THE SECRET SEA
The arrival of Karl and his men stops
AN UNFILMED ARK II STORY
by Russell Bates
The following story was sold to
Filmation, but for whatever reason
was never produced. Russell Bates,
the writer of this story, has kindly
condensed the script into a story
outline for your reading. Note: the
photos illustrating this story come
from other episodes, as it would be
impossible to produce pictures from
an unfilmed story. They are here
simply to help illustrate the action.
Enjoy!
TEASER
The ARK II is on a coastal beach
where the Arkonauts are investigating
the comeback of sea life in a small
area. RUTH and ADAM are working
with lab equipment on the sand,
examining specimens kept alive in
aquarium-like flasks. JONAH and
SAMUEL are out scuba diving and
collecting, keeping in touch via wet-
suit teleradio. Briefly, we HEAR this
area is almost pollution-free,
apparently due to an underground
exchange with fresh water from the
land; hence the return of sea life in the
area. Suddenly, a spear thumps into
the sand in front of Ruth and Adam.
To their dismay, an angry group of
coastal cave dwellers has slipped up
on them and cut them off from the
ARK II. Ruth quickly calls to Jonah
and Samuel for help, but she and
Adam seem trapped as the men
advance, spears at the ready.
ACT TWO
the attack cold. Loud threats are
exchanged. But before anything else
happens, the Ark Roamer arrives; the
sight of it and its occupants definitely
halts all hostilities.
The attackers' leader, RAYMOND,
signals for a truce and comes alone
into the village. There he angrily tells
that people in his village are falling ill,
just like Karl's people. "You are to
blame for spreading the fever! If it
grows any worse, we will be back to
exact a terrible revenge!" Raymond
and his people leave.
Ruth begins treating the sick and
Samuel runs tests on the food and
water. Jonah again tries to explain to
Karl the true cause of the sickness.
Finally, Karl understands. "If this is
so," he says, "then it is true. We only
wanted to share with others, to avert
war. But all we did was to spread the
sickness and bring war. Now we must
go hungry and prepare to be attacked."
Jonah says that they were doing right
and there was no way they could have
known it could go wrong. Karl says
no, this sickness came before, not

ACT ONE
Just as the men are closing in, Jonah
and Samuel emerge from the surf.
The cave dwellers spot them and shout
fearfully, "Sea spirits!" The two in
wetsuits and headgear resemble just
that: dark things that have risen from
the sea. Scared witless, the cave
dwellers flee for the cliffs. But one
young man falls over a rock, knocks
himself unconscious, and is left
behind.
Jonah and Samuel are relieved to find
Ruth and Adam unhurt. They quickly
go to the unconscious boy, afraid he
may be seriously injured. But he
revives quickly enough under Ruth's
ministrations. He is frightened all over
again at Jonah and Samuel. But this
hurriedly turns to amazement as the
'sea spirits' remove their headgear and
reveal themselves to be young men
like himself.
The boy's name is ARGENT, which
Samuel translates as 'silver', like the
boy's hair color. Ruth says that they
weren't doing anyone harm and asks
Argent why they were attacked.
Argent replies that this part of the sea
is his village's main food supply and
nearly as severe and so it was ignored
as an inconvenient part of life. There
is but one thing to do. His people have
a secret place, a miniature sea where a
spirit dwells. In times past, when the
ocean harvest was good, young men
were sent with a part of the harvest as
a living offering of thanks to the spirit
in the secret sea. Now it must be done
again, this time to ask that sickness be
sent away and thus a war be
prevented.
Jonah scoffs at such an outlandish
superstition, but Samuel cautions that
such beliefs often have some basis in
fact. Maybe they'd better find out
before criticizing. Jonah agrees, then
asks if he and Samuel might go with
the young men to the secret sea. At
first, Karl refuses; only his people ever
have gone there. Jonah then volunteers
the ARK II's animal specimens in
exchange for being allowed to go;
after all, valuable time would be taken
up trying to catch the offering and our
specimens already are caught. Karl
hesitates, but with hunger and more
illness and a war threatening, he
agrees.
A quick trip back to the ARK II and
then the party of young men, headed
his people were angry that strangers
seemed to be stealing from it. As well,
it is the one way his people maintain
peace with other villages, by trading
and sharing the food that is here.
Jonah reassures him that they only
want to study the animals, intending to
release them later. Besides, the ARK II
makes the food they require.
Just then, the cave dwellers return,
intent upon rescuing Argent and
driving the strangers away. Their
boldness partly is due to seeing that
the 'spirits' only are people like
themselves. But Argent stops them and
says the strangers are friends, that they
are not there to steal the food. The
leader, KARL, is suspicious but he
trusts Argent's word. Samuel shows
the men that the specimens indeed are
unharmed; he points to an ugly and
unlikely sea animal and asks if it is
used for food. At Karl's nod, Samuel
says, "Yik! Who'd want to eat that?"
Abruptly, one of Karl's men cries out
and falls to his knees, painfully ill.
Ruth quickly examines him, then says
it looks like symptoms of poisoning.
Argent explains that others of his
people are sick the very same way.
Karl says that he fears some kind of
fever is breaking out.
up by Argent, is ready to depart. Jonah
and Samuel carry packs with their
scuba gear inside; the aquarium-like
flasks are slung from poles and carried
on shoulders. Ruth sees them off a
little wistfully. But she and Adam are
more than busy treating the sick cave
dwellers.
The trip is arduous and dangerous; a
wild animal has to be scared off with a
bright light gun. At last, they reach the
place. It appears only to be a fair-sized
natural lake, with a fresh-water stream
emptying into one end. But Samuel
tests the water and declares it is salty.
This must be the other end of the
underground water exchange we found
on the coast! Tides draw out fresh
water here and replace it with salt
water. Argent and the others start the
offering ceremony. A sudden
inspiration strikes Jonah. If this has
gone on for years, he says, then
maybe, just maybe...
Jonah stops Argent and tells Samuel to
break out the scuba gear. As they
begin changing into their diving suits,
Argent is aghast: You can't go down
there! The spirit...! But Jonah reminds
him that the Cave Dwellers mistook
wet-suited men for spirits; maybe
they're just as mistaken about
something down in the secret sea.
Argent is doubtful but allows them to
continue.
Once underwater, Jonah and Samuel
find an almost unbelievable world,
teeming with fish, snails and slugs,
polyps and sea anemones, shellfish,
crabs and lobsters. A true sea in
miniature. Then they spot something
 else: a large, dark, vaguely human
shape seen hazily in the murky
distance: mysterious, scary, covered
with sea moss that waves in the
currents.

They cautiously go closer and

discover that it is the coral-encrusted
metal statue of a woman with arms
outstretched. Some sea spirit, Samuel
says over wet-suit teleradio. He hands
Doubtful, Ruth takes the man to the
Jonah a camera, moves up to pose
ARK II for treatment. Karl carefully
with the statue, and Jonah shoots a few
scrutinizes Ruth's bedside manner,
photos with underwater flash.
which she shruggingly accepts. Jonah
and Samuel change into their safe-
Back at the village, Jonah shows the
wear. Adam in the meantime dutifully
photos to Karl and the others, proving
has continued to run Ruth's
it only is a statue and not a spirit. But,
experiments and analyses, watched
he adds, it still is important; its rusting
curiously by Argent and the other cave
bronze puts just enough copper in the
dwellers. Outside again, Ruth shows
water to keep the secret sea free of
the others that the sick man almost is
poisonous plankton. The seafood there
fully recovered. He indeed was
is safe to eat. Karl's people unwittingly
poisoned and though she couldn't
have stocked a food supply there that
identify the agent, obviously her
can be tapped, in fact even shared,
treatment worked. Karl is impressed
when animals in the sea are unsafe to
and asks if the Arkonauts might return
eat. Karl is stunned, but the photos are
with them to the village to help the
undeniable, especially the one with
others. Jonah readily agrees; that's one
Samuel upside down in the statue's
of the reasons the ARK II has come
arms, sticking out his tongue at the
here.
viewer. Karl breaks into a smile and
says, "My people and those in other
Ruth checks Adam's work and is
settlements need not fear hunger or
alarmed when she reads the printouts
sickness or war for a long time to
from the analyzers. It's in their food
come!"
supply, she says. Not pollution, but
some kind of natural poison. Samuel
He thanks the Arkonauts but Jonah
remembers from history that this
tells him that all the team did was to
coastal area once was quarantined in
share their knowledge. The greatest
warm weather because certain
part of this already existed: the
plankton were poisonous and made the
willingness of Karl's people to share
fish and shellfish dangerous to eat.
with others. You can't live without
Jonah tries to explain to Karl and
sharing, Jonah says. I guess that's what
Argent that it is the seafood, not fever,
that is making their people sick. But
just then a runner comes down the hill
and tells the cave dwellers that the
village is about to be attacked.
Alarmed, Karl orders his men back to
the village. Jonah and Samuel break
out the Roamer, Ruth and Adam load
some equipment, and the four head the
Roamer down the beach to follow the
men.
At the settlement, we SEE that several
men stand on the cliff above the caves,
shouting, waving fists and spears,
making noises with bull-roarers, and
threatening to rain rocks down on
Karl's people. Some of the cave
dwellers run about, confused and
afraid. Others stand over the ones who
are sick, trying to protect them. It is
obvious that an attack now entirely
would be successful and, at just that
moment, the attackers start down
toward the settlement.
life is all about.
Arrangements are made to treat sick
people in the other villages. It is a
tired crew of Arkonauts that finally
returns to the ARK II. They stow away
their gear and otherwise prepare to
move on. Samuel says that this gives
him more hope for the future. then
asks why it took mankind so long to
learn such an easy lesson. Jonah only
shrugs and replies they should be
thankful that it ever was learned at all.
Ruth agrees with Jonah and then steps
to the door of the ARK II. As she
opens it, Adam suddenly jumps into
the doorway wearing a wet-suit shirt
and a diving mask, startling her.
Samuel says, "Oh, no! It's the sea
spirit!" As they laugh and continue to
put away their equipment, we
HEAR...
VOICE OVER (Jonah)
ARK II...Log Entry One Hundred
Sixteen. Time...seventeen hundred
hours. Today brought our mission
right home to us. Sharing what you
have with others is one of the most
human of qualities. Without it, you
lose something that is not easily
replaced. And with the world as it is,
we cannot afford that...
No part of this story outline may be
reproduced in any form without
written consent from Russell Bates.