Bloop is the twenty-third episode of Season 1, and the twenty-third episode overall.
Synopsis[]
"The Nektons are trying to identify a unique life form. They've never seen it, they've only heard its sound: 'Bloop'. Just as Ant discovers its true nature, a huge underwater mining machine threatens to destroy it!"
Plot[]
On the Aronnax, Fontaine and Professor Fiction are on the bridge monitoring dolphin noises when the speakers pick up a strange whaling sound. The sound appears to spook the dolphins. Fontaine turns up the volume to examine the sound further but it overloads the speakers, leaving Fontaine and Fiction with their ears ringing!
After replacing the speakers, the Nektons pick up the sound again. Ant identifies the sound as the "Bloop", a mysterious sound recorded back in 1997 that was heard across the Pacific Ocean before disappearing without a trace. Fiction plays the original recording from 1997 and the two are virtually identical. Originally thought to be the sound of icebergs cracking, the sudden appearance of it off the coast of tropical Papua New Guinea (the Nektons' present location) seems to negate that possibility, further spurring the Nektons' curiosity. Ant and Fontaine take the Rover to investigate and discover what appear to be giant drag marks, which Ant thinks are from a monster dragging its prey, but Kaiko points out that they're way to precise to be drag marks. Suddenly a deep sea mining machine appears, revealed to be the source of the tracks as it dredges the seabed for minerals, which the Rover happens to be in the path of! Ant quickly swims back and is just barely able to move the Rover out of the way in time.
Back onboard the Aronnax, the speakers pick up more Bloop sounds which appear different in tone then before, hinting that whatever is making noise is a creature of some sort. The Nektons then receive a transmission from Bruce Albert, project manager of the deep sea mining operation, who tells them leave the area. The Nektons inform him of their discovery and request he stop his operation so they can investigate but Albert refuses unless they show him proof. The Nektons take the Knights and spread out to look for the Bloop which is within a kilometer radius according to the sensors. Ant finds a small reef at the bottom of a hill next to the machine tracks and discovers that the Bloop sound is coming from a large clump of red coral. Realizing they have discovered a new life form, Ant plans to have Jeffrey swim inside the coral with the fish cam to figure out how the coral makes sound, but as they head back Fiction informs them that the machine is making another pass and the reef lies directly in its path!
The Nektons report their findings to Albert but he doesn't believe their story and continues operating the machine. With little time, Ant takes Jeffery to the coral while Fontaine tries to communicate with the coral by playing some of her instruments through the loud speakers in hope to get a response from the coral. Hoping to buy Ant more time, Will and Kaiko take the Mag Knight and Rover respectively to try and slow down the machine. Will pulls from behind while Kaiko pushes it from the front, however one of the Rover's arms slips and ends being consumed by the machine, almost taking Kaiko with it. Jeffery swims into the coral and finds an ear-shaped organ in the center. Somehow the coral is able to force water through tiny tubes, creating different sounds based on the tube size. Fontaine is able to get a response from the coral when she blows into a sea shell, proving the coral is sentient. Albert is now convinced of their discovery and orders the machine be shut down, but receives word from his engineers that an explosion inside the machine, caused by the Rover arm being eaten, has destroyed the remote control system and they can't shut it down! Unable to change the machine's course, Fiction suggests using an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) to knock out the machine's power. Ant places the EMP on the front of the machine and gets clear. Fictions detonates the EMP which stops the machine but also knocks out the power from the Rover and Mag Knight, however less than a minute later the machine starts moving again!
Albert remembers the backup power system, a "last minute edition" that was unaffected by the EMP. Albert sends the latest schematics to Fiction who locates the backup power near the very center of the machine. Fontaine takes the Swamp Knight out to restore Will and Kaiko's power while Ant has Jeffery swim under the machine in hopes of finding a way to disable it from underneath with the fishcam. As the machine moves downhill toward the coral the fishcam spots an opening on the machine's underside large enough for Ant to fit through and disconnect the power manually from the inside. After restoring their power, Fontaine joins Will and Kaiko in resuming their attempts to slow the machine down. As they do, the coral appears send out a warning sound that causes all the fish in the reef to flee, apparently trying to save the ecosystem. Inside, Ant locates the backup power on the other side of a narrow panel but is unable to reach the power cable through the opening. Ant realizes he will fit through the opening if he takes off his rebreather mask. Kaiko ,already upset over Ant risking his life to save the Rover earlier, orders him not to, but Ant points out the other thing she said about "some things being irreplaceable" and takes off his mask. After a tense several seconds, the machine stops just inches away from the reef and Ant emerges from the machine unscathed.
With the coral safe, the Nektons inform Albert that they'll be setting up a marine reserve in the area and Albert tells them the mining operation is being moved to another zone and that he's glad his machine didn't destroy the coral. The coral then seems to let out a "thank you" sound to the Nektons.
Errors[]
- At one point Fontaine calls the Mag Knight the "Drone Knight" which is most likely a script error.
Trivia[]
- Deep sea-mining machines have been developed but have yet to see any use due to deep sea-mining still being a new concept in real life.