Michael Crichton is known for writing all types of books; from medical thrillers, to science fiction, to stories with historical subjects. Krychton's book Sphere, written more than twenty years ago in 1987, fits into the category of science fiction with military and biology, mixed with history. The author uses his Harvard medical degree and biology knowledge in this story to improve the plot and make the book more interesting.
This story revolves around a psychologist named Norman Johnson. In the past, Johnson wrote a document for the government about what happens if aliens visit Earth. He was asked to provide information, for example, what aliens look like, and how people would interact with aliens. One day, Johnson called the navy to visit a secret place in the Pacific, which is very interested in the military and government.
The Navy discovered a mysterious spacecraft thousands of feet beneath the surface of the ocean, which is covered with more than 30 feet of debris and sediment. The military does not know how he got there, and calls on Johnson and several others to explore the spacecraft. Others called in to investigate were a mathematician named Harry Adams, a biologist named Beth Halpern, and an astrophysicist named Ted Fielding. All the characters were chosen for their areas of expertise and because in the Johnson report he stated that one person from all these professions should be used to investigate a possible foreign visit so that they could analyze foreigners in numerous ways.
Before the crew of civilian investigators arrived to study the spacecraft, the Navy established habitat deep in the ocean so that people could remain under the surface for extended periods of time. Norman, Harry, Beth and Ted all decide that they should immediately enter the spacecraft, which they do without any difficulty. What they find is beyond their comprehension; the spacecraft appears to be made by people from the future. In addition, the spacecraft has a large metal sphere, on which there is tribal graphics and a door that cannot be opened by ordinary means.
Harry historically returns to the ship and enters the sphere himself. He returns to the habitat with a massive headache and needs a dream, not remembering what happened in this area. While he is aware, random coded messages are starting to appear in digital habitat monitors that are being translated by other participants. An entity called “Jerry” communicates with a civilian team and claims to be omnipotent. Jerry quickly turns out to be incapable of communicating clearly and showing moral character.
Jerry is characterized not only by his character, but also by the ability to create organizations of a strict size, which constantly attack the habitat. A large squid thrice attacks the naval habitat, each time killing one of the crew or causing damage to the extent that people stay there. Each time a squid attacks a habitat, another sector of the structure floods, catches, or loses its ability to maintain proper oxygen levels.
Knowing that people are in great danger of being killed if they cannot stop a dangerous squid, Norman uses his psychological training to figure out what is happening in and around the spacecraft. Sometimes he finds out that Harry has the ability to allow his subconscious thought to manifest itself in reality after entering the sphere. Norman’s fear and the idea that the squid, the attacking habitat, actually created the squid, which attacked the habitat. Harry also thought about shrimp and other marine life that made them appear, flaming, out of the habitat at different times in the book. Norman also finds out that danger is present only when Harry is aware. Harry can only think about attacking a squid when he wakes up and awake.
Norman and Beth, the only living people at this moment, decided that they should reassure Harry so that he could not think of more dangerous thoughts. They rummage through a first-aid kit and find various drugs that can be used in emergency situations to put a person to sleep. Norman and Beth give Harry enough drugs to sleep for almost eight hours so they can figure out how to get back to the surface and leave the danger behind. It is at this moment, talking to Beth, Norman realizes that she seems distant and has a strange look in her eyes. Norman sees that at some point Beth also entered the realm, making her as dangerous as Harry.
Beth tells Norman that she is innocent, because that is Norman’s problem. Beth's plants explore everything around the habitat, thinking irrationally, and Norman says that she only does this as a precautionary measure. However, Norman knows better and must stop her. He enters the sphere and gets the opportunity to translate his thoughts into reality. He begins to argue with Beth and enters the struggle for power with his new forces, and Beth has an advantage over Norman. However, when they fight, Harry returns to the picture after waking up from sedation and knocks out Beth so that she doesn’t hurt anyone.
At this moment, knowing that Beth and Harry are still dangerous, and time passes before the spacecraft and habitat explodes because of Beth's intelligence, Norman enters the rescue submarine and quickly rises to the ocean surface. He thought that Harry and Beth had lost the cause, and he had to save him while he could. While he rises, Beth begins to communicate with Norman and tells him that he is not a bad person, and that he is not the person who throws two people whom he really cares about. With a vague sense of guilt, Norman stops his climb and returns to the ocean floor. He runs to force Harry and Beth on a small submarine, and raises the submarine’s ascent rate highly.
Rising to the surface, the habitat, the spacecraft and the ball explode with tremendous force, causing the submarine to stumble and accelerate faster to the surface. Three people historically reach the surface and look at all the warships around them before falling into unconsciousness. Later, they woke up and found out that the Navy would soon begin intensively asking them about spacecraft and the field. Knowing that the spacecraft has a strong power inside it, and that no matter what the three men say that the Navy can speed up their exploration to build a dangerous ship, they decided to use their strength to forget their strength. Norman, Beth, and Harry all think of a believable story telling the fleet and the government, and think that they no longer have the power. They successfully forget their manifestation forces and convince the Navy to believe in their false story.
In general, Krichton's book The Sphere is interesting to read with good actual experience. Krichton's knowledge of biology and science and his imagination are well used to write this book. The main idea of the book that the ship from the future traveled through a black hole into the past and stuck at the bottom of the ocean is interesting and unique. Add mind control, tremendous marine life, military and futuristic technology, and you have a best-seller, one-of-a-kind novel. This book is rated 4.5 out of 5.
