A Sight Once Seen

I boarded the massive submersible, The Amelia, around six in the morning. It was the honor of a lifetime to be the man chosen to accompany many great researchers and scientists on this voyage. Four hours later, the general populous would board and we would make our descent in this unique and historic vessel. The Amelia was the first of its kind luxury cruise submarine built for both research and relaxation. Its shape was not like any other submarine to ever exist; it was built like an inverted triangle, and with each level, the status of the residents increased all the way down to the tip which belonged solely to the captain.

Although I worked for the company that designed and built the vessel, I had no clue who the captain was, and that would have seemed irresponsible of me if not for the fact that the higher-ups never released the name of the captain to the public. It had caused great speculation among the media companies to who was in control, and some thought that it was artificial intelligence manning it. Now to ease the concerns I had at the time over this matter, I was told by my supervisor that I would personally meet with the captain. My room was to be on the 2nd staff level right above the captain’s control center.

The Amelia had six levels: Basic passenger, Premium passenger, VIP passenger, Staff levels 1 and 2, and then the control room. Engineers and architects had spent years designing this beast of a submarine trying to make it a new wonder of the modern world, and to their credit, they succeeded. Containing every modern luxury known to mankind, it advertised itself as the greatest voyage to ever exist. VIP tickets went for over 10000 dollars while Premium went for 5000. Basic tickets were relatively affordable in comparison coming in at a crisp 2000. Even with these high prices, the cruise was sold out within three days of tickets going on sale. That made me all the more lucky to have my seat reserved by my employers. I do not know if it was Divine intervention or just plain chance that I was the one chosen to go on board, but no matter the source, the experience changed my life.

It had been a couple hours after I boarded, but yet no sign of the captain. I was eager to meet as soon as possible, but I chalked it up that the captain was too busy preparing the descent. I was sitting in the lobby when Dr. Jennings appeared and introduced herself to me.

“Hello, I am Dr. Jennings, I suppose you are the representative from the company in Egypt?”

“Yes, my name is George, but I am the only representative from the company, they didn’t send any from other nations,” I responded.

“Oh, well if I may ask, how did you get a name like George?”

“Yea I get that question a lot, but it’s because my father is English.”

She glanced at me and grinned. I would later find out she was half Scottish although she had no elements of the accent. The doctor came off as highly intelligent and witty which led to me being certain that this expedition would be successful. Her right-hand man was Doctor Jackson who I met just shortly before the descent. He was shockingly tall standing at 6 foot 10 inches, and with a lean frame that made me wonder why he did not play professional basketball. Together the three of us watched the large TV screen in our lobby that displayed a news channel broadcasting the initial descent. A few minutes later, the timer hit zero and down we went. Cheers could be heard all across the submarine as people celebrated such a historic moment with glee.

In the center of each floor, there was an elevator that would take the passengers between levels that they had access to. In my position I had access to the levels; likewise, the doctors did too. The elevator on our floor opened and out walked a plainly dressed couple. At first, I thought that it was standard passengers who somehow got access to our level, but I was quickly proven to be wrong. The man introduced himself as Roswell, the head engineer, and the lady herself Mandy, his wife. For some time, we all discussed this wonderful vessel and Roswell informed us of the various complexities that went into designing it. His wife too spoke as if she was an engineer relating astonishing mathematical equations as if I, a simple businessman, was aware of what any of them meant. Finally, Roswell asked if I and the doctors would follow him to the staff level to which we obliged.

“You are going to love what we have up here for you all, it really is spectacular,” exclaimed Roswell, “it is going to blow your minds.”

“I didn’t know this job came with a surprise,” said Dr. Jackson.

“Oh, you’ll certainly like it, I believe,” responded Mandy.

We entered the staff level which was crowded with employees going to and fro. Navigating the crowd, Roswell led us to an equipment room where stood several amazing diving suits.

“Look at these!” he yelled, “you will be the first people to walk the ocean floor at 30,000 feet. These suits right here took almost as much to design as The Amelia did.”

“Are you sure those are safe? I don’t really plan on dying here,” I questioned.

“Absolutely, we tested them in our labs, you will be completely fine,” he replied.

“Even if you died in them, wouldn’t that be such an interesting way to go?” joked Mandy.

“We will reach the bottom here in a few hours, at which the VIP level with be hosting a party that we have all been invited to. Afterward, you all will make history if you wish,” explained Roswell.

We all agreed and then returned to our own level. I went to my quarters on the far in of the level. The room was brightly lit by wall lights and a small but comfortable was provided for me. A dark dresser in which I had placed my belongings upon arrival stood next to the bed, and a small closet was likewise part of the room. Although not luxurious, it made do. I determined that I would sleep for a couple of hours in order to be better rested for tonight. I dozed off thinking of the magnitude of this honor.

Shortly before we reached the bottom, I woke up to the sound of Dr. Jennings’s voice.

“George, wake up we are going to the VIP level now. We are almost at 30,000 feet,” she said.

I got up and joined her and Dr. Jackson as we went up to the VIP level. As we got off of the elevator, I thought I was going to go blind. The VIP level entered into an open ballroom that was so heavily adorned with gold and bright lights that it took some time for my eyes to get adjusted. The room itself was packed full of people, there must have been nearly 500 people. A large screen in the front of the room broadcasted live footage of a light shining into darkness along with a counter that read 29,000 feet and slowly rising. Somber music filled the room and a dreamlike persisted. Thinking back, we probably stood out surrounded by the rich in their expensive dresses and suits for I was dressed in a simple button-up and dress pants, and the doctors likewise in casual clothing. But that did not matter, the counter hit 30,000 feet and a roar of applause occurred louder than anything I had ever heard. Every person in the room was fully aware of what they were experiencing and were proud of it too. Above us in the Premium level, the applause continued, and so on in the Basic level. Drinks were brought out and the volume of the music increased; the night had begun.

The three of us had a good time socializing with the passengers. It was strange though, I must admit to be in a place like that. For the most part, the VIP passengers were all multi-millionaires who had major roles in corporations of some sort. The type of people you don’t really see out and about all the time, yet here was a plethora of them all in the same place.

Around 10 o’clock, Roswell entered the ballroom and made his way towards us. Once we met him, he led us back down to the equipment room. The suits were magnificently fitted with everything we would need including communications devices and cameras.

“I must admit I am a little nervous about this,” said Dr. Jennings.

“Don’t worry one bit, everything will be fine,” assured Roswell.

“I’m sure you’re right, but it is still frightening nonetheless,” replied Dr. Jennings.

“No one ever made history by doing something mundane,” said Roswell.

The suit fit my body well, but the large plating to protect us from the pressure made moving a clunky process. Roswell informed us that he was going to stay behind in the captain’s control room and watch us from our cameras.

“I am supposed to meet with the captain, Roswell. Is there any way I can be introduced when I get back?” I asked him.

He laughed, “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

“Will we be able to take samples down here? It will make our studies much more efficient and productive,” asked Dr. Jackson.

“Absolutely, your suit is equipped with all the resources you need to be able to,” answered Roswell.

“Well, good then let’s get started,” Dr. Jennings said nervously.

We were led over to an air-lock chamber where Roswell wished us luck and said he would speak to us over the intercom with instructions once he reached the control room. The three of us stood in silence for a couple of minutes until a voice mixed with static filled the room.

Roswell explained some basic instructions and how to use the suit. Fitted with everything man could imagine it really was a work as impressive as The Amelia herself. Jet propulsion, unlimited oxygen, and real-time digital mapping were just a few of the included technologies. The ability to even be down here was a miraculous thing since we were facing pressure nearly 3000 times that of surface level. Roswell asked if we were ready once last time, and then opened the door.

The magical experience of walking at the bottom of the ocean cannot be compared to anything above. Although we were not crushed to death by the pressure, it still played a role in our movement. The suits were entirely illuminated by small but bright lights, but to see ahead we had a massive light mounted to the top of our helmets that cast out bright rays. Ahead of us though there was nothing.

“Where are we going?” asked Dr. Jackson.

“We cannot go too far out. getting lost down here is not an option,” said Dr. Jennings.

“Let’s just go about 100 yards out and then come back,” I said, “the ground here is pretty flat, and we should have no problem with that.”

Moving around there was nothing, but a grayish Ocean floor composed of millenniums worth of fish remains and a dark blue surrounding that was spotted with small plankton. The surreal nature of this, however, had made it worth it all. 20 yards out the doctors stopped to gather samples from the floor.

“What do you think you will find?” I asked them.

“Oh, probably just some bacteria mixed in with the fish remains,” responded Dr. Jackson.

“Yes, but if we are lucky, we might just find some new bacteria. Something that has never been found before, even if it is mostly insignificant, will be a great find in the scientific community,” said Doctor Jennings.

Roswell came through the communication device and spoke to us for some time just to check up on how we were doing and what it was like down there. Like previously mentioned, everything was fine except for the slowness of our movement. It took twice as long to move as it should have due to the pressure, and my impatient self became frustrated. That was until at around 80 yards I noticed something on our map. In the distance, another 100 yards out or so, strange looking shapes began to appear.

“Hey, do you guys see this on your map too?” I asked the others.

“Yes, I see it too, I wonder what that is,” Dr. Jennings relied

Dr. Jackson suggested, “Let’s send it over to Roswell and see what he thinks.”

Roswell was intrigued and brought down experts of the ocean floor to examine them. A few minutes later he told us that we really needed to go explore it as the experts claimed they had never seen anything like this before.

So, we went on slowly through the dark blue abyss. Every 30 yards or so the doctors would stop to collect another sample of then proceed forward once again. Then around 20 yards out from our destination Dr. Jackson gasped.

“What in the world is this,” he said, “Dr. Jennings, have you ever heard of anything like this?”

“No, Jackson I definitely have not,” she replied.

“We need to take pictures of this to go along with the footage,” I said.

Over the communications, Roswell said, “Please get everything you can of this.”

What stood before us was a mountain of sorts overlooked somehow by sonar. The mountain contained various rows of cave openings which were led up to by what appeared like steps. No life was found there, and the mountain itself was covered in the same gray remains of fish, but what could have formed all of this? It was by no means naturally occurring. I went forward ignoring the warnings of my companions and those of Roswell too. Slowly I climbed the steps towards the first row of caves. I assured the doctors that I had no intention to go in them, but rather just to shine my light into one. After making my way up to the first cave, I shined the headlight right into its depths only to find that it went down so far that my light made no impact. A part of my soul yearned to go into the cave to see what awaited, but reason persuaded me otherwise. I returned to the doctors, and we headed back to The Amelia.

Back on board, we removed our suits and dressed in our regular attire. Roswell was exhilarated.

“Can you believe that! What a thing to see! You all did amazing,” he shouted.

“Thank you, Roswell, this really is a historic moment!” said Dr. Jennings excitedly.

“When can we publish this footage and the images we took? This is going to change the world!” Dr. Jackson exclaimed.

“As soon as the company grants us permission to, I suppose,” replied Dr. Jennings.

“Oh yes, I forgot. Our findings are owned by the company. What a sad stipulation,” said Dr. Jackson.

“I am sure the company will be just as thrilled as we are, but shall we go meet the captain?” asked Roswell.

He led us down to the lowest level, the captain’s control room, where the entire running of the ship took place. Before we entered the control room itself, Roswell smiled.

“You all should know by now I am a man of surprises,” he said.

We went into the control room only to see his wife, Mandy, dressed in a formal uniform sipping a cup of tea while overseeing the many complexities of the vessel. I laughed thinking of how I had thought her to just be Roswell’s wife, yet she held a higher rank than even he did. Together the five of us, along with the hundreds of other passengers and staff members enjoyed the rest of the voyage.

The findings, though, were never fully published. The company refused to release any of the footage or pictures to the public to supposedly, “keep the secrecy of the location and its properties in order to benefit the company’s actions in future endeavors.” This greatly upset me along with those I was with. The only thing the company told the public was that a “great geographical phenomenon” had been discovered. To this day, I resent them for that, and because I regret not risking my life to see what was in those caves. Perhaps it was the underwater ruins of some prehistoric unknown civilization, or maybe it was home to some form of intelligent life, or maybe, and least interesting, it was a shocking, but merely natural formation. I will never get to know.