Alex sought out Sarah afterwards, before they were to go down into the cave.
"I was hoping we would get a chance to talk, we have a lot to catch up on." enthused Sarah.
"How long has it been?" asked Alex.
"Ten years."
"That long? I take it I don't have to ask how Rick is doing."
"I guess you heard that Animal Planet picked up his show for two more seasons. After I get back from this, he'll be off filming the new season."
"How are Will and Holly?"
"Well Will is going to be attending Berkeley this fall."
"Really?" exclaimed Alex, "Well now I feel old. Is he following in his mother's footsteps?"
"Actually, he's managed to combine both of our specialties. He's taking paleontology. We're both really proud of him." beamed Sarah.
"And Holly?"
"Well she's become your typical sullen teenager. She's really smart, really good with computers, but completely unmotivated with school work, and around the house it's like having a heckler making constant sarcastic remarks about everything we do, living there. What about you? Is there anyone special in your life yet?"
Alex let out a sigh, "No, I'm pretty much married to my work. I don't see that changing, I think I'm a little too high maintenance for a relationship." Sarah laughed at that.
"So why me?" Alex said suddenly.
"Um, what do you mean?"
"Why am I here? I'm an astrophysicist. I've been working on dark matter, and super-string theory. Alien artifacts are a little out of my league."
Sarah pondered this for a moment, "It's out of everyone's league. We have no idea what we're dealing with here. There are no reputable experts in alien technology on this planet. We needed somebody that knows something about what is possible out there. I believe, as Rick is fond of saying, that this is right in your wheelhouse."
"I guess we shall see."
"Come on, it's time for you to see this thing in person. The photos don't do this thing justice."
They walked over to the drill site. Sarah stepped into the cage elevator while Alex's mind recalled the briefing as he watched her disappear into the darkness of the drill hole. The cave is approximately 120 metres below the surface. It takes approximately 30 seconds for the cage to descend or about one minute round trip. Only one person can travel at a time, which makes any evacuation difficult in the event of sudden disaster. Air is constantly pumped in while water is extracted to keep the chamber from flooding. No more than eight people will be allowed in the chamber at any one time. Kraus and Morton joined Alex as the elevator made its return. He stepped on it, feeling it sway on his weight. He took a quick glance at Kraus' face to see if he is as nervous about this as he is with flying, but it only showed anticipation. As the elevator started to descend, Alex wished he felt as confident. This isn't the first time he's gone underground. He's been to the neutrino detector in Sudbury up in Canada, and that's two kilometres down into the Earth. For some reason, this feels different.