Deep Storm - Part 2

Part 2

Meanwhile Asher talks with the military commander in charge of Deep Storm, Admiral Spartan, along with his commander Korolis. Asher thinks that Crane should have the right to go down to the "classified" levels to really investigate the cause of the sickness since it is clear he is getting nowhere. However, Admiral Spartan disagrees with Asher and says that Crane is a security threat and refuses to give him clearance to the other 4 lower levels in the base. After this, the base is set on alert after a pinhole breach in one of the corridors, allowing water to come in. The officers determine it was an act of sabotage and Asher reminds all of the heads of departments to be vigilant. Asher summons Crane to his office and, against the wishes of Admiral Spartan, tells him that they are not really looking for Atlantis. Asher tells him that 20 months ago, an ocean drilling oil rig received a signal coming from the Mohorovičić discontinuity and that the US military is trying to find out what the source was. Indeed, to confirm that the source of the signal is not human, Asher shows him a copy of an eyewitness account of a fisherman describing a giant "eye" dipping into the ocean in 1347 and destroying the inhabitants of his village, who had sailed out to greet it. Asher also shows Crane several "sentinels" that they found: cube-shaped objects that emit light straight up, and gravitate to the center of any room or container they are kept in. Asher tells him that this is actually not a solid beam of light, but it is a pulse sending out a mini signal in binary code. He further goes on to say that he hired his personal cryptographer to analyze this binary code since he believes that this technology is not meant for humans. Admiral Spartan and his forces come in at this instant and, much to Crane's surprise, gives him clearance to visit the entire facility. Crane goes down and meets Hui Ping, a doctor who is also trying to analyze the beams of light. Ping and Crane also agree to leave no stone unturned and check for any kind of similarity all the patients have.