Parturition

"How's the surface?"

A question asked by Dr. Dave to me for about tens times already. Unfortunately, I breathed the same answer.

"Still flooded." I said after scouting using the outdoor cameras.

It's November 24, 2023. The third day  since we arrived here and finally we're done creating the nano mite prototypes we need for the plan but there were problems we encountered upon trying to test it.

First, we can't open the hatch yet and fire the nanomites up in the air. A flood ravaged the city and remained for days.

Second, We can't also test the nanomites inside the lab since the air inside was purified. The quality of air wouldn't exhaust the nanomites' purification capability.

Third, our suits' resistance levels are too low for a swim outside.

"Oh, feel that?" Simon uttered.

"Hold on to something tight!" Dr. Dave cried.

Aside from floods, we also felt random earthquakes every now and then. Different magnitudes at random times of the day. Although the outer layer of the lab was made of Gold, Iron, and Titanium alloys, there was still no telling whether or not it could withstand the varying intensity and the frequencies of these quakes.

We're backed against a wall. All we could do was to wait for the flood to drain.

Simon gambled swimming towards the surface but the water's temperature was too hot, and it exhausted his suit's resistance. So we had no choice but to repair and recharge our suit's resistance. Luckily, the lab's got equipment to do it but it would take a day or two to finish the job due to power shortage. After all, we were relying on purely renewable enery and energy amplifiers since power facilities were totally wiped out already. So we're basically 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬.

"Phew"

The shaking had stopped.

"I'll go for a quick patrol. See if there are damages around." Simon left.

"If only we could harvest more power"

Dr. Dave sighed.

"Harvest.." Something went over my mind.

"Harvest.. I-It's not the right word. Harness! It's the word for it. I think I've got something." I rushed towards my work area. Curious, Dr. Dave quickly followed me.

I grabbed the mysterious stone off the advanced meter and waited for Dr. Dave's reaction.

"Mr. Madrid, it's no use. We tried using it as a source power to machines but it only fried the circuits."

"𝘌𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺, because they're machines. If we are unaffected by its power then there must be something inside of us humans that acts as a total resistance of this power. If we're able to figure that out, all there's left to do is to regulate it so the power from this stone could be useable in various applications." I explained.

"Brilliant! But how?" Dr. Dave asked.

"Come with me"

We then started testing it by putting a dust particle from the stone in contact with different kinds of human cells. Luckily, there were ample live samples from the second level of the bunker where they studied advanced human cell regeneration and cloning.

"Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you two. Looks like we're still safe at the upper level, although I've seen some cracks on the lower level near that generator like thing. He-hey, you listening?" Simon returned from patrolling around the bunker.

"A crack?" I replied while I was on the microscope observing the 31st petri dish.

"Yeah, and---" He was about to say something.

"Sssh!" Dr. Dave interrupted him.

"What? I just thought it's alarming so I let you know." Simon lowered his voice reasoning.

After hours of changing petri dishes and trial and errors. All those burnt cells never had gone to waste.

We found it!

It's the Collagen! The protein responsible for our healthy joints and skin elasticity.

For some reasons, the stone reacts to it. What's crazy was that just a small amount of collagen can already harness the stone's power. Even I couldn't even believe what was unfolding right before my eyes. The Collagen slowly enclosed the stone particles and the particles never burnt it. Our skin comprises three-quarters of Collagen. Thus, explains how we were able to survive having direct contact as compared to those electrical and electronic circuits.

"Woah, magnificent! This is a breakthrough!" Dr. Dave exalted as he took a peek on the microscope.

"Lemme see?" Simon took a peek as well.

"I really don't get you smart people. All that's in there were like oil and dirt and tiny worms." Simon being Simon again.

I smiled at him and patted his back.

"That oily thing. That's the very thing that's gonna get us out of here."

And without further ado, our hands and minds once again went back to work. This time, focusing on the integration of collagen into the regulators for the stone's power output. Tests after tests. Flickers and sparks. Failures after failures

And finally,

"This is it!"

We managed to create a core reactor that could encapsulate the power of the stone's shaved parts. At that time, it was about a size of a travel backpack. 𝑨𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒕.

"Okay, so we'll replicate this thrice and embed them into our suits and in the machine."

"Alright, let's go."

With the stone's power our suits could last about a year in the harshest conditions given that it would have no physical damage whatsoever on it.

"By the way, Joe. What do you call that machine that we'll carry to the sky?" A good question asked by Simon.

Due to the urgency of the situation, I never really had thought about naming it until that question ringed in my ears.

"Yeah, correct. If that shall save this planet, atleast it deserves a name." Dr. Dave supported the idea.

Since we're a bit close to solving our dilemma, I stopped and thought about a name for it.

All eyes were on me..

"H-hey, don't give me those looks."

"C'mon, just think of something." Simon being Simon again.

I leaned back on the reclining chair I sat on, stretched my legs, looked up on the glass reflectors on the ceiling, and cleared my mind.

"ML1"

It's decided. She deserves this.

Even more.

[𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍]