Three days later.

  ?Karen relaxed his body, feeling the geothermal heat radiating from the Hemolysis Point. It was a final storage of stamina before the operation. Over the last ? days of observation, he had discovered that surveillance was weakest in the morning. As the facility bustled with preparations for the equipment, security grew lax, with some guards being reassigned as lab assistants.

  ?Detecting the accelerator’s startup was simple. For such a colossal facility, high-pressure steam was an absolute necessity, and the piercing hiss of the compressors always heralded the beginning. After a day of intermittent starts and stops, the second day was different. As if all repairs were complete, they seemed to be conducting acceleration tests to the absolute limit. The unique low-pitched hum of the rotor echoed even to Karen’s hiding spot.

  ?Based on the vibration intervals, he estimated the angular velocity of the rotating body was already supersonic. Yet, there was no sonic boom when it broke the sound barrier.

  ?The interior must be a vacuum, Karen noted. He recorded his findings and turned to Tirn in the adjacent foxhole. "They’re going for the real experiment tomorrow."

  ?"It seems so. It looks like a final check before the live run."

  ?"When the experiment begins, the guards will move inward to assist. That’s when we strike."

  ?Tirn nodded. Karen pointed to the locations of the Research Wing and the Utilities Wing they had identified over the past two days.

  ?"We split the roles. I will infiltrate the Research Wing to seize the technical data. You will plant explosives on the high-pressure steam tanks and the Fluid Computer piping. After installation, even if I don’t emerge, blow it immediately after 20 cells pass."

  ?"Understood."

  ?"Target the pipes and the Fluid Computer switches rather than the tank hulls. The main units are too reinforced for standard explosives to do much damage."

  ?Karen planned to strike the most vulnerable points. Tirn felt reassured by his commander's meticulous rationality. A leader who was neither reckless nor timid was advantageous for mission success and survival.

  ?"Sleep early tonight. Our objective is assessing their technical level and sabotage. Focus only on the mission."

  ?Karen warned Tirn once more, fearing she might become distracted by the disc data. It was a night where the massive reflection of Luni bathed the entire facility in light.

  ?Pollack sighed as he performed a final manual check on the rotors. He resented Rilke’s policy, but he knew the military’s pressure and did not express it openly. However, the speed of the experiment was too fast. The conditions were harsh enough to require at least seven days of maintenance after a single run. The schedule, resuming only three days after the last test, triggered a deep sense of unease. He meticulously inspected the area around the target plate where the final collision would occur.

  ?"Is the state of the equipment so unstable that the Chief Engineer must check it at this hour?"

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  ?Pollack turned to see Rilke standing behind him.

  ?"Not quite. But we’re using rare elements refined from thousands of persils. I have to be certain. It seems you can't sleep either, Director."

  ?"I have a feeling we'll succeed. The mathematicians said Uranium and Thorium are the most likely keys in the Disc-Senders' formulas."

  ?"Did they truly succeed with those formulas?" Pollack struck the equipment with his wrench. The metallic clang echoed through the vast space—his personal punctuation mark for a finished check.

  ?"Pollack, you haven't seen the discs, have you? They contained things beyond our imagination. Even the atomic structure was analyzed in ways we can't fathom. I believe the Mass-Energy Equivalence formula is the cornerstone of all that technology. The beginning of a new physics."

  ?Pollack nodded. To him, scholars like Rilke were always dreamers. But because of such dreamers, Garenians had crossed oceans and flown through the skies. He wasn't a dreamer himself, but he felt he belonged by their side, turning those dreams into reality.

  ?"At first, I was excited to see how they found it. Mathematics and science are universal, yet they knew what we didn't. Then, I became afraid. That there might be something out there we simply cannot comprehend."

  ?"Is that why we're simulating the core temperature of Alisor?" Pollack asked.

  ?Rilke shook his head, looking out at Luni.

  ?"It’s not just about temperature, Pollack. My doubt is about their experience. These formulas read as if they were describing phenomena that were already right in front of them. To us, matter is solid and unchanging. Have we ever imagined that matter itself could decay?"

  ?Pollack gripped his wrench tighter. "Isn't that the realm of philosophy? Matter only changes when it melts in the heat of a Hemolysis Point."

  ?"No, that is a change of state, not a decay. But the disc records are different. They seem to have built their equations with an 'invisible flow' as a constant. Of course, mathematical flow is logical, but it wouldn't be possible without observation. As if elements that emit heat and transform into other elements were common."

  ?Rilke’s eyes grew sharp.

  ?"Recent research shows Garen has been perfectly shielded from violent cosmic particles by our powerful magnetic field and thick crust. But what if the Disc-Senders' planet was different? A weak magnetic field, cosmic light pouring onto the surface, and these dangerous elements scattered everywhere? To them, these formulas weren't innovations—they were a survival log."

  ?Pollack imagined a hellish world where invisible light pierced flesh and rocks generated their own heat.

  ?"Then they gained this truth through much more suffering than us. And we are trying to steal the results of their thousand-year ordeal in a single stroke with these Fluid Computers and accelerators."

  ?"Exactly. And that is why I am afraid. We know the 'Result,' but we don't know the 'Price' they paid for it."

  Pollack struck the tungsten box with his wrench to dismiss Rilke’s worries.

  ?"We’ve already succeeded in high-temperature experiments several times. If it were a problem, we wouldn't be standing here. No matter the environment, mathematics doesn't lie. If the formulas are right, the results will come."

  ?Rilke nodded, but his anxiety remained. Pollack recalled the test they had performed earlier.

  ?"The light generated then was truly astounding. It wasn't the red we know, but a beauty that paralyzed the eyes. The fact that colors from a different realm exist... that alone was enough to influence not just science, but art as well. Heh."

  ?Pollack clicked his tongue. It was a shame such beauty was being swept away by the tide of war.

  ?"No problems with tomorrow's experiment?"

  ?"The impact plate, you mean."

  ?"250 persils of Uranium will strike at supersonic speeds. It must hold long enough for the reaction."

  ?Rilke’s worry was met with Pollack tapping a nearby pipe with his wrench.

  ?"I don't know how long 'sufficient' is, but at the temperatures we can generate, 10 cells shouldn't be a problem. Beryllium-coated tungsten is optimized for heat diffusion and enduring high temperatures. Heat concentration won't ruin the test."

  ?Pollack pointed to the uranium mass and the surrounding structure. "As far as we know, it's fine."

  ?Rilke knew that answer included at least a three-fold safety factor. Pollack never feigned knowledge during risk analysis and was always meticulous under given conditions.