“It’s difficult to believe,” Rosemary whispered, “that this goes all the way down to the surface of the moon.”
“I’ll be back shortly, Ji-Ji,” Rosemary said to the dark-haired astrophysicist who was still stationed at the lift column in the center of the garden. “I’m just going to see Mr. Townsend here back to the asteroid pod.”
“Don’t get lost,” Miss Lee said mildly, stepping aside.
“I’ll see that he doesn’t,” Rosemary nodded, turning to the side so that she could step into the lift without letting go of Lamont’s arm.
“I’m perfectly all right, Miss Wells,” the newspaperman assured her moodily. “And capable of making my way back without help.”
As if to prove his point, he pulled his arm away from Rosemary’s and, with now practiced familiarity, summoned the navigational orb from its nest in the ceiling. They watched as their distorted reflections gazed back at them from the chrome surface of the sphere before suddenly splintering into countless shimmering particles.
“May I?” Rosemary asked.
Lamont glanced at her with hooded brows, then shrugged and stepped back against the wall. He fished his cigarette case out of his pocket.
The ghostly three-dimensional cross-section of the tower seemed to sense Rosemary’s intention and drifted several inches in her direction, even lowering itself to her eye level. She waved a hand across its smoky surface, watching as it panned and rotated in response to her gestures.
“It’s difficult to believe,” Rosemary whispered, “that this goes all the way down to the surface of the moon.”
“And we’ve only seen three of its levels,” Lamont observed, lighting his cigarette.
“Are you hoping to see more of it?” The medic asked, pulling herself from her momentary reverie to locate the familiar hollow section of the tower facsimile that represented the landing bay. She tapped it with a fingertip and pressed herself to the thinly padded wall as the particles returned to coat the orb, and the orb returned to its place in the ceiling. A moment later they felt the car begin its descent.
“If the present crisis affords me time to do so, certainly,” Lamont answered. “I’d like to know who built this place and why. And what became of them. More now than ever.”
“What happened to you up there?” Rosemary nodded toward the ceiling. “I haven’t seen you that unsettled since—since, well, I suppose a week ago, actually.”