* * *
"My Lady, you honor me by your presence," Doctor Vlashsku said when greeting Christa at the door to his shelter. "Please come in."
Christa replied with the customary Nordakian reply, "It is my honor to be welcomed here."
"How may I be of service, My Lady. You have only to ask and I will do it."
"You were helpful when I— I mean when my sister was trying to solve the riddle of the symbols engraved into the floor of the cloning facility. I'm hoping you might recognize a new symbol. I haven't been able to find any reference to it in any of my Dakistee files, including those sent to me from Expedition Headquarters on Anthius."
"Of course, My Lady. Do you have an image with you?"
"Yes," Christa said, producing a holo-tube. "Here it is." She had reversed the large symbol to show as black on a plain white background in an attempt to disassociate it from the door. The lower resolution of the holo-tube was perfectly adequate for displaying it.
Doctor Vlashsku activated the holo-tube and looked closely at the symbol for several minutes before asking, "Is this symbol connected with the problem of accessing the new chamber?"
"It might be. I'm trying to determine its origin to see if it might have a connection."
"Seeing this on a holo-tube has reminded me of something. We had our annual conference at the Brighton dig site last year. This symbol bears a strong resemblance to one I saw there."
"Brighton?"
"Yes, the site director had a cylinder, very much like a holo-tube cylinder, and this symbol was engraved on one end. It wasn't a holo-tube of course, but the jet-black cylinder was about the same size. The director had mounted it on a desktop display stand in her office. That's all I can think of right now. I'm most sorry I can't be of more help."
"On the contrary, Doctor. I think you've been of immense help."
* * *
"Please come in, Commander," the director of the dig site at Brighton said as she stepped aside to allow Christa and Carmoody into her office."
"Thank you, Dr. Manson. This is Lt. Grace Carmoody."
"Welcome, both of you. Would you care for a beverage?"
"Thank you," Christa said. "I'd like coffee if you have it."
"The same for me," Carmoody said.
"Marie," Ms. Manson said out the door to the office, "three coffees, please."
"Ladies, please have a seat and tell me how I may help you."
"Our visit here today stems from a conversation I had with Doctor Dakshiku Vlashsku at the Loudescott site," Christa said and then stopped as Dr. Manson's assistant brought in the coffees and placed them on the director's desk. When they had prepared their coffees, she continued. "I sought his help in identifying a unique symbol and he said he recognized it as being identical to one he observed on an artifact you have on your desk. From his description, it might be that one," Christa said, pointing to a display stand supporting a black cylinder about the size of a holo-tube cylinder.
"And what is your interest in the symbol?"
"I'm trying to determine if it has relevance to a problem reported by the archeological team at Loudescott."
"You're referring to the underground facility they recently discovered?"
The statement caught Christa off guard. She hesitated for just a moment before saying, "You're unexpectedly well informed, Doctor."
"Word of a major new discovery travels quickly. I know the team at Loudescott hasn't been able to open the facility and they contacted Space Command for help. Are you two all they sent?"
"So far. I can request additional help if we need it."
"And have you been able to gain access to the facility?"
"May I look at the cylinder while we talk?"
"Of course. Help yourself."
Christa leaned over and lifted the tube from the display stand. It appeared to be a solid, single-piece design. The symbol she was looking for was engraved on one end. The other end bore a letter from the ancient alphabet. There were no other markings. "It's remarkably pristine for something nineteen thousand, four hundred years old."
"It was sealed in a vacuum container. The container's exterior showed the effects of age, but the contents were as perfect as the day they were sealed inside."
"What else was in the container?"
"A timepiece, some letters addressed to the Regional Cultural Headquarters here, and a lengthy list of very prominent individuals."
"How do you know they were prominent?"
"There were titles associated with most, such as Minister, Doctor, Professor, etc."
"I see."
From the look and weight of the cylinder, Christa guessed was made of Dakinium.
"Yes, this is what I'm looking for. The symbol is identical to the one I'm trying to identify. Have you seen it anywhere else, Doctor?"
"No, I haven't. We've been able to identify most of the symbols we've encountered using one or the other of the reference books you and your sisters wrote."
Christa didn't miss the way Manson emphasized the word 'sisters' and wondered if she had a problem with clones.
"I wonder if I might borrow this for a short time?" Christa asked.
"Why?"
"I don't know, but I feel very strongly that it might help my research."
"I'm afraid I can't let you take it. It's the property of the Dakistee Archeological Expedition and can't be lent out without approval from the headquarters on Anthius."
"Then could you show me exactly where it was found on the dig site?"
"Why?"
"Call it— curiosity."
The look Manson gave Christa indicated she was suspicious of Christa's motives for wanting the information, but she turned on a wall monitor and used a laser pointer to identify the general area where the cylinder had been found.
"You're sure it wasn't more to the left— by say a kilometer?"
Manson eyes narrowed and she said, "I may be mistaken."
"Of course. It's impossible to remember where every object has been located."
"If you have no further questions," Dr. Manson said, standing up behind her desk, "I have another meeting."
"Thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to see us today."
"You're welcome. Goodbye."
As Carmoody and Christa exited the building and walked towards the shuttle pad, Carmoody said, "You already knew where the cylinder was found?"
"No, but she said the vacuum canister contained letters written to the Regional Cultural Headquarters. I remembered where the RCH was located from looking at a map of the city that once stood here."
"Where did you get a map of the city?"
"The files we got from the computer in the other facility provided excellent maps of the entire planet. Once the Expedition Headquarters had that information, new dig sites were assigned at all the former locations of major cities and many sites were closed down if the area they were excavating had only been a forest or some other rural area. It was just pure chance that Dr. Peterson happened to select a site where the planet's capital city was located, but the maps have since helped him make decisions regarding where his people work within the city's limits."
"So what now?" Carmoody asked.
"Now we get the cylinder Dr. Manson has."
"But she said no. You're not going to steal it, are you?"
"Of course not. But before we even lift off, I'm going to send a request to the Expedition Headquarters on Anthius that the cylinder be delivered to me at Loudescott because I require it for a research project."
"You think they'll give it to you?"
"The Expedition Headquarters owes Space Command, and especially the Carver sisters, big time. They'll loan it to me."
* * *
"Lt. Uronson reporting to the base commander," the butter-bar Marine officer said after being invited into the shuttle and coming to attention.
"Stand easy, Lieutenant," Christa said.
"Yes, ma'am," he said as he relaxed. "I apologize for
not being here to welcome you, ma'am, but I was ordered to report to battalion headquarters for a series of meetings regarding new security procedures being implemented on the planet."
"It's quite all right, Lieutenant. Sergeant Flegetti has done a splendid job in your absence. There are always two sentries on duty at the entrance to the new facility, which has been perfectly adequate. Now that you've returned, I want you to establish a proper camp like the one at Fort Carver. A perimeter trench with protective berm should be dug one hundred meters from the tunnel entrance. I realize you don't have the manpower for proper patrols, but I hope we'll soon have reinforcements. I expect this new underground facility will be every bit as important as the other."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Any questions, Lieutenant?"
"No ma'am. But I have to say that expectations of reinforcements may not be realistic. The Corps is spread really thin on this planet and everyone is requesting additional personnel."
"I'm afraid you might be right. We'll just have to see what kind of priority Space Command places on this outpost."
"Yes, ma'am."
"That's all, Lieutenant. Dismissed."
* * *
Three days later, Christa received a visitor at her shuttle. "Welcome, Dr. Manson. Won't you come in?"
Manson entered the shuttle and walked to the table Christa was using for a desk. As she placed a small case on the table, she said, "The Expedition Headquarters has ordered me to deliver the cylinder to you. It's on loan for as long as you need it. I need your thumbprint on the receipt."
Christa applied her thumb to the viewpad and said, "Would you care for a cup of coffee, Doctor?"
"No thank you. I'm on a tight schedule. Good day." With that, she left the shuttle and walked to where her own was waiting.
"Wow," Carmoody said. "Did they make her bring it to you personally?"
"In my note I may have mentioned that Dr. Manson had proved to be a little less than cooperative. Perhaps that was the reason she was here today. I wouldn't have said anything if she hadn't deliberately tried to mislead us regarding where the cylinder was found. I still haven't worked that one out. There was no reason that I can see."
"Perhaps she just wanted to place an obstacle in our path and thought misleading us about where the cylinder was found might accomplish that."
"Perhaps. With luck we'll have no more contact with her. Her personality is no better than the coffee she serves to her visitors."
Christa opened the small case and removed the cylinder. She looked at the symbol on the end of the tube and smiled. "Well, we have it. Now what do we do with it?"
"It's yours for as long as you want it. You could mount it on a display stand and send a picture to Dr. Manson."
"No, I'm not looking to rub her face in it. I don't know why, but I really feel we need this object to open the door.
* * *
After breakfast the next morning, Christa and Carmoody returned to the tunnel. They stood staring at the door and the cylinder as they thought, but there seemed to be no real connection other than the symbol on the end of the tube. There were no openings in the door where the cylinder might be inserted, as would be done with a key, and no supports where it could be hung. The breakthrough came when Christa extended her hand to compare the length of the cylinder with the diameter of one of the circles. As her open hand neared the door, the cylinder suddenly leapt up and stuck to the door. She was so startled that she just stared it for some thirty seconds as she tried to reason why it should behave like that. Recovering from her absorption, she reached out and plucked the cylinder from the door, then again held it close to the door, but a meter to the right of the first spot. She watched, fascinated, as it again leapt from her hand and clung to the door.
"This doesn't make any sense," Christa said. "Dakinium doesn't have magnetic properties, yet it's acting like it does." She plucked the cylinder from the door and carried it over to a Chembrite light where she held it against the steel support stand. There was no magnetic attraction. "Well, the magnetic properties aren't in the cylinder. It must be something in the composition of the door."
"Did you notice," Carmoody asked, "that it only stuck on circles both times?"
"Did it? Let's check that out."
After ten minutes of experimentation, the results seemed conclusive. The cylinder would only stick to the areas inside the six circles, but it stuck equally well inside any of them.
"So, either there're magnetic properties in the door and the cylinder has a steel core, or the Dakistee ancients discovered some property of Dakinium that we don't yet know," Christa said. "Did you notice the rod always aligned with one of the thirty-eight marks on the circumference?"
"Yes, I did," Carmoody said.
"It would seem we have part of our answer," Christa said.
"We do?" Carmoody said with surprise. "What is it?"
"The circles must represent a locking mechanism. There could be no other reason for having such an elaborate arrangement on the door. It has to be a combination lock."
"Okay, but how does it operate?"
"I can think of several possibilities. You could place the cylinder on a circle, beginning in a certain position, then twist it to a new position. We've already established that it will align in any of thirty-eight directions. But that could be problematic if there wasn't a way to reset the lock since there's no visible indication of where an internal cam is presently pointed, so it's more likely that simply placing a cylinder against the door enables a mechanism. However, that theory relies on there being five more cylinders. So— to open the door, you must have the proper cylinder on the proper circle, aimed in the proper direction. It's incredibly simple and yet incredibly complex at the same time."
"I'm not following you. It doesn't sound that difficult if you have the cylinders."
"That's why it seems incredibly simple, but if I'm correct, we must not only have all six cylinders, but we must know the exact position required for each. Each of the required cylinders might have been entrusted to an important individual on the planet and only that individual knew the proper alignment of their cylinder. That makes it both a key lock and a combination lock in one. You must have all the pieces and the knowledge of the combination to open the door. Having only one part won't do it."
"If that's true," Carmoody said, "there's another possibility. What if one of the circles was meant to be left without a cylinder, although six cylinders were made. It would be like having six deadbolts on a door where you had no information if the bolt was currently open or closed."
"Yes. If just one of the deadbolts isn't retracted, the door remains locked."
"I wonder how many permutations are possible? Assuming that all six cylinders are required, what's thirty-eight raised to the sixth?"
"Roughly three billion, eleven million combinations," Christa said. "However, there's another consideration. I'm assuming that each cylinder has a different 'magnetic' strength value, so you must have the correct cylinder on the proper circle. This raises the possible combinations to eighteen billion." She released a soft sigh and added, "It might take a few days longer to open the door than I had anticipated before my arrival."
* * *
Chapter Five
~ May 16th, 2285 ~
As the two Space Command officers later relaxed in the shuttle with cups of fresh Colombian, Carmoody asked, "What now? How do we locate the other five cylinders, and where do we even begin to work out the proper combination required to open the door?"
"I'm not even going to worry about the combination unless and until we acquire the other five cylinders. If the one cylinder we do have is made of Dakinium, it stands to reason that the others are as well. We can't let them fall into the wrong hands."
"How can we determine if it's Dakinium?"
"The easiest way is to x-ray it. We know it's not made of lead— it's too light. If it's aluminum, titanium, tritanium, or some composite, it won't block all x-rays. The archeologists have
x-ray equipment here."
* * *
All six doctors and their chief assistants were on hand to watch the test. Christa couldn't refuse them admittance to the work shelter since it was their shelter and she needed the use of their equipment.
When the x-ray test was complete, the results were negative. No X-rays had passed through the cylinder.
"And what significance does this cylinder have with gaining access to the facility?" Dr. Peterson asked when the test was over.
"I believe the unknown symbol on the end of the cylinder plays a role in opening the door. I hope to learn what the symbol represents and how the name was pronounced."
"And what was the purpose of this test?"
"I'm looking at everything that might provide clues to opening the door."
"So it's not just the symbol you're interested in but the cylinder as well?"
"Yes."
"And what role does it play in opening the door?"
"That's remains to be seen, but it's all part of the puzzle. This door doesn't have the same simple locking mechanism the other has, which is why you were unable to open it."
"And this is all you know, or suspect, after ten days of effort?" Dr. Peterson asked acerbically.
"Since you spent months shouting at the door without success, I saw no benefit in repeating your efforts. I'm taking a different approach. I have no guarantee it will be any more successful than your months of effort, but it's my best line of reasoning right now. If you have a better idea, Doctor, I'd love to hear it."
"Humph," Peterson said as he turned and left the shelter.
"Don't mind him," Dr. Huften said. "He's just frustrated after being so excited about the discovery and then being unable to open the door."
"I understand," Christa said, smiling. "Although we've been acquainted for many years, I certainly don't know him very well. Still—I think that once we manage to open the door he'll cheer up."
"Only if we get to look around inside. Edward is still bitter about being shut out of the other facility."
"That's only a habitat for the Marines posted here. All of the equipment was taken away years ago, and anything that didn't violate Galactic Alliance was turned over to the Expedition headquarters."
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