Chapter 1

Aocles Kaper sat at the peak of a mountain of junk. The junk was in a junkyard that belonged to his dad. Before his dad owned it his dad's dad had owned it. It had been in the family since the first junk yards started popping up. As a matter of fact this was the first junkyard to pop up and actually survive. Being the oldest and biggest junkyard in the state there were parts of it that were almost completely forgotten. Some parts weren't even visited after they were filled. As a result he and his dad had taken to treasure hunting in several parts of the junkyard.

Aocles' dad, Larry, inherited the junkyard and the house with it but could never make enough to live comfortably without a little help. He got no outside help. he sold old things he found on ebay to collectors and fixed up some of the older cars that came through the yard. Aocles usually helped with the cars. And in doing so imbedded knowledge into him of fixing things and renewing them. Of course there was also the monthly child support check his mom had to send to them.

When he was only four his parents had gotten a divorce. His mom had been deep into drugs and argued with his father all the time. Eventually when his mom was off her high for a little they agreed that it would be best for him if they separated. His mom tried to get custody but his father brought up the problem of her drug addiction and was granted full custody.

Now at fifteen Aocles was close to mechanical genius and a computer pilot expert. Almost all the money he was allowed went into simulations of flying fighters and the such. As a result he was a flying expert. He could fly anything from old bi-planes to new F-22s.

Aocles had wanted some time alone today so he set off on a hike of the yard. When he had left his dad was working on a Mustang Fastback. It was just as well that his dad was busy. He had intended to go to one of the unvisited parts that his dad would have loved to go to. Sitting on the mountain of junk Aocles stared out at immense field of junk in front of him. To his left were what appeared to be Model T cars. Well the frames of them anyway. They collided with some old appliances that were out and in circulation back then. To his right though was an almost flat plane of indistinguishable metals. About one thousand feet in that direction though was a pinnacle of metal protruding through the ground.

He started off to the left to see if any of the old cars were in good enough shape to be rebuilt. Several were nothing but a shell with nothing on the inside. The same amount also had perfect inside parts but their shells were shattered. And one was in such a perfect state that he couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.

Pulling out a map of the yard Aocles marked where the cars were for his dad. He figured his dad would flip out at this find. Heck they might be able to sell it to a museum for more than enough money for the newest simulator. He decided that lone pinnacle of metal would be his next stop.

As he headed to the lone pinnacle he walked through the field of out of date contraptions. What caught his eye though were several odd looking items that didn't fit into the area and certainly looked more advanced than even the items in this day and age. Over there was a short cylinder shape that looked like it might belong in an engine. Right there was a set of joysticks that looked to be part of an airplane yet it was nothing like what Aocles was familiar with. Finally he made it to the lone pinnacle.

The pinnacle was all one piece. The top was rounded from one side over the top to the other. The sides that weren't part of the curved top were slightly curved but went straight down from the top. The pinnacle seemed to extend deeply down into the ground. When Aocles pushed against it, it didn't even budge. Wanting to see how far down it went he started digging out the metal and junk around the pinnacle. He got three feet down before quitting. This three feet added to the already five foot length above ground. Now when he pushed against the pinnacle it seemed to give some.

On the way down the pinnacle Aocles discovered four ridges of metal that arrowed back from the pinnacle. At the seven foot mark they were maybe two feet wide. Night was quickly approaching so Aocles left hoping to return to it soon.

When Aocles got home his father was in the kitchen making them supper. Supper turned out to be Shrimp Alfredo. Larry asked his son how his walk was, and Aocles responded by telling his dad he had found something interesting that he wanted to study further ... alone. Larry let him go at that. After supper was finished they both helped with the dishes. When the chores were finished Larry retired off to the living room to watch TV. Aocles retired to his simulators.