CHAPTER 1

The early-April, afternoon sun beat down on his straw wide-brim as he stared at the object before him. He could not believe what he was looking at. He could not deny it however; there it was, right in front of him, plain as day. Yet he still could not bring himself to believe it. Dr. Arlen Cain had just made the greatest discovery of the 22nd century, but even as he told himself that, he still could not believe it. He stood there in a hole four feet below regular ground level in the middle of his archaeological dig site, completely dumbfounded. Despite the 110-degree heat, he was shivering from excitement. He merely stood there; staring at the still ninety-percent buried object in the ground in front of him. He knelt once more to reread the warning he had just uncovered that had confirmed the find. It read:
"DANGER! The content contained within is an untested prototype. Do NOT attempt to open unless the diagnostic status lights are green. If released early, this prototype could be more dangerous than anything the world has ever seen. Signed, Dr. Thomas Light"
It's all true, he thinks. The rumors were true, after the Robot Wars of the 21st century Light created one final masterpiece before he died, and it's in this capsule. He had the proof and it was right there in front of him. Finally, Dr. Cain came out of his reverie and called to his teaching assistant. "Erik. ERIK! Quickly now, contact the university! Tell them to send out the heavy excavation equipment! I just found the 'Lost Invention of Dr. Light'!" "The what?!" Erik gaped. Suddenly forgetting the map of Area 40A and his confusion over how he could have grabbed the wrong map, he sprinted from the support tent to the hole, gasping and panting when he finally arrived, despite the short distance.  

"Did you just say the lost invention?"

"No, of course not Erik," Cain deadpanned as he turned to face Erik. "Yes, of course you nitwit, why would I make this up?!" Spinning quickly to face the capsule again he continued, "Now quickly, contact the university and then get back here. This is obviously Light's 'secret' lab, that's why it wasn't on your map. There must be more artifacts here, now hurry!" Cain knelt again and began to brush away dirt from the exposed portion of the object, intermittently checking his palm-top sonar device so he could begin to outline the objects dimension for excavation.

Erik breathed a sigh of relief as he rushed back to the tent. I wonder when I should finally tell him that I took the wrong map from the library's resource room? he mused.  No sooner had he reached the tent, Erik had his two-way in hand and was choosing the dean's frequency. "Dean Hamner," he didn't wait for a reply. "I need excavating equipment to dig site Area 40A, sector 46E right away." The dean's voice came back instantly, "Dr. Cain? It's too late in the day for that, contact me in the morning." "Dean, sir, this is his TA, Erik Norder, and I think you'll change your mind when you hear this. Four words sir: 'Dr. Light's Lost Invention'."
****
Not one hour later, the excavation team has arrived. Very carefully, plasma cutters are used to clear dirt from around the main artifact where Dr. Cain had marked off the dimensions. Within two hours, the lab's entire perimeter is mapped out and uncovered and within three hours, the capsule was completely exposed and carefully lifted out of its hole. By this time, lights were brought in to ward off the coming night; not one person wanted to leave until there was nothing left to find. Finally, by two o'clock the next morning, what was left of the laboratory walls were uncovered, and Dr. Cain's palm-top, and his full-size, sonar devices showed that there were no more artifacts to be found. Among the objects uncovered were various ancient computer systems and robotics tools, the remains of what appeared to be some type of mechanics robot, and an ancient optical computer disc labeled only with a bold "X". The capsule, which was removed first but left to be inspected last, was massive. It stood 14 meters tall and 8 meters wide. Just below the warning, which was posted near the top and just to the side of what appeared to be a door was a screen displaying a running diagnostic. It was moving too fast to be completely understood, but every status light it showed were green, and of the two lights directly above the "door", the red light was off, the green light was on. With the dig finally complete, Dr. Cain and Erik returned to their quartering tent and attempted to rest as the university's excavation crew packed up their equipment and ventured home. Erik, who never had the energy for a dig quite as important as this, he had hoped to return to the university and find the correct map, fell right to sleep. Dr. Cain however did not, and spent the rest of the night wondering what the giant capsule contained, and where he was going to find an optical disc reader that was almost 100 years old. Finally, just before the sun came up, Dr. Cain could hold out no longer and fell asleep.