FOUR
"Are you saying that thing is going to run for the next twenty five thousand years?" Piper asked.
"That's about the size of it," said Malcolm. "Barring some type of accident or malfunction."
"What kind of accident or malfunction?" Piper asked.
"Like any machine," said Malcolm, "reactors need periodic maintenance. Like everything, if they're left to themselves they will begin to deteriorate eventually. It's the second law of thermodynamics. Without some internal mechanism or outside force everything naturally just begins to break down in time.
"It's the same with the device. Long before the power from the reactor gives out some part of will begin to break down or wear out. Especially the moving parts. The constant wear and tear on them will eventually cause them to give out. When that happens it will all be over."
"What do you mean it will all be over?" Piper asked.
"Once the reactor breaks down," said Malcolm, "the safety mechanism will malfunction. But the reactor will continue to operate. If the right mechanism gives out, say the coolant or something like that, the reactor will go critical. Within a very short time the reactor will overload and you'll have nothing less than a nuclear bomb going off. Not very big only about five megatons or so.
"Only the electromagnetic fields surrounding the device will magnify the explosion. It will radiate outward at an alarming rate. And the farther it radiates the stronger it will become. It will be like the ripples caused when you toss a pebble in a pool of water."
"And it will destroy everything?" Piper asked.
"Pretty much," said Malcolm. "But we don't have to worry about that. The machine is designed to last for a very long time. By the time it starts to break down you and I are going to be long dead."
"You sound like you don't plan to do anything about it," said Piper.
"I don't know what we can do," said Malcolm. "There's no way to get past the electromagnetic shielding. And that's the only way to shut down the device."
"So that's it?" Piper asked. "You're giving up?"
"Hardly," said Malcolm. "I'm going to do everything I can to find a solution. But it's not that easy. It took more than twenty-five years for us to get this far. It's not something I'm likely to solve overnight. It may take me a very long time if I ever do find a solution."
"I'm not waiting for whenever," said Piper. "Maybe there's a magical solution to this."
"Well I have to admire your enthusiasm," said Malcolm. "But you simply don't understand what we're up against. And some misplaced belief in magic isn't going to do us much good."
"Look," said Piper, "you don't believe I'm a witch. Fine. But I am. And believe me I've seen some pretty strange things. Plus I'm pretty resourceful at coming up with solutions to some difficult situations. If we work together we might be able to come up with something quickly."
"Can't say I disagree with that idea," said Malcolm. "It seems we're the only ones capable of doing anything at all. Everyone else is trapped between ticks of the clock, as it were. I just don't want you to get you hopes too high. I've been working on this for the last twelve years."
"All the same," said Piper, "there has to be a solution. We just have to figure out what it is. Where is this device that started all this?"
"It's in a warehouse a few blocks from here," said Malcolm. "State of the art security, for all the good it does now."
"Let's go have a look at it," said Piper. "I might get an idea how to deal with it if I saw it."
"Okay," said Malcolm, "but it won't do you any good."
"Let me be the judge of that," said Piper as they left the restaurant.
They headed down the street toward the warehouse. Piper kept glancing around expecting that a demon would suddenly pop out and attack. She knew, of course, that was impossible under the current circumstances.
The warehouse was just as Piper expected. It was one large open space. Filling one wall was a variety of machines. Sitting in the center of the room was the device Malcolm had told her about. It was cylindrical and about eight feet wide and six feet in height. A large rod type item stuck out the top of the item an additional five feet. A light was pulsating on the top of the rod.
Several feet from the item to one side was what could only be described as the control panel Malcolm had mentioned. It looked the control panel of a jet airliner. There were dials and switches most of which Piper couldn't even identify.
There were also several people standing around the room. Nearly a dozen people stood at various machines intently interested in those machines. To one side was a man standing at a bank of computers. He seemed to be talking to someone but there was no one near him.
"That's it," said Malcolm. "Dr. Whitaker," he indicated the man who seemed to be talking to an invisible companion, "was starting to tell me something when the machine flashed and I was knocked back. After that everything was frozen."
"Very impressive," said Piper. "I'll bet all this cost a pretty penny."
"You have no idea how expensive research like this is," said Malcolm, looking at the control panel.
He seemed to be interested in a flashing light on the panel. He walked over and stood about four feet from the control panel peering at it intently. Piper walked over stood next to him, looking at the flashing light. She looked around but saw nothing else unusual.
"Why are you standing here?" she asked. "Why not just stand next to the control panel."
Malcolm reached out and put his hand up. It touched an invisible barrier that became visible but transparent as he touched it. It was a bluish-white energy field that reminded Piper of Leo's orbing. It didn't seem to cause Malcolm any pain but it resisted his efforts to push through it. Malcolm pulled a pocket calculator out of his pocket and began to use it furiously.
"This is the outer perimeter of the energy barrier," said Malcolm. "I was standing right there at the control panel when the barrier went up. It knocked me back about twenty feet."
"Okay," said Piper. "You seem very interested in that flashing light."
"It's the warning light for the coolant on the reactor," said Malcolm. "It's dropped seven percent since this happened."
"And that's bad," said Piper.
"Yes," said Malcolm. "According to my calculations, the coolant will drop below the save level in less than fourteen hours. When that happens, the reactor will go critical. And then it will destroy everything."
