The Black Hole Experiments Quadrilogy (2017)

by V Bertolaccini

  The others finally found a trace of an entrance, under dirt, covering the end of it. Basinger fiddled with its lock, and it automatically sprung open, with an engine sound, which proved that there still was power in it. It was hopeless, but it was worth investigating.

  Its interior resembled a vehicle for transporting goods, except for long seats that went along its sides. He strolled along it, for six meters, to the front, to where another seat went across its front. Its front had numerous switches and dials.

  It looked familiar, and Dexter sat at it, as the others sat about him. They eagerly looked at its controls, and he felt as though he were sitting in an old vehicle on a dump.

  “It is the right size,” Burrell spoke tiredly, “but it is too heavy. If we were to find another one, near the beach, it may make a good boat. It’s waterproof, and it’s made of this material ...!”

  “They must have had boats!” Basinger stated, looking out at the outside. “And it would be an extremely good idea to search for one!”

  “But will there be any of them about here?” Burrell explained. “This place is empty!”

  “It would still be a good idea to look for one!”

  “Where will we get sails for it?” Selina asked.

  “If we find one with power, we wouldn’t need to ... This thing may move – somehow!”

  “Why do we need to travel by sea?” Selina responded. “If there are flying machines, like that lifting device, they may do everything that we desire.”

  “Exactly!” Dexter interjected. “A boat, even made out of this material, can still sink – especially in a storm!”

  He glanced about, and he started eating some of his food.

  In the dim light, coming through a window hole, Basinger sketched a faint outline of something, on a piece of animal skin, stretched over the seat.

  “If we could only build a yacht,” Selina explained, “it would be fast and safe!”

  “That’s a good idea!” Basinger replied, captivated in his work. “However, I do not believe that we are capable of producing one, with the materials that are available to us. But we could of course make it as close to one as we can make it!”

  Dexter agreed with him, by nodding, as he recalled seeing a wooden fishing boat that he was sure they could copy.

  “My uncle took me out in his yacht,” Selina spoke sleepily to Burrell, “when I was at high school! He showed me how easy it was to put it upright again – if it capsized ...!”

  “Other boats can also be safely used to travel around the world,” Basinger continued. “If they are built good enough, they should withstand some of the worst storms ...!

  “We can make types of wooden bolts to fix it together. We can also get a good supply of strong glue from animal bones, and there are thick tar and rubber substances, which can be obtained in vast amounts from some of the trees!”

  “What dimensions are we making it?” Burrell enthusiastically enquired.

  “I have worked out the dimensions of it!” Basinger swiftly answered, turning his head, to stare at Burrell. “They are the dimensions needed to hold everything that we need, including all the food supplies that we need. So there are not any problems about that! It must be as unsinkable as we can possibly make it!”

  After Basinger had finished drawing a rough outline of it, he stood up, and he stepped back from it.

  “This will do, for the moment! We will obviously have to do a lot more, more accurate, plans!”

  For a few minutes, Basinger considered it, and he shrugged his shoulders.

  Dexter did not know what they were going to finally achieve, but Basinger had already been searching for the best materials to make it, and he had a vague idea of the type of boat that it actually might turn out like, from the types of wood that he had been considering.

  They would still have to test the different samples of wood, and evaluate their strength; and their being cut and fixed together in various ways. They probably would separately examine the samples, and they would give their different thoughts about them.

  Dexter had successfully made tools out of the basic materials that they had found, which would cut and shape the wood; and he thought of different designs of wooden benches that he could easily make, to help cut the wood into various sizes.

  They would probably work together, collecting the wood, but as the work progressed, they would prefer to do the various jobs on their own, at various locations, and they would regularly swap jobs, until they would be doing the work that they preferred doing.

  Once they had accumulated a good pile of accurately cut wood, they would have to build a fire on the beach, to heat the planks, then start bending them into the shape of the hull; and carry out the rigorous work of fixing them together, while putting a waterproof sealant between the junctions. They might then test the caulked sections for their efficacy in preventing water entering, and cover them in tar, from the trees.

  At night, they could make things for it, such as slowly making the sails, by thinning especially tough animal skins, which they could then sew together, and use a rubbery tree substance to make waterproof.

  He would do everything that he could to prevent any leaks occurring to it. They could roll the hull down to the water, on logs, and he could check it, for leaks, in the water. He could also test its capabilities, and test it to find out what modifications it might need. They could then use winches to return it to the cliff edge.

  Basinger’s sketch of it showed that he was going to add an airtight cabin that would cover the majority of the boat, to hold their supplies, and for them to use as their quarters.

  He would refuse to celebrate its completion until they had fully tested it in the sea, with a heavy wind blowing it fast through large waves.

  Even though he had various clues, he was not sure where he now was on the world. However, he knew what direction Basinger would travel in, and that he would take them beyond the other side of the island. He was sure that a Star Chamber was in that direction, somewhere. Dexter was sure that he had seen faint images there, behind the misty horizon, and he was sure that it was the mainland.

  Dexter observed Burrell pressing a control lever, next to him, as he had been doing with the other machines in the structure. However, he only realized what he had done when he heard the entrance loudly shut behind them, and he felt the vehicle lift into the air. It seemed to float over the ground.

  Selina and Burrell stuck their heads through the gap at the front, where some type of window had been. For a few seconds, he thought about climbing out of it, through the gap, but he stayed seated, watching the controls. Selina and Burrell joined Basinger, behind him.

  Half of the controls had long lines of glowing switches.

  Suddenly, Dexter recognized the controls about him – from information that he had taken in from the machine in the structure – it was the vehicle that he had seen there! Moreover, he knew what switch would make it take them to the structure, where a Star Chamber was; and he swiftly activated it, before anyone objected to the idea.

  A loud shudder furiously shook them up and down, until they were gripping the seats. Then it finally calmed, to a fast vibration.

  To his surprise, the vegetation rattled along its edges, and it broke free; and it rapidly increased its velocity. Yet, to his astonishment, it plunged down the steep slope of the hill, going down towards the shore.

  Once the vehicle was going at an unbelievable speed, they avoided looking outside, and held onto it. He could not think straight, and he tried to think of a way of stopping it if something went in its path.

  Its wild movements, maneuvering about the landscape, threw them from side to side; and, to his great pleasure, the vehicle went over an area where he was sure a building once had been, proving that it might not be just following a route.

  The vehicle finally decreased its velocity to maneuver around an obstacle, which completely blocked its path. He was now positive that some type of computer was steering it around objects,
but he was not positive where it was taking them, and if they could ever return.

  As it went along, he observed the scenery, about its front, at every angle, but he was unable to recognize anything. He had never seen the place before.

  Areas of vegetation stretched out over vast regions, and he saw familiar plants and creatures in them. He now knew many new places where they could hunt the animals that they wanted.

  An area of small hills opened out, at its front, and the sun shone, from behind some small clouds, lighting everything. Suddenly, a dark figure of a creature moved through some bushes. Its unusual movements and behavior grabbed his attention, and he could not recall seeing it before, but it was vaguely familiar.

  As he attempted to remember, more of the creatures appeared, from places about their sides. Some of them were standing upwards, using their mouths to communicate. Yet what startled him the most was the fact that some of them were wearing animal skins.

  They reminded him of a tribe of ape-men, but it then became apparent that their heads were more like hairy alligators, with dark green tints to their skin and hair.

  The creatures were turning around everywhere, about the vehicle, and they stared in through the windows. The crowd grew dense, in front of them, and one of them went in front of the vehicle; and it swerved around it. Its features stuck in his mind, and he realized that it was similar to the creature that had been on the machine’s projection, in the structure.

  The creature stood steady, with its top limbs at its sides, staring at them, behind the vehicle.

  A sudden jolt, made him jerk forwards, and the vehicle almost stopped.

  “What in the hell were they?” Burrell yelled out, jumping up from where he was sitting.

  The crowd of creatures were pursuing them, with increasing speed, as the vehicle maneuvered about a hill.

  “Just keep calm!” Basinger exclaimed. “And don’t do anything – remain where you are!”

  As it floated on, and it increased its speed, Dexter realized that he was now even more confused than he had been. Why were there two races of them? Had that race descended from the other race?

  The creatures definitely were not descended from mankind. Their features were not the same, and they obviously had their own ancestors that had to be a four-legged creature with claws, and their jaws were similar to a reptile.

  Surely the machines in the structure would have some information about this other race. He realized again that the world now had many deadly creatures. He was beginning to believe that they should have stayed there. This entire race might now know of their presence! Could they actually return? If they left this island, would they eventually meet a more deadly race? Yet if they stayed here these creatures might find them.

  As the vehicle moved further away from them, he realized that the creatures were more advanced than he had thought, and that he was exaggerating the situation. Some of the creatures had greeted them.

  He realized that the creatures were definitely the ancestors of the other creatures, who had built the structure. They were like a tribe of ape-men, of their race. He had heard them make three silent grunts, which had been a greeting, which he was sure that the other race had adapted into their language.

  As the vehicle went out towards the other side of the island, he saw the other massive tower, in the distance, and he realized that it had only been a large version of the tower in the jungle, at the beach.

  The vehicle moved over endless lines, covered in fawn dirt and sand, which he was sure once had been old streets.

  He did not believe that the creatures, which had built the civilization, would actually kill them. The others had given many nervous glances at the projected creature. He could not imagine them fighting and killing them. So far he had not seen with any weapons.

  A hand appeared beside his head, which he recognized as Basinger’s. He pointed outwards, and Dexter gasped, when he saw that it was heading towards the sea, which was less than a few miles away, behind some hills of sand.

  Basinger stood at his side, and he pressed another of the buttons, but the vehicle continued on going. He then began pushing buttons and levers, as the sea slowly stretched out in front of them, and the vehicle continued to race towards it. Dexter knew that the other controls, which were not destination buttons, only adjusted the way that it maneuvered, and, for some reason, none of them would stop it. Moreover, he did not know if it had enough power.

  The wind sprayed water against Dexter’s hand, at the back of the vehicle, and he watched it move over the waves.

  Burrell sat down, at the front, where he had been.

  The water was clear, but it was too far out, across the sea, to see the bottom. A large group of multicolored sea creatures swam alongside it, and then shifted away to the right.

  Darwin peered over the edge of a window, and he went back to smelling about him. The island grew small, and turned to another shape about them. Their plan, of moving away from the island, was taking place – but the mainland had not been at the horizon, where they had believed it had been.

  He realized that it might have been the creatures’ fire that he had seen on the island, when they had arrived at the island. But it could also have been a volcanic eruption near the shore.

  The strangeness of it grabbed him, as he vividly recalled its surreal glow beaming out, from the island. It had looked deliberate, like a beacon, though. He had sometimes wondered if it actually had been a fire. Furthermore, how did the others get ashore?

  He rested, and imagined himself skimming over the sea, with the island sinking into the sea, behind him.

  What kind of strange place existed beneath the waves, down at the seabed? If he only had his scuba-diving gear at the island ...

  The red sunshine brightly shone down, engulfing the sky, in tints of crimson. Shadows and reflections of small clouds wavered on the surface of the water.

  The strange redness seemed to be in every shadow and reflection, and especially in the sparkles of the waves, swirling about under it. A cloud’s reflection mingled with the sunlight in whirling eddies.

  A slight scent of the water was in the warm air, rushing through it, from the front. For a second, he thought that he caught a glimpse of something at the most distant point of the horizon.

  The island completely disappeared, and nothing could be seen anywhere, on the water. With his eyes shut it was as though it were not moving but hovering on a breeze.

  A gust of wind appeared, at the side, and he heard the sea gurgling beneath the vehicle; and he saw a huge surge of bubbles coming up from below. A type of seaweed surfaced about them, and it was all over the surrounding sea.

  The sky was growing pale, and he saw that the sun was edging its way down to the sea, behind them.

  The world looked surreal. The island had been like something out of a weird dream. He had never realized that things could change so much. He still believed that the world had been changed by some form of catastrophe – an ice age had to have occurred.

  However, he believed that the creatures that had built the structures, and their ancestors, had appeared after it. Yet had any people actually survived? Yet he had not seen one life form on the island that he had recognized. Perhaps mankind had also changed. Perhaps civilization had eventually changed all the life on the world before the ice age?

  Whatever it was, there must be clues somewhere. He rummaged through his memories, trying to discover something, from what he had seen on the island.

  Many bright stars appeared in the darkening sky, and cold air replaced the warm air.

  Burrell stood up, and he adjusted the remains of his clothing.

  “I could do with something to eat!”

  Dexter stretched out his arms, and yawned.

  Basinger and Selina took out some food.

  An odor, like roast pork, came to him, through the wind, and he rubbed his cold hands together. Then he grabbed a chunk of food, which he had kept, at his side.

  He then wen
t to where he had chosen to sleep, and the others moved to places.

  Once he had finished chewing a morsel, which was in his mouth, he rested and went to sleep, feeling the slight movements of the vehicle.

  A mysterious sound entered his light dream, and he realized that it was a voice – from the real world.

  Blackness was all around him, and he felt Selina’s warm body, huddled around him.

  Basinger’s loud snore came from somewhere else.

  What had produced the sound? He gently lifted Selina’s head and shoulders from him, and he put her back down on some thick fur. The sound of the sea surging against itself grew, as he stood.

  In the starlight at the front, he spotted Burrell pointing outwards into the dark. He went to him, without making any loud sounds.

  “What is it?” Dexter spoke wearily, trying to observe what it was.

  “It has not altered our course!”

  “So what is it then?”

  “There’s another island over there!”

  Dexter stared, forcing his eyes to focus, and to adjust to the blackness, which was swallowing his sight. A faint outline became visible. It was so distant that he wondered if he could really see something.

  “Do you want me to stay up ...?”

  “No, I will stay here! I like being here.”

  “Thanks!” Dexter replied, returning to where he had been, feeling himself falling back asleep.

  The vehicle was still rapidly going over the dark sea, when it became apparent that the region had a storm engulfing it. And Dexter once again realized that he might have made a mistake, and that he should have stayed on the island.

  The whole sky about them was changing, and grew more menacing by the minute.

  Thick clouds, with a firm winds, were edging in, to them.

  The drizzle glowed, under the stars, and the wind picked up momentum.