Jumping ship to a new world

This is a short story of a crew on a submarine going to a new dimension. It is not about getting there but the actual nail biting process as everything goes to crap.

My anxiety rises by the second as the point of no return edges closer second by second.  The vibrations have reached a crescendo.  I can feel it, myself and 500 “volunteers” were getting ready to jump ship to another world.  “100% saturation reached and phase jump capacitors at max charge.  Phase shift countdown will commence in 60 seconds.  All stations perform final jump checks.”  In the last 2 years we had never got this far in the sequence, “Dear God, what are we thinking!”  I sprint to a run, verifying for the last time on this planet that we are not going to have a catastrophic failure during the dimension crossing.  I am more on autopilot as I check each system on  my watch station.  Coolant water temps, neutron flux detectors, protection system relays.  Everything is yellow and pushing the red line as the reactor pours out more energy than its designers ever intended.  I have been drilling for this moment for 7 years.  As I get to my dimension transfer tub I see the red fail light lit.  I am almost stopped in my tracks but my training takes over.  I slam the all systems go button and flip the hold button for my transfer tank.  My transfer tub is just a shallow tub that I submerge my body in a special electrotransfer fluid that prevents my nervous system from getting fried durring the dimension shift.  Somehow the tub has cracked and my life saving oasis is loosing all its anti brain frying fluid.

All across the board green go lights up for the systems.  “Captain red fail alarm for reactor tech transfer tub” screams the life support officer.  “Prepare for emergency abort!”   My hand hovers over the emergency abort switch I have until the final 10 second countdown to abort, an abort this far into the countdown will damage the submarine past being repaired.  Suddenly an amber bypass light switches on above the fail.  “Isolating tank 23!  I have enough time do not stop count down!”.  Comes across the emergency channel.  Everybody on the bridge stares at me.  “You heard the man! Take your jump stations! 10 seconds to final countdown!”  Everybody begins jumping into their tubs.  Over the comm I hear the reactor officers emergency announcement “Jacob you have a backup station waiting for you in the reactor room, I will hold the door open until t -  1!”  

The ship's speakers start the auto countdown 10, 9, I can hear the crew around me hyperventilating in prep to hold their breaths for 90 seconds it takes to for the ship to change every molecules in the ship's dimension frequency.  6, 5, suddenly the green go light lights up at the environmental station.  At the cost of his life the operator had isolated the failed transfer tub from affecting the whole transfer system.  “Godspeed Jacob” I throw up a salute knowing he had sacrificed himself for the crew and missions sake.  2, 1 I step off into my personalized vertical tank fully submerging into the glowing blue water.

As I closed the last valve isolating my hemeranging tank I hear the counter 6, 5.  With speed of my life on the line I bolted for the reactor control room in the upper level.  I ran up the stairs 4 at a time to the upper level  and running across the upper deck to the reactor control room.  “Three, Two” I cross into the reactor room “One” I hear the door slam behind me as I suck in a deep breath and The reactor officer and I jump together into the glowing tub of water in the center of the control room.

As I fell into the water the ships lights went out and as the top of my head splashed below the water the ship's vibration stopped and instantly an intense hum saturated my entire body.  As I reached for the hand holds to keep myself under water I felt 2 hands grab me and pull me down.  The Reactor operator and his assistant have iron tight grips on me holding me down.  In an instant my confusion changes to almost a panic as I realize why they are holding on to me.  After my mad sprint and without my breathing exercise their is no way I would be able to hold my breath for the required 90 seconds as we shift dimensions.  Panic tries to fill me but years of training and drills take over and I am instantly in my ideal calming day dream.  I think of the trees and streams of my favorite holovids and the insects and wildlife that surrounds me in my most serene landscape.  Of course it is no good.  As good as I am at it, and I am very good, deep down I know the animal reflexes will win.  I can feel my lungs burning and my reflexes desperately trying overtake my conscience hold of my breathing.  Through the internal battle waged behind my closed eyes I see the world light up in brilliant white and despite being surrounded by a viscous fluid I feel static from my head to my toes.  I am fully aware that me and everything else is being supercharged with 3.1 micro radians of electron sub part 3 alpha tuned to the dimensional frequency of the world we are shifting too.  I don’t know the exact science behind it but I know enough to know that this micro aspect of electrons is separated from the surrounding environment condensed in the charging capacitors and the dimensional frequency manipulated to a new frequency.  During the dimension jump the capacitors are discharged into the ship.  The “new” electrons replace the ones in the sub and immediate surroundings.  Where the electrons go so does the rest of the atom that the electron is attached.  

As I am submerged under the water with my lungs burning I can see everything lighting up to a pure white light as all the manipulated electrons discharges out of the capacitors and the “old” electrons are shed as photons.  Trying every mind trick I have been taught to maintain control of my breath I am filled with dread by the high shrill noise of a jump resistor shorting.  The momentary surprise is all my subconscious needs to take over by breathing.  With a shock my lungs are filled with the jump fluid and I am thrashing to get to the surface but the steel grip my shipmates holds me down.  With pure panic in control it ends as fast as it began with everything fading to black as I fall into unconsciousness.    

Author's Note

I love criticism. The more of it the better I can get. In the end I just want to make a story that I know has been enjoyed by someone else.