Dr. Ford reached into her other pocket and pulled out a syringe.
“This syringe contains a combination of agents we have developed in our lab to combat HPNS. The exact combination is subject to a patent application so I’m going to speak generally. There are two main functions. The first is to prevent bubble formation in body tissues as pressure is reduced. This is a minor development from other work. The second is to prevent the neurological effects we know as HPNS. The mechanism is described briefly in your handout and fully in our patent application.”
She paused briefly expecting questions but the audience was silent.
“I’d like to thank the Navy for their generous support of my lab in developing this HPNS suppressor. Thank you.”
She walked off to polite applause and Martin returned.
“Thank you Dr. Ford. Our next speaker is Marie Babin who is the architect and chief engineer on the Pheia.”
Martin walked off stage and Babin replaced him. It was obvious she was nervous.
“Good afternoon.” She pressed the clicker Martin had handed her and the image on the screen changed to a schematic of the Pheia.
Kate fidgeted in her seat. She had seen all this before — several times. She really wanted to go for a run. The weather was fine and she was thinking ahead to several weeks of travel and confinement in the Pheia. This might be the last chance for a run in the sunshine.
Babin turned to face the audience. “I will start with and overview of the compartments in the Phea, then go over some of the systems in detail. Please hold your questions to the end.” She pointed her laser at the screen. “As you can see from this schematic, the Pheia consists of two vertical aluminum cylinders connected by two short tunnels.” She pointed a laser at the left-hand cylinder. “This is the operations cylinder. It has a diving section at the bottom with a moon pool exit to the ocean. Above it is the operations room which contains the control computers and communications equipment.” The laser circled the area at the top. “And this is the gas generation and reactor space.”
A scan of the audience showed no hands. She continued. “On the right you can see the crew cylinder. The bottom section is mostly storage for food and the equipment the crew will need to set up an observation grid on the bottom. We do not store water as the on-board desalination plant makes that.”
The pointer circled the top of the crew cylinder.
“This is the crew bunk area. It has room for twelve people. You’ll note that we do not have separate male and female areas.”
Kate heard whispering behind her followed by a suppressed laugh. She turned around and saw Mike Duncan, the dive leader and his two buddies engaged in some private joke.
Babin continued. “This area also contains the head and shower facilities.” She moved the pointer to the center. “And lastly, in the center is the galley.” We have room for the crew to sit and eat together. We have designed this area to also be used as a meeting room.”
Kate turned back to the screen in time to see Babin point to the reactor again.
“I suspect that most of you are concerned about the reactor. This small nuclear reactor provides electrical power to the Pheia. It was developed as part of the Russian space program and we are very grateful to Vikor Bazhanov for his work with the Russians to allow us to use this device. It was developed for use in space, and consequently requires no maintenance or even any monitoring. It is capable of surviving reentry through the atmosphere. Compared to other power sources we considered, this is both safer and more reliable and in addition gives us all the electrical power we could ask for.”
Babin went on to describe the Pheia’s gas and drive systems in more detail. Kate was desperate to get out. She thought Babin was done but one of the journalists asked a question about the reactor. People were so terrified of reactors. She imagined the entire press coverage of their expedition would be about the Russian reactor. Few people would care about the tube worms. It was a sad fact that most people didn’t care about science or engineering unless it could kill them or get them high.
The reporter seemed satisfied with Babin’s answers about the reactor and sat down. Another hand went up.
“Sir? At the back,” Babin said.
A tall man in baggy clothes stood up holding a notepad.
“Could you tell us where the Pheia was built?”
Babin nodded. “Yes, of course. There are some pictures from the construction in your handouts. The two large aluminum cylinders were rolled and welded together for us by a company in California which makes rocket boosters. They came out to Maine by truck and were machined and fitted out here in Maine at the Powers Shipyard. The two short tunnels, which are also welded aluminum were made in Detroit by a company that makes specialized auto body parts. The completed structure was welded together at Powers, and that’s where we did all the internal fittings. We used a variety of sub-contractors for the gas and electrical systems.” She paused. “If you would like more details please see me after and I’ll take your contact information.”
The reporter nodded and sat back down.
There were no more hands. Martin walked back on the stage and the image on the screen changed to show an org chart with pictures of institute staff and a box marked ‘Pheia Crew’.
“As Ms Babin has indicated many people were involved in the construction of the Pheia and many more in the expedition to Cayman. Don’t worry, I’m not going to drag them all up here. I just want to mention a few more people who have important roles outside of the expedition science.”
He pointed the laser pointer in the clicker at a bearded face at the top of the screen. The caption under the picture said Williams.
“This is David Williams. He is the director of undersea programs here at MIUR and as you can see from the chart, he is my boss. David spent a lot of time with the British Navy before he came to us. He will be directing the overall operation from the surface support barge in Cayman. I will be coordinating the program from inside the Pheia and providing the media with information about the progress of the expedition. David is currently in Grand Cayman preparing for the arrival of the Pheia on its support barge.”
He pointed at another face on the screen.
“And this is Dr. George Carver. George is a behavioral scientist. He and Dr. Ford will be monitoring the crew of the Pheia both for signs of HPNS but also for any negative effects due to being confined to the Pheia for about two weeks.”
He scanned the audience. There were no hands up.
“Thank you all for coming today. As I mentioned, the Pheia is on its way to Cayman and the team will depart next week. We will have another press conference by phone once everyone is assembled in Cayman. Thank you.”
The audience got up and started making its way out. One or two people stayed to ask questions. Kate was on her way through the door when she heard Duncan behind her talking. She turned to face him.
“What was so funny Mike?” she asked.
Duncan pointed to one of his dive team.
“I was saying that Perez here is going to have to put his love life on hold.”
Perez scowled at him.
“That’s not quite what you said.”
“There’s a lady present.” Duncan replied
“Like that’s stopped you before.”
The divers turned down the hallway outside the auditorium.
“Later Kate”. Duncan said as they walked away.
Kate liked Duncan. He was a no BS kind of guy. She was thinking of catching him up and asking him to run with her. She usually ran alone but Duncan was a great runner and when she ran with him she pushed herself a bit harder.