The Walls Shook and the Foundations Trembled.

The Imaginarium's Receptionist diving for cover
at the first jolt and cheer heard from the Space Center

At 9:40 A.M. Saturday last the walls of the Space Center shook. In fact, the tremors were felt throughout the Imaginarium and Wonderland. I was sitting at my desk working on the September Volunteering and Staff schedule when the shaking started.

The jolt was preceded by Christine Grosland, one of the Odyssey's Flight Directors, announcing to her crew that they had successfully finished their Overnight Mission. A millisecond later there arouse a sound from the bowels of the Odyssey rarely heard at such a deafening volume. The cheering was so enthusiastic and energetic it caused my desk to rattle. The light fixtures overhead shook, sending me in a panic under my desk to cower in fear the fluorescent light bulbs would explode and shower my desk and chair with shards of glass.

"What the ..." I heard Alex shout from the Phoenix Control Room. "Hold on, Its the Big One," he shrieked, and in a panic so unlike the normally placid Alex, shoved his young staff out of the way so he could stand in the doorway for protection. "Its every man for himself," he spat, wildly kicking at anyone who came near him.

The cheering continued for what seemed like minutes. Dust from the overhead rafters began falling. Ceiling tiles broke free and chairs bounced around the room like popcorn in a hot skillet. The youngest of our staff took hold of anything that seemed stable. Their eyes, wide as saucers, as shock set in.

Students, attending Wonderland's School for the Imaginationally Deprived, dive for cover as the shaking started. These students are brought to Wonderland for specialized treatment designed to reignite their imaginations and creativity. For some, its too much TV, or video games. For others it is a lack of play. And for some, it is the result of their school's overemphasis on standardized testing.

Finally, the cheering stopped. The Odyssey went silent and the shaking stopped. Its said the Wasatch Fault moved a good six centimeters Saturday morning, thanks to Christine, her staff and the excellent job they did - which resulted in a cheer heard throughout Wonderland.

Needless to say, the Odyssey scored a perfect 1 across the board, the first for the summer season. Congratulations Christine and your staff. What an awesome job.

Mr. Williamson

Join Us at the Orem Public Library.

Hello Troops,

I'll be attending the following event at the Orem Public Library on Wednesday, September 1st and encourage all of you with an interest in Space to attend as well. Mr. Barber will be in Utah to attend the Timpanogos Story Telling Festival. This is his only public appearance (you can see him at the Festival as well).

As a special bonus, all of you that attend wearing your Space Center T-Shirt will be given a certificate for two class hours to go toward your Space Center Rank. This event is not sponsored by the Space Center or the Alpine School District. This event is a part of the Timpanogos Story Telling Festival.

I hope to see many of you at the event to listen to this Mr. Barber talk about his fascinating work at JPL and NASA.

Mr. Williamson

NASA's Science Outreach has accepted an invitation from Orem Library and Timpanogos Storytelling Festival to come to Utah!

Todd Barber, Lead NASA Propulsion Engineer on the Saturn-Cassini Equinox Mission

Will be Speaking at the Orem Public Library on

Wednesday, September 1 at 7pm

Todd will speak on highlights and memorable moments in his career as a NASA engineer. He will share images and recent findings from the ongoing Cassini Equinox Mission studying Saturn, its belts and the planet's 53 moons.

Todd Barber, Award-winning NASA Propulsion Engineer:

*Lead impactor on Deep Space mission (a la "Star Trek") of near-Earth asteroid, Braille

*Award-winning engineer on the launching of Galileo spaceprobe and orbital insertion around Jupiter

*Engineer on several Mars projects including Mar's Rovers

Personal Log 2: Adrian Stevens, Entry 8

This story is just for fun. Any resemblance to the staff at the space center is intentional. Any resemblance to a real space center mission is your imagination.
Aleta Clegg


The emergency lights flickered on, very dim and red.

“Hold the door!” Rafael shouted. “If it shuts, we’ll be locked in here.”

“What’s Vasha doing?” Harken whispered. “Is she trying to kill us all?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Shut up!” A pirate slammed his rifle butt into my back.

I spun on my heel and punched him in the face. He reeled backwards. I grabbed his rifle, pulling the trigger. A spray of plasma bolts caught the other guards, cutting them down. Turner ducked behind me, grabbing Harken on the way.

“Negotiate this, Rafael!” I clicked the trigger.

Rafael was no longer in the doorway. His footsteps faded down the dim corridor.

I dove for the door, jamming the rifle into the opening. A plasma bolt struck the wall next to me. I dropped behind the door, out of range.

“Now what?” Harken asked.

“Unless you know another way out, we’re stuck in here with Caligula.”

“And he isn’t going to be happy when he wakes up.” Turner nudged the prone cyborg.

I slumped against the wall. “We need information. Harken, you were working with Perry. Did you sell out the Federation to these pirates?”

“It was a cover. We were looking for the leak in Starfleet. Although I think Perry decided it paid better than Starfleet ever did.”

I winced as another plasma bolt zipped through the opening. “Admiral Williamson assigned me to do that, too. He said they suspected someone on the Voyager.”

“Captain Herring? The rumors were true?”

I shook my head. “Not him, someone else.”

Harken sank into Caligula’s chair. “We thought it was you, Stevens.”

“Then who was it?”

“Vasha.” Turner smacked his fist into the floor. “She set us up. She’s working with Rafael. I thought he looked familiar. She met him at Starbase a month ago.”

“Why were you following Vasha?”

“We were dating. Sort of. She dumped me after three dates.”

Caligula moaned.

The air vent cover on the other side of the cabin wiggled. I signaled the others to be quiet as I eased the rifle out of the door. It slid closed as another plasma bolt ricocheted down the hall. I aimed at the vent.

It dropped to the floor with a clatter. A petite blond woman in a torn Starfleet uniform crawled out. She sat on the floor, raising her hands. “Y’all want to put that rifle down? I’m here to help. My name’s Evangeline. Call me Angie for short.”

“You’re working with Vasha. Give me one reason we should trust you.” I eased my finger onto the trigger.

“Because I’m your only hope.” Angie raised her hand, showing us a computer disk. “I stole the protocol when Vasha wasn’t looking. She’s gonna be real mad when she finds out none of her commands work. Admiral Williamson warned me to watch out for you, Adrian. Said you’d get me in a heap of trouble if I wasn’t careful.”

“How is Delphi going to help us now?” I shifted the rifle to aim at the ceiling. Any hope was better than none.

“We’re on our way back to Starbase Fourteen. And there ain’t nothing Vasha can do about it. I stole the computer chips that control course settings. All she can do is stop the ship.”

The engines whined to a stop right on cue.

I sighed. “You had to say that.”