AMBYSSUS | Ch. 14 - The Albatross (Patreon)

Joey and Esther arrived at the Aquil Airport. Joey had been here several times before. Although he didn’t have a particular need to air travel often, he had fond memories of this place. He smiled as he remembered his father taking him along for a hot air balloon ride to get a bird's eye view of their lake estate.

When he was a child, he wanted to explore the unknown. He had wanted to cross borders, ride a Zeppelin for the first time, and travel underwater in a submarine. His father had gone to great lengths to provide him with these incredible experiences. No wonder he went to the same lengths for his daughter, Molly. His little princess was getting to the age where she kept asking her father for a new adventure every month. He had already taken her on a hot air balloon ride, but Molly now said she wanted to travel in a Zeppelin because it was much more exciting and faster.

The airport director was already waiting for them at the arranged meeting place, courtesy of the Mayor’s endorsement.

"Professor. Constable. It's an honor. The mayor has instructed me to assist you with whatever you need." Joey grimaced at the volume in which the director spoke. He felt like an old man being given the courtesy of being shouted at so that he could hear the conversation.

“Thank you, director,” responded Esther.

The way the director leaned in to listen told Joey that the director was hard of hearing—one of the hazards of flying. Joey shouted to the director.

“We hoped you would help us find a vessel that can go as high as possible. We want to have a bird's eye view of the lake as wide as possible.”

Visibly grateful for the added volume, the director thought for a few seconds.

“That means we'll be taking the Albatross.”

The professor smiled pleasantly. “That’s perfect, director.”

“Follow me. I'll take you up myself. The Mayor told me that you should get the best treatment possible, and I'm the best pilot in the fleet.”

Smiling at the humble remark, Joey followed after the director as he started heading toward their vessel.

“Tell us about the Albatross, captain.” As the director would fly them, the change in terminology for the title to address him seemed appropriate.

“It’s one of the newest zeppelins in the fleet. It can take us up to about 15,000 feet.”

“That’s impressive,” exclaimed Joey.

“How many people can it take?”

“Forty-two.”

As they left the terminal and came to the airstrip, The director took them toward a massive warehouse. The director gave orders to the crew, and they started opening the bay doors. Horses started pulling the beast out of its lair and into the sun's light. Once it was entirely out of its warehouse, the vessel's majesty was glorious. It was hard to wrap one’s head around the size of the airship. It was gigantic, more significant than most buildings in the city. The Albatross was gray and shaped like a missile. The beast was two hundred and fifty meters long by thirty meters wide.

“Ain’t she a beauty?” asked the director.

"Most certainly," answered Esther humbly. Joey was still dazzled by the sight of the airship and was at a loss for words.

As the preparations for take-off were being completed, the captain brought Joey and Esther aboard the zeppelin. A ladder was lowered, and they went up onto the gangways. The gangways were made not of solid metal but out of latticed metal instead to reduce the airship’s weight. The gangways branched and interconnected, forming the skeleton that gave the airship its rigid shape.

"What do you use to make the envelope?"

"Yes. You're right. It's dope." Esther couldn't hold it in and let out a little giggle.

"No. What fabric do you use to make the envelope?"

"Oh! It's made of goldbeater's skin." Joey was surprised. So it was made of goldbeater’s skin, a processed outer membrane of an animal’s intestines. He wondered whether any of his old man’s sea cow cattle lived on, aboard this vessel.

"Are those the fuel tanks?" Asked Joey pointing at the giant recipients on both sides of the path they were walking.

"You're welcome. It's a pleasure."

Esther laughed again.

"What?" asked Joey.

"What?" asked the captain.

Esther burst out laughing.

"I asked if those were the fuel tanks."

"Ha! No, those are the gasbags. They provide lift to the ship." There were many, one after the other, like carriages in a train. "Even if something goes wrong with one of them, the rest can easily sustain the zeppelin."

As they walked down the gangway, the airship’s crew busily climbed up and down the zeppelin’s structure, performing the final checks and ensuring everything was ready. The captain, walking in front of them, more than once shouted out to a crewmember to compliment their excellent work or chastise them for a careless performance. After walking for a surprisingly long while, they reached the gondola. The captain opened the hatch, and they were in.

Now inside the gondola, Joey noticed the stair tower. Only after seeing it did Joey realize that the captain had taken them up through a service entrance reserved solely for the ship’s crew. "This is the stair tower. It's how passengers usually board the ship." Joey wasn’t sure if the alternate entrance was done as a display of hospitality toward them so that they could see the inner workings of the Albatross or if it had been carelessly done as part of an automatic decades-old routine.

"Have you ever flown in the Albatross?"

"Can't say I have."

"No. First time too."

"Let me give you the full tour then. Unlike older models with only one car for passengers and crew, the Albatross keeps two separate cars. One is in the bow of the ship, where the navigation room and the steering room can be found, as well as quarters for the crew. We are in the car in the stern of the ship.

They were first led to the starboard side of the ship. There were two big rooms covered in paneled fragrant wood. Everything was bolted to the ground for safety reasons. The decoration was luxurious and tasteful while remaining practical. "These are the two most extensive compartments inside the gondola: the dining room and the saloon. This is where passengers have their meals, mingle, and chat as the trip progresses." After making it to the port side of the Albatross, they were shown the reading and writing rooms.

"It is a bit quieter here. You can come here to read or write. And here are the kitchens."

Finally, they were shown the ship's center, where the sleeping cabins were located. "We keep the rooms as far away as possible from the loud engines outside to guarantee a sound night of sleep," explained the captain. Joey was grateful for the thoughtfulness of the engineers who had designed the car. He didn't want to become deaf like the captain.

After seeing the whole car, Joey’s favorite feature of the gondola turned out to be the promenade, a corridor lined with inclined glass windows that afforded a fantastic view of the ground. It went all around the ship. Through it, Joey saw that as part of the final checks, someone outside was making sure the glass windows were spotless to ensure they would have as good of a view as possible. He couldn’t wait to see the view of the lake from 4000 feet in the air. Provided that the sky was clear.

"That's the whole tour. Make yourselves at home. If you excuse me, I have to go to the crew's car and get this baby off the ground. I'll come and check on you later." The captain went to the same door they had used to come in. He would take the gangways and head toward the navigation car in the zeppelin's bow. He then was gone.

“What do you think, Esther?”

“It’s a very impressive zeppelin. I had heard rumors of it, but I am glad we can use it.”

"It's the biggest I've been on."

"Same here."

Outside, the propellers' rumbling signaled that they would take flight. Tethers were loosened, and the buoyancy of the gas balls inside the zeppelin fought the gravity of the airship. The zeppelin started to lift off the ground.

“So, what is the plan?”

“I want to perform a survey of the lake, constable. We will search the lake in a grid pattern. The clines will be seen from an aerial view as a shift in the color of the water. I want to understand if there is some pattern we’re missing. We should be able to see the clines from up here. We will map the clines of the lake. That will hopefully provide some insights into this phenomenon's nature.”

“How long is that going to take us?”

“I would say about a week.”

*

As Geoffrey walked through his estate, his guests followed him like children walking behind a teacher on a field trip. The entourage of merchants, ambassadors, and business tycoons comprised the contacts made by his deals through the pirate lord. They met all the criteria he was looking for for the next step in his plan to work. First, they were all extremely wealthy. Second, they weren’t afraid of taking chances. Otherwise, they would have never bought his oil under the table.

"As you can see, gentleman, all our equipment is state of the art." Geoffrey used the respite caused by his guests' wondering gazes to the Nautilus and the rest of the submarine fleet. They had all been scrubbed clean and polished and reflected the light so majestically that one had to squint to look at them. In the distance, the shepherd dolphin pod contributed to the festive environment by performing fancy acrobatics.

Among his guests, he could count ambassadors from thirteenth countries, at least six of them from very wealthy nations. There were also different businessmen from several industries. He recognized Mary Oakland, the Railway Empress. She was one of the wealthiest people in the nation. Her family owned 70% of the Railway business.

He could also see Mr. Daniel, one of the largest cotton producers on the planet. One of the senior managers of his bank also has made an appearance, as well as many other high-profile entrepreneurs. Surprisingly, he also spotted one of the aides to the mayor. He wasn't expecting to see someone from the mayor's office here. It made no difference now. All the oil he'd bought had been sold and couldn't be traced back to him. They were too late to do anything about it. He continued the tour of his estate.

"Before the Flood, we had a herd of 300 manatees. But after the disaster abated, many of the ranchers in the lake could no longer care for all of their animals. To help them, I've been relieving them from some of their herds.

We now own 1500 manatees, 1200 dugongs, and 500 balatees. I also own a ranch of Stellar sea cows on one of the Ash Islands. And this number is only going to keep getting bigger. Gentlemen, our projects place Geoffrey Incorporated as controlling a little under 10% of the world's energy market. And things don't have to stop here.

We're expanding our activities, so we need land, money, and resources. If you want to be a part of the future of Geoffrey Inc., I invite you to invest in us. I guarantee you a return of 10% in the next three months."

Sounds of surprise and disbelief ran through the crowd. Geoffrey could see the different old foxes running the numbers in their minds. In the first step of this plan, he had made a name for himself in the black market and had made connections to the pirate lord. In the second step, he had weakened his competitors, thus making him more valuable in the eyes of investors. Now, all that was left was for them to take the bite, and he could move on to the next step of his plan. He needed more money to keep buying the shore of the lake!

“I hope you gentlemen have enjoyed the visit. If you want to become stockholders or investors in Geoffrey Estates, please leave your contact information with Deborah. We only accept investments over two hundred thousand crowns but promise a return of 10% on your investment within the first two years. Let’s brighten the world together.”

The crowd dispersed, and he was happy to see one ambassador taking the initiative to go talk to his secretary.

"Excuse me, Mr. Geoffrey?"

"Hello! You are the mayor's aide, Mr. Finley. Right?"

"Excellent memory, sir."

"What business does the mayor have with our humble estate? Is the city hall thinking of investing public funds into this enterprise?"

"No, I'm not here on City Hall's business. One of your... associates told me about the little operation you're running here." Geoffrey gulped. Could this be a mole placed by the pirates? If so, he was impressed. The scrutiny this man had to endure was off the charts. "I want to ask you a few questions."

"By all means."

"You promise a 10% return within three months. Correct?"

"Yes. Absolutely. We will put all of my estate and the animals as collateral."

"Imagine I invest five billion crowns." Geoffrey's eyes widened. How did this man have so much money? It was enough to buy the whole country! "Could you sweeten the deal? Maybe 20% within two months." Geoffrey stood speechless. He'd never imagined someone would be crazy to invest that kind of money.

"I-I'm sorry, sir, I can't promise that."

"Shame. Well, I must leave."

Geoffrey gulped. Who was this person? He'd appeared out of thin air, asking casually about a five billion crown investment. A mix of emotions rushed through him like a stampede of wild beasts. First, fear. Then came jealousy and finally amusement.

"Mr. Geoffrey, can I ask you a few questions?"

"Mrs. Oakwood. What a privilege to have you in my humble abode. Please, by all means."

*

Five days of flight had gone by aboard the Albatross. The Zeppelin could achieve a speed of a hundred kilometers per hour thanks to its powerful engines. Lake Grassum was six hundred kilometers long at its longest length from East to West and three hundred kilometers wide at its greatest width from North to South.

Esther and Joey spent their days in the promenade mapping the clines. She had asked the captain to fly over the lake in progressively smaller circles in a whirlpool pattern. This would give Esther more reference points on the shore and a better sense of scale. With each progressive circle, the time it took to complete them was progressively shorter. It had taken them two full days to go around the lake close enough to view the shores. A day and a half for the second circle, and now they were running more than a circle a day.

Joey looked over Esther’s shoulders. He was feeling useless in this survey. He had, in vain, tried to assist Esther with drawing the boundaries of the clines, but was terrible at it. Esther had a firm hand and drew confident lines. Joey admitted that he had taken the hard work of cartographers for granted.

As a policeman, he often had to make use of maps. It took a mix of imagination and precision to draft an accurate map. On the one hand, drawing a map was something divine. You drew miles of geographical features with the slightest movement of a pen. It amazed him how Esther rarely adjusted what she had drawn.

"How confident are you that your drawing resembles the real thing?"

"Very." Joey wasn't fully convinced.

"Are you bored, Joey?"

"To be honest with you, Esther, yes." After spending so many days together, they had gotten around to treating each other on a first-name basis. "To be perfectly candid, I miss my wife and daughter. I would have rather stayed at home with them. It's not like I'm doing anything here."

"Your presence is appreciated, Joey. I feel safe with you around to watch my back."

"You're only saying that to make me happy." She giggled. "My boss would never have agreed to me staying at home. Are you aware that the city is treating you like a messianic figure? You could ask for literally anything, and they would do it."

"I'm aware of the city's hospitality."

Joey wondered how his wife and his daughter were doing. They had both been disappointed when he had told them he would be away for about a week. He had assured them the commissioner had already promised him a week of holidays after closing the investigation. He wanted to go back home.

“Professor, how long would you say we have left before we can go home?” Esther studied the landscape and then the map.

“We have been very fortunate. The weather has been clear throughout the week, and the winds haven’t been too bad. Today we will finally fly over the center of the lake, Joey. If all goes well, we'll return to the city tomorrow.”

“Good,” answered Joey happily. He was tired of being stuck in the gondola. He needed some action.

“Shall I go prepare some coffee for us? Maybe a snack?”

“I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

Over the last few days, Esther and Joey had become closer. Joey realized that Esther reminded him of his mother. His mother had been a teacher, so the way they communicated, as if they were always in a classroom, felt natural to him. She had many adventures and stories to share. After spending more time together, two days earlier, Esther had taken a step in showing trust in Joey and had asked him to prepare her a cup of tea. Until then, both of them had always handled their food and drink, despite the kind offers the captain and his crew constantly made.

Joey went to the kitchen and carefully boiled the water he would use for fifteen minutes. This was the only place on the ship where a fire could be lit. It was hazardous to have ignition near the gasbags full of helium. He took a small vial of liquid and put a drop on top of each ingredient he would use. The liquid never changed color, indicating that it shouldn’t have any toxins. Still, he carefully smelled and tasted each one. Once he was satisfied, he went about preparing an omelet and brewed the coffee.

He recognized that his trauma came with a lot of work. When he was dating his wife, he remembered that she had first found it romantic that he always cooked and prepared their meals. Later when she realized that the reason for this was because of Joey’s trust issues and the trauma that had come from how he lost his parents, she reformulated her opinion. It had taken a lot of convincing from Joey to assure her that he trusted her. He had told her many times that it wasn't that he didn't trust her, but that the best poisoners ensure that the food that kills their prey is served by hands they trust. To this day, he didn’t let anyone in his house prepare food when he was in. His wife, in turn, had needed years of insistence to make him stop coming home from work to cook and ensure that everything was OK before he returned to work.

Joey heard a scream. It was a desperate shout. Dropping the coffee on the ground and breaking the cups, he grabbed his gun and ran toward the promenade where he had left the professor. He had hardly heard Esther’s screams over the hum of the engines and perhaps would have missed it entirely if he hadn’t gotten used to the engine’s noise. After a few days, the brain learned how to ignore the sound and make out all the other sounds under the constant turning of the propellers.

He ran. She was standing with the map, and the pen lay fallen on the floor. Her hands covered her mouth. She had seen something that had frightened her. He ran toward her to try to see the reason for her scream.

“Joey… it’s…”

Joey looked down the window. Most of the lake under them seemed ochre yellow. First, Joey thought this was a new type of cline. He looked around and saw that the cline seemed to curve on the horizon. Looking around, he saw that this new yellow cline seemed to form a giant circle. In the middle of the yellow circle was a darker black circle, perhaps one kilometer wide. Joey realized that the black inner circle was expanding.

“It can’t be.”

It was an eye.

Ch. 13

INDEX

Ch. 15