A Gain Greater Than Unity

Abigail was startled by the intrusion.

"Working late?" said Bradley. She pulled her hand out of the toaster-size frame of stainless steel. Having nicked her finger on a sharp edge, a tiny drop of blood dripped into the apparatus. A bright dime-sized glow beamed from within the unit.

Ignoring the experiment for a moment, she turned to address the handsome Princeton professor. "It's not that unusual," she said sweetly. Abigail was attractive in her lab coat, and glasses.She slouched shyly, trying to fix her short, brown, unkempt hair.

Bradley, on the other hand, was the epitome of ivy-league privilege. He was tall and slim with soft brown hair. He was handsome in his tweed jacket. Their eyes met briefly before Abigail blushed and turned her attention back to the metal blob.

"Sorry. Can't talk now. I think something has happened in the experiment."

Bradley nodded and headed down the poorly lit corridor. Yellow painted cinderblock walls framed the pipes carrying steam, liquid nitrogen, and large electrical conduits. Abigail peered after him as he passed the other lit bays housing large tokamaks and lasers.

The glow inside was dimming. Abigail was confused but had a notion. She squeezed at the fresh cut, drawing blood again. Sure enough, as the red fluid hit the machine's air intake, it jumped back to life. The equipment emitted a whir accompanied by a small flash. Abigail glanced at the displays. The numbers indicated a gain greater the unity. A milestone. Fusion power was within her grasp.

The output of her experiment exceeded the amount of energy put into it needed to contain and sustain a fusion reaction. She is finally on the path to ignition.

Over several days, she fed her experiment in earnest, at first pricking her fingers and then intentionally draining her blood with a syringe. She couldn't sustain the effort nor contain her excitement.

Her stainless-steel cube acquired an organic texture. It grew with each feeding. It glowed with a steady radiance. Abigail stayed late every night.

Bradley visited occasionally, and although they felt a magnetic attraction and sexual tension, Abigail was just too busy to let her biological urges control her progress. Bradley felt disappointed and frustrated.

Abigail found new sources for her feeding program. At first, she secured pints of blood from the biologics research lab. When that wasn't enough, she headed to the morgue and stole blood drained from cadavers. The machine's appetite and size were increasing, but it seemed a little less able to consistently maintain the original output level. Abigail tried a bit of her own blood again. The results were astounding. Abigail was not surprised. Her device required fresh blood.

One night as she turned to leave, Carlson Menard, the chief researcher and head of the department, appeared out of the shadows. "Well done, Abby," he said using the diminutive address. Abigail hated it.

"I see that you have succeeded. I can now present this experiment to the symposium tomorrow."

"That's my work!" she chided. "I get to present it."

He moved closer, invading her personal space. She backed away, and he crept closer. He forced her against the concrete column. "Well, we can work something out." He said in an unsettling hoarse whisper.

He forced his old, wrinkled lips smelling of cigars and whisky upon hers. Abigail recoiled, put one foot up behind her, and pushed with all her might.

With a shocked look on his face, he stumbled backward and fell, hitting his head on the black granite tabletop with a resounding crack. Blood oozed quickly into the device. It seemed to slurp it up. The shining orb inside grew bigger and brighter, and the body was gone in a flash of lightning.

About sixty folding chairs were set up in front of her bay. Her contraption had morphed overnight with the unexpected feeding. It now stood twenty feet tall. The glow within was strong and steady.

"Distinguished colleagues. Thank you for coming. I apologize that Doctor Menard is unable to present. He has left me to deliver the results of my independent experiment." She emphasized "my."

After continuing with very technical details, leaving out the key ingredient, she chimed in, "And that concludes the demonstration. I have proven that we can produce fusion power without losses.

Her remarks were met with a standing ovation. As everyone else filed out of the area, Bradley stayed behind. He approached Abigail and hugged her. At first, a very discrete and platonic hug, but Abigail softened and looked into his eyes. He touched her cheek. They kissed a single passionate kiss. Bradley withdrew quickly and apologized. "You hungry?" he said, covering up his nervousness.

"Starved! Can't you hear my stomach growling?" she quipped.

He put his arm around her waist, and they walked down the gloomy hallway. Abigail heard the machine repeat the growling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the now greenish glow dimming.

Further reading:

Introduction to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion

Little Shop of Horrors, Edition# 1 Comic – March 1, 1987