There were times when Hermann Weber was surprised by his job. Under the light cone of his desk lamp lay a certified mystery. A had been found week before in the high desert near Chaco Canyon at northern New Mexico and now, after three days extensive research, he was convinced that the artifact was not from Earth.
Weber had already collected notes on the unusual artifact. The main characteristic, according to the students who found it, was that induced hallucinogenic images when held or touched. But regardless No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't induce anything resembling a hallucination. Such Maybe, he thought, the two students had been under the influence of drugs. That would explain the hallucinogenic property. However, no one could deny that the artifact projected an exotic, otherworldly presence.
It was two in the morning and Weber's eyes were deprived of sleep. After compare the hieroglyphic markings of the Chaco Canyon object with similar markings of Linear B and Sumerian writing, nothing matched. After three days of analysis comparatively, he could only conclude one thing: he was not from this planet.
His report carried the same words on the title page. Weber rubbed his eyes and looked through the microscope again, examining the Textured silver cover metal surface and copper-colored markings. The object contained thousands of curls, small spinal cords that joined together, like nerve ganglion, every 8 or 10 centimeters within the 23 different glyphs in the object.
Although it was the size of a child's shoebox, the device weighed more than than a melon and had a density similar to lead. But unlike lead, The surface was completely impenetrable to any proof that Weber or his colleagues employed.
Perhaps it was the sculptural quality of the glyphs that fascinated him. Or maybe were the subtle variations in the lines. I've never seen descriptions before. so sophisticated of a cryptographic alphabet. Somehow the problem is It was aggravated by the irony that the device remained silent.
“I think we found something.” Emma Dawson poked her head into Weber's office, holding a mug of coffee to prevent his hands from freezing. Her long brown hair, normally tied up in a bun, it fell over her shoulders, looking more tired than her sad and expressive eyes.
“No one ever sleeps here?” Weber asked with a childish smile.
“Sure, if you're not interested in what we found…” his voice dropped to a murmur.
Weber smiled slyly. He liked her irresistible seriousness. You I loved his discretion.
“Well, what exactly did they find?”
“You'll have to come with me. Albert is still checking his calculations, but my Instinct tells me it will confirm our original discoveries.”
"And which are they?"
“Albert told me not to tell you until you are in the lab…”
“Albert forgets that I am his supervisor. Also that it is two in the morning and "I get unusually angry when I'm tired and hungry.”
“It will only take a few minutes, come on. I’ll give you a cup of coffee.” She left it hanging your irresistible offer in the quiet of the office. Weber could only smile and lay down. back on his messy desk.
“Oh, and bring the artifact, Albert needs it,” she said.
Weber's hair almost covered his right eye as he leaned down and poked Take care of the object under your arm like a ball. He staggered a little until the weight of the object found a point of balance.
Weber was Peruvian and had the enormous fortune of having one of the faces of most distinguished appearance that a human body can have. Everything about him was intense. His hair was straight and black. His eyes seemed like mysterious springs to the moonlight, evading the question how deep or full they were. His nose and lips were made by Michelangelo's chisel.
The hallways of the ACIO were quiet and antiseptically clean at that late hour. the dawn. White stucco walls and white marble floors gleamed under halogen lights. The smell of various cleaning formulas sterilized the air. In
the silence of the hallway, Weber heard his stomach growl, which was also sterile. I had forgotten to eat dinner. Again.
"At last! “This stuff is incredible.” Albert said when Weber entered. He had the disconcerting habit of never seeing eyes to his human counterpart. Weber liked that; It made him feel comfortable in a way. “This thing is incredible."
“And what exactly do you mean?” Weber asked.
Albert kept his gaze on the charts in front of him. "I I am referring to the way in which surface analytics shows the precision with which this thing was designed. What looks like chaos is actually an executed pattern of precise way. Do you see these subtle variations? They are not arbitrary. Us we made a mistake, we did not build the plan diagrams with sufficient granularity to see the previous pattern.”
“And what is that pattern exactly?” Weber's voice emitted a degree of impatience.
Albert put a long chart on the table in front of them. It looked like a map topography of a mountain range. Weber instantly saw the pattern.
“This is the entire surface of the object?”
"Yeah."
"You're sure?"
“I have rechecked everything and my results are exactly the same.”
Weber slammed the device onto the table next to Albert's chart.
“Is there no way this could be an anomaly?”
“No”.
“And what is the granularity of the plane?”
“.0025 microns”
“Is it visible at another granularity?”
"I'm not sure. That's why I asked you to bring the little monster here. I will do "A few more tests, and we'll see what else appears."
“Any idea what it is?”
“Yes, it's not from around here,” Albert laughed and struggled with the object to put it on a platform for study.
The measuring device was called a Surface Mapping Surveyor (SMT – Surface Mapping Topographer) and made an extremely detailed surface of objects. Similar to fingerprint analysis, the ACIO version was three-dimensional and could be used microscopically.
Weber came closer to the poster-sized graph while Albert He positioned the object exactly to his requirements.
“And it is definitely not from the human being's past nor does it correspond to the present,” Albert said.
“But this pattern… is unmistakable. It must... it must be a topographic map. It could even represent the site of the discovery.”
“Well, let's say it's ET, but not the ET's we send greeting cards to at Christmas, and these ETs visited us in our distant past. Let's suppose they were cartographers and decided to make a map of their settlement on Earth. Then they got bored of New Mexico - something easy to do - and no longer needed the map, so they left it there.”“This artifact was found above ground,” Weber reminded him. "Someone or something put it there and they did it recently, otherwise it would have been buried.”“Maybe it dug itself up,” Albert said quietly.Weber stepped back, suddenly feeling exhausted. He collapsed in a chair, ran his hands through his hair, and stretched, sighing deeply. Rubbing his neck, he said, “Maybe they have a sense of humor.”“Or they like to torture their victims with hints,” Albert proposed. "Remember our experience with the ALFAs?”“This is completely different. The linguistic structure of this breed is so dimensional that must lack telepathic abilities. Then why would they bu
The elevator doors opened before he could perceive the state of the elevator. It was time, but he knew he would be underground all day tomorrow. Furthermore, the weather wasn't exactly volatile in Southern California.The top location of the ACIO was 45 meters, or 12 stories above the executive offices and laboratories of the ACIO. The upper place was also a facade completely different: a single long story, built with stucco with projections similar to antennas and satellite dishes on the roof. The ACIO was, for those who might ask, a government climate center responsible for developing sophisticated instruments to assist the military United States and intelligence communities, to better predict, and even to control weather conditions around the globe. This was part of the mission of the ACIO. But only part of their budget and project plan were to these objectives.Of its 226 scientists, eleven specialized in the development of technologies related to climate. Most of them were relat
Weber always got a little nervous when he had to make a presentation to the Directors, especially when he was late. The laboratory results had taken longer than expected, as always. Damn data retort, he thought. However, he was pleased with the results and could hardly wait to present his findings. Albert was right: this shit was incredible. His stomach was both hungry and queasy. He took a drink of water from the fountain in the hallway outside the laboratory and headed to Quince's office. He reminded himself that he was a member of the Labyrinth Group, just like them. They weren't smarter than him; In fact, in terms of language, he was the world authority, even though no one except the ACIO knew it.The Labyrinth Group was a secret subgroup of the ACIO. When Quince took control of the ACIO in 1967, he felt that the National Security Agency (NSA – National Security Agency) was trivializing the ACIO agenda. He wanted to take advantage of the technologies that resulted from the PTT wit
“How large is the area this map refers to?” asked Ortmann.“Approximately 20 square kilometers.”“Why would an alien race abandon such an object and include a map if not to identify a specific reference point? It seems unlikely, no?" Ortmann crossed his arms and leaned further in his chair as if to emphasize his frustration at wasting his time on speculation.“Not if the object were both a map and a guidance device,” Quince replied. “Perhaps the map is designed to guide you to the general area that activates the guide device. From that point, the device supplants the function of the map.”“If we can't test the object, what evidence do we have that it is a guiding device?” Ortmann pointed to the blackboard where the word EVIDENCE was alone like an island.“We don't really have any hard evidence,” Weber replied, “that students who found this…”“If you are going to mention the hallucinatory state of these students, as evidence that this object is a tracking device, then you may be a litt
Weber chuckled at Albert's theatrical gesture. Despite his unconventional demeanor, Albert was a reliable and skilled member of the team. "Alright, alright, let's go join the others then," Weber said, zipping up the tent flap behind him.Outside, the night air was crisp and clear, with the faint glow of stars illuminating the desert landscape. Weber spotted Emma and Sara chatting by the campfire, their figures outlined against the darkness."Looks like they've got the coffee ready," Albert remarked, nodding towards the campfire.Weber nodded in agreement and approached the two women. "Thanks for making the coffee, ladies," he said, flashing them a grateful smile.Sara smiled back shyly, while Emma grinned mischievously. "No problem, boss. We figured you could use a pick-me-up after all that planning," Emma said, pouring coffee into a couple of mugs.As Weber took a sip of the steaming brew, he couldn't help but feel a sense of camaraderie with his team. Despite the challenges ahead, h
Weber settled into his sleeping bag, the events of the evening swirling through his mind like a sandstorm. The desert outside seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the dawn to break and reveal the secrets hidden within its vast expanse.As he lay there, Weber couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered after their encounter with the mysterious artifact. It was as if a shadow had been cast over their expedition, casting doubt on their mission and its purpose.He glanced over at Albert, his trusted colleague and friend, still lost in the realm of sleep. Despite his unconventional demeanor, Albert was a valuable member of the team, his insights often proving invaluable in their endeavors.Weber sighed and closed his eyes, willing himself to find some semblance of peace amidst the uncertainty. Tomorrow would bring new challenges and discoveries, and he needed to be ready to face them head-on.As he drifted into a fitful sleep, Weber's dreams were filled with visions of ancient rui
Weber, lacking infrared equipment, relied on his compass as he ventured out into the desert. Despite the early hour, nearing 11:00 p.m., he packed some supplies into a backpack, donned a standard jacket with insignia from the Center of DoD Climatological Research, and set off eastward.Careful to avoid detection by Albert, Weber took an alternate route around the camp, mindful of the implanted tracking devices all ACIO personnel were required to have. These implants, the size of a grain of rice, transmitted a unique body frequency, ensuring the organization could monitor their movements.A mournful howl interrupted Weber's trek, prompting a momentary pause. Continuing through the scattered trees and under the faint glow of the moon, he felt a sense of security as he distanced himself from the camp. Lighting his lamp, Weber pressed on toward the sandstone formation he had spotted earlier.At the top of a hill, Weber surveyed the landscape with binoculars, pinpointing the location of th
The massive rock wall loomed ahead, casting a shadow that cloaked the desert landscape in mystery and surreal beauty. Despite the fresh air in the wall's shadow, the absolute calm made the atmosphere unbearable even without a jacket. Rocks, fallen over thousands of years, littered the area, some as large as small houses. It was easy to imagine the thunderous crash they must have made upon landing. Sara focused on her task of preparing for a Reproduction, preferring to work alone. All she needed was a set of data, typically search coordinates and a time frame. Strangely, though, the more she knew about the search parameters, the less accurate her Reproductions tended to be. Branson had termed this phenomenon "Spectral Knotting," suggesting that excessive knowledge hindered the flow of psychic energy. As she donned her Brain Shell—a device affectionately named—she noticed its unusual quietness. Had its mission concluded the previous night, or was something amiss? With cautious reverenc