“I don’t know. It seemed more mechanical than organic—sort of like a drone. The energy field churned, the whirlpool formed, then the ceiling of the chamber was partially vented to the sea, and the thing just rose straight up and out of the funnel.”

“Straight up through the funnel?” Chaney shakes his head in disbelief. “This is some pretty wild stuff, Dr. Rosen.”

“I realize that, but I assure you, it’s all true.”

“Captain, have you examined this man’s submersible?”

“Yes, sir. The electronics are totaled, and the hull’s badly battered.”

“How did you access the alien craft?” Marvin asks.

Mick looks at the exobiologist. “That’s the first time you referred to it as an alien craft. It’s the remains of the object that struck Earth sixty-five million years ago, isn’t it, Doctor?”

Marvin’s eyebrows raise in surprise.

“And the deep-space radio signal—it must have activated the vessel’s life-support system.”

Teperman looks impressed. “How do you know all this?”

“Is this true?” Captain Loos asks, incredulous.

“It’s very possible, Captain, although, based on what Dr. Rosen has just told us, it seems more likely that the alien’s life-support system never completely shut down. This pod Dr. Rosen refers to must have continued to function, keeping the being alive in some kind of protective stasis.”

“Until the deep-space signal activated it,” Mick finishes.

Chaney eyeballs him suspiciously. “How is it that you know so much about this alien being?”

A loud knock, and Commander Broad enters. “Sorry to interrupt, skipper, but I need to see you in private.”

Captain Loos follows him out.

“Dr. Rosen, you say this being will destroy humanity on December 21? How do you know that?”

“Like I said, Dr. Teperman, it communicated with me. Its intentions may not have been verbal, but they were quite clear.”

“It conveyed the twenty-first to you?”

“No.” Mick readies for the captain’s notes. He glances over them, nonchalantly removing the paper clip from the stack. “I’ve spent a lifetime studying the Mayan prophecies, as well as a half dozen ancient sites located around the globe which link this malevolent presence to the end of the world. The twenty-first is the date referenced in the Mayan calendar, the date humanity will perish from the face of the Earth. Before you scoff, you should know that the calendar is a precise instrument of astronomy—”

Chaney rubs his eyes, losing patience. “You don’t sound like a biologist to me, Doctor, and this Mayan prophecy of yours doesn’t amuse me in the least. A lot of people died on board that rig, and I want to know what killed them.”

“I told you.” Mick slips the paper clip into his waistband.

“And how were you able to access the alien craft?”