There has a lot of speculation concerning the alleged identity of the mysterious "engineer" Domenico Fioravanti. For example PESN states he is a NATO Colonel-Engineer. See:
http://pesn.com/2011/11/07/9601950_Bloombergs_EnergyNow_Names_E-Cat_as_Weeks _HotZone/ I gather Fioravanti's identity, at present, remains unverified. However, recent links hint of possible government R&D contracts. Please correct me if I error on this assumption. In the midst of all of this fertile speculation I found myself fertilizing my own imagination on what Fioravanti, if he actually IS an engineer might have said to his superiors after inspecting Rossi's megawatt eCat. Of course we know even less whose Fioravanti's boss might be, but that hasn't stopped me from writing a speculative dramatization of what MIGHT have transpired. The dramatization takes place in a board room of an unnamed corporation. **************************************************************************** **** **************************************************************************** **** **************************************************************************** **** Characters in this dramatization: "Fioravanti" - Domenico Fioravanti "THE BOSS" - Fioravanti's Superior. "Bod#" - Various Board of Director members. [Members file into the board room. The door closes.] THE BOSS: Sit down gentlemen. [Everyone sits.] Ok, Domenico, what do you have for us? FIORAVANTI: As requested I attended Andrea's October 28 demonstration. I monitored the controls. I monitored the heat generated during the actual test. Andrea gave me a choice of protocols that could be followed. He said we could run his prototype generating one megawatt of thermal heat, or about half that much. It depended on whether an input stabilizing source of power would be utilized during the length of the demonstration. Without the stabilizing input power Andrea told me that he could only safely guarantee about half a megawatt of thermal heat. I chose the latter option as I wanted to make sure there was no input power being fed to the prototype. THE BOSS: And what did you find? FIORAVANTI: Andrea's prototype generated well over 400 kilowatts of thermal heat. The demonstration ran for over four hours. We terminated the demonstration by manually turning the reactors off. THE BOSS: Interesting. And your assessment? FIORAVANTI: Based on my professional opinion as an engineer Adrea's prototype produced vast amount of thermal heat. It appears to do so cheaply. THE BOSS: A LOT of heat? FIORAVANTI: Yes. There was far more heat than could be accounted by prosaic means, such as from a hidden chemical source. I was convinced that I witnessed a massive amount of thermal heat being generated by a process I don't understand. THE BOSS: ...and you acted according? FIORAVANTI: Yes, as you instructed me, after I determined that the prototype was authentic I entered into a tentative agreement with Andrea. I instructed Andrea to fix a couple of leaky gaskets we detected during the run, and then have the entire contents shipped to our secret facilities located in the outskirts of [REDACTED]. [long pause. Various board members shift uncomfortably in their seats.] THE BOSS: [Makes a long sigh] So... On behalf of our company you have purchased a mysterious prototype that produces a lot of heat. And you don't know what is producing that heat. No? FIORAVANTI: No, sir. I don't. BoD1 [Looking concerned] You have absolutely NO idea what is producing the heat? FIORAVANTI: That is correct, sir. No idea. BoD2 You're an engineer, damn it! We pay you a lot of money to figure these things out! FIORAVANTI: Sir, you paid me a lot of money to make a determination as to whether Andrea's machine is for real. In my opinion... that of a professional engineer, Andrea's machine is for real. [The board remains silent.] BoD2: [Mumbling] Now what do we do. [He looks at THE BOSS] THE BOSS: You also think it has commercial value? FIORAVANTI: Well, sir, you also paid me to determine whether the prototype has any commercial value for which this corporation could exploit. In my professional opinion, yes, it has commercial value. In self-sustain mode the amount of input consumables was a tiny fraction of the amount of anomalous heat generated. Quite frankly, sir, the assessment was a no-brainer for me: The prototype has incredible commercial potential. THE BOSS: [smiling slightly] Well... not according to a number of press releases I've read over the past year. Most doubt Andrea's prototype is real. Some even claim it's a scam operation. FIORAVANTI: I would imagine that most of those press releases are relying on the opinions of "experts", and I suspect most of those "experts" were not present for most of Andrea's demonstrations. I was there, sir. You paid me to be there. You paid me to kick a few tires. You paid me to look around corners and under the carpet. I did so. In my professional opinion, the amount of anomalous heat generated has great commercial value. Eventually your corporation should be able to heat homes and buildings and eventually generate electricity. LOTS of electricity! CHEAP electricity. THE BOSS: Ok... [long pause] Domenico, you really mean to tell me you have no idea what makes it go? FIORAVANTI: No, sir, I really don't. BoD1 [Shifting nervously in his seat] I read it somewhere... Rossi claims there is some kind of a nuclear reaction going on. Something to do with Nickel and Hydrogen fusing together... resulting in copper. Some kind of a nuclear process is behind all the heat being generated. I don't know what they are talking about. Do you? FIORAVANTI: Well... yes, Andrea has said something to that effect... He claims some kind of a nuclear process is involved. BoD1: Well, do you think there is a nuclear reaction going on? FIORAVANTI: I don't know. BoD1: How can you not know! Didn't you detect any radiation? FIORAVANTI: I detected no radiation. BoD2: So, it isn't radioactive. [He sighs] THAT'S a relief! FIORAVANTI: No, I didn't say that! I said I personally didn't detect any radiation. That doesn't mean that Andrea's machine doesn't produce radiation. I'm only saying that I didn't detect any... Andrea told me I wouldn't detect any. I didn't. So, I don't know what to make of Andrea's claims. THE BOSS: So, what are you trying to tell us, Domenico. Is this... thing... safe for us to use? Can we commercialize it, or will the damned thing suddenly start spewing massive amounts of radiation and kill everyone on sight. FIORAVANTI: [pauses] I don't know, sir. That's why, as you had instructed me to do, I told Andrea to ship it to [REDACTED] after they repaired the leaky gaskets. Once we get our hands on the prototype it should remain out of sight for a spell, particularly from prying eyes. Andrea's machine is not ready to be exploited not commercially, not in its current configuration. To be honest, sir, we're going to have to tear it apart, very carefully... very meticulously. It's going to take time to figure this thing out. BoD3: How much time. Time is money. We could end up spending a great deal of money on something that will never pan out. FIORAVANTI: Yes... that is a possibility. BoD2: But you're an engineer. Your actions contractually obligates us to sign over a great deal of money to Rossi. ...A great deal of money. FIORAVANTI: Indeed, potentially that is your corporation's obligation, assuming we continue to verify the fact that no trickery had been involved. If you DO find something fishy I doubt you will be obligated to pay Andrea a penny. However, in my professional opinion, no trickery was involved. I'd stake my professional opinion on that conclusion. Therefore, your corporation has indeed entered into a potentially expensive deal. However, the payoff could be exceedingly lucrative for you... for everyone here. BoD:4 How so? How lucrative? How can you possibly know that! You say you have no idea how the contraption works. How are we supposed to exploit a piece of equipment that nobody knows how it works! FIORAVANTI: [Sighs] Sir, many products sold and used by our society today run by some kind of an unknown process. But that doesn't stop us from exploiting a mysterious process and making tons of money off of the mystery. Customers, take it on faith that the devices they purchase will work as advertised. They work because engineers like me have spent a great deal of time mapping out and exploiting the parameters of the unknown phenomenon. We create products that can be sold on the market because we made damned sure they run within SAFE parameters that we have tested over and over in our labs. We design these products such that all a customer has to do is push a button and an expected reaction occurs - faithfully, every time. I believe Andrea's machine falls into that category. You simply have to figure out what the acceptable parameters are, and then design all of our on-off switches to operate within those boundaries. That's how fortunes are made. That's potentially how your corporation could end up making another fortune. BoD1: I wish we knew the science behind Andrea's machine. FIORAVANTI: As to I, sir. But right now, we don't. BoD4: Surely there has been speculation. What do scientists say? What has been published on Andrea's machine? FIORAVANTI: [A short sarcastic laugh] Not much! Most scientists refuse to believe that Andrea's contraption is real... at least that's what most say publicly. Most of the popular publications that I've read have been even less charitable. As [THE BOSS] has already stated, some even claim it's an outright scam operation. THE BOSS: [The boss smiles] Yes, they do seem to. BoD4 Domenico, you are not reassuring me! FIORAVANTI: You mean you are not "reassured" that most scientists don't believe Andrea's machine is for real, or that all the publications are claiming the device is a fraudulent piece of equipment. Bode4 Well... actually... I guess BOTH! FIORAVANTI: [Sighs...] What can I say. Again, in my professional opinion, the prototype generated a massive amount of heat. As for the scientists and all of these popular publications. They weren't there. BoD4: Could you be a little more specific. What have you heard out on the Internet? What is the public saying about Andrea's machine? FIORAVANTI: [Thinks pensively for a moment...] Well, I think the general public is completely oblivious to Andrea and his machine. THE BOSS: Good. M4: "Good?" What do you mean? THE BOSS: [Waves his hand impatiently] Let Domenico continue. What have you heard out on the Internet? FIORAVANTI: I'm aware of a web site, New Energy Times run by an individual... Mr. Krivit I believe is his name, who has come down pretty hard on Rossi. I think Mr. Krivit believes Rossi's machine is a fraudulent piece of equipment. BoD4: And does this Krivit individual know what he is talking about? FIORAVANTI: Well, he did travel to Italy and personally meet with Andrea. Andrea demonstrated the device in front of Mr. Krivit. But then... most curiously, soon afterwards, Mr. Krvit began posting unfavorable assessments of Rossi. He hasn't had anything good to say about Mr. Rossi. BoD4 And do people believe Mr. Krivit's assessments? FIORAVANTI: I'm sure some do. ...I'm sure some don't. BoD4: Can you wager a guess? What percentages are for Andrea, and how many are against Andrea's machine. FIORAVANTI: Frankly, I don't know. I don't think anybody knows the answer to that. BoD4 Well, what do YOU think of Mr. Krivt's assessment. FIORAVANTI: Never met him. BoD4 Oh, come on, Domenico, you're an engineer. You must have read some of Krivit's comments. You must have formed some kind of an opinion. FIORAVANTI: [pauses] Yes, I have. BoD4: And???? FIORAVANTI: He's not an engineer. BoD4: Meaning??? Help me out here, Domenico. What do you mean by that? FIORAVANTI: In my professional opinion, Mr. Krivit did not assess Andrea's machine's capabilities properly... and by that I mean from an engineering point of view. Bod4 [scratching his head] I don't follow you. What do you mean... from an "engineering point of view"? FIORAVANTI: I suspect Mr. Krivit initially hoped to base his understanding of how Andrea's machine works by collecting iron-clad data. Scientifically sanctioned measurements. I suspect Mr. Krivit was anticipating that he would collect enough scientific evidence to produce a really impressive article for his readers. He didn't get it. Maybe this disappointed him. I'll tell you something else though. I suspect he simply doesn't like Andrea. I suspect Andrea's quirky behavior pushed a lot of Mr. Krivit's buttons. Sour grapes. BoD4: You mean Mr. Krivit shouldn't have expected that Andrea would presented him with scientifically sanctioned data? FIORAVANTI: No, that is not what I'm saying. Not at all! Look. Andrea is a quirky guy. Most inventers are. Andrea is highly eccentric and mercurial by nature. He is opinionated, and a bit of a hothead too. I suspect Mr. Krivit is a hothead too, this based on rumors I've heard. You get two hotheads in the same room and... well, you now... the room begins to heat up. On top of all that, Andrea is... well... in my opinion... he's a flagrant carnival barker. I suspect the carnival barker aspect of Andrea's personality REALLY pushed some of Krivit's buttons. Making matters worse, Andrea really doesn't care how he is perceived by the public. Andrea is... well, he is just in his own little world. BoD4: Ok... I see... FIORAVANTI: No, I don't think you really do see. Look, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Mr. Krivit wanting to collect credible scientific evidence in order to write up an impressive article. Merde! Most of the chatter I've read out the Internet has been highly critical of the very fact that Andrea DOESN'T follow any kind of scientific protocol. It seems EVERYONE is pissed off at him for that reason alone! They wish he could have conducted at least SOME of his demonstrations in a more scientifically sanctioned manner. But he doesn't and never has. Not surprisingly, practically everyone is claiming Andrea's lack of following scientific protocol is hurting his public image. BoD4: And is it? FIORAVANTI: Quite frankly. Yes. But again, Andrea doesn't care. He's really not interested in impressing scientists, or the public for that matter. He's only interested in impressing a few carefully selected wealthy well-placed corporations into forking over a lot of money for the rights to build and sell the technology behind his machine. BoD4 This bothers me terribly! We've signed a contract with an idiot who doesn't know how to handle himself in front of people. [Facing The Boss] Sir, you realize Andrea is a corporation's worst nightmare! [THE BOSS continues to smile. He waves off BoD4's concerns.] THE BOSS: Please, Domenico, continue. FIORAVANTI: Nothing more to say, sir, I'm just an engineer. I'm not a public relations facilitator. THE BOSS: Ok then. What are others saying. [THE BOSS looks over to another board member] Mr. [Redacted], I understand you have been scouring the net for opinions both pro and con on Andrea's machine. What have you found? BoD5 There's a lot of arguing going on. THE BOSS: Who else besides this Mr. Krivit guy thinks Andrea is a scam artist? BoD5 Well there is this list server called Vortex-L. A lot of people interested in Rossi's machine have been hanging out there. There has been a LOT conversation about Andrea since last January. A couple of recent examples... well... there is a person... a Ms. Yugo, who seems to be stalwart in her opinion that Mr. Rossi cannot be trusted. And then, there is a Mr. Cude who has been on the warpath against Rossi... Well, Actually, I think in Mr. Cude's case, he has been on the warpath against the entire "Cold Fusion" community for years. It's just that Andrea Rossi is right now the latest greatest thing to sink his teeth into. THE BOSS: Are any of their arguments believable? FIORAVANTI: I think that depends on who you talk to and what side of the fence you are one. I'd say that skeptics want to believe in their arguments while believers of Andra's machine express exasperation. BoD5 Yes, I agree. That's a fair assessment. THE BOSS: Ok then. Who are the believers? BoD5 There's this individual, a Mr. Rothwell who also posts out in the Vortex-l list. He has been relentless going after skeptics like Mr. Cude and Ms. Yugo. Nothing seems to phase him. THE BOSS: And do you think this Rothwell character is winning the battle for the believers? BoD5 Again, it depends on what side of the fence you are on. THE BOSS: Well, do YOU think of Mr. Rothwell's arguments are credible? BoD5 Well, he has this website, called "lenr-canr.org" THE BOSS: "lenr"... what? BoD5: It's a web site that is a repository for thousands of scientific reports on Cold Fusion experiments performed over the past twenty years. There is so much stuff out there I wouldn't know where to begin. THE BOSS: How does he find the time to collect all this scientific stuff? BoD5 I believe he is semi-retired. I think he made a financial killing earlier in his career. I think it had something to do with a computer based business he managed. I'm really not sure about the details. I think he made enough from that businesses to retire early in life. He think he can now pursue any kind of "hobby" to his heart's content. THE BOSS: Hmmm [smiles] My kind of guy! BoD5 How do you mean? THE BOSS: He has enough time on his hands to dig into matters that interest him. Most of us don't have that kind of luxury in life. We have to rely on the assessments of others who DO have enough time to assess these matters. I gather he's a Rossi fan. BoD5 Oh No! I wouldn't say that. He's been pretty hard on Andrea. In fact, I believe Rothwell has pissed Andrea off on several occasions due to criticisms he lobbed directly at Rossi's operations. Rothwell also hates the fact that Andrea refuses to follow proper scientific protocol. THE BOSS: He isn't a Rossi fan, but thinks Rossi's machine is for real, while Mr. Krivit doesn't the machine is for real. BoD5 Yes, I guess so. It would be more accurate to say that Rothwell is a fan of Andrea's machine, and probably not that much of a fan of Andrea, the person. Rothwell has had a LOT of critical things to say about Andrea's character, his personality. However, Rothwell has always been quick to add that Andrea's personality is irrelevant to the discussion-at-hand. All that seems to matter to Rothwell is whether Andrea's machine does what Andrea claims it does. I believe Rothwell has come to the conclusion that Andrea's machine is authentic - this based on the independent assessments made of competent individuals who personally witnessed Andrea's machine in operation. THE BOSS Well... what do YOU think of this Rothwell individual. Do YOU believe him? BoD5 He IS convincing at times. I think he argues well. I think he enjoys debating with individuals he considers ignorant of the facts. THE BOSS: And how well do the skeptics argue? Do they argue as well as Mr. Rothwell? BoD5 Again. it depends on... THE BOSS: ...Ok, Ok! I get your drift. Domenico, when will we get Andrea's machine? Fioravanti: In a few weeks... I hope. THE BOSS: Make sure no money is paid into the escrow account until we confirm delivery. Fioravanti: Yes, sir. THE BOSS: And Domenico, once we get Andrea's machine, I want you to assemble a team of technicians and engineers to assist you in... Fioravanti: ...Well...sir... THE BOSS: Yes, Domenico. What's wrong? Fioravanti: To be honest, sir. I'm not sure I want to work on this project. THE BOSS: Why the hell not! Isn't this a find of a life time for you? Fioravanti: Well... Yes, It is... sort of... but to be honest, Sir, Andrea's machine scares the Living Mearde out of me! THE BOSS: How so? What did you see that scared you? Fioravanti: After the reaction was stabilized and Andrea turned off the input stabilizing power, suddenly the thermal heat within the machine spiked. It rose incredibly fast. Scared the hell out of me! You have to understand, sir, we were only yards away from half a megawatt of highly concentrated thermal heat that nobody had a clue how it works. A half megawatt of thermal heat in such close proximity... IT WAS DANGEROUS! [A moment of silence] THE BOSS: [Looks around and assesses the nervousness of his board members.] Ok. We've talked enough for today. Let's shelve further discussion on the matter till tomorrow. [Everyone begins to file out.] Domenico, would you please stay? [Domenico pauses at the door, and then returns to his seat.] THE BOSS: Can I make an offer you can't refuse? ********************************************************* END OF PART 1 of 2 ********************************************************* Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
