Connelly thought about the question and then nodded. "Yup, there really is no other place like this on Earth."

"Well, that's cool," Willard said. "But I still think this may be a big waste of time."

Connelly stood and headed toward the coffee maker with an empty mug in her hand. "If we get down there and find nothing, you might just be right."

Willard laughed lightly. "Then what?"

"Then," Connelly said, looking back at Willard as she poured some more coffee, "we're all out of work. Hey, what's this?" Connelly picked up a piece of paper sitting in the tray of the fax machine sitting next to the toaster.

"Sorry," Robert said. "Came in earlier. Haven't got a chance to read it yet."

As Connelly looked over the page, her face fell flat. Robert noticed right away. "What is it?" he asked.

After crumpling the piece of paper and rejoining the men at the table, Connelly said, "The Global Exploration Corporation strikes again."

"Those guys are a pain in the ass," Willard said, shaking his head in frustration at just hearing the name.

"What do they want this time?" Robert asked.

"Seriously," Willard said, "would you have even taken their money if you knew how many strings were attached? They want you to fly out there again?"

Connelly looked Willard in the eyes, her expression dull, as though she were living in a surreal world where what she had just read made no sense at all. "Not just me," she said. "They want all three of us... Tomorrow."

CHAPTER 3 – GLOBAL EXPLORATION CORPORATION

Michael Peterson found the lower hallways of the Global Exploration Corporation to be sterile. They had made an effort to soften their image on the floors above. The tourists, visiting on a daily basis, always 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the elaborate murals of Mars' surface, the ocean floor and the view from Mount Everest. But those floors contained gallery displays of the functional labs hidden below. The corporate offices were on the top floors. They were bright and full of green plants and seascapes.

Peterson chuckled to himself. Here he was, about to embark on an amazing adventure and he couldn't get his mind off the lower level decorations, or lack thereof. The floors were squeaky clean linoleum and the walls were white concrete. The only color came in the form of arrows pointing towards various departments; geology, astronomy, oceanography, biology—experts on almost every kind of "ology" could be found within the confines of these barren walls. The GEC made up for its lack of decor by housing some of the most colorful minds on Earth. Peterson was often proud that he belonged to such an astounding group, but felt even more pride at the fact that his past discovery and potential future discoveries were on the top of the GEC's to-do list.