Lords & Ladies of the M'Verse: An Ooorah Anthology

Day 37 - TEBramble's World Gate

World Gate

by TEBramble

The earth rumbled and the stone of mount Everest crumbled as a mighty drill dug into its side. Into the earth it dug, crushing and grinding all rock in its monstrous wake. It ground its way ever deeper until its mechanical mass broke through into a hidden chamber thousands of years old.

It fell through the ceiling and crashed hard on the floor hundreds of meters below. There sunlight shone through the clean hole to where it had not shone for aeons. All the while the machine roared and growled as it dug into the floor.

Eventually it was powered down. The grinding gears of its massive drill slowing to a halt and the engine slowing down to a complete stop. There, in the middle of an unknown chamber the machine settled and shut down.

A single mechanical monolith stood alone in an empty chamber. Moments passed as gears reactivated and the machine unfolded, releasing its crew of four. An explorer, an archaeologist, an engineer and a technician.

A flock of flying drones buzzed like busy bees as they were released from its top. Automatically they spread across the space, scanning every detail and documenting immense data. Their many lights illuminated the way revealing the remains of an ancient civilisation.

Awed and mesmerised, the human crew took the time to gawk and gasp and the immensity of their find. They were in a single cylindrical room and here they found the one thing of worth at its centre. A giant set of floating rings.

After some time one of the four crew members waved to the machine which release a single drone. One bigger than the rest. It flew right to the man and started filming.

"You recording this, 18B?" The man asked.

"Indeed, Dr William Oleson. Recording log number one-two-two-nine."

"Right!"

Oleson stepped into the camera's view and presented himself to it.

"April twenty-first, twenty-five, eighty-two..." He thrust his palms into the as if to show off his discovery. He smiled. "Victory... After eighteen months of tireless research. We. Have. Found it!" He proclaimed.

18B raised the camera to film the rings. They rotated around a central point. Utterly silent, utterly alien and advanced beyond their comprehension. It simply hung there, idle, ethereal and completely awe inspiring.

While the team got to work 18B returned to filming Oleson. He faced the camera with joy and gratifying satisfaction.

"Ladies and gentlemen... Humanity at large... I present to you..." He thrust his palm at the device. "...Earth's World Gate!" He announced.

At that moment, the rest of the team joined him with souls filled with joy and pride. They brought

out champagne and poured out on glasses.

"There's a whole new world out there!" They chanted as one and paused.

"And cut!" Oleson ordered.

18B cut the recording and the group broke into cheers and embraced each other. Yet one among their number stayed focus.

"Alright... That's enough people... We're all here now but we need to get settled in." Ordered Mark Grendel.

"Come on Doctor! Give us a moment longer... It'll be good for morale!" Claimed Oleson.