Cheesman Chronicles

Dr Yvonne Harding extended out a hand to John Baker. He was about the same size as her, wearing a rather casual outfit compared to the rest of the scientists and guards around them. A simple black shirt with a small designer logo on the breast pocket, blue jeans, and a pair of sneakers. It was slightly more fashionable than the ‘hipster billionaire’ she was so used to dealing with by now, but only just.

The lady standing next to him was clearly much more dressed up. A classic white scientist coat covered a blank black shirt, with clean pants reaching down to black boots. She fiddled with her glasses as she stood, before holding out her own hand to Yvonne.

“Dr Angela Davidson,” she said quietly. “Pleasure.”

Yvonne smiled as she shook her hand back. She recognised her type as well. Clearly very smart and respected at one point, but living in an environment that treated her harshly. The confidence she once had beaten out in favour of doing as she was told.

“Pleasures all mine, Doctor,” Yvonne said. “Glad to meet another one.”

Angela smiled weakly, before looking back to her toes. She fiddled with her braided hair and glanced to John, as if for guidance.

“Good to see you two getting along so well,” he smiled. “Angela here is our head scientist. Primarily working in analysing marine biology to do such-and-such for so-and-so. Honestly, the whole thing goes right over my head! But somehow she manages.”

“Well, you make it my job to learn,” she said quietly. Yvonne wasn’t sure if John heard her, him turning around to begin the tour of the facility.

“Right this way, Yvonne!” he called. “We shall begin exploring!”

Dr Harding joined Mr Baker, following him side-by-side. She sensed Wayne behind her, watching her carefully for any abnormal behaviour. She felt as if he could see her very thoughts, he was that close. Trailing behind was Dr Davidson, quietly moving along as she was told.

Yvonne frowned. It hurt to see such a young and clever woman lacking her conviction. She wanted to offer words of encouragement. Tell her she was among some of the finest equipment she had ever seen. That she was doing fine for herself. Like she wish she was told when she was younger. Yet John, either obliviously or intentionally, had destroyed that smart woman for a tool.

He led them down many sets of corridors, markings on the walls like street signs letting them know where there were and where they were going. Lines showed directions to specific sections of the base. Currently, they appeared to be in the ‘Communications’ centre. What for, Yvonne couldn’t say. With how quiet this base had been with the outside world, it was a wonder their communications wasn’t in a broom closet.

But based on how John Baker described it, it was the best thing since sliced bread.

“The technology in here is truly state of the art,” he explained. “We have a connection to a few satellites in orbit which can broadcast to the entire world without delay. Always great to hear from relatives using this. I know I’ve had my fair share of board game nights with family in there.”

He chuckled as they continued to walk through the station. Yvonne may not have had a doctors in psychology, but it was clear he was lying. While it was fairly common for remote labs to use satellites to connect with the outside world, they were small things. Just enough to connect to the nearest one and send from there. The small glimpses she saw of the communications rooms were banks of computers stacked on top of each other, lights blinking rapidly as they crunched numbers and decoded transmissions.

This was way to advanced for a simple satellite rig.

Mr Baker led them through to the next section, simply labelled ‘Marine Research’. Through the windows, Dr Harding could see dozens of scientists studying diagrams on computer monitors, testing biological samples under microscopes, and running numerous simulations of wave patterns. Once again, the technology here was impressive. Way more advanced than what she had at Harvard. What would have taken the computers back there weeks to analyse were done in hours.

Above one of the monitors, she noticed the text ‘Project Neptune’.

She wanted to enter the lab, find out exactly what they were investigating. But as she reached for the door, Wayne stopped her.

“This area is off limits,” he said sternly. “No unauthorised personnel are allowed inside.”

“My job here is to find what you are doing, Wayne,” Yvonne said sternly. “Now let me inside.”

“Now, now,” John said, holding out his hands to bridge the tension. “Let’s not be too rash. But I’m afraid that Wayne is correct, Miss Harding. I understand you may want to enter, both from a scientific and legal view, but I simply cannot allow you to do so. What we are investigating is highly secretive. Rest assured, it is perfectly safe. So if we could just continue walking along…”

He gestured further down the corridor, smiling at her with that same rehearsed look. Yvonne tried to peer in again, but as Wayne stood himself in front of the window, it was clear that they were moving on. She sighed and followed after him.

It wasn’t lost on her that he referred to her as ‘Miss’, either.

They passed by a few more sections, stopping for much longer than at labs. Beds and bunks for the staff, break rooms, gyms, recreational spaces, offices. All of it very impressive by underwater lab standards. Even above water standards. Whatever she thought of John, Yvonne had to admit that he had a real sense of style and size. The resources needed to create this sort of base were marvellous. Though they were a few hundred metres below sea level, they had so much space to work and play in.

It was also a bit frightening.

Every so often she would catch a glimpse of the outside ocean. The blue waves far above them moving slowly and rhythmically. Small fish swimming by, investigating this strange metal structure. Lights from inside gleamed out into the empty expanse. When she glanced down, she just about saw the ocean floor, foundations secured in place where a reef used to be.

“How did you possibly get permission to build here?” she asked. “With all the environmental damaged this would cause, it should be impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible for the Baker Foundation,” John said excitedly. “I may have lost the battle for my shipping rights, but I won the war when it came to this. A couple whiny environmentalists can’t stop the progress I’m creating here. And the courts agreed. So that’s that, hey Yvonne?”

The doctor grimaced and subtly shook her head. Whatever ‘progress’ this station was making wasn’t worth the destruction of natural wildlife. If they were truly interested in studying marine biology, they wouldn’t be this reckless.

So that begged the question – what were they really studying?

They finally made it over to John Bakers personal study. It was a decent size room, cramped up with bookshelves and couches. If it weren’t for the large window behind his desk showing the open ocean, Yvonne would have thought this was a kind of rich studio apartment. To one side she saw a projector screen playing a slideshow of incredibly large and dangerous animals. Blue whales, great white sharks, a colossal squid, and more. It took Yvonne a moment to notice that they were all unique.

“How did you get these pictures?” she asked, excitement subduing her caution. “I’ve seen every known photo of the colossal squid and yet this one is new.”

“All to do with our research,” Dr Angela Davidson piped up. “We catalogue and work with all kinds of large sea creatures. Right now, we know more about the natural habits and behaviours of these animals than any other institution in the world.”

“Amazing,” Yvonne gasped. “What do they look like when swimming? How do they hunt? How long do they live for? What role do they play in the ecosystem exactly? Where do you find them? Can you consistently–”

“Now, now, Yvonne,” John said, holding out a hand. “I understand you’re excited. But we must sit down as I explain what we are doing here. Come, the couch is very relaxing.”

Yvonne glanced over to John, confused by his interruption. He was going to explain what they were doing? After Angela had already started doing so? Why not let her, the head of research, conduct this meeting?

Or was this another power play by him to obstruct the truth? She couldn’t tell anymore.

She relaxed herself into the couch, which was very comfy. Wayne stood directly behind her, hands to his back as if waiting for orders. Angela stood close to the door, turning the lights down as John started the presentation, disappointed at how her role was downplayed but too afraid to speak up.

“Now,” he began. “Before I tell you what we do here, perhaps I should start with a little history.”

He clicked the slide, showing an image of a younger version of himself on a ship.

“This is me, about twenty years ago. Look how young I was! So naive and brave, standing on the very first ship I ever constructed, delivering my first batch of cargo! Who would have guessed I’d end up here? Oh, but I’m not here to be nostalgic. What we’re really interested in is what I did on that voyage. Or more to the point, what I saw.”

He clicked his slide again. This time, a pod of right whales could be seen guiding his ship.

“While we were cruising along, we saw a couple whales joining us on our trip. It was splendid. Absolutely splendid! The way they swam through the waves, moving at speeds near our own ship. A marvel of nature, wouldn’t you agree, Miss? I was so entranced by these creatures that I had to learn more. So, I did!”

He clicked the next slide. He frowned.

“Unfortunately, what I found wasn’t good at all. You see, the whales I saw, Right Whales, are not named so because they move to the right. Rather, they are the ‘right’ whale to hunt. If you know your Moby Dick, you know what I mean. Even after most whaling was stopped over a hundred years ago, they are still a highly endangered species. So I started doing everything I could to protect them, along with all sea creatures. That is why I built this base.”

He clicked again.

“Right now, Aqua Trident is developing many new methods of tracking the movements of animals and how to avoid killing them unnecessarily. Radar, you see, is actually quite harmful to them. We hear it as a ‘ping’, they feel it in their very bones. And of course, massive cargo freighters are all too easily capable of decapitating or killing an animal.”

He clicked once more.

“And after many years of research, we have found plenty of ways to stop this from happening! Once I release my technology to the world, I will begin to lobby for extra protections for these animals. If a ship is not equipped with my devices – which will be free-of-charge, of course – they will be punished quite… severely.”

He clicked the slides once more, reaching the end of his show. Dr Davidson turned the lights back on, and the three of them looked to Yvonne, waiting for her reaction.

She slumped in her couch, impressed by the small presentation. It was surprising how much this old man in front of her cared about these creatures. It reminded her of herself. As far back as she could remember, she was herself an advocate of undersea life. Protests in the streets, in academia, in the ocean itself. She even protested against the Baker Foundation when it said it would build this very station. If this is what it was doing, was she right to have done so?

Still, there was something odd about the end of it. How he created a device that would be required on all ships. That was some level of power. And if they were at all faulty, this punishment seemed rather extreme.

She cleared her throat and looked up, giving him a light smile.

“Well, Mr Baker,” she began. “I must say I am impressed. It sounds like you and your team are doing a great thing here.”

“I’m glad you agree,” he said. Yvonne swore she heard him sigh in relief. “Now, if we could continue to the next presentation…”

Before he could even take one step, darkness plunged over them.

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To be continued

Read previous part here

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