Ekow gazed at the azure water two hundred miles below as the plane rose above the saltwater basin that was the Mediterranean Sea. Ekow enjoyed watching the hologram in front of his seat, showing the Earth receding as the North African coast seemed to embrace Southern Europe.

This must have been the view of the early astronauts as they rode their ballistic missiles into space.

The plane's altitude ticked up in the corner of the screen as it quickly obtained low earth orbit on its hyper-sonic drive before leveling off at an altitude of five hundred miles. He noticed the person sitting immediately to his right did not look comfortable.

"Are you well?" he asked solicitously. "Is this your first time on a hypersonic flight?"

"No, but thank you for asking," the diminutive older woman answered. "It's been a long time, and I never liked flying."

"What takes you to Accra, if you do not mind my asking?" Ekow asked to pass the time.

"I'm visiting my daughter and her family," she replied. "She and her husband settled there ten years ago after meeting in Nice. But every time I go, I spend almost all my time with the family. I want to see more of the city and the country this time. What takes you to Accra? Going home or a visit?"

"It is my home," he answered, sitting up straighter. "Born and raised. Although I did spend many years in China for my studies."

"Really?" she said with an interested smile. "The special relationship between China and most African countries is well-known. Is that what brought you to China?"

With a smile, Ekow put on his professorial face as he began to explain.

"Just so. Ghana is an excellent example of this most momentous phenomenon. Like all of the modern African nations, Ghana has a checkered past. Centuries of tribal conflict were followed by European and Arab colonial periods until the middle of the 20th Century. When the British Empire crumbled following World War II, Ghana emerged as a combination of several British protectorates. Many of today's African countries formed around the same time in the same fashion, often maintaining the colonial power's language and, to an extent, their economic systems and customs.

"Fascinating," she continued smiling, enjoying the practiced delivery. "Please go on!"

"Gladly. I am pleased you are so interested." He flashed his 100-watt smile. "Please do let me know when you have enough."

She nodded and settled in, like Ekow's grandmother on a cold night in front of the fire.

"Most African nations were on the edge of economic viability for the first fifty years of their post-colonial existence. The rise of China earlier this century unexpectedly transformed much of the African Continent. The Chinese were the first and only Great Power to tap into what has proven to be the African nations' greatest natural resource. It's people's brilliance.

As you correctly surmised, I am a direct beneficiary of this historical phenomenon. I received an exceptional education at Shanghai University, allowing me to do some interesting things."

"Like what?" she asked, crossing her legs and shifting in her seat to face Ekow.

"Not to sound immodest, but I obtained my bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. from Shanghai University and have returned to Ghana, where I am a chemistry professor at Ashesi University. The Afro-Sino Alliance, as the special relationship has come to be known, has resulted in countless Africans from across the Continent realizing similar benefits. Most returned home and helped foster an African Renaissance. I am proud to be part of it. Most African nations now enjoy a quality of life equal to the wealthiest nations on Earth."

"Thank you for the history lesson," she said, giving him a short bow, her hands clasped as if in prayer. "It was excellent. You must be a popular teacher."

He gave her a deferential nod, "You are too kind."

The flight attendants working their way down the aisles interrupted them.

"Would you like something to drink, sir," asked the middle-aged woman as she reached Ekow. "We have a nice selection of French, Italian, Egyptian, and Nigerian soft drinks." A three-dimensional image appeared above her tablet with each bottle marked. "A complete selection of fruit drinks, wine, beer, and spirits." She tapped the tablet, and a new image appeared.

"Just water, please," Ekow ordered. He was amazed by the variety of products available from places that had just begun exporting them.

Ekow glanced at the estimated arrival time and was pleased to see it had ticked down thirty-eight minutes. He and his neighbor settled into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

Ekow decided to restart the conversation.

"Do you travel frequently?" he asked.

"No," she explained. "While it takes far less time to get places than it used to, I still get nervous. The thought of us being in space just makes it worse. I truly appreciate the conversation. Distractions are very welcome."

"Well, at least the hyper-sonic engines do us this favor. Have you ever flown rotational? That technology has made my trips back and forth to Shanghai a fraction of the time it used to take."

"I'm not sure I could handle the pressure of that kind of plane. I've heard it's extreme. I have a hard enough time with this one," her eyes widened.

"I completely understand," he could almost feel the takeoff's crushing pressure from the last time he'd traveled that way.

This conversation about air travel innovation reminded Ekow of the lack of it in water purification technology and the strange encounter at the conference. Until that meeting, Ekow did not see the lack of progress for what it was. Ilse Langstrom's story came straight out of a thriller vid.

What kind of monsters would deny the world needed technology? Such people would have no problem thwarting an insignificant Ghanaian scientist?

He shivered at the thought.

Moments later, Ekow felt the plane begin its descent to Ghana.

Ekow and his new "friend" continued their conversation until the LE Hyper Orbiter landed at Kotoka International Airport. Nearly one thousand passengers quickly and efficiently disembarked. Ekow had no bags to collect. He made it quickly through passport control and out to the airport parking area ahead of most other passengers. After a short wait, he approached the parking garage kiosk and said, "Please retrieve vehicle 2A34CD."

The conveyor brought his small Fiat to the garage exit. The car door lifted straight up and out like a giant bird's wing. Ekow sat in one of the four comfortable captain's chairs and politely said, "Please take me home, Jerry."

"Yes, Sir," came the soothing voice in English.

The self-driving Fiat navigated the airport exit and attached itself to the automated highway heading north toward his home in West Legon, one of several upper-middle-class suburbs just north of the Accra city center. The Fiat gathered speed as he swiveled his chair around to watch the airport retreat. He could not stop thinking about the Swedish patent examiner. He noticed and appreciated the automated highway system's ease, efficiency, and safety. The first time in a long time, he realized. He was hyper-aware of everything around him. The highway system was another example of technology evolving at pace.

"Jerry, please call home," he instructed the vehicle. A hologram of his mother, Minnie Aboah, filled the space in a few seconds.

"Hello Ekow," she said. "Welcome back."

"Hello, Mother. I am on my way home and should be there in a few minutes. There is a great deal to discuss."

"Really?" she said, her voice lilting in surprise. "Okay, then. I am here for the rest of the day. I look forward to hearing about it."

"See you soon."

The ten-minute ride home from the airport was uneventful. His car arrived at their modest

well-kept three-bedroom home in the middle of a short, quiet street that ended in a cul-de-sac. The Fiat pulled into the shallow driveway as the garage door rose. It silently docked next to his mother's identical car. The trunk opened automatically, sensing the baggage within. Ekow grabbed his bag, and the trunk closed with a muffled lock. The garage door led into the kitchen and then into an open living room, where he found his mother in the adjacent study reading a document displayed on a large wall monitor above her desk. He saw it was a Tribal Council matter.

"Hello, Mother," Ekow greeted her with a smile as he approached.

She got up to hug Ekow as she entered her office.

"Hello, my son," their embrace was loving and comfortable. "An eventful trip?"

"I am not certain "eventful" would be the correct wording, I am thinking Mother," Ekow looked concerned. "More like bizarre or concerning or even frightening."

"I do not like the sound of that, Ekow. Tell me," she demanded, leading him back into the living room.

Ekow put his bag on the floor as he sat.

"It began when I was approached by two colleagues with a disturbing story," Ekow explained. "I am just not sure what to believe."

"I thought you went to participate on a panel at an important water symposium," Minnie responded. "Not your first time. Tell me what happened."

"Possibly everything, Mother," Ekow answered. He paused, not sure how to continue. "If what I was told at the conference is true, I could be caught up in a very dangerous stratagem." Ekow paused, "but I am getting ahead of myself. So...from the beginning."

"Finally," Minnie said under her breath. "Go on, dear."

"As you know, I am excited about our progress with the Waterfall Reagent. We filed strong patent applications to prepare for commercialization. As you also know, we have been unable to find an interested partner. I believe this was due to the usual resistance most new technologies face. I learned at the conference that there may be some strange mandate among the largest and most dominant water company executives to slow or even prevent commercialization of new water technologies."

Ekow shook his head and said, "What a tale I am telling? Crazy, is it not?" He attempted to laugh.

Minnie did not laugh. Her eyes hardened in a way Ekow did not expect. She sat up straighter in her chair, her tone now that of a tribal elder.

"Please go on, son," she ordered. There was no mistaking the command.

"Of course, Mother," replied Ekow, sitting up straighter, curious about her sudden change.

"As you know, I was not planning to attend this meeting but received a last-minute invitation to join a panel on water purification due to the sudden illness of a colleague."

Ekow paused and looked out the picture window to the well-kept yard and the park beyond.

"Now that I am thinking on it," he said. "I used to get two to four invitations per year to speak at industry conferences. This was the first in nearly two years."

He shook his head ruefully, then continued.

"Several odd things happened leading up to the panel session, which seemed unconnected before my encounter with Doctors Langstrom and Jacobs."

"Doctors Langstrom and Jacobs?" Minnie asked.

"Yes, but they will come into the story in a moment," Ekow answered. "Let me go over this in the order in which it occurred."

"Good," she said seriously. "I want you to be as complete and detailed as possible."

"You know something about these water executives, don't you, Mother," Ekow asked, eyes widening.

"Finish your story, and I will explain, son."

"Of course, Mother," Ekow felt a chill run down his spine. "First, at the airport here in Accra. I recognized a person I saw at the University and in our neighborhood when running errands before I left for the conference. I thought perhaps he was a new neighbor and a recent hire to the administrative staff at the University. But the same person was in the boarding area for my flight to France."

"Once in France, I had this strange feeling of being watched. I dismissed it, of course. Who would be watching me?"

"Last, just as our panel session was to begin, one staff member of the conference organizers came to us with a request from their largest sponsor to cancel the panel. We refused, of course. Then another staff member came to me claiming there was an emergency call from you, Mother. I took the call, but obviously, the voice was not yours."

"That last bit about the call from me, that is odd," Minnie observed.

"Odd only begins to describe these events taken as a whole, Ekow complained. "While not common, on occasion, a big industry player will request a topic not be discussed due to a pending public announcement, but I have never heard of such heavy-handed tactics. The news of the near cancellation only heightened the audience's attention. It was quite a lively discussion in the end. But none of these things would result in me sharing all of this with you if it were not for what happened after the panel session ended."

Minnie put her elbows on the table and leaned forward, clasping her hands together, thumbs under her chin.

Ekow continued, "After the usual gathering at the podium immediately following a session of those whose questions remained unanswered, an unusual couple approached me."

"Doctor Langstrom and Jacobs, I presume?" Minnie asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes. Dr. Jacobs is the Chief Science Officer of the Burry Water Company. Nothing unusual there. But his companion, Dr. Langstrom, is a striking Swedish woman who works as a patent examiner in the Chemical Arts Division of the World Intellectual Property Office, WIPO for short. Her tale topped off a strange series of days."

"I am not surprised," Minnie offered with a concerned look for her son.

"According to Ilse Langstrom," Ekow paused again. "I do not think I will ever forget this name." He went on, "she and several of her colleagues at WIPO have been accepting payments in exchange for identifying new water-related inventions disclosed in patent applications they review eighteen months before publication. She herself has reviewed one of my patent applications and reported it!"

Minnie interrupted him. "One moment, Ekow. How would she know of your inventions? Please explain more about this WIPO."

"Okay, a small step back." Ekow paused. "I sometimes forget you do not see all aspects of my work. I know you understand that patents can protect inventions so that others cannot exploit the invention without the inventor's permission. To get that protection, the World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO, is where you file the application for a patent. At one time, each country had its own patenting process. You can imagine the chaos that it created. Today, WIPO is the only place where patent applications are filed and reviewed. It is one of many global institutions created by the Hammurabi Code of 2046. Its purpose was to bring the world into a uniform patenting scheme to encourage innovation everywhere."

Ekow paused to allow his mother to digest this information. He had tried explaining these things before. For someone outside the technical world, these things often were opaque.

"Go on, Ekow. I am following."

He smiled at her and went on. "The people who determine whether an invention is worthy of patent protection are called 'patent examiners.' Dr. Langstrom is a WIPO patent examiner. She is an accomplished chemist with a PhD in water purification. When she reviewed my patent application, she even provided guidance to me on how to strengthen the protection I might get. I confirmed it was her from the WIPO correspondence I received. We never met nor likely would have."

Minnie leaned back again, the creases in her face growing deeper as Ekow continued. She adjusted the colorful scarf draped over her right shoulder.

"If Dr. Langstrom's story is true, she and her colleagues would be in a perfect position to carry out a scheme like this. All chemical-related patent applications from all over the world go through her department. Confidentiality of these discoveries is of the utmost importance. That she violated my rights as an inventor by disclosing my invention to unknown third parties was a criminal and moral betrayal of the worst sort. But it goes further, and this part is truly unbelievable. According to Dr. Langstrom, the organization to which she disclosed my invention seeks to control and suppress new technology and insists they represent a physical danger to me. While I really and truly wish to dismiss this story as impossible, I know much of it is real. I simply do not know what to make of all this?"

Minnie looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. She was not permitted to share much information she received as a tribal elder. She knew of rogue water industry executives called a "Water Cabal" disseminated to the Tribal Elders as part of the routine sharing of important intelligence gathered by national intelligence agencies worldwide. The Ghanaian Intelligence Service was made aware of an ongoing investigation into this Water Cabal. They, in turn, provided such information to the Intelligence Committees of every Ghanaian Tribe large enough to have one. The requirement to circulate this kind of information was written into the Hammurabi Code of 2046, which created the World Police Force and, apparently, this WIPO.

Minnie knew what she was about to do broke an oath she'd taken as a member of the Tribal Council, but this was her son.

"Ekow," she began, determination stiffening her back. "I am glad you shared this with me."

She tried to keep her voice steady. The shared intelligence did not just confirm the group's existence, it included reports of suspected violence against scientists who disappeared randomly over the past few years.

She continued, "Recent intelligence shared with the Tribal Council included a report of an open investigation into an organization described as a "Water Cabal." The details were few but it mentioned a connection between missing scientists and this Water Cabal. Where did you leave things with the Swedish patent executive?"

Ekow's face blanched. "It's true? I cannot believe this."

Minnie was a mask of calm, but Ekow sensed the hidden fear. He tried to match her calm. He took a deep breath.

"Examiner, Mother. Not executive," Ekow's thoughts whirled. Real fear began to rise.

"She returned to her home in Geneva to investigate the fate of several inventors whose inventions she disclosed. She will contact me with a coded email if she finds anything unusual. I am beginning to feel very afraid, Mother. What should I do?"

"At this point, my son, let me see what additional information I can obtain on this Water Cabal," she said, still hiding her concern behind her 'business face.' "We have contacts within the World Police Force. It is time they are tested." She seemed to be talking to herself.

Minnie stood and returned to her study to access her contact database. She wore a worried look. Ekow remained sitting in the living room, stunned by the revelations about his mother as much as the confirmation of this Water Cabal. He repeated his question, this time to himself.

What should I do?

***

Ilse Langstrom sat on the edge of her couch, tablet on her lap, gazing out of her window at the giant lake, lost in thought. Her face hardened as she pulled her knees up and leaned the tablet against her thighs, ready to write.

What choice do I have?

Determined, she began typing but then decided to dictate instead.

"Dear Professor Aboah," she began. "It was wonderful to meet you and discuss your views on European water problems. France can't seem to stop polluting its river basins, and the rest of Europe remains parched due to climate change. Your suggested solutions were insightful. We should discuss this further at future industry events. I hope to see you again soon. Sincerely, Dr. I. Langstrom, Ph.D."

She added a blind copy to David Jacobs so that he knew the game was on, and said, "Send."

Ilse took a deep breath and released it carefully. She was out of her element. She needed to figure out if doing more made sense.

What am I thinking?

She was a scientist. She approached her situation the way she might an experiment. Recording events and reviewing results gave her comfort. She dictated her internal dialogue into her PCD the way she might do a lab report. Or a journal.

"First Entry. Waterfall Journal. The name given by Ekow Aboah to his great discovery, the Waterfall Reagent, seemed a good title for this journal. It is May 17, 2051. All seventeen inventors I identified," she faltered. "are either dead or missing. Always within a few months of my reporting."

Ilse cleared her throat and whipped at the tears in her eyes, collecting her thoughts before continuing. She waited for the roller coaster roar of the passing trolly to fade.

"I go to Accra tomorrow to offer what help I have. The Waterfall Reagent must be given to the world. As a scientist, I am both thrilled for Professor Aboah and jealous of him. He has done what I thought I was meant to do. It is time I remember that."

She put the tablet aside and hung her head. Shame transformed into rage. Different from when she was publicly humiliated by the prosecutor who set her attacker free. This rage was controlled, channeled.

"This time, there will be an accounting," she frowned at the mountains in the distance outside her window.

She frowned at the tablet as she saved her first journal entry. With a few swipes, she then booked a flight to Accra. The frown became a look of determination. She was going to do this.

***

David Jacobs looked at the open message from Ilse to his private address. Only a few days passed since the conference. The Ghanaian professor's ground-breaking technology was astonishing. He'd already gotten confirmation of its theoretical viability from his company's research and development team. Ilse's involvement with this Water Cabal and its schemes seemed surreal. He reviewed his message to Bjorn Langstrom, Ilse's father and his best friend. He'd not yet opened Ilse's message.

"Dear Bjorn, we hoped that Ilse's mental state might improve once she began working at WIPO. We hoped that relocating to Geneva would lead to new friends and relationships. It was encouraging that she accepted my invitation to accompany me to the Water Symposium last week."

"God no," he put his head in his hands. "I sound like a tour guide."

He deleted the draft and started over.

"Dear Bjorn, I hope this message finds you and Eleanor well. I'm writing you about Ilse and a situation we must discuss immediately and in person. Please let me know when we can meet in the next day or so. Sincerely, David."

He wanted to tell Bjorn about Ekow Aboah and his Waterfall Reagent, not that his daughter was likely going to prison. A soft chime sounded to remind him of the unopened email. David opened Ilse's message and then sent his message to Bjorn.

***

Ekow opened Ilse's message.