Beyond the Veil by Thomas J Bruno & Lynn Donovan

Author:Thomas J Bruno & Lynn Donovan [Bruno, Thomas J & Donovan, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-21T16:00:00+00:00

“Alignment nominal. Checking capacitor power levels…”

Axel Ashton straightened as Sandy East’s voice echoed throughout Lab One. Axel suspected she may have been chosen as Test Director explicitly because of her sultry voice.

“Four minutes to full-scale QUEST firing.”

“Sexy Sandy on the mic.” Zeke laughed, nervously it seemed to Axel. The two stood next to each other on the lab floor behind two inches of protective plexiglass.

So, Axel wasn’t the only one distracted by her voice.

As Chief Technician, Axel had physically touched every component of QUEST. The machine occupied the entire back half of the gymnasium-sized lab built against the mountain.

“Hey Axel,” Zeke shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Are you thinking about—about what could go wrong?” He brushed his long, straight hair out of his eyes. The black strands just fell back again. Axel appreciated how quickly the kid could grasp the science behind the apparatus they had constructed. If he wanted, Zeke could be a physicist himself.

“No.” Axel intentionally deadpanned.

“Then, what? What are you thinking?”

“I’m going over every component in my head. Is every setting correct? Is there anything else we can do?”

Sandy’s voice ticked off checklist items. “Capacitors charged. Power levels all within safe parameters. Checking crystal optics…”

Zeke shrugged his broad shoulders and cracked his neck. “I guess I’m thinking about it backwards. I’m thinkin’, ‘What if the lasers are misaligned? What if the theory is wrong? What if that geologist Dr. Abbie was right about cascade effects?’”

Axel huffed a laugh. “I’m with Holly Teak on this one. That cute genius says the worst that could happen is we get a mountain of photons.” Axel jolted, feigning alarm. “Do you feel that?”

“What? What!” Zeke looked around nervously. “I don’t feel anything.”

Axel chuckled again. “Exactly. You’re lit up by photons right now and you don’t feel a thing. These photons really are harmless.”

Zeke frowned. “I’m not stupid. Photons are fine. But these are entangled photons. If they’re harmless, why are we the only two meat-bags on the lab floor behind two inches of plastic?”

Shrugging, Axel gestured to the toroid thirty feet away. “How many mega-electron volts are we pumping into that thing through the power distribution box at the back? Better to have a little protection. We’re here for last minute adjustments and to call ‘abort’ if we see anything wrong.”

Through the speakers, Sandy announced, “Three minutes to QUEST firing. Alignment beams activated…” And through his headset, she asked Axel, “Ops to Lab Floor, radio check and status.”

Axel pressed the earbud to his ear. “Lab Floor loud and clear. Status nominal.”

Zeke grinned at him. “Maybe I’m too excited. This thing could literally change the world! Unbreakable encryption, quantum computing that almost reads minds. Faster-than-light communication. It’s all new to me. But you’ve done these big initial tests at the other labs you’ve worked at, right?”

Axel nodded. “Sure, but I wasn’t next to the equipment. When I worked the nuclear fusion experiment at MIT we monitored remotely by camera. QUEST doesn’t have quite the… explosive potential.”

Zeke’s shoulders rose and fell in a sigh that Axel hoped meant the kid was relaxing.

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