The Alien Orb (35 page)

“
I have found
something!
”
Basinger mumbled excitedly.

Dexter looked at the projection on the wall,
and he saw the interior of a structure.

“
What is it?
”

“
It
’
s a place that
’
s a sort of storage depot, where
they kept some important machines!
”

“
That does not prove that it will have
a Star Chamber in it!
”
he quickly replied.
“
Why would it be in a storage
depot?
”

“
They used it to move objects to
distant places. It vaguely mentions moving things up into
space!
”

Chapter 9

The Sunken City

A dark shape, at the edge of a hill, vaguely
resembled the top of a structure. Yet, as they got close, Dexter
realized that it was something else, and he tried to guess.

The last people had to have been more
unexciting than he had been imagining. There were no signs of any
types of shops, restaurants, bars, products, and anything else to
do with leisure. Had things actually turned as uninteresting as he
had observed? He tried to compare everything that he had seen to
the things that had existed. How could they have changed so much?
Had some sort of state control taken over?

However, all the things to do with leisure
might have been made of inferior materials that had crumbled into
the ground. Gaps turned visible all over the island, which were in
the shape of things. But all he found were stones and muck, when he
searched for any remains.

He caught a glimpse of a wisp of smoke, but
he ignored it. The island had volcano vents, at its shore, further
up from the jungle. They were now positive that it was not a
Hawaiian island, or on the fault line there.

At the hill, a long object became
observable, within some bright yellow bush vegetation.

It definitely was not any form of building,
but it had the same material as everything else, left of the
civilization. It had a resemblance to a bus, but it had a perfectly
flat roof, and flat sides, which had window holes along them. It
had to be a form of transport.

There was no visible means of entering it,
and he searched through the bushes first, to try to find some type
of rail leading to it. But if it had been metal, it would have
corroded.

It was incredible how much the
landscape had changed. He could barely see anywhere a vehicle could
travel. He decided to look for its wheels, and he was mildly
surprised not to find any on it
–
or any places where they could have
been.

The others finally found a trace of an
entrance, under dirt, covering the end of it. Basinger fiddled with
its lock, and it automatically sprung open, with an engine sound,
which proved that there still was power in it. It was hopeless, but
it was worth investigating.

Its interior resembled a vehicle for
transporting goods, except for long seats that went along its
sides. He strolled along it, for six meters, to the front, to where
another seat went across its front. Its front had numerous switches
and dials.

It looked familiar, and Dexter sat at it, as
the others sat about him. They eagerly looked at its controls, and
he felt as though he were sitting in an old vehicle on a dump.

“
It is the right
size,
”
Burrell spoke tiredly,
“
but it is too heavy. If we were to find
another one, near the beach, it may make a good boat.
It
’
s
waterproof, and it
’
s made of this material
...!
”

“
They must have had
boats!
”
Basinger stated, looking out at the outside.
“
And it would be
an extremely good idea to search for one!
”

“
But will there be any of them about
here?
”
Burrell explained.
“
This place is empty!
”

“
It would still be a good idea to look
for one!
”

“
Where will we get sails for
it?
”
Selina
asked.

“
If we find one with power, we
wouldn
’
t
need to ... This thing may move
–
somehow!
”

“
Why do we need to travel by
sea?
”
Selina responded.
“
If there are flying machines, like that
lifting device, they may do everything that we
desire.
”

“
Exactly!
”
Dexter interjected.
“
A boat, even made
out of this material, can still sink
–
especially in a
storm!
”

He glanced about, and he started eating some
of his food.

In the dim light, coming through a window
hole, Basinger sketched a faint outline of something, on a piece of
animal skin, stretched over the seat.

“
If we could only build a
yacht,
”
Selina explained,
“
it would be fast and safe!
”

“
That
’
s a good idea!
”
Basinger replied,
captivated in his work.
“
However, I do not believe that we are capable
of producing one, with the materials that are available to us. But
we could of course make it as close to one as we can make
it!
”

Dexter agreed with him, by nodding, as he
recalled seeing a wooden fishing boat that he was sure they could
copy.

“
My uncle took me out in his
yacht,
”
Selina spoke sleepily to Burrell,
“
when I was at high school! He showed
me how easy it was to put it upright again
–
if it capsized
...!
”

“
Other boats can also be safely used
to travel around the world,
”
Basinger continued.
“
If they are built good
enough, they should withstand some of the worst storms
...!

“
We can make types of wooden bolts to
fix it together. We can also get a good supply of strong glue from
animal bones, and there are thick tar and rubber substances, which
can be obtained in vast amounts from some of the
trees!
”

“
What dimensions are we making
it?
”
Burrell enthusiastically enquired.

“
I
have
worked out the dimensions of
it!
”
Basinger swiftly answered, turning his head, to stare at
Burrell.
“
They are the dimensions needed to hold
everything that we need, including all the food supplies that we
need. So there are not any problems about that! It must be as
unsinkable as we can possibly make it!
”

After Basinger had finished drawing a rough
outline of it, he stood up, and he stepped back from it.

“
This will do, for the moment! We will
obviously have to do a lot more, more accurate,
plans!
”

For a few minutes, Basinger considered it,
and he shrugged his shoulders.

Dexter did not know what they were going to
finally achieve, but Basinger had already been searching for the
best materials to make it, and he had a vague idea of the type of
boat that it actually might turn out like, from the types of wood
that he had been considering.

They would still have to test the different
samples of wood, and evaluate their strength; and their being cut
and fixed together in various ways. They probably would separately
examine the samples, and they would give their different thoughts
about them.

Dexter had successfully made tools out of
the basic materials that they had found, which would cut and shape
the wood; and he thought of different designs of wooden benches
that he could easily make, to help cut the wood into various
sizes.

They would probably work together,
collecting the wood, but as the work progressed, they would prefer
to do the various jobs on their own, at various locations, and they
would regularly swap jobs, until they would be doing the work that
they preferred doing.

Once they had accumulated a good pile of
accurately cut wood, they would have to build a fire on the beach,
to heat the planks, then start bending them into the shape of the
hull; and carry out the rigorous work of fixing them together,
while putting a waterproof sealant between the junctions. They
might then test the caulked sections for their efficacy in
preventing water entering, and cover them in tar, from the
trees.

At night, they could make things for it,
such as slowly making the sails, by thinning especially tough
animal skins, which they could then sew together, and use a rubbery
tree substance to make waterproof.

He would do everything that he could to
prevent any leaks occurring to it. They could roll the hull down to
the water, on logs, and he could check it, for leaks, in the water.
He could also test its capabilities, and test it to find out what
modifications it might need. They could then use winches to return
it to the cliff edge.

Basinger
’
s sketch of it showed that he was
going to add an airtight cabin that would cover the majority of the
boat, to hold their supplies, and for them to use as their
quarters.

He would refuse to celebrate its completion
until they had fully tested it in the sea, with a heavy wind
blowing it fast through large waves.

Even though he had various clues, he was not
sure where he now was on the world. However, he knew what direction
Basinger would travel in, and that he would take them beyond the
other side of the island. He was sure that a Star Chamber was in
that direction, somewhere. Dexter was sure that he had seen faint
images there, behind the misty horizon, and he was sure that it was
the mainland.

Dexter observed Burrell pressing a control
lever, next to him, as he had been doing with the other machines in
the structure. However, he only realized what he had done when he
heard the entrance loudly shut behind them, and he felt the vehicle
lift into the air. It seemed to float over the ground.

Selina and Burrell stuck their heads through
the gap at the front, where some type of window had been. For a few
seconds, he thought about climbing out of it, through the gap, but
he stayed seated, watching the controls. Selina and Burrell joined
Basinger, behind him.

Half of the controls had long lines of
glowing switches.

Suddenly, Dexter recognized the
controls about him
–
from information that he had taken in from
the machine in the structure
–
it was the vehicle that he had seen there!
Moreover, he knew what switch would make it take them to the
structure, where a Star Chamber was; and he swiftly activated it,
before anyone objected to the idea.

A loud shudder furiously shook them up and
down, until they were gripping the seats. Then it finally calmed,
to a fast vibration.

To his surprise, the vegetation rattled
along its edges, and it broke free; and it rapidly increased its
velocity. Yet, to his astonishment, it plunged down the steep slope
of the hill, going down towards the shore.

Once the vehicle was going at an
unbelievable speed, they avoided looking outside, and held onto it.
He could not think straight, and he tried to think of a way of
stopping it if something went in its path.

Its wild movements, maneuvering about the
landscape, threw them from side to side; and, to his great
pleasure, the vehicle went over an area where he was sure a
building once had been, proving that it might not be just following
a route.

The vehicle finally decreased its velocity
to maneuver around an obstacle, which completely blocked its path.
He was now positive that some type of computer was steering it
around objects, but he was not positive where it was taking them,
and if they could ever return.

As it went along, he observed the scenery,
about its front, at every angle, but he was unable to recognize
anything. He had never seen the place before.

Areas of vegetation stretched out over vast
regions, and he saw familiar plants and creatures in them. He now
knew many new places where they could hunt the animals that they
wanted.

An area of small hills opened out, at its
front, and the sun shone, from behind some small clouds, lighting
everything. Suddenly, a dark figure of a creature moved through
some bushes. Its unusual movements and behavior grabbed his
attention, and he could not recall seeing it before, but it was
vaguely familiar.

As he attempted to remember, more of the
creatures appeared, from places about their sides. Some of them
were standing upwards, using their mouths to communicate. Yet what
startled him the most was the fact that some of them were wearing
animal skins.

They reminded him of a tribe of ape-men, but
it then became apparent that their heads were more like hairy
alligators, with dark green tints to their skin and hair.