Room 9 by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 13

Thirty minutes after opening their eyes, the group found themselves waiting outside for the driver. He was not expected to be late, but in their excitement the group lost track of time and just as they were to comment on the driver's tardiness they noticed a familiar white van approaching the hotel. The driver pulled over and, stopping in front of the hotel, heard the side door open as the teens climbed in. With Elaine in the front passenger seat, still fantasizing about the driver, they drove away and towards NASA's main campus. The teens wondered what technological leaps they would see today and with Doctor Stewart, once again, waiting near the front door, they quickly piled out and stood in an orderly manner. Doctor Stewart and Elaine were beyond surprised at how five teenagers could organize themselves with such speed.

Doctor Stewart, once again, directed the group down the hallway to the elevator. Stopping at the fifth floor, they stepped out and were guided down the corridor to a door at the end of the hallway. Now, it would be Kyle's turn to get up close to something he would never have dreamed seeing. Stopping at the door, Doctor Stewart turned to the group. “Now, who is our nuclear chemist?” All eyes turned to Kyle, who stammered his response. “Uh, I guess that's me.” Doctor Stewart motioned him forward and opening the door hinted to him about the project being worked on. “I've always thought of this project as being a bit other-worldly.” Kyle's became more interested with every step, and soon he found himself in a changing room similar to where Chelsea had been yesterday. He was instructed to put a white clean suit on over his clothes with the last parts being a hood and face mask. After washing his hands, he put on a pair of latex gloves and was led into the lab. “Now,” Doctor Stewart began. “Take a good look around and tell me what you think they're working on.” Looking down the right side of the room, Kyle noticed a series of Plexiglas containers. A lab technician stood in front of each, dressed in a white, clean suit. In the center of each container was an irregularly shaped black object. They looked unfamiliar and unless Kyle could get closer, he would not know exactly what they were.

“So, what do you think?” Doctor Stewart asked.

Kyle strained to see the objects in more detail.

“I don't know,” he replied. Doctor Stewart motioned him towards the right side of the lab, closer to the plexiglass containers. In it was what looked like a rock with sharp jagged edges and a rather dull appearance. “Go ahead,” the doctor said. Kyle moved closer as the technician was motioned away. “Do you know what this is?” In a sterile environment, Kyle suspected the black chunks were likely meteorites. But something was different about them. Meteorites were rarely black – usually gray or brown, depending on their composition. “I'm not sure,” he answered. “Meteorites?”

Doctor Stewart wanted him to think with the mind of an analytical chemist – a scientist.

“I don't think these come from that far away,” he said. “You're wearing gloves, right?”

Kyle held up his hands, displaying the protection he had stretched over them earlier.

“Okay,” the doctor continued. “Open those two ports and put your hands in.”

Kyle nervously opened the ports and slowly put his hands through. He considered that the objects were likely rare, making him that much more anxious about being so close. Still, he was confused about what should have been obvious.

“I'm not sure,” he said. Doctor Stewart put a hand on top of the container as if to further point them out.

“Kyle,” he said. “These are something that you will likely never see again. These are moon rocks.” Kyle was stunned and standing in front of these objects felt the blood leave his head. Doctor Stewart was correct. He would never see anything like this again.

Pausing for far too long, Kyle began to feel a bit weak in the knees, but recovered quickly as he asked a curious question.

“Can I touch it?”

Doctor Stewart gave it a moment's thought and decided that as long as Kyle keep his gloves on, it should be of no harm to allow him this rare opportunity.

“Okay,” he replied. “But keep your gloves on. We can't risk contamination.”

Kyle nodded his head as he reached in further. Touching the rock with a fingertip, he could feel its rough texture and sharp points. But his experience with non-terrestrial objects was brief, as the doctor tapped his shoulder and motioned him back to the changing room. Soon after, Kyle found himself back in the corridor. The teens noticed an odd look on his face and impatiently asked him what he had seen. He recovered himself enough to briefly describe his experience.

“You would not believe it. I got to touch an actual moon rock. How cool is that?”

He took a moment to breathe out his excited tension as the others marveled at his once in a lifetime opportunity. Even Elaine was amazed. But it was time to move on, and there was much more to see.

Once again, their guide led them back to the elevator and as they crowded in, John looked over at Kyle, whose face was still pale from an experience he would never have again. “Hey, Kyle,” John said. “You okay?” Kyle responded with a slight stammer. “Uh, yeah, fine.”

Kyle and John were not exactly the best of friends, and occasionally butted heads over trivial matters. Among his less favorable qualities, Kyle tended to be a bully and took any opportunity to tease John for no other reason than the pleasure of doing so.