One month later...

Benjamin Long rolled his wheelchair closer to the examination table. The table had been lowered to allow him to get as close as he could to it. The Object, as the military had colorfully codenamed it, rested on a white cotton cloth in the center. It made the opaque crystal appear even darker by contrast, nearly black. Benjamin rested his elbows on the edge of the table and stared at it. He thought he could see the red center if he looked at it from the corner of his eye. He saw his face reflected in one of its longer facets. He felt older than he looked. People often mistook him for being in his twenties but he was actually thirty-four. He felt fifty-four. He could see in his reflection the jagged scar on the side of his head. He tried to pull his hair over it but it was now too short. He cursed himself for not telling the barber about it. He had shaved and even gotten his long brown hair cut short just for today, but not for his first meeting with the Object.

"Has anyone seen Ms. Whelon?" Benjamin asked the others in the room.

There were three other scientists in the room, all selected by the military more for their security clearance than their academics. They were all busy at separate computer stations but looked up and shook their heads before going back to work. The only non-scientist present was General Mack. He walked towards Benjamin with his hands clasped behind his back, his chest out and his chin up. They had met for the first time yesterday over dinner with the other scientists and the general had been asking more questions than a college freshman on open door Tuesday. Despite his genuine enthusiasm over the project, General Mack did not hesitate to show he was through and through still a military man.

"We are waiting for Ms. Whelon to grace us with her presence, Mr. Long," said General Mack. "You know how women can be. Am I right?"

Benjamin suspected he and the general would have many different views on how women could be. "If she's entering the base the same way I had to, she's probably just getting through her fourth pat-down and security scan then putting all her scattered papers back in her folio, again."

The general's chin dipped a bit to level his gaze more at Benjamin. "Security is priority number one, Mr. Long. I'm intrigued about the possibilities of this project, but if it were up to me, no one outside the military would even know about this thing. The unknowns are too numerous to mention. You are only here because the President insisted. As far as I'm concerned, Claire Whelon's presence is an unnecessary risk."

"Really, general?" Benjamin reluctantly moved away from the Object to get in front of Mack. "The Object only responds to Ms. Whelon. Without her, what would you do with it. Blow it up? Or maybe bury it back under the sea where it was found."

Mack smirked, "Something like that. My intel tells me this thing was found in a crater that is suspected of killing off ninety percent of all life on Earth back in the dinosaur's time."

"That's one theory."

"That's the most popular theory. How do we know digging this thing back up won't cause that to happen again? It's already killed once. It's my duty to make sure that doesn't happen to anyone else."

Benjamin shifted in his chair, "If you mean Roger Trevant, we don't know the Object did anything. He died from a heart attack."

A woman's voice came from the door, "A seizure, actually, but it resembled a heart attack. Either way we were too far from anyone who could help. Strictly natural causes."

The general's chin went back up. "So they say, Ms. Whelon. Gentlemen, let's get to work." He stalked away, clapping his calloused hands for emphasis.

"Ass," Claire said then noticed Benjamin rolling towards her. "you were. As you were, general. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Benjamin said, "The general is a huge jack as you were."

Claire laughed. "Hi, Claire Whelton." She held out her hand. She wore white pants and a button-up shirt that was a shade darker. One side of the collar was still up. Her make-up was minimal if anything and the only jewelry she wore was a pair of gold lightning bolts for earrings.

Benjamin shook her hand. She looked exactly like he had pictured her. "Benjamin Long. I've wanted to meet you for a long time. I'm glad I finally get the chance, whatever the circumstance."

"Well, if you've read all the stories, there's not much more to tell."

"Which stories? I've read as many as I could."

"About the Object."

"There's that, yeah. But you've done so much more, too. Like when you went spelunking through Mayan ruins and found that wall of hands. Or how you helped out with the unmanned sub they're sending to Europa. Or when..."

"Whoa, slow down. I'm starting to think I need a vacation. I'm impressed. You've followed all that?"

Benjamin shrugged and smiled, "My friends say I've been sort of living through you for the past few years."

"Years? Well, I don't know what to say. I've heard of you, too, and your work. Seems you've done pretty well with your own life."

General Mack cleared his throat from across the room. "When you ladies are done chit-chatting we've actually got some work do to before mankind goes the way of the dinosaurs."

Benjamin nodded to the general and mumbled, "Ass you were, General."

Claire stifled a laugh then took Benjamin's proffered arm and followed him back to the table. She was only a step away from the Object when it came to life. A red light pulsed from its center.

Everyone froze and stared. It pulsed again and the room burst with activity.

"Stations, everyone," Mack barked as he paced, "I want readings and analysis of this thing. I want to know what that light is and why it turned on now. Ms. Whelon? Any new theories on your part? Now is the time to share them."

Claire let go of Benjamin's arm and put her tablet on the corner of the table. "I'm sorry, General. I haven't spent much time with the Object. In case you haven't noticed, access to it is rather restricted, even to me."

Benjamin inched as close as he could to the Object. "It's obviously responding to you, Claire. It's been dead since I've been here and now look at it."

The lab glowed faintly red every time the Object pulsed which was about every fifteen seconds. Several instruments were clustered together above it measuring everything from sound to temperature. One apparatus slowly circled the Object. Benjamin was not even sure what it was doing.

"Anything yet, boys?" Mack said to the scientists. "Come on, talk to me."

One by one they all responded negative.

Benjamin looked to Claire. "So what do we do?"

Claire tapped a fingernail against her teeth as she thought. "You know, there is one thing I don't think anyone has tried since we found it."

"What's that?"

Claire looked at Benjamin. "What I've warned everyone not to do." She reached forward and touched the Object.