Independence Day: Silent Zone by Stephen Molstad Read Free Book Online

seemed to stare
back
like sharply focused eyes. Gulp.
    They stepped through
the doorway and onto an observation platform, as Dr. Lenel made his way
along
the underside of the beast and scampered up a ladder into its belly. In
a
moment, lights came on inside the ship, and Lenel could be seen behind
the windows
standing in the cockpit.
    "This,"
Okun said to no one in particular, "is far beyond cool." Then,
nodding for the first time since he arrived at Area 51, he stepped off
the
observation platform. Moving closer, he examined the large projection
running
along the ship's backbone. "The fin," as the scientists called it,
started
out some six feet tall just behind the windows, then tapered gracefully
to a
needle-sharp point at the tail. The ship's exterior surface was
composed of
several armored plates which were etched with thinly cut grooves and
embossed
designs that looked somewhat like Egyptian hieroglyphs. "I don't
recognize
this material. Do you know what kind of metal it is?"
    "The
vehicle's carapace is composed of a very rigid material, but it isn't
metal," Dr. Dworkin explained, moving past Okun to reach up and run his
hand over the surface. "If you look very closely, you'll notice
something
curious. Can you see these very small holes? We think they're either
pores or
hair follicles. This armored plate was once the shell of a living
animal."
    "Outta
sight," the younger scientist commented softly.
    Lenel beckoned him
even closer to the ship, pointing into the gap between two of the
plates. In
the crevice, Okun could see countless pieces of intricate machine
tooling, tiny
metallic gadgets set in place with the same extraordinary precision as
the
muscles in the human hand. This outstanding workmanship received a
large and
approving nod.
    Mounted on the ship's
underside were what looked like a couple of thruster rockets. One of
them had
been sheared away in the crash and was currently held in place by an
awkward
network of spot welds and metal plumber's tape.
    Radecker, reluctant
to move closer to the menacing ship, asked a question from the
observation platform.
"What about these symbols or designs?"
    "They appear to
have been pressed into the shells using some sort of mold. We can only
speculate as to why they are there. They might be a brand, like the
kind we use
to identify cattle," Dworkin offered.
    "Or they could
be technical details for the operation of the vehicle," Freiling
countered.
    "I personally
think they are some kinda heraldic device like the ones you find on a
medieval
coat of arms," Cibatutto put in.
    "We
did have one gentleman down here several years ago who had
received some training as a cryptographer,
but he was not able to decipher their meaning. In short, we don't know."
    As far as Radecker was concerned,
this whole
experience was quickly turning into a nightmare. For the second time
since they
were introduced, he raised his voice to these mild-mannered scientists
twice
his age. "Why is this place in such bad shape?"
    Cibatutto and Lenel looked at
Freiling, who looked
at Dworkin. "Bad shape? In what sense?"
    "Don't act dumb with me," Radecker
shot
back. "Look at this dump. It's dark, it's dusty, and it seems like you
haven't gotten diddly-squat done on the ship in the last twenty years."
    Dworkin, in his refined and gentle
manner, offered
his new boss some background on the lab. "Since the day the cranes
lowered
this ship to where it is sitting, no maintenance workers have been
allowed access
because of legitimate concerns for security. In years past, we did
whatever
repair work was necessary, but as we've advanced in age, we've been
less able
to do this work ourselves. And then there is the unfortunate matter of
Dr.
Wells, who was, until fairly recently, Area 51's director of research.
He was a
brilliant man early in his career, but with age he became... oh, how
shall I
put this?"
    "The bastard went crazy," Dr. Lenel
mumbled, speaking to the new arrivals for the first time. "Went right
off
the deep