The Undersea Tube

A first-person narrator, claiming to be the sole survivor of a catastrophic undersea tunnel accident, recounts the project's ambitious engineering, including a novel wind-propulsion system and massive air pumps, and the risky excavation through rock and ancient lava. Workers break into a sealed jeweled cavern containing a preserved female body that crumbles when exposed to air, provoking scientific debate. Small leaks of seawater and unresolved structural concerns follow, yet the tunnel is completed and operated for years. The narrator then describes the fatal voyage that exposed hidden subterranean wonders and the mysterious City of the Dead.