Although Charles was aware of the danger inherent to mucking about with high energy physics apparatus, he had quickly learned as a boy that his father - who was a world famous inventor and phyicist - had the habit of leaving open packs of cigarettes around on every surface of his lab; thus Charles had early on in life become a nicotine addict by default, as it were, at the age of 12.
That was just the beginning of Charles involvement with high energy physics because he had learned from observation that his father smoked incessantly to create a sort of open cloud chamber to reveal any stray beams of laser light accidentally reflected or refracted by interaction with unforeseen surfaces. even a falling flake of ceiling plaster could cause a burn, blindness or death if you were really unfortunate and the high energy laser beam hit a vulnerable spot.
The only similar phenomenon to endanger experimenters, inventors or the unwitting operators of the latters machines, were high pressure superheated steam leaks, invisible scalding lances of intense heat that could maim unprotected flesh in an instant. Charles was all too well aware of high pressure superheated steams danger.
Thanks to some early attempts of his to make a model triple expansion steam engine which had saved him from finding out the hard way about superheated steam by conveniently exploding its boiler resulting in a mere scalding and a few cuts and abrasions. Fortunately the model boat it was in had absorbed most of the explosion caused by a deck beam blocking the safety valve.
Lasers didn't explode and that was a plus although errant ricochets posed a less predictable danger, you could keep your head down goggles on and chain smoke furiously and with luck you'd be forewarned in time to shut it down if need be.
Charles, it should be said, was a genius and unaware of being in any way special which was a good thing because his father was equally ignorant of the boys abilities or he might have paid closer attention to what went on behind his back when his workshop and laboratory was unattended.
Anyone can declare that so and so's 'a genius' and frequently do despite a complete lack of evidence to support their claim but then one must always take the context into account such that when Billy Bob says cousin Vinny's a genius thanks to his ability to belch the star spangled banner after only one case of Coors you must consider the circumstances which might validate both the claimant and claim!
If Mr. Ramsey, Charles' father, had been more attentive towards his son's hobbies, interests, friends or lack of same, he might have been forewarned of what events were about to cause all sorts of mayhem but he was supremely self interested and so remained in ignorance of what Charles was up to.
So, more or less, was Charles....
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