Kitabı oku: «At depth», sayfa 7

12. KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!!!

Just as loudly and firmly, Captain De Bont gave the order:

— All stop!

— Aye, all stop.

— Kill the searchlights!

— Searchlights off.

Alarming signals continued to emanate from the hydro-locator, keeping pace with the flickering signature.

Captain De Bont requested the next action:

— Display the images from the night vision cameras and thermal imagers!

— Images coming up — Henry replied a few seconds later this time.

— Switch the holographic platform to thermal mode! — the Captain added.

Henry quickly switched the holographic platform to a two-dimensional map, which displayed the ocean floor and its heat sources. As soon as the thermal mode was activated, Henry exclaimed:

— Captain, we have a thermal signature!

— What are these spots surrounding it? — Hector asked, approaching the holographic platform. — Hydrothermal vents?

— Yes. Those are static. But this one… see? It’s moving.

Once the hydro-locator signals began to sound at a lower frequency, the Captain’s commanding voice was heard:

— Morgan, sonar status?

— Eight hundred meters. Speed twenty-four knots.

The crew members continued to watch the images from the night vision and thermal cameras on the main screen, occasionally shifting their attention to the thermal mapping platform. The First Officer, meanwhile, reported the distance between the Amphibia and the object, which continued to decrease:

— Seven hundred meters… six-fifty… Speed dropping. Sixteen knots. Changing trajectory. Bearing three-one-three. Continuing to shift. Bearing two-nine-six. Range six hundred twenty. Turning around. Bearing three-zero-one. Range six hundred. It’s darting back and forth!

Captain De Bont felt a sudden, sharp urge to smoke — something strong and unfiltered. The craving for cigarettes had been fading for long months. But now it abruptly intensified, resurrecting the difficult state he had endured during the first days after Luther had firmly decided to quit nicotine. It had been especially rough back then, but with the passage of time, it had grown easier for Captain De Bont. He realized that the old habit reminded him of itself less and less each day, and that he was burying it deeper and deeper. Now his lungs burned with the desire to smoke like a locomotive. Captain De Bont reached into the side pocket of his trousers and found the last hard candy from the packet he had opened two days prior.

Even the loudest noises in the Control Room were drowned out by the engineer’s scream:

— VISUAL CONTACT!!!

Simultaneously, everyone turned their gaze to the main screen. The night vision cameras caught the object flickering on the horizon. Its speed was erratic. The object moved in various directions, darting up, then left, then right. It lunged downward several times, hugging the bottom as closely as possible. But one thing remained constant: slowly, it was still approaching the Amphibia XXI.

— Captain, — the First Officer whispered, — what are your orders?

— Do nothing. Everyone remain calm.

Unable to remain idle, the First Officer quietly stated:

— Range four hundred fifty.

— Morgan, stand down. I can see perfectly well myself.

As the object’s contours began to resolve, Kayla felt a lump rise in her throat, and her legs instantly grew weak. A tremor enveloped her knees and hips, and her body suddenly sagged. She leaned her full weight on the edge of the holographic platform. Henry now saw with his own eyes what had previously appeared as a black rectangle on the platform. Now, more than just a fin was visible. Every few seconds, Morgan interrupted his focus to glance at the Captain’s imperturbable face, hoping for instructions to take decisive action. Only Hector Cage examined the image on the screen with genuine, utterly professional scientific interest. He was mesmerized by the sight. Here it was — the subject of years of future work. He could now forget about scientific articles and monographs where he was forced to re-examine the bones of species already completely known.

The object ceased its approach to the Amphibia at a range of two hundred and eighty meters, beginning to circle the submarine while maintaining its distance. It appeared to trace a perfect circumference around a central point. This continued until it started moving in slow, chaotic motions in a single direction, gradually receding from the submarine. The hydro-locator signal began to sound at a lower frequency, and the signature continued moving toward the extreme boundary of the sonar.

The moment visual contact was broken, the ichthyologist rushed to his computer, driven by the intense desire to rewind the recording and examine the replay in the minutest detail. However, Captain De Bont looked at the ichthyologist, clenched his fists, and leaned on the holographic platform, saying:

— Mr. Cage, I take it a job has presented itself for you. But I am compelled to pull you away from your scientific pursuits to ask: what does your expertise suggest?

The sonar signature had already vanished, and the signal was interrupted. Kayla practically collapsed into a swivel chair.

Reluctantly, the ichthyologist approached the crew members and attempted to speak:

— Well, judging by its appearance… — Confused in his thoughts, Hector decided to start his analysis anew. His elevated heart rate still hadn’t subsided, and he could still feel his heart thumping against his ribs. He still couldn’t quite believe what his own eyes had witnessed. With a labored breath, he made a second attempt: — During the Eocene epoch — that is, roughly forty million years ago — a species of cetacean inhabited the world’s oceans, scientifically known as Basilosaurus. These were true predatory giants, the apex predators of their time. The creature we saw remotely bears a strong external resemblance to a Basilosaurus. But only externally. It even moves with the same serpentine motion in the vertical plane. Nevertheless, there are a number of compelling reasons to doubt that it is, in fact, one of them.

— Substantiate your claim — the Captain requested.

— Firstly, Basilosaurus had slender bones, and its vertebrae contained cavities. These two structural features alone would make survival at such depths impossible. The pressure is far too high. Secondly, there is the thermocline. Even if we concede that individuals of this species somehow underwent evolution and their biology experienced radical changes, it still wouldn’t guarantee a clear path to the ocean floor. The thermocline is an insurmountable obstacle. The waters in the mid-ocean layers are too cold — they’re simply icy and wouldn’t allow passage over such a great distance from the warm surface waters to the abyssal zone, where the water is warmed by thermal vents.

— So we know nothing about this creature?

— If I study the camera recordings, I might be able to determine something.

— Then I won’t detain you any longer — Captain De Bont said, before turning to the First Officer: — Morgan, when did we engage all the engines?

— When we received the acoustic signal…

— No, no. That’s not what I mean. How much time has elapsed?

— We maintained speed for seven minutes, at most. And a couple of hours have passed since we stopped — Mr. Hughes injured his hand, and that’s when we halted.

Scratching his unshaven chin, Captain De Bont attempted to build a logical chain, which led him to a question for the engineer:

— Henry, what is the minimum power required to get underway?

— At least two main thrusters are needed. The auxiliary engines alone are insufficient to move the sub. Accounting for power draw from life support, lighting, the Control Room, and various minor systems, we could potentially reduce the reactor’s power output to sixty percent of its normal operating capacity. However, I would recommend setting it to seventy. Because if any of the electronics burn out…

— I read you — the Captain cut in. — Then set the limits.

Henry hurried to execute the order, heading to the Engine Room, while the Captain addressed the rest:

— Alright, a moment of attention. Here is how we will proceed. Any non-essential, non-vital equipment on board is to be shut down. Any electrical appliance: the television, the coffee maker, even the electric stove. We will consume only what requires no thermal preparation. — After a few seconds, Captain De Bont added in a calm tone: — This is why I despise civilian vessels. They are defenseless.

— You have some theories, don’t you — Kayla said with a measure of certainty.

She looked at the Captain with suspicion. The expression on Kayla’s face suggested she regarded Captain De Bont as a kind of evil genius who had uncovered the secret of the universe, and now the whole world could be at his feet, let alone some uninvited deep-sea guest.

— Yes, I have theories, Miss Fox. We were running at full throttle. The thrusters were working at maximum power. Apparently, this creature is capable of detecting an electromagnetic pulse, and it was drawn to the source of that impulse. Alternatively, it possesses highly developed echolocation organs and navigates by sound.

At that moment, the biologist sharply straightened her posture in her chair, as if struck by a revelation, and asked:

— Were the searchlights on when we were hit?

— Yes. Why do you ask?

— In that case, I believe your hypothesis is well-founded. The fact is, a living organism that inhabits such depths in total darkness for a long time will eventually undergo mutation. Its eyes will adapt to the lack of light, and its vision will become hypersensitive. If this trait is genetically determined, it’s even more likely. In that scenario, any strong light exposure could cause blindness. If it was this creature that attacked us then, it most likely was blinded by the glare of the searchlights.

Immediately raising his voice, the Captain turned to the ichthyologist, who was scrutinizing the video frames with an intensity equal to that of a gamer pulling an all-nighter to beat a level, acquire a new weapon, return to base on time, and locate the lair of the living dead.

— Mr. Cage, your thoughts?

Kayla had to restate her hypothesis, which Hector commented on without hesitation:

— And I, for one, would not dismiss that possibility. As soon as all the equipment was shut down, it began to slow down and then became completely disoriented in its direction. While no one can guarantee this, it is entirely plausible. We would only be mistaken if this individual possessed nictitating membranes, which act as a filter to reduce the sensitivity of the visual organs. Some species of modern reptiles possess them. — After a brief pause, Hector continued: — Yes, and one more thing. If we assume that our visitor shares a common ancestry with the Basilosaurus, then your theory is absolutely correct. Basilosaurus lacked echolocation organs. Locating an object at such a distance would only be possible through hypersensitivity to electromagnetic waves or vibrations.

— Excellent. That’s at least a starting point — Captain De Bont concluded.

After the engineer reported the system reconfiguration was complete, the Captain gave the order to the First Officer:

— Morgan, monitor the sonar. Let me know the moment the signal reappears. Visual contact is only through night vision equipment. No searchlights. — The Captain then immediately glanced around and addressed the others: — We’ll wait until this creature moves farther away. We resume our journey in half an hour. Where is Miss Fox? — the Captain uttered the final phrase in confusion.

From somewhere in the corridor came a deafening, hysterical scream.

13. ALPHA-1

Kayla literally flew out of the infirmary. She left the room so quickly that, tripping over the threshold, she fell headlong to the deck. Scrabbling with all her limbs, she managed a few steps on all fours before bolting forward, utterly heedless of where she was going. The main thing was to get as far away as possible.

The Captain, Henry, Morgan, and Hector rushed into the infirmary. Upon entering, their eyes were involuntarily drawn to the right, through the open doorway. The scene was utterly repulsive. Dr. Kate Moore stood motionless, her arms dangling at her sides. But this was only an illusion. In reality, she was neither standing nor feeling any solid support beneath her. She was suspended by a limb covered in a disgusting, viscous slime. What had been Tucker Hughes just hours earlier had a death grip on Kate’s neck, having thrust a meter-long tongue, covered with numerous tiny teeth, into her oral cavity. With its fanged tongue, the creature was eviscerating Dr. Moore’s body. Sensing a presence, the thing formerly known as Tucker began to retract its fanged, meter-long tongue, which slithered out of the doctor’s mouth like a python, coated in fresh blood and its own viscous saliva, stretching to the deck and dripping from Kate’s chin. It released its hold on Kate’s neck, and the doctor’s eviscerated body dropped like a dead weight onto the floor of the isolation bay. The thud of the falling corpse echoed.

Infected with Alpha-1 particles, Tucker turned its face toward the exit, where someone was standing at the threshold. It was unclear by what sensory organs Tucker registered the people’s presence. Its pupils were gone. Its eyeballs had rolled back so that the pupils were hidden behind the upper lids, and the whites were covered with a murky gray film, beneath which pale blue sclera were visible. Fingernails were absent. The skin on its face, hands, and feet began to slough off, exposing bloody-colored internal tissue. Its legs moved, taking small steps toward the exit. Lifting from the deck, the foot left behind an abundant trail of a semi-liquid consistency, which had been continuously flowing since the skin peeled away. Where the heels had been, bones protruded, resembling those of raptors used for grasping prey. Its right arm was now entirely devoid of skin from the elbow to the fingertips; though what was there now could scarcely be called fingers. It was something more akin to talons, but with webbing. Blood-stained teeth lay on the floor, replaced by a giant tongue with a thousand teeth of its own. This tongue, now several times thicker, began to glide through the air toward the exit. As if replacing eyes, it moved, guided by some scent.

Without hesitation, Captain De Bont slammed the door shut, dogging the hatch. The predatory tongue struck the round viewport of high-strength plastic with monstrous force, leaving a bloody streak.

Without uttering a word, the Captain left the infirmary and moved toward the bow of the Amphibia. He ran past the Control Room, heading for his cabin. From the safe, Luther retrieved a Beretta 92 and hurried back. Reaching the corridor again, he glanced involuntarily to the side. Huddled in the corner on the deck sat Kayla. Her arms were locked around her bent knees, her shoulders trembled, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Captain De Bont returned with a determined stride.

Kayla continued to sob and subconsciously listened to the fading sound of the Captain’s footsteps retreating to the opposite end of the sub. When the footsteps completely died down, she heard the voices of some crew members. The paralyzing shock prevented her from making out the content of the conversation in the infirmary. Soon, the Captain’s exclamation was heard, immediately followed by a deafening crack that made Kayla jump. Then a second. A third. Four shots, which shook the entire sub, were fired so rapidly that they sounded more like an automatic burst. The sound of a closing door was heard. The stomping grew. Soon the figure of Captain De Bont reappeared at the corridor’s entrance.

The commanding officer squatted down and set the Beretta on the deck. There was a clang of steel. The Captain leaned in, trying to speak as gently as possible:

— Miss Fox. Miss Fox, look at me. There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s all over now. Don’t be afraid. The danger is past.

The biologist’s condition hadn’t changed at all. She was still shaking violently. Captain De Bont began rubbing her shoulders with his palms and spoke even more calmly:

— Kayla, listen. Fear is normal. This will pass. I didn’t expect this either. — The Captain recalled that he had strawberry-scented moist wipes on his person. He took one out and began gently wiping the tears from Kayla’s cheeks, trying to keep the wipe as close to her nose as possible so the scent would enter her lungs. He sat down next to her, continuing to gently hold the wipe under her nose. — I’m a military man, and, I confess, I’ve seen many things that the general public isn’t supposed to know about. But even I was on the verge of losing it at the sight of that. What can I say about you? Anyone would be terrified. Some people barely manage to hold it together when they almost crash into oncoming traffic, and you survived this. Now, no bailiffs will ever scare you. Tell me I’m wrong. I’m here with you. Morgan, Hector, Henry — everyone is alive and well. You are not alone. There’s no need to be afraid.

The First Officer approached. Noticing him, the Captain said:

— Find some chocolate and a couple of bananas.

Captain De Bont knew the perfect prescription for lowering heart rate during moments of stress. The pleasant aroma of strawberries, which Kayla was inhaling along with the oxygen, had already significantly reduced her heart rate. By touching her, the Captain could feel that the tremor in her shoulders had already subsided. The bananas and chocolate were intended to amplify and stabilize the effect for a while by directly influencing the body’s chemistry.

— Have you ever fired a weapon?

— Mm-mm — Kayla mumbled a negative through compressed lips.

— Would you like to try?

Kayla did not answer. Her head rested against the Captain’s shoulder. Morgan brought what the Captain had requested, placed it nearby on the deck, and used his facial expression to convey to Captain De Bont that he urgently needed to speak. The Captain motioned for him to wait in the Control Room.

— What’s the situation here? — asked Captain De Bont, stepping into the infirmary.

— You’d better see for yourself — the First Officer replied.

The toothy python was pounding the door’s viewport with such force that three cracks had already appeared in the plastic circle, and it seemed that any moment it would shatter into fragments.

Maintaining his imperturbable composure, Captain De Bont asked the engineer:

— Henry, do we have a welding unit?

— Yes, we do.

— Then find a sheet of metal — something sturdy. Grab the welding unit and seal it up.

Suddenly, to the Captain’s own surprise, Kayla entered the infirmary. She walked over to the table where the microscope, centrifuge, and blood samples were kept. The biologist took the containers with the blood of the creature that had been in Isolation Bay Number Two, then picked up the portable X-ray unit and, with a completely steady gait, retired to her laboratory.

Captain De Bont followed her and, upon entering, said:

— Miss Fox, you seem quite chipper, as I see it. You certainly recover fast.

Setting the X-ray unit down on the table, she said:

— Captain, may I ask a favor of you?

— Take a shot.

Kayla recognized the playful note in the Captain’s voice, but her grimace did not change in the slightest.

— From now on, call me Kayla.

— As you wish, Kayla.

Leaning his hand on the plastic shelving, the Captain asked:

— By all appearances, you know something the rest of us don’t?

This question didn’t faze the biologist in the least. She answered in a firm, calm tone:

— I suddenly realized that Mr. Hughes could only have transformed into that creature in one case — by coming into contact with some pathogen that is poorly studied, with unpredictable consequences. There can be only one source of such a pathogen on our sub. What if he came into contact with that fossil after all, without realizing it? I intend to find out.

— And the X-ray unit?

— I want to connect it to the computer and examine the images enlarged. It’s some information, regardless. Maybe it will yield something.

With narrowed eyes, the Captain assessed Kayla’s expression. Without saying a word, he left the laboratory.

— We’ll wait until this creature moves farther away. We resume our journey in half an hour. Where is Miss Fox? — the Captain asked.

Kayla had approached the infirmary and opened the door to inquire about the paleontologist’s condition. Dr. Kate Moore was not inside. The isolation bay where Tucker lay was secured. Kayla noticed the centrifuge on the table with tubes filled with the patient’s blood samples. Looking around, Kayla entered, trying to do everything as quickly as possible. She jogged to the table for the test tubes when she suddenly noticed that the isolation room door was not fully dogged, and through the crack came an unhealthy, barely audible animal growl. Kayla placed her fingers on the door handle to slightly widen the gap between the frame and the door. That very small gap was enough for her eyes to confirm what was happening. She forgot about the blood sample tubes, bolted from the infirmary, and reflexively jerked her hand, leaving the door wide open.

Morgan and Henry finished welding the infirmary’s viewport, applying a three-millimeter-thick sheet of chrome steel that had previously served as a door covering an electrical panel. Hector continued scrutinizing the enlarged still frames of the video recording. The Captain monitored the instrument readings and sonar data, setting the Amphibia to creep speed. The submarine continued along its planned route.

Two hours later, after the biologist had concluded her analysis of the medical data, Captain De Bont gathered the remaining crew in the Control Room.

— So, today has been an exceptionally difficult day. We’ve lost two colleagues. We’ve encountered an underwater monster and another that has taken up residence right here on board, one that is impervious to lead. It’s clear that many of you would like to consider making adjustments to our future plan of action. But to avoid making hasty decisions in the heat of the moment, we must first understand exactly what we’re dealing with. Let’s hope that Mr. Cage and Ms. Fox can provide some clarity so we can piece together a more complete picture of what happened. As I said, we’re facing two problems, one of which is located right here on our sub. We’ll start with that, I suppose. Kayla, what did you manage to find out?

Standing against the backdrop of the active screen, Kayla began her presentation:

— Most importantly, my fears were confirmed. Mr. Hughes’s blood contains traces of the bacteria that were found in the fossil fragment we recovered. It’s unclear how, where, or when, but he definitively came into contact with the find. — At that moment, Kayla began to rub her earlobe, then cleared her throat. — Once inside the host, these microorganisms began to create copies of themselves. Subsequently, these cellular copies began to interact with Tucker’s cells. The foreign cells contain forty-six chromosomes — twenty-three pairs. Humans have the same number. From the moment these microorganisms began to multiply, their copies, in turn, began to divide, but they formed two haploid cells from one diploid cell. In other words, the chromosome count in the new cells was halved. The same process began in Tucker’s cells. Then his cells and the copies of the foreign bacteria began to merge. The chromatids of the two different organisms fused, and the original number of chromosomes was restored. Thus, new cells with a new DNA emerged. A new organism was formed — a hybrid of a human and some unknown species. — Kayla took a short pause, swallowed the lump in her throat, and continued: — But the interesting thing is that the original ’mother cells’ that created the copies never divided; they remained as they were. They created the copies so that they could merge with the host organism’s cells and modify the environment into one more suitable for them. Once this occurred, they began to feed in this environment, absorbing certain chemical substances that only a living organism can secrete. When the habitat exhausted itself as a food source, the hybrid cells began to live independently, while the mother cells started moving toward the skeleton, passing through bone tissues and penetrating from one bone to another throughout the skeletal structure until they reached areas containing bone marrow. For development, they require a living organism to parasitize and feed upon, but for survival in the absence of food, they require stem cells. These are abundant in bone marrow. Stem cells are immature; they can self-renew, divide, and differentiate into cells for various organs. By gaining access to this environment, these bacteria severely slow down their metabolism, guaranteeing their survival for hundreds of millions — billions — of years. This is why Tucker’s skeleton began to disintegrate. I zoomed in on the X-ray images, and the computer clearly shows microscopic spots in places on the skeleton. The parasite’s mother cells compromised the integrity of the bone tissues, thereby sharply reducing their strength. The fossil we recovered from the ocean floor… it appears it was a part of a skeleton that contained bone marrow, and its former owner was similarly turned into food for these parasites, just like Mr. Hughes.

— This is all very fascinating, of course, — the Captain said, — but tell me, how do we dispose of it? It’s not afraid of gunfire.

— You… — Kayla stammered — you want to kill it?

— Yes, Kayla. I intend to eliminate it. I won’t allow any contagion to roam freely on this vessel. So, speak your mind.

Taking a breath, Kayla replied:

— As I mentioned, the skeleton fragment we discovered most likely had bone marrow inside. In this way, the pathogen provided itself with stem cells, which allowed it to slow its metabolism. The bacteria essentially «froze.» But they didn’t leave the skeleton because that’s how they preserve their existence. To exist outside of living matter, they need oxygen. Perhaps some component of the air. I can’t say for sure. But it’s known that the absence of air is lethal for them. Most likely, this suggests these microorganisms are adapted for a terrestrial environment. I placed several samples in a vacuum chamber. They ceased activity, and when I repressurized the air, nothing changed. They died.

Realizing that this problem would require prolonged analysis for a solution, Captain De Bont let out a deep sigh:

— Well, alright. Mr. Cage. What can you tell us?

— In short, my assumptions have been further substantiated. In one of the still frames, I observed an impressive fin on our fish, positioned almost above its head. It is not a Basilosaurus.

— Mr. Cage, my question for you is the same as for your colleague. I am not interested in the unique local fauna. I need to know the weaknesses of this…

The Captain’s speech was interrupted by the First Officer’s drawn-out scream:

— CAPTAIN!

Morgan’s voice was immediately replaced by the sharp signal sounds of the sonar:

Ping! Ping! Ping!..