Modern era. ~2026 CE.
The Read
The stone had been in the collection since 1963.
Dr. Lena Voss had looked this up after the third anomalous reading, when “instrument artifact” stopped being a satisfying explanation. The acquisition record was a single typed line: Basalt, decorative. Ica Province, Peru. Donated by F. Krause. No excavation context. No field notes. No Krause in any registry she could find. She had looked for three weeks. She was thorough that way. It had made her a good researcher. Tonight it had made her afraid.