“No questions, do as you’re told and things will work out fine.”
A few seconds later, the bulky doors revealed an open room of some sort. A large semi-circle desk with two men sitting behind it also armed to the teeth. The floor was carpeted and couches lined the back wall.
“This is the reception area. All people who enter the silo must come through here and pass a full body scan and security check. So, don’t worry about anyone invading and stealing your work.”
Arthur thought about the firepower he saw on the guards and wondered who the hell would be able to get past that. Then he wondered why he should be worried about that happening.
“Do you think that’s a concern? I mean this research is all on the up and up with government sharing, they released the samples, right?”
“Stop asking questions and listen. This won’t take much longer and then you’ll be out of my hair.”
Arthur swallowed. The time for niceties was gone. They crossed the large room, at least 100 feet by 120 feet. They stopped in front of a set of simple steel doors and with a similar panel as the garage cabinet.
The man lowered his head so his retina could be scanned and placed his thumb onto the pad.
Arthur didn’t hear it open, but the next thing he knew he was being pushed forward once again. Almost a minute passed, and then a slight bounce. A whoosh noise and he faced with a well-lit hallway.
“This is Level 6. I’m going to show you to your room.” The man walked into a small room with pastel colored paintings on the wall and a sitting area with a small blue rug.
All things to distract people from the lack of windows, and antiseptic feel of the place. The floor reminded him of his dorm in college. Doors on either side with numbers and names etched on them. About mid-way through, they reached his.
“Open it,” said the man.
Arthur turned the knob, but nothing happened. Next to him, the sigh of annoyance reminded him about security. He touched the wall on the side and the display panel opened. He placed his thumb in the slot and lowered his eye.
“
“Um, Alpha, Tango, One.” Arthur smiled when the lock audibly clicked and the door opened. He took a quick glance inside. A single bed with sheets folded neatly on top, and a set of towels and robe were on top of a small dresser. Drawers built into the wall waited to be filled. With a smile, Arthur turned toward the man. “Can I see the lab now?”
“Yes, of course, but just in case you forget, the showers are directly across from your room.”
Arthur tossed his bag of clothes into the room and shut the door. He didn’t plan to spend much time in this room. He jogged to catch up with his tour guide and slid into the elevator just as it was about to shut.
Thirty seconds later, a pristine corridor of white walls hurt his eyes, but they adjusted after a few seconds.
He walked behind the man all the way to the end of the hallway. A door with the name Dr. Covington stood in front of him.
“Open it, your lab awaits.”
Arthur examined the wall and found a small button. He pushed and once again gave a drop of blood and his eyeball to the security system. When he heard the hiss of the door and saw what waited, he felt like a kid who just got all his favorite toys for Christmas.
Every piece of equipment he’d asked for and a few he didn’t recognize waited to help him unlock the secrets of the universe. He stumbled in, looks of awe and shock fought for control of his face.
“You’ll have three lab assistants and two guards in here at all times. The window over there is the observation room. Be in it when you run your tests. On one of the upper floors, we have another team working on more minor things, but should you need help with something, feel free to ask them to send someone down.”
“This is amazing,” Arthur said in a timid voice.
“Pay attention, Doctor, I don’t have all day. Your room is on the dormitory floor along with the showers, so please make use of them. We don’t want you falling over from exhaustion. The cafeteria serves three meals a day, try not to miss them.” The man adjusted his tie as he frowned at what Arthur knew was a rumpled and scraggly appearance. “This is a highly secured facility and each room requires a certain type of clearance. Do not try to enter a room or level where you are not allowed. In case of an emergency of any kind, security measures will lock down each floor. A signal will be sent to the main office and a rescue team will be sent.”
“What could happen? We’re just going to examine rock samples?”
“I like to prepare for every possible scenario.” The man walked toward the exit as he spoke, “The team might take a while to break through the security protocols on each level to access the stairs. The elevators will be shut down as will all other power except emergency lighting.”
“Nothing like that will happen, will it? I mean, this is a safe place right?” Arthur asked in a worried tone.
“For your sake, I hope not. Goodbye, Dr. Covington.”
Arthur watched the man leave and felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He walked over to the computer and turned it on. Three hours later, he’d created his username and password, downloaded his data to a tablet, and read the operation manuals of all the devices at his disposal.
He inspected every square inch to make sure he was well acquainted with his home for the next few years. The one thing missing, and he kicked himself for not thinking about it earlier, were the samples.
A black phone sat in a cradle on his desk, but it lacked numbers, all he saw were names. Upon closer examination, he realized it was to other places throughout what he viewed as an underground compound.
Pressing the number one for storage, he waited until a female voice answered. “Storage, what can I do for you, Dr. Covington?”
Spooked for a moment that she knew who he was, he realized there was a small screen that displayed incoming numbers.
“Um, yes, I was wondering where the samples are I’m going to be working with.”
“Go to the back of your lab. Press the button marked ‘Samples’, then take your pick of one,” she said in a tone one would use with a child.
Arthur felt like an idiot. “Thanks,” he mumbled as he hung up.
So much for knowing every inch of the place, then again, the button was hidden behind a loose piece of paper warning about the use of stairs in case of fire. He jabbed the small circle and grinned at the four sets of drawers as they rolled out of the wall in staggered levels. Scanning them with a careful eye, he selected two, both of which he remembered pointing out for the rover years ago. They still held their odd color and something inside of him knew they were the ones.
A moment later, the specimen drawers were back in their safe place and the two rocks he chose were in separate trays. Shedding his ragged blazer, he pulled on a pristine lab coat with his name embroidered on it.
First things first, he needed to weigh the samples and determine their density. Weights were entered into the computer as well as the volume when placed in water.
The computer beeped letting Arthur know the results were ready.
“.5 g/cm? for a rock that weighs 14 grams and has a volume of 12 cubed cm? This has to be wrong,” Arthur said as he stared at the computer screen.
He ran the tests again and used a diamond tipped saw to cut a sliver from the other sample as he waited. He placed the wedged shaped piece on one of the examination tables and turned on the light from below. The internal computer took several readings, but what could not be put into data bytes was the array of colors on the ceiling, some of which Arthur never saw before.
“Dr. Covington, what do you think you’re doing?” a feminine voice demanded.
Arthur couldn’t tear his eyes away from the display. “My job, what does it look like?”
“Mr. Monroe made it clear you were to have three lab assistants at all times, as well as two guards, and most importantly, be behind the damn observation window when running tests.”
The voice trailed off and Arthur assumed they were sucked into the amazing display of color above him the way he had. A click and it disappeared. One of the guards, armed with what looked like a Sig P232 stormed into the room and picked Arthur up by the lapels.
“You will do as told or I will kick your ass out of here, understand?”
Arthur nodded. The man put him down and the assistants went to work putting on their suits.
“What are you doing?” Arthur asked.
