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The Lost Planet

Chapter 1:
Accident with
an Asteroid

Chapter 2:
Stranded in Space

Chapter 3:
Survival in
Solitude

Chapter 4:
The Ancient Temple

Chapter 5:
A Virtual Reality Experience

 Chapter 6:
The Crystal Records

Chapter 7:
The Knowledge
of Tranqua

 Chapter 8:
The Meta- Hydrovector

Chapter 9:
The Long,
Hard Work

Chapter 10:
The Project Complete

Chapter 11:
The Crystal Fantasy

Chapter 12:
The Key
of Vitreos
The Lost Planet

Chapter 12. The Key of Vitreos

  I suspected the most obvious place where the key  could be found was the treasure cave. If it wasn't there, then an absence of knowledge about its structure would make the alternative of reconstructing it impossible. In other words, without that original key, all my work constructing the hydrovector was in vain.

  Before I could go and look for it in the treasure, I had to know what it looked like. So I went into the crystal fantasy again, met T'rwani, and requested that she show me this secret key. At first, she appeared hesitant, and then led me to the cave with the treasure.

  It was not in a mess as it was  on the asteroid; it was in perfect,  orderly shape.  All of the statues and artifacts were arranged as neatly as if it were a chamber in a museum. T'rwani went to the back, left corner, behind a statue, and returned with an ornate, metal box, about the size of a jewelry box.

  "Shall I open it?" she said.
  "Yes," I agreed.
  She opened it and inside there were about a dozen finger-sized crystals in soft, velvet-like slots.

  "Which one is it?"  I said, noting the subtle differences of each.
  "I do not know," she said. "Only the High Amplek can know that. Do you wish me to know, or is this another test?"

  "It is one of these, is it?"
  "Yes, but I do not know which one," she admitted. "It is not for my eyes to know."

  I picked one of the crystals out of a slot and studied it closely.
  "Very well," I decided, and put the crystal back. "You may return the box."
  She did so, and together we left the cave.

  "Are you feeling alright?" she asked, as we returned to the temple. "Do you need food or water?"
  "Nothing now," I said, "you may leave me."

  She nodded and left, and I went to the video at the center of the far wall of the temple, to access the hydrovector spex. A few minutes of close examination finally revealed a tiny circle at the far edge of the basic schematics. It was so small; I had failed to notice it during the construction.

  Or if I had noticed it, I had ignored it because it did not contain a symbol and could not be referred to in the component list. In fact, it had no reference anywhere at all.

  Apparently, this was the High Amplek's way of keeping it a 'trade secret'. I examined it closely, and there was a very thin line leading away from it, into the 'circuit' and directly to a control component. I read the symbol of the component, and recalled the 'controls' to the hydrovector. The controls had been the most difficult part of the project to construct, but now as I recalled it all in detail, the necessary information became well understood.

  With the knowledge needed, I returned to the 21st century asteroid, set the spheres aside, and put on the spacesuit.

  Several minutes later, I located the box of crystals, in the corner of the treasure cave, behind the statue, which had been toppled over in the final cataclysm. I checked to make sure they were all there, they were, and immediately proceeded to the  batheopath and the hydrovector.  An hour of work was required with the control box. 

  When it was complete, I prepared the elements for the reaction, and then began to try each of the crystals. There were twelve crystals in all,  and just when I was beginning to fear  the key was either not included or would not work, I tried the seventh one and their was a heavy  'crack'  at the top of the hydrovector.

  The effect led me think something had malfunctioned, but then there came a wave of gentle thumps in the upper chamber, and a much louder thump within the lower chamber. It was almost impossible to believe, but the gage confirmed it.  The loud crack had been the 'lightning', and the thumps were 'rainfall'. The Hydrovection worked. I had created water!

  It was an amazing experience, to hear the electrostatic spark in the upper chamber, the 'rain'  falling and hitting the inside of the upper cone, siphoning  and filtering down into the lower cone, and to see the water, fresh and pure,  exit the spigot  and pour into the 5 gallon tank.

  It continued for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, and then ended, with a deposit of about 3 gallons in the tank. I put it to the test, and it was the real thing, perhaps of a higher quality than any water I'd ever had before. As I sucked it through the air-tight line, it was as if it was all some kind of miracle.

  The process worked, the hydrovector worked, the elements worked, and my life had been extended by months, perhaps even years, and it was a great relief.

  To further convince myself of the hydrovector's magical ability to produce pure water from base Tranquan elements, I went through the process another time. This time I increased the size of the Kerosuphi and the Ovelutra, and it made over 5 gallons.

  It took me a little while to get used to the idea that the project was a complete success, but with eventual conviction, spex upon further security of the Hydrovector, such as another airlock at the batheopath's opening, and small space-going vehicle, became next priority projects.

  With the creation of water came a new spirit of life  and all the prospects  it now held;  the asteroid was no longer a death-trap, as it had been for so many months before, it was a small biosphere and place more like home. There was plenty of work, and now there were enough provisions to go with it.

3/20/2087:
  I awakened like an early bear from a long, cold winter, with a surge of positive life. After 8 months of stranded desperation, with the discovery of the hydro- vector, my hopes were up at last. It appeared now possible that my private little fortress could sustain my life for perhaps years, without external aid, if the green-house yielded enough food.

  As it was, with the water and supplies available, I figured about at least a year. It felt good, and aside from the regular chores and meetings with T'rwani, there was plenty of time left with nothing to do.  So I studied the crystal-records until my eyes were sore, but that was too much mental-activity.

  I recalled the idea about the 'conversion' of the entire system of caverns into so many air-tight compartments, including the batheopath, and made that the new project.

  The first thing to do was connect the caves with an airline system, by way of the tunnels. This was easily done with more parts salvaged from the Valkon.  The airline was completed in twelve hours. In the end, all of the small caves, airlocks, and the huge batheopath-cavern were connected by an airline and ventilation system. Now, if I wanted to save air, it could be shut off in any cave not being used.

  After another rest-period, I salvaged more parts from the wreckage and continued to make improvements to the caves, including such modern conveniences as a bathroom, with toilet, shower, and sink, a kitchen with refrigerator, sink, and microwave oven, etc...
  It was all beginning to look more and more like a deep-space station, and a home.  I felt more secure and comfortable than ever.                            

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