War Inside the Blood Ocean
Iron Lung and survival as war
The stars are dying.
Humanity is losing control of its extinction.
A moon in isolation suffers from polycythemia, bleeding from an imaginary wound. It floods itself into a bloody ocean, as if God Himself called for another ark to be made.
The Archive can’t say for sure what world this is. It is not of our own—but a distant cousin in the varying different concepts of a multiverse.
While our world sits alive, the world of The Quiet Rapture grows in dread. From The Archive’s research, this universe (which we have named QR-1) suffers from their galaxies disappearing. Stars and planets have gone away without explanation, leaving the last inhabitants upon spaceships with little hope.
Yet it isn’t the surviving colonies who have to face the moon.
It is whoever they force inside the Iron Lung.
PART I. BLOOD OATH
The moon of the blood ocean may have vital resources for human life. After all, the blood is confirmed to be human.
Nobody knows why or how it is human blood.
Is the moon bleeding? Is the moon somehow part of humanity? The Archive believes these questions only lead us down a spiral, down a rabbit hole that we would never be able to climb out of. Therefore, we have skipped any attempts of answering them entirely.
What The Archive does know is that one of the surviving colonies have been exploring this ocean through the use of a specialized submarine named SM-13.
Surviving passengers do not sacrifice themselves.
They instead place a convict into the submarine for their task.
In order to survive the pressure, the submarine is welded shut. There is no way to look outside into the ocean other than a low-quality camera attached to the front of the vessel.
Once the convict comes back, he will be given freedom.
Until then, he is forced into another sentencing down in the bottomless abyss of red sludge.
Perhaps there is something there. But perhaps there is not. There is no way of knowing unless someone actually ventures out into the unknown of the crimson waters.
Despite the distance in our worlds, QR-1 is not much different than ours. Although our galaxies seem relatively healthy in comparison, it seems as if catastrophic planetary events do not change the core trait that seemingly fails humanity over and over again: selfish desires.
While the fight to save human life is certainly admirable, the execution is more than questionable. However, The Archive more than understands that moral sacrifices must sometimes be made to achieve the better good.
After all, humanity has a history of repeating this pattern.
War is, in some regards, the universal language among the human species. Words can be misunderstood. Violence cannot.
And in each one of these wars, there is something to be fought for. Some of them fight for land, others fight for religion, and in many cases, some of them fight for the right of power.
The authorities declare the war. The citizens take cover in the trenches.
So, what is the Iron Lung if not a war on the Quiet Rapture? A way for humans to continue upholding their power, even in face of the universe itself.
PART II. BLOOD LOSS
The SM-13 is designed for efficiency, not comfort.
Its design is similar to submarines in war. It is made to withstand pressure from the ocean, lacking any portholes or risks to water leaks. The main exit is welded shut for maximum insurance.
Whoever is placed inside the vessel is subject to its cramped and isolating nature. Piloting the SM-13 is comparable to that of a tank, with room limited and visibility less than ideal. However, those in tanks have some relief in their hatch being able to open.
The SM-13 is equipped with a camera on its vessel to take photographs of what lies within the blood ocean. This is the only visibility outside of the submarine.
The colony did not make the SM-13 to be comfortable because the occupant has no reason to be comfortable. This machine is designed for photograph research only. A need for a pilot is simply an inconvenience.
The Archive understands that these convicts being sent down into the unknown ocean are being used as disposables. They are the humans created from scum, felons with no reason to keep around.
And yet, their use is the most important part of the colony’s research. Without these “disposables,” there would be nobody to go down into the depths willingly. But even these criminals must be enticed into the task with illusions of freedom.
In one such case, a note was left behind on one of these SM-13 models. The note, from a past-convict, said the following:
This is not an expedition. It is an execution. When they put you in here, they don’t want you to return. And even if you do, and even if they keep their promises... what freedom waits for you? A few dying ships in a sea of dead stars?
If there is still hope, it lies beyond the veil. Hope in this void is as illusionary as the starlight. I will choose to breathe my last here at the bottom of an ocean, unseen, unheard, and uncontrolled.
They will get their execution.
I will get my freedom.
The Archive could not find traces of who wrote this letter. We conclude they are deceased. They more than likely died from a lack of oxygen.
That did not stop the colony from sending others to do their research. The SM-13 is built to last. The people never were.
The “Iron Lung” nicknamed stemmed from this idea. The original iron lung was created to keep people alive who suffered from respiratory paralysis. The machine could outlive its patients, who were forced into a restrictive and emotionally exhaustive state.
The SM-13 is a cross between an iron lung and a machine of war, sealing its pilots into its rusted stomach lining. Those who sacrifice themselves are not called heroes. They are just assets.
There is no reason for the colony to explore the ocean themselves.
Not anymore.
They have someone else to face the abyss.
PART III. DOOMED TO BLEED
The most recent SM-13 mission ended in destruction.
Evidence suggests that something within the ocean destroyed the submarine and killed the pilot inside. The SM-13s are burner submarines to some extent, so wreckage is expected. However, this was no ordinary submarine wreck.
Something purposely destroyed the SM-13.
There is life hidden in the blood.
And yet—nothing was recovered.
The wreckage remains in the ocean. As does the camera.
No photographs were used in research. Nothing made it back to the colony.
The life taken was in vain. Although, he was simply a convict. So perhaps it didn’t matter anyway.
The Archive has been trying to understand the irony of it all. In QR-1, humanity is scarce. They are fighting to defeat extinction.
And yet, they are actively executing people. They still force people in their own version of the frontlines, fighting a war that they know will never be won.
The colony may say they will still look for solutions to the Quiet Rapture, but how does one fix a dying universe?
The Archive doesn’t have an answer to this, but why would we? We are not part of QR-1… but we are also not above this realm. We do not know things we shouldn’t, nor do we seek those answers out.
Perhaps whatever is in control of QR-1—of all of our universes—created the Quiet Rapture as a consequence for humanity’s own faults. If you cannot learn from your mistakes the first time, then you will be doomed to repeat them.
It seems as if this version of humanity never learned. Now, they are doomed to continue living through a cycle. They will sacrifice, fail, and sacrifice again. Their mission does not end because of failure.
Their mission will end because of extinction.
CONCLUSION
QR-1 may never recover.
The Archive can’t say for sure. But we can remind our readers to learn from their mistakes.
Do not run on the hamster wheel.
Do not succumb to an endless war with a system.
Simply, do not let yourself be used.
If you believe in The Archive’s work, you can support further investigations here.