346 | John W. Warner IV Bea looked back at them. Youll live. Still happy you signed on? Oui, madame. He gazed into the ethereal distance, his imagination alight. But only slightly. Which tunnel should we pick? asked Porsche. Bernie pointed. Whats that? Lights ahead. A sizeable ship emerged from a lower tunnel that was at water level. He grabbed the binoculars. One stack. Two cargo cranes. A damn freighter! What the hell do you mean afreighter} asked Bea. Bernie adjusted the dial for focus. Hold on…I see…Swedish flags. The Pelikanen…Port of Sundsvall. Hes low on the waterline, full cargo holds. Hes shining his spotlight on us. The ship blew its foghorn three times while illuminating the Bear. Hes saying hello. Ill be damned. Somehow these waterways connect with the oceans. Alice, the radio. Get him on the horn if you can. She sat at the radio station and slid on headphones, twisting dials as the tubes warmed over the course of a minute. Static. Some strange beeps. Background noise only. All megacycles, nothing. Perhaps we could follow him? asked Porsche at the windows. Gerlach pointed. Look at his exit tunnel, too small for us to navigate safely. Hes lowering his radio mast and heading off. A shame, said Klemperer. We must contact someone. Bernie handed over the binoculars. ‘They must modify the ships that navigate down here for different sized tunnels. Amazing idea. Why the hell wasnt I informed about this? Someone mustve known… It must be true that gravity can be manipulated differently down here. The tunnel must rise to meet sea levels, mused Shafer. How can that be? asked Porsche, attending to his pocket watch winder. Gerlach rotated his hands. Gravity, ladies and gentlemen, is wo/what we think it is. Our sun sends electromagnetic waves at the Earth a trillion cycles a second, which then create gravity. Matter itself is really held together by various other gravitational forces we are only beginning to understand. A hologram in a holographic universe. From all directions it comes, a million varieties. Photons as units of light? asked Porsche. Gerlach smiled. Ill make a physicist of you yet, Herr Boilermaker.