from us up here.”
Suddenly, I feel Red standing beside me on the dock. I pull away from Hannah and turn and look him in the eye. He nods, seeming to understand what I want to say but can’t. With just his eyes he promises to look after her.
Then I turn and climb aboard the submarine and descend into the hatch without looking back.
Part Two
CHAPTER 7
Whales, Sharks, and Great Apes
The door eases open.
“I don’t want to talk.”
Junior slinks in and lays his head on my bunk, even though I know Jimmy cracked the door to let him in.
I’m upset with everyone right now. I’m upset with the professor for pressuring us to leave. I’m upset with Jimmy for not helping me convince Hannah to come along. I’m really upset with Hannah for staying behind at the last minute. But mostly I’m upset with myself for being relieved that she didn’t come. There’s just been so much arguing between us lately.
Oh, well. At least she’ll be safe.
Juniors licks my hand.
“You’re a good boy, Junior,” I say, scratching his ears. “What do you think? Will we be able to find this key and get back safely and put all this behind us?”
He whines, turning his head for a deeper scratch.
“What’s that? You’ve had enough adventure? Me too, little fella, me too. Let’ go see what Jimmy’s up to.”
Panic grips me when I discover the submarine is empty. Then I notice the open hatch and climb out onto the deck and find Jimmy and the professor sitting with their backs against the sail, watching the dim cavern walls slide past. The only light comes from the water itself, which seems to be glowing green, and it throws moving reflections onto the rock walls, painting a watery silhouette of the passing submarine there.
I drop down beside Jimmy.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
We sit silent for a time, listening to the bow wave splash softly against the cavern walls. It’s very hypnotic. We seem to be moving at a steady clip, but if the submarine is throwing a wake, it’s too far back for me to hear it.
“Hey, wait just a minute.” My voice echoes off the walls. “How come we’re not going through any locks?”
The professor chuckles.
“Good question, young man. We are passing through locks, we’re just not stopping.”
“I don’t understand.”
“That’s the beauty of these step locks. The journey’s length of nearly three hundred kilometers combined with its 1,400 meter drop, allows for very long locks. So, you see, the water lowers while we’re moving and we roll into the next lock without pause. It’s all timed perfectly for a sixteen hour trip at ten knots.”
“Seems funny to call them step locks then, if there aren’t even any steps,” I reply.
“I see your point there,” the professor says. “Perhaps we should call them escalator locks.”
“What’s an escalator?” Jimmy asks.
“Oh, just an old moving staircase that they used to put in shopping malls.”
“What’s a shopping mall?”
“Ha!” he says, looking over at Jimmy and me. “Mostly just a place where kids like you could hang out and get into trouble. Something from long before your time.”
We spend the next fourteen hours or so getting used to life on board the submarine. The shower is small and cramped, but I feel much better after letting the hot water run over my body. My shirt smells like wet fox from Jimmy’s using it to dry Junior, but I pull it on along with Dr. Radcliffe’s old pants and happily stuff my zipsuit away in a drawer next to my pipe.
I teach Jimmy to use the electric cooktop in the galley. At first, he won’t go near it, fearing the red, glowing swirls beneath the glass. But I explain that it works just like a cook fire, and soon he’s stirring up a pot of potato soup that he insists on picking himself from among the cans, even though he can’t read the label. The galley even has a rack of spices, synthetically produced down in Holocene II, and Jimmy gets so excited by their
Suddenly, I feel Red standing beside me on the dock. I pull away from Hannah and turn and look him in the eye. He nods, seeming to understand what I want to say but can’t. With just his eyes he promises to look after her.
Then I turn and climb aboard the submarine and descend into the hatch without looking back.
Part Two
CHAPTER 7
Whales, Sharks, and Great Apes
The door eases open.
“I don’t want to talk.”
Junior slinks in and lays his head on my bunk, even though I know Jimmy cracked the door to let him in.
I’m upset with everyone right now. I’m upset with the professor for pressuring us to leave. I’m upset with Jimmy for not helping me convince Hannah to come along. I’m really upset with Hannah for staying behind at the last minute. But mostly I’m upset with myself for being relieved that she didn’t come. There’s just been so much arguing between us lately.
Oh, well. At least she’ll be safe.
Juniors licks my hand.
“You’re a good boy, Junior,” I say, scratching his ears. “What do you think? Will we be able to find this key and get back safely and put all this behind us?”
He whines, turning his head for a deeper scratch.
“What’s that? You’ve had enough adventure? Me too, little fella, me too. Let’ go see what Jimmy’s up to.”
Panic grips me when I discover the submarine is empty. Then I notice the open hatch and climb out onto the deck and find Jimmy and the professor sitting with their backs against the sail, watching the dim cavern walls slide past. The only light comes from the water itself, which seems to be glowing green, and it throws moving reflections onto the rock walls, painting a watery silhouette of the passing submarine there.
I drop down beside Jimmy.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
We sit silent for a time, listening to the bow wave splash softly against the cavern walls. It’s very hypnotic. We seem to be moving at a steady clip, but if the submarine is throwing a wake, it’s too far back for me to hear it.
“Hey, wait just a minute.” My voice echoes off the walls. “How come we’re not going through any locks?”
The professor chuckles.
“Good question, young man. We are passing through locks, we’re just not stopping.”
“I don’t understand.”
“That’s the beauty of these step locks. The journey’s length of nearly three hundred kilometers combined with its 1,400 meter drop, allows for very long locks. So, you see, the water lowers while we’re moving and we roll into the next lock without pause. It’s all timed perfectly for a sixteen hour trip at ten knots.”
“Seems funny to call them step locks then, if there aren’t even any steps,” I reply.
“I see your point there,” the professor says. “Perhaps we should call them escalator locks.”
“What’s an escalator?” Jimmy asks.
“Oh, just an old moving staircase that they used to put in shopping malls.”
“What’s a shopping mall?”
“Ha!” he says, looking over at Jimmy and me. “Mostly just a place where kids like you could hang out and get into trouble. Something from long before your time.”
We spend the next fourteen hours or so getting used to life on board the submarine. The shower is small and cramped, but I feel much better after letting the hot water run over my body. My shirt smells like wet fox from Jimmy’s using it to dry Junior, but I pull it on along with Dr. Radcliffe’s old pants and happily stuff my zipsuit away in a drawer next to my pipe.
I teach Jimmy to use the electric cooktop in the galley. At first, he won’t go near it, fearing the red, glowing swirls beneath the glass. But I explain that it works just like a cook fire, and soon he’s stirring up a pot of potato soup that he insists on picking himself from among the cans, even though he can’t read the label. The galley even has a rack of spices, synthetically produced down in Holocene II, and Jimmy gets so excited by their
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