Warning:
English is not my native language, so from time to time you will find some peculiar (as in outrageous) uses of the English language. Please, be tolerant and let me now to fix them. Then, try to enjoy the Story.
I am still not satisfied with this chapter, yet I am releasing it, since i will be busy the next weeks. I hope you do not mind.
The order of the Mortal Knights.
By Elnahual aka Javier Delgado
Fan fiction, inspired by "Oh My Goddess" by Kosuke Fujishima.
Chapter XVII
A bruise with the beginning of space-time
From the grove surrounding the Toringinkan temple, everything seemed calm, Belldandy´s powerful magic had created a barrier that casted a perfect illusion, despite the destruction on the inside from the outside everything seemed perfectly normal.
Among the branches of a tree outside the temple, a curvaceous silhouette could be distinguished. Something in her attitude indicated considerable exasperation. This was one of Marler´s favorite places for surveillance and despite knowing the place perfectly; she had been deceived by the perfect illusion.
From this place she had been witness of the daily life inside the temple. How often she had not seen with envy the quiet routine of its residents. Remembering the annoying yet strong love between Keiichi and Belldandy made her memories of Anang-Reh bitterer. The constant quarrels between Skuld and Urd had made her laugh more than once, making her to remember her own childhood when she played with Urd.
Would Urd ever know she had never seriously attempted to hurt her, or that in several occasions she had managed to hold back real attacks against her. Only by pretending to attack her own daughter, Hild had managed to avoid more severe attacks against her by other demons. But Urd never knew about this. How would she receive a request for help from her mother?. A mother she hated and despised for leaving her.
While watching the activity in the temple she began to feel a deep weariness. The weariness of thousands of years playing the buffoon, the clumsy and the mocked one of the world of Hell, and besides that, being Urd´s hidden bodyguard. Now in return, she had received an even greater responsibility. She let out a bitter laugh. Now it was her, whose exploits everyone laughed in Hell, who was in charge of the fate of their world: Hild was dying; none of the possible successors was close to having the power to overcome the others. I this were made public, there would be a war for power, and she knew it would be a long war that would expose them to fall prey to their enemies.
She cursed Hild, for putting her it into this predicament and into this responsibility she never asked. But like Hild, knew she could not turn back on her duty, even if she believed that her people did not deserve it. All these years around Hild had allowed her to see behind the charade that Hild represented and the deep solitude in which she lived. Solitude Hild accepted as another part of her duty.
Then she cursed herself. This was no time to be sentimental. She had a mission, perhaps the most important of her life and something was not right. According to records from Nidhogg, a huge amount of energy had been released here, so she had expected to find great destruction. But everything seemed intact. And she did not perceive the magic of Urd or Belldandy in the proximity.
She already had some time watching and there was no movement. She knew by heart the routines of the residents from the temple. Belldandy and Keiichi should have been here half an hour ago, after finishing their work at Whirlwind. The mortal child who visited Skuld should be arriving, and she saw no traces of the mortal who spent so much time with Urd, despite his ridiculous car was already at the entrance of the temple.
She could not waste any more time, but decided not to enter into the temple limits, knowing that there were defenses against her. The small androids had been particularly efficient to detect and identify her. If she desired, they could be safely destroyed, but that was not the best way to get help from Urd, especially if they had actually been attacked by high level demons.
So, she took a decision. Before entering the temple grounds, she would verify first with Nidhogg the exact place of the energy released and would request to Walharen a global search for the Norns. I there had been an attack, the possibility existed they were no longer on earth.
Fortunately, before leaving Hell, and using the name Hild, she had appointed Walharen as the sole director of Nidhogg, with extraordinary privileges. The little third class demon had become a great ally and she was happy to use his abilities. She set a vigilance gadget, built in imitation of those manufactured by humans to warn her if activity was detected in the temple. Unfortunately, she did not point it to the temple entrance. She felt reckless and could not stay inactive more time. She floated in the air and headed to a Nekomi suburb where her lair was.
As an irony, if she had spent a few more minutes there, she would have seen three mortals and a young goddess appearing in front of the temple entrance.
She had no way of knowing that Belldandy, with her apparent naivety yet full of wisdom, had decided that anyone who used the main entrance of the temple was a friend and would have free passage and fortunately for Marler, she never tried to approach the entrance. The experience of landing in the middle of the Valkyries Elite squad would have been not been nice.
Lind was kneeling before the Urd´s defenseless body. In a voice almost inaudible, she let her thoughts flow:
- Urd, Valkyrie in training, so far you have exceeded what I expected from you. But I do not understand how. Only by breaking your mother's lock could you have had such power, but you couldn't have done it alone. Also, I do not understand the reasons behind this brutal attack. I expected something similar to Giörel´s attack, never anything on this scale. There are forces involved that cannot understand and too many coincidences.
She paused a moment, looked up and met the gaze of the two Valkyries, who with their perfect discipline continued their monotonous song that kept the container field.
Then she looked around. Her squadron was still a well-disciplined unit, but she knew enough its members to know that some of them were nervous.
The younger had never been in actual combat, so they must felt being disconnected for the first time from Yggdrasil as a frightening experience. They trusted her and that reassured them, but had not been for her presence, the situation would not be so good. She frowned, that was a situation she had not foreseen. She could not let morale to go down, she had to keep them active. That they could not use magic would be a good excuse to exercise a good old fashioned melee. She needed to organize various activities to keep then fit and their mind free of worrisome toughs. With no magic, there would be plenty of physical activity to be performed. She did not know how long they would be isolated, so it was better to be prepared.
She smirked when saw that the youngest of her squadron walking toward her. Chrono unfolded with ease on her new assignment. It had been a good decision to accept her despite being so young, and her previous experience with mortals would help.
Chrono approached her stating that she was ready for her mission. She wore clothes that had been owned by Skuld. She had not yet acquired the severe and rigid attitude that characterized most of the Valkyries, so it would be easier for her poise as a mortal. She was definitely the most appropriate to move around the mortals without resort to magic.
- Madame. I'm ready. - Her slightly martial attitude contrasted with the informal attire.
- Go ahead; I need not to remind you that you should not use magic except to protect the mortals. If your life is in danger, do not to use it. Our orders are strict. You will be our link, try to learn to use the transportation and communication systems of mortals. Watch and learn. If the situation continues we would need to learn from your experience. That's all, go ahead!
- Yes, madam.
She left to join the mortals to go to a place called Chiba.
Ghadril approached to speak privately with Lind.
- I do not understand how you can rely so much on mortals? They are so fragile and their life is so short.
Lind did not bother turning to see her comrade. Long years of sharing missions allowed Ghadril to question her authority without jeopardizing the chain of command.
- Certainly they are, yet they keep struggling. I've seen them to grow by beyond my expectations. In the time it takes for us to make a decision, they have gone from barely babbling a language to be able to help us. In addition, there is something very special about those three mortals.
- I've never paid attention to the history of this world; despite the younger goddesses seem fascinated with it.
Lind could not help a little smiling at the attitude of her old comrade in arms. Just recently she thought so.
- Then better be careful, mortals can change you, some of them are amazing. As for how fragile they are, better take care of the prisoners.
Lind gave Ghadril several metal discs. She read the content and looked at Lind in amazement. Lind commented:
- Any Valkyrie who arrived with this kind of prisoners would be proud of her achievements. Keiichi-san instead feels ashamed of not being able to do more. I have no doubt, one day; the mortals will give us big surprises.
In the spacious cafeteria at then Hongo Campus from the University of Chiba, where the physics laboratories resided, an old man was enjoying his tea while carefully reading an e-mail on his laptop. He wore the immaculate white coat of senior and high-level scientists. A broad smile lit his face as his eyes roamed restless and curious trough page after page full of calculations and equations. His attitude showed a great curiosity and made him look younger.
His reading was interrupted by the sound of the conversation of several people who came into the cafeteria. A female voice exclaimed:
- Did you were also cited by Professor Nambu?
The others nodded. The voice was from a woman aged about 40. She wore no makeup and her hair had a severe cut, but had restless eyes full of curiosity, that contrasted with the severity of her appearance. She also wore a white coat, but this denoted the wear and use from the researchers working in a laboratory. She greeted his colleagues with a quick nod and full of curiosity she continued:
- Excuse me; I cannot remember your names, so I will introduce myself first. Yukiko Ohta, associate professor, specialist in physics of condensed matter. I'm here because Professor Nambu said it was urgent and related to Dr. Shugahara, our local celebrity.
His colleague was a young man about 25 years, like many mathematicians and theorists he wore a brightly colored shirt, jeans and long hair, he was a person with an easy laugh, and said cheerfully:
- Ah ha! If Dry Shugahara is involved then it must something insane and brilliant. According to the rumors, Dr. Shugahara has been involved in some kind of archaeological marathon around the world. Archaeology blogs have never been so active. Strange crystals are mentioned, possibly radioactive, but there is no mention what type of radiation or any important detail. I'm sure we will soon have a flood of articles in scholarly journals. I confess I am very curious to know what's up. He has gained a strange reputation. Half of the students seem to believe he really does magic, especially considering the attractive woman he has been dating and that caused a tumult in the last Congress. By the way, I am Takashi Yoshida, Associate Researcher working in the area of high-energy physics ... and I also do not remember your names.
Those present laughed merrily. The third man had a sullen attitude; he looked a bit older than thirty-five, and seemed to have had a recent accident. He was limping slightly, he had a splint arm in a sling and his face still showed recent scratches, but that did not prevent his eyes shone with curiosity and even smiled upon the presentation of his colleague.
- Then you are not the only one. I am Shigeru Nakayama, also associate Researcher, and my area is Nano science. Look, there is Professor Nambu; I hope he would answer our questions. I have also heard strange stories about Dr. Shugahara. Even my friend Dr. Izuka Kawazu from the Institute of fuzzy logic seems fascinated with him, so that I would not miss this. As you can see, I had a little problem with a pressure chamber and will need to do a lot of paperwork to replace it, so let's hurry.
They came to the sitting man: Professor Yoichiro Nambu, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago and currently a visiting professor at Chiba. He made them a sign inviting them to sit along him.
- Thank you for coming despite the late hour. Professor Nakayama, I heard of your accident in the laboratory, so I did not expect you to come. You should be at the hospital treating your arm.
- It's not broken and I cannot afford to postpone the experiment in progress. Also, I am very curious to know the reason of this urgency. If Dr. Shugahara switched from studying Old Norse magic to modern physics, then there must be an interesting story.
Professor Nambu smiled at his curiosity.
- Dr. Shugahara soon will be with us and we hope he will explain us the reason for urgency.
- So you do not know? Nambu San - the woman said with a hint of irritation - doctor Shugahara is a noted ethnobotanist, he may have something to do with archeology and seems he has been very active in this field, but none of us is related to his area. I cannot imagine having to study magic potions or something like that.
Professor Nambu laughed at the comment, pointing to his laptop.
- Then I have a little surprise for you. A few months ago, Dr. Shugahara brought some curious crystals with extraordinary properties. He claimed they were an ingredient of an ancient magic potion - he turned to see the audience to enjoy their expressions of disbelief - I myself, confess it was hard to believe, but he is a very persuasive man and had convincing evidence, so eventually I sent them to one of my brightest graduate students at the US to investigate, Miss Jenny Rosenthal. - Then he pointed to his laptop - She recently sent me a very interesting report.
The scientists rose and rushed to see the display of the laptop. They studied it carefully as Professor Nambu showed them the report. After reading the conclusions, there was moment of silence, and then Professor Nakayama commented:
- The data are incredible, but the methodology seems impeccable, it says the results were verified with three separate experiments. Still, Ms. Rosenthal's conclusion seems to me, really insane.
Professor Nambu lit up his face with a broad smile; he was like a child ready to commit a prank and commented:
- Yes, I also think is crazy. The question then is: Is it crazy enough to be true?
Soon began a heated discussion among the specialists. The subject was exciting enough to let them forget why they were there. However, they were interrupted by the arrival of more people.
The newcomers seemed a bit out of place. They already knew doctor Shugahara, but the young man who accompanied him had some oil stains on his clothes and under his nails, like a mechanic, and was accompanied by a boy and a sweet and charming teen age girl.
Professor Nambu cheerfully greeted them.
- Dr. Shugahara. It is a pleasure to see you. I wonder what new surprises you have for us. The last thing you brought us will give us many years of work, and look; there are people who want to listen to you.
Dr. Shugahara was surprised at the number of people waiting for him. He greeted them, and his attitude showed his surprise. A bit abruptly, Professor Nakayama, asked him:
- Professor Nambu just showed us the extraordinary properties of this compound you provide him. After reading the report, I think you cannot have something bigger than that. Still I am very curious to know what you may consider as urgent to call all these specialists.
The doctor looked at him puzzled. In his urgency, he had forgotten to prepare what he was going to say to them. He needed their help, so he realized there was only one way to ask for it. He bowed slightly to them, took a formal stance, trying reflected the full status of a university professor and with a clear and calm voice said:
- This morning, these young people and I fought against several demons to save the lives of three goddesses. And this young girl is here, is a goddess, a Valkyrie!
A deep silence fell on all those present. Sentarō and Keiichi looked astonished at the doctor; they had never expected him to speak with such candor. There was obvious disbelief among the scientists. Professor Nakayama spoke in a stern voice, reflecting the feelings of all.
- I think I should retract my last words. Are you aware that if not for fame that precedes you, we would be taking this as a bad joke.
Professor Ohta continued with an ironic tone:
- Doctor, you have the reputation of never making a statement without proofs, not matter how strange they are. I'm dying of curiosity to know what proofs you have to support this. This young girl you claim to be a Valkyrie, will she make a show of magic? Something that cannot be attributed to the art of an illusionist?
- Unfortunately, this young girl had been forbid to do magic.
Professor Nakayama could not avoid a derisive snort at this statement and commented:
- So you do not have evidence?
- I did not say that. I just said that this young girl cannot do magic, but I can. Keiichi, can you give me Urd´s medical kit?
- Doctor, I mean, Kenji, are you sure about this? I think you have already said too much. I do not know if it's prudent.
The doctor sighed and pointed to his colleagues.
- Keiichi, look at them, we cannot ask them to help us without a complete understanding our reasons. I would act like them. As scientists, we are trained to question everything as principle. Any claim must be verifiable. We need their help so they deserve the whole truth.
Keiichi shuddered. Over the years he had tried to hide at all costs the identity of Belldandy and her sisters and the idea of talking openly to these strangers scared him. But he soon decided he would do anything to save the life of Belldandy and Urd, no matter how many celestial rules he had to break. Finally he took the small metal box with Urd´s potions. Keiichi looked into the eyes of the Dr. Shugahara and nodded. He had no more doubts and gave him the box.
- Professor Nakayama, I'm afraid you are the perfect subject for this test; please let me put this into your arm.
Professor Nakayama started, but was curious to see what kind of show would see. He approached Dr. Shugahara and extended his arm. He held it and put there one of the healing patches from Urd.
At the contact with the skin, the patch began to work and made a strange reaction. The astonished professor withdrew his arm and saw with amazement a glow that spread through his body. Then they all watched as the wounds on his face were erased. Professor Nakayama felt how the pain disappeared.
Then began to move his arm and hurriedly took off the bandages. He felt no pain, the bruising and swelling had disappeared. Then he noticed his limp also was gone. So he exclaimed in surprise:
- But what is this? ... It must be an illusion. Maybe it´s a drug that stimulates me and relieves me from feeling pain.
Professor Yoshida was approached him and commented...
- But none of us has touched the patch and we can see how the superficial wounds have gone ... There seems not to be an illusion.
Professor Nakayama examined carefully the places where the wound had been visible. There was no trace of them. So He replied:
- I confess it is very impressive, but you will understand that this must be reproducible before being accepted as evidence. Without a mechanism to explain what we have seen, this is not enough. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
- I understand perfectly. But I also must say that our mission is urgent. I ask you to accept it as a temporary hypothesis. Give me your help and you will get all the necessary evidence by yourself.
- How does this work? It cannot be really magic, but a natural phenomenon.
- Actually, I do not fully understand the mechanisms involved. If you want, instead of magic, you can call it: "unknown phenomena" - he said pointing to the laptop - but I can tell you the properties of those crystal are involved.
The scientist looked at each other, it was something they could not accept without stronger evidence, but Dr. Shugahara was noted for his detailed proofs, so Professor Nambu answered him.
- Really ... I did not expect something like this. I have a strong desire to get out of here ... But perhaps your "Hypothesis" could be enough insane to be true. What do you want from us?
- First, I need to reproduce this material, these are synthetic lunar rocks, and then we need to modify this material.
He took from Sentarō's hands, a cardboard box that had some bracelets. He handed them to Professor Nakayama, the specialist in nanotechnology. He examined them with curiosity.
- I am no expert in minerals, but this seems to be a compressed regolith. Not really a rock, but a dust conglomerate. You say it's a synthetic lunar rock? What kind? - He gazed into Keiichi´s eyes, a suspicion came across his expression - Is the type that is suspected to retain and absorb cosmic rays? Among the rocks brought back by astronauts discovered a few grams of material with very peculiar properties, the result of cosmic rays trapped into dust and then conglomerated.
Keiichi nodded a bit sheepishly, as an engineer, had never bothered to investigate more about the moon mineralogy, he only cared it worked.
- Interesting. But how do you manage to do it? Many people has tried and failed. It would be a very useful material; it can store certain types of energy, and has a peculiar crystalline structure. With nanotechnology we could manipulate the matrix and hence extract a large amount of energy.
Dr. Ohta said:
- I suspect that much of the dark matter in the universe is condensed in this way. I think is a Quasicrystal. We are talking about gaining an understanding the structure of dark matter and as a bonus, access to almost unlimited sources of energy. All this sounds too fantastic, and worth investigating.
Dr. Shugahara approached him and commented.
-Keiichi can show you how the methods already developed to synthesize it, but I'm sure you can improve them. - The doctor spoke to everyone - That's the urgency, we have less than 10 hours to synthesize a batch, and two lives depend on it. - Then paused, realizing he had their full attention, he needed to ask the most fantastic part- and also I have a greater challenge. We need a variant able to increase the capacity of the material in at least 5 orders of magnitude.
The scientists looked at him in amazement. Professor Ohta exclaimed:
- Five orders of magnitude! Have you any idea what you're talking about? How can you control that amount of energy? So that's what I had in mind from the beginning? I was curious why you asked for expertize in our different fields.
Dr. Shugahara bowed his head in agreement. Then profess Nambu, who had been listening quietly finally spoke, his eyes shone with an inner fire.
- I think Dr. Shugahara has challenge we cannot reject. I still have doubts, but his little demonstration, and the information sent to us by Ms. Rosenthal says there is something worth to investigate, no matter how insane his story seems to be. Do you agree with me?
Everyone nodded and started a lively discussion, finally professor Ohta spoke.
- We will work in two teams, Shigeru and I will make the synthesis of the regolith using your procedure, I am very curious to see the procedure how our friend Keiichi developed the procedure. The other team will examine alternatives to create derivative materials to get the requirements Dr. Shugahara needs. We do not know if possible, but we'll find out. As these two young, she said, pointing to Sentarō and Chrono - I think we have work for them. If this girl is what you really said, I'm sure we can learn from her.
A few hours later an exhausted Dr. Shugahara was lying on an old sofa in a corner of the laboratory of high energy physics. It was far from being at the same league of larger facilities such as Brookhaven and the LHC, but they certainly they were well equipped. With surprising speed, technicians and students had modified one of the ongoing experiments to irradiate one of the crystalline samples he was obtained with Urd.
He checked his watch and decided he could afford 20 minutes of sleep. The sound of people arguing, mounting equipment, moving materials, did not bother him because he was used to that. Certainly it was not his first long night in a laboratory and had learned to get the most of those small breaks. However he was interrupted by the arrival of Keiichi, Sentarō and the young Valkyrie. They seem to be happy. Several scientists came along with them. Professor Nambu greeted him.
- Dr. Shugahara! Please help me to convince this young man to continue with a Master's degree, I could get a grant for him. A young man with such skill with machines and equipment would be very useful. No one could guess this is the first time he works in our laboratory.
Keiichi felt a little embarrassed by the praise, since could not help thinking of Skuld. He was sure she could have done the same job in a fraction of time. He tried to make little of it.
- It´s not surprising, here you have the best things. Materials with analytical grade purity, the most recent equipment, fully computerized support and your people are really skilled.
Shugahara smiled at Keiichi´s embarrassment, he wished the best for him. - Keiichi is too modest. I must tell you his real skill are motor vehicles. And I do not think her boss would let him go. She is a difficult person to convince. Moreover, this young man is the most courageous people I know and has a kind and unselfish hearth.
Professor Nambu answered: - Then I would like to hear more about him. If Dr. Shugahara makes a statement like that, then this young men must be quite extraordinary.
Keiichi blushed; he did not expected to be in the spotlight. Dr. Shugahara rose from the old sofa, put his hand on his shoulders and told him:
- We have a couple of hours. Everyone here is committed to our goal, so I think they deserve to hear some of your story. Even I am very curious to know how all started.
A murmur of approval spread among those present, even Sentarō commented
- I would also like to hear how Skuld came to earth...
Then an unexpected voice was heard:
- I love telling stories, and in heaven the tale of Keiichi-san and the love for his Goddess is a famous story. If Keiichi-san is not offended, I could tell his story. He could correct me if feels something is wrong.
Everyone turned to see the girl, who expressed with a seriousness that made her look wiser. Her sincerity touched those present. Even the taciturn Nakayama approved and commented:
-I just order a couple of coffee thermos; I also would like to hear that story.
Everyone looked at Chrono, and then she began the story with a sweet voice: - "This is the story a young goddess from the Goddess Technical assistance office, who once took a telephone call ..."
The small crowd gathered around her, some sat on the old sofa, some on the floor and all gave their full attention.
The narrative of the young goddess had an air of naiveté which soon captivated the audience. Keiichi could not believe he was hearing his own story. He could not deny the facts were correct, but he felt the story painted a Keiichi greater than him. So finally interrupted to Chrono and unwittingly continued the story. Chrono stepped aside to listen to him.
His story, simple and without adornment or pretensions captivated his audience slowly he felt encouraged to tell his story to the end. He had never imagined being able to tell anyone about this. Somehow he felt relieved. Even if he knew his story was unbelievable, he realized they were paying full attention to his tale. He revived the beautiful memories of his love for Belldandy. He told them to the attack to the temple. He was so full of emotion and sadness about the uncertain future that nobody dare question the story.
Keiichi finally finished his tale and looked around. He expected to see ridicule or disbelief, but instead there was admiration, even Chrono was looking at him with eyes slightly moist. Perhaps the silence was the greatest compliment they could give to him.
Suddenly a little cough broke the silence. He was a young man with a plastic box and made announcement.
- We have the first batch; the properties of this material are really striking. Within hours we will have an improved version. We only need to refine some aspects of the procedure.
Keiichi, Sentarō and Kenji shouted for joy. Finally they had good news. The three hugged each other happily, to an audience that was still slightly skeptical, but no less moved. The Doctor exclaimed:
- It was faster than expected; this will give us time to move on. We need to take this to Lind as soon as possible.
Suddenly, another young student came to speak to Professor Nambu and announced:
- I came to tell you that we are beginning a test run. We duplicate what we believe is the deep structure of the crystal, the part that contains the energy. We will use only a few micro-grams, but this will tell us whether we are on the right track.
Professor Nambu saw some doubts in his student´s voice and asked him.
- Is there a problem?
He paused while looking around, being surrounded by senior scientific make him doubt about his own conclusions, but finally spoke.
- Yes I was reviewing the energy measurements, and they are high to be explained by the simple accumulation of cosmic rays. There must be a different mechanism.
The professor Nambu nodded, satisfied with his student conclusions.
- Good thinking, we need to be sure that we are working with the correct model.
Dr. Shugahara pondered at these words, that meant a considerable delay, but Professor Nambu was right. To do an experiment on erroneous grounds could be disastrous.
Keiichi looked at the Kenji with concern. The bracelets would allow them only to gain time, but were not the solution, and suddenly there seem and obstacle. Then remembered about Skuld, she simply would have gone ahead, without caring much about the problems, but that usually meant disaster. So he clenched his fists in frustration, but acknowledged that these men were right. He should have patience. Then saw a flash of anxiety and fatigue on the Kenjis´s face. He was used to consider Dr. Shugahara as an infallible man, and with flash of recognition knew he was only Kenji, a man like him who shared the same feelings. He felt the necessity to share with him the burden of their actions. So he spoke out loud as he imagined it would have expressed by the doctor.
- Go ahead; we look forward to the results. We will rest a few minute. And please ... Someone ask for more coffee.
The young man smiled at his words and said...
- It is coming; the cafeteria staff is already used to our schedules.
Suddenly they heard a scream...
- Interrupt the particle bombardment; we perceive an excessive energy reading.
Through the speakers was heard:
- We stopped the bombing, but the emission had not stopped, it seems to have surpassed the critical mass.
Another shout came from across the lab where a student looked at his console:
- It looks like a chain reaction. We must stop it, try to cool it down, increase the power to the superconductors. We will attempt a magnetic cooling.
Soon the lab was full of voices and cries as they exchanged information.
- The emission has not stopped; maybe they are not magnetic particles. We should try to use a buffer to slow the particles.
Another voice shouted from the other end, it was quavering because the fear:
- We're trying, but the radiation goes through the control rods as if they did not exist, they could be neutrinos or maybe scalar bosons.
- It does not stop, it continues to grow. Confirmed. It's a chain reaction, it´s growing exponentially, but we do not know where the energy comes.
Then from the speakers came the voice of professor Yoshida - Everyone! Get out of here! It does not respond, is surpassing the critical level
The great equipment at the center of the lab began to tremble. It was basically a particle accelerator using superconducting magnets to control a radiation beam. In the center of the equipment, the chamber which housed the sample began to emit a cloud of smoke as the plastic insulation and the paint was beginning to burn. Heat rapidly increased, the center emitted a cherry red glow and began to increase to an incandescent white-hot. Parts of the equipment began to melt.
All was confusion, a bold technician brought a big industrial extinguisher and began spraying the equipment, but it seemed useless. And another voice shouted: - It´s useless get out of the building.
Before they could, the equipment shook violently, shuttering the building. Concrete and glass fragments flew everywhere. The vibration of the equipment increased and suddenly ... There was a powerful flash and a loud bang was heard, throwing everyone to the floor.
Keiichi was among the first to react, he tried to rise and faced the center of the building, where there was a breathtaking view:
A huge blinding ball of light was floating in the space where it should be the container chamber. An explosion had occurred, but somehow it had been contained. He Looked closely and found the explanation.
The brightness was blinding, so he had to cover his eyes, yet he had been able to see a silhouette against the light. It was Chrono. She has used her physical barrier, the most powerful defense of a goddess, to contain the fiery explosion.
The young Valkyrie floated in the middle of the laboratory, her arms were extended while trying to control the invisible field that contained the incandescent material.
But he could see the effort on her face, and then she screamed:
- I do not know how long I can hold it. Get out of here.
Professor Takihashi was also shocked by the vision, but soon recovered and shouted back.
- It's so much energy that it could destroy the entire campus; there is no place where we can take refugee. We need another solution.
- I cannot resist!
Professor Takahashi had an idea, and cried:
- The roof of the building can be opened, let's open it, maybe she can release the plasma through it.
At hearing the word plasma, Keiichi had an idea. - That's plasma! Then it must be magnetic, if the superconductor magnets are working, maybe we can repel it upwards.
A technician cried:
- Let's try it. They are still working, but the heat is increasing and we may lose the liquid nitrogen. Let's hurry up. I'm starting to redirect the magnetic field.
Keiichi yell at Chrono. - We will try to repel it upward. Can you direct it toward the sky? We will try to help you to control it.
She seemed on the verge of collapse, but she answered him:
- I will try, but I've never done anything like that.
Professor Nambu cried:
- Open the roof, prepare the emergency coolers.
The roof of the laboratory had been designed to be opened to receive heavy equipment. With a maddening slowness, the dome began to slide. Meanwhile the heat and smoke activated the sprinklers of the laboratory. The falling water only added to the confusion.
Keiichi began to take control of the situation, finally yelled to Chrono:
- The roof is open, try to release the plasma toward the aperture. Maybe we could minimize the damage
Chrono was about to lose consciousness, but the hard training by Lind had taught to go beyond the limits of her body. She made a supreme effort to control her physical barrier to partially open it. But even with a partial opening, the plasma content was thrown to the sky, while the huge magnetic fields created by the humans prevent it from touch the wall. A supersonic thunder shook the place and smashed the windows, but the building stood, the plasma had been fired into the atmosphere and the electromagnetic emissions began to trigger alarms in tens of miles around, while the emergency services in the city of Chiba began to receive reports. Chrono having spent her last erg of energy fell unconscious.
Keiichi screamed and ran into her. Somehow he catch her, her body was incredibly light. Slowly the people in the lab began to react. Some had cuts from glass, others were limping and had some bruises, but apparently no one had been seriously wounded.
All came to meet the girl who had just saved their life, and asked for her state. Keiichi answered:
- She is not hurt, but used all the energy she had. She is no longer connected to Yggdrasil so she cannot recover by herself.
One of the students came neared to attend her, and with deep concern asked:
- Is she at risk? What can we do for her? It seems she is not breathing!
Keiichi looked anxiously at the doctor; he understood his dilemma and simply nodded, then called Sentarō:
- Sentarō, please give him the box with the bracelets...
The boy ran to get the box and took them to Keiichi; he took gently one arm of the girl and put a pair of bracelets. It was as if the goddess had received an electric shock. Her body shuddered and slowly began to breathe.
Slowly Prof. Nambu approached to Dr. Shugahara, looking with concern at the young Valkyrie, with a gasped voice commented:
- Doctor, I think after this, I am willing to accept your hypothesis. The doctor looked at him a moment and answered simply
-Thank you!
Suddenly phones began to ring; surely everyone would want to know what had happened. Professor Nambu called everyone and told them:
- Tomorrow we'll have to give a good explanation of what happened here. So far, we will report an unexpected venting of plasma. We will have time to make a better story. All of them were realizing they had a bruise with death, yet they were still alive, somehow it was exhilarating. The idea of making a fantastic story to hide something like that seemed ridiculous:
- We could say that Professor Yoshida attempted to operate the equipment ... - Cried a cheerful voice. After that statement, Professor Yoshida tried to protest...
- But this time I didn't touch anything ...- then saw the smiling faces around him, and stopped at the monumental joke.
- Prof. Yoshida is a great theoretical scientist, so it is not a bad idea, but I think a post Morten is more urgent. So let's found out what happened here.
Keiichi was devastated at the destruction and commented: - Have we failed?
Professor Nambu looked at the young man, and said quietly:
- Keiichi-san, in science no experiment is a failure, we have learned "how not to do it." I suspect that we found an unexpected phenomenon. This will delay us, but failures are part of the learning process.
- And the equipment?
- It can be replaced. There will be a lot of paperwork but what we have learned today will justify it.
Suddenly they heard a shout from one end of the lab. He was a young student and was jumping like crazy. For a moment everyone suspected that he had hurt his head and Dr. Shugahara had the glimpse of a tribal dance...
The student stopped and ran to Professor Nambu.
- Nambu-san, this is amazing! I'm doing a preliminary count of released energy. This exceeds any expectations we had. According to my calculations, this beats a matter anti-matter reaction.
They all looked shocked, that was an incredible statement. His companions questioned.
- Are you sure...?... What other phenomenon can generate more energy than the complete disintegration of matter...?
The young man was extremely excited, He could hardly say anything coherent, just erupted a series of data and fragments of equations that he could not complete, they heard words like: 1.4 TeV, higgs bossons, ten to eleven TeV, Minimal Supersymmetric extension... Professor Takashi put his hand on his shoulders and spoke to try to calm him down.
- Please, slow down, we cannot understand you. Take a deep breath and explain. What do you mean?
The young man finally calmed down and then in a whisper, as if it were a revelation, just said:
- Quantum foam! we hit Plank scale! We reached 10 to the sixteen magnitudes TeV!
A deep silence fell in the laboratory, only broken by the sound of the sprinklers and some electrical sparking. Keiichi saw the face of astonishment of those present, who seemed on the verge of a religious experience that he could not understand.
- What does it means? I do not understand, what is the Planck scale?
Professor Nambu, breathed deeply, and went to meet Keiichi. He pondered how to explain it and said:
- You've probably heard that our universe comes from the Big Bang. But do you know that what we think exists outside the Big bang and our universe?
- I do not know, I never given much thought about it.
- We believe that our universe is one of an infinite number of universes. But all these universes are born from something that can also be described as "nothing". There is no way to describe it in our language. It is a place where there is no space or time and yet there is something; imagine violent foam, a place of violent energy, chaotic and infinite. It is a void that is not empty.
Keiichi looked at him, it seemed incomprehensible, yet it made sense.
- I'm not sure to understand.
- Do not worry, I think nobody can really understand it yet, but we can describe its effects on our world.
Then Professor Nambu retired a few steps and hinted that he had to make an important statement:
- Keiichi-San, Dr. Shugahara, Sentarō. You asked to increase the energy up to 4 or 5 orders, but this would further than seventeen orders. One followed by seventeen zeros. That unfortunately means that we are not ready to handle something like that. We're talking about something enough to build or destroy a universe...
Keiichi looked stunned, and asked:
- So it's useless...
Nambu answered him with an emotion that made him look ten years younger.
- Useless no, quite the opposite, but I would not dare to repeat it without a deep understanding about what happened here. We had a bruise with the origins of time and space and this is what happened. - He pointed to the destruction around them. - we need to develop a model that allows us to understand this. We may need decades to achieve it.
Keiichi felt to faint, until he felt Kenji´s hand on his shoulder. Shugahara commented:
- Keiichi, even if it takes years, they have given us real hope. Maybe we were dreaming of finding a quick solution. At least we can keep them alive until we are ready. I waited ten years to meet Urd, I do not care does if it takes another ten years for her to recover.
Keiichi clenched his fists in a gesture of helplessness, but acknowledged that the doctor was right.
- Then, as long as necessary. I have swear to give my life for her, so it does no matter if it's a lifetime - he turned to face all the people around him and said. - Pardon my impatience. I think we put your life in danger because our hurry. You have done much to help us. I will be grateful with you for all my life.
Professor Nambu bowed his head in a respectful attitude, and with restrained emotion said:
-Keiichi-san! We are grateful to you, you have involved in something much bigger than we could have imagined. We will make it. We will keep working.
Dr. Shugahara said.
-We need to wait for the next batch of bracelets, since we will have to use the rest of this batch with Chrono, we owe her our lives. But as the next batch is ready, we will have to run with Lind, there will be barely enough time.
There was a murmur of approval. The scientists expressed their commitment to continue working and left them alone. Then Keiichi realized Kenji was meditating, he recognized that look, so he asked him:.
- I think you just had an idea. Is it as crazy as playing with the Big Bang?
Kenji smiled at him. Apparently they were beginning to understand each other.
- Perhaps even more insane. - He took Hild´s teardrop from his pocket and showed it to Keiichi and Sentarō, then said. - We may need to make a pact with the devil.
End of Chapter XVII
Notes:
- "Professor Yoshida is an excellent theoretical." As a nerd, I could not help it. There is a long tradition in physics that theoretical scientist break everything around them. It was said that Max Planck was so good theorist that it was enough for him to go near a laboratory for something to explode, and so this was stated on the reports.
- Quantum Foam. This is one of the deductions from string theory. Since in the universe of OMG it is said that the power of the gods is because their capacity to handle cosmic strings in 10 dimensions, then the cosmic foam must also be real in OMG.
- Plank Limit, or Plank Scale. Refers to both Plank´s time and distance. It refers to smallest distance and smallest time that can exist. The universe is granular and beyond that there are no dimensions of space-time.
- TeV. Tera electron volt. The LHC will reach only 7 TeV per beam at full power.