Chapter 28Launching the Raft

The next morning, I woke up feeling totally fine - it was a huge surprise. I was really craving a bath after being sick for so long. So, not long after getting up, I headed over and jumped into the water of this crazy underground sea. The bath was so cool, fresh, and woke me up.

I came back for breakfast, starving. Hans, our awesome guide, knew how to cook up whatever we had. He had fire and water whenever he needed them, so he could spice up our usual meals a bit.

Breakfast was like a proper English spread, with coffee to finish it off. Seriously, I’d never felt a drink was so good and refreshing.

My uncle didn’t say anything while I was eating, but he looked super happy when I was done.

"Alright, let’s go," he said. "It’s high tide, and I’m dying to check out what's going on."

"Wait, what?" I said, jumping up. "You said tide, Uncle?" "Yep."

"You’re not serious," I replied, kinda skeptical.

"You think the sun and moon have an effect down here?"

"Why wouldn’t they? Everything’s affected by gravity, right? Why should this giant underground sea be any different? It follows the same rules as everything else. Plus, even with all the air pressure, you can see this inland sea rises and falls just like the Atlantic."

As my uncle talked, we got to the beach and saw and heard the waves crashing against the sand. They were definitely getting higher.

"This is the flood, for real," I said, looking at the water at my feet.

"Yeah, my awesome nephew," my uncle said, rubbing his hands with a real philosopher vibe, "and you can totally see by these streaks of foam that the tide comes up at least ten or twelve feet." "That's seriously wild."

"Not really," he replied; "actually, it’s pretty normal."

"Maybe it seems that way to you, Uncle," I said, "but everything here feels like a miracle to me. It’s almost impossible to believe what I’m seeing. Who would’ve ever thought that, under the earth, there could be a real ocean, with tides, wind changes, and even storms!"

"I would’ve laughed at that idea, for sure."

"But, Harry, seriously, why not?"

my uncle asked with a kind of pitying smile; "is there some science thing that says it's impossible?"

"Well, if we ditch the whole thing about the Earth being super hot inside, I honestly can’t think of anything to say it can’t happen."

"So you’re saying," he added, "that Sir Humphry Davy’s idea is totally legit based on what we’re seeing?"

"I’d say so - and if we accept that, I can totally see why we shouldn’t doubt that there are seas and other cool stuff, even whole countries, deep inside the planet."

"True - but those places are probably empty, right?"

"Well, it’s probably the case: still, I don’t see why this sea couldn't have given a home to some unknown fish."

"So far we haven't found any, and it’s unlikely we ever will," the Professor said.

I was losing my doubts with all these crazy things.

"Well, I’m gonna figure this out. I’m gonna try my luck with my fishing line and hook."

"Totally; let's do the experiment," my uncle said, stoked by my excitement.

"While we’re at it, it's definitely the right move to figure out all the secrets of this crazy region."

"But seriously, where are we right now?" I asked.

"I totally forgot to ask you something, which, I’m sure, your fancy instruments have already figured out."

"Okay," the Professor replied, "looking at things from just one angle, we're about three hundred and fifty leagues from Iceland." "Seriously?" I blurted out.

"I've checked it a bunch of times, and I'm pretty sure I'm not off by even five hundred yards," my uncle said confidently.

"And which way are we headed - still southeast?"

"Yup, with a western shift of nineteen degrees, forty-two minutes, just like it shows. And about the tilt - I found something really weird."

"What's up, Uncle? I’m all ears."

"The needle, instead of dipping towards the pole like it does on Earth, in the northern hemisphere, is actually pointing up."

"Whoa," I said, "that proves the main spot of magnetic pull is somewhere between the surface of the Earth and where we’re at!"

"Spot on, my sharp nephew," my uncle exclaimed, super stoked.

"And it's pretty likely that if we get closer to the polar areas - around seventy-three degrees latitude, where Sir James Ross found the magnetic pole - the needle will point straight up. So, by comparing it to other stuff, we're guessing this big pull isn't that far down."

"Well," I said, pretty surprised, "this discovery is gonna blow experimental philosophers' minds. No one ever suspected anything like it."

"Science, awesome, powerful, and ultimately always right," my uncle stated firmly, "has made plenty of mistakes - lucky mistakes, really, that turned out to be helpful stepping stones to the truth."

After chatting for a bit, I switched gears. "Any idea how deep we are?"

"We're now," the Professor continued, "exactly thirty-five leagues - over a hundred miles - down into the earth."

"So," I said, checking the map, "we’re under the Scottish Highlands, with the Grampian Hills above us."

"Spot on," the Professor laughed; "it sounds scary, the weight is huge - but the vault holding up all this earth and rock is solid and secure. The ultimate Architect of the Universe built it with strong stuff. Seriously, even the wildest, most imaginative people never thought of anything like this!"

"What are our bridges’ arches or our cathedrals’ vaulted ceilings compared to this massive dome above us, and the ocean floating beneath it with its storms, calms, and tides!"

"I’ve gotta say, I’m impressed, Uncle, and I’m not worried about our granite sky falling on our heads. But now that we’ve talked science and discovery, what’s the plan? Aren’t you thinking about heading back to the surface of our amazing earth?"

I said it more as a test than with any real hope.

"Go back, nephew?" my uncle exclaimed, sounding genuinely alarmed, "You’re not seriously thinking something so ridiculous or chicken, are you? Nope, my plan is to keep moving forward. We've been incredibly lucky so far, and I hope we continue to be."

"But," I said, "how are we gonna get across that liquid plain over there?"

"I'm not planning on just diving in, or even swimming across it like Leander did the Hellespont. But oceans are basically just giant lakes, surrounded by land, right? So, it makes sense this central sea is surrounded by granite too."

"Makes sense," I said naturally.

"So, once we get to the other side, don't you think we'll figure out how to keep going?"

"Probably, but how big do you think this internal ocean is?"

"Well, I’d guess it’s about forty or fifty leagues - give or take."

"But even if that’s right - so what?" I asked.

"My dear boy, we don’t have time to argue. We’re setting off tomorrow." I looked around, totally shocked.

I didn’t see a boat or anything like it.

"Wait!" I cried, "We’re about to head out on a totally unknown sea; and where, if you don't mind me asking, is the thing that's gonna carry us?"

"Well, my dear boy, it’s not exactly what you'd call a vessel. For now, we’re gonna make do with a good, solid raft."

"A raft?" I said, still shocked, "But down here, building a raft is as impossible as building a ship - and I can't even imagine - "

"My good Harry - if you’d just listen instead of talking so much, you’d hear," my uncle said, getting a little annoyed. "Hear what?"

"Yes - you can hear the knocking with the hammer, which Hans is using to build the raft. He’s been working on it for hours." "Building a raft?" "Yeah."

"But where did he find trees good enough for that?"

He found the trees all ready to go. Come on, you can watch our awesome guide at work.

"More and more amazed by what I was hearing and seeing, I followed my uncle like I was dreaming."

After about fifteen minutes of walking, I spotted Hans working on the other side of the promontory, which basically formed our natural harbor. A few more minutes, and I was right beside him. I was totally shocked to see a half-finished raft on the sandy beach.

It was made from beams of this super weird wood, and there were tons of branches, joints, and pieces lying around - enough to build a whole fleet of ships and boats.

I turned to my uncle, speechless with amazement.

"Where did all this wood come from?"

I blurted out; "what is this wood?"

"Well, there’s pine, fir, and palm trees from the northern regions, all mineralized by the sea," he replied seriously.

"Seriously? Is that even possible?"

"Totally," said the Professor. "It’s called fossil wood."

"But then," I said after thinking it over, "like lignite, it has to be as hard and heavy as iron, so it definitely won’t float."

"Sometimes that’s true. A lot of this wood has become real anthracite, but others, like what you’re seeing, have only gone through one stage of fossilization. But seeing is believing," added my uncle, picking up a couple of these awesome pieces and tossing them into the sea.

The piece of wood disappeared for a sec, then popped back up, bobbing around with the wind and tide.

"Sold?" my uncle asked with a smug grin.

"Totally sold," I said, "that what I’m seeing is wild."

The truth was, my journey into the earth’s interior was changing everything I thought I knew, and day by day getting me ready for something amazing.

I wouldn’t have blinked if I’d seen a bunch of native canoes floating on that quiet sea.

The very next evening, thanks to Hans’s hustle and skills, the raft was done. It was about ten feet long and five feet wide. The beams, tied together with strong ropes, felt solid and secure.

Once we launched it together, this makeshift boat just floated calmly on the Central Sea - which the Professor had totally nailed the name for.