The press conference had been running for around half an hour before the question came.

“Rob Bowen, Daily Sport. Professor Bergen, what are the risks of starting this experiment? Could we be looking at a China Syndrome situation?”

The assembled press corps looked round in surprise. Who on earth had let a Sport reporter – if that was the word – into the room? Professor Bergen, surrounded by his distinguished colleagues, blinked in astonishment and adjusted his glasses before answering.

“Thank you for your interest. The Large Hadron Collider is, as far as we know, entirely safe. There is always an element of doubt as to what we will achieve, but I can assure you that burning through the Earth and emerging in China is very low on the list of possibilities.”

A muffled laugh ran around the room as the reporters settled back into their seats. The Guardian representative was just about to ask his question when Bergen, almost absent-mindedly, added:

“If anything, we’d emerge in the Andromeda Galaxy…”