front from the back.
“I didn’t think so,” Jeremiah said.
Graham dragged the jack over to the underside of the digger and began to pump.
“How long do you think it’ll take the digger to reach the surface?” he said.
“Not long I should think,” Jeremiah said. “If it’s running at full power it could go through up to one thirty meters of soil an hour. Maybe more. So it won’t take more than a few hours.”
“Why do you think that?” Graham said, already sweating from the effort.
“Because we didn’t fall that far,” Jeremiah said.
“Felt a long way to me,” Graham said, leaning on the jack and wiping his brow. “And Leader said they’ve been digging for three hundred years.”
“It doesn’t matter how long you dig if you’re digging in the wrong direction,” Jeremiah said. “We’re no more than a few hundred meters below the surface at the most.”
“How can you possibly know that?” Graham said.
“When we fell earlier, we couldn’t have fallen for more than fifty seconds, a minute tops,” Jeremiah said.
“Yeah, so?” Graham said.
“So, don’t you remember your high school physics?” Jeremiah said.
“No,” Graham said. “I’m surprised you do.”
“Look, if we fell for one second the force of gravity pulls at almost ten meters per second per second,” Jeremiah said. “We didn’t fall straight down. We slid most of it, so if we round down we’d end up with…”
He muttered under his breath, eyes moving left to right as he worked out the calculations in his head.
“Three hundred meters,” Jeremiah said. “Maximum.”
“Still a long way though, isn’t it?” Graham said.
“It’s not a short distance, but it could be worse,” Jeremiah said. “A lot worse. Who knows where we could have ended up. I say we’re pretty lucky.”
“But if we’re so close to the surface, why haven’t they found a way up there yet?” Graham said.
“That’s the very question I’ve been asking myself,” Jeremiah said. “Come on, let’s get to work.”
Chapter Seventeen
They worked all day without taking a break, entering the zone where nothing came between them but the task in hand. Leader’s servants came periodically to bring food and drink. The two men didn’t chat to them or take their eyes from the machinery they were working on. Their only concern was putting the machine together so they could return home.
The digger’s engine was in pieces on the floor, organized in a way Graham didn’t understand, but made perfect sense to Jeremiah. The old man ignored Graham every time he tried to initiate conversation, grumbling under his breath and concentrating on the parts on the floor.
Graham had smudges of oil and dirt on his face, hands and clothes.
“Why am I always the one getting dumped on?” Graham said.
“Because you’re unskilled,” Jeremiah said. “Expendable.”
“Gee, thanks,” Graham said. “It’s always nice to feel an intrinsic part of the project.”
The main doors opened and Leader came in, walking in his slow gait. A guard was in his wake.
“These are all the magnets we found,” Leader said.
The guard held a small pile in his hands.
“This is it?” Jeremiah said.
“It’s all we could find,” Leader said.
“This isn’t enough,” Jeremiah said. “We need a lot more than this.”
“We don’t have more,” Leader said. “I have people combing the town, but this is all we’ve found so far.”
Jeremiah’s shoulders sagged and he fell into a dining room chair.
“Then we’re stuck here,” he said. “We can’t get out of here without magnets.”
Graham kicked at the machine’s large wheels, venting his anger. A large bolt fell off and hit him on the head. He rubbed his head and scowled. He gritted his teeth and unleashed another wave of anger at the machine.
Chapter Eighteen
Graham laid his forehead on the table and let out a groan. His brain hurt from all the pressure he was putting on
“I didn’t think so,” Jeremiah said.
Graham dragged the jack over to the underside of the digger and began to pump.
“How long do you think it’ll take the digger to reach the surface?” he said.
“Not long I should think,” Jeremiah said. “If it’s running at full power it could go through up to one thirty meters of soil an hour. Maybe more. So it won’t take more than a few hours.”
“Why do you think that?” Graham said, already sweating from the effort.
“Because we didn’t fall that far,” Jeremiah said.
“Felt a long way to me,” Graham said, leaning on the jack and wiping his brow. “And Leader said they’ve been digging for three hundred years.”
“It doesn’t matter how long you dig if you’re digging in the wrong direction,” Jeremiah said. “We’re no more than a few hundred meters below the surface at the most.”
“How can you possibly know that?” Graham said.
“When we fell earlier, we couldn’t have fallen for more than fifty seconds, a minute tops,” Jeremiah said.
“Yeah, so?” Graham said.
“So, don’t you remember your high school physics?” Jeremiah said.
“No,” Graham said. “I’m surprised you do.”
“Look, if we fell for one second the force of gravity pulls at almost ten meters per second per second,” Jeremiah said. “We didn’t fall straight down. We slid most of it, so if we round down we’d end up with…”
He muttered under his breath, eyes moving left to right as he worked out the calculations in his head.
“Three hundred meters,” Jeremiah said. “Maximum.”
“Still a long way though, isn’t it?” Graham said.
“It’s not a short distance, but it could be worse,” Jeremiah said. “A lot worse. Who knows where we could have ended up. I say we’re pretty lucky.”
“But if we’re so close to the surface, why haven’t they found a way up there yet?” Graham said.
“That’s the very question I’ve been asking myself,” Jeremiah said. “Come on, let’s get to work.”
Chapter Seventeen
They worked all day without taking a break, entering the zone where nothing came between them but the task in hand. Leader’s servants came periodically to bring food and drink. The two men didn’t chat to them or take their eyes from the machinery they were working on. Their only concern was putting the machine together so they could return home.
The digger’s engine was in pieces on the floor, organized in a way Graham didn’t understand, but made perfect sense to Jeremiah. The old man ignored Graham every time he tried to initiate conversation, grumbling under his breath and concentrating on the parts on the floor.
Graham had smudges of oil and dirt on his face, hands and clothes.
“Why am I always the one getting dumped on?” Graham said.
“Because you’re unskilled,” Jeremiah said. “Expendable.”
“Gee, thanks,” Graham said. “It’s always nice to feel an intrinsic part of the project.”
The main doors opened and Leader came in, walking in his slow gait. A guard was in his wake.
“These are all the magnets we found,” Leader said.
The guard held a small pile in his hands.
“This is it?” Jeremiah said.
“It’s all we could find,” Leader said.
“This isn’t enough,” Jeremiah said. “We need a lot more than this.”
“We don’t have more,” Leader said. “I have people combing the town, but this is all we’ve found so far.”
Jeremiah’s shoulders sagged and he fell into a dining room chair.
“Then we’re stuck here,” he said. “We can’t get out of here without magnets.”
Graham kicked at the machine’s large wheels, venting his anger. A large bolt fell off and hit him on the head. He rubbed his head and scowled. He gritted his teeth and unleashed another wave of anger at the machine.
Chapter Eighteen
Graham laid his forehead on the table and let out a groan. His brain hurt from all the pressure he was putting on
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