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This story is based on one of my role-play ideas, which sadly never got realized. One day I thought, why not make a story out of it. So here it is, special in many ways. I planned for Fatal Failure to have four chapters, maybe more and I will upload the second part in the next days or so...

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Fatal Failure

written by Phenrir

Chapter 1: Discovery

Sometimes only one false choice leads to downfall. Many would go to any lengths to revoke their failure. If you had the chance to undo your greatest mistake, would you take it? Whatever the cost may be?

If I think back there were many things that had gone wrong. Actually we had so many problems that I'm surprised we are still alive. Maybe this whole apocalypse was a blessing in disguise. All of it could have been way worse. But maybe I should start from the beginning. It's hard to state an exact point when all of this got out of hand, but for all of you out there I will try...

"Your name please," asked the receptionist, a young mouse girl, while looking through some documents. She didn't even lift her eyes up for a moment and seemed to have her hands full with checking admission. "Mara Tanis," was the short answer I gave her. As a tall snow leopardess I was nowhere near the average participant of this science conference that was dominated by aged nerdy men. The receptionist eyeballed me curious before typing my name in her personal terminal.

"Oh, you are Dr. Vargo's assistant! Aren't you a little late?" Well, thank you I wouldn't have noticed. "Can I get my ID card now?" Fortunately the mouse didn't waste more of my time. She just handed me the ID card with my name on it, without hesitation I clipped it on my top. Leaving the reception area I made my way inside. My eyes showed me the proper direction as glowing light blue arrows on the walls. They were just one of countless useful technologies that dominated these age, screens were obsolete fifty years ago. Our society had many benefits, but every invention brought new challenges. A personal terminal in the shape of a bracelet could hold more data than one could save in his whole life, the lenses in everyone's eyes enhanced what you saw and tiny sensors all over the body measured what you did and saw, using the extra info either as input device or as additional content. If you moved through a grocery store nutritional values appeared over each product and the level of ripeness from a banana was compared to the average of the next closest store, all entirely automatic. Here at this conference the information overflow was distracting, but not unexpected. I had to adjust my filters to see more clearly.

'Why do you drag me always to these places?' I growled inwardly. There were scientists everywhere arrogantly praising their newest discovery, getting interviewed by totally clueless journalists and lastly there the few normal furs, who hadn't escaped fast enough the flood of pretentious intellectuals. Every time I went to a conference with Dr. Vargo I was reminded how much I hated most furs. A blinking warning appeared at the corner of my eyes informing me that a scheduled blackout was imminent. That was the problem with technology it needed so much power to work correctly. But unfortunately energy was the sole thing we lacked, which is the reason for this conference in the first place.

Finally I found Dr. Lodryn Vargo, who was an absent-minded raven, pondering over his prepared speech at a far end of the conference hall. As always he didn't look like giving many thoughts to his appearance. "We are facing a major crisis... Blah blah blah! I affirm that such a theoretical element exists." Very eloquently, doctor! They will be thrilled about the blah. I shook my head. "Your ID is upside down," I interrupted him. The card on his coat was upside down, yet the text shown by my eyes oriented itself anew, so I could read it easily. 'Dr. Lodryn Vargo, particle physics,' stood there followed by a link to his full curriculum vitae.

"Oh, you're right!" He rearranged the ID card before he asked me about work. "How was the latest experiment?" As of late Dr. Vargo had rarely something else on his mind. "Yet again a disappointment! The keranium didn't react with the uranium and another twelve hours of my life were wasted. You have to think of something else." With all his brainpower even the most talented particle physicist wasn't able to create a new element with the needed capabilities. Maybe we would see the day on which he single handedly solved the energy crisis, though it seemed unlikely.

"It didn't react? Not all?" he asked me while I just shook my head. "This time I was so sure!" Well, there is always a next time, at least if Dr. Vargo didn't blow up the whole city. Don't get me wrong the avian was a genius. It's just that some facts escaped his mind easily. To him they were minor details, while to me the facts were of a crucial nature, they were mostly security concerns. "Hopefully there will be a next time, if you remember to clean up properly," I scowled at him but just slightly, he was my boss after all. Dr. Vargo just sighed. "What was it this time?"

"You left the containment repository unsealed again!" He waved me off and shrugged at my anger, clearly oblivious what he had done. "It's not like the radiation can do anything to me..." With the improvement of genetics a short percentage of the population had acquired special gifts. Most times this meant a better fitness or a tolerance to poisonous substances, in Dr. Vargo's and my case however it meant more. For example he was able to absorb radiation, which meant he could walk into a nuclear reactor and remain virtually unscathed. My gift on the other hand was a perfect memory. If I concentrated hard enough, I could relive everything that had happened to me, which is why I'm able to tell you this story.

"You said the exact thing the last time it happened," I complained to him. "Not everyone is radiation proof! It took me three hours to get the lab decontaminated. Please, try to be careful at least!" "If it's that important to you, I will be extra careful. No more mistakes from on." Yeah, that didn't happen. Dr. Vargo and no mistakes don't go together very well. The warning in my eyes flashed again and then the whole room and every piece of technology there shut off. Everyone was prepared for the missing power and we just waited till electricity returned, it was perfectly normal. So far the only resolution for the power shortage was to ration it. "They are planning more and more blackouts... Could you remember something for me? First of all when is my speech up?" That was the bad thing about being a walking encyclopedia, being a walking encyclopedia! Everyone wanted you to remember something, because they weren't able to.

From the first row I watched as Dr. Vargo got on stage. With confidence he strode to the lectern. Everyone knew Dr. Vargo, the specialized press still praised his work on the singularity, nevertheless his reputation got somewhat stained in the past years. This was his chance to turn in the eyes of the scientific public from a failed genius to a successful visionary. I have yet to find out which of the two was true.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. As you are all well aware of our society and our technology has reached its limit. We are facing a major crisis to which we lack an appropriate response. Some say it's better to change our way of thinking and abstain from most luxuries that have become a part of our everyday life, go back to nature and use our own hands farming crops again instead of building more power plants, yet they find little support. Everything from the light in our homes to the production of our food is based on electricity. So far we have relied on so called renewable energies only, even though they aren't efficient enough to meet our needs."

He got no reaction from the crowd, as Dr. Vargo only stated the obvious. I wasn't impressed either. Exactly 54 percent of the planet's surface was covered in solar cells, about 10.6 percent was made up from windmill-power plants and roughly two percent was occupied by the more modern stream power plants, the so called needles. Meaning that exactly two thirds of the planet was devoted to producing energy and it still wasn't enough. That's a perfect memory for you!

"Clearly we need to reconsider our situation. There must be another source of energy we could use. Fossil fuels aren't an option of course. Luckily there is another way. Through my work I discovered a novel possibility to generate energy, a new kind of reactor. Using a theoretical unknown element it generates energy by a strong pulse. Just one reactor would make enough electricity to replace all of our current power plants." Dr. Vargo went on and explained every aspect of his new super reactor and half-way through his speech I stopped listening. As his assistant I knew his ideas inside out, we've discussed all the pros and cons already. Of course Dr. Vargo's plan to end the energy crisis had a serious loophole. There was no way to synthetize the element needed for the reactor, at least none that we knew. It was inevitable that the attending scientists noted this problem, too. However I must say it took them longer than I imagined.

"What about this theoretical element? Is the technology even feasible without it?" was the first inquiry when Dr. Vargo opened the discussion. It was the first nail in his coffin. I cursed inwardly. 'I have told him three times that this will never work, but he couldn't let it go. We have nothing to show them... It was a stupid idea to come here in the first place!' I thought while the verbal assault on Dr. Vargo theories continued. "Why bother discussing this new reactor if there is no way to make it work?" That did it. Now there was no way that anyone would help us. I should have stopped Dr. Vargo, if he was right however then we were doomed without the reactor. It was a mistake to come here.

"I told you so!" Together Dr. Vargo and I left the conference. It had been a disaster, the theories were labeled as promising, but without results, without prove nobody cared. "Thank you, I've understood it the first time," said the raven somewhat dispirited. While heading back to the lab I looked through the news about the conference, those journalists were usually pretty fast where gossip was concerned. Dr. Vargo's speech was called the screw-up of the century. I sent him the link, but he didn't look like he wanted to read it. The article was an interesting read though.

'Dr. Lodryn Vargo has done it again. Today he has surprised the whole scientific community by presenting a passionate yet unfinished solution to the energy crisis. Someday his work may be able to revolutionize physics and chemistry at the same time for now the only thing the once praised scientist has to offer is an empty promise.' Wow, if I didn't have a perfect memory I would have made a copy of this. "So what do we do now? What's the next project?" I asked the doctor. The raven turned back to me. "We work on the element of course!" So he was determined to see this through. Why continue when no one wanted to help, this could take years of work.

"What's the point? We're in a dead end. There is no way to pull this off on ourselves!" I guess none of you ever tried to synthetize something of which you had no idea at all. In a nutshell it's like building a house without the proper tools and materials. Oh, you could do it eventually, but there is no telling how long it will take and when your house is going to collapse. "What's the point...," said Dr. Vargo looking blankly at me. "Do you remember the day we met?" Of course I do, I remember everything. Why am I always your personal recollection?

"Are you kidding me?" I eyed him uncomprehending. Shortly after realization dawned on him. Seriously, he couldn't even remember my skills, or was the forgetfulness thanks to the conference? I let go of such thoughts and just concentrated on the day we met.

Two years seven months and six days ago I was sitting in Dr. Vargo's office. Literally standing beside myself, I saw the personal touches of the raven in the room, though it was another building. Icons of Lodryn Vargo's achievements and links to his articles adorned one of the walls. Everything else succumbed to a slight chaos. Files of his work were placed everywhere and even most of the physical objects in his office just lay around. The doctor sat on the other side of a long desk.

"So, Mara Tanis is it?" I saw myself nod and smile. This was a more passionate me, my spotted fur practically flashed with excitement. And why shouldn't it? This was the Dr. Vargo! "Why do you want to work with me?" Even the doctor was different back then. He seemed more confident. "I always had an unaffected memory. When I was a little cub I read everything about science I got my paws on. All of it is still engraved in my mind and I just feel like, you know... like I should use it. Work with furs that are as bright as I am. Do something of importance!"

"Well, if that is no good reason, then I don't know what is. However if we are to work together, then there are some things I have to tell you, Mara. May I call you Mara?" "Sure!" "Good, as I said there are two rules that are very important to me. You may call them my work ethics... We will never give up, how grim the situation may be. My next project is very important and there will be those, who don't believe in it, which brings me to the next rule. Our work is very important and we will do it only for the greater good." I had seen enough so I returned to the present. Not a single fraction of time has passed. The doctor was still looking at me. "Mara, we won't give up and work only for the greater good!" His words made me hesitate. I really wanted to reply something, but I didn't know what. Suddenly an abnormal warning flashed in my eyes and I saw that Dr. Vargo registered it, too. A red exclamation mark with an arrow pointed to the night sky indicated an imminent accident. Wait from the sky?

As I looked up I saw it for the first time. High above us was a ball of fire, which lighted the night. A meteor and it approached insanely fast. It was going to crash! Screaming I ducked down as the meteor rushed past us. With a thundering bang, which shook the earth, it impacted only 50 yards away. Glass windows shattered, bits of stone and pavement flew in the air raining down on us and my ears rang. After a few minutes everything was over, but I was still shaking by then.

Slowly I rose coughing and saw Dr. Vargo do the same. My clothes and fur were covered in dirt, this would be a total pain in the ass to clean, and there was even dirt in the air. I blinked a few times to adjust. The meteor had left a small crater from which shone a blue indescribable glow. Dr. Vargo started to move into the direction of the crater and I followed him curiously. As we got closer there was some kind of interference with my eyes, all icons flashed statically accompanied by some sort of noise, it gave me a headache. Nearing the edge of the crater Dr. Vargo spoke with a raspy voice.

"I feel something... it's a strong radiation." On his dark eyes flashed interest. I tried to access my terminal through the interference, it worked, but not without an annoying delay. The raven stumbled into the crater, while I watched from its edge. Instead of a huge rock being in the center of the crater there was nothing more than a single shard, which would be small enough to fit in one of my paws. It glowed intensely blue. Never before had I seen such a substance and I should know, I remember every know element and all of their derivatives. Could this be it?

"Don't come near," called Dr. Vargo from the center of the crater. He stood next to the shard totally unfazed. "Mara, can you analyze the substance?" Finally my terminal reacted as a Geiger counter appeared. The radiation was clearly nuclear and totally of the charts. Getting close to this substance would kill anyone, except Dr. Vargo. "I don't believe it. The energy output from this thing is huge!" I stood there dumbfounded. The raven spoke smiling as he picked the shard up. Cast in a blue light he looked like a mad scientist, had I just realized this earlier. "Good things come to those that don't give up. This is what we needed! Now let's build a reactor."

We saw our chance and we took it, you would have done the same! It was either facing the end of our careers or relying on an unpredictable substance with deadly radiation. Yeah, if you put it that way, all of it sounds incredible stupid. But we all make mistakes. Had we done less most of us might still be alive...

To be continued...