Alex left the Control Center Level, taking an elevator down to the Power Matrix Level. He went to the primary operations panel, wading through steam and the hum of the power distribution conduits. Working the computer, the data showed the same anomalous readings, and Alex started to form a hypothesis.
Swearing under his breath, he hurried to an adjacent metal stairway and climbed three flights of stairs to a circuit junction box. The cover panel popped off with some difficulty and he swore out loud this time when electricity arced, stinging his hand.
Less careful and more indignant, Alex disassembled control mechanisms and unplugged various circuitry bundles to gain access to the processor modules. In the middle of ripping out a processor, he was tapped on the shoulder.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Alex glanced up. It was Burton.
"There's a magnetic resonance issue. I've got to correct it," Alex said.
"You're going to kill yourself. There's too much juice flowing through the box. If you need to work on it, let's shut down the power flow."
Current snapped inside the box and Alex swore. "No way. Shutting the power down means taking the grid offline, and that's a setback of at least a day."
Burton activated a diagnostic tablet and synched it with the sensor grid wireless network. He scrolled through pages of data and groaned. "You should see the data analysis."
"I don't need to see it," Alex said. "The problem is the Phase Frequency Discriminator."
Burton' patted his friend's arm. "I'm sorry."
Alex straightened. "Commander Edwards, we are still on schedule for full-effect deployment today."
Burton moved closer; his voice hushed: "You can't be serious. The discriminator is at the top of the tower, and there's too much power flow to safely work on it."
"I'm going up there. I know how to fix this." Alex turned to walk away.
Burton pulled him back. "No way. You'll get yourself killed. Let's just postpone this — no one will care about a delay. But it will sure as hell matter if you end up dead."
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I don't want Birch to get involved. It's a simple repair; less hassle if I just get it done. What I need you to do is reroute the main power flow."
"Alright," Burton relented, "but I'm coming with you."
YOU ARE READING
The Distant Echo
Science FictionAlexander Green is a US Air Force scientist and the designer of an advanced, dimensional-energy weapon platform. During a system test, Alex dies from a power surge, his consciousness ripped away and transmitted across space. Somehow reanimated on b...
