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After a quick series of checks, he was ready to go He released the strap holding the speeder in place and then set the flatbed gradient lever at thirty degrees The hydraulics kicked into gear, and the flatbed began to tilt like the back of a dump truck

Kurt climbed onto one of the speeders and pressed the switch that closed the hatch The canopy quickly locked into place, covering Kurt snugly Straddling the seat with his arms str

etched forward and his legs out behind him, Kurt felt like he was on a nautical motorcycle

The tail end of the flatbed reached the lake, and water cah the canopy Kurt noticed the hue of the water Pink at the very top but darker red as the light was absorbed

He wondered for a second just how toxic the mess was Then he twisted the throttle and drove off the ra about the sanity of anyone ould dive into a soup like this

At first, the speeder cruised a few feet beneath the surface Then Kurt adjusted the dive lever, and the ballast tank filled ater Pushing the handlebars forward caused the dive planes to tilt doard, and the speeder began to descend

Kurt continued forward for twenty seconds or so and then leaned to the left, bringing the unit around in a wide turn By the tihty feet deep, the water around him looked like red wine Fifty feet deeper, it was the color of dried blood Whatever coht very efficiently But as he dropped lower, Kurt was able to make out the top of the dome

It was smooth but mottled in appearance, as if some kind of mineral had precipitated out on the curved surface Perhaps it was calciuanese, but, whatever it was, it reflectedwater

As he finished his pass across the dome, Kurt feathered the throttle and ejected the last of the ballast air The speeder began to sink again

Kurt stared into the blackness The roof of the laboratory structure rested about seventy-five feet below the top of the dome He hoped its surface would be covered with the saed into it and let everyone inside knoas there

“Two hundred and ten,” he said, reading the depth gauge out loud “Two hundred and twenty”

He scanned the void around hi into a black hole

“Two hundred and thirty,” he said quietly

If the gauge was reading correctly, he would hit the lab’s roof in twenty feet or so Still, he saw nothing

He pu to top off his tires to the perfect pressure One quick hiss, then another one The descent slowed