Brynin 3 by Thadd Evans Read Free Book Online Page A

Jason and Ieeb.”
    Both of us nodded.
    Boma paused. “Come this way. Ieeb, you have your own room.”
    I told him about our marriage plans. “Can you perform the ceremony?”
    “Yes.”
    I grinned. “Thank you.”
    Boma turned and started down the path. “Let’s go inside Building Three. I’ll print out the marriage license. Sign it when you have enough time.”
    I smiled. “Good.”
    Boma glanced at us. “Jason, by the way, Doctor Xio, Fi Mair, Baaax Ois and Doctor Ara, four men, may want to buy tickets from you. They keep talking about going back to Icir.”
    “Where are they?”
    “Both doctors are probably in room B, in Building Three. Fi and Baaax are in the Trec mine. That’s half a mile from here. I’ll drive you there after you talk to both doctors.”
    I raised my eyebrows, puzzled. “That’s fine.”
    To our left, a two-foot long, knee–high, walking-stick-like insect with six legs stepped out from behind a bush and started making a hooting sound. Oooop, oooop, ooooop.
    “What insect species is that?” Ieeb flinched, surprised.
    Boma glanced at the creature. “It’s a Lau Urus, a harmless species that eats wild grass. There are thousands of them. Just ignore it.”
    The Urus sniffed and crept toward what looked like a mesquite bush. Oooop, oooop, oooop.
    Farther down the trail, I noticed that seven-foot -high poles surrounded all the geodesic domes. “What are those poles for?” I asked.
    Boma paused. “They’re a barrier, a safety measure that keeps the Tiel and other species from attacking the buildings. Inside each pole there’s a CPU with a database. If any snake comes within fourteen feet of any pole, a motion detector activates and a scanner probes the reptile’s skull. Because the snake’s cranium isn’t on the database, the creature will get an electric shock.”
    “Is the barrier set to stun or kill?” Ieeb kept staring at the poles.
    Boma replied, “To kill, of course.”
    “Are the barriers always on?” Ieeb glanced at him.
    Boma scowled. “Yes.”
    Ieeb blinked. “That’s a nice piece of equipment.”
    Boma nodded. “Yes. Baaax set it up. He used photonic computer languages—Maix, ZXL and BXL—to create the barrier.
    “What is Doctor Xio’s specialty?” Ieeb peeked back at the Urus, a curious expression on her face.
    “Coring sedimentary rock.”
    Ieeb paused. “What is he doing here?”
    Boma frowned. “Didn’t the email from Obno explain that?”
    “It provided a few details, but I’d like to know more.”
    Boma narrowed his eyes, remaining silent for a moment. “After partially mapping Danig with a satellite, and driving around this area—a territory which we call Lomou—Xio’s team drilled in five different locations.”
    “Interesting. What is Dr. Ara’s specialty?” Ieeb headed for a dome, both of us behind her.
    “Coring metamorphic rock.”
    More information came out of my earplugs. For six billion years, glaciers moved over the Grei and Blau Mountains, carving out valleys. In the meantime, the mountains themselves crushed and changed underlying granite rock.
    “What is Fi Mair’s occupation?” I kept going.
    “He’s an MIM robotic specialist.”
    Additional information came from the earplugs. MIM’s, Micro to Macro, robotic specialists study different size nanomotors. If a robot’s brain sends nanomotors the wrong photonic light base computer signals, a robot wouldn’t follow programmed or spoken instructions. Unfortunately, at the atomic level, it isn’t always easy to predict how electrons interact with nanomotors. At the quantum level the classical laws of physics don’t apply, there are only probabilities. A MIM has to overcome this problem.
    Boma stuck his palm over a wall-mounted pad and Building Three’s entrance opened. We entered the dome.
    Ieeb said, “Jason, I’m going to put my suitcases in my room, then lie down. I’m tired.”
    I nodded.
    Boma pointed, and told Ieeb where her room was.
    Moments later, Ieeb and I