Kitabı oku: «At depth», sayfa 6
11. ABYSSAL
— Course two-four-five. Medium speed. Start video recording.
— Aye, two-four-five. Medium speed. Video recording engaged.
The Amphibia approached the underwater structure, which was revealed under the floodlights. The entire crew stood silently, frozen before the main screen in the control room. Only the Captain and the First Officer spoke, controlling the submarine. Even Dr. Moore temporarily put aside her work to observe the unusual find.
The main display showed a full-screen image from just one camera, which captured the bulk of the object.
— Captain, look! Over here! — Morgan exclaimed, pointing to the upper part of the image.
Captain De Bont approached the screen and, squinting, began examining a detail, muttering almost under his breath:
— Yes. It looks like an inscription. — Then, in a slightly more energized voice, the Captain ordered the engineer: — Henry, take a snapshot.
A couple of seconds passed, and Henry reported:
— Already done.
— Display it.
A frozen image appeared on the screen.
— Rotate it ninety degrees clockwise.
After rotating the image, the Captain examined the object even more closely, tracing the screen with his finger. A look of resolute confidence settled on the Captain’s face, reinforced by his determined stride toward the holographic display.
— So, what do we have here?
— What a behemoth — Tucker murmured.
— How long has it been here? — Kayla asked, raking the fingers of her right hand through the back of her hair.
— The forties, I’d guess — the Captain declared, still focused on the three-dimensional image on the holographic platform. — The U-116. It belonged to the Nazis. Ninety meters long. It could dive to two hundred and twenty meters at most, yet it went down seven and a half kilometers.
— Did it sink during the Battle of the Atlantic? — Hector asked.
— I don’t believe so. It was declared missing in 1942. The last known coordinates from which communication was established are four to five thousand kilometers from here. Even if they lost contact because they were torpedoed, the submarine settled far too far from those coordinates. And if communication problems had arisen on their own, they would have been forced to return to one of their bases to repair the equipment, because no warship, let alone a submarine, would patrol the ocean without communication with command.
— And what kind of freak current brought it all the way out here? — Kayla asked.
— Well, this isn’t the only Wehrmacht submarine that went missing. There were about five of them in total within a six-month period. We’ll scan it now and see if my suspicions are justified. First Officer! Close the distance to the object. Thirty meters.
The Amphibia moved closer to the fallen U-boat of the Third Reich, after which Captain De Bont commanded:
— Drop the anchor.
The vessel held position at that spot.
— Henry. Prepare for the scan.
Two cylindrical probes, fitted with laser scanners on their tips, extended from the Amphibia’s bow.
— Probes deployed — Henry reported.
— Set the focus area.
The engineer began configuring the system to isolate and highlight the object from the surrounding space for scanning.
— Ready to scan.
— Commence scanning.
Pressing just one key, Henry solemnly declared:
— Scan initiated!
At least two days of waiting lay ahead for the full scanning process of the World War II submarine that rested on the ocean floor.
— Well, — Captain De Bont drawled, glancing dramatically at his watch, — Gentlemen… and ladies, our vessel has just made an unscheduled stop along our planned route. The wait time is anywhere from forty-eight hours to infinity. We apologize for the inconvenience and, as compensation, invite everyone interested to the galley for a round of poker.
Amidst the aromas of hot tea and freshly brewed coffee, the crew members indulged in one of the oldest vices: gambling.
— If anyone forgot, I’ll remind you — the Captain began. — Everyone is required to share a secret during the voyage. By some utterly improbable coincidence, we happen to have poker chips on board. Everyone gets five thousand in chips. But, as you’ve guessed, we aren’t playing for money. Mr. Hughes is on watch, so we’ll split into pairs. The pair that is fully eliminated first — both members — must reveal one skeleton from their closet. The participants in the second pair to be eliminated will decide between themselves who makes the candid confession. And I warn you now: I can smell BS from a mile away.
— What if we don’t have any skeletons? — asked Dr. Moore.
— Then we’ll start acquiring some, Miss Moore. So, it’s in your best interest to strain your memory. Better to recall something than to have to create a new one in front of everyone.
Kayla and Hector decided to team up by themselves. The Captain invited Kate to play with him, noting that in his youth he had won countless watch shifts that other sailors had to take for him. That left Henry and Morgan.
After two hours of folding, checking, betting, raising, and bluffing, the crew members had gotten to know each other much better. It turned out that at age fifteen, Hector went to a party at a hippie commune’s house. There, he smoked his first rolled cigarette, and when he woke up the next morning, he only vaguely recalled what had happened after that marijuana joint. When Morgan was twenty-five, he ran naked through the entire submarine from bow to stern, thus completing a ritual to which all newcomers on that perverted vessel were subjected. Kayla confessed to performing a striptease on a banquet table ten hours after receiving her specialist’s diploma and after two glasses of absinthe. Henry decided not to be left out and revealed some details of a very delicate moment that arrives in everyone’s life. It turned out that the Amphibia’s engineer lost his virginity to his thirty-seven-year-old teacher, who, already in a horizontal position, explained why she had given him a C on his quantum electronics test. Dr. Moore, in turn, thanked Captain De Bont for saving her from having to disclose the most shameful chapters of her life to the crew.
Forty-two hours had passed since the probes were launched. The process was delayed because scanning had to be performed from multiple points. This necessity arose due to the dense darkness that prevails in the abyssal zone of the Atlantic, making it difficult to define the focal area against a black background. Now the waiting period could extend up to six days. Nonetheless, this was only the second week of the expedition, and the overall plans remained completely unaffected.
During this time, Kayla Fox conducted several new experiments on Alpha-1. These bacteria exhibited an unusual reaction when coming into contact with stem cells. A further discovery was that Alpha-1 utilized the stem cells to modify its own structure, adapting to survive without nourishment or to live in conditions that would otherwise be detrimental to it.
Dr. Kate Moore breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that the number of foreign particles in Tucker’s new blood samples had decreased slightly.
A technical issue aboard the sub was discovered somewhat belatedly. Following the Amphibia’s collision with the unknown object, the water desalinizer had failed. Although he urged the crew to remain calm, the Captain himself only truly breathed a sigh of relief three hours later, once Henry had fixed the malfunction.
It was the eighth day of scanning. The process was eighty-eight percent complete.
Henry was on watch in the Control Room. Captain De Bont, Morgan, Dr. Moore, and Tucker were engrossed in watching a movie in the galley behind closed hatches. By a unanimous decision, everyone had supported the First Officer’s proposal to choose Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for the viewing session.
While Hector Cage was returning from the laundry room, Kayla opened the washroom hatch, asking the approaching ichthyologist:
— Were you heading in here?
— Um… no. Go ahead.
Without thinking, Kayla hastily pulled the hatch toward herself, and the passageway suddenly became tight for both of them. Apologizing, she secured the hatch momentarily to let Hector pass.
— Thank you, Miss Fox.
At that moment, Kayla felt some part of Hector’s body brush against the back of her t-shirt, near her right shoulder blade.
— Excuse me, Mr. Cage — Kayla called out.
— Yes?
— Could I take a couple of minutes of your time?
— Of course.
Dropping her voice to a whisper, Kayla added:
— Just in private.
The two of them entered the washroom. After sealing the hatch from within, Hector asked:
— Is something wrong?
Having hung the clean laundry on the chrome rack, Kayla floundered for words, trying to find the right formulation. Hector noticed her nervously rubbing her palms.
— Mr. Cage, promise me you won’t hold this against me. I’m truly a bit embarrassed to bring this up, and yet…
— We are compelled to live under the same roof, so I promise I will keep myself composed.
Biting her lower lip, Kayla said:
— We embarked on this expedition, abandoning the benefits of civilization for a long time. Much on this submarine can replace a home, but there are things that are in no way dependent on your location. It’s already the third week we’ve been locked up in this vessel. But we are all living people, and there are certain needs that every healthy organism requires. And I wanted…
— I understand you, Miss Fox. And the fact that you wanted to talk to me about this — is it connected to…
— Well, you know, the Captain is military, and a commander, too. I’m uncomfortable with that idea. The First Officer is the commander’s chief assistant — same story. Tucker recently suffered from some illness. Henry’s injury from the collision hasn’t healed yet, and for me, this activity is the equivalent of an extreme sport. One needs to be perfectly healthy. And besides, as far as I’ve heard, you are divorced. What I mean is, you aren’t bound by marriage and…
— I agree.
— Excellent — Kayla exhaled with relief, smiling with all thirty-two straight, snow-white teeth. — If you don’t mind, let’s go to the cabin.
— Sure.
After sealing the hatch from within the women’s cabin, Hector suddenly remembered and said in a warning tone:
— Miss Fox, I must tell you that I didn’t anticipate this before the dive, so I didn’t bring…
— Oh, don’t worry — Kayla interrupted easily. — I am a biologist, after all, and I know a much more practical method. So you don’t need to be concerned about that.
Kayla spread her arms and added playfully:
— I won’t be fussy about your preferences.
With all the breath in his lungs, Hector fastened fiercely onto Kayla’s full lips. Just as intensely, he began to squeeze her buttocks with his splayed fingers, sliding his hands beneath her clothing. Kayla quickly peeled off her t-shirt, immediately after which Hector’s lips focused on her breasts, forcing him to remove his hands from her buttocks and hastily try to unhook her black lace bra.
— Jeans — Kayla uttered with quickened breaths, deciding that she would be able to expose her chest faster.
With careful, sliding movements of his palms, the ichthyologist lowered Kayla’s jeans, while she managed to grip the collar of his shirt. But she had to wait for him to straighten up.
Having already tumbled onto the bunk, with their bodies revealed — covered only by hair and skin — Hector was about to make his first move when he suddenly froze. Already prepared to feel that sensation again, Kayla indignantly asked, lifting her head from the pillow:
— What is it? Am I not turning you on?
— I just realized we’re about to have sex at a depth of nearly eight kilometers. That’s even more exciting.
Recalling this, Kayla instantly grew more aroused herself, tightening her grip with both thighs and raking her nails down Hector’s back for good measure.
Having excused himself from the makeshift kitchen cinema to use the facilities, Morgan was about to flush the toilet when he suddenly began to hear sounds. He listened more closely. The sounds were coming from the neighboring compartment. The First Officer pressed his ear to the bulkhead, and now satisfied female moans joined the creaking noises. Refusing to believe what was happening, the First Officer recoiled from the wall and shook his head in disgust, muttering angrily under his breath:
— Damn this long voyage!
After four bouts — performed under, over, behind, and in front of Kayla’s body — Hector lay half-dead, sprawled on his bunk, thinking how beneficial it sometimes was to abstain from animal urges only to briefly find oneself in paradise afterward.
Suddenly, there was a knock. The hatch opened. Hector figured it was his turn to take watch, especially since the timing was right. Captain De Bont entered the cabin. Placing a hand on the ichthyologist’s shoulder, he said quietly:
— Mr. Cage, follow me.
The Captain’s voice greatly alarmed Hector. The sounds of booming speakers could still be heard coming from the closed galley, but judging by the loud laughter, they were watching a comedy at the time. Moving a little distance from the galley, the customary silence returned, which usually filled the Control Room. Captain De Bont asked Hector to take his seat.
— The Commander’s Chair? — the ichthyologist said, puzzled, and sat down.
The Captain tapped the touchpad several times and, pointing at the screen, asked:
— What do you make of this?
Staring intently at the image, Hector said, bewildered and unable to hide his shock:
— Is that… a fin?
— That’s what I was hoping you could tell me. I thought you might shed some light on it.
Hector was flooded with mixed emotions. On one hand, waves of enthusiasm washed over him, along with the feeling that he had finally found the meaning of his existence; on the other, the sheer size of what appeared to be a fin — or at least resembled one — alarmed him.
As if stunned, Hector practically yelled:
— Wait. Is this a freeze-frame?
In that moment, Hector wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. Now he knew that traversing the ocean’s depths had not been in vain. He had found what he was looking for and what he had endured his intolerable job for these last couple of years. The ticket for this expedition felt as though it had been specially reserved for him long before they even set sail.
Without saying a word, Captain De Bont pressed a sensor key, and the video stream from the recording, made several hours ago, resumed on the screen. The ichthyologist looked at the recording time, which prompted a logical question:
— Why did you keep silent for so long?
The Captain provided an even more logical response:
— You perfectly well know the reason — and the activity — I didn’t want to distract you from.
Realizing the complete absurdity of the situation, Hector cleared his throat and brought the conversation back on topic.
— Rewind. I want to see it in motion.
The Captain replayed the excerpt from the recording.
— Is there anything from the other cameras?
— It moved through the blind spots.
Hector pressed pause where the fin was most clearly visible.
— Based on this part alone, can you make any initial assumptions?
— Well… — With visible anxiety and unprecedented scientific astonishment, Hector took a deep breath. — The only thing that can be theoretically assumed is the overall size. But that would be a very rough estimate.
— Well, what about something?
— We can only account for one thing here — the size of the fin, and it’s at least three meters long. In my estimation, the creature is twelve to fifteen meters. Minimum. We can also note the fin’s position; it’s in a horizontal plane. But that still doesn’t tell us much.
After a few seconds of silence, the ichthyologist added, still wearing a slight, euphoric grin:
— I would stop speculating here, were it not for the fact that something unknown scoured our submarine.
— Yes, Mr. Cage. I considered that as well.
— I bring it up because, given how violently we were shaken, if that was it, then my size estimate is vastly incorrect.
The smile on Hector’s face became noticeably wider.
— Could this be the tail of some — I don’t even know — dinosaur? How would it have survived the Ice Age?
In an attempt to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, Hector began to speculate. He reasoned with intense pleasure, still unable to believe this was happening to him in reality.
— In theory, hydrothermal vents could have provided these deep layers with enough heat to sustain a comfortable living environment. Even when the entire planet was covered with surface ice, the ocean depths were heated by thermal sources. At least, I can find no other explanation.
After a moment of reflection, the Captain said:
— Let’s proceed as follows. I will save these frames on your computer with the password «AMXXITVT.» And for now, this will remain strictly between us.
— Of course, Captain.
For six hours, Captain De Bont and Henry studied the three-dimensional images of the scanned hull of the Nazi U-boat. Judging by the outlines in the scans, the interior contained objects resembling individual components of old drilling rig models. Furthermore, it was clearly possible to discern the contours of items that strongly resembled mining carts and rail track elements.
Considering the analysis of the images, as well as the projected route from Germany to the wreck site, Captain De Bont ventured to state his assumptions regarding the true objective the Nazis were pursuing.
— Yes, Captain — Kayla said in an intrigued voice. — You mentioned you had some suspicions. Would you care to share? Satisfy our curiosity.
— I have no reason to conceal them. In 1938, the Third Reich began surveying and claiming territories in Antarctica, specifically in the area of Queen Maud Land. They even dispatched aircraft to scatter swastika pennants, effectively staking their claim to part of those lands. This territory was later named «New Swabia.» If rumors are to be believed, «Base 211» was established in New Swabia. Its exact purpose remains a subject of debate. But if you look at the map and assume that the U-116 started in northern Germany and moved through the North Sea, past Bergen and the Faroe Islands, then it sank at a point that was precisely along the sea communication route between Germany and Queen Maud Land. And the objects found inside were clearly intended for the development of new territories and research operations. I cannot judge the cause of the U-116’s sinking. The scan showed no serious breaches in the hull that torpedoes might have left.
— It’s astonishing that it wasn’t crushed at all at this depth — Tucker said.
— Most likely, numerous small damages throughout the boat were the factor. Apparently, because of this, air escaped the compartments, the cavities filled with water, and the hull remained intact. But, in any case, I think our employers will be very interested in this find. For now, our work here is done. We are packing up and moving on. Raise anchor!
Thirty-four hours later.
Captain De Bont was plagued by insomnia. He hadn’t slept for twenty-seven consecutive hours, and even now, lying in his cabin, he couldn’t fall asleep. His patience gone, he decided that if he couldn’t sleep, he should at least properly rouse himself. His feet carried him toward the galley in search of coffee. But before Luther could even open the hatch, the engineer appeared on the threshold.
— Captain, incoming signal.
Not immediately, but the Captain eventually asked the obvious question:
— Depth?
— Seven thousand nine hundred and twenty meters.
Luther thought he must have fallen asleep and that everything happening was nothing more than a dream.
Without waiting for the Captain’s verbal reaction, Henry added:
— Captain, I’m absolutely floored too. But the signal is genuinely being received.
Luther immediately hurried to the Control Room.
— Where is the signal originating from?
Morgan, standing at the Captain’s workstation, reported:
— Bearing one-two-five.
— Range?
— Unable to determine.
— Captain, permission to speak? — Henry said.
— Speak.
— Before you decide to respond to the signal, I must warn you that this is impossible even in theory. At this depth, a signal can only be received if its source is within a radius of no more than two kilometers. — Taking a momentary pause, Henry added cautiously: — It seems we are not alone here.
Hector and Tucker appeared in the compartment.
The Captain gave an order to the First Officer:
— Mute the microphone.
— Aye, aye.
— Now press «Receive.» Let’s see what kind of company we have.
The First Officer pressed the button to accept the incoming signal.
An intermittent acoustic stream began to emanate from the speakers. The sound was clear and distinct, but a large portion of the audio dropped out, as if the signal were passing through holes in the impulse stream.
Almost in a whisper, the Captain turned to the engineer:
— Henry, can you regulate the sound quality?
— I’ll try.
Henry walked over to the console, behind which was the repeater control panel, and began adjusting the frequencies.
The more Henry fine-tuned the repeater, the more the sound began to resemble speech. Clear. Dynamic. Articulate. Unfamiliar. The content of the message was repetitive, gaining new volume and intonation with each iteration, increasingly sounding like conscious speech.
The Captain continued to gaze impassively at one spot, listening intently to the acoustic stream. Leaning his arms on the instrument panel, he quietly asked the First Officer:
— What was the bearing you mentioned?
— One-two-five.
Without delay, the Captain commanded:
— Turn to bearing one-two-five.
— Aye, turn to one-two-five.
— All four engines, full speed ahead.
— Aye, full speed ahead.
— Keep to the bottom. Maintain clear visibility. We’ll proceed three kilometers. If we find nothing, we return to the starting point.
The Amphibia took a new bearing in search of the signal’s source. Having adjusted its direction, the submarine reached a maximum speed of thirty-five knots. All of its powerful searchlights were working. The hull sped along the floor of the Atlantic, the beams illuminating ever-new expanses of the abyssal plain, shrouded in pitch darkness.
Captain De Bont personally monitored the images from the bow cameras. The First Officer continued to track the strength and quality of the incoming signal and, after a kilometer, reported:
— Captain, the signal is intensifying.
— Excellent. Now we’ll see who the pioneer is here.
— CAPTAIN!!! — the paleontologist yelled, vigorously pointing toward the large display.
— All stop!
The Amphibia began to slow down abruptly, but by the time the braking distance was complete, the object was already behind the stern.
— Drop anchor.
— Aye, anchor dropped.
— Full screen image from the stern camera — Captain De Bont commanded.
— Image coming up — Henry reported.
A deathly silence fell over the compartment, but it did not last long.
— Well, well, well. The excursion is getting more and more interesting — Captain De Bont murmured, not tearing his fixed gaze from the screen.
Like a madman, Tucker screamed, unable to believe his eyes:
— Look! There, to the left! It can’t be! Remains!
— Henry, magnify that area — the Captain ordered.
— Just a moment. A couple of seconds. Is that enough?
Overjoyed, Tucker could not contain his emotions and slammed his palm onto the desk at his workstation. The reaction was far too severe. The paleontologist continued to scream, but now from pain. The bones throughout his right hand were fractured, as if they had been instantly crushed by a heavy weight the moment he struck the surface. The pain proved so intolerable that Tucker dropped to the floor, falling so sharply that his right femur cracked, which only intensified his screams.
— To the infirmary! — Captain De Bont commanded. Hector rushed over and helped escort Tucker to Dr. Moore.
Kayla rushed out of her laboratory, followed by Kate from the infirmary.
The doctor asked the Captain and the ichthyologist to place Tucker on the examination couch.
— What happened? — Dr. Moore shouted, simultaneously drawing an analgesic into a syringe.
— The thing is, nothing happened — Hector stammered in confusion.
— Miss Moore, we need to… — the Captain tried to interject, but Kate immediately cut him off:
— Help me strap him down.
The Captain and the ichthyologist quickly moved to secure the patient to the couch. The Captain let go of Tucker’s left forearm as quickly as he had grabbed it. The moment he took his arm, the bones crunched. Kate hurried to the ampoule drawers and retrieved not just a painkiller, but one with a powerful sedative effect.
After fifty minutes, Tucker Hughes’ painful moans subsided, and twenty-two minutes later, he was asleep. Dr. Moore rushed to take X-rays of his entire skeleton while he slept. Taking a blood sample from a vein became slightly problematic, as Kate no longer dared to tighten a tourniquet on his arm.
— Alright — Captain De Bont muttered, rubbing his hands over his face. — Let’s get back to work.
With that single word, the burst of activity ceased. Along with the Captain, Hector, Kayla, Morgan, and Henry continued to stand in the Control Room, watching the display.
— Alright, Henry, prepare the probes.
While the engineer was preparing the scanning equipment, Kayla said in bewilderment:
— And next to it… is that a humanoid skeleton?
Taking a deep breath, the Captain replied:
— I wish I knew.
— Um… Captain? — Henry asked.
— Yes?
— I can’t set the focus.
— And why not? — Captain De Bont asked, walking toward the engineer, who stood a meter from the main screen in front of the probe control panel.
— You’ll be surprised, but the probes don’t register the object.
— What could be the reason for that?
— Well… — Henry began hesitantly, fearing making an unsubstantiated claim — You and I are seeing the same thing. I mean, it’s not a hallucination. Therefore, I venture to suggest that this thing might be made of a substance not found on the periodic table. That’s the only sound explanation, because the probes only fail to register material they are unfamiliar with.
And once again the Captain sighed in displeasure, after which he gave the engineer the order:
— Then log the coordinates. Take a still image. Create a log entry with the following content: «Disc-shaped object of unknown origin and purpose. Parameters: 100—150 centimeters in thickness, approximately seven meters in diameter.» Log entry number two: «Humanoid skeleton, approximately one meter in length, with an elongated skull and eye orbits several times larger than human.» And also attach the recording of the received signal to these files.
While Hector and Kayla continued to stare at the objects that were shocking the cold scientific mind, the Captain turned to the First Officer:
— Raise anchor.
— Aye, anchor up.
— Start video recording and circle the area to capture it from all angles.
The engines began to work, and the Amphibia’s hull started to turn, when suddenly the Control Room was filled with a deafening sequence of sonar pings:
PING!!! PING!!! PING!!! PING!..
Morgan exclaimed:
— Captain! Sonar is tracking an object! Bearing three-two-zero! Twenty-six meters in length! Speed thirty knots! Range one thousand two hundred! It is coming straight toward us!
