The substance - A NextColony based sci-fi story

I actually did not want to participate in the next sci-fi writing contest by @art-universe to give others a chance too.
But so far no-one stepped in. So I will compose some lines again to give it a start. Have fun reading.

* * *

Esra stood at the window of their building looking down on the city when Lily joined him. They had been assigned those rooms only lately and the view was completely new to them. There were other towers like theirs and transporters of all kinds (and also some drones which they did not notice) following unseen routes through the air. They were so high that the ground could not be seen.

She put her hand on his shoulder.
"Time to feel safe, hm?"
"I hope we are now."

They had left their old quarter in a hurry two days ago after a fire had been set. Living in the 23nd century nobody should still experience those things - a matrix of hidden sprinklers spread all over the rooms should produce safety. Also, all sources of a spark were known to be eliminated in a standard flat or office. CCTV cams scanned the rooms day and night for uncommon movements sending their films to data storage networks.

But somehow all those protections had failed, proving that an intruder could still enter a flat with some ease and make some modifications to it from the inside and the outside.

The case was still under investigation and Esra and Lily had spent the two days since in various hidden places. They would have liked to carry on with their usual lives but it was not recommended. In fact, they had just not been allowed. They would have loved to tell their families about it but that was not permitted either until the end of the investigation.

"It seems so unreal that we are not allowed to talk to anybody but standing at a wide window though.", Lily said, petting Esra once more in an attempt to comfort themselves.

The "glass" was five centimeters thick and actually made of minerals only one planet provided. Lightsaber had it been called for the special quality of its minerals which were still posing questions to the scientists. The humans had brought some of their knowledge about terrestrial chemistry but what they had found on Lightsaber 90 years ago was something completely different.
Luckily they had found their way making use of those minerals at last and the windows of those rooms were one of the results. A material transparent to light and unbreakable but toxic to most creatures if touched. A fine layer of a silicium-like mineral from Zyklop had been added, shielding away x-rays and infrared. Nobody could look inside to check for movements and inhabitors while the sight from the inside was clear and free.

There had been so much to discover in those new worlds! A hundred and sixty years after evacuating themselves from earth, the humans still had not solved every mystery about the unknown planets while new ones arose. There had been some findings about new levels of self-organizations in minerals lately. Or was it some kind of gems living from the minerals? Esra and Lily had been leading scientists in a chemistry lab testing some minerals brought in from Tartaros, another planet which had been discovered just a decade ago. They had been living under protection to some extent already. But it had not been enough obviously.

Now - a suite that was built for a commander of a high level and importance. And complete isolation from the world they had known before. It felt so wrong.

Esra walked off the window, he had seen enough. He walked to the inner door of the suite and asked the guard whether they could go out for an activity. He knew the answer but he wanted to talk to another person. Could he not even pay a visit to the gym or the pool? Go to the restaurant? Just to see something - somebody - else?

"Why don't you check out the library beneath the sleeping room?" the guard asked after talking to his colleagues on the outside and in the command center.
"We already did, sir." Being scientists, both knew how to scan a list of entries quickly. No title had drawn their interest. And apart from that, they were not inclined to read novels or watch entertainment shows.
"I cannot help you then, sir." The guard said. Esra closed the door from the inside.

Suddenly the sound of music filled the air. Lily had found a channel on the TV that only broadcasted audio. Classical music from the 19th century. Terrestrial time. Esra sighed, relieved.

Lily came his way, holding two cups in her hands.
"How about some drink?"

* * *

"They are playing some old terrestrial music now, sir", a thin guy replied when he was asked what the couple was doing.
"Ok, Ronald. Keep on having an eye on them.", said the larger man with a badge identifying him as a chief. Another badge read "Thomson".

A woman and another man walked in.
"Chief Thomson? Can we talk?"
"Sure."

The trio left Roland and his surveillance TV alone and walked to another room. After closing the door, the woman began to speak.

"There is no evidence for an entry from outside. Everything has happened inside their flat."
"The fire ignited at the bedroom which is very weird. We still did not find its source. But there was some unknown material on one bedside table. We have found traces of it all over the room."
"Might be something from Tartaros. At least there's nothing similar in the database of known minerals."

Thomson fetched out a handkerchief to wipe off the sweat from his face. Why was the air conditioning not working better? Or did he incubate some infection?

Tartaros was the planet they had started to explore last, and it presented new riddles after each mission. Substances with new behaviour had been discovered on the other planets too but none had been a threat so far.

Thomson sighed once more.
They had no choice, they needed to inform the scientists about their results and to ask them for their help.

It certainly would not remain unnoticed.

* * *

To be continued

Thanks to @art-universe for hosting another sci-fi writing contest based on the @nextcolony game's background story.