The Bubble
https://pixabay.com/photos/belfry-tow.... Luhan was watching the read-out screen, surrounded by people just as excited as he was.It was working! The bubble was stable. Another pulse was starting, which would bring them to peak levels and champagne o’clock when someone shouted, “Abort!”
“What?” he called, standing and looking for the source, even as the lighting dimmed and the generator whirred to a halt. “Why?”
Nervous anticipation silenced the room, replacing the exuberance that had been about to pop like the quantum bubble they’d built. The numbers had been perfect. Unlimited energy was within reach.
His gaze lighted on his assistant, Mertens, whose face had gone white. His shaking hand held a cell phone while his other was still pressing the abort button.
“Why?” Luhan repeated.
Mertens’ phone arm went slack. “You won’t believe it. I don’t believe it. I have to see.” He took off running, using the emergency exit. The alarm blared as he pushed through the doors, but he didn’t stop.
“Stay here,” Luhan said and ran after Mertens. He burst out onto an unfamiliar scene. Across the canal were a group of seventeenth century buildings, like some sort of movie set. Beyond that, where the Gruber building should stand, was the belfry of a Gothic church. Screams filled the air, and folks dressed in peasant clothing ran in every direction.
“A stable chronal displacement,” Luhan said in awe. “That means the energy we were tapping into was from—”
“They want to know if anyone here speaks Old Flemmish,” Mertens said, still on the phone.
“Are you kidding, I barely comprehend the Brugs dialect.” The ramifications were still settling in. “What happened to the people who were there?”
Mertens tugged on his sleeve. “Yeah, follow up question, wasn’t the Black Death rampant in the fourteenth century?”
~~~~~
If you enjoyed this story, check out Beyond the Rail and Other Nightmares. Thirteen tales of horror and dark fiction certain to keep you reading just one more.
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