I'm breaking so many of my own rules by posting this account on an online forum under an alias.

In my long, and, dare I say it, distinguished career as a freelance investigative journalist,

I have never taken such an action, nor have I ever published a story without first checking

and double-checking my information.

In actual fact, I only have one source for the majority of the stories I plan to recount.

One man who was branded a maverick and lunatic by the authorities.

The people in power who were so eager to silence him.

I'll confess that I was very cynical when I first heard the old Seaman's outlandish tales. I've never been a believer in the supernatural world and have based all my beliefs on hard scientific facts, but recent events have changed my mind, and my source is a man I've grown to trust.

Even so, I wish I had the opportunity to further investigate the claims made and obtain

conclusive evidence, but alas, I fear my time is limited.

The government may come after me.

Certainly, they have the incentive to silence me. Still, during my

career, I face down many petty bureaucrats, secret policemen, and tin-pot dictators. Governments

don't scare me anymore, but what lies beneath the deep blue sea certainly does. I'm sure you're

all familiar with fallosophobia. That is,

the persistent and intense fear of deep bodies of water. This was never a phobia that affected

me to any great degree. In times past, my rational mind would have written such fears off

as an evolutionary response or a result of watching so many killer shark

movies.

I never would have dreamt that our oceans were home to so many dark secrets and evils

almost beyond human comprehension.

Some say ignorance is bliss, but this was never a philosophy I adhered to.

...