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.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthe dome very closely."Are we going inside this one?" Abby asked Matt."I want to if it looks safe, but it's also a function of how much time we haveto spare." Matt raised his voice."Let's have a short planning meeting,everyone.Rudy, let the borer just go on ahead for now."The six of them sat in a line on the tunnel floor, Matt andRudy in the center, Abby and the others on the ends."How long will it take the borer to reach the wall we're heading toward?" Mattasked.Rudy tapped a few buttons on his watch."I think we've probably got anothertwelve to fifteen hours at the rate we're going.And there's no way to speedthat up.""Okay.That gives us enough time to explore this dome and at least try to geta clue as to why no one's responding to our return signal.The more we canlearn, the better, as long as it doesn't slow us down.Rudy, you and Richardstay with the borer,and trade off enough to get whatever sleep you can.Unless we see anythingthat changes my mind when we take a closer look at the dome, I'd like Abby andBobby Joe with me.Julie, you've got your choice.""I'd like to get pictures of the city," she said."That's fine, but especially when we're outside this tunnel, we have to actlike a military unit.Abby and Bobby Joe can probably fill you in if thelecture last night wasn't enough."Abby smiled ruefully and nodded."Can we ever," said Bobby Joe.#Matt, Abby, Bobby Joe, and Julie moved as quickly as they could into the aliencity.In the sky on the far side of the city, a dim reddish "sun" sent outweak light.The air smelled of burnt leaves.The silhouette of the city was an erratic graph, peaks and valleys formed by acollection of cone-shaped buildings of varying sizes and distances from Matt.One of the taller and closer cones was topped by a light that variedirregularly in color and intensity; Rudy had deposited them close to thebuilding that was still transmitting a signal to the world outside the city'sbubble--a signal that had been answered with no apparent effect.They passed by a couple of cones that were approachingMatt's height.As they reached a few cones that were about five timesMatt's height, the tall tip of a cone near the center of the city began topierce the "sun." Moments later they entered shade.One of the nearest cones reached what had to be 100 meters into the air andhad an exterior spiral staircases.Matt could still see the cone with thebeacon, slightly deeper into the city, but minutes later they walked throughwhat felt a little like a mountain valley, with sharply pointed hilltops allaround."I still don't see anything that looks like a door," Abby said."Do you thinkwe have to go up those staircases to get inside these cones?""I was hoping you'd tell us," Matt said.The group made another turn, and Matt saw their destination cone.Theyreached the bottom of the spiral stairs and started up.The spiral was agentle rise, looping around the cone six times as it rose.Soon they got anaerial view of the surrounding city and could see domed cities in thedirection ofManhattan.In the opposite direction was visible the nearest wall of thechamber enclosing the collection of cities.Almost directly oppositeManhattan, a faint vertical line showed at the junction of two flat surfaces,and Matt remembered a graphic image Bobby Joe had generated, one showing thatfrom above, the chamber outline was a huge octagon.Page 112 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlTwo-thirds of the way to the top, Matt suggested a rest stop.He looked backtoward the hill-city and Manhattan, imagining he could see the route thetunnel had cut."You and Rudy were in the army together, weren't you?" Julie saidunexpectedly.Matt took his gaze away from the route they had traveled and looked at her."Yes.Mostly in Brazil and Argentina.""What's he like?""Like he is now.He's one of those few people I'd want to have on my side ifI were starting a small company.Whatever he's paid, he's worth more.""Why'd he get out of the army?"Matt hesitated."He got into a situation where he either had to blow thewhistle on a respected colonel who had some unsavory habits involving youngboys, or have to live with his conscience and let it go on.""So he got out?""He blew the whistle and then got out.Rudy was born inEast L.A.and a lot of his friends were Hispanic, so maybe he took thecolonel's transgressions a little more personally than some other outsidermight have." Matt looked at the horizon."South America is a mess right now.The internal politics are a cesspool, andthe career potential for whistle blowers isn't very good.One of them raninto a bad accident in the jungle.""But you stayed in.""Yup.I was angry, too, but sometimes you can do more from within the system.A couple of months later, after the charges had been dismissed for lack ofevidence, the colonel got himself accidentally photographed by surveillancecameras that had been undergoing testing before being sent out to remoteairstrips suspected of servicing drug runners.And copies of the film wereaccidentally duplicated and sent to several organizations along with routinetest photographs.""You're saying you're responsible for those accidents?""Oh, no.Rudy did most of the work.I just signed a few requisition forms,stuff like that.Rudy told me later that he and the colonel came back on thesame flight.Rudy was amazed at how many martinis a person could consumebetween Rio and NewYork." Matt looked at the view for a moment."I told you all of this in yourrole of being a friend of Rudy's, not as a reporter.I assume you understand that.""I do.That's why I was curious.""He's a good guy.He's a little possessive, in the good sense.New York ishis city now.This team is partly his responsibility.He works hard to makesure that no one hurts anything that's partly his.""What would Rudy say about you?" This question came fromAbby."About me? I don't know.That I'm a bad gambler because Idon't know when to give up, cut my losses
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