Twilight Series-Rising Sun
Chapter 1: "What Hath Fate Wraught?" The Spatial Accident
Professor James/Adam
5 AM Eastern Time, Long Island NY: the sun is not yet up-but it matters not. For in mere minutes, I-Professor James (A.k.a-Adam) shall have solved three of the all time biggest mysteries of astrophysics with one machine. The Wormhole Generator-T.W.G (Pronounced Twig) will use Wormholes to prove the existence of higher dimensional space, allow essentially instantaneous travel across even light-years, and even travel through time. As I stood less than 100 feet away from the 30 foot tall metal arch gateway-I prepared for the biggest experiment of my life. "Samuel-are those capacitors fully charged?" I ask; eager to know the progress of the power levels. "Capacitors at 100% Professor; everything is on time for the broadcast" Samuel Kendricks replies cheerily. "Sir-I'm still concerned about the amount of power you decided to use to make the portal; I'm worried it's too much" Jienseun Ishtar complains. "Nonsense!-If I don't use at least this amount-the portal won't be stable enough to safely travel through; It might collapse into a singularity and form a black hole-which is the worst case scenario Mr. Jienseun" I counter; confident of my settings on the power levels for the T.W.G. "Professor-the TV crew has just arrived!" John Luthuren bursts exuberantly.
At that moment-my most prized android Atrean entered the lab; escorting the news crew close behind. "The professor is ready for the broadcast now" Atrean says fluidly like a man as he gestures the news people toward me. "Alright; Keith-prep the camera for rolling while I do the pre-broadcast interview" the camera woman replies. "Sure thing Diane" the tall boy says as he begins prepping the camera. In moments-Diane walked up to me (Holding the microphone for posterity) and began to introduce herself, "Hello Professor James, my name is Diane Elliseen; I understand that you recently completed what fellow physicists are claiming is by far-and I quote, "The most groundbreaking invention of any scientific field in the history of mankind" What do you have to say about your device Professor?" Diane asks eagerly. "Well Diane, the praises are certainly well-deserved. My team and I have been working day in and day out on this machine for the past 18 months with only minimal rest. Thanks to my calculations-I found that we could maximize the work time each day to 20 hours; we've only been sleeping 4 hours a night for the last 1.5 years" I boast; eager to showcase my good condition. "I assume you used that special drug that helps soldiers stay alert even when deprived of sleep right?" Diane asks; her tone laden with curiosity. "Wrong! I developed a far more efficient compound for this task. Anti-somniazine is a chemical that stimulates the release of necessary chemicals and hormones created during sleep. Sleep is normally needed because certain chemicals your body needs to stay healthy are normally produced during sleep. Anti-somniazine forces the brain to make those chemicals while you're awake; thus eliminating the need for sleep entirely-we'll be testing if we can actually do so soon" I explain proudly.
"Alright-well what is this invention called Professor James?" Diane asks as she points to the stargate device in the middle of the spacious lab room. "This marvel is the T.W.G or Twig-The Wormhole Generator. It works by making a small tear in time and space with an energy burst. Then exotic matter with negative mass that repels gravity is injected into the spatial tear. This causes it to widen and enlarge-the size depending on the amount of exotic matter placed inside. The tunnel connects two points in regular spatial dimensions-Like this room; through a higher dimensional plane. The distances between the two points in regular space are irrelevant. By using the wormhole to get around-you only have to travel the length of the spatial tunnel. The points through regular space could be 10 million light-years apart. But the wormhole tunnel is only 2 meters long. By traveling through the tunnel-you can walk that distance! Right now I'm still tinkering with the manipulation of time by using superluminal particles; but I have successfully made a spatial tunnel which I will demonstrate during the broadcast this morning" I reply excitedly. "Incredible-so does this mean travel to the stars will finally be possible?" Diane asks; her voice perking from excitement. "Indeed it does, interstellar travel is finally possible now that my Wormhole Generator is reality" I smile as I turn and look at my masterpiece.
"Excuse me professor…James was it? I have some questions about the safety of your invention" a new voice announces. Turning to face the reporter who had spoken to me, my eyes landed on a woman at the front of the reporters. Her brown hair was scraped back into a bun and there was a calculative look in her brown eyes. "And you are?" I ask politely; she didn't seem to have any cameras-just a pen and notepad. "Ereana Jenkins from the Environmental Protection Agency. I was doing a little research on your device and the amount of sheer energy you're using to distort space is startling and unnerving. I must ask professor-how can you can even think of turning on such a machine that has such a massive risk to the earth?" Ereana replies convictingly. I narrowed my eyes, I had specifically said that no-one from that damned agency was to come today. They were the ever present thorn in my side. "Well Miss Jenkins, I assure you that this problem of which you speak off is merely the result of nervous minds who are too afraid to step into the future-this device poses no threat in my experienced hands; which I might add drew the blueprints and helped piece it together" I reply calmly; my voice had a slight edge to it. Who did this woman think she was to question my work? She glared at me over a pair of dark blue glasses. "This is isn't about fear Mr. James; this is about idiotic men who are risking too much for their egos; this is dangerous and foolhardy!" Her voice echoed in the room, and some of the camera crews murmured their agreements. My fury was boiling deep inside of me, this was my moment to change the world-and one insignificant tree hugger was going to ruin it all in a matter of moments. "So what you are saying is that things should stay the same, that humans should not evolve and better themselves, that we should not try to improve our lives?" I ask rhetorically; for the first time in a while my anger ruling me. She met my gaze with a cool stare and asked a question that struck my last nerve, "No professor, I am saying that we should not destroy our home for the name of science. Which is more important-the earth or your ego?"
That tore it; the woman had to go. I looked over to the guards and indicated that they remove her. The men nodded and made their way over, cutting through the mob of TV crews in order to reach the woman. She saw them coming for her, her eyes widened and she turned to run. Before the guards could grab her, she was sprinting across the room. They pursued her with all deliberate speed. She reached a stack of equipment and began to climb it. The security cameras zoomed in on her as she stood up and started to yell. "See, see what happens when someone tries to do what is right, when someone tries to be the voice of reason, when someone upsets the big rich men!?! This will not stop me professor" She yelled; almost sneering at the title. "You can't silence me and neither can your thugs" As if to prove her point she lifted a leg and sent it crashing into one of the guards head; knocking him unconscious. She stood up on the shelf and looked at me from across the room "You are a fool sir, if you turn on that device, you are a damn fool!!" she screamed. And with that yell-she kicked the other guard in the head downed him as well.
Things were getting out of hand, the TV crews were beginning to nod at her words. Time to call in Atrean. I nodded to my crown robotic creation. As my most loyal and advanced android saw my look-he understood immediately. In an instant-he jumped from 100 feet away and landed on the shelf Ereana had climbed and taken her down; all in 2 seconds. "You bastard! Sending in your stupid mechanical slave to get rid of me because you don't have the guts to do it yourself! Why don't you get someone else to turn on the machine so that you can blame then when we all die!?! You can't silence me forever!!!!" Ereana screams as Atrean slowly carries her out of the room; slung over his shoulder. "(Clears throat) If you'll excuse me please Diane; everyone relax and I'll be back momentarily" I say calmly as I slowly walk to the exit Atrean had carried the "Pain in my ass" girl out.
Ereana Jenkins
I was seriously miffed. Not only had James tried to discredit my very valid claims of dangerous side-effects from his device; he actually tried to make me look selfish for putting our planet and race before science. Then Atrean placed me in a comfy arm chair in this lobby area I had been hauled to. "Alright Atrean-is she cooperating now?" James asks as he steps over. "Yes Professor-she's calmed down" Atrean replies coolly. "Only because it's pointless to resist; your mindless android is stronger than a million men" I say curtly. "For your information Miss Ereana-I' am no mindless android; I serve James of my own free will" Atrean responds; his tone slightly irritated at my comment. "Well I guess some machines are just plain idiotic then" I snap. "AHEM! That will be quite enough chatter Miss Ereana" James says as he pushes a button on his watch. Then a comfy chair like the one I now sat in rose from a plated section of the floor. Then he leaned forward slightly and motioned for Atrean to stand behind his chair. "Alright, I'm going to be very shrewd; I could have you fired and arrested for this outburst you've caused here today Miss Ereana-there is more than enough evidence to convict you with the constant security surveillance I have in the lab" James replies calmly.
"Why are you doing this-why create a machine that poses such a massive risk to our planet? You're not just tampering with massive amounts of energy-you're messing with the very fabric of space itself!" I shout frantically. Immediately he began laughing hard. "(Uproarious laughter)" Atrean and James howl. Then they both stopped laughing after a few minutes. "(Sigh) Miss Ereana, I wholeheartedly assure you that I would not even attempt this experiment unless I was 100% sure it was safe" James replies; the humor still lingering in his tone. "There is no way you can be 100% sure Professor James; some small detail can always go unnoticed and happen in an instant just when you think you have everything on the right setting. Anything could happen before or as you activate that portal machine" I counter; still adamant in my judgment. "That's virtually impossible because I won't even be activating the machine; Atrean will do so as I use my Mechanical Exploration Exosuit (M.E.E.S) to travel into the wormhole from my laboratory to the surface of the moon and bring back proof of my inventions success by collecting several moon rocks" James explains; his tone now more proud and boastful.
"James-" I begin begging. "-Please-call me Adam; I prefer non-formality in a conversation Jen" Adam replies; cutting me off. When he used my old nickname; I was shocked. "(Stuttering) Ho…ho-how do you know that name?" I gasp. "Did you honestly think I would forget you after 6 years when day in and out I was being mocked by all you sorority and fraternity brats for two years when I attended Harvard?" Adam asks crudely. "You…you're Adam the Atom; the short kid who made us all look like drooling babies in college?" I ask; remembering the small dark brown haired boy who excelled in all his classes. "Yes-I detested that nickname; I was vastly more enormous than an atom. Besides it couldn't be helped-I was 10 years old at the time" Adam says as he stares at his watch. My cheeks burned, he was right. I had been a jerk back then, but everyone was a jerk when they were young. Still I was slightly ashamed about what had happened. The first time I had met Adam he was looking around the corridors looking quite lost and I had felt so sorry for the poor kid; so I had shown him where some of his classes where. Unfortunately, my "friends" back then had thought it would be funny to prank the poor kid and since I had spoken to Jim they wanted me to do it. I still felt guilty for it. I took a picture of his face and stuck onto a picture of a baby's body with the name "Adam the Atom" written on top, photocopied it, and left copies around the campus. No wonder he hated me. But we underestimated the little guy. Instead of crying and hiding away he bloody sued my friend Jim Ranson for defamation of character. How he knew it was Jim's idea in the first place is beyond me; but in a few days, Jim had been expelled and all because the kid's pride had been hurt. Sure I wouldn't have liked it if someone had done it to me and I wasn't proud of it, but Jim had been an OK kid with a pretty good future ahead of him. Now because of Adam's revenge-the best job he'd be able to get would be working a fast-food joint. Even he did not deserve that. But I couldn't let him turn that machine of his on-not even for guilt
"Look, I'll admit it, I was a jerk to you in Harvard and I apologize for it. But that invention of yours could cause a catastrophe" I said in a much calmer voice. Some amusement still lingered on his face and my anger started to flare up again. "Ereana, it is impossible for either me or Atrean to make a mistake. I appreciate your concerns, (Hell no he didn't) but I must ask that you leave incase you cause a panic with your unfounded accusations" Adam replies calmly. He was looking at me like I was a 2 year old. How dare he joke about this! "This is no laughing matter Professor James; if something goes wrong there will be no stopping it. No one will be safe. Surely you must see the sense in this?" I ask convictingly. I was now standing and looking down on him. The fury was welling up inside of me at how casual and calm he seemed about this. "I will stop this nonsense before you make a huge mistake with that cataclysm machine of yours!" I bellow. I was now yelling and breathing hard, waiting for him to argue back. He looked me up and down, opened his mouth and said, "You know you're actually quite ravishing when you're angry Jen" My mouth dropped open. He did not just say that. What an arrogant jerk! I stood up with hellfire burning in my eyes and slapped the smug bastard across his face. "(Sigh) Try to compliment someone and they hit you; Atrean-remover her from the compound please" Adam says as he clasps his hands together calmly. The metal arms of the android wrapped around me but it couldn't stop me from speaking. "You know what atom, I'm glad you kicked me out because it just shows people what a controlling ass you are. I will fight you till the end James" I yell as Atrean picks me up over his shoulder again.
The damn robot took me out by the back entrance and no amount of kicking, threatening and screaming could persuade him to let me go. Eventually I just sat moodily in its arms. I amused myself by imagining different ways of torturing Adam. Finally Atrean reached the outside and I found my feet on solid ground again. Without a word he re-entered the building and left me on the street. I was so not going to give up, that machine would never be turned on if I had anything to do with it. Now, how to get back into the building? From what I had seen this place was harder to get into than the pentagon but there had to be some way of getting back inside. I walked around the towering building looking for a door or window that was unsecured. No luck. Cursing, I decided to have another look round when I saw some sort of cart thing approach the fortress of a building. Ducking behind a dumpster I watched as a large circular door opened. Perfect, there weren't any humans and limited security. Silently, I crept towards the cart as it made beeping noises. I saw with glee that there was a small hatch, just big enough for me to squeeze into, on the underside of the vehicle. The sound of people shocked me into scrambling into the hatch. Just in time as the machine lurched forward and I was carried back into the building.
Professor James/Adam
Now with that annoying girl out of the way; I could finally return to where I'd left off before she interrupted me. I casually strode back into the lab and walked to the group of reporters who had barely moved since I stepped out. "Alright folks, Let this be a warning; if anyone else causes a problem like Miss Ereana did they will also be forcibly removed" I announce. Immediately there was a swarm of disagreeing arguments. "And I will be the one that removes you if necessary. I had no trouble doing so with Miss Ereana, I certainly wont have a problem doing it again with you lot" Atrean adds. Immediately-Diane's camera boy walked up and attempted to prove his bravery by cracking his knuckles. "Yeah?-Well we got rights Tin Man; and there's only one of you against more than 50 of us" he says foolishly. "Adam-a bar please?" Atrean asks me eagerly. "Certainly-I've been wanting to show them this demonstration, I'd been hoping someone would give you the opportunity to show them your strength" I say as I activate a robotic arm with my watch cufflink. The robotic arm immediately brought a 1 foot thick 5 foot long diameter rod of my cobalt-nickel-titanium-tungsten or T.N.C.T. (T-N-Cut) alloy. Even weighing 100 pounds, Atrean took hold of it and gripped it in one hand as though it were an oversized pencil. "This metal alloy-is 1000 times more durable than reinforced steel" Atrean says as he begins to grip it with both hands. Then with minimal effort-he began to bend it like a rod of putty. "That's only a fraction of my strength; I could plow through you all like a field of corn. The next thing to be bent will be your arm if you don't zip it punk" Atrean says coolly as he molds the bar into the shape of the camera boy's arm and drops it at his feet.
"(Gulp) Okay-shutting up now" the camera boy replies meekly as he slinks behind Diane. "Easy Atrean-remember the Federal government made you a citizen of the US; that means you're bound by the same laws as me and the others in this room. So don't risk you're freedom okay?" I say to Atrean to help calm his temper. "(Sigh) Right; sorry Adam" Atrean says as he walks over to the T.W.G control panel. "Now, it is time for the moment that you've all been waiting for!" I announce proudly. Immediately the reporters got their cameras and video recorders ready and began filming and snapshot ting me. "Atrean-armorize" I command politely. Atrean immediately pressed the button and the robotic arm placed the Iron Man like suit on me. "Ladies and gentlemen-behold my M.E.E.S armor suit" I announce as I use the neuro-command link to activate the head unit. Then the built in helmet constructed over my face like a swarm of living legos and I began to speak in a deeper computerized version of my voice. "Now then-this marvelous suit is space and sea worthy, capable of flight at mach 10, and has the same level of strength as Atrean has-a bench press of 1000 tons" I explain proudly. "Now, as soon as the machine is powered up-I shall make history" I say as I walk over and stand by the portal arch.
Ereana Jenkins
Great I was lost, seriously though how many corridors did this place need? I finally saw a door that looked kinda familiar; I wedged it open slightly and peered inside. Jackpot!! I was back in the room with his machine. He hadn't turned it on yet (thank God). Slowly I entered the room and ducked behind some equipment. That stupid robot could still easily get rid of me. Ah ha, right in front of me was the invention itself with a whole mess of wires and cables coming out of it. Now I do not usually sabotage-but desperate times call for desperate measures. Crawling forward I reached up and began to furiously yank out some of the wires. Surely one of them had to be a power cable. I groped and tore at the wiring, when I suddenly grabbed a wire and it surged me with electricity. I refused to let go though so it threw me back 12 feet into the wall. And since I kept an iron grip on the cable; it had been snapped out of the arch shaped device. "Owwwwww" I moan quietly; refusing to give myself away. Suddenly-an alarm began blaring.
Professor James/Adam
As Atrean pressed the activation switch-the Level 6 emergency alarm began to sound. Over the wailing Klaxon-panic ensued and screaming was everywhere. The cacophony was so loud that I had to use the communications function in my suit to talk to Atrean. "ATREAN-WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!?!" I roar with worry. "Sir-there has been a power surge; one of the electron grounding wires was damaged and an excess of energy is now entering the T.W.G power matrix" Atrean says; his tone straining to stay calm. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDN'T COMPLETELY ACTIVATE THE ENERGY INFLUX SEQUENCE!" I groan. "FORGIVE ME SIR-I DID!" Atrean yells lamentingly. Suddenly-there was a loud flash of electrical power and the subsequent boom of a thunderclap from the snappish friction of air particles. Then a large blue and silvery orb the size of a tank appeared in the arch of the T.W.G. But instead of just acting as a doorway-the wormhole apparently had gained some of the characteristics of a black hole. It was now a spatial hole equivalent to a dimensional vacuum; with the suction strength of a hurricane. "ATREAN; ACTIVATE THE CONTAINMENT BARRIER!!!!" I scream through the communication link. Immediately-the gargantuan titanium-polyurethane plastic polymer dome was lowered over the T.W.G. Then suddenly-I felt myself growing weak and I began to lose consciousness. The magnetic grip of my suit's feet deactivated and I began to fly into the wormhole. The instant my suit touched the wormhole-my nanobot armor compressed into the disguise that looked like an ordinary silver and gold T-shirt with blue jeans. As the last part of my feet was consumed by the energy anomaly-I lost consciousness. As I lay there in the blackness of my mind-I wondered, "How could this have happened?"
