Outcasts of Gideon

Coming Around

Kishan studied Doctor Daris's face as she prepared the laser. She said it was a last resort, a final attempt to sample the alien object. If if failed, they'd have to wait for better facilities. He assumed that meant Earth, but circumstances might make that impossible.

He'd seen enough to know this object wasn't made from common materials. Despite this, he still refused to accept that it was of alien origin. His experiences had often brought him within the orbit of the seemingly inexplicable. Floating phaethonium was a recent example. That didn't mean every mystery required an extraterrestrial solution.

Lieutenant Ulkos remained with him on that last point. Neither man was willing to reach the conclusion that the device was extra-solar in origin. Kishan wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. The more he learned about the Lieutenant, the more he found in common with him. This led him to question himself more than anything else.

The Doctor lined the laser up with a corner of the object. She pushed her assistant aside, placing her head close to the device. She raised her glasses, studying the targeted site. Lowering her glasses, she repeated the analysis. Finally shaking her head, she backed away and activated the mechanism.

The bright beam burned within centimeters of the object. Doctor Daris moved it until it appeared to pierce the metal. There she held the laser stationary. The object absorbed the light. Nothing emerged from the other side. She moved the device further, the laser sliding across the strange material. When the laser reached the end of the object, she shut it down. "It's the damnedest thing." She lifted her glasses, resting them on top of her head. "We're gonna need a more powerful laser."

Kishan backed away, glancing at the Lieutenant. The older man looked back, blowing air through his lips. Kishan turned to the doctor. "Is there any material you know of that could withstand that?"

"You saw it. It seemed to absorb the light. No, I've never seen anything like it." She reached her hand toward the object, very nearly coming into contact with it. "It doesn't even seem hot."

"And you think more power will make the difference?"

"To be honest, I never expected to get to this point. We've tried many of the most advanced techniques. I'm only guessing that a more powerful laser will have a different result. For all I know, the damn thing is eating the light, spitting it out somewhere else."

"Couldn't be something like dark matter, could it?" asked the Lieutenant.

"Dark matter remains just a theory." Doctor Daris began to take the laser apart. "I suppose we can't rule it out."

A sudden commotion erupted from above. Kishan looked up to see someone descend the ladder into the lab. When her head cleared the hatch, he saw that it was Cara. She stopped near the top of the ladder and scanned the room. "Has anyone seen Dewey?" she shouted through tears.

"He went up with Dawn a few minutes ago," said Kishan.

"No, he's not up there." Cara cleared the ladder and began a frantic search of the lab.

"He didn't come back down here."

"He disappeared. He was there, then he was gone."

Doctor Daris went over to console Cara. Above them, a pair of boots appeared at the top of the ladder. Kishan recognized them as Dawn's. Clearing the hatch, she scanned the room as Cara had done. Her eyes settled on Kishan. "He just disappeared."

"You mean he went somewhere?"

"I mean he was floating in front of me and whoosh." Dawn landed hard on the floor of the lab.

"Whoosh?"

"He didn't make a sound. He just vanished."

Kishan suppressed the urge to tell her that was impossible. He could see the tension in her eyes. "We'll help you look for him."