BNL TECHNICAL RESEARCH DIVISION 130 – LAB 29
Violet gave the corroded metal sign one last look, and then went into the building with some trepidation. Luckily, whoever had last exited the lab had forgotten to shut the reinforced steel door behind him. With the condition the building was in, it would have likely taken explosives to make an entrance. Due to the ravages of time, the door had rusted into immobility.
The situation inside was not much better. Sad remnants of office furniture lay everywhere, along with the omnipresent trash that still choked the city, despite the colony's best efforts.
Along one wall of the lobby was a grime-streaked directory. After studying it, she was able to find the location of the fusion power-plant, which was helpfully marked on the map with a lightning bolt symbol.
As she hovered through the darkened hallways, her finely attuned hearing could pick up the soft scuttling of hundreds of cockroaches. The probebot shuddered. While Violet knew how much Wall-e and Eve liked their pet cockroach, Hal, she could never bring herself to enjoy the company of, well, an insect.
When she got further into the facility, the meager light that had been provided by the few shattered windows began to fade. Soon the level of illumination dropped to levels making it impossible for her to see, even with her night-vision capabilities. Violet reached into her storage compartment, and fished out a battery-powered flashlight that she had brought, 'just in case.'
She was near the very center of the facility, sweeping her light from side to side across the hallway when she came across something that piqued her curiosity. At first glance, it was another nondescript metal door. However, unlike all the other entryways, which were all either unlocked or left wide open, this one was closed securely.
Violet pulled on the side of the door, and to her surprise, felt a little give. That meant that the door wasn't stuck shut, and would probably open easily once she had restored power to its motion detector. She made a mental note of the location she found it at, so that she could inform her superiors of it later.
Happily, the fusion generator's control room was only five minutes away. And like Auto had said, it only took her a few minutes to start it up. She just had to follow the instructions he had given her.
As the tokamak started up, she heard a few loud pops. She thought that some fuses must have blown, when then the overhead lights came on with a flicker. Violet stuck her head out of the control room, and saw the rest of the hallway do likewise.
She turned off her flashlight, and began the trek back out of the lab. After she passed by the sealed doorway, she stopped. Above the door was a sign that glowed cheerily.
It read: Experiment in Progress
The robot debated with herself whether to investigate or not. In the end, her inherent curiosity won out. It wouldn't hurt to only take a look, after all.
Violet floated up to the motion sensor, which flickered when it registered her presence. The door glided open, and she went in.
Unlike all the other rooms she had seen, this one still had some laboratory apparatus left. At first, she wondered why it hadn't been moved out like everything else of value had been, but as she inspected the equipment, the reason for this became obvious.
The stuff was all too massive to move. Especially what seemed to be the centerpiece of the operation, a thick metal sheet two meters square. The surface of it was criss-crossed with what, under closer examination, appeared to be thousands of quantum microcircuits. Cables as thick as her head led from the slab to a series of hulking machines which served some indeterminate purpose.
She examined the devices, but they proved reluctant to reveal their secrets. They were clearly experimental prototypes of some sort, as they had no documentation, or even labels.
Finally, she thought she had struck gold when she found a console hidden amongst the forest of scientific paraphernalia. Her initial elation faded, however, when the buttons on it proved just as mysterious as the rest of the room. Even after a few cautious key presses, nothing appeared to happen.
At wits end, she decided to inspect the weird plate of metal one last time. Maybe she had missed something? As she moved over it, suddenly four bluish restriction fields sputtered into existence around her, trapping her on the slab.
She first pounded her fists, and even fired her plasma gun at the fields, to no avail. Then, with a crack and a blinding flash of energy, she was transported somewhere else…
Darkness. That was the first thing that registered. Violet groped for her flashlight, and flicked it on.
The sight that greeted her was not too unlike from the previous one. Another lab, cleaner perhaps, but just as Spartan.
Even the door leading out looked identical. She flew up to it, hoping for an easy escape, only to be sorely disappointed when it refused to open.
Violet turned back around, and played her light over the room, desperately wishing for there to be anything else that could help her. Just when she was about to conclude that the only way to escape would be through the use of brute force, her prayers were answered.
In the corner was a computer terminal, resembling the type found scattered throughout the Axiom. Inscribed on the side was an unfamiliar logo, consisting of a series of cog wheels, and the words DEEP THIRTEEN.
Giving a sigh of relief, she approached the workstation and keyed in her id code and password. With any luck she could figure out what was going on.
ACCESS DENIED.
She tried again.
ACCESS DENIED.
The EVE probe slammed her fist in frustration onto the keyboard, which cracked. Then the screen flickered.
Command Override #037… Partial Access Granted.
There was a long, low buzz, and a camera unfolded itself, snakelike, from within the bowels of the computer. The lens was a deep, dark blue, and it clicked as it focused on her.
Several more strings of text flashed onto the holoscreen.
Establishing Commlink: Node Number Beta3…
Commlink Established.
Sender ID: GRAD-E_UNIT01
Recipient ID: TERMINAL_013228
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who are you?