Collapse Depth

Hein waited for him to react. Hallorann suddenly realized what was happening. They were trying to make him sick…it was a game to play with the new guy. But he still wasn’t feeling seasick in the least, he appeared to be one of those guys immune to the ailment, despite a life spent landlocked. And if they thought they could make him sick merely by telling gross stories…Hallorann had spent every summer of high school working at a chicken slaughterhouse outside of Fort Dodge, Iowa. He had a pretty high tolerance.

The throttleman remained focused on his panel, but he seemed like he’d been saving something. “What’s your name again, nub?”

“Hallorann.”

“Hallorann. Right. Don’t listen to these guys, honestly. But if you ever start to feel a little queasy, I know a cure.”

Hallorann didn’t say anything. The motion of the ship had changed, from kind of a violent pitching up and down, to a roll that seemed to move them in every direction, like a rock tumbling in space.

“OK, take it easy. Mind your panels,” said Hein. He was again staring past Hallorann, tiny beads of sweat forming on his upper lip.

“One second, sir, I just want to help the new guy out with my seasickness cure. Wanna hear it Hallorann?”

“Sure.”

“Just go to the mess decks, okay, and get one of those ice cream bowls.”

“Okay.”

“Fill it all the way to the top with mayonnaise…”

“Okay.”

“And then microwave it until the mayo is just steaming hot. Then eat the whole thing, every spoonful.”

Suddenly Lieutenant Hein pushed Hallorann away from his desk. He stuck his head down into a tiny trashcan that was lashed to the side of it, and began puking dramatically. The three enlisted watchstanders in maneuvering cheered like it was New Year’s Day.

• • •

Hallorann excused himself from maneuvering, thinking it wasn’t a good idea to participate in the mocking of the young officer. He considered going back forward, but he found himself interested in the engine room, and wanted to explore it further. He’d overheard another enlisted man say that you could actually see the main shaft where it penetrated the hull, and watch it turn, the very thing that propelled them through the water. That was intriguing enough to seek out. It had to be aft, the most aft thing on the boat, he assumed, and he resolved to walk that direction until he found the shaft or until someone told him to leave. He retrieved some foam earplugs from his pocket and shoved them back into his ears.

He passed maneuvering into a space that opened up, a place of large machines and bright fluorescent light. A mechanic was on watch, taking a reading and recording it on a clipboard. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing large, ornate tattoos with Japanese characters adorning images of dragons. He looked up from his clipboard and nodded with a smile. Hallorann began to walk toward him, to ensure his presence there was okay, and to accept help if it was offered.

Two steps later, however, Hallorann was almost leveled by a noise so loud that it had a physical force; he could feel it impacting and deforming his ear drums right through the foam plugs. The noise was so loud that it was meaningless to try to determine what direction it came from, it was everywhere, filling the space, pressurizing it. He fought the strong urge to run in fear. He watched the reaction of the watchstander with the clipboard, to see if what he was hearing was normal. He could see in the startled expression that it was not. The watchstander seemed almost as confused as Hallorann. An announcement came through the speakers, but was unintelligible over the roar. For a moment, it seemed like the sound would consume them all as they stood there, paralyzed by its force.

Then through the tunnel marched an officer Hallorann had not seen before. He was putting on heavy-duty ear protection as he strode aft, and actually had a smile on his face. He brushed by Hallorann without a glance, walking directly toward the roar, which seemed to Hallorann to be one of the braver things he’d ever witnessed. He glanced at the gold dolphins and his nametag as he passed: Jabo.

And even though he was walking toward the noise, Hallorann decided that Jabo was the kind of person he wanted to be next to in a crisis. He followed him.

He walked down a short ladder into the middle level of the engine room. Hallorann had to stop finally, even with the foam earplugs and his hands pushed firmly over his ears, he literally couldn’t take another step toward the noise, it felt as though it would split his skull in half. Jabo kept walking, armed with both superior ear protection and a supreme sense of confidence. At the front of the space Jabo arrived at a row of three identical machines. He walked right up the center one, assessed it briefly, and then threw over the handle of a valve at the top of it. Instantly the roar stopped.