After their incredibly belated lunch, Salem asked if they could set up camp so he could test his theory. Salem wanted to create a device that could create something close to a singularity. With something this dangerous, Salem mad sure to design it with various failsafes so he didn't destroy the planet. He hoped. If the singularity showed any signs of escaping the gravity well he'd designed, he'd force it into a vacuum that would hopefully disperse it enough to avoid creating A) a black hole or B) a massive f**king explosion, both of which would destroy the planet.
Making his machine, he put in a clump of stone. He hoped that starting this small would prevent too many problems. His machine was almost two kilomiters away from them, and Salem made a remote to control his washing machine of doom. By spinning the matter, and putting a bunch of superconductive nanobots to act as heat sinks, reducing the space between atoms; he effectively reduced the energy he needed to condense them.
Back at the campsite, Salem activated the machine. Using Eyes of the Machinist, Salem was able to observe the changes happening.
As he watched, he observed the rock crumpling like tinfoil and glowing red. The red glow was caused by Cherenkov radiation, which was what happened when particles traveled faster than the speed of light in a medium. As he watched, the rock began glowing orange, before rapidly turning green. Taking this as a sign of things working, he began taking measurements. First he took density readings and temperature readings. These readings would be critical in his aspirations to create a stable wormhole to his home world. In order for him to be able to pass through, he needed to be able to survive first. Next he took pressure readings to see how much energy he needed to open a wormhole. Lastly he took gravity readings. This was the most important reading if he was to actually create a wormhole. He needed to be able to bend space and time to such a degree he could pass through it.
As he took the readings, the Cherenkov radiation turned violet, the stone collapsed in on itself again and, rather climactically, exploded. The entire machine ripped itself apart and radiation spewed from the almost-but-not-even-close singularity.
"We need to go." Salem said to Alina urgently. "It failed and if we don't go now we run the risk of radiation contamination."
"Couldn't you make something to avoid that?" Alina asked curiously.
"Yes, but even the best radiation shielding has a limit. These radiation readings surpass Chernobyl's core during meltdown." Salem said urgently, packing up their bags hurriedly.
"Where's Chernobyl?" Alina asked him, tossing the remains of their turkey and helping.
"I don't know." Salem replied, giving her a half-truth. 'I don't know where it is in this world.' he mentally finished.
"What's a reactor?" Alina asked as Salem created their flight suits again.
Taking off, Salem added simple Infrared communicators to their helmets before replying. "A reactor is where people take radioactive elements and use them to generate power. In the reactors, the elements generate heat through a process called fission, which generates heat. That heat is used to turn turbines which then generate electricity." He said, glazing over control rods and the possibility of meltdowns.
"What is radiation?"
"Radiation is a particle that can harm your DNA, which can cause cancers and health problems." Salem explained. "And before you ask, DNA is deoxyribo nucleic acid. It's what makes you have black hair. It's why your eyes are green. DNA forms fundemental differences that make you an Elf and me a Human." Salem gave her a little lecture as they flew, ignoring the fact that he wasn't human anymore.