the helicopter is enough."
Hue asked, "What happens if there is an eruption and there is hot lava between here and the helicopter pad?"
They finished their inspection and the helicopter returned them to Hilo. Hue walked in and asked if anyone was interested in supper. He looked around and said, "Where is Hui?" Concho got a guilty look on his face and Hue zeroed in on him, "Ok, 'Chito, where is Hui? NOW!"
Concho replied, "I,ii, I er errrr, I think he is at the swimming pool."
Hue said, "Look at me, 'Chito, WHERE. IS. HUI?"
Concho threw his arms over Hue, "I told him to leave that stuff alone, he is in our room drinking some fruit stuff that tastes awful!"
Hue hollered for 'Tal and Jay, "We got us a problem, let's get to the boys' room NOW!"
They went running down the hall and opened the door. There was Hui, leaning over the end of the bed, bringing up everything he had eaten for the last month! The boy was in misery, "Oh, Onkla Hue, I feel awful, the room is spinning and my stomach hurts!"
Hue sat beside the boy and said, "What have you been drinking?"
Hui pointed at a bottle, it said "Okolehao, Native Hawaiian Liquor."
Hue yelled to 'Tal, "Get me some Alka-Seltzer, quick!" Hue mixed up a fizzing potion and had the boy drink it down, then he ran him into the bathroom where he threw up everything in his stomach. Hue said, "You guys go eat, I will stay here with the up-chuck boy until he feels better."
After about an hour, Hui began to feel a bit better, "Oh Onkla Hue, I will never touch alcohol again, ohhhhhhhhhh!" He had to run back to throw up some more!
By the time the others came back from eating, Hui had managed to fall asleep and Hue was chuckling.
Tal looked at him, "What?"
Hue replied, "Oh, never mind, some of us boys have to learn our lessons the hard way." Hue never explained his statement and to the best of anyone's knowledge, Hui never drank anything with alcohol in it for the rest of his life!
The last day they were there, Hue, 'Tal, Jay and Bic sat down and compared notes. Hue wrote up a summation of their thoughts for presentation to Danny and Caleb when they got back home, they all agreed that they would not say anything about Hui's indiscretion. The boy still felt woozy and was very careful what he ate!
They met with Professor MacDonald and told him of their preliminary thoughts. He agreed with most of them and said they would wait to get the final report.
The next morning they drove to the Hilo Airport and turned in their rental van. They had about an hour to kill before it was boarding time and they spent it looking at the beautiful tropical flowers growing all around the airport. The trip back to San Francisco was boring, they all caught up on their sleep and were glad when they felt the airplane begin its descent into San Francisco International Airport. Danny met them with the Expedition and all were asleep before they were even back on the freeway.
The next day, they all met and went over the notes that Hue had put together and put them into a counter-proposal to the University. Almost immediately, their reply came back with all their concerns included in a revised contract. Neil was there visiting Caleb and he looked it over. He felt it was a good contract, so Danny signed it and returned it as accepted.
They established the start date as three weeks hence and began collecting tools and equipment to be air freighted to Hilo. Conchito came to Hue and very shyly asked, "Onkla Hue, could I come with you, I could go to school in Hawaii. I will be good, I promise!"
Hue spoke to the others and they all agreed, Danny said that he would be out to view the project enough that he would not miss 'Chito too badly. It turned out that Danny would spend most of his time in Hilo anyway.
As soon as Hui heard about the arrangement, he ran to Hue and pleaded that he go also until August, when he would be entering Sacramento State University. Hue looked down his nose at the boy and raised his eyebrows in question.
Hui said, "Never again Onkla, I promise!"
After a family meeting, both boys were included in the group going to Hawaii, they notified the University that they would need three houses for themselves and sufficient housing for 23 employees. The day of departure a whole caravan of vehicles arrived at San Francisco International Airport, their group took up the entire Business Class section of the aircraft. They had a direct flight to Hilo and five hours later they were at the car rental kiosk arranging for long term leases on cars and vans.
Professor MacDonald and his assistant, Greg Hollister, met them at the airport. Greg was to be their liaison for the entire project. It took them the rest of the day to get settled in. Hue, Bic and Phillip would stay in trailers at the project site. Concho would stay with Hue and Hui would bunk with Bic and Phillip. The modular houses would be for Danny whenever he was in location and Caleb, if he could come for a visit. The other modular house would be occupied by 'Tal and Jay whenever they came. As it turned out, Hue ended up staying in one of the modular houses with Concho and Hui because it was central to the helicopter, which Hue seemed to be glued to and it was closer to the schools for Concho! Hui would be returning in August to begin his Freshman Year at Sac-State.
The construction began with a monitoring station and on the upper slopes of Mauna Loa. Power had to be run 12 miles up the mountain and the road improved to allow supplies and construction materials to be trucked in. By the second week, Hue was beginning to hate that helicopter, he even bought special sound-dampening ear muffs, just so he could hear himself think!
Phillip was in the helicopter almost as much as Hue, all the sites needed electric power. Jamison Air Services even provided a fold-down step so that Phillip and Bic could mount the aircraft without having to take a running leap for the seat.
As soon as power was run to the rock shelf where the bore was to begin, forms were built and a concrete pad poured for the helicopter. Bollards were installed to hold a power boat and a locker was constructed to hold life jackets and extra fuel for the boat. A work platform was poured, with a drilling spud in the center to accept the bore bit. Phillip decided that it would be better to run data cable along with the power lines, rather than depend upon a datalink system to monitor the bore. It would also provide hard-wired communication between the bore site and the control room on Mauna Loa.
Danny had subcontracted with Keezer Drill Specialties of Houston, Texas to do the actual bore, they sent a specialist and 6 workers as soon as the concrete had cured. They estimated the bore would require 18 months to reach the planned depth. They moved all their equipment in by barge and used a small crane to lift it to the work pad. It took them a week to set up and begin the bore.
Hue had to rush concrete in, a blowhole had opened up in the rock and every time a wave hit it, the bore crew was sprayed with seawater. While they were at it, they enlarged the boat dock so that all the men working at the bore site could get to the boat in an emergency, all at the same time.
The data relay and supervisory station on Kilauea was a prefab modular building that could be flown in with a heavy lift helicopter. As soon as it was set, Phillip and his electricians began wiring the communications and instrumentation systems. Two days later, all the construction sites were linked via telephone communication.
Danny flew out to observe the job, Concho was delighted to see his Dati and was anxious to show him all around. While he was there, he got Concho enrolled in High School, it would be his senior year. He had made tremendous progress since his arrival and Danny did not want to lose any momentum. He met with the University officials and also with Professor MacDonald, everyone seemed pleased with the progress so far and, just as he was walking into the house, his cell phone rang.
It was Phillip, "Danny, I am sending the helicopter for you, there has been a blowout at the bore, Hue is already there and he is asking that you come immediately!"
Concho was standing next to Danny and heard every word, tears began welling up in his eyes, "Iiiis, is Onkla Hue alright?" The frightened boy asked.
Danny replied, "I don't know. Where is Hui?"
Concho said, "He is next door, playing basketball. I will go get him!" Concho raced next door and the two boys came running back as fast as they could, both of them with tears of fright running down their faces. They jumped in Danny's car and raced to the heliport next to Hilo Airport. The helicopter was waiting for them, the rotors idling, ready to rev up.
The pilot said, "I have the bore platform on the radio."
He handed a headset to Danny. He heard Hue's voice over the earphones, "This is Best Bore, calling Jamison Helicopter 1, over."
Danny turned one earpiece so the boys could hear, "Best Bore, this Jamison Helicopter 1, Danny Best speaking. Hue, are you alright? Over."
Hue came back, "Jamison Helicopter 1, this is Best Bore. Yes, Danny, everyone is all right, just scared. The bore hit a hot pocket and steam blew back. I have one slightly injured man who needs to go to the hospital. Over."
Danny leaned back in relief, Hui grabbed the headset and began, "Best Bore, this is Jamison Helicopter 1, Hui speaking. Onkla Hue, we are in the air." He looked at the pilot, who held up 5 fingers. Hui continued, "Best Bore, this is Jamison Helicopter 1, Hui Best speaking, expect arrival in 5 minutes, I say again, FIVE MINUTES, over."
Hue came back, "Jamison Helicopter 1, this is Best Bore, understand 5 minutes, we are transporting the injured man to the helipad. Best Bore out."
As the helicopter set down, two boys flashed out the door and raced to the group of men standing at the edge of the pad. Hue had two frightened teens holding him, both were crying. Danny was not far behind the boys. He checked Hue out and then helped the men load the injured man into the helicopter. Danny waved the pilot off, "Come back for us, get this man to Hilo General Hospital."
The boys patted Hue down, making sure he did not hurt anywhere. After the helicopter had left, Hue explained, "We were drilling at about 420 feet and we hit a pocket of hot rocks. Sea water evidently seeped in and steam blew the bore bit out of the hole and burned the bore operator." He pointed to the bore pipe, "See, it has already sealed itself off, the steam has stopped blowing."
Concho was standing at the edge of the pad, shaking like a leaf and tears flowing down his face. Hue went over to the frightened boy and put his arms around him, "'Chito, I am all right, honest. I was never in any danger and the man who got hurt just got a minor steam burn on his arm." He held the boy until he had calmed down, then he led both boys over to the bore and showed them where the steam had blown out.
Hue ordered the bore stopped until he could design and install a safety collar that would carry away any pressured blow-by that came up from the hole. When that was completed, the bore was allowed to resume. Some days, the boring bit would almost sink into the earth and other, only inches per day could be gained. The hospital kept the injured man overnight, much to his disgust. The next morning, he was waiting at the helipad for transport to the wellhead. When the pilot questioned if he had been released from the hospital, the man waived his discharge papers and jumped into the helicopter.
Danny and Hui had to leave before school started, so Hue took Concho to Hilo High School the first day. That evening, Concho was bubbling over with the events of his day. Because he had grown so tall, he had been asked to play on the basketball team and he was placed in advanced Calculus, AP History, AP World Events and AP Chemistry! The chemistry counted as two courses because it also was a lab. He brought all his books home to show his Onkla Hue.
Hue thought to himself, "A couple of years ago, he was an unschooled Indian boy, struggling to write a letter to his new cousins!"
Homework began taking up Concho's time, but he still went with Onkla Hue to the job site on weekends. When his classmates learned that his Uncle was the Job Manager for the Bore Hole Project, they were all after him to get them out to see the bore that had made such news in all the papers.
Finally, Concho brought his Chemistry teacher to meet Hue and they arranged a field trip for the class to visit the project. Concho acquired celebrity status for a while! The class was given core samples from the bore and they spent several weeks analyzing the minerals.
By Christmas, all the relay stations had been completed and the central metering and data station on Kilauea was completed. The job of running utilities to the two mountain labs on Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea and the datalink to Honolulu remained. This involved many miles of pipeline and overhead electric lines, it was a slow and tedious process.
On Christmas Eve, the drilling crew reported that they were at the 8,000 foot level and that the rock was "sticky", meaning it was semi-plastic. They called in Professor MacDonald and he took samples with him to study and analyze in his lab. Hue knocked the crews off for Christmas Day and he and his brothers hosted a Christmas party for their employees in the parts warehouse in Hilo. They invited Professor MacDonald and their liaison Greg Hollister to attend. Traditional turkey and all the sides had been flown out from the "Mainland" special for the occasion.
By the late afternoon, everyone was loosening their belts and groaning about having eaten too much! Professor MacDonald reported that there was nothing unusual about the rocks and speculated that, as the depth and pressure increased, the problem would become worse. They resumed the bore the next day and, as the depth and pressure increased, they found they were changing bore bits daily. The boring crew asked if a machine shop could be set up nearby to refurbish the bits instead of sending them to Honolulu.
Hue looked around and decided against locating the shop on Kilauea because the volcano was never still, it bounced and rocked daily. He found an empty building in Hilo and ordered the machinery needed to refurbish the bore bits.
By June, when school let out for the summer, the bore was at the 14,000 foot level and the bit was so hot, it could not be handled when it was drawn up to the surface. They had some minor steam blows, but Hue's collar prevented any escaped steam from harming anyone. They had detected "bad smells" whenever the bit was withdrawn and Greg Hollister brought a vapor analyzer from the University lab to test the gases. He reported carbon monoxide, oxides of sulfur and traces of methane venting from the bore pipe. The first two were understandable, but the methane was a complete mystery. Professor MacDonald asked for rock samples and Hue sent him a week's worth of rock chips that had been cleaned out of the bit. The rock down in the hole was too hard to be able to collect a core sample. Greg reported back that the rock chips contained traces of decomposed organic matter, at that depth, nobody had a clue as to its source!
While the Hawaii Trench bottomed out at about 35,000 feet, they were drilling in volcanic overlay that had been built upwards by the volcano from the sea floor for millions of years!
Finally, school let out for the summer and Concho came home excited, almost to a frenzy. He was dancing at the door when Hue got home. He grabbed Hue's hand and drew him to the kitchen table. There were two envelopes sitting there, Concho handed the first one to Hue, it was his report card, he had gotten all A's in all his classes!
Hue said, "Let's call your Dati and tell him this wonderful news!"
Concho replied, "Read the next envelope first, Onkla Hue."
Hue opened the next envelope and nearly dropped it to the floor. It was an acceptance offer from the University of Hawaii in their Earth Sciences Department! Hue sat down on the chair, stunned! He hugged Concho, "Oh 'Chito, how wonderful. Is this what you want to do?"
The boy said, "Yes, I want to study the Earth and volcanoes. They have been a part of my life since I was a baby, now maybe I can help my people!"
They burned up the telephone wires that night, calling back to California. Danny was so excited, he nearly crawled through the telephone to congratulate his son! He promised to be on the first available plane to Hilo. When they called Jamil and Dail, they were equally as excited. Hue contacted Bic and Phillip up at Kilauea and they headed back to Hilo immediately.
Concho asked, "Should I call Grandpapa?" Hue handed him the phone in answer. When Caleb answered his phone, Concho said, "Grandpapa, I have been accepted at the University of Hawaii in the Earth Sciences School!"
There was a long pause and Concho was getting worried that something was wrong with Caleb, then he heard, "'Chito, how wonderful, your Dati, Danny, is right here, we BOTH are coming to see you!"
Bic and Phillip burst in the door, hugging Concho and congratulating him. Concho announced, "Dati and Grandpapa are coming tomorrow!"
There was little sleep that night, Concho was wound up like an eight day clock and the rest were little better!
They had the cleaning service touch up the unused modular house for Danny and Caleb and stocked it with things they thought the two men would need. The flight from San Francisco was due in at 4:30 in the afternoon, Concho was ready to go to the airport at noon! They finally convinced him that a half hour early was plenty and they arrived just a few minutes after 4 in the afternoon.
They watched the plane land and taxi up to the Jetway. People came off the plane, but no Danny and no Caleb. Concho was near to tears, when they saw Danny pushing Grandpapa in a wheel chair! They all rushed up the ramp, ignoring the "DO NOT ENTER" signs.
Caleb hugged Concho and then he stood up, "This durned thing is only to get me down that long walkway, it belongs to the airport and THAT is where it is going to stay!"
Danny was on one side of Caleb and Hue was on the other to steady him. They collected the luggage and brought the car around to the door so Caleb didn't have to walk so far. They all sat up late that night talking. Danny said that Hui would not be out to Hawaii that summer because he was taking a summer lab course. Like all his Family before him, his grades were beyond reproach. It was Dr. Long's last year as he was going to retire as Chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, but he had called Caleb to tell him about Hui's excellent scholastic record.
The elevation at Kilauea was too high for Caleb, so Concho stayed with him as Danny went with Hue to observe the progress. When they got to the drilling pad, Mitch Riley, the Keezer Drilling Services foreman reported that they had reached the 21,000 foot level. He showed them samples of the rock chips they had cleaned out of the bit and Hue decided to send them off to Professor MacDonald for analysis.
Just as they were getting into the helicopter to return to the Kilauea Control building, the mountain gave a violent shrug and a loud groaning sound was heard. Hue screamed at the drilling crew, "Emergency shut down, NOW!" They backed the bit upwards and hit all the emergency breakers to stop the bore. They came running for the helicopter pad just as another violent lurch sent several of the bore crew sprawling on the ground.
There was the shriek of escaping gases coming from the bore pipe and suddenly, fire shot out the pipe and rose into the sky for a thousand feet or more! The mountain was still jumping around, so Hue ordered everyone to evacuate until things calmed down.
Mitch hollered, "What about the fire?"
Hue replied, "Let it burn, there is nothing but rocks out here anyway!"
Meanwhile, down in Hilo the severe shocks were felt. Buildings began to sway and circuit breakers tripped sending the entire area into darkness. Concho was holding onto Caleb to keep him from falling and, at the same time, frantically dialing the telephone, trying to reach Kilauea Center.
After several attempts, Phillip answered the phone, Concho shouted, "Onkla Hue and Dati were going to the bore site, are they OK?"
Phillip replied, "Yes, 'Chito, they just emergency shut down the bore and the helicopter is on its way to Hilo with the bore crew and our guys on board! Nobody is reported hurt!"
Concho helped his Grandpapa to the couch as the building continued to dance on its foundations. They sat down, holding each other. About 15 minutes later, Hue and Danny walked in the door, followed a short while later by Phillip and Bic, who had driven down the mountain.
The Earth's convulsions continued all night long, finally tapering off mid-morning the next day. Hue decided to let things calm down before returning to the bore. He did have Jamison Air Services take him on a flight around the bore site and Kilauea Center to look for damage. There was no sign of any fire at the bore, other than a scorched bore pipe and there appeared to be no damage at the Center. When he returned to Hilo, he packaged up the rock chip samples and sent them by courier to Professor MacDonald.
Hue decided to take his Family out to dinner. The Yacht Club Dining Room served excellent seafood and, by the time everyone had stuffed themselves with Mahi Mahi, they were ready for bed. It had been an exciting couple of days, but none were anxious to repeat the experience any time soon!
Just before taking Caleb and Danny to the airport to catch their flight back to California, Professor MacDonald called, "Hue, those rock chips you sent me are quite radioactive. So much so, they probably should have been packaged in a lead container! That is not unusual for rocks at that depth, I am more concerned about the fire. I am sending some graduate students over and they will take some gas samples over a period of several days, maybe we can determine what we are working with."
August rolled around and Hue took Concho to Honolulu to get him settled in the Freshman Dorm. His roommate had already arrived, Paul Duncan from West Texas. He, also was planning on an Earth Sciences major and was very interested in Hue's Bore Project. The two young men seemed compatible and were soon comparing notes on their class schedules.
Hue decided to go over to the Earth Sciences Building and speak with Professor MacDonald. He knocked on his door and the Professor answered it himself, "My staff is still on summer break, they won't be back until tomorrow." He invited Hue in and they sat talking, the professor insisted that Hue call him Ian and the troubling rock chips came up in their conversation. Ian said, "The amount of heat we are dealing with is troubling, it should not be that high. If only we had water down there, we could likely generate enough electricity for the whole island!"
Hue asked, "Why not consider a recovery boiler set on top of the bore?"
Ian replied, "Yeah, why not." He picked up the telephone and called a couple of his graduate students, asking them to come over to his office.
When they arrived and learned what the two men were talking about, they became very excited and asked Hue if they could visit the bore site and take some measurement. Hue reminded them that was still a work in progress and had about another 15,000 feet yet to bore through, They said that even preliminary measurements would indicate the possibilities, so Hue gave them permission to visit the work site as needed.
Ian asked Hue, "I understand your nephew, Concho Best, is joining us as a freshman this year. I was impressed with his scholastic record, but puzzled that it begins only at his sophomore year in high school."
Hue explained that Concho had been an orphaned Andean Indian who his brother, Daniel Best, had adopted. He continued, "Danny sent him to a special school as he had never attended any schooling at all before. He tested out at the Sophomore level after 18 months in the school. He is certainly an exceptional student and young man, we are all very proud of him!"
Ian replied, "WOW, I am looking forward to having him in my department!"
They continued talking about the project and Hue sketched out what he thought a heat recovery boiler would look like fitted to the top of the bore pipe. Ian was impressed, he asked, "Hue, would you lead a seminar next spring on this subject. Here, in Hawaii, all our electricity is generated with imported fuel. It used to be that the sugar mills burned bagasse, left over from processing sugar cane, and generated our electricity. But now, all those mills are shut down and the cane fields are gone. If we could generate a significant amount of electricity using the heat from that pipe, it would lessen our dependence on fuel oil!"
Hue agreed to lead a week seminar on the subject, he felt it was good relations, and, who knows, maybe a contract to build a heat pipe power plant!
After concluding his discussion with Ian, Hue returned to Concho's dorm room to find both boys fast asleep. He walked around the campus for about 2 hours, admiring the tropical plants and attractive buildings. When he returned, both Concho and Paul were awake, so he invited them out for an early supper before he had to return to Hilo. He had seen an advertisement for a place called M's Ranch House of Prime Rib, and being a dedicated carnivore, he wanted to try it out. After a meal that left them all groaning, he dropped the boys off at their dorm and he returned to the airport to check in his rental car and meet his flight back to Hilo.
The next day, he called Danny and advised him of the latest developments. Danny was excited about the prospects of building an experimental power plant and told Hue to keep "His Ear To The Ground"!
He got Concho's dorm room number from Hue and planned to call his son that evening. Hue got on his computer and ordered some books about heat recovery systems from Amazon.com. It was a relatively new field as applied to earth sourced dry heat systems. A number of systems had been built using earth produced steam, but this was a new application entirely!
Concho loved his classes and had become good friends with his roommate, they studied together and both were at the top of their classes. Their grades reminded Ian that he was going to observe the two students and he was impressed, he felt they were well beyond their grade level! He included them both in the work his graduate students were doing with the bore project. Both young men remained on campus for fall break, working on an extra credit project for Professor MacDonald.
At Christmas, Hue insisted that Concho come to Hilo for the holidays. Concho called him on the telephone when Paul was not in the room, "Onkla, Paul cannot afford to go home for Christmas. He is on a very tight budget, is there anyway he can join us for Christmas?"
Hue replied, "Of course he may, I will send you both plane tickets in the mail. When you are here, we will speak more about this, just you and I!"
When the tickets arrived, Concho had to talk fast to convince Paul to accept his Uncle's invitation. Paul was a very proud young man and was reluctant to accept anything that seemed like charity. The two young men stepped off the airplane in Hilo and were met by Hue. He hugged them both and told Concho that his Dati and Grandpapa would visit right after Christmas, before they had to return to classes. Concho was delighted and told Paul that he would love his Grandpapa! Paul was a bit wary, unaccustomed to such largesse.
Hue took them both to visit the bore, which was now down to 30,000 feet. The amount of heat issuing out of the pipe was staggering, a continuous spray of water was needed to protect the workers operating the bore! He took them also through the Kilauea Center and both the Control Center on Mauna Kea and the relay station of Mauna Loa. Paul was nearly overwhelmed by the amount of instrumentation that Phillip and his crew of electricians had installed.
On their drive back to Hilo, Hue said, "When we get back, I want to talk to both of you."
Concho had his suspicions about what his Uncle wanted to talk about, but he said nothing. Paul had no idea, but was a little concerned that perhaps he had irritated this important man. Hue just smiled and both of them and said, "Just a little talk before we go out to supper!"
The drive was uneventful and they all headed to the showers before dressing for supper. Hue had told them they were all going to the Yacht Club to eat as soon as Phillip and Bic got there.
Paul had not met Bic yet, he asked Concho, "Is Bic really only 4 feet, 11 inches tall?"
Concho laughed, "Yep, he and Phillip are just the same!"
Paul laughed, relaxed at last, "WOW, talk about small packages!"
Concho replied, "I wouldn't advise using that word, small, either of them could probably take us both on and WIN!"
Just then, Hue asked if they both would come into the dining room so they could talk. Paul tensed up again, worried. Concho didn't say anything, he was pretty sure what his Onkla Hue was going to say. When they had all sat down, Hue asked Paul, "Are you planning on going home for summer break?"
Paul stammered, "Ah eer uhn, no sir, I am going to stick around and find a job."
Hue smiled, "Ah, good, how about both of you working the summer as Engineering Interns with Best & Sons Engineering?" He continued, "It won't be an easy job, but I guarantee that it will be interesting!"
Paul looked at Hue, "This isn't just a make work job, is it?"
Hue replied, "Absolutely not! We want to get involved in developing a recovery boiler to reclaim all that heat coming up and out the bore pipe. In fact, I am giving a seminar on the subject in March and I want you both to attend. I will clear it with Professor MacDonald."
Paul dissolved into tears, "My Papa died last year and Mama can't afford to keep me here. If I didn't find a job, I was going to have to drop out of the University." He looked at Hue, "Sir, you hardly know me and you are giving me this opportunity?"
Hue hugged the upset young man, "Oh, Paul, I know a lot about you. My nephew is your friend and I KNOW my nephew. If you were not worth our time, he would have dropped you long before now!"
As soon as Bic and Phillip arrived and had gotten cleaned up, they all crowded into Hue's rental car and headed for the Yacht Club. When they got there and were seated, Hue told the boys, "Order anything you want, but I recommend the Mahi-Mahi!"
Paul asked, "What in the world is that?"
Hue replied, "It is dolphinfish. Not the flipper variety, but actually a fish. It is very good." Both boys agreed to try the Mahi-Mahi, they were not disappointed!
When they returned to the house, Paul grabbed Concho and said, "Lets talk." When they got in the bedroom, Paul said, "Conch, is your Uncle for real? Does he really mean for me to work for his company?"
Concho grinned, "You bet, Paul, and he means it when he said that it wouldn't be an easy job!" He continued, "Let me tell you about my Onkla Hue." Concho proceeded to tell his roommate about how his Grandpapa had found Hue and how he had saved him from a lifetime of horror as a boy sex slave. By the time Concho had finished, they both were in tears. Concho continued, "It was Onkla Hue who rescued Bic, he had planned to drown himself rather than continue living in the jungle." He added, "Even though it was Dati who adopted me, it was Onkla Hue who cared for me as a small child, I was only 12 years old and my Poppa and Mamma were killed in a volcanic landslide. He let me stay in their home and pretend I was their houseboy!"
By the time Concho finished, Paul was near tears, "I doubted this man and still he made it possible for me to continue at the University!" Paul decided right then that he would be the best Engineering Intern that Mr. Hue Best had ever seen! The two young men would remain best friends for the remainder of their lives.
The next day, Hue took them both back to the Bore Site and told them to observe the bore operation for 4 hours, note everything they saw and make an analysis of how it could be done better. He handed them both notebooks and left to go to the Kilauea Center. He watched the two in the remote camera, they didn't waste any time. They used Concho's Timex watch with the stop second sweep and timed every movement the bore crew made. Then they measured the amount of rock chips they pried out of the bore bit each time they raised it and Paul found a contact thermister in the ready box, so he measured the temperature of the bit each time it was raised. They then put the thermister on the edge of the bore pipe and read off the temperature change as the bit rose in the bore pipe, towards the surface. They found that the thermister would not read gas temperature, so they rigged a piece of steel to ride on the bore casing, next to the flexible drive shaft. As the bit was pulled up, they snatched a temperature reading off the steel bar every 15 seconds. Hue was impressed with their ingenuity and was anxious to take a look at their data.
When he saw the boy's data, he was flabbergasted, "No wonder we are having fires!" The temperature of the steel bar climbed up to 2300 degrees by the time the bore bit reached the surface! On the way down the mountain, Hue asked the two young men, "How does $22.50 an hour sound for your work as Interns?"
Paul screeched, "$22.50?"
Hue chuckled, "You were hoping for more?"
Paul said, "NO SIR, I was hoping for at least $10 an hour!?"
Hue grinned and replied, "Nope, we pay good for good work! You guys answered several problems we have been trying to figure already this morning!"
Concho grinned as said, "We smart, huh?"
Hue laughed, "Don't get too big for your britches, 'Chito!"
Paul looked at Concho, "'Chito?"
Concho grinned, "Yeah, short for Conchito, which means 'Little Concho'. Believe it or not, I was once a LITTLE boy!" The boys continued their observations until it was time to go back to the University.
Hue handed them both checks for $1800. The stub read 80 hours at $22.50! Hue said, "We didn't take out for taxes this time, but when you start steady, you will get a double whammy to make up for it."
Paul walked over to Hue and hugged him, "Can I call you Papa?"
Hue was startled and then he said, "Paul, I would be proud to be your Papa!"
The semester was well underway when it was time for the seminar. Hue passed around data sheets that prominently showed Mr. Paul Duncan and Mr. Concho Best as the originators of the data. The participation was remarkable, extra chairs had to be brought in as there were more participants than expected. Some were from as far away as New Zealand! Paul and Concho got another shock when Hue put a slide up on the screen, showing a possible configuration of a steam generator utilizing the hot gases from a deep earth bore. At the bottom of the page, it said, "Based on data collected by Messrs Paul Duncan and Concho Best"! Both of their faces were bright red, there was no chance that those in the audience could have missed just who Messrs Duncan and Best were!
Ian MacDonald was delighted at the number of people who participated in the seminar and that two of his students played such a prominent part in it. Both young men were proud to say, "I am employed by Best & Sons Engineering."
A very tall man approached Hue as he was standing next to Paul and Concho, "I am Dr. Evan Tulles of the University of New Zealand at Waitangi. I am most impressed with your ideas and the data collected by your staff. As you know, the North Island of my country is heavily volcanic and we already have developed ground steam facilities at Rotorua. We have, however, a number of wells that produce only hot gases. We would be very interested in exploring your ideas and possibly engaging your firm to do the studies and construct a pilot plant."
Hue gave the man his card and promised that his Brother, Mr. Daniel Best, the president of the firm, would contact him very soon. After the man departed, Hue looked at Concho and Paul, "Hmmmm, about your trip to New Zealand......"
Both boys began stammering and stuttering, "I,iw ah, WHAT?"
After the seminar ended, Hue called Danny and told him of the developments. Danny said that he would call Dr. Tulles the next day and suggested that maybe Hue would have to take a quick trip to New Zealand along with Messrs Duncan and Best! Hue was having dinner that night with Ian MacDonald, he mentioned that Paul and Concho might have to accompany him to New Zealand for a week or ten days.
Ian didn't have a problem, he said, "Both their grades are way up there, it would count as a "Field Trip" and raise their grades even more!"
By the time the semester ended, the bore was complete, the depth was 38,060 feet, give or take any inaccuracies of the measuring device, The University had modified the contract to include the construction and installation of a prototype hot gas steam generator. They added another $1,800,000 to the contract and Hue subcontracted the fabrication of the steam generator to American Piping and Boiler in Honolulu. It was to operate at 1280 psi steam pressure and produce up to 250,000 pounds of steam per hour!
When Paul and Concho reported for work, Hue asked them, "You are sophomores now, are you not?" Both young men said that was correct, Hue grinned, "No, not quite correct, it is pronounced SUFFERMORE!" He put them to work monitoring the construction of the steam generator in Honolulu. He authorized a rental car and an apartment at company expense as they could not live the summer in the dorm.
Norm Anderson, the owner of American Piping and Boiler was very impressed with both of them and never failed to tell Hue that if he didn't hire them, American Piping and Boiler would!
Danny and Hue made a quick trip to New Zealand and came away with a contract to build and install two hot gas steam generators at Rotorua! It would spread Best and Sons a little thin. Hue assigned the remains of the Hawaii job to Bic and he would take New Zealand. Concho and Paul would go to New Zealand with him during vacations and would be available to Bic on a limited basis during school time.
TBC
Look for more adventures of this talented family, surely they will add more family members along the way.