The Maracot Deep (Doyle)
Short summary
Atlantic Ocean, southwest of the Canaries, 1926. Three men embarked on an adventurous deep-sea expedition in an updated steamship named the Stratford to explore the ocean floor.
After their arrival, Dr. Maracot, Cyrus J. Headley, and Bill Scanlan descended in a custom-built submarine cage to explore an abyss named the Maracot Deep. A powerful storm broke the cable linking them to their ship, plunging them downward into the Atlantic abyss. At the bottom, they discovered a luminous sediment-covered landscape and were rescued by inhabitants hidden in a submerged Atlantean colony, descendants from when ancient Atlantis was destroyed.
Initially treated as prisoners, the trio won the Atlanteans’ trust and adapted to underwater life. Headley fell in love with Mona, an Atlantean woman, while Scanlan built a radio receiver to regain contact with the outside world. Exploring nearby ruins, the explorers accidentally awakened Baal-seepa, a supernaturally evil Atlantean. When Baal-seepa threatened doom upon Atlantis, Maracot dramatically confronted him, declaring:
Unhappy being, it is I who have the power and the will to blast you where you stand. Too long have you cursed the world with your presence. You have been a plague-spot infecting all that was beautiful and good.
Although initially weak, Maracot transformed into a forceful figure and destroyed Baal-seepa, saving Atlantis. The adventurers sent messages to the surface world and eventually returned, rescued by a surface ship that received their signal. Back above water, Headley married Mona, Scanlan returned home to success, and Dr. Maracot considered further oceanic research, forever changed by his remarkable adventure.
Detailed summary by chapters
Chapter titles are editorial.
Chapter 1. The Expedition and the Descent
The narrative begins with the mysterious disappearance of the steamship Stratford, which had embarked on an oceanographic expedition led by Dr. Maracot. The vessel was last heard from when it sent a strange wireless message suggesting a catastrophe had occurred. The story is primarily told through documents, beginning with a letter from Cyrus Headley to his friend Sir James Talbot at Oxford University.
In his letter, Headley described the expedition's purpose and the secretive nature of their leader. The Stratford had been specially modified for deep-sea work, with a detachable steel chamber designed to be lowered into the ocean depths. The expedition team included Dr. Maracot, Headley himself, and Bill Scanlan, an American mechanic from the Merribank Works in Philadelphia.
Dr. Maracot finally revealed their true destination: the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. He explained his theory that the extreme pressure at great depths had been exaggerated by science, and that their steel chamber would protect them. The next day, the three men descended in their chamber to a depth of 300 fathoms. When they reached a submarine ridge, they encountered a monstrous crab-like creature that attacked their cable. The hawser snapped, and they began falling into an abyss known as the Maracot Deep.
Chapter 2. Rescue and First Contact with Atlantis
As the chamber fell through the ocean depths, the men prepared for death. Surprisingly, they landed gently on the ocean floor, five miles below the surface. The chamber's oxygen supply was running low when a human face appeared at their porthole – an impossibility at such depths. Soon, several people gathered outside their chamber, led by a powerful figure with a full black beard.
These mysterious people instructed the explorers to open their trapdoor, allowing water to enter the chamber. They were then fitted with transparent helmets connected to shoulder-mounted breathing apparatus. Led by their rescuers, they walked across the ocean floor to a square door set in what appeared to be a submerged building.
There we were, the three of us, unhurt and at our ease at the bottom of a five-mile abyss of water. Where was that terrific pressure which had exercised the imagination of so many scientists? We were no more affected by it than were the dainty fish.
Inside, a pumping system removed the water, allowing them to breathe normally. They discovered they were in a vast underground dwelling inhabited by descendants of ancient Atlanteans who had prepared this refuge before their continent sank beneath the waves. The explorers were treated as guests and given comfortable quarters.
The Atlanteans used a remarkable thought-projection device that allowed communication despite language barriers. Through this, the explorers shared their story, and in turn learned about their hosts. They discovered that the Atlanteans had advanced scientific knowledge, including methods to create synthetic food, air, and fresh water from the elements available in their underwater environment.
Chapter 3. Life and Society in Atlantis
As the explorers adjusted to life among the Atlanteans, they learned more about their society. The community was small, numbering only a few thousand people. They included both the dark-skinned Atlanteans and a subordinate race of fair-skinned people who appeared to be of Greek origin. These Greeks worked as laborers in the coal mines that provided energy for the colony.
The Atlanteans maintained two religious shrines. One was dedicated to Baal, a fearsome deity with glowing red eyes, before whom sacrifices were made. The explorers nearly caused an incident when they entered this temple without permission. The other shrine honored Athena, the Greek goddess, and was tended by an elderly Greek priest who could communicate with Maracot in an archaic form of Greek.
During their stay, Headley became increasingly drawn to a young Atlantean woman named Mona, the daughter of Manda. Their connection grew deeper despite the language barrier, suggesting a bond that transcended their different origins.
The lesson which we carry from their rise and their fall is that the greatest danger which can come to a state is when its intellect outruns its soul. It destroyed this old civilization, and it may yet be the ruin of our own.
Chapter 4. Ancient Ruins and Dark Discoveries
The Atlanteans took the explorers to visit the ruins of their ancient capital city, which lay buried in the sea mud nearby. Wearing their vitrine breathing bells, they walked through the remains of magnificent buildings with enormous pillars and friezes. The architecture resembled that of ancient Egypt, suggesting a connection between these civilizations.
Most disturbing was a black marble palace that the Atlanteans feared to approach. Despite Manda's warnings, the three explorers later returned alone to investigate this forbidden structure. Inside, they found walls decorated with horrific carvings depicting scenes of cruelty and depravity. At the center sat a terrifying statue of a deity that Maracot identified as Baal or Moloch.
While examining the palace, they were startled by the appearance of a magnificent human figure who introduced himself as Baal-seepa, the Lord of the Dark Face. This immortal being claimed to be over 12,000 years old and to have ruled Atlantis in its final days before destruction.
I am Baal-seepa. I am the Lord of the Dark Face. I am he who went so far into the inner secrets of Nature that I could defy death himself. I have so handled things that I could not die if I would. Some will stronger than my own is to be found if I am ever to die.
Baal-seepa boasted of his evil influence throughout human history, claiming responsibility for numerous atrocities. He announced his intention to destroy the Atlantean colony and gave the explorers a message to deliver to their hosts. The three men fled the palace in terror, returning to warn Manda and his people of the impending threat.
Chapter 5. Adventures and Technologies in the Deep
During their time in Atlantis, the explorers witnessed many wonders and dangers of deep-sea life. They encountered deadly creatures like the Praxa, mysterious green luminous entities that could kill with an unknown force, and the electric sea-worm that emitted lethal shocks. They also observed the tiny but deadly Hydrops ferox, red fish that would swarm at the slightest scent of blood.
On one expedition, they were amazed by what appeared to be a patch of yellow sand that suddenly rose and swam above them – a gigantic flat fish of unprecedented size. They also experienced submarine tornadoes, powerful currents of warm water that swept across the ocean floor, stirring up mud and creating dangerous conditions.
We were standing in some surprise, wondering what submarine current or seismic movement could have brought this about, when to our absolute amazement the whole thing rose up and swam with slow undulations immediately above our heads.
During one such storm, Headley and Mona were caught far from the colony. As their oxygen supply dwindled, Headley realized he had fallen in love with Mona. They were rescued, but the experience deepened their bond. Later, Manda showed them visions of their past lives through the Atlantean thought projector, revealing that Headley and Mona had been lovers in ancient Atlantis before its destruction, explaining their inexplicable connection.
Meanwhile, Scanlan demonstrated his technical skills by constructing a radio receiver that could pick up broadcasts from the surface world, amazing the Atlanteans with this connection to the outside world. The explorers also learned about levigen, a gas nine times lighter than hydrogen, which the Atlanteans used to send messages to the surface in glass balls.
Chapter 6. The Lord of the Dark Face and the Battle for Atlantis
A serious conflict arose when Berbrix, an Atlantean engineer who had helped Scanlan build the radio receiver, had a baby with his Greek wife. According to Atlantean law, children of mixed race were to be sacrificed to Baal. The explorers intervened to protect the infant, causing tension with the High Priest and his followers.
Before this issue could be resolved, a greater threat emerged. The colony's alarm bell rang, summoning everyone to the central hall. There they found Baal-seepa standing on the dais, preparing to destroy them all. Manda pleaded for his people, but the demon was unmoved.
At this critical moment, Dr. Maracot stepped forward, transformed from a mild-mannered scientist into a figure of immense power. He confronted Baal-seepa, commanding him to leave. The two engaged in a battle of wills, staring at each other with inexorable determination. To everyone's amazement, Baal-seepa began to weaken, cursing someone named Warda before collapsing into a puddle of black putrescence.
Later, Maracot explained that he had been visited by the spirit of Warda, the wise Atlantean who had built the refuge before the catastrophe. Warda had transferred his power to Maracot, enabling him to defeat the evil entity. This experience transformed Maracot's worldview, forcing him to acknowledge spiritual realities beyond his materialist philosophy.
That it should have happened to me! To me, a materialist, a man so immersed in matter that the invisible did not exist in my philosophy. The theories of a whole lifetime have crumbled about my ears.
Through the Atlantean thought projector, the explorers were shown the history of Atlantis – its rise to greatness, its corruption under Baal-seepa's influence, and its ultimate destruction. They witnessed how the continent sank beneath the waves in a catastrophic flood, with only those in Warda's refuge surviving.
It was a terrible thing even in a picture. God knows what it could be like in reality. We first saw a huge sleek mountain of water rise to an incredible height out of a calm ocean. Then we saw it travel, sweeping on and on.
Chapter 7. The Return to the Surface
After their victory over Baal-seepa, the explorers began to consider returning to the surface world. They discovered that their ship, the Stratford, had sunk in the same area shortly after their descent. Exploring the wreck, they recovered personal belongings and the ship's log, which revealed that Captain Howie and the crew had perished in a cyclone.
Scanlan proposed using the Atlanteans' levigen gas to float themselves to the surface in glass balls. They sent messages in vitrine spheres, providing their coordinates and requesting rescue. Eventually, they made their escape plan, with Mona deciding to accompany them to the surface world.
So this was the end of our supreme experience. It was but a little time later that we conceived the idea of sending news of ourselves to the surface, and that later by means of vitrine balls filled with levigen, we ascended ourselves.
Their rescue was coordinated by Mr. Faverger's yacht Marion, which had been dispatched after their messages reached the surface. One by one, they ascended from the depths, with Mona joining them. Though they suffered from the rapid change in pressure, all survived. Their incredible story was transmitted by wireless to the world, though many details of their adventure, particularly regarding the Lord of the Dark Face, were initially withheld.
Each life is but one chapter in a story which God has designed. You cannot judge its wisdom or its justice until in some supreme day, from some pinnacle of knowledge, you look back and see at last the cause and the effect.