Free Stars Rain Down by Chris J. Randolph

towards her. After all those long years, he was finally there beside her. He knew it was reckless, but it didn't matter... he had to touch her.
    The color of the wall shifted as he approached, so subtly he thought it was just his imagination. The surface was flawless, without seams, panels, scratches or any other imperfection.
    During the survey, his team detected grooves and protrusions laid out in geometric patterns, but on a vast scale separated by hundreds of meters. They assumed they'd find similar patterns on a smaller scale, but there were no such details, no signs of anything mechanical nor any hint of the artifact's manufacture. For as far as Marcus could see, it was simply a wall of clear glass with subtly swirling colors trapped beneath.
    His thrusters brought him to a graceful stop mere inches away from her, and he reached out. Without any jitter or hesitation, his hand rose up with his fingers spread, and he touched the unimaginably large creature in front of him, just as a diver might dare to touch a passing whale.
    Nothing happened.
    Marcus wasn't sure what he'd expected. He didn't know if his hand would sink in or be repelled, or if she might crumble at his touch like a mummy rashly exposed to air. He had a small worry he'd wake up back home in bed, covered in sweat, with only a vague recollection of his strange adventure. Instead, there was no response other than the feeling of his gloved hand against something solid. And with that, he was satisfied.
    "How's she feel, Marc?" Rao's voice crackled over the radio.
    "Real," he said. He looked at the wall directly in front of his face, and now he was sure it had changed. On their approach, Zebra-One had been the same dull yellow-green she'd been since they arrived. Now, the wall in front of him had become a vibrant, living green. It was the green of fertile hills after spring's first rain. And there was something else.
    "The color's changing, Doctor," Faulkland said.
    "Yeah, think you're right," Marcus replied, while something even stranger had caught his attention. Around his hand, there was a flickering pattern that branched out from his finger tips. He waved the hand back and forth, and the pattern followed, pulsing and waving, slowly growing in strength. It reminded him of the chintzy plasma globe he used to keep on his desk. "Now that's interesting."
    "What?" Rao asked.
    "I'm not sure. Galvanic skin response maybe. One way or another, she's reacting to me."
    The rest of the crew were finally unhooked from the life-raft, and Rao came up beside him. As he approached, the rich green colored area expanded to surround him as well. He reached out his hand toward the wall and lightning-like patterns appeared around his fingers, their ends disappearing into the mysterious depths of the alien material.
    "Surface temperature is rising," St. Martin said with a touch of worry. Marcus looked over his shoulder and found her nearby, with a multifunction probe in hand. The pen-like metal device was attached to her wrist by a thin cable, and transmitted information directly to her helmet's heads-up-display.
    "How quicklyis it rising?" Marcus asked.
    "You're not going to be barbecued anytime soon, if that's what you're wondering. In fact, it's leveling off now at... thirty-six degrees centigrade."
    "Human body temperature," Marcus said.
    He thrusted backwards and watched the color of the artifact fade to dull green-grey again, while the vibrant circle around Rao persisted. He stopped a few meters away. "Ideas?"
    His question was met with silence. "Alright then. Donovan to Base, still reading us?"
    "Clear as crystal, Doctor. We're receiving mission data from all units, five-by-five."
    "Good. We're proceeding to the iris."
    "Roger. We'll be watching."
    The structure dubbed Iris Charlie was one of the smaller irises; all of them were identical in shape, but differed in scale. They were elliptical, and this one measured twelve meters by a little over seven. Its dome protruded out