Well guys, this is the end of "Project Bifrost". It has been my pleasure to read and write with all of you.
There will be a sequel, so watch out! The name of the sequel will be "Project Bifrost: the Dark War".
Chapter 16:
When Hiccup entered a heavily guarded room of Charleston Air Force Base, accompanied by Gobber, a lieutenant, and two armed soldiers, he could still feel the faint pain coming up from his stomach.
It has been three months since that day. Hiccup healed his wound in two weeks and he returned to work in Muspelheim after three weeks. DPA gave them a very positive review on Project Bifrost, but Hiccup let Emma take care of the aftermath. He didn't want to deal with it anymore.
The police found Fishlegs in the basement of that house. He was beaten and endured days of torture. Another woman was there as well, but she was dead, with a hole on her forehead.
Sam decided to bring Fishlegs back to Asgard and leave the English division to someone else. Sam thought Fishlegs's return might cheer Hiccup up a bit, but that didn't work. Everyday Hiccup wondered in his lab, like a lost ghost in the human world. Gobber assigned him some light work. He would do it, but just with much less passion than before. Most of the time he would lock himself in his lab, doing something.
He didn't talk to anyone, except for some slight conversation with Fishlegs. Some of the older engineers had family members in the military, and also faced the loss of family members. They tried to help Hiccup out of his mental turmoil but Hiccup didn't listen to them. Each time when they wanted to start a conversation Hiccup would just murmur "my invention killed her".
"Just let us know what you need," the lieutenant said to Gobber before he went back to his work.
This visit wasn't for Hiccup. It was for Gobber. Muspelheim was Charleston Air Force Base's contracted technical support company, and Gobber was here today to renew some systems.
They stopped before a large, transparent cylinder. It was at least twice of Hiccup's height, like an enlarged energy can in those video games. At least a dozen wires and pipes were connected to the top of the cylinder.
A person was inside the cylinder. Her body was surrounded by another capsule-like plastic cover. Her skin was covered with a thin layer of frost and different wires were connected to her back. Her eyes were open, but they were soulless, staring blankly at the front.
The person was, of course, Astrid.
"Our technicians arrived just five minutes after she was frozen. We used liquid nitrogen and that capsule to protect her body from outer air," a sergeant walked out from the corner.
"That's the base's chief engineer," Gobber said as he opened his bag and took out a computer and some cables and connected the computer to the cylinder's controlling CPU.
"You are here to fix this?" Hiccup asked Gobber.
"Yeah, the system needs constant renewal due to how her body reacts," Gobber answered as he typed some codes into the computer.
"I… I'm not an expert in human freezing," Hiccup confessed.
"That capsule," the sergeant pointed at the second protection layer around Astrid's body. "Creates an atmosphere very close to a vacuum, and it'll adjust the air pressure accordingly. We use liquid nitrogen to keep her cold. In there, no matter how fragile her body is, she won't be affected by…"
"Is she dead or not?" Hiccup interrupted him, still staring at the lifeless Astrid.
"That's a tricky question," the sergeant scratched his head. "Biologically she is dead. No heartbeat, no pulse. Her body temperature is now negative 150 degrees Celsius, so that means her blood is frozen as well as the brain. But the reason we kept her in this capsule is that there is a chance of unfreezing her."
"Like those in movies? Put someone in a freezer and wake them up thousands of years later?" Hiccup asked.
"That technically could work," Gobber added. "Technically."
"So don't expect too much. She is also here for research purposes." the sergeant continued. "She could be woken up, but the chance is really low. The slightest touch on her body will instantly disrupt her molecular state."
"What research purposes?" Hiccup asked.
"You know, human body reaction toward extreme temperature and all those. The data we collect from her might help us deal with cold temperatures in the future."
"This is Charleston, you don't get cold temperatures," Hiccup said.
"Well… it's under the order of DARPA."
"Fuck ARPA. What actual power do they have anyway," Gobber blurted out. He still referred to them as ARPA since when he started working for Muspelheim DARPA was still called ARPA. "ARPA should mean A Really Pathetic Area."
"Uhh…" the sergeant scratched his head again. "I'm from DARPA."
"Now that makes sense," Gobber chuckled.
Hiccup walked toward the cylinder. He gently laid his palm on the glass, staring at the girl inside. Her hair used to be smooth and soft, but now they turned into fragile frozen strings.
If he didn't pick the path of becoming an engineer, Astrid wouldn't be laying in this can today. He still remembered that when they were ten, Astrid suggested they should become athletes. Astrid was an excellent runner and Hiccup had talents in modern archery. If he took her advice, now they might be traveling from tournaments to tournaments. Tired, but they would be together and alive.
A single drop of tear rolled down his cheek. When it landed on the ground, it shattered like a crystal, reflecting the cold white lights. Hiccup rarely cried after he lost his father. He knew crying didn't help at all. The only way to solve problems was to get stronger.
Hiccup wasn't rich, but he was wealthy. As the top engineer in Muspelheim, he had a six-digit annual salary, not including the 10% he got from each deal. He didn't need a lot of money to live, but now he would use all of his money to exchange for Astrid's life.
"Don't leave me," he murmured under his breath. "I can't imagine a world without you."
The sergeant waited quietly. He already knew the story of this young engineer and that girl.
Losing someone you love is hard, but when your loved one is before your eyes but you can't talk or touch her is harder.
After typing in the last line of code, Gobber closed his computer, unplugged the cables, and put his equipment back into his bag.
"Let's go. We still have things to do in Asgard." Gobber patted Hiccup's shoulder.
Hiccup nodded. But before he turned back and walked away with Gobber, he thought he saw something coming out from those two lifeless eyes.
"Wait," he said. Then turning toward the sergeant. "Do you have an infrared camera?"
"Yeah, why?" the sergeant replied, puzzled.
"I need to use it, now!"
The sergeant thought about it, and then he turned to the shelf behind him and took down the camera.
Hiccup grabbed the infrared camera from his hand and pointed it at Astrid's head. The image was dark blue as if it was a picture of the deep ocean. But in the middle of the image, Hiccup saw an area color-coded as light blue.
A temperature difference.
A person submerged in liquid nitrogen couldn't heat up himself using only his body heat. But the infrared camera captured the faint image of a heat source.
"There is heat in her brain!" Hiccup shouted as if he had discovered a new continent.
"But that's impossible! She is covered with liquid nitrogen!" the sergeant said.
"That means she could be woken up, and the chance is huge!" Hiccup cried, throwing the camera back to the sergeant and ran toward Gobber, who was already waiting for him outside. "I can find a way to wake her up!"
"No kid," Gobber shook his head. "Even though there is heat coming from her body, it doesn't mean her organ would survive the defrost. The technology today can not preserve the organs under such a drastic temperature change. And if you, for some miracle, heat up her body to normal temperature without disrupting her molecular state, her blood vessels and brain won't survive the process."
Hiccup stared at Gobber, like a kid whose parents told him Santa Claus doesn't exist.
"It's over, Hiccup," Gobber sighed. "You have to look into the future. I bet if Astrid could think right now, she wants you to move on in life and not be stuck on this small incident."
"I can find a way, Gobber," Hiccup said softly but with great strength.
When Gobber and Hiccup left, the lieutenant walked into the room again. The sergeant was still there. Two more people showed up, and they were wearing uniforms with the letters "DARPA" on the front.
"The boy still has hope in him," the lieutenant said.
"I guess they were really close," the sergeant shrugged.
"You know the chance of waking her up is high. You are an engineer and a biologist," the lieutenant's tone was harsh this time. "Orders from the top, we need to keep her frozen no matter what. Her scientific research value is higher than our prediction."
The sergeant nodded, looking at the cylinder.
"So we are turning into underground research facilities, huh? I'm a scientist, and I'm not people like you."
"But you are a soldier as well."
"What's the plan?" the sergeant replied after a few seconds.
"DARPA will take over from here. You are going to assist their work and I'll take care of the security. Our contract with Muspelheim is over. They are our enemy now."
"Just because a boy wants to wake up his girlfriend?"
"No, we overlooked Samuel Timothy. Muspelheim is planning something bigger. Project Bifrost is just a diversion."
The end.
*ta da!*
Watch out for "Project Bifrost: the Dark War", coming soon!