9 - Into the Depths (Part 2)
The planet evaporated and Brett stepped out of the glass booth. We all went down to Adam and Graham and looked at the stage floor where we could make out one large central lens with smaller ones encircling it. Ever the entrepreneur, Graham suggested that that technology alone would make a man richer than Bill Gates. We didn’t disagree.
We exited the auditorium, keen to find new discoveries, and walked back around the glassed off northern area of the security hall and on to behind the gates before entering what we called the reception hall. We headed through the lounge area towards the low desks and chairs that half-filled the hall. Ahead of us was the long, wide corridor we had seen earlier that morning. We decided that before heading up or down we would make our way along the corridor to see what the doorways may reveal.
Opening the first door on the left we entered into a large meeting room, this was repeated behind the next 3 doors on either side of the hallway. The next was a wide double door that opened into another long and wide hallway lined with more of the weird shaped seats and more doors. Opening the first of these we entered into what looked to be some sort of medical suite and examination room. Metal surfaces reflected the light and strange looking equipment on wheeled bases were tucked into alcoves. A door at the end of this room led into an office area. We tried several more of the doors and all revealed similar rooms. Going back out to the main corridor we headed further into the complex.
Discussing what we had seen so far we thought perhaps this area was some sort of medical examination section, it certainly felt like that and had a clinical, sterile appearance. Again the complex had presented more questions. Walking further in, the hallway opened out to a large room with more seats and the occasional work station. The corridor continued on the opposite side of the room with the entry flanked by elevated work stations on each side.
We walked through to the corridor and noticed the doors were spaced much further apart and darkened glass windows were located near to each double door. As we approached the first it slid open and as the lighting kicked in it revealed a large room with lines of reclining chairs. Each chair had a small table incorporated into its left side and on every one of these sat a helmet, not dissimilar to a cyclists. Along the back wall of this room were glass fronted cabinets containing clear boxes. Brett, Adam and Graham walked to the these and opened one of the cabinets. The glass boxes were apparently full of thin cards that looked to be similar to an SD card. On each box front were more of the unknown symbols.
While those three guys were looking at the cabinet contents Graham and Steve wandered down the rows of chairs. I walked over to one and sat down. Like the chair in the auditorium it seemed to mould itself to my body. I took a closer look at the helmet; it was not totally loose, it had a light cord running from its back to down under the chair. The other guys were coming over to join me when, without really thinking about it, I decided to see if the helmet fitted. I placed it on my head and reclined back in the chair. Initially I could hear Brett and Steve calling out then zap…. nothing. A whole series of images and thoughts flashed through my mind. I was totally and utterly oblivious to all else. Then it stopped.
I opened my eyes, the guys were all standing around me looking very concerned indeed. I removed the helmet as Craig yelled at me. He asked how dumb I was, why would I put that on my head when I didn’t know what it was or what it did. Didn’t I see Jack O’Neill almost die from brain overload, and all he did was look into something! Jack O’Neill? Who was he? (OK, I discovered later he was a lead character in the scifi series Stargate SG1 but that was fiction wasn’t it?)
I began to explain there was nothing to worry about, that I was fine and the helmets wouldn’t harm us. Everyone just stared at me, Adam and Craig looked horrified, Graham looked ill and Steve and Brett just stood there, jaws dropped. I stopped talking. Craig asked what the hell was happening, why was I talking in tongues? What?
Tongues?
Really?
I gathered my thoughts and there it was, I was conscience of the fact that I was thinking in another language. I concentrated and finally, English. Thank goodness, it hadn’t wiped my brain clean then. But there was more there, I knew so much more than I had only minutes before. Speaking in English, I asked how long I was out of it for. Not long apparently, two maybe three minutes. I had looked totally out of it. Craig had wanted to remove the helmet then and there but Brett stopped him fearing it may do damage. So they waited. And then I was back.
The others wanted to try the helmets, to learn what I knew but Brett stopped them. It was safer to observe me for a while to see if there were any side effects. If not then they could all give them a try, if so, well no one, least of all me, wanted to think about that.
I could tell them what I knew while we waited.
I began talking and did not stop for over an hour. They asked questions and I answered them as best I could. What they were told was remarkable, horrifying, amazing, shocking, unbelievable. But it was happening, it had happened to me, Scott Weston. And soon it would happen to them.