Last Flight For Craggy

by Gary Weston

  Potts said, 'Is it just me, or is that thing glowing brighter than when we first saw it?'

  'Hard to say,' said Hellicoyle.

  Potts said, 'It's a bit late to give this thing due respect. Leave it where it is and we'll come back in the morning.'

  Mining had been allowed to continue, the “cave” was to be avoided and everyone down there was to keep a watch for any other strange things. Shamini Singh made himself responsible to look for anything unusual, ready to call a halt to mining activity in the event of something else turning up. It didn't.

  Hellicoyle was in for a surprise when he returned to his laboratory to examine the artefact the following morning. Having no idea what was going to happen, he had banned his assistants from going anywhere near it. He keyed the security code on the door to keep everyone out. Then he was stopped in his tracks when he turned around.

  The golden “egg” with the intricate filigree gold casing was glowing brighter and small, delicate blobs of various colours were swimming about in the viscous liquid inside.

  'Computer, record.'

  'COMPUTER RECORDING.'

  'Time. Seven thirty Friday morning, Mars Base Time. The artefact was found eighteen hours ago, buried at the end of the mine, seven miles in, two miles below the surface. It was discovered in a small cave at the side of the main mine. The cave, although not a natural one, is not simply a cave. It is too perfect to be called that, but for want of a better word I will refer to it as such. It was made in the surrounding basalt, part of the extensive lava flow from Olympus Mons.

  it was found accidentally by the mining activity adjacent to it, when a small breach was opened, exposing the interior of the cave. To create the cave with such precision would require phenomenal heat and control, not a technology we ourselves possess. We can only speculate at this time as to whom or what created both the cave and the artefact.'

  Hellicoyle sat and stared at the glowing globe. From a drawer in the battered desk, he took out an old fashioned magnifying glass with a chrome plated handle. 'The artistry in this detail is superb. Whether the filigree has more than a decorative function, or has some kind of symbolic meaning, will probably never be known.'

  Off the bench he picked up his chemaltron analyser, made an adjustment to the default setting and touched the tip to the filigree decoration.

  'Pure gold. The translucent large egg shaped shell inside the filigree is made from... silicon, with a glass like feel and appearance. The interior appears to be of some sort of liquid which is emitting a moving golden light source inside it, and I can see small globules of many colours floating around in the liquid. The artefact is glowing brighter than before, perhaps being triggered by being brought out into the light.'

  Hellicoyle concentrated on the three cornered base. 'Again, pure gold. Also intricate in design. The metalwork is scratch and blemish free. Clearly, this object was actually made by the hands of a highly intelligent, artistic individual. And yet, I'm drawn to the assumption that it is far more than some fancy ornament. Quite possibly the creature who made this would be laughing hysterically at my woefully inadequate attempts to define this thing. I'm hungry. Don't record that, computer. I need some sustenance for my brain to function correctly.'

  Chapter 90

  Hellicoyle took his plate to sit with Dixon Cragg.

  'Is it me, Craggy, but is this fish off?'

  'I heard a rumour it's supposed to be curried fish. I mean, there's an oxymoron if ever there was one. I heard there was a bit of excitement at the deep mine yesterday.'

  'Exciting enough to shut it down for a day.'

  'Wow. And is it millions of years old like they said?'

  Hellicoyle shrugged. 'All the rock around it certainly is. And I don't see how the cave and object got in there other than being buried in the lava. Care to see it?'

  'I've a couple of hours. Lets go.'

  The majority of the buildings were linked by clear tunnels to allow access without the need to suit up. Hellicoyle led the way to the geology department, then into his lab.

  'Jeez. Isn't that a work of art,' said an astounded Cragg.

  'Interesting. It's changed from a golden light to a blue light.'

  Cragg stared at the egg shaped globe. 'It's almost like it's alive.'

  'I couldn't rule it out,' admitted Hellicoyle. 'Would you think it had a function? Other than decorative?'

  'I wouldn't care to speculate. No clues at the place it was found?'

  'No. Just a very neat...'

  'Neat what?'

  'Come on,' said Hellicoyle. 'I'd value your opinion.'

  Hellicoyle put a call through to Shamini Singh for his permission to enter the mine. Singh said he'd personally escort the geologist safely to where the article was found. Twenty minutes later, Singh dropped Cragg and Hellicoyle off and waited to escort them back out of the mine. The loose rock had been removed to reveal the break into the strange chamber.

  'And that thing was in here?' Cragg asked.

  'Sitting right here. On this plinth.'

  'Hmm. So the lava didn't cover and bury it.'

  'What?' gasped Hellicoyle. 'How else could it have happened?'

  Cragg said, 'The bloke who made this room cut it out well after this lava was cold and old.'

  'Craggy. This stuff is as hard as stuff gets. To get this far in would have been a hell of a job.'

  'Well, how was it discovered?'

  'According to Shamini, the mole was widening the mine and it was running along the side wall when a small rockfall halted the operation. When they were trying to move the rubble, they found they had cracked the lava here. Then they could see inside the chamber.'

  This puzzled Cragg. 'I thought you said this stuff was real hard?'

  'It is. We are mining under the basalt, not through it. Hit something hard with enough force, it will probably shatter. This did, looking at these large pieces that broke off. This is what, six inches thick? Eight at most. A decent sledgehammer could get through at this point.'

  Cragg picked a few of the lava pieces and held them against the hole as if fitting a jigsaw puzzle. 'There's enough pieces to fill the hole.'

  'We did some of the damage so we could get inside.'

  'Felix. I think your theory is all off. If it were accidentally swallowed up during an eruption, who made the chamber? He sure wasn't trapped in molten rock, thinking, “Oh dear me. I'll just make myself a cool little room and wait here.” He cut his way in well after it had cooled off. He cut his way in, made a chamber and a plinth, left the big egg thingy, and he buggered off.'

  'But it was sealed in here. We broke the wall with the mole.'

  'Yeah,' said Cragg. 'The wall the bloke made, after he put the egg inside. This is my take on it. That gold thing is hugely valuable for some reason and I suspect more than just the gold value. He makes the chamber, puts the thingy inside, goes outside again and melts the lava back over the hole.'

  Hellicoyle slapped his own forehead. 'Of course. I mean, if he could melt the chamber out of the lava, he could melt over the hole. Which explains why it is so thin here.'

  'Correct,' said Cragg. 'Which means he could have hidden the thingy any time between now and millions of years ago.'

  'This is a real mystery. But thanks to you, we're one step closer to solving it.'

  'Glad I could help.'

  Chapter 91

  Potts and Forbes met with Hellicoyle in his lab. 'Well, that sure narrows it down a bit,' said Mars Commander Potts. 'Only a million year window of possibility.'

  'I err...' Hellicoyle was still feeling a little foolish for being so adamant that the find was at least as old as the lava flow. 'I suppose, come to think of it, it doesn't look that old. But unless you know something I don't, Man didn't get here until twenty thirty nine. And to the best of my knowledge, this mine has only been going for the last four years. The mine is too well supervised and monitored for anyone living here to have done it, plus the fact we only reached that point two days ago.' />
  Forbes said, 'It isn't totally impossible to have sneaked in in the last few weeks.'

  Hellicoyle said, 'We haven't anything that could have made that chamber. That required a hell of high heat with amazing control. So. If it wasn't possible for a human to have done it...'

  'Shush,' whispered Forbes. 'Don't say it out loud. We don't want to start a panic.'

  Hellicoyle bristled. 'With respect, Sir. Wasn't it decided we have no secrets? And that it was having secrets that was the biggest problem Earth had?'

  'He's right,' said Potts. 'A calm, formal statement now will be a whole lot better than rumours and speculation distracting everyone.'

  Forbes nodded. 'I guess so. May as well get it organised.'

  It took four hours to fill Base Three. Forbes and Potts were well aware of the disruption to the various activities in and around the Bases. Potts decided to give a simultaneous statement in Marsopia, Mars' second city. He began at exactly the same moment.

  'Some of you may have heard an artefact has been found in the Deep Mine One. At a depth from the surface of two miles, and a mine depth of seven miles. The artefact is at this moment, being shown at a safe distance by Commander Forbes in Base Three right this minute. You will all get the opportunity to see it later. If you look at that holographic projection...that is what was found and to the exact size. Like you, we have no idea what it is or where it came from.'

  'Is it from Earth?' Commander of Freighter Training Fawn Dillow asked.

  Potts shrugged. 'We have no idea at this stage, Fawn. I promise everyone as we unravel this, we will keep you all informed. We don't need gossip and tall tales doing the rounds.'

  'Any radiation coming from it?' someone asked.

  'None at the time of testing. One of our top geologists has done some tests on it and is continuing to test. It will be kept in a safe until we are certain it is not dangerous.'

  'Is that gold?' a woman asked.

  'Pure gold,' said Potts.

  'Sir,' said a young man. 'I'm a miner on mine three. Are we safe to continue working?'

  'A very good question. We need all miners and mine supervisors to proceed with caution at all times. In the highly unlikely event any more strange things are found, that area is to be immediately evacuated and you must call Felix Hellicoyle, the geologist right away. That's all, everyone. Thank you for your attention and cooperation. Business as usual, people.'

  Still with so many questions unanswered, everyone shuffled off, a droning noise of all talking at once hung over them like a following cloud. Only Fawn Dillow hung back.

  'What's your gut feeling, Tagg? Was it made by a human?'

  'I honestly have no idea,' admitted Potts. 'We can't think how anybody on Mars could have done it. Perhaps there were a handful of opportunities for somebody here to have buried it if they were determined enough and if they'd had a really sophisticated high powered laser to melt lava and use it to make a chamber like the one it was found in. As far as we know, we haven't come up with anything like that.'

  'Not by a human, then? An alien?'

  'Ah, ah, Fawn. I didn't say that. I'm sure our scientists will figure it out eventually.'

  Chapter 92

  'I haven't a bloody clue about it,' said Hellicoyle.

  He had assembled a full and diverse team around him. Metallurgists, chemists, engineers, electronics experts and others were represented. It was Raz Berry, a fellow geologist who offered something next.

  'Felix. Have you run that retro assimilation program yet?'

  'My very next thing to do.'

  Shannon Palmerston, in charge of Base air quality, asked, 'What does that do?'

  Berry explained, 'From various sonic and drill testing, analysing the data, the retro program can give us an idea how what we have on Mars now and how it was hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of years ago.'

  Ray Needay, metallurgist, asked, 'Does it take long to run, because I'd love to see it if at all possible.'

  'Okay,' said Hellicoyle. 'I'll start it up. We'll keep it to a one hour run. Everybody see okay? Right.'

  The holographic three dimensional image of the landscape covered a work table.

  'This is us right now. Of course, the very top layer is constantly changing with the storms we get. But, as you can see, we have several lava layers from the various eruptions, mostly, but not exclusively from Mons. Fortunately, Mons became fully extinct over one point four million years ago, although different experts will give wildly different guestimates varying by millions of years. It was a pretty busy volcano before that, as we can see. We have at least eleven layers of lava going down as far as the chamber.'

  Berry said, 'Felix. Can we superimpose the ground more specifically above the chamber?'

  Hellicoyle waved his hands and fingers over the sensors. 'And a little more and ...oh! Interesting.'

  Berry said, 'A break in the lava layers. In fact...'

  'Less than five thousand years ago, that lava layer with the chamber was actually much closer to the surface until there was seismic activity, twisting that area deeper, storms filling up any holes with sand and rocks.'

  'Seismic activity?' asked a young woman. 'Not quakes, surely?'

  'Correct. Mars has no moving plates like on Earth. The term seismic covers more than earthquakes. We still are unsure about the core on Mars. It may or may not be completely solidified, or undergoing some kind of transition that may give out occasional activity.'

  Ray Needay said,'Am I following this? That lava is about one point four million years old?'

  'Yes,' said Hellicoyle. 'I've retested from samples taken from the broken wall of the chamber.'

  'But it was closer to the surface, only five thousand years ago?' asked Palmerston.

  'And possibly quite accessible,' said Berry.

  'Needay asked, 'This five thousand years. How accurate is that figure?'

  Hellicoyle said, 'Ballpark. Plus or minus two thousands. Our problem is not having much of a reference point. Knowledge was built up over many years on Earth, with plenty of organic matter to help us with carbon dating layers, particularly in such a volatile planet.'

  Berry said, 'In geological terms, a few thousand years is practically yesterday. But if we say from two to eight thousand years, widening the window a little, that is still much earlier than humans could have been responsible for burying that thing in that chamber.'

  'Is anybody actually going to say it?' asked Shannon Palmerston. 'A human didn't bury that thing in that chamber. Hello? Am I the only one who sees that?'

  Hellicoyle said, 'We all see it, Shannon. We just don't want to face up to it.'

  Chapter 93

  'Come on, Craggy. Give it a go.'

  'Dillow. I haven't flown a damn simulator in...fifty six years. I'm not about to start again now. I don't even know how you got me sitting here '

  'To be honest, Craggy, I think it would help you...bond with your pupils more if you have at least some understanding of the new control sensors.'

  'But why? I'll never need to use them. I'm never flying a freighter ever again. For one thing, Misty would kill me if I did.'

  'I'm not asking you to fly a ship. Just have a passing understanding of the sensor controls.'

  Cragg folded his arms and stared at the lit up, incomprehensible, unidentified lights of assorted shapes and colours. 'I've become an embarrassment to you, haven't I?'

  'What?'

  'I'm not stupid. You're in charge of really training the pilots. I'm just a funny old man telling kids funny stories about my so called adventures in space. Shit. One or two of them even true.'

  'Craggy. The kids...rookies love your stories.'

  Cragg chuckled. 'Yeah, right. They find them hysterical. I heard them laughing about them.'

  As usual, Cragg had hit the nail on the head. The old pilot's stories had become increasingly wild and fanciful, she assumed in order to ingratiate himself with the teens with their minuscule attention spans. She too had heard little unk
ind comments from the rookies when they hadn't realised she had been within earshot. For all Cragg's fanciful imagination, the old freighter captain had been brave, resourceful, and never backed down from a challenge. He deserved proper respect in the last few years before he officially retired and kicked back with Misty.

  'There's a flight in Big Bird planned,' Dillow said.

  'I heard something.'

  'To Moon.'

  'So I gather.'

  'I'm the pilot.'

  'Naturally. But I suppose it could have been Rocky Ramshorn.'

  Dillow nodded. 'My copilot. Come with us.'

  'Me? You don't need me along.'

  'I want you to come along. We need that steel from the launcher. We're have a crew to take it apart and Jay Moore to stack it and pack it.'

  'Using good buckles, I hope.'

  Dillow shuddered. 'Don't remind me. You know, Big Bird can get there in forty days with Moon being at only seventy three million miles from Mars right now. It'll give you some street cred with the rookies. Allowing two weeks to take the launcher down, a total trip of just over one hundred days. Up for it?'

  'I can see Misty having something to say about it.'

  Dillow smiled. 'It was Misty who asked me to take you.'

  Cragg was shocked. 'Misty? You two have been plotting?'

  'The thing is,' said Dillow, 'Misty knows you have really been itching to go up again. Don't deny it.'

  Cragg sighed. 'I won't. It's true. I thought it was out of my system, but more than sixty years in space is a long time to put behind me. Misty?'

  'She thinks maybe with this one more trip, you'll be less edgy.'

  'And I'll gain some street cred?'

  'It couldn't hurt.'

  'When do we go?'

  * * *

  'You'll be back for your eighty eighth birthday,' said Misty.

  Cragg pulled the single sheet around them and kissed his wife. 'I still think it odd we hang on to Earth years, not the Martian year that's twice as long. Are you sure you are happy about me going?'