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If the mysterious being liked singing, he got an earful of it the next morning. We marched toward the next gate. Astrid started with another chores of ‘Gary Owen’, and I gave a rendition of Stephen Forster’s ‘Beautiful Dreamer’, which I had often sung for Astrid. We trudged down the road. Since there was no decent scenery, we provided our own entertainment.
The day was bright but not very hot. I guessed the temperature was about 65 degrees, which is not bad marching weather. Or walking. I saw no reason to hurry.
“Have a song about corn?” Rab asked as we passed yet another field.
“Well, there’s Oklahoma where the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye. I think that’s the lyric.”
We made a slight turn and smiled where a deep blue lake appeared. The light wind rippled the waters. Small waves lapped the ground.
“Wow, something different,” I said.
“Anything to break the monotony,” Astrid said.
Tek stared at his scanner. “Good news. The lake not only looks like water; it is water. We can refill our canteens.”
I dumped my canteen in the blue and watched the water splashing over it. I motioned to Geneva.
“Any more sensations?” I asked.
“Yes, but very faint. I have to focus mightily to feel anything at all.”
“Anything different than what you’ve felt before?”
“No, sir.”
“Thanks. Just checking. Raiders, let’s make a few more miles before lunch.”
The lake was the only scenic spot on the trip. We walked three more miles and all we saw were cornfields. No animals, no birds, no inhabitants. Just green stalks and more green stalks. It was akin to driving through Kansas or Nebraska. Just flat land.
I halted at a small circle of trees so the squad could have lunch. I wondered if we should use the jets to complete the journey, but decided against it. They were quicker, but we might need them again and we did not have unlimited power. We had one last chamber to travel and I doubted it would be as peaceful as this one. I wanted all our weapons and equipment ready. We might need to take to the air again. Besides, if there was something unfriendly and hiding in this chamber, a flying convoy is an easy target. We don’t travel that fast. Anyone with a gun and fair shooting ability could easily kill one or two or us before the rest of the squad could respond.
We would walk to the next gate and see what was behind it.
I munched a sandwich and Cajun Asian walked up. The mouth was firm. The eyes alert. The firm mouth turned downwards in a frown. I didn’t think that was a good sign.
“Major, there’s something wrong here. Very wrong.”
I took another bite of the sandwich. “Did you have to tell me that? Things were going so well. Peaceful, quiet, tranquil.” I finished the sandwich and wiped my hands on the uniform. “So what’s wrong?”
She pointed south. “This chamber is bigger than the first two. This one is about a hundred miles long. We should have walked about twenty-five miles, which means we should have seventy-five miles left.”
I nodded. “Just a hop, a skip and a jump until we get to the gate and the next doorway.”
She shook her head. “Not exactly, sir. All our instruments tell us the next gate is still a hundred miles away from us. We haven’t made any progress whatsoever.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Wish I was. I double-checked this with Tek. He has come to the same conclusion.”
Tek walked up as she finished her sentence.
“I was just about to yell for you,” I said.
“What Cajun told you is true. I didn’t believe the readings at first. I checked and re-checked them. But the fact is we are no closer to the next gate now than we were two days ago.”
“Could something be throwing the instruments off?”
“No, they’re fine. We are still a hundred miles away from the next wall. I have a uneasy feeling that if we keep walking for weeks we’d still be a hundred miles away.”
I took a swig of water and wished we hadn’t drank all the liquor.
“Isn’t that impossible?” I said.
“Yes, sir. It is.”
“But it’s still true.”
“Yes, sir. It is.”
“It’s some kind of space-time paradox, Logan,” Cajun said. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
“It’s just in this chamber, not in the others?”
“Apparently not. I can’t explain that either.”
“Shucks.”
“That was what I said too,” Tek said. “Well, actually, I used different words than shucks. My words had fewer letters than shucks does.”
“My reaction was a bit more colorful too,” Cajun said. She smiled. “We’ll let you think about this for a while, sir, so you can come up with a solution.”
“Not me. I’m depending on my science advisers on this one. I would like some suggestions.”
A solemn tone came in Tek’s voice. “We don’t have any. Not right now. I’m at a loss. I have no idea how a time paradox would operate in the sphere and I have no idea how to resolve it. The solution to this would take a trainload of scientists.”
I frowned. “I was thinking of taking a trainload of scientists with us on this mission, but I figured I wouldn’t need that many. Guess I was wrong.” I shook my head and walked a couple of steps. Dizziness enveloped me and my foot slipped. I stumbled and my knee hit the hard ground. My hands went to my head. For a moment the world went blurry. Tek and Cajun ran over and grabbed my arms to support.
“You OK, sir?”
The dizziness passed. The world came back into focus.
“Yes.” I shook my head. “I just felt dizzy for a moment.”
My 20/20 vision was back, so I watched in crystal clarity as Geneva walked up. “A number of Raiders have experienced that, sir. I have too; early this morning. It lasts for a few seconds then disappears and everything is fine.”
“Would this be connected with the entity you think you sense?”
“I think so. I think he, or she, or it was probing our minds.”
“Why?”
“Seeking insight perhaps. He may never have seen humans before. He wants to know about us. We know some races who can read minds. At times you can sense you’re being probed and other times you can’t. But I didn’t feel any hostile intent when the dizziness hit me. The sense I get was curiosity and... perhaps friendliness.”
“If he wants to know about us perhaps we should invite him over for lunch,” I said.
“Actually this may be a positive sign, sir, the curiosity I mean. Curiosity shows a degree of intelligence. Some races have very little of it. Curiosity can denote a sense of wonder, of seeking to understand what’s around you. Seeking to understand, not attack or conquer or subjugate.”
“I wish him luck with that. Humans have been trying to understand other humans for centuries. Haven’t had much success at it. Anyway we have a more immediate problem. Tek, if I understand what you are telling me, then we can walk for days, or months or years without getting any closer to the next gate. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“Can’t go forward, can’t go back.”
“Precisely.”
For the next hour we wandered around aimlessly. One of the most agonizing things for a military leader, who is used to action, is to know he is helpless in any particular situation. To proceed forward was futile. But we couldn’t go back. If we did nothing, we’d spend eternity in the midst of green corn stalks. Even vegetarians would find that annoying. A military leader also hates a no-win situation and we hope we never have to deal with one. I sighed. Then looked toward my squad.
“Raiders! We’re moving out. Five minutes before we start.”
I felt Astrid’s hand on my shoulder. “Logan, where are we going?”
I pointed toward the path. “That way. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Who knows? Maybe we’ll stumble across something that will be a key to this mystery.”
“Sort of grasping at straws, aren’t you?” she said.
“Yes, but that’s the only thing I have to grasp.”