Kevin's consciousness violently snapped back into his present reality, the vivid simulation shattering around him like a mirror struck by a sledgehammer. One moment he bore witness to Vanessa's brutal demise, the next he found himself sprawled upon the cold concrete floor of the holographic chamber, gasping for air as though he'd been holding his breath for an eternity.
Nausea roiled in the pit of his stomach, and he fought back the urge to retch as the full weight of his failure pressed down upon him. He had believed in this so strongly, so smugly confident that altering their plans for the gala evening would be enough to circumvent tragedy. Yet Blake's reach extended far beyond that single event, a malignant tentacle that had ensnared them both in its inexorable grasp.
Vanessa was dead because of him, because of his work, his hubris... and her murder had been set in motion way before that terrible night, the gala just a setup to arrange it. Blake wanted more than just her life, he craved the power and control that Kevin's research represented—a power that the scientist himself had naively disregarded until it was far too late.
Dragging himself to his feet, Kevin swept a trembling hand across his brow, his skin slick with a cold sweat. The lab seemed to pitch and yaw around him, the harsh reality of his surroundings a visceral counterpoint to the simulated world he'd just inhabited. Machines and equipment blurred together into an indistinct blur, their purposes and functions momentarily forgotten in the haze of his anguish.
This could not be the end, not while even a shred of possibility remained to alter the immutable chain of events that had led to this nightmare.
Yet as his gaze fell upon the tangle of wires and circuit boards that comprised the complex holographic projector, doubt gnawed at the edges of his determination, could he really change Vanessa's fate within the few hours of that evening simulation?
The answer burnedwithin him, an ember of stubborn hope that refused to be smothered despite thestaggering odds. He had come too far, sacrificed too much to be deterred now.
YOU ARE READING
The Probability Shift
Science FictionKevin Craft, a brilliant physicist and mathematician works with his wife and assistant on a revolutionary system of probabilistic projection through modeling of reality for the UN, in order to efficiently predict natural, human, and health disasters...
