know for a fact that there's serious danger.”
“And you don't believe that there's serious danger now?” Doctor Vlashsku asked. “Look what this facility did to us.”
“What did it do, Dakshiku? Other than a terribly tragic accident that led to the death of one of our laborers, we were rendered harmlessly unconscious for a few hours by a fragrant gas. It might have even been our fault. We might have activated some medical process. Perhaps this was an operating room, and we experienced their form of patient anesthesia. It wasn't painful, and we suffered no ill effects.”
“We can't know that yet!” Doctor Huften said. “And what about these instruments?! What are they measuring?”
“That's what we need to determine, Barbara,” Doctor Ramilo said. “And like Edward said, the only way to do that is to monitor them and record all variations.” Although he was twenty years junior to Doctor Peterson, he usually sided with the older man on most issues.
“And what about that?” Doctor Huften asked, gesturing towards the other side of the room.
All eyes turned in the direction she was pointing. The others immediately saw what only Doctor Huften had noticed until then. A miniature green lamp over each of eleven tall cabinet doors built into the wall was shining brightly.
“What does that do to your theory that nothing is amiss, Edward?” Doctor Huften asked.
“It doesn't change a thing, Barbara,” he said, without apparent concern, “except that we have something additional to monitor.”
“Edward, I find your position unsupportable,” Doctor Huften said. “My sixth sense tells me that we have triggered something here that will have serious repercussions for all of us. I pray that you are right, but feel in my heart that you are wrong. And by the time we know for sure, it might be too late to save any of us.”
* * *
In the days following their departure from Earth, most of the Prometheus' crew drifted into normal shipboard routines. Jenetta worked out in the gym after her duty shift ended each morning, usually running or practicing her kickboxing before retiring to her quarters to sleep. Rising in time to eat dinner with the delegation most evenings, she would excuse herself as soon as possible after the meal to work in her quarters until it was time to report to the bridge for her watch. She had begun to spend what little free time she had studying the history of Nordakia and teaching herself Dakis, the only language used on the planet.
At the beginning of the fifth week out from Earth, Jenetta's month long intensive study of conversational Dakis had progressed to the point where she could carry on a limited, albeit stilted, conversation. She instructed the computer interface in her quarters to only converse with her in Dakis, to correct her grammar and pronunciations, and offer suggestions when words didn't immediately come to her. Complete immersion in a culture is the quickest way to learn a language, so a holographic projector system, borrowed from the ship's educational center and linked to the computer, provided an image of a Nordakian female. Thereafter she would spend much of her free time in her quarters, conversing with the computer, via the hologram, in an effort to master the basic skills necessary for normal conversation.
As in the past when they were both aboard the same ship, Jenetta kept running into Captain Kanes during her waking hours. He would be in the gym during her two-hour workout each morning and usually fell in beside her as she ran around the track. Conversation was naturally limited during the brisk run. He also tried to keep up with her during her kickboxing practice, but while he had greater upper-body strength, her skill level was clearly higher than his own, so she usually practiced with other work-out opponents. Her position as second officer provided greater opportunities to become friendly with most of the officers on the ship, especially the senior officers and bridge
“And you don't believe that there's serious danger now?” Doctor Vlashsku asked. “Look what this facility did to us.”
“What did it do, Dakshiku? Other than a terribly tragic accident that led to the death of one of our laborers, we were rendered harmlessly unconscious for a few hours by a fragrant gas. It might have even been our fault. We might have activated some medical process. Perhaps this was an operating room, and we experienced their form of patient anesthesia. It wasn't painful, and we suffered no ill effects.”
“We can't know that yet!” Doctor Huften said. “And what about these instruments?! What are they measuring?”
“That's what we need to determine, Barbara,” Doctor Ramilo said. “And like Edward said, the only way to do that is to monitor them and record all variations.” Although he was twenty years junior to Doctor Peterson, he usually sided with the older man on most issues.
“And what about that?” Doctor Huften asked, gesturing towards the other side of the room.
All eyes turned in the direction she was pointing. The others immediately saw what only Doctor Huften had noticed until then. A miniature green lamp over each of eleven tall cabinet doors built into the wall was shining brightly.
“What does that do to your theory that nothing is amiss, Edward?” Doctor Huften asked.
“It doesn't change a thing, Barbara,” he said, without apparent concern, “except that we have something additional to monitor.”
“Edward, I find your position unsupportable,” Doctor Huften said. “My sixth sense tells me that we have triggered something here that will have serious repercussions for all of us. I pray that you are right, but feel in my heart that you are wrong. And by the time we know for sure, it might be too late to save any of us.”
* * *
In the days following their departure from Earth, most of the Prometheus' crew drifted into normal shipboard routines. Jenetta worked out in the gym after her duty shift ended each morning, usually running or practicing her kickboxing before retiring to her quarters to sleep. Rising in time to eat dinner with the delegation most evenings, she would excuse herself as soon as possible after the meal to work in her quarters until it was time to report to the bridge for her watch. She had begun to spend what little free time she had studying the history of Nordakia and teaching herself Dakis, the only language used on the planet.
At the beginning of the fifth week out from Earth, Jenetta's month long intensive study of conversational Dakis had progressed to the point where she could carry on a limited, albeit stilted, conversation. She instructed the computer interface in her quarters to only converse with her in Dakis, to correct her grammar and pronunciations, and offer suggestions when words didn't immediately come to her. Complete immersion in a culture is the quickest way to learn a language, so a holographic projector system, borrowed from the ship's educational center and linked to the computer, provided an image of a Nordakian female. Thereafter she would spend much of her free time in her quarters, conversing with the computer, via the hologram, in an effort to master the basic skills necessary for normal conversation.
As in the past when they were both aboard the same ship, Jenetta kept running into Captain Kanes during her waking hours. He would be in the gym during her two-hour workout each morning and usually fell in beside her as she ran around the track. Conversation was naturally limited during the brisk run. He also tried to keep up with her during her kickboxing practice, but while he had greater upper-body strength, her skill level was clearly higher than his own, so she usually practiced with other work-out opponents. Her position as second officer provided greater opportunities to become friendly with most of the officers on the ship, especially the senior officers and bridge
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