Alder's World Part One: Mass 17 Read Free

are you getting? ”
    “Not much.” Pakerson
answered. “ There ’ s some low level
electrical output but we can ’ t detect whatever is generating the gravity...other than the
fact that we ’ re experiencing
gravity. Jinx has almost got the sensor array
online. ”
    Breathless moments passed while Jinx
and Pakerson worked with the scientific instrument and the cube
hung before them in omnipresent silence. Finally, a light turned
green and the machine flared to life.
    “Okay.” Pakerson started
narrating, her tall, athletic frame towering over Jinx and the
sensor set. “ Radar is unable
to pierce the object. Looks like
we ’ ve got a surface of some
kind of ceramic, but we do detect some energy sources inside, very
faint. We ’ ll have to take a
closer look later at a higher power setting.
There ’ s a little bit of gas
in here with us. Just traces of Oxygen and
Hydrogen. ”
    The video on
Alder ’ s mask shuddered
slightly. “ What was
that? ”
    “I
don ’ t know.”
Martin ’ s voice shot
back. “ The whole place just
gave a little shake. ”
    “Do you think they heard us?” Jinx
laughed nervously.
    “We ’ ve got changes.”
Pakerson reported. “ An
electrical current just ran over the surface of the cube. Small, a
few microvolts, but the surface is
heating. ”
    “Heating?
How? ”
    “Ummm.” Pakerson seemed
confused.
    “There ’ s a chemical
reaction taking place.” Jinx jumped in. “ Just a
sec. ”
    “Look up.” Alder
ordered. “ Martin, look up at
the cube. ”
    Martin complied, his
lights playing on the shadowy form. “ Hey, I think they did hear us. The
surface is changing, just a little. Can you guys see it?
It ’ s like a texture is
forming or...wait, it ’ s
getting wet. ”
    “Surface temperature
climbing. Oh.” Pakerson gasped. “ A power source just activated inside the cube. Maybe twenty
volts. Chemical battery maybe. ”
    “What chemicals are active at these
temperatures?” Jinx mused back.
    “What do you mean wet?”
Alder asked. “ It ’ s 100 degrees below
freezing in there. ”
    “I ’ m going to get
closer.” Martin ’ s cameras
bobbed and weaved as he made his way through the strange
gravity. “ It may just be the
optics but the surface looked dry a minute ago and now it looks
wet. ”
    “Be careful.” Alder said,
pointlessly.
    Martin grunted as he struggled through
the lumpy gravity to get closer to the nearest point of the
cube.
    “Is there any water?” He
asked.
    “No.” Came
Pakerson ’ s tense
reply. “ But the Oxygen level
is rising. Also, some other trace gasses. Surface temperature is up
10k from initial readings. ”
    Martin ’ s lights were
playing up and down the surface of the cube from about a meter
away. “ It really looks wet
you guys. Are you seeing this? ”
    Alder grunted. “ Yes. The reflectivity has changed.
Look around. Are there any other changes in the
cube? ”
    “Hey yeah.”
Martin ’ s lights moved down to
the finely formed point of the cube. “ There ’ s a drop forming
here. ”
    As Alder watched, a single
drop, black in Martin ’ s
lights, fell off the point of the cube and drifted lazily down to
the surface of the sphere below where it vanished in the
glare.
    “This is
tunneling.” Pakerson announced.
    Several half remembered
papers on low temperature chemistry bustled into
Alder ’ s mind. “ Tunneling? Are you
sure? ”
    “It has to be. There are
several processes happening here one of which is chlorination of
ammonia. ”
    “It is waking up.” Alder muttered to himself.
    “Uh
guys? ”
    “Okay Pakerson, I need
this data. Can you ask the sensor array to pass data to your suit?
That should get the data sent here. ”
    “Guys! ” Martin ’ s voice
interrupted.
    Glancing up, Alder gasped.
Thousands of kilometers away but seemingly
right before him, Martin ’ s
left hand was in the lights. A tiny dot of the black liquid was
hissing and writhing on his fingertip like water on hot grease.
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