Artifact

“I don’t know anything about nuclear bombs. See, I knew this had to be some kind of mistake,” laughed Julia.

Mika ignored Julia’s comment and continued in a flat, factual tone. “I got a call from the national security apparatus of the White House. Within twenty-four hours the site was sealed off, and it had become a national security matter. Let me remind you that everything about this is classified. You may not discuss this with anyone. If you do, you’ll be prosecuted. Do you understand?”

“I understand.” Julia’s smile faded.

Mika took another sip from her soft drink. “We needed to take control of the site without telling everyone the actual reason, so we made up a cover story. We said that the site contained radiation, and that it was somehow, mysteriously, linked to the Cold War. A Cold War artifact.”

“Wait… what?” said Julia. “I don’t understand. There’s no artifact?”

“Oh no, there is definitely an artifact.” Mika’s eyes flashed. She clicked a button and a video began to play, showing a carved-out cavern. Steel and cement columns supported the roof. The walls were dirt. As the video pulled in toward the far wall, something appeared in the dirt. It was oval in shape, black and smooth. When the light struck it from certain angles, it shined and appeared silver and metallic.

“What is that?” said Julia.

“This is how it looked when the Starbright team arrived at the dig site.”

The video continued. It showed the excavation in time lapse. The three-foot oval increased quickly as rock and dirt vanished. Magically a shape emerged from the dirt.

Quickly the object in the dirt wall was growing larger; its shape and size becoming clearer and clearer. It was spherical, black with a shiny and metallic look. Suddenly all the dirt around the object was gone, and it was visible in its entirety.

“Wait… You found… a flying saucer?” said Julia.