Imperfect Memories - The Variance Lab

Posted on 29 Oct 2023 @ 5:38am by Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala

1,252 words; about a 6 minute read

Romulus - The Variance Lab, Romulan Academy for Science and Technology Annex, 4km from Ra'tleihfi city
2363 - 29 years prior to current timeline

The room was cavernous and intricately carved from the rock deep below the peaks of Serin'Tar. Blue lights cast a pale light from on high, the slants and edges of the walls giving it an almost natural ambience by the time it touched the ground. Sound was prone to echoing and bouncing around, no whisper was soft enough to keep it from being exposed. In another millennia this place might have been mistaken for a cathedral to some ancient god. But there were no gods here, only science.

The Variance Lab, as this place was known, was at the bleeding edge of science within the Star Empire. The vast floor of this underground chamber was filled with consoles, wires, probes, equipment, emitters, dampeners, oscillators and other such things. At the centre was a dias with what looked to be a large sensor suite set up, directed at a platform attached to a bulky engine of some kind. It was here that the magic was supposed to happen.

Upon the dias Rh’vaurekorn i’Varul, clad in a tailored silver-black lab coat, worked tirelessly on a console to one side. He was a young Romulan, the youngest in the Variance Lab at the time, and stood out a little for his bright green eyes and slightly unruly hair. His fingers danced over the console, preparing equations and developing code to deal with potential upsets to the upcoming experiment. It was an important day - months of preparations were finally coming together.

“Are we almost ready?” The low, grumbling voice of Dr. Toreth Ar’Vul echoed from nearby.

“The Quantum Temporal Matrix combined with the Variable Geometry Cloaking Field should, in theory, achieve a transphasic state, doctor,” Rh’vaurekorn replied, his eyes still fixed to the console, “But it's unpredictable. I’m not sure the computer can account for all eventualities.”

Footsteps clapped on the polished floor, and the towering figure of Dr. Ar’Vul appeared at Rh’vaurekorn’s shoulder, “That is why you are here i’Varul, we will need to make real time adjustments,” his hawkish eyes flicked over the young scientists calculations for a moment before giving a grunt of approval and stepping away. “We have reached the limit of what simulations and theories can tell us about the reality of the applications of transphasic technology here.” He reached a panel of controls behind a large transparent screen, “And in any case the military will expect a result. Success or failure. They didn’t provide this cloak for us to let it gather dust,” he smacked the large engine, the metallic sound reverberating around the room.

“Indeed not, doctor,” Rh’vaurekorn responded, making a final couple of alterations on the console, “I believe we are about as ready as we'll ever be.” He made one final flourishing tap and then walked briskly over to a station behind a separate transparent screen to Dr. Ar’Vul.

“Secondary intervention, ready,” Rh’vaurekorn called, which was almost immediately responded to by various other acolytes and scientists, “Observation one, ready.” “Auxiliary array, ready.” “Omitter two, ready.” Until all twelve sections around the dias fell silent. “Primary intervention, ready,” came the deep voice of Dr. Ar’Vul, it echoing for some time around the lab before silence fell.

The eventual hush lasted a few moments.

There was a crackle as the PA system came online, “Testing, testing,” Dr Ar’Vul said before coughing, “Everything seems to be in order.” Rh’vaurekorn could hear an audible click from the station next to him, and the lights beyond the transparent screen activated. On a round plinth in the centre of the chamber sat a complex looking probe. “Recording has begun. This will be our first full test, uhhm… Alpha I suppose that would be,” Ar’Vul’s voice crackled a little on the speakers, “OK, Power to stage 1 emitters in 3, 2, 1.” The probe shimmered and slowly phased out of sight.

Rh’vaurekorn watched his console intently, then tapped into the PA, “I'm seeing predictable phase arrays,” his finger slid down the console screen, “Tachyon sensors read that the probe is cloaked.”

“Very good,” Ar’Vul’s voice responded, followed by a little static, “Stage 2 emitters activating…” A hum filled the lab as the large apparatus nearby began to rev up, “now.”

The dials on the console began to twitch, and Rh’vaurekorn could read a steady increase in the local chroniton particles, he tapped into the PA once more, “We are reaching 15% saturation, activating Temporal Modulator now.” He shifted to his right and pulled down a physical lever. Ar’Vul had insisted on them as it was too easy to accidentally brush a screen and activate or deactivate sensitive equipment.

Inside the chamber a shimmering vortex of energy began to envelop the plinth where the probe stood cloaked. Rh’vaurekorn’s eyes were fixed on his console, “Uh, it's probably not a problem, but I'm showing a small discrepancy in... well, no, it's well within acceptable bounds again,” he wiped some sweat from his brow, “Sustaining sequence.”

“Hitting 20% chroniton field saturation,” Ar’Vul’s voice came echoing once again from the PA, accompanied by a burst of static, “I need a read on stability.”

Rh’vaurekorn watched the numbers intently, small amber warnings began to flick along the right hand side of the screen - his backup protocols were active and dealing with minor issues. “It is looking…” Red light, error, red light, error. The lights in the lab flickered and dimmed for a moment, “22%, 25%, 28%,” his fingers tapping across the screen resolving one issue for several more to replace it.

"Stabilise it! Reinforce the chroniton field!" Ar’Vul’s voice screamed, now surrounded by static.

A loud clunk came from the cloaking device, and the probe began phasing in and out of sight. As Rh’vaurekorn rushed to calibrate the quantum temporal modulators, the lab's ambient hum grew to a crescendo, and then suddenly the probe began to flicker erratically. Glimpses of its past iterations - its construction, prior tests, even potential futures where it was decommissioned or destroyed - all overlaid in a dizzying temporal dance.

Then, for a brief moment, it seemed they had succeeded. A green light on Rh’vaurekorn’s console. The probe, invisible to both the eye and time, had seemingly vanished entirely from sensors.

But then, a sudden surge of energy rippled through the chamber. The room's temperature plummeted, and a blinding light emanated from the core of the experiment. Time itself seemed to halt, then lurch, and the world around them blurred and twisted.

As quickly as it started, the anomaly ceased. The probe lay destroyed, fragments scattered across the chamber.

Rh’vaurekorn could only stare at the wreckage. For a fraction of a second, for the smallest amount of time, they had succeeded in their task. He let out a shaky breath. There was a long way to go before it was safe. He shook himself out of his stupor and walked away from his station. Dr Ar’Vul was already packing towards him.

"It's just the beginning”, the doctor said, breathless and shaking, “We've touched the edge of a revolution, i’Varul,” he had a slightly maniacal look in his eyes, “We will perfect this, even if it demands every fiber of our being. Time,” he began to break into a fit of laughter, “time will tell.”

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