"Puzzle Keeper"

Original story novel by: Jason D'Angelo

( CHAPTER 1 : "In the name of science" )

Born in Germany, in the year 1919, Nebel Schlau was one of the unlucky individuals to graduate the "Technical University of Berlin", and jump right into the work-force. He was consumed for a government job which they called "Project Aggregate", in 1940 at the young age of 21. Nebel had graduated with an intricate knowledge of chemistry and biology that had surpassed the confines of the college he attended. There was sure to be a position for him as a professor, had this job not been offered. This job was a once in a life time opportunity, reserved for a select few of the greatest minds available. You did not have to be a genius, but you did have to have an excellent understanding of your own abilities. This is exactly how others had described Nebel throughout his enrollment at the college.

Germany was going through a rough period of time, war was around every corner and soldiers were all around. Falling into a government job was not abnormal, as the war seemed to consume many citizens into employment as it developed. It was amazing that both war and science were being developed side by side, with nearly equal enthusiasm and support. There was a new space incentive that had been declared by the military and science community, mostly in the name of science. Project aggregate was one of the largest contributions funded and coordinated under military guidance. Several rockets had already been developed and each one leading us one step closer to the goal of reaching space.

Nebel’s part in the project was focused on studying why failures had occurred, and to offer possible resolution to reverse the issues. This was not the only job, nor was it a full-time job, as demands would often shift from each assignment. There were many days spent on one rocket, and many times only spending a day on many rockets. Each rocket, though they were all the same design, had subtle changes between each one. This was part of the design process of placing theory into reality. Nebel ended each day retireing to his quarters where he would distract his mind by trying to solve puzzles that were created by a man named Otho Dougal.

Nebel would write Otho on occasion, asking if any new puzzles had been created or to ask for hints on how solve some of the hardest puzzles. Though he knew how to solve the puzzles, he still enjoyed the cryptic responses that Otho would send as a resolution. The responses were equally as hard as the actual solution, but they helped offer something to do when there were no puzzles left to solve. He believed that Otho knew he had known the answer, which is why he humored him with each reply. This was the limit of interaction that Nebel had with the outside world. There was little time for friends, because people seemed to come and go too fast to become acquainted as friends.

Within a year, Nebel was upgraded through three levels of security, ending-up with a group that didn’t have as much volatility as they had before. He was actually part of a specific team now, dedicated to special diagnosis of the more advanced rockets. There were rumors of the project taking a turn into a new direction, if they could manage to get a single rocket that would function in a production setting. These rockets were being produced from scraps and hand-crafted unique items, and that was unacceptable for large-scale productions. They needed one solid design that just worked, and worked well enough to be produced by the thousands.

His team had around a dozen members, other than himself, and two were not scientists at all. There was a general and a team over-seer, who didn’t see them that much at all. This was starting to feel more military at this level of coordination. Even their letters were being monitored before being sent or received. He realizes this because he was lightly interrogated by the general and the over-seer, due to the cryptic letters that he had received about the puzzles. They had an issue with the letters for many reasons. First, they were from Sweden, one of Germaine’s allies. Secondly, they contained cryptic information which was not easily understood as, "Hello mother, I am fine. How are you?"

This led Nebel to stop writing Otho and focus more on his acquaintances within his team. Now that there was an actual team, the opportunity for mind-clearing was readily available. No new members had joined the team within six months, and Nebel had become friends with almost everyone except the general and the over-seer. This group was more like a close family.