Titanic had at last reached New York.

THE GHOST FROM THE GRAND BANKS

“They never built another one like her; she marked the end of an age-an age of wealth and elegance which was swept away, only two years later, by the first of the World Wars. Oh, they built faster and bigger, in the half century before air travel closed that chapter for all time. But no ship ever again matched the luxury you see around you now. It broke too many hearts when she was lost.”

Duncan could not believe it; he was still in a dream. The magnificent Grand

Saloon, with its vast mirrors, gilded columns, and ankle-deep carpet,

was opulent beyond anything he had ever imagined, and the sofa into which he was sinking made him almost forget the gravity of

Earth. Yet the most incredible fact of all was that everything he saw and touched had been lying for three and a half centuries on the bed of the

Atlantic.

He had not realized that the deep sea was almost as timeless as space. “All the damage,” the speaker had explained, “was done on that first morning.

When she sank, two and a half hours after the spur of ice ripped open the starboard hull, she went down bow first, almost vertically. Everything loose tumbled forward until it was either stopped by the bulkheads, or else smashed through them. By miraculous good luck-and this tells you how superbly she was built-all three engines remained in place. If they had gone, the hull would have been so badly damaged that we could never have salvaged her…. “But once she reached the bottom, three kilometers down, she was safe for centuries. The water there is only two degrees above freezing point; the combination of cold and pressure quenches all decay, inhibits all rust.

We’ve found meat in the refrigerators as fresh as when it left Southampton on April 10, 1912, and everything that was canned or bottled is still in perfect condition.

“When we’d patched her up-a straightforward job, though it took a year to plug all the holes and reinforce the weak spots-we blasted out the water with the zero-thrust cold rockets the deep sea salvage people have developed. Naturally, weather conditions were critical; by good luck, there was an ideal forecast for April 15, 2262, so she broke surface three hundred and fifty years to the very day after she sank. Conditions were identical-dead calm, freezing temperature-and you won’t believe this, but we had to avoid an iceberg when we started towingl

“So we brought her to New York, pumped her full of nitrogen to stop rusting, and slowly dried her out. ~Io problems here-the underwater archaeologists have preserved ships ten times older than Titaydc. It’s the sheer scale of the job that’s taken us fourteen years, and will

take us at least ten more. Thousands 175 of pieces of smashed furniture to be sorted out, hundreds of tons of coal to be moved-almost every lump by hand.

“And the dead… 158 so far. Only a few people were trapped in the ship.

Those in sealed compartments looked as if they had been drowned yesterday.

In the sections the fish could reach, there were only bones. We were able to identify several, from the cabin numbers and the White Star Line’s records. And that story you’ve heard is quite true: we found one couple still in each other’s arms. They were married-but each to someone else. And the two other partners survived; I wonder if they ever guessed? After three and a half centuries, it doesn’t much matter…. “Sometimes we’re asked-why are you doing this, devoting years of time and millions of so lars to-salvaging the past? Well, I can give you some down-to earth practical reasons: This ship is part of our history. We can better understand ourselves, and our civilization, when we study her.

Someone once said that a sunken ship is a time capsule, because it preserves all the artifacts of everyday life, exactly as they were at their last instant of use. And the Titanic was a cross-section of an entire society, at the unique moment before it started to dissolve.

“We have the stateroom of John Jacob Astor, with all the valuables and personal effects that the richest man of his age was taking to New York. He could have bought the Titanic-a dozen times over. And we have the tool kit that Pat O’Connor carried when he came aboard at Queenstown, hoping to find a better living in a land he was never to see. We even have the five sovereigns he had managed to save, after more years of hardship than we can ever imagine.

“These are the two extremes; between them we have every walk of life-a priceless treasure trove for the historian, the economist, the artist, the engineer. But beyond that there’s a magic about this ship which has kept its name fresh through all the centuries. The story of the

Titanies first and last voyage is one that has to be told anew in every generation, lest men forget the workings of fate and chance.

“I have talked longer than I intended, and pictures speak louder than words. There have been ten movies about the Titanic-and the most ambitious will start production shortly, using the actual location for the first time. But the extracts we want to show you now are from a film made three hundred and twenty years ago. Of course it will look oldfashioned, and it’s in black and white, but it was the last film to be made while survivors were still alive and could check its details. For this reason, it remains the most authentic treatment; I think you will discover that A Night to

Remember lives up to its name.tg

The lights in the Grand Saloon dimmed, as they had dimmed at two-eighteen on the morning of April 15, 1912. Time rolled back three and a half centuries as the grainy, flickering real-life footage merged into the impeccable studio reconstruction. Titanic sailed again, to make her appointment with destiny, off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.

Duncan did not cry easily, but presently he was weeping.

When the lights came on again, he understood why men had spent so much of toil and treasure to win back what the sea had stolen from them long ago.

His eyes were still so misty, and his vision so uncertain, that for a moment he did not recognize the woman who had just entered the Grand Saloon and was standing by one of the ornate doors.

Even carrying a hard hat, and with shapeless plastic waterproof covering her from neck to knees, Calindy still looked poised and elegant. Duncan rose to his feet and walked toward her, ignoring the stares of companions.

Silently, he put out his arms, embraced her, and kissed her full on the lips. She was not as tall as he had remembered—or he had grown -because he had to stoop.

We Ill she exclaimed, when she had disentangled herself. “After

fifteen years!” “You haven’t changed in the least.” 177 “Liar. I hope I have. At twenty-one I was an irresponsible brat.”

“At twenty-one you should be. It’s the last chance you’ll have.”

This scintillating conversation then ground to a halt, while they looked at each other and everyone in the Grand Saloon looked at them. I’m quite sure,

Duncan told himself wryly, that they think we’re old lovers; would that it were true…. “Duncan, darhling-sorry-I always start talking early twentieth century when

I’m in here: Mr. D. Makenzie, please excuse me for a few minutes while I speak to my other guests-then we’ll tour the ship together.”

He watched her dart purposefully from one group to another, the very embodiment of the efficient administrator, confirming that everything was going as planned. Was she playing another of her roles, or was this the real Calindy, if such a creature existed?

She came back to him five minutes later, with all her associates trotting dutifully behind.

“Duncan-I don’t think you’ve met Commander Innes-he knows more about this ship than the people who built her. He’ll be showing us around.”