box. That lets me gradually reduce the strength of the stasis field so I can make tests on what’s inside. First, I’m taking the field down two tenths and checking for radiation.’
‘Radiation?’ Dalmora sounded nervous.
‘People used these boxes to leave memorials in their old homes,’ I whispered, ‘but they were also used to store things, usually things that were either valuable or dangerous. Valuable is fine, but dangerous isn’t.’
Playdon gradually took the stasis field strength down, making a series of hazard checks. I was making careful mental notes of it all.
‘Everything looks clear,’ he said, ‘I now take the field strength down to just under ten per cent and run a quick sensor scan.’
There was a pause.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘it looks like a standard memorial box, so I’ll pack up now and we can open it inside.’
I offered to help pack the equipment, and Playdon agreed since the box had been cleared as safe. We would find more stasis boxes in future. If I helped him pack up a few more times, he might allow me to help him with the setting up, and from that to helping run the tests was only a short step.
We went back into the dome. I took off my impact suit, did a bit of fast research on my lookup, and went into the dining hall with my head buzzing with plans. I might be able to cover part of the Stasis Q course from vids and working with Playdon, but I’d need to go on a formal course for several weeks, and then there were theory and practical exams. From what I’d hastily read, the tests were tough. Any error meant a complete failure, because opening a real stasis box with a hazard inside might kill you.
Playdon came into the dining hall, and put the stasis box on a table. We all gathered expectantly round, and he held up something to show us. ‘This is a stasis box key. It collapses the stasis field and releases the contents. They’re easy to use, but you never open a box yourselves. Boxes have to be checked and opened by qualified people, in case there’s something like a nuclear warhead inside.’
Krath gulped. ‘Have you ever found one of those?’
‘Not personally,’ said Playdon. ‘I have found radioactive materials in a stasis box, and the last aerial survey of New York Main dig site showed up two new radioactive hotspots that probably came from failed stasis boxes releasing their contents. They’re well clear of current working areas, but Dig Site Command may need to get them cleared up in the future.’
‘Fortunately,’ he continued, ‘my tests show this looks like a perfectly ordinary memorial box, so let’s see what we’ve got.’
Playdon used the key, and the black stasis field vanished. Inside was what looked like a flexiplas box covered in metallic webbing. Playdon lifted the lid, and took out something soft and white. He held it up.
‘A wedding dress,’ said Dalmora, looking grazzed. ‘An old style wedding dress. How old is that?’
‘From the design, I’d guess the box dates from about the middle of Exodus century,’ said Playdon. ‘The dress looks older than that.’
‘Perhaps it had been handed down in the family,’ said Dalmora.
The next thing was a clock made partly of real wood. ‘This is an old time piece,’ said Playdon. ‘It would have hung on the wall.’
The final object was a red and blue flexiplas toy. Playdon shook it and it rattled.
‘A baby’s rattle, for a baby from hundreds of years ago,’ said Dalmora. ‘How amaz!’
‘And most importantly, this,’ said Playdon, holding up something very small. ‘A data chip.’
‘It looks strange,’ said Fian.
‘It’s an old format,’ said Playdon, ‘but we make special converters to read and translate them.’
He produced a metal cube, inserted the data chip from the stasis box into one of its connections, and a standard data chip into another. A light flashed for a few minutes and then went out. Playdon took the standard chip, and inserted it into the big vid wall
‘Radiation?’ Dalmora sounded nervous.
‘People used these boxes to leave memorials in their old homes,’ I whispered, ‘but they were also used to store things, usually things that were either valuable or dangerous. Valuable is fine, but dangerous isn’t.’
Playdon gradually took the stasis field strength down, making a series of hazard checks. I was making careful mental notes of it all.
‘Everything looks clear,’ he said, ‘I now take the field strength down to just under ten per cent and run a quick sensor scan.’
There was a pause.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘it looks like a standard memorial box, so I’ll pack up now and we can open it inside.’
I offered to help pack the equipment, and Playdon agreed since the box had been cleared as safe. We would find more stasis boxes in future. If I helped him pack up a few more times, he might allow me to help him with the setting up, and from that to helping run the tests was only a short step.
We went back into the dome. I took off my impact suit, did a bit of fast research on my lookup, and went into the dining hall with my head buzzing with plans. I might be able to cover part of the Stasis Q course from vids and working with Playdon, but I’d need to go on a formal course for several weeks, and then there were theory and practical exams. From what I’d hastily read, the tests were tough. Any error meant a complete failure, because opening a real stasis box with a hazard inside might kill you.
Playdon came into the dining hall, and put the stasis box on a table. We all gathered expectantly round, and he held up something to show us. ‘This is a stasis box key. It collapses the stasis field and releases the contents. They’re easy to use, but you never open a box yourselves. Boxes have to be checked and opened by qualified people, in case there’s something like a nuclear warhead inside.’
Krath gulped. ‘Have you ever found one of those?’
‘Not personally,’ said Playdon. ‘I have found radioactive materials in a stasis box, and the last aerial survey of New York Main dig site showed up two new radioactive hotspots that probably came from failed stasis boxes releasing their contents. They’re well clear of current working areas, but Dig Site Command may need to get them cleared up in the future.’
‘Fortunately,’ he continued, ‘my tests show this looks like a perfectly ordinary memorial box, so let’s see what we’ve got.’
Playdon used the key, and the black stasis field vanished. Inside was what looked like a flexiplas box covered in metallic webbing. Playdon lifted the lid, and took out something soft and white. He held it up.
‘A wedding dress,’ said Dalmora, looking grazzed. ‘An old style wedding dress. How old is that?’
‘From the design, I’d guess the box dates from about the middle of Exodus century,’ said Playdon. ‘The dress looks older than that.’
‘Perhaps it had been handed down in the family,’ said Dalmora.
The next thing was a clock made partly of real wood. ‘This is an old time piece,’ said Playdon. ‘It would have hung on the wall.’
The final object was a red and blue flexiplas toy. Playdon shook it and it rattled.
‘A baby’s rattle, for a baby from hundreds of years ago,’ said Dalmora. ‘How amaz!’
‘And most importantly, this,’ said Playdon, holding up something very small. ‘A data chip.’
‘It looks strange,’ said Fian.
‘It’s an old format,’ said Playdon, ‘but we make special converters to read and translate them.’
He produced a metal cube, inserted the data chip from the stasis box into one of its connections, and a standard data chip into another. A light flashed for a few minutes and then went out. Playdon took the standard chip, and inserted it into the big vid wall
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