human
But it's impossible. Their ray network, and the undersea barrier, are absolutely solid here. I don't think even a mouse could get through. And even if you did get behind their lines, how on earth are you going to get into the area underneath that devilish cloud. You saw what happened to the _New York_, protected as she was.
gpt
Yes. I know all that. Nevertheless it's got to be done. Just then I got the glimmering of an idea.
human
Tell me, Jim, are they doing much scouting here. Undersea, I mean.
gpt
The usual one-man shell, radio-propelled. We get one once in a while. Most of them, however, even if we do smash them, are pulled back on the wave before we can grab them. It's a bit easier than most places, though: our depth's only about six hundred feet.
human
What! Why, I thought the bottom averaged three thousand all along the line.
gpt
It does. But what would be a mountain ridge, if this were dry land, runs out from the mainland. We're over a big plateau here. It goes on east another twenty-five miles, or so. See, here's the chart.