Becoming Homo Aquaticus

Abstract

In Leviathan,¹ Tri-Oceanic Corp hires a crew of undersea miners for a 90-day mining operation. While exploring, one of the crew stumbles upon a wrecked ship, subsequently identified as the Leviathan. The crew opens a safe from the Leviathan and finds several records relating to deceased crew members and a bottle of vodka. Sixpack, one of the crew, hides the vodka for his own use but is persuaded by Bowman, another crewmember, to share it. The next day, Sixpack awakes feeling sick, with lesions all over his back. The crew is unable to offer any explanation, so they ask the computer, which suggests the lesions are the result of genetic alteration. Sixpack dies soon after, prompting the doctor to perform medical checks to make sure no one else is affected, but the doctor does not have the chance to examine Bowman.