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"The Last Days of Submergia"
Oct. 13th, 2022 06:45 pm"The Last Days of Submergia"
3/25-3/26/2018
I.
"The irony is so strong that I even understand it," said Demrak Jin. "Me, inside a submarine. Heh." The small Gelydran woman stood by the front viewport with her arms folded, staring out into the dark waters lit by brilliant beams from the SELKIE. Huge fish loomed up in that illumination, only to dart away again instantly. They were one hundred yards below the surface of the Pacific, out past the furthermost islands of the Hawaiian chain. Jin seemed amused at her own reaction. She was not pretty by conventional standards, having a flat sullen face with its pug nose and cloudy blue eyes. Her shock of stiff white hair bristled as if touched by static electricity. But the Gelydra had a charisma that made her the center of attention wherever she went. Her strange outfit of some rough-textured grey material, long-sleeved high-collared tunic and pants tied with thongs, added to the visual impact she made.
Coming up behind her with a paper cup of coffee, Galvan loomed a full foot taller over her five feet three. In his more mundane clothing, jeans and sneakers and tight khaki T-shirt, he was an imposing V-shaped mass of hard well-defined muscle with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. The giant Melgar gently placed a hand on Jin's shoulder, and the hand and her head were nearly the same size. "Hah, little shark! You must aching to be out there, swimming on your own, circling around this slow clunky shuttle?"
"Oh, do I EVER!" she scoffed. "But these years working with the team have finally taught me a little patience. I'm surprised at myself but I think I can wait for the right moment to plunge out there where I belong."
The interior of the SELKIE 's every available inch was taken up with dials and gauges, as well as access panels that held cryptic numbers or jumbles of letters. The arched ceiling was not high enough for Galvan to stand fully upright, he had gotten used to crouching or holding his head bent forward. Under their feet, the throb of powerful engines could be felt as the rear jets shot water behind them for propulsion. Turning away from the viewport, Demrak Jin glanced up at her lover of the past two years. "How close is this domed city now?"
"The pilot said it'll be in sight within a few minutes," came a husky female voice from behind them. Both turned to see Jocelyn Garmara approach. Their team leader was a slim young woman with the smooth dark brown skin and thick glossy hair of her Aboriginal tribe. Wearing the black field suit with its high boots, snug pants and waist-length jacket, she looked confident and professional. "I'm anxious to get there myself. This trip has made me a touch claustrophobic."
Galvan shrugged his massive shoulders. With his full head of dark brown hair and well-tended short beard, he had a rugged, reassuring look to him. More than once, people had compared him to a lumberjack. The deep, self-assured voice added to the effect. "Ah, even when we are inside Submergia, we'll still be at the bottom of the sea with tons of water overhead, captain."
As Jocelyn made a non-commital grunt in reply, one of the scientists approached from the rear of the craft. Behind the bulkhead at their rear was the engine room and cargo holds, where he had been making sure everything was fastened securely. This was Dr Raul Rivera of the University at Mexico City, a surprisingly young man with thick-lensed glasses perched on a sharply-beaked nose. "Hey there," he sang out. "The pilot wants us sitting down when we dock. It's usually pretty smooth but there might be some bumps and thumps, one never knows." He reached out to take Demrak Jin by one arm and immediately snatched his hand away. "Ow!"
The small white-haired woman glanced up at him. "My clothing is made of sharkhide. It is abrasive."
"I'll say!" Dr Rivera stuck a bleeding finger in his mouth. "Sorry. Can you three strap yourself down on that bench over there, please?"
Galvan and Jocelyn complied, lowering themselves to a shallow metal bench and pulling on the restraint straps across their torsos. But Jin hesitated. "Look! There it is!" She pointed through the thick plexiglass window down to where the famous Submergia sat on a rocky ledge. Three hundred yards across, the facility was enclosed by a clear dome that was not a single unbroken surface but which was made of reinforced segments which included several access ports and a thick upward tube evidently for venting gases. Under the dome, a number of small one-story structures stood interconnected in a symmetrical layout. Coming out to watch the SELKIE's approach were twenty people wearing loose jumpsuits of pastel beige, baby blue or light green. From where they sat on the bench, both Jocelyn and Galvan could survey the advanced research facility. "Amazing," the big Melgar muttered. "The audacity of Humans always impresses me. You have climbed every mountain, walked on the Moon, crossed the worst deserts and reached both Poles. And now you dare to live in the ocean depths."
"Oh, this isn't the deepest part of the ocean by any means," Dr Rivera laughed. "We won't even try to build in the Marianas Trench for another generation. Submergia is located deep enough for research but not so deep that we can't evacuate in our emergency shuttles if necessary."
Still standing, not making any move toward joining her teammates on the bench, Jin gave a derisive snort. "Ulgor stands many miles deep and does not hide behind such protection as that glass bubble. My realm is deep below the surface, where the War Squid thrive and light comes only from the green powder."
"Ummm... okay. I'm not sure what you mean by all that, miss." Rivera pointed at a wide rectangular port projecting from the side of the dome, its outer end open to the water. "That's the airlock where we'll be entering."
Gazing out at the research facility, Jocelyn shook her head. "There is more of the unexplained here than you had expected."
"I'm afraid so," answered the scientist in a low tone. "Those sightings of naked blue men outside the dome... with no diving suit or equipment, angrily staring in.... Everyone is distraught over that."
( the rest of the story )
3/25-3/26/2018
I.
"The irony is so strong that I even understand it," said Demrak Jin. "Me, inside a submarine. Heh." The small Gelydran woman stood by the front viewport with her arms folded, staring out into the dark waters lit by brilliant beams from the SELKIE. Huge fish loomed up in that illumination, only to dart away again instantly. They were one hundred yards below the surface of the Pacific, out past the furthermost islands of the Hawaiian chain. Jin seemed amused at her own reaction. She was not pretty by conventional standards, having a flat sullen face with its pug nose and cloudy blue eyes. Her shock of stiff white hair bristled as if touched by static electricity. But the Gelydra had a charisma that made her the center of attention wherever she went. Her strange outfit of some rough-textured grey material, long-sleeved high-collared tunic and pants tied with thongs, added to the visual impact she made.
Coming up behind her with a paper cup of coffee, Galvan loomed a full foot taller over her five feet three. In his more mundane clothing, jeans and sneakers and tight khaki T-shirt, he was an imposing V-shaped mass of hard well-defined muscle with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. The giant Melgar gently placed a hand on Jin's shoulder, and the hand and her head were nearly the same size. "Hah, little shark! You must aching to be out there, swimming on your own, circling around this slow clunky shuttle?"
"Oh, do I EVER!" she scoffed. "But these years working with the team have finally taught me a little patience. I'm surprised at myself but I think I can wait for the right moment to plunge out there where I belong."
The interior of the SELKIE 's every available inch was taken up with dials and gauges, as well as access panels that held cryptic numbers or jumbles of letters. The arched ceiling was not high enough for Galvan to stand fully upright, he had gotten used to crouching or holding his head bent forward. Under their feet, the throb of powerful engines could be felt as the rear jets shot water behind them for propulsion. Turning away from the viewport, Demrak Jin glanced up at her lover of the past two years. "How close is this domed city now?"
"The pilot said it'll be in sight within a few minutes," came a husky female voice from behind them. Both turned to see Jocelyn Garmara approach. Their team leader was a slim young woman with the smooth dark brown skin and thick glossy hair of her Aboriginal tribe. Wearing the black field suit with its high boots, snug pants and waist-length jacket, she looked confident and professional. "I'm anxious to get there myself. This trip has made me a touch claustrophobic."
Galvan shrugged his massive shoulders. With his full head of dark brown hair and well-tended short beard, he had a rugged, reassuring look to him. More than once, people had compared him to a lumberjack. The deep, self-assured voice added to the effect. "Ah, even when we are inside Submergia, we'll still be at the bottom of the sea with tons of water overhead, captain."
As Jocelyn made a non-commital grunt in reply, one of the scientists approached from the rear of the craft. Behind the bulkhead at their rear was the engine room and cargo holds, where he had been making sure everything was fastened securely. This was Dr Raul Rivera of the University at Mexico City, a surprisingly young man with thick-lensed glasses perched on a sharply-beaked nose. "Hey there," he sang out. "The pilot wants us sitting down when we dock. It's usually pretty smooth but there might be some bumps and thumps, one never knows." He reached out to take Demrak Jin by one arm and immediately snatched his hand away. "Ow!"
The small white-haired woman glanced up at him. "My clothing is made of sharkhide. It is abrasive."
"I'll say!" Dr Rivera stuck a bleeding finger in his mouth. "Sorry. Can you three strap yourself down on that bench over there, please?"
Galvan and Jocelyn complied, lowering themselves to a shallow metal bench and pulling on the restraint straps across their torsos. But Jin hesitated. "Look! There it is!" She pointed through the thick plexiglass window down to where the famous Submergia sat on a rocky ledge. Three hundred yards across, the facility was enclosed by a clear dome that was not a single unbroken surface but which was made of reinforced segments which included several access ports and a thick upward tube evidently for venting gases. Under the dome, a number of small one-story structures stood interconnected in a symmetrical layout. Coming out to watch the SELKIE's approach were twenty people wearing loose jumpsuits of pastel beige, baby blue or light green. From where they sat on the bench, both Jocelyn and Galvan could survey the advanced research facility. "Amazing," the big Melgar muttered. "The audacity of Humans always impresses me. You have climbed every mountain, walked on the Moon, crossed the worst deserts and reached both Poles. And now you dare to live in the ocean depths."
"Oh, this isn't the deepest part of the ocean by any means," Dr Rivera laughed. "We won't even try to build in the Marianas Trench for another generation. Submergia is located deep enough for research but not so deep that we can't evacuate in our emergency shuttles if necessary."
Still standing, not making any move toward joining her teammates on the bench, Jin gave a derisive snort. "Ulgor stands many miles deep and does not hide behind such protection as that glass bubble. My realm is deep below the surface, where the War Squid thrive and light comes only from the green powder."
"Ummm... okay. I'm not sure what you mean by all that, miss." Rivera pointed at a wide rectangular port projecting from the side of the dome, its outer end open to the water. "That's the airlock where we'll be entering."
Gazing out at the research facility, Jocelyn shook her head. "There is more of the unexplained here than you had expected."
"I'm afraid so," answered the scientist in a low tone. "Those sightings of naked blue men outside the dome... with no diving suit or equipment, angrily staring in.... Everyone is distraught over that."
( the rest of the story )
