Algorithm - Book 1 - The Medallion

Chapter 2

"Isn't that a bit unusual?  Aren't there usually some impurities in gold?"

"Well, that's the thing, or more precisely, that's just one of the things. The gold on the surface has no impurities aside from normal microscopic debris, as far as we can detect."

"Is that possible?"

"Well, it's damned unusual. If it was made long ago, I'd say it was actually … impossible. But if it was made using modern technology, then that's a different matter. Besides, pure gold like that doesn't do well as a coin. Gold coins are usually minted as a mixture with other metals. Gold alone is too soft to stand up to the wear and tear of handling."

Maybe it wasn't made to be handled.

By the look of George's open mouth, Adam could tell there was more to come.

"Because the artifact seemed a little light for gold, I decided to run a few more checks. Specifically, some high intensity x-ray microanalysis. This way we could see if there was some other metal within the disk. Wait 'til you see what I found." 

Adam followed George as he jogged to another corner of the lab. He grabbed a few black and white photos from the bench and handed them to Adam.

"What does this look like?"

Adam stared at what could easily have been a cross-section of the interior of a beehive's hexagonal storage chambers.

"A honeycomb of some sort."

"You got it. But instead of wax, this honeycomb is gold. There's stuff inside each chamber. The scans I made say it's carbon. I scanned other parts of the medallion, and it's much the same. The honeycomb structure exists throughout the whole piece. I was able to make photos of the x-ray using our EM. What you're actually looking at is a section that's a couple of hundred nanometers wide."

Adam was familiar with an EM, an electron microscope, but was surprised to find out it could use x-rays to see through specimens. He looked at George in astonishment and replied, "How many of these chambers are there?"

"I've estimated the number to be at least several billion. It's like a solid gold sponge, but at a microscopic level."

Adam leaned back against a wall as George continued, "If you're having trouble getting your mind around this, join the club. There's no way this could be manufactured, just no way. It could not be constructed with any technology with which we are familiar, as well as any technology we could conceive of."

George smirked as he added, "Or should that be 'any technology of which we could conceive'?" 

After a long pause, Adam's eyes refocused and he looked up.

George piled on. "Hey, there's a bit more. Using the EM, I made some careful geometrical measurements of the disk. First of all, it's perfectly round. Taking into account a bit of wear, the edge transcribes a perfect circle. There's no deviation even within the limits of EM resolution. And to top it off, the hole in the middle."