SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORIES VOLUME IX Read online

  SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORIES VOLUME IX

  D T YARBROUGH

  SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORIES VOLUME IX

  Written by DTYarbrough

  10 SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORIES

  © Copyright 2011

  All rights reserved

  CONTENTS

  IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE EARTH

  IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE EARTH II

  IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE EARTH III

  THE PORTAL OF FOREVER

  THE PORTAL OF FOREVER II

  THE PORTAL OF FOREVER III

  THE PORTAL OF FOREVER IV

  THE PORTAL OF FOREVER V

  VIRUS 2021

  THE SEED

  IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE EARTH

  "I t was very nice of you to allow me access to your collection, Dr. Armstrong," said Lindsay. "Your collection is the largest and best I've seen."

  "Call me Richard, please," said Dr. Armstrong. "I understand the importance of your work, Miss Weston. I'm glad my little rock collection can be of some help."

  "Call me Lindsay," said Miss Weston, "and I'll call you humble. You have the largest and most unique collection in the world today."

  "I still have so much more to collect," said Richard. "I sometimes forget how others look at it. I suppose it is quite large. Will you be needing my assistance?"

  "Only if I discover something surprising," said Lindsay. "Just go on about your usual routine. I'll try to stay out of your hair."

  "Is that the miracle machine?" asked Richard. "I heard it's the very latest in mineral detection."

  "The detection methods have been around for years," said Lindsay. "But this is the first time we've been able to combine them all into one unit. High speed analysis makes it possible today to run thousands of tests per second. It's even practical to run tests that might only have a one in a million chance of finding anything."

  "That all very interesting," said Richard. "But I have a lot of cataloging to do. If you will excuse me."

  "I'm just going to start over there," said Lindsay. "Meteorites have always fascinated me."

  "They are my favorites as well," said Richard. "Perhaps we'll find time to talk about some of them later. I would love to hear more about this machine of yours, but we both have work to do. Maybe later?"

  "That would be fascinating," said Lindsay. "I've read some of your books on the subject and I'd like to discuss some of my ideas with you."

  ............................

  As Dr. Armstrong went about cataloging his latest additions to the collection, he found himself glancing more and more in Lindsay's direction. Her attire was better suited for rock climbing than for rock analysis. Her hiking boots covered cotton socks that stopped just below her knees. Her cutoff bluejeans were right out of Dukes of Hazard. Daisy Duke herself would have been envious. And those legs should be insured by Lloyds of London. "You're engaged, fool?" he thought. "Keep that dirty mind on these dirty rocks."

  "Who wears pigtails these days?" he thought as he found himself glancing her way again. "Is she as young as she looks? Damn it. I'm not going to get any work done."

  "I've finished with the meteorites," said Lindsay as he looked up from his work. "This is going to take longer than I thought to examine all of your rocks. Could I use your phone book to try and find a hotel nearby?"

  "I'm afraid the nearest one is in the valley," said Richard. "The fog can get pretty nasty at times. Why don't you just stay here. I have a spare bedroom. I'm afraid I have a dinner date tonight, but you should be able to whip up something in the kitchen."

  "I could be here all week," said Lindsay. "I wouldn't want to impose upon your hospitality. You've already been too kind."

  "No imposition at all," said Richard. "Just clean up after yourself. Let me show you around."

  ..............................

  "Thanks for the ride home, Ingrid," said Richard. "I can't believe the starter went out on my Audi. It's a shame you have to make that long drive back into the city."

  "But I was thinking about spending the night here," said Ingrid. "You've got that spare bedroom."

  "Oh Honey, I'm sorry. I should have told you," said Richard. "I have a friend staying over for a few days. Besides, you know how bad the fog is in the mornings."

  "I'm going to come in for a minute or two," said Ingrid. "I need to use your bathroom to freshen up a little before I head back into town."

  ..............................

  "Oh my god," said Lindsay. "Don't you knock, Richard?"

  "It is my house," said Richard. "What are you doing?"

  "Just getting a little yoga exercise," said Lindsay as she pointed to the TV then bent over to pick up the towel from the floor. "If I had known you were bringing home company ... I mean if I had known you would be home this early ... Hi, I'm Lindsay. You must be ...?"

  "His fiance," said Ingrid. "Please hang on to that towel. Richard, would you like to explain why you never mentioned that your friend was gorgeous?"

  "It's not what you think," said Richard. "She's only interested in my rocks."

  "I'll just bet she is," said Ingrid. "Lindsay, do you have anything to wear besides that thong?"

  "I'm so sorry, Richard," said Lindsay. "I'll just go to my room now and die."

  .............................

  "Why couldn't you have been wearing those last night?" asked Richard as he entered the kitchen.

  "I don't like to get them sweaty," said Lindsay.

  "They're sweats, for god sake," said Richard.

  "You're mad, aren't you?" asked Lindsay. "Let me make it up to you. How do you like your eggs?"

  "Scrambled, just like my life," said Richard. "Can you make an omelet?"

  "My specialty," said Lindsay. "I brought in your paper."

  "And it looks like you've read it," said Richard. "How long have you been up? Hey, is that the sports pages under the mixing bowl?"

  "Let me just wipe that off a bit," said Lindsay. "There you go, good as news."

  "Does your boyfriend like his sports pages sunny side up?" asked Richard.

  "No, " said Lindsay, her lips trembling. "Not any more."

  "Now what?" asked Richard.

  "He said he loved me," cried Lindsay. "Until I found him with my roommate."

  "I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation," said Richard.

  "Yeah," said Lindsay. "He's a horny bastard."

  "He's an idiot," said Richard. "Does he know you can cook omelets?"

  "They were his favorite," cried Lindsay as she dropped the spatula and ran to the bedroom.

  ...........................

  "Stop crying," said Richard as he sat down beside her on the bed. "He's not worth it."

  "I can't help it," she replied placing her head on his shoulder and wiping her tears on his shirt.

  "Our breakfast is getting cold," said Richard. "I finished the omelets."

  "You did?" she sniffled. "Thank you. I'm okay now. Just give me a minute."

  "Now who could that be?" said Richard as the doorbell rang.

  ..........................

  "Ingrid!" said Richard. "What are you doing here? I mean ... come in. Want some breakfast?"

  "I just wanted to apologize for the way I … What is that on your shirt?" asked Ingrid.

  "Now, Ingrid," said Richard. "I can explain this."

  "I'm not sure I want a relationship where you're always explaining yourself," said Ingrid as she removed the ring and calmly handed it to him. "I hope it's her size."

  "But Ingrid," said Richard as the door slammed in his face.

  ...........................

  “I've printe
d out the results of the mineral analysis I did on the meteorites,” said Lindsay. “There were all sorts of exotic trace elements but nothing to write home about.”

  “This could be very useful in my research,” said Richard. “I would have paid you to do this if I had known. Get dressed and we'll try to get some work done.”

  “I'll wear these sweats, if you don't mind,” said Lindsay. “I got a little cold down there yesterday.”

  “I try to keep the temperature in the basement the same year round,” said Richard. “That was the average daily temperature for this part of the country.”

  “A bit chilly for a Louisiana gal,” said Lindsay.

  “I thought I detected a slight Cajun accent,” said Richard.

  “Nothing gets bayou,” smiled Lindsay.

  “And a sense of humor,” said Richard. “That's refreshing. I'm afraid Ingrid has lost hers.”

  “I'm awfully sorry about that,” said Lindsay. “I'd be glad to help you explain it to her.”

  “I don't think Ingrid's ready to listen just yet,” said Richard. “I never knew she could be that jealous.”

  “I'm going to start on the volcanic rocks today,” said Lindsay as they descended the stairs to the basement. “If that's okay with you?”

  “Sure,” said Richard. “Some of those are as fascinating as the meteorites.”

  …............................

  “I don't know about you but I got a lot done today,” said Richard. “You were a big help in sorting those metamorphic rocks. I hope I didn't take you away from your real purpose for too long. Did you analyze all of the volcanic rocks?”

  “I sure did and here are the printouts,” said Lindsay. “I was just going to look them over before I gave them to you.”

  “Let me give you a hand,” said Richard. “Give me half of them.”

  “Okay,” said Lindsay. “We're looking for anything out of the ordinary that could possibly indicate an error with the equipment.”

  …................................

  “You'd better have a look at this one,” said Richard. “The machine really screwed up this analysis.”

  “Let me have a look,” said Lindsay. “What seems to be the problem?”

  “Di-lithium, said Richard. “There isn't that much Di-lithium in the entire world.”

  “I don't understand it,” said Lindsay. “I personally calibrated that sensor myself. That was sample #13232. Help me locate it.”

  “Can't it wait until morning?” asked Richard. “I'm bushed.”

  “I won't be able to sleep until we verify the readings,” said Lindsay. “One way or the other.”

  “There's no need to verify it,” asked Richard. “Now which is more likely? The machine screwed up, or we just stumbled upon fifty million dollars worth of Di-lithium?”

  “I realize how strange it sounds,” said Lindsay. “But I don't believe the machine is wrong.”

  “Strange isn't the word for it,” said Richard. “Di-lithium has only been created in minute amounts under special laboratory conditions. It just doesn't exist naturally.”

  “But I'm telling you that I'd trust this machine with my life,” said Lindsay. “There has to be a logical explanation and I can't rest until we find it.”

  …..............................

  “This is the one,” said Richard. “#13232. It's from an extinct volcano in Costa Rica.”

  “I need to run another analysis on it,” said Lindsay. “Let's see if we get the same results.”

  “How long is this going to take?” asked Richard.

  “It's done,” said Lindsay. “Just let me print out the results and we'll compare them to the earlier readings.”

  “They're identical, right down to the fifth decimal point,” said Richard. “If nothing else, your machine is consistent.”

  “Consistently wrong is what you're trying to say,” said Lindsay. “Crack it open and let's have a closer look at this rock.”

  “Crack it open!” said Richard. “Do you realize what this little rock is worth to a collector like myself? Just look at the unique shape. Feel the weight. Look at the coloring.”

  “I know what it's worth if there is that much Di-lithium inside,” said Lindsay. “You could buy this whole collection ten times over.”

  “I could finance hundreds of expeditions,” said Richard. “But let's be realistic. What are the odds?”

  “Do you have any x-ray equipment?” asked Lindsay. “That should tell us what we need to know without damaging your precious rock.”

  “I've got an ultrasonic resonator,” said Richard. “We can check the density of the rock.”

  “What are we waiting for?” asked Lindsay. “We're wasting time.”

  “It will take hours to run the test,” said Richard. “You can't rush it. The rock could shatter.”

  “Well, the sooner we start, the sooner we'll know something,” said Lindsay.

  “You'll like a child at Christmas,” said Richard. “Can't wait to open your presents.”

  “This could be the greatest discovery in geologic history,” said Lindsay. “Aren't you excited?”

  “You're excited enough for both of us,” said Richard. “I'm going to hate to see you disappointed.”

  …................................

  “The dinner was excellent,” said Lindsay. “I hope you saved some wine for the celebration.”

  “I'll put some champagne on ice,” said Richard. “I must say you look lovely with your hair down.”

  “You clean up pretty good yourself,” said Lindsay as she began to feel the effects of the dinner wine. “I love that song. Do you dance?”

  “That reminds me,” said Richard. “I need to call Ingrid. If you'll excuse me for just a minute.”

  As Lindsay sat at the table, sipping her glass of wine, she thought about her ex-boyfriend then poured herself another glass. Why wasn't he more like Richard? He never called, even when things were going well. “Good riddance,” she thought.,“ to him and her roommate. She'd just have to get a smaller apartment when the lease was up.”

  “What was I thinking when I asked Ingrid to marry me?” thought Richard. “She's not interested in my hobbies and her society friends are as dull as dishwater. If I had only met Lindsay first, you can bet things would have been different.”

  “She not answering my calls,” said Richard. “Women can get so emotional.”

  “I know,” whimpered Lindsay, tears running down her cheek.

  “Now what?” asked Richard. “Is it your boyfriend again?”

  “Ex,” she replied. “I'm just feeling sorry for myself. I'm sorry.”

  “No crying at the table,” said Richard. “Pass me that bottle.”

  “Get your own,” cried Lindsay as she hugged the bottle with one arm and took another sip from her glass.

  “I think you've had enough wine,” said Richard.

  “Don't be silly,” giggled Lindsay. “I'll tell you when you think I've had enough.”

  “Why don't I make us some coffee?” asked Richard.

  “It keeps me awake,” said Lindsay.

  “I thought you wanted to stay awake,” said Richard.

  “There you go thinking again,” replied Lindsay. “While you're pouring, would you top off my glass?”

  “How about a dance?” asked Richard.

  “I'd be delighted,” said Lindsay. “How did you know I wanted to dance?”

  “I'm psychic,” said Richard.

  “Have you got the hiccups?” asked Lindsay. “You shouldn't drink so much.”

  “That makes two of us,” said Richard.

  “I can see both of you,” said Lindsay. “Which one wanted to dance?”

  “Just pick one,” said Richard.

  …............................

  “I think he wants to cut in,” Lindsay whispered into his ear.

  “Let him find his own partner,” said Richard. “I found you first.”

  “What was that?
” asked Lindsay. “Is that your phone?”