Hi-tech Low Tech

Now that Rome, Rei, MINIMCOM and Ursay had made their way to the end of the Meson tunnel, they found a giant door that they presumed held the virus weapon but no method of access. As we saw from the historical chapter on Jack Henry, he had his men break off the wheel lock so that nobody could ever get in. Here we see an example of simplicity winning the day:

     Rei reassembled the flashlight and turned the beam which was getting dimmer, on the center of the door. A bent cylinder, machined, stuck out from the front.
     “There is a pressure lock here,” Rei said. “Jack Henry’s men must have smashed it and removed the wheel so nobody could get in.” He ran his hands along the door, up and down, checking to see if there was another way to open it.
     “We best not blast it,” Rei said. He turned to the livetar. “How about whipping up another batch of VIRUS units? We can have them dissolve the door.”
     “I have a better idea,” the livetar said. With a whoosh and a pop, he disappeared. Instantly, they were plunged into the semi-darkness, illuminated only by the dim beam of Rei’s flashlight.
     “Where’d he go?” Rei asked. “What did he mean by that?”
     A grinding noise came from the door. Rei looked down and aimed the faint light toward the center cylinder. He could see the stub of the screw turning. They stepped back. The vacuum seal was broken accompanied by a hissing sound. Air rushed into the previously evacuated chamber as it equilibrated to atmospheric pressure. With a groaning noise, the huge metal door swung open. MINIMCOM’s livetar was on the other side, his shoulder lights illuminating the room.
     “Was that not easier?” the livetar asked.
     Rei laughed. “Yep.”
     The three humans entered the room which was maybe ten by ten with a high semi-circular ceiling. Standing in the middle of the room was a seven-foot tall concrete mini-bunker with a door and a window. Rei rushed up to the window and peered in. He shined his weak flashlight to illuminate the interior.
     “It’s there!” he shouted, “Look!” Ursay and Rome raced over and peered in as well. Sitting on the floor, surrounded by concrete stanchions, laid a dull metal vessel identical to the one that Ursay was carrying. Its utter simplicity belied its utterly lethal nature.
     Rei turned to Rome. “What do you think we should do with it?”

So MINIMCOM came up with a simple solution to get into the room. Now what do they do? As Ursay later noted, one wrong move and it is curtains for mankind. They need something equally as clever.