Lens of Time: Book 06 - Star Rover-Running Out of Time Read Free Page A

move into one of these and shape your body to it. Try to fill as much of it as you can.” Blacky stared at Belwen and moved over to the closest form. He inserted his arms and flowed into the container. He expanded his body and filled it. “What am I doing in here?”
    “Can you remember the shape you’re in?”
    “I guess so.”
    “Then get out.”
    Blacky flowed out of the container and Belwen said, “Go back in as fast as you can.” Blacky stared at Belwen and flowed back in in less than ten seconds. “Do it again but do it faster.” He looked at the other six Madators and said, “You can start doing the same thing.” They moved to the containers and started the process. Belwen watched them and made comments, as they moved in and out. “That’s better, but I know you can do it faster.” “Good, good, that’s your best time so far.” The Madators continued to move in and out and, after two hours, Belwen said, “That’s enough.” He turned to Blacky and said, “Assume the shape of the container…now!”
    Blacky immediately changed his shape to a long, slightly curved, flat surface and fell to the floor. “Now change your shape to the smallest size you can manage.” Blacky immediately formed a small black ball on the floor. “Now back to the shape of the form.”
    Belwen kept all seven of them changing shapes for another hour. At that point Blacky stopped and said, “What are you doing? This makes no sense.”
    Belwen smiled and said, “Come with me.” The seven followed him out of the lab to the cliff overlooking the ocean far below. They arrived at the edge and felt the strong updraft rising from the ocean beneath them. Belwen looked at Blacky and said, “Stand here on the edge and assume the shape of the form.” Blacky looked at Belwen and changed his shape…and was immediately lifted high in air. Blacky started yelling and Belwen shouted, “Move your body and move with the wind!”
    Blacky was terrified as he was blown more than three hundred feet off the ground and he started moving his body to avoid being caught in the strong updraft. He lowered his front edge and he started zooming toward the ground. Before he crashed he lifted his front edge and glided level with the ground and gained altitude again. Belwen shouted, “Next time you get close to the ground, change to your smallest size!”
    Blacky was climbing and he was starting to get a feel of how to use the wind to change direction. He turned with the wind and flew away from the cliff, then turned and started a shallow glide back to the group standing at the edge. Just before he moved into the violent updraft he changed shape to a small ball and fell three feet to the ground. He immediately stood up in his normal shape with a huge smile, “That was both terrifying and fun at the same time!”
    Belwen smiled, “You have to practice gliding in this wind.”
    “Why?”
    “We’re going to drop you on a planet from space. You’re going to have to learn how to use the winds to glide to the surface.”
    Blacky stared at Belwen and his head fell to his midsection, “You can’t be serious?”
    “I’m deadly serious. You’ll fall in the shape of the small ball until you reach an altitude where you can expand and start flying.”
    “I’ll burn up long before that happens.”
    “No you won’t. You’re dropping in with a flame proof covering. You’ll eject out of it and catch the wind.”
    “Why would we do it this way?”
    “Blacky, no scanner is set to detect biological creatures. They’re set to detect energy and metals and you won’t have any of that exposed to them. You’ll be able to drop in on a planet undetected and do whatever your mission might be.”
    “What if there isn’t any wind?”
    “You’re going to learn that you can use the speed you drop in with to glide wherever you choose. Your forward speed will provide all the wind you’ll need. I would recommend that when you choose to land, you should turn