Outland (World-Lines Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

significant.
    “So let’s get this show on the road.”
     

It's Getting Interesting
    June 17              Bill
    As Matt reached the cafeteria entrance, he heard Bill’s voice calling him. Turning, he spotted his friend hurrying to catch up. As he came to a stop, Bill paused to catch his breath.
    Matt smiled to himself. Exercise really is your friend.
    Several students pushed past them while delivering dirty looks. Taking the hint, Matt grabbed the door and headed into the cafeteria with Bill following.
    “Done for the day?” Matt asked.
    “Yeah, homework time. Plus I downloaded something on probability theory. Like it or not, this experiment of Richard and Kevin’s has got me interested. I want to do a little reading.”
    Matt nodded. “I got specs from Richard for some software changes. I’ll make sure he’s finished thinking up mods, then I’ll burn the new EPROMs.”
    They walked into the cafeteria and looked around for a good table. Matt sniffed the cafeteria air. Unidentified Frying Objects. Pass.
    Once they were seated, Bill pulled his tablet out of his backpack. “Heard from Erin?”
    “She’s having a blast. Uh, metaphorically, I mean.” Matt smiled. “She does love her geology.”
    Bill worked his tablet. “You get Richard’s email about the next test run?”
    “Yup. Another exciting evening watching paint dry.”
    Bill sat back and turned to face Matt. “Dude, I’m not sure you’re grokking the situation here. We looked at the video, remember? The patterns changed. And then stayed changed! ”
    “Yeah, okay, I understand in principle why that’s a big deal. I guess I’m just wishing for something more dramatic.”
    “Be careful what you wish for.” Bill grinned. “That’s usually the point where an alien spawn bursts out of someone’s chest.”
    Matt laughed. “Okay, Captain Reference. I’ll be there for the hatching.”

Second Test Run
    June 18              Bill
    Bill glanced around the lab as he and Matt walked in. He noticed that the equipment now looked a lot more organized. Cable runs were shorter and had been wrapped into neat bundles. Components had been stacked. There even seemed to be fewer separate pieces of equipment.
    “Looks a lot less like a yard sale,” Bill commented.
    Richard was setting up the experiment, but this time he seemed to be doing most of it through the tablet. “Yeah, well, always looking to improve, right?” He shrugged. “I’ve managed to combine some functions. Matt’s last set of mods have made the control systems a lot more convenient. I’ve got some more ideas for modifications to the software as well. I’ll talk to Matt about that later.”
    He turned. “Kevin, have you got the flipper?”
    “A… flipper?” Bill said. “Wow, must be technical. Have you got a frammistan as well?”
    Richard responded with a sigh and an eye roll. “We don’t know what else to call it. It’s a device that I put together to flip a coin after a few seconds. Kind of like the dice bubble in the old Trouble game.”
    Kevin came back with something, which looked like a snow globe with a coin inside, and placed it in the cage. As before, he placed a video camera on a tripod in front of the gate to record the event and checked the other two cameras in the corners of the room.
    “Okay,” Richard said. “Ready to go. Turn on the flipper.”
    Kevin reached into the cage, flipped a small switch on the snow globe, and gave a thumbs up. “Thirty seconds to event.”
    Richard made a few adjustments on his tablet and placed his finger just above an OK button. “Ready here.”
    The seconds seemed to stretch forever while everyone watched. “Maybe we’ll go with a shorter interval next time,” Kevin muttered.
    The snow globe gave a pop, and Bill jumped. The coin bounced off the plastic dome and landed as heads. Richard leaned forward and pushed the button he’d been hovering over.
    Bill said, “Hold on to your butts.”
    Everyone