User:DoctorWho42/Sea Home

"Sea Home" is a short story by American author William M. Lee. It was first published in the June 1968 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Plot
Commander Cheney looks on ocean. Sea Home is slated to be a submarine city. He waits for the news conference to end. The elevator brings Pete Swain and two charges. They go to the lounge for the conference. The charges are Si Vogel and George Britt. They ask Cheney if this is the finished setup. The skeleton crew is making Sea Home ready. Britt and Vogel bicker with Cheney. Britt asks about the crew. Cheney lists Gerd Carlsen (diver), Walter Pope (diver), Jacob Kepper (electronics), Susan Craig (technician), and Dr. Timothy Saybolt who is in command. Craig offends them. Cheney defends her. They ask why he started without a news release. Cheney decided against it. He hands them pictures of the descent. Cheney invites them to talk with the crew. Cheney calls Saybolt who calls Craig. Vogel talks with Craig, but Vogel makes it weird. They ask if the voice problem was solved. Saybolt explains the issues using nitrogen and helium. Sea Home uses a helium, oxygen, and sulfur hexafluoride mixture. Cheney notices Saybolt is talking too quickly. The conference ends. Cheney interviews the crew. They're all talking too fast. Cheney calls Swain about the air. The air is okay. Cheney tells Saybolt they want physiology constants but he acts evasively. Saybolt wants Cheney to stall for time. Cheney calls J. G., an executive officer. J. G. agrees with Cheney. Cheney calls Saybolt. Saybolt tells Cheney about metabolic changes. The crew is sleeping less but working faster. Cheney reports to Admiral Minter. Minter calls Cheney to say Dr. Abel Stokes will monitor their metabolism. Stokes studies the crew. They're breathing less. Stokes interviews Saybolt but he acts strangely. A tropical storm brews. Cheney has a conference call with J. G. and Minter but Saybolt is out swimming. J. G. and Minter end Sea Home. The storm worsens. Minter orders Cheney to bring the crew up. Cheney calls Saybolt. Saybolt says the crew won't cooperate. Cheney descends to Sea Home. He finds himself in the dark, but Carlsen gives him a tour. The crew is out swimming. When they return, they explain their decision. They don't use nitrogen like they did before. They work faster and smarter now. The changes can't be reversed. Stokes injures himself. Pope and Saybolt go to the rescue, while Cheney remains. Stokes recovers with their help. Hurricane Beryl moves on and Cheney changes into something new.

Reception
In 1968, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction editor Edward L. Ferman noted it as "a strong and suspenseful account of the beginnings of a submarine city." In 1970, Analog Science Fiction and Fact's P. Schuyler Miller remarked "[Sea Home] could very well have appeared here in Analog."