Prologue – A new world, is it possible? That kind of world which exists only in imagination? Answer is yes. What it takes to what you’ve got when you give it a shot. But its more than that. It’s a journey that changed a man’s life forever…
Genre – Sci fi, fantasy
Plot – Captain Alan Jefferson was a successful “marine biologist” employed in the exploration branch of the United States Marine Corps. He had two kids from 10 years of wedlock with Tracy: a six year old boy, Jamie and a nine year old girl, Emily. The couple had a happy family life. They lived in their own mansion at Miami, Florida and had a pet dog, Pluto. Until, his world got destroyed one day. He was driving his car to a local social gathering alongwith his family. As soon as he approached the interstate highway through an intersection, he was ran over by a speeding truck while trying to avoid a head on-collision with it. His son and wife died at the spot. While his daughter went into coma after getting multiple head injuries. He was completely when he peeped through the window of the ICU of the local hospital where Emily was admitted. His fast friend Daniel consoled him. But nothing worked for him. He began avoiding the world. He didn’t go to work for days, didn’t eat or sleep peacefully and grew thin and fragile by that period of time. His uncut nails, hair and long beard and moustache made his appearance like that of a spook. Only his dog was the source of a quantum of solace to him. All the time he cursed and blamed himself for the tragedy that made him lifeless. He wept for hours. But sooner he had to realise that it’s not gonna work for him.
So a day later, he was back to work. He was working on a project that was funded by the federal government for the Navy to see into the possiblity of setting up underwater secret bases in case of conflict by the sea. The idea was to build such bunkers which could withstand any hostile activity from the enemy and house long range missiles which could return fire in time. But the problem of low BOD and gravitational pressure were a persistent deterrent in its success. Here came the utility of Alan’s genius and prowess in fixing the problem. He was one of the brightest scientific minds of his time. Besides, he was a gold medalist in swimming. Hence by this time, he was trained in every specialisation he needed for his job. His job required him to dive frequently into the nearby sea for carrying out tests on the underwater ecosystem. But one such incident one day changed his life.
The crew was getting ready in their scuba suits. Usually it comprised of one cameraman, 2-3 marine biologists including Alan, 1-2 physicists and US marines occasionally for security. Together they dived at 10:00 hours in the morning at the nearby shore of Hamilton Beach adjoining the naval base. They went at a depth of around 10 feet under. Alan took the soil samples and Grace, fellow marine biologist collected in a sealed test tube. John and Reese, fellow physicists recorded the variations in BOD and pressure. Done here, they approached deeper and farther waters. Soon they were made alert of the impending danger upon by the SOS from the control room. An ocean current approaching towards the bay from the east Atlantic was nearby. Rest of the crew followed the advisory while Alan relented. He seemed a bit happy that day and wanted more and more out of this experience after such a long time. It was totally crazy for him, the very idea to give upon this time. So despite warnings, he moved ahead. The crew went back. Very soon, he was into the whirlpools. The motion was so strong that nobody could survive it. Large waves upto 3 metres high began to form. The very sight of Alan was lost, as if this was his end. He fainted. Before that, all he could see was a bright light piercing his eyes.
Soon he opened his eyes and found himself lying offshore and was surrounded by people. The coast guards dropped him to the local hospital where he was fully fit within a week. He sustained minor injuries. After that, he was made to face a court of enquiry into the armed forces tribunal for disobeying those advisory orders. He was found guilty but the navy couldn’t afford to lose such a genius who could make its dreams come true through that project. He was suspended from work for a week and put to probation till further notice. In the meantime, he spent all of his time thinking what could have saved him. He believed it to be some sort of special force that came just to his rescue.
A week later, he joined the office. He told Grace about this. She guessed it might be some creature but she laughed it off saying that only whales could do it. He was intrigued by this very fact and wanted to delve deeper into this. He sought permission from the senior admiral to dive again and that too, alone this time. The admiral reminded him of the probation notice and paid no heed to his request. So he needed to do it by himself all alone. He couldn’t do it in the day fearing to be spotted by the coast guard. So he had to do it at night by taking huge risk upon his life. But he was determined.
One evening, he dived into the sea. He didn’t find a thing. He went deeper and deeper risking his breath and oxygen sufficiency. But he soon was disappointed and began to make his way back to upstream. But suddenly a flash of bright light came close to his eyes. It was quite far. He hid behind an aquatic rock. Soon the light was brighter. He was amazed to see what it was. A shark like glowfish, probably from the extinct species was infront of him. It was a creature he never saw before. Bluish green in color, large tentacles, flat body, dorsally glowing and ventrally opaque, no gills which meant it had some another source of survival. It was some sort of heavenly creature. Without any fear, he came infront of it. The creature was about to attack Alan but suddenly ceased. It remembered Alan and to his utter amazement, spoke in a beautiful female voice. It told him to follow it through an abyss. It folded Alan into its fins and proceeded. There was a sucking abyss within a mile. It told Alan to close his eyes. Alan did the same.Within a fraction of second, Alan was transformed into another world. It was just like a fairy land he read in story books in his childhood. It was exotic. Lushy landscapes, scenic panorama all glowing. It was a view Alan never had so far in his lifetime. Alan followed the glowfish but asked it a question about how it saved him at such low depth where humans run out of oxygen. It answered that it used a special serum which could make him breathe without need of that mask of his special suit. But refused to give further as it was Alan’s time to meet the king. It asked Alan to remove his suit. He was asked to drink it. Alan did so and soon he was breathing. He was presented to the king. The king spoke. They were Naviis. Their land was called HALEY. He elaborated that this world had been undiscoverable by humans for centuries. Their race is the most advanced and intelligent and enlightened. They were made by the souls of the dead human beings. And the one next to him was that of his wife, the same one who brought him here and saved his life.
Alan was bewildered. But soon he believed it to be true as the creature called Alan by his special name that his wife used to call her. She just said to him to stop cursing himself and that she and her son were always in her heart. He met his son’s creature too. Alan was joyed to see them. She asked him to be more strong and bear the fact that they were dead now. He had to move on and take care of Emily. Alan promised her the same. The king told him that they were aware of his dilemma at work and the technical hindrance he faced there. He said the solution lied in the potion he used. By mixing it with the vent, they could pump in oxygen and survive even at low depths for years. It said it could give him the same potion provided he would prevent it’s misuse. Alan willingly nodded. At last, the king made him promise never ever to disclose their meeting and what he discovered new to the outer world. Alan did so. Then he was brought back to the sure by the same glowfish. Alan reached home. He looked tired and happy.
The very next day he began working on the project. The base bunkers were ready to be employed into the sea. Alan met chief coordinator Admiral Gordon. He told him that he had a solution to his problem. He had some kind of weed found at the bottom shores which had high BOD levels. And when mixed with the air conditioning, it could last for years. Gordon was elated. Now he could see the success of this mission.
The President was informed of this breakthrough. He told Gordon that he would like to honor his team after a successful launch. Alan was equally excited, so were others. Hard work paid off. But without the help of Naviis, it was impossible. The launch was succesful and the navy got another advantage over the sea. Following day the team met the President. Alan was applauded for his efforts and got a special “Lincoln Achievement Award”, the highest medallion in the United States. Soon, he got a good news that Emily was recovering slowly. And in a few months, she was back to life. Alan was living again happily ever after....