Islands in the Sky Page 10

  Mica approached the sphere which loomed before here, watching the streaks in the fine metal encompass her vision. Staring at it began felt hypnotic to a point it was intoxicating. Mica held out her hand, then paused to take off her mittens which had started to become too warm to wear. She reached out slowly to the surface of the sphere as tiny fingers of electricity reached out to meet her bare touch. There was no pain from it, just a light tingle, so she dared to make contact with its surface.

  The three men below gave each other nervous glances as they tried to step back far enough to see Mica where she stood; so they could tell what was going on as the tiny arcs of electricity flashed in the gloom above them. Gently she caressed the outer edge as a buffer of electricity began to accumulate under her palm, giving her a slight tickle which brought a smile to her face. It was a magical moment to connect with a part of antiquity lost among the ages.

  She pressed another centimeter further and the moment her hand made contact with the metallic surface the rotation of the sphere came to a sudden halt. The hum died and the light emanating from its surface faded dramatically. Thinking she had broken it somehow, Mica jerked her hand back in confusion as the room became swamped in darkness. A moment of silence passes as the team wondered what they should do next, and Mica crouched to the floor of the pedestal for fear of falling off the high ledge.

  Slowly, a high pitched whine began to emanate from deep within the silver orb; which began to rotate in the opposite direction from its preceding course. The pace of its orbit quickened to the point Mica was afraid of being near it. Her fears were soon justified as the strings of electricity began to lash out farther from the orb the faster it turned. We ran over to catch Mica as she tried to climb down from the pedestal to save herself from the flashing strikes pushed her towards the edge. Logan and I caught her and placed her beside us on the ground.

  "What did I do?" Mica breathed in fear, wondering what calamity she had brought upon them all.

  Forest of Light

  The glow of the orb brightened into a bright olive hue and we were forced to step further away as dangerous arcs of electricity struck out like miniature bolts of lightning; connecting with a number of the silver rails upon the floor. These pathways lit up, coursing down the corridors as the energy sped through the conduit. Three of the six paths were now illuminated with energy from the rotating orb, which was now spinning violently in place. Whatever affect Mica's touch had done to trigger it, the device was now far too dangerous to approach for us to reverse the process.

  Crouching from the dancing arcs of light, we backed away to the far wall where the multiple passages spanned out from the main chamber. We looked towards Logan for a hint at what we should do next.

  "It's not safe to stay here; we've got to take one of these shafts!" I called over the crackling electricity.

  "We should take one of the lit paths," the professor suggested to our utter dismay.

  "Are you crazy, we will get fried! Those pathways are electrified now," I spat back while Alex and Mica contemplated the situation.

  "It doesn't make sense that these conduits would be exposed like this if they were truly dangerous; and I propose that whatever Mica triggered would be activated at the end of one of these illuminated pathways," Logan noted in the defense of his wild suggestion that we follow the transmission path of the energy.

  "Why, what is it that you hope to find?" Mica inquired as she shielded her eyes from the flashing bolts of electricity dancing around them.

  "I propose that the power this thing is kicking out is being directed towards one of the multiple domains recorded on the various archives I've studied," he concluded, and we noted that only three of the pathways were now being utilized for the transmission of the mysterious energy.

  "There's a sense of logic in that," Alexander granted, "if this device harnesses geomagnetic energies, then it is plausible that whatever or wherever is at the ends of those illuminated tunnels would be a viable way to extract ourselves to the surface."

  As stupid as it sounded for him to suggest that we hop down a conductive pathway, what the professor said made a scrap of sense. It would be far better to stumble across another ruin which had power running to it rather than one left dead in the dark. Listening to the way I was thinking, I realized I had compared this ancient civilization to a modern city. Here was proof beyond any doubt that an advanced society had one ruled this continent; which had tapped and controlled natural energies with such practical design in its architecture that it baffled the mind.

  This frozen city from antiquity carved from the solid bedrock had once been a flourishing metropolis which utilized powers and technology far beyond our own crude understanding. Thinking about it, these dwellings were built with the grace that our modern urban cities paled in contrast; which were littered with noise and pollution and errant waste. This machine had lasted many thousands of years, if the professor's calculations were to be believed. The only thing that disturbed me was the throbbing worry at the back of my mind; hoping that the technology discovered would be exploited by our military minds rather than for benefit the general public.

  I wasn't a nutty conspiracy theorist, but I wasn't stupid either. During my time in the military I had personally witnessed far too many times when governments ran astray and afoul of their oath towards the public good. That twisted frame of mind seemed to have become more pronounced and contagious between many of the powerful countries of our modern world. There was no logic in their thinking or lack of ethics as wars and violent excursions erupted across the globe. Citizens rose up to voice their disapproval; but an unfortunate fact of our world was that those who hold the guns make the rules. It made me wonder if this ancient society had fallen into its frozen silence by some unavoidable curse of nature or if by some evil plight fashioned by their own hands.

  "Well, if you're going choose one, choose quickly!" I stammered as the violent electrical arcs began to lash closer to where we crouched.

  Logan got up and made his way towards the lit pathway nearest him and dared to use himself as a guinea pig while taking a timid step into the black tiled path as the energy lit the rails around it. Several small fingers of electricity slipped from his feet, but they were nothing more dangerous than static. Motioning to us that it was safe, we gingerly stepped into place behind him; being careful not to directly touch the small rails lining the corridor on either side. I have no clue as to why he chose this corridor from the others, but we were soon ushered farther down the path as the chamber containing the orb began to light up like a Christmas tree.

  "Where is this one heading?" Alex asked curiously from behind Logan who had taken the lead down the narrow corridor.

  "Honestly, I don't have a clue," the professor admitted curtly.

  "Ah ...okay," Alexander sniffled in bland bewilderment.

  The rails retained their dim glow down the length of the straight tunnel. As the pathways looked so similar, for a brief moment I had feared we had returned down the same path we had entered; since we lost our sense of direction when the sphere had activated. However, the end of this tunnel was much farther that the previous; fortunately our flashlights and electronics began to work once again the farther we got away from the excited energies of the central chamber. Mica played with her camera to make sure it was working again. Luckily, the batteries hadn't been drained; or we all would have been out of luck.

  Our path led us directly to a deep pit that opened in a circle several meters wide. Shining our lights down into it, we could not see the bottom. The rails which ran along the floor tipped over the edge and into the abyss. Looking above us, we noticed that the shaft continued upward where there awaited only the murky gloom of darkness.

  "Well, this one was a dead end. Best we go back and try another way," I suggested to Logan who appeared just as disappointed in crossing this obstacle.

  "Very well, I suppose we have no choice," he granted.

  Backtracking our way to the power chamber le
ft us coming up short, as the leading edge of the passage was now engulfed by hot streaks of electricity which had inflated from the orb and had crept their way into each of the conduit passages. We were stuck with nowhere to turn.

  "Oh bugger!" Logan breathed.

  "Holy Hell, we better hope that field of electricity doesn't keep growing, or we'll be backed up against that pit," I warned, with a mark of dread in my voice. Personally, I wasn't very fond of heights.

  We contemplated for a moment as we watched the energy surge of electricity course further towards us down the causeway; defeating our hopes that it would recede back into the chamber so we could choose another route. We hurried our way back to the pit while Mica took some measurements from her watch.

  "At its rate of expansion I calculate we have about 15 to 20 minutes before that surge reaches us," Mica estimated.

  "The rail just dives down this hole; what do we do now?" Alex whined, feeling his own mortality creeping upon him, giving a squeak to his voice.

  "Allen, hand me your flare gun, if you would please," Logan requested; but I took it out and checked the barrel, noticing I had already used the only two shells it came with.

  "I'm out," I blurted, trying to find any spares stashed in my pockets that might have gone unnoticed.

  "Hmm," Logan contemplated as he rubbed his chin while looking down at the lit rails, "have you got anything like wires on you?"

  "I, I think I have a connector for my camera, for downloading images," Mica noted as she searched through her bag; but Logan seemed discouraged by her offer.

  "No, no, we need something more substantial than that ...like a metal rod or cane," he suggested.

  "Oh, well I have this mini tripod for the camera; I think its mostly metal," Mica answered as she whipped out the small apparatus.

  Logan snatched it out of her and extended it as far as it could reach, and he measured it against the rails to either side at their feet. It came up an hand width too short.

  "What are you trying to do?" I inquired, not understanding his objective.

  "There might be a wild chance we can short this out, and create a temporary back surge," Logan hoped, "where to could escape back into that power chamber with the sphere and choose another route," he added as if trying to convince himself on the logic of his plan.

  I grabbed the tripod and unsheathed Tom's knife, and pried away the rubber feet on it tips and unscrewed the plastic handle that controlled the pivoting head; and tilted it straight up. Now it would reach. Logan gave me a smile, intrigued with my quick thinking.

  "Fantastic," he noted, "but, you should all take a step back," he cautioned after a moment of reflection of the risk, and ushered us to back away several meters.

  With measure of apprehension, the Professor carefully placed the aluminum rod on one side of the track, and then began to set it down on the opposite rail. Centimeters away, sparks fingered out towards the staff as he dropped it in place. For a moment, the lit rails dimmed dramatically; seconds later the tripod linking both connections began to glow white hot. Its glow became blinding as a flash of light illuminated the tunnel and Mica's tripod was melted into a pile of scorched silver goo.

  The stench of ozone lingered in the air as an acrid white smoked flowed from the pool of scalded metal. A tense moment later, a grating 'clack' issued from the pit below us; followed by a rising wave of air that pushed upon us from the shaft with such force that it nearly knocked us to the ground. After seeing what happened to the tripod, I was careful not to touch both rails at the same time lest I get cooked by the volatile energy flowing through them.

  Staggered by the surge of air rushing upon us, we finally caught our feet when the wind fell away and was replaced by a soft hum. From the darkness of the pit rose a platform which spanned the entire circumference of the well. The landing was composed of a bright blue metal mottled with streaks of dulled silver and gold randomly about its surface like marbleized stone. It rose to the level of our passageway and came to a gentle stop. We glanced at one another as we took our first steps towards this miraculous lift.

  "Do you think this is an elevator?" Alex questioned the obvious explanation. Neither Logan nor Mica bothered to answer him.

  We crept up to its edge, where Logan took a cautious step upon it. Noting it seemed solid enough to take our weight; we escaped from the electrified tunnel and began to make our way across to the opposite side where a continuing tunnel awaited. Half way across we noticed a large shallow bowl made of crystal which was set upon the floor at the very center of the platform. Its edges were sharp with a precise cut and it was exquisitely perfect in design.

  Mica came up to it and urged us for a moment so she could take a photograph of the object. Taking her camera out of her bag, she adjusted it for a few shots and bent down to touch the edge of the rim to see if she could lift the bowl; however it seemed to be solidly attached to the floor by some manner she couldn't see. Feeling its surface with the tips of her fingers, fingers of residual static absorbed into her body from touching the orb, clicked a small spark. That tiny spark was all it took to reactivate the colossal lift.

  A soft whir erupted from under our feet as we nearly reached the passage on the other side. Turning around, we gazed back at Mica as a look of guilt washed over her face. The platform began to rise, cutting us off from the passage we were trying to reach. Its speed of ascent increased until we had to steady our footing. Logan rushed to his assistant's side.

  "What exactly did you do?" Logan pressed.

  "I was just seeing if this glass dish moved, and there was a spark from my fingers when I touched it," Mica snapped in her defense. She looked as worried as everyone else and there didn't appear to be any type of physical controls upon the smooth crystal container that she could have accidentally moved.

  The platform was rising at a fair pace, which passed by several more levels containing open passages and doorways as it continued to ascend ever higher. Logan carefully touched the crystal bowl in an attempt to duplicate what his assistant had done to activate the lift to try and stop it; but his efforts were in vain. I tried to judge our chances at leaping into one of the open passages as they passed us by, but there was no way in hell we could have all fit into one narrow corridor even if we tried; and the rim of the platform was so close that it would be far to easy to lose a limb if the timing wasn't perfect. Scratching that reckless thought, I turned back to the professor for answers. At least we were going upward and in the right direction to the surface, which I admit was far better than the alternative.

  "This might well be electrically activated. Mica, try touching it again," Logan instructed.

  Leaning back over towards the half sphere bowl, she lightly touched the edge. This time, a rush of electricity streamed from the tips of her fingers across the flattened rim of the basin. The lift quickly decelerated, followed by a series of 'whooping' sound from underneath the platform; and it slowly came to a gentle stop several dozen meters from the very top of the shaft. There was a long moment of silence shared between us as we stared at one another, wondering what to do next, then suddenly a hidden section of the wall slid open.

  A semi-transparent wall erected up around the platform which started moving sideways through a great corridor littered with shafts of light. We were all a little stunned by the technology of an elevator being transformed into a horizontal monorail; with no clue as to how the platform was being suspended. The ancient tram sped through what appeared to be a natural cavern braced with carved support columns sporadically placed along the route. We all felt the way Logan expressed in his words.

  "This is truly astounding!" he muttered, while trying to peer through the mottled glass surrounding the moving platform.

  "How do you think it is moving like this?" Alex wondered as he tested his footing while daring to stand beside Logan who was on the leading edge of the platform as we swept through the tunnel.

  "Magnetic levitation, perhaps; maybe something akin to our bullet trains.
Applied in some unconventional way we have yet to dream up," Logan answered, seeming quite sure of himself.

  "That's great and all," I beamed with cynicism, "but you do realize this is taking us much farther way from our site camp and where we docked our boat, don't you?" I added with flare.

  I was not too terribly happy about being taxied so far from our port, because that meant a long fucking way to be trekking back on foot through the frigid Antarctica weather and deep snow once we breached the surface. Furthermore, without his thermal gear, Alex didn't have a chance of surviving once we got topside; nor any of us for that matter if we were left lost somewhere among the frozen wastelands with only a few days rations left between the four of us.

  Mica was left still sitting near the bowl, afraid to touch it again. Apparently her physical contact with the orb generator had left residual energy coursing through her body. Then she had a wild thought as she pulled up her sleeve to look at the metal ring.

  "Ah, well now this makes a bit of sense," Logan turned to see the large silver ring she had retrieved from the ruins which she wore upon her wrist, "that, little lady, is likely what is responsible for retaining the electrical field from the orb; storing its energy like a battery," he announced as he pointed towards the ancient silver bracelet she held.

  Mica removed the ring she had secured under her sleeve and took a closer look at it. Apparently it was some sort of key that allowed it to operate multiple devices. This tram system was taking us somewhere; hopefully it wasn't a place we didn't want to be. We heard a swoosh of air pass above us on the open platform slid under a low hanging column of ice hanging from the ceiling. As we progressed, we noted several more of these enormous icicles scattered along the way, their placing become more dense by the minute.

  We all backed way from the glass screen in alarm as we approached a far larger stalactite of condensed ice, which snapped in two as it was clipped by the edge of the transparent shield surrounding the platform; sending sharp blocks and shards of blue ice spraying across the smooth floor of the lift. Alex adjusted his spectacles and pointed ahead as we all turned in dread as another large block of ice crossed our path in the distance. We gathered at the back end of the platform, expecting the worse. Moments later the platform clipped the encroaching ice and began to spin as the four of us were flung towards the retaining walls by the centrifugal force.