“DEEP
BLACK SEA is science fiction at its best, a realistic tale of exploration and
danger, written by a man who knows the details of deep-sea exploration
firsthand. An exciting read.”
-Science
Fiction legend Ben Bova, author of MARS
"WOW!
Deep Black Sea was a spectacular and wild ride through the darkest depths of
the ocean."
"This
is book is both terrifying and entertaining."
"Loved
loved loved this book. I read it on the beach and it kept me out of the
water."
So
what’s this story that will keep me out of the water about…
When
President Roberts was elected in 2020, his acceptance speech included
references to exploring inner space and the oceans as a priority that could no
longer be ignored. While his predecessor had promised a Mars mission
that excited NASA, President Roberts immediately began making sweeping changes
in the funding priorities of NASA, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
and the United States Navy. Within two months of taking office, Roberts
had replaced the head of NASA with former U.S. Navy pilot-turned-astronaut Rear
Admiral Thomas Antus, and unveiled his bold plan to see a deep-sea research
station built to rival the international space station. Citing
similar hurtles in both space and deep-sea exploration; Roberts announced that
the deep-sea station would be a joint-effort between NASA, NOAA and the
Navy. What it meant for the Mars mission was a huge budget cut that
would delay the space mission indefinitely, but for those scientists that had
been the pioneers of deep-sea exploration, it meant funding the likes of which
they never could have dreamed.
With
a budget of six billion dollars, (the cost of two Virginia Class submarines),
the deep-sea research station quickly became a reality. By
comparison, the Alvin, one of the most famous deep-sea exploration
vehicles ever built, was constructed and later refurbished for under a million
dollars. With six billion dollars, the new Office
of Deep Sea Research could take deep-sea exploration to the next
level—tantamount to NASA first going to the moon.
With
a crew of seven, the Challenger submerges three miles below the waves for a
one-year mission to study the hidden world of the deep black
sea. One of the team members, Ted Bell, is a former NASA scientist
with his own agenda. He is much more interested in learning about
the Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria that keeps sea animals alive in
seven-hundred-degree, superheated water that is full of heavy metals and other
toxins that flows from the “black smokers”. Ted’s ultimate goal is a
mission to Mars, and if it means sacrificing the deep sea crew to advance that
mission, then so be it.
How
is it that sea animals can live and reproduce in water that should boil them? Superheated
water that is full of toxins and heavy metals, and contains almost no oxygen
should be void of life on planet Earth—and yet it is teeming with
it. The answer to the puzzle lies in the bacteria, and Ted knows
it. Convinced that the same symbiotic relationship between the sea
life and bacteria can be reproduced in humans, and then used to help humans
travel to Mars one day, Ted intentionally infects a few members the crew.
Just
as the bacterium forces a metamorphosis in the tubeworms and other animals as
the bacterium take over their host, Ted’s infected crewmates also begin their
rapid transformation. And while Ted is initially thrilled with his
experiments, he quickly realizes that he has lost control. As his
remaining crewmates realize that they have a traitor in their midst, the fight
for survival begins three miles under the waves.
With
two crew members transformed into “something else” and loose in the ship, the
remaining crew must find a way to kill the deadly creatures that used to be
their friends.
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