"Open this damn door!" James was banging on John's room. "Open up, or I'll break it down!"
The journey into the world of Morpheus was abruptly interrupted, and John returned to reality. He opened his eyes — the sterile walls were painted red. The siren blared loudly, but the tales of Morpheus were louder. John wondered how he hadn't heard it before. A voice from the speakers, where music had just played, monotonously repeated, "All personnel must evacuate the Fracture Compound." John jumped out of bed, opened the wardrobe, and quickly donned the Wanderer's suit. James was still trying to break down the door. As the suit was fully put on, the fabric on his chest melded together, becoming Jonathan's second skin. He glanced at the small case in the corner of the wardrobe. Inside lay the Wanderers' weapon — the Pulsar, designed for use only in emergencies and for protection during journey. Without hesitation, John touched the display on the case. A soft beep sounded, quickly drowned out by the siren. The case opened, and John grabbed the gun. The cold metal touched his hand. A strange sensation enveloped him, as if something should be feared within the Compound. He had practiced shooting dozens of times, but now he held a combat weapon. The Pulsar was made for him. As soon as he clenched his hand, the weapon's systems activated and established a connection with his implant. Bringing the Pulsar to his belt, the holster quickly connected the weapon to the suit, as if it had always been there.
"What happened?" John asked as he opened the door. James, dressed in the same suit, stood in the doorway with a gun at his waist.
"Don't you hear?" James pointed to the speakers. "All personnel must evacuate the Fracture Compound. Emitters will activate in four minutes."
"Emitters?" A cold fear gripped John, as if an invisible hand had touched his shoulder.
"Do you understand what that means?" One word raced through John's mind: "Collapse."
"Drop everything and get down fast!" James shouted, running to the elevator, but then he remembered the danger. The elevator was unreliable in such situations. Any mistake in the system could mean the end.
"The stairs!" John ran up to him. Looking back, he saw Alexa and Samantha burst out of their rooms. Dressed in suits with Pulsars at their waists, they looked ready for anything.
"The stairs will take too long," Alexa said, gripping the handle of her weapon. The holster vanished, and before John could ask, she aimed at the window and fired four shots. The destructive impact of the Pulsar shattered the glass, and shards rained down.
"Thirty floors below us. It'll take no more than a minute to descend, and reaching the emitter range will take another two minutes. That's the fastest way," Alexa said, glancing at the broken window.
"You're crazy!" James turned around. "We'll crash!"
"You're a hungover idiot," Alexa snapped. "The suits will protect us."
"She's right," Samantha interjected. "Our suits are equipped with a personal shield system. It can protect us from toxic atmosphere, cold, and fire. The shield can even protect against bullets. If we redirect energy to the lower part of the suit, the energy field will absorb the impact from the ground."
James stared at her in shock. Who would have thought that such a modest girl hid such madness behind her mask?
"How do we do that?" John broke the silence.
"Activate your personal shield and redirect the energy," Samantha replied, touching her forearm. A bright blue menu appeared on the fabric. A few quick finger movements, and a barely visible distortion appeared around her body. She ran and jumped out the window, glass shards falling behind her. "You forgot?"
"All personnel must evacuate the Fracture Complex. Emitters will activate in three minutes."
"If the dome drops sooner, we'll die here," Alexa addressed the guys standing by the elevator. At that moment, the cabin reached the upper floors, but as expected, the electricity went out, and the elevator stalled between floors.
Without wasting time, Alexa repeated Samantha's actions and jumped out the window. James and John exchanged glances. Less than three minutes remained until the emitters activated. Once the energy field enveloped the complex, no one would be able to leave the danger zone.
"As if there's a choice!" James activated the energy field and jumped after her.
John approached the edge of the window and saw the others below. Surprisingly, Alexa's plan worked — the energy field absorbed the impact, and they remained unharmed. Now it was Jonathan's turn.
Touching his forearm, John activated the shield, and a barely noticeable distortion ran across his body. The suit melded with him, and now he felt three layers of skin — his own, the suit's, and the shield's.
Running, he leaped out the window. The Fracture Tower was left behind, and the ground approached inexorably. He felt the resistance of the air. It felt like thousands of tiny needles touched his body. There was no pain, but the tingling sensation was present. It was a strange feeling — when everything around slows down, even though only a few seconds had passed. He had experienced this feeling once before... and now it was back.
John landed on the ground, and the tiles beneath his feet cracked from the focused energy's impact. The Wanderers rushed toward the exit of the complex, trying to run as fast as possible. "All personnel must evacuate the Fracture Compound, emitters activation," the voice echoed from the loudspeakers installed on the light poles.
"Run faster, damn it!" Alexa cursed. "We won't make it."
John looked up. A thin layer of energy appeared over the complex, slowly descending to the ground. The emitters were so powerful that even from the ground, one could see the dome gradually enveloping the Compound. John sped up. During training, they had been taught to run at their limits, and John had passed that test, but the other wanderers were still faster. Even James, who was larger than John, easily outpaced him.
Ahead appeared the main gates leading outside the danger zone. The energy dome was almost at the ground now, just a few meters left. Alexa crossed the boundary first, followed by James, ducking low. Samantha, sliding on the ground, barely made it after them. At that moment, the emitters activated, and the dome completely enclosed the Fracture Compound.
John pressed his hands against the energy, so dense it could withstand a collapse. It felt like an invisible wall, lightly tickling his skin. The Wanderers turned around, realizing that one of them had stayed inside the impact zone. The other trainees and scientists were also outside the complex.
The sunlight passed calmly through the energy shield, but it was no longer of any help to John. He pounded his fists against the field, shouting, but the sounds did not penetrate the barrier. The complex was prepared for self-destruction.
"No!" the young man cried out. So close. He was so close to salvation. Just a moment more, and he would be standing on the other side of the dome. Here, he was destined to die. Another one would perish in the Brooks Family. His scream went unheard. Nothing could escape the Fracture Compound.
Samantha approached the barrier and met John's gaze, his eyes filled with despair, acknowledging his imminent demise. She extended her hand, touching the invisible wall. At that moment, a thought flickered in John's mind — a bright idea, like a flash illuminating his mind. "If survival is not possible, there's a chance to stop the collapse," he thought. The source of the destruction was in the Fracture Machine and the Prime Energy Reservoir, which were very close. There, in the Machine Hall, Martha Crockford was trying to save her creation.
"Is this really the end?" flashed through the Wanderer's mind. "Is this how the story ends?" What if he didn't make it in time? Something powerful squeezed his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. But isn't this what he would face on his journey? Each new world holds dangers. Some would threaten his life. But that is the fate of a traveler through worlds. And now was the time for the final exam.
John rebounded from the field and dashed back toward the center of the complex. The siren fell silent— the dead do not need a warning of death. He ran past the tower where Alexa had previously broken a window, letting air and sunlight inside. Normally, there were several dozen people in the inner area. Now, the Compound seemed utterly empty. Only a few people led by Martha Crockford were in the Fracture Machine Hall, with the Wanderer running along the empty paths.
Before him was the road to the main hall. A massive metal dome concealed the Machine Hall, from the top of which a metal column stretched upward. The metal gleamed in the sunlight. Time was running out — the collapse could happen at any moment.
John burst into the Machine building. The corridor was far from sterile, but he paid no attention to it, rushing forward. Chaos reigned in the hall. Several scientists desperately tried to halt the destructive process. Martha Crockford stood, pressing both hands against the main control panel. The panels sparked and turned off due to overload. Several control screens had already gone dark.
The Wanderer saw fear in the eyes of the people, but also the determination to do everything necessary to prevent the explosion. Martha turned and saw John.
"What are you doing here?" she shouted. "Get out! Evacuation is underway!"
This was the first time John had seen Martha in such fury.
"The evacuation is complete," he replied calmly.
"Professor, the energy level in the Prime energy disk is critical," one of the scientists reported, ignoring John's presence.
Martha again focused on the control panel, trying to stabilize the energy flows inside the Machine, but the system was too overloaded. At that moment, the main panel finally shut down. She stepped back, watching sparks fly from the overloaded energy nodes.
"John," she addressed him, "go to the center of the hall and open the hatch. There will be a switch! When I say, flip it. We'll close the energy supply system! Meanwhile, I'll pull out the rod connecting the energy disks. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Professor," John replied, although he didn't fully grasp which rod she meant or why he needed to flip the switch. "What happened?"
"I don't know. Tests were normal, as always. Everything was fine. At some point, energy began to accumulate in the disks. Go!"
Martha quickly issued commands to the other staff, who were to disconnect cables and redirect energy to the rod at the right moment. John was already at the switch, ready to act on command. Everyone was in position, waiting for her signal.
While waiting for Professor Crockford's signal, Johnathan looked up. He saw threads of energy forming around the Fracture Machine and the Prime Reservoir, slowly appearing and disappearing. Was this what the Cradle staff had seen during the activation of the Rift Gates? So beautiful. Pure energy danced before them, marking their impending end. This was also what the Compound staff outside the dome had witnessed.
"Now!" Martha shouted.
The Wanderer flipped the switch. One of the staff members yanked a cable from the generator, while another severed the connection to the Prime Reservoir. Sparks blinded them. Martha, in turn, wrapped her arms around the valve, twisted it, and pulled. The rod hidden behind the valve inside the Machine resisted with difficulty. Fortunately, the personal shield disk strapped to her chest not only provided protection but also partially enhanced the strength of the wearer. After a few moments, the woman managed to pull out the rod. It snagged the first energy disk, causing further damage. Due to the unimaginable amount of energy in the disks, as Martha pulled out the rod, she created an opening through which energy burst forth. It coursed through the entire structure and penetrated the professor's hands. Everyone in the Machine Hall was required to wear protection during the trial.
At one point, the base of the Prime Reservoir, connected to the Machine by cables, lit up red. Though the control panels had been turned off, it was a sign that the failure had affected the entire system.
When the rod left the Machine and crashed to the floor with a bang, the opening vanished. Instead of a keyhole, an open door appeared. All the energy surged toward the one person blocking the way. The energy slammed into Martha, throwing her against the wall. The disk on Martha's body had almost exhausted its charge. John watched as pure energy tore through Martha's shield layer by layer. He feared the shield would fall before the energy inside the Machine was depleted. If so, the professor's body would be smashed against the wall.
Due to overloads within the protective disk, the casing began to crack and fall apart. The lights on the personal shield were flashing yellow, indicating that the energy level was running low.
The pressure on Martha reached the final layer, and the woman fell to the floor. Energy left the Machine and dissipated into space. For a few seconds, thin lines of dense energy appeared and disappeared in the air. John and the other staff rushed to the woman. Part of her clothing was burned, but she was alive. She was breathing steadily, her eyes open as she looked up. Martha didn't even notice that the energy had scorched the metal around her body in the wall. The disk on her chest went out, and the shield fell. The woman pushed her madness back into its cage and locked it away. After all, only a madman would take such a step.
Just a few more seconds, and Martha Crockford's body parts would have exploded across the hall of the Fracture Machine, splattering blood on everyone present. Martha turned her gaze to John, standing beside her, and nodded at him. At that moment, everyone played one of the most important roles. One mistake would have triggered a collapse that could destroy the Fracture Compound, leaving no project and no chance to find the answer to the question: what lies in the Center of Primordial Space.