The God Particle

Chapter 17: The Debriefing

Twilight Sparkle magically threw another book at the staircase in frustration as her latest attempt at decoding the link to James's home world failed again.

"Woah!" cried out her young purple dragon assistant as he ducked, barely managing to avoid getting hit with the book. "Watch where you are throwing those things, Twilight."

"Sorry, Spike," she responded in frustration. "I'm just not making any progress here at all." She flopped on the ground, rubbing her head with a forehoof.

"I don't even know if you should be working on this, Twilight. After all, you said yourself that Princess Celestia didn't think it was possible, and that there wouldn't be any attempts to send him home."

"She said there wouldn't be any attempts to send him home because she didn't think it could be done without disintegrating him or vaporizing him or something, Spike. If I can find a safe way to do it, that changes things." She glared at him.

"If you say so, Twilight." He raised his arms defensively and thought for a moment. "Do you think I will ever get to meet him? He sounds interesting."

"Of course you will, Spike. I'm not sure what he's doing in Canterlot right now. But The Princess did tell him he would be able to come back to Ponyville for visits." She rubbed her head again, the headache she had gotten from concentrating too hard and exerting too much magic finally started to ease up. "Lets get back to work, Spike. Find me that book on cross-dimensional magical theory and wormholes."

o.O.o

James finished carefully packing what he was able to salvage of the journals and other research notes they had found in the wood burning stove. He closed the cloth folder he had put them in and set them on the table.

"Well, I guess we better go get ... whatever the radioactive object is outside. I hope we can find a shovel out there, cause I'm not about to pick it up by hand. Ready to lift that that trunk again?" He looked at Theory Point.

"Not really. But I guess we don't have a choice." She sighed, pointed her horn at it and it started to glow lightly again.

James opened the door and then helped pick up the trunk, carrying it outside. Leaning up against the wall to the left of the building, thankfully, was a snow shovel. "We will have to come back and get it. I don't think we can carry both the trunk and the shovel at the same time, and the shovel won't fit in the trunk."

He used one hand to pull the door shut after they were outside, then grabbed the chest with both hands again. Lugging the trunk through the waist deep snow out to the location where they had found the strange object was no easy task, but eventually, the two of them arrived to the area and set it down, both of them panting a little from the physical and magical effort required to move it that far. Despite the cold, he was now too hot and both of them had worked up a little bit of a sweat.

"Lets go back and get the shovel, and the radiation detector," he finally said as he turned and started back towards the building once more, the unicorn following him.

Once they had returned to the strange object, James carefully dug the shovel underneath it and started to lift. "It's a lot heavier than I thought it would be," he commented. "Even a sphere of Uranium or Plutonium this size would not be this heavy."

"Do you need some help?" Theory Point asked.

"I don't think we should send any magic at this thing until we have had a chance to study it further. I'm not an expert on magic, of course ... But considering we don't know what this thing is, I don't want to do anything that might accidentally cause a criticality excursion."

"Good point." She used her magic to open the lid of the trunk for him instead.

He finally got the object onto the shovel and carefully placed it into the trunk. Then he used the end of the shovel to close the lid.

"Well, moment of truth." He turned the homemade radiation detector back on and slowly moved it around the trunk. There were no hotspots—radiation levels staying within normal background range. "Looks like we are good to go." He smiled, turning the detector back off.

"How much of a total dose you think we got messing around with this thing?" the unicorn asked, looking a bit concerned.

"Around twenty millirem. No more than about two chest x-rays really. Nothing that's worth losing any sleep over ... But we are going to have to come up with some innovative ways to study it back in the lab. We wouldn't want to be spending hours close to it," he responded, locking the latches on the trunk lid. "Well, lets get the shovel and radiation detector back to the building. Then come back for this trunk."

Once they had returned the shovel and radiation detector back to the building, they started to lug the now even heavier trunk back towards it, once again becoming quite overheated despite the cold temperature and blowing wind. By the time they arrived back at the building and set it down in front, both of them were breathing heavy from the exertion.

"Well, I guess now we just find a way to kill three or four more hours," James commented as they went back inside the building.

o.O.o

Princess Celestia paced in one of the towers of Canterlot Castle. Again, she passed by the North facing window in the tower, turning her head to look out of it. Her magenta eyes bored into the distance as if she were trying to see all the way to the shore of the Hailstorm Ocean. Clear skies over Canterlot and beyond gave way to ominous smoky gray far to the North. She turned away from the window and started pacing again.

"You are going to wear a hole in the floor at that rate, sister," Luna said, appearing in the stone archway leading into the tower, flaring her wings for a moment before folding them at her sides.

Celestia stopped pacing momentarily and looked at the Night Princess. "Something is wrong, Luna.  They should have been back by now." She resumed her incessant pacing again.

"You worry too much, Tia. They probably just got held up by a winter storm and the pegasi couldn't fly. They are probably on their way back right now."

"And what of the researchers that didn't check in? What became of them?" She stopped pacing again, giving Luna a concerned look.

"You've seen what it's like up there, Tia. They probably got cabin fever. Or got sick of the locals in Whitepony and just abandoned post. They will likely turn up in Manehatten or something ... living the good life given how many bits the Academy was paying them to even get them to stay at that desolate outpost."

The Sun Princess shook her head gently. "No. Something else is wrong, I'm sure of it." She turned back towards the window and resumed staring out of it.

"Tia, you've been worrying yourself about it ever since the incident at the castle ruins in Everfree Forest," Luna scolded. "Don't you think it's possible you are overreacting a little bit?"

Celestia turned to face the dark alicorn again. "Did you not feel it, sister? The energy surge from the North the day before I sent James and Theory Point up there to look into it?" Her tone had changed ever so slightly. There was something in it now that sounded condescending.

Luna picked up on it, her eyes narrowing slightly, her ears laying back in displeasure. "No, Tia. I did not." She stomped her forehoof on the floor once aggressively, the sound echoing off the stone walls of the tower making it sound louder and more aggressive than it actually was.

Celestia lowered her head slightly, realizing how she had sounded. "Forgive me, sister. I did not mean to sound haughty ... It's just that I'm certain I sensed something. At first they were just minor energy disturbances. But the day before I sent James and Theory Point up there, there was a spike in the energy. Like a bolt of lightning piercing the night. A crack of thunder ringing out on a silent windless eve. And then all was silent. Even the original minor disturbances stopped."

Luna calmed down, her narrowed eyes becoming more compassionate now. "I don't doubt that you truly believe you sensed something, Tia ... But why wouldn't I have felt it too?"

The Sun Princess paused for several long moments, staring longingly out the window again. She sighed slightly and responded quietly. "I don't know ... Perhaps you are right sister. Perhaps I am letting stress get to me too much and overreacting," she conceded.

Luna said nothing in response, continuing to look at her sister with concern. Celestia simply continued to stare out the window, as if lost in thought. Then, she suddenly perked up. In the distance, a small spec approached. As it got closer, it became clear that it was a carriage approaching from the North.

Celestia quickly turned and trotted past her sister, hastily making her way down the tower's spiral staircase. Luna quickly side-stepped, blinking as her sister nearly ran into her.

o.O.o

The carriage touched down gently on the path leading to the castle gate, the pegasi slowing to a trot as they moved into the court yard. They continued down the white stone path towards the castle, stopping in front of the main entrance. After the excursion to the far North, James had never been so glad to see Canterlot Castle in his life. He opened the door and stepped out, holding it open for Theory Point. She stepped down from the carriage, adjusted her uniform a bit, and started trotting away towards the Academy's spired buildings.

He blinked. "Where are you going? Princess Celestia is going to want to debrief us I am sure. And we have to deliver a report to her."

She stopped and turned her head back, looking over her flank at him. "Correction you have to deliver a report to her and get debriefed. I have to give a lecture on Swirlian sub-particle energy fields and their potential applications to unicorn magic. I'm already going to be late for it." She turned her head away and continued trotting towards the academy.

What sub-particle energy fields? he thought to himself. He shook his head slightly to get his mind back on track. That would have to wait. "But you can't just—" he called out to her, then stopped as she continued trotting away, paying him no attention at all. Great ... Now what? he thought to himself. He had to go find Princess Celestia. But he couldn't just leave the carriage here unguarded, given what he knew was in the trunk it was carrying. Neither could he simply ask one of the guards to watch it since he was not supposed to say anything to anypony. He hated the secrecy involved in all of this. It forced him to make dangerous choices. He did not want either princess anywhere near the carriage, given how little he knew about the radioactive material sealed in the trunk. He didn't want the carriage and its potentially dangerous cargo anywhere near the castle. But that couldn't be helped for now, given he could tell nopony but the princesses about what they had found.

Princess Celestia appeared at the great arched main entrance to the castle, trotting quickly towards the marble stairs that led down to the courtyard where he was standing with the carriage. Princess Luna followed her sister, close behind. James raised his hand, motioning for them both to stop where they were as he started walking towards them, climbing the stairs. They both stopped, standing next to each other now, looking at him curiously as their manes and tails flowed in the wind.

James reached the top of the stairs and took a couple of more steps forward. He knelt and bowed.

"James, it is good to see you back." Celestia spoke first. "Where is Theory Point?" She looked around trying to spot the unicorn, who had long since disappeared around a corner.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Theory Point was ... in a hurry I guess. She said she had a lecture to get to. She left as soon as we landed."

"A lecture ..." Princess Luna spoke, her eyes narrowed and her voice sounded dangerous. "We shall have to ... lecture her about leaving before she can be debriefed."

The Night Princess stomped her right forehoof once in annoyance. From his kneeling and bowed position, the alicorn's forehoof passed dangerously close to his face, then impacted the marble platform as if a large stone had suddenly fallen into a waveless pond, sending out ripples of power which he was sure he could feel pulsing through him. He knew her anger was not directed at him, but even so, the aggressive stomp of her forehoof, the dangerous power that radiated with her voice, the fact that she towered over him from his kneeling position, making him feel so small, so insignificant—they all served to send a twinge of fear through him. His heart beat faster and he winced involuntarily, drawing back slightly, but quickly recovering his demeanor.

"You're scaring him, sister." Celestia tried and failed to suppress a small giggle at the human's reaction to Luna's hoof coming down so close to his face. She quickly composed herself again and looked down at James. "Please, stand. I was getting concerned that you were not back before now."

"I apologize, Your Majesty. We were hung up in Whitepony for a night because of weather. The bush pegasi wouldn't fly us up to the outpost until the next day." He stood up, using one hand to brush the small amount of dust off his clothes from where his knee had been on the ground.

She nodded her head slightly, ignoring a 'see? I told you so' look from Luna. "It's understandable. No need to apologize. And what of the researchers? Did you find them? Are they ok? Were they—" She stopped her barrage of questions. The human's eyes had taken on a look of deep concern. She was sure she could see the color leaving his face, like she had just pulled the stopper on a bath and the water was swirling down the drain. After a few moments, he spoke quietly so only the two royal sisters could hear.

"We need to talk. And the carriage needs to be taken to a highly secured area and guarded closely—an area away from the castle. Preferably underground and shielded. There is a trunk inside of it. The guards must not open the trunk." He emphasized the last part about not opening the trunk.

Luna looked slightly uncertain, still not fully trusting the human. Even Celestia hesitated for a moment. Then she nodded her head slightly. "Alright," she said quietly. She turned to the four pegasi guards at the castle's main entrance, looking at one of them specifically. "Go and find Captain Stormwing. Tell him to meet me at the main entrance."

"Of course, Your Majesty. Right away." The guard bowed to his Princess before turning and trotting inside the castle.

The two alicorns and the human remained silent as they waited for Captain Stormwing. James looked at both of the royal pony sisters, examining their expressions. If either one of them were at all concerned about anything, they didn't show it. Both of them exuded an air of confidence and authority. Power emanated from them—a raw, unbridled power that could not be tamed by man nor beast, nor controlled by any science known to man. They were mistresses of their domain, mistresses of this world—perhaps even mistresses of the entire Universe. Any entity that dared try to threaten anything under their domain was certain to fail and come to defeat—like waves breaking against a mountain of solid rock. Such was the power the two alicorns possessed. Or so it seemed. He found their confidence, command, and power helped to alleviate his own fears. It was comforting and reassuring, like the warmth of a glowing fire in a cold autumn rain.

His thoughts were interrupted as an armored white pegasus approached. He wore the same golden armor that the other guards did, but his breast plate was different, having the image of a blazing sword on it. He thought it must be an indicator of rank among the Royal Guard. The pegasus stopped and bowed before his two princesses "Your Majesties requested my presence," he stated.

"Captain Stormwing." Celestia nodded. "Please, rise." He did so. She continued. "Take three of your top guards and move this carriage to the level four containment facility underneath the physics lab at the Academy. Make sure it is secured there. There is a trunk inside of the carriage. Under no circumstances is it to be opened."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the captain responded. James marveled at the lack of hesitation in his response. There was no uncertainty, no questioning at all. Captain Stormwing was obviously very devoted to his Princess and trusted her completely.

"That is all," Celestia responded, smiled gently at him.

The pegasus captain bowed again to his princesses, then went back inside to get his guards, returning shortly afterwards. The four of them trotted down to the carriage in practiced military precision. The two pegasi that had flown them back from Whitepony were relieved of duty for the day, much to their delight, for it had been a long flight—much of it in cold windy weather. They unhitched from the carriage and walked towards the castle barracks. Captain Stormwing directed two of his guards to hitch up to the carriage. Then they started to pull it towards the Academy campus, Captain Stormwing and the remaining guard flanking the carriage on either side.

Once the carriage was safely on its way, Celestia motioned for them to follow her into the castle. He fell in slightly behind her, Luna flanking him on his right. She led them through the long corridors of the castle halls into a smaller conference room that he had not seen before. It had one long rectangular table in it, carved from fine wood—probably oak. At the front of the room, the wall was covered with a large map of Equestria, and even the areas beyond the borders of Equestria such as the buffalo lands. On the side walls, long banners hung from the tops, stretching nearly to the floor. They alternated back and forth between the Solar banner of Princess Celestia, and the Lunar banner of Princess Luna. Celestia closed the door to the room using magic, then motioned for Luna and James to sit down.

"Did you find the researchers?" she asked, getting right to the point of the meeting.

"No," James responded. "Nor could we find any trace of them. Any tracks leading away from the building would have been long since covered over with the snow storm that hit before we arrived at the outpost. But we—" he was cut off by Luna asking a question.

"Could they have simply crashed somewhere while flying to Whitepony for their checkin? I mean if the weather was bad and all ..."

"We think that is unlikely," he responded, looking at Luna for a moment, then looking across the table at both of them. "They were doing some kind of research that was definitely not climate related. We found a lot of hand written research notes and journals inside the stove. They had tried to destroy them—to burn them. Unfortunately, they succeeded in destroying much of it." He paused for a moment to see if either one of them had any questions, continued when Celestia motioned with a forehoof for him to go on. "They were experimenting with some type of nuclear physics. We believe they probably had some kind of minor nuclear accident which they thought would be detected. And that's why they abandoned the outpost so quickly—knowing that you would send an investigation soon." There was as long pause as the princesses absorbed the information. Then Celestia spoke again, her demeanor still calm and collected.

"What were they working on, James?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid we have more questions than we do answers at this point, Your Majesty. Again, most of their research notes were destroyed in the stove. We are fortunate that any of them survived. In their haste to leave, they forgot to open the damper. The fire went out before it could destroy everything."

Celestia shook her head slightly, her mane flowing from side to side. "That's not good enough, James. If you don't know what they were working on, than tell me your best guess—your thoughts." Her tone was not condescending or angry. But it was commanding, leaving no doubt that she demanded more than what he had given her so far.

He rubbed his forehead lightly with thumb and index finger for a moment, the stress of the situation seeming to weigh on him more than on either princess. "I can't tell you what they were working on because I don't know. But I can tell you what they were not working on. They were not working on a bomb, or some other type of nuclear weapon. That was my first concern, of course. But I was able to determine from the notes that survived, that it's not what they were trying to do. Or at least if they were ... or are, we have nothing to worry about for a very long time because they are so far down the wrong track that it'll never work ... I truly wish I could tell you more than that right now, but it's all I know. Theory Point doesn't know anything more."

Celestia nodded her head slightly. "So it's not any type of nuclear bomb ..." she said, more as a statement than a question. She looked a him for confirmation.

"I am confident in saying that it is not, Your Majesty."

She nodded her head slightly again. "Alright. I trust your education and your experience on these issues." Luna looked somewhat less reassured and less trusting, but she said nothing.

"There is more, Your Majesty."

"Go on," Celestia responded.

"We were fortunate enough to find something we believe is linked to the research they were doing. It's an unremarkable heavy gray sphere. But it generates heat and is radioactive. That's what is in the trunk I wanted taken to a secure and shielded location. We know nothing else about it yet, but hopefully when we have had a chance to study it, it will yield some more answers as to what we are dealing with here."

She nodded once in response. "Make it your top priority. Theory Point will help you."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed his head respectfully before looking back up. "There is one other thing, although likely of little consequence in the overall scheme of things."

"Go on," she said again.

"We did find a substantial amount of illegal alcohol at the outpost. An entire crate full of jugs. We didn't find any evidence that they were manufacturing it there. Only that they were consuming it. Looks like they had stocked up on it for the winter. We figured as long as we were up there, we might as well bring that back too. It's in the carriage still."

"Have it brought to the Royal Guard headquarters," the white alicorn ordered. "That can be dealt with by the normal methods. If we can track down the supplier, maybe they will know something about what the researchers were doing, or where they've gone."

"You think the suppliers will actually talk, sister? Even if we can find them?" Luna asked.

"They will if it gets them out of a very long stay in the dungeon," Celestia responded.

James's mind automatically made comparisons to 1920's prohibition in the United States. Fortunately, in Equestria, it didn't seem to result in major organized crime like it did in the Untied States. Or if it did, it was well hidden.

"Is there anything else you found up there?" Luna spoke, interrupting his thoughts.

"A homemade radiation detector, and a shielded trunk designed for transporting radioactive materials, Your Majesty. Nothing else of any interest."

"Very well, then ..." Luna responded. "So you had to spend the night in Whitepony? How was that?"

James rubbed his forehead gently with his finger. "It was uh ... an experience, Your Majesty."

Celestia chuckled at his response and then explained. "They are distrustful of outsiders up there and prefer to be left alone. They pride themselves on their ruggedness. For the most part, we stay out of their affairs. That's the way they prefer it. We don't have any weather pegasi up there because they don't want them. They consider it unnatural to control the weather and prefer to leave it to its own devices."

"I kind of got that impression from them. Good to know it was nothing personal." James gave a brief nervous laugh.

"And we have one more issue to cover." It was Princess Celestia that spoke now. "Have you reached a decision on joining the faculty of the Academy?" She looked directly at him now.

James hesitated for only a moment. "I have, Your Majesty. And I would be honored to teach and research at the Academy."

The Sun Princess smiled at him. "I'm glad you have decided to join.  I will send word to them. Stop by the administration office when you get over there. They will get you situated."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"That will be all for now. But report back to me as soon as you know anything more about what was going on up there."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will." He bowed to both royal sisters, then left the conference room, closing the door behind him.

Luna looked at her sister once they were alone in the conference room. "Well, Tia. For something we didn't want him involved in at all, you've pretty much got him neck deep in it now," she said, seeming slightly annoyed.

"We don't even know if this incident is related to the goings on at the ruins in Everfree Forest, sister," Celestia responded.

"Really, Tia? I think we can safely assume it is. In fact, I think the only safe assumption is that the two are related."

"Even so, what else would you suggest, Luna? His academic background and his experience in the field of nuclear physics would seem to make him the most qualified to look into this. We need him to be loyal to us."

"But what if he isn't, Tia? What if he lied to us and it is an attempt to build a bomb? What if he sees this as an opportunity to usurp us?" The dark alicorn had a look of concern in her eyes.

"Why would he want to do that, sister? What could he possibly hope to gain?"

"You've seen Twilight's letters. About how he's not comfortable with the way we rule—not comfortable with our style of government. But right now, there's nothing he can do about it. If this is some kind of super weapon—an attempt to build an atomic bomb or something, that could change all of that. He might see an opportunity. What if he betrays us?"

The white alicorn shook her head slightly. "He knows I would consider any betrayal to be high treason, sister. I told him as much. And he is well aware of the punishment for treason ... He is well aware that I would have him imprisoned in the dungeon for the rest of his life. Do you really think he wants to be a martyr for his political or social beliefs? Considering none of our ponies even want what he believes?"

"I wouldn't say none, Tia. There are the ones in Whitepony."

"They are not revolutionaries, Luna. They don't want to conquer Equestria. They just want to be left alone. And we leave them alone for the most part as long as they follow the law. Besides, even if they were interested in revolution, do you really think James wants to martyr himself for a town of a couple hundred ponies that don't even like him? Or his 'academic meddling' as they would call it?"

Luna shook her head and raised a forehoof to stop her sister. "That's not what I'm worried about, sister. You say you would imprison him for life for any treason on his part. I have no doubt that you would. But if this is some kind of attempt to build a super weapon or something, and he decides to take advantage of it, we may be in no position to be able to charge him with treason. And he might not even have to martyr himself."

Celestia sighed a little bit, looking down at the table, tapping her forehoof on it lightly. Luna did have a point, she realized. But she knew, in one of those ways that only an immortal being with thousands of years of experience can know—a being who is far wiser than any humble mortal can know, that James was here for a reason. And that he had some important role to play in this. Her heart told her that role was for good. She looked back up at Luna and spoke again. "I understand your concerns sister. But I trust him. I believe him when he says it is not a weapon, and that he currently doesn't know what it is. He is here for a reason. Of that I am sure. And my heart tells me his role in whatever is unfolding here is one of good."

Luna shook her head again and looked straight at Celestia, her eyes narrowed slightly, her ears laid back again. "Your heart is too trusting, Tia. It's going to be your downfall one of these days."

Celestia, recoiled slightly, taken aback by her sister's comment. She opened her mouth to respond, but the Night Princess had already turned on her hooves. Her horn glowed as she opened the door with magic and left. Then she closed the door again, slamming it harder than need be. The sound echoed off of the stone walls outside of the door like a crack of distant thunder. Then, there was silence, leaving Celestia alone in the conference room with nothing but her own thoughts.