Story [Issue 5] Secret of Lost Temple Part 3

[chriswu 25]

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Previously in Secret of The Lost Temple - Part 2:

...The group of men took out parts of an industrial drill they had been carrying in their packs, and assembled the makeshift drill, utilizing the modular design of the machine. The grinding sound of the drill digging through layers of gravel and dust throbbed in everyone’s ears. Considerable pressure had to be put on the drill to allow it to eat through the layers of earth, but after a few seconds of drilling, the drill-bit cut through the immediate terrain and fell into some sort of cavern underneath. One of the commandos who had been leaning his weight on the drill almost collapsed as the bit plummeted through, disappearing through the newly born hole into the empty space below. Silence ensued for several seconds after the portable drill had fallen through, until the echoing crash of the drill hitting the bottom came thundering back.
Everyone pressed themselves in alarm against the sides of the well. The empty void which their drill had just revealed yawned before them, and the faint humming from beneath had now become a permeating buzz, clearly originating from below. Dr. Meyers looked excitedly down the gaping void and took a step forward. Ralph quickly put a protective hand on his friend to try and stop him from doing something he would later regret, but Meyers had already tossed the free end of his rope through and jumped, quickly followed by the well armed commandos. Without words or thought, Ralph lit his electric torch and followed suit. The courtyard of the Lost Temple had just been exited, and Ralph and his comrades entered into the Holy of Holies...
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And now the continuation:
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Dropping like spiders from the ceiling, the company of scientists, adventurers and commandos descended through the drilled hole and down into the inky blackness below. Remembering his dramatic premonitions, Ralph had the feeling that Dr.Meyer’s audacity had led them stumbling into something much greater than they could possibly handle. Half expecting jaws to snap him and his companions up once reaching the floor (whenever that would be; no one could see anything, as the darkness was almost opaque) the faint glimmer of light from their entrance dwindled as they progressed with their ropes. Ralph was a scientist, however, not a fortune teller, and he reminded himself once more of the tricks the human mind will play when faced with stirred feelings and the resurgence of old memories.

After an eternity the team reached the bottom. The crunch of gravel and shattered pieces of rock greeted them upon finishing of their descent, which was to be expected after the major seismic activity Ralph had experienced before. Through the pitch black, nothing was perceivable, but as their eyes adjusted to the low light levels, Ralph’s entourage could make out a vague bluish luminescence through the void, or the tantalizing glint of some precious mineral reflecting the light of one of their electric torches. In the distance, the faint trickle of water was audible, no doubt the subterranean source for the long perished well, some 200 meters above.

Whipping out their portable scanning equipment, Ralph, with the assistance of a few technicians and Dr.Meyers assessed their surroundings, as well as a few places nearby to investigate. The first was, conveniently enough, within their immediate vicinity. The bluish light emanating from the minerals with peculiar readings were littered about them; clusters here and there, buried beneath a thin mask of shale or fastened to the face of a nearby rock. Running a few more scans, then collecting a generous amount of the crystals for further analysis at base camp: the first order of business was complete.

Next, the explorers headed towards the trickling sound barely audible straight ahead. It was a tricky business, as the terrain was uneven and cracked, and visibility extended only a few meters. Here and there, a cave beetle would scuttle from beneath a piece of rubble, or some dust would be kicked up by some unknown creature, living deep in isolation from the sun. However, the adventurers were oblivious to what they were about to find next.

As the visibility was low due to the faint light emissions from their torches, the team decided to spread out in order to get a better feel of the topography and surroundings. It was just when the leftmost wing reached the source of the trickling noise, when one of the technicians let out a shriek. Scurrying to the scene, Ralph beheld a peculiarly colored blob about the size of a microwave oven, clinging onto the helpless technician’s leg. Reminiscent of an amoeba of massive size, this creature was clearly a new kind of life form. Ralph wasn’t able to indulge his fascination for long, though. The armed escorts shuffled to the scene, letting loose a screaming torrent of disruptor fire. Shriveling into the dust, the amorphous creature seemingly evaporated into thin air under the blasts of energy, leaving behind a sticky residue of organic material. Trained to take advantage of every opportunity, Dr. Meyers scuttled enthusiastically to collect some of the residue for examination at base. Pale with shock, the stunned technician who had just encountered the life form asked in a quivering voice, “What...was that?”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Ralph replied.



The subterranean expedition continued. Reaching a sheer rock face, a geologist who had been relatively quiet thus far stepped forward to examine the visible layers of sediment.
“From the looks of it...” he began, “it appears this was the site of a relatively small meteorite impact. Interestingly, it seems to have brought the unique crystals we see scattered around us, as well as large amounts of frozen water.”
Ralph was no biologist, but he knew enough to know that water was a vital element for the origination and propagation of life. Perhaps this impact played some part in the origination of the peculiar creature which had encountered the technician?

The rest of the exploration was relatively mundane. After collecting rock and crystal samples, as well as the bits of organic material left by the disruptors, the team climbed back up their ropes, and after an arduous ascent, reached the piercing light above. No longer enclosed by a stalactite roof, an uplifting breeze accompanied Ralph and his companions until they reached base camp.
Now began the actual work. The technicians, before lingering behind with boredom and expressionless, now snapped to life, busily working at the analyzing equipment around the clock.

On the second morning after the exploration at the well, Ralph was met with unbelievable news. The organic life forms they had encountered were more radically different than they had first perceived. It turned out that while they had many protein structures similar to multicellular protozoans, they didn’t have any DNA! In fact, it was found that these creatures were based on an entirely different blueprint than all life on Earth. To their further disbelief, the lab techs and scientists (who had remained at base camp as rappelling down wells isn't their forte), the life form’s origination had been irrefutably linked to the ancient impact through trace amounts of proteins found in rock samples. They had just discovered extraterrestrials, living on Earth.

On another note, the crystals abundantly littering the floor of the subterranean cave were also linked to the ancient impact. They were like nothing ever discovered on Earth. Indeed, they were the rarest precious mineral on the planet. This wasn’t the end, though. Emanating a bluish light, the crystals also produced invisible X-Rays, and when agitated or exposed to extreme heat or seismic activity, the minerals literally exploded into a brilliant plume of energy. There was no limit as to how these crystals could be harnessed. Aside from their huge energy production, these crystals had a huge inherent value, being the rarest mineral on Earth.

The X-Rays were particularly interesting, though. Although the dense layers of rock that buried the crystals deep beneath the surface impeded most of the rays, a few managed to escape and burst into space, easily detectable by specialized equipment only Ralph and his pioneering scientists had access to. Other locations of these rare crystals had already been discovered, brought by ancient meteorites long ago. A few of these places include Barda, Guhbakha, Kunger, Magadan, and other locations populated in the northern hemisphere.
It was understood that with the immense value of these crystals, their locations must be kept from public notice, otherwise full war might break out all over Eurasia. With a top secret frequency, Ralph and his team transmitted a data stream containing all their findings and data back to headquarters at home.

*Bleep* *Bleep* A claxon clamoured the cracking of yet another security protocol. Within an obscure Russian cave, far from Ralph and his friends, an underground base glimmered with ominous red lighting.
“Good, very good,” a malevolent voice muttered. “It’s about time. The blow is about to fall, and the world will be ours!”

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The trip was a success! Although most of it was to be kept secret, the scientific community had been endowed with the knowledge that we are not alone; that if an extraterrestrial source had rocketed life here millions of years ago, there was bound to be many more locations in which beings like us might exist. Furthermore, a generous truckload of the crystals had been mined from the underground vault, and Ralph hoped that its knowledge would eventually be released when the world was ready, and not full of selfish greed. In this honest, prudent world, the knowledge of what lay beneath would flourish, and innovative technologies would spring up. In this utopian world, people wouldn’t rush to grab for themselves, but instead allow precious items to be distributed and harnessed effectively. Packing their bags, spurring their engines, the caravan embarked on the long journey home.

After about a day’s driving, things began to go terribly wrong. One of the military vans in the tail end reported a helicopter trailing in the rear. Ralph told everyone to calm down, as it was probably an additional escort sent by the paranoid Chief of Security back at home. Then things really went awry. Going through a pass in the rocky landscape, the caravan suddenly found themselves surrounded by heavily armed figures in black outfits, and blocked by a group of black market raiders in trucks. It was an ambush! Dashing out of their vehicles, the assault troops fired their disruptors madly at the cliffs above and at the trucks blocking the way. Unfortunately, they were picked off one by one by snipers hiding in the nooks and crannies of the rock face. The air hummed with the banshee cries of energy beams, and was filled with brown dust. Ralph watched as the shrouded black figures leapt into his van and bound him, placing a blindfold over his eyes.

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“You fool,” a deep, husky voice woke Ralph from his daze. Roused back to consciousness, Ralph was in a deep, dark cave, similar to the one he had explored, only smaller. Much smaller. A bright light was aimed at his eyes, but through the lurking shadows and blinding light, Ralph could make out a mirage of figures, black and menacing, bustling around with crates filled with his precious haul.

“Your pathetic encryption codes were no match for my decoding algorithms,” the voice continued. “Now we know all your secrets. All of them. It is only a matter of time before chaos breaks loose all around the planet. Each faction and clan fighting for this newfound crystal of revolutionary applications. The rarest precious mineral...” The mysterious interrogator chuckled. “Rare, perhaps, but unlike relatively worthless diamonds and gems, we know EXACTLY where to look for each of these. Conveniently for us, you decided to include all your satellite data in your stream.” Another irritatingly smug chuckle. “The knowledge is already being disseminated among the internet and databases. It is only a matter of time until your Lost Temple becomes a war zone, and I will lead the worldwide economy with the newest form of currency.”
“The world isn’t ready for this! You’ve made a mistake!” Ralph replied, but it was in vain.
“I’ve decided that I won’t kill you or your colleagues,” the dark figure continued. Ralph wasn’t sure if this was supposed to be good news or bad news. “I want you to continue on your ‘groundbreaking’ research. Maybe you’ll give me another big hit.”
“What makes you think I’m going to cooperate?!” Ralph yelled.
The dark figure lurking in Ralph’s peripheral vision laughed slowly. “It’s in your nature.”

[WhiteKnight170 2]

-.-

[hogree 4,179]

Fantastic chris! Keep it up.

[Ranger7 75]

Good general plot, excellent action, good format... gj Chris :wink: :mrgreen:

[IC-Ironclad-IC 12]

good staory, but i hate those that always goes wrong -_-

[chriswu 25]

-.-

 

Next time

[tanktech 2]

:shock: suspenseful...

MORE!!! :D

[datie9 72]

Good Job chris, I couldn't do better. :thumbup:

[FederalBureauFBI 2,881]

Great job!

[gtwrs12 0]

datie9 contact me what rank r u

[Valletta 834]

Awesome job, chris! I'm waiting for the next issue :)

[Meliora 1,652]

Again :roll:, another series article. Just end this thing and bring us some NEW topics already!

[The_Ice_Dragon 22]

GJ WU.