Deep underground, below the Sibirian wasteland, there is a research facility few know about. The list of people aware of its existence is limited to the group of 5 physicists working there, a few maintenance guys and a cleaning lady for good measure. The project was commissioned when the Soviet Union was nearing its end, and amidst all chaos, it gradually disappeared, with no records left to point to its existence. The money they received was passed on as a "Classified Military Intelligence", and nobody raised any questions.
But the team itself did not vanish, nor even lose interest in what they were doing. As long as they got paid and could do their research, noone even thought about complaining. The insides of the facility - more aptly described as a bunker, were made with concrete, respecting the socialist rigid building style, cutting costs and making end's due.
Inside the control room the time stopped. Nikolai Rurik, a man in his fifties and a war veteran receiving multiple awards of honor was shaking his head in disbelief, eyes wide open, and staring blankly at the screen. He was a towering figure almost two meters tall and muscular, albeit gaining some weight since he quit the military service. He had a black bushy beard to compensate for the abscence of hair on his head.
Grigory Arkady, his exceptionally gifted student, that finished his PhD at the age of 16 and joined the experiment soon after, was a timid guy with big black glasses, just barely passing the 40 years mark. He was sitting on a chair that seemed eager to collapse on the first opportunity and had his body to his knees in an attempt to supress the urge to vomit. He was so thin that when he bended in two, his legs and upper body together could not match the size of Nikolai.
Rozaliya Rurik, born Miloslava, was married to the war general Nikolai. For her 40 years she was a stunning blonde with long curly hair, and a body a lot of her younger colleagues envied her for. She had her hand to her mouth, sobbing silently and fighting against the tears. She badly wanted a hug, but due to all time spent in physics, did not dare to approach her estranged husband.
The remaining two scientists, Yevgeny Oleg and Anatoli Demyan were playing a game of cards, and were sitting at a table on which the monitors were positioned. They still held the cards in their hands. Half-brothers, one from Russia, the other Ukraine, the life paths started them apart, and reunited them in the common love for physics. They both had the same eyes, and a similar light-brown hair. Yevgeny wore the hair in a long tail, while Anatoli prefered to leave his hair fall on his shoulders. They joined the team later, as the two physicists preceding them had misteriously disappeared. With their 32 years they were the youngest members of the team, and the most energetic ones at that. Both crazy for sports, they were always quarreling and joking, breaking the oppressing feeling of the facility.
But not today. There was an air of terror to be found in the control room, with the only sounds of Rozaliya's weeping and the bleeping of the machinery that surrounded them. To an outsider, it would take some time to understand what was going on, as there were no alarms ringing, or security breaches happening. The monitors were simply blank. No warnings of any sort. The whole team had a single question on their minds:"What's happening?"
Even though the technology used in the lab was outdated even at the time of its construction, they all knew that it was not possible for all the computers to go out at once. They were made to last even in an event of a nuclear outbreak and continue functioning long after the world has been reduced to a wasteland, with power sources and all. There was a higher chance of a meteorite striking the well-hid lab and destroying it, than for all the computers to stop functioning at once. And that's exactly what scared the group.
Nikolai started to stroke his beard in an attempt to think better. In his mind there was room for a single thought "What is the best course of action now?". After a few seconds of thinking he declared:"If anyone wants to leave the facility, do it now. I need only brave man", turning his head towards his wife he added:"and women." As a response to his coldly delivered request, Rozaliya bursted out crying, and ran out of the room. "WAIT!" she heard him yell, but she was already running towards her office, leaving no time to reply.
Anatoli dropped the playing cards and stood up, casting to Nicolai an angry glance as if saying:"Yeah, that obviously worked.", and ran outside, hoping to catch Rozaliya and comfort her. Yevgeny dropped the cards as well, remaining silently seated at the table and facing his superior, with hands crossed. Gregory tried to recompose himself, and while he was visibly discomforted, he managed to at least temporarily supress his stomach's weakness.
Nikolai smiled. This, for him, was the way a subordinate should behave: "We have no idea what's going on, but this is surely an outstanding situation. Since our experiment is off the grid, we need to take the matters in our own hands." He paused for the words to take effect, and then continued, with the same stern tone he used for lecturing his students: "Yevgeny and Gregory, take on your hazard suits and the geigar counter, we meet in 10 minutes here and check the core." Yevgeny immediately responded to his command, standing up from his chair and bolting through the open door. Gregory tried to follow suit. But as soon as he got up, the cramps in his stomach made him bend over again, with his hands on his mouth. Nikolai made a sighing sound and told his ex-student:"Behave yourself! Use the toilet if you must, and be here in ten minutes." Gregory nodded and still retaining his skewn position, somehow managed to exit the room. Nikolai sighed again to the empty room and departed as well.
TO BE CONTINUED
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