Dr Marks tried to reset the second stage keypad but the screen was frozen. The loud hum could still be heard coming from the capacitor bank so clearly power was being generated. The professor walked over to the cabinet and placed his hand flat against the metal of the door. He removed it again sharply, feeling an intense heat radiating through the metal. “Damn,” he exclaimed, “if we don’t discharge these soon they will burn out and that will set us back days.” What about just cutting the power and letting them cool down?” Dr Marks asked. “No, absolutely not,” the professor snapped back, “if we do that we’ll have to recalibrate which will set us back another twenty-four hours.” Dr Marks picked up the faulty unit and studied it for a moment. “We could just use one of the other pads,” she offered. “It will mean recoding it for each stage but that will quicker than a system recalibration.”
“How long?” the professor asked. She did a quick calculation in her head before replying. “About five, six hours tops.” She placed the faulty keypad back on the desk before adding, “There is a quicker option, but it’s risky and the security guys won’t like it.” The professor opened the door to the cabinet feeling a wave of heat escape. “Well we need to do something quickly. What are you suggesting?”
“We could use one of the laptops.”
She did not need to elaborate further, the professor knew exactly what she was suggesting. The tertiary initiation sequence for the prototype Harmoniser had been triggered using laptops. These laptops still held the programs for each stage. The risky part would be getting them. They were stored in a locked cupboard in his office, directly across the corridor from the laboratory housing the original Harmoniser. He weighed up the risks. If the capacitor bank overheated they would have to completely rebuild the power generation unit and that would take at least two days. The optimum time for a successful transfer for Stuart was within the next six hours. Operating outside of this window meant the undulations between the two universes could become erratic. The more erratic they became the greater the chance Stuart would end up in the wrong universe. Recoding the keypads could keep them within the window but he was not sure if the capacitors would last that long. He figured he could get to his office and back to the lab in under thirty minutes. It would take about another twenty minutes to have the laptop configured and connected. This meant they could be in a position to discharge the power within the hour. As soon as they got the all clear from security, starting up again would only take a matter of minutes. The laptops were their best chance of success. “Ok, laptops it is. You stay here and monitor the capacitor bank.” He beckoned her to join him at the cabinet. “See these capacitors here?” He pointed to a bank of six large, blue cylinders connected to each other by thick copper wire. “If the outside of these distort or discolour pull the plug immediately.” Dr Marks nodded to show her understanding.
“Good.” The professor offered. He patted her on the shoulder before heading for the exit. “If I don’t return within the hour pull the plug anyway and join the others in the control room.”