While other manbaby billionaires are having their midlife crises in space, some anonymous oligarch has decided to speedrun the plot of BioShock by dumping a few hundred million into underwater housing.
The project, dubbed Deep (and they're weirdly intense about not calling it "The Deep," which is absolutely what we're going to call it now), is converting a flooded quarry on the Welsh border into a testing pool for pressure-resistant pleasure domes that can descend 200 meters below the waves, complete with six bedrooms and porthole windows for watching sharks swim by while you enjoy your morning coffee.
Project COO Mike Shackleford, cheerfully tells The Guardian that while space is just hard to reach, in the ocean "basically, everything wants to kill you." He then casually drops that their goal is "to live in the ocean, forever," because that's where the billionaire wants people to be. And you know billionaires — once they get their mind set on something no amount or money, legal barrier, or victims' plea for mercy can stop them.
The mystery moneybags behind this wet dream remains anonymous. Their stated motivation? To "increase understanding of the ocean." That's billionaire-speak for "I want to build an underwater civilization." At least they're not trying to colonize Mars or building rockets that look like dicks.
They've even hired a chef to solve the pressing issue of underwater fine dining, because apparently pressure changes make everything taste like wet cardboard. The solution? Double sticky toffee pudding with extra spices. Finally, someone addressing the real challenges of subsea living.
Research director Dawn Kernagis adds a reassuring note: "There are going to be things down there that we won't even know to ask questions about before we descend, because we don't know yet that they exist." Unknown horrors lurking in the deep. Sign us up!
Previously:
• Small fish makes undersea 'crop circles'
• The whale-wide web of undersea song
• Elusive squid with biological headlights attacks undersea camera (video)
