“I did. It definitely wasn’t built by humans. The gap leads to the engine room and, incredibly, it seems to still be functioning, although perhaps in a standby state.”
Henry glanced at the small area of structure free from the ice, becoming more convinced of its unearthly origins. “If it’s been down here for thousands of years, it’s astounding that it’s still functioning.” He glanced at the side of the black hull, slightly distorted around the hole. “What condition is the ship in, structurally?”
“I’m no expert, but it seems fine.” Max pointed at the opening. “That’s the only damage I’ve seen. I think when the ship landed here the exhaust was torn off and the strut pulled away a piece of the hull plating.”
The others soon arrived and all eager to explore, they climbed inside.
The insect-size creature perched atop one of the many pipes and too small to be noticed by those below, studied the life-form with interest. Over the many years since the ship had landed on this planet, others of its kind had taken turns to act as sentry and warn of any changes that could affect them. The presence of these new life-forms was such an event. When more of them entered, it scampered along the pipe, up the wall and into an air vent. Its six tiny clawed feet barely made a sound on the metal from its hurried rush through the long tunnel. It turned a corner, headed toward the grill at the end and crawled out. It leapt onto the floor and crossed the small dark room. It climbed up onto a small control panel beside the bed chamber and jumped on a button. A door with a small window slid back to reveal the sleeping creature within. It clambered onto the creatures head and morphed into the form others of its kind had taken during its hibernation, and sent out an alert to wake the Mimic.
The team spent thirty minutes exploring the engine room. All were now convinced they were aboard an alien vessel, and they all marvelled at the engines design and the incredible power that would be necessary to lift the heavy ship.
After exploring the cavernous room, Jane said, “I guess we’ve found the cause of NASA’s anomaly.” She glared at Richard. “And it’s not a meteorite!”
Unconcerned he’d been proved wrong, Richard shrugged. In this instance he was glad to have been mistaken. He couldn’t believe his luck. Alien spaceship or not, he knew this discovery would capture the attention of the public far more than a meteorite. Even the subterranean cavern, the lake and any new life-forms found living in it were of more interest to the scientific community than the general public. This, whatever it is, would be front page news around the world. He imagined the headlines. Alien Spaceship discovered in Antarctica? or something similar. And to think he almost didn’t come. He’d make certain he received his fair share—or more—of recognition as one of its discoverers.
“The spaceship must be giving off some sort of shielding to affect NASA’S scan and to prevent it from detecting something metal lying buried in the ice,” said Max.
“A force-field?” said Theo.
Max shrugged. “Or a cloaking device.”
“I’m not sure about force-fields or cloaking devices, but though I was skeptical at first, everything in here looks alien to me,” said Lucy. “I know the Germans made many technological advances during the war, but nothing like this. If they had, surely they would rule the world by now.”
“Or even the universe,” added Eli, jokingly.
“I agree with Lucy,” said Max. “This thing is far more advanced than anything we’re capable of building today, and, unlike the Germans at that time, man has been into space. None of the rockets used have looked anything like this or on such a grand scale. I cannot even imagine the power required to lift this thing off the ground, let alone provide it with enough thrust to leave a planet’s atmosphere. Unquestionably, it has to be alien technology.”
“It was probably never meant to lift off from any planet,” said Eli. “I imagine a craft this size, of which we’ve only seen a small part and I suspect have a lot more to discover, would probably have been constructed in space where weight and size would not be such a problem.”
“I’d like to know why it’s here?” said Lucy.
Richard was becoming impatient, he wanted to move farther through the craft and start exploring. “Whatever speculations you come up with, until we investigate and take a look around, they’ll remain just that. We need to begin our search. Only then will our questions be answered. Whether it’s built by Nazis, someone else, or aliens, it’s still the find of the century.”
“Though it pains me to say so, for once, I agree with Richard,” said Jane.
“But none of us are qualified,” argued Henry. “We’re not space scientists or rocket engineers. Our fields of specialty are concerned with geology, ice and microbes, not spaceships.”
Looks of disappointment spread over the team.
“But we have to explore,” said Max. “If it turns out to be something constructed by an alien race, just imagine what advanced technology lies inside and the benefits they could bring to the scientific community. It could advance so many areas of our knowledge by hundreds or thousands of years.”
“What we might learn in the next few days might enable humans to travel to other worlds far sooner than anyone expected,” added Theo. “I believe it’s our destiny to enter this spaceship for the benefit of mankind.”
“Or its destruction,” said Jack, realizing that exploring might not be such a good idea. “An alien craft might carry alien germs that could wipe out the human race.”
“Like the Spaniards did to the Incas,” said Lucy. “Around ninety-five percent of them died from European diseases.”
“Even though I’m reluctant to explore further, I’m sure that won’t be the case here,” said Henry. “If an alien race was advanced enough to build a craft capable of crossing the vast reaches of space, I’m certain they would likewise be advanced medically. I would think if any germs were going to harm any species, it would be ours harming them.”
“I understand your concerns, Henry,” said Jane, “but this discovery has been thrust upon us all. The raging storm above prevents us from calling in outside experts or help. The ice rift that at any moment could break off and take this ship with it until it slips beneath the sea forces a time limit upon us. If we don’t document as much as we can in the limited time available, no one will and then it’ll be lost forever.”
“Perhaps you’re right, Jane. Don’t get me wrong, I’m keen to discover more about this vessel and its secrets, but I know how quickly events in the Antarctic can turn against you. However, if we’re all in agreement to explore the ship, then I’ll be a willing participant.”
Everyone was and they searched for an exit to lead them deeper into the interior.
Jack wandered to one end of the room, wondering what they’d find when they explored the craft. His eyes darted to every new piece of strange machinery he encountered and each time he wondered as to its function. He reached a wall and moved along it, halting at a large shape set in the wall. It looked like a door and the exit they searched for. The door, segmented into four parts, was three yards high and two wide. He found the button to operate it set in a panel beside the door, slightly higher than the normal height for humans, an indication along with the door size that the crew was taller than them. Though he didn’t expect the door to open, he pressed one of the buttons. The four parts of the door slid back into the wall with a metallic rasp, loud enough to capture the others’ attention and lure them over to investigate.