Professor, replied the captain, I am not a typical gentleman! I have left human society forever. I do not follow its rules, an demand that you never speak of such things again in front of me!

He said this calmly, but I could see anger in his eyes as he spoke. I the realized that this man must have had experienced something terrible in his past, to force himself to escape to the bottoms of the ocean forever. On this submarine, he had created his own rules of life. After a long silence, the captain spoke again.

I will allow you to remain onboard this submarine, but you will not be allowed to see certain things while here, and will be forced to remain in your rooms at certain things. Do you agree to these rules?

Yes, we accept, but do you mean that we will be free onboard, not treated as prisoners?

Yes.

What freedom do we have, then, as we have no other choice than to remain here.

You have the freedom to see what you will onboard this submarine, but you are not allowed the freedoms that my crew and I have.

Do you mean that we will never leave this prison? We will forever be on this submarine? We will never again see our countries and our friend?

Yes, sir, but leaving such a place is not as difficult as you may believe, the captain said calmly.

Well, exclaimed Ned Land, I will never promise not to try to escape.