Post by Havok on Aug 10, 2010 12:38:51 GMT -4
Alex had woken up that day feeling different. It was something he couldn't put his finger on, but something noticeable all the same. He didn't remember much of his dreams last night, so he felt that it couldn't be them, but he did remember that he was supposed to be at work in 20 minutes, and it was a 15 minute trek across campus to the geophysics research laboratory, leaving him five minutes to get ready.
It was certainly turning out to be a bad day. Alex showered and dressed in record time and was still three minutes late out of the door. He got odd looks as he literally ran across campus carrying his backpack in front of him so that it would be easier to hoof it.
He managed to make it to work early, but only barely. Professor Hawkins greeted him when he walked in, though he clearly seemed interested in some printout he was looking at.
"Alex, could you take a look at this and tell me I'm not going senile?" The Professor handed Alex the printout of that morning's Terrestrial Magnetic Field reading. Alex looked at the data presented, narrowed his eyes, and with a very quiet voice said, "You're not going senile."
It was impossible. The Earth's magnetic field had shifted, ever so slightly, but enough to be noticeable, and far too suddenly to be natural. The effect was somewhat unremarkable, as it didn't cause armageddon. Hell, the only people who would notice would be geophysicists researching the field, like he and the Professor, and people who were sensitive to that sort of thing.
Like a couple of people that Alex knew, not to mention Alex himself. The Earth's magnetic field protected it from the solar wind, a bombardment of cosmic energy projected by the sun. The sudden shift in the field had allowed more radiation through than normal, and given Alex's ability to absorb such radiation, it caused a noticeable increase in power compared to yesterday.
Which explained Alex's feeling when he woke up today, at least in Alex's mind. "What do you want us to do with this, Professor?" Alex set the printout (they refused to keep things on computer for security purposes, mostly because Professor Hawkins was paranoid like that and didn't trust them) on the Professor's desk and crossed his arms, taking a few steps back to let the Professor think.
"I'll corroborate the data with some colleagues in Germany and the Geological Survey. If it turns out that what we have here was only detected by us, then we need to re-calibrate the instruments and mark this data as faulty. Otherwise, the National Geological Survey will inform us what to do with it. Probably note it as an anomaly and continue monitoring." The man didn't seem to like this option, as his research involved interpreting and solving such anomalies, and Alex's master's research involved, specifically, researching a novel approach to monitor shifting magnetic features of the Earth using the magnetic field.
"Anything we need to do today, sir?"
"I guess not, Alex, the Survey people probably won't get back to me until late, and there's nothing we can do until then." The Professor gave Alex an odd look, and then smirked. "Why? You got a date?"
Alex replied in his usual deadpan. "Oh, yes, sir. Three women tonight, two of them twins, and neither of them realize I'm going out with the other. The third is interested in that sort of thing, so I'm looking to have a good time tonight." In truth, Alex hadn't had a date in years. His Professor knew this, and asked him if he had a date at least once a week. It was Alex's job to make up some outrageous story just to humor his Professor.
"You used that one, already," Professor Hawkins replied with a chuckle.
Alex wrinkled his nose in thought. "I did? I could have swore I hadn't." He shrugged. "Anywho, if it's not too much trouble, can I get a copy of today's readings and the readings for the last week? I'd like to take a look at them, see if I can't figure out anything. I'm just a grad student, the Survey people won't care if I do anything with the data, so long as I don't publish it."
Hawkins smiled. Alex was giving him a way to conduct his research without the Survey's say-so. "Sure. Go get the data and make yourself some copies. I should have a response by the end of today."
Alex nodded, and went to the filing cabinet where they kept their data. He took the data from the last week, made photocopies of it, replaced it back in the cabinet, and took off. He went back to his dorm and prepared some drinks and snacks for the trip he was about to make. Then he got into his car, and headed to the Xavier Mansion in Westchester.
Long ago, Alex had been a student at the Xavier Institute, a youngish boy learning to control the vast power that he had been born with. It was a particular professor that got him interested in studying the Earth's magnetic field, and now he would go back to the professor, to see if the Master of Magnetism might not know how to explain the impossible.
It was certainly turning out to be a bad day. Alex showered and dressed in record time and was still three minutes late out of the door. He got odd looks as he literally ran across campus carrying his backpack in front of him so that it would be easier to hoof it.
He managed to make it to work early, but only barely. Professor Hawkins greeted him when he walked in, though he clearly seemed interested in some printout he was looking at.
"Alex, could you take a look at this and tell me I'm not going senile?" The Professor handed Alex the printout of that morning's Terrestrial Magnetic Field reading. Alex looked at the data presented, narrowed his eyes, and with a very quiet voice said, "You're not going senile."
It was impossible. The Earth's magnetic field had shifted, ever so slightly, but enough to be noticeable, and far too suddenly to be natural. The effect was somewhat unremarkable, as it didn't cause armageddon. Hell, the only people who would notice would be geophysicists researching the field, like he and the Professor, and people who were sensitive to that sort of thing.
Like a couple of people that Alex knew, not to mention Alex himself. The Earth's magnetic field protected it from the solar wind, a bombardment of cosmic energy projected by the sun. The sudden shift in the field had allowed more radiation through than normal, and given Alex's ability to absorb such radiation, it caused a noticeable increase in power compared to yesterday.
Which explained Alex's feeling when he woke up today, at least in Alex's mind. "What do you want us to do with this, Professor?" Alex set the printout (they refused to keep things on computer for security purposes, mostly because Professor Hawkins was paranoid like that and didn't trust them) on the Professor's desk and crossed his arms, taking a few steps back to let the Professor think.
"I'll corroborate the data with some colleagues in Germany and the Geological Survey. If it turns out that what we have here was only detected by us, then we need to re-calibrate the instruments and mark this data as faulty. Otherwise, the National Geological Survey will inform us what to do with it. Probably note it as an anomaly and continue monitoring." The man didn't seem to like this option, as his research involved interpreting and solving such anomalies, and Alex's master's research involved, specifically, researching a novel approach to monitor shifting magnetic features of the Earth using the magnetic field.
"Anything we need to do today, sir?"
"I guess not, Alex, the Survey people probably won't get back to me until late, and there's nothing we can do until then." The Professor gave Alex an odd look, and then smirked. "Why? You got a date?"
Alex replied in his usual deadpan. "Oh, yes, sir. Three women tonight, two of them twins, and neither of them realize I'm going out with the other. The third is interested in that sort of thing, so I'm looking to have a good time tonight." In truth, Alex hadn't had a date in years. His Professor knew this, and asked him if he had a date at least once a week. It was Alex's job to make up some outrageous story just to humor his Professor.
"You used that one, already," Professor Hawkins replied with a chuckle.
Alex wrinkled his nose in thought. "I did? I could have swore I hadn't." He shrugged. "Anywho, if it's not too much trouble, can I get a copy of today's readings and the readings for the last week? I'd like to take a look at them, see if I can't figure out anything. I'm just a grad student, the Survey people won't care if I do anything with the data, so long as I don't publish it."
Hawkins smiled. Alex was giving him a way to conduct his research without the Survey's say-so. "Sure. Go get the data and make yourself some copies. I should have a response by the end of today."
Alex nodded, and went to the filing cabinet where they kept their data. He took the data from the last week, made photocopies of it, replaced it back in the cabinet, and took off. He went back to his dorm and prepared some drinks and snacks for the trip he was about to make. Then he got into his car, and headed to the Xavier Mansion in Westchester.
Long ago, Alex had been a student at the Xavier Institute, a youngish boy learning to control the vast power that he had been born with. It was a particular professor that got him interested in studying the Earth's magnetic field, and now he would go back to the professor, to see if the Master of Magnetism might not know how to explain the impossible.
