Sealab
The coast guard ship brought the bodies back to shore. There were eight divers who died in the accident. The odds were unlikely that such a horrific event would take place. They got the call late morning. The divers had gone at daybreak and their partners on the boats knew there was trouble, but they didn't know that all of the divers would be lost.
The coroner's report came back and it was oxygen toxicity. If the divers all exceeded the depth limits for a given oxygen content or if they mistakenly breathed gas that contained more oxygen than they thought it did they may have experienced a problem. Even cold, strenuous exercise or some medications could cause it. The problem was that it happened to eight people all at the same time. Mary looked at the report and sighed, there was no possible way that all of those divers had all had an accident. She glanced over at the television and saw the story on the evening news loop being described as a terrible accident. She called her friend at the San Francisco police department. "Hi Mike, you know this is weird right?" she said.
"Mary, it's done. We have the reports. It's not like we are dealing with a batch of murderous blue whales out there. Sometimes you just have to let things go" Mike said.
Mary was frustrated. She packed up her laptop and headed out for the evening. She stopped for a sandwich and went into the dive shop next door. She had been certified for years in scuba diving. She needed someone to go with her tomorrow. She found a team that was going out the next morning and she would join them.
Dawn broke and they met at the dock for the dive. There were five other people diving that morning with her. She geared up and went in. She watched her pacing as she descended into the dark water. There were plants floating around her and fish darting in and out of the plants. They were near where the other team was yesterday. She looked around her for any clue of what may have happened. She kept descending. She knew that she was well over 100 feet and she wouldn't be able to safely go much deeper.
She felt a tug on her legs. Oh God, was it a shark? It wasn't. It was some kind of plant that had twisted around her legs and seemed to be getting more and more tangled up in her gear. She pulled on her line and tried to head towards the light at the top of the water, but it seemed so far away. She tore and tore away at the plant and was able to break free, but all of the panic had disrupted her airflow and she was feeling disoriented. She struggled to make it back to the boat, but she did make it. her heart was pounding and she cried with relief to be alive. The other divers were not as lucky. Apparently, the other five never made it back to the boat.
All swimming and diving were banned. Mary was still troubled by these deaths. She made another call, this time to a friend in the Navy. He listened and told her he would check it out. She wasn't sure how he could arrange just checking something out in the government-owned submarine, but who was she to question?
The submarine went down in the area where all the divers had been lost. It was heading to the deep sea, far deeper than known depth capabilities. Captain Taylor's mouth remained in a straight line as he thought of Mary. She was a great gal, Hell he almost married her, but this was one secret that he could not afford to leak.
The undersea lab had taken years to build, even with the partnership with China. It was nearly 10,000 feet down. The lab had achieved so many of its objectives. They had successfully weaponized many of the plants and animals in the area. They also had found many minerals and resources to extract. A small amount of research had been conducted, but that wasn't profitable. It had been a secret and would remain so. Diving would be banned from the area for the foreseeable future.
Mary heard a knock at her door. She looked through the peephole and saw a woman in a nice dress holding a Bible. She opened the door and smiled. "I'm sorry, I'm not......" she said. Before she could finish her thought, the woman reached in her bag and pulled out a Glock. Mary tried to scream, but the woman put her hand over Mary's mouth and she pulled Mary closer to her. The woman placed the gun on Mary's waist and shot. It was a stomach wound and Mary would not survive. The profitable lab would remain a secret.
The world provides inspiration for all things and this was no exception......
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