The Einstein Equation

32 Chaos, Part II

Olga was still in a serious state, but she was out of ICU, recovering in a private room paid for by Kasper Jacobs, who stayed by her bedside. Now and then, she would regain consciousness and talk a little, only to slumber again.

He was fuming at the fact that Sam and Nina had to pay for what his service to the Black Sun had caused. Not only did this upset him, but he was furious that the American slimebag Tuft got to survive the looming tragedy, and get to celebrate it with Zelda Bessler and that Scottish loser, McFadden. But what drove him over the top, was knowing that Wolf Kretchoff would get away with what he did to Olga and Nina.

Pondering to an extent of insanity, the troubled scientist tried to find a way to do something. On his positive side, he decided that all was not lost yet. He called Purdue, just as he did when he first tried incessantly to get hold of him, only this time, Purdue answered.

“My God! I cannot believe I got hold of you,” Kasper gasped.

“I have been a little sidetracked, I’m afraid,” Purdue replied. “Is this Dr. Jacobs?”

“How did you know?” Kasper asked.

“I can see your number on my satellite tracker. Are you with Sam?” Purdue asked.

“No, but he is why I am calling,” Kasper replied. He explained everything to Purdue, up to where he and Olga had to leave the train, and had no idea where Tuft and his minions were headed. “I believe Zelda Bessler has the remote to the control panels of the Valkyrie, though,” Kasper told Purdue.

The billionaire smiled in the glimmer of his computer screen. “So, that is what that is?”

“You have a position?” Kasper cried excitedly. “Mr. Purdue, can I have that tracking code, please?”

Purdue had learned, by reading Dr. Jacobs’ theories, that the man was a genius in his own right. “Do you have a pen?” Purdue grinned, feeling like his old giddy self again. He was manipulating the situation again, untouchable with his technology and intelligence, just like old times. He checked the signal from Bessler’s remote device and gave Kasper Jacobs the tracking code. “What are you going to do?” he asked Kasper.

“I am going to use a failed experiment to enforce a successful eradication,” Kasper replied coolly. “Before I go. Please hurry if you can do something to scramble the magnetics of the Valkyrie, Mr. Purdue. Your friends will soon enter a perilous stage that they will not return from.”

“Good luck, old boy,” Purdue bade his new acquaintance goodbye. Immediately, he dialed into the signal of the moving vessel, while hacking into the railway system it ran on. It was heading toward an intersection in the town of Poliskaya, where it was calculated to accelerate to Mach 3.”

“Hello?” he heard on the speaker connected to his communications.

“Sam!” Purdue exclaimed.

“Purdue! Help us!” he screamed over the speaker. “Nina has passed out. Most of the people on the train have. I am losing my sight rapidly and it feels like a fucking furnace in here!”

“Listen, Sam!” Purdue yelled over him. “I am redirecting the track mechanics as we speak. Hold on for three more minutes. Once the Valkyrie switches tracks it will lose its magnetic generation and slow down!”

“Jesus Christ! Three minutes? We will be roasting by then!” Sam screamed.

“Three minutes, Sam! Hold on!” Purdue shouted. In the door of the server room, Charles and Lillian had come to see what the bellowing was about. They knew better than to ask or interfere, but they listened to the drama from a distance, looking dreadfully worried. “Of course, changing tracks runs the risk of a head-on collision, but I don’t see any other trains right now,” he mentioned to his two staff members. Lillian prayed. Charles swallowed hard.

On the train, Sam gasped for air, having no solace from the icy landscape that thawed as the Valkyrie passed. He lifted Nina to resuscitate her, but his body was the weight of a 16-wheeler and he could not move any further. “Mach 3 in a few seconds. We’re all dead.”

The sign for Poliskaya appeared in front of the train and, in a blink, passed them by. Sam caught his breath, feeling his own body weight multiply rapidly. He could see nothing anymore, when suddenly he heard the clatter of a railroad switch. It felt as if the Valkyrie was derailing from the sudden break in magnetic field to a normal rail, but Sam held on to Nina. The turbulence was immense, throwing Sam and Nina’s bodies into the machinery of the room.

As Sam had feared, a kilometer further, the Valkyrie began to derail. She was simply moving too fast to stay on the tracks, but by now, she had decelerated enough to come to less than normal speed. He braced himself and held Nina’s unconscious body against him, covering her head with his arms. A magnificent crack ensued, followed by the hell-bent vessel capsizing at what was still an impressive speed. A tumultuous crash folded the machine in two, shedding the plates beneath the exterior.

When Sam came to on the side of the tracks, his first thought was to get everyone out before the fuel combusted. It was, after all, atomic fuel, he thought. Sam was no expert on which minerals were most volatile, but he was not taking chances with Thorium. However, he found that his body had completely failed him and he could not move an inch. Sitting there in the Siberian ice, he realized how intensely out of sorts he felt. His body weighed a ton, still, and a minute ago, he was being cooked alive while now he was cold.

Some survivors of the delegation gradually crawled out into the freezing snow. Sam watched how Nina slowly came to and he dared to smile. Her dark eyes fluttered as she looked up at him. “Sam?”

“Aye, love,” he coughed and smiled. “There is a God after all.”

She smiled and looked up at the grey sky above, exhaling in relief and pain. Grateful, she said, “Thanks Purdue.”