The Discovery That Destroyed Him

Synopsis

Luke Alexander stared at himself in the mirror one last time. His face looked pale and gaunt, and the bloodshot veins in his eyes spread out like cracks in glass. Three days had passed since the crude particle collider in his basement had accidentally created something that shouldn't have existed in this universe: the Abyss Particle. He hadn't slept once since then. The tiny black dot floated inside a magnetic containment field. It carried enough energy to drag the entire Eurasian plate into the Earth's core, but it also had the power to open the door to an age of unlimited energy for mankind. Luke knew that the second this thing became public, every major power in the world would come after him. If he vanished without a trace, that would probably be the best-case scenario. After seventy-two straight hours of fear, excitement, and mental torture, every other option had started to feel too dangerous. The moment the call connected, Luke spoke in a rough, exhausted voice, but his tone stayed steady. "I want to activate Project Homeward. I have something that needs to be handed over to the government."