The first test of the field had passed and we were ecstatic. It looked like I was going to be able to present my head of department with the fiat accompli that he had desired before the annual review of research projects. The extra effort we had expended by coming in on the last Saturday before the review was going to pay of royally. I had managed to keep the field stable for four milliseconds before it collapsed. I had been recharging the capacitors for another shot when I noticed that one of the coils seemed to be out of alignment. I left the generator on so the capacitors could continue charging while I made the minute adjustment that was required. The timer section would act as a switch to keep the field from being turned on while I was in the target area. At least that’s what I thought as I stepped up on the target stage. My graduate student Paul had just finished calibrating the miniature atomic clock that we would enclose within the field when we resumed testing. He stood beside the control panel and watched as I tightened the non-magnetic stainless steel screws that held the coils to their heavy wooden frame. I grinned at him in success and tossed the screwdriver to him as I prepared to step down from the target stage. I watched in horror as the screwdriver bounced out of his hands and landed on top of the control panel. Then my universe went black as the handle on the screwdriver hit the firing button and the field went up.

I was alone. The universe I had created was empty, without stars or light. The sole object in the tiny pocket universe was my body. I gazed into the blackness for a moment before the enormity of what I had done overcame me. I was blind, surrounded by the nothingness of the universe my invention had created. My consciousness faded and I knew no more……

When I awoke, I was lying on the floor of my lab. The reek of burning insulation and fried electronics surrounded me. I looked over at my experiment and saw it was a blackened ruin. A heavy pall of smoke hung in the air from the coils that had self destructed. I looked up and saw Paul talking on the telephone. Apparently he was calling for help. Good! I wasn’t sure what the field had done to me, but it was better to be safe than sorry. I looked down at my chest and discovered that my clothes had vanished. I glanced around to see if Paul had undressed me and had left them lying close by. I had the idea that my clothes had caught on fire and Paul had undressed me to quench the flames. I realized later how silly that sounded, but in my dazed condition it seemed to make sense. Then a wave of dizziness overcame me and I passed out again.

The next time I awoke I was in an ambulance. I was laying in a gurney while Paul and a EMT sat next to me. I looked down at the blanket that covered me and saw that a strap had been fastened over the top to keep me from falling out while I was being transported to the University Clinic. I kicked my feet to see if I could still move my legs and was surprised to see the blanket pop up about midway down the gurney. Somehow I had gotten shorter! I looked up into Paul’s face, hoping that he could provide an explanation of what had happened to me. He glanced over at the EMT tech questioningly and then smiled down at me as if to comfort me. Then I passed out again.