Treasure Box of Souls

Ocean: The Final Frontier

Space: the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.

Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no one has gone before.

"Try and change space to ocean!" Father would tell me after each of Star Trek's episodes. He loved the show, but Captain Kirk's monologue ticked him off.

He was irritated by the fact that space held greater fascination for people than the ocean.

Indeed, space is more exciting. Just look up into the night sky. You can see countless stars and imagine the vast possibilities. Children would easily want to become astronauts when they grow up.

I did too, back then.

"Why not oceanographer or inventor of marine technologies for people to see the magic at the bottom of the sea?" Father would blurt out strange words.

Afterall, I had only seen the sea surface when we visited a coast. Ocean remained distant for most people.

"Imagine the wonders beneath," said Father. "From the krill riding the waves to giant creatures lurking at the bottom of the trench. Let your imagination swim free with the school of fish. Spend the night under the headlight of the deep dwellers. All are possible if research funding and cool technology are also provided for ocean exploration. So let's give it a try, Son. Say it."

So, I'd recite ....

Ocean: the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the state-of-the-art submarine Baruna.

Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new species and new possibilities,

to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Baruna is my name, a Javanese word meaning ocean, given by Father with hope that I would love ocean as much as he. Father didn't have a chance to see me prove it, since he was ironically claimed by the tsunami, a phenomenon we understood so little. But that only emphasized his words.

Water covers 71% of Earth surface and ocean holds 96.5% of all Earth's water. Understanding oceans fundamentally means preserving ourselves.

Looking at the image of a baby seahorse dragging a cotton bud or a whale died from swallowing pounds of plastic is heartbreaking. It was our attitudes toward the ocean that let these happen in the first place.

If we regarded ocean as worthy as space;

if the risks, challenges and mind-blowing discoveries of the ocean exploration were made public with fanfare;

if the ocean in popular culture was creatively depicted with futuristic technology that incited imagination;

if ocean movies were so cool, that would spark innovation, turning fiction into fact;

then people might never turn a blind eye toward the ocean.

The ocean should get it's turn now. It is not a giant belly to collect industrial waste and hold everything we toss, and then give satisfying burp. Even a single piece of plastic make it sick.

Do care before we really have to seek out a new planet to live.

Ocean: the final frontier.