The Depths

by Nick Thacker

  “I thought so. It’s unnatural. You fall—even at a run—and you’re pretty much going to go only as far out as a human can jump, within reason. And I don’t think our buddy here was much of a long-jumper.”

  “Don’t be crass, Nelson,” Jen said. “We get it.”

  She paused, and said a silent prayer for Dr. Pavan. “You think he was pushed off this cliff.”

  “Actually, no,” he said. “It’s still too far.”

  Jen looked at him.

  “I think he was thrown.”

  Chapter 35

  JEN WAS IN A RAGE.

  She couldn’t feel much, yet she could feel everything. It was a confused blur of activity in her mind; a whirlwind of splashing colors.

  No one said anything as they walked back to the fork in the paths and to the lower levels. They didn’t slow down as they approached the opening to Level Nine: Rue Verte.

  Again, Jen heard the hum of machinery and felt the gentle shake as they they emerged onto the floor of Level Nine. She followed the others from the cave’s exit to a building that sat nearby.

  The level was seemingly bare, with only a few buildings sprinkled throughout the surface area, so they assumed that the hum and shaking must be coming from an even lower level. At the center of the level, a large rock formation extended from the floor straight upwards, where it seemed to taper to a point just before meeting the ceiling.

  They didn’t stop to look around.

  When Jen wondered how they’d get from one level to the next, Nelson pointed across the floor to a lit balcony and two sets of metal stairs. The stairs went down as well as up to adjacent levels.

  “Listen up,” Carter said. “We can’t mull over this right now; there’s no time. Mark Adams is somewhere in the station, and there are now two fully hostile groups after us.”

  “Carter, what does that mean? That they would throw him off the cliff?” Erik asked.

  “I don’t know, but we must assume it means they’re capable of rational thought. It’s unlikely they were provoked—Dr. Pavan wouldn’t have tried anything on his own. But it still means that we’re on a ‘shoot to kill’ basis with all of them.”

  “There’s nothing here, boss,” Saunders said. Jen hadn’t even noticed her missing, but the fit woman was returning around the far edge of the building, apparently having scoped out the level.

  “Okay, but we need to keep our eyes open as we get across the floor. Saunders, watch our six, and Nelson, keep an eye out for our flanks. I’ll take point.”

  They moved quickly, and Jen and Erik had to run to keep up. They made it across the level—the diameter was about half as long as Level Four—in less than a minute, and stopped at the stairs.

  “Take the stairs down, but go slow.” Their boots clanged on the stairs, and Jen tried to move delicately over the aluminum grating. Their sneaking was worthless, as her ears were soon overwhelmed by the same hum that had entered the caves earlier. It was much louder now and almost deafening.

  The hum was a dull roar, and the shake that accompanied it chattered her teeth.

  “What is that?” she yelled. She could barely hear the sound of her own voice over the din.

  “No idea,” Carter shouted back.

  Jen followed them down and came to a set of metal doors that were closed, locked from the inside, and labeled “QUARANTINE.” The red letters, chipped and beginning to fade, had been painted on at an angle, stretching almost completely across the two doors.

  Below the painted letters, barely visible, was a small placard fixed to the right-hand door. It too was fading, and it looked like the sign’s designation had been scratched out. Erik read the small sign aloud. “Level Ten: Rue Or.”

  Jen frowned, remembering the name from the map on the main level. It was French, meaning “Gold Road,” but the sign wasn’t correct. Jen recognized what the sign signified, but wondered why it didn’t read “Level Ten: Rue d’Or,” as proper French would have required. Who made these signs? It was an oddity, but it apparently wasn’t worth pondering. Carter spoke from behind Jen.

  “Keep moving. We’re not getting inside these doors. They’ve been sealed shut from the outside.”

  Their eyes looked at the edges of the doors, and Jen could see a line of melted and hardened metal between the door and the frame, where a crack should have been. It stretched completely around the doors, floor to ceiling. Someone had welded the doors shut, literally making them a solid metal wall connected to the surrounding architecture.

  They descended the final flight of stairs and exited onto Level Eleven’s main floor. Jen stepped onto the concrete in front of the stairs, looked up, and her jaw dropped.

  Chapter 36

  “LEVEL ELEVEN: RUE MARRON” WAS painted in stenciled letters on the open metal doors. Jen saw it as they passed through. Level Eleven: Brown Road.

  Her eyes were drawn quickly to the clustered machines and small buildings huddled around the center of the circular level.

  The level’s main floor seemed massive, though it was in fact much smaller than the expansive Level Four and the other upper levels. It had the appearance of an abandoned warehouse, where years of abandoned machinery and equipment lay strewn about and caused ceiling-high clutter. The level was abandoned, but clearly still active—the hum they’d heard earlier had escalated to a roar, and the vibration was now almost to earthquake proportions.

  The buildings were situated haphazardly along a circular road that ran around the circumference of the level, and all were placed according to their use: “Geothermal Desalination” and “DOW Condensation” and a huge water tank were grouped together to their left, and “Geothermal Intake” and three other buildings right behind it were to the right.

  But it was the massive structure the other buildings encircled that caught their attention most.

  Situated dead-center in the middle of the level was an inverted cone-shaped machine that dwarfed the buildings around it. It stretched from the ceiling—possibly even through the ceiling—and down into the ground. Jen realized the cone must continue down through the bottom two levels as well, as there was no point where the cone reached the floor, but continued its plunge downwards.

  The sides of the machine were made up of a mess of swirling pipes, cables, and computer equipment, and hydraulic lifts and components were rotating, pumping, and churning at different speeds. Steam shot from vents and pipes at random intervals up and down the main shaft.

  Erik couldn’t hide his excitement. He ran toward the first building in the water and desalination sector, and Jen and the others couldn’t help but follow.

  “Look at this place!” he shouted over the noise. “It’s a self-contained power plant and desalination station. This level must provide power and fresh water to the entire base!”

  Jen caught up with him and started in with the scientific discourse. “How do you think it’s operated?”

  “I believe it’s a perpetual system, tapping into the deep ocean water for a super chilled condensation catalyst.”

  By now, Nelson and the other two soldiers had joined them. Nelson posed the first question, and snapped Jen and Erik out of their academic banter. “How’s it work? Deep ocean water, I mean. What’s so special about it?”

  “It’s colder—usually only a few tenths of a degree above freezing, and it’s much saltier,” Erik said. “Applications are mainly theoretical for most institutions, but it looks like they’ve figured out how to use it here.”

  “And how exactly is it used here?” Saunders asked.

  “Well, for starters,” Jen replied, “it’s useful to keep this place air conditioned. This power plant,” she said as she pointed to the giant metallic stalactite in the center of the room, “generates a lot of heat. The water can help cool it.”

  “And don’t forget the condensation,” Erik said.

  “Right. By funneling the near-freezing water through pipes into one of these levels, you’re creating a natural condensation engine. The hot air
hits the cooled pipes, and condensation forms—pure, fresh water.”

  “Wow. So they’ve figured out how to get fresh water from the surrounding ocean,” Nelson said. He spun slowly around, trying to fathom the enormity of the research project surrounding him.

  “They’ve also got a building here labeled Electrolysis,” Erik said, “so chances are they were experimenting with more than one method. Still, it’s pretty amazing how each system feeds into and out of one another, with such a low energy waste to production ratio.”

  Carter looked at Erik, then Jen. “What’s it all for? What were they trying to do here?”

  “What do you mean?” Erik asked. “What more do they need to do?”

  Jen looked at Erik as well as he answered Carter’s question. “Look at this place—it’s self-contained, perpetual, and completely isolated from the rest of the world. It’s existed here for God knows how long, completely unknown, and it’s been operated by no more than a skeleton crew.”

  “Probably not even that,” Nelson said. “We’ve met that skeleton crew, remember? Didn’t seem like they were doing a whole lot of operating.”

  Jen was still suspicious. “Erik, you’ve got more hands-on experience than I do with this, but that machine in the center of the room doesn’t look like a geothermal plant.”

  “It is, clearly, but you’re right in that it is of a much more revolutionary design.”

  “Have you ever seen anything like it?”

  “No, but I have studied a few theoretical models that postulate such an intriguing concept.”

  “Why intriguing?” Saunders asked.

  “Well, it’s probably able to power much more than a traditionally operated geothermal station. Jen, you know how a geothermal plant usually works.”

  Jen nodded. “Usually there’s an intake that sucks the water from a well up into the plant’s main processing station, and then a tube that injects the water back into the water table.”

  “Right,” Erik said, “well this station could be of similar functionality, but clearly the conical shape plays a role. Perhaps it helps create pressure, or since we’re technically already inside the water source, the intake could be above us, and the injection funnel could be below our feet at a lower level.”

  Erik frowned, then nodded as he looked at the looming station. Jen sensed there was more to the man’s explanation, but she let it go. He was probably just as confused about it all as she was.

  Carter, on the other hand, wasn’t impressed. “What is it, Statnik?”

  Erik’s eyes widened slightly as he realized he’d been called out. He shrunk in stature, his boyish youthfulness replacing his outward mature appearance.

  “Come on, Erik,” Carter said, easing up a little. “On Level Four we found the schematics for this place, and you told us it was a geothermal power plant. Higher production, perhaps, but a power plant nonetheless.”

  “No, it—it is, it’s just that I’m not sure why they’d need it.”

  “Need it?” Nelson asked, trying in vain to stifle a sarcastic tone. “Clearly living at the bottom of the ocean is a bit more pleasant with some of those luxuries like, uh, microwaves and ceiling fans.”

  “Yes, I know. That’s not what I mean. I don’t understand why they would build a geothermal plant that’s merely a prototype, especially for such a high-risk location. I also don’t understand why it needs to have such a high production rate. Even if these facilities were fully staffed, the energy requirements would be sufficiently filled with a traditional mid-level plant.”

  “Maybe this entire place is a prototype,” Saunders said. “Like there were supposed to be more than one.”

  “The Saudis were experimenting with underwater cities, as was China,” Jen said. “They weren’t public, but it’s evident that most of these cities were eventually abandoned. There was a trade-off in depth: the deeper you go, the more expensive it is to build, but it becomes easier—once you tackle pressure, isolation issues, and corrosion—to maintain via self-perpetuating energy sources.”

  “This isn’t exactly an underwater paradise,” Nelson said. “Seems like they could have taken a few tips from those Saudi hoteliers, if you ask me.”

  “And I don’t think this place was meant to be replicated,” Carter said. “It’s here for a reason, and that reason isn’t to offer an out-of-the-box vacation option or to be a plausible alternative to above-ground living. This station was built for research, and we need to figure out what kind of research that was.”

  Again, Jen felt frustrated. Why her? What did Nouvelle Terre want?

  “I mentioned earlier that this power plant was too large and too far-fetched to be useful simply as a means for generating electricity,” Erik said.

  All eyes turned to him.

  “Even with all the tie ins to electrolysis, condensation-based desalination, and whatever other systems are piggybacking on it, I can’t imagine they’d build it just for these purposes.”

  “You said that already,” Carter said. “What are you thinking?”

  “I don’t know yet,” he answered, “but I would bet we can find the answers in one of these buildings.”

  Without hesitation, Erik walked toward the massive machine in the center of the circle of buildings and turned to the right. They followed as Erik entered one of the “Geothermal”-marked buildings.

  As Jen’s foot stepped over the threshold, a powerful shake erupted from the machine behind her. She gasped as her left foot missed its mark and she stumbled backwards. Nelson caught her, but the shaking grew more intense. He tripped and both of them tumbled to the ground.

  Erik ran out of the building. “What’s going on?” he yelled, slipping off the front step.

  “I don’t know,” Jen replied, “but it’s getting worse!”

  “Get away from the buildings!” Carter shouted. He and Saunders were on their feet, struggling to balance but moving quickly toward an open section of concrete away from the other buildings.

  Jen and Erik, followed by a cursing Nelson, ran to the area as well, and they collapsed onto the ground to catch their breath. The shaking grew to a deafening roar and Jen covered her ears. Erik crawled back to Jen and yelled something.

  “What?” she yelled in response.

  His mouth moved, but she couldn’t hear anything. She yelled again.

  He pointed, and she followed his finger. She turned and saw that he was pointing toward the center of the level.

  The machine.

  The power plant was still moving as usual, but had now started turning as well. It rotated on its central axis, spinning in slow revolutions. She watched, mesmerized, as the giant cone-shaped machine turned completely around. Another rotation, another thirty seconds, and Jen heard Erik’s voice, yelling into her ear over the noise.

  “It is a corkscrew!” he shouted.

  That was clear to Jen, but she had no idea what it meant.

  “What’s it for?” she yelled back.

  He didn’t answer at first, and she looked his direction. He was silent, with his eyes closed and his hand on the ground.

  She started to ask him a question, but then felt a shudder. She too felt the ground, and suddenly she knew what he was feeling.

  We’re moving, she thought. The ground, buildings, and the station itself was shaking from the machine, but there was something else—something different—in this new shudder.

  It listed, ever so slightly, and then back. For the briefest of moments it felt like being on a slowly-capsizing ship, but then it settled again. Erik opened his eyes and stared at Jen.

  “Did you feel that?” he shouted. Jen still couldn’t hear him, but she read his lips and nodded.

  The entire research station just moved.

  Chapter 37

  MARK ADAMS PACED IMPATIENTLY BACK and forth in the cell.

  Assess.

  Again, his training kicked in.

  They don’t want me dead—yet. What is it that I have that they want?

&
nbsp; Analyze.

  There’s no way out of this room, but it isn’t the last place they’ll take me before they’re done. Asking me questions won’t be enough. They need something else.

  Abstract.

  I need to figure out if there’s a—

  Suddenly Mark heard a faint click. He stopped, trying to focus his attention on his ears.

  Another click sounded, and this time he could tell where it came from.

  The corner of the room.

  He looked up, walking toward the location of the sound. He examined the spot closely, but just then an opaque cloud began falling from the area.

  Shit.

  He stepped back, and heard another click. He looked behind him and noticed that each of the four corners on the ceiling were now emitting a small cloud of clear gas.

  Achieve.

  He immediately knew what his exit strategy would be. Running to the far side of the room closest to the glass wall, Mark put his hands over his mouth and nose, and took a deep breath. The air closest to the floor wouldn’t yet be affected but he didn’t want to move too early.

  He counted to five, then shot his eyes open wide. He opened and closed his mouth, pretending to be gagging. He drop to one knee, then fell backwards on the floor. He lay still, his arms sprawled out next to him.

  Hold it together, Mark. He could feel the air in his lungs failing, but he held on. He waited ten seconds, then heard the clicking of heels approaching down the hallway.

  Come on, hurry. He felt his senses fading. Hold. On.

  After what seemed like an eternity, he heard an electronic whooshing sound as the door to his cell slid open.

  Too late.

  He felt hands lifting him off the ground as he fell asleep.

  Chapter 38

  SHE COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. JEN looked at Carter and Saunders, but they were both looking in the opposite direction.

  Nelson’s eyes, however, were glued to hers. He mouthed in her direction. “Are you okay?”