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Thus was the isthreat deal of time asted at the start Before Michael could so ensfjord, he had to win the man’s confidence For three years he had overseen the construction of the end Michael was not unaware of the costs How hts would leave a man bloodied and toothless, how many bodies would be dumped into alleyways, how many wives and children would be beaten or even killed, all because of the mental poison he provided? He tried not to think about it The Bergensfjord was all thatthe way, he laid the groundwork for his true enterprise He began with the refinery Cautious inquiries: Who seean was the first; he and Michael had worked the cookers together for years Others followed, recruited from every corner Greer would leave for a few days, then return with aand his proes so outrageous they would set him up for life The numbers accu to lose Michael noticed a pattern The ht was soh their lives without a feeling of purpose Each day felt indistinguishable froensfjord to each new recruit, Michael could see a change in thebeyond the scope of ordinary days, so from before the tiiving theseto fix it? they always asked Not "it," Michael corrected "Her" And no, we’re not going to fix her We’re going to wake her up

It didn’t always take Michael’s rule was this: At the three-year mark, once Michael was certain of a man’s loyalty, he took hiave him the bad news Most took it well: awith the cosmos, requests for evidence Michael declined to provide, resistance eventually yielding to acceptance and, finally, a , after all As for those who didn’t last three years, or failed the test of the hut, well, that was unfortunate Greer was the one to take care of this; Michael kept his distance They were surrounded by water, into which a man could quietly vanish Afterward, his name was never mentioned

It took two years to repair the dock, another two to pump and refloat the hull, a fifth to back her in The day they set her hull in the braces, sealed the doors, and drained the water from the dock was the most anxious of Michael’s life The braces would hold, or not; the hull would crack, or it wouldn’t A thousand things could go wrong, and there would be no second chances As a layer of daylight appeared between the receding water and the bottom of the hull, his men erupted in cheers, but Michael’s emotions were different He felt not elation but a sense of fate Alone, he took the stairs to the botto hi around his ankles, he stepped toward her cautiously, as if approaching soreat, holy relic Clear of the water, she had beco new The sheer size of her, her indoered the mind The curvature of her hull below the waterline possessed an almost feminine softness; from her bow jutted a bulbous shape, like a nose or the front of a bullet He ht was above him now, a mountain suspended over his head He reached up and placed a hand against her hull She was cold; a huers It was as if she were breathing, a living thing A deep certainty flowed into his veins: here was his mission All other possibilities for his life dropped away; until the day he died, he would have no purpose but this

Except to sail the Nautilus, Michael had not left the isthmus since A show of solidarity, politically wise, but in his heart he knew the real reason He belonged nowhere else

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He walked to the bow to look for Greer A da The isthmus, part of an old shipyard complex, jutted into the channel a quarter e A hundred yards offshore, the Nautilus lay at anchor Her hull was still tight, her canvas crisp The sight made him feel disloyal; he had not sailed her in ensfjord was his wife, then the Nautilus was the girl who had taught hi under the Channel Bridge in the silvery light Michael descended to the service dock as Greer guided the boat in He tossed Michael a line