Pearl Eye

    “..And now for technology. ZMF, or the Zeon Military Force, unveiled their newest innovation in military technology. Dubbed the ‘Mega Particle Cannon’, the weapon system utilizes the recently confirmed Minovsky Particles to condense a large beam of energy before firing it. Preliminary testing has shown a 180% increase in destructive capabilities compared to conventional weaponry, along with a massive range increase in zero-gravity environments. The Principality has not yet unveiled any applications for this weapon, and FBC was unable to reach Zeon officials for comment-“

    Static filled the air for a moment as one of the assistants, Blago, adjusted the channel on the radio. Soon enough, somewhat melancholic rock music filled the dead air within the test lab.
    “Lucky! I haven’t heard this channel play Anathema in quite some time. Better than listening to some boring news talk, eh Silvije?”
    The silver-haired individual in question wasn’t paying much attention, focusing more on the team’s current project, an experimental engine designed to handle light amounts of Minovsky Particles.
    “As much as I enjoy the complex chord progressions and intricate melodies you so dearly love to listen to, Blago dear, I would have been quite happy with keeping the channel on news. You even turned it off during technology talk! A perfect opportunity to hear a glimpse into the rapid advancements of the same fields we are currently working on!"

    Blago shook his head and walked over to the engine. It looked… somewhat ramshackled. Croatia was never known for its presence on the tech sphere, and funds being cut from the educational sectors meant that more ambitious students had to get considerably more crafty with their projects. Silvije tightened a few screws here and there, keeping an eye on the passive readings they were logging.
    “Alright, alright. I won’t switch it next time. How are we looking right now?”
    “Background radiation is still at a safe range, about 1.2 times the average levels. Heat is near-room temperature, and passive energy output is matching the theoretical levels we established about a month ago. Just a few more adjustments here and there, and we should be ready to attempt a Minovsky test. By the looks of things, if this ends up going well…” They turned toward their lab partner, flashing their signature soft grin.

    “..We’ll be getting into the history books with this. Could you gather the rest of the team up, dear?”

    Within a few minutes, the research team, about seven heads in total, were huddling around the engine, chattering to one another about a multitude of things: Engine levels, the recent news broadcast, what they were going to have for lunch… The only person not to join in on the conversation was Silvije, diverting their focus instead on continuous fine-tuning of their project. It was imperative that they did this.
    Despite everything looking good as it stood by, introducing Minovsky Particles into the equation could severely change the properties of both the fuel and the engine operation itself, and with it being such a new thing, nobody on the team was fully sure what could happen if things went wrong. Silvije paid this factoid no mind. After all, the greats of history went into dangerous situations to bring forth advancement. Curie’s radiation, Reichelt’s parachute, Bogdanov’s blood transfusions. Were things to go wrong, they were prepared to add Skok’s particle engine to that list. 

    “Silvije, busy daydreaming again? The film camera’s just about ready to go, you can make your fancy speech before the test now.”
    They flinched and turned toward Blago, pointing at a trio of students setting up said film camera. Flashing a smile, Silvije stood up and walked in front of the camera, clearing their throat as they prepared to recite their speech for this momentous occasion.
    Something was nagging them. Despite the passive readings being perfectly fine, they couldn’t help but feel that there was still a level of instability the team had missed while producing the prototype. Perhaps it was just nervousness, that slight worry that the results would be inadequate. Ultimately, it was something they couldn’t affect anymore. The woman handling the camera began counting down. Three… two… one…

    “Greetings. I am Silvije Skok, and I serve as team lead and head researcher on my team’s master’s project - experimenting with Minovsky Particles for the purpose of enhancing miniaturized engine output. As the fields of particle physics and energetics keep advancing at a breakneck pace after the confirmation of Professor Minovsky’s ‘M-Particle’, the question of applying this for conventional use has been an active talking point for the past few months.
    Our team has theorized that, with the introduction of Minovsky Particles into a pre-existing uranium-powered thermonuclear engine, one could not only greatly increase the capabilities of our current engine designs, but could also greatly expedite the process of miniaturizing larger engine designs to be utilized in places other than massive space cruisers. This could rapidly change the landscape of locomotion as a whole, ranging from greater access to FTL travel to simply allowing for the possibility of converting smaller, more affordable craft designs into being capable of breaching the atmosphere. The following shall be a presentation of our theory. Should this succeed, our species could be grasping at the next stage of technological evolution. Thank you.”

    Silvije turned back around, only to be met with a mixture of clapping and a couple of joking remarks.
    “Next stage of technological evolution? My my, our Silvije’s becoming a true wordsmith, aren’t they?”
    They shook their head and let out a few approving chuckles, walking over to the engine’s main computer. The levels were still normal. Time to get to work.
    “Alright everyone, stand back. I’m going to begin inserting the particles after a count of three.”

    “Three…” People began moving away to give room for Silvije and the engine.

    “Two…” Their hands lightly shook.

    "One."

    The soft, green glow of the engine began to brighten, and the whirring of various cooling fans drowned out much of the noise. The test began successfully. Silvije sighed, and slowly began increasing the density of the particles.
    “Minovsky Particle density at 10 percent…” The glow kept getting brighter, and slowly, the color of it began to change.
    “Particle density at 20 percent… S-Silvije, I think you should go a bit slower…” The glow was no longer green. It was now blue.
    “Particle density at 30 percent…” The color kept changing with no signs of stopping, and one could hear the strain being put on the cooling systems.
    “Particle density at 40 percent…” The engine was glowing in shades of purple and pink.

    “Particle density at… wh-what..?” Silvije squinted their eyes, only to quickly open them once more. 

    "Oh dear Lord in Heaven."

    Without warning, Silvije got up, knocking their chair over and ushering the rest of the team to move.
    “Everyone, emergency evacuation! The particles are overloading the engine, the uranium’s about to go critical!”
    Within a few moments, pandemonium broke out in the room. A few didn’t bother waiting for further information and bolted out, while some had to be persuaded slightly more. The last to leave was Blago, but before he did, he looked back to see his team leader, having sat back down at the computer.
    “Silvije, get a move on! We don’t have much time!”
    “No, not yet. I’m going to try my best to keep this from turning into a nuke, and it’s going to require as much attention as I can muster. Get yourself to safety first.”
    They turned their head to give Blago one more smile before he ran out.

    “Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you, Blago.”

    The explosion that came from the engine shook the university building to its core. Pots were knocked over, drinks were spilled, a few students fell to the ground. However, the major damage was limited to just the room of the engine, thanks to Silvije Skok’s efforts. As for the doctor themselves…

    Blago waited and waited for Silvije to leave the premises, each second making him more and more anxious. Then came the explosion, and it was like his heart skipped two beats. Quickly, he rushed back, hoping and praying that they had made it out in one piece. Surely, they had to have. He wouldn’t be accepting anything outside of that.
    “Silvije!! Silvije, are you here?! Yell if you’re still okay!” He kept yelling, over and over again, getting closer and closer to the engine room. No signs of them anywhere.
    The room was a disaster. Tables were thrown around, most of the equipment had been rendered useless, although surprisingly the room was mostly clean of smoke or charring. The Geiger counter in Blago’s pocket was eerily quiet as he walked around the room, trying to assess what had even happened.

    “Blago.” A voice called to him from a pile of garbage by the corner. He quickly rushed over, moving some of the heavier trash away, panic filling every word coming out of his mouth.
    “O-oh god, what even happened here? Silvije, y-you didn’t leave, did you? How are you even alive? N-none of this seems real, it-“
    “Shh… It’s going to be fine.” The pile began moving on its own, and Blago stepped back. What he saw was horrifying. Pristine lab clothing, ripped and torn to shreds. Snow-white skin, darkened and deepened to a shade of dead pink. Where once were two shimmering eyes of emerald were now one, the other replaced with a pearl lacking detail. Blood poured down the doctor’s head, and they could barely stand on their own.

    And yet, that soft smile still remained.