What if the Earth was the other way...?

5.A Golden Opportunity

Tony

A blast happens. Smoke fumes erupt in the sky from the direction of Lake Frens. The creature sprints away from us and the explosion, with a startled screech or whatever Hyelaphus, as Trevor and I gape at the brilliant orange and grey mixture.

"Let's hurry back." Trevor says as he grabs my hand and starts running towards the air locked door.

I was not used to running. Especially not with all the samples I collected and the oxygen bag attached to my back. It was comical. What took us half an hour, took us fifteen minutes now. He pushed me through the door and I fell face first on the levi-tile. 

Some soldiers were standing at the explosion site. Trevor seals the door and rushes towards me.

"I am sorry. Are you hurt?" 

"No." I say as I dust myself up. 

He looks at me from head to toe. Then he walked around me and at last nodded at me. He then removes his gear and helps me out of mine. 

I walk into the small room and change into my clothes. 

Trevor meets me and says, "We have some work to do in the banks of Frens. I hope you have everything you wanted from the crater."

I nod.

We part ways. I reach the research centre and give my team of chemists the sample and ask them to collect information from them.

It was really an exhausting day for me. I excuse myself and get back to my stay room to get an early nap.

Five days later, I am sipping tea and having delicious chunk balls on the couch, when I get a call from Professor Sundae.

I keep those pasty balls down and touch my wristband and Professor's voice pops out.

"Good day Tony. I have something important to tell you. Meet me at my office immediately."

"Sir." 

The wristband stops glowing. 

The wristband was a cutting-edge technology created by a group of young techs from Frenchi. It has been a smashing success and nothing has ever substituted that for the past two decades.

The band is customised in such a way that it suits you. Mine glows a blue shade and it is plane platinum coated. It was cheaper when there are no extravagant designs on them.

The wristband is actually called the Poignoit. It can help in communication with anyone wearing the band, but it only works inter-continent. It uses the same mechanism as what the brain does but in the form of radio waves.

I finish my breakfast, freshen up and by the 7th hour, I reach the research centre.

Engame International Research Centre (EIRC), is a two-storey building. It is the only building which has two stories in Engame. It is a thousand acres wide and it has five basement floors. The inside is equipped with state-of-the-art tech and a lot of departments. The rooftop is glass plated and is an in-build planetarium.

I have my personal office on the second floor, since I am the Assistant director of the building. 

I spend most of my time in the planetarium. It consists of interferometry telescopes which use sound frequencies to get images and also refracting telescopes.

The meteor shower that resulted in the 'Hawkian cluster', took months of observing but since this place makes me comfortable, it wasn't a burden.

I walk towards the Professor's office and see him staring at the computers at his desk.

The Professor's office consists of a desk and a lot of cups of coffee near the waste bin, six computers beeping and flickering and the Professor sitting in a rolling chair, calculating something.