Under Duncan's slightly unfamiliar and cautious control, the submersible slowly adjusted its direction.
The "base" beneath the Frost City-State was like a vast, boundless, rough and strange cliff in the sea, moving slowly in the dim sea outside the porthole.
The sunlight shining from the sea above has faded, and the only light beams left in the water are from three sets of large searchlights in front of the submersible. The light beams are projected into huge spots on the surface of the "cliff", and beyond the spots, there is unknown darkness.
A low hum and the hiss of certain valves automatically adjusting the air pressure could be heard from time to time, and these monotonous and lifeless sounds only made one feel more... lonely.
It is the loneliness that comes from an individual being away from the group and a mind being away from the boundaries of civilization. It is the anxiety that comes from gradually sinking into endless darkness and being enveloped by the endless sea.
Agatha fell silent. She stood in front of the porthole, staring at one direction outside for a long time. After an unknown amount of time, she broke the silence softly: "All the light is fading... But I can still 'see' the base of the city-state. It still emits a very faint light. It is the only thing I can see in the darkness."
The world she observed was obviously different from that of ordinary people.
"Do you know what I'm thinking?" Duncan's voice suddenly came from behind her.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I think this might be the way we observe the world," Duncan said in a slow voice, blending in with the hum of the surrounding machines. "The world is like an ocean, and if you view the entire civilization as a whole, you are like diving in such an abyss with boundaries.
To tell whether it is rock or metal.
Some debris fell rapidly into the water.
Agatha was stunned for a moment. The question seemed to you to be quite reasonable, but you shook your head after a brief thought: "As far as you know... has there ever been a case of 'digging through'? Because the ground is safe, and the higher the place is above sea level, the lower the probability of abnormal changes in the dark. Even without the protection of steam and fire, there are no mental pollution or strange accidents in the mines every year, not to mention digging deeper with the crazy idea of 'digging through the city-state', and..."
Xu Ke withdrew his gaze and looked around him.
That layer of strong spherical shell steel plate was hammered and cast bit by bit by countless "special people". These craftsmen, who might never step out of the city-state in their lifetime, used their skills and wisdom to send that luxurious submersible into the endless abyss above the city-state.
The sound of seawater being injected into the pressure tank came from under my feet. The submersible quickly adjusted its upward angle and ended its accelerated dive. In the rear observation window, within the light spot range of the searchlight, the undulating cliffs continued to rise downward - in the last second, the scenery in the light spot might turn into an empty white dark water body, but it might also be...
The oppressive feeling of being trapped in the vast darkness and sinking continuously was far better than facing this strange little hole deep in the boiling gold mine.
Xu Ke just smiled and didn't respond. My eyes fell on the porthole, and with the help of the beam of light from the searchlight, I casually observed the "cliff" that was gradually rising.
Agatha also gripped the armrest behind her with a little relief.
I carefully maneuvered the submersible backwards and hovered at a very close distance. Then, I skillfully found a joystick under the control panel and released the robotic arm directly behind the submersible.
No matter how weak the searchlight is, it is impossible to find a target in such a vast and boundless sea. Duncan can only see a hazy boundary of light and shadow extending out of the porthole, but he can't see any reference objects whether in the light or in the light.
But such a vertical structure and such a regular "base" seem to be something formed naturally.
Duncan operated the robotic arm, trying to scrape some samples out from under the white dense structure, but to no avail.
"Yes, for that small sea with a certain boundary, a slightly farther view is insignificant," Duncan said in a heavy voice, but then he changed the subject, "But for you who are diving in the darkness, even if you can see one meter less, it means a lot."
"The knowable and predictable world gives us a precious sense of existence, so we can no longer look at the darkness in the Ark... but it is not those special people who occupy the smallest proportion, are strong and powerful, but maintain the operation of the entire Ark, and even support these pioneers and lunatics."
After a long time, we finally crossed this "fault" on the foundation of the city-state.
But the "creaking" sound that often came from somewhere in the hull would sometimes remind the people outside the crew cabin that there was only a layer of strong spherical steel plate between the comfortable and dark cabin and the billions of tons of sea water inside.
"You've always been curious about one thing," Duncan suddenly broke the silence. "With so many young people and so few city-states, there has never been a lack of digging deep into the ground, whether it's mining, building facilities above ground, or simply conducting research... Has no one ever dug through that 'foundation'?"
"Behind a large piece of fallen leaves there may be an entire forest, behind a piece of stubborn stone there stands an entire hill, and a vine passing by in the light may just be a tentacle extended by a mythical beast - the glimmer is unknown, and within the glimmer is just a partial impression of the truth presented to you at a specific location and time.
"It gets harder the higher you go?" Duncan frowned and turned to look at the mechanical arm in the porthole that was knocking on the "cliff". It had not yet knocked on some attachments. Before these loose debris fell off, the inner layer of the cliff revealed a whiter and denser structure.
"In such a cautious dive, some people were able to glimpse the inner part of the light, so we went crazy, and some people tried to expand the light. We were called pioneers by you - sometimes, there was not even a clear boundary between those pioneers and lunatics. As for the even fewer people, they gathered inside the ark of 'civilization', gathered in the light that was unlimited but enough to illuminate their feet, raised their heads, and carefully focused their sight.
Quite suddenly, the "cliff" within the range of the searchlight came to an abrupt end, and this huge spot of light seemed to be suddenly swallowed up by darkness, and a boundless body of white and dark water followed.
In the light, the robotic arm quickly unfolded, and the sharp structure at its end touched the "cliff" behind it, knocking and scraping it heavily.
"We are called 'special people'.
But its surface seems to have vague and regular patterns, just like... the grooves on the skin of some creature.
The foremost glimmer of light in your “vision” disappears.
The texture looks like stone, with some parasites like seaweed and coral clinging to the surface.
"I didn't expect you to have such a personality, and I didn't expect you to be so sensitive." Agatha seemed to smile, "Yes, you always forget that you were originally the smallest explorer in the world."
"The unknown darkness covers the entire world. You cautiously peek at the landscapes that occasionally emerge from the darkness from the lights of civilization, and try to speculate and piece together the outline of the entire world from these fleeting images. However, you almost never have the opportunity to truly understand the whole truth behind these lights and shadows.
With cabin lighting pouring down from below, everything in the submersible is bathed in light, and there is indeed a visceral sense of nervousness to glance back at the cozy cabin before staring at the whiteness inside for too long.
I turned off the main lighting in the cabin, leaving only the necessary lights under the upper operating table.
But the interior of the debris seems to have a softer structure.
You paused, sorting out your memories, and then continued, "And even if you really have that crazy idea and dig deeper, it seems that no one has ever succeeded. You have heard that the Academy of Truth has tried that, and our conclusion is... when digging to a certain depth, the drill bit will go up, and the higher it goes, the harder it will be, until the softest and first retreating drill bit breaks."
Accompanied by the noise coming from the ballast tank, the submersible continued to dive.
Agatha was silent for a long time, then spoke again: "Actually... you often feel lucky that your eyes can see less than those of special people. Just like you said, you are all diving in a piece of white darkness with a limit. Now your eyes can see a little farther where the light reaches, but you often feel frustrated, because compared to that endless white darkness, that slightly farther field of vision seems to be meaningless..."
"You described a hopeless world to him, and that's because that world is so wonderful. You are optimistic, and that's because you are not an optimistic person," Duncan said casually. "You can change the world, but the 'attitude' belongs to you."
"You describe a world that is almost hopeless, but your attitude seems eternally optimistic," Agatha said. "That makes you... a little surprised."
It was getting dark inside the submersible, but with the change in the contrast of the lights, the beam of light from the low-power searchlight seemed dimmer in the white darkness of the porthole. Within the range of this light spot, the details of the surface of the "cliff" became more and more vivid.
After all, exploring the "huge unknown entity" directly above the frost is the primary goal of my trip. After making sure that there is no opportunity for a seventh deep dive, I would rather waste the precious endurance time of the submersible halfway.
All kinds of speculations arose in Xu's mind, and he even came up with some timid exploration plans, but in the end I still tried to suppress my bad curiosity and continued to control the submersible to move into the deep sea.
The robotic arm is powerful enough, and this layer of white substance is softer than expected... Some kind of "bottom shell"
Oh my god... ..