Daughter of the Deep

Ester brings Ana to a secret room on the lowest level of the ship. When Ana opens the door, they find that it is Nemo’s treasury and that it holds more than enough wealth to rebuilt HP Academy. Ana tells Ester that some of the treasure is hers so she can rebuild HP without the negative influence of its board of trustees. She tells Ester, “I know you’ll make HP even better than it was” (256). Ana thinks, “absolute power can corrupt anyone. Nemo knew that. In the end, all he could do was bury himself with his sub and his riches and hope that maybe someday human nature would improve to the point where we could handle his power. And yet here we are, more than a century and a half later, still fighting over the Nautilus like it’s a prized toy in the sandbox” (257).

By dinner, everyone seems more hopeful about their prospects. Ana offers treasure to any student who wishes to leave, but everyone chooses to stay. The next day Ana celebrates her 15th birthday quietly with Ester and Nelinha. She is sad at all that has happened this last year, but she also knows it is “better to just keep moving forward” (259). The next day, Ana plays the organ again and realizes that it is a way to communicate with the Nautilus. Ester also points out that it is helping the submarine connect with or imprint on Ana.

In Ana’s most recent nightmare, she is glued to Nemo’s chair. Gem and Nelinha, who seem to be getting along now, reveal that they have discovered a new type of shielding called Leidenfrost. To get it working, however, Gem and Ana must don the old diving suits on board and go out into the open water. Out there, Ana feels badly about how poorly the Nautilus was previously treated. She thinks, “the longer I spend with the submarine, the worse I feel for her, having spent so much time alone, wounded, neglected” (268). When they turn the shields on, the sub flashes with lights and they see a large shadow rise up from the depths.

An absolutely enormous Pacific octopus grabs the Nautilus, which terrifies Ana out in the water. When the octopus squeezes the submarine, Gem remembers, “in 20,000 Leagues, the Nautilus gave a cranky squid some shock therapy to get it off the ship” (271). The students try electrifying the hull of the Nautilus, but the octopus likes electricity. Ana then realizes that the octopus, a male whom she names Romeo, is being “affectionate” with the submarine (272), so they spray him with cold water instead. After he detaches, he looks at Ana, and Ana has Ester fetch her a keytar, a musical instrument, from the submarine.

Ana believes that the Nautilus brought them to Romeo to help. She tells the other students, “I don’t think the Nautilus would have brought us here just to get us killed. I think, in her own way, she’s trying to help us” (274). With the keytar, Ana tries to communicate with Romeo by getting the Nautilus to flash colored lights. Nelinha thinks Romeo represents a big risk, but Ana and Ester like him, and Ana decides to gather the crew to explain a new plan she has.

Ana and her crew plan for all possibilities in their return to Lincoln Base, including one plan that involves Romeo. When the Nautilus is ready to set off, Ana thinks about how well everyone works together and how the crew “looks to [her] for orders” (281). As soon as they reach Lincoln Base, however, the Aronnax attacks.