Date: 26th June 2002 Location: Western Pacific Ocean off Japan
As the small inflatable dipped on a wave created by his larger reconnaissance vessel, Jason smiled and looked out across the deep blue endless sea in what he guessed would be the direction of Japan. He would rather be here, at this moment, probably more than anywhere else on the planet. Behind him, Julie Peirce held on tightly to a handle protruding from the side of the steering console. She could not think of a worse place to be. The bow wave passed and she relaxed a little. Apart from the waves created by the other vessel, the ocean was actually glassy calm.
The deep blueness of the water mesmerized Jason and his now milky emerald green eyes seemed to be fed from the depths beneath them.
“Ready to board sir,” said the uniformed man at the wheel of the inflatable. They were being transferred from Jason’s giant ocean catamaran that could travel the seas at anything up to forty knots, to his smaller one hundred foot research vessel Genesis. Aboard the Genesis, a team of fifteen men and women waited anxiously for his arrival. It wasn’t often they had a visit from Jason king himself. In fact, not many of them had ever had the rare privilege of meeting their boss in person.
Simon stood at the top of the boarding ladder watching the inflatable pull alongside. A smile broadened on his slim Nordic alpine features as he saw his friend and chief, Jason King, standing in the bow of the small vessel staring into the deep blue sea. He knew Jason’s passion for the water and had swum with him many times along the bottom of the world’s most famous oceans. He knew that it was Jason’s deep love for the underwater world that had brought him to convince his company to commission the Genesis to do deep-sea research on the effects of climate change on the oceans of the world.
They had actually been doing deep-sea temperature analysis in the Mariana trench when they had received the call to take the Genesis to this location and prepare all of its deep-sea diving gear for action. This had included the Exosuit that was now swinging off its winch at the rear of the vessel.
The Exo suit was one of the most advanced and flexible atmospheric diving suits in the world and would allow a single diver to descend to one thousand feet and stay there for up to three days while breathing normal air at atmospheric pressure. Simon and Jason were the only two divers in the company qualified to use the Exosuit, but he had not dreamed that when he was told to prepare the equipment that Jason was the one who was coming to use it.
Jason turned towards the vessel and saluted towards Simon mockingly. Simon smiled broadly and saluted back. As the inflatable bumped up alongside the high sides of the Genesis, a nylon flexible ladder was dropped and Jason grabbed it immediately offering his free hand to Julie inviting her to climb. Julie, not so comfortable about the prospect of climbing such a height on a moving, flexible, mesh of twine and metal, grasped his hand reluctantly began. As she began to climb, Jason assisted by placing his hand on her posterior and pushing, until finally, the men at top of the ladder were able to grasp both her arms and pull her onto the deck with as much dignity as possible.
Everyone aboard knew exactly who Julie Pierce was and in fact, she was probably a better-known face then the mysterious Jason king. Julie and Pietta Chong, Jason’s corporate partner, these days regularly graced the newspapers and magazines of the world as socialite journalist and one of the free world’s most powerful female corporate executives. In some countries of Asia and in the United States, they had both achieved almost movie star status and would be swamped by paparazzi and admirers whenever they set foot in public.
Although there was always whispers of a possible romance between Pietta and Jason, most had given up long ago trying to establish one due to Jason’s long self-imposed exiles that would see him disappear, not just for months, but sometimes for years at a time.
While Julie was being welcomed aboard by just about all the crew, Jason scaled the rope ladder with the agility of a monkey and slipped aboard making a beeline for Simon, who stood back from Julie’s adoring throng.
“Hi boss”, said Simon, as Jason approached, ”you love to surprise me don’t you?”
“Keep you on your toes”, replied Jason, smiling.
Jason grabbed the lanky Norwegian by the hand and shook it warmly pulling him into his chest and patting him on the back.
“It’s good to see you, my friend,” said Jason, ”and even better to be back at sea.”
“I don’t think you ever leave boss,” said Simon, smiling, “I seem to always feel your presence here with us.”
Simon didn’t mean this lightly, as many of the crew who knew Jason well, would often have a strange feeling that Jason somehow watched them or lurked somewhere on the boat. It was a very palpable presence that would often be commented on. There were even occasions when someone would say they saw someone that looked just like Jason, but then the apparition would suddenly disappear.
“My thoughts are always with you out here, I envy you, believe me.”
“You travel everywhere around the world and with anyone you want, why would you envy us stuck out here on this tin can,” asked Simon?
“I would rather be on the ocean with you guys than anywhere else,” he replied, turning and looking out over the blue water.
“Is it ready,” asked Jason?
Simon smiled. He knew Jason was referring to the atmospheric diving suit.
“So you’re planning a dive out here,” answered Simon.
“That’s my plan.”
“Not much out here except a thousand feet of water.”
“Have you got some soundings I could look at?”
“Not yet,” answered Simon, bemused by the request out here in the middle of the nowhere, “but we can soon organize some.”
“Good I’ll show Julie to her cabin, freshen up and join you in the control room in an hour. Remember to use the coordinates I gave you and cover about a one hundred yard circumference.”
“Yes boss,” said Simon, more than happy to be working with Jason again, “by the way how is Pietta?”
“She’s good.”
“You know what I mean, how are you two. Or is it Julie now?”
Simon looked across at Julie surrounded by his crew.
“Simon, the soundings.”
Jason turned without showing any emotion to Simon and walked towards Julie and the crew. A smile came across his face as he walked away from Simon. He enjoyed it when people would ask him about his relationship with his two most favourite women, but he would never let anyone know what he really felt.
When he got back to Julie, she was still surrounded by the enthusiastic crew and he had to almost push his way through them to get to her. She looked at him as he stood in front of her waiting and smiled, he knew she was a shy person deep down but she would never snob anyone. He knew she would be pleased if he would drag her away to somewhere more private. He made her suffer a little longer then interrupted.
“Well we better go and get settled,” he said to her, but directed it at everyone, “thank you all for the warm welcome.”
Julie thanked everyone as well and quickly followed Jason off in the direction of the entrance to the cabins. After directing her down a narrow passageway he came to a cabin door and opened it.
“Your quarter's mam, and still above the waterline.”
“Good,” she said, relieved.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “I didn’t forget your paranoia.”
He followed her into the small cabin that consisted of a small bunk plushly laid out with a large billowing doona and a big square pillow. In the corner near the porthole was a small writing desk with a small antique looking chair in front and a small doorway led into a small ensuite bathroom. Her bags already stood in the other corner waiting to be unpacked.
“So where is your cabin,” she asked, knowing that even though they were very close, Jason would not be so presumptive as to plan to share a room.
“Just next door”, he replied, “I even have an adjoining door if you need me.”
He pointed to another door opposite to the ensuite.
“That makes me feel better,” she said smiling and walking into the ensuite.
“Dinner is at six and I’m just going up to the control room to talk to Simon, so you have a couple of hours to freshen up and I will come and get you.”
“How long do you plan to stay aboard,” she asked, as she was opening cabinets in the bathroom?
“I’m not sure, depends if I find what I’m looking for.” He turned and walked back to the cabin entrance. “Have fun and I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
She smiled and fluttered the fingers on one hand in a goodbye gesture. Jason left, closing the door behind him.
In the control room, Jason found Simon mulling over sea charts with sounding graphs in his hands.
“Anything of interest,” asked Jason, as he approached.
The control room was made up of a large oblong chart table in the centre and an array of dials and gauges centred by an ancient-looking steering wheel, which had obviously been an added extra. Standing behind the wheel, the boat's master had a view out over the entire bow of the ship, which included a large crane that at this moment supported the giant ADS suit. All the ships electronic equipment was located to one end of the chart table which included GPS navigation, sonar, radio and the ship's compass.
“Well if you’re looking for a giant ball-like object in nearly nine hundred foot of water, there is,” replied Simon, looking up to see Jason’s broad smile and flashing green eyes, “and I am now assuming you are.”
“Let me see,” said Jason, standing beside him so he could read the charts.
“Right here boss,” Simon said, pointing at an obvious big round hump in the depth sounder chart.
“My God, it must be ten feet high,” exclaimed Jason.
“About that, I would say,” agreed Simon, “so what is it boss, or should I not ask?”
“To be honest, I couldn’t tell you but I’ am betting it is what I’m looking for.”
Jason looked closer at the charts and pointed at another straight line that cut straight through the ball and continued across the page.
“What is that,” he asked?
“That’s a trans-Pacific Submarine cable,” answered Simon, “we checked that out straight away, carries phone and internet cables between Japan and the US. Your ball seems to be sitting right on it.”
“When can I dive,” asked Jason?
“Well it’s a bit late now, but the weather looks good tomorrow so let’s go in the morning.”
“Excellent let’s have dinner,” said Jason, smiling, “I’ll take those if you don’t mind?”
Jason grabbed the charts off the table and left the control room. It was morning when Simon next saw Jason and he was on the deck of the Genesis getting ready to put on the giant Exosuit
“Good morning,” he said, as he approached, “up early as usual.”
“You know me,” Jason replied, smiling at Simon, “hate sleeping one minute more than necessary.”
“Wish I was going down there with you.”
Simon tapped the heel of the boot of the swinging atmospheric diving suit.
“I wouldn’t mind your company, but unfortunately we only have one suit, now help me get into it, I want to go down there as soon as possible.”
Simon called two other deckhands over and they began the arduous task of sealing Jason into the suit. After about thirty minutes Simon was signalling to Jason that they would begin the lift then lower him into the water. The suit was too heavy for Jason to move out of the water but Simon knew he got the message and headed for the control room.
Once upstairs Simon could see the large figure of the ADS being lowered over the edge of the boat by the crane operator. Simon pushed a com button and spoke into a microphone.
“Can you hear me, boss?”
“Loud and clear,” came back the reply from Jason.
Simon watched as the head of the Exosuit disappeared below the glassy blue surface of the ocean, on its way to the ocean floor nine hundred feet below them.
“I checked all the movement functions,” came a voice from the speaker mounted into the control panel of the transmitter, “all working okay, and just passing one hundred feet now.”
The main function of the atmospheric diving suit was to keep the diver at atmospheric pressure while the surrounding pressure would increase one atmosphere every thirty-three feet. At nine hundred feet that would be three hundred atmospheres, a pressure equivalent to a weight of four hundred pounds on every square inch of the suits outside surface. If something went wrong it was enough pressure to crush a motor car to the thickness of a pancake. Jason was well aware of the dangers and confident the suit would keep him safe. His life insurance company probably wouldn’t think so.
As Jason announced that he was passing five hundred feet the control room door opened and Julie walked in. Simon looked up and smiled.
“Sleep well,” he asked?
“Better than I expected to thank you, where’s Jason?”
“About five hundred feet under the boat,” he said, pointing down towards his feet.
“Oh,” is all she replied, never really surprised where Jason might get to, “I should go and have some breakfast, how long might he be?”
Simon just shrugged and smiled
“You know Jason better than I do.”
At that, she also smiled and headed towards the galley. Just as she left the control room Simon heard Jason’s voice again in the speaker.
“Passing seven hundred feet.”
Another great feature of the Exosuit was that the diver only had to breathe normal air, not the mixed gases that other commercial deep-sea divers needed to breathe to prevent narcosis, the bends and a host of other deep-sea pressure hazards. The diver could also descend and ascend as quickly as they wanted to and did not have to slowly decompress before returning to the surface. In fact, it was possible to stay down seventy-two hours if required. Simon hoped that would not be necessary.
Not long after Jason had announced the eight hundred foot mark, Simon heard him say that his lights were picking up the bottom.
As Jason’s huge weighted feet hit bottom, a cloud of silt rose gently around him but soon settled again, only causing some speckling in his powerful lights. At nine hundred and twenty feet he was in absolute darkness, except for the beams of his headlight and his handheld torch. As he scanned his surroundings slowly, a few prehistoric-looking bottom dwellers slivered away from the lights. It was deathly silent except for the whirring of the suits motorized joints activated whenever he moved.
“On the bottom safely,” he said into his microphone.
“Good to hear,” came back the reply through the tiny earplug he was wearing.
As he rotated his headlights, he stopped on a distant shadowy object that was definitely something other than the flat featureless bottom.
“I think I have something, “said Jason.
He turned the giant robot-like suit slowly in the direction of his objective and activated the suits in-built propulsion. As the ADS hovered across the silted bottom, the powerful lights cut through the absolute darkness like lasers.
There could not be a lonelier place on earth he thought, as he suddenly felt the full impact of his isolated surroundings. As he moved closer his head beam made out the submarine cable he had been looking for and it made him shudder. For some reason he had always disliked coming across man-made objects when he was diving; he thought it must be some sort of bizarre phobia. He could face a man-eating shark without fear at all, but suddenly find the wreck of an old car underwater and he would feel uneasy. The submarine cable had the same effect. He reluctantly sidled up to it and moved along it in the direction of the larger object.
When he was less than twenty more paces from the shadowy sphere, through the crystal clear deep ocean water he could make out a strange mosaic pattern on its surface. It was as large as he had calculated, even towering over the giant eight-foot-high atmospheric diving suit.
“My god it’s like a giant spherical jigsaw puzzle,” he said into his microphone, “I’m turning on the video, tell me if it’s coming out clear up there”.
On the boat nearly a thousand feet above him, the small screen flickered into life and Simon saw the giant alien ball appear, with its interlocking scaled surface. He also saw the big claw hands of the ADS coming into view and touch the patterned surface of the object.
“Well it ain’t made of marshmallows,” he heard Jason joking.
“It’s a clear picture up here,” said Simon into the mike, “but what the hell is it?”
Simon rarely questioned his bosses work but this was extraordinary.
“Well I’m told it is some sort of spaceship,” came the voice from the speaker next to Simon.
“Sorry boss, but are you suffering some sort of narcosis, I know you’re in a pressurized suit but you just said spaceship”.
“Oh it’s one of ours,” came back the voice of Jason reassuringly. Simon felt a sense of relief at that statement and wondered what in God’s name made him even think otherwise.
Down on the bottom of the ocean, Jason stared through the visor of the deep sea suit at the sphere.
“Question is,” he whispered, “what do I do now?”
Jason tapped the large metallic sphere with the mechanical claw of his suit. He then moved to circumnavigate the object but found that it was indeed wedged tight against the submarine cable. As he moved around the bottom, Simon watched a thousand foot above him aboard the Genesis.
“Simon, the only thing I can really do here is to attach the electronic impulse detector to it that you set up and see if you get any readings.”
“Ok boss.”
Jason used the mechanical arm to connect the magnetometer to the outside surface of the sphere. Immediately on the surface, Simon instruments came alive.
“Wow boss it still breaths,” said Simon, as he stared at his panel of instruments.
“So it’s still active” responded Jason?
“That’s an understatement,” replied Simon, “you gotta see this.”
“Okay, I’m coming up.”
As the atmospheric dive suit was towed back towards the surface Jason had some time to think.
The control room was a hive of activity when Jason walked in. Simon looked up and smiled.
“Enjoy your little swim?”
“It was good to get back in the water,” replied Jason, “so what have we got going on down there?”
Simon walked over to an instrument panel and pointed to a dial.
“Well our spaceship is fully charged up, there’s no doubt about that. How long has it been down there?”
“I think not long,” replied Jason, watching the electrical activity that appeared like waves on the electronic screen.
“Well we are getting enough activity to suggest that it is actually doing something, but what it is doing is still a mystery,” said Simon, also gazing blankly at the screen.
Jason watched as data appeared on every screen indicating radio waves, heat emissions, electronic activity and even a steady pulse.
“It’s almost as if it is alive,” said Jason softly. “Get every tech to look at every bit of data, inside and out and let me know what they come up with.”
“But what are we actually looking for, boss,” asked Simon, brushing his hair with the fingers of his right hand?
Jason looked into Simon with his penetrating green eyes.
“A message,” was all he said, before turning and leaving the control room.
Jason didn’t eat that evening and during the night he found himself walking up and down the deck of the Genesis. It was a full moon and a clear sky. The billions of stars in the ocean night sky had to be seen to be believed, but Jason’s mind was drifting across red desert thousands of miles away from the Sea of Japan. Jason saw aboriginal warrior Albert Armstrong, standing against the backdrop of Uluru in his traditional war paint. He saw the cave mural of the dragon with flames spewing from its mouth. He saw the light emblazoned bush and heard the mystery voice from the sky. He was here now, where he knew he was meant to be but why?
From somewhere deep in his consciousness he heard the even beat of approaching footsteps and his mind came back to the present, turning slowly to see that Julie was coming along the deck towards him.
“Hi darling,” he said, smiling broadly.
“I thought I would find you up here,” she said, grabbing his arm and turning him playfully towards the shimmering ocean. She looked up into his smiling face.
“Dreaming about still being down there I suppose?”
“I was actually miles away thinking about you.”
“Sure you were,” she playfully slapped his arm, “I’d be the last thing on your mind at the moment, I know you and how you are when something gets under your skin.”
“Yes you do, don’t you,” he turned his face, passing close to the side of her head. Her fragrance stimulated his senses and he kissed her gently on the cheek. He thought about how close they were, how she could read him so well. No-one knew him better it was as if she somehow she picked up the thoughts coming from his brain.
‘It must just be how close we are,’ he thought, smiling.
Then his facial expression changed.
“Close,” he said, under his breath.
Julie turned to look up into his face.
“What was that?”
“My god, that’s it, close!”
She could feel the grip of his hand tighten on her arm. She looked up into his face confused. A smile spread across his lips, he turned to grab both sides of her face, cupping her gently with his hands and kissed her lips in what could only be described as a passionate-peck.
“Thanks to you I know where the message is!”
She just looked at him wide-eyed and had no idea what it was she had done.
“Excuse me, darling,” he said, releasing her checks and grabbing her hands, “I have to go and find Simon.”
“Just go,” she said, “I understand.”
He smiled at her.
“You’re the best,” he kissed her again with a peck on her lips and ran off down the deck towards the control room. Still smiling she just turned, leaned on the railing and looked up at the most beautiful full moon and starlit sky she had ever seen.
Jason burst into the control room to find Simon alone and on the satellite phone. He looked up startled but seemed relieved when he saw it was Jason.
“He’s just come in; maybe you should tell him yourself,” Simon said into the phone, “okay I’ll get him.”
Simon put down the phone.
“It’s Nigel Stansen and he’s calling from a US military base in Guam. I think you better talk to him.”
Simon extended the phone towards Jason as he came across the room.
“Sounds serious,” commented Jason, as he took the phone from Simon’s grip. “Nigel, how are you old friend?”
Jason didn’t know whether he should smile or not, from the look on Simon’s face he doubted it. He listened intently as Nigel Stansen spoke, only occasionally making a gestured comment like “ok” or “really”.
“I’ll leave at first light,” was the last thing he said before he pushed a button on the phone disconnecting from the caller. Simon looked at him expectantly.
“How much did he tell you,” asked Jason?
“The Ong,” was all Simon asked?
“Sounds like it.”
Jason momentarily paused as if contemplating his next move.
“I’m going to fly over to the US military base on Guam to see Nigel first thing in the morning, but while I’m away I want you to work on a theory I have”
“And what would that theory be boss,” asked Simon, smiling once again and knowing full well that if Jason had a theory it more than likely was the answer?
“It’s all about ‘close’ I think,” answered Jason, looking out the ship's window of the moonlight shimmering on the ocean surface.
“Close? I don’t follow, what do you mean close?”
“What is the closest thing to our mysterious object Simon?”
Simon thought for just a minute.
“The submarine cable I guess.”
“Exactly, and do you really think that would be a coincidence? Has our object travelled all this way to accidentally land on top of an intercontinental submarine communications cable? I don’t think so! I am sure there is a reason it is where it is.”
Jason turned and looked at Simon standing there pondering the thought, then he walked past him towards the door.
“Think about it Simon,” he said aloud, without turning around or stopping, “I’m going to bed, I have a long journey tomorrow and you need to get me some answers while I’m gone.”
At that, the door to the control room closed shut and Simon turned slowly towards it as if he was going to say something then realized it would be wasted on an empty room.
That night in his bunk, Jason was restless and eventually got up and went out onto the ship’s deck. He had the impending threat of the Ong to think about, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the space traveller lying on the bottom of the ocean one thousand feet below. He knew little about the origins of such a craft, except for what Nigel Stassen had told him. About them being a type of time travelling universe hopper, sent originally from Earth sometime in the future.
He knew somehow that knowledge must offer him a clue of what next he should do. He rested on the rail; the ocean breeze was only very light and was refreshingly cool on his exposed skin. The moon was a shade under full and now sat only the slightest of degrees from extinguishing itself on the distant inky depths of the horizon.
Again, he thought about closeness. The closeness of Julie’s perfumed hair to his face earlier that night. He smiled at the thought. The closeness of the moon to the ocean’s shimmering surface. The closeness of the orb to the cable.
His smile broadened to a grin and he once again looked at the now magnified image of the moon as it dipped its edge into the foreboding waters, slapped the railing and headed for his cabin to try and get a little sleep before his long journey.
Simon stood on the chopper pad and watched as Jason gave Julie a hug and turned to approach the chopper. The rotor blade was slowly gathering momentum, as Simon opened the passenger side door. Jason handed him a briefcase to hold while he climbed aboard and then he returned it to Jason, closing the door as he heard Jason latch it from the inside.
He saluted at the chopper, then retreated to stand with Julie and watch. The chopper began to lift into the brilliant blue morning sky but suddenly hovered, then lowered again to the pad. The door swung open and Jason bounded out, ducking as he ran towards them.
“What did you forget,” yelled Simon, as Jason approached?
Jason had a broad smile and raced up to Julie.
“I forgot about just how close.”
Simon looked at him perplexed and Julie even more surprised when Jason kissed her on the lips. It was more of a closed-lip congratulatory kiss than anything passionate, but never the less they were both astonished.
Jason turned to look at Simon with both hands still cupping Julie’s face.
“What’s travelling down those cables?”
Simon looked blank.
“What do you mean?”
“Simon, think, what is travelling through that submarine cable?”
“Uhh! Telephones, internet.”
“Yes my friend, the internet!”
Simon still looked confused.
“Go back to the control room, get my laptop, put in the IP address exactly the same as the latitudinal and longitudinal location of the object. I will wager that is why it is so close!”
Simon looked dumbfounded, but he could be right.
“Have to go,” he kissed Julie again, abruptly, then let her go and turned back towards the chopper. “Let me know what you find, then send it to Nigel in Guam. Don’t let anyone else get hold of it. In fact, throw my laptop in the ocean once you’ve sent it!”
The last words were almost drowned out by the chopper as he scrambled aboard and closed the door. The chopper this time lifted off and backed away to the west.
Simon and Julie stood there just watching momentarily, and then Simon turned and sprinted off towards the control room, yelling out to Julie as he ran.
“Go have breakfast; I’ll let you know how it goes.”
Julie stood looking from the now distant chopper to the disappearing Simon, nodded her head and walked back towards her cabin.
“Boys, oh my God and they say women are unpredictable and excitable”.
Chapter fifty nine
The Deep
I am the alpha and the omega,
The first and the last,
The beginning and the end.
John Revelation 22.13
Christopher Golde