“I’m new here, where should I start? Can you recomnd a place, including the dental clinic that was ntioned downstairs?”
“The macarons at the 3rd Undersea Base are really delicious,” she said. “If you like sweet things, you’ll enjoy it.”
I nodded absentmindedly, though in truth, I had little interest in macarons or anything else sugary. Although I didn’t get cavities, I didn’t lose weight either. Surprisingly, giving up sweets doesn’t make life unbearable or cause you to want to give up on living. You just end up consuming more bitter things. In my case, that would be coffee.
“Where can I find good coffee?”
“There are two cafes at the 4th Undersea Base, and both have different coffee beans. I personally found ‘Red Coral,’ which uses Arabica beans, to be more delicious.”
Red Coral must be the na of the cafe. It sounds like the kind of place where they might grind up actual coral in their coffee. As long as it tastes like coffee, either way, is fine.
“Thank you. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee later.”
“Also, make sure to visit the beach, the aquarium at the 2nd Undersea Base, and take a ride on the cable car. The beach was created around the island and is quite well-made. It’s even more beautiful at night. The 1st and 2nd Undersea Bases will open for tourists to visit starting early next year. It’s better if you see it before then.”
“Thank you. Do you know where I can board the central elevator?”
◈◈◈
I found myself deep in thought, my eyes fixed on the inscription etched into the elevator’s interior.
[Ecce extendit circum se lun suum et fundanta maris texit]
What does this an? It’s not English. Is it a ssage about a safe operation? Or maybe it takes more than 20 minutes to descend? Is it Spanish? Latin? Probably Latin.
The latest translation device can translate 36 languages and all docunts written in those languages. It consists of a set that includes a device that fits over your teeth, another device installed next to both eardrums and a lens placed over the pupils.
My mother’s old translation device, over 10 years old, required piercing the ear like an earring, had no ability to read text, and could only translate 10 languages in a limited way. It was also old-fashioned and conspicuous due to its reddish color. I didn’t have enough money to buy a new translation device. A single cheap translation device that translates all languages of the world costs as much as a new car.
After paying my sibling’s college tuition, I had no other choice. The old translation devices not only occupied the ears but also required the user to attach them to the lower teeth or lips to have a conversation. Rather than attaching it to my lips, I asked a classmate to embed the old translation device, as small as half of my pinky finger, into my lower teeth. My translation device was too large to install in my eardrum, so I had to wear it like an earring. As I fiddled with the translation device dangling from my ear, I suddenly turned my head at the sound of a voice.
“Behold, he spreads his light upon it, covering the bottom of the sea.”
Fortunately, it seed like one of the ten languages my translator supported. Seeing that it was translating, I recalled my mother reassuring not to worry, as the translator would work. I was relieved just by the fact that Priya Kumari’s conversation was perfectly translated, but I couldn’t help feeling tense when eting a foreigner like this.
It’s Latin.
“·····Is it a phrase from the Bible?”
I asked, guessing since I had no knowledge. I only rembered a few verses that I learned while attending church with my friend to get snacks. Love thy neighbor. Cast the stone. Sothing like that.
Is it sothing like God’s divinity spreading even into the depths of the ocean? Wouldn’t that kill all the deep-sea creatures?
“It’s from the Book of Job[1]. His love illuminates even the bottom of the ocean floor, where there is no darkness.”
I wish so of that great love was bestowed upon ….No, if I follow his interpretation, that love has been poured upon , so that’s why I am here.
Suppressing my disbelief and aversion to religion, I extended my hand to my counterpart first, “I’m Park Muhyun, a dentist who joined the underwater base this ti.”
A man with strong bones shook my hand. The Caucasian man in a suit spoke while looking at , “I’m Michael Loaker, chief of deep-sea engineering. Are you on your way to the dental clinic?”
“Yes, I’m curious about my workplace-.”
I lost my words because the elevator that was on the ground had suddenly plunged into the sea. I was captivated by the view reflected on the transparent walls of the elevator. It was only later that I ca to my senses and barely managed to look at Michael’s face, who seed to understand my behavior.
“Amazing, right? Most people who co here for the first-ti act like that.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice still trembling with awe. “I’ve hardly been to an aquarium, so witnessing the ocean in this way is a first for .”
As the transparent elevator descended, the variety of marine life swelled before my eyes. A canvas of sapphire blue water stretched out in every direction, teeming with schools of dazzling fish.
Isn’t that a shark?
A few people who were riding the elevator with chuckled and laughed as they watched gazing out at the sea.
‘We’re in the ocean! You must have been like this before, too,’ Michael, a man who seed all too familiar with this scene, spoke up, addressing the group with a smile. “You’ll get tired of this view in just three months,” he quipped. “Then I’ll see you later at the dental clinic.
I didn’t realize we had arrived, but the elevator door opened. He got off at the second underwater base and left. Most people followed him, and I was the only one left in the elevator. A silver sticker on the wall of the elevator at the second underwater base indicated a depth: ~2000m.
As we descended to the second underwater base, I saw nurous fish and shades of green and blue sea colors, but as we went further down, I saw nothing. At first, I was excited and enjoyed looking at the underwater world, but my expression vanished as the elevator continued to descend.
Is this what the deep sea always looks like?
The view outside the elevator going down to the third underwater base had turned pitch-black. I could see nothing but dense darkness. In an attempt to alleviate the unease of the passengers, the elevator walls were adorned with holographic fish stickers that emitted a soft glow. Looking at the images on the stickers, it was written that creatures like giant squids lived at this depth, so I began trying not to look at the elevator walls. I wasn’t afraid of marine life, but seeing these images in the darkness made feel like I was on the verge of developing a fear of the deep sea.
The elevator was brightly lit, as if it were dayti, and the darkness outside failed to penetrate its walls. At first, I was taken aback by the lingering darkness, but I soon regained my composure. The journey seed interminable. Normally, when you ride an elevator, ti seems to pass by in a flash, but being all by myself in the murky depths of this elevator, ti felt like it had co to a standstill.
I found myself in a massive elevator that could easily accommodate a hundred people. After pondering countless tis on when I would finally reach the third underwater base, I heard the announcent signaling my arrival.
As the door opened, a woman entered the elevator along with a blinding light and an overpowering sll of bread. The woman, who appeared to be around 167cm tall with black hair, looked at my face while holding a bunch of bread in her arms.
“Oh, nice to et you for the first ti! Hello!”
Hearing her greeting, I quickly greeted her back, “Hello. I’m Park Muhyun, the new dentist.”
“Nice to et you. My na is Yoo Geum-yi. I work at the research center. I heard the dental clinic opens tomorrow?”
“I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“You’re the only dentist who’s going to work there, and you haven’t heard anything?” Yoo Geum-yi laughed, amused by my disbelief. “Then you might need to block reservations or update the notice. You’ll need to access the underwater base program on your tablet to change the information. Is this your first ti coming to the underwater base today?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, I still don’t know where the dental clinic is.”
“Really? That’s a problem.”
Yoo Geum-yi said, seemingly unfazed, as she took a piece of bread from a paper bag, bit into it, and handed a palm-sized piece, urging to eat. The paper bag was filled with bread as if she had swept up an entire bakery. I held the bread she had given and, upon hearing it was a red bean paste bun, broke it in half to find it filled with bean paste. The bread was also very warm.
“The third underwater base is built in the central sea layer, so sunlight doesn’t reach it. You must have been surprised.”
“Yes.”
“Below 2000 ters is already considered deep sea. It’s deep sea all the way down from the second underwater base. You won’t see anything.”
From a human’s perspective, that is. Yoo Geum-yi spoke without any difficulty, even with a piece of bread in her mouth. As I looked at her light brown hair, close to a chestnut shade, I bit into the bread I was holding at her urging. I chewed on the warm bread, filling my mouth. The elevator filled with the aroma of bread.
“Quickly eat it while it’s warm. It’s freshly baked.”
“Thank you.”
It had been such a long ti since I had this kind of sweet bean bread. I was captivated as I devoured the whole steaming hot bread. It was utterly sweet, soft, and delicious. It felt like my brain was screaming that this was what it needed after not having sothing sweet for a long ti. By the ti I finished eating the bread, we had already arrived at the 4th underwater base.
I asked, my hand covering my mouth as I spoke with a full mouth, “Is this where we get off?”
“Yes. This is the 4th underwater base. We just took the central elevator. It operates throughout the entire underwater base, so you’ll need to ride it to travel to almost all the places.”
As soon as the elevator door opened, people surged in as if they had been waiting. Seeing that, I suddenly thought of sothing and asked, “I guess there’s a long wait for the elevator?”
“We’re 3,000 ters below the surface. It takes about 10 minutes for the elevator to arrive. Press the button, and you’ll et all sorts of people waiting to ride the elevator.”
The central elevator was located in the central district, where the accommodations, research center and most other facilities were concentrated, except for mining-related ones. As we walked together around the central district, Yoo Geum-yi told she was heading to the research center and that I would find the dental clinic if I kept going to the right.
She waved, “See you later, doctor,” and left.
“See you next ti.”
I started to worry as the dental appointnt was tomorrow. It wasn’t just that I didn’t know where the dental clinic was, but I also had doubts about whether they even had the basic dical equipnt.
‘Are they really going to open the dental clinic tomorrow? What if I went there and they have nothing and handed a flat-head screwdriver for treatnt?’
Footnote
[1] An ancient Hebrew scripture, depicting biblical thes.
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