ship, Zachary could see they were speeding for a steel wall, and at ever-increasing velocity. A head-on collision seemed imminent. Zachary wanted to call a warning to Wilcox, but it was all happening so fast he couldnât get the words out. He was bracing himself for impact when a black disc formed, just like the ones Starbounders reached their warp gloves through, only much, much bigger. The dreadnought flew straight into it.
For a second, it seemed to Zachary as if gravity was pulling him in every direction, like it wanted to tear him apart. He knew he was neither on Earth nor in space, but inside the galactic fold between them. He had been told that the laws of physics stopped taking effect in this place. His body felt like every molecule and atom was suddenly shifting. Unless his vision was playing tricks on him, the ship and his body were rippling like waves in the ocean. But as quickly as all these strange sensations had arrived, they disappeared. Suddenly, Zachary was weightless. They were in space.
The protective webbing released, allowing him to work his way out of it and float freely through the cabin. Kaylee drifted up beside him. âHey,â Ryic called. âIâm stuck.â He wriggled and squirmed to get loose, and Kaylee went to help him, but Zacharyâs attention was caught by the outside view.
The ship had emerged in the orbit of Jupiter. His lensicon informed him that they were between Io and Europa, Jupiterâs two largest moons.
Zachary peered into the blackness. He could see dozens of other moons of Jupiter hanging in space like part of a mobile with no strings. Then in the shadow of Io he spied a massive gyroscopic space station, with two giant concentric rings each spinning on independent axes. The superstructure floated in space, surrounded by a squadron of pitchforks that seemed to protect it. Zachary focused his lensicon and blinked twice.
----
CELESTIAL OBJECT:
CALLISTO SPACE STATION
ALWAYS HIDDEN ON THE DARK SIDE OF JUPITERâS MOON IO, THIS IPDL RESEARCH FACILITY IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON INITIATIVES IN TIME TRAVEL, CLONING, AND SPACE-WIND TURBINES.
POWERED BY ONE OF ONLY THREE KNOWN PERPETUAL ENERGY GENERATORS, IT SERVES AS A COMMUNICATIONS RELAY FOR IPDL TRANSMISSIONS AND HANDLES ALL DATA STORAGE AND PROCESSING FOR INDIGO 8âS MAINFRAME COMPUTER, CEREBELLA.
ITS CONCENTRIC SPINNING RINGS SIMULATE EARTHâS GRAVITY TO PERFECT EFFECT, CREATING A NONHAZARDOUS WORK ENVIRONMENT INSIDE.
----
The Dreadnought Epsilon blasted past the station, dipping toward Saturn, where Wilcox had said the next fold was located. Hovering by the cabin door, Zachary, Ryic, and Kaylee each stared silently out through the captainâs windows. It might not have been a galactic safari, but it was still space. And about a billion times more exciting than life in Kingston.
âOkay, monkeys,â Captain Wilcox called from the flight deck. âYouâre not here to be looky-loos. Time to get to work. And I need one of you up here.â
Ryic and Kaylee both turned to Zachary, none too eager.
âGo ahead,â Ryic said.
âHow generous of you,â Zachary replied.
âActually I was being selfish,â Ryic said. âI have no desire to spend time with Wilcox. In fact, Iâm quite intimidated by him.â
Zachary floated to the flight deck and maneuvered himself inside.
âThese mold spores have even found their way into the underbins,â Wilcox said. âThere are rags in the box over there.â
Zachary pulled open a drawer in the box and retrieved the cleaning supplies. He began wiping down the surface of the storage cases beneath the flight-deck chairs. As he worked, his eyes wandered to the endless expanse that sprawled out before him through the front window. Zacharyâs attention moved to the shipâs holographic display, which was projecting an elaborate diagram on the glass. It appeared to be a detailed rendering of the outerverse
For a second, it seemed to Zachary as if gravity was pulling him in every direction, like it wanted to tear him apart. He knew he was neither on Earth nor in space, but inside the galactic fold between them. He had been told that the laws of physics stopped taking effect in this place. His body felt like every molecule and atom was suddenly shifting. Unless his vision was playing tricks on him, the ship and his body were rippling like waves in the ocean. But as quickly as all these strange sensations had arrived, they disappeared. Suddenly, Zachary was weightless. They were in space.
The protective webbing released, allowing him to work his way out of it and float freely through the cabin. Kaylee drifted up beside him. âHey,â Ryic called. âIâm stuck.â He wriggled and squirmed to get loose, and Kaylee went to help him, but Zacharyâs attention was caught by the outside view.
The ship had emerged in the orbit of Jupiter. His lensicon informed him that they were between Io and Europa, Jupiterâs two largest moons.
Zachary peered into the blackness. He could see dozens of other moons of Jupiter hanging in space like part of a mobile with no strings. Then in the shadow of Io he spied a massive gyroscopic space station, with two giant concentric rings each spinning on independent axes. The superstructure floated in space, surrounded by a squadron of pitchforks that seemed to protect it. Zachary focused his lensicon and blinked twice.
----
CELESTIAL OBJECT:
CALLISTO SPACE STATION
ALWAYS HIDDEN ON THE DARK SIDE OF JUPITERâS MOON IO, THIS IPDL RESEARCH FACILITY IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON INITIATIVES IN TIME TRAVEL, CLONING, AND SPACE-WIND TURBINES.
POWERED BY ONE OF ONLY THREE KNOWN PERPETUAL ENERGY GENERATORS, IT SERVES AS A COMMUNICATIONS RELAY FOR IPDL TRANSMISSIONS AND HANDLES ALL DATA STORAGE AND PROCESSING FOR INDIGO 8âS MAINFRAME COMPUTER, CEREBELLA.
ITS CONCENTRIC SPINNING RINGS SIMULATE EARTHâS GRAVITY TO PERFECT EFFECT, CREATING A NONHAZARDOUS WORK ENVIRONMENT INSIDE.
----
The Dreadnought Epsilon blasted past the station, dipping toward Saturn, where Wilcox had said the next fold was located. Hovering by the cabin door, Zachary, Ryic, and Kaylee each stared silently out through the captainâs windows. It might not have been a galactic safari, but it was still space. And about a billion times more exciting than life in Kingston.
âOkay, monkeys,â Captain Wilcox called from the flight deck. âYouâre not here to be looky-loos. Time to get to work. And I need one of you up here.â
Ryic and Kaylee both turned to Zachary, none too eager.
âGo ahead,â Ryic said.
âHow generous of you,â Zachary replied.
âActually I was being selfish,â Ryic said. âI have no desire to spend time with Wilcox. In fact, Iâm quite intimidated by him.â
Zachary floated to the flight deck and maneuvered himself inside.
âThese mold spores have even found their way into the underbins,â Wilcox said. âThere are rags in the box over there.â
Zachary pulled open a drawer in the box and retrieved the cleaning supplies. He began wiping down the surface of the storage cases beneath the flight-deck chairs. As he worked, his eyes wandered to the endless expanse that sprawled out before him through the front window. Zacharyâs attention moved to the shipâs holographic display, which was projecting an elaborate diagram on the glass. It appeared to be a detailed rendering of the outerverse
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