Climbing atop the barrier of dead vegetation, I pulled open the egress hatch—releasing a waterfall of trapped seawater, drenching myself in the process. Oscar appeared to enjoy the unplanned comedy act, giving me a quick rendition of the cephaloped jig … and then it reached for the hatch with three tentacles and pulled itself inside the open chamber—hoisting me up seconds later.

The water that remained in the chamber was still chest-deep. Oscar seemed a different animal than the one I had shocked to consciousness back in the redwood pond, splaying itself underwater like an asterisk, reaching playfully for my legs as I waded by to access the control panel.

There was no groping blindly this time around for hatch controls or switches. While assigned to Beta Squad, I had uploaded into ABE’s memory every schematic and operations program Donald Bruemmer had brought on board. Now my trusty bio-chip could direct me in a microsecond of thought to any square inch of the ship.

Ducking underwater, I opened a control panel and tugged on a red handle, the manual release to vent the chamber. Sixty seconds later the interior hatch clicked open, allowing us access into the rest of the ship.

Memories of my hasty escape came rushing back. Entering the lower level, I listened for the bees, and instead heard a deep gurgling sound originating from beneath my feet.

ABE, identify that sound.

THE SOUND IS COMING FROM THE TWO AUXILIARY BACKUP GENERATORS.

What about the nuclear reactor?

PLUTONIUM RODS HAVE EXPIRED, THE NUCLEAR REACTOR IS OFF-LINE. BACKUP BATTERIES HAVE BEEN CHARGED USING SOLAR PANELS LOCATED ALONG THE AERO GEL EXTERIOR. VEGETATION GROWTH IS IMPEDING THE PROCESS. LIFE SUPPORT IS LIMITED TO SEVEN HOURS, TWENTY-SIX MINUTES. LIGHTS ARE NOT FUNCTIONING IN 37 PERCENT OF THE SHIP. ALL GALLEY APPLIANCES ARE OFF-LINE. POWER TO THE ARBORETUM–

Never mind that. What about the cryogenic chamber?

THE CRYOGENIC CHAMBER HAS ITS OWN BACKUP POWER SUPPLY.

How can I access the chamber?

GOLEM CONTROLS ALL ACCESS.

Is GOLEM online?

NO.

Is there a manual override?

YES.

*   *   *

Oscar followed me up the steel ladder. The air was stagnant and at least fifty degrees warmer than when Oceanus had been submerged. The smell that greeted us on the midlevel was rancid, rendered ripe by the cessation of cold.

The damage Oceanus had endured from its death roll and plunge into the sea trench was everywhere in evidence, from the pipes that had burst through the ceiling to the recessed stateroom doors, the open panels having unleashed the suites’ wares into the corridor. Arriving at Stateroom Two, I sifted through my fiancée’s belongings and was excited to find my duffel bag nestled within the pile of refuse.

Like a boy on Christmas morning, I opened the canvas bag, extracting a fresh pair of boxers, my black nylon running suit, matching athletic shoes and socks. Slipping out of the tattered orange jumpsuit, I dressed in my familiar civvies and felt like a new man.