?This one’s never been used. Maybe because it’s so close to the habitat areas. Or maybe they just never got around to it, closed up shop before they needed the room. I’ve been inside. It’s clean as a whistle in there.?

Ripley studied the wall. ?What’s the access like??

?Pretty much what you’d expect for a storage facility carrying this rating.?He led her around to the front.

The door was scratched and filthy, but still impressive. She noted the almost invisible seams at the corners. ?This is the only way in or out??

Aaron nodded. ?That’s right. I checked the stats before we came down. Entrance is just big enough for a small loader-transporter with driver and cargo. Ceiling, walls, and floor are six feet thick, solid ceramocarbide steel. So’s the door. All controls and active components are external, or embedded in the matrix itself.?

?Let’s make sure we’ve got this right. You get something in there and close the door, no way it can get out??

Aaron grunted confidently. ?Right. No fuckin’ way. That sucker is tight. According to the specs it’ll hold a perfect vacuum. Nothin’ bigger than a neutrino could slip 147

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through. That ceramocarbide stuff even dissipates lasers. You’d need a controlled nuclear explosion to cut your way in.?

?You sure this thing is still operational??

He indicated a nearby control box. ?Why don’t you find out??

She moved forward and broke the thin seal that covered the enclosure. The lid flipped down, exposing several controls. She studied them for a moment, then thumbed a large green button.

The immense door didn’t so much slide aside as appear to vanish silently into the wall. She cycled it again, admiring the smooth play of forces that could shift so much mass with such speed and ease. The prisoners were similarly impressed. The efficiency of the long-dormant technology lifted their spirits considerably.

Beyond the open barrier was a slick-walled, empty chamber. An ephemeral coating of dust covered the floor. It would accommodate several full-grown aliens with ease.

?Let me see the map.?Aaron handed her the sheet and her index finger drew patterns on the plastic. ?We’re here??He leaned close and nodded. ?Administration’s here, assembly hall up this corridor??

?You got it. Fast, too,?he added admiringly.

?I owe the fact that I’m still alive to an understanding of spatial relationships.?She tapped the sheet. ?If we can get it to chase us down these passageways, here and here, then close these off one at a time, we might get it inside.? The three of them stared into the storage chamber.

Dillon looked back at her. ?Lemme get this straight. You wanna burn it down and outta the pipes, force it here, slam the door, and trap its ass??

She spoke without looking up from the map. ?Ummm.? 148

Alan Dean Foster