The Prometheus Project by Douglas E. Richards Read Free Book Online

our study of this city to help these scientists further their projects—without ever telling them where these insights originated, of course. They will work in the Proact building but will never know about this city. Only the handful of people in this room will ever know the truth.” Dr. Harris realized what he had just said and frowned deeply. “And you weren’t supposed to be among that handful,” he added pointedly.
    “Have you found any aliens?” asked Regan quickly, trying to change the subject.
    “Not so far. We think the city is abandoned. Why it was built and why it is empty are just two of the many mysteries of this place. But what we will learn here is sure to change the course of human history forever.”
    “Like the gift of fire did,” noted Ryan. “That’s why you named this the Prometheus Project, isn’t it?”
    “Exactly right,” said Dr. Harris, impressed that Ryan knew about the Greek myth of Prometheus and was able to reason out the relevance of the name. “Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and gave it to mankind. This city offers us the technology of the Gods. But of equal importance, the name is also a reminder for us to be cautious and mature with our use of what we find here. Like fire, used incorrectly, the technology in this city could be extremely dangerous. We have insisted that our efforts here will be to advance human science for the good of humanity, not to make either weapons or money. The president agreed.”
    There was a long pause. “Any more questions?” asked Dr. Harris finally.
     “By president,” said Regan, “I suppose you mean . . .”
    “The President of the United States, of course,” said Dr. Harris matter-of-factly.
     

 
    Chapter 11
     
    Spider Webs and Diamonds
     
    The President of the United States! The Resnick kids traded wide-eyed glances. Incredible!
    It was then that the full impact of everything they had just been told sunk in. Of course the president. Given what they had just learned, his involvement made perfect sense. In fact, everything now made sense. Their parents’ secrecy, the security here—even why their parents felt they had no choice but to finally leave San Diego to come here. You didn’t turn down a chance to be a part of the most important discovery in history. And they had been angry with their parents for moving here! If they had only known.
    “In fact, the president will be visiting next week,” continued Harry Harris. “He wanted to come here yesterday, right after your father breached the force-field, but we asked him to wait until we’ve had some time to explore. We want to be sure his visit is as safe and informative as possible.” He paused and adjusted his thick glasses absentmindedly. “Well, that should do it,” he announced. “I believe you’re now fully up to speed.”
    “I just have one more question,” persisted Ryan. “What were you celebrating when we arrived?”
    His mom gestured toward the wispy staircase. “Last night we decided to cut out some of these threads to study. It turned out to be far easier said than done. After a number of failed attempts, we finally managed it. We were celebrating our success.”
    “Why would it be so difficult just to cut some threads?” asked Regan.
    Amanda Resnick smiled. “They’re a lot stronger than they look.”
    “ Mom, I know that, ” said Regan in a tone that suggested her mother had just questioned her intelligence. It was totally obvious that a collection of threads so thin as to be almost invisible, yet still able to easily support the weight of an adult, had to have some special properties. “But, I mean, just how strong are we talking about here?”
    “As strong as anything we’ve ever seen except the force-field,” replied her mom. “Far stronger even than spider silk,” she added, as though this were the ultimate compliment.
    “Spider silk?” repeated Ryan in disbelief. “Spider silk isn’t strong . You can break a web with no effort at