Enchanted

Part of him still could not believe it. And yet this marvel of technology was right in front of him. And everywhere around him.
The metallurgy team was completely puzzled by whatever alloys were used in the construction of this craft. Their tools had barely managed to scratch or dent any of those surfaces, producing more questions than answers. As did most of their examinations, actually. His current attempt did not fare much better. All they had deduced so far was that this column housed some kind of electricity generator - and judging from the magnetic fields surrounding those massive conduits, the energy output was overwhelming. What could possibly be going on inside that cylinder?
The grooves surrounding those panels implied that they could be opened, presumably for maintenance purposes. Not that anything they had tried so far had moved those panels even the slightest bit. But there had to be a way to access the inner workings of that machine, right? Every engine had to be inspected from time to time, mechanisms needed to be greased, worn-out parts needed to be replaced... then again, they might be making a fundamental mistake by assuming any similarity with their own technology... quite naive, once you remembered how this vessel had come to them in the first place.
A ship from outer space, putting their own airships to shame - the greatest achievement of modern Chryphóran engineering could not even dream of rivaling this.
He frowned at the fluctuations that his instruments were picking up in the magnetic field. Try as he might, he still could not make any sense of them. Well, maybe one of his colleagues might have an idea in tomorrow's meeting. Time to call it a night. Before disconnecting the electrodes, he stopped to take in the sight one last time. The frown gave way to a bright smile and a sense of childlike wonder. Oh yes, he truly had the best job in the world.