Chapter 18 postscript

Flying high over the Atlantic Ocean, the NASA transport plane banked and turned. On the plane, Commissioner Lawrence Extron took one last look at the charred boulder in the cargo hold.Go back to the sea, he thought to himself.Go back to where they found you. Following Extron's orders, the pilot opened the cargo door and lowered the boulder.They watched as the boulder plummeted from the back of the plane across the sunlit ocean, splashing silvery water and disappearing in the waves. The boulder sank rapidly. Three hundred feet below the water, there was barely enough light to reveal the ever-turning silhouette of the rock.After sinking five hundred feet, the rock fell into utter darkness.

The rock sank rapidly. It sank deeper. The stone fell for almost twelve minutes. Then, like a meteorite hitting the dark side of the moon, the rock crashed into a vast expanse of mud on the ocean floor, splashing up a cloud of sediment.When the dust settled, a creature swam over from among countless unknown sea creatures, examining this strange-looking visitor. However, it showed no interest in the new visitor and swam away again.