Mr. Bowditch Essay, Research Paper

Sphere is about a futuristic sphere that gives a group of scientists a special and unusual power- the power of being able to turn fantasy into reality. The group of scientists are kept in total wonder as to why they were being sent to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The scientists consisted of Norman Johnson, a psychologist; Beth Halpern, a zoologist and biochemist; Harry Adams, a mathematician; and Ted Fielding, an astrophysicist. Each scientist played an important role- Norman was to watch the team because no one had ever seen an alien and they didn’t know how people would react. Beth was to assess any life form that the team might come across. Harry was there because math is the universal language and Ted was there to determine where in the universe the aliens came from.

The story begins as Norman is being transported in a Sea Knight. After Norman arrives at the site, he is directly escorted to his quarters until Captain Barnes came and retrieved him. On their way to the submersible, he explained to everyone in the group what was going on. He told them that there was a titanium fin found 1,000 feet under the ocean and that it is over 1/2 mi. long. He also informed them that the spacecraft had been in that location for almost 300 years (they could date the time because of the coral growth- coral grows at 1 in. a year).

When they all arrived at the underwater habitat, they were sent to a compression chamber to bring them to the right pressure. The reason for the habitat is that it has the weight of air plus the weight of water pushing down on it. If the habitat had the same pressure as the surface, it would implode. After compression, the team was sent to their quarters for some rest before they set out to the spacecraft. When the crew was all rested and refreshed, they suited up into insulated suits and jumped into the water. They then proceeded to the airlock.

After passing through the airlock and into the ship, they split up into two teams. Norman and Beth were teamed up while Barnes, Harry, and Ted went another way. While they were exploring, Beth and Norman were accidentally transported to the control room. There they found out- with the help of the ship’s computers and a suit on a dead body- found a surprising discovery- the ship was American. It must have been transported back in time through a black hole from the year 2043 all the way back to 1743 and landed in the ocean.

While Beth and Norman were in the control room, the other group stumbled upon a gargantuan golden sphere. After Norman and Beth had caught up to them, they were running low on air and set up a video camera. As they were about to leave, they noticed that there was no entry into the sphere- no door, no hatch, nothing- but Norman noticed that the sphere reflected everything- except image of the team.

As most of the team was sleeping, Harry slipped on his suit and went to the sphere. As he was standing there, the sphere somehow took him inside itself. By the time that Norman reached him, he was unconscious. After they got him back to base, one of the crew members was outside doing some work when she was attacked by jellyfish and was killed because the animals had made miniscule holes which leaked extensively and she drowned. No one left the confines of the habitat because they were cut off from the ship up top- supposedly there was a severe storm and they missed their ride because of Harry’s little stunt.

As the days went by they were forced to talk to each other and entertain one another. Harry was reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and was quite enjoying it. Since the crew member that was killed by the jellyfish, Norman and Beth took on the responsibility. What they had to do was take video footage that was stored and take it to a sub on a timer. If no one reset the timer in 12 hours, the sub would float to the surface with the videos inside. That way, if anything happened, there would be some idea of what went wrong.

As Norman and Beth were coming out of the sub, Barnes warned them of a giant object coming towards them. They scrambled for the hatchway and just made it inside before the whole habitat was shaken. They soon found out it was a giant squid. After many tense minutes of fixing leaks and crew members dying, the only people left alive were Norman, Beth, and Harry, who somehow managed to sleep through the whole attack. They were all starting to get suspicious of Harry. How could he have slept through the whole attack and not even stir in his sleep?

As Norman and Harry were sitting around talking, they noticed that Beth was nowhere to be found. A quick look in the video room put her just outside the airlock. Beth had also gone inside the sphere. When she got back, they were all suspicious of each other, for all of them had gone into the sphere. Earlier, before Beth had disappeared, Norman and Beth were talking about how Harry was reading about squids in his book and he was asleep of the time of the attack. Harry must have dreamt about squids and somehow made them come to life- but how? The sphere, it must be!

As they all soon realize that they all had entered the sphere at one time or another- Norman when he rescued Harry and Beth on her own will- they all knew of the great power that they each possessed. As they were all standing around discussing what to do, the intercom broke in saying “Ten minutes until Gregor explosive detonation”. Norman and Harry both turn to Beth who is looking sheepishly guilty and she explains that she had rigged the craft with high-power explosives. They all scrambled for their suits and hurried toward the sub. But right as they were ready to go and had to push a button, they were transported to the spacecraft. As they were all screaming and worrying about what they were doing back on the craft and how they were going to die, Norman chimes up and tells them that it is just their minds playing tricks on them- they were still in the sub! After he said this, he could see the button and slammed it with all of his might. The sub detached with a loud SHHUNK and they were free!

After they had been picked up and done with decompression (without it, the gases in their blood vessels would expand and literally pop them), they were talking when all of a sudden they realized what a tremendous gift they possessed. They had the power to think of something and it would come true, but they also realized that our day and age had too much hate and fear in it for this power. So they all vowed to forget the whole thing ever happened- to forget about the habitat, to forget about the squids, to forget about the jellyfish and the death and chaos- and to most certainly forget about the sphere. And as they mentioned all of these things, it clicked to them why there was no living crew- they had all gone into the sphere and were so paranoid of each other that they killed each other off until no one was left. And as they counted to three and vowed never to remember the sphere again, they felt a great peace come over them; for they knew that they were doing the world a favor by hiding this power until we are ready for it and can handle the responsibility that goes with it.