Hellicoyle stared at the thing. 'All I can tell you guys is, this has been buried for millions of years. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine.' Potts said, 'I'm encouraged that it hasn't exploded. But if that's millions of years old, I'm a fruitcake.' The object of their interest was standing on Hellicoyle's bench, glowing and giving a whole new meaning to the word strange. It was roughly the shape and size of a rugby ball. It had a pulsing, glowing interior, and a mesh of gold encompassing a golden exterior. Potts said, 'Is it just me, or is that thing glowing brighter than when we first saw it?' 'Hard to say,' said Hellicoyle. Potts said, 'It's a bit late to give this thing due respect. Leave it where it is and we'll come back in the morning.' Mining had been allowed to continue, the “cave” was to be avoided and everyone down there was to keep a watch for any other strange things. Shamini Singh made himself responsible to look for anything unusual, ready to call a halt to mining activity in the event of something else turning up.
