# Read the first page of A Matter of Scale by Steve DeGroof Read the opening of A Matter of Scale by Steve DeGroof free, no signup. Dragons are raiding the trash bins of Willow Falls, where impossible creatures are part of an average day. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/a-matter-of-scale-steve-degroof - Genre: Science fiction - Year: 2021 - ISBN: 9781088007648 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9990000000024&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9781088007648 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9781088007648 ## The opening A large black sphere stood perched on a pillar of rock. Far below, a lake of magma rolled and churned and occasionally tossed sprays of molten rock high into the toxic air of the cavern. A nearly seamless hatch opened in the front of the sphere, and Marc stepped out. He was covered head-to-foot in a silver proximity suit, featureless, save for the Sayles Research logo on the back, and a sky-blue name tag affixed to the front, reading “Witaker, M.” Even with the insulation and air filters, Marc could feel the searing heat, could smell the sulfur in the air. He sighed. “Time to feed the dragons.” He turned around, and dragged a large silver cart backward out of the sphere. After some shuffling and swearing, he managed to trade places with the cart and push it onto the bridge that spanned the gap between the pillar and the dragon containment facility. The facility itself stood on a much wider, sturdier pillar fifty feet away. In the event the facility’s security system detected a breach, both ends of the bridge would detach, plunging it into the magma below. Marc shuddered to think what would happen if the dragons attempted an escape while he was halfway across. Marc tried not to look down, which wasn’t too difficult, given the limited visibility provided by the small window in the front of the suit’s hood. On the other hand, it also meant he could barely see the bridge. This definitely wasn’t his favorite part of the job. Fortunately, the dragons were almost ready for transport. A couple more months of this, and Sayles would shut down the containment facility, and start selling off the dragons to the highest bidders. Just a couple more months of popping over here, resupplying the food dispensers, switching out the data logs, and doing a quick once-over of the facility. A couple more months, and then what? Marc supposed he’d be reassigned to another project, hopefully something that didn’t involve risking his neck to feed a bunch of fire-breathing little monsters. This certainly wasn’t his favorite assignment, either. He was the least senior member of the team, for one thing. There was Hashemi (genetics and anatomy), Hewitt (animal husbandry and behavior) and Everton (veterinary medicine and nutrition). And Marc? Marc mucked out the stables. To be fair, most of his job was data analysis and automation, and the “stables” pretty much mucked out themselves. But, once a month, he had to drag his ass out here, check the systems, and swap out the data drives. On the other hand, with the notable exception of Rebecca Sayles herself, Marc was the only one who got to see real live dragons up close on a regular basis. He stepped into the building’s airlock, dragging the cart in after him. When he closed the outer door, both he and the cart were immediately drenched in water, washing away the coating of ash they’d accumulated on the short journey from the pod. Marc’s ears popped as the air in the chamber was recycled and the pressure increased to match the interior of the containment facility. Not as bad as last time, though. The dragons were slowly being acclimatized to Earth-normal air pressure and oxygen content. The first time he’d done this, he’d had to spend hours in the airlock to avoid decompression sickness before he could leave. The airlock didn’t have a toilet. The inner door unlocked, and Marc stepped through, again wrestling the cart through the opening, the wheels catching on the frame of the hatch. Would it be that difficult to put some ramps in here? Granted, the whole facility would probably be dismantled and/or destroyed in a couple months, once the dragons were relocated, but it was still a pain in the ass to drag a cart around this place. Once Marc closed and sealed the inner hatch, he noticed something odd – or, more to the point, failed to notice something odd. Save for the white noise from the ventilation system, and the quiet hum from the server room, there was no sound. Nothing. None of the usual squeaks and chirps he’d expected from the dragons, bickering among themselves. No hisses from the dragons spitting flames at each other. Nothing. The phrase “too quiet” tickled at the back of his mind. He crept along the corridor, quietly unlocked the door to the dragons’ habitat, eased it open, and peered inside. He scanned the rows of cages, the floor, the ceiling (just in case). “What the fuck?” Marc entered the room, and began examining every corner, ducking down to search under tables, opening cabinets. He grabbed one of the six-foot catch-poles hanging by the door, and started poking it into gaps much too small to hide one dragon, let alone four dozen. ## Books with a similar feel - [Abandon by Blake Crouch](https://uncovered.ink/read/abandon-blake-crouch.md) - [Tower of Babylon by Ted Chiang](https://uncovered.ink/read/tower-of-babylon-ted-chiang.md) - [Binti by Nnedi Okorafor](https://uncovered.ink/read/binti-nnedi-okorafor.md) - [Vanishing Acts by Ellen Datlow](https://uncovered.ink/read/vanishing-acts-ellen-datlow.md) - [The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-lathe-of-heaven-ursula-k-le-guin.md) - [Trips in Time by Christopher Priest](https://uncovered.ink/read/trips-in-time-christopher-priest.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). A short sample shown for reading and discovery. Rights holders can request removal at https://uncovered.ink/takedown.