And the Rocks Shall Speak
by
Beth
Kauffman
Revised version of my Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
story that appeared originally in Silent Running 5 in
2000
Admiral Harriman Nelson strode through the Control Room
of the submarine Seaview, his design and creation, stopping at the side
of his captain, Lee Crane.
“What’s our position, Lee?” he asked, leaning over the
plotting table.
“Approximately here, Admiral,” he replied, pointing to
a spot off the coast of Florida.
“Hmmm,” Nelson murmured, rapidly making
calculations. “We’re in the area of
the last reported seaquake. Dr.
Dotson at the Harbor Point Institute confirms this is the area the quakes are
originating from. The question is,
why?”
Nelson threw his pencil on the plotting table and
walked slowly to the front of the boat, his hands stuffed into his pockets and
stared out at the ocean before him, Crane and the Seaview’s executive
officer Chip Morton joining him there.
“This area has always been considered stable in regards to quakes. Now all of the sudden, we’re seeing
quake after quake rock the region, five in the past 2 days.
We’ll need to...”
“Sir! I’m
picking up something strange on sonar,” Kowalski reported in an excited
voice.
Nelson walked quickly to his side and stared down at
the screen, taking the headphones from Kowalski. He listened for a moment before he
spoke.
“Interesting.
The bottom seems to have shifted here.” He listened for a moment more, the
entire Control Room silent as they waited. “There seems to be something hidden
beneath the layers of silt and rock.
Can’t quite make it out.
Strange readings though.
Like none I’ve heard before.”
A moment more and Nelson turned to Crane. “Lee,
I want you to take a diving party out and examine the seabed in this area. There’s something strange out there but
I’m not sure what yet.”
Crane smiled, happy to have a chance to go out for a
little explore. “I’ll have a team
in the water in fifteen minutes,” he said with more than a trace of
enthusiasm.
Nelson reached out a hand as Crane started past
him. “Lee, be careful out
there. If another quake hits this
area, those walls out there could come down on top of
you.”
Winking at Chip Morton, Crane smiled at his friend’s
concern and hurried to the missile room.
Dressing quickly, he had his team in the water in the promised fifteen
minutes.
Back on the Seaview, Nelson paced a path in
front of the windows in the Observation Nose and waited for word from the diving
party. Finally, Crane’s voice came
over the intercom.
“Admiral, we’re exploring the area nearest the reported
anomaly. There’s a lot of silt in
the water making it difficult to see anything. I...”
“Skipper!”
Another voice interrupted.
“Over here!”
“What is it Lee,” Nelson asked
impatiently.
“I...I’m not sure. Some kind of opening down on the sea
floor. I’m swimming down for a
closer look.”
“Be careful, Lee. Don’t take any chances.”
Nelson was hard pressed to keep the worry out of his voice.
Something was wrong, he could feel it. A wave of apprehension flowed over him
like a cold wind as he stared out the huge windows.
He shook his head to clear it from the unwanted feelings, trying hard to
focus.
An urgent voice from the sonar station brought him back
to the situation. “Sir! Another quake is...”
But before Kowalski could finish his sentence, the Seaview was
rocked from side to side by another underwater quake.
Nelson was thrown to the floor and against the plotting
table.
A few seconds later, the Seaview stopped her
side to side dance and men began to pick themselves up off the
floor.
“Damage control!
Report!” Morton’s voice
boomed out.
“No damage, sir.
We’re water tight.”
Morton turned back to the Observation Nose to ask
Nelson if he had any view of the diving party when he noticed Nelson was no
longer standing at the windows.
Hurrying to the front of the plotting table, he saw
Nelson just beginning to regain consciousness, a hand pressed to his head. Kneeling by his side, Morton was about
to call Sick Bay when, with a look, Nelson vetoed the
idea.
“I’m all right, Chip. Just help me up.”
Morton gave his commanding officer a hand up and steadied him as he
swayed unsteadily on his feet for a moment.
“Sir, I really think I should call the Doc.
Just to make sure.”
“No, Chip.
I’m fine. Any word from the diving party?”
“No, sir.”
Nelson reached for the microphone and tried to raise
Lee or any of the diving party.
After what seemed an eternity, a voice answered.
“Seaview, this is Brown.
We...we’re all right. The
Skipper was on his way down to that opening he found and was caught by the
quake. A rock wall collapsed on
him.”
“Is he all right?” Nelson asked, alarm in his
voice.
“I...I’m all right, Admiral.
Just shaken up. Brown and
the others got to me quickly.
How’s the Seaview?”
Nelson expelled the breath he didn’t know he had been
holding. “We’re all right here,
too. Come back aboard and give me
your report.”
Twenty minutes later, Crane walked slowly through the
Control Room and to the Observation Nose where Nelson
waited.
“Lee! Are
you sure you’re all right? Maybe
Doc should look you over. That
rock wall...”
“Missed me,” Crane interrupted, slightly
irritated. “Mostly, anyway,” he
said rubbing his shoulder. “I’m
fine.”
“You both should go down to Sick Bay and have Doc look
you over,” a voice from behind said.
Crane turned to see Chip Morton standing beside him,
arms folded across his chest and concern written on his
face.
“Both of us?
Why? What happened?” he
asked turning back to Nelson, now noticing the bruise that appeared on Nelson’s
temple.
“Nothing, Lee.
I just took a spill. That’s
all. Now...”
“Spill nothing, sir. You were out cold.”
He turned to Crane. “That
quake knocked us about a bit. The
Admiral was thrown against the plotting table. I didn’t notice for a few seconds. When I did, he was just beginning to
come around.”
Crane placed a hand on the Admiral’s arm.
“Maybe you should have Doc...”
“Look, I said I am all right and I’m all right! Now, what did you find out
there?”
Crane looked unconvinced, but gave in anyway. With a sigh, he described the fissure
and the strong current that seemed to come from the
opening.
“Oh! And
I found this,” he said taking a large, smooth rock from his pocket.
“It has some kind of markings on it. What do you make of
it?”
Nelson took the rock from Crane’s hand and stared at
it, turning it over in his hand.
“Strange. So warm. Like it has a heat source inside
it.”
Crane nodded in agreement.
“I know. When I first
picked it up, I was surprised at its warmth; it was almost hot to the
touch.”
“Unusual for something that has been on the bottom of
the sea. It should be cold,”
Morton spoke up, intently staring at the rock in Nelson’s hand.
“And theses markings,” Nelson continued.
They’re almost like something I’ve seen before.
Something...”
When Nelson didn’t continue, Crane looked up in
concern. He watched Nelson’s face
as one emotion after another flickered briefly over his face.
Anger, fear, sadness, and then blankness descended over Nelson’s features
and his eyes slid shut.
“Admiral?
Admiral, what’s wrong?” Crane asked anxiously, his hands on Nelson’s
arms.
A slight moan escaped Nelson’s lips and he began to
sink to the floor, Crane catching him before he hit the deck.
Gently, Crane laid Nelson on the floor and stared in concern at his
friend.
“Get Sick Bay down here.
Now!” he barked out to Morton who was already picking up the
mic.
“Medical emergency in the Control Room!
Repeat! Medical emergency
in the Control Room!” shouted Morton into the microphone.
Crane fumbled for the Admiral’s pulse and was relieved
to feel the steady beat beneath his fingers.
“He’s alive,” Crane said with relief as Morton joined
him at Nelson’s side.
“What happened?
One minute he’s fine and the next he’s out cold on the
floor.”
Crane shook his head and tried gently to awaken the
Admiral, not knowing what else to do.
His efforts met with failure, as the Admiral remained still and
unconscious.
Morton’s eyes met the worried eyes of Crane’s. “I don’t . . .”
Further words were interrupted by the arrival of the
ship’s Doctor, Will Jamieson.
“Captain.
What happened?” he asked as he knelt by Nelson’s side doing a quick
examination.
“I don’t know.
One minute he was talking, examining that rock and the next he . . .
passed out,” Crane’s voice evinced his concern for Nelson.
“He was knocked unconscious by that quake,” added
Morton. “It was only for a
moment. He said he was all
right.” Jamieson grimaced at
Morton’s statement. Nelson always
thought he was all right. Even
when told he wasn’t
Crane watched as Jamieson continued his examination of
Nelson. He glanced from
Nelson’s still, pale face to the rock still clutched in his hand.
He reached out and tried to pry the rock from Nelson’s grip.
Heat seemed to flow from the rock and Crane drew back his hand in
shock.
“What is it, Lee?” asked Morton standing behind
him.
“I . . .
I don’t know. That rock is warm,
almost hot. And I can’t get him to
let it go,” Crane said in consternation as he looked at the rock in Nelson’s
hand.
By now, Doc had finished his examination and looked at
Crane and Morton. “Well, Doc? What’s wrong with him?
Did that bump on the head cause this?” Crane asked.
Jamieson looked down once more at his patient and
grimaced. “I don’t think so. I can’t be sure, but there’s no
evidence of a concussion. His
heart is beating strongly.
Breathing is fine.” He sat
back on his heels and stared at the two men. “I have no idea what’s wrong with
him.” He shook his head once
more. “Let’s get him to the Sick
Bay. Maybe we can figure
something out there.” Two corpsmen
moved to place Nelson on a stretcher and carried him from the Control
Room.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nelson felt himself floating in a sea of blue-green
mist. Glimpses of shadowy figures
flitted on the edge of his vision, there but not there.
He heard voices, whispers of unknown tongues assaulting his ears and felt
a fluttery rustling all about him.
Distantly, he heard a name being called over and over,
gradually filling his head.
Slowly, he realized the name it called was his.
“Admiral Nelson, do you hear?”
Struggling to speak, Nelson answered.
“Y . . . yes, I hear you.
Where am I? And who are
you?”
“Patience my dear Admiral.
All will be made known. In
time.”
A shadowy figure began to emerge from the mist beside
Nelson. He turned his head and
watched as the shape appeared from the haze. Clothed in purple robes that reached to
his feet, the figure stood a bit taller than Nelson himself and seemed to
emanate an aura of power. His
features remained hidden by the swirling mist but, prominent on his left hand,
was a ring of fair proportions, its blue stone glittering.
“Who are you?
And where am I?” Nelson
asked once again, his voice gaining in strength.
“Patience.
In answer to your first question, my name is Megaron.
As for where you are, that may take a bit to
explain.”
“Try.”
Megaron laughed, a not exactly pleasing sound that
echoed about the chamber they were in.
He stepped from the mist and moved closer to
Nelson.
“You amuse me, Admiral. I haven’t laughed in . . . well, a very
long time.”
Nelson paced about the mist-shrouded room, his anger
growing. “You can’t hope to keep
me here for long. My people will
find me.”
Megaron gave another harsh laugh.
“They already have my dear Admiral. They already
have.”
At Nelson’s perplexed look, he pointed to an area
behind Nelson, the ring once more glittering. Nelson turned and saw before him Crane,
Morton and Jamieson in what appeared to be the Sick Bay on Seaview,
leaning over the prone figure of . . . himself! Their voices became
audible.
“What’s wrong with him, Doc?
Why isn’t he waking up?” Crane’s concerned voice asked, the sound
vibrating in the chamber.
“I don’t know.
There’s no evidence of a head injury of any kind.
His vital signs are normal.” Jamieson turned to a monitor behind
him. “But look at that EEG! Brain activity is off the
chart!”
Morton leaned over the Admiral.
“Look at his eyes. They’re
moving, as if . . .”
“As if he were asleep and dreaming,” Crane finished
quietly.
Jamieson straightened up from his examination. “It’s obviously more than just dreaming,
but what? And what’s causing
it? I don’t have
any…”
The voices from the Seaview began to fade away
and their faces disappeared into the ever-present fog once more.
Nelson stood for a moment staring at the spot where only a moment before
his friends had appeared. He
dropped his gaze and slowly turned to face Megaron once
more.
“How?” he asked.
Megaron smiled and shrugged.
“Does it really matter?
Accept it as fact. You are
here and there at the same time.”
Nelson turned thoughtful eyes back to the wall and stared for a moment longer. “That rock . . . It has something to do with this, doesn’t it?”
Megaron sighed deeply and nodded after a moment. “Yes. It is called a bibios. It would convey roughly as a speaking
stone in your English. It is able
to project thoughts and actions through a person’s subconscious.
You are here and there at the same time, as I
said.”
“And it’s warmth?”
“A simple protective device.
Once the link has been established, it would be dangerous to remove it
prematurely.”
“Link? I
wasn’t the first to touch it. Why
me and not my captain?”
“He was not chosen. You were.”
“Chosen by?” Nelson asked as he paced about the
chamber.
“By the bibios. Intelligent and resourceful as your
captain is, he is not the one truly in control of your
vessel.”
“And this rock knows that?” Nelson said with more than
a touch of skepticism.
“Yes,” Megaron said simply as he watched Nelson
closely.
“Assuming I take that as fact, I again ask you why I am
here?”
The smile left Megaron’s face.
“I need you.”
“For what?”
“To save your world.”
“Oh. Is
that all? Well, why didn’t you say
so?” Nelson asked with a short laugh and a smirk.
“I assure you, Admiral, I do not jest.
Your world is being destroyed and I have chosen you to save
it.”
Nelson gave a short laugh and ran his hand over the
side of his head, pacing away from the strange being.
“Forgive me if I find that a bit hard to believe.
Why me? And what does my
world need saving from, besides its own
short-sightedness?”
Megaron turned from Nelson and dropped his head. “You may find it amusing Admiral, but I
assure you, you won’t. Your world
is facing destruction, just as mine did.” He turned back to face Nelson, his
features hardening. “I wasn’t able
to save my people. I don’t intend
to let that happen to yours.”
Exasperation filled Nelson as he tried to understand
what it was the being wanted of him.
“You aren’t making much sense!
Where is your world? What
happened to it and how am I to save my world? And from what?”
Silence filled the chamber as Megaron, his eyes closed,
stood silent and unmoving. Wisps
of gossamer mist flowed about him, sometimes obscuring him.
Nelson waited, his patience waning, till Megaron lowered his head and
shook it as if to dispel a sight he didn’t want to see.
Raising his head, he stared Nelson in the eye for a moment, then turned
and walked about him in a circle.
His voice when he spoke was filled with a dark
anguish.
“My world, Admiral, is here,” he said gesturing about
the chamber, his arms flung wide.
“This is all that is left.
All that was spared. I
alone remain.”
“Spared?
Who are you? And where did
your people--your world--come from?
What happened to it?” Nelson asked, striding towards Megaron who had now
stopped by a section of wall that seemed to shimmer.
Megaron reached out a hand and gently touched the wall. Nelson was amazed to see the wall pulse and glow, as if it were alive. Dropping his hand he turned back to Nelson and sighed.
“We were an ancient race.
Alive and thriving when your world was still young.
My people were born and lived and died on our home world,” he said with a
sigh. “I was a leader among my
people.” Turning from Nelson,
Megaron’s voice dropped to an almost inaudible level.
“I was also the instrument of my people’s
destruction.”
Bewilderment marked Nelson’s face as Megaron suddenly
faced him. “I assure you, the
destruction was purely accidental, but devastating nonetheless.
As a punishment, I remain alive to ensure it does not happen
again.”
His thoughts fleeing in a thousand different
directions, Nelson struggled with what Megaron had said as well as the
implications. A violent shaking
that threw him to the floor, however, interrupted further thought.
When the floor beneath him had settled, he rose and stared about
him.
“Another quake?” he asked.
Megaron stared about him, seemingly confused. “Yes. A large one.
We run out of time.”
“My boat.
I need to know if she is all right. And the crew,” Nelson said as he moved
to the opposite wall as if seeking a way out.
“Your boat is all right,” Meagron
said.
“I want to know for sure.
Send me back!”
“No. I am
sorry. I cannot risk that. I will allow you to see one time that
all is well with your ship.
Behold.”
The wall that had shimmered in Megaron’s touch, now
burst forth with color, coalescing to form a picture.
Crane and Morton were picking themselves up off the floor, seemingly
unhurt. Words began to be heard as
if a volume control button was pushed.
“Chip, check damage control.
Find out if we’re still watertight.”
Nelson watched as Chip sprang to the mic dangling from
the wall.
“Doc, any change in his condition?” Crane asked,
concern filling his voice.
“No change,” Jamieson said.
“No, wait. That’s not
true. Vital signs are beginning to
rise slightly. I can’t understand
this. And I can’t do anything to
help him.” He looked up at Crane
with dismay and frustration written on his lined face.
“Damage control reports minor flooding in frames 33 and
45. But we’re all right. For now.” Morton stood behind Crane,
staring at Nelson with the same troubled expression on his face as Crane.
Crane dropped his eyes to the rock still clenched in
Nelson’s hand and reached out to tentatively touch it.
Its continued warmth forced Crane to draw back once more.
“I think this has something to do with the Admiral’s condition,” he said,
pointing to the rock.
“That rock?
How? There isn’t any way
that that thing could be causing this.
Is there?” asked Morton uncertainly.
Jamieson shook his head and shrugged.
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t
think so. But then, I’ve seen lots
of things I wouldn’t have believed before I served on board the
Seaview.” He reached out
his hand and gently stroked the rock’s surface. “It is hot.
But I don’t see any burns on the admiral’s hand,” he said as he tried to
peel Nelson’s fingers from around the rock.
Giving up, he stepped back and looked at Crane. “We may be able to pry the rock from his
hand if we protect our hands from the heat.”
Turning, he glanced around the Sick Bay and smiled,
reaching for a pair of gloves left there by a reactor technician.
“Here, this may help insulate your hands. You try to peel the rock away. I’ll keep watch on his vital
signs.”
Crane took the gloves and began to slip them on. “Vital signs?
Why? What do you think will
happen?”
“I don’t know.
But I want to be prepared for anything.”
Nodding, Crane looked to Jamieson who motioned for him
to begin. Reaching out a hand,
Crane gently began to peel Nelson’s fingers back, the gloves protecting him from
the heat.
“It’s working,” Morton whispered, looking over Crane’s
shoulder.
“Yes, it is.
I almost have him free of it.”
A few seconds more and he said, “There! Got it! I…”
A shrill beeping coming from Nelson’s heart monitor
interrupted Crane. “What’s
happening?”
Jamieson stared in consternation at Nelson’s vital
signs. “His heart rate and blood
pressure are dropping! Brain
activity is slowing. He’s going
into cardiac arrest! Put it
back! Now!”
His hands shaking, Crane put the rock back into
Nelson’s hand, watching as his fingers closed about it once more.
The sounds coming from the heart monitor ceased and were replaced once
more by a steady beeping.
“Is he all right?” Crane and Morton asked almost
simultaneously.
Jamieson took his time taking Nelson’s blood pressure
and listening to his heart.
Finally, he looked up. “I
think he’s all right. But we won’t
try that again,” he said. “I don’t
know what to . . .”
Their features began to wane and their voices faded to
nothing as Nelson found himself back in the chamber.
“Satisfied, Admiral?”
Nelson turned back to face the voice once more. “Not entirely.”
He stared unflinching at the man before him.
“But I suppose I will have to be.
Are you ready to tell me what this is all about?”
The slight smile dropped from Megaron’s face. “Yes,” he said after a time.
“Yes, I suppose I am.” He
dropped his head and walked away from Nelson, his robes flowing about him in the
slight breeze that wafted through the chamber. He stopped in front of the wall that
still shimmered, the same one through which he had shown Nelson the
Seaview. Reaching out a
hand, he stroked its surface gently.
Nelson heard him whisper strange, unknown words as he continued to caress
the wall.
After a time, he stopped and dropped his head. His voice when he spoke trembled with
long held emotion. “My people were
an ancient race. Full of the ways
of science. Inquisitive. Seeking. We were
also...refugees.”
The silence in the room seemed to stretch on forever
till Megaron turned and stared Nelson in the eye.
“Our world was destroyed many thousand years ago when our sun went
nova. Our scientists knew what was
to come and made preparations.
Thousands of us were selected to seek out new worlds to colonize. We came upon your world when Greece was
at its height and chose this area to colonize.”
Nelson listened, watching Megaron’s face as he told his
tale. Disbelief warred with his
quest for knowledge. “This area
has no land mass near by. Where
did you live? In the sea?” Nelson asked afraid if he stopped
Megaron’s tale, he would not start again.
“There is no land here now, no.
But when we arrived, a large landmass existed here where we are now. Our
new home,” he said quietly.
Megaron turned to face Nelson and saw the disbelief in
his eyes that crowded out his wonder.
He stared at Nelson a moment longer and then seemed to
shrink a bit. “I can see you do
not understand. I suppose the only
way, is to show you.”
Turning back to the shimmering wall, he waved a hand
before it. Nelson was astounded as
the wall shimmered and pulsed once more.
But this time he felt himself move. The mist increased about him,
swirling, till he saw nothing.
When Nelson opened his eyes, he found himself standing
on a large cliff looking down on two identical valleys.
On either, fields spread out in all directions, tended by men, women and
children of all ages.
“These were my people.” Nelson, startled, turned to see Megaron
standing beside him, unfathomable sorrow etched upon his face.
“We planted, tended and harvested our crops.
Raised our children and buried our dead.”
Nelson again felt himself moving, the mists closing
about him once more. This time he
found himself in a market area.
Merchants set their wares out on blankets of many hues.
Calling to one another in a language that was somehow familiar to Nelson,
they bantered back and forth good-naturedly.
Extending out from the marketplace was a large open
area. Nelson walked to the edge and
marveled at what he saw.
Stretching out before him was a large open area that was dominated by a
large stone ring consisting of concentric circles, each one larger than the one
before it. In the center of the
circle was a round area that seemed to shimmer and pulse as the wall in the
chamber had.
“Here was our discovery, our eventual down fall.” Nelson didn’t bother to turn this time,
knowing Megaron had come up behind him once more.
Feeling the pull of the area, Nelson fought to bring
himself back. “What . . . what
happened here? What was your
discovery?”
“We were attracted to this area by an energy field
similar to what we had found on other worlds in our quest.
The field was highest in this area and we made it our
capital.”
“We strove to tame the fields to our use, to blend in
with other cultures on your world, and tampered with something we did not
understand. We assumed they were
similar to fields we found on other worlds but we were devastatingly
wrong.”
Nelson stared about him in wonder.
“These fields, what were they?” he asked after a
moment.
“They were portals. To other times, other places, other
worlds.”
“You said you found these fields elsewhere.
Why didn’t you stay on those worlds? Why here?”
“The other portals were unstable, unpredictable. Some closed trapping our explorers on
other worlds. Some exuded such
energy, it destroyed anything nearby.”
“Your world housed a similar portal but we, in our
infinite arrogance, thought we could control it and meld it to our desires. Our scientists worked to change the
fields and make them stable and in so doing, caused the destruction of our new
world, your old. The reaction was
stopped in time but not before my people were destroyed, killed in the
cataclysmic eruptions. Our homes,
our land were torn apart by violent earthquakes.”
Silence stretched on between the two till Megaron shook
himself and faced Nelson. “The
same thing is happening now. The
portal is reopening. It must be
closed.”
“The earthquakes. They’re caused by this...portal?”
Nelson asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes.
How, I do not know. We were
able to close the portal but not before my people were killed.
There was no chance for them to escape through to another time or
place. There was… no time.” Megaron’s voice had dropped to an
almost inaudible whisper, his face reflecting the horror of seeing his world
destroyed.
Nelson turned back to the portal he saw from a
different time. He watched the
people as they went about their business; children laughed and parents
scolded. Just as any other time
and place. But he knew these
people, refugees from one disaster, had died in another and he felt an
overpowering sadness. He wouldn’t
let that happen to his world. Not
if there was something he could do about it.
“What can I do?” he asked quietly, hesitant to intrude
in Megaron’s grief.
The words brought Megaron back to the present and he
turned back to Nelson. “You have
aboard your vessel torpedoes and missiles, do you not?”
“And how do you know this?” Nelson asked
quietly.
“I have
spent many thousand years alone. I
explored your culture, listened as your people sailed the oceans, explored the
stars and now the oceans. I have
heard of you and your submarine and heard of your renown.”
“How? How
are you still alive?”
A stillness descended upon Megaron’s features as he
remembered his old life. “Among my
people, there were those chosen to be caretakers.
Men and women that were endowed with a special power to allow them to
live forever if they chose.”
“Why?”
A small smile flitted about Megaron’s face as he
contemplated Nelson. “I like you,
Admiral. You are full of
questions. A man not satisfied
with a simple because.” He
gave a short laugh and continued, “To you perhaps the idea of immortality is
attractive. To us, it was a way of
insuring that our knowledge would endure so that mistakes made before would not
be repeated. I was one of those
chosen to be a caretaker and I went with the first group to search for new
homelands.”
Megaron seemed to shrink a bit as he relived old
memories. “Most of us had the
luxury of being with our own kind.
To talk of our history, our memories, our discoveries.
When this world . . .” he broke off what he was about to say then
continued. “When we destroyed
ourselves, I chose to remain alive to ensure the portal would not
reopen.”
“You said you “chose” to stay alive.
You can die then?”
Megaron stared long at Nelson as if looking inside him,
trying to decide what to say.
After a moment he nodded briefly.
“Yes, I can. If I
choose.”
Nelson turned away at the frank admission.
He didn’t know why, but the simple confession filled him with
confidence.
“What do you want me to do?” Nelson asked
finally.
Closing his eyes as if in relief, Megaron said, “If I
give you the coordinates to the portal, torpedoes fired from your submarine
should close the portal once again.”
“And if I do what you ask, what happens to
you?”
“Nothing.
I go back to watching and waiting.
The blast will have no effect on me if that is what you
fear.”
Feeling the weight of the decision he was about to
make, Nelson turned to stare once more at the civilization that spread out
before him. Once alive, happy and
profitable, now dead. His decision
made, Nelson faced Megaron once more and agreed.
Before Nelson could react, he felt himself moving
again, falling through mists that enveloped him. He thought to find himself back in the
chamber again but heard, with surprise, Crane’s anxious
voice.
“What’s wrong now? What’s happening to him?” Crane’s tone
was laced with fear.
“I don’t know.
His vital signs are continuing to drop. Brain activity is decreasing. He seems to be . . .” Doc’s words were
cut off when Nelson gasped and gave a low moan, his hand reaching for his
head.
“Admiral?
Are you all right?” Crane asked, his voice taut with
concern.
Nelson slowly opened his eyes to stare into Lee Crane’s
anxious face. He smiled and then
groaned at the pain that coursed briefly through his head.
“Yes, Lee. I’m . . . I’m
all right. I . . .” He stopped and
stared down at the rock that was still gripped in his hands.
A curious expression came over his face as he unclenched his hand and
stared at the rock. His
expression quickly changed to one of understanding and he smiled and
nodded.
“Admiral?”
Jamieson’s voice broke through and Nelson realized he was still connected
to several machines, his officers staring at him with a mixture of interest and
concern.
“You can take those off now, Will.
I’m all right.”
“Admiral, what happened?
What . . .” Lee’s questions were interrupted by Nelson who, now freed of
the wires, suddenly sat up and fixed him with a stare.
“Lee, I want you to ready four torpedoes for immediate
firing.”
Crane stared at him, disbelief filling his face. “What?”
“You heard me.
Ready four torpedoes.”
Confusion and anxiety forced Crane to pull his gaze
from Nelson to Jamieson, who shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn’t know
what to make of it.
“Admiral, I don’t think you should be making...”
“Lee,” Nelson interrupted “I don’t have the time to
make you believe I’m really all right.
I need you to ready the torpedoes and I need you to fire them at these
coordinates,” Nelson said, quickly grabbing a chart Jamieson had been holding
and scribbling a set of coordinates.
He handed it to Crane who took it slowly from the Admiral, his eyes never
leaving the Admiral’s.
“Trust me, Lee.
I know what’s causing the earthquakes but we don’t have much time. Back
us off a safe distance and fire the torpedoes.”
Long years of friendship between the two men convinced
Crane to do as the Admiral asked.
He turned slowly to the intercom and ordered the missile room to ready
the torpedoes.
Nelson nodded in relief and glanced down at the rock in
his hand, smiling.
“Sir, torpedoes are readied and coordinates set. We’re a safe distance
away.”
“Fire.”
Nelson’s voice was strong but laced with something Crane couldn’t make
out.
The torpedoes sped on their way to the mark and
exploded, closing off the portal once more. The Seaview rocked slightly from
side to side but no harm was done.
Crane turned back to Nelson who continued to stare at
the rock in his hand. He walked
slowly to his friend’s side and gently touched him on the arm.
“You are going to tell me what that was all about, aren’t
you?”
Nelson drew his eyes level with his captain’s. “Of course, Lee.
When have I ever left you in the dark before?” he asked
innocently.
Crane frowned and was about to mention several times
when he had indeed been left in the dark when he noticed Nelson grinning
broadly.
“Come on Lee, Chip and I’ll tell you all about it in
the Observation Nose over a cup of coffee,” he said as he tossed the rock in the
air.
The three men headed for the door but were stopped by
the voice of Jamieson. “I don’t
suppose anyone is going to ask me if it is all right for you to
go.”
Nelson turned back and looked questioningly at
Jamieson. “Why would I ask you
that, Will? I simply had a little
nap. You’re always telling me I
don’t sleep enough.”
Jamieson made a rude noise and waved him out the
door. “Go. But
don’t come to me if someone finds you collapsed on the
floor.”
Chuckling, Nelson strode from the room, his laughter
ringing in the hallway.