The Deep: Blue Light

This was a mission to find the wreckage of a Spanish galleon that had sunk in an Atlantic storm after leaving San Juan in Puerto Rico carrying millions in gold coin.

The aim of the mission in the DSV (deep-submergence vehicle ) Triton-V was to find and photograph the wreck prior to planning a recovery mission.

The wreck was discovered and because the ship itself had been blown apart and rotted, some chests were spotted in the wreckage, so the mission was a success.

If Triton-V were going to be used to recover the chests it would need modifications and the wreck was eleven thousand feet under the Atlantic, which was close to the maximum depth for the DSV.

As they pulled away from the wreck they passed over the Puerto Rico Trench and noticed a blue glow a fair way down. It seemed artificial and they decided to go down a few thousand feet to check out the light or its source.

As they went deeper the body of the DSV started to creak but seemed to hold. Their eyes were fixed on the blue light which seemed just as far down as when they had first seen it. They knew that the Puerto Rico Trench was twenty-seven thousand feet down but were being hypnotised by the blue light.

Down they went. following the blue light, and it was still far below them.

They didn't notice the depth gauge was now showing thirty-two thousand feet, and still they went down, but the hull of Triton-V was holding.

The depth gauge only went up to ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine feet before it rolled over back to zero.

This was repeated time after time after time..

The Earth is forty-two million feet in diameter and the depth gauge had probably passed that.

Conversation between the crew ceased, there was no need for it. Radio communication links with the surface had long been lost.

The crew were mesmerised by the blue light but they never got any closer.

They forgot their mission all that mattered was the blue light, but they were still no closer. This was their life now, pursuing that blue light.

They forgot while they were here.

They had one purpose.

Reach the blue light.

NEWS TICKER

Communication with Triton-V was lost when it sank into the Puerto Rico Trench. Once it went deeper than thirteen thousand feet it was probably crushed.

Triton-VI would be launched to find out what happened to Trident-V though there were signs that it may have buckled under the pressure of the water in the Trench.