called out Dr Anderson.
Teller jumped in the air a few times. Finch caught the motion on video. From where they were standing it looked like he was jumping out horizontally and flying back into what looked to be more of a concrete wall than a once bustling road.
“Feels fine,” he said. “It's not like walking on the moon or anything. It feels normal. No different to walking on Earth.”
Hmm, there's a thought, he realized, he was talking about the anomaly as though it were something that wasn't on Earth.
Teller tossed the ball out of the anomaly and watched as it rolled along the ground on the other side. To him, it looked as though it was rolling up a wall.
“OK, Neil Armstrong,” replied Mason. “I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Time to come home.”
Teller looked at the balloon still pulling upwards on the string.
“You said there was a concentration of hydrogen in the center of this thing?” he called out.
“Yeah,” replied Dr Anderson.
“I have an idea,” said Teller, turning away from them and walking toward the center of the circular slab.
“What are you doing?” cried Mason. “Get back here.”
“Just a moment,” replied Teller. “I have a simple experiment in mind. Watch closely. Hey, Bates, make sure the mass spectrometer is running.”
“Teller,” yelled Mason, while Dr Bates talked frantically with the NASA team over the radio.
Teller stood in the middle of the intersection. He was up on his tiptoes with the balloon stretched high above his head. He let go of the balloon and it sailed upwards from his perspective, sideways from their perspective. On reaching the center of the anomaly, it popped, bursting in a flash. The string, along with a few bits of rubber fell slowly back to the concrete slab beside him.
Teller looked up. There, in the center of the anomaly, was a soft glowing sphere. He smiled. For Teller, at least, this was no longer an anomaly.
Chapter 06: Pioneer
“What the hell have you done?” cried Mason as Teller jumped down off the slab.
Teller landed a little awkwardly, falling sideways and almost crashing into the ground. That was going to take some getting used to, he thought. He was so excited he barely realized Mason was angry with him. He looked up at the Director of National Security, saying, “What?”
“What do you think you were doing in there?” Mason demanded again.
“Saying hello,” replied Teller nonchalantly. He was more interested in what Bates and Anderson had to say. They were both on the radio.
“So, is it lithium?” he asked.
“It's lithium,” replied Anderson with a smile.
“I knew it,” cried Teller, pumping his fist in the air. “We've made contact.”
“What?” yelled Mason, but his phone was ringing. It was the White House. He walked off to one side to take the call. Bates and Anderson started walking briskly back toward the main NASA observation trailer, Teller and the others raced to keep up.
“What just happened?” asked Susan, seeing her teacher's excitement and becoming wrapped up in it herself, but not understanding why.
“Yeah, what was all that about?” asked Cathy. Finch was still filming the soft glow at the heart of the anomaly as it lit up in the dim light of the early evening.
Mason was back from his phone call. Whatever the president had to say it was short and sharp.
“Teller,” he said. “Tell me you haven't done something stupid.”
“On the contrary,” replied Bates, speaking on behalf of Teller. “I think our elementary school teacher has had a stroke of genius. We might actually have some answers for you and the President.”
“Really?” replied Mason, not sure whether he was more curious, more angry, or more confused by what had just happened. Bates and Anderson already understood what was happening at the heart of the anomaly, as did several of the other NASA scientists. Finch made sure he was capturing the discussion on video.
“Take a look at this,” said
Teller jumped in the air a few times. Finch caught the motion on video. From where they were standing it looked like he was jumping out horizontally and flying back into what looked to be more of a concrete wall than a once bustling road.
“Feels fine,” he said. “It's not like walking on the moon or anything. It feels normal. No different to walking on Earth.”
Hmm, there's a thought, he realized, he was talking about the anomaly as though it were something that wasn't on Earth.
Teller tossed the ball out of the anomaly and watched as it rolled along the ground on the other side. To him, it looked as though it was rolling up a wall.
“OK, Neil Armstrong,” replied Mason. “I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Time to come home.”
Teller looked at the balloon still pulling upwards on the string.
“You said there was a concentration of hydrogen in the center of this thing?” he called out.
“Yeah,” replied Dr Anderson.
“I have an idea,” said Teller, turning away from them and walking toward the center of the circular slab.
“What are you doing?” cried Mason. “Get back here.”
“Just a moment,” replied Teller. “I have a simple experiment in mind. Watch closely. Hey, Bates, make sure the mass spectrometer is running.”
“Teller,” yelled Mason, while Dr Bates talked frantically with the NASA team over the radio.
Teller stood in the middle of the intersection. He was up on his tiptoes with the balloon stretched high above his head. He let go of the balloon and it sailed upwards from his perspective, sideways from their perspective. On reaching the center of the anomaly, it popped, bursting in a flash. The string, along with a few bits of rubber fell slowly back to the concrete slab beside him.
Teller looked up. There, in the center of the anomaly, was a soft glowing sphere. He smiled. For Teller, at least, this was no longer an anomaly.
Chapter 06: Pioneer
“What the hell have you done?” cried Mason as Teller jumped down off the slab.
Teller landed a little awkwardly, falling sideways and almost crashing into the ground. That was going to take some getting used to, he thought. He was so excited he barely realized Mason was angry with him. He looked up at the Director of National Security, saying, “What?”
“What do you think you were doing in there?” Mason demanded again.
“Saying hello,” replied Teller nonchalantly. He was more interested in what Bates and Anderson had to say. They were both on the radio.
“So, is it lithium?” he asked.
“It's lithium,” replied Anderson with a smile.
“I knew it,” cried Teller, pumping his fist in the air. “We've made contact.”
“What?” yelled Mason, but his phone was ringing. It was the White House. He walked off to one side to take the call. Bates and Anderson started walking briskly back toward the main NASA observation trailer, Teller and the others raced to keep up.
“What just happened?” asked Susan, seeing her teacher's excitement and becoming wrapped up in it herself, but not understanding why.
“Yeah, what was all that about?” asked Cathy. Finch was still filming the soft glow at the heart of the anomaly as it lit up in the dim light of the early evening.
Mason was back from his phone call. Whatever the president had to say it was short and sharp.
“Teller,” he said. “Tell me you haven't done something stupid.”
“On the contrary,” replied Bates, speaking on behalf of Teller. “I think our elementary school teacher has had a stroke of genius. We might actually have some answers for you and the President.”
“Really?” replied Mason, not sure whether he was more curious, more angry, or more confused by what had just happened. Bates and Anderson already understood what was happening at the heart of the anomaly, as did several of the other NASA scientists. Finch made sure he was capturing the discussion on video.
“Take a look at this,” said
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