From the Deep

Goodbyes

The one always - true fact in science was that there were never ever any facts in science. Nothing could be certain. There were always only hypotheses; only guesses. 

What this meant for Ian and his team was that while he had been pretty sure that Andersen had showed him magma bubbling up through water in her home, and while her accostomed water pressure likely indicated an adaptation for life about twenty five thousand meters below the surface of the sea, and while humans probably hadn't discovered all the things there were to know about the ecosystems in the mid - Atlantic trench, and while Ian himself was absolutely certain that that was where Andersen had come from, it was still an enormous risk to ask for the money to take a small hi - tech submersible on a research vessel for over a month to search the middle of the Atlantic ocean for previously undiscovered members of Andersen's species. 

 Which was exactly what they were doing. 

The lab didn't own a submersible of their own. Before they had come across Andersen and the first two mermaids, Ian's team had mainly focused on the biology of the coastline, studying tidepools and other such microbiomes, as well as the larger organisms that lived farther out in the ocean but still along the continental shelf. Mid - ocean study was rather out of the ordinary for all of them, except for Charles, who I've just decided was actually the deep - ocean specialist they brought in for the first round of mid - ocean exploration. Plus he owned the boat. 

So it was a good thing they brought CHarles. 

I've just completely lost my train of thought. 

1 a m on the last day of NaNoWRiMo and this is what I've resorted to. 

But come on, I've got fifteen thousand more words to write today, if I can.

I wonder if it's even physically possible.

So cut me some slack.

Anyway, what was I saying? 

ON WITH THE STORY!

So it was a good thing that the team now had Charles in it, because while they were all certainly knowledgeable enough to be doing what they were doing, and they had had previous experience out on the ocean on the voyage on which they had caught Andersen, this was taking things up to another level, and so Charles's ease of familiarity was a comfort to have on board. 

And it was Charles who hooked them up with the submersible, which was a good thing because, as I think I've already mentioned before, the lab didn't already have one. They ended up renting one from across the country. It was wildly expensive, so expensive that it blew through the rest of the money that they had saved up for the mermaid project and required a few hefty out - of - pocket donations from the individual members of the team, too. 

"We're going to have to hold a charity drive after this," Nigel grumbled. "And of course nobody will donate anything, and we'll just have to pull the plug on Andersen."

"Don't be silly," said Ian, who was in an unusually bouyant mood at the prospect of getting out there on the ocean and finding out more things. "You've seen how much the whole worlds love Hans. Let you pull the plug on his mother? People would rather shoot a bunch of newborn puppies than let you do that!"

I wonder if Ian's bouyant moods always result in his saying lines like that. I should give him bouyant moods more often. Is bouyant even a words that is applicable to describing moods? Gaaaaaaaah I'm so tired. 

In any case, Charles promised, the submersible they had rented was well worth the exorbitant price. They were going to have to pilot it down to a very deep depth, and there weren't a lot of submersible that were capable of withstanding that kind of water pressure. Andersen and her ilk were freaks of nature for being able to do it; even most metal would crumple up in the middle of a dive that long. 

In addition, the submersible they found had the best quality cameras that Charles knew of on these devices, which was important, because the team was looking to see things in a place where plenty of people had looked and not seen anything before. 

And it had microphones. That wasn't part of the original design; the modification had stemmed from one of Ian's suggestions, and Charles had taken the idea and run and seen that it was followed through on. The plan was to take some of the many recordings they had of Andersen's singing, and play them at those depths to see if they could attract any mermaids closer to the submersible. 

On the day that they left, Ian doubled back at the last minute and paid a visit to Andersen's room. The team had already said their own goodbyes to her and Hans, but those had been public goodbyes, all done for the sake of each other as they had been for the mermaids. Ian had something more private to say. 

"I'm sorry."

He was in his usual place for having quiet, private conversations with Andersen -- up close to her tank, with his hands pressed flat against the glass and his face as close as it could get without his breath fogging it up in front of his eyes. 

"I feel bad about this, you know."

Ian, and Nigel and Sara and Monica and Charles, were all leaving. They were all going out to sea. And, with any luck, they were going to Andersen's home.

But Andersen -- who trusted them and loved them and considered them her herd -- was staying back here in this few - meters by few - meters tank with no closer ties to her home or her people than what the company of the intern could provide. 

"It's amazing," said Ian. "I know you must miss the open ocean -- I know this tank can't be anything like what you're used to -- but you don't ever show it. You're just so... patient."

Andersen swam in slow, serene loops as she kept watching his face. 

"We don't deserve to know someone like you, Andersen."

Her face remained as calm and serene as ever. 

Ian ran through possibilities in his mind -- taking Andersen with them, letting her swim around in the water for a bit, surely she would return to them -- but he knew how stupid all the ideas were. 

"Good - bye," he said instead, and turned to leave. 

He made it all the way to the door of the room before Andersen started singing in response. 

Good bye.