Wrong Lever

I push open the hatch and stare, gaping. A cloud boils lazily upwards on the horizon. Everything between me and the cloud is rubble. The ashes fall lightly on me.

I hear the doctor below. “Sheila? Are you out yet? Did it work?”

He was trying for a basic freeze ray. How do I tell him?

I start with the blindingly obvious. “Ah, no. Not exactly.”

The doctor swears. “I knew the blue lever was the right one!”

“Yeah. Looks like.”