Chapter Seven (65 million years ago)

The young scientist documented everything she discovered on the disc and after about ten weeks the experiment was ready for testing. Sensors from the buildings of old doors were easy to find. Her nimble fingers had whisked them away, in addition to the newer, more powerful sensors from unimportant doors in government buildings. After tying all the sensors together, each one represented a different constellation on a small naquadah keypad. A moving image capture device was set up and Alana left it pointed at the device on her research desk. The captured imagery would immediately be transmitted and stored in the matrix disc.

Alana put the other ring in her bag along with the keypad and departed for the transport station. The trip again took only a short while and she stood outside the transport station on the planet in the neighboring system. Once took the ring out of her bag, she set it upright on small stilts. Using a narrow pointer, she tapped the star arrangements she had captured from the Huritatrean night sky in on the pad and watched the indicator lights activate. The engage button was pressed and a small vortex erupted from the middle of the circle. She gently pressed a finger to the rippling energy and felt a cool sensation of nothingness. A folded up piece of paper was prepared for the test. With her forefinger, Alana placed it through the watery illusion. Pressing the disengage button, the rippling surface disappeared and she got on the transport home. Alana burst through the door to her home and saw the scrap of paper sitting next to the ring she had set up on her desk. She took the active matrix disc and placed it in the terminal. On the screen appeared an image of the ring activating and the small piece of paper popping through. She smiled and exclaimed in spite of herself.

The next day she met Dintael for lunch again.

"I figured it out!"

"What did you figure out?"

"Remember that idea I had? The one about the transportation?"

"Yes of course, how could I forget?"

"I made it work!"

"How did you do it?"

"Ten weeks, a lot of scavenging, research and brain-power."

"You actually figured out how to transport matter from one point to another?"

"Yes."

"That's wonderful!"

"I only tested something inanimate, and I will use an insignificant animal for living matter transport, something like a snail."

"I am very proud of you. Honestly I expected you to attempt it, but I never thought you would succeed."

"For a while I did not think so either."

"Where did you store your research?"

"A disc of my own design."

"What did you call it?"

"Active Matrix, it contains every encryption that my terminal uses, so the changing cipher matches the decode information and voila!"

"Really?"

"Yes, why do you ask so many questions?"

"I don't know, I guess that I am proud of you."

"I believe that I love you."

"Don't waste your life too fast. It was only when my parents were our ages that this was the prime time to be married. Enjoy yourself more. You obviously love what you do."

"I am going to submit my idea to the science council."

"I am happy for you."

"You don't sound that way."

"Do I?"

"Indeed."

"I do not understand why I would. I am genuinely happy that after being locked up you are finally free."

"Would I not be free as a spouse?"

"Yes, of course, but you would only be able to do what we have done with me, you would not be able to explore being courted by other men."

"Who says that I even want to?"

"What does your heart say?"

"My heart says that I love you, but my mind still has a few issues to work out. It is quite an interesting battle.