Of Lakes, Mysteries and the Odd Lunatic

Chapter XVII: In Which Lawrence rallies his patients, and the Science Club is...

Chapter XVII

In Which Lawrence rallies his patients, and the Science Club is chanced with redemption

"Mason?"

"Yes, sir?"

Lawrence cleared his throat. "I wish to day a word."

"Certainly, sir." Mason walked over to a large gong that hung from a black frame in the corner of the dining room. He reached behind it and drew out a large stick with a velvet-covered ball at the end. With this he struck the gong.

The sound reverberated across the hall, and suddenly there was near silence as a hush descended upon the people gathered there. Lawrence stood up and surveyed the hall. Seated at the long table was the majority of the patients of the Institute. A red table runner ran the length of the table, and upon it were bowls and plates of roast lamb, vegetables, salads and a couscous to replace the meat for those who were vegetarian.

Two crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, sparkling and shining, vestiges from a time when the owners of the building had been rich and prosperous. Now Lawrence could barely afford the electricity to run them. Each and ever face in the room was turned towards Lawrence.

"My valued patients. If you did not already know, we are currently in a time of difficulty. The majority of this difficulty is financially related. Unfortunately, running an operation as big as this in this kind of building is a very costly job.

There are some problems with the building, problems that need to be fixed in order to comply with local health and safety standards. These will cost a large amount, most probably in excess of half a million." There was a little gasp from those in the room who were able to recognise that this was a substantial amount of money.

"Now, the Institute does not have that sort of money, and thus we find ourselves in a bit of a dilemma. Of course, I could charge you or your families more to be in here, but that is not what this place is about. Your care comes foremost.

"Recently, there was been a rather perplexing discovery within the Institute. I will not go into details, but it involves a certain object of great value. This object used to reside in the Institute itself, but, from what I have found out, I now believe rests under the waters of Lake Enderslew. In fact, I know it is exactly underneath Withering point, that long shaft of rock that sticks up above the water in the middle of the lake.

"I believe that if we were to obtain this object, it would bring the Institute out of it's financial problems, and possibly even allow us to improve life here. And that is where you come in. We need to work out, together, a way of retrieving this object from the lake.

"Science Club, I'm giving you another chance. I need you to design something to solve our problem. The rest of you, you can choose to participate if you feel the need. I'm sure the Michael and his team could use some help. If any of you have ideas, please feel free to bring them to either Michael or myself. And, if you feel you can help in any way, please do.

"Together, we can raise ourselves out of this situation."

Those who had understood the speech clapped, and several others joined in simply because they enjoyed clapping.

On the afternoon of the next day, Lawrence walked into the crafts room where the Science Club was busy designing and testing ways to retrieve the Machine from the lakebed.

"So, Michael, what ideas have you got?"

"Well, there are several, Lawrence. Come look." Michael led Lawrence over to a line of easels, each with a design plan for an idea done in black ink. "The first suggestion we have here is a type of submersible. It would be controlled by one person, who lies in this space here," Michael indicated a part of the plan, "And controls the vehicle using the steering system. It also comes with a grabbing hook, emergency door, reinforced metal exterior, and a cupholder."

"And how long would it take to build?" Lawrence asked.

"After testing, probably about nine months."

"So you seriously think this is an option?"

Michael looked a little downcast. "Ah...not really. I basically just wanted to design a submersible."

"Well, Michael, I want you to stay on topic here, what are your other designs?" One of the side effects of Michael's pills was a reduced ability to focus on a specific topic.

"This next design is essentially a grappling hook adapted for use in the water. It has a water-proof container in which a lamp can be placed so you can locate the object easier. It's one of my lesser favoured designs because it's a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to precision."

"Well, it could work as a second option: it look fairly easy to make." Lawrence suggested.

Michael shrugged. "Onto the third idea. What we have here is, well, a common diving suit. There is an oxygen pipe that leads up to a pump on the boat so the occupant can breathe, and the rest is just standard. It's actually a compromise between both the grappling hook and the submersible. There is still someone down there, so we have better chance of finding the object, but it is cheaper and will take a much shorter period of time to make."

Lawrence smiled. "Except, we won't even have to make it."

Michael was puzzled. "Why not?"

"Because we can hire one. There is a place in the village that does diving tours. We can get going in under an hour."