No. 333A - CYOA2 Part 8 - The Experiment Begins

Part 1: http://aroundgray.blogspot.ca/2013/03/no-322.html
Part 2: http://aroundgray.blogspot.ca/2013/03/no-327-cyoa2-part-2.html
Part 3: http://aroundgray.blogspot.ca/2013/03/no-328a-cyoa2-part-3-ridgeway-is-ally.html
Part 4: http://aroundgray.blogspot.ca/2013/03/no-329a-cyoa2-part-4-martin-doesnt-know.html
Part 5: http://aroundgray.blogspot.ca/2013/03/no-330a-cyoa2-part-5-martin-plays-along.html
Part 6: http://aroundgray.blogspot.ca/2013/03/no-331a-cyoa2-part-6-everything-is.html
Part 7: http://aroundgray.blogspot.ca/2013/03/no-332a-cyoa2-part-7-martin-goes-quietly.html

 

 

Hodge slammed his fist down on the emergency button and all the computers in the lab went dark. The noise continued, though.

“I don’t know what else I can do,” he said through clenched teeth. “Everything should be off.”

 “I’d really like to get out of the chair now,” Martin said quietly.

Land and Ridgeway rushed to unlock the restraints.

“It’s not working,” said Ridgeway, with real fear in her voice. “They’re fused shut.”

From somewhere, out in the Core, an alarm began to sound.

Hodge’s head snapped toward the sound. “Oh no,” he said. “That’s the field-detection alert.”

Every light in the lab went out, plunging the group into complete darkness.

Land was the first to understand. “We’ve jumpstarted the reaction. The experiment’s begun.”

Martin was struggling against the restraints. “Something’s going to happen. I can feel it.”

A blinding flash of energy from the Core strobed through the windows. Everyone in the lab watched the giant space fill with light. The smooth walls intensified the reaction like a lens, and the roiling tendrils of lightning soon congealed into a stable glowing ball, bright with power.

The manacles on Martin’s chair popped open and he slumped to the floor.

“He’s exhausted,” Ridgeway reported from his side. She put her head on his chest. “There’s a strong heartbeat. I think he’s sleeping.”

“Amazing,” whispered Land, who was captivated by the time-barrier.  “It worked. After so long.”

Hodge rushed to reboot the master computer. He studied the read-outs intently. “Levels are holding. The barrier appears to be stable. I don’t know how the reaction started without the proper procedure, though.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Land, distantly. “We’ve got it now.”

“Should we send in the probe?” the swarthy scientist asked.

“Of course,” replied the Captain. “Immediately.”

Hodge punched in the command and a hatch opened in the wall of the Core. A small drone was launched into the barrier. It disappeared into the light without leaving as much as a ripple in the surface.

Data streamed back onto Hodge’s screen. “We’ll know very shortly if we’ve been successful.”

Moments later though, the drone reappeared in the Core.  

“Why did you bring it back?” Land demanded.

Hodge’s face turned a shade of ashen gray. “I didn’t,” he said. “It came out right where we sent it. Five seconds into the future.”

Then another drone emerged.

“What’s happening?” Ridgeway asked.

Hodge began to shake with fear. “That one’s not ours.”

Martin woke up with a start. “I can feel it all over,” he said from what sounded like a long ways away. “The barrier is vibrating. We haven’t got much time.”