She cleared her throat and waited for Samuels to take his station.
"My ancestor, Roderick Deveroux Heirthall, was the first to discover what I am about to reveal to you."
Tyler looked from Samuels to Heirthall. His features were twisted and ugly.
"Captain, I ask you not to do this," the sergeant said, taking what everyone thought was a menacing step toward Heirthall. "These people won't understand. No one will."
"Sergeant Tyler," Alexandria said, looking fatigued, "you are relieved. Report to your quarters, and inform security to stand down." She steadied herself against the sill of the observation window.
Tyler abruptly turned to the hatchway and then out of the compartment, roughly brushing by Samuels. His security team quickly followed him.
Heirthall nodded and Samuels closed the hatch. She rubbed the back of her head, then shook her head as she advanced toward the glass where Niles was standing.
"Now." She looked up at Compton, who stood challengingly before her. "I believe we are at a point in the trench system where we can begin to answer some of your questions, Dr. Compton." She reached into her pocket and brought out a small bottle of pills. Without looking, she turned the bottle up, and shook two pills into her mouth, and dry-swallowed them. "Then I will tell you the reason why you are here."
Alexandria nodded toward Samuels, who moved to the control chair and threw a switch. The protective shields of the massive observation windows began to part. To the Event Group it was as if they were looking deep into the darkest void in the entire world. As their eyes started adjusting to that blackness, they began to see the swirl of unnatural colors surrounding the bow of the giant vessel. A glow of bluish-green light extended outward to almost to sixty feet, showing a sight that no man outside the crew of Leviathan had ever seen before.
"The combination of helium, hydrogen, and our electrical field is what you are seeing. In essence, the field is assisting in pushing back the very pressures of the sea, actually forming a bubble of depressurized water around our compressed hull." Alexandria again had to hold on tightly to the sill in order to keep her balance, but she continued, as she knew her time in control was short. "Even though the pressure of the abyss is still seeping through, it is controlled, being held at bay by the combination of our electrical field and Leviathan's composite design. Dr. Compton, if you will, go forward and touch the observation window, please."
Niles stepped toward the acrylic window and then looked back at Heirthall, who nodded for him to continue. He placed his fingers against the glass and felt the extreme coldness. Then, to his surprise, the glass was soft and pliable under his touch.
"The entire composite matrix of Leviathan has been altered. We are not fighting the pressure of the deep so much as we have become a part of it."
Alexandria nodded at Samuels, who hit a switch and spoke into a hidden microphone.
"Conn, this is Commander Samuels. Bring the exterior lighting to one hundred percent, please. Helm, dead slow."
"Aye, Commander, slowing to two knots, floodlights coming on at full illumination."
"I tell you this not to explain the dynamics of Leviathan, but rather to show you just how extreme an environment we are in, and the magic of what this environment holds."
At that time, Henri Farbeaux, assisted by the doctor, entered the observation lounge carrying his robe bundled in one arm. Henri placed the crutch he was using against the conference table and then sat. The doctor seemed interested in what was happening and moved to the side of the compartment. Farbeaux, for his part, looked at Collins and gave a slight nod of his head. Jack understood that Henri had come across something in sickbay.
As the Event Group tuned toward the large and expansive windows, the deep sea opened up around them and the blackest night became day. There were audible gasps from Alice and Sarah.
"My God," was all Niles Compton could utter.
The view of the depths showed the far southern wall of the Mariana Trench. There were crags and ridges common to undersea ranges, but interspersed in the wall were small holes. Billions of them, each hole aligned with its neighbor. Lined up straight in many rows, they looked ancient to the eyes of the Group, as though excavated a million years before. Samuels hit another control, and the center viewing window glazed over and then magnified the wall of the trench at one of its many bends. Then the engineering of the openings became apparent. They were actually small arches that could never have been created naturally by the currents and tides of the ocean.
"It looks like the Anasazi Indian ruins of the Southwest," Sarah said as she recognized the high arches of the small excavations.
"Exactly what my great-great-grandfather said when he first saw them in eighteen fifty-three, only in the much shallower waters off of Venezuela. James, you may order all-ahead standard for the next ten minutes until we reach" — she smiled as she looked back at Collins and the others—"the grounds."
"Aye, Captain," Samuels said as he relayed the order, allowing the Group to feel the minute acceleration of Leviathan.
Alexandria noticed that the doctor and Farbeaux had joined them. Her attention stayed on Trevor for a moment, enough time to make him feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Doctor, it is fortuitous that you are here. Please explain to Ginny my diagnosis. She seems worried that I am not myself."
Trevor swallowed, but didn't move from his position against the bulkhead. He uncrossed his arms and looked at the many people looking his way. He had no choice but to explain the captain's illness.
"Captain Heirthall's disease is hereditary and one that causes severe cramping, possible blood clots, and hemorrhaging inside the brain. Naturally, all of this places immense pressure on the captain and may cause episodes of severe mood swings, even schizophrenic behavior. I will tell you, since obviously the captain has not, this illness is fatal; all of her family has succumbed to it. It's mostly developed in females, thus they succumb at a much younger age."
"For the most part you have described Osler's disease, Dr. Trevor," Collins said, looking at Farbeaux, who returned the look with mild surprise. "One of the symptoms you described is not listed in her family history as being a part of Osler's."
Trevor looked from Jack to Heirthall, who was watching him closely. He cleared his throat. "And that is?"
"There is no history of schizophrenia attached to the description of the illness," Collins said, waiting for a reaction. There was none because Heirthall continued talking as though his comment regarding her illness had never been made. If this was done intentionally Jack didn't know. However, he did observe Heirthall's gaze linger for an extra moment on Trevor.
"My compliments, Colonel, your research justifies my suspicion that your Group knew more about my family than my crew believed. Now please, all of you take a seat. We have much to discuss, and I'm sure after I have finished, you will have more questions," Alexandria said, cutting the doctor's explanation off before it started.
As they sat, they all could see that Alexandria was functioning much better with all of the pain medication, although her eyes were hazy and unfocused. It was a testament to her will power.
"I need to ask some questions of you first. Senator Lee, whose knowledge in natural history is far beyond most, is a good person to start with, since his hatred for me is so hard to hide."
There was no protest of innocence from the senator; only a stern countenance as he waited.
"Answer quickly, Senator, and keep your answers to one or two words if you will. The first answer that comes into your mind — are you ready?" she asked as she looked from Lee to the others around the large table.
"Fire away, Captain," Lee said as he patted Alice on her hand, trying to tell her he would keep his cool.
"Excellent. Answer 'true' or 'false' to these questions about the Event Group's vast archives."
"If it's games you would like to play, have at it, young lady — especially if it keeps you from killing."
"Flying saucers?" Al
exandria asked, ignoring the senator's comment.
Lee smiled knowingly. "True."
"A large animal in Loch Ness?"
"Once true, but no longer. The species finally went extinct during World War Two."
Ryan and Mendenhall looked at Alice at the same time and with the same question etched on their faces. She only nodded her head.
"Bigfoot?" Alexandria asked quickly, trying not to give the senator time to think.
"No hard evidence — false."
"Yeti?"
"Again, no credible evidence — false."
"Mermaids?"
"Myth, fairy tale — false."
"Wrong. True," Heirthall said, shocking the Group.
Everyone in the room looked over at the captain of Leviathan, confirming beyond anyone's doubts that she had lost her mind.
"You did very well, Senator; three out of four."
"What sort of nonsense is this?" Lee asked, looking angry at being played for a fool.
"A bit melodramatic, I agree; however, it was just too tempting, Senator. The excavations you have just seen were accomplished by a life form that predates our human existence by twenty-three million years — give or take a millennium."
"Mermaids, please," Ryan said, looking the smallest bit hopeful.
"That's just what my ancestor referred to them as. He was a mystical man, after all. He first thought they were angels that had come to take him to a better place — so what is more fanciful, angels or mermaids? They actually saved him from sure death when he escaped a French prison."
"The Chateau d'If," Farbeaux said aloud.
"Yes, the very same. He would have drowned upon his escape, but a group of what we now know as symbiants saved him. He was lucky, as this group of small symbiants was no longer indigenous to the Atlantic. They accidentally came upon Roderick Deveroux, the father of Octavian Heirthall, the man who built the first Leviathan."
"You call them symbiants. Why?" Compton asked.
Alexandria lowered her head and then paced to the observation window.
"Because they can live inside of a human host," Farbeaux answered for her, finally speaking up from his chair.
"Score one for you, Henri," Jack said, nodding in the Frenchman's direction.
"When Roderick Deveroux discovered them," the Frenchman continued, looking from Collins to Alexandria, "they were a dying species. At only four to five feet long, and grown from an octopuslike body, like a cocoon, they were formally known as Octopiheirthollis."
"Impressive, Colonel Farbeaux," Alexandria said, looking not at Henri but Dr. Trevor. "Continue, by all means." Her eyes flicked to Commander Samuels, who nodded once and then moved his attention to Trevor.
"They eventually shed their outer shell. They are like us in skeletal structure, but that is where the resemblance ends. They have a clear membrane they use as an outer skin, gelatinous to our eyes. They live in the deepest part of our seas. One of the last known areas, outside of the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, was in the Mediterranean. That was why Leviathan was there during the Atlantis incident that nearly claimed the life of Colonel Collins, much to my personal horror."
"The children," Jack said, more to himself than to anyone in particular.
"Yes, the children," Heirthall said, turning away from the window where she had been listening. "You must explain to me your vast knowledge on the subject, Colonel Farbeaux."
Henri unwrapped his robe and tossed the book-sized medical chart and history onto the table. He opened it, pulled one sheet of paper out, and passed it to Jack. The colonel read it, then placed it in his pocket.
"I'm what you would call a speed reader, Captain. You'll forgive my inquisitive nature. Colonel Collins, I have done my part."
"That you have, Colonel," Jack said.
"I think I understand," Virginia said, wanting to approach her old friend but staying well back. "They are symbiant with the human children, two beings living in the same body — you've taken them from the seas to protect them."
"My Ginny, you see, don't you? All of the small children onboard are the last of the Gulf of Mexico young."
"That's why the strenuous attacks on Venezuela and Texas City?" Lee asked.
"Yes. That is why we will continue attacking until the gulf is emptied of production platforms and all oil facilities. There can be no negotiation on that point. Now for the hardest truth of all — the midshipmen, the teenagers onboard, used to live right outside of these windows. They are the very last of these marvelous creatures from the trench. Only a few adults remain here. The very first of their kind."
"Where did you get the human element for this cross-breeding?" Niles asked.
"They are throwaways, Dr. Compton — children that your world could not, or would not, save. Third-world, dying children; starving, disease-ridden, saved by us — saved by the introduction of symbiants into their systems. They both use each other to live. When they grow too large, other hosts will be found for the syms. The midshipmen have the eldest of the young inside of them, but they must be removed soon, or both will die. The syms are starting to grow beyond the human brain's capacity to hold them."
"What gives you the right to take children against their will?" Virginia demanded.
"I saved them; my ancestors saved them, just like we are still saving them… not from natural extinction, but from the human element of this planet. The trillion tons of pollution you have sent into the seas from petroleum and the fall of acid rain are killing this life form."
Just as she stopped talking, the hatchway opened, and the young woman they knew as Yeoman Alvera stepped inside. She looked from person to person until her eyes settled upon Dr. Trevor. Then her gaze wandered to Henri Farbeaux.
"Why have you left your station in control, Yeoman?" Samuels asked.
"It's all right, James; part of her knows she's home. Allow her in," Alexandria said. "Come here, Felicia."
They watched as Alvera slowly approached Heirthall. Once standing before her, Alexandria turned the young girl to face them, keeping her hands on her small shoulders.
"Yeoman Alvera is from Nicaragua. I found her fourteen years ago in a small village where she had just witnessed the execution of her parents by a death squad. When a shore excursion found her, she was starving to death. Dr. Trevor saw a long and painful recovery for her. I ordered one of the symbiants placed inside of her, where it wrapped around her cerebral cortex. She recovered quickly after that." She gestured for the girl to look at Niles. "Tell Dr. Compton about being host to the symbiant."
As Collins watched the scene play out before them, he caught sight of Everett. They both saw that the visage and demeanor of the young yeoman had changed. She no longer looked innocent and sweet at all.
"Can you control this… this… thing?" Niles asked.
"The question is moot, Doctor — neither one controls the other. I and my symbiant are merely sharing the same body. We share knowledge and learn together."
Farbeaux looked from the girl to Dr. Trevor, watching and gauging his reaction to the lie that was being presented to the Americans. Henri saw that the girl was starting to make the doctor uncomfortable.
"Are you saying each one of the children we saw being brought aboard are hosts to one of those… syms?" Mendenhall asked.
"Yes, just like all of my crewmen you have seen, they all at one time were hosts to their own symbiant, at least until their life spans ran their course."
"That's why they are so fiercely loyal to you and your cause," Collins said as he turned and walked back to Sarah.
"Your perception is accurate, Colonel."
"But why destroy the vaults at the Group complex when you would have eventually told us anyway?"
"It wasn't only the Leviathan vault, Dr. Compton, it was the vault below it I was really after. It was that damnable relic stolen from my family by P. T. Barnum more than a hundred and eighty years ago. It was purely selfish on my part, but no trace of the syms can be left behind." Heirthall leaned
down and kissed the top of Yeoman Alvera's head.
Samuels cleared his throat and nodded to the observation windows.
Alexandria closed her eyes and gestured for Samuels to commence.
"Please cover your ears. A few of you may feel some discomfort, but it will pass in a moment."
Yeoman Alvera pulled away from Heirthall, almost as if she was being held against her will, and then she faced the glass expectantly.
"Officer of the deck, this is the first officer. Begin the tones," he said into the microphone embedded into the large chair.
"Aye, Commander, tones have been initiated."
Before the orders were confirmed from below, Alice, Everett, Lee, and Mendenhall placed their hands over their ears as a soundless tone penetrated into their brain through the ear canal.
"Okay, that hurts… uh… really… it hurts," Mendenhall said as he leaned into Jason Ryan.
"The tones are used to call the syms. It resembles their own style of speech and can carry up to a hundred miles. This is what led to my family's understanding of whale song."
The tones stopped, and Alice was the only one who had to sit, feeling sick to her stomach.
"Oh, God," Virginia said, looking through the glass.
All eyes turned in that direction, and then one by one the Event Group slowly approached the large windows as Leviathan came to a complete stop at the deepest part of the trench.
"Conn, lower exterior lighting to twenty-five percent power," Samuels ordered. Then he too advanced to see the wonder of the entire world.
"Beautiful." Ryan was the first to react.
The adult symbiants came out of the darkness. They had long ago shed the protective shell of octopuslike armor and were in their final form, as they would remain for the rest of their lives.
The tails, shaped like maple leaves, gently pushed them through the water toward the humans staring at them from their strange environment. They had small, thin legs that extended through the tail like veins, ending in tiny humanlike feet that exited the tail at its sides. There were discharges of internal electricity that coursed through the tail, pulsating soft pink and light blue in blood veins and arteries far different from that of man. The center of the tail radiated a soft greenish color, pulsing as their small hearts beat at the center of their chests, which could be seen through the clear membrane of their outer skin.
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