Хребты безумия
VIII
Theabyss,itseems,hadshelvingshoresofdrylandatcertainplaces,buttheOldOnesbuilttheirnewcityunderwater—nodoubtbecauseofitsgreatercertaintyofuniformwarmth. Thedepthofthehiddenseaappearstohavebeenverygreat,sothattheearth’sinternalheatcouldensureitshabitabilityforanindefiniteperiod. Thebeingsseemedtohavehadnotroubleinadaptingthemselvestopart-time—andeventually,ofcourse,whole-time—residenceunderwater,sincetheyhadneverallowedtheirgillsystemstoatrophy. Thereweremanysculptureswhichshowedhowtheyhadalwaysfrequentlyvisitedtheirsubmarinekinsfolkelsewhere,andhowtheyhadhabituallybathedonthedeepbottomoftheirgreatriver. Thedarknessofinnerearthcouldlikewisehavebeennodeterrenttoaraceaccustomedtolongantarcticnights.
Decadentthoughtheirstyleundoubtedlywas,theselatestcarvingshadatrulyepicqualitywheretheytoldofthebuildingofthenewcityinthecavernsea. TheOldOneshadgoneaboutitscientifically—quarryinginsolublerocksfromtheheartofthehoneycombedmountains,andemployingexpertworkersfromthenearestsubmarinecitytoperformtheconstructionaccordingtothebestmethods. Theseworkersbroughtwiththemallthatwasnecessarytoestablishthenewventure —Shoggothtissuefromwhichtobreedstoneliftersandsubsequentbeastsofburdenforthecaverncity,andotherprotoplasmicmattertomoldintophosphorescentorganismsforlightingpurposes.
AtlastamightymetropolisroseonthebottomofthatStygiansea,itsarchitecturemuchlikethatofthecityabove,anditsworkmanshipdisplayingrelativelylittledecadencebecauseoftheprecisemathematicalelementinherentinbuildingoperations.
