Read Online Area 51: The Reply-2 by Robert Doherty - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Robert Doherty
Tags: Fiction, Literary, General, Science-Fiction, Historical, Fantasy, Espionage, High Tech, Unidentified flying objects, Space ships, Nellis Air Force Base (Nev.), Area 51 Region (Nev.)
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tighter around his neck, and he could feel Duncan pressing closer to him. There was the feeling of being a tiny speck in a massive emptiness. Turcotte glanced over his shoulder back the way they had come.
Already the brighter light of the cog railway terminal where they had boarded was over a mile behind them. The train was moving at almost forty miles an hour now, clattering over the cogs, but there was no sense of movement other than the fluorescent lights strung on poles next to the rail line flashing by.
After five more minutes they could all make out a red glow ahead. At first it was just the faintest of lines across the low horizon. But as they got closer, they could see the line grow clearer and larger over a mile ahead, perpendicular to their direction of travel. Turcotte had no idea how deep they were, but the temperature was starting to rise and he could feel beads of sweat on his forehead.
Turcotte looked down and could see that the floor of the cavern was still perfectly smooth. He'd seen Hangar Two at Area 51 where the mothership had been hidden, but this cavern dwarfed even that massive structure. He couldn't imagine the technology that would be needed to
66
carve this out. And for what purpose? he wondered. Directly ahead there was a red glow coming out of a wide crevice that split the cavern floor. Turcotte spotted several smaller glowing lights, the flashlights of the SAS squad at the end of the railway. As they slowed down, Turcotte could see the far side of the crevice, over half a mile away, but he couldn't see down into it because they were still over a hundred meters from the edge when the train stopped at the end of the line.
"Sir!" An SAS trooper nodded at Colonel Spearson as they got out.
They walked together toward the edge and stopped where the smooth stone, which had been sloping down at thirty degrees, suddenly went ninety degrees straight down. Duncan gasped and Turcotte felt his heart pound as he carefully peered over the edge. There was no bottom that they could see, just a red glow emanating up from the bowels of the Earth. Turcotte could feel heat washing over his face, accompanied by a strong odor of burning chemicals.
"How deep do you think that goes?" Spearson asked.
"We must be at least seven or eight miles underground already," Duncan said.
"If that red glow is the result of heat generated from a split in the Mohorovicic discontinuity—"
"The what?" Spearson barked.
"The line between the planet's crust and the mantle—then we're talking about twenty-two miles altogether to the magma, which is what's giving off that red glow."
"Jesus," Turcotte exclaimed.
67
"Look over there," Colonel Spearson said, drawing their eyes from the spectacle of a doorway into the primeval inner Earth. To their right, about two hundred meters away, a series of three poles stretched across the chasm to the other side. Suspended from the cables, directly in the center, was a large, bright red, multifaceted sphere about five meters in diameter.
They walked along the edge of the crevice until they came to the first of the poles that held the sphere in place. The pole ran right into the rock face several feet below the lip. Turcotte had seen that black metal before. "That's Airlia," he said. "Same material as the skin of the mothership. Some incredibly strong metal we still haven't been able to figure out."
"What the bloody hell is that thing?" Spearson was pointing at the ruby sphere. It was hard to tell if the sphere itself was ruby or if it was reflecting the glow from below.
Duncan didn't answer, but she led the way farther right where a group of low structures had been erected. It was obvious most of them had been built by the Terra-Lei scientists who'd been working down here. But in the center was a console that immediately reminded Turcotte of the control panel in one of the bouncers. "That's Airlia too," he said, walking up the panel. . The surface was totally smooth. There was high
Already the brighter light of the cog railway terminal where they had boarded was over a mile behind them. The train was moving at almost forty miles an hour now, clattering over the cogs, but there was no sense of movement other than the fluorescent lights strung on poles next to the rail line flashing by.
After five more minutes they could all make out a red glow ahead. At first it was just the faintest of lines across the low horizon. But as they got closer, they could see the line grow clearer and larger over a mile ahead, perpendicular to their direction of travel. Turcotte had no idea how deep they were, but the temperature was starting to rise and he could feel beads of sweat on his forehead.
Turcotte looked down and could see that the floor of the cavern was still perfectly smooth. He'd seen Hangar Two at Area 51 where the mothership had been hidden, but this cavern dwarfed even that massive structure. He couldn't imagine the technology that would be needed to
66
carve this out. And for what purpose? he wondered. Directly ahead there was a red glow coming out of a wide crevice that split the cavern floor. Turcotte spotted several smaller glowing lights, the flashlights of the SAS squad at the end of the railway. As they slowed down, Turcotte could see the far side of the crevice, over half a mile away, but he couldn't see down into it because they were still over a hundred meters from the edge when the train stopped at the end of the line.
"Sir!" An SAS trooper nodded at Colonel Spearson as they got out.
They walked together toward the edge and stopped where the smooth stone, which had been sloping down at thirty degrees, suddenly went ninety degrees straight down. Duncan gasped and Turcotte felt his heart pound as he carefully peered over the edge. There was no bottom that they could see, just a red glow emanating up from the bowels of the Earth. Turcotte could feel heat washing over his face, accompanied by a strong odor of burning chemicals.
"How deep do you think that goes?" Spearson asked.
"We must be at least seven or eight miles underground already," Duncan said.
"If that red glow is the result of heat generated from a split in the Mohorovicic discontinuity—"
"The what?" Spearson barked.
"The line between the planet's crust and the mantle—then we're talking about twenty-two miles altogether to the magma, which is what's giving off that red glow."
"Jesus," Turcotte exclaimed.
67
"Look over there," Colonel Spearson said, drawing their eyes from the spectacle of a doorway into the primeval inner Earth. To their right, about two hundred meters away, a series of three poles stretched across the chasm to the other side. Suspended from the cables, directly in the center, was a large, bright red, multifaceted sphere about five meters in diameter.
They walked along the edge of the crevice until they came to the first of the poles that held the sphere in place. The pole ran right into the rock face several feet below the lip. Turcotte had seen that black metal before. "That's Airlia," he said. "Same material as the skin of the mothership. Some incredibly strong metal we still haven't been able to figure out."
"What the bloody hell is that thing?" Spearson was pointing at the ruby sphere. It was hard to tell if the sphere itself was ruby or if it was reflecting the glow from below.
Duncan didn't answer, but she led the way farther right where a group of low structures had been erected. It was obvious most of them had been built by the Terra-Lei scientists who'd been working down here. But in the center was a console that immediately reminded Turcotte of the control panel in one of the bouncers. "That's Airlia too," he said, walking up the panel. . The surface was totally smooth. There was high
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