Or: a beach made of shells and Robinson’s dream. The Prof arrives and this poetic atmosphere ends. We return to the Wall... as dumb as a Wall. Four conclusive tests. So much bitterness inside.
February 18th
This morning I got up early, I couldn’t stand the Prof’s terrible noises anymore, so I went for a walk around the island, wandering along the beach. Yesterday’s rough sea had calmed down, and now we can see what the waves have deposited on the beach. All around there were many beautiful shells; together with the putrescent bladders of hundreds of medusae which lay empty after being thrown by the sea onto the dry land. Now their shrunken filaments are no longer frightening. (These sea creatures appear to be harmless and look quite nice as they hover in the water like a caravel with their big sail; but actually, their long filaments, sometimes a few metres long, are dangerous to man because they can deliver a sharp sting and cause severe bruising).
I started collecting a few shells to take home, as a reminder of such a wonderful country; these are the humble things that make your life a happy one. I walked and walked, looking for something even more beautiful, something new, but in my heart I felt that all I would find was a beach crowded with people just like me, all looking for shells. I frequently glanced around to see if anyone had followed my example. I walked happy and free, accompanied only by the gentle noise of the sea which was now calm compared to the previous day.
It was in those moments that I hoped this island of dreams would disappear from the eyes of others so I could live there alone. My God, I must admit that I would have liked to stay there! Leave without me my friends, return to Italy and say that you lost me.
I feel that I cannot go back. I have to enjoy this freedom and happiness for as long as I can; I have to be fully involved in this new exciting experience. I start talking to myself, telling the imaginary people to go away, I don't know who you are, I don't know you, and you are trouble. I undress, I am alone, only the rising sun and me… what a marvellous spectacle! A world with nobody in it. I can't hear a sound, no cars, nothing at all; every single thing in this mechanical and programmed life seems to have disappeared; today the world is different! I feel as if I am a part of the Universe and I feel a sense of immensity. A shiver runs through my spine, and my eyes are full of tears; I realize that this is all about to end, I know that I have to leave, and I start singing out loud. For miles and miles the beach is a desert, empty, I feel like a God! And you Sun! You and I are Gods! The sea seems to be ashamed of my swearing and keeps on receding. The beach has become wider, now.
Hi Prof, here I am, good morning. I woke up and didn’t want to stay in bed, so I came here. Shall we go? Yes, let’s go to the boat. Let’s have breakfast before leaving; I feel empty, I am weak, I am hungry. Have you seen all these shells Prof? Yes, I did, he says, I’ll look for some tonight, when we come back. Yes, of course, I answer: every time the sea withdraws you see death on the beach, but you must know how to read it, I say. Today we need to take advantage of the calm sea conditions and do a lot of research in order to establish the true importance of the Wall he says. Yes, I answer, you are right. You need to keep trying. I will go down too and put the bottle directly above the Wall, so that you can establish exactly and without any doubt, what it is. During this conversation we have eaten. We head towards the boat. It’s nine o’clock on 18th February. Today I feel that the Prof and I are in perfect harmony and friendship. We see the same things and agree about everything, therefore we establish a sort of timetable to follow, the details of which will be discussed later together with Maiorca. Everything is all right, so we go. We slowly depart from the pier on “Passagemaker”. On board, besides the Prof and me, we find Maiorca, Camilli, Sironi and Mangiali. We are now out of the harbour, and suddenly we see four dolphins line up by the bow of our ship and swim with us. Cries of joy and amazement from all of us. I take lots of photographs of them. The Kuk drops anchor above the Wall. What patience this man has! The organisers of the expedition must pay him very well because he is able to ignore everything; especially the mess that reigns all around him on his boat, which, under normal conditions, would be sufficient for him to tell us all to bugger off. This Kuk must either be a very crafty person who plans to buy a new boat with all the money we crazy people pay him, or he is a man who should have been a monk because of his strange cold patience that he shows. We fetch our instruments from their hideaway (how many times we have picked up these suitcases!) and we attach the battery leads to the instruments in order to make the "Judge of Truth" work. This should be the decisive test. The Prof, together with Maiorca, organise how they are going to work underwater. Then Enzo puts on his diving gear and plunges into the sea. I pass the bottle sensor to him, and he swims off to the stern of the boat, following the direction of the Wall. When he is far enough away from the boat, so as not to influence the magnetic needle of the instrument, we signal him to dive and to start on task number 1. The pen starts to draw a clear straight line. The Prof and I look at each other. We know that at this moment Enzo is placing the bottle sensor above the Wall. Then, a few moments later, he surfaces to await further instructions. The Prof tells him to move on to task number 2. I wave to Maiorca, and he dives again and does as he is asked, which is to move the sensor to the left of the Wall. Meanwhile we keep watching, but in dismay, as the pen doesn’t register anything, it continues to trace a straight red line. We follow the same procedure as the sensor is moved to the right of the Wall, and we get the same result. Nothing. The readings are no different between the Wall and the sand in its immediate proximities. There are no anomalies, “no hand of man” in evidence. The Prof asks Enzo to go twenty metres further away and pass on to task number 4. Enzo completes the measurements of the Wall at three points, like the previous time, but we still don't get any result. We spend ages taking measurements, and then Enzo runs out of air and has to come back. I now get ready to go down to take measurements from the bow side. But it will be pointless, of course, because we won’t get any results. From the sea, I look at the Prof who is waving to me and saying no. He is rubbing his beard with his hand. We are defeated.
I recover the sixty meters of cable from the sea, and then hand the Prof the bottle sensor and climb back onto the boat. That’s it. I feel a strange bitterness inside me, because I am unable to understand the phenomenon. We start afresh to discuss with Maiorca, and we both listen to the Prof’s theories. He says that it would be useful to take a piece of rock from the Wall and take it to the University to be analysed in one of their laboratories. But unfortunately we don't have any equipment to do this. Therefore we have to abandon this tempting idea. Gentlemen, everything remains as it was before we came.
We are disconsolate because we have to say goodbye to the possibility of being able to give a definitive explanation about the phenomenon of the Wall (at least for now). Mr Cousteau sailed the same waters for some time, and came to the same conclusion. We, unlike him, have an ultra-modern perfect instrument, which is accurate, at least as far as science currently understands. We had pinned our hopes on this instrument and therefore we were sure we had done anything possible on 18th February 1977. So that’s that.
We have something to eat and then, because the sea is still calm, we do some fishing.
I lie down in the sun. At least, the trip will be useful for something. By 4 pm we are already back and berthed at the pier. The Prof and I say goodbye to those who remain on the boat, and we desolately walk towards the hotel. Has someone thought about committing suicide? I don't know. Now there is one thing that is really important us, and that is that we two, unlike the others on the expedition, can have a super shower, sprawl on a sofa, and then forget the unhappy story of this foolish day.
That’s all.
February 18th
This morning I got up early, I couldn’t stand the Prof’s terrible noises anymore, so I went for a walk around the island, wandering along the beach. Yesterday’s rough sea had calmed down, and now we can see what the waves have deposited on the beach. All around there were many beautiful shells; together with the putrescent bladders of hundreds of medusae which lay empty after being thrown by the sea onto the dry land. Now their shrunken filaments are no longer frightening. (These sea creatures appear to be harmless and look quite nice as they hover in the water like a caravel with their big sail; but actually, their long filaments, sometimes a few metres long, are dangerous to man because they can deliver a sharp sting and cause severe bruising).
I started collecting a few shells to take home, as a reminder of such a wonderful country; these are the humble things that make your life a happy one. I walked and walked, looking for something even more beautiful, something new, but in my heart I felt that all I would find was a beach crowded with people just like me, all looking for shells. I frequently glanced around to see if anyone had followed my example. I walked happy and free, accompanied only by the gentle noise of the sea which was now calm compared to the previous day.
It was in those moments that I hoped this island of dreams would disappear from the eyes of others so I could live there alone. My God, I must admit that I would have liked to stay there! Leave without me my friends, return to Italy and say that you lost me.
I feel that I cannot go back. I have to enjoy this freedom and happiness for as long as I can; I have to be fully involved in this new exciting experience. I start talking to myself, telling the imaginary people to go away, I don't know who you are, I don't know you, and you are trouble. I undress, I am alone, only the rising sun and me… what a marvellous spectacle! A world with nobody in it. I can't hear a sound, no cars, nothing at all; every single thing in this mechanical and programmed life seems to have disappeared; today the world is different! I feel as if I am a part of the Universe and I feel a sense of immensity. A shiver runs through my spine, and my eyes are full of tears; I realize that this is all about to end, I know that I have to leave, and I start singing out loud. For miles and miles the beach is a desert, empty, I feel like a God! And you Sun! You and I are Gods! The sea seems to be ashamed of my swearing and keeps on receding. The beach has become wider, now.
Hi Prof, here I am, good morning. I woke up and didn’t want to stay in bed, so I came here. Shall we go? Yes, let’s go to the boat. Let’s have breakfast before leaving; I feel empty, I am weak, I am hungry. Have you seen all these shells Prof? Yes, I did, he says, I’ll look for some tonight, when we come back. Yes, of course, I answer: every time the sea withdraws you see death on the beach, but you must know how to read it, I say. Today we need to take advantage of the calm sea conditions and do a lot of research in order to establish the true importance of the Wall he says. Yes, I answer, you are right. You need to keep trying. I will go down too and put the bottle directly above the Wall, so that you can establish exactly and without any doubt, what it is. During this conversation we have eaten. We head towards the boat. It’s nine o’clock on 18th February. Today I feel that the Prof and I are in perfect harmony and friendship. We see the same things and agree about everything, therefore we establish a sort of timetable to follow, the details of which will be discussed later together with Maiorca. Everything is all right, so we go. We slowly depart from the pier on “Passagemaker”. On board, besides the Prof and me, we find Maiorca, Camilli, Sironi and Mangiali. We are now out of the harbour, and suddenly we see four dolphins line up by the bow of our ship and swim with us. Cries of joy and amazement from all of us. I take lots of photographs of them. The Kuk drops anchor above the Wall. What patience this man has! The organisers of the expedition must pay him very well because he is able to ignore everything; especially the mess that reigns all around him on his boat, which, under normal conditions, would be sufficient for him to tell us all to bugger off. This Kuk must either be a very crafty person who plans to buy a new boat with all the money we crazy people pay him, or he is a man who should have been a monk because of his strange cold patience that he shows. We fetch our instruments from their hideaway (how many times we have picked up these suitcases!) and we attach the battery leads to the instruments in order to make the "Judge of Truth" work. This should be the decisive test. The Prof, together with Maiorca, organise how they are going to work underwater. Then Enzo puts on his diving gear and plunges into the sea. I pass the bottle sensor to him, and he swims off to the stern of the boat, following the direction of the Wall. When he is far enough away from the boat, so as not to influence the magnetic needle of the instrument, we signal him to dive and to start on task number 1. The pen starts to draw a clear straight line. The Prof and I look at each other. We know that at this moment Enzo is placing the bottle sensor above the Wall. Then, a few moments later, he surfaces to await further instructions. The Prof tells him to move on to task number 2. I wave to Maiorca, and he dives again and does as he is asked, which is to move the sensor to the left of the Wall. Meanwhile we keep watching, but in dismay, as the pen doesn’t register anything, it continues to trace a straight red line. We follow the same procedure as the sensor is moved to the right of the Wall, and we get the same result. Nothing. The readings are no different between the Wall and the sand in its immediate proximities. There are no anomalies, “no hand of man” in evidence. The Prof asks Enzo to go twenty metres further away and pass on to task number 4. Enzo completes the measurements of the Wall at three points, like the previous time, but we still don't get any result. We spend ages taking measurements, and then Enzo runs out of air and has to come back. I now get ready to go down to take measurements from the bow side. But it will be pointless, of course, because we won’t get any results. From the sea, I look at the Prof who is waving to me and saying no. He is rubbing his beard with his hand. We are defeated.
I recover the sixty meters of cable from the sea, and then hand the Prof the bottle sensor and climb back onto the boat. That’s it. I feel a strange bitterness inside me, because I am unable to understand the phenomenon. We start afresh to discuss with Maiorca, and we both listen to the Prof’s theories. He says that it would be useful to take a piece of rock from the Wall and take it to the University to be analysed in one of their laboratories. But unfortunately we don't have any equipment to do this. Therefore we have to abandon this tempting idea. Gentlemen, everything remains as it was before we came.
We are disconsolate because we have to say goodbye to the possibility of being able to give a definitive explanation about the phenomenon of the Wall (at least for now). Mr Cousteau sailed the same waters for some time, and came to the same conclusion. We, unlike him, have an ultra-modern perfect instrument, which is accurate, at least as far as science currently understands. We had pinned our hopes on this instrument and therefore we were sure we had done anything possible on 18th February 1977. So that’s that.
We have something to eat and then, because the sea is still calm, we do some fishing.
I lie down in the sun. At least, the trip will be useful for something. By 4 pm we are already back and berthed at the pier. The Prof and I say goodbye to those who remain on the boat, and we desolately walk towards the hotel. Has someone thought about committing suicide? I don't know. Now there is one thing that is really important us, and that is that we two, unlike the others on the expedition, can have a super shower, sprawl on a sofa, and then forget the unhappy story of this foolish day.
That’s all.
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