Sapere

Chapter 14: The Origins of Jonathan Blackthorn

Clara sat at her desk, the faint glow of her laptop illuminating the room as she delved into Jonathan Blackthorn’s past. The name had been whispered through the corridors of academia, tied to pioneering experiments in alternative energy decades before his family’s untimely demise. What she uncovered only deepened the mystery.

Born in 1965 to an industrial magnate and a biochemist, Jonathan Blackthorn had been a prodigy. By 25, he held doctorates in both physics and materials science. His early work focused on advanced materials—particularly those capable of storing and transferring immense amounts of energy. A recurring theme in his research was the potential of piezoelectric substances, long before they were widely understood.

A 1992 paper stood out: “Resonance Amplification in Liquid Crystals.” Co-authored with a reclusive physicist named Dr. Malcolm Wexler, the paper theorized a liquid medium capable of not only storing energy but amplifying it under mechanical or electromagnetic stress. Though revolutionary, the paper was ridiculed by the scientific community for its lack of practical applications at the time.

Clara leaned back, her fingers brushing over the brittle edge of Jonathan’s notes from the vial’s box. The connections were undeniable. His work wasn’t theoretical; he had created the liquid in that vial.