The teen's hand slid across the dull black surface of the particle detector. Its sphere-like core gave him the same unsettling feeling as the mask he wore. Whether it was Eiden taking his enemies hostage or he himself threatening innocent lives, there was always something. His stomach churned, but fortunately, he no longer had to keep it. Eiden was all too willing to take it off his hands.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Dr. Heisen stuck to him like a shadow.
"Beautiful?" he repeated more as a question. To him, beauty was not the first thing to come to mind; it wasn't even on the list. The particle detector wasn't a true sphere; it arced each time to accommodate the seven tubes. It was many times bigger than he was, almost as tall as the level it was situated on. Yet, something about it struck him as off. Ten divots were equidistant from each other, forming an inner perimeter of the "front" part. His hands stayed in the center. There was something missing.
"The act of matter shattering against each other creates violent bursts of energy. Without context, it is merely chaos. But this, this makes sense of it all. With this, we will bring order and peace to the world," Dr. Heisen said.
That was strangely similar to Eiden's way of doing things. Edward doubted Eiden's end goal was any sort of peace. "Does that include killing the Emperor?"
"As far as I am concerned, that is just another means to an end. But the topic of political maneuvering is outside of my field." Her words sent a shiver through him. Devolving life into a checklist was hard to stomach. "It is best to focus on the task at hand," Heisen turned. "Come. Let me show you around."
***
The floors were mostly similar, all containing micro accelerators, data monitors, various types of regulators, and a dry explanation. When they arrived at the lowest level, Edward assumed it would be just as monotonous, but he was wrong. The scale of the collider was breathtaking from this vantage point. There was a door that ran flush with the wall, with rungs descending all the way to the bottom. Bridges jutted out from each level, connecting to the rungs at intervals.
“Welcome to the bottom level of PACRL. This level is our primary storage facility for energy.” They walked along a trench-like system, with windows in the walls revealing an even deeper section filled with massive columns, which Edward guessed were seismic absorbers.
“Energy storage?” he asked.
“Yes. Running PACRL requires an enormous amount of energy. If we drew power directly from the grid, it would overload the system. So, we continually draw power and store it in these large containers.” Dr. Heisen gestured to the three large drums.
Several maintenance workers were removing and inserting racks of light gray boxes along the cylinder, while another group worked on the top, just out of sight. “What are they doing at the top?” Edward asked.
“Inspecting the battery venting system. If the chemicals in the batteries get too hot, the cells rupture or catch fire. There is a pressure release valve at the top that allows the cells to expel the gas. If need be, it floods the compartment with CO2.”
To the left was solid concrete forming the base of the collider, with pylons supporting the floors and the collider's unique shape. Edward's tour was interrupted by the elevator opening behind them. “Doctor Heisen! I have been looking for you,” Director Gloucester called out, garnering everyone's attention. Edward hid behind Heisen. He didn't see Gloucester often, and he preferred it that way.
Dr. Heisen didn't respond in kind, looking rather annoyed at his intrusion. “Don’t give me that look. I bring good news,” Gloucester said, trying to reassure her.
“Oh?” Heisen replied, refusing to give him a proper greeting, which Edward found strange. He thought Gloucester was Heisen's superior.
“In regards to the Governor’s visit, he has decided to conduct his tour in three days,” Gloucester informed them without a hint of emotion.
Heisen's annoyance was replaced with shock. “In what world is that good news?”
Gloucester stepped closer. “I am under the impression it's a move out of desperation rather than any budget necessity. I have heard that the damage done to the Washington facility is irreversible, and we are the only facility with an operational ‘Heart’ Collider.”
Heisen regained her composure. “Then the pressure is downward,” she said, catching onto Gloucester's line of thinking.
“Precisely, meaning access to federal funding,” Gloucester said, with a glint of excitement in his eyes.
“Meaning more scrutiny,” Heisen pushed back.
“Everything has its price. Time is of the essence,” Gloucester shrugged.
The Doctor scoffed. “Come, William. We have some testing to do.” Edward followed her out. The silence in the elevator was deafening. With every second that passed, he felt like he was leaving one nightmare and entering another. “Wait here,” she ordered before leaving him in the hallway outside the observation deck.
The door was left ajar, and Edward peered into a tense scene. Hadley spat out his coffee. “You can’t be serious? 48 measly hours!” Hadley exclaimed. Heisen crossed her arms, unfazed by the outburst. “Not to mention we have to drag a kid along.”
Edward shrunk back. Was that what he really was to them; dead weight? He wondered.
“While I am not against training him, we do not have much time as it is,” Hadley argued, getting more and more heated. “Wouldn’t it be best to wait until after the Governor’s visit?” Maxwell suggested in a calmer tone.
Heisen didn’t waver. “Would it satisfy you if he took a class in Nuclear and Particle physics while working with us?”
Hadley looked at her in disbelief. “Why are you advocating for him at the worst time?"
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Silence took over the room. Hadley's eyes trained on his superior. Heisen sighed, “There are things that I shouldn’t know, yet I have drawn the conclusion for myself.” She paused for a second, turning her attention to Edward. “You may in the future. What I shall illuminate is the fact he played a role in Project Genesis.”
The conversation continued, but Edward was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to listen. Genesis? Edward remembered nothing of what he did while at their laboratory. The seeming gap in memory was odd to him. He was at least eight when he stopped going. His memory couldn’t be that terrible. Although there was very little that they talked to him about. They only talked at him, and he would return the favor.
Edward was ripped out from his thoughts by Heisen yelling, “I want this place ready for testing in 15 minutes, that is an order!” They stood erect, “Yes, ma’am!” It surprised him that they could switch from a heated argument to professionalism on a dime. Heisen waved him into the room. The two began a flurry of work. All levels of PACRL soon bustled with activity.
Edward walked at a tepid pace. He felt as if he was losing his usefulness even before doing anything. The men stole glances at him, wearing expressions he didn’t understand. Was it wariness? Doubt? Resentment? He tried to ignore them and stood by Heisen.
“PARCEL is at your disposal,” Heisen told him. “What are your orders?”
Edward considered it for a moment. His knowledge was limited to what was in his parents’ journal and textbooks. That left a large gap of practical basic knowledge, one he needed to fill. But that would only slow down the actual scientists. He glanced at Heisen and then back at the window. She expected him to take charge. “Prepare the accelerators for the first test.”
Both Hadley and Maxwell looked at each other and then at Heisen. “You must be precise about which accelerators and at what power level.”
Edward mentally punched himself. “First and fourth ones at 100% power,” he elaborated.
“Why just two?” Hadley questioned.
Heat rushed to his face. “I want to get a baseline,” he snapped. Neither scientist questioned him further. Within ten minutes, they completed the preparations.
“Magnets are ready, particles are prepped, and power has reached sufficient levels,” Heisen said, almost like a robot listing off everything. “You may begin.”
He nodded. “Begin stage 1 acceleration.” His voice sounded less than confident. Hadley relayed the order over the loudspeaker. A low hum began as the machine came to life. Lights flashed on the top-left accelerator and bottom-right.
Mere seconds later, an aggravated sigh came from Hadley. “We're still experiencing beam curving, but not enough to warrant danger.”
“There's a possibility it's the magnets,” Maxwell suggested.
For some reason, he doubted it. The unsettling news made his stomach churn. It wasn't nearly as bad as last time. He wondered why. Was the stress not getting to him that much?
“Accelerators are ready to move to the second phase,” Hadley alerted him.
“Proceed.” Moments later, the humming ceased, and the lights turned off. Edward frowned. The testing was anticlimactic. It was also comforting in a way. Nothing had gone wrong for him, which was a first. Within a few minutes, the computer processed the results and spit them out. He took his time to examine the results during the accelerator cool-down period. The results were predictable, if only slightly off due to the bending. He felt Heisen's cold stare on him. If the particles collided and reached the stage of Principle Connection Medium, then a particle that was not part of the reaction would no doubt be affected. He mulled over the possibility.
His confidence rose. He had a clear direction to go in. “Prepare for the next test. I want the first, third, and seventh accelerators ready to go.”
The scientists were taken aback by his sudden demeanor shift. “You heard him,” Heisen barked.
The corners of his mouth raised almost imperceptibly. Edward felt a faint warmth in his core that he had not felt for a long time. Without thinking, he stepped closer to the window, his face mere inches from the glass. A flash of a distant memory made him backpedal. His parents stood on the other side of a clear partition carved out of a white wall. Their expressions were frozen. The imagery cut off before he could make sense of it.
“We are ready,” Heisen told him.
He finalized the parameters in his head before spewing them out all at once. “Begin acceleration of one, three, and seven. Have the seventh dialed to three-fourths of full power and at a delayed release so it reaches just short of the collision between the first and third particle beams. The latter two will be at full power.”
He raised a couple of eyebrows. “We're going to need to make a few more adjustments,” Maxwell returned to the control panel.
Hadley let out a tired sigh. “And more coffee.”
“What exactly are you planning to do?” Heisen questioned.
He thought back to why the Master gave his parents' journal to him: to finish what they started. “This isn't a normal collider, so I don't think the solution will be found in regular testing.”
Heisen made no argument against his line of reasoning. He sighed internally. He didn't have any more justification beyond it. The other part of him worried that her silence meant she knew he would fail.
“PACRL has been recalibrated for the new parameters,” Maxwell announced.
“Begin the test.” His voice grew in authority.
Lights flashed on the active accelerators, with the seventh at a slower pace. The low hum was slightly louder.
Edward stared at PACRL, picturing the particles shooting through the sharp bends. They were going so fast it was a mere thread of light. The imagery was almost too vivid. It was as if he was peering inside.
“Beams are at speed and are ready to move on to stage two,” Maxwell announced.
His heart swelled with anticipation. “Proceed to-”
“Wait a moment.” Hadley cut him off. He stood hunched over a monitor. Edward felt a flash of annoyance. “We're getting an incredible amount of beam bending.”
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Heisen pushed Hadley aside and looked at the monitor. “Tell the operators to shut it down,” she ordered, her tone urgent. Edward's annoyance turned to anger. “No! Just go!” he yelled.
“The beams have to stay on the set path in order to collide, otherwise we risk damaging the detector array from misfire,” Hadley explained.
Edward had no good argument. “PACRL is at my disposal,” he said, his voice rising.
Heisen gave him a cold stare that obliterated his resolve, then jerked her head toward Maxwell to get moving. He stood frozen in place, feeling like he had run face-first into an oncoming train.
“Cut power to PACRL,” Edward issued over the loudspeaker.
There was some static. “The power array is frozen. We can’t shut it off.”
“Flood the battery, and shut down the facility,” Heisen ordered. The lights flickered until it was pitch black. Everything went still for a moment. The hum faded slightly. Edward felt like he was going to vomit. Then the collider roared.
“What the—” someone exclaimed.
Nobody in the room had time to react to what was going to happen next. A light from the detector pierced through the darkness and headed right for the observation deck. Pain tore through Edward like fire. In the haze, he saw the light getting refracted by something.
Glass shattered.