Down in a submarine lock, 50 feet below the surface of the Magic Island, Jerry and Joan are waiting for their orders to go aboard the Euclidean submarine, which will go out to capture Johnson on Mrs. Gregory's other boat. G-47, powerful leader of the group of scientists on the island, has demanded that Jerry and Joan go with the submarine as a guarantee that Captain Bradford will not attempt anything to interfere with the safety of the underwater vessel. Jerry and Joan are standing near the entrance to the submarine lock. Now you must be patient, Jerry. Gee whiz, patient? Do you know we've been standing here for a half an hour? Isn't that better, Jerry? Better than what? Better than having spent a half hour in the submarine and being a half hour nearer to capturing your friend Johnson's boat. Yeah, Joan, you're right. Oh, you're always right. And it gets my goat to have a girl be always right. I will try to be wrong, Jerry, if it will make you feel any better, but it will be very hard for me to be wrong about anything. Oh, is that so? You sure hate yourself, don't you? No, Jerry, I do not hate myself. Why should I? Forget it. Just act like I didn't start it. Now then, we've been standing here a half hour and nothing happened. Can't we even look into the lock and see what it's all about? No, Jerry, we must just stand here and wait. We will be told when we may enter. Oh, golly whiskers, Joan. This thing's getting on my nerves. And I'll bet your mother and Captain Bradford are plenty nervous down there in the yacht too, worrying about us. You should say up there in the yacht. The yacht is on a higher level than this lock. We're on the floor of the fifth level, 50 feet from the surface of the island. Gee, and the top of the island is 40 or 50 feet below the water level. We're pretty near 100 feet below the water. And that's another, something else I don't like. What is that, Jerry? I'm afraid that when we get in that submarine, it'll shoot right up to the surface. And one of those battleships practicing up there will think we're the target and let us have a few rounds. Oh, no danger of that. These Euclidean submarines can travel safely and swiftly at a depth of over 200 feet. Oh, it beats me. I don't see how they do it. I think you will see many things, Jerry. The commander is coming. Where? I don't see anybody. The door into the lock is opening slowly. That means the commander is coming down the companion way to the lock and has released the lock mechanism. Who is this commander we're going to take this crazy trip with? I will not know that until I see her. Until you see her? That is what I said. Her? You mean a woman is going to command the submarine? Of course. All the submarines are commanded by women, as nearly all the other mechanism on the island is. What for? Are they short of men on this place? No, but G-47 says the cleverness of the men is needed to design and build these instruments of destruction. A woman is only fit to run them. Boy, oh boy, oh boy. The door is nearly open now, so the commander should be here any moment. Yes, look Jerry, here comes the crew. That first guy is big enough to use a submarine for a rowboat. But where's the rest of the crew? The rest? I do not understand, Jerry. He is the crew. That guy? One man? Is the crew of a submarine? Precisely. Don't say that, precisely. Sounds like old G-47. Step aside and let him pass, Jerry. Do not speak to him. Okay. I don't like his looks anyhow. I have orders from G-47 to take you on this voyage, Cleostre. You will enter immediately following the commander and take your orders from her. I understand, S-E-1. Is this vacant face tripling of the world to accompany us? Is that me? Yes, Jerry. G-47 instructed me to keep this man near me at all times. He will serve you when the objective is reached. G-47 orders will be carried out. But out of this open mouth, the object could serve anyone is not clear to me. Stand by for the commander. Yes, sir. Now look here, Joan. I've had all I'm going to stand to this. One man's submarine cruise floating up to me without a sound and making cracks about me. I'm going to tell on... Oh, you will do nothing. Remember Captain Bradford's orders. Yeah, I know. And it's only that noiseless pain on everything that makes him seem to be sneaking around the air. But if you forget for a minute, you get the jitters. Stand aside. Make way for the commander. Huh? The commander? That beautiful girl? Yes. Now quiet. So we are to have the charming Cleostro with us. S-E-1 will enjoy that. He will probably find some excuse for making your journey anything but pleasant. I am ready, Commander. So I observe. And I have also G-47's instructions regarding this ballast. You mean me? As you are the only object in this chamber possessing visibility, but no other apparent useful quality, it should be natural that I referred to you. Say, now you look here. Jerry, say no more. I am sorry, Commander, but this gentleman is not accustomed to our ways. He knows nothing of our activities. Obviously, he knows nothing about anything. G-47 prepared me for the meeting with him by saying his intelligence was zero. But it appears now that even the science of mathematics must be overthrown. It is possible to subtract from zero. Say, I'm going to tell... Silence, fool. You will speak when spoken to. Cleostro? Yes, Commander. You will bring this into the lock. Observation is permitted. Questions are not. I will summon you when ready. G-47 is coming to give you final instructions. Jerry, now Jerry, be calm and keep quiet. You will spoil everything if you are not careful. And remember that we have the only chance there is left to protect Johnson and possibly save Captain Bradford's formula. Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. But she got my goat. You know, she's the most beautiful woman I ever saw in my life. Ah, but she's just a blame machine. A hard, cruel machine. Like everything and everybody else here on Euclidia. Oh, Jerry. Oh, now cut it out, Joan. I didn't mean you. You're not like the rest of them here. But you said she was the most beautiful... most beautiful woman you had ever seen. Oh, Jiminy Crickets. I didn't mean that, Joan. You're the most beautiful girl I ever saw. Am I, Jerry? Sure you are. But Commander ain't so much for looks, I guess. It's just that I got a surprise seeing a young woman handling a job like this. You will see women doing many things on Euclidia, Jerry. Oh, I believe you. Well, when do we start this deep-sea cruise with a woman skipper and a one-man crew? The commander said G-47 was coming with final instructions for us. We may go into the lock and wait for him. There you can observe the mechanism which holds the nose of the submarine into the island. Let's have a look. This isn't a very big door, but I guess... Hey! We can hear our feet again! Yes, this is one of the compartments on the island that is kept noisy for a reason, Jerry. Every sound made in this lock registers in the control chambers, and the scientists know what is happening here at all times. Well, I've got no secrets anymore. Boy, this island has sure taught me one thing. What is that, Jerry? Better say something good about everybody, because every time you don't, the guy is standing right behind you. Now, Jerry, you can see the submarine. Where? Hey, is that wall glass? No, transparent steel. They use some glass in the fusion with the steel, and the resulting hardness is greater than that of steel with the visibility of a poor grade of glass. All right, I'm sold. It's steel. But you can sure see through it plain. Gee, look at all the fish out there. What a place to study fish from. We may come here and do that some other time if you wish, but you are not looking at the interesting part of the lock. It's all interesting to me, but what do you mean? The nose of the submarine is screwed into that wall. Hey, what are you talking about? You mean there's a union or a joint of some kind on the wall that screws onto the nose of the sub? Not at all. The submarine is rammed into that hole. Then it is revolved. The sub is revolved? Precisely. What did I tell you about that precisely? Why, I'm sorry, Jerry. Okay, let it go this time. Now to get back to this boat thing. You mean that the whole boat, a hundred foot submarine, is revolved until the nose is screwed tight into that hole? Exactly, Jerry. Then the water is pumped out of this room and the hatch in the nose opened. Well, of all the wild things I ever heard of. Then when we get into that thing now, they'll shut the nose up, fill this room to equalize the pressure with the water outside, and then roll the boat over and over till they get it loose from here? Yes, of course. Jerry, why, what is the matter, Jerry? You do not look well. Oh, I'm all right, I guess. But it makes me feel kind of funny to think about us being in that boat when they wind it up out of there. There must be 20 or 30 threads around that hole. Are they going to turn that boat over and over 20 times with me inside of it? 24 times, Jerry. Oh. But you will not turn over with the boat. You mean I won't know it when I do. Well, maybe you're right. No, Jerry, just the shell of the boat turns. The inside assembly, the turbines, the compressors, everything stays on an even keel while the boat revolves around it. I hope it comes out all right, but I feel kind of green. You look a peculiar color, too. I thought so. Are you ready? No. Oh, no. We are ready, sir. Your instructions are brief. You will make every effort to get this man Johnson to submit peacefully to bringing his boat to the island. If you fail, the commander will know what to do. But how are we going to do this, G-47? You will decide that for yourselves. As for you, Cleostre, if you allow this young fool to make a mistake, you will be left with the wreckage of Johnson's boat 300 miles from here. I understand. On your way. Do not keep the commander waiting. Go on, Jerry. Crawl into that hole in the nose of the boat. Just go into it head first? Yes, hurry. Okay, here goes. Okay, come on in, Jerome. Are you all right? Of course, Jerry. Oh, Jerry, take your hand away from there, quick. Oh, gee, that thing nearly caught my hand. Look at old G-47 grinning back there. Now he is closing the door of the lock. See? And it will begin to fill with water. You and I will just sit here and be quiet. There comes the water into the lock. Look, Joan, we can see right out into the water. Just as if this boat was made of glass. Yes, but no one can look in from the outside. Boy, this is some long submarine. The commander looks about half a mile from here. She is 40 feet from us. Now, Jerry, she is reaching for the lever. We will start to revolve and clear the lock. You mean we're going to go round and round now? Yes, Jerry. See, the wall is beginning to move faster. Jerry, what is the matter? We are not turning over. No, but the ocean is, and that's worse. Oh, oh.
