"Anthony Wall - The Eden Mission (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wall Anthony)

the long poisonous tentacles are for fishing. There are two shorter sets of
tentacles--one used to digest food, the other in reproduction. Actually it's
not a single creature but hundreds working together."

Then, unexpectedly, the normally silent Darren asked: "Why's it called a
Portuguese man-of-war?"

"Good question," Ben replied. "See the sail on top of the float? It reminded
old-time mariners of the Portuguese man-of-war sailing ship."

Norman spoke up again, contributing the information that a gaudy little fish
named Nomeus lives among the tentacles, immune to their sting, and shares its
host's food. Ben confirmed this. "But if the fish is wounded, it too gets
eaten. By the way, there's just one other animal which dares to tangle with
the Portuguese man-of-war--that's the loggerhead turtle. I've seen a turtle,
its eyes swollen shut from stings, munching away at its attacker as if it were
a salad."

Next their attention turned to a row of large jars. The faces leering back at
them through the glass resembled something out of science fiction. Susan felt
her flesh creep, and moved closer to Gary. Pickled in alcohol were the grisly
remains of carnivorous creatures from the "abyss"--the darkest deepest realms
of the sea. Creatures that were never meant to see the day. Some were
snake-like, others round as plates, most had long needle-sharp teeth and
mouths that were enormous compared with their bodies.

In the eternal night of the abyss, certain inhabitants are blind. But many are
equipped with bulging eyes or wear luminous spots. This light attracts their
food and their mates. Sometimes sailors find strange corpses floating on the
waves--fish swept up from the deep, possibly by an underwater eruption. Often
they burst as they rise to the surface. The gases in their bodies expand when
the pressure is reduced. "Down there, the pressure is thousands of times
greater than on the surface." Ben's audience was spellbound.

"The underwater world has hardly been charted--less so than the moon. We know
startlingly little about the 310 million cubic miles of ocean covering
seven-tenths of the globe."

He went on to describe some of the marvels man had discovered: mountains to
match Everest, valleys that would swallow the Grand Canyon six times over,
plains carpeted in 12,000 feet of mud.

"The sea's average depth is 2┬л miles, but in places it is seven miles. These
trenches, unchanged for millions of years, each contain unique life forms. And
that's where governments want to dump toxic chemicals and radioactive waste!"

Bellingham looked heavenwards.

After responding to their comments, he ushered the youngsters out.