Chapter Three (65 million years ago)

Alana approached the doors to her home. Those were the doors that had kept her imprisoned for most of her life. She cast a cautious glance back at Dar, who said

"If you want to go, go! I won't stop you! You've been cooped up in here to long. Go out! See the sun!"

Alana nervously pushed open the doors and stared down the corridor. At the other end was the platform she sought. Walking swiftly, she approached. On the broadcasts she had viewed in secret, she saw the platform, but had never been on it. Cautiously she placed one slender bare foot onto the cool flat stone. She placed the other one on as well and the symbols glowed blue. The platform sank slowly into the dark shaft and reached the bottom. The platform spun around and she walked, squinting, into the midday Huritatrean sunshine. Alana turned her pale face skyward and stretched out her arms. She bathed in the glory of her freedom. She heard a male clear his throat and when she opened her eyes she saw before her the handsomest boy she had ever seen.

He was about her age and slightly taller than she was. He had long brown hair that nearly fell into his eyes. His eyes engulfed her; they were the clearest blue she had ever seen. Alana was entranced

"I am sorry, I must look like a terrible fool."

"Quite the contrary, I am sorry for staring." Alana was reeling, he was very good looking and he had apologized to her. Alana had only received an apology once and it had only been mere minutes ago. Frantically her mind groped for words and she blurted out

"What is your name?"

"I am called Dintael. What are you called?" Alana shifted and said nothing. She didn't quite want to trust him yet. Not after what she had been through.

"Very well then, is there any way that I can assist you?" Dintael reached out a helping hand toward her. Alana stepped away, unsure of what it meant. When he looked confused Alana responded

"I'm sorry, I don't know of the significance of your outstretched hand." Alana shook her head and shied away. She was still getting used to the idea of friendly contact from men.

"All right, that is fine." Dintael dropped his hand to his side. A question popped up in Alana's head and burst out before she could stop it.

"Tell me one thing; have you ever seen the Great City, the one below the surface of the sea?"

"I live there, or I did. My father was transferred to this outpost."

"What is it like?" Excitement numbed her sharpened instincts

"Have you never seen the images?"

"The only part of the Great City I have seen is the broadcast room. Even so, that much I only saw on the data screen." Her conscience reprimanded her for speaking so much

"Great towers of stone rise from the ocean floor. The shield keeps the water from flooding into the city from above, and the city is kept perfectly level, so that the water below does not enter. There are small bays and lakes formed by openings in the stone, and the eight piers each face a direction of the Compass Rose. Underwater ships ferry people into and out of the city at all hours of the day. It is a wonder to behold." Questions whirled in her mind but she silenced her thoughts with a crushing foot. Before she blurted out anything else, she forced herself to say

"I have to go now." And with that she spun on her heel and scuttled away.

Later that day

Dintael sauntered back to his home. He swiped the card through the lock and waited for a small beep. When it came, he turned the small knob and opened the plain gray door to a barren gray living room. Taking off his coat, he tossed it over one chair and flopped down on another one sideways. He rested his head on one of the arms and his feet dangled over the other arm.

Staring up at the flat expressionless ceiling he thought about the girl he had met in the plaza. Her hair was as dark as a black hole and her eyes were bright emerald green. He thought there must be flecks of other colors in them. He couldn't get his mind of the confused way they had sparkled at everything.

Nonetheless, the mission had to be accomplished. He had a mission to himself to obtain knowledge and to use it. The girl had the look of the intelligent. She had a lucid mysteriousness about her that signified thought and a comprehensive mind. However, there was something odd about this one. She didn't seem to be up to date on the normal expectations of society.

He had to think of a plan. That was a specialty. Plans, hand-to-hand combat, and observation were his strengths. This plan would take more time than the others. He could tell already that she was independent. Plans were so much easier on worlds where the women were less enfranchised. All of the plans led to the same end. The willing transfer of knowledge, and then she would have to disappear. After all, he couldn't have an accusatory pawn floating around.

Dintael estimated that over the years he had collected knowledge from at least a dozen, probably more. Still, he was waiting for the trick that would hit the spot. The deception that would finally be entertaining appeared to have arrived. Dintael thought he had found it. The girl in the plaza had not told him her name, but he could find out. Also he waited for an idea that would allow him to retire richly.

Yes, he had found an interesting one, he just had to wait and see if she would pay off.