Prospect: Paradigm

Chapter 1

"Water," said Hendrick, echoing her thoughts. "Who knows what sort of eyeless albino life is thriving down here in the darkness. Maybe even a prehistoric creature."

"Are you trying to scare me?"

"Just keep you on your toes. We don't know what might be down here and I want you to react quickly should anything jump out at us."

Hendrick disappeared in front of her, slipping through a tight crevasse. Frankly, she was impressed he could compress his barrel chest and belly enough to fit. It reminded her of a chubby hamster she owned as a child and its uncanny ability to squeeze beneath her bathroom door in order to hide behind the toilet. She followed suit, stepping through the space with relative ease compared to her hulking, hamster-like supervisor.

"Would you get a load of that?" admired Hendrick before Sofeta could even turn to see what he was referring to. It was indeed something to "get a load of."

Two small shafts of light seeped into the chamber spot-lighting an ancient bridge set over the underground stream. Beyond it, an apex of toppled and balanced alabaster columns. Certainly, it was a larger and more intact ruin than anticipated.

Hendrick lit a few flares, tossing them to select locations, adding a flickering orange glow to the space and revealing more of the structure. Steps, archways, walkways, and dried-up pools were illuminated, casting dancing shadows against the dewy rock canopy.

Sofeta was captivated.

"Should we wait for Keiko and Dr. Del Vecchio?" she asked, despite her overwhelming urge to explore.

"As soon as they get down here and catch up to us, they're just going to make us help schlep their gear."

"Isn't that one of our number-one directives?" she countered, "To get a more thorough composite of this place?"

"For the project, yes," said Hendrick. "But I didn't get into this line of work to paint computer pictures. I came here to discover. You can wait here for them or come with me. Your choice."

She considered his words. She couldn't just let him go alone, she reasoned. Granted, any justification that allowed her to explore was reason enough.

He walked towards the bridge to investigate, Sofeta following more cautiously behind him. It appeared to be made of some long-petrified crystalized wood and featured intricate carvings of twisting, leafy vines. A variety of bioluminescent lichens lived in the stream below, their blue glow in stark contrast to the flickering orange that now dominated the cave.

Hendrick traipsed across the bridge without taking note of the natural phenomena, his boot-prints leaving a confident, undeniable trail for Sofeta to follow. She winced; worried she would play a part in destroying a relic of history her father had worked so hard to uncover.

"Relax," said Hendrick, reading her mind yet again, "It's not even the actual bridge anymore. It's been petrified for so long, it's no different from stepping on these rocks."

"Those are probably priceless tiles that could tell us much about the people who built this structure."

"Well, they're rocks now," he spat. "This spot's existed for centuries unharmed by the elements and teeming life down here. Unless I swing a sledge hammer around, there's nothing I can do to hurt it."

"Dr. Prenares might disagree with you."

"He's your dad, Sof. Just call him dad. You're not fooling anyone."