Chapter 83: The QSE Experiment


    Zak Carter stood before the Quantum Synergy Engine, now twice the size of the prototype he’d once built in obscurity.


    What had begun as a single, elegant structure had become something monstrous—an amalgamation of conduits, oscillators and containment rings stretching through the facility like a mechanical spider web. The entire Dominion complex now pulsed with energy, drawn from layers of infrastructure buried deep beneath the surface.


    It wasn’t just a machine anymore.


    It was a network.


    A living, breathing construct of quantum logic and synthetic resonance.


    And they were about to turn it on.


    Dominion engineers moved with rehearsed urgency. Zak’s eyes scanned the room—rows of screens streaming data too complex to decipher without slowing time itself. In the centre, a countdown pulsed in stark red:


    QSE EXPERIMENT PHASE 1: INITIATION


    00:04:59


    00:04:58...


    He turned toward Dr Raines, voice sharp with disbelief. “You’re really going to initiate without a final safety sequence?”


    “We’ve simulated every possible outcome,” Raines replied, arms folded. “The QSE is stable.”


    Zak took a step closer. “No, it isn’t. If it were, you wouldn’t need me here.”


    Raines didn’t answer.


    That silence said everything.


    Zak turned back to the central terminal. The harmonic feed was shifting—symbols reconfiguring mid-stream. Not random errors. Adaptations. Like the machine was anticipating what was to come.


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    The micro-singularity wasn’t passive.


    It was responding.


    And not just to input, but to presence.


    Something far away was watching back.


    Zak leaned in. “This isn’t system chatter. The harmonics are syncing too fast. Increase the shielding—now.”


    Connors, across the room, gave a nervous glance. “Syncing from where? The singularity is lightyears out.”


    Zak didn’t blink. “That’s exactly the problem. It’s syncing anyway.”


    Containment protocols had been based on distance. But distance, when dealing with harmonic quantum bridges, was irrelevant. This wasn’t bending physics—it was rewriting the rules altogether.


    00:00:30


    The console flared. Red warnings cascaded across every screen.


    HARMONIC AMPLIFICATION EXCEEDING THRESHOLDS


    SINGULARITY RESPONSE INTENSIFYING


    CONVERGENCE ANOMALIES DETECTED


    Zak’s pulse surged. “Shut it down.”


    “We’ve come too far,” Raines said without turning.


    Zak hissed under his breath. “Not far enough.”


    The countdown hit zero.


    00:00:00


    The Quantum Synergy Engine ignited.


    A surge of energy rippled through the chamber like a silent detonation. Zak staggered, bracing against the console. For a split second, everything went still. The floor beneath his boots felt like it had lost contact with the world.


    Then the air vibrated. Not with sound—but with structure.


    Like the universe had just inhaled.


    And now—it exhaled.


    The lights blew out in sequence. Sparks rained from exposed conduits. Power feeds spiked into critical ranges. Monitors blinked erratically, now displaying lines of unrecognisable code.


    A fresh signal appeared across the network.


    NEW ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED


    LOCATION: UNKNOWN


    UNAUTHORISED TRANSMISSION INBOUND


    Zak froze.


    From the heart of the QSE, a new frequency emerged—so low it was almost imperceptible, so precise it bypassed the senses and struck directly into consciousness. Zak felt it resonate through his spine.


    Then—


    A voice.


    Not through speakers. Not from any system.


    It came through the harmonics.


    It came through the engine.


    “You have reached too far.”


    Zak turned to the others—but no one moved. Raines, Connors, the techs—every one of them stood frozen, as if suspended by the vibration.


    He looked back at the core. The QSE shimmered, its frame distorting like liquid metal caught in a magnetic storm.


    “You were not meant to wake us.”


    Zak’s mouth went dry. “Who are you?”


    The frequency didn’t answer. Not with words.


    The engine began to unfold—panels twisting outward in impossible configurations. Light warped. Geometry broke down. The air itself pulsed with impossible weight.


    Zak’s vision blurred. Something on the other side was coming through.


    A shape. No, a presence.


    He staggered back, breath caught in his chest.


    This wasn’t the start of an experiment.


    This was the opening of a gateway.


    And something had just walked in