Chameleon by Otto Gramm (free ereaders .txt) 📖

him, accustomed to an enclosed space, it was awkward in the room, where it was even impossible to calculate the distance to the walls and ceiling. Low rumble of a draft that whipped the cold air sounded like the snoring of a dragon dormant somewhere in the depths. Alex spun around, lost where to go, but then he finally decided to satisfy his curiosity and see what had been hiding from his eyes all the time. As he walked a few meters, he took a deep breath and turned around.

– Holy mother! – He gasped.

Chameleon was huge and magnificent. Its contours reminded of a gigantic stingray with drooping wings and a smooth, streamlined body. Starting from its pointed nose, the arc sloped up and, reaching the highest point in the middle of the body, broke down at the stern, where it formed, perhaps, a single corner. However, the most interesting thing was the ship color: the mirror surface was as if filled with liquid paints of dark saturated colors that changed, as soon as Alex approached or stepped aside. This translucent layer enveloped the entire vessel, giving it a solidity and hiding the details. He could see no windows of the pilot cabin, no rooms, nor even engine nozzles.

– Indeed, you are unusual! – Alex exclaimed admiringly. – What if? – He ran a few meters. As he turned back, he was even more excited. The ship disappeared! The camouflage made Chameleon merge against the background of the hangar. Only barely visible semi-circular silhouette remained. Now it was clear why he could not see it from the cliff.

– Well, you’ve proved your own name. – Alex grinned. Then acidly snorted.  – And so did your crew!

For some time the earthman hesitated about what to do and where to go. There was nobody aboard. Unless the guys had made another joke, or decided to play hide and seek with him. No, he certainly had a sense of humor, but this would be too outrageous of them.

And what if it was his another exam? Well, he slept for quite long; they could had taught him new stuff. Hence, he must trust his intuition now.

Alex headed to the hangar. Nevertheless, the closer he approached the blurred border of light and shadow, the more he doubted. Reaching the first luminous columns, he stopped. The hangar did not end, but went into a huge tunnel. Apparently it was a passage for Chameleon-alike vessels, or larger, but definitely not for walking.

 “Maybe this is my test?” Alex asked himself, estimating the dimensions. “Nah! Not for my elementary skill. Urgh! Dummy! Why didn’t I look around when I left?”

He quickly walked to the opposite direction.

“It’s strange that there are no other vehicles in such a hangar.”

This time, Alex decided to stick to the wall: less worries in such an open area and less optical illusions. He was even more convinced as soon as he approached the half-column. Instead of one meter in width, as he had thought before, it was more than three meters. It gave a pleasant glow, similar to the one he had seen in the forged mosaic of captain. Enchanted by its beauty, Alex approached it and held out his hand. The next moment a part of the wall drove away, making an aperture in the column. The guest bounced back in surprise but then he dared to have a cautious look inside. There was a small room filled with soft light. Mesmerized, the Earthman stepped inside...

The doors closed and the room accelerated up. Behind a transparent wall, Alex saw the vast hangar getting further and smaller below. Chameleon was completely dissolved on a patterned floor.

A few seconds later, the elevator reached the ceiling, but the rise did not end. Slightly slowed, the cabin continued to move along one of the branches. Now Alex had a magnificent panoramic view under his feet. The speed and height made the guest fell dizzy. Pressing against the wall, he cursed himself for going into those damn doors.

– I should’ve returned to Chameleon and wait for the others. What the hell pushed me in here? – He did not cease to reproach himself.

The hangar soon was gone. There was nothing but a mild light all around. The prisoner of a close luminescent room sat, glued to the wall, even unable to understand where the elevator was moving to: left, right, up, down. The head was twisting. Alex felt his stomach tied into a knot and threatened to throw all its juices out.

The elevator suddenly stopped and the doors opened. Pressing to the wall, Alex stretched out his neck and looked around. Before him was a spacious corridor, designed in a style similar to gothic. Groined vaults with luminous patterned lines beckoned with beauty and hospitality. Alex, admiring, automatically stepped forward, but as he heard a loud hissing sound behind, he woke up and ran back. Alas, it was too late, the elevator no longer opened.

– Gone! – The Earthman growled, kicking the door. – Shouldn’t have trusted to that Cap’s bullshit! Super-developed civilizations! Ha! Just another mahaha-mahoola for stupids! Crock of shit without normal buttons, unlike the lab elev...!

His vicious mutterings abruptly stopped when he realized that he had already passed along the corridor for about a dozen meters. That was suspicious! Another manipulation?

– Hmm! – Alex slowed down, looked up and down and then slowly continued on his way.

It was most alarming that even his own sensor, honed to an animal instinct did not catch any threat. However, neither silence, nor solitude did not inspire him with confidence. Alex knew he was not alone.

He moved on. A long corridor didn’t have a single door or window, only walls of cream color, adorned with gray patterns à la baroque, which, strangely enough, looked very harmonious against the background of strict gothic half-columns and intertwining shining lines.

A few minutes later, Alex reached the crossroads. The patterned gallery went on ahead. The way to the left looked like a byzantine temple painted with old, worn-out frescoes of barely seen images. On the right, there was a technical corridor with empty white walls and bright square lamps, which, chattering and crackling, shed a flickering light. An endless strip of identical metal doors stretched on both sides of the corridor. This landscape was incredibly similar to the previous laboratory, from where Alex flew twice.

“India, I suppose”, he remembered his conversation with Kyle.

He turned left. Though Alex understood, or at least tried to understand that this place had nothing to do with his former prison, a chill ran down his spine. On the run, he caught himself on a strange thought that it had never even occurred to his mind to continue along the gothic corridor. But he had no intension to turn back and behold the disgusting walls and shivering lights. “Come what may”, he repeated his habitual phrase.

Suddenly, along the corridor, there came a booming echo of new sounds – dreadfully familiar sounds. A quiet buzz and clank of instruments. This acted on Alex like a fiery scourge and he rushed like insane. Then he heard muffled voices. At such a distance, he could not determine whether he knew them, but he had no wish to check it. Forgotten about Kyle, about the crew, about Chameleon, he ran headlong in search of shelter. Meanwhile, the voices grew louder, like a storm, driven by a gale. Alex couldn’t believe his ears. Either this was some sort of hallucination, or... German speech, burred and melodic... Warren! He’s talking to someone on the phone. Shit! Here is security call and blocking all exits buttons in every spot. Alex dashed along the corridor, terrified to hear a siren scream. Why didn’t he choose the gothic gallery? As he cursed and swore through his teeth, he saw a salvation door emerged a few meters to the right. It was ajar. Alex bolted inside, closed it and sighed with relief.

– Br-r! – He shook his head. – That was nonsense! Cap, if these are your tricks, I swear I’ll refine your eyebrows with a blowtorch and then make you a brief anatomy course of Wolf...

He fell silent, as he barely lifted his head. His refuge appeared to be a huge library. Numerous rows of bookshelves twenty meters in height towered to the ceiling and straightened out into the depths of the hall. The carved cedar walls were adorned with paintings, tapestries, ancient weapons and coats of arms. Elegant sconces with candles hung on the bookcases. Each shelf had a high stepladder with forged iron handrail. With wide eyes, Alex walked along the rows, tipping the backs of multi-colored books. His mind was opiated with a pleasant smell of paper, ink, paint and something else that could be felt only in the library.

– That’s more interesting! Okay, Kyle, I’ll leave your eyebrows.

Alex saw a bright light filling a spacious reading room behind the rows of books. Pacing forward, he glanced at the dome-shaped ceiling decorated with a beautiful vitrage ornament of gold and silver lines that made lotus in bloom. Light fell into the hall from different angles and, mixing with the dust floating in the air, created a dense veil, which the one could even touch. Alex stopped before the canopy of rays, stretched out his hand and for a while admired his wrist and fingers enveloping in a bright halo.

“So unlike the sunlight!” he said to himself, walking down the hall. “Everything here is... clean, white.”

The sound of his footsteps echoed loudly throughout the library, although the guest tried to walk as quietly as possible on the mosaic floor. Next to each row was a massive table covered with books, sheets of papers and various paraphernalia for writing. Only one of them was in order: an open register, a sharpened quill pen in an old inkwell and a paperweight. Alex looked at the records to read the names of the library sections (it was written in a language he understood), as well as the titles of some publications.

“There’s so many here about the history of the Alliance! Would not it be easier to teach in a dream? Although, I agree, this way is more interesting... So the whole third row.”

Alex went to the other end of the hall. Finding the right bookcase, the guest began to sort through one volume after another, but did not find anything clear: only unfamiliar names, dates, maps, pieces of some events.

“It’s like a puzzle from a million pieces and without a picture! Is there any short essay here?”

As Alex returned the next book to its place, he sighed wearily and leaned his back against the bookcase. He stretched his neck a little and then noticed something unusual on the shelf of the next closet. It was a shiny glossy cover. Although he could see only a book spine, Koldoum knew that the edition and the wrapper did not match. He took a small volume and read the title. “Askords and Denessars”.

– So Kylas is not the only Askord. – Alex muttered softly. – And where’s the edition itself?

He went through the volumes on the shelves, but he could not find anything until he saw a gap in thick rows of books high above his head. As Alex took the ladder, he climbed up and tried on the book – it did not fit, but the cover did perfectly. So someone took the essay. Then it dawned upon him. He few down the stairs, rushed back to the reading hall and began to rummage among the stacks of papers on the tables. Finally, under several sheets, he found a dark blue volume with the same name. With a satisfied grin, Alex continued to lay out all the items on the table, until he brought there a perfect order. Then he sat down in a soft red leather armchair with a high back, slowly took off the cover and put it on the right book. Everything was ready for reading now. He threw a quick