Sphere is about a futuristic sphere that gives a group of scientists a special
and unusual power- the power of being able to turn fantasy into reality. The
group of scientists are kept in total wonder as to why they were being sent to
the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The scientists consisted of Norman Johnson, a
psychologist; Beth Halpern, a zoologist and biochemist; Harry Adams, a
mathematician; and Ted Fielding, an astrophysicist. Each scientist played an
important role- Norman was to watch the team because no one had ever seen an
alien and they didn't know how people would react. Beth was to assess any life
form that the team might come across. Harry was there because math is the
universal language and Ted was there to determine where in the universe the
aliens came from. The story begins as Norman is being transported in a Sea
Knight. After Norman arrives at the site, he is directly escorted to his
quarters until Captain Barnes came and retrieved him. On their way to the
submersible, he explained to everyone in the group what was going on. He told
them that there was a titanium fin found 1,000 feet under the ocean and that it
is over 1/2 mi. long. He also informed them that the spacecraft had been in that
location for almost 300 years (they could date the time because of the coral
growth- coral grows at 1 in. a year). When they all arrived at the underwater
habitat, they were sent to a compression chamber to bring them to the right
pressure. The reason for the habitat is that it has the weight of air plus the
weight of water pushing down on it. If the habitat had the same pressure as the
surface, it would implode. After compression, the team was sent to their
quarters for some rest before they set out to the spacecraft. When the crew was
all rested and refreshed, they suited up into insulated suits and jumped into
the water. They then proceeded to the airlock. After passing through the airlock
and into the ship, they split up into two teams. Norman and Beth were teamed up
while Barnes, Harry, and Ted went another way. While they were exploring, Beth
and Norman were accidentally transported to the control room. There they found
out- with the help of the ship's computers and a suit on a dead body- found a
surprising discovery- the ship was American. It must have been transported back
in time through a black hole from the year 2043 all the way back to 1743 and
landed in the ocean. While Beth and Norman were in the control room, the other
group stumbled upon a gargantuan golden sphere. After Norman and Beth had caught
up to them, they were running low on air and set up a video camera. As they were
about to leave, they noticed that there was no entry into the sphere- no door,
no hatch, nothing- but Norman noticed that the sphere reflected everything-
except image of the team. As most of the team was sleeping, Harry slipped on his
suit and went to the sphere. As he was standing there, the sphere somehow took
him inside itself. By the time that Norman reached him, he was unconscious.
After they got him back to base, one of the crew members was outside doing some
work when she was attacked by jellyfish and was killed because the animals had
made miniscule holes which leaked extensively and she drowned. No one left the
confines of the habitat because they were cut off from the ship up top-
supposedly there was a severe storm and they missed their ride because of
Harry's little stunt. As the days went by they were forced to talk to each other
and entertain one another. Harry was reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and
was quite enjoying it. Since the crew member that was killed by the jellyfish,
Norman and Beth took on the responsibility. What they had to do was take video
footage that was stored and take it to a sub on a timer. If no one reset the
timer in 12 hours, the sub would float to the surface with the videos inside.
That way, if anything happened, there would be some idea of what went wrong. As
Norman and Beth were coming out of the sub, Barnes warned them of a giant object
coming towards them. They scrambled for the hatchway and just made it inside
before the whole habitat was shaken. They soon found out it was a giant squid.
After many tense minutes of fixing leaks and crew members dying, the only people
left alive were Norman, Beth, and Harry, who somehow managed to sleep through
the whole attack. They were all starting to get suspicious of Harry. How could
he have slept through the whole attack and not even stir in his sleep? As Norman
and Harry were sitting around talking, they noticed that Beth was nowhere to be
found. A quick look in the video room put her just outside the airlock. Beth had
also gone inside the sphere. When she got back, they were all suspicious of each
other, for all of them had gone into the sphere. Earlier, before Beth had
disappeared, Norman and Beth were talking about how Harry was reading about
squids in his book and he was asleep of the time of the attack. Harry must have
dreamt about squids and somehow made them come to life- but how? The sphere, it
must be! As they all soon realize that they all had entered the sphere at one
time or another- Norman when he rescued Harry and Beth on her own will- they all
knew of the great power that they each possessed. As they were all standing
around discussing what to do, the intercom broke in saying "Ten minutes
until Gregor explosive detonation". Norman and Harry both turn to Beth who
is looking sheepishly guilty and she explains that she had rigged the craft with
high-power explosives. They all scrambled for their suits and hurried toward the
sub. But right as they were ready to go and had to push a button, they were
transported to the spacecraft. As they were all screaming and worrying about
what they were doing back on the craft and how they were going to die, Norman
chimes up and tells them that it is just their minds playing tricks on them-
they were still in the sub! After he said this, he could see the button and
slammed it with all of his might. The sub detached with a loud SHHUNK and they
were free! After they had been picked up and done with decompression (without
it, the gases in their blood vessels would expand and literally pop them), they
were talking when all of a sudden they realized what a tremendous gift they
possessed. They had the power to think of something and it would come true, but
they also realized that our day and age had too much hate and fear in it for
this power. So they all vowed to forget the whole thing ever happened- to forget
about the habitat, to forget about the squids, to forget about the jellyfish and
the death and chaos- and to most certainly forget about the sphere. And as they
mentioned all of these things, it clicked to them why there was no living crew-
they had all gone into the sphere and were so paranoid of each other that they
killed each other off until no one was left. And as they counted to three and
vowed never to remember the sphere again, they felt a great peace come over
them; for they knew that they were doing the world a favor by hiding this power
until we are ready for it and can handle the responsibility that goes with it.