Except for one brief nap, Madera had not slept since the Tempest had
landed. Once the elevator had been repaired, he went with about thirty
men through the same passages that the Starmen had traversed. Since the
temporary lighting and power had been set up only in the facility that
the pirates had been using, Madera and his companions walked in
darkness as deep as the inside of a cave.
Madera hefted a huge but lightweight lamp for use in the power plant.
To illumine their way through the warehouse and corridors, others
carried personal flashlights. As they made their way through the
facility, the lights they carried cleaved the darkness. But behind
them, the absolute darkness closed up again.
After leaving the warehouse, Madera had to use the codes the Starmen
had provided to come to the immense power plant. Although the men had
been told in advance what to expect, when the doors of the elevator
opened, they were just as awed as the Starmen and miners had been when
they first beheld the scene.
Though the power plant was completely dark and silent, there was a
feeling among the men at the elevator door that they were at the edge
of vastness. Madera activated his lamp and shone it into the iron
cavern. Its light penetrated about half a mile; in its cone the
latticework, panels, and tubing were revealed.
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