Awaiting security station protocol transfer and authentication...
CLEAR
Waiting for input, entering idle diagnostic mode...
"Ah, very good. Very good!" proclaimed the man sitting at the terminal, watching the lines of computerized text print out on the screen while nervously brushing back the remains of his hair with hands.
The nametag clipped to his jacket read "Dr. Richard Viren", underneath which was a barcode pattern and the words "Class Six Clearance". A stylized logo is stamped in the corner, along with the abbreviation "F.O.R./C.U.S.".
After a brief clashing of metal, a second scientist looked up from a tangle of wires and other odd-ends coming off a massive vertical device which dominated the chamber. He wiped the sweat from his brow and adjusted his spectacles. He bore an identical ID card, but with the name "Gordon Tellea" and a line clarifying he was an "assistant".
"That do the trick?" Gordon called out over the humming of the machinery.
"Indeed it did, Gordon! The computer says that the field is now at 99% efficiency!" replied Richard, excited. "Quickly, seal that up and let's start the test!"
"Cool your jets, doc. I got everything strapped down." With that assurance, Gordon dashed over to the second console, bringing it out of idle mode.
"I shall now begin standard protective proceedures," Richard stated smartly. "It will take some minutes for the system to seal itself. At which point the automatic program will activate."
Both researchers typed in their security codes and let the automated systems begin their work. Layers of exotic protective materials slowly emerged from slots in the walls and locked into place between them and the energy field being produced by the machine.
Dr. Viren turned to Gordon and began speaking proudly, "I did tell you all about where I got the idea for this device, didn't I Gordon?"
"A million times, doc. Some old comic book from your childhood, yada yada yada."
"Not just any mere comic book! Please! The Adventures of Cold Glory was a ground breaking series! Ahem. At least as ground breaking as a comic book of that time period could be."
Gordon rolled his eyes, watching the various processes of the machinery to save himself from his boredom.
"Now. In issue number forty-five of The Adventures of Cold Glory, Cold Glory had discovered his archnemesis's most recent plot. He had learned that Dr. Nefarious had built a doomsday machine of sorts! It was described as a, what was it... Probability Bomb, yes, that was it. You see, the Probability Bomb was capable of producing a massive wave of energy that would disrupt the probability of decay, causing elements to go through their half-lives much faster than normal. Too bad it was a cliff-hanger. And right at the start of the fight scene to boot! The creator just up and quit one day, the story goes..."
"Right doc, right. So why do you want to build a weapon of mass destruction, again?"
"I most certainly do not! I am merely saying that the comic and its fanciful and elementary, yet still intriguing attempt at quantum mechanics inspired me to try and build the Event Probability Generation Conduit!"
Suddenly, an intense flash of light errupted from the test chamber, causing Gordon to jump up and begin watching the machine more closely. It was just then that he spotted something fluttering madly on one of the test platforms.
"Oh crap, Doc, that comic of yours is about to inspire a lot more!"
"What?! Oh...oh dear lord...!" stuttered the professor, standing up as well, peering into the chaos that started to errupt behind the shield. "I...left the comic in the test chamber! How did the sensors not notice it?"
Gordon turned to Viren and shook him by the shoulders. "You gotta stop it, doc! That thing's gonna damage the reactor, or worse!"
"I can't, Gordon!" fretted Viren, typing madly on his keyboard. "The test programs are already locked in! This is a disaster!" A shockwave roared across the room.
"Screw it! We're out of here!" Gordon yelled, grabbing the increasingly frantic doctor and hitting the emergency alarm switch on the way out.
Within seconds, the lab chamber began to close itself off from the rest of the complex with large metal plates, while a placid, feminine voice intoned over the PA system "Lab 024 is now under quarrantine. Lab 024 is now under quarrantine. Please report to the nearest emergency station immediately." The few other scientists that happened to be in the hallway immediately ran to the nearest shelter in a panic.
Inside the test chamber, the comic book's pages flapped back and forth madly, as bit by bit they were pulled into the dense sphere of energy at the center of the energy field. A few moments after sucking up the final scraps of the book, an explosion rocked the complex, as the lab was almost entirely vaporized. Two intense bursts of energy were briefly observed launching into the sky, their trajectories indicating separate landings somewhere in the United States, Eastern Seaboard/Atlantic region...
What strange fate awaits these incredible bursts of energy? And will that fate serve to benefit or to harm mankind as we know it? You'll have to read the next issue to find out!
ISSUE #1
A Blast from the Past OR Origins
Pre-load: EPGC-101.EXE, EPGC-102.EXE, EPGC-103.EXE
Beginning appropriation of anomalous materials...
CHECK
Awaiting security station protocol transfer and authentication...
CLEAR
Waiting for input, entering idle diagnostic mode...
"Ah, very good. Very good!" proclaimed the man sitting at the terminal, watching the lines of computerized text print out on the screen while nervously brushing back the remains of his hair with hands.
The nametag clipped to his jacket read "Dr. Richard Viren", underneath which was a barcode pattern and the words "Class Six Clearance". A stylized logo is stamped in the corner, along with the abbreviation "F.O.R./C.U.S.".
After a brief clashing of metal, a second scientist looked up from a tangle of wires and other odd-ends coming off a massive vertical device which dominated the chamber. He wiped the sweat from his brow and adjusted his spectacles. He bore an identical ID card, but with the name "Gordon Tellea" and a line clarifying he was an "assistant".
"That do the trick?" Gordon called out over the humming of the machinery.
"Indeed it did, Gordon! The computer says that the field is now at 99% efficiency!" replied Richard, excited. "Quickly, seal that up and let's start the test!"
"Cool your jets, doc. I got everything strapped down." With that assurance, Gordon dashed over to the second console, bringing it out of idle mode.
"I shall now begin standard protective proceedures," Richard stated smartly. "It will take some minutes for the system to seal itself. At which point the automatic program will activate."
Both researchers typed in their security codes and let the automated systems begin their work. Layers of exotic protective materials slowly emerged from slots in the walls and locked into place between them and the energy field being produced by the machine.
Dr. Viren turned to Gordon and began speaking proudly, "I did tell you all about where I got the idea for this device, didn't I Gordon?"
"A million times, doc. Some old comic book from your childhood, yada yada yada."
"Not just any mere comic book! Please! The Adventures of Cold Glory was a ground breaking series! Ahem. At least as ground breaking as a comic book of that time period could be."
Gordon rolled his eyes, watching the various processes of the machinery to save himself from his boredom.
"Now. In issue number forty-five of The Adventures of Cold Glory, Cold Glory had discovered his archnemesis's most recent plot. He had learned that Dr. Nefarious had built a doomsday machine of sorts! It was described as a, what was it... Probability Bomb, yes, that was it. You see, the Probability Bomb was capable of producing a massive wave of energy that would disrupt the probability of decay, causing elements to go through their half-lives much faster than normal. Too bad it was a cliff-hanger. And right at the start of the fight scene to boot! The creator just up and quit one day, the story goes..."
"Right doc, right. So why do you want to build a weapon of mass destruction, again?"
"I most certainly do not! I am merely saying that the comic and its fanciful and elementary, yet still intriguing attempt at quantum mechanics inspired me to try and build the Event Probability Generation Conduit!"
Suddenly, an intense flash of light errupted from the test chamber, causing Gordon to jump up and begin watching the machine more closely. It was just then that he spotted something fluttering madly on one of the test platforms.
"Oh crap, Doc, that comic of yours is about to inspire a lot more!"
"What?! Oh...oh dear lord...!" stuttered the professor, standing up as well, peering into the chaos that started to errupt behind the shield. "I...left the comic in the test chamber! How did the sensors not notice it?"
Gordon turned to Viren and shook him by the shoulders. "You gotta stop it, doc! That thing's gonna damage the reactor, or worse!"
"I can't, Gordon!" fretted Viren, typing madly on his keyboard. "The test programs are already locked in! This is a disaster!" A shockwave roared across the room.
"Screw it! We're out of here!" Gordon yelled, grabbing the increasingly frantic doctor and hitting the emergency alarm switch on the way out.
Within seconds, the lab chamber began to close itself off from the rest of the complex with large metal plates, while a placid, feminine voice intoned over the PA system "Lab 024 is now under quarrantine. Lab 024 is now under quarrantine. Please report to the nearest emergency station immediately." The few other scientists that happened to be in the hallway immediately ran to the nearest shelter in a panic.
Inside the test chamber, the comic book's pages flapped back and forth madly, as bit by bit they were pulled into the dense sphere of energy at the center of the energy field. A few moments after sucking up the final scraps of the book, an explosion rocked the complex, as the lab was almost entirely vaporized. Two intense bursts of energy were briefly observed launching into the sky, their trajectories indicating separate landings somewhere in the United States, Eastern Seaboard/Atlantic region...
What strange fate awaits these incredible bursts of energy? And will that fate serve to benefit or to harm mankind as we know it? You'll have to read the next issue to find out!
Never surrender! Never give up!
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