Jeremy 089; At The Bottom Of A Dark
Jeremy sees the find of a lifetime.
Jeremy had no idea how long he stared. His lemur escort stood still and silent. Even their tails were still and hung low, just observing. They were letting him take in the scene. It seemed very understanding of them.
The cavern they stood inside had been carved out of the rock and spanned eighty feet wide and nearly thirty high. Even with his limited knowledge of mining Jeremy knew this was an unusual procedure. Seeing, he could understand why.
Scaffolding filled most of the space. Constructed in three tiers he could see wooden planks that served as flooring on each level. Lights were strung and woven through the scaffolding and secured to the handrails on each level. Each level looked to be eight or ten feet wide, again something Jeremy guessed was not the normal width for scaffolding. Everything was lit properly enough for Jeremy to easily make out the reason for the visit. He only had to look beyond the latticework of metal and wood, and after that is was if it didn't exist.
Instead of the cavern having been carved out in a rough cube it was bisected by a rounded blister of, something. The impression Jeremy had was of the side of a large sculpture while still in progress. With a a glance at his escort he stepped closer. He was forced to duck through the low passages of the scaffolding and stopped just a pace from the opposite face of the cavern.
Another glance at the lemurs escorting him gave him the realization he was free to act as he wished. They were clearly interested in his reaction and letting him take the sight in for himself. Turning back he examined the surface in front of him.
This close he thought the smooth surface looked metallic. The surface gleamed and gave the impression that it had been polished clean. The almost silvery color made Jeremy's fur stand on end. He was getting a strong feeling of deja vu. A few seconds of staring and he realized where he'd seen metal of this color before. He shivered at the implication.
Jeremy brought his paws up and scrubbed the fur of his face. "Focus."
Dropping his arms he looked back at the surface. The smooth metal was pitted at intervals and the depressions were filled with rock. Looking at several of the pits Jeremy could see the metal start to dimple inward around the rock that filled the center of each. The pits themselves almost hinted at a pattern but Jeremy could catch no sense of purpose in their placement. Making the final step to the artificial face of the cavern Jeremy reached out and placed a paw on the surface.
He could feel the rough texture of hewn rock, and the smooth surface that made up the rest of the wall. It could have been his imagination but the metal felt cooler under his fingerpads. Slowly moving his fingers from the metal and rock he had trouble confirming the sensation.
"It is the same temperature as the surrounding rock." One of the lemurs said anticipating his question.
Jeremy nodded at the statement and continued his examination without turning.
The grouping of depressions filled with circular patches of rock were spaced apart as far as he could spread his fingers. Each spot was on average twice as wide as one of his finger pads. Looking he saw the metal surface stretched out to either side of the cavern with a slight outward curve. To Jeremy it looked as though he stood at a point of a sphere that had intruded into the cavern. He could only guess how large it could be, but if the curve continued it would be enormous.
Rubbing a finger on the metal seeming surface he could neither feel nor see any hint of graininess he saw in the rock that pitted the surface. Walking to his right he saw the pits continued in the same random patternless scatter. He crouched down to look at where the metal surface met the rock floor. Jeremy saw that the excavation sloped down just before meeting the surface. He had to brush away a bit of loose debris to see the joint where wall met floor. The strange surface looked to continue past the cavern and into the rock below. He had to assume it did the same above and to the sides as well. He looked back at the lemurs.
They had stood in a group watching him as he'd moved to the side. Jeremy nodded and looked away. The days long delay before this trip must have been due to whomever was in charge looking into who he was. Having decided his position in The Bureau enough they'd made a decision. His escort were clearly trying to observe him while not giving away what they might have thought about what they'd found.
He cleared his throat and asked "How old is the rock around us?"
"About half a billion years old." Kass replied. Again her tail barely moved.
"How deep are we?"
"Twelve hundred seventy feet below sea level." Jeremy had heard the term 'poker face' but seeing these lemurs and their lack of even tail movement he idly wondered if there was a similar term for lemurs.
"Have you tried excavating out one of these pits?"
"Yes. On the upper level."
Jeremy looked around and saw a set of stairs built into the scaffolding. The lemurs followed him up and advised him where the excavated dimple was. He could see drilling equipment where it had been set aside. There was also other equipment placed about on that level. Taking the time to look around at the scaffolding Jeremy saw it had been built as a semipermanent construction. It was clearly made sturdy enough to accommodate an assortment of testing equipment. Other than an isle cleared away from the strange surface of about half of the rest of the level was filled with equipment and machines of varying sizes and purposes.
Turning back to the metal wall Jeremy found the spots in question. Three pits had been excavated to a depth of an inch before stopping. The dimples in the metal surface had each narrowed down to a small pinhole where the excavation had stopped. Rock still filled the hole beyond where they'd stopped.
Still looking at the small pit Jeremy asked "Is this actually metal?"
"Yes. However, its like nothing we've ever seen." Kass replied.
"The results of all the testing so far is available up in the shack." Monica offered.
He looked at the group of lemurs. They looked calm and were watching him inquisitively. He shivered all the same. Jeremy couldn't get the similarity of the metal out of his mind. The color was an exact match in his memory of the rings that had held PATOMES. He was actually having trouble focusing on the situation at hand and not the overall puzzle of PATOMES. Scrubbing his face again he couldn't help but think this was a huge piece of that puzzle.
Jeremy forced himself to examine the metal wall again. He put his paw on it and rested it letting the surface cool to his touch. It was a risk with the lemurs watching but he doubted he'd ever be allowed into the cavern again.
Taking a deep breath he tried targeting the metal surface.
Jeremy smiled to himself at the failure. It was a little disappointing but also much more of a relief. It was another half minute before the metal under his paw had equalized with his body temperature. His body temperature of his paw he reminded himself. The temperature of his limbs would be cooler than normal. The air in the cavern felt a bit warmer than body temperature. He lifted his paw and scratched at the surface knowing before hand the futility of the effort. It was as hard as any metal.
He had to conclude at least for the moment that if his impression were true the metal PATOMES had been programed into had been processed in some way. Or perhaps the similarity in color was just an amazing coincidence.
He stepped back and looked down to his lemur escort.
"This is obviously just the tip of, whatever it is. There's not enough information to draw any factual conclusions." Jeremy watched his escort as they looked to each other. It looked like they had nothing to say in reply. Their tails said it all. From what he understood of the motions they agreed with his assessment. Jeremy stepped back to the strange surface.
Jeremy spent several more minutes looking over the surface. It was clear that examining the entire surface would reveal nothing more. Stepping back and looking to the side it was equally clear that should the short arc continue the whole would be well beyond the size of a city block. He had to concede that he was at the point that he was just looking to extend the amazing experience out. He would get nothing out of the surface.
"We should head back topside." Monica advised.
Jeremy nodded expecting them to lead the way back to the cart. They looked at each other for a few seconds. There was no outward reaction other than tilting of heads and the almost blurringly fast twitching of tails. It almost looked like a separate conversation held with only tail movement.
Eventually Rupert looked back to Jeremy and replied "Yes. I'll lead the way."
Jeremy hid a smile as the small male started climbing down to the level where the cart waited. Retracing their steps seemed longer than getting to the cavern. Jeremy had no interest in peeking over the rim of the cart and occupied his time in monitoring the scents of the lemurs. Unfortunately they seemed just as bored at the length of the trip as he did.
The transition back to daylight was an abrupt surprise. Jeremy blinked at the change for several seconds. His eyes finally adjusted allowing him to see the hillsides around them again. They seemed much brighter and the colors so much more vibrant than before. He sat up straighter and took a deep breath savoring the fresh air. Jeremy closed his eyes welcoming the feeling of the warm wind against his face.
As they came around the hill he noticed three more large SUVs had arrived and were parked together. To the left of the clustered SUVs were two white vans and three equally nondescript sedans had been parked to the right. The cart they rode in pulled up behind the line of vehicles and four of the lemurs started climbing out. Jeremy accompanied them and only looked back when the cart started moving off. The last lemur was driving it back toward the mine entrance.
He followed his remaining escort through the line of parked vehicles and to the large trailer. The lead lemur opened the door without knocking and entered. Jeremy followed inside and looking around found the trailer packed with new arrivals.
It took only a second to take the scene in, he knew his initial surprise showed in the reactions of the three tall lemurs at the back of the trailer. He could tell two were female and the third a male. They were all roughly the same height as Jeremy marking them as dominants. The rest of the occupants were normal lemurs with the sole exception of an otter.
While the three dominants nodded and smiled to Jeremy the other lemurs continued at the task of setting up what appeared as a catered buffet. There were so many lemurs working at the table it would have been an inexcusable inconvenience to try to make his way to the dominants. The otter grinned from the far side of the table at the food that was being set out. He was rather overweight and held his paws together before him in front of his chest. Jeremy could see his eyes travel between him and the food being set out on the table.
Kass cleared her throat before speaking. "We'll let the servers finish and make the proper introductions in a moment. Yes?"
Jeremy looked to the three dominants and nodded. "Yes, I understand."
The otter rubbed his paws together. He said "Yes, we've got an excellent spread here. Jeremy, you'll love the fresh seafood. We always get it fresh here, the benefits of being on a pocket island." As he finished he looked up at Jeremy with a pleased grin.
Jeremy caught the slight cringe of all three dominants and most of the other lemurs at his remark.
The last tray was being set out at that moment. Jeremy took the time to look at what was on the table. A dozen large trays had been set out. Some were in beds of crushed ice while others sat above small warming candles. Each tray held an assortment of prepared foods. Half the trays held seafood and the rest were assortments of what Jeremy had come to find as the best Madagascan cuisine had to offer. He could understand how the otter looked to be almost drooling over the food arrayed before him. His own stomach growled at the sight and smell.
The otter's eyes were riveted to the food as he continued rubbing his paws together. Most of the lemurs had stepped back from the table leaving a single female to do the final inspection. With a nod she looked to the three dominants.
The large female dominant standing between the other two smiled and nodded back to her. "A fine job Kussio, as expected. Thank you, thank you all." She said with a nod to the other lemurs.
Jeremy saw a number of tails twitch in what he guessed as appreciation and slight nods in return. Most of the lemurs started filing out of the trailer. Once they were gone Jeremy was left with the otter the three dominant lemurs accompanied by three other lemurs and his four escorts.
The female was about to speak again when the otter said "Ah, good. I say we get started on the meal. We can introduce ourselves as we mingle." and picked up a plate.
Jeremy felt a growl build at the action. He saw all three dominants look to him. Every lemur tail in the room stood stiff upright and still as though they all waited for a signal to act. Clearing his throat before speaking Jeremy paused a moment waiting for the otter to look up at him.
"I'd prefer allowing our hosts to decide how to begin. Personally, I find it rather awkward eating with someone when we haven't been properly introduced." Jeremy said as he looked to the three dominants and nodding much as Kussio had.
A slight nod and smile from all three dominants and a flurry of tail swings from the other lemurs confirmed his instincts. He had already begun wondering at the otter's place in things. With the obvious faux pas Jeremy struggled to justify accepting the otter's continued presence.
"Thank you Mister Dawn." The female dominant said. "Its a pleasure meeting you. I apologize for the delay. We were a bit uncertain at first of Mister Boagard's choice of representative. I must say I'm impressed with your previous work."
"Previous?" Jeremy asked.
The dominant lemur to the right chuckled. "Valdivia." His tail barely moved and yet to Jeremy it seemed he was favorably disposed toward him.
The female to the left smiled and added. "Very impressive."
Jeremy felt his ears flatten. The other lemurs were all looking up at him. The otter's gaze flickered between the three dominants and the food waiting. He even went so far to wave the plate he held slightly as if it were a fan.
"Anyway," The male continued "I'm Hervoss Berronie, Minister of Business. This is Erless Voss, Minister of Public affairs." The lemur to the right gave a slight nod and tail twitch. "And this is Feoma Arness, our Prime Minister."
"May I offer you a belated welcome to Madagascar, Mister Dawn." the Prime Minister said.
* * * *
Okay, another busy week and a few more in store. So, I'm going to just make the call here that I'll take two weeks off from Jeremy. Next week's chapter will be the last for this year, and it'll start back up on the third. Doing this mostly to focus on all the stories I owe people. That has been weighing on me for what seems like forever.