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Piccadilly Underground Station
Monday 28th May, 2463

‘August 2071 was a watershed year in the history of the world; up
there with 410 when Rome fell to the Visigoths or 1798, the French
Revolution or 1914.’
Sergey Gonin, 2202-2245, philosopher

Andy Munro clipped another kilo of weight to his belt and glanced at the group of archaeologists he was about to lead down the Underground. Andy needed the weight. He stood a tall and athletic man. As the spring sunshine slanted through a gash in the crumbling roof of the ancient station, it silhouetted his broad shoulders and slim flanks.

‘Come on men!’ he called out, snapping his fingers twice.
‘We should be ready to go!’ Christ, he thought, as he watched them fumbling with their gear. You’re meant to be trained divers.

‘Just one more to check,’ said his cousin Bill, trying to fasten someone’s back zip. Andy’s mouth was dry. He was already hot and thirsty and could feel the sweat oiling the inside of his old diving suit. He drained a half bottle of water, leaving a drop which he emptied down his neck. A familiar musty smell came up as the cooling water trickled down. Andy was an impatient man and he had every right to be anxious. This, the London Underground, was the most dangerous dive in the world. Too many had lost their lives in these rat holes and he knew that leadership and discipline would be essential if the dives they had planned over the next ten days were going to be safe and successful.

Bill patted the diver on his shoulder. ‘We’re done here.’

‘Good. Now all of you,’ rallied Andy, ‘let’s get our tanks on.’ Amidst a murmuring and a clunking, eighteen divers moved over to the tables and lugged oxygen tanks onto their backs and squeezed their heads into their hoods, puckering up their cheeks and lips. They then picked up their fins, masks and
sub-aqua torches and made final checks on each other.

Andy stood facing them. ‘So, are we ready?’ There were one or two half-hearted responses. ‘So are we ready?’ he repeated, this time louder and with an edge in his voice.