Arcadian Genesis

Arcadian Genesis Read Free Page A

Book: Arcadian Genesis Read Free
Author: Greig Beck
Tags: thriller
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maneuvered the robotic pincer-like fingers and turned the disk over. From beside him Millinov murmured, ‘Easy, easy, Dr. Khamid. This is the president’s most important and precious object – he called it his “glorious future”.’
    Khamid winced at the man’s oniony breath andcould almost hear his old heart beating excitedly in his chest. But his own hands were steady – a greater purpose had already unfolded in his mind.
    ‘What do you think it is?’ Millinov still spoke in hushed tones, as if in the presence of a holy relic.
    Khamid laid it on the small pressure pad, and together they watched as the figures climbed at only a nano-scale. The thing had nearly no mass, but all the measuring devices – radiation, entropy, voltage – indicated power of massive proportion. Strangely, the thermometer’s reading was negligible, as was the electrolytic sensor’s – the matter, whatever it was, was cool, and extremely dry. The thing seemed to absorb both heat and moisture and store energy in an unknown form.
    Khamid snorted softly. ‘What do I think it is? I think, for want of a better term, it’s a battery.’
    ‘A battery! You young scientists have no imagination – look at the power output, Denichen. A battery, perhaps. But what a battery! It is smaller than the most powerful enriched isotope, but with the energy of an entire reactor. This tiny thing could power a city.’
    Khamid nodded and played along with the scientist’s enthusiasm. ‘Perhaps a hundred cities, and it’s already been burning for a thousand centuries. This energy device is from a technology far in advance of our own. Inform the president immediately – he’ll want to see this himself. Perhaps we can run a test for him.’
    ‘Yes, yes of course, a test. We can do that.’ Millinov, although the senior scientist, nodded vigorously, perhaps delighted at the opportunity to bring good news to his leader at last. He scurried from the room.
    Khamid waited for him to go, and then used the pincers to grasp the object once more and place it in a purpose-built, squat, lead canister. The inch-thick casing was also molded into a thermal ceramic coat – it would be damned heavy, and lead didn’t fully attenuate all types of radiation, but it would hopefully provide him with enough shielding . . . and enough time. He looked over his shoulder.
    ‘Yes, run to your master, Dr. Millinov – and when you get back, I won’t be here. Explain that to your dear Little Wolf.’
    He used the robotic claws to place the lid onto the plate-like canister, and then twist it into a locked position. He then passed the canister through a series of airlocks leading to the laboratory. He stuffed it into a backpack, grunting as he slung it over his shoulder. At the door he turned briefly; the containment room was in muted light, with most of the illumination coming from the myriad sensors and data displays. The only one that caught his eye was the thermal monitor of the cylinder – it had already climbed to room temperature.
    Khamid turned back to the door and opened it a crack, checking the corridor. He only needed to dash a hundred paces to the service elevator that would take him down to the car park. He often went home for lunch, so passing through security at this time of day would not be unusual. He gambled on Millinov taking his time with Volkov, as usual, wanting to drag out his brilliant accomplishments for as long as he could. By the time the scientist returned, Khamid would be miles away. He adjusted the crushing weight on his back.
    This is for my family , he thought as he darted from the door, running hunched over to the elevator.
    In the few seconds after he was gone, the temperature went up another few degrees, and a bead of moisture appeared on one of the globes within the strange, coffin-like object.

CHAPTER 4
     
     
    Alex Hunter sat in the rear of the black stealth chopper and cleared his mind. The swift, sixty-five-foot machine carried a

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