Discontinuities

The tunnel going down towards the planet's mantle has gone down much deeper than when I last visited it. The newer section is narrower. It is as if it has been bored out by a finer drill capable of higher speeds and when I mentioned this, dr. Nahrami confirmed that this is exactly what took place. Rather than being five meters in diameter, it narrows down to close to two meters, feeling really claustrophobic. Dr. Nahrami tells me that it still requires thick layers of protective plating on the outside and thermal conduits to pump the heat out, but the new equipment makes it more efficient and fast.

We've been lowered down in our thermal suits, using climbing harness and a system of ropes, even though there is some sort of improvised ladder at the side. The tunnel is too narrow to safely use antigrav suits: this was not really meant for people to climb down, just to bring back samples automatically or remotely investigate strata, and to house the shaft of the drill keeping it straight. Without elevator, the rope system is definitely faster than actually climbing the ladder, although it still takes time.

We past the pyrite layer they named after me. There is a little side tunnel for them to retrieve and examine samples and it was good to take a break here. I got a sample as a souvenir. It was also a necessary break; we shifted to another set of ropes and pulleys. 

Near to where the tunnel hits the barrier, another side-chamber has been made - but not quite finished yet. There's not much room to sit. The chamber is maybe 4 by 8 meters, and terribly hot even in a thermal suit. It is packed with equipment and very noisy. A bit lower, the tunnel ends at a shimmering barrier; that is why they decided to excavate the chamber here close to it.

Strangely scanners show nothing but regular rock in stead of that barrier. They also reveal a few discontinuities - a jump in temperature, pressure, density visible only from close by. Scanners at the surface would not have the resolution to reveal this and miss it. They would also miss a small discontinuity in the gravitational metric, indicating a space-time anomaly. In order to investigate that I need specialized equipment from the Indagatrix. 

We went back up. I was happy to be again in a comfortable environment, and I am definitely not looking forward to going back down tomorrow.