Deeper Into the Void (20 page)

The heavy rig rolls up within fifteen meters of the mammoth machine. Prometheus, the enormous construction machine, sits atop thousands of spheres of glass, approximately two meters in diameter, which are fused together and arranged in a ring-shaped pattern that spans two hundred meters from one side to the other. The cylindrical formation looks more like an expensive wall now than the beginning of another dome.

Ripples shimmer in the air surrounding the inexplicably hot mass of glass being extruded from the “mouth” of the machine under intense heat and pressure. Long steps off of the rig first, he stands and stares at the wondrous process taking place before him. Cardiff also steps out of the rig and watches intently. The scale is amazing, but what really has captivated both of their attention is the perfect nature of the work of the machine.

With no one at the controls, Prometheus simply gathers sand up, which is plentiful in supply, and uses super-heated gas from the fusion reactor within to melt the sand into an oddly-colored glass. The spheres are extruded in carefully placed locations to make the larger structure. The resulting perfect dome is the product of years of this repetitious process.

With a quick toss of the lighter-than-usual hook, the rope is fastened, Long hands the rope on over to Cardiff.

Cardiff grabs the rope tightly with her gloves, and places her boots up against the wall. Hand over hand, she climbs up the rope, and the glass wall. With some effort, she completes her forty-meter ascent up the wall of glass up to Prometheus. She looks down at Long, who is standing at the bottom, just looking up at her. A well placed hand on her hip and a quick “Get up here!” look from Cardiff and Long begins the same ascent.

Several minutes later, the two stand atop the wall, just behind the behemoth machine. Cardiff brushes off the dust from one of the moving “legs” that support the machine while it sits atop the glass wall.

The rising wall of glass continues from their position in an enormous circle around a desolate plain. This dome looks like it will be larger than the original. The glass wall gleams in the sunlight.

The mammoth machine rapidly begins its next scheduled movement toward the pair. They both jump back out of sheer reflex. Cardiff lands out on the edge of the curved glass edge underneath them. Without a fraction of a second to think, Long turns and dives toward her. He manages to clasp hands with her.

Long begins to slide slowly toward her, toward the edge. Yet he manages to get a clean spot on the glass to grip with his rubber boot. Obviously strained under the pressure of trying to hold them both with his foot and trying to hold on to her as to not let her fall, he calls to her to hurry and climb up.

After another moment of struggling against the sand, the two manage to find themselves atop the glass, in the center. Lying on their stomachs they both look at each other and laugh a sigh of relief.

As they finish their descent off of the glass wall, Cardiff walks around the side of the large rig and opens a single access panel. She reaches in, Long looks on, and she yanks the power coupling from the battery bank. She climbs up the side of the rig and looks at the control panel in front of the driver’s seat, it is off.

She brandishes her side-arm for him to plainly see.

Chapter 23

D
octor Mendez picks up her tablet off of the table where she and Doctor Ghent have been sitting for some time.

Discussion about perceptions and reality have occupied the better part of three hours. Ghent still does not seem very enthusiastic about accepting that he hasn’t actually discovered alien life.

The tablet, now in Mendez’s hand, has a bright blue circle in the top right corner of the glass surface, indicating to her that she has received a new task from Badlands corporate headquarters on Earth.

The hallway outside the control room is dark. The small control center building has no windows and heavy doors in case of an emergency situation. Light pierces the dark hallway as the outside door opens slowly. Motion sensors ignite the lights inside the hallway. The heavy interior door, which is built more like a vault than a door, begins to open inward in preparation for the pair entering.

Footsteps in the hallway resound into the control room as Mendez and Ghent make their way down the hallway. The heavy door behind them finishes shutting as the door in front of them finishes opening.

The small table in the middle of the control room still has the empty gun case sitting on top of it. Ghent reaches for it, while touching the molded foam interior of the case, Ghent looks up at Mendez in an inquisitive fashion.

The control console again lights up as Mendez presses her finger onto the clear glass. Ghent reaches out in a similar fashion, pressing his finger against the console glass. The console reads his fingerprint as he has his index finger pressed against it. A split-second later the console shows his picture and company credentials next to the spot where he pressed his finger. The computer makes a single quick announcement, welcoming Ghent and requesting information about his security clearance. Apparently, Doctor Ghent was not added into the system as an operator in the control center.

Doctor Mendez extends her own clearance to Ghent by responding verbally to the computer. Ghent chuckles and shakes his head back and forth.

After a brief smile, Ghent manages to retrieve dozens of journal entries. Each team member is required to create a video or text entry each day; journal entries are about the only records of activities and problems encountered. Badlands has requested these to review the progress and monitor the team more closely than they had previously done.

On the main screen, each team member has a video picture as the thumbnail image next to the date or title of the entry that they had created. Ghent selects the “sort by creator” arrangement option and all the logs appear to move around the screen until they are arranged so.

Lawrence had entered several entries despite his relatively short stay in the dome. Along with the entries of the second expedition, all of the first expedition entries were listed as well. Ghent rearranges them all by expedition to keep them straight. Ghent takes a lingering glance at the list of journal entries that Lawrence had entered again.

Ghent presses his finger on the entry, the large screen above illuminates with the entry; together, Mendez and Ghent read.

Journal Entry
Jim Lawrence
Year 15, Day 40 #2

While exploring the cavern system with Doctor Long, I fell. Despite the broken bones and agonizing pain, I am less concerned about my physical condition. I managed to light a flare; in doing so I saw something in front of me that has fulfilled my premonitions. I saw the same young girl from my tormented dreams; she was standing right in front of me.

Boils and blisters covered her face and arms, obvious signs of exposure to the biological weapon unleashed those years ago. Images like this one have been etched into my mind and I cannot seem to escape them. The people who died horribly after that incident did not deserve what happened to them.

She reached for me, and then I must have blacked out again. I awoke again to find myself in the cold and the dark. Feeling better, I got up and stumbled around until I found the oxygen tank and the flares that littered the cavern floor.

After struggling for what seemed like ages, I finally managed to find another way out of the cavern and make my way up to the surface. My oxygen is holding, oddly. The rig was gone, but I could see the tracks where it had recently been. After walking for hours, I finally made it back to the airlock entrance to the dome. The sun had set already, but I was determined to get back inside. I waited outside the airlock, and looked around to see if I could see inside the dome. The lights were not on, and the control pad at the airlock would not grant me access to get in. There was something about me already being inside, which doesn’t make any sense.

–End Entry–

Ghent turns his attention from Mendez up to the main screen in front of them. Mendez turns to watch his reaction. Ghent rubs his stubble-covered chin in contemplation.

A feeling of relief courses through her veins as her suspicions about her hallucinations are confirmed. She supposes the confirmation of a troubled mind is better than her fears being realized by him confirming what she thought she could see.