Authors: Mike Sherer
obstinately!hadn’t!opened!to!my!will!back!then!to!disgorge!my!
friend! Wink! instead! of! skulking! figures! in! black.! The! dim!
interior! was! cooler! than! the! blast! furnace! outside,! but!
marginally!so,!the!still!air!humid!and!close.!Alex!wound!his!way!
through! the! hallways! and! up! two! flights! of! stairs,! navigating!
with!the!confidence!of!someone!who!knew!right!where!he!was!
going.! He! stopped! suddenly! outside! an! open! office! door.! The!
room!was!occupied,!so!after!I!assured!him!I!could!find!my!way!
back!to!my!car!he!left!me!there.!
!
A!short,!grizzled!fireplug!of!a!man!stood!with!his!back!to!
the! door! in! front! of! a! wall6mounted! white! board.! All! rough6
hewn!facets,!with!square!jaw,!a!brush!of!steely!gray!hair!cut!in!
a! flattop! and! broad! shoulders,! he! looked! more! engineer! than!
engineering! professor.! Thick! arms! bristling! with! dark! hair!
sprouted!from!a!short6sleeved,!button6down!shirt!tucked!into!
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cargo! shorts.! Stout! matching! legs! were! stuffed! into! hiking!
boots! infuscate! like! freshly! dug! Russets.! Consulting! an! open!
textbook!on!a!nearby!desk,!he!jotted!notes!on!the!board!with!
one! hand,! making! corrections! with! an! eraser! in! the! other.! I!
rapped!on!the!doorframe!and!his!head!whipped!around!at!the!
sound.!!
!
“Yes?”!!
!
“Professor!Waldron?!I!wondered!if!I!could!have!a!moment!
of!your!time.”!
!
“Does! it! have! anything! to! do! with! coursework,! grades! or!
department!meetings?”!His!jaw!was!set!grimly.!
!
“No.!It’s!about—”!
!
He!erased!the!words!with!a!wave.!“Don’t!tell!me.!If!it’s!not!
about!school,!by!all!means!come!in.”!The!corners!of!his!mouth!
turned! up.! Wiping! his! brow! on! a! sleeve,! he! set! the! marker!
down!and!extended!his!hand.!“Summer!term!starts!in!a!week,!
which!is!why!I’m!cooped!up!in!here!outlining!coursework,!but!
it’s!bloody!hell!without!the!air!conditioning.”!
!
I!stepped!into!the!office!and!introduced!myself.!“They!said!
you’re!the!department!chair.!I’m!surprised!you’re!here!and!not!
on!vacation!somewhere.”!
!
“I’m!a!teacher;!I!teach.!Summer!quarter!actually!is!a!lot!of!
fun.!More!experiential.!We!get!out!and!do!more!fieldwork.”!
!
“I’m!glad!I!caught!you.!I!understand!you’ve!been!here!quite!
a!while.”!!
!
He!looked!at!me!curiously!and!motioned!to!a!desk.!“What!
can!I!do!for!you?”!
!
“I’m!interested!in!the!bombing!here!back!in!the!’Eighties.”!
!
A! cloud! briefly! darkened! his! face.! “What’s! your! interest?!
Doing! a! retrospective?! You! a! journalist?! I! read! they! released!
the!fellow!who!was!convicted.”!!
!
“You!don’t!seem!too!eager!to!talk!about!it.”!
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!
“It’s! history.! It’s! not! easy! heading! a! department! that’s!
defined!by!a!bomb!blast!twenty!years!ago!instead!of!the!work!
we!do!or!the!awards!we!win.”!!
!
I!shook!my!head.!“I’m!not!a!reporter,!or!a!lawyer,!either.!I!
used!to!be!friends!with!the!guy.”!I!explained!why!I!was!looking!
for!Langford.!!
!
“He! still! says! he’s! innocent?”! Waldron! ran! stubby! fingers!
through!the!short!brush!atop!his!head.!“Figures.”!
!
“You!think!he!did!it?”!
!
“No!reason!he!couldn’t!have.!And!twelve!of!his!peers!said!
he!was!guilty.”!
!
“You! were! here! back! then.! Can! you! tell! me! what! you!
remember?”!
!
He! studied! something! on! the! desk,! then! turned! his! gaze!
back! at! me.! “Shock,! at! first.! We! all! were.! No! one! could! figure!
out!why!someone!would!want!to!blow!up!an!engineering!lab.!It!
came! without! warning.! We! had! no! protests! on! campus,! no!
burning! issues.! Not! even! any! campus! troublemakers! beyond!
the!usual!fraternity!high!jinks.!This!is!a!pretty!quiet!place.!We!
don’t! get! the! kind! of! radicals! the! bigger! universities! get,!
especially! on! the! coasts.! I! hate! to! say! it,! but! the! small6town!
kids,!the!farm!kids!here!are!more!naive.!Besides,!we’re!talking!
the! ’Eighties.! What! were! people! protesting! then?! Apartheid?!
Gay!rights?!Kids!here!didn’t!care!all!that!much.”!
!
“Wasn’t!the!bombing!about!the!environment?!Some!group!
targeting!coal!research?”!
!
“If! I! remember! right,! some! eco6group—west! coast,! I!
think—released!a!statement!to!the!media!listing!a!whole!bunch!
of! grievances.! The! group! claimed! they! intended! to! destroy! a!
coal! liquefaction! research! project.! Said! it! represented! what!
was!wrong!with!alternative!energy!policy!in!this!country.”!
!
“They!got!the!wrong!lab.”!
!
“That’s! when! shock! turned! to! anger.! At! least! mine! did.!
They!were!so!far!off!base,!it’s!hard!to!believe!they!really!meant!
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to! target! coal! research.! The! Coal! Development! Center! where!
they! run! production6scale! experiments! is! over! in! Carterville,!
and!the!research!center!itself!is!on!another!part!of!the!campus.!
This!is!the!engineering!building.!No!way!they!could!mistake!the!
lab! they! destroyed! for! one! experimenting! with! coal!
liquefaction.”!!
!
“Do!you!remember!what!was!going!on!in!the!lab!that!got!
blown!up?”!
!
His! head! bobbed.! “Absolutely.! That! was! Kwan! Ji’s! lab.!
Korean! guy.! Brilliant.! He! was! on! the! cusp! of! the!
nanotechnology!revolution.!The!ground!floor.!Made!some!very!
promising! discoveries! while! he! was! working! with! a! defense!
contractor!back!in!the!mid6’Eighties,!but!apparently!didn’t!like!
the!people!he!was!working!for.!We!were!lucky!to!get!him.”!
!
“What!was!he!working!on!at!the!time?”!
!
“Battery! technology.! He! was! looking! for! ways! to! extend!
battery!life.!The!Holy!Grail!these!days.!He!was!way!ahead!of!his!
time.”!
!
I!rubbed!my!cheek.!“Here’s!what!I!don’t!get.!Langford!was!
a!smart!kid,!at!least!when!I!knew!him.!He!wouldn’t!have!gotten!
the! labs! confused! if! he! was! working! with! the! environmental!
group.!And!if!he!blew!it!up!on!his!own,!what!was!his!motive?”!
!
Waldron! shrugged.! “Did! he! need! one?! Maybe! he! just!
wanted!to!see!if!he!could!do!it.”!
!
“I!grew!up!with!him,!hung!out!with!him.!He!loved!a!good!
prank.!Blew!up!a!lot!of!stuff,!too.!But!not!buildings.”!
!
He!held!up!splayed!fingers!and!ticked!them!off!one!by!one.!
“He!was!found!at!the!scene.!Holding!a!gun.!Carrying!chemicals!
in!his!backpack.!And!traces!of!the!type!of!explosive!used!were!
later! found! in! his! garage.! Forensics! said! the! blast! was!
controlled.!He!used!a!calculated!amount!of!explosive,!probably!
in!a!shaped!charge!to!limit!the!blast!radius.!Engineering6wise,!a!
beauty! of! a! job.! Kid! knew! what! he! was! doing.! Or! else! he! had!
help.”!
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!
“Or!he!was!in!the!wrong!place!at!the!wrong!time.!Didn’t!he!
say!at!the!trial!he!saw!other!people!running!from!the!scene?”!
!
“You’re! saying! someone! else! set! the! bomb,! and! Langford!
just!happened!to!be!in!the!building.!What!about!the!dead!girl?”!
!
That!was!the!part!I’d!tried!to!forget!for!twenty!years.!Hard!
to! reconcile! the! Wink! I! knew! with! the! image! of! him! standing!
over! a! dead! girl’s! body.! But! now! I! knew! what! had! happened.!
One! of! the! men! who’d! planted! the! bomb! had! heard! the! girl’s!
screams,! run! back! in! the! building! and! put! her! out! of! her!
misery,!making!sure,!using!two!bullets,!not!one.!I!could!picture!
it,!Wink!dazed!and!in!shock!from!the!blast,!drawn!to!the!sound!
of! her! cries! of! pain! and! then! the!
popHpop
! that! silenced! them,!
picking!up!the!gun!in!disbelief!after!the!assailant!had!run!off.!
I’d!known!all!along,!but!as!a!scared!nineteen!year6old!I’d!been!
more!willing!to!believe!the!evidence!than!in!my!friend.!
!
“Say! someone! got! the! right! lab! after! all,”! I! said,! changing!
the!subject.!“Why!go!to!the!trouble!of!blowing!it!up?!What!was!
so!important?”!
!
“The!right…?”!Waldron!blinked.!“Good!question.”!
!
“I!should!probably!talk!to!…!Ji?”!
!
“Jim.!We!all!called!him!Jim.”!
!
“Is!he!still!around?!Can!you!tell!me!where!he!lives?”!
!
He!shook!his!head,!corners!of!his!eyes!turning!down!with!
his!mouth.!“He’s!dead.!House!caught!fire!about!a!week!after!the!
bombing.!Middle!of!the!night.!Really!tragic.”!
!
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!
!
Chapter&25&
!
!
The! dead6end! presented! by! Kwan! Ji’s! untimely! death!
sparked! an! internal! debate! that! raged! so! intensely! it!
threatened! to! paralyze! me! with! indecision.! Another! sure! sign!
I’d!been!off!my!meds.!The!dissonance!in!my!head!offered!one!
benefit—a!surfeit!of!random!notions,!some!crazier!than!others.!
A!few!of!which!germinated,!took!root,!grew.!
!
The! campus! library! offered! a! distraction,! a! safe! refuge!
from!the!pressure!to!decide!a!course!of!action,!a!valid!excuse!to!
procrastinate.!A!decision!in!itself.!Wink!looked!more!and!more!
like! he’d! been! a! convenient! scapegoat! for! someone.! The!
question!was!who!and!why.!I!penciled!some!notes!on!a!piece!of!
scratch! paper! before! they! were! trampled! by! the! stampede! of!
purple!notions!thundering!through!my!head.!For!the!next!hour!
I! cruised! the! web,! searching! for! anything! I! could! find! on! the!
bombing,!Kwan!Ji,!Sebastian!Fitch,!and!the!enigmatic!Wilsons.!
!
Kwan! Ji! got! a! mention! in! an! encyclopedic! entry! on! the!
history! of! nanotechnology,! referencing! pioneering! work! at!
west! coast! defense! contractor! Ross! Industries! before! his!
sudden!departure!to!Southern!Illinois.!The!Wilsons,!Colin!and!
Corinne,! showed! up! in! a! monograph! on! nonviolent! civil!
disobedience!as!a!form!of!protest!against!the!war!in!Vietnam.!
An! example,! to! some,! of! the! effectiveness! of! peaceful!
demonstration;!the!epitome!of!gutless!cowardice!to!others.!The!
hunt! turned! up! no! references! to! Fitch! at! all.! Logic—the! ADD!
kind,! anyway—suggested! a! connection! among! them! all,! but! I!
couldn’t!find!one.!
!
Eyes!bleary!from!staring!at!the!computer!screen,!I!took!a!
break!and!shoved!back!from!the!terminal.!A!reference!librarian!
steered! me! to! some! books! on! the! ’Sixties.! Those! yielded! a!
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couple! more! notations! on! the! minor! roles! the! Wilsons! had!
played! at! the! two! UWs—Wisconsin! in! 1968! and! 1969! before!
radicals! bombed! Sterling! Hall! on! the! Madison! campus,! and!
Washington!in!1970!during!the!riots!in!Seattle!the!day!after!the!
Chicago! Seven! verdict.! Disillusioned,! whether! by! the! violent!
turn! of! antiwar! protests! or! their! own! ineffectiveness,! they!
skipped!to!Canada!in!1971,!joined!Greenpeace!and!soon!faded!
into!obscurity.!Again,!nothing!on!Fitch.!
!
I! did,! however,! come! across! a! photo! in! one! of! the! books!
that! stopped! me! dead! in! my! tracks.! Taken! at! Columbia!
University!during!the!demonstrations!in!the!spring!of!1968,!it!
framed! black! activists! Stokely! Carmichael! and! H.! Rap! Brown!
speaking! to! reporters! in! front! of! Hamilton! Hall,! site! of! the!
original! student! occupation.! Clearly! visible! through! the!
windows! and! doors! behind! them! were! black! students! who’d!
kicked!SDS!head!Mark!Rudd!and!the!other!white!kids!out!of!the!
building.!!
!
Vietnam! hadn’t! been! my! fight,! as! a! grunt! or! a! protester.!
Frank! Shriver! was! right;! I’d! been! in! diapers! then.! The! war!
hadn’t! been! my! parents’! fight,! either,! being! older! than!
demonstrators! or! soldiers! heading! overseas.! I’d! been! a!
surprise! baby,! coming! nearly! ten! years! after! my! sister.! My!
father!might!have!been!called!up!for!duty!in!Korea!except!for!
the!fact!he’d!been!injured!in!the!1947!Centralia!mine!disaster!
that!had!claimed!several!of!his!relatives’!lives.!But!the!Vietnam!
era! hadn’t! been! such! ancient! history! growing! up! in! those!
turbulent! times! that! the! Black! Panthers,! Weathermen! and!
Symbionese!Liberation!Army!weren’t!familiar!names.!
!
What! caught! my! eye,! though,! was! the! face! of! one! of! the!
students!staring!through!the!glass!in!the!background.!Most!of!
them! focused! on! the! two! black! power! leaders! addressing! the!
sea!of!microphones!thrust!at!them.!But!one!kid’s!attention!was!
directed! elsewhere! in! the! crowd! around! Carmichael! and!