Austin points to the red mark on the reactor. “The beam should fly through the titanium and hit that spot.”
“Then we’ll get to our magic number of 100 million degrees.”
“Let’s hope,” Austin whispers.
Beth appears roused. “There’s no time to waste. Why don’t you boot up your X10? I’ll get the laser warmed up.”
“Sounds good.”
She turns to the office. “Pete, turn on the machine!”
The warehouse lights flicker on and off as the device powers on. A vibrating hum flows through the ground and echoes off the walls. Beth feels the thumping as she walks.
58:24, 58:23, 58:22…
She rushes to Anil. “Have you linked the reactor to the grid like we discussed?”
Sweat drips from Anil’s forehead as he picks up a thick bundle of wires. “Almost. We finished the transformer and fastened an ultra-high-voltage cable to it. We just have to drag it outside and attach its other end.”
“Is the other line anchored to the old plant?”
“Yes.” He points to the hole in the wall. “The engineers are outside waiting for my end.”
“Hurry and make that connection.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll have it done momentarily.”
“Perfect. Go full steam ahead and finish the job.” She hears shouting and runs across the laboratory towards Austin and his team.
“It’s powering on!” someone shrieks.
A concentrated red ray shoots from the end of the barrel and shakes the room with a high-pitched oscillation. Smoke rises as it rams into the zirconium cube.
“We’ve got contact,” Austin cries. He stands at one corner of the cross and mans the accelerator’s control panel, then turns to his associate. “Diego, hand me a titanium canister! Let’s do a dry run.”
Diego runs over with a briefcase and removes a cartridge. He helps his boss load it into the machine’s injector port.
“Prepare for testing,” Austin says before activating the machine and sending titanium ions flying along the track. A thundering electrical buzz fills the room and harmonizes with the beam’s pulsating hum.
Beth shakes her head. “This brings back horrible memories.”
“Don’t remind me,” Austin says. “Let’s hope we don’t destroy this place!”
The oscillations crescendo and a metallic smell fills the air when the laser collides with the ion field. Smoke billows from the contact point on the reactor.
The noise grows louder and Beth covers her ears. “It’s working… turn it off.”
Austin gestures to this team. “Hit the switch!”
The clamor subsides as the team powers down the X10. Upstairs, Pete places the instrument on standby mode. The room returns to calm.
Beth’s posture eases. “Well, we didn’t blow up the lab.”
Austin scans the timer. “For now. All bets are off when the gravity wave hits. We have forty-five minutes before it’s here.”
“Don’t worry, we’re on schedule.”
He breathes relief. “I can’t believe everything’s working. It’s a miracle, if you ask me.”
“That’s teamwork.”
Suddenly gunshots reverberate through the hall and someone shouts through a loudspeaker. “Everyone on the ground now!”
Austin spots an army of soldiers storming the warehouse. “What the hell is going on?”
Wearing black armor and bulletproof shields, the men march across the laboratory with their guns drawn. “Stay where you are!”
People scream and disperse. Hysteria spreads as another rifle goes off.
Diego hides behind the generator. “We’re under attack!”
Another wave of paratroopers storm the building. “Get on the fucking ground!” a gunman demands.
Anil drops the electrical wires and raises his arms. A soldier points a rifle in his face and forces him down, then cuffs him and carries him outside.
Dragged by two military officers, Beth resists and yells, “Let go of me! We’re doing important work here.”
The masked men quickly arrest the team members and drag them outside to the dirt field where six stealth jets sit idle. An officer throws Beth onto the ground.
She spits at the man. “You asshole!”
He removes his mask. “Shut your mouth, Andrews.”
She flushes in anger. “Manos? What the hell are you doing here?”
He slaps her across the face. “You are under arrest.”
Blood appears on her forehead. “Uncuff me now!”
“Sit down and be quiet. You’re charged with theft and treason. You and your crew will be transported to a military prison to await trial.”
“We haven’t done anything wrong!”
“You’ve stolen Google’s trade secrets and deleted confidential data from your servers.”
“I’m CEO. I run the company!”
“No, not any longer,” he shouts. “I’m the chief executive now and you are undermining my authority. If you don’t want to go jail, you’ll have to upload the files immediately.”
Beth spits in his face. “You’re a moron. We’re on the brink of solving the world’s energy problems and you’re standing in the way. Just look inside the lab!”
He motions to an officer to tape her mouth shut. “No more talking. You all answer to me now. I’m in charge.”
The paratroopers force Beth and her colleague to kneel on the ground. They hand laptops to the team and stand above them with rifles.
Manos looks down at them. “As your new boss, I demand that you restore the servers immediately. You will be put to work on a project to make cyber viruses for the War. Anyone who defies my order will be sent to prison.”
Anil lowers his face and cries.
28.
COLONEL ABE MCNAIR enters the cockpit of the USS Hawkeye. “Any word from Centcom?”
Captain Lionel Mercer stares at the ship’s controls. “No, sir. We’re headed to Mars and still awaiting orders. I’m under a lot of stress.”
McNair drifts, weightless. “You know your problem, private?”
Lionel rolls his eyes. “What’s that, sir?”
“You have no sense of humor. What kind of music do planets sing?”
Lionel sits in silence.
“Neptunes.” Abe laughs at himself.
“Sir, we have work to do. Can you update the system log?”
“In the old days, we pranked people and laughed. We didn’t take life too seriously.” Abe presses a button and a candy bar ejects from a dispenser. “You youngsters are too hard on yourselves.” He swims toward the drifting snack.
“Technically, we are on high alert, Colonel.”
“Stop worrying. Nothing will happen.”
Lionel stares from the cockpit. An asteroid drifts nearby, its gray surface illuminated by sunlight. He turns to find Earth disappearing in the distance. “We’re passing 2016 HO3.”
“The rock?” Abe mutters as he munches on the chocolate. “How big is it?”
“About 200 feet.”
“That’s a baby.”
“It’s been orbiting our planet for a long time.”
Abe smiles. “Why does moon rock taste better than Earth rock, private?”
Lionel stays silent.
“It’s a little meteor.” Abe rumbles as he laughs. “You know why you don’t get it? It’s because your generation never ate real meat. Ha!”
Lionel turns to face his boss. “Sir, can you please stop talking about me like that? It’s upsetting.”
“It’s good to see you stand up for yourself. Get a backbone for once.”