’ The driveway appeared, Steve turned the truck into it. The tires gripped the gravel and they bounced gently along the worn path of dirt and stone...until they reached the main house. It was a simple farm house. Two stories with a basement and an attic. It was white, the paint chipped and faded in some places, like new in others. The windows were new, he had finally given in to the reality that heating his home was costing more than he was happy to spend, so last year he had paid an arm and a. Susan felt another chill, this one colder and longer-lasting, make its way along her spine. A cold knot formed in her stomach. ‘Please leave.’ Staring at her still, the boy shook his head slowly. ‘I’m hungry. Let me in.’ ‘No.’ ‘You must.’ Susan tried to shift her gaze from the child’s but couldn’t. ‘No.’ ‘Yes. Invite me in, Sue.’ ‘How do you know my name?’ He shrugged. ‘Let me in.’ ‘No!’ ‘Invite me in!’ The words were snarled, barely discernable. Susan drew back in shock, her gaze finally. When I got to the booth I stopped in front of him, put my hand out and said, “Hi, it looks like you are my partner, my name is Karina.” He took my hand and held it, smiled at me and said, “Pleased to meet you, I'm Nickolas.” He looked me over with very approving eyes and I almost blushed.As he held my hand he moved his thumb on the palm, I looked up at him and raised my eyebrow in silent inquisition. Then Mrs. Brown came over and said, “I see you two have now met, if you have any questions feel. ” Jones said.“Really? But how does that affect temperature.”“I think that it’s not a one way transmission. An equal volume of air must come through the Vortex. But I think it actually comes ‘through’ the solid matter of what you’re sending. The front is always the hottest, because air passes through it faster.”“Wait, you’ve got a good idea, but I think you haven’t got it completely right. Let’s simulate, from air to air.”I changed the environmental settings, wondering why I’d never done that.