Music Welcome to snoozecast. The podcast is on to help you fall asleep. Find us at snoozecast.com and if you enjoy our show, please share us with a friend. This episode is brought to you by Electric Light. Tonight we'll read the next part to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Wern. In the last episode, electricity temporarily fails on the submarine, and the captives on board are enchanted at the view of bioluminescent marine life surrounding them in the dark. Later, Captain Nemo spies something that disturbs him at a distance. In response, he apparently slips a sleeping

potion into the captive's breakfast so that they slip deeply through the disturbance.

Let's get cozy. Close your eyes. Relax your body and the solveness of your bed. Now, take a few deep breaths. Chapter 24 The Coral Kingdom The next day I woke with my head singularly clear. To my great surprise, I was in my own room. My companions no doubt had been reinstated in their cabin, without having perceived it any more than I. Of what had passed during the night, they were as ignorant I was. And to penetrate this mystery, I only reckoned upon the chances of the future I then thought of quitting my room. Was I free again or a prisoner? Quite free. I opened the door, went to the half deck, went up the central stairs. The panels shut the evening before we're open. I went on to the platform. Nedland and Konsei waited there for me. I questioned them. They knew nothing. Lost in a heavy sleep in which they had been totally unconscious. They had been astonished at finding themselves in their cabin. As for the notheless, it seemed quiet and mysterious as ever. It floated on the surface of the waves at a moderate pace.

Nothing seemed changed on board. The next morning, I went onto the bridge. Captain Nima was there before me. As soon as he perceived me, he came to me. Professor, will it be convenient to you to make a submarine excursion today? With my companions, I asked. If they like, we obey your orders, Captain. Will you be so good then as to put on your quirk jackets? I rejoined Ned Land and Konsei and told them of Captain Nemo's proposition. Konsei hastened to accept it, and this time the Canadian seemed quite willing to follow our example. It was 8 o'clock in the morning, and half past 8 we were equipped for this new excursion and provided with two contrivances for light and breathing. The double door was open and accompanied by Captain Nemo, who was followed by a dozen of the crew, we set foot at a depth of about thirty feet on the solid bottom, on which the Nautilus rasted. A slight declivity ended in an uneven bottom at fifteen fathom's depth. This bottom differed entirely from the one I had visited on my first excursion under the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Here there was no fine sand, no submarine prairies, no sea forest. I immediately recognized that marvelous region in which on that day, the captain did the honors to us. It was the choral kingdom. The light produced a thousand charming varieties, playing in the midst of the branches that were so vividly colored. I seemed to see the membranius and cylindrical tubes tremble beneath the undulation of the waters. I was tempted to gather their fresh petals, ornamented with delicate tentacles, some just blown, the others budding, while a small fish, swimming swiftly, touched them slightly, like flights of birds. But if my hand approached these living flowers, these animated sensitive plants, the whole colony took alarm. The white petals reinterred their red cases. The flowers faded as I looked, and the bush changed into a block of stony knobs. Chants had thrown me just by the most precious specimens of the zoon fight. This coral was more valuable than that found in the Mediterranean, on the coasts of France, Italy, and Barbary. Coral is sold for 20 pounds per ounce, and in this place the watery beds would make the fortunes of a company of coral divers. This precious matter often confused with other polypye and on which I noticed several beautiful specimens of pink coral, but soon the bushes contract and the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the light of the The light from our lamps produced sometimes magical effects, following the rough outlines of the natural arches and pendants disposed like lusters that were tipped with points of fire. At last, after walking two hours, we had attained a depth of about 300 yards, that is to say, the extreme limit on which coral begins to form. But there was no isolated bush, nor modest brushwood at the bottom of lofty trees. It was an immense forest of large mineral vegetation, enormous petrified trees, united by garlands of elegant sea-bind weed, all adorned with clouds and reflections. We passed freely under their high branches, lost in the shade of the waves. We occupied in this place, the center of a vast glade surrounded by the lofty foliage of the submarine forest. Our lamps through over this place is sort of clear twilight that singularly elongated the shadows on the ground, and the end of the glade, the darkness increased, and was only relieved by little sparks reflected by the points of coral. Part 2 Chapter 1 The Indian Ocean We now come to the second part of our journey under the sea. That worthy fellow con say persisted in seeing in the commander of the Nalists one of those unknown savants who return mankind contempt for indifference. For him, he was a misunderstood genius who tired of earth's deceptions, a taken refuge in this inaccessible medium, where he might follow his instincts freely. To my mind, this explains but one side of Captain Nemo's character. Indeed, the mystery of that last night during which we had been chained in prison, the sleep and the precaution so taken by the captain of snatching from my eyes the glass I had raised to sweep the horizon. All put me on a new track. No. Captain Nemo was not satisfied with shunning man. His formidable apparatus not only sued it as instinct of freedom, but perhaps also the design of some retaliation. At this moment nothing is clear to me. I catch but a glimpse of light amidst all the darkness, and I must confine myself to writing as event shall dictate. day, the 24th of January, 1868, at noon, the second officer came to take the altitude of the sun. I mounted the platform, lit a cigar, and watched the operation. It seemed to me that the man did not understand French. For several times, I made remarks in a loud voice, which must have drawn from him some involuntary sign of attention if he had understood them, but he remained undisturbed and dumb. As he He was taking observations with the sextant, one of the sailors of the Nautilus, the strong man who had accompanied us on our first submarine excursion to the island of Crespo, came to clean the glasses of the lantern. I examined the fittings of the apparatus. the strength of which was increased a hundred fold by lenticular rings placed similar to those in a lighthouse, and which projected their brilliance in a horizontal plane. The electric lamp was combined in such a way as to give its most powerful light. Indeed, it was produced in a vacuo, which ensured both its steadiness and its intensity. This vacuum economized the graphite points between which the luminous arc was developed, an important point of economy for Captain Nemo, who could not easily have replaced them. And under these conditions, their waste was imperceptible. When the Nautilus was ready to continue its submarine journey, I went down to the saloon. The panel was closed, and the course marked direct west. We were furrowing the waters of the Indian Ocean, a vast liquid plane, with a surface of 100,200,200,000,000 of acres, and whose waters are so clear and transparent that anyone leaning over them would turn giddy. The novelists usually floated between 50 and 100 fathoms deep. We went on so for some days to anyone but myself,

what a great love for the sea that hours would have seemed long and monotonous,

but the daily walks on the platform when I steeped myself in the reviving air of the ocean,

the sight of the rich waters through the windows of the saloon, the books in the library, the compiling of my memoirs, took up all my time and left me not a moment of on-wee or weariness. For some days we saw a great number of aquatic birds, sea mues, or goals. Some were cleverly killed and prepared in a certain way, made very acceptable water game. Amongst large, winged birds carried a long distance from all lands, and resting upon the waves from the fatigue of their flight. I saw some magnificent albatrosses, uttering discordant cries like the braying of an ass and birds belonging to the family of the long wings. As to the fish, they always provoked our admiration when we surprised the secrets of their aquatic life through the open panels. I saw many kinds which I never before had a chance of observing. I shall notice chiefly, ostrations peculiar to the red sea, the Indian ocean, and that part which washes the coast of tropical America. These fishes, like the tortoise, the armadillo, the sea hedgehog, and the crustacea are protected by a breastplate which is neither chalky nor stony, but real bone. In sum it takes the form of a solid triangle, in others of a solid quadrangle. Amongst the triangular, I saw some an inch and a half in length, with wholesome flesh and delicious flavor. are brown brown at the tail and yellow at the fins, and I recommend their introduction and a fresh water, to which a certain number of sea fish easily accustomed themselves. I would also mention quadringular ostrations having on the back four large tubercles. Some dotted over with white spots

on the lower part of the body, and which may be teamed like birds. Trigons provided with spikes formed by the lengthening of their bony shell, and which, from their strange gruntings, are called called sea pigs.

Also dramataries with large humps in the shape of a cone, whose flesh is very tough and leathery. I now borrow from the daily notes of Master Conce. Certain fish of the genus Petrodon peculiar to those seas with red backs and white chests, which are distinguished by three rows of longitudinal filaments and some electrical, seven inches long, decked in the liveliest colors, then as specimens of other kinds. Some avoids resembling an egg of a dark brown color marked with white bands and without tails. Diodons, real seaporky pines, furnished with spikes, and capable of swelling in such a way as to look like cushions bristling with darts. Hip-o camp-i, common-dairy ocean, some pegassi, with lengthened snouts, with their pectoral fins being much elongated and formed in the shape of wings, allow if not to fly at least to shoot into the air. Pigeon spatule, with tails covered with many rings of shell. Macronathy, with long jaws, an excellent fish, nine inches long, and bright with most Degreable Colors, Pale Colored Caliomorees with Rugged He plenty of chapeodons with long and tubular mussels which eat insects by shooting them as from an air gun with a single drop of water. These we may call the fly catchers of the seas. In the 89th genus of fishes, clashed by Laceapead, belonging to the second lower class of Bony, characterized by overcules and bronchial membranes, I remarked the scorpina, the head of which is furnished with spikes, and which has but one dorsal fin. These creatures are covered or not with little shells, according to the subclass to which they belong. The second subclass gives us specimens of of didacticals 14 15 inches in length with the yellow rays and heads of a most fantastic appearance. As to the first subclass, it gives several specimens of that singular looking fish appropriately called a seafrog, with large head, sometimes pierced with holes, sometimes swollen with

protuberances, pristling with spikes, and covered with tubercles. From the 21st to the 23rd of January, the Nautilus went at the rate of 250 leaks in 24 hours, being 540 miles or 22 miles an hour.

If we recognize recognized so many different varieties of fish, it was because, attracted by the electric light, they tried to follow us. The greater part, however, were soon distanced by our speed. Though some kept their place in the waters of the Nautilus for a time. The morning of the 24th and 12 degrees, five minutes south latitude, and 94 degrees, 33 minutes longitude, we observed Keeling Island, a coral formation planted with magnificent cocos, and which had been visited by Mr. Darwin and Captain Fitzroy. The novelists skirted the shores of this desert island for a little distance. Its nets brought up numerous specimens of polypye and curious shells of Malska. Some precious productions of the species of Delphinolai enriched the treasures of Captain Nemo, to which I added an Astrea, Pancifura, a kind of parasite polypus often found found fixed to a shell. Soon Killing Island disappeared from their horizon, and our course was directed to the northwest in the direction of the Indian Peninsula. From Killing Island, our course was slower and more variable, often taking us into great depths. Several times they made use of the inclined plains, which certain internal levers placed obliquely to the waterline. that way. We went about two miles, but without ever obtaining the greatest depths of the Indian Sea, which sounding of 7,000 fathoms have never reached, as to the temperature of the lower strata, the thermometer invariably indicated four degrees above zero. I only observed that in the upper regions the water was always colder in the high levels than at the surface of the sea. On the 25th of January, the ocean was entirely deserted. The nautilus passed the day on the surface, beating the waves with its powerful screw and making them rebound to a great height. Who under such circumstances would not have taken it for a gigantic citation. Three parts of this day I spent on the platform. I watched the sea. Nothing on the horizon till about four o'clock a steamer running west on our counter. Her masts were visible for an instant, but she could not see the nautilus being too low in the water. I fancy this steamboat belonged to the PO company, which runs from Sae Lawn to Sydney, touching at King George's point and Melbourne. At five o'clock in the evening, before that fleeting twilight which binds night to day in tropical zones, Consay and I I were astonished by a curious spectacle. It was a shell of argonauts traveling along on the surface of the ocean. We could count several hundreds. They belonged to the tubercle kind which are peculiar to the Indian seas. These graceful mollusks moved backwards by means of their locomotive tube through which they propelled the water already drawn in. Of their eight tentacles, six were elongated and stretched out floating on the water. Whilst the other two rolled up flat, were spread to the wing like a light sail. I saw their spiral shaped and fluted shells, which Kuvir justly compares to an elegant skiff, a boat indeed. It bears the creature, which secreets it without its adhering to it. For nearly an hour, the nautilus floated in the midst of this sh of mollusks. Then I know not what sudden fright they took. But as if at a signal every sail was furl, the arms folded, the body drawn in, the shells turned over, changing their center of gravity, and the whole fleet disappeared under the waves. Never did the ships of a squadron maneuver with more unity. At that moment, night fell suddenly, and the reeds scarcely raised by the breeze lay peaceably under the signs of the non-alice. The next day, 26th of January, we cut the equator at the 82nd Meridian and interred the northern hemisphere. During the day a formidable troop of sharks accompanied us about seven o'clock in the evening on the 27th of January, the Nautilus, half immersed, was sailing in a sea of milk. At first sight, the ocean seemed lactified. Was it the effect of the lunar rays? No. For the moon, scarcely two days old, was still lying hidden under the horizon in the rays of the sun. The whole sky, though lit by the side-wheel rays, seemed black by contrast with the whiteness of the waters. Conceigh could not believe his eyes, and question me as to the cause of this strange phenomenon. Happily,

I was able to answer him. It's called a milk sea. I explained, a large extent of white wafelets often to be seen on the coasts of Amboaemia and in these parts of the sea. But, sir," said Kancei, can you tell me what causes such an effect? Or I suppose the water is not really turned into milk? No. And the whiteness which surprises you is caused only by the presence of myriads, of infusoria, a sort of luminous little worm, gelatinous, and without color of the thickness of a hair, and whose length is not more than 7,000ths of an inch. These insects adhere to one another, sometimes for several leagues. Several leagues. Exclaimed Concei. Yes, my boy, and you need not try to compute the number of these in Fusoria. You will not be able, for if I am not mistaken, ships have floated on these milk seas for more than forty miles. Towards midnight, the sea suddenly resumed its usual color, but behind us, even to the limits of the horizon, the sky reflected the whiteened waves, and for a long time seemed impregnated with the vague glimmerings of an aurora borealis. Chapter 2 A novel proposal of Captain Nemo's. On the 28th of February, when at noon, the Nautilus came to the surface of the sea. In nine degrees, four minutes north latitude, there was land and sight about eight miles to westward. The first thing I noticed was a range of mountains, about 2,000 feet high, the shapes of which were most capricious. Taking the bearings. I knew that we were nearing the island of Saint-Lan, the pearl which hangs from the lobe of the Indian Peninsula. Captain Nemo and his second appeared at this moment,

the captain glanced at the map, interning to me. you you you