"Leonard Speaking"
'Leonard Thinking'
Warehouse, Washington DC
Leonard turned the key to his warehouse, his first independent home, where Chaldea was first conceived and developed. As he looked at the bare bones warehouse, a trace of familiarity and nostalgia arose in him, like coming home after a long trip. With a clack of his cane, he led William Joyce inside the warehouse.
William looked at the warehouse with doubt. When Leonard had proposed the project, he had assured William that they would have a fully functional lab for the experiment, with cutting edge technology to support the research. Now, when his expectations met reality, he felt that reality was a bit… underwhelming.
William asked, "Is this it? Doesn't look like the lab you promised."
Leonard grinned, "You underestimate this place. My best experiments and technology were developed here. Now, I have dedicated bases around the world, with new ones under construction, but this is the place where Chaldea underwent its genesis."
As the two walked into the warehouse, Leonard placed a small device near his ear. Suddenly, CBots fell from the ceiling, quickly cleaning away all the accumulated dust. Under William's gaping gaze, Leonard teased, "I am sorry, did you want to clean that up?"
William closed his mouth, shaking his head in exasperation. Under the lights, Leonard quickly used CBots to move some furniture, while arranging the floor to demarcate the research area. Pointing at the space, Leonard started, "We will use that space for our Plasma Collider. It should allow us to find if the Chronon Field even exists or not. Even if it doesn't, we will still be able to stabilize the reaction with exotic energy barrier, at least for a while."
William nodded, before asking, "How will you power this? We can't exactly draw electricity from the grid without alerting the authorities. I don't think they will support, or even allow us to experiment with nuclear fusion so close to the city."
Leonard, who was arranging his PC answered absently, "We will not conduct fusion here. This warehouse will only be used to research Chronon Field and exotic energy. Once we have a way to access and extract that energy, we will store some of it, and start the fusion experiment at a Chaldea facility called ARK in Norway."
As the two arranged for the warehouse to be functional again, the day slowly waned as night approached. Leonard and William sat in chairs, looking at the neatly arranged warehouse. While Leonard was not even out of breath, William was tired, lying slouched on his chair. Leonard looked at the side, amused by his state.
William looked at Leonard, tired and annoyed, "We are not setting the collider by ourselves. We need more people."
Leonard looked deeply in thought, "Hmm, I suppose you are right. I will invite Paige and her team to work with us. Now, let's get something to eat. Are you okay with seafood?"
Soon, under friendly banter, the two scientists went to have dinner.
A Week Later
A minivan followed by a large truck turned towards the roads leading to the outskirts of Washington DC. Dr. Paige Swanson, reputed in the field of physics and mathematics guided the driver to bring the car towards the warehouse. She looked back to the four assistants, young students with great potential and ability. Every assistant was handpicked from the best students joining Chaldea.
As the car moved closer, Karen Liu, a mathematician from China, couldn't bear the suspense and asked, "Dr. Swanson, do you know what project we will be working on?"
Her teammate Natasha, a pretty redhead from Russia, said in a broad Russian accent, "Why does it matter? We would never have left the Quantum Repeater experiment if this experiment was not significant. We will learn more when we get there."
Paige interrupted the brewing argument, "Don't worry, we will learn more about the experiment later on. Normally, Leonard would not interrupt my experiment if this one was not significantly helpful. Besides, the Quantum Repeater experiment has suffered a bottleneck. Maybe this one could inspire us."
Natasha grinned with amusement, "If only we were not accompanied by the Gus pair. If we weren't dealing with your shenanigans, we would have already succeeded."
At the mention of their names, Gustin Grant and Burton Guster, a pair of young engineers from MIT lowered their heads in shame.
Gustin, a young white man with short brown hair and a thin, slightly handsome face, sighed, "I told you, the last experiment was not our fault. And don't call us the Gus Pair."
Burton, a bald black man with a well formed face agreed, "Exactly, calling us a pair would make people mistake us for having similar looks. I am much more handsome."
Gustin bristled, "Oh please Gus, if I wasn't such a good engineer, I would have been a famous movie star. Maybe I would have even taken that TV show role they offered me."
Burton grinned, "You could have been a TV star Gus, but I have been a model. What does that say about my handsomeness?"
As the two kept arguing about who was more handsome, the car stopped at the entrance to the warehouse. Soon, the drivers left the scientists and the truck full of machine parts at the warehouse, leaving in the minivan. As the two knocked at the door, William opened the entry gate allowing the team to enter the warehouse.
The warehouse had been cleaned, however, the floor was littered with thin batteries, with Leonard fixing the batteries together. Seeing Paige with her team, Leonard smiled and greeted the team, "Hello everyone, thank you for coming. Sorry to tear you away from your experiment. We will be done in a while, after which we can have dinner. Do make yourselves at home. There are some bunk beds in the loft. Please pick your bed. The bathroom is near the left wall."
As the team went to the loft, Leonard approached Paige and embraced her. He whispered, "I am so glad that you came."
Paige smiled, bringing her arms around him, "You called didn't you. I had to come."
As the two kept hugging, William, who was connecting the batteries, spoke, "If you are done hugging the girl, let's complete the battery assembly. I don't want to delay dinner like yesterday."
Leonard laughed and introduced the two, "William, this is Dr. Paige Swanson, a particle physicist specializing in quantum fields. She used to work for CERN. And Paige, this is William, a theoretical physicist and engineer, specializing in Exotic Matter and Energy. The experiment we are trying to conduct is based on his research."
As the two greeted each other, Paige's team came down from the loft. Watching Leonard and William arrange the batteries, Gus Pair came over to help. With their help, the work was finished quickly.
Leonard clapped his hands, remarking, "Looks like we finished on time. Let's get some takeout. We will have to assemble the Collider after that. What does everyone want to have?"
Karen and the Gus Pair quickly said, "Chinese food."
Natasha scrunched her nose in distaste, "Why must it be Chinese food again? We usually eat Chinese food for takeout."
Karen stuck her tongue out, "Hah, majority rules in this country."
Leonard smiled deviously, "Well, I don't know about you, but I am craving some salmon. What about you William, it's been a week since we had fish."
William caught on to that, "Fish does sound delightful. How about we have some fish stew as well."
Paige laughed and added, "While I would have loved a steak, I suppose a grilled fish will suffice for today."
Natasha laughed, "I love grilled salmon as well. Ha! Take that."
Sticking her tongue out just like Karen, Natasha joined the seafood group, completing their majority. With defeated eyes, the three Chinese food lovers had to accept their seafood dinner.
The Next Day
The team slowly woke up to the unfamiliar ceiling of the warehouse. The night before was spent in getting to know William and Leonard. It still surprised the team that Leonard, the leader of a global scientific organization would live at a place like this for experimentation efficiency. Everyone on the team saw Leonard in a favourable light.
But the favourable light did not dispel the discomfort of the bunk beds, or the barely sufficient bathroom facility. The scientists did not want to live at the warehouse any longer, but the thought of Leonard's effort in setting up a living space for them, kept them at the warehouse.
Paige was the first to wake up. She stood up from the bed, stretching her back to realign her spine, before waking up her team. With bleary eyes and tired faces, the team of five got out of the lot.
Leonard was standing near a large metal cube, watching as William maneuvered the truck towards the gate of the warehouse. Paige approached Leonard with a questioning gaze, "Are you setting the Collider? Have you called someone to move the equipment?"
Leonard smiled as William opened the back of the truck, revealing heavy metal pipes, intricate machines and precision devices. He turned to Paige and answered, "I am setting the Collider. But I haven't called anyone else. I believe we can unload the components and set up the Collider ourselves. Anyone on your team wants to lend a hand?"
Before the team could deny, Natasha said in her broad Russian accent, "The Gus Pair should help."
Gustin was outraged, "Why are you pushing us?"
Natasha grinned, "Aren't you strong men? Do you want to see women do this hard work?"
Burton showed his anger, loudly arguing with Natasha when Leonard laughed, "Ok, I see that you are worried about it. I will see to it that the Collider is set up. If anyone wants to help in between, be my guest."
William quickly got out of the truck, rubbing his head, "Are you sure we don't need any help? I won't be able to move much."
Leonard waved him away before placing a device over his ear. With a single thought, the large metal cube moved, a tendril approaching the batteries, while the other sections moved towards the truck. Slowly, large sections of the Collider came out, as if on a conveyor belt. The two engineers cursed at that moment, while every girl looked dumbfounded. Paige recovered quickly and asked, "What is this Leonard?"
Leonard, still concentrating on the task, answered offhandedly, "I call it Null. It is an advanced form of my CBots. It is capable of utilizing any form of energy for its function. Unfortunately, their battery life is limited. Otherwise, it would be like magic.
Karen whispered, "It still looks like magic."
Leonard turned to the team, asking, "So, anybody wants to try?"
Before the Gus Pair could run and try this thing, Natasha approached Leonard and said, "Professor Hofstadter, can I try this?"
Leonard smiled and gave her the transmitter. She wore it around her ear and tried to manipulate Null. Suddenly, Null, that was full of activity, seemed sluggish, dropping some of the pipes, unable to hold its form. Natasha tried to manipulate it like Leonard, but no matter what she did, Null remained inert or showed little movement at certain sections. Natasha tried until her head felt a splitting headache, without any success. Removing the transmitter, she heaved a sigh and said, "That was too hard. I felt like my head was a snare drum."
Burton smugly said, "You are just not skilled enough. Let me show you how it's done."
Soon, Paige's entire team was trying their hand at controlling Null, with minimal success and varying levels of discomfort.
Finally, it was Paige's turn. Before wearing the transmitter, she asked Leonard, "What are the rules?"
Leonard grinned, "It follows basic physics, it is highly adaptable with any form of energy, and it can change some of its basic properties. Paige nodded, before wearing the transmitter.
Null was back online, as various tendrils captured parts of the Collider, smoothly moving them forward. However, soon Paige started to feel discomfort as her skin paled and her eyes became bloodshot. With a sigh, she removed the transmitter and said, "It takes a lot of effort."
Leonard laughed, taking back the transmitter and explaining, "When we drink a glass of water, we never think of how the molecules of water cling to the glass and flow, rolling over each other. Adhesion and Cohesion are physical phenomena. In the case of Null, these physical phenomena are designed and calculated by the human brain. If it was not strenuous, I would eat my cane."
Soon, under Leonard's smooth operation, Null assembled the entire Collider in record time. The team gawked at the speed before shaking their heads. They had tried to use Null, they knew how hard it was. Yet, Leonard made it look effortless.
Leonard turned to the team and explained, "What we will do now is make a miniature black hole. Based on my calculations, this should be doable with enough acceleration. Once we do that, we will try to stabilize it."
William looked unsure at that. The conditions were not ideal, but Leonard chose this place. If it were up to him, he would have preferred a more reliable setup.
Karen whispered, "Can we even do this? Miniature black holes are theoretical right now."
Leonard explained, "It is possible. High energy collisions can create exotic matter. Instead of mass, the black hole works on energy density."
Paige asked, "Are you sure about it? Stabilizing a black hole, even a miniature one, has inherent risks."
Leonard reassured her, "I know, but this experiment is crucial. If we achieve this, we may be able to solve our energy crisis, maybe even unlock higher dimensions."
Leonard pointed at a stack of batteries, "Those will be enough to power the Collider enough to create the black hole. Once we do that, we have to stabilize it. I just hope we can do this quickly. Miniature black holes decay very quickly."
After a quick meal, the team started their experiments. No one would have guessed that this one experiment would change the world forever.
AN: Done. Another chapter completed. This chapter was delayed slightly due to some tasks at my job. For that, I apologize. Due to some issues, I have decided to shift the update schedule to Saturday instead of Friday.
Support me on Patreon at patreon.com/SparksNFlames