The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory (Ultimate Ending Book 6)
Page 11
Make a getaway ON PAGE 61
111
"Sure, we'll try the vents," you say. "Hopefully to Phase Beings can bother us in there." Penny removes the metal grate and you crawl into the dark tunnel, ignoring the spiderwebs and rat droppings brushing against your fingers.
You pass a vent that shows the inside of the Physics Room. There's a four-way intersection ahead. You picture the map of the laboratory in your head, imagining where the Maintenance Room is. "It's this way," you say.
The shaft veers to the right at an angle before continuing straight again. Any minute you should be above the Maintenance Room.
There: a grate up ahead, with a diagonal beam of light illuminating the air vent. You bang your way down toward it, excited.
"Is that it?" Penny asks.
You squint into the room. It's dark, and you can't see much of anything. "I can't tell. We need to get down in there and hope the lights work."
The grate flies away under your heel. You swing your legs into open air, then slide off the edge, twisting and grabbing the vent with your fingertips. You're hanging in the air. It's difficult to tell in the dark but you think you're not far above the ground.
You let go. There's a agonizingly long drop through the air--which is probably only half a second--before your feet strike the ground. You bend your knees, softening the landing. There's a weird smell in the air. "Come on down, it's not that far! Don't be afraid."
Before you can finish the sentence, there's a rush of air in front of you as Penny lands. It feels like she's grinning in the darkness.
You feel your way until you reach a wall, and then what seems like a door. You touch the wall along the frame until you find the light switch. The main overhead lights don't come on, but thankfully the emergency lights set in the wall do, bathing the room in red light.
Rows of cages line the wall, none of them larger than a television set. You realize what the smell before was: animal droppings. "We went too far. We're in the Animal Enclosure."
Check the room out by TURNING TO PAGE 35
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You run to the corner, where a flat piece of ceiling tile is covering up what is now obviously a body. You pull the tile and other debris off and help the man up.
He's one of the physicists, with a white lab coat over a dress shirt and slacks. His straight hair is thick but mostly grey. He teeters where he stands, leaning on you for support.
"Hey, are you okay?" you ask. "Let's find somewhere for you to sit down."
The man looks around the room before his eyes latch onto you. He squints at you and appears dizzy. "I'm... uhh... I think I'm okay."
"What's your name?"
He blinks at you a few times, confused. "I am... uhh..." He pats his chest, looks down at himself. He searches all around. "My name tag. Where is..."
Oh man. This guy must have a concussion or something if he needs his name tag to remember his name. "Let's get you into a chair," you say, taking his arm.
He shakes his head and some clarity returns to his eyes. "Sorry, I'm just... disoriented. Call me Jay."
"Just Jay? Not 'Doctor' something?"
"Oh, I'm a doctor," he said. "But I hate titles. Too informal."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Jay." You introduce yourself and shake his hand. He eyes you carefully, sizing you up, so you add, "I'm an intern here."
"Yes. I can see that." His mouth hangs open slightly while he looks around again. "Well this certainly went poorly, didn't it?"
"It sure did." You can feel a lump in the back of your throat as you think of your one job during the test: monitoring the reactor drainage. "And I think I know what caused this."
"Oh, I know exactly what happened too," Jay says.
"You do?"
He nods. "Of course I do. The Causality Neutrino."
You say, "Is that what that blue orb was?"
"Yes, the blue orb, of course. I remember now, it seemed so long ago..." He stares off into the distance for a moment, and you think you're about to lose him, until he continues. "The Causality Neutrino was created, just as the test intended. However, as many physicists predicted--" the way he says that makes it clear he means himself, "--it was too unstable for this laboratory to contain. It caused a rip in space-time."
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"It did what now?" you ask.
He puts a hand on your shoulder. "Young mister Heller, let me explain to you how things work. Everything in the universe is made up of atoms."
You nod. "Everyone knows that."
"Well," he continues, "what are atoms made of? Protons, neutrons, and electrons. And that's it, right?"
"Right."
He jabs you in the chest with a bony finger. "Wrong! There's another subatomic particle called the Causality Neutrino. You see, protons, neutrons, and electrons all control where an atom is in space. But what about where it is in time?"
"Time?"
"Yes, time! What else? Objects don't just exist in three dimensions: they need a forth dimension, time, to pinpoint when they are. Think of it like a passenger jet."
"Okay." You don't see what this has to do with anything.
"You get the coordinates for a passenger jet, which tell you its location. But a moment later, it's in an entirely new location, because it's moving extremely fast! And an eye-blink later it's even farther away! That's because it's position in time has changed, young mister Heller."
"Ohh. Sort of like a clock."
He jabs his finger into the air. "Exactly! The Causality Neutrino is like a clock for atoms, to tell them when they are."
Pieces are starting to come together in your head. "So, we were able to create a Causality Neutrino here at the Heidelberg Laboratory?"
"It appears so."
"It went unstable," you say. "It was crackling with light, and sucking people and things into it... what happened to them? Where did they go?"
He leans down close, until his nose is practically touching yours. "Not where are they, young mister Heller. When are they!"
What? Figure out what's up BACK ON PAGE 88
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You type the command to disable the safety system, and then press enter.
A motherly voice comes out of the terminal: "Safety systems: disabled."
"Nice job there," Jay says. "I remember now. Disabling the safety system is the first step, because otherwise it will kick-in and stop what you're doing."
"Nice going!" Penny says.
The options available on the screen are:
SELECT CORE FUNCTION
- FULL COOLANT DUMP
- EXTEND FLOOD TUBES
- OPEN CORE
- POWER UP BACKUP SYSTEM
"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 89
To Open the Core, GO TO PAGE 119
To Power Up the Backup System, GO TO PAGE 39
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You press enter.
There's a roaring sound, like a bathtub faucet pouring free. Bluish liquid rushes into the three coolant tubes, surging toward the core.
Penny pokes your arm. "What's that?" The computer screen is flashing:
ENTER CODE TO INITIATE SPECIAL SEQUENCE
"What code does it mean?" Penny asks.
Do you have a code to enter? If so, GO TO THAT PAGE
Otherwise, HEAD TO PAGE 120
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You click on the word RACKET. There's a long pause on the screen, and the click of the computer's hard drive.
INCORRECT INPUT
CORRECT CHARACTER MATCH: 0
SYSTEM LOCKDOWN: ACTIVE
SYSTEM LOCKDOWN: ACTIVE
SYSTEM LOCKDOWN: ACTIVE
"NO!" you and Penny cry out at the same time.
Jay slumps his head. "That was unfortunate."
"What are we going to do, Jay?"
"Well. There's good news, and bad news. The bad news
is that the system is completely locked out, so we have no way of knowing if the core reactor is going to meltdown any time soon."
"And the good?"
"The good news is that by you two bringing up the network, the Decontamination Chamber is active. The system lockdown in the Control Room doesn't affect that."
You and Penny look at one another. "So we can get out of here? Really?"
"Uh huh." He doesn't look very happy. "I had hoped to stop the reactor, and maybe even... ahh, well there's nothing to be done now. You two better hurry up and get to the surface."
"You're not coming with us?" you ask.
He waves it off. "I'm going to try one last thing and see if I can bypass the computer. I'll be right behind you guys, I promise. Go, hurry!"
You take Penny's hand. "Come on, let's go!"
Make a getaway ON PAGE 62
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"Maintenance Room #3 is as good a guess as any," you suggest.
Jay points to the wall. There's a square metal grate screwed into the wall at the corners. "You guys should take the air ventilation shaft. It will be quicker than walking."
Penny smirks. "The air vents? Seriously?"
Jay shrugs. "Why not? It worked in Die Hard. Come on, in you go."
You remove the screws and the grating. It's just big enough for you guys to crawl inside. "Just head in that general direction," Jay suggests, pointing. "You should reach the maintenance room at the end."
You lead the way, shimmying on all fours. The air shaft goes for about ten feet before splitting off. You pick the direction toward the third maintenance room.
Your wrists and knees make an awful lot of noise, banging hollowly on the metal as you move through the facility. There are grates spaced every ten feet or so, which provide enough light for you to see where you're going. You ignore the spiderwebs and piles of rat droppings that constantly brush against your arms.
The first ten grates you peer into don't look like the Maintenance Room. You pass the Recreation Room, one of the bathrooms, the Kitchen. Finally you come to a grate looking into a space that is identical to the first Maintenance Room. This has to be it!
Since it's screwed from the other side, you kick the grate with your foot until it flies off, banging onto the floor below. It's not very far, about a fifteen foot drop. You and Penny peer into the room together.
"I can't see anything from up here," she says.
"Me neither. We need to drop down inside."
You don't want Penny to think you're scared, so you swing your legs over. You're about to drop down into the room when she says, "WAIT!"
The yell almost causes you to fall. You regain your balance and ask "What?"
She points. "That dial says: O2 Percentage. Doesn't that mean oxygen?"
You sigh. "You're right. It does. We came the wrong way."
She playfully smacks you on the shoulder. "Then it's a good thing I stopped you from jumping, huh?"
If you think Maintenance Room #1 is right, CRAWL TO PAGE 54
Or, give Maintenance Room #2 a try ON PAGE 72
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You hurry back to the Control Room. Jay is seated at one of the computer desks.
"Hey! We were able to--"
"Yeah yeah yeah," Jay says with a wave of a hand. "Computers came right up when you did. Good job. But now we've got a new problem. The system has a master password needed after a reboot."
"Is that bad? Don't you know it?"
"Only Kessler would know the password," Jay says. His eyes fall on Penny. "You wouldn't happen to know it, would you?"
She shrugs.
"Well, then we're just going to have to hack into it. Unfortunately, that means making some guesses. Take a look at this, young mister Heller."
The screen has a lot of green code, with the occasional word visible. Along the bottom of the screen are five words:
POURED BEHEAD THREAD SHREWD RACKET
"These are the possible passwords stored in the computer's memory," Jay says. He clicks on POURED and a new text clicks into place on the screen one letter at a time:
INCORRECT INPUT
CORRECT CHARACTER MATCH: 1
SYSTEM LOCKDOWN IN: TWO ATTEMPTS
"Character match is how many letters our guess has in common with the correct password," Jay explains. "Each time we guess, it'll tell us that. But we only have two more guesses before the system locks us out."
"But out of the remaining possibilities, they all have one letter in common," you say, exasperated. "POURED and BEHEAD share the last letter. POURED and RACKET share the second to last. How will we know?"
"Better guess another one then," Jay says.
Penny crowds next to the computer. "I'm usually good at these. Let's see..."
To guess BEHEAD, GO TO PAGE 19
To guess THREAD, HEAD TO PAGE 33
To guess SHREWD, TRY PAGE 151
To guess RACKET, OPEN PAGE 73
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You type the command to open the core, and then press enter.
The text disappears from the screen, and all that remains is a blinking cursor. You wonder if anything is happening.
From the speaker in your suit, you hear Jay gasp. "Did you just open the core?"
"Yeah, it was the--"
"You have made a very grave mistake!" Jay shouts. "Ohh. Without the flood tubes extended, the valves..."
Sirens go off in the core room, and alarms flash red, spinning like police lights. You grip the catwalk railing and peer down at the core, where valves in the outer shell are beginning to open.
"The radiation will be terrible. Get away! Quickly, get away!"
You stare as the valve opens completely, and a new type of green glow shines out. Penny tugs on your arm.
"Come on! Let's go."
She pulls you away and you bang down the catwalk.
"It's too late," Jay bemoans. "Now that the core is exposed, I can't open the blast doors for you!"
The alarms grow louder as you slow to a stop. There's no point in even going down the ladder. You're doomed.
You turn and face the core. A strange glowing steam is drifting out. It looks almost peaceful... if it weren't, you know, radioactive.
You feel bad for failing. You feel even worse for Penny. She came up here to help you, and you let her down. For although you're fine for the time being, you have reached...
THE END
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"I don't know what it means," you say.
"You didn't find any special code along the way?" Jay asks. "Are you certain?"
"Yep. Sorry, but we didn't."
Jay sounds disappointed, but quickly recovers. "That's okay. For now, enjoy the show! You might want to take a step back, though. Just to be safe."
Coolant rushes into the core from the three tubes. Steam hisses out of every bolt and panel on the outside of the core, with sounds in every conceivable pitch. It doesn't feel safe there at all.
But slowly, very slowly, the steam begins to slow. Not only that, but the color coming from the core begins to change. It began as a neon green glow, then changes into the green of summer grass. The light continues weakening until there's almost nothing coming out at all.
You and Penny look at one another. Is that it?
"You did it!" Jay yells into your ears, practically deafening. "Get back here so we can celebrate!"
You retrace your steps, climbing down the ladder even more carefully than before. The blast door opens as you approach, and you jump out eagerly.
As soon as it closes behind you, Penny begins taking off her suit, clutching your shoulder for stability. Then she helps you remove yours.
"It feels great to have that off," she says.
"Yeah. Talk about claustrophobic."
Jay is standing in the Control Room with a wide smile on his face. "The computer has verified everything. Internal core pressure has fallen to 20 percent. Free electrons are dropping. The core is stable!"
You take a look at the computer. Sure eno
ugh, the bars that were climbing dangerously high earlier are now steadily dropping. The backup reactor is running smoothly, enough to power the entire facility.
Penny frowns. "Where are all the other scientists, though? Are they still stuck in time?"
Jay's smile wavers. "Yes. Well. We are not sure at this point. We will need to get a full team in here to check things out. It's possible they will become unstuck naturally, over time. Causality Neutrinos have a way of finding their way back to their proper atoms, eventually. But that may be a long time. Hopefully we can figure out a way to return them to normal."
You put a comforting hand on Penny's shoulder. "I'm sure your father is okay. Doctor Kessler is a smart man."
Without warning, she wraps her arms around you in a tight hug. You pat her back and tell her it's going to be okay.
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"It's time for you two to get out of here," Jay says when the hug ends. "There are probably search and rescue teams on the surface preparing to come inside."
Penny smiles at him. "Thank you for helping us through everything. Even though your memory was full of holes, we couldn't have done it without you.
She moves to hug him, but Jay takes a step back and holds up his hands. "We, uhh, actually shouldn't hug just yet. You might be slightly radioactive after being inside the core, even with the suits on. No no, there's nothing to worry about, you just need to go through the Decontamination Chamber. Then you'll be good as new. I'll hug you when I join you later."
"You're not coming with us?" you ask.