The Strange Physics of the Heidelberg Laboratory

by David Kristoph

  At first she hugs him back and cries out with joy. Then she frowns and pushes him away. "How did you get up here? You left me down there!"

  "Sweetie, I don't know what happened." He looks confused. "The Causality Neutrino went haywire, there were papers and debris flying in all directions... it felt like I was flying through the air, even though my feet stayed planted on the ground. Then suddenly... I appeared here. Up on the surface. We called the emergency response team, but everything was locked down. Even the elevator, until just a few minutes ago."

  "The Causality Neutrino displaced you," you say. "You were stuck in time."

  Kessler sees you for the first time. "Stuck in time? Who are you?"

  "This is the man who saved me," Penny says. "His name is Jeremy Heller."

  "He's just an intern," Kessler says dismissively. "He doesn't know what he's talking about."

  "Sure I do. Jay told me..."

  "Who is Jay? What's his last name?" Kessler asks.

  "Jay, one of the physicists. I don't know his last name. He helped us collect the emergency core abort sequence."

  Kessler's eyes widen. "The abort sequence... Did you succeed? Well?"

  You try to remain humble, but a big smile invades your face. "We did. We ran the five steps inside the reactor core and stopped a meltdown." Penny bobs her head in agreement.

  Kessler's mouth hangs open. "But... you are just an intern! How could you possibly accomplish that?"

  Medics appear and wrap blankets around you and Penny.

  "I told you. Jay helped us."

  "There is no 'Jay' that works here. I know everyone in the facility." He smacks you on the shoulder. "Come on now. Is 'Jay' just a nickname for 'Jeremy'? You won't get in trouble. You saved the facility! Take the credit."

  143

  "But I'm telling you..."

  "We need to give you more responsibilities here," Kessler continues. "As soon as the Laboratory is cleaned up I'm hiring you full-time. No more of this intern business. How does that sound?"

  You try to protest more, but someone calls Kessler over to the elevator. They talk for a few minutes, and he descends into the Laboratory.

  You look at Penny. "I didn't imagine Jay, did I?"

  She shrugs. "Nope, he was definitely there. Hey, why didn't we get stuck in time like the others? It seems like a strange coincidence that hundreds of people disappeared except you, me, and Jay."

  Huh, that is strange. "I don't know. I'm sure they'll figure it out in the coming days. Hopefully they'll be able to save all the other Phase Beings, too."

  She rests her head on your shoulder. "Do you have a place to stay?"

  Her head feels warm on your shoulder. "I'm renting a room from an old woman in town. It's above a restaurant, so it's loud, but I don't mind."

  "Why don't you come home with me and dad tonight? My mom makes great spaetzle."

  "What's that?"

  "German noodles. They're delicious! I won't take no for an answer. It's settled, you'll come get a warm meal with us. You deserve it." She lifts her head and looks at you. "And not just for saving the Heisenberg Laboratory. You saved me. I'll never forget that, Jeremy Heller."

  There's a warmth in her eyes that relieves you of all the fears of the day. There's something special about Penny, you can feel it. It's as if you've known her your entire life. "Yeah. I'd like that."

  She smiles.

  You're ushered onto a helicopter to be taken back to the city at the base of the mountain. Penny holds your hand the entire time. Despite the failed test, and despite all the trouble afterward, you decide it was a good day. You had an adventure. You got to use your knowledge of physics to save the day. And, most importantly to you just then, you've made a good friend in Penny. This is a pretty wonderful way to reach...

  THE END

  144

  You type the command to extend the flood tubes, and then press enter.

  There's a massive groan of machinery, coming from all directions. You realize the source: doors have opened on three walls, below you, halfway to the floor. Slowly, a few inches at a time, the flood tubes are being extended from each of the three coolant towers. They crane across the open space beneath you until they connect to valves on the outer surface of the core.

  They make a KA-CLUNK sound as they connect to the core.

  Jay says, "You're doing great, young mister Heller. Everything looks good from the Control Room. Keep going!"

  The options available on the screen are:

  SELECT CORE FUNCTION

  - FULL COOLANT DUMP

  - OPEN CORE

  Penny grins like a fool. "You can do it Jeremy!"

  To perform a Full Coolant Dump, GO TO PAGE 136

  To Open the Core, GO TO PAGE 148

  145

  You move steadily, waiting until each body part has advanced before moving the next one. Right arm. Left leg. Left arm. Right leg. Slow and steady.

  Your breathing sounds hollow and ragged inside the suit. It begins to fog up your faceplate. You take your hand off the ladder to try wiping it away, but it doesn't help much. There's nothing to do but continue.

  Up you go, on and on, carefully avoiding looking down. You keep your eyes straight ahead, on the rungs in front of your face and the wall behind the ladder.

  Soon it's obvious you're high in the air. You can feel the expanse of open air underneath you. It threatens to suck you back into it, falling to your doom. With each step you're terrified you will lose your grip and plummet.

  But then you reach up and can't find the next rung. You tilt your head back and realize you've reached the top, where the end of the catwalk is. You pull yourself the rest of the way up, feet banging on the metal grate platform.

  You help Penny up, then move along the catwalk toward the center of the room. Where the top of the core is.

  "Good job," Jay says in your ear. "You should be able to access the administrator's terminal. Just press the spacebar."

  The terminal is built low into a sort of table that stands up from the catwalks. To the right, on the other side of the railing, is the open top of the core, with dozens of long rods sticking inside. You turn back to the terminal and press the spacebar. Green text moves across the screen.

  SELECT CORE FUNCTION

  - FULL COOLANT DUMP

  - DISABLE SAFETY SYSTEM

  - EXTEND FLOOD TUBES

  - OPEN CORE

  - POWER UP BACKUP SYSTEM

  "Okay," Jay says. "Do you remember the order you're supposed to run the sequence?"

  To perform a Full Coolant Dump, GO TO PAGE 109

  To Disable the Safety System, GO TO PAGE 114

  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 46

  146

  "It's the code I found in the bathroom," you say. You thumb the numbers into the keypad: 1 - 4 - 6.

  CODE ACCEPTED. PLEASE PLACE CS RIFLE IN PIVOT MOUNT

  Penny unslings the CS Rifle from her shoulder. You didn't even realize she had it. "What's the pivot mount?"

  Above the top of the core, where the dozens of rods are sticking out, a new pedestal rises into place next to the catwalk. There's an indentation in the metal the exact shape of the rifle.

  You take it from Penny. "I guess we just put it in?"

  The coolant is rushing into the core, and steam is hissing off at several random angles. You take a cautious step toward the edge, lean forward, and place the CS Rifle on the mount.

  You quickly step back from the ledge as the pedestal extends back over the core. The computer types:

  INITIATING EMERGENCY CAUSALITY PROTOCOL

  "Were we supposed do that?" Penny asks.

  "As a matter of fact," Jay interrupts, "that was the very thing I hoped you two would do."

  Find out what he means ON PAGE 123

  147

  The Sleeping Quarters are like a military barracks. There's an aisle down t
he center of the room, with rows of bunk beds on either side. Personal lockers are mounted on the wall between the bunks. Long rugs cover the floor.

  "Those lockers contain personal information," you tell Penny. "But, there might be technical info as well."

  You split up to each cover half the room. The lockers have a small key-lock on them, but they're weak enough that you can pull it open with a little force.

  The first locker belongs to a woman: there's a box of makeup, a contact lens case, and a photo of a family of three smiling at a camera. It's a sad reminder that many of the people from the facility are still stuck in time.

  But there's no sequence. You move on to the next locker: this one has a chocolate protein bar, a stack of postcards, and a box of Q-tips.

  "JEREMY!" Penny suddenly shouts.

  You whirl to see a Phase Being striding across the room. It doesn't see you--it's too focused on Penny, trapped between two bunks.

  Moving with instinct instead of thought, you fire the CS Rifle. The solid beam of white travels the distance instantaneously, striking the Phase Being square in the back.

  There's a flashing like camera bulbs as it morphs and twists, gaining color and shape. You see the outline of a young woman with short red hair, wearing a lab coat, and then she blinks out of existence. The sheets on the beds nearby blow back from the energy release, and then everything is still.

  You rush to where she just was, but it doesn't look like she dropped anything. Penny meets you there and smiles sheepishly. "Thank you for saving me."

  You blush. "Sure. You would've done the same for me, right?"

  Before she can answer, the PA cuts on. "Eight minutes. You guys have eight minutes left. Hope you're making progress!"

  "There's nothing in here," Penny tells you. "It's all just personal stuff."

  There's a hall running toward the Kitchen, which also connects to the back of the two Bathrooms. Another door leads into the Supply Closet. Where to?

  Check the Kitchen ON PAGE 57

  Inspect the Bathrooms ON PAGE 30

  Hurry to the Supply Closet ON PAGE 45

  148

  You type the command to open the core. You hear the sound of machinery, like when the doors that extended the flood tubes opened. You realize you can't see it because it's happening where the tubes are connected to the core valves.

  Abruptly the noise stops. "The core is open!" Jay shouts. "You're almost there! Finish the abort sequence! Hurry!"

  There's only one command left on the screen now:

  SELECT CORE FUNCTION

  - FULL COOLANT DUMP

  You type in the command, but stop right before pressing enter. "Want to do the honors?"

  Penny frowns. "Seriously?"

  "Sure. Why not?"

  She grabs your hand. "Let's do it together."

  Perform the Full Coolant Dump ON PAGE 115

  149

  "Let's check the Bathrooms," you decide. "I'll search the men's room, you search the women's."

  You split up. The men's restroom has been visited by the Causality Neutrino: a sphere-shaped hole has been cut out of one of the stalls, leaving the door hanging on a single hinge. Water trickles onto the floor.

  It's immediately obvious this was a mistake. Nothing would be in here. You begin to turn around to go get Penny--

  You stop. Taped to the mirror above the sink is a slip of paper. You tear it off and read:

  NOT ONLY IS IT POSSIBLE TO RESET THE CAUSALITY NEUTRINOS IN ALL ATOMS WITHIN THE FACILITY, BUT IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOLLOWING A CATASTROPHIC DISASTER. BY ENTERING CODE 1-4-6 INTO THE CORE REACTOR AS THE SIXTH STEP IN THE ABORT SEQUENCE, A CAUSALITY SHOCKWAVE WILL EMANATE FROM THE REACTOR. THIS WILL SERVE TO...

  Sixth step? Jay said there were only five! You take the paper and rush into the women's room to find Penny.

  She smiles at you as you enter. "Excuse me, but this is the ladies room. Do you belong in here?"

  You thrust the paper at her. She takes it and reads, her eyes growing wider and wider. "But Jay said..."

  "...there were only five steps, yeah. This doesn't make sense to me, either."

  Somewhere out in the hall, the PA comes alive. Jay's voice is muffled and distant. "Eight minutes. You guys have eight minutes to find the sequence."

  "We'll show this to him later," you say. "For now we need the second step in the sequence, not the sixth."

  You've found a special code! Be sure to write it down.

  Check the Kitchen ON PAGE 57

  Inspect the Sleeping Quarters ON PAGE 68

  Hurry to the Supply Closet ON PAGE 70

  150

  The Physics Lab looks like something out of a college lecture hall: there are four rectangular tables with those chemical-resistance black tops, with lasers pointing at targets with computers connected at either end. A giant 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.

  "This is a lot of data," Penny says. She tries to lift a stack of paper up to her knees but fails.

  "It's the printed code for the particle accelerator algorithm," Jay explains. "We have the Physics interns go through it line by line, checking for bugs. It's not always necessary, but it keeps them busy!"

  You clear your throat, and Jay remembers you're an intern. "It's a good learning experience, of course," he says.

  "Of course," you say skeptically.

  To change the subject, Jay points across the room to the main table by the dry erase board. "Ah-ha! There 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 take it, feeling 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?"

  Penny asks, "How did those atoms get stuck in time anyways?"

  Jay's expression becomes serious. "That's a good question. Let's return to the Control Room and discuss what happened during the test."

  Find out what Jay means ON PAGE 22

  151

  You click on the word SHREWD. A new line appears, then another, tapping out one letter at a time:

  INCORRECT INPUT

  CORRECT CHARACTER MATCH: 4

  SYSTEM LOCKDOWN IN: ONE ATTEMPT

  "Dang it," you say.

  "But look, it has four characters in common!" Penny elbows you. "Come on, don't give up so easily. We can definitely get it with four out of six right."

  "Okay, okay."

  The screen now shows three options:

  BEHEAD THREAD RACKET

  Which is it? This is your last attempt!

  To guess BEHEAD, GO TO PAGE 78

  To guess THREAD, HEAD TO PAGE 33

  To guess PACKET, OPEN PAGE 116

  152

  You remain frozen in place, CS Rifle held across your belly. The Causality Neutrino pulses with energy behind you, almost like a lighthouse, except you've never seen a lighthouse that makes such a strange humming sound.

  A crackle of electricity shoots across the room, striking one of the tables in front of you. Its atoms turn bright white, spreading apart and disappearing into the air and ground like mist.


  You desperately want to turn around. Knowing the orb is behind you and not being able to see is torture. Your willpower is waning!

  You're about to turn your head when abruptly there's a popping noise, and the light in the room dims.

  Jay immediately slumps his shoulders in relief. "That was close. Real close. You did very well, young mister Heller!"

  "So the Causality Neutrino is still running wild?" you ask. "I thought it ended with the large loop test.

  Jay shakes his head as he leads you back into the Control Room. "Unfortunately not. But we will discuss that later. Now that we have the CS Rifle, let's go get Penny."

  Turn your attention to Penny ON PAGE 29

  153

  Sneak Peek

  Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere!

  You are TYLER PAULSEN, rookie hiker, camper, and all-around nice guy. In fact, this happens to be your first camping trip ever. You might even be enjoying yourself... that is if you weren't alone, and so deep in the remote wilderness!

  You've spent the better part of the day on this rocky, uncomfortable ridge, staring down into the snowy clearing below. So far, not much has happened. There have been no lights, no sounds... nothing but the constant crackle of your roaring fire. The heat feels good against your back as you crunch down on another bite of granola bar. If only you weren't so thoroughly bored.