Stranded (A stand-alone SF thriller) (The Prometheus Project Book 3) by Douglas E. Richards Read Free Book Online Page B

comfort.
    “Dad says this room is as perfect a circle as anyone has ever measured,” said their mom as they walked toward its center.
    The small alien artifact sat on the floor at the precise center of the room. The trio approached it carefully and crouched down to get a better view.
    It was every bit as astounding as the kids had been told.
    It had an outer shell of edges linked together to form an open, cubical cage, about the size of a Rubik’s cube. Small indentations appeared at even intervals along this outer cage, possibly controls of some kind. It didn’t have a color, but it shined with such unearthly brightness it seemed almost to be made of pure light. Within this outer cage was cradled a smaller, solid cube—but this was anything but normal. It was a cube yet not a cube. It was motionless but at the same time spinning furiously—their minds couldn’t decide which of these distinct visual impressions to believe. It pulsated with a strange energy, as if it had a heart beat. Energy that seemed limitless. It changed back and forth continuously between a cube and other geometric shapes. Now it was a cube. Now a diamond. Now an impossible shape that was indescribable and unsettling to look at. The pulsating cube was almost hypnotic, drawing them in with itsunearthly power. Yet they were unable to look at the object for more than a few seconds at a time without looking away.
    Mrs. Resnick held out an arm in front of her kids as they began leaning forward for a closer look. “Not too close,” she warned.
    Their dad’s team had learned that the cube was made of an unknown material and pulsed with an unknown energy—an energy they sensed was vast but that they had been unable to measure.
    It also weighed 200,000 pounds! Slightly more than your average Rubik’s cube.
    When the cube had been found, Ben Resnick insisted on proceeding with extreme caution. Before it was touched or anything that might be a control was tried, he intended to contain it within the strongest force-shield Earth technology could manage. Human equipment that was to be used to accomplish this feat had been gathered and stored against one wall.
    They would soon be ready to begin experiments, but Mr. Resnick had recently changed his mind about the cube. He was now arguing that it shouldn’t be studied any further, no matter how great the precautions. The team had long talked about the danger of playing with advanced technology they didn’t understand. How even an innocent electrical outlet could be lethal to a caveman who decided to stick a finger inside to investigate. But in the case of the Enigma Cube, Mr. Resnick believedthey were more like cavemen who had stumbled upon a nuclear warhead , and that it was best to leave it completely alone.
    Ben Resnick worried they might accidentally trigger the Enigma Cube to unleash some horror upon the world. He was a scientist who had dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge, but he was also absolutely terrified of this alien artifact.
    After seeing the cube for themselves, Ryan and Regan couldn’t blame him. The power throbbing away inside this unearthly object would scare any sane person.

C HAPTER 6
Entering Other Dimensions
    M rs. Resnick drove the electric cart to the silver, octagonal building that housed both her and her husband’s labs. Both kids were unusually quiet during the two-mile journey.
    “We’re on a bit of a tight schedule,” said Mrs. Resnick as they arrived. “So why don’t you two grab an early lunch while I finish packing for the trip.”
    “What kind of food are we bringing to Isis?” asked Ryan, trying to hide his concern but failing.
    “Don’t worry, Ryan, since it’s only a weekend trip everyone is bringing their own food. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. I’m bringing enough peanut butter to last a week.”
    “What about pizza?” said Ryan.
    “Sorry. Unless you can figure out how to keep it cold or cook it over an open fire, frozen pizza is out.