not true. It wasn't my fault.'
On the boat Carol glanced up through her tears at Nick. He had backed away and was looking sheepish. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. 'It was not my fault,' Carol said deliberately and emphatically. Nick stuck out his hand to help her up and she smacked it away. He mumbled 'I'm sorry' as she rose to her feet. 'Now if you'll just shut up and listen,' she continued, 'I'll tell you what happened. The reef under the boat wasn't a reef at all ... Oh, my God ... It's here.'
Nick saw a look of consternation break on Carol's face. She pointed over behind him, on the other side of the boat. He turned around to look. At first he didn't notice anything. Then he saw a strange flat object that looked like a piece of carpet inching along the boat toward the telescope monitor. He screwed up his face and turned back to Carol with a puzzled expression.
While Carol had been talking, the carpet had somehow crawled up the side and then flopped into the boat. By the time she started to explain, it was already standing in front of the television monitor, looking at the images the telescope was taking of the ocean floor beneath the boat. There was no time for lengthy explanations. 'What the fuck?' Nick said, and walked over to apprehend the peculiar visitor. When his hand was about an inch away from touching the carpet, he felt a strong electrical discharge in the end of his fingers. 'Ow!' he said, jumping back. He shook his hand and watched with amazement. The carpet continued to stand in front of the screen.
Nick looked at Carol as if he expected some assistance. But she was finding the whole scene amusing. 'That thing is just one of the reasons the dive was strange,' she said, making no effort to provide any help. 'But I don't think it will hurt you. It probably saved my life.'
Nick grabbed a small fishnet hanging on the side of the structure holding up the canopy and slowly approached the carpet. As he drew near, it seemed to turn and look at him. Nick lunged forward with the net. The carpet dodged deftly and Nick lost his balance. He fell against the monitor with his arms akimbo. Carol laughed out loud, remembering the first time they met. The carpet flipped over to the telescope data system and wrapped itself tightly around the entire set of electronic equipment.
From the floor of the boat Nick watched the carpet investigating the data system and shook his head in disbelief. 'What the hell is that thing anyway?' he shouted to Carol.
She came over and graciously offered a hand to help him up. It was her way of apologizing for her earlier outburst. 'I have no earthly idea,' Carol replied. 'At first I thought it might be a sophisticated Navy robot. But it is much too advanced, too intelligent.' She pointed at the sky with her free left hand. 'They know,' she said with a smile.
The comment reminded Carol of Troy and she became solemn. She walked over to the side of the boat and stared at the ocean. Nick was now standing up next to the monitor within an arm's length of the carpet and the data system. It looked as if the carpet had somehow extended part of itself into the internal electronics. Nick watched for a few seconds, fascinated, as the various digital diagnostic readouts on the top of the data system went crazy. 'Hey, Carol,' he said. 'Come here and look at this. That damn thing is plastic or something.'
She did not turn around at first. 'Nick,' Carol asked softly, finally facing him, 'what are we going to do about Troy?'
'As soon as we get this damn invader out of here,' Nick replied from underneath the canopy, where he was now looking through his kitchen implements, 'we'll do a systematic search of the area. I may even dive and see if I can find him.'
Nick had picked up a large cooking fork with a plastic handle and was about to attempt to pry the carpet off the data system. 'I wouldn't do that if I were you,' admonished Carol. 'He'll leave when he's ready.'
But it was too late. Nick stuck the fork into and through the carpet and up against the uppermost rack of electronic parts. There was a popping sound and a tiny blue arc zapped