The Menagerie 2 (Eden) by Rick Jones

Author:Rick Jones [Jones, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy, alien invasion, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Genre fiction, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Hive Collective
Published: 2013-06-27T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

When Alyssa Moore discovered the file, she did so by taking the most logical path. And since genius was in simplicity, she started with the obvious.

The first key she hit was the symbol of Mintaka, the sign ۝, which represented the brightest star in the Orion Belt, having the luminosity 90,000 times greater than the Earth’s sun and producing the greatest source of energy. From there she used the formulaic route of putting the proper sequence of known symbols and characters by the design of their syntax. In less than ten minutes she discovered the data reservoir regarding all things energy, including corresponding formulas and equations, schematics and designs, mathematical configurations and geometric blueprints—everything was a prodigious mosaic of facts.

She also learned that she could track files by dragging the page along the holographic tablet with her fingertip like flipping the page of an electronic book, the file showing up on the large screen as well.

Cuneiform symbols and archaic characters filled the screens along with schematics presumed to be machinery, their operations unknown.

On the fifth screen, after flipping through the files, was an overview floor plan of the Menagerie. From the vantage point of the diagram, she could see that the containment cells were patterned in a symbolic way to represent the configuration of stars within the Orion Belt. Each cell had been positioned on the floor to mark to the creature’s precise location within the Belt, its point of origin, with their placement serving as a structural map of the universe.

Those predators on the outskirts, those whose containment cells had been distanced from the main arena, were those beyond Orion’s Belt.

She flipped to the next page.

It was a facsimile of the previous page, that of the Menagerie. But this time there was a large Grid Sphere rotating in the center of the floor plan. The image glowed and pulsated in steady rhythm as it hovered above the floor.

Whitaker moved closer to the large screen. “That’s it,” he said. “That’s the source.”

“I don’t recall seeing an orb of any kind in the Menagerie,” said Goliath.

Whitaker concurred. That particular space within the Menagerie had always been, at least to memory, vacant. He turned to Alyssa. “Ms. Moore?”

“From what I can tell,” she started, “the enclosures are patterned to represent the placement of stars within Orion’s Belt. This particular orb, however, represents Orion’s major star, Mintaka. It’s the highest producing source of energy within the constellation.”

“But it doesn’t exist on this remnant,” said Savage. “Nobody has seen it.”

Alyssa stared at the pulsating globe on the screen. With more of an involuntary act driven by inborn curiosity, she reached out with her finger and placed it on the image of Mintaka. Almost immediately the lines of the globe began to turn into a nebula of bright gold, the flare of light reflecting off the faces of those surrounding the console.

“What’s happening?” asked Whitaker.

Alyssa fell back into her holographic chair and shook her head. “I don’t know.”

In the Menagerie, however, in the vacant area between the bins, the floor began to open.

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