Deep End (short story)
Encyclopedia
"Deep End" is a short story written in 1961 by British
author J. G. Ballard
. It first appeared in the May 1961 edition of New Worlds
(Volume 36, Number 106) and then in the 1962 collection The Voices of Time and Other Stories followed by The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard: Volume 1
in 2006. The tale is typical of Ballard's dystopian science fiction
.
for the atmospheres
for the new planets, and in doing so had left only the hydrogen
extract from the water, which escaped the Earth and stripped the Earth's hospitable atmosphere to about a mile high, and insuring the extinction of most life. As a result, the remaining inhabitants that have not emigrated are forced to live on the drained ocean floors, and have become nocturnal so as to avoid the scorching heat and radiation of the Sun during the day. The last orbiting launch pads are falling out of the sky to the salt dunes and corals towers that were once the ocean bed, and after the last have fallen, the Earth is truly abandoned.
. Holliday is of unspecified age (though it is said he is younger than fifty). He decides not to migrate on one of the last voyages to Mars
, and instead decides to remain on Earth with Granger, an older man who was once a marine biologist decades ago when there was still some form of sea left on the planet. Holliday comes to terms with the fact that he and Granger may be the only two people left on Earth in ten years time (the remaining others being elderly), but he cannot shake his urge to stay, and watch over what remains of the Earth's life before its inevitable extinction.
One day Holliday and Granger are in a saloon fittingly called the Neptune, when they see the crash of one of the decadent launch pads falling from the sky. They decide to visit the site, a nexus of saline pools and the only remnants of the Atlantic ocean
- now named Lake Atlantic. Whilst inspecting the large wreckage of the launch station, they come across a Dogfish
struggling in the shallow waters. Granger fails to see any importance in it, but Holliday immediately becomes attached to it, and using his salt-plough builds it a deeper pool to live in comfortably. When Granger asks of his fascination, Holliday explains that the shark is like an image of themselves staying behind and equates the situation with primordial evolution. Holliday vows to look after the shark, and what he considers to be the epitome of remaining life on the planet.
Whilst bringing the shark food the next day, they come across the pool drained and the shark dying after being tormented by young hoodlums before they leave Earth. Granger tries to comfort an enraged and disturbed Holliday and suggests that he stuff the dead fish to keep with him. Holliday reacts angrily to this, replying: “Have it stuffed? Are you crazy? Do you think I want to make a dummy of myself, fill my own head with straw?”.
The story ends with Holliday’s disillusionment with what he considers the true death of the planet.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
. It first appeared in the May 1961 edition of New Worlds
New Worlds (magazine)
New Worlds was a British science fiction magazine which was first published professionally in 1946. For 25 years it was widely considered the leading science fiction magazine in Britain, publishing 201 issues up to 1971...
(Volume 36, Number 106) and then in the 1962 collection The Voices of Time and Other Stories followed by The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard: Volume 1
The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard: Volume 1
The Complete Short Stories of J. G. Ballard: Volume 1 is a short-story collection by J. G. Ballard, published in 2006.The collection is the first installment of the J. G. Ballard's complete collection, followed by The Complete Short Stories of J. G...
in 2006. The tale is typical of Ballard's dystopian science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
.
Setting
In either a near-future or alternate present reality, the Earth lies nearly desolate after extensive overuse of its resources in order to colonise other planets. The oceans had undergone 'oxygen mining' to electrolytically provide oxygenOxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
for the atmospheres
Atmosphères
Atmosphères is a piece for full orchestra, composed by György Ligeti in 1961. It is noted for eschewing conventional melody and metre in favor of dense sound textures...
for the new planets, and in doing so had left only the hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
extract from the water, which escaped the Earth and stripped the Earth's hospitable atmosphere to about a mile high, and insuring the extinction of most life. As a result, the remaining inhabitants that have not emigrated are forced to live on the drained ocean floors, and have become nocturnal so as to avoid the scorching heat and radiation of the Sun during the day. The last orbiting launch pads are falling out of the sky to the salt dunes and corals towers that were once the ocean bed, and after the last have fallen, the Earth is truly abandoned.
Story
The two central characters are Holliday and Granger, who live in a ‘town‘ near the Bermuda archipelagoBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. Holliday is of unspecified age (though it is said he is younger than fifty). He decides not to migrate on one of the last voyages to Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, and instead decides to remain on Earth with Granger, an older man who was once a marine biologist decades ago when there was still some form of sea left on the planet. Holliday comes to terms with the fact that he and Granger may be the only two people left on Earth in ten years time (the remaining others being elderly), but he cannot shake his urge to stay, and watch over what remains of the Earth's life before its inevitable extinction.
One day Holliday and Granger are in a saloon fittingly called the Neptune, when they see the crash of one of the decadent launch pads falling from the sky. They decide to visit the site, a nexus of saline pools and the only remnants of the Atlantic ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
- now named Lake Atlantic. Whilst inspecting the large wreckage of the launch station, they come across a Dogfish
Squaliformes
Squaliformes is an order of sharks that includes about 97 species in seven families.Members of the order have two dorsal fins, which usually possess spines, no anal fin or nictitating membrane, and five gill slits. In most other respects, however, they are quite variable in form and size...
struggling in the shallow waters. Granger fails to see any importance in it, but Holliday immediately becomes attached to it, and using his salt-plough builds it a deeper pool to live in comfortably. When Granger asks of his fascination, Holliday explains that the shark is like an image of themselves staying behind and equates the situation with primordial evolution. Holliday vows to look after the shark, and what he considers to be the epitome of remaining life on the planet.
Whilst bringing the shark food the next day, they come across the pool drained and the shark dying after being tormented by young hoodlums before they leave Earth. Granger tries to comfort an enraged and disturbed Holliday and suggests that he stuff the dead fish to keep with him. Holliday reacts angrily to this, replying: “Have it stuffed? Are you crazy? Do you think I want to make a dummy of myself, fill my own head with straw?”.
The story ends with Holliday’s disillusionment with what he considers the true death of the planet.