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"No problem, sir," Donald snapped back. "I also don't have to go on this dive," Perry said. "I don't want to be in the way. In fact . . ." "You won't be in the way, sir," Donald said. "I know this is an operational dive," Perry persisted. "I wouldn't want to take your attention away from your job."
"When I am piloting the Oceanus, no one takes my attention away from my job, sir!" "I appreciate that," Perry said. "But I won't be at all offended if you feel I should stay topside. I mean, I'll understand."
"I'm looking forward to showing you the capability of this craft, sir." "Well, thank you," Perry said, recognizing the futility of trying to excuse himself graciously. "My pleasure, sir," Donald snapped.

"You don't have to call me sir," Perry said.
"Yes, sir!" Donald responded. Then his mouth formed into a thin smile when he realized what he'd said. "I mean, yes, Mr. Bergman."
"Call me Perry."
"Yes, sir," Donald said. Then he allowed himself a second smile when he realized he'd slipped again in so many seconds. "It's hard for me to change my ways." "I can see that," Perry said. "I guess it's not a wild guess that you got your experience for this type of work in the armed forces."
"That's affirmative," Donald said. "Twenty-five years in the submarine service." "Were you an officer?" Perry asked.
"Indeed. I retired as a commander."
Perry's eyes wandered to the submersible. Now that he'd reconciled himself to the upcoming dive, he wanted reassurance. "How's the Oceanus been performing?" "Flawlessly," Donald answered.
"So it's a good little ship?" Perry asked. He patted the cold steel pressure hull. "The best," Donald said. "Better than anything I've ever piloted, and I've been in quite a few." "Are you just being patriotic?" Perry asked. "Not at all," Donald said. "First of all, it can go deeper than any other manned craft I've piloted. As I'm sure you know, it's got a certified operating depth of twenty thousand feet and a crush depth not until thirty-five thousand. But even that's deceiving. With the built-in safety margin, we could probably dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench without a hitch." Perry swallowed. Hearing the term crush depth brought back the shiver he'd experienced a few minutes before.
"Why don't you give Perry a quick rundown on the rest of the Oceanus 's statistics," Mark said. "Just to refresh his memory."
"Sure," Donald said. "But stand by for a second." He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled out to one of the workmen completing the predive check: "Have the TV camcorders been checked out on the inside?"
"That's an affirmative!" the worker responded. Donald directed his attention back to Perry. "The craft's sixty-eight tons with room for two pilots, two observers, and six other passengers. We have lockout capability for divers, and we can be mated to the DDCs if the need arises. We've got life support for a maximum of two hundred sixteen hours. Power

comes from silver zinc batteries. Propulsion is from a varivec propeller, but maneuverability is also
enhanced with vertical and horizontal thrusters directed by twin joysticks with top-mounted thumb balls. There's short-range, narrow-beam, and side-scan sonar, ground-penetrating radar, proton magnetometer, and thermistors. Recording equipment includes silicon-intensified target video camcorders. Communications are with FM surface radio and UQC underwater telephone. Navigation is inertial."
Donald paused while he let his eyes roam around the submersible. "I think that covers the basics. Any questions?"
"Not for the moment," Perry said quickly. He was afraid Donald might ask him a question. The only thing Perry retained out of the entire monologue was the thirty-five-thousand-foot crush depth figure. "Ready to launch the Oceanus !" a voice crackled over a loudspeaker. Donald herded Perry and Mark away from the sub. The hoisting wire became taut. With a creak the submersible lifted from the deck. It was kept from swinging by multiple launching lines