The Gardener of Nahi

Chapter 45

Cassidian

I almost descended too quickly.  One hundred meters in thirty seconds.  Perhaps a minute at best.

     The black lines on the tank wall kept moving past me, becoming a blur.  I knew that my diving suit was having a hard time keeping up with the differential pressure, since I could feel the weight change around me - something I had not felt before during my gradual ascent to the surface.  Before long I saw the clear cube lit up below me, ever rising in my field of vision, and I let go of the cable about ten meters above it.

     I panicked as I continued to fall with the wreckage, caught within its wake.  Kicking my feet, I also realized I had discarded my fins at the surface and lacked any mobility whatsoever.  However I was lucky - the way the cables were falling, I was being pulled very close to the cube - almost directly over it.  There was a span of a few seconds where I cringed as I looked down, in fear that the massive tangled weight would crash into the exposed room which jutted out from the curved tank wall like a block of ice.  However the bulk of it safely passed it, yet barely.  Only a few straggling cables smacked into the clear side as they continued downward, the sound of their violent connection muted by the soft blue around me.

     I hit the top of the cube with enough force that black spots momentarily filled my field of vision.  Seconds later I could feel the water tear around me as the pull of the wreckage continued to make its mark.  Fingers clawing, I spread my arms and legs wide like a starfish and frantically reached for the manual lever to open the upper airlock door.  With a pull it opened and I carefully worked my way in, never letting go of the lever until the very last moment.

     It was only after I had closed the door above me that I finally relaxed somewhat, knowing that I was safely in the underwater airlock and out of the wake’s reach.  As the water drained from the cube I looked down through the clear floor as the last dark tentacles disappeared into the blackness.  It was as if some gigantic sea-monster was descending back to its home in a bottommost trench, lost forever to human eyes.

     Yet I knew that it was not about to be forgotten.  The tangled weight had already fallen out of Canopian space.  It was continuing through Torso and would finally end up in the Still, where it would eventually hit the bottom thousands of meters below.  And when it did, the reinforced cylindrical walls of the desalination tower – no matter how strong they were – would not be able to contain the force of its impact.  A breach in the walls would almost certainly occur, and all of the water in the tank around me would suddenly feel the intense urge to escape.  To go down all at once.

     As if on cue, a shockwave passed over and through me, from the blind depths below to the spotlights above.  It was a deep vibration, and although I had no proof I somehow knew that the mechanized sea-monster had reached its home and that it was wreaking havoc there.

     Ripping off my mask, I caught my breath as the vibrations were turning into something larger - a sound not unlike the wind.  As I raised my head I could actually hear the pitch of it continue to rise gradually like a crescendo.

     Standing up, I realized that I probably did not have that much time – the airlock I stood in (the same one which had given me the feeling of security seconds ago) suddenly did not seem to grant me that much protection.