Kelanis
09-12-2003, 16:40
Lieutenant Commander Tom Garrett was pleased. The construction crew had emplaced the Project X dome successfully in the middle of Dolan City. And they'd done it several hours ahead of schedule, too.
The Project X device was relatively small; one could easily miss the device, partially buried in the ground, in the mass of skyscrapers around the city's center.
The thing was really nonplussing, Garrett thought. A sphere, just like a golf ball, painted black. It was about the size of a semi truck cab, and mounted on a sort of tee- a pedestal which was buried into the ground.
About a half a meter away from the dome, a rod-like construction emerged and ran along the ground. It was also half buried. It was wrapped in crimson-colored circuitry, and a clear plastic "greenhouse dome" was going over that to protect the obviously fragile circuitry.
Around the city, precisely at the four geometric corners of the square-shaped downtown district, towers that looked a bit like gigantic telephone poles rose from the ground. From their terminal ends protruded a dizzying array of antennae and dishes.
Nobody'd been told what this thing was even supposed to do yet. The only clue they'd been given so far: the thing was horridly expensive and required its own dedicated fusion power plant just to run.
One of the workers strode over to Garrett and announced, "We're ready to begin the 15 foot test."
The man popped open a hidden panel on the dome, and pushed a few buttons, turned a few knobs. A digital readout on the panel announced 'Effect radius set to 5 yards.'
A big red switch marked Master Arm was flipped. There was a loud hum, followed by a bright flash and then a deafening roar as the dome's exterior began to change colors. The surface of the dome began shifting; it almost looked like it was turning to water. The exterior turned red, and with a loud crack! a purplish sphere began expanding, its center being the dome.
The orb covered everything within 15 feet with a purple dome that looked like it was made of water. Then, everything under the dome...
vanished.
"What the hell?" was all Garrett could say. A 15-foot area of Dolan City's downtown had just winked out of existence. What... Why? And more importantly, how?
The worker's voice came out of nowhere: "System operating nominally, sir." Suddenly the air was disturbed, and the man walked through what looked like a barrier made of water; behind him he could see the part of the city that had disappeared. Then the barrier closed, and invisibility claimed the terrain once more.
"What in the world is this thing?"
"I can't tell you that, sir. I do know, however, that several major cities are having these things installed. Lorraine has five of them. One system can cover an area of roughly 5 square miles."
Then he left.
The Project X device was relatively small; one could easily miss the device, partially buried in the ground, in the mass of skyscrapers around the city's center.
The thing was really nonplussing, Garrett thought. A sphere, just like a golf ball, painted black. It was about the size of a semi truck cab, and mounted on a sort of tee- a pedestal which was buried into the ground.
About a half a meter away from the dome, a rod-like construction emerged and ran along the ground. It was also half buried. It was wrapped in crimson-colored circuitry, and a clear plastic "greenhouse dome" was going over that to protect the obviously fragile circuitry.
Around the city, precisely at the four geometric corners of the square-shaped downtown district, towers that looked a bit like gigantic telephone poles rose from the ground. From their terminal ends protruded a dizzying array of antennae and dishes.
Nobody'd been told what this thing was even supposed to do yet. The only clue they'd been given so far: the thing was horridly expensive and required its own dedicated fusion power plant just to run.
One of the workers strode over to Garrett and announced, "We're ready to begin the 15 foot test."
The man popped open a hidden panel on the dome, and pushed a few buttons, turned a few knobs. A digital readout on the panel announced 'Effect radius set to 5 yards.'
A big red switch marked Master Arm was flipped. There was a loud hum, followed by a bright flash and then a deafening roar as the dome's exterior began to change colors. The surface of the dome began shifting; it almost looked like it was turning to water. The exterior turned red, and with a loud crack! a purplish sphere began expanding, its center being the dome.
The orb covered everything within 15 feet with a purple dome that looked like it was made of water. Then, everything under the dome...
vanished.
"What the hell?" was all Garrett could say. A 15-foot area of Dolan City's downtown had just winked out of existence. What... Why? And more importantly, how?
The worker's voice came out of nowhere: "System operating nominally, sir." Suddenly the air was disturbed, and the man walked through what looked like a barrier made of water; behind him he could see the part of the city that had disappeared. Then the barrier closed, and invisibility claimed the terrain once more.
"What in the world is this thing?"
"I can't tell you that, sir. I do know, however, that several major cities are having these things installed. Lorraine has five of them. One system can cover an area of roughly 5 square miles."
Then he left.