Basement B3

Part 3

      Five minutes later Tracy was back in her office. There was obviously something very abnormal going on in B2 and she had a feeling it was coming from the next floor down. The voice said something about increasing power which made 'it' glow. Walker and Bolton must have brought something back from the moon with them and were experimenting on it. But what exactly was it, and what happened to it after the scientists died?

Tracy made a decision. Tomorrow she would go down to B3 and have a look at Walker and Bolton's laboratory. But first she needed more information. "Computer," she said, "I need access to Level B3."

"Basement Level Three is a Level One A security area," the computer replied in its monotone female voice, "It is currently closed off to all staff."

"I have Level One A security clearance, and why is it closed off? Is there a contamination?"

"There is no contamination, however the air circulation system has been inoperative for the last sixteen years, and power has been turned off."

"Well turn them back on."

"Authorisation is required."

"By who?"

"Only by Dr Hammond."

"Well can you at least turn on the emergency lighting? I can put up with breathing stale air."

The computer paused for several seconds before replying. "Your request is approved, Dr Whitfield. You will be supplied with the necessary codes to gain access to the floor and to the laboratories, however it is recommend you take a torch as the power has been completely disconnected from the laboratories. Passageway lighting will be operating."

Tracy still wasn't happy. She wanted to know more about what Walker and Bolton were investigating in B3. The computer couldn't or wouldn't tell her. Who could she ask about it? Who was stationed at Mainbase sixteen years ago who might be here in this building today? She went through the list of staff working in the LRU. Only one name came up. Dr Mark Casey, a senior geologist who had worked at Mainbase from 1999 until 2003. She entered his number into the video phone.

Ten minutes later Tracy was sitting in Dr Casey's office. He was a tall man in his fifties with greying hair, and he seemed quite delighted to have Tracy visit him.

"Dr Whitfield, it's a pleasure to see you. Can I get you a cup of tea or coffee?"

"No thank you, and please call me Tracy."

"Of course, Tracy. How then can I help you?"

"Back in 2001 you were stationed at Mainbase. Do you remember Doctors Dan Walker and John Bolton?"

"I remember them well, our two biologists. Tragic that they died. I have a feeling you're going to ask me about their discovery?"

"Please tell me about it."

"Well they were out on an excursion looking for ice in a nearby crater when apparently they found it frozen into ice in a permanently shaded crevice. They sealed it into a refrigerated container and brought it back to the base for study." Casey sat back for a few seconds gathering his thoughts while Tracy waited silently for him to continue.

"After they thawed the ice surrounding it they had a small crystal cluster only about thirty centimetres across. They should have passed it on to the geology unit for examination, but for some reason Walker and Bolton kept it in their lab, although they did chip off a small piece and give it to me for analysis and identification."

He paused again and Tracy asked, "So Doctor, did you identify it?"

"Yes, easily. It looked like quartz, and that's exactly what it was. Plain ordinary everyday quartz, found in abundance here on Earth, but up until then, very little had been found on the moon."

Tracy sat back in her chair feeling disappointed. "It was only quartz?" she said.

"Yes, but because Walker and Bolton didn't hand it over to the geologists, we suspected there may have been more to it, possibly something preserved within the centre of the crystal cluster that they wanted to investigate further. That was my theory. Anyway two days later the shuttle arrived and they were due to have a rotation shift back on Earth for eight months. So they took their crystal and came back here to the LRU, and that's as much as I know. But if you want to know more you should ask your father. He must have approved them to bring it back here and study it."

Tracy thanked Dr Casey and returned to her office. It was a crystal, possibly with 'something' embedded within it. What had happened to it after the scientists' deaths? The mystery was becoming more intriguing. Her father wasn't due back for another week. She couldn't wait that long. She would continue with her plan to investigate Walker and Bolton's lab tomorrow. But she wasn't going down there alone after what had happened this morning in B2. Who could she get to go with her?

"Laurence, tomorrow morning I need you for about half an hour," she announced to her husband over dinner that night.

"That sounds ominous," he replied, "What for?"

"I'm going down to B3 and I need someone with me."

"Why? Are you scared to go by yourself?"

"Ha ha! Just be ready at about ten o'clock. I'll call you when I'm ready to go."

"Do I have any choice? What's down there anyway?"

"No you don't have a choice, and we'll find out when we get there."

The next morning Tracy had only been at her desk twenty minutes when Laurence called her on the video phone. "We've had a major malfunction with the processing unit in Nanotech Lab Two," he said looking stressed, "We're working flat out to try and repair it. It's going to take most of the day. I'll be lucky if I get ten minutes for lunch. Can we leave our little excursion till tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Tracy answered as Laurence disconnected and was gone. Damn it, she had really wanted to go down to B3 this morning. If she waited till tomorrow Martin Phillips would be back. He would get a message from the computer telling him of her intentions, and he may order her not to go. Oh to hell with it, she would go down there on her own. If things started to get out of hand she would get out fast.

A few minutes later Tracy stepped into lift number two, which was the only one which went below B2. As per the computer's instructions she pressed the button for B2, then opened the cover over a small computer touch screen and punched in a code number. She was then prompted to place her hand on the screen for identification. The computer beeped and the screen then showed a red circle with "B3" in the centre of it. She hesitated for a moment, then pressed it.