Read Online Diggers: The Sharp Edge of the Universe by Shannon Heather, Jerrett James - Free Book Online

tell Reggie to speed up when Mikayla shouted, “There it is!”
    Finn looked out the window at the…nothing. The anomaly seemed more ominous than the black holes they’d seen, because it took up so much space and didn’t have the accretion disc of a black hole. Black holes were scary, and every once in a while a ship or planet would get sucked into one, but at least they had dimensions and size, and an entire space station didn’t bounce off of them.
    This anomaly seemed to go on forever.
    Reggie confirmed it. “Initial scans still can’t put a size on it. Confirms it’s silica-based.”
    Mikayla looked at Reggie and Finn. “Well, we’re here and breaking every interstellar law there is. So? Now what?”
    “You’re the Journeyman Scientist.” Finn felt bitterness oozing into every word. “We’re Diggers. What do you think we’re gonna do?”
    “Well, besides smelling bad and acting like Neanderthals, I have no idea what your plan is.” She tossed her golden hair over her shoulder and looked at the void in space.
    “We’re going to make the discovery while you stand around and try to look important. It’s what we Diggers always do!”    Something savage inside him awoke from a long sleep.
    Maybe all the family history he’d endured over the past week finally sunk into his brain. Maybe being grounded to his room finally made the difference. But at last Reggie’s attitude started to make sense. All the stuff his family had discovered and invented had become integral parts of life. His dad had found a bacteria that gave off electricity, and Quinn had learned that the same bacteria gave off more electricity as it cooled.
    So what if Lee Fishborne got to name his dad’s discovery Arimikaylius. Another stupid name. Lee Fishborne wouldn’t have even known about it if Gus hadn’t scraped it off the DUMP's auger while cleaning and received a major shock.
    Finn hadn't known about his dad’s and brother’s discoveries until he'd read the holonews clipping stickied to the end of the family history, and he wondered if his dad had ever said anything about it. How much had he missed?
    Mikayla turned to Finn and Reggie with a fierce, biting hatred in her eyes. “You…stupid…Digger…boys.”
    She huffed off and sat in the last seat near the launch bay doors, mumbling to herself.
    “Ignore her,” Finn said as he surveyed the inky blackness. “Well, just pick any spot. It all looks the same. Let’s start digging.”
    Reggie nodded and inched up to the line where the stars disappeared. A massive grinding sound split the air as the Triamond-tipped auger mounted to the front of the DUMP began to spin.
    Sparks flew at the window and the auger began to pull in samples.
    “Confirmed,” Reggie said. “Silica-based.”
    “In the middle of space. That’s…impossible.” Mikayla shook her head so hard, Finn hoped it might roll off. “Reconfigure the sensors. This DUMP needs a….”
    “Everything is working right,” Finn said. “Just keep digging, Reg. Can it give you parameters yet? How big is it? How far will we have to dig to get to the other side?”
    “Digging sensors estimate three to ten days to push through,” Reggie said.
    “Three to ten days.” Mikayla threw her arms in the air. “We can dig through entire planets in just one day. Why can’t the sensors give us better information?”
    Finn stared at her and wondered how the daughter of the Science superstar could be so stupid, “Because it’s an A-N-O-M-A-L-Y.”
    Mikayla crossed her arms. “That’s it. I’m calling my dad.”
    She reached for the Combutton, but before she could even say his name the DUMP went silent. The only sound came from the muted whirr of the auger.
    “What did you do?” Mikayla marched over to Reggie and spun his chair around to face her.
    “Silent mode—for unfriendly planets,” Reggie said and turned back toward the Comscreens.
    Finn smiled. Silent digging, muffling the sound of the entire DUMP and not