From the satellite, they could see the thick line of water begin to disperse and return to its normal bluer color.
Everyone at McMurdo screamed and jumped up and down hugging each other. Kathryn stood motionless, feeling the energy drain from her body and at the same time her eyes filling up with tears. She couldn’t believe it. She simply could not believe it. It worked, it actually worked.
In Washington, the President fell back into his chair exhausted. The rest of the men clapped wildly and Stevas, still off to the side, clapped harder than anyone. They all stared at the monitor watching the water swirl and blend back in with the rest of the ocean. Carr covered his face with his hands and just shook his head. He had no words. No words at all.
45
Clay stepped out of the portal behind Palin and into a large blue room. He looked around and realized that they were standing in a large sphere surrounded by water. The portal blinked out behind them and the room darkened, allowing his eyes to adjust. He looked at the nearby wall and walked to it. The water appeared to somehow be part of the room. Incredulous, he turned and looked back at Palin who merely smiled. Clay reached out and touched the wall. His finger went straight through into the cold water on the other side. He drew his hand back and looked at his wet finger. He tasted it, saltwater.
He looked further through the water and could see the distorted shape of the ring, giant and still. He turned back to Palin. “This is the city. Your settlement.”
“Yes.”
“We were here before, right?” Clay asked, examining the room.
Palin made a humorous expression. “Yes, but we were unconscious then.”
Clay smiled and nodded his head. He looked through the wall on the other side and could see hundreds of similar spheres. Something caught his eye and he turned to see a moving object headed their way. It looked like a tunnel forming from another sphere to theirs. In the tunnel were several people all walking toward him and Palin.
The tunnel connected to their room and a small group entered, led by a woman dressed in a deep colored blue robe. On her head was a band with stones embedded in it. She walked smoothly toward him and stopped a few steps away.
“Hello Mr. Clay.” She said with a smile. “My name is Laana.” She reached out her hand and he took it gently.
“Laana.” He replied with a slight bow.
She continued to smile as she watched him. “I want to thank you,” she said. “You have helped us greatly. Without you, I’m afraid we would not have survived.”
“Well, with all due respect, I think I was also part of the problem.”
Her blue eyes softened at the edges. “I suppose so, but there were others. Yet in the end, you were our salvation. You returned Palin in time for us to protect ourselves and the ring. Without you, both rings would have been destroyed and neither of our people would have survived.”
He accepted the compliment. “It was my pleasure.”
A loud sound reverberated behind them and Clay turned around to see the ring slowly begin turning again.
“What now?” he asked.
She motioned to the others behind her. “Now we go home.” She answered his next question before he could ask it. “We have enough water now to maintain and grow again.” Behind her, Clay noticed some of the distant spheres begin to move. They seemed to detach from the rest and float inward toward the ring. Others also began to detach until dozens were following. Clay realized that she was still holding his hand. She gave it a warm squeeze. “We are thankful that Palin found a good man to trust.”
“I have questions,” he said. “A lot of them actually.”
She smiled. “I’m sure you do.”
“Why did you tell us everything?” He looked over her shoulder at Palin. “Why reveal everything to us so easily?”
Laana tilted her head. “Palin agreed to tell you. He was in your debt. You see, the man you allowed him to save aboard your vessel…was his son.”
Clay’s eyes widened. “I had no idea.”
She smiled. “Besides, we knew we could not remain undetected for long.”
Clay contemplated his next question. He was afraid of what she would say. He took a deep breath. “Is there-” he began when Laana held up her hand and stopped him.
“As for your other questions,” she said, “your people will need to discover the answers for themselves. It can be unwise for a race to gain knowledge too quickly.”
With that, she let his hand slip from hers and took a step back. The others behind her, in similar robes, all nodded to him and turned away smoothly. One by one they left as the tunnel reappeared and traveled back in the opposite direction.