Series: World Tunnel
It is three days later, and Lindsey has selected her landing crew — only they won’t be landing. “You’ll take up a position a safe distance from the wormhole,” she explains to them. “Study the wormhole. Send the probe Zach has prepared into the wormhole. But under no conditions are you to enter the wormhole. We don’t know for sure yet where it goes or if you’d be able to get back.”
Each of the landing crew nod in acknowledgement, then they are dispatched to their shuttle. Lindsey monitors their progress from the bridge as the shuttle performs the delicate maneuvers necessary to enter the asteroid’s tight confines.
Mac Avery pilots the shuttle, and he is one of the best pilots that Lindsey knows. He deftly negotiates the tunnel into the asteroid, nudging the shuttle in just the right directions to avoid colliding with the various turns and outcroppings.
“The gravity waves don’t seem to be as strong inside the asteroid,” observes Abigayle Twice, the second crew member of the shuttle. “They just dropped off once we entered the tunnel.”
“And I’m getting a better read on the radio signals coming from the wormhole, the closer we get,” says Richard Almoss. “There’s definitely intelligence in these signals. It’s not just random noise.”
“Very good,” Lindsey says over the comm. “We’re receiving your telemetry and data as you stream it to us, so we’re seeing what you’re seeing. Proceed.”
