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An enormous complex that could truly be considered one of, if not the greatest construction projects in all of human history, built with the participation of every major country on the planet. And the hadron collider, once regarded as the peak of scientific achievement, now seemed like nothing more than a modest predecessor to this giant — the International Chronocenter, stretching underground for hundreds of kilometers, where the old particle accelerator tunnels had been expanded and wrapped with other rings, completely refitted into the foundation of a prototype time machine.
The floor beneath their feet vibrated, as if a giant were shifting below. Inside the central chamber, surrounded by a ring-shaped system of accelerators, stood a group of five armed fighters — the first historical team to jump into the past. They stood fully geared, helmets with open visors, in a combat stance, as if about to storm a room full of terrorists, while glowing spotlights nearby lit up clouds of steam bursting from cooling pipes.
The team commander, American Captain Michael Harris, swept everyone with a quick glance:
— Comms check. Standby countdown in sixty seconds. Ready?
— Ready, — the German Arne Kraus replied dryly, adjusting his rifle strap.
— Toujours prêt, — answered the French special forces soldier Jules Renaud, trying to hide a nervous chuckle.
— Everything according to plan, — the Japanese woman Ayako Morita nodded.
— Let’s go, — the Brazilian Thiago Morales echoed.
At the center of the chamber, the bright ring of the portal had already begun to distort, as if its surface were being stretched by hands from the inside. An unbearable heat radiated from it.
Thick armored glass separated the soldiers from the observation post, where engineers and military program curators stood. Among them was Professor Kuznetsov, one of the theorists whose work laid the foundation for the device.
— Alpha Team, hold formation. Forward, — came through the speakers.
Jules adjusted the microphone in his helmet and quietly exhaled:
"Mon dieu… I really got myself into this… though who else would’ve dared?"
The team moved forward, in sync, like in training. Their boots rang heavily against the metal floor, and the heat from the portal grew stronger with every step.
— Keep your distance, — Harris snapped briefly. — Contact in ten seconds.
Jules walked third. Inside the helmet, it smelled of ozone and sweat, his breathing sounded too loud. His heart was pounding as if it had been amplified along with the accelerators.
"Easy. It’s just a jump. Just… history."
The portal ring suddenly expanded, its surface “collapsed” inward, and the world jerked.
— Move! — Harris barked.
White light slammed into his eyes, sound vanished, his body felt squeezed from all sides. Jules managed to think that he was being turned inside out, but at some point everything abruptly cut off, as if not only the sound had been shut down, but the power to the computer had been completely turned off.
He wasn’t breathing, wasn’t feeling, wasn’t seeing. It lasted only a fraction of a second, but felt like a whole eternity. But even eternity, apparently, is finite, because in the next moment sound returned to his ears along with his vision.