Page 13 - Unlikely Stories 2

The Antiquities Commission

nowhere, and we became separated. I was already headed back to the
tunnel, so I kept my bearing and made it. The commission decided
that I had abandoned my group. That was the end of my career at the
museum. Too bad: I’m certain I know where a huge artifact cache is
located.”
Trelim had been in no mood to commiserate. “So what? Maybe
you know and probably you don’t. You any good with a slurry tank? I
know a place that has a few openings.”
“I’m going back up there, with or without permission. It’s the only
way to get back my position. If I can present the museum with a
fantastic discovery, then they will have to reinstate me. This time I
won’t come up in the wrong place.”
“And you want a digger, someone who isn’t so choosy about who
he’s working with, eh?”
“Precisely,” Ozok had warbled, checking the den for inquisitive
sense organs. “I’m taking a big chance even mentioning it to you.”
“Seems like this would be very important to you. And very risky
for anyone willing to help you.”
‘Yes, yes. I’m sinking everything I have into this venture. I’ll give
you a thousand shells, half now and half when we return. No
haggling: I need the rest to pay for provisions and gear.”
The deal was made, Trelim’s skepticism overcome by cash in hand.
Ozok left it to him to come up with the necessary equipment; the
archaeologist felt he was too well-known to go shopping even in a
used outfitter’s store.
And here they were, after days of following old passageways and
carving out new ones, just below and to the south of the rim of the
Blue Crater. With no other topic to discuss during their final rest
period, Ozok discoursed upon the importance of what he expected
to find.
“Most Martians,” he had told his unappreciative audience, “are
convinced that their race has always lived underground, and are
perfectly suited for their environment. It was not until the lowgas
concentrator was invented that the first brave explorers dared to
challenge that received opinion. First they had to prove that an
upside-down, inside-out world existed beyond our accepted
boundaries. Many did not return, confirming the superstition that
these ventures violated natural law, and should be forbidden. Then

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