Track 12: Crystal Blue Persuasion

[Mr. Handy]

"The submersible only holds one man - or woman," says Liz. "I think both Zara and I make better pilots. I'd volunteer to use it, unless you'd like to instead, Zara. I'd also be comfortable in a radiation suit."

[jp1885]

“I suppose if Otto could be induced to accompany me, I could take a dip,” replies P, remembering his disastrous attempts to drive the Rolls Royce.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

While this is being arranged, a large, dark shape can be seen in the water, just about where the radioactivity is located. It seems to be deep enough to be little more than a blur, but it's definitively moving in a slow circle.

[Mr. Handy]

"Could be a shark," says Liz. "Sharks don't usually attack people. We just don't taste very good to them. They might take an experimental bite if they don't know what something is, however, and that could puncture a diving suit. I wouldn't recommend using those. Have we got any shark repellent?"

[jp1885]

"Perhaps we could rustle up some kind of sonic emitter to scare it away?" suggests P. "Or leave it to Otto - he's rather good at seeing off such things."

[SunlessNick]

Zara is pretty taken with the idea of piloting a submersible (more so than swimming). "If the sub goes down before any divers, we can check if it's really a shark. The Russians might have a sub of their own."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

The ship has a supply of shark repellent. (No doubt somebody will make a joking reference to use of such a thing in the silly movie Batman of a few years ago.)

Zara descends in the submersible. The tiny viewport, made of very thick glass, and the murky water don't allow for perfect visibility, but she can tell that the dark shape, although obviously an aquatic, fish-shaped animal of some kind, is a lot bigger than any shark found in the area. It vanishes from sight, but a heavy bump on the bottom of the vessel reveals that it's investigating the new arrival out of curiosity. (The folks on the boat can see what Zara sees, if only on a tiny black-and-white TV screen, and are in radio communication with her.) Meanwhile, there's a pale blue glow coming from somewhere on the bottom of the sea, just a little bit ahead of the submersible.

[jp1885]

“Fascinating: could the radiation have caused the creature to grow over such a relatively short period of time?” wonders P as he peers at the screen.

“Zara,” he says over the comms. “Be careful near the radiation source. I suggest you take some readings but don’t dally, hm?”

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, radioactivity could account for abnormal growth," says Liz. "Professor Hinkley observed this on the island where he was stranded. When he and his fellow castaways planted some irradiated seeds that had washed up, the vegetables grown were unusually large. It looks like the glow may be the satellite, but we'll need to get rid of the creature first, and then approach the glow wearing the radiation suits. Perhaps the sub could hold the shark repellent in one of its waldoes and use it to drive the animal away."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

“Fascinating: could the radiation have caused the creature to grow over such a relatively short period of time?” wonders P as he peers at the screen.

“Zara,” he says over the comms. “Be careful near the radiation source. I suggest you take some readings but don’t dally, hm?”

The instruments indicate a mild amount of radioactivity coming from the source, not much more than the normal background.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Getting the shark repellent to one of the submersible's waldoes is going to take quite a bit of co-ordination . . .

d20

Fortunately, Zara is able to catch the the container in the machine's claw and carry it under the surface of the water. From there, activating the container causes a dark cloud of liquid to disperse throughout the water, cutting visibility to a minimum. The pale blue glow is no longer seen, so it's going to take even more of a steady (mechanical) hand to grab whatever is producing the radiation -- if that's what the investigators want to do.

[Mr. Handy]

"Well done, Zara," says Liz. "I can't see the glow any more with the repellent in the area, but maybe you can grab the object now. If not, we can come down in the suits."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

d20

Zara gives it the old college try, but operating the waldoes in the murky water is difficult, and the object slips out of the mechanical claws of the submersible, to be lost in the sandy bottom of the water. It's impossible to see exactly where it landed from the submersible, so it's going to take somebody in a diving suit with a handheld radiation detector to find the thing.

[jp1885]

“I suppose we’d better ‘suit up’, as they say,” sniffs P.

[Mr. Handy]

"Right," says Liz. She ducks into her cabin and changes into her underwater radiation suit.

[SunlessNick]

Zara spend the others' prep time searching for the object, and any other large sea life around (giving warnings of anything she finds).

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

The only animals nearby are small fish of various kinds. The repellent seems to have done its job, keeping away large predators.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Both P and Liz prove to have great good luck with the diving suits. They discover the object right away, and easily take hold of it. Once it is brought aboard the boat (for its small amount of radioactivity is harmless) it proves to be a curious thing, made of some kind of shiny blue metal, the exact nature of which is not immediately obvious. The shape appears to be something like a triple helix, three strands of the metal winding around each other in a complex pattern.

As the investigators are studying the object, a signal bursts from the boat's radio, on the emergency frequency. In heavily accented English, it says "SOS! SOS! Mayday! Mayday! We are sinking! UN boat, please help!"

It is apparent that the broadcast is coming from the Russian fishing vessel not far away, and it can be seen (through binoculars or telescope) that a pool of black liquid surrounds the Soviet boat.

[jp1885]

P drags himself away from the fascinating object.

We’d better go and help I suppose,” he announces.

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, we must help," says Liz. "Just be wary, it could be a trap. We should hide the object while Zara gets back aboard, and then we should head toward the signal."