D.R.S. Sylvia Earle

Overview

The D.R.S. Sylvia Earle was an oceangoing research vessel that disappeared under mysterious circumstances shortly after colonists arrived on Deseret. Legend has it that the ship was dragged down into the depths by a monster out of Old Earth myth, the Kraken.

History

Mayday! Mayday! This is D.R.S. Sylvia Earle! We [Radio static] and are going down! [Radio Static] has a hold on the ship! Please send [Radio Static] Mayday Mayday!

— Captain Robert Gurney of the D.R.S. Sylvia Earle.

In 13 DE many of the estuaries and coast lines of Deseret had been mapped and studied enough for deep ocean research to finally receive attention. On November 7th the D.R.S. Sylvia Earle left dock at Ocean Forest under the command of Captain Robert Gurney and carrying a crew of 25. They sailed without incident to their research area, approximately 100 miles from shore and directly over a deep ocean trench. After several hours of tests the weather turned bad and the port authorities recommended heading back to dock.
Shortly after the Sylvia Earle began its trip home port authorities received a mayday signal from the vessel. Although audio quality was badly degraded by the storm Robert Gurney was heard to say that something had "a hold of the ship" and that they were "going down". Rescue ships were sent to the estimated site of their last transmission but no remains or survivors were able to be found.
To this day the Desereti Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOAA) offers a $10,000 reward for finding any piece of the Sylvia Earle.

Legacy

Now for some real explosions...

— Captain Richerd Gurns seconds before kissing lab assistant Muriel Hunter in the 81 DE film "The Kraken"

In the years to come many different attempts to find the remains of the Sylvia Earle were made but no fragment of the ship or any bodies were ever found. Over the course of two hundred years many different theories were suggested to explain the disappearances. Most experts at the time believed the ship was destroyed by strong ocean currents but a vocal group has long supported the idea that the ship was instead destroyed by a sea monster they had disturbed with their studies.
In 81 DE the movie "The Kraken" was released. In the story early settlers and crew members of the D.R.S. Silver Pearl disturb a Kraken from Old Earth in the course of their research. The film ends with the hero and his lover killing the Kraken by detonating the remains of the ship, surviving on a piece of floating wreckage until they are picked up by a passing fishing vessel.
The Silver Pearl being a not so subtle reference to the Sylvia Earle was not lost on audiences. Critics pointed out that even if the ship was destroyed by a large animal there was no chance it could be the Kraken from Old Earth even if that creature had ever existed. Fans of the movie point out that the planet Deseret has the highest number of cephalopod species known to humankind and therefore the existence of something similar was not outside the realm of possibility. The director pointed out that he didn't care as long as it sold well. Overall, the movie was a flop.