Free Alpha Rising by G.L. Douglas Page A

“It looks
like a theme park’s futureland.”
    Altemus chuckled. “Lots of surprises, huh?”
He didn’t wait for Bach’s answer. “The three structures are
Skyprisms. They comprise the civilized area on our continent, Dura.
The one on the left is the operations space center, the middle
one’s for shelter and dining, and the third one’s for training and
recreation. The blue lasers are surveillance and defense systems
that detect emissions of airborne and land-roving craft. We use a
unique fuel at Dura, so foreign spacecraft identification is
easy.”
    Skyprisms? Unique
fuel? Bach’s thought processes pegged to
the red zone.
    “ At one time the Skyprisms
levitated above the terrain,” Altemus added, “but things here have
changed.”
    Nearing the space center, Star extended the
dragonfly’s layered wings. The ship cut through the air without
producing the slightest sensation as it powered down. From the
bug-eyed windows, Bach saw that they were heading toward a
holographic blue door in the operations Skyprism. But as they came
in for a landing he worried that they were flying too fast and the
door wouldn’t open in time. He braced for impact. When the ship
slowed to a stop, he looked back toward the closed door and
mumbled, “Oh, my God. We flew right through it!”
    While Altemus shut down the engines and
entered a code on the flight deck keyboard, Bach took in all he
could from the windows. Inside the huge spaceport several
utilitarian-looking spacecraft were parked in formation in the
foreground, and a production area with the framework of an enormous
spacecraft under construction in the distance.
    The three stepped from the dragonfly, then
passed through a short metal tunnel ending at an elevator-like
door. Star wrote on a touchpad on the wall with her finger then
leaned forward and pressed her cheek against something that looked
like a blue coin. A tiny motor whirred.
    “ Determines DNA,” Altemus
offered without elaborating.
    The door slid open. From there, they rode a
tubular transport car to the housing and dining Skyprism. Bach was
shown to a spacious private room and left to clean up and rest.
     
     
    *****
     
     
    Alone and uneasy, the earthling glanced
around the alien room. Deep indentations in the gray stone walls
made it seem as if a battle of some kind had taken place there. He
moved farther within and sized up a round bed topped with a silky
coverlet that seemed woven from spun bronze. He sat on the bed and
pulled off his flight shoes. Something strange near the door caught
his eye. An odd-looking image of himself reflected in large mirrors
that spanned ceiling to floor on both sides of the doorway. He
waved his hand. The multidimensional reflection moved in slow
motion. Another try came with a breath and a mutter, “Not ready to
investigate that yet.”
    A silvery jumpsuit, like the ones worn by
Altemus and Star, hung over the back of a lounge chair to the right
of the bed, and beneath it lay a pair of flexible platinum boots. A
doorway beyond the chair led to what looked like a bathroom. Bach’s
bare feet slid along the cold, marble-like floor as he ventured
toward the room. Inside, he found an alcove on the right with a
circular pool fashioned from small transparent rocks that looked
like bubble packaging. A transparent toilet and sink to the left
appeared to be made from acrylic material, but were soft to the
touch.
    On the counter, a metal
tray held a hefty silver goblet filled with a clear liquid. Above
the sink was another of the image-enhancing mirrors. Aha! Now I can check out these mirrors. He stood to one side and jiggled his hand in front
of the sepia-toned glass. “Amazing.” He stepped in front of it and
as soon as he did, his face took on a depth not bound or limited by
the wall behind him. A quick turn of his head sideways then back
again created a slow-moving, dimensional image where he could see
from every angle until the image caught up. He gulped. “Oh, my
gosh. I