To access deeper depths required shielding a diver against these enormous pressures, leading to the invention of the first atmospheric dive suit, or ADS. An ADS is an underwater suit and helmet, its internal pressures maintained at one atmosphere. With an ADS, there is no need for compression or decompression. Special gas mixtures are not required, and dive times can be extended by many hours, with divers able to comfortably attain depths exceeding twenty-five hundred feet.

The first atmospheric dive suits originated in the seventeenth century. They resembled bulky suits of armor with long air hoses, and were created so that treasure hunters could explore sunken ships. Advances continued through the 1900s, leading up to the development of the JIM suit, named after its chief test diver, Jim Jarrett. The JIM suit allowed greater freedom of movement in deeper, colder water, and quickly attracted the attention of the oil and gas industry, who needed a means to effect deep water repairs to pipelines.

With new oil monies invested in the technology, the JIM suit soon evolved into WASP suits, which used thrusters in place of articulated legs. While bulkier and requiring more deck space, the WASP gave divers greater range and mobility underwater and became the workhorse in pipeline repair.

The Newt Suit combined the best of both worlds. Like the JIM, the Newt resembled a space suit, with a backpack added that housed air tanks, a life-support system, propeller, and thrusters, which the diver operated using controls within his boots. The headpiece was made of a clear, heavy acrylic, allowing for unobstructed vision, and two-pronged claws extended out of the suit's "mittens" for grasping.

True explained all this to me while he rigged the Newt Suit's support frame and built-in winch to the starboard rail.

"The suit's got twenty joints, makin' it easy tae maneuver, an' the aluminum surface is a breeze compared tae the auld JIMs. The problem a novice like yersel's gonnae have is dealin' wi' the turbidity an' currents. The suit's got a large surface area, which means it'll catch a lot o' water. Get caught in a nasty current, an' ye become a human underwater kite. If that happens, and it will, ye'll need yer thrusters an' propeller. They're controlled usin' pedals in yer boots. Right boot's the thrusters, propeller's in yer left. The air tanks on yer back'll give ye three hours of air, but yer umbilical adds another forty hours, no' that ye'll need it."

"Umbilical?"