When the world began spawning futuristic thoughts, a zealous experimentalist called Dr. Brandon lived. He was a man, who had always had it in mind to regulate the flux of time; either by speeding it up or by slowing it down. This was born out of his ardent wish to live longer on Earth, or to reach a crucial point in his life within few minutes. He worked in Fermilab, Illinois, but was later sent away, after it was rumoured that he used mystical influences to obtain a particular group of outlandish, exotic particles, which were later named Lucifer particles, but later nicknamed Lucifie, so as to make it sound mild. Dr. Brandon left Illinois, afterwards, and found a place in New Haven, Connecticut, where he built a grandiose laboratory, which he named The Fanfield Laboratory.
Three years later, Dr. Brandon and a few workers he employed, finally came up with the time-regulating machine, which he had always dreamed of. They believed the machine could regulate the flux of time, if run with the right fuel. The machine was built, ready to be run, but what remained was the fuel for it. According to their researches, the machine would function with two distinct, exotic particles; the Lucifer particles, which he discovered, and the God particles, which weren't available at that time, but not to worry, if the Lucifer particles were exclusively used on the machine, it could speed up time and take them to the future, when the God particles have been obtained.
Lucifie was collected in a glass tube and stored in a coffer inside Dr. Brandon's office at Fermilab, and for this, they planned on flying there to get it. But before they did, they tried a group of untested exotic particles, called strangelets, on the machine. The strangelets filled the entire laboratory with poisonous fumes, killing them all.
Several years later, Dr. Brandon's daring son; professor Meinrad, took over the laboratory and employed four clever scientists and a personal assistant. The duty to regulate the flux of time got transferred to professor Meinrad. For this reason, he sent the scientists, four of them, to go get the tube of Lucifie from Fermilab. Fortunately, their journey turned out to be successful. And the main story begins with a cheerful song they sang while their helicopter hovered above the helipad.
With eyes and mind we breath
Now the world is under our feet
With brains and guts we hear
What else could redraw the sphere
From type-null to type-four we pray
We all hope to get there someday
From chamber to chamber though slim
Blackie hungered but now holds the gleams
We are back to Fanfield's gate
Where calenders would reject their dates
In the glasshouse stands a place
Where the old and the young will embrace
Oh how Angels and men run a relay
But the batton will reach us someday
It would be hollow and sleek and green
Only Fanfielders know what we mean.
They repeated the lines over and over again, until the helicopter finally touched the helipad, filling the surrounding with vigorous rushes of air and vibratory whap-whap-whap sounds. They finally ended their song, breathing in and out, blissfully, and after a few high-fives within themselves, they got up and headed towards the exit, to get their bags from the cargo bin.
Professor Meinrad stood outside, alongside his quirky personal assistant; Jake, shading his view from the glare of the sun, with his right palm above his brows, watching the scientists rummage through the cargo bin, in search of their respective luggage. His eyes were mostly centered on Blackie; a talismanic black box, which Camillas tightly held in his hand. He imaginatively saw the tube of Lucifie, tucked inside the styrofoam. After the scientists were done with the cargo bin, Meinrad smiled, seeing them hanging their bags on their shoulders, bending and tilting their heads, to wear the heavy bags properly. He loved the way their glossy-grey jumpsuits brilliantly reflected the sheen of the sun, too. He loved them all, because he found them very clever and interesting.
Professor Meinrad's grin widened as he watched them draw closer. "We will redraw the sphere after our hands are laid on that box," he said to Jake who stood close to him, smiling, with one of his brows raised. Jake was his clingy acolyte. A Mexican, with adjoined, dense eyebrows, which made him look facially weird. The only hair on his face were just the brows, nothing else. He also possessed weird idiosyncrasies, like his routine act of always taking off his shoes before entering Meinrad's office, he cried easily, talked in bits, and he also had a phobia for lonely places, which Ali took advantage of, frightening him from time to time.
When the scientists drew close enough, Meinrad's arms widened, to receive Camillas who held the box, while the others stood aside, awaiting their turns. But Meinrad, after giving Camillas a buddy hug, quickly took the box from him, leaving the rest to watch in disbelief. They all expected it, though. Professor Meinrad was what a Marvel fan would call 'Professor Strange.' He was known all over the science community, not only for the Brandon blood he had, but, as well, his slow ageing process. He was fifty two, but looked twenty years younger. He wore large sunglasses on a neatly shaved face, with lips, so flat that it almost looked like a line below his philtrum, and his gaits were similar to someone who had been called to go beat up an offender who stood at a distance. It was this young and high-spirited nature that made the scientists banter with him at times, also a reason his wife and daughter ran away from him.
"Illinois wasn't so visitor friendly, I guess." Meinrad flashed his teeth before them, gripping the handle of the box.
"Illinois was a step to being visitor friendly," Alban said. "But pal here couldn't restrain himself from being a yokel back there, making fun of the food we were served at a hotel," he referred to Ali, speaking in his flippant tone.
"Buh the meals wa worth the fun Rad...ah swear." Ali laughed.
"Whatever the meal was." Meinrad waved his hand in the air. "What's good is this...you all got back safely from Illinois." He nodded, then he chuckled. "You guys must have infiltrated Fermilab real good."
Camillas sighed. "We felt a wave of frustration when we didn't find the tube in his safe. They moved it."
"Those guys treated dad like shit...as though they wouldn't be needing Lucifie themselves." Meinrad laughed. "Where did you find it then?"
"Chamber Omega," Camillas replied.
"Cooler than outer space." Olivia gripped her arms and whooshed.
"Oh, you all take my apologies." Meinrad laughed. "But know it that we will kick-start the dawn of the fictional type-two civilization few hours from now. Did a few touches on the machine." He winked at her.
"A bundle of ICs must have been stuffed in it," said Camillas.
"No, not really." Meinrad shook his head, then he laughed. "Jake here will tell you why we saw the need to retouch it at the first place."
They all looked at Jake, but found him staring at the black bus, which awaited them at the distance, like he wasn't part of the discussion. Meinrad snorted. "We tried some random particles on the machine yesterday and it blew up all the lights."
"Hope you recall what happened once upon a time, when untested particles were used on the machine," said Alban.
"Ah, strangelets are far fetched. I used mild ones; electrons," he replied.
"So, ya literally converted the machine to an EMP jammer." Ali chuckled.
"And...you replaced the damaged lights with..." Olivia asked.
"Fluorescent lights," Meinrad answered.
"I know it's weird and evil to be happy over the loss of the former, but I just can't help it...like, hurray! The Radio Room of Fanfield Laboratory would no longer make me feel there is a skeleton inside one of the cabinets," Olivia happily said.
"How do you mean?" Meinrad asked.
"Those colorful lights don't seem eerie to ya Meinrad?" Ali looked at him. "Ya have a heart, ah must say." He laughed.
"It doesn't freak me out that much though, but things start to seem like we are in a horror movie when the machine begins to give buzzes under the irradiation of the green and red lights," said Camillas.
"Oh." Meinrad elevated his brows. "I used to think you all knew why I used the colors."
"No good reasons for the colors Meinrad, you are simply an esotericist," said Alban.
"The colorful lights are believed to complement the energy of the x-rays, I thought you knew that Alban," said Meinrad. Alban rolled his eyes while he said that, like it was something he had heard a number of times, but never believed in such sci-superstition.
"And also..." Jake attempted to give Meinrad a support, before he was cut short by Alban's snappy entry, after they had reached the shuttle.
"Alright, now, would someone please pull this thing open and save my neck from this ball of fire?" He said, pulling the sliding door of the vehicle. Everyone overlooked his act and got inside afterwards. They, too, found the sun scorching.
Jake drove along the stately structures of Avon Street for roughly twenty minutes, before arriving at the gate of the laboratory, which had--WELCOME TO FANFIELD LABS, NEW HAVEN, arched above it with metal bars. The gate opened to a breathtaking view of wide, green lawns, lying on both sides of an interlocked isle, flanked by neatly sheared shrubs in large flowerpots, while the rectangular, glass building loomed before them as they approached. The laboratory was a glasshouse, from which Meinrad always threw stones. It had the shape of a slightly bloated cuboid, made of reflector glasses, which made images on it look willowy. It somewhat looked like the center of the building 40 at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN). Such architectural style was suggested to professor Meinrad by Mr. Basil, his friend, who worked at CERN as the director of the ATLAS experiment.
After they made a halt at the foot of the laboratory they all heaved collectively. Ali pulled the sliding door of the bus open and stepped out, followed by the others. When they were all out, he pushed it back, and it shut with an audible thud. Professor Meinrad and Jake got down from the front seat and the driver's seat respectively, standing akimbo and looking up at the height of the laboratory, not minding the glare of the sun, craning from the edge of the building. Olivia looked up as well, heaving a cheerful, nostalgic sigh, with eyes closed. Afterwards, they headed towards the glass door of the laboratory. The door led to the routinely cold, air-conditioned office room, which rained down tickling sensations of sweet moisture on their skins. The room had series of Dell computers, placed in fine wooden divisions, before a row of swiveling office chairs. The office room was where the scientists sat to do researches, computer simulations, and other analysis. The room also served as a place where lectures on new innovations were taken, using the projector at the far end, or the glossy white board, hung on the wall, close to the projector screen. The floor of the office room, which was designed with colorful gravels, kept giving clomp-clomp sounds, while they were headed to the metal door, standing westward. The metal door led to a lengthy passageway which was lit by a line of fluorescent lights, and doors to important rooms stood on both sides of the passageway. They walked to the third door by the left, which led to a changing room for the men, while the opposite was for females. They dispersed to the rooms to get dressed, and afterwards, assemble at the Radio Room which was too rooms ahead.
They were all dressed in thick laboratory coats and rubber hand gloves when they entered the Radio Room. The room was lit by white lightings this time; not the tawdry colorful lights they were used to, which gave false images of things inside the room. And, also, the room wasn't as cold as they had expected. The Radio Room was a chamber where most of their inventions were tested; finished or unfinished. There was a large, wooden cabinet which was built into the wall, adjacent to where their newly invented machine was. In it, were kept several glass boxes, containing tubes of exotic particles, which Meinrad had ignorantly used on the machine, while awaiting the right one. They walked behind Meinrad, gradually surrounding the machine, which was shrouded in a black cloth, making it look like the machine suffocated. Olivia looked around, smiling at the new and refreshing lightings used.
"Never knew the exact color of the cabinet until now. This is beautiful." She smiled.
"Good a thing, good a thing," Meinrad mumbled, with his eyes on the black cloth which concealed the machine.
"You forgot to use the freon cooling this time?" Asked Camillas, in his electronic voice, looking around the room, after they had fully surrounded the machine, looking down at it like a group of medical students, about to dissect a cadaver.
"No I didn't. The machine has cooled to the maximum, so I had to raise the temperature of the room a bit," said Meinrad, gradually pulling the black cloth off the machine. "Tada!" He uttered, when the machine was fully unclothed. They all wowed in harmony when they saw the new looks of the machine. It had the shape of a gigantic compressor; a sizeable, blue tank, with green, curvy x-ray tubes on either sides of it's base, and a sophisticated device, laced with cables, behind the tank.
"Woah." Olivia's mouth went hollow. "And this is quite similar to the time machine the psycho scientist built."
"Professor Rupert, probably." Alban muttered and looked away.
"Spot the difference between this and the former." Meinrad grinned and folded his arms.
"Uhm...more x-ray tubes?" Camillas answered.
"Yes of course," Meinrad responded. "And more cables, we needed to race up the energy of the x-rays." He lifted the box to his face and beamed. "Now, it's time for the show." He pressed his forefinger in the air and walked away with the box, towards a metal table at the extreme, which was close to a tall metal rack that housed a glass box containing a transparent, gooey lubricant. He dropped the box on the table and looked down at it with a shaky smile, then he clicked it open, flashing a wide grin after seeing the tube, meticulously placed inside a black styrofoam in the box. They all watched him while he took out the gleaming tube and held it before his gaze. In the tube, were colorful glints, disappearing and reappearing, emitting faint, colorful radiations from the tube.
"Mamma mia." He grinned, with a fiery passion in his eyes. "Lucifie, how much I have longed for you," he said, rolling it between his fingers, with fervent adoration. He turned to them. "With this, our machine would make a lot of sense, haha." He laughed, then, he reached for the lubricant in the rack and dipped the tube into it and brought it out, with the sticky fluid, dripping down his gloves, into the box, and down to the floor as he walked to where the machine was.
"Step back," he said to them. They dispersed a bit, then he opened a glass cartridge atop the tank and erected the tube in there, after that, he closed the cartridge. He looked up at them. "You all step back," he said once again. They all walked backwards, towards the cabinet in the adjacent wall. Meinrad rubbed his palms together and went to a device which stood at the other side of the cabinet. It looked like a home theater, with a black, adjustable knob on its face, and a black cable ran from it's base to the device which was behind the machine. He took a glimpse at the scientists, before turning the knob with a click. The machine rattled silently, then it stabilized, giving off dizzy-buzzy sounds, which took seconds to saturate the entire room. The machine buzzed for few minutes, making the room seem as though a beehive was hung somewhere they couldn't figure out. But amidst the stimulating sounds, they were yet to notice a significant change. They all stared at each other.
"Oops." Meinrad chuckled. "I should have stepped up the energy of the x-rays." He started turning the knob gradually, but stopped at the middle point. Still, nothing happened, but before they began to murmur frustratingly, they noticed a change outside. From the glass window, they saw the sky changing it's hue. It got gray, like it was evening, then it got darker and darker. The scientists shuddered, looking around in fright. Meinrad, on the other hand, first caught a brief cold, but the change he saw meant it was working. He smiled and turned the knob further, until it clicked the maximum. Then, there came a loud, metallic clap, like a large symbal which fell from heaven. The sound was apocalyptic and soul-pulling. They felt something trying to flee from their bodies, as a result of how shocking the sound was. It was as though their souls were deeply scourged by the impact of the sound, trying to pull free from their bodies. Then, there came another bang, which held them still, completely letting go of the entities, which struggled to pull out. After the entities were set loose, a blackout followed.
In what seems like a few minutes later, they find themselves, wrapped in dark-green ribbons, swiftly passing through a narrow, gloomy area, which resembles an alley. The clouds are heavy and dark, lightning trails pierce through the clouds, and a freezing flush of air keeps slashing their skins from time to time. The ribbons keep traveling with a spinning, violent speed, until they emerge into an open space, where the dark clouds and lightning trails are more pronounced and vivid. From afar, they can see a blurry cluster of cottages, resembling a hamlet. They can also see giant humanoids in grey robes and long hair, awaiting the ribbons to arrive. The ribbons draw closer and they see the humanoids, holding shiny spikes in both hands, and they begin to wonder what the spikes are meant for.
The ribbons arrive the hamlet, pulling five humanoids to it, and with the spikes, they begin to weave the ribbons, swiftly. The scientists find themselves, spinning within wraps upon wraps of ribbons, while the humanoids are working on it. They enter spinning whorls of fabrics, seeing only fabric before them, twisting and entangling. They also hear spooky rhymes the humanoids sing, with their hazy voices, while weaving it.
Oh the Spring Lobby opens again
Places wounded because of their brains
Through the alley come their thoughts
Oh silky ribbons what have thou brought
So dense might put our spikes to rust
But we shall weave we must we must
Ribbons come and ribbons go
Alot forgotten long ago
Wonder the row we face when done
But it's a duty when we are drawn
Now here comes a lovely newborn
But a dreadful irony await us all
Oh what hammans bring in form of thoughts
But we must weave we must we must
The humanoids finally come to a finish, and what stands before the humanoids is a structure, resembling the time-regulating machine at the laboratory. But the scientists are inside the machine, and they find themselves in the tube of the Lucifer particles. In there, it looks like outer space, and the gleaming particles become planets and stars, disappearing and reappearing. Then, asteroids begin to hit the planets, destroying them one after the other; billions of them. They see an asteroid approach them, and they try to shield themselves. It approaches with a bright light; very vivid and colossal. The asteroid comes close to them and overwhelms them in it's radiance, making them blind. They see nothing else.
Their eyes open once again, and they find themselves in the laboratory, but things and events seem to be moving at an unusual speed; swiftly passing like fast forwarded characters in a television set; they pass through several stages of their lives. Eight years later, a legendary announcement from the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) saturates the entire globe; CERN has obtained the God particles, also known as the Higgs bosons. In few seconds, Mr. Basil visits the Fanfield Laboratory, inviting them to the God particle ceremony at CERN. They get happy, knowing their mission there. They load their bags with drones, EMP jammers, detectors, and other gadgets, and they take off from New Haven in a private aircraft. And, afterwards, time stabilizes.
* * *
"Switzerland! Welcome people!" The cheerful, firm voice of the pilot sounded, after they had arrived Switzerland, standing on the heated tarmac of the airport, looking into the distance. While they stared, their first, vivid experiences played before their eyes, making them see images of floating spikes and robes. They shook their heads, warding it off, in order to have a clear view of the airy airport. The images seemed to them, like a single night's dream.
They hung heavy bags, inhaling the bland scent of the fresh breeze that tarried around the airport. It was bland really, and it gave way for each of them to decide on what they perceived. Alban perceived his family home, Olivia perceived the foots of the Jura hills, Meinrad perceived nothing, Camillas perceived the scent of a newly-polished, grand piano, Ali perceived dust, and Jake perceived styrofoam. From where they stood, they could see the snow-capped Alps, which was a major landmark in Geneva.
The pilot chuckled, directing their attention to what stood right beside them, rather than the far-fetched Alps. "Really long, really long I came here." He sounded South African. He placed his hands on his waist, smiling and shaking his head. A good-looking man in his early forties, showing off the finely-spaced gap between his incisors while he smiled. His smile was like a stamp on his face, and he carried it like an insignia, ever willing to show it. He looked neatly pressed, and the peak of his cap glittered brilliantly in the sun. Meinrad turned to him.
"Thank you...Jabulani." Meinrad nodded at him. The pilot laughed at the way Meinrad called the name in his American accent.
"You can call me Jabu for short." He grinned.
"Oh Jabu, thank you Jabu," said Meinrad.
"Anytime." He laughed and walked away.
Meinrad peered at the distance, expecting the arrival of Mr. Basil already, but what he saw were a group of technicians, approaching the aircraft to tend to it. Shortly, they heard the hum of a vehicle, coming from behind the control tower. It was a black Mercedes bus, with tinted screens. It ran from behind the control tower, with a moderate pace, but enough to assert that the driver was in a haste to see someone. The vehicle stopped before them, while they tried in vain to see through the tinted glasses of the vehicle, but all they saw were shadowy apparitions. But they sensed there were two people inside. Both doors from the sides of the vehicle went open. Mr. Basil got out from the driver's side, beaming, with his sight grazing along, searching for Meinrad, and he saw him, looking a little different. Dr. Dedeon got out of the other side, searching for Alban. He seemed youthful, tall and stern looking, with grey stubbles around his bony chin; he looked nothing like Alban. Alban's looks changed so well that Dr. Dedeon couldn't tell him from the others. While the both of them approached, the scientists were visited once again by the vivid images. They saw the humanoids coming before them, other than Mr. Basil and Dr. Dedeon. For few seconds, they wondered why they wouldn't cease to be visited by such fiendish images. They sensed something wrong somewhere, but they warded it off by rapidly blinking their eyes, and the right images reappeared.
Alban pulled a childlike smile, looking at his Dad. "Dad," he called, walking towards him. It was at that point his father spotted him out. The rest of them looked at each other in surprise; they hadn't seen Alban in an emotional state before. Dr. Dedeon hugged him tightly, kissing his hair and rubbing it vigorously, until it got a little shaggy, while Mr. Basil stood beside him, grinning, with his arms held behind.
"Alban." He withdrew, holding him out and staring at him; head to toe, then they hugged again.
"I missed you dad," he said, with his dad's tweed coat, muffling his voice.
"Missed you too son," Dr. Dedeon replied, then they finally withdrew. Dr. Dedeon stared at the rest and flashed a smile at professor Meinrad. "Professor," he called. Meinrad walked towards him and they shook vigorously. "CERN expected your arrival so dearly. You came right on time," he said, with their hands still glued. They withdrew their hands afterwards, and Meinrad shook with Mr. Basil.
"Welcome Meinrad," Mr. Basil said. "Glad you finally came."
Dr. Dedeon looked up at the rest. "You all should come over here." He waved briskly. They walked to where the trio stood.
"Your staffs?" Dr. Dedeon asked Meinrad. He turned around and stared at them.
"Yes they are. Your son inclusive." He laughed.
"Of course he is. Hope he hasn't been giving you a lot of troubles." Dr. Dedeon dropped his brows. Alban looked at him and dropped his brows too, wanting to say something, but kept shut.
"Uhm...well, as far as one doesn't get on his nerves." Meinrad chuckled, and they all laughed collectively.
Dr. Dedeon looked at them for few more seconds. "Welcome to Geneva." He nodded. "This way." He gestured to the bus, and they proceeded to where the bus was parked.
CERN is roughly five miles from Geneva, sitting astride the Swiss-French border. It is flanked by the slopes of the Jura mountains on one side, and the snow-capped Alps at the other side, housing the most sophisticated machine on Earth--The Large Hadron Collider--A superenergetic particle accelerator which accelerates beams of particles to speeds close to that of light, smashing them together to obtain particles which constituted the building blocks of matter.
The vehicle took them on a short tour within CERN. The rise and fall of buildings and motley structures they passed by seemed sinusoidal. The first building they noticed was the building 40, which looked somewhat like the Fanfield laboratory. It was rectangular, and other than having a strong reflecting ability, it quelled the sunlight. They passed by office buildings, control buildings, and the globe of science; a grandiose, brown, dome-shaped building, which made Camillas unknowingly freak out. They drove past the Shiva's Cosmic Dance statue as well, which was once rumoured that human sacrifices were performed there, but Mr. Basil made it known to them that it was a gift given to them by the Indian government in 2004, to celebrate CERN's long association with them.
They rode within the confines of CERN for over ten minutes, before arriving at the courtyard of the Meyrin hostel, which was at the Swiss side of CERN. What towered above them where three above-ground buildings. The scientists tried to get themselves startled over the looks of the buildings, but they just couldn't, cause the buildings looked like every other apartment building out there. They saw smart-looking students exiting the buildings, with academic materials in their hands, giving the entire courtyard an aura of intellectual flourish.
"We are here," Mr. Basil said, after making a halt at the parking lot.
"Thank you Mr. Basil," they all said as they got down from the vehicle and stood, with their heads held up, staring at the buildings.
"The hostels haven't changed a bit," Alban said, squinting at the top of the buildings.
"You wish to stay here?" Meinrad asked him.
"My boy stays with me," Dr. Dedeon laughed.
"Sorry Dr. Dedeon, didn't acknowledge your presence." Meinrad smiled.
"Let's go in." Mr. Basil gestured towards the building.
Each of the hostels had a hundred rooms, and Mr. Basil had already done some hasty bookings before their arrival. They walked along one of the hall ways, which was at the third floor of the building. They passed by several rooms, with numbers attached to them. Mr. Basil stopped at one of the room doors and looked up to see the number. "Number 302," he said. "Ladies first." He unlocked the door and pushed it open. They felt a cold, banal sensation when they walked in. The room was modest, and it's smell demanded quietude. The room had a bed, a table and a phone on top of it. The room was for Olivia alone, but the rest were all in, to use what they saw to predict the looks of theirs.
"Like it here?" Mr. Basil asked her.
"Wonderful!" Olivia smiled, turning around.
"Good a thing you love it." He smiled back. "Let me take you to the bathroom." They began to walk.
The bathroom was small and narrow, and only Olivia stepped inside to have a view, while the rest stood at the door. Olivia walked to the window and peeked down, having an aerial view of the parking lot, as well as lingering students. Within a second, the images passed before her eyes again, and other than seeing students, she saw the humanoids. She gasped and took off her head immediately. Then she forced a smile once again and turned around. "I love it."
"Oh you do?" Mr. Basil beamed. "Then let's go show the men to their rooms."
When they all got out of the room, leaving Olivia behind, she sat on the bed, looking around the room. The quietude of the room became a means by which the images emerged again. She looked at the table and saw floating spikes. She blinked her eyes rapidly and got up immediately, looking up at the ceiling and breathing heavily, with her chest swelling and falling. She gently walked to the table and saw that there were no spikes there. Then she looked down and saw the drawers attached to the height of the table. She bent and pulled the second drawer, seeing a book with blurry robots on it. She took it out and stood up, holding it under her gaze, with her two hands. "Brave New World?" She read out the title; the book seemed familiar. She opened the first page, seeing a few things, which later appeared to be the lines of the poem the humanoids sang. She opened to the second and saw the same thing. Then the fourth page, the ninth page, until she began to flip the pages rapidly, running her lips, adjusting her glasses, and shaking her head, while her breathing accelerated. She threw the book to the table and moved backwards. Then she began to hear the rhymes in her ears; they sang with choking, faded voices. It reverberated in her head, like they were in an empty auditorium. She gripped her hair, shaking it, but the rhymes kept coming. She quickly freed her head and ran out of the room.
Meanwhile, after Ali and Camillas were showed their room, they began to survey the place. The room where they stayed was along the second floor of the building, and it was a room before that in which Meinrad and Jake stayed. Camillas walked around the room, with his hands held behind him, looking up and around, while Ali spent time, laying his hands on things he could see. Camillas walked for some time, before settling on the bed, while Ali stood before the table, rubbing his fingers over the telephone, then he took up the receiver, jokingly pressing the numbered buttons, with the receiver pressed against his ear. "Yea, this Bernes Lee, calling from within the collider tunnel, send help right na," he spoke, with a stiffened voice that made veins bulge from his neck.
"Crazy you." Camillas slapped the air. Ali laughed and dropped the phone back, then he stood, looking down at the table. "Let me see wha they got here." He bent a little and pulled the first drawer, seeing a red bow tie in it. "Seems a waiter formerly lived here," he muttered, opening the second drawer. When he pulled it open he saw a black, voluminous book slide a little bit in it. He tilted his head a little, reading it silently, then he took it up. "Angels and Demons...Dan Brown," he said, quietly. Camillas adjusted his glasses. "What book is that?" Ali turned around and showed him the front cover of the book. He squinted while reading it. "Angels and Demons" He sat erect. "Dan Brown right?"
"Ya saw the name right here," Ali said to him.
"Oh, nah. I have read Angels and Demons twice...and I was wondering, what business does a student in CERN campus have with a book that describes CERN as a kind of paradise?"
"It isn't a paradise?" Ali smirked.
"I don't see any paradise here," said Camillas. He looked around and gently fell to the bed. Ali shrugged and dropped the book on the table. "I'll read this when I'm done peeing." He smiled and walked to the toilet. Suddenly, the door flung open and Olivia badged inside, shutting it behind her, looking side to side, with her lips parted.
"Hey who's tha?" Ali said from the toilet. The door was slightly open. She kept looking at them. Camillas got up, walking close to her. "What's wrong Olivia?"
"I'm seeing things Kaku. Spikes and people in black robes," she said, breathing heavily. "I hear things in my ears, like chain smokers singing."
Ali walked out of the toilet, buckling his belt. "Hey Olivia. Ya okay?"
"She talks of seeing things, and they seem a bit familiar to me," Camillas said to Ali. Ali walked up to her. "Could you describe what you see?"
"People in black robes and spikes, singing a scary song," she said.
"The images we saw when we used Lucifie in the machine," Ali said. "Ah have seen it twice today. Buh not to worry, the images you see are results of persistent vision. It's natural bae, chill." He fixed his belt and went to the bed to sit.
"Same here. It mingles with my visuals. I see them periodically," said Camillas. "But I don't believe it's anything close to paranormal. Maybe Lucifie has a hallucinating effect in the mind, when high on energy."
"Kaku, aways looking for ways to rule out the existence of paranormals," Ali said.
"Cause they are inexistent." Camillas raised his brows. Olivia left where she stood and went to sit on the bed, with her fingers on her temples.
"They say things like thoughts an ribbons," she said, still bothered.
"Tha shouldn't bother ya much Olivia, the images will fade away soon, trust me," Ali said to her.
She took her hands off her temples and turned to Ali. "I will be staying here."
They both gasped. "Stay here? Wha would Rad think if he sees ya sleeping here hmm?" Ali asked her.
"I don't care what he thinks. I just can't go back to that room," she said.
"And you think you are safe here?" Camillas said to her.
"I sense they become more troublesome when you are alone...quiet. I just can't go back there," She said, shaking her head stubbornly. Ali and Camillas looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
"Whatever, but remember to be in your best tomorrow night. We rock the tunnel and get this stuff over with," Camillas said.
"Maybe Switzerland is hunted. We could get free from this whole thing when we are back to New Haven," said Ali.
"I hope so," Olivia said, in a shaky voice, rubbing her temples, sensing the images coming again.