I usually found the sound of the machines in the lab comforting. But today, it made me anxious. It was December1st, and the atmosphere felt tense for some reason, it had nothing to do with the approaching holidays.
Kazimir let out a low whistle, staring at the readings. "Think Vasiliev suspects anything?"
"He's got beady little eyes," Rostan spoke quitely, adjusting his glasses. "He suspects everyone of everything."
Garrett, being a hopeful person, did his best to smile a little, though it didn't look very real. "Let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe he's just having a bad week. Bomb designing probably takes a toll."
Bomb design was a regular aspect of our duties. But this Thursday was different. I found something. What I discovered that day was anything but ordinary. It was horrifying.
Hidden deep within the data, disguised by layers of complex algorithms, was a chemical formula. CompoundX-5. Its intended purpose, at least according to the heavily redacted documents, was to "stabilize" the new warhead. But the simulation models… the damn simulations showed a completely different and much more alarming result.
"It's not a stabilizer," I said, my voice very low. "It's… it's a catalyst. A chain reaction. If that thing is added to the weapon, when it explodes, it will wipe everything out and cause black clouds that cover and block the sun."
All at once, I had the attention of my companions, and their wide eyes showed me they were terrified.
We knew what Vasiliev was capable of. He was a zealot, a true believer in the Party's mission. He wouldn't hesitate to silence us if we threatened his creation.
As a nuclearphysicist, it was my job to solve things and I feel so responsible for this.
"We need to go to the authorities," Garrett managed to speak, but his voice trembled slightly. "Show them the data. They'll stop him."
"The authorities?" Kazimir let out a scoff of disbelief. "They approved the project! They're in on it! They will just kill us."
"They will silence us for sure," Rostan added.
For days, we debated. We worked in shifts, double-checking, triple-checking our findings. It was all there, undeniable. Compound X-5 would make the explosion 100 times larger. This would cause a huge, destructive chain reaction in the atmosphere.
On December3rd, we reached a point of no return. We sent encrypted files to a journalist, a woman known for her integrity and ruthlessness. We knew the risks, but the alternative was simply terrible. The next day, the news broke.
"Government Cover-Up! Scientists Claim New Warhead Poses Existential Threat!"
Panic erupted. People flooded the streets, demanding answers. The Party, predictably, denied everything. They called us traitors, liars, enemies of the state. But the seed of doubt had been planted.
On December5th, a day that started like any other in our depressing city. But everything changed when the sky suddenly broke apart. I was in the lab with my colleagues, listening to the emergency broadcasts. Then, a blinding light. A heat that burned through the concrete walls. And then, nothing but chaos.
I woke up coughing, choking on ash. The lab was completely destroyed, with metal and concrete twisted and broken everywhere. Kazimir, Rostan, and Garrett were gone.
The city outside was a burning ruin, the sky suffocated with black smoke. The Great Collapse had begun.
My head hurt terribly, and the awful smell of burning metal and bodies was everywhere. I felt dizzy and confused as I struggled to stand up among the twisted, broken machines.
Then I saw him. Vasiliev. He sat in a chair that hadn't been destroyed, lucky to have survived. A single ray of sunlight streamed down, entering through a break in the ceiling and landing directly on his face. He looked very calm, almost peaceful.
A cigarette burned between his fingers, the smoke rising to the damaged ceiling. He inhaled deeply, held the smoke for a moment, and then let it out slowly, watching it disappear. He didn't seem surprised to see me.
"You," he said, his voice raspy but clear. "You know what this is, don't you?"
I didn't answer, just stared at him, numb with shock and grief. My friends were gone. The world… was gone.
"It was necessary," Vasiliev continued, looking directly ahead. "A cleansing. The old world was rotten. Overpopulated, decadent. This… this is a new beginning."
"A new beginning?" I finally managed to say, my voice raspy and weak. "This is annihilation. You've destroyed everything."
He shrugged, as if the matter was obvious. "Sacrifices must be made. Some must be culled to make way for the strong. The virtuous."
I felt both furious and hopeless. "Virtuous? You call this virtuous? You murdered millions!"
A smile played on his lips, a sad acknowledgment of a truth he couldn't change. "I did what I believed was right. For the greater good."
We stared at each other in silence for a long minute, the crackling of the fires outside the only sound. Then, Vasiliev reached into his coat pocket. He pulled out a pistol, small and black.
"It was good knowing you," he said, smiling in a way that made me uneasy. "You were smart and a good scientist for the Party."
He brought the gun to his temple, closing his eyes.
"Wait!" I said. But it was too late.
A single shot rang out in the ruined lab. Vasiliev slumped in the chair, the cigarette falling from his lifeless fingers.
I looked at his dead body, and I knew. He hadn't been consumed by remorse. He had been planning this all along.
The Party had known what X-5 would do. They hadn't silenced us because they were protecting their warhead.
They silenced us because they wanted the Collapse.
They wanted to tear down the old world and build a new one in its ashes. The warhead wasn't meant to destroy their enemies; it was meant to destroy their own people.
They must have realized that the world was overpopulated or they were running out of resources.
I had exposed the truth, but the truth had only made things worse. We had tried to save the world, but instead, we made things worse and sped up its destruction.
Now I'm just another face in the crowd, trying to survive each day without losing myself. I still don't know what the future holds, or if their experiment was successful.
All I know is that the world that once was is gone, and a new one is now being built on its ruins, and all I can do is watch.
My only regret is that I didn't stay silent. But the truth is, even if I knew the horrible future that awaited us, I still can't say I'd follow that path.
It's terrifying to think that you can choose what's wrong over what's right.