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Adam’s uncle nodded. “Give me a moment to set this DriX on an autonomous course along the trench. We don’t want to miss anything.”
On his screen, a high-definition topographic map of the Tonga Trench glowed in a rainbow of colors. The high tops of seamounts shone in bright yellows. The lower slopes and rifts were an emerald green. The deepest regions glowered in shades of blue.
She noted the depth reading on the map.
More than six thousand meters. Twice the station’s depth.
She knew the deepest section of the Tonga Trench—Horizon Deep—reached depths of ten thousand meters. Even there, life persisted, though it was limited to worms, shrimp, and sea cucumbers.
What else could be down there?
Phoebe suspected the answer, which only heightened her anticipation.
3:04A.M.
As they all waited, Adam watched Phoebe’s knee bopping up and down. She squinted at the screen, while absently rubbing her palms together. Her dark hair had been bunched back from her face with a bright tie, which made her singular focus imposing, like a thunderstorm threatening to break.
He recognized that intensity. Before enrolling at the University of Tokyo, he had served six years with the Japanese Special Defense Force, much to his father’s ire. He had worked alongside soldiers, especially snipers, who could maintain such a determined focus.
Phoebe had their same flinty concentration.
“All set,” his uncle said. “I’m switching over to the other DriX, the one I left circling over the anomalous region.”
The screen went dark, erasing the glowing landscape of silt, sand, and cliffs. Uncle Haru worked a mouse’s cursor through a series of menus, then the monitor bloomed back into brilliant colors. For the moment, it looked no different from the other scan. Seamounts shone as if lit by a sun. A towering cliff face on the left dissolved through a spectrum of prismatic shades—from bright yellows near the top to darker blues and purples as the depths fell away.
Adam leaned toward the screen. “Oji, I think the DriX drifted off course.”
“I can see that.” Haru shifted his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. “There’s a storm brewing out there, challenging the vehicle’s telemetry and seakeeping. I’ll get it back into position.”
As his uncle worked the controls, the view swung around, bringing the cliff face closer on one side. The DriX then continued along it. “We’re about a half-kilometer off target.”
Byrd rolled his chair closer. Phoebe followed his example. Adam crouched over her shoulder, squinting at the screen.
The view continued to sweep along the trench. According to the depth gauge, the dark purple patches marked regions that were more than nine thousand meters deep. Almost six miles under the water, three times the station’s depths.
“Almost there,” Haru said. “Though, we’re approaching from a slightly different angle than the first time. The region covers two hundred square miles, stretching forty miles along the trench.”
A shadow rose to the right of the screen. It appeared and faded as the DriX sped along the trench.
“Is that Tonga’s other cliff face?” Phoebe asked.
“It is,” Adam answered. “While the average width of the trench is around fifty miles, it’s pinched here. Ranging from five to seven miles across.”
“The tightness of this spot might explain why this section of the trench is so volatile,” Byrd said. “It could be a stress point.”
“Maybe,” Adam admitted. “But the sheltered nature of this region might also explainwhatwe found.”
“What did you—?” Phoebe’s question died as the view on the screen changed.
The dark purples of the seabed slowly turned black, as if oil had been spilled across the trench’s bottom, seeping down its length.
She pushed closer, nearly shoving his uncle out of the way. “It can’t be.”
The three men looked to her for confirmation.
“It’s coral,” she said and motioned to Haru. “Can I take over the driver’s seat for a moment?”
“Certainly.” Haru rolled his chair aside and allowed her to push in front of his controls. “Are you proficient with the operation of a DriX?”
