Читать книгу The Barkuu - Lauren Wright - Страница 22

"Give me some good news, Juan," said the Central United Americas Representative, or "CUAR." "Do we know what these things are yet? What is taking so long?"

The Chief Science Officer looked confounded, looking for the words to explain. "Well, Ma'am, it's proving harder than we thought."

"What's the problem? Don't we have access to them?" the CUAR replied.

"Well, yes, but our on-site tests have been unsuccessful thus far. At first, anything we tried to bring near them would overheat and fry."

The officer continued, "but as it turns out, if you remove the battery, everything works just fine. It's amazing, Ma'am; it's ambient energy, a vast field of it surrounding them. These things are throughout the Americas, ten in Central America, four in South, and six in the North that we've found. With no satellites in orbit, it is difficult to be sure. They seem to form a network, and their power comes straight from the ground."

"So, what are they made of?" the CUAR asked.

The Science Officer sighed. "We have no idea, Ma'am. This stuff, this metal...There is nothing like it here on Earth."

The CUAR thought for a moment and asked, "How could this be? I thought the periodic table was complete."

The Science Officer squirmed and said, "Complete is a strong word."

The CUAR looked at the officer. "What is that supposed to mean?" She sounded offended. "Is it complete, or is it not?"

The Science Officer seemed to struggle for words. "The base is complete, yes. You see, Ma'am," the officer looked down at his hands if he were holding multiple items, "as you know, elements are made of protons, with neutrons and then electrons around them."

"If you have one proton," the Science Officer held up one hand, "you have hydrogen. But if you add another proton," he put his hands together, "you have helium."

"If you add a third," he held his hand out like he was holding another item, then brought them together, "you have lithium. This procession continues," he made cascading gestures with his hands, "each time you add a proton, and then you get a new element."

The officer took a breath and said, "And in this manner, we have identified the first ninety-two elements that occur naturally."

"With Uranium being ninety-two, there is no more room for new elements," the officer spoke the last statement with finality.

"However," he paused for effect, "mankind has hypothesized the existence, and in some cases created, many more that are higher on the table. Further, there are alloys, alchemic mixes that we have only begun to understand."

"Can we do any more testing in the lab?" The CUAR put her hands up in frustration. "I mean, with all of our technology, we can't so much as determine what these things are made of?"

"Well, it would be more accurate to say," the Science Officer looked in the CUAR's eyes, "with all of our technology, we can't even take a sample."