Abstract
Madness and murder engulf a floating oil platform. A remote deep-sea oil drill blows apart, pushing the cash-strapped energy company that owns it toward bankruptcy. Madness and murder engulf the oil platform. A probe shows intelligent life on the deepest sea floor, evolved from long-lived cephalopods to whom the oil is sacred. Though peaceful, they will defend the oil at all costs. Alerted to the intentions of previously unknown humans the undersea intelligence is pushed toward a conflict that could destroy both civilizations.