Chronosphere (Red Alert 1)

The Chronosphere was a teleportation device developed by the Allies during the. An improved version was used to decisively end the. Albert Einstein was a notable contributor to the Chronosphere's design.

Background


A crucial control test of the Chronosphere was performed in a facility near Lich, Germany. Advancing Soviet forces discovered the facility and threatened to destroy it. The base was preparing for a critical test and evacuation would mean the loss of months of preparations. Field Commander A9 was sent to hold the facility. Despite the sustained Soviet assault, the test proceeded on schedule.

Even after rigorous testing, the Chronosphere still continued to exhibit problems when used. Personnel were still liable to disappear during teleportations and nuclear warheads could explode if teleported. The appearance of the chrono vortex during use also highlighted the device's flaws.

The first prototype Chronosphere device was built by Albert Einstein in 1946 to travel in time. But due to unknown causes it malfunctioned. Despite facing such as setback, Einstein redesigned the device, to teleport matter instead. Initial testing of the device showed that a lack of control over the process of teleportation. Solving the control problem became the main preoccupation of Albert Einstein and other personnel working on the project.

Regardless, the Chronosphere was officially released for use at the Battle of Moscow in the final stages of the war.

Its various drawbacks were overcome by Einstein at his Black Forest laboratory during the Third World War.

In an alternate timeline, the Soviets first became aware of the Chronosphere when Soviet agents observed it in operation on Elba Island. Stalin became obsessed with acquiring it, especially after Allied forces began using it.

The Soviets tracked the Chronosphere to Northern Switzerland. The attack led to the capture of Albert Einstein. The Soviets placed a tracking device placed in Einstein's watch which allowed the Allies to rescue the scientist using the Chronosphere. The tracking device led the Soviets to the Chronosphere's new location on the Iberian Peninsula.

The Allies set their radar stations to automatically send a self-destruct sequence to the Chronosphere if Soviet forces approached. Another Soviet attack failed to disable all of the radar stations and the Chronosphere was destroyed. General Georgi Kukov failed to inform the field commander of the last radar site and for this oversight Stalin personally strangled Kukov.

In Don't Drink the Water, the Soviets capture and successfully use the Chronosphere to destroy the local Allied base.

Game building
The Chronosphere may only teleport one unit at a time. The Chronosphere may not be used on enemy units. A teleported unit will return automatically to its pre-teleported location after a period of time.

The Chronosphere cannot transport infantry, either inside or outside a personnel carrier. Attempting to do so results in the infantry disappearing. A will explode immediately without being moved if a teleport is attempted. Each use of the Chronosphere has a small probability of generating a chrono vortex, or even a deadly time quake.

Teleporting a sea unit onto land, or vice versa, destroys the unit at the destination.

Trivia

 * In the game files, the Chronosphere is known as the Paradox device.
 * In the beta version of the game, the chronoshift support power was called time warp.
 * The Chronosphere in the original Red Alert has a unique damage animation — when reduced to less than 50% health, instead of the usual cratered and/or burning appearance, the Chronosphere will flash and emit bursts of energy, which was originally intended to be played when used. This has been fixed in Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Remastered.