The First Test

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starslayer
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The First Test

Post by starslayer » Thu Jun 01, 2023 2:05 pm

Chapter One: Success



“S.A.B.R.E at 95% charge. Preparing beam emission.”
“Radiation levels normal. Containment unit secure.”
“Target located. Please stand clear of the line of fire.”

Gayle stared at the woman in the huge glass cell, heart pounding in her chest as she waited. The blond test subject sat in a cylindrical containment unit of about fifteen feet in height and seven feet in diameter. She had been permitted to leave on her casual clothing, and thus she wore skinny blue jeans and a white crop-top sweater. Her blue eyes were wide as she looked around the white room, and she seemed to perfectly mirror Gayle's tense emotions.
Gayle glanced at her assistant, a 19-year old kid named Emmett, and, taking a deep breath, she leaned into the intercom.
“Alright, Ms. Quincy,” she said. “We're about to fire the ray. Please keep in mind that what you're doing here is greatly beneficial to our organization, and if all goes well, you'll be well compensated for advancing the boundaries of science.”
“Why'd you need to tell her that again?” Emmett asked as Gayle leaned back from the intercom. “I'm pretty sure she read the waiver, and the volunteer pamphlet. I doubt she just jumped in blindly.”
“All the same, kid,” she replied, “it's always good to remind the subjects that they're working for a good cause. I don't think that the term size-alteration really comes across to people until it happens to them.”
Emmett shrugged. “Well, S.A.B.R.E's ready. Are you?”
Gayle took another deep breath. She looked at the subject from behind her glass wall. Ava Quincy was a cute, sociable young woman, with majors in botany and zoology, facts which made Gayle wonder why on earth she'd agreed to serve as a test subject for one of the most dangerous and experimental divisions in Atlas Labs. She'd approached Gayle a few weeks ago, stating she'd be eager to serve as one of the first human test subjects for the Size Alteration Beam Ray Emitter, or S.A.B.R.E. It was a project that had been in the works for years, but had so far been largely unsuccessful. Yet certain strides and new workers at the Labs had led to breakthroughs in the tech, and Gayle, as director of the project, had determined it was time to begin human trials. Unfortunately (but also as was expected), most humans weren't keen to have their physical height, weight, and strength altered significantly, at least not by beam emission. Chemical reduction was a much more popular field, but Gayle believed that beam emission was the much more efficient and powerful means of alteration. Ava had as well, and thus, she would be the first woman in history to shrink via beam technology.
If all went well, that is.
“Ava?” Gayle asked through the intercom, “you alright?”
There was a short pause, then a crackling sound as Ava responded through her headset. “I'm here!” she replied eagerly. “I'm ready to get going! This is taking a huge step for science. Let's not waste any more time!”
Gayle nodded, and forced a smile. She tried not to think about the many lab rats and animals who'd been killed over the last seven years – exploding into bits of flaky matter, being reduced to a tiny glob of pulsating flesh, or simply dying from overexposure to radiation. She tried to think only of the successes they'd had. It was high time they got started.
“Alright,” she said finally. “Prepare to fire.”
Emmett nodded, and signaled to Janet and Franklin, two of the four mechanics who'd constructed the device. They nodded back, and began fiddling with the great gun-like contraption. The scientists and operators around the observation chamber started preparing their clipboards and journals.
There was a low whining sound, and Gayle could feel all of the workers in the room collectively hold their breath. Then, the whining sound grew louder and louder, until it suddenly stopped. The wires popped and smoked, and S.A.B.R.E appeared to have shut down.
“Janet?” Gayle asked into a separate intercom. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah,” the nonchalant voice of the young scientist responded after a moment. “This is a lot of energy for it to handle. Give her a second-”
There was a noticeable banging sound, and suddenly, a flash of blinding white light.
As the light faded, and the smoke dissipated from the room, Gayle's eyes went wide.
One of the scientists – likely Janet, she was quite fond of inspecting the “victims”, as she called them – had slipped into a hazmat suit, and stepped towards where the containment unit had been. She knelt, and picked up something between two of her fingers.
“Well, Director,” she said through the intercom, Gayle practically hearing the grin on her face, “I think we did it.”
Gayle rushed out of the observation room, and hastily through on a suit. She followed Janet out of the test room, and lowered her mask, heart pounding.
“Let me see!”
With that, Janet dropped a glass cylinder into Gayle's outstretched hands. It was roughly three inches tall now, gently steaming, but it appeared otherwise unchanged. Shaking, Gayle brought it closer to eye level, and she could see the tiny, inch-tall figure laying prone inside the cage. Gayle inspected her for a moment, her heart feeling as though it was about to burst from her chest. She was anatomically perfect, as far as Gayle could tell. No deformities or misshapen body parts. That was promising.
She put a finger to her earbud (she liked to have a means of communication on her at all times) and managed to speak.
“A-Ava? You still with me?”
No response. She took a deep breath, praying that it was just an error in Ava's device.
Then there was a tiny crackling sound, and she could hear a faint moan.
Gayle peered closely at the tiny woman, and she heard Ava's little voice, barely even distinguishable, squeaking up at her through the glass. Whether it was from fear or excitement, she couldn't tell.
“We did it, everyone,” Gayle said after a moment. “S.A.B.R.E works!”

Enigma12
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Re: The First Test

Post by Enigma12 » Thu Jun 22, 2023 7:50 am

Well now this is promising.

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