A Machine Called Earth

As Hector made his way along the side of the strange underwater town, Hector saw others outside in diving suits. Some seemed to be gathering plants, others seemed to be capturing small crustaceans and various fish. However Hector noticed that none of them seemed to venture further than about a hundred yards from the dome. And never out of sight of the town. For within the concealing darkness of the deep, there was much hidden, and much to be afraid of.

Hector made his way along the ocean floor. An experience he would have never imagined carrying out. An experience, although being a once in a life time, he wished it would come to an end soon. All his senses were being smothered by the lumbering suit. All was dark, except for his light, which was fixed on his helmet, lighting a narrow cone in front of him.

After some time of navigating the ocean floor, out of sight from the underwater city, the terrain changed to an incline, and Hector began traveling up a large, steep, sand dune, feeling each of his steps sink into the shifting, waterlogged sand. If he was to keep his south-west bearing, then he thought it best to climb the dune. Despite the steep incline. A few times Hector fell to his hands and knees, as he lost balance. However, luckily, he never fell backwards, down the hill.

Eventually, Hector made it to the summit. Where he stumbled across an underwater valley, it was filled with all sorts of illuminating plant life, which glowed the most beautiful shades of blue and purple, orange and green. Hector thought to himself. ‘What is something as delightful as this illuminating garden, doing under the ocean, where no one can see it?’ There was also a cascade of beautiful marine life inhabiting this secret garden, each as unique and beautiful as its surroundings.

There was a myriad of unique and colorful creatures, as well as a school of small glittering fish, swimming in unison. This garden was teaming with life forms, each more exquisite than the last. Hector then began to make his way through the mystical basin, making sure not to disturb it. Moving through these surroundings, made him feel as though, he was in a dream, traveling through another planet.

All of a sudden, he felt the strangest sensation, as he was bombarded with strange, quaking vibrations, which resonated an unfamiliar tone. He looked up and caught a glance of a majestic whale swimming overhead, silhouetted under the rippling haze of the evening sun above the waves. Letting out a mysterious note as it sang.

Hector began to feel almost overwhelmed by the stimulating, yet refreshing backdrop. The beautiful scene had caused peace to radiate throughout his body, however, there was still fear looming, as the dense ocean concealed all else that lurked beyond.

Moments later, after getting through the illuminated basin, Hector entered the dark plain of flat, white sand once again. It was a strange feeling, walking on the ocean floor. The sandy ground was only lit up a few feet in front of him. He was surrounded by a thick blue-green mist that clouded his vision. Keeping his bearing was crucial otherwise he’d loose his way in this dark, dark place.

After many miles had past, Hector reached an area where his footing had changed from sand, to rock. Soon rock walls also surrounded him, and he felt as though he was entering the earth itself. He was now within an underwater cave.

Hector made sure to check his bearing to see if he was still traveling the right direction. But this was the way. Next to his compass, was a gauge that was for monitoring his oxygen levels. The needle on the meter, was below half way, meaning there was no hope on turning back. The cave begun to snake through this underwater mountain.

Not long after, the cave came to an end. Hector could go no further. ‘Had I made my way to a dead end? Did I take a wrong turn? No. Well I don’t think so.’ There was a door. Quite a strange door. Ancient in appearance and covered in barnacles. There was some sort of light coming from the other side of the door, it was stretching under the door, lighting up Hector’s boots. Hector tried to open the door, but it was stuck, or at least locked. It had a huge keyhole, which demanded quite a unique key, of which Hector had never seen before.

Hector found a rock on which he could sit, where he could assess the situation. Hector felt good as he took the weight off his feet. For he had walked a long way, and the suit was quite heavy, even under water. He sat weighing out his options. ‘Well, I can’t go back, I don’t have enough oxygen to make the journey. I can’t swim to the surface of the ocean. It would require me to remove this suit. Doing so would result in me suffocating before even reaching the surface.’ Hectorhad but one option. Well there was only one thing he could think of underthese time restrictions. Attempt to smash down the door. It wasn’t Hector’s mostelaborate plan to date, but it’ll have to do. Hector figured that maybe this was thepurpose of the anchor that the man had given him.

Hector began to hack away at the door, like a mad lumberjack. Swinging an anchor around, was a feat in itself, let alone being underwater. His sluggish swings caused little damage to the door. To his humiliation, Hector only managed to shatter a few hollow shells and dislodge a few loose barnacles. He decided to gather all his strength for one last whack. He drew the anchor back over his shoulder, readied himself, and then gathered all the power he could muster. As he made contact with his final blow, he felt the vibrations of the shock, travel up his arms, and as the floating shards of shells finally settled, Hector saw that he did no damage to the door. Gripping defeat, he threw the anchor on the ground. When it hit the rocky surface, the top end seemed to have detached itself from the rest of the shaft. However the shaft seemed to travel all the way through the anchor to the tip. As though it was made up of two separate pieces. Which was unusual, as anchors were usually crafted from one piece of steel.

Hector knelt down to investigate the broken anchor. The inner shaft reflected the light from his torch quite brightly. As he pulled the shaft out, it looked as though it was made of diamond, or some sort of crystal. It also resembled what he needed so desperately, a key.

‘Now I know the purpose of this anchor, and why it was so important to my journey. It was the key to this door.’ Hector proceeded to place the key into the keyhole.He turned the key, and hallelujah it worked, the door cracked open.

The light from the room momentarily blinded him as the door opened. As Hector’s eyes adjusted to the well-lit interior, he saw an electric powered light placed within an iridescent casing on the floor. The vision of the light didn’t reach very far, and shadows surrounded him as he stood next to the light. A cable feeding the light power, lead off into a direction. So Hector picked up the cable, and decided to follow it.

As he was led away from the light, into the darkness, he began to feel a familiar feeling. One that he felt within the forest. He felt as though he was being watched. After a few fearful steps, following the cable, he saw eyes, great red glowing eyes.

Swiftly, they moved into his vision. And there before him was a giant manta ray. Its mouth was open, spanning about two meters wide, able to swallow him whole. It swam over Hector’s head, and back into the shadows, and Hector looked around unsure if there was any more, then suddenly another came out from in front of him. It charged so fast, Hector couldn’t react. It head-butted him and smashed the light on his helmet. Hector was now in complete darkness, except for the fixed light on the ground, but that was too far to be of any use.

Hector’s heart was about to explode out of his chest, adrenaline was pulsing through his body, he bent over and felt for the cable. When he found the cable he picked it up and began to follow it. In complete darkness, Hector began running as fast as he could, cable in hand, praying that it will lead him to safety. Hector felt the force of one of the manta rays, as it swam past him. Then suddenly, he was thrown to the ground as another tackled him from behind. Hector fell to the ground.

Scrambling to his feet as fast as he could, Hector quickly found a staircase. As he vaulted up the flights, he came to a dead end. He felt what was blocking him, and it seemed to be a vault door, one with a massive wheel used to unlock it. He turned it anti-clockwise, and it opened. Quickly he shut it behind him. He could hear the manta rays banging at the door, and making the strangest, most horrifying, sound.

Hector was out of danger. Well, at least from that danger. He had no idea what he had strayed into. ‘These weren't normal Manta Rays.’ Hector thought. ‘They must have something to do with those within the control room. If they could, as the mayor of the underwater city said, change all matter of life, then this must be their work. They must be stopped.’

This day, I am reminded of the words from my mentor, my friend, Valimir. He would always say, ‘You can never prepare for the unpredictable.’ I can’t believe how right he was. There’s no way I could have prepared for this journey. It is certainly impossible to be prepared against an obstacle which has altered the laws of nature and science. Man-eating Manta Rays! How can one be prepared for such a monstrosity?