Ghosts of the Abyss

PAXTON:
I believe things can

happen of such an intensity

that they do resonate

through time,

create, like, an echo.

The story of the "Titanic"

is very personal

to each person who hears it,

almost like a biblical story.

This giant ship,

all these people

in the middle of the ocean,

this iceberg, the warnings.

What would it have been like

to be there

on that fateful night?

I knew Jim was going to go back

to the "Titanic. "

He had talked about it.

He wanted to take

another expedition

since he had made the film.

He had invited me in passing.

But I guess I didn't

really seriously consider

I would actually go.

- Hello!

- Hello!

- You speak English?

- [Speaking Russian]

Great. I'm looking for my room.

My cabin.

[Speaking Russian]

Oh.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

But then,

when he actually said,

"No, I really want you

to come along and experience it

for yourself

and just take it all in"...

I had to go.

[Glen Phillips'

"Departure" plays]

# Leave my past #

# Leave my home #

# I'll find my way #

# To the great unknown #

The "Keldysh" is the largest

scientific research vessel

in the world.

And all the activity onboard

is focused on the "Mirs"

and what they have to accomplish

at the bottom of the ocean.

They take their work

extremely seriously.

Everything is checked

and rechecked,

just like a space mission.

# But like the shore finds

the ocean #

# Like the night finds

the day #

# I'll find an answer

to these questions #

# Far away #

# Far away #

Oh!

ABERNATHY:

My name is Lewis Abernathy.

I'm an underwater explorer.

I got them all.

I have been trying to thumb

a ride down to "Titanic"

for probably 10 years now.

What do you got?

We got bots, slimy bots, and

"A" deck, "B" deck, "C" deck.

Huge rusticles,

like this big around.

JOHNSTON:

My name is Lori Johnston.

My position was

as a microbiologist,

looking at the rusticles.

The idea that she spiraled down,

spitting objects.

PELLEGRINO:

My name is Charles Pellegrino.

I was one of the historians and

biologists on the expedition.

We tend to think of it

in 21st-century eyes.

LYNCH:
I'm Don Lynch,

and I studied the "Titanic"

based upon the testimony and

accounts of passengers and crew.

The people who were there

and witnessed it.

MARSCHALL:

My name is Ken Marschall.

I've been studying the "Titanic"

for over three decades now.

I checked it out.

The Straus suite.

Through those years and study,

I've sort of become

a visual historian

about the ship and her structure

and appearance.

PAXTON:

It was an amazing expedition

in terms of all of

the state-of-the-art technology

and engineering we were using,

in terms of the camera system.

The R.O.V.S were amazing.

On the cutting edge

of technology.

Just try to keep the light in

right where I've gone in.

I'm gonna explore these cabins.

There is no script. We don't

know what we're gonna see.

We don't know

what we're gonna encounter.

The crucial thing

about deep-sea photography

is lighting.

Just come up over and light

all this business down here.

- You see what I mean?

- Yeah.

So we had a sister ship on

the expedition called the "EAS."

The "EAS" had

this giant lighting chandelier

called Medusa.

The theory was to lower the

chandelier down over the wreck

and do this overlighting,

almost like moonlight.

There was no manual

for any of this.

Nobody had ever combined

this many elements

into a single-dive operation

before at these depths.

We were pushing the limits

of technology,

which was a little eerie

given the fate of the ship

we had come to explore.

This is where it all happened.

It could be any other part

of the ocean,

but there's something special

about knowing

this is the spot

and the wreck's down there.

Why this shipwreck?

Why not the "Lusitania"?

Why not the "Moro Castle"?

Why not the "Atlantic"?

LYNCH:

They're all good.

They're all good,

but why is this one?

Look at the stuff

that comes with this.

You've got the biggest ship

on its maiden voyage,

the president of the company

onboard that owns it,

the builder onboard.

And it hits an iceberg,

and it sinks so slowly

that you've got all these hours

for drama to be acted out.

You don't get that

with other shipwrecks.

It's really a Greek tragedy

for real.

She was so cheated.

She was so beautiful.

So much energy went into

building this creation.

You know, the epitome

of human engineering

and architecture, maritime

architecture at that point.

And to have it taken away,

stolen,

just four days out of England.

And that's part, I guess,

of the odd attraction to it.

The fact that you could never

have such a thing happen

before or since.

The ship remains

at the bottom of the sea

as an eternal memorial.

And we can visit that memorial.

We can bear witness

to the event.

And if we're gonna do

interior exploration,

we have to do it now,

because five years from now,

there might not be anything.

Five years ago,

the technology didn't exist.

We had to will it

into existence.

PAXTON:

"Monday, August 20, 2001.

Tomorrow morning

we will descend 21/2 miles

into the cold, dark netherworld

and see 'Titanic' for ourselves

as she lies broken

on the seafloor.

How do you prepare

for such an experience?"

CAMERON:

Okay. Dive one.

It's gonna be

J. B. And Bill in "Mir-2,"

and me and Vince in "Mir-1."

Pilots are gonna be

Genya Chernaiev, "Mir-2,"

Anatoly Sagalevitch, "Mir-1."

PAXTON:

Okay. Here's your checklist.

Have your last will

and testament in order,

make sure your insurance

is paid up,

write a final note

to your family.

These are the kind of things

you think about.

Next stop, "Titanic. "

Happy hunting.

Let's rock and roll.

The moment of truth.

See you in the sunshine.

PAXTON:
To get in

a three-man submersible

and descend 12,500 feet

down into the bottom

of the North Atlantic,

it just was maybe a little more

adventure than I wanted.

Oxygen?

Yeah.

That's good.

Yeah.

Be sure to turn that on.

Yeah, I can see how you get

kind of queasy sitting up here.

Look at the colors change.

[Speaking Russian]

Boy, that's fast.

This tells you the oxygen

up here, right?

Yes.

So it's at 21.

That's good.

Now, if that gets below 19,

then it's...

What's the number

you watch for?

It's 19.

It's good also.

It's good.

Yes.

But if it gets below what?

Does the battery sound okay?

It sounds sluggish like that?

- That's normal?

- Yes, it's normal.

Now, if you have

a real emergency

and everything fails,

I heard something about,

you can disengage,

drop the main battery?

Just...

Yes, we have many possibilities.

I hope we never drop battery,

because it's very expensive.

How much?

It's $250, 000, I think.

I mean, would you take a check?

Yes. 2, 000.

That's pretty deep.

[Rattling]

Something wrong?

It's okay?

Yes.

That's handy.

And it's fixed.

I adjust for them for later.

Oh, okay. Okay.

Good. Yeah.

"Mir-1," "Mir-1,"

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes