interrupted momentarily, but we'll be on station for the divers." "Ten-four," Larry's voice said.
"Look at the luster of the walls," Suzanne remarked as the submersible sank below the tip of the huge hole. "They're perfectly smooth. It almost looks like obsidian!" "Let's head back to the well head," Perry suggested. "Could this be an opening into an extinct volcano?" Donald asked. A slight smile flitted across his otherwise rigid face.
"That's a thought," Suzanne said with a laugh. "Although I have to say I've never heard of a perfectly rectilinear caldera." She laughed again. "Our dropping down in here like this reminds me of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. "
"How so?" Donald asked.
"Have you read it?"
"I don't read novels," Donald said.
"That's right, I forgot," Suzanne said. "Anyway, in the story the protagonists entered a kind of pristine netherworld via an extinct volcano."
Donald shook his head. His eyes stayed glued to the thermistor readout. "What a waste of time reading such rubbish," he said. "That's why I don't read novels. Not with all the technical journals I can't get to."
Suzanne started to respond but changed her mind. She'd never been able to make a dent in Donald's
rigid opinions about fiction in particular and art in general. "I don't mean to be a pest," Perry said, "but I--" Perry never got out the last part of his sentence. All at once the submersible's descent accelerated markedly and Donald cried out, "Christ almighty!" Perry gripped the sides of his seat with white-knuckle intensity. The rapid increase in downward motion scared him, but not as much as Donald's uncharacteristic outburst. If the imperturbable Donald Fuller was upset, the situation must be critical. "Jettisoning weights!" Donald called out. The descent immediately slowed, then stopped. Donald released more weight and the sub began to rise. Then he used the port-side thruster to maintain orientation with the long axis of the pit. The last thing he wanted was to hit up against the walls. "What the hell happened?" Perry demanded when he could find his voice. "We lost buoyancy," Suzanne reported.
"We suddenly got heavier or the water got lighter," Donald said as he scanned the instrumentation. "What does that mean?" Perry demanded.
"Since we obviously didn't get heavier, the water indeed got lighter," Donald said. He pointed to the temperature gauge. "We passed through the temperature gradient we suspected, and it was a lot more than we bargained for--in the opposite direction. The outside temperature rose almost a hundred degrees Fahrenheit!"
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Perry cried. "We're on our way," Donald said tersely. He snapped the UQC mike from its housing and tried to raise the Benthic Explorer. When he had no luck, he returned the mike to its cradle. "Sound waves don't come in here and they don't go out either." "What is this, some sort of sonar black hole?" Perry asked irritably. "The echo sounder is giving us a reading now," Suzanne said. "But it can't be true! It says this pit is over thirty thousand feet deep!"
"Now why would that be malfunctioning?" Donald asked himself. He gave the instrument an even harder rap with his knuckles. The digital readout stayed at 30,418. "Let's forget the echo sounder," Perry said. "Can't we get out of here faster?" The Oceanus was rising, but very slowly.
"I've never had trouble with this echo sounder before," Donald said. "Maybe this pit could have been some kind of magma pipe," Suzanne said. "It's obviously deep, even though we don't know how deep, and the water is hot. That suggests contact with lava." She bent forward to look out the view port.
"Could we at least turn off the music?" Perry said. It was reaching a crescendo that only added to his
anxiety.
"Well, I'll be damned!" Suzanne exclaimed. "Look at the walls at this level! The basalt is oriented transversely. I've never heard of a transverse dike. And look! It has a greenish cast to it. Maybe it's gabbro, not
"Look at the luster of the walls," Suzanne remarked as the submersible sank below the tip of the huge hole. "They're perfectly smooth. It almost looks like obsidian!" "Let's head back to the well head," Perry suggested. "Could this be an opening into an extinct volcano?" Donald asked. A slight smile flitted across his otherwise rigid face.
"That's a thought," Suzanne said with a laugh. "Although I have to say I've never heard of a perfectly rectilinear caldera." She laughed again. "Our dropping down in here like this reminds me of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. "
"How so?" Donald asked.
"Have you read it?"
"I don't read novels," Donald said.
"That's right, I forgot," Suzanne said. "Anyway, in the story the protagonists entered a kind of pristine netherworld via an extinct volcano."
Donald shook his head. His eyes stayed glued to the thermistor readout. "What a waste of time reading such rubbish," he said. "That's why I don't read novels. Not with all the technical journals I can't get to."
Suzanne started to respond but changed her mind. She'd never been able to make a dent in Donald's
rigid opinions about fiction in particular and art in general. "I don't mean to be a pest," Perry said, "but I--" Perry never got out the last part of his sentence. All at once the submersible's descent accelerated markedly and Donald cried out, "Christ almighty!" Perry gripped the sides of his seat with white-knuckle intensity. The rapid increase in downward motion scared him, but not as much as Donald's uncharacteristic outburst. If the imperturbable Donald Fuller was upset, the situation must be critical. "Jettisoning weights!" Donald called out. The descent immediately slowed, then stopped. Donald released more weight and the sub began to rise. Then he used the port-side thruster to maintain orientation with the long axis of the pit. The last thing he wanted was to hit up against the walls. "What the hell happened?" Perry demanded when he could find his voice. "We lost buoyancy," Suzanne reported.
"We suddenly got heavier or the water got lighter," Donald said as he scanned the instrumentation. "What does that mean?" Perry demanded.
"Since we obviously didn't get heavier, the water indeed got lighter," Donald said. He pointed to the temperature gauge. "We passed through the temperature gradient we suspected, and it was a lot more than we bargained for--in the opposite direction. The outside temperature rose almost a hundred degrees Fahrenheit!"
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Perry cried. "We're on our way," Donald said tersely. He snapped the UQC mike from its housing and tried to raise the Benthic Explorer. When he had no luck, he returned the mike to its cradle. "Sound waves don't come in here and they don't go out either." "What is this, some sort of sonar black hole?" Perry asked irritably. "The echo sounder is giving us a reading now," Suzanne said. "But it can't be true! It says this pit is over thirty thousand feet deep!"
"Now why would that be malfunctioning?" Donald asked himself. He gave the instrument an even harder rap with his knuckles. The digital readout stayed at 30,418. "Let's forget the echo sounder," Perry said. "Can't we get out of here faster?" The Oceanus was rising, but very slowly.
"I've never had trouble with this echo sounder before," Donald said. "Maybe this pit could have been some kind of magma pipe," Suzanne said. "It's obviously deep, even though we don't know how deep, and the water is hot. That suggests contact with lava." She bent forward to look out the view port.
"Could we at least turn off the music?" Perry said. It was reaching a crescendo that only added to his
anxiety.
"Well, I'll be damned!" Suzanne exclaimed. "Look at the walls at this level! The basalt is oriented transversely. I've never heard of a transverse dike. And look! It has a greenish cast to it. Maybe it's gabbro, not
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