DORULL STORIES - PRISONER OF THE AMULET
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Personal journal of geologist Sanomis Ti'nullaim, Ganiwarthal's exploratory mission on planet Dorull
-Entry 151-
Three weeks have passed since I
transferred to Shteint. And still, we are idly sitting docked on Ganiwarthal. I
really don't know what the hold up is all about, but I assume some of my
scientist colleagues are to be blamed. Most likely due to having problems with
all of the simultaneous demands for transfers of their equipment and research.
I did the deed on my own, and still had the time to set up my lab. Twice.
I even answered Lieutenant Zharn's
invitation. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the variety of
entertainment on the promenade. Especially the holodeck facilities, which
besides the standard training programs, also have a rather large catalogue of leisure programs.
Lieutenant even showed me some of his work. I must say, for someone who claims
to have learned the skill in his spare time, they were surprisingly well made.
Vagyr appears to have the knowledge of someone who completed the
specialization. And he probably knows even more so, because he had to learn it
by himself.
***
Cavern in which Sanomis stumbled
that morning, gave him the answers to the questions he was pondering about, for
the past few weeks. And at the same time, gave him the excellent opportunity to
collect a handful of various samples. Besides the rocky formations of limestone
and granite, and the deposits of coal, iron, bauxite, silver and gold ores, the
cave was abundant in clusters of colorful crystals and gemstones. For whatever
reason, this spot was some sort of intersection of veins.
Sanomis never heard, let alone
seen of such a thing. He wondered if his mother ever stumbled on something similar.
Or any of her colleagues, geologists, with which she collaborated on planets
all over the known universe. He wished he could ask for her advice right now.
He’d love to hear her opinion about this place. Only trouble was, he had no
idea where she was. Nor how to contact her. Last time Sanomis saw his mother
was on the day of his graduation. And even then, she could not stay for long.
She was heading on yet another mission.
Sanomis could only hope he would
have an opportunity to show her this discovery. If this phenomenon even turns
out to be a discovery. First he would have to present this to the chief
explorer of the Dorull mission, Nharsia Santlev. Without her approval, any
further exploration will stop immediately. And that was a reason to thoroughly
catalogue every sample and document the entire process. Starting with the
discovery of this cave. And Sanomis did just that, not sparing the details.
One detail particularly drew his
attention, giving him an answer to the question on whether he was the first to
discover this anomaly. He wasn’t. Some humanoids, probably dwarves, most
definitely visited this amazing place in the past. There was no doubt in that.
How else would he explain the rather large pile of rocks, completely barricading
one barely visible tunnel. This was not a natural collapse. Someone made a
serious effort to close this passage. And Sanomis couldn’t wait to find out
why.
So he did, as soon as he secured
the samples inside the designated compartments of his backpack. He proceeded by
touching his right temple, booting up his processing unit. And then followed
the contours of his cheek, to enable the virtual visor. Sanomis blinked twice,
adjusting his eyes to the display. It was a necessity, seeing as the option menu,
with every crucial program and subroutines loaded at that exact moment.
Besides universal addons, designed
to keep vards safe and secured, Sanomis also had numerous programs installed
specifically for his geological needs. Most of which he upgraded, or even made
himself. He scrolled over the list, enabling the most needed ones. First the
visual enhancer, followed by spectral analyzer, geochemical analyzer, and
molecular and biochemical detector.
The protection and defense systems
were enabled by default, he only checked to see if they were functioning
properly. Out of habit, most likely. But not without a reason. Someone made an
effort to close and shut this tunnel. To keep everyone from venturing further.
Or to keep something inside. Something they were afraid of. Sanomis was sure
that was the case. And that made him stop and reevaluate his decision to
proceed to the other side. He could simply walk away, knowing no one would be
the wiser. Nor probably would even care. Except him. And that, in the end, was enough
for him to make a decision. He was too curious. He had to know what was behind.
Sanomis positioned himself
straight in front of the blocked entrance, allowing his diagnostic tools to do
their job. Which they did, mere seconds later, as the first results of the
analysis began listing on the display. The pile of rocks blocking the tunnel
was way larger than Sanomis expected. Some six meter long, spreading from wall
to wall, all the way to the ceiling. It was tightly packed, almost
impenetrable. But the rest of the passage seemed intact.
The tunnel gently veered to the
left, for more than fifty meters, and even further away, far out of the range
of his sensors. They haven’t detected any life forms, which was good. And the
air analysis showed it was safe for breathing, which was even better. It would
be a let down if he was forced to turn around now, due to the detection of some
harmful particles or poisonous gases. So far so good. He was safe to proceed.
Sanomis opened the main
compartment of his backpack, pulling a black, rectangular box out of it. He
released the locking mechanism, and flicked the lid with his right upper thumb,
before setting the case on the ground. The box was lined with anti-static
fabric, filled to the brim with small, uniformed discs, only five centimeters
in diameter. They were made from the medem compound. A light alloy of
smart-metal, capable of giving and receiving allotted information and tasks.
This tool was favourite of his,
although just like many other ones, it also had an unimaginative name, which
was simply telling what they were used for. But perhaps it was for the best,
because that was telling to Sanomis, the designers of such devices cared more
about technical aspects of the product. The discs were called transformational
emulation adapters, or TEAs for short. And they had various practical uses in
pretty much every facet of their life. In this instance, Sanomis was planning
to use them, to open the way into the tunnel.
He set four discs to the side,
before securing the box inside his backpack. Moments later, he was standing again,
in front of the blocked tunnel. Only this time, he was focused on checking the
individual rocks. He was searching for suitable points to mount the plates. In
particular, looking for four structurally sound ones that will remain secure
once the link is established. If any of those anchoring stones shift out of the
alignment for even a millimeter, the connection would cave in along with the
tunnel itself.
Sanomis had to make sure it
wouldn't come to that, knowing very well the consequences could be
catastrophic. He hastily scrolled through the list of programs, until he found
and booted that of an static analyzer device. Tens upon tens of pieces of
information begin listing promptly on his visor, consisting of detailed data on
every single piece of rock. He dismissed the inadequate ones, until there were
only four left. Four that are most suitable for disc anchors.
The rocks were perfectly smooth.
With straight, wide surfaces, ideal for mounting the devices on them. Besides
that, they were parallel on vertical and horizontal axis, forming a virtual
square, three meters tall and wide. Sanomis attached the discs to designated
points, before powering them on. TEAs immediately recognized each other's signal,
establishing the link in between them.
The plates flashed once in the
sequential order, after which they turned idle, awaiting the input. Sanomis
opened the external port of his unit, allowing the devices to connect
with his interface.
“Four TEAs detected.” the
automated voice of his module informed him promptly “Connection established.”
Sanomis checked the telemetry data
of the discs. They were stable, and functioning at hundred percent efficiency.
“Analyze the obstruction.” Sanomis
said, as soon as he was sure the voice commands are on.
“The tunnel is blocked with
forty six cubic meters of rocks. Total weight amounts to eighty seven point
four tons.'' The module relayed the data from the TEAs “The obstacle
itself is made of twenty three thousands, seven hundred and eighteen pieces of
stones. The average diameter of the stones is twelve point six centimeters. The
largest one is…”
“Stop.” Sanomis interrupted the
analysis “Emulate the stones.”
“Stones emulated.” the
module informed him a few seconds later.
“Equalize and transform the
obstacle.” Sanomis said.
“The obstacle is equalized.”
the module stated “Please specify the parameters for transformation.”
“Transform it into the surrounding
air.” Sanomis said, stepping a few paces away from the tunnel.
He did it out of precaution. Just
to be safe. In case the link between the discs breaks. The disruption could
very well see all of the rocks falling towards him. But to his relief, the TEAs
remained stable. The grid rendering outline materialized over the selected
rocks, showing where the entrance will be. It didn’t take long, before it
covered the entire pile. His unit let an audible signal, at the same time as
the discs flickered in bright white light. Moments later, the way through the
tunnel appeared in front of the geologist.
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