The Alien Orb (33 page)

It had to be the cover of something; but he
could only see a deep gap under it. However, as he removed the mud
from about it, a perfect square shape became visible. He felt that
it had a perfectly flat surface, without any blemishes; and as he
wiped the mud from it, he saw that it had a shiny surface.

He knelt on the dirt, and he
hypnotically peered at his reflection. There was no corrosion to
it
–
it had
to be part of the structure.

His unusual behavior soon drew the attention
of the others. Basinger and Burrell casually strolled out of the
structure, while they tried to see what he was doing; and Selina
followed them. At their approach, Basinger saw the shiny side of
it, and he briskly increased their pace.

They stopped at the same distance about
him.

“
What could it be?
”
Selina spoke, breaking the
silence.

“
What would whatever it is be doing
there?
”
Burrell asked, looking around himself, and he watched
Basinger push his head down into its narrow space.

“
It
’
s deep ...!
”
Basinger explained, rubbing his
fingers along its outer edge, covering his hand in muck.
“
Wait ...! I can
hear some sounds, from something far below!
”

There were no signs of anything at the
bottom of it, and no apparent ladder, or way to get down into it.
Dexter knelt next to him, and he pulled out a rock embedded in the
ground, and he balanced it between his hands, then he carefully
dropped it down its center. He listened, with his ear close to it,
and he heard a faint thud.

“
Let
’
s get some of the vines over there
...?
”
Burrell spoke anxiously.
“
There has to be something at the bottom of
it!
”

“
It might only have been a type of
drain ...!
”
Selina argued, from behind him.

“
Why would they have made it out of
metal, or whatever it is?
”

“
It might have been used to pump up
water!
”
Basinger quickly answered.

“
That would mean that there was
something else here!
”
Burrell disclosed.
“
Well, why have we not found any
bricks, metal, or anything ...?
”

“
They might have moved it
away!
”

“
You have a point
there!
”
Dexter replied.
“
Will we get all the vine
...?
”

“
What will we attach it
to?
”
Selina
asked, looking about her.
“
There is nothing here!
”

“
Yes, there is ...!
”
Basinger
exclaimed.

“
Where ...?
”

Basinger bent over, and he pointed at what
looked like a lump of metal, on the edge of it. He cleaned mud away
from it, to show them a loop of the material, which obviously had
something like a cable attached to it.

As they went towards the vegetation, Darwin
ran out of some nearby bushes, and he reluctantly followed them.
Dexter considered the discovery from various angles, trying to give
himself some kind of idea of what it was they were dealing with. He
accepted that it might have been a source of water.

If the island had many other structures, he
was sure that it could have been a water pipe leading to a water
supply. However, why did it need such a large pipe?

Once they had piled up the rope-like vine at
its edge, they fixed it together, into one large rope, which
Basinger attached securely to the loop.

Dexter fitted a harness, made from a piece
of the vine, around his shoulders, and he attached it onto the
rope. They then fed the vine down into it. The entire length of the
pile fitted into it, but they were not sure if it reached the
bottom.

After he had prepared himself, and he had
fitted himself into the small space of the tunnel, using his back
and legs to balance himself, he began to abseil into its
darkness.

Dried dirt covered the sides of it, which
flaked off, coating his back and legs.

Combinations of natural light mingled about
him. His breathing grew loud, and he listened to the others discus
his descent.

Darwin
’
s head peered down at him, resting
over the edge. For a second, he looked as though he was going to
pounce down at him.

Dexter occasionally stopped to balance
himself, against the sides. Then he allowed the rope to whirl
around the vine buckle, jerking occasionally, as a small knot went
through it. The rope was strong enough, and he had checked it
enough.

The exit shrank to a point of light, leaving
him in a dim radiance. Just as he was slowing himself, the dim
sides cleared of mud, and its shiny surface appeared, reflecting
his face.

A faint sound of a voice came from above,
and the walls vanished. Blackness engulfed him, and he stopped his
descent. His body dangled back and forth, in the cool air, and he
only heard silence about him. The noises from above went, and he
heard the wind blowing through it.

He released the rope, through his clenched
hand, and it spun about as he continued downwards. His body then
jerked, and the large knot at the end of the rope caught in the
harness.

His surroundings had not changed, and he
looked downwards. An outline of something was below him, which
surely was the ground, and he cursed himself for not getting more
vine.

However, he realized that he could jump down
as the ground was only at a distance of his height, and he
unfastened the lower knot. The knot unfastened, and the vine
slipped away, and he flew down, onto a pile of dry dirt.

Then he stretch his arm upwards, and
discovered that the end of the rope was out of reach. He had badly
underestimated the height of it. Even jumping at it, his hand was a
meter away from it. He then realized that they could not hear
him.

However, Basinger would eventually come
down.

What was he in? He saw a floor, beneath the
dirt, and he followed it along, observing traces of the ground.
There were signs that it had been recently flooded with water. He
was in a circle-shaped room, which he believed was a type of
storage place, for something.

It was empty, with no other apparent
entrances. It was like the remaining lower part of some type of
structure. At his original position, he saw the rope, where it had
been, dangling down from the above tunnel. They had obviously not
moved it. There was nothing else left to do. He would just have to
wait, to find out what the others would do.

As he tried to see the ground properly, he
saw a faint shape in a mound of muck, which he had passed. Its
peculiar shape became apparent, and he rubbed his fingers over a
flat part of it, making bits of dried dirt crumble from it,
revealing a shiny surface.

He tugged at its corner, and it broke away,
leaving the lower floor revealed.

The materials that the object and structures
were made of were fascinating. They could have been there for many
millions of years.

He took a piece of his clothing, and he
wiped the rest of the crusts of mud from it, revealing a line of
dials, which he pushed and turned. The object seemed not to
function, but as he moved away, his legs hit something. His legs
seemed to have sunk into the muck, but he felt the ground below his
feet. He then found that the muck that was in front of him was
actually resting a few inches over the ground. Some mysterious
force was lifting it. It firmly fixed the dirt where it was, and it
withstood him stamping on it.

After he carefully considered it, he
individually touched the dials, which he had moved, and the layer
of dirt lifted up further.

Dexter realized that he should be able to
use it to get to the rope.

Once he had positioned himself beneath the
rope, he changed the angle of the device, so that it covered the
area beneath him; and he gradually lifted himself. However, the
device worked slowly, which was why he had not seen what it had
done. So he pushed the dial that had activated it right into it, as
hard as he could, and it nearly flew out of his hands, as he
swiftly went up.

He tightly gripped the device, and he
narrowly avoided hitting the side, as he went up into the
tunnel.

The light blinded him, and the others jumped
back from him, as he shot out. And their startled faces glared up
at him, as he lifted him up into the air.

He swiftly deactivated the dial once his
eyes had adjusted to the light. Then he stopped ascending, and he
remained standing. The others remained staring up at him, with
their hands over their eyes, and he gradually lowered his height,
with the dial.

In the light, with the dirt cleaned from it,
the device had a resemblance to a type of black musical
keyboard.

“
It has to be an anti-gravitational
device!
”
Burrell explained, staying at a distance.

“
Incredible!
”
Basinger gasped.
“
We have to get of this
island, to explore the outside world ...! Think of the inventions
that may exist ...! That machine may have an insignificant
capability compared to the lifting potential of other machines! How
can such a miniature machine be capable of moving such heavy
weights?
”

Dexter hovered over the ground, and he
went forwards
–
and he tried the different controls on it. The device was
only capable of lifting objects in front of it, and the other
controls could maneuver the objects about, to adjust their
positions and angles. He was positive that it only was a tool, used
as a lifting device.

He could not establish if they recharged it.
There was not anything on it, to connect anything to it. There also
were no screws or anything, and it had no gaps in it.

“
How strong do you think it
is?
”
Burrell finally asked, looking at a large boulder.

“
I think that its power is running
out! It was moving sluggishly when I first used
it!
”

“
It would be a good idea not to use
it!
”
Basinger continued.
“
We may need it some day!
”

Vivid green flashes from a machine
brilliantly illuminated the entire interior of the structure.

Its flashes stopped, and it shined a pale
green light over them. Its long rectangular shape now had control
lights activated all over it. Burrell sat on a large board, in
front of it. His hand lifted a head-shaped device, which he had
recently found in a compartment, in its surface; and he eagerly
placed it upon his head.

“
What do you think it
is?
”
Selina
whispered to Dexter.

“
It looks good ...!
”
he replied, as he saw more
head devices.

In the dim green light, he saw Basinger
reluctantly take one of the devices, and place it on his head.

When Burrell activated a series of switches,
Basinger suddenly jerked backwards, looking alarmed at something.
He held the device at his head, waiting to remove it, and he forced
himself to keep it there.

“
What is it?
”
Selina asked anxiously, from behind
him.

Basinger
’
s voice made a series of eerie
sounds, and Burrell looked over at him, in surprise. Then he
replied, with similar sounds, and Basinger seemed to know what he
meant.

Basinger
’
s face showed that he was deeply
concentrating, as though the room were not there.

They sat at the machine, occasionally
peering at each other, making strange sounds. The machine had
somehow taught them a new language. However, it was nothing like
any language that he had ever heard.

Dexter finally picked up a head device, in
the dim light, and to his surprise, he realized that the device
almost was twice the size of his head.

Burrell glanced at him, and he activated the
machine.

A silent hum seemed to come from the roof,
and Dexter felt a surge of something go through his mind. Strange
shapes of light, like ghosts, appeared and vanished about him.
Their shapes and colors were too visible for his mind to be
creating them.

He waited for the machine to stop before he
removed the device from him.

Basinger
’
s face seemed flushed, and he turned
towards him. Then he looked directly into Dexter
’
s eyes, and he started to
make one of the sounds.

“
Welcome to the
future!
”
Burrell swiftly spoke.

Basinger
’
s complexion changed back to
normal.

“
You will only have learned this
language ...!
”
Basinger assured him, in the new language, as he held his
head.
“
This
machine implants information within the mind, so that you can
instantly learn vast amounts of information!
”