The Thales: The Rising Current: 01

By Thomas A Fowler

Deep below the Pacific, the crew of the Thales attempt to harness the power of deep ocean currents. Using turbines, they attempt to harness more renewable energy than the world has ever seen. However, when a pressure valve ruptures they struggle for survival, and discover one of their own may have wanted the station to fail all along. With an en

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nerdy Things Publishing
• Release date: Nov 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9780997349993

Thomas A Fowler

Thomas A. Fowler is the author of nerdy things. At the age of 11, he saw Jurassic Park. It was all nerdy as hell from there. Especially when he stuck around for the end credits and saw "Based on the Novel by Michael Crichton." He went straight from the movie theater, walked down the mall to a Walden Books. Since then, he's written movies, plays, short stories and books. While he sticks primarily to science-fiction, he dabbles elsewhere. He holds an MBA in Marketing from Regis University and uses that as a Content Creator at a full-service ad agency in Denver, Colorado. Somewhere, between writing and advertising, he tries to be a loving husband and responsible father.

Book preview

THE THALES

A NOVEL

THOMAS A. FOWLER

NERDY THINGS PUBLISHING

The Thales is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2019 by Thomas A. Fowler / Nerdy Things Publishing, LLC.

All rights reserved.

Published by Nerdy Things Publishing.

NerdyThingsPublishing.com

Paperback ISBN 978-0-9973499-6-2

Ebook ISBN 978-0-9973499-9-3

For Amber. You are, and always will be, the lighthouse that brings me home, no matter the storm.

CHAPTER 1

JASON WHITE - TROUGH

Water is the principle, or the element, of things. All things are water.

-Thales of Miletus

The caverns of the Thales echoed in the almost-silence, save for the sounds of the Pacific outside it. Dormant at the ocean bottom, the station waited for its power to come alive.

Jason White’s biggest fear was that it never would. He ran his thumb over the portable drive, pushing the firebolt plug in and out, repeating the same motion as he waited by the submersible hatch. Standing in the loading area, he nervously paced at the end of the thin, silver hallway. The walls were covered with pipes and power conduits, illuminated by a single emergency light as the station operated at minimal power. The light cast fierce shadows over Jason; sharp contrasts kept his eyes in shadow as he stood underneath it.

Come on, Donnie, Jason whispered.

Jason continued his toying with the portable drive in a nervous twitch. Each movement sent the sound of a click down the hall. Each sound dissipated, never echoing back, despite the hallway being perfect for it. The sound was drowned out by the deep bellow of the Pacific waters striking against the hull of the Thales, the impacts coming from the California Current swelling as it approached the west coast and turned south toward Mexico. Every moment aboard the station came with the persistent reminder that thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch was shoving itself against the shell of the technological marvel. Despite the station’s smooth contours and expert design, nothing was impervious to the pressure of the Pacific Ocean. It kept the crew humble, knowing they were consistently one mistake from being crushed, drowned, or some horrific combination of the two.

Jason stopped thumbing the drive. The information on it too valuable to lose, he quit out of fear that the repeated action would somehow damage it. He knew it wouldn’t, but Jason couldn’t bring himself to risk anything happening to it. Gaining the one copy of the drive had taken more effort and attention than he would’ve liked. If Flannery, the station’s tech expert and developer, hadn’t received an alert already about the information duplication and download, she would soon. Putting the drive away, Jason checked the entry hatch handle to the Anaximander, one of the submersibles attached to the station, used for trips to and from the surface. The long ladder fed down to the submersible floor, going through an entrance corridor, which looked much like a tunnel, and led to the hamster balls, a nickname the crew had come up with.

He tested the handle and it turned with ease. The sound of the moving handle traveled down the hall, where Jason could hear approaching voices. Knowing he wasn’t authorized to open the hatch or operate a submersible, he pushed it shut again, spinning the seal to close it off as the voices became clearer. He pulled his backpack off his shoulder, removing his tablet. He raised it so it looked as if he was working.

Down the corridor, the two voices he’d heard passed by the hall entrance. The two submersible sisters, Juana and Maria Elena Perez, were talking about the older sister’s latest idea for a tattoo.

Flannery’s tattoo artist is only a twenty-minute drive from Shore Station. Juana lifted the sleeve on her right shoulder, revealing a tattoo of a lion’s head, in the middle of a roar on her shoulder. Next time we’re shoreside, it’d be fun to expand this. Before she could elaborate, she noticed him. Hey, Jason.

Oh. He tried to act casual. His voice cracked a bit, his right arm flailing awkwardly, but he tried to pass it off as a casual wave. Jason cleared his throat. How’s it going?

Doing all right. You needed some privacy? Juana asked.

Yeah, he said, and nothing more. He needed to elaborate, explain why he was in such an unusual spot. Quickly, he used what he knew. Yeah, Operations was feeling crowded – wanted some time to myself.

Which is a nice way of saying Flannery and Karina were yelling at each other again, Maria Elena responded, lifting her shoulders.

Jason shrugged, giving the impression that that was exactly why, but he hadn’t wanted to say it outright.

It’s cool, Maria Elena said. You’re in there every day. You need some space.

Another voice came from down the hall. Hi, Juana. Hi, Maria Elena, Donnie said. How are you?

Maria Elena replied with a thumbs-up.

Juana replied: Doing well. You coming up here for privacy, too?

Was looking for Jason. Donnie stepped into the hallway.

Juana pointed at him. But seems like he’s wanting some time alone. He’s feeling crazy with the richos going at it again in Operations.

It’s fine. Jason waved. We need to chat about something. Thank you for supporting my alone time, though.

You got it, buddy, Juana said. Catch up with you later. I owe you a connection from the auxiliary grid to get us more power today. I’ll head out in the sub later.

Appreciate it, Jason said. Does after lunch work? I can monitor the inputs in real-time.

See you then, Juana replied. Then, turning back to Maria Elena, she lifted the sleeve on her right arm again. I’m telling you, adding to this would be great.

Except if the texturing is too distracting, you lose focus on the lion, Maria Elena said.

I know. That’s why I want Flannery’s tattoo artist; she does these great geo lines… The sound of her voice trailed off into incoherent mumbling as they walked away.

Donnie shook his head, sighing deeply as he walked down the hall.

You shouldn’t have said you were looking for me. Jason closed his tablet, placing it back in his bag.

There are only eight of us, and I saw Maria Elena ten minutes ago in a meeting. Why else would I come down to the loading area? he asked.

You’re right. It’s fine, Jason replied. We’re leaving in three minutes – won’t matter soon. Did you get ahold of our boat for pickup?

"Yes, it’ll be waiting just outside the fishing grounds. We send our exact location when we’re five hundred meters from the surface. It’ll give Pete more than enough time to grab us before the Boundless will be able to intercept, Donnie said. At least, based on how the safety drills have gone and what Thales protocol said. But the Boundless will be on the move already if it follows procedure."

That ship is such a monster, though. I’m sure we could outmaneuver it. Jason grabbed the handle again.

Except Pete said he can’t risk being identified. If there are other ships around, he won’t do it, Donnie replied.

Gotcha, Jason said. He brought extra fuel, though, right? That small thing isn’t going to make it all the way out here and back on a single tank.

I’m sure he did, he kept that stash of gas that always made us nervous as hell, Donnie replied.

They checked for voices, hearing only the continued debate in the distance between the submersible sisters. Jason turned the hatch seal.

You sure you feel comfortable? Jason asked.

As comfortable as I can, having never driven a submersible before, Donnie replied. I picked Maria Elena’s brain as much as I could without drawing too much attention. If all else fails, we pull the emergency buoys. I know where those are. Now, get in the hamster ball.

Crawling through the tunnel, the two stepped inside the submersible, where the nickname hamster ball was only too fitting. Only the back panel was made of a solid metal – as well as an apparatus on the top for loading and extraction via crane – while the rest was a clear globe, which allowed them to look out at the deep Pacific waters surrounding them. They could see the Kite Fields, which had thousands of turbines layered across the rocky surface. They laid motionless on the plains of the ocean floor, each turbine was tethered against a concrete anchor, awaiting release. The floodlights sprinkled throughout were dark until the station powered up.

The Thales was waiting to absorb the power of the Pacific Ocean – more power from a single renewable energy source than the world had ever seen.

Hatch One, Donnie said, turning the upper wheel. He stepped down and retracted the ladder to seal the second. Hatch Two.

"Anaximander, this is Operations. Detecting hatch seals and power up – please confirm," Flannery’s quiet voice said over the radio. Her tone was soft in volume, but sharp in its intent. She was a deliberate soul and didn’t spare any pleasantries.

We stay quiet, Jason replied.

Donnie was whispering to himself, going over the procedures in his head.

You sure you’re good to do this? Jason asked.

Donnie nodded. Not much choice at this point.

We do, though. We could tell the crew what’s going on. They can’t all be in on it, Jason replied.

No, we don’t know who we can trust. It’s you and me. Remember? Donnie flipped another switch. He waited for the release sequence to start. He flipped the last switch back and forth a few times to no result. Shit, something I did, or didn’t do. Had to be around step twelve.

He flipped everything back to start mode.

"Anaximander, this is Operations. Call back, Flannery ordered. Jason, Donnie, I can see you in there on the security cams. Please let us know what’s going on."

Donnie resumed the sequence on the submersible, which he’d committed to memory. Step seven – that’s where I have to set pressure requirements; then I can tackle hatch release…

What he whispered to himself after that, Jason couldn’t decipher. As Jason waited for his friend to power up the submersible, a knock came from the top hatch. Indiscernible voices were evidently asking what was going on. After a question from one of the submersible sisters, the other encouraged them not to go out on their own. Jason didn’t have to hear the exact words to know what they were implying. He could hear their concerned tone. Jason looked out of the glass globe, which kept them safe from the ocean outside. All around them was the same shade of water; such a dark blue, it was almost black. Being so far down, no light could make its way to them from the surface.

I don’t know, Donnie, Jason said. I don’t like this.

"How else are we getting the data to the surface? The Thales’ operating system won’t let us send anything past the firewall."

You’ve got about ten seconds before they override the hatch lock. Jason sat back into the submersible chair.

Almost there.

The hatch released, and the submersible floated in the water freely. Heading down, it removed itself from the hatch ladder and its seal. The hamster ball twirled around, facing the silver panels of the Thales. The submerged station, without any lights, looked like a sleeping giant, a quiet, silver creature recuperating from its journey to the deep surface below the waterline.

This is Operations. No authorization provided for the dive release. Return to the station now, Flannery radioed.

Let’s go. Donnie threw a few switches. The submersible rose. Slow, but deliberate, it behaved exactly the way Maria Elena had described. He rubbed his forehead, and then moved to his tired eyes. What about the ones who aren’t guilty?

Huh? Jason asked.

I know I said we don’t know who we can trust, but surely not all of them are in on it? Donnie said. Aren’t we leaving innocent people at risk by not taking them with us?

The data is our evidence, Jason said. If we can expose that, they won’t have time to do anything to the innocents left behind.

Donnie held the controls, even though there was nothing for him to do. The Anaximander started its rise to the top. He’d have to adjust their trajectory to reach the general pickup area, but, until they got closer and heard from Pete on his boat, it was too early to gauge in which direction to point it. At this point, that’s the risk we’re taking, I guess.

The ocean around them remained dark, sunlight unable to reach them this far under the surface. Looking below them, the outline of the Thales had already disappeared. Within seconds, they couldn’t see a thing below them. Now they rose, surrounded by the midnight blue of the Pacific.

"Anaximander, this is the Thales. Shore Station is requesting status, Flannery radioed. What’s going on?"

An older voice, with scratchy-like gravel sitting in its throat, hopped onto the radio. Jason, Donnie, this is Yuki. Why are you headed for the surface?

The two sat in silence. The sound of the submersible engines, the water outside, and the radio echoed inside the vessel. Do we tell him? Donnie asked. He’s been a solid leader for us.

I can’t trust him, Jason replied. I don’t care if he’s former military; there’s something off. He’s not telling us everything. It may be something else, but I can’t know that he isn’t in on this.

If it’s real, Donnie said.

It has to be, Jason shot back. There’s no reason for the coding they put in unless it was.

Gentlemen, Yuki radioed. This is Shore Station. If you’re experiencing claustrophobia or anxiety, we could work on getting more lights, help with the atmosphere a bit to help ease tension. What you’re doing right now is an incredible risk to all of us. Please return so we can keep you safe.

Jason tapped the control deck with his thumb. He contemplated Yuki’s statement. He sounds sincere in his desire to help. Which is exactly how someone would want to sound if they were in on it. Try to lure us back down, then keep us from getting this information out. Jason made a fist and slammed it against the deck.

"Or he could be legitimately confused, wanting to help us. Maybe if we say what we’re doing, then it goes out on radio, more people hear about it. He could protect the innocent ones on the Thales," Donnie said.

Jason repeated his thumb tapping on the submersible panel. He was torn. No one had been in the situation he and Donnie faced, at least not in this manner. His eyes darted back and forth, weighing the pros and cons of either decision. He tapped and tapped. He grazed his hand along the control panel, working toward the radio. His thumb lightly skimmed the button to speak with Yuki, but he didn’t push it outright.

They’re going to find out eventually, Donnie said. You essentially have the paper trail.

Jason pressed the button for the radio. Hey, Yuki, we–

An alarm sounded inside the Anaximander. The cautionary blaring stopped them both. They turned to identify the source. At the back panel, a red light spun, taking over every last glimmer of silver or white light within the submersible. The control panel alarm screeched.

What’s going on, Donnie? Jason scanned the control panel, trying to see where he could help, if at all.

Don’t know, he replied, running his hands over the control panel to see if anything could give him more information. He found a blinking blue light, flickering on and off giving a repeated warning. He leaned into the controls, looking at the small text on the panel. Hatch seal.

Why is the light blue and flashing? Jason asked.

I don’t know, Donnie replied.

"Anaximander, you have a vulnerable seal at risk of rupture. Return to the Thales now," Flannery radioed.

The red light spun. Jason got out of his seat to inspect the seal. The rounded hatch seemed fine, no indications of leaking or a breach. The spinning red beams from the alarm gave light to a few feet of ocean water in front of them, but illuminated nothing. It only gave light to the expansive darkness that surrounded them.

Seal seems fine, Jason said. Do we make a break for it? Doesn’t this have an emergency system to bring it to the surface?

Yeah, but it won’t mean shit if we have a rupture. We’re forty minutes from the surface, Donnie said.

"Anaximander, you are still surfacing. Return to base, Flannery said. If that seal breaks, that’s it."

The alarm would not relent. The screeching sound told them they had minutes, if not less, to deal with the issue. Donnie got out of his seat, stepped to the back, and turned the hatch handle tight to see if it secured the seal any further. The alarm continued. He groaned, returning to the blue, flashing light. Nothing changed.

If that seal breaks without us getting the drive to anyone, this was for nothing, Jason said.

If we go back, whoever did this will have the opportunity to remove all evidence, Donnie said. Nothing’s happened yet. It doesn’t mean it won’t or they can’t find another way.

What if we were wrong? Jason asked.

We weren’t. Maybe they decided not to act on it, Donnie replied. Maybe they’re waiting…

The blue flashing light turned yellow. With only one blink, it turned red.

Donnie, Jason, you’re about to breach. Get the hell back here! Flannery shouted.

Guys, submersible pressure is reading critical. Now! Yuki ordered.

Shit, Donnie said. No choice – we’ll never make it to the surface.

What do we–

He didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence. A string of water sprayed from the seal. The pressurized release fired like a bullet toward the submersible glass. The stream splashed back against both Jason and Donnie. Another stream came through, striking Donnie in the back.

Donnie! Jason reached over.

Jason pulled his shirt off, popping and tearing the buttons from the cloth. His t-shirt underneath stuck to his skin as the water drenched them both. Jason pushed his button-up against the seal breach. The pressure was so intense, it fired the shirt out of his hand. He swung his hands up, feeling the sting of the incoming water. He pushed through the pain, eager to keep the water off Donnie until he could get the submersible back to the station. The seal groaned. Pressure increased.

"Maria Elena is getting in the Archimedes, Flannery reported. She’ll try to push or tow you in."

Donnie lurched at the controls, piloting the submersible toward the Thales. He’d only learned by watching Maria Elena and Juana: he’d asked them how to pilot, hoping the trip to the surface would be simple. He moved the controls too far to the left, swinging the submersible violently toward the station.

As it pitched to the side, it was enough to shove the Anaximander, and it lurched against the hatch seal. The controls snapped down two inches, pushing against Jason’s thumbs, and the sudden thrust down popped his thumbs out of place. More water entered. The stream slammed into Donnie’s back. His head and upper body crashed into the control panel. His torso fell over the pilot’s chair and he tumbled to the floor. Water collected at the bottom, gathering at an alarming rate that would consume the Anaximander in moments.

Donnie! Jason clutched at his thumbs, trying to reach under Donnie’s back to bring him up.

The seal groaned again. A growing bellow of bending metal.

Sit tight, Flannery radioed. "Archimedes is dispatching now. They’ll pull you in."

The groaning grew louder. The hatch seal buckled under the weight of the Pacific Ocean bearing down on it. The hinge snapped like cheap plastic. Jason winced, closing his eyes as the hatch broke. The entirety of an ocean followed.

CHAPTER 2

EWAN COLEMAN – DEPARTURES

Three months later, beyond the whitecaps of approaching waves, a new life called to Ewan Coleman, under the blue horizon of the Pacific Ocean. He picked at the chipped fragments of the worn, cedar planks of an aged dock, his feet going numb as they rested in the cool saltwater. The strength of crashing waves never took long to deteriorate the coarse, wooden gateways to the ocean. It was a stark contrast to the crafted iron of the Boundless, the ship that was taking him miles out. The smooth contours of the massive boat reflected the rippling tide as it glowed from the morning sunrise.

You should be here to see this, he whispered.

He tugged at his wedding ring. He also carried Jenna’s with him on a necklace, ready to place both in the Pacific waters as a final farewell to her. Ewan reached back, unclasping the chain. Their rings were the final pieces of a broken dream he felt a fool to believe he’d deserved.

His ring wouldn’t come off his finger. His pulling grew tighter, cutting off the circulation. The tip of his finger turned a flushed red. A single tear fell into the water as he strained to remove the ring. He twisted over, extending his finger, trying to find the right angle to get it off. He shook his hand, trying to get the blood flowing again with one hand, while pounding the planks of the dock with the other.

The water deepened into a shadowed grave, churned by an aggressive high tide, which was smashing the dock harder with each crashing wave. When the ring was in the water, his remembrance of her could find its way to the ocean floor and rest. Ewan held the chain out over the water. Her ring dangled from it, spinning in circles from the breeze.

I wish you were headed down there with me, Ewan said.

He recalled Jenna’s black hair, which always brushed against her freckled shoulders, burned by the sun too often. It had been a year and a half since they’d married, and mere months since her death. He could recall the scar above her right eye, and how it had created a slight bald spot on her eyebrow. Those details of her were leaving Ewan. He wanted nothing more than to start another life, to remove himself from the pain, yet he never wanted to let the memory of her disappear.

He waited to board the vessel that would allow him to leave her memory behind. Once he stepped into the Thales, those he would dive with to the ocean bottom wouldn’t know him as a widower. He had become exhausted of the moniker.

Ewan tucked the chain as deep into his shirt as he could, tightening the collar buttons to make sure no one would be able to see Jenna’s ring. Another time would come when he could leave their rings behind. It wasn’t today. He brought the chain back around his neck, attaching the clasp, and left his ring in place.

Ewan overheard the crew of the Boundless yelling about their final steps before departure. Ewan brought his feet out of the ocean, brushing the water off before putting his socks and shoes back on. He was one of only three crew members left to head out on the ship toward the Thales, the most innovative renewable energy structure ever conceived. The other six waited at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, preparing the station for launch. He struggled to make acquaintances with most of the crew. He and the only other new recruit, Stacey Kern, clung together out of necessity.

Nearby, Stacey bounced her crying toddler up and down. She handed her son over to his grandmother. Only in her mid-twenties, she was a young mother. She had the haggard eyes of a woman who rarely slept: a single mother working by day, nurturing a child at night. She tried to explain her departure to a child incapable of understanding.

Hiroyuki Nakamura, who preferred everyone to call him Yuki, stood alone. He had a graying beard and crew-cut. Ewan hadn’t figured out Yuki’s past beyond the fact he had a Naval background and worked safety on the Shore Station before this, which allowed him to become the head of the Thales crew. This was around the same time his predecessors passed in a tragic accident, which was months before they’d recruited Ewan. Yuki had been oddly quiet when they approached Ewan weeks ago about the job. There was no elaborating on his predecessors; the only information that could be gleaned about them were the measures Maritimus Energy, the company that had built the station, had taken to ensure the incident wouldn’t occur ever again. As Yuki stood alone, Ewan was glad he wasn’t the only one without someone to see him off.

The Boundless captain called all crew on deck. The entrance to the ship seemed to shrink as he got closer. One step onto the slanted ramp and his passage to a new life would begin. The welded metal edges of the ramp rested against the chipped wooden dock. Rippling crests crashed against the cool maroon of the iron ship then dissipated back into an endless ocean. The chilled saltwater from the humid air collected on his skin.

A slow creak from the metal ramp announced his first step toward the deck. The stout breeze, echoing off the morning tide, cut through his sand-colored hair.

Are you doing okay, Ewan?

Ewan turned around, seeing a smiling Yuki Nakamura. I’m fine – a little nervous. Ewan stumbled on his next step.

I’d accept ‘scared as shit’ for an answer too, son. Nothing wrong with that. Yuki grabbed Ewan’s arm in a vice hold to support him. He reassured him by jumping on the ramp with no concern. It’s solid – not going anywhere.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you. My slow pace isn’t because of a fear of boats, Ewan said.

The sun’s damage added years to Yuki’s smile. He was a man who still had some time before retirement, but his appearance fooled most into thinking he was well into his golden years. He released his grip, and invited Ewan to the sprawling deck. Ewan dropped his shoulders, trying to relax, as he worked on releasing the knot in the muscles in his back.

A three-foot-wide platform rested at the top edge of the Boundless. An opening between the high extensions of the ship’s plating created a steep, final step. Dozens of ship crew members and moving machinery made the deck appear more like a warehouse than an ocean vessel.

Far beyond were the Pacific depths, where the Thales awaited.

The last time he’d seen such a vibrant sky was Jenna’s funeral. He had barely been able to bring himself to look at the closed casket, the dark cherry-stained wood reflecting the sun’s rays like a mirror. He hated remembering every moment, from identifying her body to the first night he went to sleep alone. His heartbeat reached the same rate as when he jogged, breaths a little harder to take.

A child’s cry from the docks snapped his attention back. He rested against the railing, looking out the starboard side of the ship at the dock below him.

Stacey hadn’t left the dock. A wailing toddler clutched at her shoulder, her embrace as tight as could be around the small boy. Even from such a height, Ewan could see Stacey’s auburn head shaking as she sobbed. Stacey lowered her son to the wooden planks. They walked hand in hand. Stacey leaned down to talk to her son one last time before saying goodbye for the time being. Stacey’s mother stood not far from her.

We’re gathering at the bow of the ship, Ewan. Yuki waved him forward.

The trek was long to the front. Ewan’s fingers ran along a smooth, metallic container, which was labeled the Archimedes. It was empty. The submersibles were at the bottom of the ocean, preparing to travel to the surface to bring Ewan, Yuki and Stacey to the Thales. The containers were the cleanest items on the ship. Lids covered the top, sealed with side hinges, which dwarfed the common door. The shells were pinned down by massive bolts, with the bolt heads, the size of dinner plates, rising six inches above the deck. Ewan pounded on the wall of the shell. The echo inside the chamber had a bass-like resonance.

His inner child lit up at the sight of the Archimedes, or at least its container. It gave him an idea