The story of the city of the depths the third novel

Novel (city of the depths)

The novel (City of the Deep) from the (Future File) series of novels.

• Why build a huge city in the depths of the sea?
• How did a dangerous device disappear from the City of the Depths despite strict security precautions?
• Where did this device go? And why?

Read all the exciting and wonderful details…and join Nour and his team in solving the mystery.

1_ Amphibious air helicopter..

The surface of the sea sparkled with an attractive sparkle as the sun’s rays fell. The breeze blew gently, refreshing the soul with the pleasant smell of the sea. A girl extended her hand, gently caressing the water. Then she turned to the young man sitting next to her, and said in a dreamy voice:

– How I love the sea!! How its waves fascinate me!!

The young man smiled while he was busy preparing his electrical network:

As for me, I feel a vague fear of him.

The girl furrowed her eyebrows and said in a tone that seemed displeased:

-You are silly!! I tell you about my passion for the sea and its charms, so tell me about your fear of it.

The young man laughed and said:

– That’s how you girls are, facts make you angry.

The girl sat up and said, pointing a threatening finger at him:

– If I were not afraid to disturb the peace of our journey; I would give you a taste of what girls can do.

The young man laughed cheerfully, and said while pointing to a few air bubbles that appeared on the surface:

– Wait, Nour and Ramzi have returned, and I don’t want you to punish me in front of them.

The girl turned to look at the surface of the water, where two faces emerged, each wearing a thick crystal mask. The girl smiled when one of them lifted his mask and asked him:

– Will we eat fish today or will our fate be the same as yesterday?

The young man who raised his mask laughed and said:

-You will eat delicious food.

The two divers climbed to the roof of the vehicle, and one of them turned to the young man who was preparing his net, and said:

-Are you still afraid of the sea, my dear Mahmoud?

The young man smiled and said as he threw his net into the water:

– Yes – What is your analysis, our psychiatrist?

Ramzi smiled and said while stifling a malicious laugh:

– Maybe they forced you to shower in your childhood.

Everyone burst out laughing, then they busied themselves together in preparing the fish that Nour and Ramzi had caught.

These four young men were none other than Captain Nour, the young scientific intelligence officer, and his companions, Ramzi, the psychiatrist, Mahmoud, the radiology engineer, and Salwa, the communications and tracking expert. They quickly put the cleaned fish in the electronic oven and said: Salwa):

– How I would like to thank the man who invented this oven, which works with infrared rays!! I would have spent half the day preparing this fish. With the help of infrared radiation, it would be finished in one minute, and better than before.

Mahmoud laughed and said:

– I wish they would invent a way to catch fish as quickly as they can be prepared.

Nour said, pointing to the electrical grid that Mahmoud was holding:

– And this net that you are holding, is not one of the modern inventions in the art of fishing? It releases a small electrical charge that attracts large fish, and once the poor fish is inside the net, the charge increases, stunning it, and it becomes food for you, you glutton.

Ramzi said teasingly:

– They must have prevented him from eating fish as a child.

Then he tilted his head laughing to avoid the fish that Mahmoud had thrown at him, and everyone heard Salwa’s voice shouting as she pointed to a distant point on the surface of the sea:

– Look at this plane.

Everyone turned to where Salwa pointed, and Nour said:

– It’s not a plane, it’s an amphibious helicopter, and I think it belongs to the Coast Guard.

Ramzi said as he looked at the hovercraft, which was gliding smoothly on an air cushion above the surface of the sea, almost a meter above it:

Although the use of these hovercrafts is ancient, I still feel impressed whenever I see one of them.

Nour said as he watched the rapidly approaching helicopter:

It began to be used experimentally in the year one thousand nine hundred and seventy-six, and was not used on a large scale until a few years ago. It is based on a simple idea, which is to push the air downward like a fan, where an air cushion is created underneath it, so it does not touch the surface over which it is propelled; Therefore, it is not affected by medium obstacles or obstacles such as rocks or waves. Its speed also increases because it is not affected by various resistances, such as water resistance or weight. Scientists call it the (Hovercraft).

He stopped explaining when the helicopter stopped next to their boat, and an officer with the rank of first lieutenant jumped out, and said while looking between them:

– I have a secret and urgent message for Captain Nour El-Din Mahmoud.

Nour turned to him and said:

– Here I am…give me what you have.

The lieutenant gave the military salute to Nour, who was wearing nothing but a swimsuit, then extended his hand to him with a transparent crystal cube with a red metal disc underneath it, and said:

– I’m sorry to disturb your vacation, sir, but these orders are very confidential and urgent, and they had to be delivered to you today.

Nour said, turning the crystal cube in his hands:

– Never mind, are there any other messages?

The lieutenant said:

– Only this, sir. Will you allow me to leave?

The lieutenant gave the military salute when Nour nodded to him in agreement, then he jumped into the helicopter, which rose quietly above the surface of the water and quickly set off to where it came from. Nour turned to his three companions and said in an apologetic tone:

– Sorry, guys. As you heard, this message is very confidential. I will go down to the briefing room alone.

The three nodded to him with their heads in agreement, so he went quietly to the room and said before entering it:

– I think the food is ready, Salwa.

Salwa hurried to the electronic oven, and Nour closed the door behind him. Then he went to a television set in the corner of the room, then fixed the crystal cube to it and pressed the red metal button. Soon, a 3D image of the Supreme Commander appeared in front of the television set. The image was the same. Three dimensions and of natural size, so that Nour straightened his stance as if he were in front of the Supreme Leader personally, and listened to him say:

– Hello, Captain (Nour)… I know that I am interrupting your vacation with the mission that I will assign to you, and this is the tax of excellence.. In any case, the mission will not keep you away from the sea, but rather it will make you closer to it than you are now.

The image changed, and instead an image of a glass dome appeared, with underneath it what looked like a city with its streets and buildings. But what was strange about this scene was that water was surrounding this dome on all sides, and fish were swimming freely around it, and the three-dimensional image was so clear that “light He moved at first as if he was trying to prevent water from spilling onto the floor of the room… and the voice of the Supreme Commander came to him from behind the scene, saying:

-Do you see this picture, Captain? .. It is a picture of the first undersea city, a city for fisheries research and mining, and some experiments are being conducted there now to try to plant agricultural crops at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. This city has only one entrance, and it is equipped with modern machines that provide it with the necessary oxygen. For life, it is similar to a city built on the surface of the moon.

The important thing is that the scientists who live inside this city have succeeded in inventing a modern device that can extract gold from seawater in large quantities, at a minimal and negligible cost.

– You know, of course, that extracting gold from seawater is very old, but the obstacle that prevented scientists from doing so is that the costs of extracting this gold always exceed the price of the gold itself, which made this method ineffective, but this did not prevent them from trying to reduce this. Costs..

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in doing this, and at the cheapest cost. What is important is that despite the extreme security precautions inside the city, and despite the fact that everyone who arrives or leaves it is carefully searched, this device has disappeared.

Nour raised his eyebrows in astonishment when the Supreme Commander continued in his emblematic message:

This device weighs about one hundred kilograms, which means that it is difficult to simply carry. Every centimeter of the base was searched, as were all the workers. It came to the point of using modified X-rays, and despite that, the inspection did not produce any results.

The Commander-in-Chief was silent for a while, then said:

– Major Yahya Tawfiq, who is responsible for security there, will meet you at the base. He is a little arrogant, so I hope that you will cooperate together sincerely to solve this mystery. Tomorrow at dawn, a nuclear submarine, specially designed for scientific research on the seabed, will pick you up from the port of Alexandria to City of the Deep… Let your three companions prepare for this.

The image of the Supreme Commander disappeared, and Nour remained silent for a while, thinking:

– Do you think Mahmoud will accept falling to the bottom of the Mediterranean? .. Will he overcome his mysterious fear of the sea? .

The plural form with which the Supreme Commander addressed him, when he ordered him to head to the City of the Depths, meant his approval, or even his desire, for the presence of the three companions. Then he stood up and snatched the crystal cube from the television set, then turned the red metal disc a full circle, and snatched it from the transparent cube, which turned It immediately turned pale blue, and Nour threw it next to the door of the room, then went out to his companions. Extreme curiosity was clearly visible on Salwa’s face, who tried to hide it by pretending to be busy preparing the table. Mahmoud and Ramzi remained silent. ..

Nour sat quietly among the three, then said:

– I think the vacation is over, guys.. We have to go back to Alexandria now, to prepare what we need for our mission.

Ramzi whistled, and Salwa sighed and said:

– I should have expected that.. It is impossible for me to have a quiet vacation, as long as I am accompanied by Captain (Nour).

Nour smiled and said:

We will not go far from the sea, as our next mission is in its depths.

(Ramzi) quickly turned to (Mahmoud) and found him silent, although there was a strange yellowness on his face.

2_ In the depths of the sea..

The small nuclear research submarine descended smoothly and quickly into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, and inside it sat four people other than its commander. One of them, Mahmoud, was sitting in a silent side corner. Ramzi looked at him, contemplating him, then turned to Nour and said:

It seems that Mahmoud is suffering from an old complex that makes him fear the sea to this degree.

Salwa said while looking at Mahmoud tenderly:

– He was afraid to dive with you to catch fish. He must be very brave to agree to dive with us to the city of the depths.

Nour said without turning to Mahmoud:

– Perhaps this trip had positive results, helping him overcome this strange fear.

Ramzi smiled while whispering in Nour’s ear:

– I fear that he will return from this trip more afraid of the sea.

Nour did not share his joke, but rather pointed to a distant point through the thick glass of the submarine and said:

– Here we come.

Ramzi turned to the nearby window, and so did Salwa, while Mahmoud did not leave the corner in which he was sitting. The scene was wonderful, more wonderful than the three-dimensional image that Nour had seen. The city was more massive than he had imagined, and it was The glass dome covers it all, and parts of it shine with the little sunlight that seeps into this depth.

The nuclear submarine approached the only entrance to the City of the Deep, which is a huge glass tube closed by two steel doors. The small submarine settled inside the glass tube, then the huge iron door closed behind it. Water quickly leaked out until the glass tube became dry, then a long carpet crawled in front of it. Submarine exactly.

Here the commander of the submarine opened its door and descended from it with Captain Nour and his companions behind him. Everyone walked over the carpet until they reached the other metal door. It quickly opened and they found themselves in the inspection room.
Nour was eager to know how the inspection was carried out in this room. Perhaps he would find a loophole that the device thief could exploit to smuggle it. But as soon as the inspection was over, Nour felt that he could not smuggle a fly out of the city or into it, and this increased his astonishment and questioning about This device has disappeared.

As soon as everyone left the inspection room, they found in front of them Dr. (Fathi Khairallah), the director of the city of Al-Amaq, who welcomed them cordially, saying:

– Welcome heroes.. The Supreme Commander told me that you are the best ones to solve this puzzle.

Salwa looked at Dr. Fathi, asking herself:

– Is this huge body and muscled muscles a scientist? How and when was he able to develop it?

Nour responded with a compliment, then turned to the thin man standing next to Dr. Fathi, who had kept his eyebrows frowning ever since Dr. Fathi welcomed Nour and his companions. The doctor noticed the looks exchanged between Nour and the thin man, so he patted this man on the shoulder. The last one, and he said, introducing him to (Nour):

-Major Yahya Tawfiq, security official in the city.

Nour said kindly:

– Hello sir, nice to meet you

The man answered coldly:

– Welcome .

He did not utter another word until he led the companions to their rooms and left. It was only an hour later that the companions gathered in Dr. Fathi’s room and Nour asked him:

– Didn’t you suspect anyone working here, sir?

Dr. Fathi was silent, thinking, then said:

– It is difficult to doubt someone, and what really concerns me is how a device weighing one hundred kilograms could disappear like this without a trace. Getting out of here, as you saw for yourself, is difficult, to the point that no one can smuggle a mosquito out of the city of the depths.

Nour nodded his head in agreement and said:

– I have seen this myself, but how do the workers here get their vacations?

Dr. Fathi said:

– They spend a whole month here, then they get a fifteen-day vacation, and they are carefully searched when they leave the City of the Depths.

Nour asked him:

– Do you doubt one of the scientists here?

Dr. Fathi shouted in condemnation:

– No, no, it is impossible!!

Here Mahmoud asked him:

– Where was the device, sir, before it disappeared?

Dr. Fathi immediately said:

– In the testing room on the bottom floor of the city.

Nour prepared to stand and said:

– Do you have time to accompany me there, sir?

Dr. Fathi nodded his head in agreement, then smiled at Salwa, Mahmoud, and Ramzy, and left the room with Captain Nour. They headed together to a glass tube, standing upright in the corridor in which the room was located, and entered it. Dr. Fathi invited Nour to come in.

As soon as the door of the glass tube was closed on them, Dr. Fathi raised his head and said:

– Down, please.

The glass tube fell to the bottom in obedience to the order, and Dr. Fathi looked at the signs of astonishment on Nour’s face, and smiled as he said:

These are the miracles of modern science, my friend. This glass elevator is equipped with a computer designed to obey voice commands. It is a very simple computer. It receives sound waves, analyzes them, then compares them with the program inside it, and then obeys the command.

– If you ask him to go up to the third floor, for example, he will find that his program is set to go to that particular floor when he receives the tone of the same phrase. There are advanced types of it that only respond to the tones of a specific person, and this type is used in private safes.

Then he laughed as he patted Nour on the shoulder and said:

Thus, myths became reality through science, and you can now do like Ali Baba and say:

– “Open, Sesame,” and the cave opens and you get the treasure, and all of this is with knowledge alone, my friend.

Then he smiled while looking at Nour’s features and said:

– It’s not your fault !! Come on, we’ve reached the bottom floor.

As soon as Nour stepped out of the elevator, he stopped and looked at the ground he was standing on, which was gently undulating under his feet. He woke up to Dr. Fathi’s laughter as he patted his shoulder and said:

– Maintain your amazement, my friend, for you will see in our city a lot of things that raise your eyebrows… These are what are called moving streets, and they save a lot of time and effort, and the material these streets are made of is a new material that is characterized by rigidity in its vertical axis, and softness in its horizontal axis.. Okay, let’s leave all that until we get to the testing room.

The road was moving them forward, and Dr. Fathi began explaining to (Nour):

This floor includes the testing room, in addition to the operating rooms, which supply us with oxygen, and the defense and surveillance room, and we will watch these rooms together.

The road stopped in front of a large room, and Dr. Fathi said as he entered it:

– Come forward, Captain, this is the testing room.

The room was filled with a large number of complex scientific devices, the use of which Nour knew nothing about, and Dr. Fathi approached an empty table and said:

– Here was the device. It looked like a rectangular cuboid, made up of three cubic parts. I will not delve into complicated scientific terms. The important thing is that this device disappeared while everyone was in the dining room on the floor above us.

Nour asked him carefully:

-Do all the workers here go to the dining room at the same time?

Dr. Fathi replied:

– Of course not. Those responsible for supplying the city with oxygen must be present, as well as observers and defense men.

Nour Sahma said:

– That is, this floor is always full of workers.

Dr. Fathi said:

– naturally .

Nour turned around and said:

-But where are they now? I don’t see any of them.

Dr. Fathi smiled and said:

– In their centers, of course. Come, I will introduce you to all of them.

Dr. Fathi took him first to the operating room, and there were three workers inside. The doctor introduced them to Nour, saying:

– This is (Faraj), the primary person responsible for supplying us with air in the City of the Deep. Look at his physical composition. His colleagues call him (Hercules); Because of its extreme strength.

Faraj smiled as he nodded in welcome to Nour, who began to look at him in amazement. The man was tall, broad, with strong, muscular muscles, and had a completely bald head. Nour smiled back, then turned to the second man, who was a skinny young man. He had sharp features, and Dr. Fathi said while pointing at him:

– This is (Sultan), who is responsible for the computer that organizes the supply process, so that the atmosphere inside the city is similar to its counterpart above the roof, with the exception of storms, clouds, and rain, of course.

Then he pointed to the third man, who was short and chubby, and said:

– As for this friend of ours, he is (Khalil), who is responsible for equalizing the pressure inside the city, so that the water pressure on the outer glass dome does not destroy it.

Nour went out with Dr. Fathi, after exchanging words of welcome with the three men, and they headed together to the defense room. On the way, Nour asked him:

– Has the person called (Faraj) worked here for a long time?

Dr. Fathi said while looking at Nour:

– He’s only been working here for four months. Do you suspect him?

Nour said while thinking:

– I suspect everyone, until the matter becomes clear, sir.

Dr. (Fathi) did not find enough time to discuss this, so they stopped in front of the defense room and they entered it together. There were two men in it who met Dr. (Fathi) with warm expressions of welcome, and Captain (Nour) introduced them to them, then he said as he introduced the first man to him, who is… A young man of average body and height:

– Engineer (Mustafa), responsible for launching defensive atomic torpedoes, in the event of any attack.

Nour shook hands with engineer Mustafa and asked him:

Is an attack on the city expected?

The engineer (Mustafa) smiled and said:

It is known that scientific progress has become the measure of the progress of nations in the modern era. Therefore, countries have tended to try to obstruct scientific progress in their competing countries, and for this reason I do not completely rule out an attempt to attack us.

Here the second man said:

– Just like what happened the day before yesterday.

Nour turned to him in amazement, and Dr. Fathi laughed, and said while pointing to the second man:

– I introduce you to the engineer (Mukhtar), who is responsible for the computer that organizes the defense of the city of depths.

Nour looked at the tall, very slender young man and said, commenting on his last phrase:

– Was there an attack on the city the day before yesterday?

The engineer (Mustafa) smiled and said:

Rather, it is just a suspicion of an attack, and this often happens when surveillance personnel spot a huge fish, for example, which gives an image similar to modern nuclear submarines.

– In this case, we deal with it immediately, as if it were a real attack, until the opposite becomes clear.

Nour said:

-Doesn’t this cost you a lot?

The engineer (Mukhtar) shrugged his shoulders indifferently and said:

– Never… Torpedoes often fall without exploding, and despite that, we must deal with this, otherwise nuclear submarines in the form of huge fish will attack us.

Nour shook his head in understanding, shook hands with the two men, and left the room with Dr. Fathi to the observation room, where they met two workers, and Dr. Fatji said, introducing them:

– Engineer Anwar, the city’s monitoring expert.

Nour shook hands with him while looking at him. He was a young man with a large body and broad shoulders. Nour asked him:

– Did you practice any type of sport during your studies?

Engineer Anwar smiled proudly and said:

– Of course…lifting weights, or more correctly, lifting weights.

Nour kept looking at him until Dr. Fathi said, pointing to another handsome young man:

– As for this, he is the engineer (Abdel Moneim), the best person to work on ultraviolet radar in all of Egypt.

Nour shook hands with him and was greeted with a warm welcome. They quickly left the room, and Nour headed with Dr. Fathi to his room. On the way, Nour sighed audibly, so the doctor asked him:

– What is with you ?

Nour answered absent-mindedly:

– I feel that the matter is very complicated, and I will need to conduct several investigations one at a time.

Dr. Fathi smiled and said:

You can do that, but stay away from Major Yahya, as he will not allow you to reach the secret before him.

Nour said while he was still distracted:

– What is important is reaching the secret, and it is not important who reaches it first.

Dr. Fathi looked at him with admiration, then walked next to him in silence.

3_ Competition. . .

Captain Nour met with his three companions in their room, which Dr. Fathi had chosen for their private meetings, and Nour began explaining to the three the results of the tour he had undertaken with Dr. Fathi on the lower floor of the city.

As soon as he finished explaining, Salwa sighed and said:

– It’s complicated this time. We have a large number of suspects. I almost forgot the names.

Nour listened to her, then turned to Ramzi and asked him:

What did our psychiatrist think?

Ramzi said, holding his hands under his chin:

– It is difficult to have a clear idea from this tour, Commander. I must study everyone’s psychological state first, but I can say that the man who did this work, or the men who did it, are distinguished by boldness and intelligence, along with sufficient muscle strength. To transport a device of this weight.

Here Mahmoud interrupted him, saying:

– Two people can cooperate to carry it and then…

Nour interrupted him with interest:

– so what ?

Mahmoud was silent, thinking, then said:

– Actually, I don’t know what the thief can do next.

Salwa said:

– You say that when you were inside the exam room with Dr. (Fathi), you did not see any of the workers downstairs. Does this mean that none of them would have seen you, if you had carried another device with you and left the room with it?

Nour smiled and said:

Well done, Salwa. Of course, any of the men can sneak into the testing room and carry the device without the rest of them noticing it.

Before the conversation continued, everyone heard a special buzzing, so (Mahmoud) got up and headed to the door, and pressed a small button, and the image of the person standing behind him appeared. (Mahmoud) turned to his companions and said with a smile:

– It’s Major Yahya. May I let him in?

Nour answered immediately and seriously:

– naturally .

Major Yahya entered the room with slow steps, greeted Captain Nour and his colleagues, then sat in a seat next to the door and said in a sarcastic tone:

-Is this meeting secret? Or do I have the right to sit?

Nour said seriously, ignoring the slight sarcasm in Yahya’s voice:

– Of course you have the right to sit. We should cooperate together to solve this puzzle.

Major Yahya smiled sarcastically and said:

– thus !!

Nour ignored this sarcastic method for the second time and said:

– I will repeat what we were talking about, so we can continue together.

Nour began re-explaining the tour and the dialogue that took place during it. As soon as he finished, Yahya asked him:

– So, you have limited your suspicions to these seven.

Nour nodded his head in agreement, and Yahya smiled sarcastically and said:

– The Supreme Commander of Scientific Intelligence ordered me to cooperate with you, otherwise I would not have told you what I know.

Everyone turned to him expectantly, and he said:

– You can add Dr. Fathi personally to the list of suspects.

Everyone exchanged looks of astonishment, and silence prevailed until Nour broke it and directed his speech to Yahya:

-What prompted you to add it to your list?

Major Yahya smiled arrogantly and said:

– Because the first and only time that Dr. Fathi missed lunch in the dining hall was on the day the device disappeared.

The justification was strong, so that everyone returned to silence and exchanged glances, so Major (Yahya) stood up and said as he prepared to leave the room:

– It is impossible for me to compete with amateurs. Come on, I have given you an important piece of information, and let us see which one of us will reach the solution first.

Then he left the room, giggling with laughter. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Salwa said, with signs of resentment on her face:

– What a man!!

Ramsay said calmly:

– Indeed, what Major (Yahya) is doing is very logical if we discuss it from a psychological perspective, as he has been responsible for security in the City of the Depths since its establishment, and it is psychologically painful for him to be unable to solve the first puzzle he faces…then sending a captain lower in rank than him and with him a civilian team. Searching for the solution to this puzzle gives him a feeling of injustice… and I think he will try hard to reach the solution to the puzzle before we do.

Nour said after a moment of thought:

– I’m afraid that too quickly will cause him to make a mistake.

Qal (Ramzi):

– This is what usually happens, and it is better not to try to submit to the competition that Major (Yahya) is pushing us into, but rather we will proceed as we are accustomed to.

Nour said, smiling:

– I am happy to hear that. We, guys, have to talk to everyone from Al-Qaeda we can. I want to verify this story of Dr. Fathi. Did he really not come to lunch on this particular day? And why? As for you, my dear (Ramzi), you will get to know the seven men downstairs, and you must try to study them psychologically, and we will meet after lunch so that each of you can tell me what you did.

(Ramzi) left and (Salwa) followed him, and (Mahmoud) remained alone with (Nour), and (Nour) sensed his hesitation, so he asked him:

– I think you want to address me about something, my dear Mahmoud.

Mahmoud hesitated a little, then said:

– Yes, I want to say: If..if..

Nour said calmly:

– Well, speak up, Mahmoud. There is no need to hesitate.

Mahmoud swallowed his saliva and said:

– Well, I am an expert in radiology, and I think that I have no place in this puzzle… and that, as you know, I feel disturbed by my presence in this city under the sea… Do… Do…

Nour said:

-Shall I allow you to come back? is not it ? No, my dear Mahmoud, you will remain here to try to overcome this mysterious fear. You must try.

Mahmoud sighed and said with resignation:

– Your order, Commander.. I will stay, and I will try.

4_ Search. . .

Ramzi descended through the glass tube to the lower floor. He was not surprised by the moving streets, as Nour was explaining them clearly.

The corridor containing the four rooms was empty, and an idea popped into Ramzi’s head. He stopped at the testing room and quietly crept into it. Then he began to look at the various devices arranged throughout the room. Then he chose a cylindrical device. He approached it quietly, then tried. He took it hard…

Sweat poured down his face, as he made one attempt after another to carry the device, and all of his attempts failed. The device weighed approximately eighty kilograms. He turned around, looking for someone to help him carry the device, when his eyes fell on a huge body blocking the entrance to the room. It was Faraj. He stood with his muscular muscles and his broad body, with his arms folded, contemplating Ramzi, who stood in amazement. Then he began to dry the sweat pouring down his face, and said with a stammer:

– I was, I was conducting an experiment, I mean I…

Faraj said calmly:

– I think you are part of the team investigating the disappeared device.

Ramzi replied, sighing with relief:

Ah.. yes.. yes.

Faraj entered the room and said quietly, without turning to Ramzi:

-Do you need help carrying this device?

Before (Ramzi) could answer him, (Faraj) was simply carrying the heavy device, as if he was carrying a chicken. (Ramzi)’s eyes widened in astonishment as he saw (Faraj’s) swollen muscles, and (Faraj) asked him calmly:

Where would you like me to put it for you, sir?

Ramzi said as he looked at him, his astonishment gone:

– Is it your habit to help anyone carry any device from here, without knowing the purpose of that?

Faraj replied with a malicious smile:

– No, but I wanted to help you with this experiment. Of course, you are trying to figure out how the device disappeared, and here I am showing you that carrying a device that weighs one hundred kilograms is not difficult for someone who has strong muscles.

Then he put the device back in its place and said:

– And here in the city of the depths, you will find hundreds of men with strong muscles, sir.

Ramzi smiled at the man’s intelligence, and said while shaking his hand:

– Nice to meet you, can you accompany me to the rest of the rooms?

Faraj said with a friendly smile:

– With pleasure, sir.

At the same moment, Salwa was walking next to Dr. Fathi. The latter had frowning eyebrows. He walked silently for a while, then said angrily:

– Did your commander begin his attempts by making me suspect No. 1?

Salwa replied in a polite tone:

– I did not think that my asking you about your whereabouts at the time the device disappeared would anger you to this degree!!

Dr. Fathi said without feeling angry:

– Rather, the purpose of your question made me angry, not the question itself.

Then he was silent, thinking, and said again:

– Well, I was checking the laboratories.

Salwa asked him:

-Why at this particular moment?

He shouted angrily:

-Why at any other moment? Why does this become suspicious?

Salwa was silent and did not answer, then she apologized to him and left him to the dining room, where a few men were drinking coffee. They suddenly stopped when their eyes fell on Salwa.

Salwa greeted them, and they responded with a low greeting. She quickly succeeded in establishing conversation between her and them, and when she felt that they enjoyed her presence, she asked one of them:

-Do you remember the day the device disappeared?

The man simply replied:

– Of course, and could he forget?

Salwa asked him again slowly while pressing the letters, as if she was afraid that he would not understand her question:

– Did you see Dr. Fathi at the dining table that night?

The man furrowed his eyebrows and said in an angry tone:

-What does this question mean?

Salwa said with a friendly smile on her lips:

– It is not supposed to mean anything specific.

The man thought, frowning, then said:

– I think he was absent that night.. Yes, he was absent of course.. I remember now that his table remained empty, so that everyone noticed that.

Salwa smiled to herself and said as she left the room:

– I was definitely expecting that.

When Salwa returned to the room designated for team meetings, she found everyone there, and she said as she closed the door behind her:

– It seems I’m the last one to return.

Everyone smiled at her, so she went to a seat facing Captain Nour, and sat quietly, so Nour asked her:

– Did your tour bear fruit, Salwa?

Salwa said with a smile on her face:

– I prefer that you call him Sherlock Holmes, Commander. I have received confirmation of the information that Major Yahya gave us.

Then she fell silent as she looked at her three companions, and continued:

Dr. Fathi was actually absent, on the same day the device disappeared.

Nour smiled and said:

– I took my tour too, my dear. Dr. Fathi was one of those who designed this device and supervised its implementation, and it does not make sense for him to try to steal it.

– It was easier for him in particular to obtain designs for the device, and this is safer, of course.

Salwa furrowed her eyebrows. She felt like a failed student. Nour laughed at the sight of her, then turned to Ramzi and said:

– And you, our psychiatrist, how was your tour?

Ramzi said slowly:

– I think that my tour was very fruitful, and this is of course due to the fact that I am carrying out my normal work, which is the psychological study of individuals. I have noticed that the group residing on the lower floor feels a kind of persecution, or let us say a kind of negative discrimination. This particular group is responsible. About the city’s vital centers; Therefore, it is difficult for any of them to get leave.

Then they exchange work among themselves. I mean, of course, the members of the same room. Captain Nour was fortunate to meet all of them. Today I was able to meet only four of them, and the others were in their rest period. I met Faraj. ), (Khalil), the engineer (Mukhtar), and the engineer (Anwar), and the work of the absent group was distributed among the others.

Nour stopped him with a wave of his hand and asked him:

-Do you mean that it is possible for someone to be alone in their own room?

Qal (Ramzi):

– Of course, today the engineer (Mukhtar) was supervising the defense computer, in addition to the nuclear torpedo devices, and the engineer (Anwar) was also dealing with surveillance and radar in this way.

Nour interrupted him with interest:

– On that night when the device disappeared… who among them was absent?

Ramzi was silent with signs of surprise on his face, then he stammered as he said:

-Actually, I have… I have…

Nour said dryly:

-You missed investigating this.

Salwa said, trying to defend Ramzi:

– In fact, Commander, we cannot work as policemen, as our nature is scientific.

A voice came to them from the side of the door, saying sarcastically:

– That’s what I think too, my little one.

Everyone turned in astonishment to the source of the sound. Major Yahya was standing at the door, with a sarcastic smile on his face. Mahmoud said nervously:

– How did you get in here?

The major pointed to a blue cube attached to the door, and said, while still sarcastic in tone:

– You forgot to close the electronic mailer. You always prove that you are amateurs.

Captain Nour answered him in a dry tone:

Not everyone is an amateur, Mr. Major.

Major Yahya turned to look at Captain Nour silently, then the sarcastic smile returned to his lips and said:

– maybe .

Then they left the room saying:

You must hurry, as I am close to solving the puzzle.

Nour furrowed his eyebrows and almost asked him what he meant, but for some reason he closed his lips and listened to the major as he closed the door and said:

– Of course, none of you paid attention to the method of disposing of waste in the City of the Deep.

Then he let out a sarcastic laugh that was silenced by the closing of the door. Everyone remained silent until Mahmoud said:

-I think he’s right.

Nour answered him with distress:

– Never.. The same idea occurred to me. Waste disposal is done through a steel pipe that passes through all the floors of the city, and is divided into two parts: one for waste left over from food and the like, and the other for industrial waste, and both end with what looks like a mill. It transforms waste of any type. into fine particles, which are used to fertilize and fertilize the area on which undersea agricultural tests are conducted.

The tube passes through one of the four rooms on the lower floor, which is the air and pressure room.

Mahmoud said with interest:

– Does this mean that any of the workers in this room can get rid of whatever he wants through this pipe?

Nour replied:

– Of course, if he intended to get rid of it completely, as the grinder is very powerful.

Salwa asked him:

Couldn’t someone have disposed of the device this way?

Nour said, shaking his head in denial:

– It is illogical. As long as the designs of the device exist, and the scientists who developed it are alive, destroying the device will be of no use.

Then he turned to Mahmoud and said:

Salwa gave me an idea, my dear Mahmoud. As a radiology expert, don’t you think that a device that releases ultraviolet rays can guide us to a hidden trace left by the criminal?

Mahmoud was silent for a while, then said:

It is known that ultraviolet rays help to show weak traces that the naked eye cannot notice. It has been used since the 1980s to search for fingerprints in thefts. Yes, I think it will help us.

Salwa said with interest:

– What did I suggest to you regarding this idea, Commander?

Nour smiled and said:

– You have inspired me to take advantage of your scientific nature, my dear.

5_ Shock. .

Mahmoud descended to the lower floor of the City of the Deep, feeling very nervous. As soon as he stopped the glass tube in front of the moving road, he took it to the testing room. He stood in front of it for a while, contemplating it. Then he opened the bag he was carrying, took out a small purple lamp from it, and took He prepares for work while thinking:

– A lot of changes must have occurred in the room since the device disappeared. Can I find a remaining trace of the criminal yet?

Then he lit the lamp after extinguishing the room, which was bathed in a dim violet light. Mahmoud began looking around him, searching for a clear trace. The various fingerprints were filling the room, so he did not pay attention to them. Then suddenly his sight fell on a sparkling spot. Mahmoud approached. From the spot and contemplating it carefully, it was shining with intense brilliance when the ultraviolet beam fell on it. Mahmoud furrowed his eyebrows in thought, and began to recall everything that had happened since their arrival to the City of the Depths..

Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows upward, and flashes of victory flashed in his eyes.. This sparkling spot is decisive evidence. The criminal has fallen. He was exposed by a handful of…., and his thoughts were not complete, as he was struck by a strong punch in the back of the head. He staggered and felt his mind go out. He floated in an endless void, then fell unconscious.

The man who had lost consciousness stood looking at him, and said to himself:

– It was fortunate that you came at that moment.

Then he looked at the shining spot and said:

It is also fortunate that no one has noticed this evidence yet. You must be erased, you traitorous spot.

He looked back at Mahmoud, who was lying on the ground, and said:

– As for you, detective, you have come to know the secret. Your life has become my end.

Then he rubbed his chin gently and said:

– Sorry, my friend, you must be eliminated.

At this moment, Nour and Salwa were in the company of Dr. Fathi and Major Yahya, and Nour was saying, addressing the doctor:

– As you say, sir, there were Faraj, Sultan, the engineer (Mustafa), and the engineer (Anwar) downstairs that day.

Dr. Fathi said wearily:

– This does not mean, of course, that they are the only ones capable of stealing the device. It is possible for any city employee to descend to the lower floor.

Nour said, looking sideways at Major Yahya:

– This is very strange, sir. I noticed every time I went downstairs that the corridor was empty. Isn’t this a negligence in security procedures?

Major Yahya furrowed his eyebrows and said in a hostile tone:

– There is no need to place a guard on this floor, as it is impossible for someone to steal a device from the testing room and escape from the base with it.

Nour said with a friendly smile:

– But this has already happened.

Major (Yahya) turned his head angrily, and did not respond to (Nour’s) comment, who turned to Dr. (Fathi) and asked him:

You previously told me, sir, that there were only four rooms on the lower floor, but I noticed a constantly closed metal door next to the examination room.

Dr. Fathi said:

– This door is for frogmen only, Captain.

Salwa asked him in astonishment:

– Human frogs. Can they dive to this depth? The water pressure is enough to crush them.

Major Yahya smiled gloatingly and said:

– Modern diving suits are equipped with a pressure equaliser, young lady. In the past, the maximum depth a human frog could reach was fourteen metres. Now, by using these modern devices, it is possible to dive to great depths. This is scientific information that may be useful to you, little scientist.

Nour noticed the anger on Salwa’s face, so he quickly said:

– So this door is used by frogmen only.

Dr. Fathi said while looking at his watch:

– Yes, I think you should invite your friends to share lunch with us.

Nour smiled and said:

– Salwa will go to call (Ramzy), as he is examining the psychological files of the workers here. As for me, I will go downstairs to call (Mahmoud), who at this moment is examining the testing room with ultraviolet rays.

Dr. Fathi furrowed his eyebrows and said:

Great idea, how did I not think of that? I will take you there.

Major Yahya said, feeling jealous:

– Me too .

Mahmoud woke up from his coma to a faint roaring sound, somewhat similar to the roar of a distant waterfall. He quickly gathered his strength, and at that moment he felt wet. He looked around and was terrified. He was in a wide metal room, and at the end of it was a metal door that opened quietly, and water. It flows into the room.

Mahmoud stood up and was overcome with panic. The taste of the water was clear. It was sea water. He looked around searching for a way out, but all he found was another metal door on the opposite side. He began pounding on it violently while the water rose quickly until it reached his thighs.

When he found no use in knocking on the door, he leaned against it with his back, and looked with fearful eyes at the flowing water. An old scene came back to his mind, the scene of a small child screaming for help, and the waves were playing with him until he disappeared among them, and on the shore was another child crying in terror. This scene passed. His mind flashed at a glance, then stayed in place, his eyes filled with strange astonishment.

Captain (Nour) went down with Dr. (Fathi) and Major (Yahya) to the examination room. When they did not find (Mahmoud) there, (Nour) said:

– It seems that Mahmoud finished his work quickly and returned to the room.

Dr. Fathi said with a sigh:

– Loss, I would have liked to see the ultraviolet research.

Everyone returned through the corridor, when Nour pointed to the diving room and said:

So this is the frogmen’s room.

Dr. Fathi nodded his head in the affirmative, so Nour pointed to a red lamp at the top of the room’s door and said:

-What is the meaning of this lamp?

Dr. Fathi said as he raised his head to the lit lamp:

-It means the room is vacant.

Then he stopped suddenly and said:

– However, there are no missions at all for frogmen today.

Nour turned to him in astonishment, then looked back at the lit lamp and shouted:

– Oh, my God !! ( Mahmoud ) .

Then he rushed to try to open the door of the room when the major caught him, shouting:

– Stop. You must know the water level inside the room, otherwise the entire city will drown.

Nour stepped back, looking at the door in fear. He was sure that Mahmoud was inside the room, and he knew his psychological complex towards sea water, and he quickly shouted:

– Who is responsible for this room? Who is he, for God’s sake?

Everyone rushed to the corridor when they heard the sound of Nour shouting, and Khalil quickly came forward from the door and said:

– I am in charge. The water fills half the room, and the door is open. The door should be closed first.

Nour shouted at him:

– Faster Faster .

At the same moment, (Ramzi) and (Salwa) had arrived at the bottom floor, to continue the work of the ultraviolet ray machine, when they were surprised by (Nour) shouting, so (Ramzi) rushed towards him and asked him:

– What happened ?

Nour shouted nervously:

– ( Mahmoud ) ! (Mahmoud) is inside, the water will drown him.

Ramzi’s eyes widened and he said in horror:

– Water!! .. What a poor person!!

Khalil said while sighing:

– I closed the door, and the water is now being drawn. After one minute, your friend will be fine.

Ramzi said sadly:

– I love that.

One of those present was tense. He knew that Mahmoud’s survival would mean his destruction, but he heard Ramzi say:

He suffers from a deep-seated psychological complex. He is pathologically afraid of the sea.

Soon the door opened, and everyone was horrified by what they saw. Mahmoud was standing in front of them, and his features showed extreme astonishment. Ramzi hurried towards him and examined him quickly, and said:

– He is fine, but he is in severe nervous shock.

One of those present smiled with relief as he watched the comrades leave with Mahmoud, who was walking in amazement, having lost the ability to speak.

6_ Interrogation of the accused. .

When Ramzi left Mahmoud’s room, everyone was waiting for him, and Salwa said eagerly:

– How is he doing ? is he okay ?

Ramzi nodded his head and said:

– Yes, but he is in severe nervous shock, and I gave him some sedatives, and he will be fine soon.

Nour felt disgusted whenever he saw an act indicating violence or destruction, so he said in a sharp tone:

– Woe to this criminal of mine!!

Dr. Fathi patted him on the shoulder soothingly and said:

– Woe to him from all of us, my friend.

Nour turned to Ramzi and asked him:

Didn’t he tell you anything, Ramzi?

Ramzi shook his head in denial and said:

– He can’t speak now, maybe after he wakes up.

Nour hit his right fist with his left palm and said:

– He must have revealed something, important evidence… Oh, if only he could tell me about it!!

Major Yahya said in a tone in which he could not suppress the tone of sarcasm, despite the tension of the situation:

-This is what always happens when using amateurs.

Everyone turned to him angrily, and Nour said to him coldly:

Thanks to you, the issue has turned into a conflict between us, Major, and I will not allow this.

The Major furrowed his eyebrows and shouted angrily:

– Have you forgotten your rank, Captain? Do you dare…?

Nour interrupted him in a firm tone:

– I report directly to the Supreme Commander, Major, and he chose me because he knew that I was the person he needed for this mission, regardless of my rank. If you had an objection to that, you could send a complaint directly to him.

Major Yahya’s face became tense, and anger appeared in his features. Then he left the room in silence, and Nour turned to Salwa and said to her calmly:

– I have a task that requires an expert in communications and follow-up.

Salwa smiled and said:

At your disposal, Commander.

After one hour of this conversation, Nour was going down to the lower floor and heading to the supply room. There he met Sultan, who was responsible for organizing the city’s fresh air supply. Sultan greeted him indifferently, and Nour asked him:

-Do you remember who was working here the day the device disappeared?

Sultan said while pretending to be busy in an imaginary work:

– Faraj and I.

Nour continued his questions, saying:

Did one of you leave the room alone?

Sultan answered briefly:

– both of us .

Nour asked him calmly:

– Has your colleague been absent for a long time?

A voice came from behind him saying:

Why don’t you direct your question to his colleague personally?

Nour turned to the source of the sound. Faraj was standing at the door of the room with his arms crossed, and Nour asked him coldly:

– Well, have you been absent for a long time?

Faraj smiled and said:

– Not enough to steal the device, Captain.

His eyes were challenging, so Nour stood up and passed by Faraj, heading out of the room. He stopped him and said:

– Where to, Captain?

Nour said while looking into Faraj’s eyes:

– There is no need for me to stay, I have got the answer I need.

Nour went out impulsively, and bumped into a man who almost fell from surprise. The man smiled when he revealed Nour’s personality and said:

Hello Captain, are you still continuing your investigation?

Nour replied with a similar smile:

– I was going to visit you, my dear engineer (Mustafa).

Mustafa put his hand on Nour’s shoulder and said:

– Hello, I was going to receive my shift from Engineer (Mukhtar).

They entered the defense room together, and the engineer (Mukhtar) greeted them, then (Nour) sat down and asked (Mustafa):

– You were alone here the day the device disappeared… right?

Mustafa answered simply:

– Yes, I was examining the nuclear torpedoes.

Nour asked him:

-Is it your habit to check it?

Mustafa replied with a smile:

– Of course, it is checked periodically every five days to ensure its suitability.

Nour asked calmly:

Didn’t you leave the room at all that day?

Mustafa said as he sat in a nearby seat:

– It is difficult to leave the defense room, as it is a very vital center. I cannot leave it until the engineer (Mukhtar) arrives to receive his shift.

Nour turned to Mukhtar and asked him:

– Do you think the computer can do defense without needing you?

Mukhtar furrowed his eyebrows and said:

– To a limited degree, of course.

Nour asked him carefully:

-What do you mean by a limited degree?

Mukhtar said:

– The human element is necessary to distinguish. The computer has helped reduce the number of workers in the field of defense to only two individuals, but this does not negate the importance of the presence of the human element, otherwise it would fire torpedoes at any moving target.

Nour asked him a final question:

– Did you show up exactly on time for your shift?

Mustafa laughed and said:

He arrives exactly on time. No force on earth can force him to arrive even one minute before his shift.

Nour smiled at Mustafa’s joke, then asked for permission from them, and left the room heading to the observation room. Before he entered it, he saw Major Yahya outside. They exchanged glances in silence, then the major smiled that sarcastic smile, and headed to the glass elevator. Nour watched him until he climbed into the glass tube, then entered the observation room…

The engineer (Abdel Moneim) was about to put on his own jacket, and the engineer (Anwar) sat at a table in the middle of the room, with his face buried in his palms. (Nour) greeted them, and (Anwar) quickly raised his face.. He was distressed, but he succeeded. He smiled as he returned the greeting of Nour, who sat next to him and asked him:

Did the Major bother you with his interrogation?

Engineer Anwar hesitated for a moment, then said:

– Yes, I hope you are not coming for another interrogation.

Nour smiled without answering, and turned to engineer Abdel Moneim and asked him:

– You were at ease when the device was stolen… right?

Abdel Moneim stared at him and asked him:

– What do you mean ?

Nour said calmly:

– I mean, the engineer (Anwar) was here alone.

Abdel Moneim looked at Anwar, then looked back at Nour, and the hesitation appeared clearly in his features, until Nour surprised him with the question:

– Did you find engineer Anwar here when you came to take his shift?

Abdel Moneim had finished putting on his jacket, so he hurried towards the door of the room, saying:

– My shift is over, and I don’t have to answer this question.

Nour stood up and grabbed Abdel Moneim’s arm tightly, and said to him firmly:

– Rather, you are obliged to answer me, engineer, otherwise I will force you to answer before the court.

Abdel Moneim stopped hesitating, then looked at Anwar, who said:

– Well, I was not here when (Abdel Moneim) came that day, but I swear to you…..

Nour interrupted:

– Where were you then?

After a moment of hesitation, Abdel Moneim said:

– In the bathroom.

Nour stared into his eyes and silence prevailed, then he let go of Abdel Moneim’s arm and said:

– You are not supposed to leave the control room at all. I will reward you for that.

Then he left the room without giving either of them a chance to speak, and he found Major Yahya in front of him in the corridor. Nour was astonished with surprise, and asked him:

Didn’t you leave the floor?

The major smiled and said:

– It is easy to deceive you, Captain. I went up one floor and then came back. I had to listen to your conversation with the engineer (Anwar). It was very helpful to me.

Nour said angrily:

– I cannot accept this twisted method.

The major said, and the smile did not leave his lips:

– No one asked you to please him, Captain.

Nour said, trying to end this conflict:

Why don’t we cooperate together to reach an acceptable solution to this puzzle?

The major smiled sarcastically and said:

– Why ? I have almost found the solution, and I have the proof.

Then he turned and left the corridor via the glass elevator… Nour felt upset, shook his head in amazement, then left the floor in turn… When he arrived at his team’s meeting room, he saw (Salwa) busy making a precise device, and (Ramzi) was sitting In front of a small computer, they turned to him and he greeted them and asked (Salwa):

– Is the device you requested finished, Salwa?

She answered without taking her eyes off the device:

-It’s almost over…

Then she sighed and asked him:

– Why don’t you tell me its purpose, Commander?

Nour smiled. He knew very well that she was consumed by curiosity, but he did not answer her. Rather, he turned to Ramzi and asked him:

– Have you finished studying the psychological reports, our doctor?

Ramzi said, the stress evident on his face and in his tone:

This is a difficult matter, Commander. The workers here number about three thousand men. It is not easy for me to study all these reports.

Nour said while turning away his hand:

– Leave it alone. I want you to study the psychological reports of the seven workers downstairs only, in addition to the reports of Dr. (Fathi) and Major (Yahya).

Then his voice softened as he asked:

– How is Mahmoud doing today?

Ramzi said in a sad voice:

– He is still speechless and has a lost appearance…but he will improve very soon, God willing.

Nour shook his head sadly and said:

– Poor thing.. He asked to leave, but I forced him to stay here.

Then he turned to (Ramzi) and said:

– We will avenge him, Ramzi, I swear to you.

7_ In the depths of the sea. .

Dr. Fathi looked at Captain Nour silently, trying to understand what thoughts were going through his head, then he asked him calmly:

-So you want a small nuclear submarine. May I know why? Or is this one of your secrets?

Nour said, feeling embarrassed:

– I hope you don’t insist on that, sir.

Dr. Fathi said wearily:

When do you need it exactly?

Nour replied in a polite tone:

– Maybe tomorrow, sir.

Dr. Fathi pounded his fist on the desk and said angrily:

– Maybe tomorrow !!

Then he pointed to (Nour) and said:

– Don’t you know, Captain, that the City of the Depths is proceeding according to a precise plan? .. And all our submarines are always busy with different tasks.. Do you think that we can give you a nuclear submarine, like this, at any time you want?

Nour said calmly and politely:

– You have seven spare submarines, sir.

Dr. Fathi suddenly fell silent and looked at Nour angrily, then said:

– Well, there will be a small nuclear submarine waiting for you tomorrow from early morning.

Nour thanked him and asked his permission to leave, and before he left the room he heard him say:

– It seems that leaking secrets has become common in this city.

Nour smiled as he closed the room door behind him, and headed directly to the room designated for the team. Ramzi greeted him when he entered the room, and Nour asked him:

Where is Salwa? ..Has she finished preparing the device you requested from her?

Ramzi said while smiling:

As for the first part of the question, she is checking on Mahmoud. As for the second part, the answer is yes.

Nour sat on a nearby seat and said:

Has there been no improvement in Mahmoud’s condition?

Ramzi said in an optimistic tone:

– Of course, he is starting to improve, and he will be able to talk to us this evening, or tomorrow at the worst.

Nour sighed in relief, then said:

– Was he able to tell you what he found in the examination room?
Ramzi shook his head in denial and said:

– no not yet .

Nour came back and asked him:

– And you ? What did you do regarding psychoanalysis?

Ramzi said while scratching his head:

– I cannot confirm the identity of the thief, but I can confirm who it is impossible to do such an act.

Nour said with interest:

– This is very useful, of course. Who could not commit this act?

Ramzi said as he picked up a paper next to him:

– Dr. (Fathi), Major (Yahya), Engineer (Abdel Moneim), (Sultan)… these cannot, under any circumstances, do that.

Nour cupped his hands under his chin in thought, then asked Ramzi:

-Are you sure of that?

Ramzi said confidently:

– Complete confidence.

Nour asked him:

-And the others?

Ramzi shrugged his shoulders and said:

– Ordinary characters. Psychological analysis of them is balanced. Any of them could commit the accident, or they could not. What is important is the presence of motive.

Nour stood up and went to Ramzi, put his hand on his shoulder, and said with a broad smile:

– I have come to love psychiatry, my dear… Now the number has been reduced to only five people instead of nine… I will try hard to convince the prosecutors and the judiciary to rely on psychological analysis in difficult cases, I promise you that.

At this moment, Salwa returned to the room, greeted Nour and Ramzi, then addressed Nour with her words:

– I have finished making the device, Commander.

Then she went to a cupboard in the corner of the room, took out a small device from it, approached Nour with it, and said:

– Exactly as you requested, this device is designed to search for metallic objects under the surface of the sea, other than rocks of course, and in its operation it is similar to the sonar device that ships use to determine the depth of the water. It emits special waves that, when they collide with the ground, return to the device, and are calculated. The time taken by the wave from its launch until its reflection can determine the depth… This is in (sonar), but this device is prepared in another way, as it releases waves that are absorbed by rocks and reflected by other metal objects.

Then she pointed to a small green screen on the side of the device, and said:

– He is equipped to make a rough drawing of the metal object he finds… a diagram of course… and if the object is radioactive, he lights this small red lamp, emitting an intermittent beep.

Salwa put the device aside and asked Nour in a curious tone:

– Don’t you intend to tell me the reason you need this device for?

Then she furrowed her eyebrows and said:

– Do you think you will find the hidden device at the bottom of the sea, Commander?

Nour smiled cheerfully and said:

– You will know soon, Salwa, very soon.

Then he turned to (Ramzi) and said:

– You will accompany me on a sea trip tomorrow, as we are accustomed to, my friend.

Early in the morning, the nuclear submarine was waiting for Nour and his companion. They quickly boarded it and set off with them into the depths of the sea. Nour was preparing the device for work when Ramzi asked him:

– Do you really think you will find the device at sea, Commander?

Nour smiled and said:

– I am looking for a huge cylindrical object, weighing more than two hundred kilograms, my dear (Ramzi).

Ramzi raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked:

– what does that mean ?

Nour said while watching the device carefully:

Everything will become clear soon, my dear. You have to be patient.

At the same moment, Salwa was wandering around the city of the depths, and she was thinking: Why does Nour refuse to tell me the purpose of the device? Perhaps he thinks that the device is at the bottom of the sea. I understand, he is afraid that his theory is incorrect; Therefore, he keeps it a secret so that we do not mock him during her failure, but this is not in Nour’s nature, and he must be…

She woke up from her thoughts when she bumped into a young man walking quickly. The young man apologized, then said cordially:

– You are engineer Salwa, from Captain Nour’s team, aren’t you?

Salwa smiled at him when she recognized his personality, and said:
– Yes, and you are the engineer (Mustafa).

Mustafa laughed and said:

– I did not imagine that my fame would reach the mainland.

Salwa asked him:

– Where are you going ?

Mustafa replied with a smile:

– To get a vacation, he wished me luck… and before he left her, he asked her again with interest:

– How is your injured friend?

Salwa smiled and said optimistically:

– It will improve, God willing. Thank you for your question.

Mustafa left her after he greeted her, and she headed to Dr. Fathi’s room. Before she knocked on the door, she heard a conversation taking place between the doctor and Major Yahya. It was not appropriate for her to listen to a conversation that did not concern her, but one word that struck her ears made her… Pay attention.. He mentioned the name (Nour), so you listened to the rest of the conversation.. The major was saying:

-Who is good at diving?

Dr. Fathi answered after thinking:

(Faraj) was one of the frogmen, as was the engineer (Mukhtar)… As for the engineer (Anwar), he has loved diving in the depths since his youth.

The major asked him again:

– Did you tell Captain Nour this information?

Dr. Fathi said:

– He never asked me about that.

Major Baraa Fakhr said:

– Well, I want to meet with the men who were working downstairs on the night the device disappeared. I want to meet with them tonight, and let Captain Nour and his comrades attend this meeting.

Dr. Fathi asked him with interest: Have you solved the puzzle?

The pride was evident in the Major’s tone when he said:

– I will reveal everything this evening.

Salwa hurried to leave her station and return to the team room. She felt angry. So Major Yahya will solve the puzzle this evening, and he will of course do so with the greatest degree of arrogance and pride. But let her do like Nour, think in his ideal way. She is confident that He would be the first to congratulate Major Yahya if he solved the puzzle. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a crash in Mahmoud’s room. She was filled with anxiety and hurried to the room and opened its door.

Before she turned on the light, she felt a man attacking her in the darkness. Salwa screamed loudly, so the man pushed her onto the bed where Mahmoud was lying, then rushed to leave the room.

Mahmoud groaned and said without opening his eyes:

– The criminal… the sparkling spot… the sea…

Then he lost consciousness again. Salwa was in a state of panic, but she quickly woke up to the echo of Mahmoud’s words, and she went to him, shaking him forcefully, and said:

– Tell me, Mahmoud, who is the criminal? He tried to kill you again. Tell me, Mahmoud, he tried to kill me, too.

Then she broke down crying…

The nuclear submarine was making its way in the depths of the sea, in a circular movement around the city of the depths, expanding with each revolution, and inside it (Ramzi) was saying to Captain (Nour):

– Three hours have passed since the beginning of the search, Nour, and this is the second thing we found, and you insist that it is not what you are looking for.

Nour said, pointing to the device that Salwa had made:

– What I am looking for does not light this small red lamp, Ramzi, nor emit this intermittent buzzing.

Qal (Ramzi):

– But you are not looking for the disappeared device, Commander, but we are looking for…..

Nour motioned for him to stop talking when the green screen on the device lit up, then an image of a huge cylindrical object quickly formed on it. Nour watched the lamp, but it did not light this time, nor did it emit the intermittent buzzing. Nour shouted a cry of victory and said:

– This is what we are looking for. I ask the submarine commander to determine the coordinates of this place, then return us to the city of the depths. I will request a meeting this evening.

8_ Analysis of Major Yahya…

When Nour and Ramzy returned to the city of depths, they found Salwa waiting for them, with worry evident on her face. Nour asked her with similar concern:

– (Salwa) What happened?

A tear fell from Salwa’s eye as she said:

– The criminal tried to get rid of (Mahmoud) again.

Ramzi asked her eagerly:

-And what did he do?

Salwa said while drying her tears with her hands:

– I entered the room before he did anything. The room was dark, so I did not recognize his features, but he pushed me and ran away… and (Mahmoud) said…..

Nour interrupted her, surprised:

– ( Mahmoud ) !! Did he talk?

Salwa shook her head in denial and said:

– Only three words, then he lost consciousness again.

Nour’s voice was filled with eagerness as he asked her:

– What did he say ? What exactly did he say?

Salwa muttered in a trembling voice:

– The criminal, the shining spot… the sea.

Nour raised his head thinking, then said:

-This is consistent with my expectations.

Then he looked at Salwa and said:

– I will request a meeting this evening, attended by Dr. Fathi, Major Yahya, and the four men who were working on the day the device disappeared.

Salwa raised her head to him in astonishment and said:

– But.. Major Yahya asked Dr. Fathi the same thing.

Nour asked her carefully:

– what do you mean ?

Salwa answered, astonishment had not left her yet:

He asked him to hold a meeting attended by the four men and us as well… in order to reveal the secret.

Ramzi opened his mouth in astonishment, and Nour smiled and said:

– Well, let’s see what he has.

On the evening of the same day, in a small hall on the second floor of the city of depths, Nour, Ramzi, and Salwa sat in the front seats, and Faraj, Sultan, the engineer, Mustafa, and the engineer, Anwar, sat behind them.

The four men were very nervous, wondering:

Why weren’t the rest of the workers downstairs called?

Dr. Fathi entered the hall, accompanied by Major Yahya. The latter stood in front of the people sitting, looking at them with a confident smile, then he gave a sarcastic look at Nour. Salwa leaned to the ear of Nour and his companions and said:

– Won’t you tell me what you know so that I can calm my nerves? This man annoys me with his style.

Nour smiled as he whispered to her:

– Patience, my dear! . Let’s listen to him.

Dr. Fathi started the conversation and said:

– Hello everyone. Major Yahya has asked me to invite you all to meet together. He confirms that he has solved the mystery of the device’s disappearance. I will leave the dialogue to him.

Major Yahya smiled with pride and confidence, and a gloating look appeared in his eyes when he looked at Nour, Ramzi, and Salwa. Then he cleared his throat and began the conversation, saying:

– Despite the seeming ambiguity of this incident, it is clear to anyone who has the ability – even a small one – of the ability to analyze and deduce.

Then he gave Nour a sarcastic look and continued:

The matter is limited to the disappearance of a device weighing one hundred kilograms, from a room that is always open on the lower floor, and its removal by one means or another from the city, without passing through the control point.. Here we find that we have two puzzles before us: How can a device of this weight be carried? How can it be taken out? It was clear that the thief was one of the workers on the lower floor, and they were the most capable workers in the city to move around freely on this floor. So I divided the puzzle into two parts.

– First, I picked up the device, after I made sure that there were only four people working on the floor on this day, (Faraj), (Sultan), the engineer (Mustafa), and the engineer (Anwar), and after I made sure that the others were in the dining room. At the same moment, I had to look for someone. They can carry the device.

– There were two people in front of me who had the muscular strength that would enable them to carry him, (Faraj) and the engineer (Anwar). The first of them was called (Hercules) by his comrades, due to his extraordinary strength, and the other was a champion in lifting weights.

The engineer (Anwar)’s face became tense, and (Faraj) smiled a sarcastic smile, and Major (Yahya) continued:

– Secondly, I should have thought about how the device was removed? The only exit in the city, other than the main exit, was the diving room used by the frogmen.

– Since both of them were good at diving and swimming underwater, I had to think: Which of them has enough time to carry the device and take it to the diving room, then swim with it to a far place and return without anyone feeling his absence?

– Since (Faraj) was working that night with (Sultan), it was difficult for him to be absent for all this time, without leaving a void that raised doubt in (Sultan’s) soul, and thus it became clear that the criminal was…

Everyone turned to where Major Yahya had pointed, to Engineer Anwar, who stood trembling, panic evident in his features, and shouted in a weak voice:

– Not me.. I swear to you.

Major Yahya shouted while pointing at him:

– I arrested you on charges of stealing a scientific device and smuggling it out of the city of depths.

The engineer (Anwar) fell into his chair, his legs unable to support him, and he muttered in horror:

– Not me, I swear to you.. I swear to all of you.

Major Yahya raised his head proudly, and turned to look at Nour with gloating, and said to him this in a calm voice that surprised Salwa and Ramzi:

– Wonderful analysis, Major.. I congratulate you.

9_ Revealing the mystery..

Salwa looked in astonishment at Nour when Major congratulated Yahya for having solved the puzzle before him. She watched with anger as the latter headed with steady steps to arrest engineer Anwar, when Nour said in the same calm voice:

But this analysis lacks a lot, Major.

The major stopped suddenly, then turned to Nour sharply and said:

-Do you have a more logical analysis, you arrogant person?

Nour smiled and said calmly and confidently:

– naturally .

The engineer (Anwar) raised his head in astonishment, and the phrase (Nour) revived hope in his heart, and (Nour) continued, saying:

– You based your conclusion on several wrong points, and this of course leads you to an incorrect conclusion. As for us, as a team, we work in a different way.

The Major smiled a sarcastic smile and said:

-What is this method, little genius?

Nour ignored the sarcastic statement and continued:

– We work using the scientific method that does not rely on conclusion alone, but rather verifies this through results and research. In this particular puzzle, we had to work in the opposite way, meaning that I did not search for someone who could do it, but rather I searched first for how to get the device out of the city. .

– I found out that the device remained here in the city until three days ago.

Major Yahya shouted in a triumphant tone:

– Wrong.. We searched the base inch by inch, and did not find any trace of him. So, whose conclusions are based on wrong points?

Nour smiled and said:

– I told you, we work scientifically, and I would not accuse an innocent person without all the evidence gathered in my hands.

Major Yahya was silent when he heard this last phrase, and Nour continued:

– You based your conclusion on the fact that the only exit to the city – with the exception of the main exit – is the diving room only, but I disagree with you on that. I also disagree with you that the man who carried the device needs strong muscles to do so. And I disagree with you again that he must be proficient. Diving..

Then, carrying a device weighing one hundred kilograms and swimming with it underwater at this depth is impossible. Because the water pressure from top to bottom will increase the weight of the device to a large degree, making it impossible to swim with this extreme weight… unless we obtain a suitable momentum sufficient to push the device, despite its weight, to a long distance, and this force is not available on the lower floor except in. …

Then he shouted, pointing at a man trying to escape:

-Stop the criminal.

Faraj jumped from his seat, rushed after the man, quickly grabbed his neck, and forced him back into the room, saying in a sarcastic tone:

– Then it is you.. What a loss!! Will you protect the city or steal it?

Major Yahya stood in astonishment, with a deep yellow expression on his face. The man’s attempt to escape was an explicit admission of his action, and another admission of the error of the conclusions he had made. Despite this, he said in a cracked voice:

– How… how did you come up with it?

Nour smiled amidst the amazement that the others did not recover from, and said:

– All the evidence pointed to him… Who could remove the device and move it far enough? Then dive in to get him after things calm down? Engineer (Mustafa), of course.

Major Yahya sat in his seat, burying his face in his hands, silently. Nour continued:

He planned the matter very carefully. On the day he was alone in the defense room, reassured of the arrival of his fellow engineer (Mukhtar), who always showed up exactly on time. He dismantled one of the nuclear torpedoes and emptied the explosive charge into a lead box to prevent the leakage of atomic radiation. Then wait for a moment when the corridor is clear, and head to the testing room. Dr. Fathi told me that the device consists of three cubes…

Since Mustafa was a smart engineer, he dismantled the device into three pieces, then moved each piece separately to his room, placed it in the place designated for the explosive charge in the torpedo, and resealed it. The engineer (Mukhtar) told me that he often deals with any target. Suspicious considering it’s an attack, and of course you shoot it with nuclear torpedoes…

He also told me that these torpedoes often fall without exploding; Therefore, it was natural for this torpedo contained in the device to be considered one of the torpedoes that did not explode.

All he then has to do is precisely determine the coordinates of the torpedo’s fall, then go to retrieve it when he gets his leave.

But when he went to move the device, some radioactive material was stuck in his shoe, leaving a mark on the floor of the testing room.

– When our colleague (Mahmoud) went to examine the room with ultraviolet rays, the radioactive materials sparkled when the rays fell on them, and (Mahmoud) was immediately alerted to the nature of this sparkling spot, and his mind had to turn to the only person who works with materials of a radioactive nature in Downstairs, and this person is none other than engineer (Mustafa).

Nour was silent for a while to swallow his saliva, and silence prevailed in the room until Nour returned and continued:

– But this scoundrel tried to get rid of (Mahmoud) by putting him in the diving room. And since the poor thing was suffering from a psychological complex from the sea, he was stunned and lost his speech despite our rescue of him, but today he succeeded in telling us about the sparkling spot..

The criminal tried to get rid of him again today, when Salwa told him that he was recovering, had it not been for the intervention of our dear colleague.

Nour gave Salwa a look of appreciation, and she lowered her face in shame. He smiled and continued:

And since we were, as I told you, working in a scientific manner, the only way to prove this matter was to find the torpedo, which was lying intact at the bottom of the sea, and did not contain materials of a radioactive nature.

– With the help of a device made by our genius colleague, we succeeded in finding the torpedo that represents the evidence of the accusation.

Salwa returned to lowering her blushing face, and the major stood up and headed with faltering steps to the engineer (Mustafa), who stood with his head bowed in humiliation, and said while placing his hand on his shoulder:

– You criminal, I arrested you on charges of stealing a scientific device from the city of the depths and smuggling it out of it.

10_ Conclusion..

Mahmoud asked Captain Nour with interest:

– What prompted the engineer (Mustafa) to steal the device?

Nour answered while eating a piece of fish that Salwa had prepared:

– The sparkle of gold, my friend, blinds weak consciences in all ages. By obtaining this device, he becomes the richest person in the world. This is what his sick mind portrayed to him.

Salwa said:

– Rather, this is how greed destroyed him.

Mahmoud grabbed Nour’s hand and said with gratitude:

– You saved my life, Commander. How can I thank you?

Nour’s face turned red with embarrassment and he said:

– Don’t worry… Thank Ramzi, he saved your mind.

Mahmoud turned to Ramzy and said with a smile of thanks:

– Indeed.. He cured me from a state of stupor, and most importantly, he saved me from the sea complex.. You are a genius, my dear psychiatrist.

Ramzi smiled and said while holding Mahmoud’s hand:

– It was a simple matter, my dear. They say in proverbs: (If the reason is known, wonder is futile), and this applies completely to psychiatry. I had to find the reason that afflicted you with sea complex, and your father told me about it… Your brother drowned. The eldest – may God have mercy on him – before your eyes, when you were in your first year..

He kept begging you for help, and you could do nothing but scream and cry. This scene was imprinted in your subconscious mind, and then your conscious mind refused to remember it, but this did not prevent it from storing it in the subconscious mind, which represents a restriction that always prevents you from diving into the sea or even swimming. .

– I had to convince you that you would not have been able to help your brother. You were learning to walk, so what about swimming and saving drowning people?

Salwa said as she presented Mahmoud with a plate of fish:

Ramzy always speaks in complicated terms, and always prevents you from tasting the meals he carefully prepares for you.

Everyone laughed, and Nour said, addressing Ramzi:

– Do not forget that you are assigned to teach (Mahmoud) how to swim and dive since early morning.

Ramzi laughed and shouted playfully:

– This was my mistake, to cure him of his complex, to teach him how to swim and dive.

Everyone laughed, and Nour turned to Salwa and said:

– You will finally enjoy a beautiful vacation, in the company of Captain (Nour), my dear (Salwa), without any hassles.

Salwa furrowed her eyebrows and smiled mischievously, saying:

– who knows ?

It was done, thank God

★★★