Hi, I'm Chris, one of two people on this habitat who know how to pilot EVE. EVE stands for Edmond Vent Explorer. And that guy over there is Jim, a geologist. He wants me to drive him over to the vent so that he can collect some samples from a black smoker's chimney. So how do you like EVE so far? Like the Alvin? The Alvin sucks! EVE is a hundred times more technologically advanced than the Alvin! Okay, let me just check a few things and then I can explain more about this sub. Hatch closed. Life support functional. Lights on. Communications channel on. Control room, open the valves please. Water pressure increasing. Great, now we're free from the habitat. Propulsion systems on. Switch to autopilot. Off we go! This submarine is made of four intersecting spheres, a shape that combines strength with hydrodynamic supremacy in the water. The hull is made completely out of titanium alloys. Outside, there's a shell that makes the submarine even more streamlined and holds the propellers, ballast tanks and practically everything on the sub that's not inside this hull. We go at slow speeds, usually not exceeding 3 knots, to conserve power. Oh, yes, we're powered by lithium ion batteries. We've got external cameras, so you can take a look at the water outside now, but there isn't much to see until we reach the vent. Unfortunately, I just got directions from the biology lab today to stop using normal light because it seems to be damaging shrimps' eyes. So, we'll have to rely on infrared cameras to see the vent organisms for now until they come up with something better. For navigation, of course, we do not depend on these cameras.

There are portholes too, but the view from there isn't quite as good as from the cameras. But you know scientists. Won't believe they saw something unless they saw it directly with their eyes. As if cameras would lie. Glass? Of course not. Acrylic. Glass would simply shatter under this pressure. I'll show you something cool later. I'll put a styrofoam cup outside and you'll see it shrink into a disc because of the pressure. Hey, I said a cup... I won't put you out there! Me? No, I'm not jut a pilot of course. I'm a habitat engineer. Most people around here have multiple jobs. Look, there's Drillette drilling her head off!

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