The Abyss Gazes Back: Part One

Nautilus Conference Room

“OK,” CB says, leaning forward over the table to glower at Robert. “Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke.”

They’re all sitting in a conference room at the Nautilus’ stern. The bulkheads are a latticework of steel polymer and a transparent sheet of something significantly stronger than glass. At the moment, the windows (portholes? CB isn’t sure what to call them) show nothing but solid darkness—they’re too deep for light from the surface to filter through, and...