Episode 25
Sub Shop
Melbourne strolled along the docks on the northern outskirts of Olympia. The buildings here were much shorter than in dowtown and the foot traffic was much thinner.
Melbourne watched the waves of the Amazonis Ocean crashing into a nearby beach where hundreds of people basked in the sunlight. He had seen the sea many times growing up but had few chances to see the oceans of Mars. The difference between and ocean and a sea was not known to many inlanders, but Melbourne could easily tell the difference. The Isidis Sea was definitely larger than a lake and you couldn't see the other side against the horizon, but it was also noticeably calmer than the oceans. Like the Utopian Ocean, the Amazonis Ocean had giant waves crashing into the shore violently. The Isidis Sea had comparatively calm swells lightly caressing the shore.
Many seafaring vessels decorated the coastline, from fishing boats to other sport vehicles based on old fashioned transportation methods that hadn't been truly practical since the days when Earth was still inhabited. Now it was far cheaper to haul cargo around Mars through a vacuum balloon airship which could make port anywhere on the planet, not just in coastal cities. Old fashioned sailing, for this reason, was more of a past time than a practical necessity for trade and commerce.
As Melbourne walked along the docks towards his scheduled meeting place, he noticed a vessel emerge from beneath the surface with a top hatch from which a crew member emerged from a pressurized cabin.
"A submersible ship?" thought Melbourne in astonishment. "It travels beneath the oceans?"
Melbourne recalled the quest update he had received a month ago when he had acquired the secret of the S.S. Michishio.
[Mission: Ancient Knowledge:
*Locate and explore the S.S. Oyashio base in the Utopian Ocean]
Melbourne had put that notification into the back of his consciousness, assuming he would never get the chance to get around to it. He never seriously considered diving down deep under the waves of the Utopian Ocean as feasible for him even though he did acquire the exact coordinates of the base. On the way back to Mars, he had even designed a small satellite to leave in low orbit around the planet to scan that exact region of the ocean for signs of human made objects with similar stealth technology to the derelict ship he had explored. The S.S. Oyashio was indeed present, likely set up as a small research base on Mars in the days of the Artilect War, undetected by the burgeoning colony of Olympia or the TSA.
Melbourne watched the submersible ship float elegantly into a two story building set up over the shoreline and proceeded to walk towards the building. He had another hour before he was scheduled to meet, so he figured he would check out the vehicle more closely.
Upon walking in, he was greeted by a cheery receptionist.
"Greetings, young man!" said the man. "Welcome to Red Nemo, the one-stop shop for all underwater tours you could ever possibly desire beneath the mysterious, ancient depths of the great seas of Mars. Our top-of-the-line submarines contain glass observatory decks for the tourist who would like to see the various flora and fauna of the sea or the Great Vaurianas Trench."
"Your tours go that deep?" asked Melbourne in shock.
"Indeed, young man." said the receptionist. "We have tours going to just about any major site in the Amazonis Ocean or Chryse Sea! This tour runs at a bargain price of only 5000 crypts!"
"What a rip off." thought Melbourne, his face showing his disappointment.
"Ah, I see from your expression that this might be a little higher than you expected. Not to worry. That particular cruise is the most expensive of our journeys. The Vaurianas Trench is, after all, the deepest ravine on all of Mars. In face, you can tour the Great Chrysian Reef in the Chryse Sea for only 100 crypts. Talk about a bargain, aye? The tour begins tomorrow and you'd be back within a week. Accommodations include a five star diner on the deck of our fine cruise submarine where you can look out at the splendid beauty of the spectacular tropical fauna and flora cloned from the famous Ark sent with the original colonists. You know what that is, don't you?"
"The library of genetic data from all accounted species from Earth in the 21st Century?" responded Melbourne like a student answering a quiz. "It was used to populate the Martian biosphere gradually as the planet was terraformed through mass cloning. It was a play on the legend of Noah's Ark, an old Earth story about a man who brought a pair of every species to save them from extinction in the midst of a great flood."
"Exactly." exclaimed the receptionist. "So, would you like to sign up for that cruise?"
"It's tempting." said Melbourne honestly, considering his 17,820 crypts. "Do you have any tours going to the Utopian Ocean, maybe custom tours to see very specific locations?"
The receptionist bowed his head apologetically.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we do not yet service that region. We are looking to open up a Utopian Ocean branch in New Venice, but that is still a work in progress. There may be other companies in the region offering similar services, but I guarantee you they are nowhere near as luxurious or safe as we are."
Melbourne frowned skeptically at the brazen claims of the receptionist.
"Alright. Thank you for the information. Can you tell me whether or not you rent out private submarines that I could personally pilot out to explore the sea for things like archaeological endeavors?"
The receptionist opened his mouth in shock.
"Sir, you can't pilot a submarine without a crew of at least six well trained people."
"I don't know." said Melbourne. "I'm a pretty good roboticist and I recently got back from an internship with Arian Horizons programming robots. I bet I could tinker with the submarine a little."
"Absolutely not!" yelled the receptionist. "Our CEO would never allow this! We would never trust a customer to rewire our submarines without being on our payroll. No exceptions! I don't think Mrs. Trana Karelli would want to automate her vehicles either, given her personality. Unless you were to outright buy a personal sub that you would privately own, you have no legal right to implement such modifications." The receptionist started looking Melbourne up and down, scrutinizing him heavily. "As for buying one outright, I doubt any teenager such as yourself could afford such a thing. I promise you, a space privateering vessel is cheaper than these submarines. Even if you could afford the 70, 000 crypts you would need to purchase one of our vessels, you would find far more profit buying a spaceship and having it ship goods between planets in trading missions than using a submarine. Now, if you don't want to buy a tour, please kindly move along about your business and let me deal with the next customer."
Melbourne left the sub shop thinking heavily about what he had just learned. He now understood that he needed to get his hands on one of these submarines if he was going to make his way to the coordinates of the S.S. Oyashio base. He was faintly hoping that he'd be able to accomplish this task before starting military school in a week and a half, but it was beginning to look unlikely. He would have to go about his normal life and hope he would find some opportunity to explore the sea later on in his life. He made a mental note to do as much research as possible about these "submarines" tonight after his upcoming rendezvous with Victoria, assuming she had not been arrested for murder, or worse, treason against the Artilect Protocol.