by Finn Black
‘Or it could be the next clue to discovering the ancient city of Lemuria! What do you think, Dad?’ Ant looked at Will hopefully.
Will donned his reading glasses to look at the symbols and walked around the Circlotron for a few moments, stroking his chin in thought. Will had dedicated his entire life to researching the lost, ancient civilisation of Lemuria, and no one knew more on the subject than him.
‘The symbols are definitely Lemurian,’ he admitted. ‘Are you sure this is going to work, Ant?’
‘Come on, Dad! When has anything I’ve done ever gone wrong?’ said Ant. Will drew breath to speak. ‘Actually, don’t answer that! This is totally going to work.’
Will and Kaiko looked at each other and shrugged.
‘Let’s do it!’
Will fetched some tools and managed to bend a piece of metal to fit the shape of the keyhole. Ant scooped up the Circlotron into the palm of his hand. Then, shaking with excitement, he took the key and slid it into the Circlotron. He turned it and to his surprise there was no resistance – it smoothly went round. From deep inside the Circlotron they could hear a series of whirrs and cracks and clicks. Cogs which had laid unused for centuries began to move. He felt a judder travel through his hand as the device buzzed into life.
‘Nektons,’ said Ant with an air of drama, ‘meet the Circlotron.’ The ball hummed and whirred and suddenly a shaft of white light shot out from the top, making Ant almost drop it – almost.
‘Whoa!’ said Fontaine.
‘Yes! It worked!’ Ant held out the Circlotron. He could feel its energy pulsing through him. Will and Kaiko moved out of the way of the beam, shielding their eyes.
‘Aargh! Put it down!’ shouted Fontaine, dazzled by the light. ‘Did you find an ancient Lemurian flashlight?’
‘What? No! Whatever this is, it’s way more important than a flashlight.’ Ant placed the Circlotron carefully on the floor. The light seemed to settle and point upwards, through the observation window and into the night sky. The beam moved wildly west to east.
‘Really? Because it looks like a flashlight,’ said Fontaine, not even trying to hide a yawn. ‘I’ll be in my room …’
Ant stared at the light and the path it cut into the sky. Whatever this was, he knew it was essential to understanding the Lemurians. He could feel it in his bones. He looked up at the light and tried to track where the line was pointing. Suddenly –
‘Oh. Oh, whoa! I think … I think I know …’ Ant stumbled over his words as a hundred thoughts hit him at once. ‘I think I know what it does!’
Still holding the Circlotron in the palm of his hand, Ant rushed to a control panel to note down the current coordinates of the Aronnax and started to do some mental calculations. He grabbed a tablet computer and brought up a map of their position. Yes! he thought. It fits!
As the beam of light moved, it was drawing a straight line through the black pit of space, highlighting several stars along its path. ‘I’ve got it! We’re travelling towards the equator, which is to the south, here,’ he said, pointing to the on-screen map. ‘Look at the line the light is pointing to. The Circlotron must be tracking the celestial equator!’
‘Remarkable,’ said Will.
‘You’re right! Very clever, Ant!’ said Kaiko. She gave her son a hug. Fontaine looked at her family and shrugged.
‘I don’t get it,’ she said. ‘What’s the big deal?’
‘It’s –’ began Will.
‘Dad, allow me,’ said Ant with a grin. ‘I don’t mind explaining to my sister.’
Fontaine rolled her eyes, but she was listening.
Ant paced across the floor as he explained. ‘The celestial equator is just like it says. The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth, right? Well, the celestial equator is an imaginary line across the night sky.’
‘Er … right,’ said Fontaine.
‘Say you got a rubber band and stretched it around the world,’ he said.
‘That’s a pretty big rubber band!’ Fontaine laughed.
‘Well, if you keep stretching it outwards, that’s the celestial equator. The Circlotron is tracking it and projecting it on to the sky. Look!’ Ant pointed to the bright beam of light. ‘See how that glowing white line runs through the constellations? Right above us, the line goes straight through Mintaka – the rightmost star in Orion’s Belt!’
Fontaine nodded, finally grasping the concept.
‘I … I suppose that’s pretty cool …’ she mumbled. Ant leaped up again and Will ruffled his hair.
‘Good job, son,’ he said. ‘You’ve been studying the stars, haven’t you?’
‘A little,’ Ant shrugged modestly. In truth, he had been reading up on constellations and astronomy for months. ‘I just thought that the more I understood about how the skies and the oceans connect, the closer we might get to discovering where Lemuria is located.’
‘Great thinking,’ nodded Will. ‘After all, we know that the ancient Lemurians used the stars as their guide across the seas. It could be that the Circlotron – love the name, by the way – is an ancient piece of Lemurian maritime equipment.’
Ant smiled. Finding the lost city of Lemuria was the Nekton family’s mission, and Ant loved doing anything he could to help. He stared into the night sky, daydreaming about finally finding Lemuria. He was smugly congratulating himself on his discovery when –
WOOP WOOP WOOP!
The shrill sound made Ant jump. A call was coming through, the Aronnax’s monitors flashing red. He placed the Circlotron back down and the whirring sound from within stopped. The cogs inside ground to a halt and the light faded. Ant went to his position on the bridge, where Kaiko and Will were already in their seats.
‘It’s an emergency call from the Worldwide Oceanic Association!’ said Will. ‘They need our help – now!’
LOOK OUT FOR MORE ADVENTURES FROM
OUT NOW!
THE DEEP: STICKER ACTIVITY BOOK
The Nekton family are on a mission to shine light on the darkest extremes of the ocean. Packed with super submersibles, astonishing sea creatures and breathtaking Lemurian mysteries, this sticker activity book will take you on all the amazing aquatic adventures of The Deep!
THE DEEP: THE OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
Explore the depths of the captivating world of The Deep with this official handbook, the must-have companion to the hit TV series! It’s packed with never-seen-before material, including in-depth profiles of all your favourite characters and behind-the-scenes stories that have inspired episodes. Discover the secrets of Lemuria and watch out for pirates along the way!
LOOK OUT FOR MORE ADVENTURES FROM
COMING IN 2019!
BLOOMSBURY CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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This electronic edition published in 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY CHILDREN’S BOOKS and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
These books are based on the multi-award-winning television series THE DEEP, produced by DHX Media and A Stark Production. Technicolor Creative Services is the primary rights holder. THE DEEP series is based on the original graphic novels created by Tom Taylor and James Brouwer
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ISBN: 978-1-4088-9875-8 (PB)
IS
BN: 978-1-4088-9876-5 (eBook)
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