The Stamford Project

A secret alien base in the Australian desert, new technologies, star and galaxy class ships and 6 ordinary men. Stellar

[thestamfordproject]

16 - Further Education

The guys finished Carding well before I had and were looking over the cabinets on my return. Retuning my card to its box we all began selecting cards that were relevant to our chosen preferences.

  Both Craig and Graham Carded Eradani geological surveys of Earth and once in Kalgoorlie and able to connect to the web they would compare that knowledge with what they could find on line. Craig then went on to learn as much about other Eradani controlled planets as he could. He discovered the second Earth base was located in the Italian Alps south east of the village of Melago and was actually of similar size to Stamford. At some point we would need to take an excursion to the Alps.

Graham undertook further Carding on Eradani mining methodologies and ore transporters. Steve decided to Card the Transitional Drive (TD) and Eradani and Aurigae weapons systems. This proved to be heavy stuff and the system stopped allowing Steve to learn more after five cards each of seven minutes. He would not be able to Card again for 24 hours.

Predictably, Brett elected to learn Eradani computer sciences, again a large subject that required three separate six minute Cardings. The Eradani system was binary based but substantially more advanced than ours. As Brett had predicted, the Eradani OS was capable of learning and had no doubt been quite busy over the last 20 years or so being educated by the snippets of information it had managed to garner. The major servers and operating hardware were located on Level I but Melago was also operational and had been feeding Stamford volumes of information over the years. Much of this had been garnered by tapping into and utilising wireless LANs in villages and towns around the base. The system employed cyber stealth technology with long range, powerful probes to achieve this. We all thought that to be a little dodgy, something the CIA might do. But it had educated the Eradani system and it had managed to incorporate a number of programs and applications into its own operating systems.   

Adam spent the morning learning to pilot other craft besides the Razor including the heavy duty attack craft, the E10 Trapeze, of which we had 88 sitting on level 7. He also studied the D23 Taipan, a very versatile craft by way of its interchangeable internal capsules. Similar in form and function to #Thunderbird 2 from the old television show, the Taipan could, among other abilities and, depending on the loaded capsule, be a freighter, a surveillance craft, a passenger transporter or a rescue craft. Unlike the Razor or the Trapeze, the Taipan was configured for star travel. There were 44 Taipans on Level 8 along with numerous capsules in varying configurations.

As we already knew, there were 20 squadrons of single seat Razors (220 craft) and eight squadrons of dual seat Razors on Levels 5 and 6. Only half these were operational while only 11 of the Trapeze and 22 of the Taipans were functioning. The rest of the fleet contained no seridium. A later search of the designated storage areas revealed no spare seridium rods in the base. This effectively incapacitated half our fleet.

I had Carded all information, including piloting (or was it commanding?), the interstellar class frigates on Level 9. Once we had all completed our preferred Cardings we headed up to this level to view the five S4-07 Dugites and were surprised when only four were present. Another mystery we needed to solve, perhaps it was located at Melago? Another puzzle was the state of this level, especially adjacent to the vacant dock. While the rest of Stamford was neat, tidy and clean this location had boxes and containers all over the place. Most were empty but one of the containers still held several sealed boxes of seridium rods. Not enough to fuel the rest of our fleet but better than nothing. Then I had an awful thought, what if the Dugites were not fuelled?

Unlike the smaller craft each Dugite had large umbilical cables running from the central belly of the craft back to the rear of the hanger. A smaller cable branched off of this line and ran to a large console adjacent to each craft. We walked up to the nearest console and with a tap of the glass keyboard the system came to life. I typed in some commands and got our answer. This Dugite was in standby and operating on external power. No seridium was on board.

 We moved on to the next console and I repeated my actions; this time the answer was what we wanted, this Dugite was running on external power but was fully fuelled and charged. I checked this craft’s arms inventory and found it was carrying four squadrons of Razors, along with a squadron of Trapeze and two P11 Valets, a large 60 passenger shuttle craft. A quick check on the other two occupied consoles revealed the same status as the second Dugite, fully fuelled, fully charged and fully armed. All craft but those on the first Dugite were ready to fly.

Craig and Graham needed to be heading back to Kalgoorlie as soon as they could. By the time Craig and Graham arrived in Kalgoorlie it would be too late for Graham to catch the evening flight so they would both be staying the night in town. Graham could catch the morning flight and Craig would stay over for a couple more nights.  Regrettably then, we walked away from the Dugites. Plenty of time later to explore them, perhaps even take one out for a spin!

Brett and Graham would both need to give their employers their resignations so Graham would not be back for over a month. Brett would head back to Perth after Easter and see his employer. He would return a fortnight later as he only needed to give two weeks’ notice. The rest of us would head back to Perth in a week or two. Adam and I needed to explain things to Mum and hopefully Dad would be coming home soon. We could use his expertise running Stamford. We were also keen to start recruiting our friends and family. Even girlfriends were a possibility.

We all joined Craig and Graham outside and made our farewells. Graham was sorry to be leaving, he really enjoyed the Razors yesterday but, as he said, there were things to do and people to see. Money to be made and spent. Craig told us to stay safe, if we were going to fly then make sure we weren’t seen. And as tempting as it was, space should not be on the agenda. We would all do that together when he returned.

They hopped into the ute and waved as they set out to the south and the road back to Kalgoorlie. The three of us looked at each other and as one headed back to Level 6 and our Razors.

[thestamfordproject]

15 - A Plan

The sun was well down in the west by the time we returned to Stamford. We had rendezvoused a half hour before and watched each other go through a series of stunts and manoeuvres. In less than two hours we had managed to get a good handle on the Razor’s abilities. As we approached Stamford the L6 door swung slowly up and the base took control of our craft guiding them steadily to the bays each had vacated earlier.

As we changed back to our ‘civilian’ clothes and packed our flight gear into nearby lockers we discussed our next moves. We were all quite hungry, having eaten very little all day so decided to head back to camp and have a good feed. Ten minutes later Steve and I were throwing some steaks on the grill while Adam and Craig prepared salads. Brett sat pondering the universe while Graham fetched beers for all of us. In no time we had all thrown the food down our throats and were sitting quietly under the stars. I began to doze off and realised I had been up since the kangaroos had disturbed me around 3.30 that morning. Despite my excitement at our discoveries I was knackered so decided bed was the right place for me. The others too were done in so by 7.30 we had all climbed into our swags and drifted off.

Morning broke fresh and clear. I lay in my swag remembering and reliving yesterday’s events. In one day we had discovered so much but I knew we had only brushed the surface. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I thought I had heard one of the utes drive out of camp, perhaps an hour or two ago. Now I heard it in the distance, the engine noise steadily getting louder. Staying in my swag I looked around. Neither Craig nor Graham were  there.  The others were stirring now so I decided to get up.

I was just pulling on my boots when the Landcruiser arrived, quickly followed by the drilling rig. The ‘cruiser was full of the gear we had left up the top and I now helped the guys unload. Adam and Brett came over too while Steve checked over the rig. The task was soon complete and we set about the routine jobs of camp. Breakfast was soon on the go as Adam and Brett put together a series of omelettes with tomatoes, ham and cheese. As we polished these off Craig said we all needed to discuss Stamford and what we should do from here. Graham and he had had a good chat up on the top and now they thought it would be wise to have our input.

Once we had cleaned up I thought perhaps we would sit down for our chat, despite being keen to get back to the base and uncover more of its secrets. Craig and Graham had other ideas and asked us all to go through to the Card room. Once there we all stood around and Craig started. His belief was that Stamford should be shared by the world. That we should recruit suitable people first through family and friends and their families and friends and so on.

We would need people from all walks of life, medical people, gardeners, cleaners, cooks, logistics experts, administrators, technicians, computer guys, you name it we would need it. And as we filled Stamford quietly and secretly, we would develop a formidable peace keeping force, one independent of any country but one that would be guided by what was right. It would help keep the peace, build trust among the nations of Earth, it would help destroy evils such as slavery, drugs, even protect rare and endangered animals from poachers and habitat incursion. This force would be a type of police and protector for the world. Stamford held superior craft, superior technology, and from what little we currently knew of its weaponry, that too was of greater power than most of what was currently out there. The exception was perhaps nuclear warheads.

Craig thought that perhaps, if we wanted to stay and to join the Stamford, we should all Card the library catalogue and then select Cards that were suitable for what interested us and would benefit his plans. We all agreed it was a great idea and yes, we would stay on (goodbye geology, hello pilot!), but people needed to be paid. Graham stepped up at this point. He intended to Card all the geographical information in the library that would tell him where all the precious metals were. He would then cross reference this against world-wide data banks and identify those deposits that had not been discovered or claimed. Then we would lay claim to it and start the process of mining it. Eventually this, he hoped, would be the start of the funding drive.

Brett chimed in and said that some of the technology here could be made public and sold on to the world within months. His interest lay in that direction so he would Card the most relevant. I could see the world loving the 3-D holographic displays while medicine would love the biometric scanners and the images they produced. And this library would provide the knowhow to build these goodies. We would not have strip the base of essential equipment. The odd thing was that the compunction to stay loyal to the base did not include all of its technology. It seemed that some of what was here was intended to share, may well have been public in Eradani civilisation, so it was not protected by the subconscious secrets act.

Graham intended to Card that morning and depart for Perth later in the day. None of us were due back for another week yet but he felt that the sooner he started the better. Craig said he would drive Graham into Kalgoorlie where he could catch a flight back to Perth. Craig could then resupply and talk to some friends about heading out to Stamford to assist. He would be back tomorrow. The rest of us said we would stay, decide what Carding we wanted to complete and continue exploring the base. Craig would ring our Mum once he had reception and let her know all was well.

Steve and Craig owned a large hardstand area on the outskirts of Perth where they stored the drilling rigs and some other equipment. The property also had a large shed on it which at the moment was mostly empty. Craig was going to ring a mate in Perth and get him to arrange for the shed to be cleaned out and a new security system installed. Once complete it would act as an annex to Stamford and a recruitment base.

We decided then that it was time to Card the library catalogue. I walked over to the cabinets, grabbed five of the cards and gave one to each of the guys. They selected a chair each, plugged the cards in and put the helmets on. They would be back in a minute or two. As I waited I began to formulate a plan for myself. While I really enjoyed flying Razors my interest lay further out from Earth. Exploration of the galaxy and it wonders were just waiting for mankind to undertake and enjoy. We had five Star-class frigates upstairs and I was keen to get my hands on one of them. I walked back to the cabinets, found the box I was looking for and extracted a card.

In five minutes I would know the intimate details of flying 200 metres of sheer joy.

[thestamfordproject]

14 - Flight

I as good as leapt up into the seat and it silently swung back into position and locked.  The door closed itself and locked; as it did so the left hand control panel dropped from somewhere behind me. I looked around and could see all the other guys were either settling into their seats or were allowing the seat to lock them in. Aloud I asked the internal system to ‘secure occupant’ and straps automatically locked me in as the seat moulded itself to my body while simultaneously adjusting itself to my height.  As soon as I put my helmet on the attached neck support connected itself to the seatback and then it too locked into position. I moved around a little, testing my freedom. No problems.

Once the seating arrangements were complete the right and left hand control panels slid marginally closer to me. The whole cockpit adjusted itself to the pilot; it was almost intuitive, the biometric scanning earlier having provided all my measurements, all my details to the central system. Once I swiped for entry and it read my bio signature all my details were uploaded to the Razor’s on-board control system (OCS) and it was now using them to provide the best ergonomic cockpit it could.

Both the left and right panels had joysticks each with an assortment of buttons on the back, front and top. The left stick controls left and right turns and up or down, the right controls roll and nose up/nose down. The left panel is primarily weapons control while the right panel has the thrust levers, environmental and life support controls and communications. Ahead are flight, systems and navigational controls and indicators all incorporated in either a left or right frosted glass touch screen monitors. A 3-D hologram display splits the two touch screens. A heads up display is also available and is selectable between several modes including weapons, flight and space.

The Razor is fitted with a high yield shielding system with two redundancies. It protects against most weaponry known to the Eradani but I was uncertain about exploding projectiles like missiles and bullets. We may need to test those. My helmet incorporated the coms system and it buzzed to life as Craig asked how we were all going. Everyone replied at once so he tried again. He went through us all individually and when we had all answered to the affirmative he told us to activate the AGM and confirm exit mode.

I flicked a switch on my right stick and the Razor lifted off the ground by a few centimetres and then just floated there The touch screen asked for auto mode confirmation and I answered verbally  The indicator went solid gold and straight away the craft began to lift higher in order to clear the surrounding craft. The doors were about 100 metres forward and to my left and I could see day light appearing as the upper half separated from the lower door onL5. The system was well in control here. Craig had chosen a Razor that was further forward in the row than the craft I was in and now mine moved forward and  to the right of Craig’s. I glanced around to my right and the other four Razors were also clear of the surrounding craft and moving off to my right to line up as we moved toward the exit.

After the artificial light of the base the sunlight  as we approached the exit was unbelievably bright, I wished I had worn my sunglasses. Almost in response to my thought a visor came down from the inside of my helmet and adjusted itself to suit the light. Brilliant! The sun was now lowering toward the west. We had perhaps two hours of daylight to give these babies a good shake down. Night flying was not yet on our schedule.

In atmospheric conditions, with the shields up, the Razor could easily travel at record speeds but the heat generated, while not any danger, did get a bit excessive and the Carded instruction was not to exceed the equivalent of 6,000 kilometres per hour. In the vacuum of space the Razor cruised comfortably at about 100,000 kmh and could max out at twice that but economy was shocking. Thankfully the seridium was recharged by solar particles so you never really ran out of juice. At 100,000kmh it would take about 94 days to reach Mars. Activate the SRTD and that time was reduced to 3 hours.

Craig’s voice came over the comms again as we approached the exit. He warned us to ensure we followed protocol; keep a safe distance between each other and stay together, no fancy manoeuvres, no space flight. Carding gave us the skill and ability to fly these beasts but not the experience. We would take things slowly.  Craig also warned us to check the proximity sensors (PS) for aircraft in our vicinity. I asked the Razor’s system to bring up the sensor and immediately the left monitor changed from systems reports to the PS display showing aircraft in our vicinity. Amazingly it also brought up their height, speed, direction, carrier name and aircraft type. How the hell had it done that?

As if reading my mind, Brett asked if we all saw the display. He went on to say that the base’s central control system had probably never slept, it was highly likely that a part of it had been monitoring its environment and had, in Brett’s words, picked up a thing or two over the years. I remember thinking it must have been pretty bored up until the last twenty years or so.

As we got close to the exit I took a light hold of the left stick and placed my right hand on the throttles then waited, I would hear the alarm as auto mode dropped out and then the Razor would be mine. I could have given a voice command for speed and direction but preferred to fly and feel my craft. Craig again spoke telling us all to maintain a heading of 270° for 1 minute at 50kmh and continue at our current height then turn to 45°, the north east heading allowing us to go deeper into the desert wilderness. Simultaneously we were to accelerate to 250kmh and climb to 5,000 feet. We needed to avoid populated areas as we were uncertain what the Razors looked like from the ground and unfortunately the Eradani had never mastered cloaking.

We exited into the afternoon sunlight, it was amazing, we had been at this less than 12 hours and here we were, flying alien craft. The base maintained control of the craft for another 50 metres then a short alarm sounded and auto mode dropped out. The craft was mine. I gripped the stick and allowed the craft to maintain height, heading and speed. After a short time Craig said to commence our turn and accelerate, climb and enjoy. I moved the joystick to the right and back towards me watching I was not going to hit anyone, they too were turning and commencing their ascent; since they were clear I pushed the throttles forward 5° and immediately accelerated to just over 250kmh.

I was at 5000 feet before I knew it and actually went to 10000 before I regained some self-control and dropped down to 5000, the desert floor passing quickly under me. I saw Adam dropping down too to the left and then spotted Brett and Steve off to my right. The PS told me Craig and Brett were just behind me to my left. Inside, the craft was comfortable and quiet but I was as excited as a kid on Christmas Day. Adam came closer, flipped his craft on its right side and sat there. He looked to be giggling like a school girl.  I flipped mine onto its left side and we flew with the tops of our Razors just metres apart. The next thing Brett was upside down above us and Craig slotted in underneath.  Steve joined Brett upside down while Graham flew in to be next to Craig. So much for following protocol. So much for Craig’s talk earlier!

Craig said not to get lost or seen or to go into space. Just enjoy and be back at Stamford in an hour. With that he broke formation and was gone. Brett and Steve followed him and the PS was saying the three of them were already 50km north of me. Then Graham took off after them and then Adam waved and he too was gone, chasing Graham into the desert.

I levelled off then climbed to 40000 feet and slowed to 100kmh just enjoying the view. This whole experience was truly amazing. 400 km south was an A380 bound for Melbourne, a steady blue marker on the PS, while a host of gold coloured aircraft were in the approach corridor to Perth. I accelerated and climbed to 44000 feet heading for a rendezvous with the A380. I was well clear in height so it was now indicated as a steady gold. 

The hologram display had sprung to life automatically and now gave a very accurate representation of the A380 right down to the carrier name and logos.  I asked the OCS to give me a left hand longitudinal cross section of the target and it immediately dissected the A380 showing the interior cross section including the seats, holds and contents.  The left side looked solid, I could actually see little figures walking down the aisles, while the right side was there but very faint, like coloured shadow.

In no time I was approaching the A380 below me, four contrails streaming off of the aircraft. I doubted if anyone would see me even though there was not a cloud in sight. I followed the A380 for a while then I turned to the north and looked for the others on the PS. Four of them were 1000 km north east of me but there was another Razor approaching me from the north west at a rapid pace, the signal flashing blue on my screen. It decelerated rapidly and there was Adam sitting right beside me. We both laughed and then I was off, dropping height rapidly and accelerating to 1200kmh with Adam right on my tail. I dove, rolled, climbed and turned. He stuck right with me. Then he dove in front of me and accelerated away, I chased him this time, mirroring his manoeuvres. These things felt wonderful, they were so responsive and so, so easy to manoeuvre. And fast. Really, really fast.

Damn this was fun!

[thestamfordproject]

13 - Flight Deck

I returned all our cards to the appropriate boxes and walked back to the reception area where we should be able to walk up to the hanger levels. As we passed, Steve pressed a button next to what we presumed were elevators. There was a low hum and the dual doors slid apart. It was indeed an elevator; we all stepped inside and Graham pressed L5. That was it, no sense of movement, the doors opened and we were in another small security room.

The sensation was peculiar but not unpleasant. We had travelled 5 floors in a blink of an eye. Carding had not warned of this little bit of technology! We stepped out into the room and walked to the gates. Now to try our new swipe codes. We all went to individual gates and entered our codes, each gate disappeared and we walked through. Ahead of us were two elevators going to the mezzanine floors and a door on the left opening to stairs. To the right of the elevators were a wide set of doors marked Pre Flight. We walked over to these and went through.

Ahead of us were ten glassed off work stations and next to each of these were a pair of security gates. We went through these with no issue and into a large room not dissimilar to a locker room. To the right was a long counter and behind this we could see rows of full body suits all in a non-descript tepid shade of cream..  The Carding had given us instruction on flight suits, they were necessary unfortunately. While all Eradani craft had Inertia Assist (IA) the suits would contribute to protecting the body against the G-forces that would be present, particularly in the beasts we were about to play with.

Everyone grabbed a suit, there was no marking regarding size, and stripped off down to our jocks. The front of the flight suit was open so it was easy enough to put on. Once on it sealed itself at the front and conformed to our bodies, it also “puffed up” so that where there had been no padding at all there was now. Although seemingly tight, there was no restriction of movement. The suits now all changed colour to a deep blue and patches on the sleeves appeared showing rank and squadron while representation of the Eradani home-world  appeared on the left breast. Each of us were automatically awarded the rank of Flight Lieutenant 2nd Class and members of the Arcturus Squadron. We all presumed this was our bio signatures at work.

Damn, but I loved this place, what it contained and what it did.

Above the racks were shelves full of sleek helmets each with fittings that supported the neck and head. So the Eradani knew how to protect humans from injury. Good. We each grabbed a helmet which was much lighter than I thought. The gear we now had would not be returned, these were ours to customise, clean and maintain for as long as we needed them.

Looking around at the others I could see the excitement in their faces.  At the rear of the locker room were several doorways marked ‘Deck 1’ with a bundle of safety warning signs. OH&S was alive and well in then. We went through into a room about 3 metres wide running the length of the hanger, all the way back to the service bays at the rear and forward to the western face and the massive doors.

Ahead was a glass wall and, on the other side, slightly below us, were row after row of single and twin seat Razors illuminated in the intense lighting. They looked larger than I had imagined and were not dissimilar to a large delivery van only with a long slender nose and a flush, glassed in cockpit like a helicopter. Entry was through a door on the side and it sat on three skids, one at the front and one each side just rear of centre. There was no indication of any weaponry. The weapons pods were folded into the sides for storage and, when needed, would unfold on either side giving the appearance of stubby wings. The rest of the large rear held the seridium rods, power convertors (with redundancy), thrust and directional engines, short range transition drive (SRTD) and environment and life support modules.

Along the entire length of the belly were two gold lines each about 3cm wide  and parallel to them, on the belly only, were three red lines each about 2 cm wide. All of them ran from the rear to the nose tip. The red lines were the primary anti-gravity module (AGM) along with redundancy by two (not that they were unreliable, just without them, the thing would fall from the sky!). The gold lines were the primary shield generator with one redundancy. The body work seemed to glow the same glacial blue as the vidrioso and, similarly, it seemed to absorb the light. The cockpit glass was dark and it was impossible to see into it at this distance.

We walked out onto a landing two metres above the hanger floor and went down a flight of stairs to the nearest Razor. It was beautiful. Brett checked the fuel indicator on the side. No power, no seridium. Damn. We started checking the Razors on this deck, all we looked at were empty. There were too many to check individually so Craig called it quits on this level.  Without the seridium we were screwed. We left L5 unbelievably disappointed and headed to L6. The floor layout mirrored L5 and we were soon checking the Razors on this deck.

Eureka, these Razors were fully loaded with seridium and were indicating a full charge. My stomach felt as if it had a million butterflies in it, my hands were shaking and I thought I might nearly wet. I think we all felt the same way. On the side of the Razor, next to the door was an integrated swipe pad, I inputted my code and the door opened. The interior lit up, a small step dropped down and the seat swung towards me to 45°.

[thestamfordproject]

Cool use of GIS

[thestamfordproject]

12 - Carding 101

While the guys were going through their introduction Carding, I walked over to the cabinets at the rear of the room and scanned the glass boxes. I could at least now understand the strange symbols on each box; Eradani script was uncomplicated, 30 letters in the alphabet and a vocabulary that rolled off the tongue easily. As I scanned through the boxes I saw one that would be very useful, “Catalogue”. With any luck this would be the key to the library. I opened the cabinet and pulled out the box picking a card as I went. Leaving the box on a desk nearby, I went back to the helmet I had used earlier.

I slid the card into the back of the helmet then sat down and placed it on my head. Immediately I could feel a probing in my head, soft but firm, it seemed to interrogate me then it withdrew and a million, perhaps a billion images flashed through my mind and it was done. I looked around expecting the others to be waiting for me but they were still ensconced in their chairs, zoned out. My Carding had been quick, uncomplicated, but oh so bountiful. I was unsure about the probing, perhaps there were limitations on the number of cardings in a given time or repeating a card, perhaps it was as simple as a safety precaution. But for the time being that was not a priority. I knew. I knew what this library contained from one end to the other and it was staggering, it was fantastic.

Everything, from Eradani history to how to repair, manufacture and service their technology, from the location of precious metals on Earth to planets under Eradani control, from piloting a fighter to creating a hologram. Everything that the Eradani knew was here in this room. As I was climbing out of the chair the others began to stir. Our next conversation would be very interesting indeed.

The look of excitement in their faces was still there. Everyone joined in one big conversation, expressing wonder at what Carding 101 had revealed. It took a while to settle down but it seemed to naturally run its course and eventually we all looked to Craig.  This was his show, the base was on our family’s land and right now he was the elder statesman.  

He was puzzled, as we all were, as to why the base was totally deserted and wondered if the Eradani would return. How old was the place? It looked brand new, never used, spotless. We knew, though, that the Wedge had first been documented in 1871 so it was reasonable to assume it was at least that old. Writings of my great great grandfather, Alexander, told of the local Aboriginal tribe avoiding the Wedge for “generations”. It was difficult to put an actual time period to “generations” but we thought 150 years would be fair. The rocks on the outside of the base were well weathered but that was all part of the camouflage deal so did not help.

The area had been a building site for some time but the surrounding landscape bore no scars or debris from those works. Aerial photographs had shown no anomalies, given no clues, when checked by any of the family geologists over many years. Basically, the Eradani had camouflaged and landscaped this place brilliantly. Eventually we decided the Wedge and the base had been present for about 250 to 300 years. Further geological investigations might provide more answers but at this point we needed to move on.

If the place had indeed been here for 300 years then why had the Eradani left it deserted for so long? There were a couple of clues indicating the place had never been used and that no-one had ever visited to maintain the place. Everything indoors was pristine; no scuff marks, no personal touches, no wear and tear on the furniture or equipment. And the minor rock falls outside that had revealed the vidrioso seemed to indicate a lack of maintenance. So the complex had been vacant and untended for the whole 300 years perhaps. This was good; it meant the Eradani returning anytime in the near future was unlikely.

Perhaps going into the depths of the complex might find some answers. Craig thought the next move should be learning what the library contained so I quickly admitted my second foray into Carding. The others seemed happy enough but Craig gave a bit of a sour look. He chose not to comment though and moved on; he would likely chastise me later when we were alone. He asked me what I had learnt and for the second time that morning I spent some time going over what the helmet had revealed.

We could all learn so much in this library, but my personal opinion was no-one should know it all. Everyone agreed and we decided to look at all the subjects available and think about which s might be useful and of interest to each of us. Brett thought that perhaps we needed to bring in more people to learn and utilise the knowledge. This was a possibility but not just yet. Steve believed we had a great opportunity to further mankind’s knowledge and provide Earth with the benefits of the new technologies this place was teeming with. We all agreed; Stamford was not just for us anymore.

Graham thought it would be really beneficial, before we went too far, to find the location of all the valuable minerals the Eradani had mapped and claim those areas not yet discovered. It was, actually, not a bad idea. If we were to maximise the benefits of what Stamford held then we would need people and people did not do anything for free. Some of the technologies too could provide the financial way withal to undertake what we were beginning to plan.

It was at this point Adam mentioned there were alien fighters sitting above us waiting for a trial flight, waiting for human pilots. This was true. And all we needed to do was Card and we could play with some new, very exciting toys. Craig looked at his watch. The day was slipping away and the sun would soon begin its descent to the west. So much had happened in the last five hours, what would the next five hold?

Unfortunately, Carding had been quite clear; we knew now that we were required to first go to orientation and become ‘official’ recruits. The system had accepted us so now the requirement was to be orientated. We walked out the room and turned left, deeper into Stamford. Walking about 50 metres we turned right through a set of double sliding doors and into a reception area with numerous chairs scattered around and desks in front of a series of doors.

Graham entered one of the doors to reveal a room with a series of narrow benches. On each of these sat a narrow box as wide as the bench and with a curved base. As Graham approached a small control panel slid out and the box rose into the air, hovering about 50cm above the bench. That was a new bit of technology. Nice!

Brett checked the control panel and said that he thought we may have to lie on the bench and be scanned. Carding had not provided us a great amount of information on this process but Adam decided to volunteer anyway. He lay down on the bench and immediately the box lowered to his head with the base conforming to his profile. A green narrow light beam now shone on his forehead and the side of his head. From beneath another light shone on the back of his head.  An overhead 3-D monitor lit up and there was Adam’s head and contents for all to see. In colour and very lifelike. We all looked away, this could get messy.

The scanner began to move slowly down his body and the monitor provided the detail. The whole process took around two minutes without any input from any of us. Quick, silent, simple. The control panel flashed that the biometric scans were complete and the 3-D image of Adam’s foot disappeared. Suffering no ill effects Adam got off the bench and moved over to the side. The rest of us lay down on adjacent benches and immediately the scans began. Within two minutes it was done.

We weren’t really sure where to go next, we knew that we needed to set up our security details but the Carding had not really provided much information. Obviously, in an ideal world, there would be assistants here to guide and advise. We walked out of the scanning room and down the corridor opening doors as we went with most containing more of the scanners. Craig was a little ahead of us so was first to spot the doors marked Security Protocols.

We went into a room with a number of swipe pads and monitors.  The swipe pads appeared to be grouped in pairs. Brett walked up to the nearest set and placed his right hand over the right pad. It was quickly enveloped in the golden light which then turned blue and faded. The swipe pad remained dead. Brett was about to try again when Adam said that perhaps he needed to place his left hand on the adjacent pad. Brett placed his hands over their respective pads and the gold light enveloped them. It then turned red and disappeared. The swipe pads glowed and Brett entered the original code. This was registered by a red flash then it turned gold again. Brett swiped a new pattern, the pad glowed red then gold again so he repeated the pattern. The swipe pad glowed red for a second then flashed a few times before going blank. Hopefully his new code was accepted.

The rest of us went over to other pairs of swipe pads and repeated his actions. Hopefully that was it, we were orientated. Looking around the room there did not appear to be anything more of interest at this point so we departed Orientation and walked back to the library.

We all knew what was next; you could feel the excitement building in each of us.

I walked over to the cabinets, directly to the glass box we needed and pulled out 6 cards. Giving one to each of the guys, I went back to my helmet, removed the catalogue card and replaced it with “Razor 1_2”. Sitting down, I placed the helmet on my head, felt the gentle propping and then, once more I was inundated with information and some brilliant new skills.

[thestamfordproject]

11 - Stamford Base

Earth Base, Stamford Base as we were to later name it, was fully functional, fully operational, and why it was deserted was, at this point, a mystery, but it was something I thought we could take advantage of. It started life as a massive hole in the ground. Semi liquid glacierite, or more correctly vidrioso, was poured in to form the foundation then widely spaced pillars were formed along with the outer walls and floors. Much like building with concrete, albeit without the need for reinforcement, the massive structure took shape. 10 levels below ground, 10 above with five of those cavernous in height. The rocks used as camouflage were effectively glued on using liquid vidrioso. It was a work of art. Without the rock and sand the structure stood at 245 metres in height from basement to the cap. It was 302 metres wide by 721 metres long.

The tail of the Wedge, where it slowly descended to the desert floor was effectively a separate rock and sand covered vidrioso bubble and was used as a huge holographic practice field.

Each level was over 215,000 square metres. The lower two levels of the main structure, I and J, were service areas, plant rooms, power convertors and environmental units. Above these were three floors of hydroponic gardens, kitchens and storage areas. Dining, recreation (including 3-D holographic cinemas!) and store rooms occupied level E while A, B, C and D were predominantly sleeping quarters, gyms, sitting rooms and ablutions. The place easily accommodated and serviced 10,000 personnel mostly in twin share or single rooms with en suites.

Level 1, or ground floor, was security together with reception, orientation, medical and consultation rooms, associated administration offices and where we were currently, the library. The level was mirrored to the north, separated for security reasons. Between the two Level 1 sections was procurement and stores. This included clothing, footwear and utility equipment. Further in behind the library and more administration offices was another smaller security hall before going through to weapons and weapons practice halls.

Levels 2 and 3 consist of administration offices and associated facilities. Level 4 is operations, tactical support, intelligence and high level administration.

Then it starts to get really interesting. Levels 5 and 6 are each about 25 metres high, they both have three mezzanine levels covering 15% of the floor and encompassing  traffic control, weapons control, technical operations, coordination and tactical support . The rest of each floor is a giant hanger full of inter planetary light fighters together with associated support and service facilities. The 2 levels are serviced by one of the giant doors we had seen in the moonlight. Level 7 and 8 are similar but, instead of fighters, house transporters and heavy fighters. Level 10 consists mostly of service and utility areas.

Level 9 is massive. 70 metres from floor to ceiling it contains five fully functional star class frigates. Yes, that’s right, STAR CLASS frigates. Each 200 metres long, 59 metres high and  83 metres wide, they were made to travel anywhere in our galaxy. And they were here, 125 metres or so above us. Like the levels 5/6 and 7/8 it was serviced by a giant 2 section door to the exterior. For safety reasons, all craft entered, berthed and exited under automated computer control.

I only knew what the carding had told me so was unable to tell the guys much more about the individual craft, I thought it likely those floors would be next on our itinerary somehow. Much of what I had told them was just the basics; there was still so much in my head that I was yet to find or comprehend.

Now that I was Carded with what was in effect the recruit introduction, I would need to go through to another room for orientation, for us that would only involve selecting a new access code and undergoing some biometric scans for recognition purposes.

The guys looked at me, I could see the excitement in their faces and eyes. Craig asked if I was still feeling OK and I replied to the affirmative. He then went to a chair, sat down and stated that it was time for all of us to be carded, time for the rest of our group to know what I knew and then, we could decide what was next. The other four guys sat down and picked up their helmets. Almost as one, they placed them on their heads and I was alone.

They would return in three minutes.

[thestamfordproject]

10 - Down the Rabbit Hole

We were on the verge of making great discoveries. The helmets were harmless as was the process they utilised. They were a conduit for passing on information, lots of it and in a short time. What I had received was merely an introduction to other worlds, cultures, knowledge. It gave me the basics and now I wanted, needed, to know more. We were essentially in a vast and complex library. The cards were knowledge, they just needed to be plugged into the helmet and their contents became ours.

Each cabinet contained 100 glass trays, each glass tray was dedicated to a specific subject or category and contained 100 cards, each the same.  This was a library of vast knowledge far greater than any of us could imagine. Too much knowledge, perhaps, for any one individual. And it was all designed for humans, to enlighten us, educate us, endow us with such knowledge and understanding as to expand our horizons and take our place in the universe.

It is of course alien. Not of this world but never the less, made for us. The complex we were in, the technology, everything was alien but designed for our minds, our bodies, our capacity. There was nothing to fear, nothing to hide or run from. Just knowledge.  And loyalty.

The card had, somewhere in the depths of my mind, imparted an undying loyalty to the cause, to the complex, to the team. I truly felt I could never lie to or betray these guys, my team. This underlying sense would eventually become the base on which the future Earth would be built. I have never believed it to be evil or insidious, some would, but for most it would give security and an undying belief in what they were doing.

What I knew now, from being “carded” that first time, was that the complex, or base, we were in, was established by an alien race, not dissimilar to man, called the Eradani. They reside in the 58 Eradani systems in the Eridanus Constellation some 43.4 light-years from Earth. They are essentially miners with numerous mining ventures throughout the Milkyway Galaxy. Planets under Eradani control commonly have armed bases in order to defend the mining assets. Earth base was new and one of the most distant from their home planets. A second base, similar to the one we are in is located in the northern hemisphere, awaiting discovery.

  These bases are generally on planets currently being mined but are occasionally located to protect very high yield rights from pirate claim jumpers. The Eradani use indigenous beings, when available, to work these mines, bases and the arms stored within. The helmets provide the indigenous workers with the knowledge required to operate and maintain Eradani technology while also providing awareness and understanding on an uncountable array of subjects. Among the cards was geological information including the location of many sites on Earth and other planets where specific minerals would be found. The Eradani were particularly interested in mineral sands, gold, nickel, silver, bauxite, titanium and diamonds while being totally disinterested in fossil fuels, iron ore and uranium. Unless there was a useful indigenous population, most mining operations were based on planets or moons with atmospheres similar to the Eradani home planets (and similar to Earth’s for that matter) as it was far less cost effective and incredibly difficult to mine in hostile environments.

Almost every base was under a yellow sun, the same as Earths.

  The Eradani mine, smelter and produce a wide range of metals, alloys and related, value added products. Heavy consumers, they are technically advanced and peaceful although most of their ships, including freighters and ore transporters, are armed. They also operate a wide array of interplanetary fighters.

  Eradani technology is powered by the passing of solar particles (Tau and Muon neutrinos) through rods of an alloy made from a very specific metal, eradite (an element not known or found on Earth) and silver (creating the alloy seridium). The solar particles must pass through these seridium rods, exciting them and creating a controlled nuclear fusion reaction within a vacuum, in turn creating vast amounts of energy. This energy can be either stored or used immediately and is remarkably safe. Effectively, the Eradani are solar powered.

  Inter-stellar travel is by way of Transition-drive engines that “shift” the ship into alternate space and contract distance to the point it will allow craft to travel great distances in a short time. Star-class ships can traverse two light-years in around eight Earth hours but are required to transition out of alternate space at this point to establish position and correct navigational anomalies. Navigational beacons, or way-stations, are located every two light years on regular travel routes to assist this process.

  The Eragani’s closest neighbours are the Aurigae (oh-rye-gay). Their home planet is within the Lambda Aurigae system in the Auriga Constellation, 41.2 light-years from Earth. The Aurigae specialise in commerce, finance and investment. They provide financial backing to the Eradani.

  Like the Eradani, the Aurigae are consumers and technically advanced with both star and galaxy class Transition-drive space vehicles equipped with advanced weaponry and armed interplanetary fighters/attack craft. Of the two, the Eradani have the more advanced fleet and weaponry.

  Opposed to both the Eradani and the Aurigae are the Taragean. The Taragean home world had been virtually destroyed by the Eradani through mining, smelting and refining operations. The Taragean refuse to be a labour force to the Eradani or Aurigae and consequently have become pirates, operating 200 or so light to heavy battle cruisers and numerous attack craft, all captured from their enemies. The Taragean have some support from smaller non-mining planets and normally base themselves on habitable yet obscure planets or moons.

  I took a deep breath, everyone was riveted to the spot, hopefully I had been talking in English, not Eradani. Adam spoke first and asked simply, “What about this place, what is this place all about?”

  I drank some water and, opening a trail bar, continued with what I knew.

[thestamfordproject]

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.

[thestamfordproject]

8 - Into the Depths (Part 1)

The sun was up although it was still well behind the Wedge as we walked back to camp, all of us talking at once.  We were all excited by the discovery of the complex and after our short exploration could hardly wait to return inside. Even Graham seemed have put his fears aside. After all, no-one had tried to stop us, in fact there did not appear to be anyone around to stop us. We hurriedly ate a bowl or two of cereal then loaded our backpacks with trail bars, water, torches and miscellaneous other items we thought we may need. After a quick discussion we decided that this exploratory excursion would go on for as long as we could manage, probably not returning to camp until late.

After securing the camp as best we could we headed off back down the path to the entry we had used earlier. This time Craig led the way through and we were once again standing in what we thought now to be a giant security hall. We decided to take a quick look behind the doors on the southern wall before progressing. Three were locked but responded to our swipe pattern. Each was empty other than what looked to be metal racking. Storage rooms perhaps? The other two had no locks and the doors slid open as we approached each. Inside were what looked to be sinks, taps, drains, toilet bowls, showers and lockers. Although quite different in design and shapes the functions were quite apparent. Not only that, but the two areas were quite distinctly male and female.

After a cursory look around we exited and made our way to the gates. Looking around I noticed that there were a number of the frosted glass screens we had seen earlier, all attached to the walls at regular intervals. And next to each of those was a large semicircular disc, the straight side along the wall. These looked to be about a metre wide. A glass screen hung above each gate as well. I guessed that, following our earlier experiment with the computer, each were smart glass monitors and that each of those here were perhaps information screens.  In many aspects the place looked like an airport terminal.

We all went through the gates and before heading into the reception hall ahead we turned left to check behind the doors in the northern wall. So far, opening each door or gate only required the standard swipe code. This seemed to be a total lack of security but, as Brett explained, it was likely this was just the default code for the complex and that eventually we would need individual codes. This would of course present a problem since we had no idea what language this place operated on and could therefore not follow any instructions should they ever appear. None of us were familiar with the characters we had seen and since there was no mobile reception out here we could not investigate it on-line.

Deciding to be as methodical as possible we opened each door in turn. The first four doors all opened into the same room, which appeared to be a vast open plan office with individual enclosed offices and meeting rooms along the walls. Like everywhere else so far the light just was, it just existed, there were no fittings anywhere. Most desks had the frosted glass monitors and glass keyboards although some had both the monitor and a small half circle disk with a black glass partition along the straight edge about 35cm tall. Brett went to the closest of these and, finding the power switch, booted the system up.

The monitor sprang to life immediately, again showing the unknown planet. The semicircular disc made a series of rapid clicks. These stopped and suddenly the planet was there, hovering above the disc. In three dimensions. A hologram that looked very, very real. Initially, the image was faint but gradually it became clearer to the point it actually looked solid. Although the rear of partition obscured much of the rear of the image it was still visible from above. It was like being in a science fiction movie, only this was not a special effect, and it was actually happening. Not for the first time on this trip we were speechless. Then Adam said what we were all thinking “I gotta get me one of those!”

Brett looked long and hard at the image and then said he had never heard of anyone successfully being able to project a 3-D holographic image such as this. No mirrors were present, nothing seemed to reflect the light to enable it to be visible. This was not any technology he was familiar with. Of course, he was not alone there. He placed his hand over the slowly rotating planet and stated he could feel nothing. He slowly lowered his hand and then the image was brushing his palm. He lowered one finger into it and it disappeared into the northern pole. He lifted it out with no ill affect. We all started breathing again. This was getting weird.

Unable to do anything further Brett shut down the system and, there being nothing else of interest in this room, we departed. Walking out we turned right and entered the third last door at this end of the hall. Craig and Adam continued on and entered the last two doors. We all entered into a large round auditorium with rows of seats surrounding  and stepping down to a large circular stage area 7 or 8 metres below where we stood. The area would have easily accommodated 150 people or so. I sat down in one of the seats; while unusually designed it was wonderfully comfortable and felt as if it formed and melded to my body.

Graham and Adam stepped down to the stage and stood looking up and around the auditorium. Meanwhile Brett had spied a small glassed off booth on the opposite wall and had gone in. We could only just see him behind the dark glass.  He apparently turned something on because we could all suddenly hear a low hum which gradually faded out.  Then we heard a series of clicks and, dimly at first then quickly clearing and solidifying, the planet grew out of the centre of the podium floor, swallowing both Graham and Adam.  It grew to almost fill the circular podium area and at this scale details of the planet were clear. Cities, oceans, towns, lakes, forests and more were visible. It looked similar to Earth but had only three continents, one covering almost half the planet’s surface. Graham cursed and stepped out of the image but Adam remained immersed in it seeming to enjoy the show from within.

The rest of us stared up in wonder. 3-D holographic imagery on a massive scale; I-Max had nothing on this. This was rapidly becoming more a voyage of discovery than a simple exploration. And now, as we began a very animated discussion, we were all pondering: whose facility was this? Who had the advanced technological knowledge for actual 3-D holograms such as this? Then there was the way the complex was disguised, the glacierite and the “it’s everywhere” lighting? The security that was, once you got the right pattern, no security at all? And why was the place deserted. Why were there no alarms going or armed guards or damn aliens even? Aliens? Is this what this place was? Alien? It certainly was heading in that direction as our imaginations really started to kick in.

Adam stepped out of the hologram, looking even more excited. The image was a true representation of the planet, from within he had been under the oceans, in the soil and rock and ice on the polar cap. I shivered at the thought of it. And then I recognised what a tool this could be for so many scientific disciplines. I realised that I had a serious case of butterflies and looking at the others knew we all shared the same sensation and were asking the same questions. Instead of the place giving us answers it just kept throwing more questions at us.

We needed to go further in, back to the reception hall and deep into the complex if we were to find answers.

[thestamfordproject]

7 - A Short Exploration

As the door shut behind us we all turned back and looked. There was a large square centre hinged type button next to the door, gold at top, blue/grey on the bottom. Graham, being the last through, was closest, he pushed the button up and straight away the doors slid open. Excellent, we could escape if necessary. He pushed the button down and the doors closed.

We all turned back to face the room. It was huge, probably 50 metres wide by around 100 metres long and four stories in height.  The wall behind us was broken by another nine or ten doors the same as the one through which we had entered and were each about 5 metres apart. The southern wall was only 10 metres away and it had several doorways in it. Above the doors were signs with symbols we did not recognise.

The northern wall, about 90 metres away, had large dark windows along its length together with various glass doorways. The wall above was solid to the ceiling.  About 10 metres in front of that was a glass wall about 2 metres high and spanning the entire width of the room. It was broken by several glass doors spaced evenly along it.

Ahead of us 20 metres the fixtures reminded me of a railway station or a customs hall.  There were a series of gates, each separated by a dividing box which, as we soon discovered, held another swipe pad. Between every set of  six gates was an elevated work station with glass screens. On each of the platforms was what looked to be a desk and a weird, sculptured chair. On the desk was a large piece of frosted glass, sitting vertically like a wide screen monitor, and lying flat in front of that, a piece of black glass the size of a keyboard.

20 metres behind the gates was a wall made entirely of glass with occasional glass doors spaced along it.  Rising from this was a solid wall, three stories in height and broken by large glass windows stretching along each floor level. We could see nothing behind these or the glass behind the gates. Most doorways appeared to have signs above them, all using the weird symbols.

Before moving forward we discussed our plan of attack. We decided we should remain together. Brett disappeared back out the door and returned shortly with the 2- ways, he gave one each to Craig and Steve and kept the other for himself, just in case we got separated. At this point we had no idea how large this complex was but there was a good chance it was likely to be the same size as the Wedge. There was no sign of the glacierite in this section so we thought that it perhaps served to protect and maybe support the complex we had entered and that, judging by the thickness of the doors, it would be about 40 centimetres thick.

  The guys did a radio check but could not get them to function. They tried various channels but all to no avail. Brett took them back outside and returned with the can of paint Adam had used earlier along with two others; we would use those to mark our way. As we walked east towards the gates Craig commented that there were no light fittings that he could see yet there was plenty of light. He was right. The entire hall was well lit but none of us could discern where the light was actually coming from. It seemed to emanate from the walls and floor themselves.

As we approached the gates the ones nearest us came to life, the pads were again backlit with a soft golden light and the gates turned an ice blue. It was very much like we were going through security; whoever ran this place did not seem to want unknowns getting too far. Steve swiped the pattern he had used earlier and straight away the gate glowed gold before disappearing. He went through and immediately the ice blue gate reappeared. Craig stepped up and also used the pattern. Again the gate glowed gold and disappeared. The rest of us then went to four different gates and all managed to go through, even Adam. As we were to discover in due course the pattern we had used was a system default, similar to an email account where the original password may be “password1”. We would all eventually be forced to select our own patterns to gain entry.

Once through the gates we walked straight ahead to the nearest doors in the glass wall. As we did so the lighting in the next room kicked into life revealing another room of about the same square metres as the one we had just left but this time with a ceiling only 4 metres above us. Ahead were weird looking sofas and chairs and further on what may have been low reception desks from one end to the other. At either end of the room were what appeared to be banks of lifts and next to them a large wide staircase going both up and down. As we entered the room a long wide corridor behind the reception desks illuminated revealing a number of doorways on either side.

On the reception desks were more of the frosted panels. Brett sat behind one of these and began looking over the desk. Obviously he found what he was looking for because a moment later the frosted glass sprang to life. It was indeed a monitor made of some sort of smart glass. The black glass plate on the desk glowed green with deep green outlines of keys each containing a different bizarre symbol. Code? A foreign language/alphabet perhaps? On the monitor a planet was slowly revolving but it was not one we were familiar with. A box appeared at centre screen and began flashing. So, passwords were required.

Brett turned off the system and stood up. Craig’s stomach let go a series of squeaks and grumbles. None of us had eaten and we all suddenly realised how hungry we were. I checked my watch, 7.30am. Where had that time gone? We decided that the complex was going nowhere and we would perform better on a full stomach and a wash of some description. So, we headed back to where we had entered. I walked up to the next door  north and pushed the button. The door slid back revealing another path through the outcrops. The day looked clear and bright as we all made our way back to camp. Now we could replenish ourselves and load up some supplies to take in with us. We were all, even Graham, looking forward to exploring our discovery but we would do it methodically and without risk.

At least that’s what we agreed to do.

[thestamfordproject]

6 - A Flashing Red Light

As I ran into camp the guys were, amongst a great deal of swearing and carry on, sitting up or attempting to climb out of their swags. They were all quite obviously still half asleep but could at least recognise that my adrenaline was up and there was something terribly, terribly amiss. As they got up and put on various items of clothing I gathered my thoughts.

After 20 seconds or so they were all up and gathered close to me asking me what was going on. I quickly explained what I had seen, that the glacierite was glowing and there appeared to be  gaps in the overlaying stone exposing more of the glacierite albeit just thin seams. As I talked their eyes all looked toward the face, particularly to where the large patch was. Unfortunately at this location it was obscured by outcrops.

I could see they were itching to see for themselves so I told them to head down the path, that I would catch up, I needed to check something. As the five of them went off towards the Wedge I headed west, away from it. I needed to get far enough away to see what all the other seams in the face might indicate. I got about 250 metres out before I looked back. Steve was right behind me. He had wondered where I was heading and now, like me, looked back to the east. Although the basal outcrops still obscured the lower portions much of the southern end of the western face was now open to our view.

It took a little while for our eyes to adjust but then, what we saw was nothing short of astounding. High up the face were three long horizontal seams of light joined at the ends by two vertical seams. Halfway down from this set was another set, exactly the same. And here and there over the entire face were smaller sets. Some incomplete were they lay in shadow but were there never the less. Looking north we thought,  perhaps, there were more but the angle was too tight and the distance too great to really see. We would need to go further out into the desert with the binoculars to confirm.

We must have stood there gawking at the face for several long minutes. We considered heading back to the others but then could hear them approaching us. When they arrived they too looked eastward. We all talked at once, excited at what we were seeing. By this time it was well after 4.00am and we only had another couple of hours of darkness. We concluded that the glacierite only glowed in the moonlight since it was dark in the shadows and gave off nothing in daylight. We also thought that perhaps where the seams were they served some purpose, were a function of whatever lay beneath the rock. Doors or windows perhaps? But to what? And some of them were massive.

We slowly walked back towards the face each of us excited by our discovery but apprehensive about what it may mean, about what we might find. Without discussing it in any way we found ourselves as a group walking down the gap between the outcrops, straight back to the seams of light originating at ground level. Brett walked up to the middle vertical seam, its lower half disappearing as he stood between the rock face and the moon.

He began to feel the rock where the seam of light had been but could feel nothing other than the rough surface of the stone. He moved off to the left exposing the face to the moon again. The seam again glowed but still he could detect nothing.

Meanwhile Adam had started feeling the right hand seam and as his right hand came to a point about 1.5 metres off the ground his hand deviated just a fraction to the right, away from the seam of light.  Suddenly his hand was enveloped in an eerie golden light, darker around the edges. It was around just his hand and seemed to pulsate, perhaps with Adam’s heartbeat as the pulsing seemed to increase. Then, it was gone. In its place, under Adam’s hand, a device had extended out of the stone. It was about  150mm square and angled up like a keypad might be. We all stood frozen for seconds before Adam removed his hand, the device remained there. The face appeared to be glass and was backlit in a soft gold. The face was divided into 16 equal squares. It was a key pad or perhaps a swipe pad.

None of us moved, the Wedge just continued to surprise, to reveal hitherto unknown secrets. Personally, I was dumb founded, I think the others were too. After a short time the device disappeared back into the rock face. Graham was deathly quiet. Then quietly he explained we should go no further, this was wrong, evil perhaps, and us messing with the unknown was dangerous, that always, in this situation, somewhere a little red light was flashing, warning someone, something, of our presence.

The rest of us didn’t really agree. No-one, no thing, had come out and warned us, shot us while we slept; there did not appear to be anyone (or thing) home so what was the harm? Nothing ventured and all that…

Brett said not to touch anything, that he would be back in a moment. He took off back to camp and returned in short order with a pencil and notepad. He explained, the device looked to be a swipe pad, that the seams of light in front of us could actually be the outline of a door and by entering the right pattern we may well gain entry. Guess work, but logical perhaps. Graham groaned.

Brett started to draw pages of 16 square diagrams and told Adam to try the area of golden light again. Adam called it the gold zone.  He did as he was asked and once more his hand was enveloped before the swipe pad extended out again. Brett told Adam to swipe a pattern onto the pad, he would record the pattern in the note book to ensure it was not repeated should it fail. Adam swiped, his first attempt turning the pad red before it returned to gold. But it confirmed it was swipe pad, not a keypad. The squares highlighted as did the track Adam swiped. Adam tried another pattern , red again, then another. Five swipes, five reds. Then the pad disappeared back into the rock face. Adam tried several times to get the pad to extend but the gold zone would envelope his hand then turn red and disappear. OK, so you only got five shots at it. And it was probably biometric. That complicated things.

Brett passed the notebook over to Craig and then placed his hand into the gold zone. It was immediately enveloped and the swipe pad again extended. So it also recognised there was a new user. Brett tried five times using different patterns but again five reds.

The moon would be up for some time yet but its light would disappear as dawn approached. Adam had gone back to camp while Brett made his attempts and returned with a can of fluorescent orange marking paint. He sprayed a large dot in the gold zone. At least we could find it again in daylight or without the moon. As matter of interest Adam tried again but the swipe pad stayed hidden.

Steve stepped up to the pad but before making an attempt he checked Brett’s notebook, he did not want to repeat a pattern. We obviously had limited opportunity here. Graham continued complaining but did not back away. Despite his trepidation I think he was still very interested in proceedings.

Steve then placed his hand in the zone and once again the swipe pad appeared. He tried four different patterns, all to no avail, then, just as we were getting a little stressed, his fifth swipe resulted in the pad emitting a low warble before a gentle hiss saw the seams widening and an opening into the Wedge appearing. It was nothing short of extraordinary luck. So many different possibilities in a 16 square pad and Steve had arsed in on his fifth and last try.

Inside was dark. Then it wasn’t. It just lit up. Cold and clinical. We all looked at each other and then stood there looking in. Well, this was what we had been trying to achieve wasn’t it? What lay ahead of us and how did it get here? Who, or what, had built this entry? Was it a secret mine? We needed the answers. Brett went in. No-one shot him, nothing zapped him or wrapped jaws around his head. He looked back, clutched his throat and began choking. Then he smiled and  broke up laughing. Prick.

Steve and Craig entered then Adam and I followed. Graham lingered outside just a little longer. He moaned again then came through the door still mumbling something about a red flashing light.

The door shut quietly behind us.

[thestamfordproject]

5 - Full Moon

The three of us were still standing staring at the patch of ‘hardenite’ and fingering pieces of the now cooled remains of the pick head when the other guys arrived. We were quick to explain the events of the last 30 minutes or so. Adam climbed up for a closer look but did not attempt to inflict any damage to the material. The shadows were getting long, sundown was only about 30 or 40 minutes away so we decided to set up camp and wait until morning to explore further.

Adam climbed down from the ledge but instead of exiting via the outcrops he had entered through he headed north along the face, perhaps looking for more evidence of the ‘hardenite’. Then, a few minutes later he popped out about 50 metres north of where we were considering making camp.

He called out saying he had found a clear path straight to the face but no sign of any more ‘hardenite’. He also said there was a nice clearing right there which would make a good camp so, while Steve and Brett moved the Landcruisers up to it, the rest of us walked through the low bush chatting about what the material could be. As geologists, neither Craig, with all his experience, nor I, with my fresh out of University exuberance, could come to any real conclusions.

We unloaded our swags and looked for fire wood while we still had some light. We had brought the gas stove with us along with the fridge/freezers and had defrosted steaks through the afternoons drive so Graham and Steve began cooking those while I prepared some salad vegetables. We all enjoyed a cold beer or two and then cracked a few comforting reds over dinner. Afterwards we sat around the fire in quiet contemplation. The Wedge had presented us with a fine mystery and none of us really knew what to make of it.

The material had destroyed diamond tipped bits with ease and shattered hardened steel. The fact that the steel had become so hot from a few hits was quite astounding. Whatever this was it was harder than anything else we knew of. Had we discovered a new mineral? Could it be used for anything and really, how had it gotten here? Did it go right through the Wedge or was it just a veneer? How would it react to other invasive procedures such as a blow torch or controlled detonation? Disliking the term hardenite we tried a few names before finally settling on glacierite. A geological  name could not be determined until its composition was known so, based on its colour and appearance, glacierite would do. Graham was a bit miffed as he thought hardenite was a much better name. He was soundly outvoted.

We talked, and drank, long into the night and it was approaching midnight before we finally hit the sack. This close to the Wedge the waning moon was still hidden from our view but judging by the glow at the lip 200 metres above it would very soon begin its westward descent. Once in my swag, the day and the alcohol had its effect on me, I drifted off to sleep almost immediately.

Something disturbed me. I awoke abruptly on my left side and rolled onto my back, the moon was halfway to the western horizon. I heard a rustle in the nearby bushes followed by several dull, low thuds and I sat up, suddenly very awake. In the moonlight I could make out several kangaroos about 20 metres away to my left. They stared back for a few seconds then continued their journey through the desert. The other guys remained asleep with, I presumed, Brad snoring softly. The alcohol was now having a severe effect on my bladder so I crawled out of my swag and put on a pair of sneakers before wandering toward the Wedge. Not wanting to disturb the others I decided to head down the pathway in the outcrops Adam had found earlier. I looked at my watch, 3.30am, so plenty of time for sleep yet.

Looking toward the western face I let loose onto a nearby rock. The noise was thunderous in the desert quiet. As I did my business I let my eyes wander to the cliff face then back south to where the glacierite was exposed. The entire western face was bathed in moonlight revealing a very different texture to the rock face from that seen through the day. Where I thought the glacierite was located the rock seemed to glow. I looked away, my senses still slow from sleep and red wine. I looked north now and directly up before returning my gaze to the rock face 20 metres directly in front of me. For the second time in the past 24 hours I was slow to register exactly what it was I was actually looking at.

Like some sort of epiphany my mind woke up and I again looked south toward the exposed glacierite. It was definitely glowing softly in the moonlight. Then I looked again directly in front of me and, above the moonlight, there it was again, a soft glow like the luminescence of a watch face only a mellow light blue with darker edges. And here it wasn’t random, it was a straight, narrow seam of light, the horizontal line about 2 metres above the ground and of the same length with three vertical seams running down to ground level. It looked like an outline of lift doors. Once again I found myself paralysed in some type of stupor.  I looked upwards and to the north, something was drawing my eyes and there it was, more glowing seams all across what I could see of the western face. Straight lines, glowing lines, orderly, unnatural lines. In the shadows the glow disappeared. I was literally gaping as my eyes darted across the visible face going from one glowing seam to the other, all in the space of a few seconds.

I was shaken from my stupor when I unceremoniously pissed on my left foot.

 Wrapping up my business hurriedly, my mind reeling, not caring if I left a wet patch on my shorts, I turned and ran back to camp yelling for everyone to wake the hell up.

[thestamfordproject]

4 - What the...?

Unlike the past few mornings we all got a sleep-in. Craig was a bit despondent, Stamford had once again disappointed and in a region full of successful mining tenements it was more than a little baffling. Anyway, Craig was slow to get moving so the rest of us indulged in a long linger in our swags. It was after 8 before we got moving. Steve and Graham cooked up some fried eggs with sausage which we all chowed down on. As the morning sun had managed to warm the solar showers I took the opportunity to enjoy a wash down and freshen up.

We had packed up the rig the previous day so all we needed to do was pack the Landcruisers with our swags and supplies sufficient for one night down on the flat. Since it was uncomfortable for 3 abreast in the ‘cruisers Adam and I volunteered to stand in the trays and act as spotters. Rather than both ‘cruisers stay together we decided to each go in opposite directions and meet halfway along the western face. Hopefully one of us would spot what we were looking for before that and contact the other by 2-way.

Once we had reached the bottom Adam, Steve and Graham headed north while we headed south before turning south west and follow the Wedge until settling into an almost westerly direction. Low shrubs, spinifex and small trees dotted the landscape. The first 2 were relatively easy to go over although it was necessary to occasionally check that vegetation was not being collected under the vehicle for fear of the exhaust system setting it alight.

The trees were fairly sparse so we were pretty much able to follow the base keeping between 50 and 100 metres out from it so I could get a good view of the slowly rising southern face. As the height grew I would need binoculars to get a decent idea of what was above us but for the time being I could see pretty well without. Since there was no track at all things were pretty rough and it was difficult to focus on the minute details of the face so every 100 metres or so we would stop and all three of us scan for anything unusual in the rock face.

At that time of year the sun was heading northwards so much of the southern face was in shade. Occasionally there would be gully near the top of the Wedge and the sun would appear over the lip  making it impossible to really see anything in that vicinity. At the base of the Wedge there were huge eroded boulders and rocks that sprung from the surrounding earth like ancient tree trunks. These stood anywhere from a metre to 20 or 30 metres high and regularly hid the lower rock face from view. Where we could we would stop and find a path through the rock forest to the base. All in all it was slow journey and by lunch we had only gone about half way along the southern face.

By now the cliff had gradually risen to a majestic 200 metres and in places was dotted with scrappy looking shrubs and deformed trees. There were also a few spots where there had obviously been minor rock falls but close inspection revealed nothing unusual. We received a radio call from the other team mid-afternoon but only to see how things were going. Like us their day had so far proven fruitless. We seemed to make better time after lunch and by 3:30 we thought that we would be getting close to where the southern face abruptly turned northwards. The sun was lowering on the horizon when Craig called to say he could see the end of the Wedge approaching. To that point the most exciting thing we had spotted was an emu with his clutch of 7 juvenile chicks.

My eyes stung from dust, using the binoculars and fatigue. It had not been an entirely enjoyable journey by any stretch. So, as we approached the south western corner of the Wedge it took a while for my mind to register that there was something wrong with the area of cliff face I was looking at. I called to Craig to stop the ute and jumped out, binoculars in hand. Craig and Brett climbed out slowly, stiff from sitting too long in the cab.

Now we weren’t moving I could concentrate my gaze through the binoculars with some degree of accuracy and there, almost on the south west corner and about halfway up, was what appeared to be a dramatic change in the surface appearance. Rather than the rugged and rough whitish or red rock as with the rest of the face, there in my view  was a large exposed section of what, in the shade, looked to be a dark glacial blue, smooth, very smooth, stone. In these surrounds it looked unnatural.

The other two asked what it was I had spotted and I pointed it out to them both. Each took their turn looking at it through the binoculars and none of us could think what it may be. It appeared almost glass like from this distance but that was not possible was it? As Craig and Brett took turns looking at it I scanned the rest of the southern face, slowly walking towards the bend north. Then I was looking at the western face, bathed in the late afternoon sunlight.

And there, just 30 metres away, about 20 metres along the face and perhaps 10 metres high was another smooth patch. In the sunlight it appeared glacial in colour and, although smooth and waterlike it provided no reflection. In fact it seemed to absorb the light and swallow it into its depths. I called to the others and they joined me before the three of us began finding a path through the intervening outcrops. After a few minutes we climbed a huge heap of rubble, the remnants of what had once covered the mysterious material, and stood directly below the patch, now some 8 metres above us.

So we had found the culprit, Graham’s ‘hardenite’. Brett radioed the other team and they advised they would join us shortly. Craig went back to the ute and grabbed a 23 ounce pick and began the climb up the rock face. It was relatively easy going, lots of foot and hand holds and he reached the patch in short order. The ‘hardenite’ had been covered by about a half metre of rock at this point and, with it seemingly stable, Craig was able to carefully stand on the narrow ledge formed by the rock fall. Reaching into the shallow cavity, he hit the ‘hardenite’ with the pick, tentatively at first then harder. The metal rang out several times as Craig determinedly tried to make an impression.

Then, after the sixth or seventh hit, there was an odd noise, almost a squeal, and the pick head shattered. Not just bent or snapped, it shattered. Thankfully Craig was wearing safety goggles so his eyes were protected from the metal as it very nearly exploded in all directions but he still yelped with pain where the metal found his face and hands.

The remains fell around us, small lumps of rough pitted metal totally unrecognisable from what it had once been. A piece fell down the back of Brett’s shirt and he too yelped in pain, the metal was burning hot. Fortunately his shirt wasn’t tucked in and the remnants fell out to the ground. I bent to pick up another piece but could feel the heat being emitted so gave that up. Craig quickly clambered down and we looked at the undamaged patch in silence.

After a moment or two and almost in unison we chorused “what the f….”

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[thestamfordproject]

3 - Frustrations

The morning broke crisp and clear. As everyone slowly got going Brett and Graham scrambled a veritable hen-house of eggs and fried several pigs of bacon. Coffee was handled by Adam while Steve and I dug some crap holes well away from camp and protected by a small outcrop. Craig checked his equipment one more time and by the time breakfast was cooked he was pretty much ready to begin drilling.

Adam and Brett cleaned up while Graham took one of the utes down to the plain to collect more wood for the fire. Craig, Steve and I wandered over to the rig and began the routine pre-start checks before we finally got started. The diamond core drill bit went in relatively easy for the first 6 metres and then began to shudder and squeal as it hit something hard and apparently immovable. Craig hit the stops very quickly and hopefully before any damage was done but when the bit was raised it was so badly mutilated as to be nothing but scrap.

Craig swore, a lot, and after some consultation with Steve we began the process of moving the rig to a new location. We also discussed, at great length, what could have caused the lack of penetration and the severe damage to the bit. Steve suggested that it may have been a combination of speed, an old drill bit and a vein of very hard quartz. The problem with that theory was the drill bit was, according to Craig, hardly old and the rpm of the drill was perfect for the known conditions. The matter remained unresolved for the time being.

After resetting, Craig began drilling, this time with a new bit and a great deal of trepidation as the drill approached 6 metres. Craig stayed close to the controls which was fortunate as the bit once again squealed out. We raised the bit hoping it was OK. Thankfully, this time Craig had shut down in time to save the bit from too much damage. So, we moved the rig again and four times after that, each time reaching between 5 and 6 metres before the drill squealed to a halt. Nearing mid-afternoon we had drilled at 7 different locations on the Wedge each time with the same result and had managed to burn through 3 drill bits at over $350 each.  

Adam and Brett had joined Graham on the surrounding plain for much of the morning collecting firewood and fossicking about in some dry creek beds. They returned before lunch and supplied us with beef sausages in fresh bread baked on the camp fire. They then quietly disappeared, most likely for an afternoon nap. The three of them, probably awakened by the colourful language coming from the general area of the rig, now joined us as we discussed our next move. Craig had only one more bit on hand and was not keen to see it go the way of the others.

Mechanically and geologically the drill bits should have easily made their way through the indigenous rock but this had been far from the case. And it did not seem to matter where on the Wedge we drilled, whatever was down there apparently capped the entire formation.

Geologically speaking the land here is Archean Yilgarn craton and commonly called the Yilgarn Block. It is one of the most ancient landscapes preserved on Earth. Detrital zircons found in the Block have been dated as being 4,404 million years old (± 8 million). The landscape itself probably dates to 2,900 million years and generally is composed of granite and granodiorite. I could go on but, sufficed to say, nothing should have stopped those drills.

After a great deal of discussion we decided the best chance of actually viewing whatever was down there was to inspect the north, western and southern faces of the Wedge in the hope that some of the overlaying material had eroded away exposing the mystery cap.

The easiest, most efficient way was to pack the 2 Landcruisers with essentials and to slowly circumnavigate the Wedge down on the plain. This would take more than a day as there was no track to speak of, we would be travelling at a snail’s pace and would likely be stopping regularly. All that and the Wedge was quite a monolith particularly at ground level. We would head out the following morning so there was nothing else to do but pack up the drilling equipment and make basic preparations for the newly planned excursion.

The conversation around the fire that night concentrated almost entirely on whatever it was that lay beneath the surface, in fact, directly below us at that time. If we could not find an exposed section the following day then we would have to find a method to reveal it. Perhaps a small, controlled blast would do the trick but for the time being we hoped luck would be with us and provide a nicely exposed section of “hardenite” as Graham called it.

The next 36 hours actually revealed much, much more than the hardenite. It was to be 36 hours we would certainly never forget.

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[thestamfordproject]

2 - The Wedge

We departed one week prior to Easter 2014 fully loaded with supplies, our swags and the equipment we would need for this prospecting journey. The first leg of our trip would take around 12 hours, first east to Kalgoorlie, the major gold mining centre 7 hours east of Perth and then north to Leonora for an overnight stay before making the trip north east to Stamford. The 3 vehicles all went well and after a quick stop in Kalgoorlie to refill the tanks we arrived at our hotel in Leonora at about 6.00pm that evening.

We all enjoyed a great evening meal, I indulged in steak, chips and salad. The steak was nearly bigger than the plate, beautifully cooked and tender as. After dinner we played a few rounds of pool before Craig ordered us all to hit the sack, it would be another early start in the morning. Craig wanted to be on site by just after lunch so the rig could be set up and ready to start drilling first thing Tuesday.

We set out just on sunrise and headed east to Laverton then northeast  on the Great Central Road for an hour before heading north. How Alexander and Ernest made this journey with nothing more than a few horses and cart is beyond me. The road out to Stamford is not well used and as such is seldom maintained by the local authorities. To say it is rough would be an understatement.

We turned onto the Stamford track around 11am and as the terrain undulated we could catch occasional glimpses of the Wedge looming in the distance. A little after 12 we began the ascent up the long eastern flank and finally sat atop the Wedge about half an hour later.

The four of us immediately began setting up camp while Craig and Steve checked the area and decided where the drilling would start. They decided to commence pretty much centre and so began setting up the rig ready for drilling the next day. By the time they had finished we had established camp; no tents since we all had quality swags but pretty much all the other luxuries including an open pavilion to provide shade. A couple of generators ran some LED lights along with three Engel fridge/freezers. Adam and Brett prepared dinner of chicken and rice on a gas stove and grill while I gathered some meagre wood supplies and got a fire going. Graham sat on his arse with a cold beer telling everyone what a marvel to mankind he is and of course to woman kind too. He really is a knob but at least he provided us some laughs and has a good taste in music.

April is a beautiful time of year in this part of the world, average 25° Celsius through the day and down to around 12 or 13 at night. That’s in stark contrast to summer when temperatures are intolerable, quite often reaching well over 40° through November to February. As we settled down to dinner and the sun disappeared for the night we could feel a light chill in the air. Up on the Wedge you could see for miles and the evening was incredibly clear. Some light clouds filled the western horizon allowing the sun to give us a spectacular show. Although there was not a lot of action out here it was days and nights like this that made the Westons and their friends return time and time again.

We sat around the fire chatting about all and sundry. By the time it was dark the near full moon had already been up a couple of hours. It was spectacular and did not detract from the thousands upon thousands of stars in the sky, all so much brighter and clearer out here, away from both the air and light pollution of a big city.

Our talk turned to the universe and what wonders we knew it held and what it may hold. We all agreed the odds were stacked well in favour of there being other planets lucky enough to hold life. After all, with all those suns in our galaxy alone there had to be some chance a planet was just in the right location, had the right chemical balance and geographic stability to allow some sort of life to flourish. And then there were all those other suns in other galaxies. It made us all wonder.

As the conversation petered out Adam and I got up and walked towards the western lip about 20 metres away. We could see for miles, the moon illuminated the desert below in a soft glow, only the western face remained dark, the moon not having reached high enough to soak that area. From here you could still make out the darker shapes of the low shrubs and the occasional rocky outcrop. The only sounds were that of insects and Adam divesting himself of some bodily gases.

It had been another long day and tomorrow would be too and certainly an early start so I decided to turn in. As I drifted off the others too began to settle for the night.

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[thestamfordproject]

1- A History

Where to begin? My story truly spans distance, time and generations. But it is not just my story. It is the story of two races light years from Earth, a story spanning 1,000 years culminating in the discovery on Earth of alien technologies that will help mankind reach greater heights. It is the story of the excitement around those discoveries and of family and friends and of their families and friends. And it is the story of the absolute secrecy we have had to endure but can now, finally, reveal.

Why now? Why tell our story now? Because soon our secrets will be revealed to the world and much of it will amaze, shock and perhaps even horrify the population. And so, to help ease the transition, to ease the after effects of the facts no longer secret, my Uncle has asked me to begin my story, our story, here.

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First some history.

My name is Scott Weston. I am a geology student and I live with my parents and younger brother Adam in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia (WA). Perth is supposedly the most isolated city on Earth. To the east and northeast lay great tracs of desert and the Westons are proud owners of some of it.

Back between 1885 and 1892 intrepid explorers were discovering gold in various locations in WA and, invariably almost always in  arid and hostile country. My great, great grandfather Alexander Weston was a surveyor for what passed as the state government and spent a great deal of time in the wilderness. With the discoveries of gold near to locations he was trekking through, Alexander decided to purchase and peg a large area of desert north and north east of some major gold discoveries. Alexander named the property after his English birthplace, Stamford Bridge.

Stamford is red, arid, mostly flat and has a number of ephemeral salt lakes and low rocky outcrops scattered throughout. It is dominated by a mammoth mesa-like rise we call the Wedge. Rising from the desert floor the western face rises vertically some 200 metres. The north and south faces are about the same height for some distance creating a massive flat top. As the outcrop heads east it slowly narrows and tapers to the desert floor. The family have spent many nights on the flat top enjoying the solitude and the views. Over the years a narrow track has gradually been formed from the eastern end and winds its way up through the low scrub to the flat top. The family have owned Stamford for over 120 years and have discovered absolutely nothing of value. Alexander and his son Ernest would venture the 1,100 kilometres northeast occasionally but always came home empty handed.

 When Alexander died in 1928 the land passed on to Ernest and when he was killed in a cycling accident in 1940, passed it onto to his young son Frank. After several unsuccessful prospecting trips to the property with his father from 1910 to 1925, Ernest never returned and the property remained undeveloped and almost forgotten. Frank went on to study geology, and worked for a couple of fledgling mining outfits in the iron ore rich northwest during the 1960s. He occasionally borrowed equipment, including drilling rigs, and explored the property every few years. He and his wife May had 2 sons, my father Brad in 1973 and my Uncle Craig in 1980 and as the boys grew older the family would pack up and camp on the Wedge for their annual holidays.

Dad joined the Australian Army in 1991 and from there joined the elite Special Air Services Regiment based in Perth. He rose through the ranks to Major. At the time of the events to be described he was deployed at an unknown overseas location, most likely involved in the war on terror. Our mum, Terri, works for a local government in their rates department. Uncle Craig studied geology and has worked for a number of junior miners based in both Africa and Australia. He also owns a small fleet of drilling rigs he leases to various mining concerns.

Craig is an eternal optimist and every year for as long as I can remember he has made the journey to Stamford and a taken core samples from virtually everywhere on the property, all to no avail. In February 2014 Craig decided to make one final exploratory trip to Stamford and drill the one location that no-one had ever bothered to try, the Wedge. After some discussion Adam and I decided to join him for the 2 week break Since Adam was having a “gap” year and I was in between finishing my course and heading into the workforce. Three of Craig’s buddies would also join us. Brett Phillips, something of a computer guru, Steven Connell, a rigger who has worked with Craig for years, and Graham Oliver. Graham is in advertising and is something of a money hungry smart arse. But hey, it takes all types. We planned on departing mid-April 2014 and take one of Craig’s drilling rigs along with two tray back Landcruisers. We would of course camp on the top of the Wedge.

So, the Sunday before Easter 2014 we packed the trucks and headed out for what we thought would be a two week desert break no different to any other trip to Stamford. Fun, interesting, but no gold. What ultimately happened, and is still happening, would be so much more than any of us could imagine. In just 4 days the world would never be the same for any of us. In just 4 days the Wedge would reveal its secrets.

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