Page 168 - The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

double helix structure of DNA. Three chains were highlighted with circular marks.

“We’ll need to check this out back on the Veklar later. I wonder…” Tom said. And he took the metal
part of the disc an placed it in the vacant recess on the Plaque. The other disc appeared to be fixed
to the plaque by a central pivot. Tom turned it clockwise ; it moved a quarter turn and they all
jumped when the plaque surround lit up. The sound of some motorised heavy machinery came from
the bottom of the stairwell along with the yelps of two members of the team who had gone down to
investigate. Lucy shouted up the stairs “What did you do, the doors down here just opened up.
You’d better come down here and tell Jennifer to get here as quickly as possible!”

What lies beneath…

Hubris and Jennifer joined Tom, T’luha
and Lucy at the entrance to the lower level.
This floor consisted of a large labyrinth of
rooms linked by a network of corridors. Some
of the rooms were laboratories, others seemed
to be meeting rooms others store rooms,
dormitories and restrooms etc. Equipment
seemed to have been left in situ as if for the
complex’s residents to take up where they left
off. A Cleanroom that one of the junior team
members found showed signs that some kind
of vivisection procedures had taken place.
Elevators to a lower level revealed further
storage places and animal quarters; and a
sealed section with rows of stasis chambers, like those of the Ulahri Sphere ship, which had back up
power supplies. Some were occupied. “Now we know where the Dino-clucks came from, not natural
evolution after all” Hubris said adding “This must be a Genetic modification and research facility”.
His thoughts were confirmed when fully equipped operating theatres and incubation chambers were
located on the same level. Storage freezers on the second level also contained irradiated foodstuffs
for a well-equipped Canteen and Kitchen facility.

“It looks like you could just move in and set up business right now” Tom said

“If a constant presence is required we could do just that” Hubris added.

“Oh; I almost forgot!” Jennifer said, pulling a small bagged object from her satchel “This was found in
the Schoolroom Tom; see what you can make of it. It seems to be some kind of electronic toy for a
child” she added and handed the bag over. He emptied the contents out onto a workbench. It was a
sphere with two buttons and a rotary control with a group of grill holes. A couple of pieces of the
outer shell had broken off; that appeared to be some kind of solid plastic or resin based compound.
The circuitry inside was extremely compact and intricate. “This uses the same style of circuitry as
that cylinder device T’luha. It must use storage cells and be inductively charged in the same way I

suppose” T’luha took a look and agreed.

“Ah! In that case this could be what recharges it”
Jennifer said and brought a flat squat cylinder device
from her satchel. She also retrieved a flexible plasma
conduit. Tom had seen some of these in the recesses
on the upper level; he looked around the room. Sets of
receptacles for the cables were dotted about on the
benches and desks. He plugged the conduit into one of