"That was Bob," you whisper. "He's the animal handler."
"Animal handler?"
"Yeah, we have an Animal Enclosure just down the hall. Mice and rabbits and a few cats, for testing some of the effects of our electromagnetic research."
Penny makes a face. "I hate mice!"
"Well then we will just have to avoid that room," you say with a smile. You stride down the hall to where Bob just was and open the door to the Maintenance Room. "Okay, fingers crossed that this is the right one."
Check the room out ON PAGE 100
38
"I don't like the sound of space-time problems," you say. "Maybe we should get the CS Rifle. Just to be safe."
Jay points to a door. "That's the way to the Physics Lab. Follow me."
He punches the button next to the door and leads you into the corridor. Everything is awfully dark, with only the emergency lights glowing down where the ground meets the walls. Your feet echo on the metal floor. You come to another door, which slides open horizontally to reveal the Physics Lab.
It looks like something out of a college lecture hall: there are four rectangular tables with chemical-resistance black tops, with mounted lasers pointing at targets with computers connected at either end. A dry erase board stands at the front of the room covered in formulas and notes. The ceiling is exposed, with ductwork and pipes and wires. On the ground, there are stacks of printed paper everywhere.
"Ah-ha!" Jay grabs something from one table. "Here she is. The CS Rifle."
He holds the Causality Smoother Rifle up for you to examine. It's small enough to fit in a backpack, and the barrel is short and stunted. The grip is curved strangely, but seems to fit Jay's hand just right. Altogether, the CS Rifle looks like the lowercase letter 'd' on its side.
"How's it work?" you ask.
"Just like any gun: point and shoot." Without warning, he points it at the dry erase board and fires. The noise is tolerable, a low pfft sound, and a thick beam of light shoots across the room. It strikes the board and disappears.
"Nothing happened," you say.
"Uh huh. Nothing was supposed to happen, young Mister Heller," Jay says. "It only works on atoms in the wrong place in time. The dry erase board belongs here, so it stays here." He holds it out to you.
You feel its weight. "So I could shoot you and nothing would happen?"
Jay gives a nervous laugh. "Yes, theoretically, but let's not go testing that hypothesis today, okay?"
A static electricity feeling runs up your arms, making the hairs stand up. You're about to ask Jay what's wrong when a ball of pure energy pops into the room from nowhere. It crackles and hisses only a few feet from your head.
"Don't move!" Jay blurts out. "Stand perfectly still!"
ROLL A DIE!
If you rolled a 5 or 6, GO TO PAGE 59
If you rolled a 1, 2, 3, or 4, GO TO PAGE 40
39
Feeling confident, you type the command to power up the backup system, and then press enter.
The text disappears from the screen, and all that remains is a blinking cursor. You wonder if anything is happening.
Then the low hum of machinery reaches your ears, like a turbine turning on. There's a clicking sound in the air. You can't quite place it.
"Looks like you turned on the backup power system," Jay excitedly says. "Yes! That's needed because as soon as we finish the abort sequence, all power from the main reactor will cease. The backup power, from the secondary reactor, will keep things running now."
"We're doing it!" Penny cries.
There's a loud groan from the core, like giant sheets of metal being bent. You both freeze and watch the core warily until it ends.
"Better keep going," you say.
The options available on the screen are:
SELECT CORE FUNCTION
- FULL COOLANT DUMP
- EXTEND FLOOD TUBES
- OPEN CORE
"Do you remember the next step?" Penny asks. She's beginning to sound hopeful.
To perform a Full Coolant Dump, GO TO PAGE 109
To Extend the Flood Tubes, GO TO PAGE 144
To Open the Core, GO TO PAGE 119
40
You obey, standing as still as you possibly can. Jay does the same a few feet away.
The Causality Neutrino pulses in the air, its hum increasing in pitch every three seconds.
A crack of lightning suddenly shoots off, striking the dry erase board. It turns white, so bright that it's difficult to look at, and then fades away into nothing.
The Causality Neutrino blinks, and then disappears. But you can still hear the pulsing sound in the air. You glance at Jay but he has his eyes closed. You think he's praying.
The hair on your arms stands up again, your only warning. There's a crack of thunder behind you, and shadows swing across the room from new light. You know the Causality Neutrino is behind you, can hear the static sound, but you don't dare look.
ROLL ANOTHER DIE!
If you rolled a 1, GO TO PAGE 59
If you rolled a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, GO TO PAGE 152
41
"It's wonderful that you've found the full sequence," Jay says. "But I'm afraid I need to ask one more thing of you, young mister Heller."
You stand up a little straighter. "Anything. I'm here to help."
"Since the reactor core is unstable, it's impossible to open at the door. The safety systems are in place to keep anyone from entering. To manually override this, I have to stay here in the Control Room. You are going to have to be the one to go inside the core, run the sequence, and stop the meltdown!"
A shiver of fear runs through you. You have to be the one to go into the core? You're not prepared for that!
A glance at Penny strengthens your resolve. You have to do whatever you can. "I'll do it."
Jay nods as if there were no other option. "I knew you would. I can give you instructions from here. See that closet over there? Grab a suit from inside. It will provide basic protection from the radiation inside."
You go to the closet. Rows of yellow HAZMAT suits hang on the rack.
Penny appears next to you and grabs a suit.
"What do you think you're doing?"
She sticks out her chin. "What if something happens to you in there? You're going to need a backup. Two is safer than just one."
"But you might--"
"I'm going with you, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Her tone and expression dares you to try.
You sigh. "Okay. Here, help me put this on."
You take turns helping each other put on the suits. It covers your entire body, with a plastic faceplate to reveal your face. It zips up the front. You feel like you're walking around in a suit made of trash bags.
"Go ahead down the tunnel," Jay says. "I'll open the door in a moment. And be careful! If you tear your suit, you're in trouble."
You open the door and walk down the long hallway. The massive blast door leading to the reactor looms above you. It's large enough for a tractor to drive through.
Clunk. Clunk. CLUNK.
The enormous locks begin disengaging. Slowly, swiveling with its enormous weight, the blast door opens.
Enter the Reactor Core ON PAGE 102
42
Electricity is not something you want to mess around with. You lead Jay over to the left side.
The ceiling groans as you approach, a hollow sound which reverberates throughout the Engineering Bay. You hesitate. The corridor between the wall and the wreckage goes on for about forty feet before reaching the door. It's a long way to go with the ceiling threatening to collapse above you.
You think of Penny, pinned beneath the wreckage, and it gives you a boost of courage.
Fearing to move too quickly, you tip-toe down the corridor. Jay stays right behind you, mimicking your stride. The ceiling shifts again, freezing you in place, but only a little bit of dust floats down.
You're halfway down the corridor when the air in front of you
shimmers.
It's the strangest visual sensation you've ever experienced. The air seems to warp, the way the desert heat drifts off the ground in waves, distorting everything behind. Then the strange object begins to materialize, thickening into mist, then into some strange sort of light. It's vaguely human-shaped, but made of what look like shards of light, angular and sharp, like chunks of jagged glass swirling in a small tornado.
"Oh no..." Jay moans. "A Phase Being!"
"A what?"
"It's a--"
Suddenly the ground begins to shake. You whirl just in time to see the ceiling collapse behind you, piles of rock and debris falling into the corridor. It misses you by only a few feet, but when it stops you realize you're trapped!
The Phase Being extends what must be an arm in your direction. It lets out a low groan, sorrowful and sad.
"Don't touch it!" Jay says. "Whatever you do, don't touch it."
"What are we supposed to do?" you ask. It doesn't seem to be moving, just sort of standing there. There's about two feet of clear space to its right. You could try running past it.
Or, if you already have a CS Rifle, you could shoot it.
To try darting past the Phase Being, FLIP TO PAGE 74
If you want to look for something to distract it, GO TO PAGE 51
Or, if you have the CS Rifle, you can shoot it ON PAGE 58
43
Penny is practically shaking. "I hate mice!"
"The door to the Maintenance Room is right there. Come on!"
You grab Penny by the hand and lead her back across the room. The mouse Phase Beings make strange squeaking noises as they follow.
You reach the door and slap the open button. It flashes red. Nothing happens.
"Hurry up!" Penny cries. "They're coming!"
You press it again, and again, but it just won't open. You spin around. "We need to find another way. Or get on top of..."
Penny shrieks and bolts for the door you entered through, but there's not enough time. One of the Phase Beings cuts her off, colliding with her shoe.
She falls to the ground with a cry. The atoms of her foot brighten and float apart like dust. The brightness spreads up her leg, making her look just like the Phase Beings. "Help me!" she says, reaching a hand in your direction.
The wave of atomic instability moves up her arm and the hand drifts apart. The last thing you see is her wide eyes before she's gone entirely.
You hop onto the nearest animal cage, which provides safety from the little Phase Beings, but you feel defeated. You let Penny get hit. Now she's stuck somewhere in time! You feel a profound sadness, as if you lost someone very important to you, not just a girl you met mere hours before.
You might be able to continue and escape unharmed, but Doctor Kessler certainly won't be happy about you losing his daughter. Because of that, and since you're too sad to even move from where you stand, you have reached...
THE END
44
You reach out and grab Almer's arm. "Hey, hold on. Why doesn't she stay in here with me?"
Doctor Almer looks at you like you've lost your mind. "Are you joking?"
"I have an extra seat," you say, pointing, "and she won't hurt anything."
Penny nods vigorously.
Almer crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Heller. If you're making a joke, I'm not laughing. We've got the biggest test since this particle accelerator was built--we can't have visitors hanging around in the Control Room!"
"But she--"
"And even if we did allow visitors, we absolutely wouldn't allow the daughter of Doctor Kessler. Do you know what he would do if anything happened to her? Do you? I'll tell you. We'd be fired. And then Kessler'd probably throw us in the reactor room without a suit!"
He turns to Penny. "You don't want to get your boyfriend in trouble, do you?"
She grimaces. "I guess not."
"I'm not her boyfriend..." you begin to say, but Almer is already dragging Penny away. She gives a final wave and follows him across the Control Room to the door marked OBSERVATION LOUNGE and REACTOR.
Way to go, Cassanova. Time to focus on your job ON PAGE 36
45
You head into the Supply Closet. It's a small room with wire shelves from floor to ceiling, holding every manner of supply the facility could need: toilet paper and paper towels, spare linens for the Sleeping Quarters, pallets full of canned food and dehydrated milk and bottles of soda. Hanging from each shelf is a clipboard attached to a wire; inventory lists of all the supplies, with notes to indicate when replacements would need to be bought.
"I am hungry," Penny admits, "but I don't think what we need is in here."
You browse one of the clipboards just for curiosity's sake. As you do so, you realize there's ink on the back side of each page. They've printed the inventory spreadsheets on re-used paper. That's interesting.
You idly flip through a few pages, and freeze when you see one important part, highlighted in yellow:
...NECESSARY TO POWER UP THE BACKUP SYSTEM AS THE SECOND STEP OF THE ABORT SEQUENCE, SO THAT POWER IS NOT LOST WHEN THE CORE REACTOR...
You rip the page out and show Penny. "This is it!"
Her mouth hangs open. "I thought for sure we wouldn't find it! Yes!" She wraps you in a big hug.
When she lets go, you feel your cheeks redden. "Come on, let's hurry!"
You rush back through the living quarters until you reach the Control Room. Jay is bent over the computer. A red alarm is quietly pulsing in the background.
"Jay, we found it! We have the sequence!"
You now have PART TWO of the shutdown sequence! Be sure to write it down.
You did it! Now get to work ON PAGE 41
46
You type the command to power up the backup system and press enter.
The text disappears from the screen, and all that remains is a blinking cursor. You wonder if anything is happening.
Then the low hum of machinery reaches your ears, like a turbine turning on. It sounds like it's going well... until it abruptly cuts off.
The screen flashes with text:
BACKUP SYSTEM PREMATURELY INITIATED
OVERLOAD POSSIBLE
SAFETY SYSTEM OVERRIDE
Jay's voice chirps in your ear. "What did you do? Did it work?"
"I don't... I'm not sure. I powered up the backup system."
You hear Jay groan. "No! That's not the first step! The first thing you have to do is disable the safety system, or it will just override the command and shut everything down!"
"Oh, you just now remembered?" You can feel your heart pounding in your temple. "Okay, that's no problem. We'll just go back and start over."
"You can't start over! It's going to put a thirty minute lock on the system!"
You try the keys and realize the screen is frozen. "Oh no!"
"We've got to get out of here," Penny says.
"You don't understand!" Jay says. He sounds delirious. "The system is locked. That includes the blast door! Ohh, why did you enter the wrong..."
You and Penny realize what he means.
Despite what he says, you frantically run down the catwalk to the ladder, taking the rungs as fast as you dare. The reactor core begins to hiss, and the metal groans like a submarine. You rush to the blast door, but of course it's still closed."
"I'm sorry," Jay says. "I can't do anything for thirty minutes. I'm so sorry..."
The reactor begins to rumble. Penny begins to weep. If only you had entered the sequence in the correct order. But you didn't, and that means when the reactor suffers a meltdown soon it will be...
THE END
47
You retrace your steps through the Particle Beam staging room--which Penny gawks at--and into the Engineering Bay. Before, there were only two paths for you to cross, but things look different now. Part of the ceiling has collapsed again, which has knocked aside some of the debris that was blocking your way before. Following the wall to your right, you now have
a clear path around. You pass a door marked MAINTENANCE CLOSET #1 and continue around the side of the room.
You hear a noise around the corner, and hold up a hand to warn the others. Inching forward, you peer around a corner of wreckage.
There's a Phase Being next to a workbench covered with industrial power tools. It reaches out with a bright arm-shaped appendage and tries to grab a handheld drill. A strange thing happens where he makes contact with the drill. The surface glows yellow, like it's being melted. Then pieces begin evaporating into the air like ash flecks from a fire. The Phase Being's touch passes through the drill to the other side, essentially splitting the tool in half. The two pieces fall off the bench and onto the floor.
The Phase Being makes a strange noise at this.
Nodding to the others, you aim and fire the rifle. The beam hits it in the back--you think it's the back--and, like before, it slowly materializes into a solid shape. The shape of a young man with a black beard, wearing overalls instead of a lab coat. Then there's that same pop, and he's gone.
You rush forward to check for anything left behind. There isn't anything.
"Rats," you say.
"No piece of the sequence?" Jay asks.
You shake your head.
"What is that sequence for, anyways?" Penny asks.
The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory (Ultimate Ending Book 6) Page 4