"How the mighty have fallen. All these years, all this experience , just to lose to a rookie." Adrian mocked his competitor.
"Relax young one. Much training you still need." replied the rival moving his luscious locks from his eyeline.
"You were like a brother to me, I'm sorry it turned out this way." Adrian solemned as he stood above his rival, his brother , his freind ready to deal the finishing blow.
"I HATEEE YOUUUU!!" his rival let out a gutteral screach as his words came out not just from his mouth but his soul.
"Boom , winner winner chicken dinner baby, wooh this is a fun shooter.Good Game ." Adrian laughed triumphantly as he got up his chair giving a hand to his rival.
"How is it possible that you even won, i mean i was holding back at the start but i wasnt later." Cisco took his hand got up and paced back to his computer.
"He is younger than you, better motor response times and reflexes" Caitlin the bio chemist trying to justify everything with science.
"Beginner's luck ,maybe ." Ronnie Raymond chimed in.
"..or I'm just a natural." Adrian being too smug.
Cisco immediatly stared him back.
"Perchance. Caitlin even if we account for his faster response time wouldn't my trained neural pathways of playing 100s of hours compensate for it. Beginner's luck fits his case best, as I wager Mr.Brown isn't one to play first person shooters, am i right?" the voice was cold , calculated but calming for everyone else.
"No sir, I'm more into books and board games". Adrian stood still , like soldier who's been caught slacking off. Dr. Wells' eyes stared deep into his shifting glance and smirked.
"Well videogames are for kids and Adrian is ... at least a young adult" Rathaway chimed in as he walked into the cortex.
"hey you-- haha haha hah" Adrian let out the most nervous laugh as he stopped himself from cursing at him, especially in front of his boss, while everyone else was stunlocked. Hartley didn't insult Adrian. That alone meant he had accomplished something or somehow did the impossible, befriended Rathaway.
"Now that everyone's here lets get started. Cisco if you will." Dr.Wells pointed towards the cortex screens and Cisco started some video, maybe a simulaion.
Cisco tapped a few commands, and the massive cortex screens flickered to life with a shimmering 3D simulation of the particle accelerator ring a glowing synchrotron pulsing with virtual protons racing at near-light speeds. The room hushed as the holographic display rotated, highlighting RF cavities and containment fields in electric blue."Alright, team," Dr. Wells began, his voice carrying that signature gravitas as he wheeled closer. "T-minus 60 days to activation. Core construction's complete—98% containment efficiency in our latest proton runs. But these quantum flux anomalies in the beam path? They're like... neural pathway glitches in a gamer's brain." He shot a pointed glance at Cisco and Adrian, the corner of his mouth twitching.Cisco leaned against his console, arms crossed. "Yeah, doc, the dark matter field's holding steady in sims. But if it spikes like last week's test? City-wide blackout. Or worse ;X-elements soup for everyone." He smirked at Adrian. "No beginner's luck gonna fix that, rookie."
Caitlin adjusted her tablet, eyes narrowing at the data streams. "Biologically speaking, the energy output could revolutionize cancer treatments targeted particle therapy at unprecedented precision. But we need to quantify those meta-particle risks before anyone steps near it."
Hartley Rathaway still lingering by the doorway scoffed lightly, pushing up his glasses. "Optimism's cute, but the acoustic analysis screams resonance failure at full power. Those harmonics will shatter the ring like cheap glass. Your 'clean energy revolution,' Harrison?" He nodded at the sim. "More like Central City's light show finale."
Adrian shifted uncomfortably, eyes darting between the display and the group. "Uh, books and board games don't cover quantum flux, but... what if we tweak the RF sync? Like, compensate for the flux the way you'd adjust aim in a shooter?"
Wells' eyes lit up, that calculating smirk returning. "You're quite clever, Mr. Brown. Fresh eyes on old problems. Cisco, run the numbers. Let's see if the rookie's got more than reflexes." Cisco groaned playfully, but his fingers were already flying across the keyboard as the sim accelerated, the room buzzing with tense possibility.
The simulation hummed louder onscreen, proton streams bending through the accelerator ring as Cisco's tweaks took hold—flux anomalies smoothing out by 2.3%. Adrian swallowed hard, raising a tentative hand like a kid in class. "Dr. Wells, sir... what *exactly* are we building this for? Like, future uses after it goes live?"
Wells pivoted his chair, eyes narrowing with that cryptic glint, voice smooth as oiled steel. "World-altering potential, Mr. Brown. Clean energy to power cities. Medical miracles at the particle level. Gateways to... possibilities undreamt." He leaned forward. "But tell me ,any specific use case catching your eye?"
Adrian hesitated, then the words tumbled out in a nervous rush ; montage of raw vulnerability: his best friend from high school, single mom battling some wasting disease (images flashing hospital beeps, chemo drips, oxygen masks, "Stage IV," hairless scalp under fluorescent lights, "six months max," Adrian's helpless visits with dog-eared sci-fi novels she couldn't read anymore)...
The room fell deathly quiet post-reveal, sim paused mid-orbit. Ronnie clapped a firm hand on Adrian's shoulder, all cool-engineer steadiness. "Hey, man. Rough hand you've been dealt. We're engineers ;we fix things. This team's got your back."
Caitlin slid closer, her cute-doctor warmth wrapping around him like a big-sister hug, voice soft but fierce. "Adrian, breathe. We've all lost people. But this? This gives us a shot."
As the lab's bio expert, she tapped her tablet, eyes alight. "Targeted particle therapy via the accelerator could bombard rogue cells at quantum precision disrupt their DNA replication without touching healthy tissue. Post-activation, we'd calibrate in days, human trials in a week tops. Normally, yeah, animal rounds first, FDA gauntlets... but she's terminal. Family consent overrides compassionate use clause. It's not just possible; it's practically guaranteed to shift her odds."
Wells nodded slowly, smirk veiled in shadow. "Fortasse, Caitlin speaks truth. Horizons bend for the desperate, Mr. Brown. Sometimes... the universe conspires." His gaze lingered, hiding depths none could read.