Outland (World-Lines Book 1) by Dennis Taylor Read Free Book Online

but other than being from a different angle, it didn’t provide any additional information. The only difference worth noting was six frames of Richard in mid-jump, looking very alarmed. Bill took the remote from Kevin and played the frames through several times, grinning.
    “Okay, funny boy, enough,” Richard said, after the third replay.
    Richard stared into space for a few seconds. “Well, we’re going to have to try that again, but maybe with a little more preparation. Bill, can you come up with anything that could maintain a sealed atmosphere around the gate?”
    Bill thought for a few seconds. “There are a couple of things in the engineering department that could be adapted, I think. Depends on how much pressure we need to hold.”
    “Probably not a huge amount. The jet didn’t come out like a pressure washer spray.”
    “Hmm, OK, let me think about it for a few minutes.” Bill sat down and stared into space.
    Matt examined the equipment and the room, looking for any other damage. Kevin sat down and went into math mode. After about ten minutes, they all came together in the lab to compare notes.
    “I had a quick look at the logs,” Richard said. “The lock-in worked, it just didn’t lock in to what we were trying for.”
    “What I think that means,” Kevin added, “is that there is an alternate reality that is more ‘real’ than our flipped coin. The experiment tuned in on that instead.”
    “So what was it? Venus? Did we invent a teleporter to hell?” Bill asked.
    “I don’t think Venus fits the bill,” Kevin replied. “First, the atmospheric pressure at the surface of Venus is like 90 atmospheres, and second, it’s hot enough to melt lead. Pretty sure we’d be dead, and the building would be demolished.”
    “But,” he continued, “I went back and looked at the first camera in single-frame, right when the event started. Have a look.” He motioned back to the monitor. They all moved to get a close view. Frozen on the monitor, distorted by the beginnings of the gas plume, they could see a small number of dark distorted objects.
    “That’s not the flipper,” Matt said. “Any idea what those are?”
    “No,” Bill answered. “But they’re not from around here.”
    Richard cleared his throat to get attention. “Yeah. Okay, look, we’re going to revamp this setup inside a pressure vessel of some kind. Bill thinks he has something that might work—” He glanced at Bill. “—if we can borrow it and get it back with nobody noticing. Couple more days, and we’re trying again. You might want to bring some body armor next time. And spare underwear.”
     

Eaux de Volcano
    June 20              Matt
    Erin threw her hoodie to the floor and flopped down on Matt’s couch. “That was… interesting,” she exclaimed. “I suppose I should be more upset that the trip was cut short, but to be honest, I’m happy to get out of there with all my body parts!”
    “Well, I’m glad you’re back, parts and all.” Matt replied. “We’ll do inventory later,” he added, earning a laugh. Matt privately admitted that he was relieved to have her back. Her email had been very detailed, and Matt couldn’t shake the feeling that Erin had been in more danger than she let on.
    He sat and put his arms around her, and Erin snuggled in.
    A moment later, she sat up straight, wrinkling her nose. “Y’know, I guess the stuff got into my skin or something. It’s like I can still smell the sulfur dioxide.”
    Erin smelled her arm, frowned, and looked around. “No, that’s not me. And it’s not my imagination either.” She got up, wandered around for a few seconds, then picked up one of Matt’s tee-shirts that had been draped over a chair. “Matt, why does your shirt smell like a fumarole?”
    “Who’s got the what now?”
    “Your tee-shirt smells of sulfur dioxide. Have you been seeing another volcanologist behind my back?” She poked him playfully with her index finger.
    “Oh, uh,