The Baltic Sea Anomaly The Deep

ANT HUMS

Why did we build that pedestal for the efemycron?

The whole thing's gone to Ant's head.

ANT HUMS

ALL GASP

Ah.

Oops!

Hmm.

Really sorry, Dad.

The efemycron has survived unscathed for 6,000 years.

Can it survive one day with Ant?

I'm sure it will cope with one little bump, right, Nereus?

Aye.

Well, who knows?

Yes! It still works.

But I knew it would.

So, Nereus, you can't tell us what any of these symbols mean?

I only know that one of these symbols will lead to Lemuria,

or could be Lemuria, or not.

You're doing that on purpose.

Look! That one, right there.

You think that's Lemuria?

It's right where the Baltic Sea anomaly is.

-Oh, no.

-Oh, yes!

How many times have I pleaded, begged?

Cajoled, nagged.

Whined on and on.

Exactly!

I've wanted to see the Baltic Sea anomaly all my life,

and now the efemycron

is telling us it's important.

So we got to go now, right?

Interesting, Antaeus. Why do you want to see it?

Cos it's scientifically proven by experts -

everyone everywhere knows it's an alien spaceship.

My family are explorers.

We have been for generations.

While others look up to the stars,

we know there are an infinite number

of things that shine in the darkness below.

There are things lurking in the seas

that long ago vanished into myth.

My family are the Nektons,

and we explore the deep.

You really think this is the real photo of the Baltic Sea anomaly,

don't you?

Yeah! See? That's it.

It's an artist's impression.

It's fake.

Only because radios and cameras don't work within 100 metres

of the anomaly. The aliens are clearly camera shy.

You're the expert, Nereus.

-What do you think?

-You have a point.

And so does Antaeus.

Perhaps the answers will be found in the Chronicle Of The Deep.

Captain Evasive strikes again.

Also, Sonar indicates something on the sea floor ahead.

There!

There it is!

-Oh, my!

-Maybe we should have come here sooner.

You've suddenly gone very quiet, Fontaine.

Everything's quiet compared to you, Ant.

Wow! Just wow!

The anomaly's approximately 80 metres long and 60 wide.

And looks exactly like an alien spaceship.

Or something more believable.

Like what?

Well, that website said it could be

a volcanic plug that sealed a small volcano and, over millennia,

the surrounding earth eroded away.

Fontaine, you can't believe every theory you read on the internet.

I know for a fact that this is an alien craft.

-How?

-I read it online.

Be careful out there.

No reason for concern, Will.

I'm not reading any radiation.

The sea floor is stable.

Huh?

Ant?

Ant's lost...

Fontaine!

INAUDIBLE

INAUDIBLE

Kaiko? Hello, Kaiko, come in?

Hmm. The Knights have entered some kind of dead zone.

Engines full astern.

And it appears we have, too.

Kids? Kaiko?

We need to get eyes on them.

Do you see them? Are they OK?

They're fine. They're out.

But whatever knocked out the Knights also knocked out their comms.

You mean they can't hear each other?

Exactly.

Either Kaiko's explaining this dead zone or she wants pizza.

She does like pizza.

I like my pizza covered in goat's yogurt.

-Always have.

-Yeah, that sounds about right.

All we can do is wait for the current to float us over the anomaly

and out of this zone's interference.

-How long?

-Not sure.

But we'll get the Knights back that way, too.

And the others? Will they come back to the Aronnax?

That would be the safe, smart thing to do.

But...they're swimming away from the Aronnax.

Hey, power!

Can anyone hear me? Anyone copy?

Copy. Fontaine?

Yeah, I copy.

Aronnax, this is Kaiko. Copy?

They've still got interference.

I hope this is the only dead zone.

This thing is giving me a weird vibe.

Of course it's weird - it's alien.

Ant, just because it's weird, doesn't make it alien.

You're weird and you're not from another planet.

-Is he, Mom?

-The jury's still out.

I'm taking a closer look.

Of course you are!

Be careful.

Wow! Look at the glow coming from it.

What could it be?

It looks...otherworldly.

Of course it looks otherworldly.

It's clearly from another world.

Light coming from the anomaly?

Interesting.

It might connect to something I found in the Chronicle Of The Deep.

I didn't expect holes everywhere.

Hey!

Have a look at this.

The holes down here are even bigger.

Still drifting. Where does this dead zone end?

Before the lights went out, I read here that in ancient times,

a bright star fell from the skies.

But, unlike a normal meteor, it didn't fall straight down.

It flew erratically,

changing direction several times

before it fell into the sea.

And that's the Baltic Sea anomaly?

Well, it's possible.

Is that what the efemycron symbol is pointing to -

the object that fell from the sky?

I can't tell.

Why not?

It's too dark to read.

Here's the plan. We go back to the Aronnax,

get all our tech up and running,

decide the best assets to deploy,

then undertake further exploration.

Where's Ant?

We can get inside!

-Oh, no.

-Ant's got his own plan -

swim into a mysterious object and hope for the best.

Stay here.

Ant!

If there are green men inside

waiting to take Ant to another planet, don't argue.

It's like this place has been chiselled out by tiny tools.

You breached diving protocol again, Ant.

Stop racing off solo.

Sorry, Mom.

But it's not every day you get to explore an alien spacecraft!

That's a reasonable excuse, I suppose.

OK, but let's hurry.

We've floated outside the dead zone.

Kaiko, Fontaine, Ant? Anyone copy?

These dead zones!

There seems to be different pockets of them.

Can't go any further.

I have no idea what made these tiny holes.

And, "Tiny aliens with tiny power tools,"

is not the answer we're looking for.

Come on, Ant, we should regroup with your father.

What is that?

HE GRUNTS

Wow!

-What is it?

-Not sure,

but this piece moves.

Wow!

According to this reading, whatever this is,

it generates its own power source.

CHIRPING

What's that?

More machines, maybe?

It's coming this way.

Ant, what have you done?

Let's go, now!

HE PANTS

-Whoa!

-Just keep going!

-What's happening?

-Move, move, move!

Something's coming.

A cloud.

HE GASPS

Look!

Uh-oh.

We can't outswim them!

ALL SCREAM

-Huh?

-What?

The aliens didn't see us?

They're not aliens.

They're mantis shrimp.

Big ones, and they certainly saw us.

Mantis shrimp eyesight is better than any living creature.

They can parts of the spectrum we can't even imagine.

And it looks like they only have eyes for one thing - the Aronnax.

I think the lights are attracting them.

Will. Will, come in.

SHE GRUNTS

A dead zone's between us.

Mantis shrimp? Not good!

Er, Will?

Hold on!

They're aggressive, destructive and their pincers can accelerate

to 100,000 metres per second.

They can punch through anything.

And that ultra-rapid movement - doesn't it create light?

Look!

So, at the anomaly, the mantis shrimp created that glow?

Right after you stirred them up.

That glass cannot crack.

Will, are we in trouble?

Right now?

Yes.

Do mantis shrimp eat metal?

I guess she can't hear me. Must be in another dead zone.

Come on, guys, faster!

I can't move the Aronnax till you get back.

Er, Will, I have troubling news.

We're out of the zone. Will, copy?

-Kaiko!

-The shrimp might be attracted to the lights.

Turn them off!

-Any change?

-Yes, we're standing in the dark now.

But the shrimp are still attacking.

They're definitely attracted to the Aronnax for some reason.

Fontaine, how much more of the light spectrum can these shrimp see?

Way beyond ultraviolet.

So they can probably see electrical fields.

Maybe that's what's attracting them.

Copy that.

Nereus? Catch!

It's not electrical.

Cellphones, tablets, devices all over the Aronnax

are running on batteries.

They've all got to be turned off.

Jeffrey, how do I turn this off?

NEREUS SCOFFS

Er, er, Will?

Nereus, use the claw to lower me into the moon pool,

-then shut it off.

-Er...right.

Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!

Nereus, hit release.

Whoa!

-Agh!

-Whoops! Ooh, sorry.

-Oh, ooh!

-Whoa!

-Oh, dear. Oh.

-Whoa!

-Oh, sorry!

Forgive me. Ha-ha. That was me. Sorry, my bad.

Whoa!

Ooh! That looked painful.

I got confused.

Keep turning things off.

I'll make sure the shrimp leave.

Wait! How do I turn off the...?

Oh, come on!

I've deciphered mysteries of the ages,

surely I can work out how to turn you off.

Hmm...

If we can't stop them, the Aronnax is going to end up like the anomaly,

nibbled through by those sea termites to make a new home!

I should never have brought us here.

-Will!

-I have a plan.

I'll be right back.

I'll have the Aronnax ready to start the moment you get back.

Hey, shrimp...

..catch me if you can!

It's pinger time!

Not what they were designed for, but something tells me

you guys are going to like this.

HE LAUGHS

It's working! Like moths to a flame.

Er, by chance, anyone got any spare pingers?

Will!

Dad, eject.

Activating re-breather masks.

He'll be OK once he gets out.

The shrimp will stick with the Knight.

The ejector mechanism is damaged.

Cannot eject.

Sinking fast.

Not going to lie - this plan worked better in my head.

I'll shut down Dad's Knight.

Once he's depowered, the shrimp shouldn't be interested in him.

Ant!

Fontaine can take care of that alone.

How do we draw the shrimp away?

Pizza, ice cream?

Er... Got it!

-Got what?

-I'll need my Knight.

Be careful.

This plan better be an improvement on,

"Let's visit the Baltic Sea anomaly"!

It can't really be worse.

Dad, can you hear me?

I can hear you. Oh, boy!

I've got water inside.

What?

Sorry. I had to turn it off somehow.

Nereus, I need your help.

I'm depowering you, Dad.

Come on, guys.

Move!

The power's off but they're still attacking.

Their life support must be running on backup power.

Shadow Knight, don't fail me now.

Yes! Ha-ha. You want power, shrimp?

Come get it.

Ant, it's working!

Good work, kids.

Yeah, it's working.

Maybe too well!

Manual eject is offline.

Get back to the Aronnax, Fontaine.

You can't lift me alone.

We'll think of something else.

Looks like Mom is a step ahead of us.

OK, that's Fontaine.

We have to pull.

THEY GRUNT

Put some muscle into it, Nereus.

Physical strength is not my strength.

Ant, you OK?

Sticking with the plan.

Come on, dead zone. Where are you?

Yes, just in time.

Ha-ha. Fooled you!

Looks like we're in the clear.

NEREUS GRUNTS

No! Turn it off!

BOTH: Whoa!

-Whoa!

-Ahh!

Oh, blast!

What?!

Oh, no!

Not helping, guys!

This can't be good!

I need another power source.

Oh, boy!

HE SCREAMS

HE GRUNTS

Ant, come in.

What is he doing?

It's that weird box he found.

Oh, I really don't want to let this go,

but...

-Ha-ha-ha.

-Yes!

-Ha-ha!

Now's our chance. Let's collect the Knights.

HE SIGHS

That was good quick thinking, Ant.

There could be more proof of alien life in there somewhere.

We're getting out of here before those things

finish what they're eating.

Goodbye, proof of alien life.

So, the shrimp were probably attracted to the electrical energy

-inside the spaceship.

-Anomaly.

Spaceship. For thousands of years, they ate and evolved,

got bigger, and dug further into it.

Theoretically.

I had evidence.

Now all I've got is...

Whoa, look!

There's the same symbol.

And there, and there!

According to the scroll, they all mean objects that fell from the sky.

Yes! We can check them all out.

But we have Lemuria to find, Antaeus.

Nereus is right, but this has helped.

Now we can eliminate those symbols from the search.

Well, once we find Lemuria, we can check out these symbols, right?

Why? All we're likely to find are mantis shrimp nests.

Totally unlikely.

Way more likely than alien spaceships.

You know, one day, I'm going to meet a real alien, Fontaine,

and the first thing I'm going to teach it to say is, "I told you so."

FONTAINE LAUGHS

Sure!