"This is simply incredible!" Nicholas exclaimed. He stepped closer to the bed of the jeep, unable to tear his eyes away from the glowing stone. "What is this strange, shimmering radiance? Where is it coming from? Perhaps there are some unknown reactions occurring inside the crystal!"

  ?"Incredible, but a fact!" Marcus added, his voice clipped by a sudden burst of scientific fervor.

  ?"If there are any internal changes occurring, its thermal profile should be shifting somehow," Nicholas noted.

  ?"No, no," Marcus countered, hurriedly cutting his colleague off, "we immediately need a thermographic analysis and spectroscopic mapping of the object to rule out any known exothermic or endothermic processes!"

  ?"Right, boys, quickly cover the specimen with the canvas and head to the laboratory's back entrance! Leave the jeep and go straight home immediately," Marcus ordered sharply, his voice firm and brook no argument.

  ?"No way!" Liam parried, stepping forward and looking his father straight in the eyes. "We want to be present during the study too. After all, we found it!"

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  ?"I insist on that as well!" William added resolutely, backing up his friend.

  ?"Oh, alright," Nicholas sighed, yielding to their persistence, though he looked dissatisfied. "Drive to the back entrance. Just stay quiet and don't get in the way."

  ?Marcus turned to Nicholas:

  ?"Nicholas, I’ll go and instruct the night shift to head home. I’ll tell them we’ll oversee the process ourselves."

  ?Nicholas softly objected:

  ?"But I should notify the Scientific Center Administrator."

  ?"I’m afraid, Nicholas, that as soon as we report this, a Secret Service NASA helicopter will land here in half an hour and confiscate the specimen," Marcus said quietly but with emphasis, making his intention not to share this unique discovery crystal clear.

  ?"I agree with you," Nicholas snapped with a nod. He clearly weighed the risk of losing the unique artifact and accepted his colleague's decision.

  ?"We’ll report it in the morning," Nicholas concluded, putting an end to the discussion.

  ?Nicholas turned his head toward the youths:

  ?"You say you discovered it in a crater?"

  ?They nodded simultaneously.

  ?"But that can't be! This isn't a meteorite," Marcus added.

  ?Nicholas interrupted their conversation:

  ?"Get to the back entrance, and do it fast!"