It doesn't read as anything special," junior tech Petran said as he passed a hand-held scanner over the fragment that now lay on the examination table of the large high-powered scope.
.
"I know," replied Huron "but I'm telling you this is like nothing the Cylons have used before."
"So they're using a different manufacturing process. I don't see what all the fuss is about." The junior tech shrugged his shoulders and set the scanner down.
"Are you so blind to what's in front of you, Petran!" Huron snapped, irritated at the tech's manner. Petran was a sore spot for Huron. He had been given the post of junior assistant tech to Wilker's labs before the position had even been posted; a position Huron would have given his two eyeteeth for; a position he had not even been given a chance at. It wasn't fair and Huron resented Petran his position. It also hadn't helped Huron's feeling any to realize how much more he knew than Petran did.
"Okay that's enough!" Dr Wilker's normally tenor voice dropped an octave as he looked up from the main viewer of the scope and chastised the two combatants. "Huron, I know this is a unique sample and Petran, you will learn that just because something isn't made up of a new unknown type of metal, doesn't mean it can't be new and different. Considering what we are looking for, we'd be fools not to investigate any usual find and this is definitely unusual." Walker peered again through the eyepiece of the scope he had been using before he was interrupted.
"Amazing! This sample has been fused with hundreds of circuits." He changed the focal length of his lens and the image he was looking at, also projected onto the wall monitor, changed. "All the external circuitry that you can see is interconnected throughout the metal fragment It's as if the fragment is a kind of giant circuit board."
"What do you think it does?" Huron asked
"I have no idea. This is only a small fragment of an obviously larger combination of circuitry." The doctor sat back and look up from the scope. "Yes, Huron I think you many have found a bit of new Cylon technology, but what it did we may never know unless we can find a larger section of it."
"I doubt we'll find anymore considering the damage it did but I'll let the crews know what to look for"
Wilker motioned to his senior assistant who had been watching the wall monitor intently. "Jamison, let's hook this up to a power source and see what, if anything, these circuits will do."
Turning around Wilker noticed Petran, still standing near the fragment, glaring sidelong at Huron, who for his part was doing his best to pretend Petran didn't exist. Inwardly he sighed. He could see the animosity growing between the two techs. Wilker sighed again. Petran would make a good repair tech but he didn't have the creative aptitude needed for the more unconventional projects that Wilker's labs routinely worked on. Huron on the other hand, had a massively creative mind and would have been an asset to Wilker's team if he'd been given permission to apprentice the bright tech. But, he lost the chance. Petran had been forced on Wilker in a deal he made with the Council. Wilker was granted permission to conduct experiments on an active captured Cylon centurion in return for apprenticing Councillor Yogan's son. The problem was Petran just didn't have what it took for the position and Huron did - and Petran knew it. Wilker's deal was becoming a hard price to pay. "Petran why don't you finish the repair on the oscillator Salik brought in."
"Why can't I work on this with you and Jamison? I am capable!"
"Petran, I will not get into this discussion with you again. When I took you on as an junior assistant I told you that I would chose the assignments for you to work on, not you. Now, Salik needs that oscillator and Life Center 's equipment is just as important as this. More so really, especially if this provides to be useless to us."
Petran reluctantly headed for the door but paused and looked back at Wilker "I wonder if repairing broken medical equipment was what my father had in mind when he assigned me here?" Then before Wilker could respond he turned and left.
"I wonder if his father knew what a pain in the astrum his son was when he "assigned" him here, far away from himself," Jamison stated in his calm unconcerned way.
Wilker who was still standing shocked at the implied threat from 'his' assistant turned toward Jamison. As what his senior assistant said sunk in Wilker let out his anger and sighed. "Yes, I think he did. I wonder what I ever did to that particular Councillor to earn his wrath?"
"What are you two talking about?" Huron asked, confused and angered at Petran's manner and their lack of response to it.
Chuckling to himself now Wilker waved his hand dismissing Petran. "Nothing, nothing. While you're here, Huron, why don't you help Jamison and me with your discovery."
Jamison carefully hooked up two electrodes to opposite ends of the fragment then stood back. "Ready?" he asked. Wilker made some final adjustments on his scope then nodded his head at Jamison to activate the electrodes. At first there was no response but as Jamison slowly turned up the power they all began to feel a pressure behind their ears and soon a rattling sound came from the fragments. Wilker peered closer at the piece through the scope. He quickly realized that the piece was moving, vibrating with increasing velocity as the power was turned up.
"Hold it here Jamison and hand me a scanner." The pressure behind his ears was becoming very uncomfortable as Wilker passed the hand held scanner across the fragment. The scanner's power levels fluctuated and Wilker absently reminded himself to chastise Petran for not retuning it to its recharger. As he scanned the fragment he noted that the readings did not appear to have changed from his previous scans.
"Turn it up a bit more Jamison." When the power went up Wilker dropped the scanner he held and grabbed at his head as the pressure behind his ears violently turned into a sharp stabbing pain. The fragment skittered across the table as if alive and flew off the edge pulling loose from the electrodes and hit the floor with a loud clatter.
___________________
"What was that?" Petran cried out as he ran back into the room. All three of the occupants were holding a hand to their heads. Wilker was on his knees on the floor, Jamison was standing unsteadily near the main monitor and Huron was pushing himself away from the wall. "Hey, are you all alright?" Petran went over to Wilker and helped him up and into a chair.
"Thank you, Petran." Wilker was surprised at the concern he saw on the face before him. "I think we were lucky you used short cords on those electrodes, Jamison."
"Very lucky I'd say." Jamison gratefully sank into a chair. "A few more centons of that and I think I would have passed out."
"I'm sure I would have," Huron murmured as he shakily walked over to the fragment that now lay motionless on the floor. He grabbed at the table and noted that his equilibrium seemed to have deserted him.
"What happened?" asked Petran, his dislike of Huron momentarily gone as he pulled out a third chair and mentioned to Huron to sit.
Nodding his thanks Huron sat. "I think it was the sound waves."
"It wasn't making any audible noise..." Wilker started.
"They were ultrasonic," Huron interrupted.
"Iit was vibrating on the table." Wilker bent over to pick up his dropped scanner then though better of it as a wave of dizziness washed over him. "Jamison, did the main scanner get a reading before it pulled itself free of the electrodes?"
"Let me check," Jamison swiveled in his chair and punched up the recorded images. "Yes. The main scanner was recording, though the scan looks bad."
"Bad scan?" Doctor Wilker placed his hand over his eyes in an attempt to stop the room from spinning around him.
"Yes, it's full of interference," Jamison replied as he tried to clear up the scan.
"Interference? Sound interference! That's how they did it." Huron looked back at the fragment that now lay eerily quiet on the floor.
.
"I know," replied Huron "but I'm telling you this is like nothing the Cylons have used before."
"So they're using a different manufacturing process. I don't see what all the fuss is about." The junior tech shrugged his shoulders and set the scanner down.
"Are you so blind to what's in front of you, Petran!" Huron snapped, irritated at the tech's manner. Petran was a sore spot for Huron. He had been given the post of junior assistant tech to Wilker's labs before the position had even been posted; a position Huron would have given his two eyeteeth for; a position he had not even been given a chance at. It wasn't fair and Huron resented Petran his position. It also hadn't helped Huron's feeling any to realize how much more he knew than Petran did.
"Okay that's enough!" Dr Wilker's normally tenor voice dropped an octave as he looked up from the main viewer of the scope and chastised the two combatants. "Huron, I know this is a unique sample and Petran, you will learn that just because something isn't made up of a new unknown type of metal, doesn't mean it can't be new and different. Considering what we are looking for, we'd be fools not to investigate any usual find and this is definitely unusual." Walker peered again through the eyepiece of the scope he had been using before he was interrupted.
"Amazing! This sample has been fused with hundreds of circuits." He changed the focal length of his lens and the image he was looking at, also projected onto the wall monitor, changed. "All the external circuitry that you can see is interconnected throughout the metal fragment It's as if the fragment is a kind of giant circuit board."
"What do you think it does?" Huron asked
"I have no idea. This is only a small fragment of an obviously larger combination of circuitry." The doctor sat back and look up from the scope. "Yes, Huron I think you many have found a bit of new Cylon technology, but what it did we may never know unless we can find a larger section of it."
"I doubt we'll find anymore considering the damage it did but I'll let the crews know what to look for"
Wilker motioned to his senior assistant who had been watching the wall monitor intently. "Jamison, let's hook this up to a power source and see what, if anything, these circuits will do."
Turning around Wilker noticed Petran, still standing near the fragment, glaring sidelong at Huron, who for his part was doing his best to pretend Petran didn't exist. Inwardly he sighed. He could see the animosity growing between the two techs. Wilker sighed again. Petran would make a good repair tech but he didn't have the creative aptitude needed for the more unconventional projects that Wilker's labs routinely worked on. Huron on the other hand, had a massively creative mind and would have been an asset to Wilker's team if he'd been given permission to apprentice the bright tech. But, he lost the chance. Petran had been forced on Wilker in a deal he made with the Council. Wilker was granted permission to conduct experiments on an active captured Cylon centurion in return for apprenticing Councillor Yogan's son. The problem was Petran just didn't have what it took for the position and Huron did - and Petran knew it. Wilker's deal was becoming a hard price to pay. "Petran why don't you finish the repair on the oscillator Salik brought in."
"Why can't I work on this with you and Jamison? I am capable!"
"Petran, I will not get into this discussion with you again. When I took you on as an junior assistant I told you that I would chose the assignments for you to work on, not you. Now, Salik needs that oscillator and Life Center 's equipment is just as important as this. More so really, especially if this provides to be useless to us."
Petran reluctantly headed for the door but paused and looked back at Wilker "I wonder if repairing broken medical equipment was what my father had in mind when he assigned me here?" Then before Wilker could respond he turned and left.
"I wonder if his father knew what a pain in the astrum his son was when he "assigned" him here, far away from himself," Jamison stated in his calm unconcerned way.
Wilker who was still standing shocked at the implied threat from 'his' assistant turned toward Jamison. As what his senior assistant said sunk in Wilker let out his anger and sighed. "Yes, I think he did. I wonder what I ever did to that particular Councillor to earn his wrath?"
"What are you two talking about?" Huron asked, confused and angered at Petran's manner and their lack of response to it.
Chuckling to himself now Wilker waved his hand dismissing Petran. "Nothing, nothing. While you're here, Huron, why don't you help Jamison and me with your discovery."
Jamison carefully hooked up two electrodes to opposite ends of the fragment then stood back. "Ready?" he asked. Wilker made some final adjustments on his scope then nodded his head at Jamison to activate the electrodes. At first there was no response but as Jamison slowly turned up the power they all began to feel a pressure behind their ears and soon a rattling sound came from the fragments. Wilker peered closer at the piece through the scope. He quickly realized that the piece was moving, vibrating with increasing velocity as the power was turned up.
"Hold it here Jamison and hand me a scanner." The pressure behind his ears was becoming very uncomfortable as Wilker passed the hand held scanner across the fragment. The scanner's power levels fluctuated and Wilker absently reminded himself to chastise Petran for not retuning it to its recharger. As he scanned the fragment he noted that the readings did not appear to have changed from his previous scans.
"Turn it up a bit more Jamison." When the power went up Wilker dropped the scanner he held and grabbed at his head as the pressure behind his ears violently turned into a sharp stabbing pain. The fragment skittered across the table as if alive and flew off the edge pulling loose from the electrodes and hit the floor with a loud clatter.
___________________
"What was that?" Petran cried out as he ran back into the room. All three of the occupants were holding a hand to their heads. Wilker was on his knees on the floor, Jamison was standing unsteadily near the main monitor and Huron was pushing himself away from the wall. "Hey, are you all alright?" Petran went over to Wilker and helped him up and into a chair.
"Thank you, Petran." Wilker was surprised at the concern he saw on the face before him. "I think we were lucky you used short cords on those electrodes, Jamison."
"Very lucky I'd say." Jamison gratefully sank into a chair. "A few more centons of that and I think I would have passed out."
"I'm sure I would have," Huron murmured as he shakily walked over to the fragment that now lay motionless on the floor. He grabbed at the table and noted that his equilibrium seemed to have deserted him.
"What happened?" asked Petran, his dislike of Huron momentarily gone as he pulled out a third chair and mentioned to Huron to sit.
Nodding his thanks Huron sat. "I think it was the sound waves."
"It wasn't making any audible noise..." Wilker started.
"They were ultrasonic," Huron interrupted.
"Iit was vibrating on the table." Wilker bent over to pick up his dropped scanner then though better of it as a wave of dizziness washed over him. "Jamison, did the main scanner get a reading before it pulled itself free of the electrodes?"
"Let me check," Jamison swiveled in his chair and punched up the recorded images. "Yes. The main scanner was recording, though the scan looks bad."
"Bad scan?" Doctor Wilker placed his hand over his eyes in an attempt to stop the room from spinning around him.
"Yes, it's full of interference," Jamison replied as he tried to clear up the scan.
"Interference? Sound interference! That's how they did it." Huron looked back at the fragment that now lay eerily quiet on the floor.