The Collection

When an attempt is made to restart the particle accelerator at Geneva during August of 2015, a major disaster occurs. Scientists, who had gathered in Dublin, found they were being called upon to solve a potential catastrophe. While six personnel were the process of repairing the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) a void of accelerated mass is created, trapping the team inside. There seems little hope of survival.

In fact, they have not gone anywhere. They now existed in a massless light spectrum beyond which normal vision is not possible. By rights they all should be dead, crushed by the repressurisation of the LHC. They soon realise changes are affecting their personalities as they are bombarded by an onslaught of highly charged protons, causing actual places and events from the past come to life.

Bryce, our hero, recognises that Ellen, Bryces love interest, can successfully use Mind Travel techniques to move through time and space. The team, using this same power, focus on a particular element from the periodic table, to literally move from place to place.

The team move from place to place until they end up in nineteenth century New Zealand and discover a Maori warrior chief with a recognisable pendant around his neck. It indicates the various experiments being conducted in Geneva in 2015. Upon retrieving the pendant they set off on their mission to regain the other remaining symbols indicated on the pendant.

The next item is an electrum necklace located near Queen Hatshepsuts Mortuary Temple. Bryce manages to steal this whilst Hatshepsut and Senenmut make love in his tomb. In the skirmish that follows Jason, Bryces best friend, is wounded by an Egyptian spear. They manage to escape by casting Senenmuts monetary offerings into the air of the Temple of Amun.

The team travel to the Rome of Augustus, where they collect the original Res Gestae divi Augustae from the Temple of Vesta. This is to fulfil the next experiment on the Maori pendant. This collection goes relatively smoothly, despite a confrontation Ellen has with some Praetorian Guards.

The collection of the death mask of the first wanax (King) from beneath the Lions Gate at Mycenae becomes problematic. John defeats the king, but they now bay for his blood. He manages to escape with the wounded Ellen only to be picked up by a shuttle from Fermilab in California. After a fortunate earthquake at Mycenae, the original team are given the job of reconstructing the damaged Cyclopean wall. The Fermilab shuttle reappears with John aboard. The original team find out from him that three years have elapsed within the period of the day he was absent. With the death mask collected and on aboard the Fermilab rescue team departs but, in doing so, Jason is wounded once again.

In the process of collecting the original gold Phaistos disc from Crete, Bryce has a sexual encounter with a princess. Despite his shyness and lack of experience, it was a necessary price to pay to retrieve the last item on the pendant.

The collecting process is becoming more of a test of survival. John, Affan and Babette, are all seriously wounded during their time at Pozieres and their Fermilab shuttle is also damaged. They are helped by Ray Palmer, but it is only the beginning of their problems.

With LHC and Fermilab now working together they discover that an international espionage group is operating out of the Fermilab site. There has been a security breech and a serious infiltration at the highest levels of the Fermilab management. Billions of dollars in contributions had already been syphoned off. This group had also replaced key personnel with doubles as they are systematically eliminated. It is up to Bryce to put an end to their plan.