Accompanied by the deep rumble from the ballast tanks, the submersible passed over that drooping, decaying world, continuing its descent into the even more unknown and terrifying abyss of the sea.
As the tentacles dangling from the City-State's bottom and that giant, pale eyeball completely vanished in the beam of the searchlight, the vast, boundless dark waters once again filled the view outside the portholes, with the occasional glinting spots from the deep darkness (reflected bubbles or plankton) reminding Duncan that he was inside a submersible navigating through water, rather than floating in the vast emptiness of space.
Yet he couldn't help but conjure up strange associations—when viewed from the perspective of the "unknown and lurking horror," what difference was there between the empty vacuum of space and the dark depths of the sea filled with billions of tons of water?
