The screen on the device printed out a bunch of things in teletype before blinking once and displaying 'standby.'
Jackson pressed a few buttons on the keypad below, fingers practically trembling with fright, and turned a single knob on the console halfway. He took a final deep breath, and turned a small silver key. The device suddenly hummed to life and the dish on the front burned a bright orange.
Immediately, the air around the mare seemed to boil and pulsate as quantum energy crackled around her. The horse could barely react before she was engulfed, and to Jackson's dismay he saw her legs begin to shake violently. She threw her head back in panic, letting out a sharp whine of terror, and all at once head head fell towards the ground, eyes pulled shut in intense pain.
Two years ago, Jackson remembered, when his partner Kelly had proposed the shock theory. That the physical body of the subject would be overwhelmed by intense agony as the radiation passed through every molecule of their form. Now he was witnessing it in full force.
The poor mare could only try to breath through it, shaking her head violently as she trembled, eyes tearing up. In fear, she released her bladder. A click from the machine signalled stage two, and the orange glow of the lamp intensified to a burning white. The system printed out heat warnings on the screen, and the air around the struggling horse seemed to start steaming in all directions. The mare opened her eyes, bolted up to her full standing height, knees shaking, and her mouth fell open. For a moment, he feared the calibration had been wrong, that she was about to burst into flames in front of him and burn to death.
The lamp clicked off, steaming against the breeze, and with the crackling of singed flesh, the mare suddenly fainted dead away, falling to the earth with a thud.
He turned the device off, engaged the safety switch, and carefully looked around. The night was still now, besides the grass, and the choice of the location had lead to no witnesses, as he had hoped. The mare was literally smoking as he approached her, and inspection revealed she hadn't been harmed, her hair was just a little burnt at the tips. Carefully, Jackson took her vitals with a vet kit from the satchel, everything seemed normal. Her breathing was agitated, but there was no obvious damage to her body. He coughed from the unexpected wafting of burnt horse hair.
He returned to the device, quickly packed it away, and dropped his satchel. With a small flashlight, he shone into the horse's eyes and received the correct response. She wasn't brain dead, at least, just unconscious. He stroked her singed fur, gently, and she moved. He quickly stepped back, collected the satchel, and turned back to his disbelief to find the animal standing. A little unsteadily, but standing in excellent she despite having been blasted with radioactive beams.
"You are a big strong girl." Jackson said with admiration, heart singing with joy. The mare snorted at him, shook her head, and seemed to steady on her hooves. They locked gazes for several moments, and then just as oddly as the encounter had begun, it was over. The mare shred away and began to retreat farther out into the field, her silhouette shrinking against the moonlight and then over a far away hill.
Now the young scientist waited.