Chapter 1: Mr Nova

I listened to the clicks of her heels on the tiled floor. She had a perfectly paced walk. Each step was exactly 0.8 seconds apart.  Yes, I timed it. The iconic red bottom heel of Christian Louboutin was the only type of heels she wore. They demanded to be heard, they craved the attention.

Perhaps it just made women feel powerful. Or I just focus on irrelevant facts to store that information. I guess that would be my flaw. I needed to know everything. No, no I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’m just as flawed as any other human in this world or parallel world…

The point is, I’m happy with who I am. I’m not satisfied yet though. I still need to learn so much more, there can’t be an unknown in my life.

I looked up as she took her 11^th step which was the distance from her desk to my office. Yes, I counted. I watched as her blurred figure tugged at the hem of her skirt and lifted her hand to knock on my frosted glass door. It was frosted white so that no one could watch me work. I guess that was due to my slight paranoia. Two quick knocks ended the silence and she opened the door.

“Mr Nova we are ready for the first test run.” Alveera Rose stated and gave me an excited smile. She was even more excited about the project than I was. Which was odd. I funded this 57 million dollar experiment, which was equivalent to the price to launch a rocket. In all the years she has been my assistant, I’ve never seen her this interested in one of my projects.

“Right,” I replied after clearing my throat. That was a habit. The throat clearing. So I never had to face the embarrassment of having an unclear voice. It was now 10 minutes to 4 in the afternoon, as planned. I could see the flashes of lightning in the approaching clouds. A thunderstorm was on its way. Perfect.  

I got up and walked over to Alveera. She was a good height, 5.4 feet with her heels on. She had curly chestnut-brown hair and hazel eyes.  Her eyes changed colours depending on her mood. Not dramatically. She didn’t have blood-red eyes when she was angry, or anything like that. When she was happy or excited as she is now, they were a soft brown. Anger made them turn a fiery green and sadness or worry was a cool mix of brown and green.

I sighed and grabbed my jacket. What if this goes horribly wrong? Three years worth of work will all be for nothing.

“Sir if I can add,” Alveera remarked as she placed her hand gently on my arm, “You have put so much effort into this project. I know you doubt yourself, and question yourself a lot… if it doesn’t go as planned that’s okay. We will pick it up from where we left and continue.”

I looked at her and smiled. She always knew exactly how to make me feel better.

“Thank you,” I responded and placed my hand over hers for a second. Her hand was so warm, I almost didn’t want to move away. No, pull yourself together. I am her boss. I have shoved any sort of attraction I feel towards her deep down, and I will continue to do so. This was not part of my plan, falling for my assistant could not happen.

I stepped aside and pulled my arm through my jacket sleeve. Then walked out of my office and listened to the clicks of her heels as she walked behind me.

I rented out Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 for 5 years for this experiment. My team has been living in New Zealand for 3 years now. I moved their families here also, Alveera only had her Dad left. He’s full of these amazing stories and we spend time renovating old cars as a hobby when I have free time. Alveera seems to keep her distance when I’m with her Dad. It’s for the best. Our relationship is complicated enough, yet also simple. Maybe I just think about it way more than I should. Neither have us have indicated we feel anything for the other, that’s how it’s going to stay.

My team and I stay in this apartment complex near the facility. It’s nothing luxurious but it is more than enough to live happily. Being friends with your team has its advantages, we work well together and help each other out a lot. No one is selfish; we all put in an equal amount of effort.

“Mr Nova welcome.” My chief scientist greeted. Matthew Lowe was an excellent physicist who specified in cosmology. Three months prior he lost his 7-year-old son, Olly. His wife Iyla had left him alone for 10 minutes while she made lunch, which allowed him to slip out the back door and run into the road. The truck that was transporting the equipment for the project could not swerve in time and sadly, Olly was hit. His little body was crushed and his skull was shattered by the impact.

“Matthew, how are you, my friend? Glad to see you back at work.” I replied and patted his back.

“Glad to be back sir. It was about time.” He stated and handed me a clipboard.

“Okay team, three years of hard work and we are finally here. 12 May 2021, the first test run for the Tanencha experiment.” I called out for recording purposes.

“The equipment before us will fire subatomic particles at an impenetrable wall. If all goes as planned, this amount of energy will tear a rip in the barrier of what we predict to be the multiverse. Creating a doorway from the observable universe to ultimate timelines. Also known as parallel universes.” Matthew explained to the video crew that we had present. They would record the test run for documentary purposes.

The day has finally arrived, I have worked on this theory for 12 years. 12 years dedicated to what we describe to be a ‘mirrored life’. This was my life's work, my desire to explore the unknown.

“Activation of the neutron detector in 3…2…1.” Matthew counted down. The team held their breath as Mr Nova pressed the red button on the control panel.

 I felt Alveera step closer to me, I knew it was her since the smell of her perfume became stronger. I wanted to hold her hand. I wanted to have that comfort that even if this doesn’t work, she was still here. I forced myself to stare ahead, I couldn’t hint that I noticed her presence. Everyone stood watching in anticipation behind the tempered glass wall.

The lights started to flicker as the equipment drained the power. The turbine generated a few sparks and it looked like it was about to ignite a beam that would hit the wall. Then everything went black and the team heard the equipment switch off. The generators kicked in, and the lights flickered back on. It had failed.