Unsung Hero

“I’ve got it Al, you’re not going to believe this, watch.”

Gary took a piece of white chalk and stepped up to the blackboard. His hands trembling slightly as he began to write.

“Energy,” he wrote an E, “and mass,” he wrote an M, “are interchangeable.” He connected them with an “=“ sign.

“No way, you’re making a mistake,” said Al.

Gary paused for a brief moment, turned and looked at his friend. “I’m not finished, just be patient.”

He wrote a C.

“The C represents the speed of light,” he added.

“That doesn’t work,” said Al, “I’ve tried that before.”

“But wait, watch what happens when you do this.”

Gary added a small 2 above the C.

“Now, if you square the speed of light…”

Both men stood staring at the equation E=MC(squared).

“Holy cow Gary, I think you’ve done it,” said Al.

Just then the door to Al’s study burst open.

Gary disappeared immediately, leaving a small puff of smoke dissipating into the carpet and surrounding bookcases.

“Albert, if you don’t come out right now, I’m going to feed your supper to the dog.” The woman turned and walked back out, leaving the door open.

Al looked around. “Gary,” he whispered. There was no response. He looked at the blackboard, thought about the equation and the theory it represented. He felt his heart skip a beat.

“Okay Gary, I’ll give you until a count of three and if you don’t show up, finders keepers.”

Albert counted to three and never saw Gary again.

The rest, as they say, is history.