14/1/2002 Title: City of Light Chapter: 2 Author: Squeezynz@free.net.nz Universe: Land of the Giants Rating: PG Adventure Spoilers: teeny weeny ones, maybe. Archive: Sure, just let me know where. Feedback: Yes please, flames cook my sausages. Disclaimer: No mine, never were, all IA's...but I had fun. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They reached the boundary of the forest after an easy tramp through the unnaturally quiet trees. Betty had commented early on that there seemed to be fewer birds than usual. Dan had observed that the animal trail they were following had no fresh tracks. Steve kept his imagination under control and refrained from comment. They found a small knoll to use as a lookout, Dan climbed up and quickly signalled the others to join him. After climbing up they all stood and stared. " Okay....any ideas ?" asked Dan. They were looking down on the cleared area that surrounded the base of the dome. In the daylight it looked suspiciously normal, if such a thing was possible on this planet. About twenty feet from where they stood, towering over them was a galvanised chain-link fence, topped with what looked like razor wire, from their perspective. The links were quite small by Giant standards, as if to stop anything bigger than a Giant sized rat. " See any signage anywhere ?" Betty asked, craning to see in each direction. " We should test it incase its electrified." Dan suggested. Mark nodded and grabbing a baseball sized rock and hurled it against the fence. The rock arced away and hit the fence near the base, bouncing off without provoking any reaction. " I don't hear a hum or any other sign of the fence being wired." said Mark. " Lets get closer, but don't touch the fence until we check it again." Steve cautioned. They worked their way down the slope, sliding near the bottom on the loose soil. As they reached the fence Valerie made another pertinent observation. " Why is the vegetation all the same height ?" They looked past the chain-link at the cleared area beyond the fence. At first glance it appeared as if the low growth was being cut off at just above their own height. " I don't see any mowing strips, or clippings." said Betty. " That bush top looks almost.....scorched." murmured Dan. " Let's test the fence before we start worrying about the rest." Steve ordered. Mark attached an insulated clip to the wire, the other end plugged into a volt meter. " Nothing showing up here, Steve...looks all clear." " Okay, lets proceed with caution, anything happens, get yourself back to the fence and the ship...understood ?" Everyone nodded. Steve eased himself through the bottom link, then turned to help Betty with passing the packs through the hole. Dan went through next followed by Betty, then Mark and finally Valerie. They stood on the other side, craning their necks back to take in the enormous slope of the dome rising above them. " Keep close and stay sharp." said Steve. They started to cross the cleared area, pushing through the stunted growth that still flourished despite having its top taken off. Mark tried to examine one of the leaves by reaching up but Steve warned him back. " We don't know what's keeping it all short, don't take any unnecessary risks, Mark." cautioned Steve. Mark gave him a look but pulled his hand back. They carried on walking until they were right up to the wall. " Fan out and see if there are any openings, drains, vents or anything." They separated, Dan and Betty taking one side, Valerie and Mark the other. Steve stayed by the wall, pulling out his radio and thumbing the switch. " Steve to Fitzhugh....come in Windsifter." " Fitzhugh here Captain Burton....any progress ?" " We've reached the wall of the dome, the other's are looking for an entrance, I'll check in again when we get inside. Anything to report at the ship ?" " We finished the cover-up. Other than the forest seeming to be empty of any life, apart from us...nothing to report." " Well keep alert Fitzhugh, no sleeping on the job." " As if I would, and I resent the inference." Fitzhugh huffed. " Alright Fitzhugh, just keep alert, okay ?" " No problem Steve...Fitzhugh over and out." Steve thumbed off his radio. He looked to his left and saw Mark and Valerie, jogging towards him. Dan and Betty had still to report back. " We think we've found something...come and check it out." said Valerie. " We'll wait for Dan and Betty to get back." said Steve. Mark and Valerie turned to look at the wall, Valerie trying to peer through the thick glass. " Wish they washed their windows more often..can't see a damn thing." She remarked. " The beams appear to be made of a metal plastic polymer...very advanced Steve. I'd need to do tests but I don't think we've come across this before." Mark tried to gouge out a sample with his knife. " Well take what you can, here come Dan and Betty." said Steve. " Sorry Steve...nothing this way..just endless wall." said Dan. Betty came up behind him. " Nothing, not a drain or vent to be seen." "Never mind, Mark and Val found something, lets get going." They jogged along, following Mark and Valerie. They could see something sticking out of the wall. " It appears to be a drain, nothing in it to indicate what it drains, but its dry and big enough for us to use." said Mark, standing back to let the others take a look. " Good enough for me...you lead the way Mark." Steve stood back to let the others go in, taking the rear for a change. They travelled down the dark tube, feeling their way when the light faded completely. Eventually they saw a circle of light, the end of the tunnel. Mark paused before reaching the end, wanting to assess what was beyond the pipe before proceeding. Steve worked his way past the others to join him. " See anything ?" Steve asked. " I haven't seen anything or heard anything, its weird Steve." " Maybe its a deserted part of the complex...lets go see." Mark and Steve eased themselves out of the drain hole, both men looking in different directions. " All clear this side." said Mark. " Same here...okay, everyone out." Steve reached down to give Betty a hand out of the drain. Valerie and Dan followed quickly, coming to stand next to the others as they stared around at the sight in front of them. They appeared to have come out onto a concourse, paved with tarmac and edged with smooth concrete. The domed ceiling stretched out of sight into a bright void, they shaded their eyes but couldn't see the roof. The buildings across the road were like nothing they'd seen before. They rose in spires and tall towers, disappearing into the haze of distance. The lower buildings were rounded and sparsely decorated, almost austere in their appearance, but not functional, more whimsical. Great soaring arches leapt from building to building, having no apparent purpose except to adorn and beautify. The whole effort was of lightness and space. Whoever had designed the concept had wanted clean lines and a clarity of colour. They had accentuated the whole effect with the glass dome fracturing the sunlight like a prism and spilling soft, bright light over everything. " It's awe inspiring..." breathed Betty, as she twisted and turned, trying to see everything at once. Valerie could see lush green shrubs and trees between the buildings, hinting of an oasis of peace. Again the lack of sound or movement cast an eerie pall over the beautiful vision. " Where is everyone...there must be people here, where are they ?" she whispered. Steve didn't tease her for whispering, the strange silence made him want to whisper as well. They moved further away from the drain, spreading out, keeping a close watch for any sign of movement from anything. They reached the other side of the concourse, climbing onto the footpath, and fetching up against an ornately carved metal railing. They looked out over the town scape, seeing more graceful spires and lofty turrets, seemingly stretching to the roof of the dome like flowers reaching for the sun. " What do we do now....I don't see anything moving, its a ghost city." Dan leaned against the railing, facing Steve. " Let's get to one of the building and see inside. If we still can't find anyone, or anything we'll make our way to the observatory Mark saw and try there." Steve turned and led the way to the closest building, a rounded tower painted in muted peach colours that reflected the sun and glowed warmly. The door at road level was closed but the gap underneath was wide enough to squeeze under. Dan led the way, crawling under and disappearing, closely followed by the others. They found themselves in a dark entranceway to what appeared to be a house, but like no other they had ever seen. The walls curved around a staircase that wound around a central pillar. The railing was again, ornately carved, this time of a light wood. The pattern reminiscent of a leafy vine. The floor was made of tiles coloured the same as the exterior, with no ornamentation or discernible pattern. Three doors led off the entranceway, all shut, with no windows in the walls, only the light coming down the staircase helped lighten the gloom. " I don't see any dust or spiders-webs, nothing to indicate its been abandoned, just no Giants either." Mark observed. The others looked around, seeing nothing, no pictures or furniture either. " Let's try one of these doors." Steve indicated the one closest. They kept close to the curved wall, reaching the door and peering under. " All clear Steve." Dan reported. The three men slid under the door, standing up on the other side as the girls came under as well. The five travellers stood and stared at the room before them. Again it had curved walls painted in muted peach tones, with one side made up of floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the concourse. Valerie walked over the bare floor. " It's wonderful." she breathed. They made their way over the expanse, seeing again no furniture or any evidence of recent habitation. " This is crazy...its like no-one ever lived here, or worked here or whatever this building was supposed to be for...I can't figure it out." said Dan, throwing his hand up in a gesture of frustration. " Maybe we picked the one place up for rent...if so its the cleanest damn place I've ever seen...great housekeeping." Steve remarked. They were all beside the glass window, staring out over the view when a whirring sound made them all spin round in alarm. From a concealed hatchway at floor level a wheeled machine shot out, looking for all the world like an armadillo, complete with antennae and an aerial for a tail. It rolled out on concealed wheels, so quiet it whispered over the floor, spinning round as it sought its quarry. " Keep absolutely still...everyone, don't breath." Steve hissed. The machine seemed to be searching, waving its mobile antennae back and forth, trying to sense movement. It advanced further into the room, coming closer to where the explorers stood frozen. From its front came a long probe with a grasping claw at the end. It clicked this appendage a couple of times as if to provoke whatever it was looking for, into betraying itself. No-one dared move as it slowly turned full circle, its claw clacking softly, its wheels whirring over the smooth floor. The sun glinted off it polished back, highlighting the scales that gave it the look of the earth animal. Finally it approached another section of the wall, which slid back at its approach, silently swallowing the machine as it glided from sight. " Oh god...." whispered Valerie, clutching the straps of her pack until her knuckles turned white. " That was too close...good thinking about the motion sensor Steve." Mark said, wiping a bead of sweat off the side of his face. " Lets get out of here before it returns. Hug the wall and try not to make a sound." said Steve setting off, keeping his footfalls light and silent. The others followed, keeping an eye on the two sections of wall that hid the mechanical monster. They had nearly reached the door when the sound of the hidden hatch sliding back came clearly. "RUN...under the door, quickly." Steve shouted. They all pelted for the door, Dan taking a dive and sliding under, the girls scrabbling to get through the gap, Steve and Mark just making it through as the mechanical housekeeper came whizzing up behind them. Dan kept running on the other side, leading the girls back to the front door, and scooting under, only looking back to check that Steve and Mark got away safely. They reached the front of the building and collapsed gasping on the roadway, Steve the last to come under the front door. " Well that explains the lack of dirt...they must have robots to do their house-cleaning and keep out unwanted pests." said Mark, sitting down and leaning his head on his arms, his knees drawn up, catching his breath like everyone else. " Does that mean the whole place is automated ?" asked Betty. " I don't know....Mark have you seen where that observatory is from here ?" asked Steve. " Yes...I saw it through that window...its south and east of here." He pointed back the way they had come, across the bridge. " Alright, lets take a break and have something to eat and drink, get our breath back and then set out for the observatory." Steve suggested. The others only nodded, Betty reaching into her pack to pull out the water bottles. After an hour they were walking back over the bridge, following the road that curved against the glass dome wall, stretching off into the distance. " From what I can make out, the place seems to be laid out like a wheel, with this road as the wheel rim, running around the edge, and the roads leading like spokes to a hub." Mark explained as they tramped along. " I thought it might also be sloping downhill to where ever the hub was, did anyone else notice that ?" asked Dan. " I did...its subtle but a definite slope, like a bowl and we're on the rim." added Steve. " Something else Steve, I tried my radio while we were eating, the dome is blocking our radio signal. I couldn't raise the Windsifter or get any signal from inside here either." Mark told them. Steve stopped and pulled out his radio, thumbing the button. " Steve to Fitzhugh, come in Fitzhugh" he released the button but got nothing but a hiss of empty air. " Dammit...that could explain why we didn't pick up anything when we flew in. The dome acts as a dampening shield." said Steve. " Another thing...don't turn around but on the building behind us is what looks like a camera device. It swivelled around when we passed and is trained on us right now. Its concealed among the cornice decoration." said Mark, speaking softly. Steve casually turned around as if checking behind them and glanced at the building Mark had indicated, getting a flash of light as the sun reflected off the lens. " Okay, lets move off but pick up the pace...the city isn't as deserted as it appears." said Steve. " We haven't got much further to go, the observatory should be just around the next block of buildings." Mark told them. They hurried away, leaving the camera watching silently behind them. They passed more willowy towers and wispy columns, all as deserted and silent as the previous buildings. Mark pointed to indicate the observatory and they started to jog towards it, the men keeping a wary eye for more camera's as they ran towards the building. The reached the outer wall of the observatory, trying to blend in with their surroundings, concealing themselves in the shadow cast by the sinking sun. " We need to get inside before we lose the sun altogether, who knows what they do after dark, the way it was lit up last night, maybe the city come alive when the sun goes down. Either way I want to be off the street before then." said Steve, seeing Mark and Dan nod in agreement. " The stairs look our best bet Steve, unless you want to look for a ground level access ?" said Mark. " We don't have enough time, lets tackle the stairs" They kept close to the wall, reaching the first step, finding it about twelve feet high and rounded. Dan turned his back to the step and bent his knees, extending his clasped hands for Steve to step into. Steve placed his foot in Dan's hands and was vaulted up onto the first step. The process was repeated for Valerie and Betty, Mark doing the honours for Dan, then Dan and Steve reaching down to give Mark a hand up. There were six steps in all, finally bringing them to stand infront of a set of double glass doors, ornamented with more of the intertwined leaf pattern. There wasn't a gap at the bottom of these doors, so they scouted around and found what looked like a slotted vent, close to the floor but still ten feet off the ground. Steve climbed up first, helping Dan to follow, then they both reached down to help Valerie, then Betty through. Mark waited till they jumped down on the other side before pulling himself through and joining them. He landed on the hard floor with a grunt, standing up and looking around the lobby. The others were taking in the grandiose architecture that towered over them. The double glass doors lead into a broad entrance way, ending in a sweeping staircase the split to left and right. Hanging above the staircase was a huge metal ball, they were too far away to discern the detail on its surface but it seemed to confirm that the building contained the information Mark sought. There was a Giant sized reception desk to one side of the staircase, with what looked like a computer terminal. Mark pointed it out to Steve. " We could try that terminal, we might get what we want from there." " Its worth a try....Val, Betty you stay here " Steve instructed, Valerie huffed and folded her arms. " What is the point in us being here, let us at least explore the other rooms while you check out the computer." She argued. " Fine, just keep an eye open for any more of those robots. We shouldn't be too long. Yell if you need help." " No problem...come on Betty, that doorway looks promising." The girls took off, jogging over to a archway. Steve watched them leave, chewing his lip. "Come on Steve, times a wasting, the light won't be with us for much longer." Dan jogged his elbow to bring him back. Steve swung around, smiling grimly and started to run across the smooth floor. They reached the reception desk and walked around to the back, finding a chair pushed under the overhang. The power cord for the terminal was tucked away so they had to resort to using their own ropes and grapnel. Steve coiled the rope and let it fly, hooking it onto a drawer handle. After tugging the rope to test it, he started up, Dan holding the rope steady as he climbed. Steve reached the drawer and using the handle pushed himself onto the surface of the desk. Mark followed, then Dan until all three men stood in front of the computer screen. A keyboard was set into the desk surface, reminding Steve of a favourite child's toy back on earth, the walk on piano. Mark was checking out the monitor, finding the on/off switch and pushing it in. A loud hum filled the air as the screen came to life. It flashed blue, then white, settling for a pale blue and showing an usual logo, coloured silver, again shaped like an ornate vine leaf. Mark stepped up to the keyboard and stepped on the arrow keys, moving the curser up and down the list that appeared. Steve and Dan watched as Mark attempted to bring up an index, or menu or something he could decipher. He was partially successful when he produced a window listing what looked like departments in the observatory. He moved the cursor onto a symbol that looked like a nebula and clicked the enter button. Suddenly the screen was filled with images of starfields. " BINGO !" Mark shouted. Steve grinned broadly, glad they were finally making some progress. Dan had his arms folded, watching as Mark studied the star charts on the screen. " Mark appears to have hit the jackpot Steve, they'll be no living with him now, ya know." Dan teased, giving Steve a slow wink. Mark heard him and waved a hand at him, never taking his eye's off the monitor. He was flipping through page after page of star charts, some with columns of figures beside them, some with what looked like a symbol legend, the purpose remaining a mystery. He was crouching down by the keyboard, inspecting a particular map, when he let out a shout. " Look, look at this......its our star system....its the solar system." Steve and Dan stood behind him, looking up at the huge screen. Steve could recognise some of the patterns, and confirmed Marks find. " Any indication of how far we are from our own system ?" asked Dan. " I can't make out these symbols, but if we could find some way of printing off this information I'm sure I could decipher it eventually." Mark answered, standing up and pushing his fingers through his short hair. " We need to check the other rooms for a printer setup...there must be something connected to this console." said Mark. " I'll contact Val and Betty, see if they've found anything " Steve pulled his radio out and thumbed the button after extending the aerial. " Steve to Valerie come in....are you there, Val ?" The radio stayed silent, causing Steve to shoot a worried glance over at Mark. " Steve to Valerie, are you there....Betty, can you hear me ?" Still no reply, Mark and Dan exchanged glances. " Betty, Valerie its Steve....come in....please" called Steve. The radio remained stubbornly silent, only the hiss of empty air in reply. Steve pushed the aerial down and tucked it inside his jacket. " We need to find out what's happened. It could just be the effect of the dome, or it could be a broken radio." Steve told the two men, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. " I checked those radio's myself, they were fully charged and working fine." Mark stated, he turned and started walking back to where they had left the rope. Steve and Dan ran to catch up, Steve catching Mark's arm before he reached the edge of the table. " We need to exercise caution, Mark... we don't know that anything has happened, but if it has, we won't help the girls by getting into trouble ourselves." Steve tried, hoping Mark wasn't about to fight him on this. Mark only nodded, easing himself over the edge, and starting down the rope. Steve followed when Mark had reached the floor, with Dan close behind. After freeing the grappling hook they coiled the rope and started back towards the archway, in search of their missing companions.