Zazz's Arc

Chapter 6 of 10

Zazz approached the first marked rift with sealed repair equipment ready. The dimensional tear shimmered three meters above the purple sand, its edges crackling with unstable energy. The robot extended mechanical arms and activated the sealing sequence from the platform data. Energy barriers formed around the rift's perimeter, glowing bright against the dark sky. For five seconds, the tear began to shrink. Then the barriers flickered and collapsed. The rift expanded violently, doubling in size and sending feedback through Zazz's systems. Warning lights flashed across the robot's chest panel. The equipment sparked and went dark. Zazz stepped back and recorded the failure. The pattern data had been wrong, or the sealing method was flawed. Either way, the rift now posed a greater threat than before. The robot examined the damaged equipment and found the problem. A device with a cracked glass lens had given false readings about the rift's energy levels. The Celestial Energy Gauge had recorded numbers thirty percent lower than the actual output. Zazz had trusted the measurements and calibrated the barriers based on bad data. The robot disconnected the broken gauge and checked the other two target rifts. If the readings were wrong here, they might be wrong everywhere. The entire mission plan needed verification before another attempt. Zazz returned to the research station and accessed the historical database. Records showed other researchers had failed here before. Outside the main building stood a monument of rusted metal panels with scorch marks and warped sections. The damaged structure marked where an early team had tried to close a rift cluster using untested methods. Beyond it, a plaque listed names of scientists who had made similar mistakes. Each failure had taught something, but the cost had been high. Equipment destroyed, time lost, rifts made worse instead of better. The robot stood at the analysis terminal and reviewed all the platform data with fresh calculations. Three days of work had led to one failure and one damaged rift. The confidence from yesterday felt distant now, replaced by caution and doubt. Zazz saved new measurements and flagged the broken gauge in the system logs. Tomorrow would require better tools and verified readings. The path to sealing rifts was longer than expected, and every mistake made the work harder. But the robot had survived, learned, and could try again. Progress would be slower now, but it would be real.