Part III The Black Abyss, Chapters 23-28, pgs. 129-170 Summary

Al Giordino was working with the Sappho I which was one of the most recent of the research submersible that NUMA was working on. The purpose of the vessel was to explore the ocean's bottom and she could hold seven men and two tons of equipment. The ship could submerge to depths of 24,000 feet. Giordino was on a test mission with his colleagues Omar Woodson and Rudi Gunn and four other men, Ben Drummer, Rick Spencer, Sam Merker and Henry Munk. Their mission has ended and they will surface in another ten hours.

They are five hundred miles off course due to the orders of Admiral Sandecker. All of the men are experts in their areas, but, as Giordano commented, none of them was a PhD. Their...