Quantum Chaos (Quantum Series Book 5) by Douglas Phillips

Author:Douglas Phillips [Phillips, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-16T23:00:00+00:00

20

Survivor

Beets hauled a metal shroud up the ladder between decks, then started loosening bolts on the top deck ceiling. Though curious about this latest operation, Daniel had long since learned to keep some distance between himself and the cantankerous Chitza. Zeeno did much the same, watching from the cockpit steps.

The shroud resembled a cylindrical wastepaper basket hammered from sheet metal and left open at both ends. Electronic components formed a ring around its outside. A rather large battery pack had been hastily screwed in below the electronics.

They had already suffered through two more gravity waves, with Sprig announcing the severity each time. Trending up. Zeeno remained stoically unconcerned, while Daniel tried to figure out how to motivate Beets to move a notch faster than lethargic. He’d offered twice to help, only to be met by a cold stare which only slowed things down.

Beets stuffed several bolts into a vest pocket, then swung a ceiling hatch inward. She shoved the shroud up through the hatchway. “Give me a tension check, Aussik.”

“Clean and tight,” Aussik yelled back from the cockpit. “Our doodad is spot-on overhead. Just give your connector a shove.”

“Told ya,” Zeeno said in an aside to Daniel. He’d predicted his team would figure out how to connect to the tiny chunk of higher dimensional space hanging above them. Daniel imagined the magenta marble as something much larger, spreading spherically in a direction not visible but reachable with the right technology.

In the language of Edwin Abbott’s book, Flatland, A-Square was about to shove a specially angled tube into the ass-end of A-Sphere, who was floating just above the page.

“Pressure check,” Beets called out, staring into the shroud positioned overhead.

“Stand by,” Aussik said. “Pressure’s good. Try sticking your head up there.”

Beets motioned to Daniel to crouch under the shroud, then climbed up his leg like a four-year-old who turns their parent into a ladder. He didn’t mind. She had finally accepted his offer to help. Sitting around had only made him anxious for what they’d find up there.

When Daniel stood, Beets easily reached up through the shroud. Her head disappeared into nothingness. Her body simply stopped at her shoulders.

“I will never get used to this stuff,” Daniel said to himself.

The ship shook as a powerful gravity wave passed through. Daniel tightened his grip on Beets’ furry legs while doing his best to keep her back spines from pricking his face. The wobble in space passed.

Beets’ head reappeared when she crouched down, apparently none the worse for being temporarily decapitated. “I’ll need a rope,” she told Zeeno, then grumbled at Daniel. “Whatever you do, do not let go of me.”

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