as it will always face up, pulling tight on its string. I'll be fine. It's only a big deal because we think it is a big deal. The reality is, the anomaly was completely stable on both instances where the football passed through it. And that slab probably weighs several hundred tons, so I'm hardly going to cause an imbalance. I'll be like a fly landing on an elephant.”
As a group, they walked over toward the UN building as the slab of the intersection raised up before them like a wall. The sun was setting. Already, spotlights lit up the near vertical concrete intersection.
“Bates?” asked Mason.
“It's a Go from me,” he replied, holding his hand over his radio. He'd been talking intently with the NASA team back at the trailer.
“Anderson?”
“It's a Go from me too. I don't think we're going to see anything other than Teller switch between gravitational planes, just like the football did. There was no physical contortion or deformation of the ball, so I think he'll be fine. I think he'll simply find himself oriented to another plane.”
Finch kept recording.
Cathy stood beside Finch, whispering, “I can't believe they're serious about this. And they said we were irresponsible. So it looks like mankind's first interaction with an alien civilization is going to be as the result of a game of backyard football.”
Finch laughed.
Teller walked up to the edge of the slow moving slab with the balloon as the others stood back. Nice, he thought, there's nothing like people backing away from you for reassurance. It wasn't like he was going to get sucked in to some kind of vortex or something, now was it?
The size of the slab was daunting, and he found himself wondering if this was such a good idea. But there was the football, less than ten feet away.
He held out the balloon, allowing the breeze to catch it, watching as it drifted close to the anomaly. As the balloon passed into the imaginary sphere stretching out from the upturned intersection, it turned and pulled toward East 45 Street. Teller was pleased to see that the balloon didn't pop. It made the transition between different gravitational orientations with ease. This might actually work, he thought.
Teller crouched as he approached the vertical mass of concrete, rock and dirt. He reached out with his hand, reaching through what he thought of as an invisible barrier, but there was nothing unusual. It felt no different at all. He touched the intersection on the other side. The road felt like a rough concrete wall.
Teller knelt down and leaned inside the anomaly. Immediately, he had to put his hand out to stop himself from falling head first into the wall that was the slow moving intersection. Gravity sucks, he reminded himself. With both hands on the concrete, he climbed up and onto the slab, falling forward clumsily on his shoulder, but he was in.
“You OK?” called Mason, already seeing he was fine.
“Yeah, I'm good,” replied Teller, turning around and sitting inside the anomaly on the concrete.
For a few seconds, he felt disoriented, a little dizzy. The world looked strange. He felt like he was sitting upright, with the balloon still pulling taut above him, but the rest of the world was now sideways. He stood up slowly, steadying himself. His inner ear was spinning slightly.
“You guys look funny,” he called out.
“You look pretty weird yourself,” replied Cathy, excited at seeing him standing sideways within the intersection. He looked like some bizarre kind of spiderman walking along a wall.
“The whole world looks like it's falling over,” he said, walking over and picking up the football. “The buildings look like the under-hang of some giant, surreal cliff. And all you guys look like you should be falling down, skidding away.”
“Hah,” cried Mason.
“How does it feel to live your whole lives sideways?” Teller asked, trying to be funny.
Susan was jumping up and down giggling with excitement.
“How does gravity feel?”
As a group, they walked over toward the UN building as the slab of the intersection raised up before them like a wall. The sun was setting. Already, spotlights lit up the near vertical concrete intersection.
“Bates?” asked Mason.
“It's a Go from me,” he replied, holding his hand over his radio. He'd been talking intently with the NASA team back at the trailer.
“Anderson?”
“It's a Go from me too. I don't think we're going to see anything other than Teller switch between gravitational planes, just like the football did. There was no physical contortion or deformation of the ball, so I think he'll be fine. I think he'll simply find himself oriented to another plane.”
Finch kept recording.
Cathy stood beside Finch, whispering, “I can't believe they're serious about this. And they said we were irresponsible. So it looks like mankind's first interaction with an alien civilization is going to be as the result of a game of backyard football.”
Finch laughed.
Teller walked up to the edge of the slow moving slab with the balloon as the others stood back. Nice, he thought, there's nothing like people backing away from you for reassurance. It wasn't like he was going to get sucked in to some kind of vortex or something, now was it?
The size of the slab was daunting, and he found himself wondering if this was such a good idea. But there was the football, less than ten feet away.
He held out the balloon, allowing the breeze to catch it, watching as it drifted close to the anomaly. As the balloon passed into the imaginary sphere stretching out from the upturned intersection, it turned and pulled toward East 45 Street. Teller was pleased to see that the balloon didn't pop. It made the transition between different gravitational orientations with ease. This might actually work, he thought.
Teller crouched as he approached the vertical mass of concrete, rock and dirt. He reached out with his hand, reaching through what he thought of as an invisible barrier, but there was nothing unusual. It felt no different at all. He touched the intersection on the other side. The road felt like a rough concrete wall.
Teller knelt down and leaned inside the anomaly. Immediately, he had to put his hand out to stop himself from falling head first into the wall that was the slow moving intersection. Gravity sucks, he reminded himself. With both hands on the concrete, he climbed up and onto the slab, falling forward clumsily on his shoulder, but he was in.
“You OK?” called Mason, already seeing he was fine.
“Yeah, I'm good,” replied Teller, turning around and sitting inside the anomaly on the concrete.
For a few seconds, he felt disoriented, a little dizzy. The world looked strange. He felt like he was sitting upright, with the balloon still pulling taut above him, but the rest of the world was now sideways. He stood up slowly, steadying himself. His inner ear was spinning slightly.
“You guys look funny,” he called out.
“You look pretty weird yourself,” replied Cathy, excited at seeing him standing sideways within the intersection. He looked like some bizarre kind of spiderman walking along a wall.
“The whole world looks like it's falling over,” he said, walking over and picking up the football. “The buildings look like the under-hang of some giant, surreal cliff. And all you guys look like you should be falling down, skidding away.”
“Hah,” cried Mason.
“How does it feel to live your whole lives sideways?” Teller asked, trying to be funny.
Susan was jumping up and down giggling with excitement.
“How does gravity feel?”
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