CH 6
In the underwater base, the appearance of a dental clinic was a response to the many dental issues that plagued the inhabitants. Even those with healthy teeth would experience pain from the slightest change in atmospheric pressure, such as during a plane ride, similar to the realization of the existence of tooth decay.
However, what if a toothache were to occur 3 kilometers below sea level, where the pressure is over 300 times different from the surface? It would be much more efficient to visit a dental clinic than to endure the pain while drinking vodka and painkillers and putting on a brave face, waiting for a future dental appointment.
Before the dental clinic was established, one would have to make an appointment at a dental clinic on land and take the central elevator up from -3km to 0km (sea level). As there was no dental clinic on the artificial island (Daehan-do or Daehan Island), one had to catch a helicopter or boat to Hawaii or the nearest Solomon Islands, or even farther to Japan or Jeju Island.
The fastest time to receive dental treatment takes at least five hours, a*suming that dental appointments are available and one can immediately board the central elevator that moves every 10 minutes to go to the surface, the weather on the artificial island is good enough to launch a helicopter, and the helicopter has already been refueled, and there are at least two people besides me who need to go outside for personal reasons, and there is a magic empty seat on the helicopter, and the weather is good enough to move and land, and I have my pa*sport and I can enter the country where I landed, and I can take a taxi or car and go to the reserved dental clinic in the city.
Of course, it is not feasible to do all of this during one’s work shift, so one must do it during holidays or vacation periods. If the situation cannot be resolved in one visit, it can become an extremely troublesome matter.
Why not bring a dental clinic to the Daehan Island? All the people working in the underwater base unanimously agreed that there is not enough space in the Daehan Island hospital to accommodate a dental clinic. This sparked a dispute as to whether the dental clinic should be placed on the island or not, and it was later discovered that all facilities built on top of the Daehan Island were not located underwater. It was like an insurance policy.
If located in the deep sea, the cost of both dental and psychological services is prohibitively expensive for use on land. This is why both services have been relegated to the deep sea. Since people working on Daehan Island come from all over the world, free dental treatment is a salvation for someone. Therefore, the people at the underwater base moved the dental clinic to the deep sea. The cost in the surface is so exorbitant that once it goes into the underwater base budget, it becomes free.
I took advantage of a gap in my patient schedule to read the underwater base guidebook. It was not easy to read as it was in English, but I figured I would not have time to read it later if there were more patients.
If one were to be injured in the underwater base, they would be transported directly to the Daehan Island for treatment via the central elevator. The elevator moves every 10 minutes, but if the emergency button is pressed, it stops moving and descends 3 kilometers wherever it is. Once one boards the elevator, they go directly to the ground floor.
The ground floor, also known as the Basic Area, is the emergency medical center that can be reached instantly. It’s a much quicker option than calling 119 and going to the hospital from the mainland. When you call 119, you have to hope that no one else has called for an ambulance before you, and that the traffic to the hospital isn’t too bad. You also have to pray that there aren’t any patients in more critical condition than you. In comparison, you can reach the emergency center in just 10 minutes by taking the elevator.
There are a few things that must be strictly observed in the underwater base. Firstly, alcohol and tobacco are not allowed. Of course, for smokers or alcoholics, they can indulge on the artificial island (Daehan Island) and come back down. The problem is that they don’t sell alcohol or cigarettes on the artificial island. Furthermore, they are prohibited from being brought down to the underwater base.
Air is just as important as life in the deep sea. The air purification system controls the air quality to ensure that humans, who are inferior creatures with no gills, can breathe at a depth of 3,000 meters. However, the underwater base cannot afford to consider smokers.
The twenty contracts that were signed a week ago clearly stated that alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are not allowed. It also explicitly stated that those who violate the rule will be expelled from the underwater base. However, two days ago, Michael, an engineering employee who had been treated, entered the clinic and a strong smell of whiskey filled the room. During the treatment, he did not show any signs of alcohol consumption. When a Chinese researcher named Jang Woo pa*sed by in the hallway and greeted him, she sensed the smell of cigarette smoke, but couldn’t find any evidence.
Currently, the patient who is opening his mouth has a slightly bitter smell even though he brushed his teeth and rinsed with mouthwash. Since I still haven’t learned his name, I glanced at the chart briefly. It was Seo Ji-hyuk, an engineering team member. I wrote a “T” on the pad in a way that only I could understand and asked him, “Is there a place where you can smoke in the base?”
Seo Ji-hyuk’s eyes widened as he held a small gla*s. He hesitated for a moment on how to answer, then found a solution.
“Oh, Doctor, do you smoke?”
“No, I don’t.”
I am a non-smoker. More precisely, I quit because I was broke. When I answered with a smile, Seo Ji-hyuk smiled as well. Even the orange whale sunset, nestled in his arms, seemed to smile.
“I don’t smoke either.”
“I heard that you’re a smoker, Seo Ji-hyuk.”
“My teeth lie sometimes.”
“He likes chocolate and candy, chews more on the right side, smokes, gets stressed out easily, and has a habit of touching his jaw. But I’m not going to discuss this with anyone.”
“Especially not with our team leader?”
“Well, he’s the team leader Shin Hae-ryang.”
“He’s notorious for his short temper, so if he finds out I haven’t quit smoking yet, it’s going to be a headache.”
After I responded with an understanding nod, Seo Ji-hyeok unexpectedly began to speak fluently. He explained that there are numerous CCTV cameras and detection sensors for heat, smoke, and carbon dioxide within the underwater base, making it difficult to smoke anywhere. However, if the engineer enters the repair mode in the computer system, the detection sensors in that area will be deactivated.
I continued with the treatment, thinking to myself that there are probably some smokers among the personnel in the underwater base. However, I didn’t voice this thought aloud. Then I suddenly remembered something and asked Seo Ji-hyeok, “Don’t they sell alcohol and cigarettes in the base or on the island?”
“No, so they’re valuable. One pack of cigarettes costs 60 dollars.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the price. When I worked part-time on land, cigarettes were much more expensive than my minimum wage.
“Are there people who actually buy cigarettes at that price?”
“I don’t think anyone does because it’s too expensive, but many Americans, Chinese, and Russians smoke.”
Seo Ji-hyeok scratched his cheek with his finger as he spoke. Some people quit smoking as soon as they arrived here, but others find it difficult to quit.
“Does our team leader smoke?”
“No, not at all. Even if you prick him, not a drop of blood would come out.”
I learned more details from Seo Ji-hyeok about why the engineers’ teams are named alphabetically and why the name of the island is “Daehan Island.” He said that during the vote, employees from each country requested and pressured to use their own country’s language as much as possible in naming the island.
At the time, voting was conducted via the underwater base program on one’s own electronic pad. The voting took place over two days, with team leader Shin Hae-ryang sweeping up all the votes from the engineering team (ABCDEFGH) and mining team (ABCDEFGH) and tossing 160 votes into [Daehan Island]. With around 190 people present, that’s how Daehan Island became the chosen name. Seo Ji-hyeok scratched his cheek with his fingertip and said, “Originally, the new team leader wanted to name the island [Democratic Island].”
Laughter erupted at his words. This underwater base was created with money from eight developed countries, and more than half of them were just wearing the skin of [Democratic Island] inside out.
“I wanted to see some countries have seizures. That was when the Chinese and Japanese were spouting nonsense that Taekwondo was their national martial art. Our new team leader couldn’t stand it and tried to name the island Taekwondo, but he was persuaded otherwise and named it Daehan Island instead.”
As I listened to his words, the corners of my mouth involuntarily turned up. I had thought of the new team leader as a white Maltese with no patience, but soon shook my head twice and expressed my thoughts.
“How did they manage to gather so many votes?”
“It was gambling, sir. Our team leader would never suggest playing poker, but if he did, don’t ever sit down.”
Gambling was one of the prohibited activities in the underwater base. I was curious if there was anything else that the people here followed among the prohibited items.
“Are you good at it?”
“I’m a real devil at it.”
I am a human who can’t even play Go-Stop, let alone poker. I have no connection to gambling or money. I’ve never even tried to scratch a cheap scratch card.
“Why is the team name in alphabetical order?”
“Because we were short on votes and had to bet on the team name too. We kept playing until it got that far.”
I finally burst out laughing, and Seo Jihyuk chuckled along. He informed me that all of the engineers on my team were Japanese and all of the engineers on the other teams were Russian. The English and number teams, as well as the Lawa and Ma teams, were also explained by country, but I couldn’t remember them all. As I lamented my memory and concentration, I threw a little comfort into my mind that since the commercialization of electronic devices, everyone’s memory and concentration have been shot. It wasn’t much of a consolation.
However, what if a toothache were to occur 3 kilometers below sea level, where the pressure is over 300 times different from the surface? It would be much more efficient to visit a dental clinic than to endure the pain while drinking vodka and painkillers and putting on a brave face, waiting for a future dental appointment.
Before the dental clinic was established, one would have to make an appointment at a dental clinic on land and take the central elevator up from -3km to 0km (sea level). As there was no dental clinic on the artificial island (Daehan-do or Daehan Island), one had to catch a helicopter or boat to Hawaii or the nearest Solomon Islands, or even farther to Japan or Jeju Island.
The fastest time to receive dental treatment takes at least five hours, a*suming that dental appointments are available and one can immediately board the central elevator that moves every 10 minutes to go to the surface, the weather on the artificial island is good enough to launch a helicopter, and the helicopter has already been refueled, and there are at least two people besides me who need to go outside for personal reasons, and there is a magic empty seat on the helicopter, and the weather is good enough to move and land, and I have my pa*sport and I can enter the country where I landed, and I can take a taxi or car and go to the reserved dental clinic in the city.
Of course, it is not feasible to do all of this during one’s work shift, so one must do it during holidays or vacation periods. If the situation cannot be resolved in one visit, it can become an extremely troublesome matter.
Why not bring a dental clinic to the Daehan Island? All the people working in the underwater base unanimously agreed that there is not enough space in the Daehan Island hospital to accommodate a dental clinic. This sparked a dispute as to whether the dental clinic should be placed on the island or not, and it was later discovered that all facilities built on top of the Daehan Island were not located underwater. It was like an insurance policy.
If located in the deep sea, the cost of both dental and psychological services is prohibitively expensive for use on land. This is why both services have been relegated to the deep sea. Since people working on Daehan Island come from all over the world, free dental treatment is a salvation for someone. Therefore, the people at the underwater base moved the dental clinic to the deep sea. The cost in the surface is so exorbitant that once it goes into the underwater base budget, it becomes free.
I took advantage of a gap in my patient schedule to read the underwater base guidebook. It was not easy to read as it was in English, but I figured I would not have time to read it later if there were more patients.
If one were to be injured in the underwater base, they would be transported directly to the Daehan Island for treatment via the central elevator. The elevator moves every 10 minutes, but if the emergency button is pressed, it stops moving and descends 3 kilometers wherever it is. Once one boards the elevator, they go directly to the ground floor.
The ground floor, also known as the Basic Area, is the emergency medical center that can be reached instantly. It’s a much quicker option than calling 119 and going to the hospital from the mainland. When you call 119, you have to hope that no one else has called for an ambulance before you, and that the traffic to the hospital isn’t too bad. You also have to pray that there aren’t any patients in more critical condition than you. In comparison, you can reach the emergency center in just 10 minutes by taking the elevator.
There are a few things that must be strictly observed in the underwater base. Firstly, alcohol and tobacco are not allowed. Of course, for smokers or alcoholics, they can indulge on the artificial island (Daehan Island) and come back down. The problem is that they don’t sell alcohol or cigarettes on the artificial island. Furthermore, they are prohibited from being brought down to the underwater base.
Air is just as important as life in the deep sea. The air purification system controls the air quality to ensure that humans, who are inferior creatures with no gills, can breathe at a depth of 3,000 meters. However, the underwater base cannot afford to consider smokers.
The twenty contracts that were signed a week ago clearly stated that alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are not allowed. It also explicitly stated that those who violate the rule will be expelled from the underwater base. However, two days ago, Michael, an engineering employee who had been treated, entered the clinic and a strong smell of whiskey filled the room. During the treatment, he did not show any signs of alcohol consumption. When a Chinese researcher named Jang Woo pa*sed by in the hallway and greeted him, she sensed the smell of cigarette smoke, but couldn’t find any evidence.
Currently, the patient who is opening his mouth has a slightly bitter smell even though he brushed his teeth and rinsed with mouthwash. Since I still haven’t learned his name, I glanced at the chart briefly. It was Seo Ji-hyuk, an engineering team member. I wrote a “T” on the pad in a way that only I could understand and asked him, “Is there a place where you can smoke in the base?”
Seo Ji-hyuk’s eyes widened as he held a small gla*s. He hesitated for a moment on how to answer, then found a solution.
“Oh, Doctor, do you smoke?”
“No, I don’t.”
I am a non-smoker. More precisely, I quit because I was broke. When I answered with a smile, Seo Ji-hyuk smiled as well. Even the orange whale sunset, nestled in his arms, seemed to smile.
“I don’t smoke either.”
“I heard that you’re a smoker, Seo Ji-hyuk.”
“My teeth lie sometimes.”
“He likes chocolate and candy, chews more on the right side, smokes, gets stressed out easily, and has a habit of touching his jaw. But I’m not going to discuss this with anyone.”
“Especially not with our team leader?”
“Well, he’s the team leader Shin Hae-ryang.”
“He’s notorious for his short temper, so if he finds out I haven’t quit smoking yet, it’s going to be a headache.”
After I responded with an understanding nod, Seo Ji-hyeok unexpectedly began to speak fluently. He explained that there are numerous CCTV cameras and detection sensors for heat, smoke, and carbon dioxide within the underwater base, making it difficult to smoke anywhere. However, if the engineer enters the repair mode in the computer system, the detection sensors in that area will be deactivated.
I continued with the treatment, thinking to myself that there are probably some smokers among the personnel in the underwater base. However, I didn’t voice this thought aloud. Then I suddenly remembered something and asked Seo Ji-hyeok, “Don’t they sell alcohol and cigarettes in the base or on the island?”
“No, so they’re valuable. One pack of cigarettes costs 60 dollars.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the price. When I worked part-time on land, cigarettes were much more expensive than my minimum wage.
“Are there people who actually buy cigarettes at that price?”
“I don’t think anyone does because it’s too expensive, but many Americans, Chinese, and Russians smoke.”
Seo Ji-hyeok scratched his cheek with his finger as he spoke. Some people quit smoking as soon as they arrived here, but others find it difficult to quit.
“Does our team leader smoke?”
“No, not at all. Even if you prick him, not a drop of blood would come out.”
I learned more details from Seo Ji-hyeok about why the engineers’ teams are named alphabetically and why the name of the island is “Daehan Island.” He said that during the vote, employees from each country requested and pressured to use their own country’s language as much as possible in naming the island.
At the time, voting was conducted via the underwater base program on one’s own electronic pad. The voting took place over two days, with team leader Shin Hae-ryang sweeping up all the votes from the engineering team (ABCDEFGH) and mining team (ABCDEFGH) and tossing 160 votes into [Daehan Island]. With around 190 people present, that’s how Daehan Island became the chosen name. Seo Ji-hyeok scratched his cheek with his fingertip and said, “Originally, the new team leader wanted to name the island [Democratic Island].”
Laughter erupted at his words. This underwater base was created with money from eight developed countries, and more than half of them were just wearing the skin of [Democratic Island] inside out.
“I wanted to see some countries have seizures. That was when the Chinese and Japanese were spouting nonsense that Taekwondo was their national martial art. Our new team leader couldn’t stand it and tried to name the island Taekwondo, but he was persuaded otherwise and named it Daehan Island instead.”
As I listened to his words, the corners of my mouth involuntarily turned up. I had thought of the new team leader as a white Maltese with no patience, but soon shook my head twice and expressed my thoughts.
“How did they manage to gather so many votes?”
“It was gambling, sir. Our team leader would never suggest playing poker, but if he did, don’t ever sit down.”
Gambling was one of the prohibited activities in the underwater base. I was curious if there was anything else that the people here followed among the prohibited items.
“Are you good at it?”
“I’m a real devil at it.”
I am a human who can’t even play Go-Stop, let alone poker. I have no connection to gambling or money. I’ve never even tried to scratch a cheap scratch card.
“Why is the team name in alphabetical order?”
“Because we were short on votes and had to bet on the team name too. We kept playing until it got that far.”
I finally burst out laughing, and Seo Jihyuk chuckled along. He informed me that all of the engineers on my team were Japanese and all of the engineers on the other teams were Russian. The English and number teams, as well as the Lawa and Ma teams, were also explained by country, but I couldn’t remember them all. As I lamented my memory and concentration, I threw a little comfort into my mind that since the commercialization of electronic devices, everyone’s memory and concentration have been shot. It wasn’t much of a consolation.
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