Depths

By J. Dorden

Losing her brother was the worst pain she ever felt, but Sydney decided to finish his mission. Sydney and her team set off to explore the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. While they were in the depths two discoveries were made, one that saddened, and the other was unbelievable, impossible, but very much real. The discovery may be the discovery of a lifetime, whether that life would be short was a different story, however.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. Dorden
• Release date: May 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386475804

J. Dorden

28 years old and studying for web and mobile programming. An avid reader from a young age but waited to start writing until later. Originally from Georgia, raised in Florida and now currently living in Maryland. In the process of writing the sequel to Depths and always looking for the next piece of inspiration. 

Book preview

Prologue

2025 sept 27th.

Sidney looked into the distance, ignoring all the pitying looks, as she tried to hold back the tears. This should not have happened; this could not have been what was meant to be. As the empty casket descended into the grave, she breathed, pulling on all the strength in her weary soul to keep from being crushed beneath the weight of grief. The accident that shattered her peaceful life was quick and without warning. No one knew there was a faulty wire in the system which supplied air to the submersible vehicle her brother Jacob and his team were in or that there was a small ding in the glass which kept the ocean out. No one is sure which issue killed the crew, the fire that the faulty wire caused or the sudden crushing effect of the ocean’s depths. At least those were the publicly given reasons for the disaster.

1

A Year later: SEALS lab

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Sidney could finally think back to the incident that changed her life without immediately crying and wanting to curl up in despair and disappear. She thought she was ready to get back to work. As she worked her way through the building to get to her lab, coworkers constantly came up to ask her how she was and to see if she was going to crack under the pressure of coming back to finish the project that killed her brother and the rest of the crew that was helping him. She knew why they seemed so heartless, they wanted the project’s funding but also, they had respect for her for continuing the project. There were whispers that something was not right with the project. Her priority was to brace herself and look at the last bits of data which had been collected by the lost crew, not to dwell on the fact this project took her older brother. A black box full of data was released to the surface as soon as any major damage occurred. The last thing known was something happened at a few hundred meters from the area at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, named challengers deep, at 12 in the afternoon. Some catastrophic failure brought down a billion-dollar submersible vehicle, which had been inspected part by part before and during the trip. There were no mentions of faulty wiring and there is always extreme care in checking the glass before each dive. Most of the audio recording was corrupted; the only thing that came through was a sound that was out of place, yet oddly familiar. The recording, while compromised, showed an abrupt cut off a few minutes after the sound, which coincides with the black box being released from its compartment. The accident took place in the south Pacific, 210 miles SW of Guam. The trip would have been the first manned exploration of the Mariana Trench, the alleged deepest part of the ocean, at a depth of 36,201 ft. The trench is where two plates are touching, the Filipino and the Pacific plates, where the Pacific plate pushes underneath the other. Challengers deep had been reached, but not explored, a few times the last being 2012. As with space, human curiosity for the unknown is always thriving no matter what happens on land. The ocean has spawned many a myth, but humans always come back to it. Due to this curiosity, SEALS (Sea and Land Services), was created to focus on increasing our knowledge of the ocean and better ways to use the land.

2

Running the sound file through the Athena system, created by the company, would take time but she started it immediately to see if there would be a hit. To her surprise, it only took a few hours. Her small team gathered around so they could all see the information Athena would give them. The first bit of information was just an ultra-low frequency sound bite, which at first seemed irrelevant since it sounded nothing like the recording from the black box, until someone realized it was going sixteen times the normal speed. It was a deep but quick sound at that speed but then continued in a deep, almost croon like pattern. It seemed to rise in volume, and no one realized just how shocking this sound would turn out to be.

According to Athena, this was a mysterious sound which had been picked up by a group of hydrophones that NOAA (National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration) had placed around the world’s oceans. This sound was picked up in summer of 1997 on hydrophones, 3000 miles away from each other, and the official word is that it was a naturally occurring sound that came from an icequake, which happens when large icebergs crack and fracture. The unofficial word was a lot more theoretical than factual. The list mostly made the sound out to be some larger than ever, unrecorded creature, that was staying in the deepest part of the ocean and had never been heard before. As with any mystery, there is always conspiracy; the ocean has always spawned the most incredible or terror-filled myths and legends. It is still one place humanity has not fully explored, and lack of knowledge breeds terror and enchantment. Ancient myths from long ago always had a god or goddess of the sea and water; they also always had a sea monster and warnings of the deep. Warnings that humans have always shrugged away as if they were just stories made to frighten and to scare the gullible. Never mind that through the ages, there have been plenty of stories that might corroborate such warnings.

3

Sydney knew she had to get back out there, make a success of the disaster and, she must convince her bosses, David and Eric, that this would be good for the company. She also needed to make sure her team was ready and willing to go. Before going to her bosses, she made sure her team was prepared for everything, reminding them that this trip was dangerous, and they could end up like the last unfortunate explorers. She could see the confidence and eager yearning for exploration in their eyes. They were most definitely on board. The team made sure she had all the information she would need to convince the bosses that this expedition was of the utmost importance, even with the horrible set back that had happened. Her team wanted to go with her, but she decided it would be best to go alone first, then maybe they could come in.

When she went to see the bosses, she was surprised to be let in immediately. Apparently, they wanted to make sure she had come back okay and to see how she was holding up. Once they finished asking her the usual questions, she decided to ask if they were willing to fund another project like her brother's. Before they could say no, she gave all the data she and her team had and made sure they knew that the whole team agreed to go out even with the dangers that existed. Sydney was prompt in explaining how this could advance knowledge and understanding of the ocean and the planet. They were reluctant at first but agreed that it would be a good idea to continue the project. After further admonitions to be careful and to make sure that it goes well, Eric insisted on adding a member to the team, so they could have someone who would help with things not scientific. David agreed with him and even though Eric still looked doubtful, they followed through with the decision to send them. Sydney sighed with relief now that she had gotten permission and cooperation.

4

The team comprised of six: Steven Schmitt the sub operator, Isabella Ford the archaeologist plus linguistic anthropologist, a corporate stooge named Brad Simpleton, Jack Monte tech and engineering specialist, and Sheldon Meeks oceanographer and marine biologist extraordinaire. Sydney, while being the lead scientist, was also a geologist and physiologist. The bosses had decided that they would send someone with them who would supposedly be a witness and assistant. The team was not thrilled about it but the company was paying for this expedition and it would not have been able to happen otherwise; so they all kept their feelings quiet. They had long flights ahead of them, from Florida to California, California to Hawaii, then on to Guam where they would meet the boat. They would fly out in the morning after making double sure they had all the equipment they would need. SEALS’ corporate jet was thankfully available for carrying all of them from the home base in Florida to California then to Hawaii. The plane was not able to finish the trip to Guam but they were able to make two trips and split the baggage and equipment amongst them in smaller planes.

After finally arriving in Guam, they gathered at the company dock to see the new submersible that was manufactured specifically for the trip. Sydney was hesitant as she walked toward The Emerald II, which her team had already started calling Emmy. They hoped it would give them good luck in getting an award for whatever is discovered once they arrived at the site. The bright green sub was sitting on the deck of the Titan, a massive ship the company had for such explorations. As Captain Bartley stood welcoming the team aboard, Sydney noticed some odd looks from the crew; she just ignored it for the time being. This crew was supposedly screened by the company’s security consultants. As usual, they were the best the company could afford, which did not always fill her with confidence. The company’s finance department had a different opinion of affordable and quality than some would like at times.

5

Once they were all gathered aboard, the Captain set off to the Mariana Trench. It would certainly take a little while to reach, so they had plenty of time to look over every detail of the plans and the mechanics to make sure nothing was wrong with the sub. Jack and Sydney both shared the same eerie feeling that something may go wrong with this exploration as the last expedition showed signs of possible sabotage. They were both paying extremely close attention to everything they could, to see if they could prevent any issues from occurring or find the culprits. They were hoping a repeat of the previous disaster could be avoided and