In color, the image was almost three-dimensional in its clarity.

“As you see, the bottom appears flat except for a single triangular fin which sticks up some two hundred and eighty feet above the ocean floor. You see it here,” he said, pointing. “Now, this wing dimension is larger than any known aircraft manufactured in either the United States or the Soviet Union. This was very puzzling at first. Next.”

A submersible robot, being lowered on a crane over the side of a ship. The robot looked like a series of horizontal tubes with cameras and lights nestled in the center.

“By June 24, the Navy had the ROV carrier Neptune IV on site, and the Remote Operated Vehicle Scorpion, which you see here, was sent down to photograph the wing. It returned an image that clearly showed a control surface of some sort. Here it is.”

There were murmurs from the group. In a harshly lit color image, a gray fin stuck up from a flat coral floor. The fin was sharp-edged and aeronautical-looking, tapered, definitely artificial.

“You’ll notice,” Barnes said, “that the sea bottom in this region consists of scrubby dead coral. The wing or fin disappears into the coral, suggesting the rest of the aircraft might be buried beneath. An ultra-high-resolution SLS bottom scan was carried out, to detect the shape underneath the coral. Next.”

Another color sonar image, composed of fine dots instead of lines.

“As you see, the fin seems to be attached to a cylindrical object buried under the coral. The object has a diameter of a hundred and ninety feet, and extends west for a distance of 2,754 feet before tapering to a point.”

More murmurings from the audience.

“That’s correct,” Barnes said. “The cylindrical object is half a mile long. The shape is consistent with a rocket or spacecraft-it certainly looks like that-but from the beginning we were careful to refer to this object as ‘the anomaly.’ ”

Norman glanced over at Ted, who was smiling up at the screen. But alongside Ted in the darkness, Harry Adams frowned and pushed his glasses up on his nose.

Then the projector light went out. The room was plunged into darkness. There were groans. Norman heard Barnes say, “God damn it, not again!” Someone scrambled for the door; there was a rectangle of light.

Beth leaned over to Norman and said, “They lose power here all the time. Reassuring, huh?”

Moments later, the electricity came back on; Barnes continued. “On June 25 a SCARAB remote vehicle cut a piece from the tail fin and brought it to the surface. The fin segment was analyzed and found to be a titanium alloy in an epoxy-resin honeycomb. The necessary bonding technology for such metal/plastic materials was currently unknown on Earth.

“Experts confirmed that the fin could not have originated on this planet-although in ten or twenty years we’d probably know how to make it.”

Harry Adams grunted, leaned forward, made a note on his pad.

Meanwhile, Barnes explained, other robot vessels were used to plant seismic charges on the bottom. Seismic analysis showed that the buried anomaly was of metal, that it was hollow, and that it had a complex internal structure.

“After two weeks of intensive study,” Barnes said, “we concluded the anomaly was some sort of spacecraft.”

The final verification came on June 27 from the geologists. Their core samples from the bottom indicated that the present seabed had formerly been much shallower, perhaps only eighty or ninety feet deep. This would explain the coral, which covered the craft to an average thickness of thirty feet. Therefore, the geologists said, the craft had been on the planet at least three hundred years, and perhaps much longer: five hundred, or even five thousand years.

“However reluctantly,” Barnes said, “the Navy concluded that we had, in fact, found a spacecraft from another civilization. The decision of the President, before a special meeting of the National Security Council, was to open the spacecraft. So, starting June 29, the ULF team members were called in.”

On July 1, the subsea habitat DH-7 was lowered into position near the spacecraft site. DH-7 housed nine Navy divers working in a saturated exotic-gas environment. They proceeded to do primary drilling work. “And I think that brings you up to date,” Barnes said. “Any questions?”

Ted said, “The internal structure of the spacecraft. Has it been clarified?”

“Not at this point. The spacecraft seems to be built in such a way that shock waves are transmitted around the outer shell, which is tremendously strong and well engineered. That prevents a clear picture of the interior from the seismics.”

“How about passive techniques to see what’s inside?”

“We’ve tried,” Barnes said. “Gravitometric analysis, negative. Thermography, negative. Resistivity mapping, negative. Proton precision magnetometers, negative.”

“Listening devices?”

“We’ve had hydrophones on the bottom from day one. There have been no sounds emanating from the craft. At least not so far.”

“What about other remote inspection procedures?”

“Most involve radiation, and we’re hesitant to irradiate the craft at this time.”

Harry said, “Captain Barnes, I notice the fin appears undamaged, and the hull appears a perfect cylinder. Do you think that this object crashed in the ocean?”

“Yes,” Barnes said, looking uneasy.

“So this object has survived a high-speed impact with the water, without a scratch or a dent?”

“Well, it’s tremendously strong.”

Harry nodded. “It would have to be…”

Beth said, “The divers who are down there now-what exactly are they doing?”

“Looking for the front door.” Barnes smiled. “For the time being, we’ve had to fall back on classical archaeological procedures. We’re digging exploratory trenches in the coral, looking for an entrance or a hatch of some kind. We hope to find it within the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Once we do, you’re going in. Anything else?”

“Yes,” Ted said. “What was the Russian reaction to this discovery?”

“We haven’t told the Russians,” Barnes said.

“You haven’t told them?”

“No. We haven’t.”

“But this is an incredible, unprecedented development in human history. Not just American history. Human history. Surely we should share this with all the nations of the world. This is the sort of discovery that could unite all of mankind-”

“You’d have to speak to the President,” Barnes said. “I don’t know the reasoning behind it, but it’s his decision. Any other questions?”

Nobody said anything. The team looked at each other.

“Then I guess that’s it,” Barnes said.

The lights came on. There was the scraping of chairs as people stood, stretched. Then Harry Adams said, “Captain Barnes, I must say I resent this briefing very much.”

Barnes looked surprised. “What do you mean, Harry?” The others stopped, looked at Adams. He remained seated in his chair, an irritated look on his face. “Did you decide you have to break the news to us gently?”

“What news?”

“The news about the door.”

Barnes laughed uneasily. “Harry, I just got through telling you that the divers are cutting exploratory trenches, looking for the door-”

“-I’d say you had a pretty good idea where the door was three days ago, when you started flying us in. And I’d say that by now you probably know exactly where the door is. Am I right?”

Barnes said nothing. He stood with a fixed smile on his face.

My God, Norman thought, looking at Barnes. Harry’s right. Harry was known to have a superbly logical brain, an astonishing and cold deductive ability, but Norman had never seen him at work.

“Yes,” Barnes said, finally. “You’re right.”

“You know the location of the door?”

“We do. Yes.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Ted said, “But this is fantastic! Absolutely fantastic! When will we go down there to enter the spacecraft?”