Initially, the prospect of riding a submarine sounded exciting, but in actuality, it turned out to be rather mundane. Once they boarded the submarine, they were strapped into their seats and told all of the safety precautions; the experience could be equated to riding an airplane, simply long and tedious. No one openly conversed once the ascent began, instead opting to keep to themselves by watching the provided entertainment or watching something on their personal device.
Zain was the same, deciding to take a nap halfway through the journey. He did not awake until the ship had docked. The shifting of metal and absence of ambient water noises awoke him; There was a slight jolt to the side as they made contact, but otherwise there was not much change to their situation.
An intercom message updated the passengers.
‘The ship has now entered the docking bell. Please remain seated as docking commences. Outside pressurization is estimated to take 2 hours. Thank you.’
So there they stayed…for another two hours. All in all, uneventful and unexciting.
Finally, once the two hours had passed, the doors were finally opened. They were next instructed to take their possessions from their designated cubbies and to exit the submarine. In single file, they all shuffled out of the sub into a long corridor; an exiting bridge walkway connected them to the inner chambers, with steam and condensation fogging the windows. The heat was extreme, incentivizing passengers to hurry to the end of the hall.
The sub was still semi submerged in water, with the bridge nearly underneath the surface of the water. This tube-like hallway led to a corridor, with a check in desk at its center.
A woman, light blue hair and neon yellow eyes, smiled as she checked in the passengers. As an android, a simple scan with her eyes allowed her to immediately identify passengers and direct them to their respective areas.
Zain could see Brayden in the line quite aways in front of him; He was directed to go with the others within his group and Zain his own.
Once they exited the corridor, they were able to go outward to the living chambers, which allowed them to mingle and interact with those simply staying for layover and those remaining there for work.
The living chambers had a circular design, small windows allowed the outside to be seen; lights illuminated some of the sea, however, besides a few bottom feeders that clung to the vessel, only pitch blackness was offered for viewing.
The rooms that they were assigned were small pod rooms, with only enough room to recline or sit inside. Screens were built into the wall, which offered a selection of streaming services. A small storage compartment was allowed for their belongings, but these rooms were likely designed for short term stays.
There was no unpacking for Zain to do, so he locked his belongings away and met up with Brayden in the centermost quarters.
The lounge and communal area had a number of things for entertainment; there was an observation tank filled with unique aquatic creatures, a TV which had a gaming system hooked to it, and a few screens for interactive entertainment.
Brayden was sitting near the small observation tank, looking at the creatures within whilst writing in his notebook.
“Hey.”
Brayden looked up at Zain, closing his notebook as he returned his greeting.
“Hey, dude! How’s it been since this morning?”
“Fine. My group is a little…unique, but otherwise welcoming. How ‘bout you?”
“Mr. Boudreaux introduced me to a circle of teachers and researchers! They’re all super nice, so I’ve been having a great time so far.” Opening up his notebook again, he pinched a few of his pages as he held it up to Zain. “I’ve learned a lot. So much interesting history involved with the Chambers and the layers of Merverre.”
Brayden explained that the two upper layers of Merverre were built at a less efficient degree than the lowest layer. Imitations at best, but not self sufficient. The technology used to create the lowest layer was lost during the disaster, so expansion of the city was difficult.
As a result, the upper layers could only be sustainable with the creation of the first pressurized chamber and the volcanic energy converter.
It was hard for Zain to understand how such important technology could’ve been lost; If something so advanced was possible in the past, shouldn’t they have gotten to a point where they could recreate it by now?
“It’s weird. But they kept on mentioning something about a lost artifact…I was trying not to look stupid, but they made it sound like it was a natural conclusion…”
Brayden gave a small dejected sigh, regretting his sheepish behavior. It was understandable, though, as many of the adults had been questioning his participation in the conference; his lack of knowledge was already a hindrance, so his outright naivety would just rub many of the intellectuals the wrong way. So many other people were overlooked for this journey, so those who were able to participate purely due to connections were detested. It was two-fold for Brayden, since he was an ethereal with no experience.
“Maybe I can ask some of the people in my group. It’ll be less awkward for me. I’ll text you what they say. Just text me some other questions you think I can answer.”
Brayden took him up on that offer, and began to write a few questions down that he would send later. Halfway through this process, he suddenly looked up as if he had recalled something.
“Oh yeah! There were a few scholars who were ethereals willing to introduce me to a few researchers stationed here! They do some interesting stuff here, it’s really neat!”
He pointed to a room off to the side of the communal area; it required a keycard swipe to enter, and was labeled as an observation room.
The two boys went over to the room, with Brayden knocking on the door and shooting a text to some unknown person. A few seconds passed before someone from inside opened the door.
“Hey! Glad you were interested enough to come by, buddy!”
A man dressed in pajamas happily opened the door and drew Brayden in for a hug. He gave a small noogie then patted him heartily on the back. He gave a small glance to Zain, then offered a smile as he acknowledged him.
“Hey, kiddo! You friends? Good to see kids take interest in Biology!”
Zain’s hand was seized in an enthusiastic handshake. The two boys were practically shoved into the room, with the door shutting behind them.
Besides them, there were a handful of other scientists and researchers who were lounging about. Weirdly enough, they were dressed in a similar manner to the man at the door.
“Nicholas! Who was it?” A woman looking at a desktop questioned.
“This is the kid I told you about. The one who is going to the conference in my group.“
“Oh yeah…you said something about him wanting to know what we do here…”
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The woman typed in a few more things before turning around. She beckoned the two boys towards her, gesturing to her computer.
Looking at the work she had been working on, it appeared as if she was remotely controlling an underwater drone.
Only underwater debris flashed in front of the camera, the attached light illuminated the water a few feet in front of it.
“I’m studying the unique environment around Merverre. It’s a unique ecosystem that pulls in a multitude of special creatures.” Entering a few commands into the program, she started prompting the drone to move. It was slow, but eventually something came into view. “Siphonophores, cnidaria, mollusca…the list goes on. There are so many thriving species of animals, some exclusive to this environment.”
The camera slowly moved through the abyss, a few marine animals flashing into view. There were some crabs and fish around, but nothing too interesting. Zain was admittingly starting to lose interest when something else came into view.
A wall suddenly rose upward, obscuring the view of the entire right side of the screen; after a few seconds of readjusting and maneuvering, the drone turned to observe the humongous animal. A semi-transparent whale-like fish swam slowly through the oceans currents, its organs revealing themselves as the flashlight passed them. Its maw flapped open, with its skin pulsating and strobing with bioluminescent cells. A strong current drew into its mouth as it consumed passively.
“That thing is huge! What is it?!”
“It’s known as a spook whale, even though it is actually a shark. It lights itself to attract things into its mouth, but it primarily subsists on filter feeding.”
“Woah!” Zain was impressed by this animal he had never seen. The awe was short lived, however, as the creature remained largely stationary. After staring at it for a few minutes, Zain started to lose interest.
“Okay….does it do anything else?”
“Well, studies of its organs have revealed ether concentrations which imply possible use of mana in normal functions. Additionally, vestigial structures lead us to believe…” The woman began to ramble with biology jargon, which Zain could hardly parse. It really didn’t click with him, so his eyes started to wander as boredom overtook him.
“You’re boring them, Angie…” Nicholas finally intervened, drawing the woman’s attention back to those in front of her.
The accusation caused her to bunch her eyebrows in confusion, with her pursing her lips as she tried to retort. “But the information is interesting….”
“Not to most people, especially kids. You gotta entertain ‘em better.” With that he yoinked the remote from her hands.
She let out a few mumbles of protest, before she ultimately relented. In a bit of huff, she crossed her arms and moved slightly aside.
Now with the remote, Nicholas whistled as he circled through different camera feeds. There were different underwater drones being controlled and monitored by the biologist. Many pointed at nothing, while others pointed at faint lights in the ocean.
He flipped for a while before he made it to a specific frame; Only dark shadows could be seen, with a few pixels of dark blotchiness indicating that something was there.
The drone was orientated to better face whatever was there, coming in closer as a light was turned on.
A black, lattice-like creature was seen through the camera feed; at first, one could mistake the entity for a heap of trash or a tangle of weeds, but closer inspection with the drone revealed eye-like protrusions, all moving independently. The scales and fins overlaid in an asymmetric manner, no rhyme nor reason for their design. What could be assumed as the head, was nothing but a tangle of tentacles, writhing and grasping at the surrounding waters. It was an unfortunate looking creature, as it looked to be mangled by some unknown force.
“What is that?” Zain asked, slightly disgusted and horrified by the eldritch looking fish.
“It’s a blighted monster.” Nicholas answered casually. He used the cursor to pan out of focus, to better encompass the sheer size of the monster.
The fish rested in a rusted cage as it rested at the bottom of the sea floor. A few drones circled it, all of which were absolutely dwarfed in comparison. The drones were similar to the ones Zain had seen when he was first taken to Merverre, but the monstrosity was almost fifty times their size.
Someone dimmed the lights, trying to add ambiance as a few of the other biologists gathered round.
“Do you kids know what blighted creatures are?” One asked, bringing their laptop to a nearby table.
Both Brayden and Zain shook their heads, a little creeped out by their eagerness to explain the blighted creature.
“In this world, there are things that were never meant to exist. Forever decaying, forever living, are the blighted creatures. Cursed into indefinitely being, without a means to end their putrid existence.” Nicholas began, as if narrating an urban legend.
One of the biologists pulled up some images on his laptop; blurry photos, overexposed and grainy so the subject of each could hardly be discerned. They reminded Zain of the conspiracy photos people would pass around to show the existence of things like bigfoot; Black and tarnished figures were featured, with strange static corruption making the images unclear.
“The calamity of 500 years ago caused ruin to befall the world, and with it came a curse. Blight. Anything living at the center of destruction was destined to befall the curse of immortality, becoming a walking cancer incapable of dying.” Nicholas continued in a low, meandering cadence. Illustrating the tale of horror with his narration, “To this day, these creatures of blight continue to walk this earth. Unable to meet their end. Collecting victims to join their plight.”
“Jellyfish are immortal too.” Angie muttered under her breath, slight bitterness in her voice.
“Transdifferentiation is not the same as actual immortality–ugh.” Frustrated that his ghost story was unceremoniously interrupted, Nicholas heaved a sigh. “Well, whatever. What do you kiddos think? Pretty spooky and cool, right?”
“It was a nice story. It’s nice to hear creepypastas that exist in this world.” Brayden smiled, getting his notebook out so he could presumably record the folktale.
“Yeah. That was pretty interesting.” Zain used to read that kind of stuff with his friends, so it was nostalgic in a way.
“But it’s true…” Nicholas looked at them quizzically.
This claim elicited suspicious glances from Brayden and Zain. However, Nicholas did not falter or deflate, remaining steadfast in the truth of his statement. His gaze was steady, without a hint of deception.
It was Angie who added to this. “He’s not lying. The reason we have to monitor this blighted fish is because it was discovered to be too close to Merverre. Creatures of blight cannot be killed or destroyed, so they are pretty dangerous if they are provoked. Luckily, the fish ones are pretty docile, so they will go years without moving or eating.” Their attention was drawn back to the first screen, as Angie angled the drone to observe the fish. “Melded flesh that blighted creatures are known for has this particular specimen to appear much like a siphonophore. What it initially was is now impossible to make out.”
That’s actually really unsettling…
The dreadful looking creature was a natural phenomena here, much like the mythical creatures that also existed in this world.
It was hard for Zain to comprehend. How could something be truly immortal?
“I…have questions…” Brayden managed to mutter out, genuinely confuzzled and horrified. The look on his face made it appear as if he was having a hard time understanding the reality of their claims.
“They’re not too common, so you can sleep at night.” Nicholas said with a wink. The statement did little to alleviate their worries.
“Well, if they are on expeditions, they might encounter one. I don’t think it’s fair to lie to them, it’ll do more harm than good.” Angie corrected.
Brayden gave a concerned frown in Zain’s direction, making him sweat a bit. Yet another thing for him to worry about.
Nicholas tried to calm them, waving away her statement. “But most are docile. It is rare to find one that is aggressive.”
“Just don’t ever try to touch one.” Angie added mischievously, “Or you might assimilate or become blighted.”
Brayden and Zain were both sweating now, unsure if she was fibbing.
Rather than invoking a feeling of intrigue or awe, the story had filled the boys with frozen fear. This was likely not Nicholas' intention as he softly bonked his head with his fist, as if silently admonishing his own shortsightedness. Seeing that his little storytelling session was not going as planned, Nicholas awkwardly tried to change the subject. Meeting eyes with another biologist, he quickly waved him towards them, in the hopes of diverging attention.
The biologist had a laptop and was looking at some camera footage as well. However, in contrast, it was a livestream of several workers in an enclosed space of some sort. It looked to be an underwater submarine, but more confined.
“Look! Wanna talk to the deep divers in the compression chamber?” He pressed a button which activated the intercom. “Hey guys, need anything sent?”
The divers looked up with a start, then talked amongst themselves for a bit. After a minute, they returned a response. “Maybe some more sweets and cereal. Other than that, we just need someone to wash our clothes.”
Though the reply was normal enough, for some reason the audio was extremely high pitched, so it sounded like a chipmunk conversing with them.
“Pfft– why is the audio set up like that?” Zain thought it was some weird joke the biologist did to entertain themselves.
“The gasses used to pressurize their chambers makes their voices sound like that naturally.” The biologist explained. Apparently, the divers just went about their day sounding like that until they returned to normal pressure. What was more, these divers lived right next to the chamber they were in right now.
A few more biologists showed what they were tasked with doing. Some were mundane, like measuring seismic activity or monitoring radars, but others were quite interesting. There was one who was monitoring a brooding sea serpent, and another who was experimenting with elemental fishes.
Many biologists were eager to show what their work entailed, Zain lost track of the time. However, even though time passed easily, in the back of his mind, he still saw the image of the blighted creature.
Hopefully, he would never have to encounter one.
