"In five... four... three..." The massive button nestled at the heart of the command module surged to life, casting a brilliant azure glow beneath Lily's quivering hand. Eager anticipation coursed through her, a tangible energy that crackled in the air. This was her moment, a singular opportunity that held the promise of a lifetime.
"Two..." Lily's gaze swept across the sprawling, desolate expanse that lay before her. The chosen location for her experiment was no random selection; it had been meticulously picked for its broad, level terrain. Her invention stood poised on this featureless canvas. As the countdown ticked onward, she remained transfixed, her eyes locked on the heart of her creation. A humming resonance emanated from the unassuming crystals that constituted its rudimentary power source, the sound growing in intensity with each passing moment.
"One..." The atmosphere held its breath as the countdown reached its climax. In that charged moment, the crystals that lay at the heart of Lily's invention came to life, a dance of crackling energy leaping from their confines. The bolts of brilliance seemed to lash out at the world, a mesmerizing display of power born from the immense toil imposed upon them. Lily’s crystals were flawed. Stable crystals of the load required for her experiment were expensive and these were anything but. Yet, driven by necessity and the constraints of a limited budget, she had forged ahead with the materials at hand. A silent plea whispered through her mind, a hope that these particular specimens would defy the odds and deliver the results she so fervently sought.
"FIRE!" The command erupted from Lily's lips, a declaration laden with determination and hope. Her hand descended upon the button with a resounding force. In that electrifying moment, a torrent of pent-up anticipation surged forth, as if the very essence of her ambition had been channelled into the simple act of pressing down. The button yielded beneath her touch, unleashing a spark that held within it the potential to redefine history itself.
BOOM! In an awe-inspiring spectacle, a luminous torrent reminiscent of stellar brilliance erupted from the heart of her invention, cascading down upon the earth below like the mighty fist of some ethereal deity. The very ground quaked beneath Lily's feet. Disoriented and off balance, she staggered within the confines of her enclosure, steadying herself only by grasping onto the table that the control module rested upon.
“HOLY SHIT!” Lily shouted. “It worked! It actually worked!”
“THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!” shouted Lily’s assistant Arnold, relieved to still be alive.
“Right? But we knew it would work.” Lily chuckled, “It was conceived by the finest mind,” she lifted her chin boastfully, “and built by the finest hands,” nodding towards Arnold in appreciation.
“Yeah, sure, with some of the cheapest, most beat up parts on the market.” Arnold retorted.
Lily gave an agreeing nod. “Well, you’re not wrong. But that just makes what you pulled off even MORE impressive!”
Arnold smiled. “Well, we’re not done yet. Slapping the ground like a pissed-off giant was only step one. We still don’t know if the data from the sensors is any good… or even there at all. That explosion was way beyond what I expected.”
Lily's gaze fixed upon her machine. It certainly was beyond expectations, she’d have to dial it back if she got another run at it. Even so, the encircling array of six sensors appeared surprisingly undamaged. Delicate and intricately crafted, the smaller crystals that fueled these sensors emitted a persistent glow accompanied by a subtle, reassuring hum.
"I'm sure it'll be fine," she asserted, masking her uncertainties with a nonchalant wave of her hand. Her focus pivoted to the dormant behemoth positioned at the fringes of her enclosure. It was her printer, an aged and weathered apparatus that had borne witness to countless cycles of operation over the years. With dimensions spanning four feet in width, its brassy metal exterior gleamed with traces of antiquity, adorned with ornate switches and buttons. Behind it, a roll of paper – almost as wide as the printer itself and worth twice as much – was suspended, feeding into the machine's base and weaving its way through an intricate assembly of rollers before emerging from a slot running along the top.
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Ink found no place within this printer, a luxury that demanded excessive precious moisture. Instead, a specialized fuel derived from the identical crystals energizing their other devices would surge forth from meticulously calibrated nodes. This potent energy would sear text and images onto the medium coursing through it, a process of perfectly controlled combustion resulting in creation.
Abruptly, the printer sprang to life, its mechanisms whirring with purpose as it commenced the gradual consumption of the roll of paper suspended at its rear. The crystal propelling its operation emitted an intensified hum, its internal components crackling as though a thunderstorm were raging in its belly. As the crystal's potent energy was harnessed, it left its mark upon the paper, scorching the command module's output onto the awaiting sheet with a fervent intensity.
Lily's breath hitched, suspended in anticipation.
Arnold's thumb traced the advancing edge of the sheet as it gingerly emerged from the printer's apex.
“Don’t touch it! You’ll jinx it!” Lily shouted, her voice dripping with worry.
“Jinx it? It’s a printer… they’re already cursed.” Arnold jabbed back, trying to lighten the mood.
“You’re a jackass, just stop. I don’t want anything to go wrong. I can’t have anything go wrong.” Lilly snapped.
The sheet continued its journey through the printer, unfolding a scant fraction of the terrain beneath the duo's feet with every inch produced.
“I think it worked Lily… I think it actually worked. Look!” Arnold proclaimed optimistically.
Lily leaned forward, her gaze unwavering as it fused to the expanding edge of the scroll, her anticipation barely contained. “It worked, but I don’t see it, Arnold. I don’t see it at all.”
“We’re only 200 meters deep. They haven’t had any success at that depth. And with the pounding you gave the sand, I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a kilometer of data.”
300 meters, 400 meters. “How is it all rock, Arnold? This is… this is… SHIT!” Lily was getting mad.
“Don’t worry! Even if we don’t find it, this still shows the tech works! We’ll still get funded.” And Arnold certainly didn’t want that.
“Bullshit! They won’t care. You know how it is. Results or nothing! They only let us do this because they were desperate in the first place. They don’t actually believe in any of this!” Uhoh, now she’s working herself up.
“These ARE results, Lily! Even if they aren’t ideal. Besides, we are still alive and you didn’t blow anything up.” A positive direction perhaps?
500m
“ROCK ARNOLD! JUST FUCKING ROCK!” Seems not.
“Calm down…” Arnold stated, committing unintentional verbal suicide.
550m
“I will NOT calm down. Don’t you tell me to calm down!” Here we go.
600m
“We’re scientists, remember? Sometimes science takes time. Sometimes science doesn’t give the answer you WANT. Sometimes science…”
610m
“Sucks ass?” Lily interrupted “Yeah, I’m well aware. It has been sucking ass for eight years now so why not suck ass for eight more? Right?” Ah yes, full swing.
625m
“I was going to say that it takes patience…”
650m
“I’ve had enough of patience!” Lily fumed “PRINT WHAT I WANT! YOU BASTARD!” With a forceful strike, she thumped the side of the printer. Luckily, these weathered industrial printers had been crafted to endure such treatment, almost as if their creators had foreseen the exasperation they would incite upon the world.
700m
“Lily! And you’re worried about me disrupting the printer?!” Arnold's eyes rolled in response to her attack on the printer, an action well-practiced in the face of such episodes. He had grown accustomed to this side of Lily. While he held immense admiration for her brilliance and fervor, her disposition at times resembled that of a spirited toddler.
750m
“It’s over Arnold. We won’t get another chance. One opportunity but no, it has to be at the driest shithole on this entire ball of sandy shit.”
800m
“Just look at it this way. You can show them that they shouldn’t even bother wasting time here. That’s still useful.” Arnold argued.
825m
“Good luck with that one.” She scoffed.
850m
“Whoa whoa whoa… wait up… look…” Lily calmed down in an instant, her eyes locking back onto the scroll.
“What is it?” Arnold responded.
“This reading… this sector. It’s 998. And, holy crap… it’s huge!”
“Move over!” Arnold nudged Lily aside and assumed control, grasping the gradually extending sheet in his own hands. There it was, slightly beyond the 850-meter mark – 998. The density reading of water. More water than he could have ever imagined.