Space Rocks! by Tom O'Donnell Read Free Book Online

opening the Vault?
    But pondering the will of the ancients is a sucker’s game. That was an old expression that Hudka probably made up.
    The door was open now. A pale, eerie glow shone from inside. From my vantage point, I couldn’t quite see the Vault’s interior. The Council huddled nervously on the threshold. At last, Kalac stepped through the door.
    A few long moments later, my originator came out carrying the source of the light: the Q-sik itself.
    It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. The Q-sik appeared to be a glowing tetrahedron that spun slowly inside several concentric rings of tarnished, iridescent metal. On its base were several complex controls and inputs, which allowed for its use. On top, the Q-sik came to a sharp point from which, I guessed, it would fire its energy beam, a blast powerful enough to destroy several kilometers of solid rock, powerful enough to rip a hole in the universe, if the legends were to be believed. I was surprised to see how small the device was.
    From where I stood, I could also see the iridium statue of Jalasu Jhuk in Ryzz Plaza, now reflecting glints of the Q-sik’s light. This little thing was what our Great Progenitor was so worried about?
    The other Council members shrank back from the Q-sik. Only Kalac looked resolute as it strode past them, holding it aloft. In its other thol’graz, it carried a crumbling manual.
    For better or worse, the ancient weapon would now decide the fate of the Xotonian people.

CHAPTER SIX

    K alac, along with the few other Xotonians who had any knowledge of ancient technology, spent the next few days poring over the Q-sik manual.
    The heavy tome turned out to be a collection of meticulous notes, written and placed inside the Vault by Great Jalasu Jhuk itself. No one had much time to dwell on this remarkable historical discovery, however. Kalac and the others were too busy trying to understand the workings of the Q-sik enough to fire it.
    Now came the day of the asteroid-quake mission. Kalac, Hudka, and I were eating breakfast (rild-sauce over cold svur-noodles) together in our dwelling. Tensions were high. Well, higher than normal.
    â€œMark my words,” said Hudka. “You’re making the biggest mistake in Xotonian history. Even bigger than the time we declared it legal to raise giant spiders for food inside city limits!”
    â€œI’m not having this discussion again,” said Kalac. “There was a Grand Conclave. I seem to recall that you were there, Hudka. There is no turning back now. We reached a decision as a society.”
    â€œA bad decision,” said Hudka. As a rule, Hudka never let Kalac, or anybody, have the last word in an argument.
    â€œBut what if the humans aren’t evil?” I asked, slurping down a gul’orp-ful of svur-noodles. “Maybe we could work with them instead of against them?”
    â€œYou’ve brought this up before, Chorkle,” said Kalac wearily. “And I have told you that the stakes are simply too high. I’ll admit that I don’t know for certain that the humans mean us harm. And I’ll grant that there might be a small chance that diplomacy might work. But suppose it didn’t. What then?”
    â€œJust because the right thing to do might not work doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do,” said Hudka. “And we’re supposed to guard the Q-sik. Removing it from the Vault is a mistake.”
    â€œNow is not the time!” snapped Kalac. My originator’s nerves were running high. In just a few hours, it would be leading the asteroid-quake mission.
    â€œYou two give me more trouble than all the humans combined,” said Kalac, rising from the table. “I have to go. There are still final preparations to make.”
    â€œBut there must be something we can do!” I said. “To make sure that the young—that no humans are needlessly hurt in the quake.”
    Kalac stared at me,