After the drill conducted by Professor Martha Crockford at 10 a.m., the students and other personnel returned to their rooms and laboratories. The professor had strongly urged them not to discuss the reasons behind the evacuation of everyone present in the Fracture Machine Hall at the time. Jonathan Brooks headed to his room, passing the broken window from which he and other Wanderers had jumped just a few hours earlier. Alexa followed him upstairs, convinced the evacuation had been triggered by something more serious than a mere drill. She questioned John, but he remained silent. He didn't know if his silence was due to the professor's request or simply his reluctance to speak.
John pressed his palm against the panel of his room, and the door swung open. Alexa placed her hand on his shoulder.
"John," the young man turned around. "What happened in the Machine Hall?" Alexa asked one last time. She knew he wouldn't answer, and in that case, she would head to Martha Crockford's office to ask the Professor herself. Still, she hoped John would give her a reply.
"Alexa," the Wanderer inhaled deeply, "I don't know what exactly happened — they were so close to death."
"What does that mean?" Alexa finally got a fragment of the information Martha was trying to hide.
"Something went wrong during the Machine test."
"Is it damaged?" Alexa leaned in.
"I don't know, but I think Professor Crockford will explain everything soon, and..."
John didn't get to finish his sentence before a signal went off on the Wanderers' Pulses, and a message about a meeting in the main hall, where they had just held a banquet the day before, appeared on their forearms. The Wanderers lowered their gazes and read the message.
"I told you," John looked into Alexa's eyes. They both understood this wasn't a good sign.
"This is urgent," Alexa continued, "we need to go."
John hadn't even entered his room before they had to leave again. He pressed his palm on the panel once more. The door closed with the sound of a lock. The Wanderers walked back to the elevator and called it. With a quick glance, Alexa looked at the shattered window. She wondered if anyone knew what had happened on this floor. Did anyone know they had jumped from the 30th floor? And that their energy shields had saved them from hitting the ground. Professor Martha Crockford should be proud of the suits' development, as they had been used for their intended purpose for the first time.
The elevator doors opened, and the Wanderers stepped inside. James and Samantha hadn't gone to the top of the Fracture Tower, so they were likely already in the hall. When the elevator reached the ground floor, John and Alexa found themselves in the labyrinth of sterile corridors again. One of them led to the main hall. They walked through these corridors every day, visiting other parts of the Compound, always followed by the mysterious sterility. But that day, the sterility was gone. In its place lingered anxiety, excitement, and even a hint of fear. All this was created by unfamiliar scents that couldn't be felt but were inhaled by everyone passing through the labyrinth that day.
Finally, the Wanderers entered the hall. The tables were still set, but the dishes and alcohol had disappeared. The white tablecloths concealed a strange stillness. Their sterility was gone. The windows were wide open, but the sunlight was not gentle, not caressing the walls with caring rays. It was harsh. The sun didn't care about the Fracture Compound or those inside it. Confetti scattered across the floor clung to their boots. In the main hall of the Fracture Tower, the ghost of peace, joy, and possibly even happiness that had enveloped the project staff the day before was slowly fading away.
Professor Martha Crockford stood at the tribune. John noticed that she had already changed clothes, and the burned fabric was gone. Martha was rubbing her chest, and the burn from the protective ring likely still ached, though she had already applied pain-relieving ointment. James and Samantha, as Alexa had expected, were already in the hall. They were wearing Wanderer suits, with pistols fastened to each of their belts.
"I would like to say 'Good afternoon,' but unfortunately, I cannot," Martha greeted the Wanderers as they entered the hall.
"What happened?" Alexa asked, worried. She saw the look in the Professor's eyes. A battle was raging in Martha's mind — despair and fear clashed with madness. And no one, not even Martha herself, could know what would happen if either side won.
"Take a seat," Martha motioned towards the chairs still covered in confetti.
James and Samantha had already taken their seats. John approached a chair, brushed off the remnants of the previous day's celebration, and slowly sat down.
"As you may have guessed, the drill a few hours ago was not just a drill," Martha began her speech. Her confident mask was completely cracked with despair. "For reasons unknown, during the latest test, the Machine malfunctioned. The energy disks failed, and power from the generators began to accumulate in the Prime Disk. I had to initiate an evacuation procedure and activate the energy field emitters, so that, in the worst-case scenario, the explosion would only destroy the Compound."
"But why?" James asked, but Martha raised her hand, and he fell silent.
"Were you trying to create a fracture?" Samantha lifted her head. "Our reactor can't create a controlled fracture. The process is unstable."
"During the tests, Samantha, we used our reactor every time to create a fracture. We stopped just before it fully opened. But this time... something went wrong, and the fracture almost opened, while the energy disk stopped channeling energy to contain the unstable fracture and began storing it instead."
"What would have happened if..." Alexa began, but was interrupted.
"If the explosion had occurred," Martha pulled out a pack of cigarettes. There were only three left. She took one, slowly placing it between her lips. From her lab coat, she took out a lighter and flicked it. The flame lit the tobacco. "The fracture wouldn't have opened, but the explosion of our reactors could have destroyed the Compound, the Gardens of Eternity, and possibly even reached Arkan. Fortunately," Martha glanced at Jonathan Brooks, "the coordinated work of the team and perhaps some crazy ideas saved the situation. The explosion didn't happen. However, due to multiple system overloads, some energy nodes were destroyed, and the system is damaged."
"Can it be repaired?" Samantha Fisher leaned slightly forward.
"But more than that," Martha seemed not to hear the question, "the Prime Disk is completely destroyed. It's beyond repair. Creating a new one is impossible. The remaining energy disks served as auxiliary energy distribution units and, unfortunately, are not capable of bearing the full load during startup." Martha inhaled the cigarette smoke. It quickly filled her lungs, and she exhaled it shortly after. "Project Fracture is in jeopardy. The Machine cannot be launched at this time."
The Wanderers occasionally exchanged glances, unable to believe that everything had collapsed due to a single mistake. A mistake that even Martha Crockford couldn't understand.
"What are we going to do?" John asked.
Martha, holding the cigarette between her fingers, brought it to her lips again.
"The architecture of the Prime Disk is complex. Recreating it is impossible right now since the disk was made from a special alloy that was fully used in its creation. But," Martha dropped the cigarette butt to the floor and crushed it with her foot, "the same alloy, which provided the disk with perfect conductivity for the Machine and protection from destruction, was used to create the energy disk of the Rift Gates." Her words echoed through the Fracture Tower like thunder. The Wanderers began to understand where this was heading. "The Prime Disk of the Machine is a sort of replica of the Rift Gates' disk."
"But it exploded along with the Third District!" Alexa exclaimed.
"The Machine's energy disk was destroyed due to an error that disabled the disk's protective energy field. Also, our disk wasn't fully made from that alloy. Since we only had remnants of the alloy, we added substitutes to make up for the shortfall. We created a surrogate. But it wasn't enough," Martha Crockford looked out the window. "Miss Fisher," she addressed Samantha, "you've reviewed the Fracture Machine's schematics, and you know that the Prime Energy Disk, like the others, has a shield that protects it from the destructive energy of both our world and Primordial Space. Considering that the Rift Gates' disk was more durable and its energy field was activated, it's possible the collapse didn't destroy it. Which means the Rift Gates' disk is still intact and located in the ruins of the Cradle."
"You want us to go there? That's a restricted area. Do we even have permission for that?" James summed up the professor's speech in one simple question.
"No, Mr. Boucher," Martha looked at him. "But I want you, with your knowledge, training, and technology, to go there, find the disk, and bring it here. Setting it up will take a few hours. No more."
"But that place is full of those... what are they called?"
"Convergence Points," Samantha answered.
"I know, James. That's why you won't be going alone," Martha gestured, and three people in suits with rifles slung over their shoulders entered. "Ah, here you are!" she exclaimed, raising her hands. "After the incident," she continued to the Wanderers, "a center for anomaly research was established in the Third District. It was thanks to the center's staff that we learned about the Convergence Points. Meet Amanda, Manuel, and Ivan." The Wanderers nodded at them, but the trio paid them no mind. "After several years, the research center was closed. Amanda, Manuel, and Ivan were researchers who visited the Third District. Unfortunately, after the center's closure, all personnel were reassigned to other projects. They were part of the Cygnus team, but now they are employees of Project Fracture. I should note that Amanda helped design the emitters that were activated today for the first and, hopefully, the last time."
"And what does all this mean?" Alexa couldn't understand where this was heading.
"These people have experience traversing the Third District, and you've had survival training. Together, you can reach the Cradle and retrieve the disk."
"Do you really think that's possible? And why are they armed?" James stood up.
"Mr. Boucher, they are members of the Compound's security..."
"What are they protecting us from? The Last Ones?" James raised his hands.
"From enemies. And there are also marauders and smugglers, for whom the ruins of the Third District have become home. Now imagine you enter there, wearing technology that could be sold at a great price in the Tenth District. A lot of criminals would love to have your suit to escape from prison and destroy our world."
"So there are marauders there too?" James was outraged.
"Yes. My task is to ensure your safety, both here and in other worlds," Martha's mask cracked with despair. "And you shouldn't be upset that you will have protection there. But if the disk is not retrieved, the project will be shut down, and all your training, suits, and devices will be pointless. All these years will have been wasted. By protocol, I must report the incident to Marcus Grey in the Capitol, where the decision will be made to cancel the launch and shut down the project." Martha took the last cigarette from the pack and lit it. "If the launch is canceled, the project will not be approved for a third time. There will be no answers, no progress, nothing."
The Cygnus squad watched Martha. The squad leader, Amanda, sympathized with her on one hand, but also pitied the mad professor who had devoted her entire life to the project and had achieved nothing.
"But I can't provide you full security in the Third District. Instead, the Cygnus squad will take over. I can't order you to go there, so I'm giving you a choice: go in search of the energy disk, or shut down the project. The choice is yours."
"How long will it take?" John asked, peeking from behind Ivan, a large, intimidating man from the Fifth District, from the far north of the Consolidated Nation. He was possibly even bigger than James.
"About four days. You'll take the Hawk to the Third District, reach Corvin, and then you'll have to walk for about a day, maybe two. Find the Cradle, take the disk, and return the same way."
"Sounds easy," John remarked.
"Easy," the professor confirmed, "but very hard to accomplish."
"And what happens after?"
"After you return, I'll calibrate the disk and install it in the Machine."
"And the project will be complete," John added.
"While you're on your way, we'll be restoring the damaged energy nodes."
"Are you seriously going to go there?" James asked. He couldn't believe it. John was heading to a place that was once his home. A place that no longer existed. "You almost died today. Are you testing your luck?"
"So many years, James," John continued, "we've trained for so many years. We all have reasons to go to the Center. And now it's becoming impossible. It's in our hands. Besides, it's only three days. Easy, right?"
"Dying there is easy." James headed for the exit.
"The Wanderer's journey ends either at death or upon reaching the Center of Primordial Space," Alexa shouted after him, "we all have an end to our journey."
"But in other worlds. Not here."
"I'll talk to him," Samantha intervened after James had left the room.
"That's all I wanted to say," Professor Crockford concluded. "If you agree, the Hawk will be waiting for you on the launch platform in half an hour. The choice is yours, and the project's fate is in your hands." Martha finished her last cigarette. "You're dismissed."
The Wanderers and the Cygnus squad left the hall. Martha Crockford remained standing at the tribune , watching the midday sun light up the remnants of yesterday's celebration. She dropped her cigarette on the floor and crushed it underfoot. Sterility was no longer a concern. Chaos was taking over. Martha left the hall. The battle in her mind was over. The victor had been found.