The Door

"Sir!" said Ralph, getting up from his chair.

Conversation turned to lighter things now, and Paul got out a pack of cards.

Soon the room was quiet, and Phillip occupied his mind filling in a detailed report of the day's work.

But he could not forget the sensation of his machine striking the buried object, and failing to bite into its hard surface. The tungsten tips had cracked as the digger's generator struggled to maintain full power, but no impression had been made. He knew by the feel of it that this was no common mineral, no fragment of meteorite. It had to be something far stronger. This unpleasant idea stuck at the back of his mind, and annoyed him, it seemed to nibble at his thoughts like a mouse chewing at a wall.

THREE

Three earth-movers trundled slowly away from base. In their lead was a smaller Inspection Vehicle. It traveled quickly along the rough road, and soon outdistanced the larger machines.

Phillip was driving ahead, so he would have time to run some tests before the silicon dust billowed everywhere. He reached the site, and stopped to look through the haze. Through the glass of his six-wheeler he could see clearly where he and his men had been working the day before. It made him feel a surge of pride, not for himself, but for the whole concept of Humanity. To think, only a few years ago, relatively speaking, Man had been confined to Earth. It had been a sort of prison to each successive generation for thousands of years.

But now the Earth was a landing place for thousands of inter-planetary vehicles, although no meaningful journeys had been made outside the solar system. The only planets visited so far were within the Sun's remorseless hold. Distances were too vast after Pluto, and practical speeds too slow to be practical. Still, to break out of Earth's orbit was quite an achievement for Mankind, he thought.

Before him, Phillip could see the huge hole which he and his men had cut. It stretched away over the lunar curve, and it exposed a side of a crater into which several football stadiums would have fitted with ease. But the floor of the excavation was flat, and strewn with mounds of soil and rocks. Beautifully flat, like the remains of a meal on a wide plate.

For several long seconds Phillip sat and looked, then he shook himself out of the spell and began to prepare his analysis equipment.