Alex Gore - The Cube

It was a large cylindrical chunk of metal, which traced the shape of the corps of the submarine. It was about twenty feet in diameter and there was a big opening in its center through which a bending person could pass.

“What the fuck is this?” Norman raised the transmitter to his face. “Bring the Russians to me now!”

For the first time since they were on board Hans seemed very interested and was observing the machine with curiosity. Obviously, he saw it as a super high-tech device and quite intriguing too.

Marcela was exhausted, so she sat on one of the generators to take a rest. She was emotionally overwhelmed and for the moment she had switched off, she did not think about anything at all.

Alan was watching Hans closely.

Ivanov and Sergey almost tumbled through the door one after the other.

“I need explanations. What is this?” Ivanov asked, sounding rather angry.

“That’s the Core, Sir”, Sergey answered promptly before Ivanov could stop him.

“The Core?”

“It’s the second major engine of the ship, Sir.”

“And why wasn’t I informed? Are there any more things of this kind about which I need to know?” Norman was seething.

“Yes, Sir… I mean, no, Sir… I mean, I’ll report to you in private right now, Sir. And no, I don’t believe there is anything else, Sir…”

Sergey was confused so he was rambling, while Ivanov watched dispassionately with a stone face.

Now everyone was examining the second major engine.

It looked like the lens of an old camera from the pre-digital age, when lenses with diaphragms were used. That was it, the eye of the machine reminded them of a diaphragm. Similar to those old lenses there were laminae that correspondingly made the lens narrow or dilated it like a human pupil, adapting to the different quantity of light. Around the eye twelve mirrors were placed, directed towards the center of the bottom that looked like a satellite dish. There was an electric motor at the base of each one, that seemed to be able to change their position and respectively the angle of reflection of light.

Meanwhile the sergeant and one of the soldiers wriggled through the narrow opening of the ‘diaphragm’.

In the room there were four huge energy generators on the floor, at least that was what the inscription on every one of them said – ‘Energy generator’ in Russian. Below there was a sign with an exclamation mark and a human skull and a warning also in Russian – ‘Danger! High voltage!’

Norman was just going to follow the Russians back to the cabin with the bunks, when the sergeant’s head popped up through the ‘diaphragm’.

“Sir, you might want to see that, I’m sure.” His voice sounded very agitated despite the formal military tone. He was trembling all over. “There is another room behind this one… You must come now… Sir.”

Everybody followed, squeezing through the opening. Sergey was the last to go and he offered his hand to Marcela although it was Hans who needed help more. Poor man could hardly worm his way through in the thick protective suit. They were in the last section, at the very rear of the submarine, in something like a loading room or a warehouse. It was a confined space because of the slanting ceiling in the tail of the big submarine.

The Cube.

In front of them the most amazing thing imaginable stood. They had never seen such beauty and perfection.

The Cube was placed on a throne of corals, growing right from the metal floor. Its dimensions were six by six feet, it had perfectly straight sides and angles and an indefinite color. It looked mirrorlike but it refracted light in a dull way and the reflections were somewhat different from the real objects.

Marcela, for instance, saw before her a face not so beautiful, surrounded by dark floating circles. She looked blurred, with deep dark shadows beneath her eyes and spots on the forehead.

Ivanov, on his part, was faced by a handsome distinct image in a halo of light. His reflection was young, like one, painted on a canvas by a talented artist.

However, Marcela and Ivanov both had the impression they were seeing not their own reflection but of somebody else. Somebody who resembled them, but came from a different reality.

From inside the Cube murky blue-greenish light streamed with slight pink hypnotizing nuance. If one looked at it for more than a couple of seconds, there was a feeling of one’s brain getting soft.

The entire group encircled the Cube and while everyone was gazing intently at it, Hans looked away from the perfectly smooth shining supernatural surface to view the walls of the room they were in.

The corals, white and colorless, were everywhere. It was as if they were standing on the bottom of the ocean. Five of the six planes of the space were covered with corals, including the floor, running from ceiling to floor, covering almost the entire metal plating. Only the opening, through which they had come in, was not covered with corals. The reef formed something like a nest or an altar, exactly matching the form and the dimensions of the Cube, lying in that couch.

Hans brushed with his hand the place where the coral matter met the metal corps and said:

“Marcela, you’ve got to see this.”

“Yeah, it seems the organic matter is grown into the metal… This is very strange…”

“Didn’t you mention that graphene was built of carbon only and could be implanted in live tissue?”

“That’s right, but those corals were not brought from outside, they look as if they have grown from the ship itself. Look, some of them are half alive, as if they were forcefully dragged out of the water a few days ago, while others… See how thick their skeleton is, limestone is formed very slowly… and their color…” Her voice vibrated with excitement. “I bet they they have been lying in that room for centuries.”

“Take samples”, Norman ordered and looked at them inquiringly. “What might this be? That’s why you are here, come on, I need answers…”

“This comes from quartz with inner diodes”, Michael offered. “It’s cool, it must cost a fortune.”

“For God’s sake, don’t touch it and stay away from it… It might be dangerous…” Marcela had the sickening feeling of resentment, thinking how nice it would be to relax in a hot bath at home with a glass of wine.

“Come on, it’s perfectly clear this does not come from our planet. Don’t play dumb”, Alan remarked, returning to his usual self.

“Load it, I want it at the base. We are leaving”, Norman announced, not being able to calm down from everything he had seen. Like every military person who wanted to be perfect in his job, he did not like surprises. The Russians had obviously saved a lot of essential information in their initial reports and now he needed to call Washington.

“Please, Norman, don’t take it to the base! I don’t like this thing” Marcela implored, almost dragging Norman’s lapel.

“Gentlemen…” Hans started in his typical sardonic manner. “Norman, you can’t possibly take this thing with you now…”

“And why is that? What would stop me to do it?”

Alan slapped his forehead.

“Hans, you are right… But, of course…”

“Gentlemen, don’t forget this is not democracy here. You are under my command.” Norman did not get it.

“Norman, how wide is the manhole?”

“Damn it! You mean… Then how on earth did this shit come inside?”

Alan had already figured it.

“Yes, Norman”, Hans continued, “the manhole is not more than three feet wide, which is half the width of that pretty little cube here. And there isn’t any normal way it had been brought in the submarine through its entrance… At least not after its construction.”