The Soul of the Matter by Bruce Buff Page B

week.
    The countdown reached zero and the fusion reactor ramped up. As expected, the plasma gas, racing around the inside, was visible on the monitors placed at ports around the perimeter of the massive magnets. Readings were compared to expected levels. Throughout the room, there was a deep hum and a high-pitched tone.
    Fifteen seconds later, the shot was over. Viktor asked Welch, “Readings, please.”
    â€œAll within tolerances,” Welch answered.
    â€œLet me know when you’re ready for the next shot.”
    Welch directed everyone’s preparations: the refueling of the reactor, building up the electrical charges, and preparing data collection. He adjusted a few of the controls, checked power levels, and then said, “All set.”
    Once again, Viktor started the countdown, and the shot began.
    Sousan stared at the plasma image, then looked at Viktor with a puzzled expression and said, “That’s odd. The plasma looks brighter than usual.”
    â€œI don’t notice a difference,” Viktor lied. “But just in case, Nicco, give us a temperature reading.”
    â€œIn a moment. The computer is calculating it,” Nicco answered.
    Looking doubtful, Sousan turned to Viktor and said, “What’s going on? Does the new equipment have anything to do with it? You said it was just for measurement.”
    Viktor ignored her questions and turned toward Nicco.
    Nicco called out, “Temperature is at the top of the expected range. Sixty million degrees.”
    â€œAre you sure?” Sousan said, her face scrunched up in a quizzical expression.
    And then the shot was over. Sousan glared at Viktor and Welch, then walked over to Nicco and examined his monitor. It read sixtymillion degrees Celsius, normal for the reactor. But it was not, in fact, a true reading. At Viktor’s direction, Nicco had altered the programming so that Sousan would not see the actual, much higher, result.
    Welch reviewed the other readings and said, “Everything nominal. The reactor is performing as expected.”
    â€œOkay then, everyone ready for the third shot?” said Viktor.
    One by one, the scientists nodded yes.
    Welch adjusted some more controls and quietly said to Viktor, “Field modulators are ready. RF has been increased with timed pulses.”
    â€œHere we go,” Viktor said with a small smile as he started the countdown to the event that he expected would confirm they were on the right path.
    Two seconds into the shot, Welch increased the level of one of the new controls to halfway. Instantly, the plasma contracted into a narrower band and glowed brighter, clearly indicating higher pressures and temperatures. Sousan turned to Viktor with an expression that was both startled and accusatory. The possibility of hiding the real results from her appeared lost.
    Ravi announced, “X-ray emissions are up ten percent.”
    Viktor called out, “I need a temperature reading.”
    Nicco answered, “I’m working on it.”
    Without waiting for an answer, Welch flipped another switch and turned the knob the rest of the way. The plasma contracted further and began to pulsate irregularly.
    Viktor’s throat tightened. Something powerful seemed to be pressing against his forehead. The experiments were supposed to have been straightforward and low-risk. Instead, he was worried that they were jeopardizing the reactor, and perhaps more, with pressures and heat it wasn’t capable of handling. A faint, disconcerting feeling came over him, tugging at the periphery of his senses. It was like nothing he had ever experienced. He almost felt detached from his body, while, at the same time, he was aware of strange sensations washing over him. He mentally probed for the source of the sensations; they seemed unrelated to the natural nervousness that sometimes accompanied running a new experiment.
    â€œX-rays are up twenty-seven percent,” Ravi called out.
    Viktor