PERIL Read Online Free

computer to activate the glare dimmers on the windows to her apartment. The glass panels on the windows holo-graphically project the phrase, “Domicile solar charge: 75 %.” This annoys Vanessa contributing to her headache. She has yet to get a full charge from the solar panels, but at least it is an eco-friendly system she often reasons to herself.
    “Answer call audio only,” she says sluggishly.
    She sits upright on the sofa. She scans her surroundings noticing two empty bottles of wine lying on the floor at her feet. The acidic smell emanating from her body repulses her. She feels nauseous but manages a weak hello to the caller.
    “Vanessa, Vanessa, it’s, Todd, down at the lab. You’re not going to believe this,” Todd says excitedly.
    Vanessa picks up the empty bottles of wine and walks them over to the trash-recycling unit.
    “Todd, what is it?” she asks as she drops the bottles into the unit.
    “Uh, not over the phone. Just get down here pronto. You’ll want to see this for yourself.”
    Vanessa agrees and ends the call. An hour later she arrives at the Ares Corp. lab. She walks in and finds Todd looking intently through a magnifying scope. Without looking up at her he waves her over. Vanessa walks toward him noticing a display of a fragment he’s studying on a holographic monitor.
    “What cha got there?” she asks.
    So far she’s unimpressed. She’s seen these fragments before. He draws her attention to the circular etchings on the piece of metal he’s studying.
    “More of these fragments floated up to the surface in the Pacific Ocean. The salvage crew brought them in last night,” Todd says excitedly.
    He raises his head up from the magnifying scope and takes notice of her.
    “You look like, shit,” Todd says jokingly.
    “ Never mind that—–what’s so important that you dragged me down here so early?”
    “Well , we still can’t identify all of the elements in this little beauty, but the larger pieces have these strange symbols all over them and our carbon scans date them back at least a few thousand years before dinosaurs. The symbols suggest language, Vanessa.”
    Vanessa leans in for a closer look.
    “These are not just random symbols, these are pictographs , predating the Neanderthals! And get this, my metallurgic analysis of this particular fragment revealed that it’s part of a ship––perhaps capable of space flight.”
    “That’s quite a reach , Todd,” Vanessa responds skeptically.
    “Vanessa you know my work ethic. I don’t deal in unsupported theories ; I deal in hard facts. Everything here points to technology a century ahead of our own. How the hell did it get here?”
    Vanessa had heard theories about the many rises and fall s of past civilizations predating early man. These theories suggest that mankind had lived and evolved four times, thousands of years before the Neanderthal. Each time he reached a peak in his evolution he inevitably destroyed himself. Some theorize that an early civilization of humanoids lived on Mars twice before asteroids destroyed the planet. During the second rise on Mars, many of these humanoids predicted their own demise and sent human DNA to Earth. They watched their progeny grow and even had some influence on the Mayan and Egyptian cultures. There was never any scientific data to support these theories––––until now. Todd could be onto something Vanessa thinks to herself.
    “Have you told anyone else about this?”
    Todd shakes his head no.
    “Not until we’ve got more data, but this definitely puts us up for another grant.”
    “Which means more study. Unfortunately, you’re gonna have to proceed without me,” Vanessa says sadly.
    “Without you?”
    Todd can’t believe what he’s hearing. Vanessa smiles and grabs his hand and tells him about her new commission as commander aboard the Decima.
    “I’m going to MV5.”
    “Vanessa , I’m happy for you, but how are you going to be able to do that pregnant?”
    “I