The Abyss story
When an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, the U.S. search and recovery team works with an oil platform crew, racing against Soviet vessels to recover the boat. Deep in the ocean, they encounter something unexpected.
14 total · 9 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| deep sea exploration | major | A search and rescue team took a submersible base to the bottom of the sea, and then the base ended up sliding down an ocean trench, where the team encountered a strange alien presence. Team leader Bud actually ended up diving down to a depth in excess of 17,000 feet by the end of it. |
| extraterrestrial being | major | A search and recovery team encountered a strange alien presence deep down in an ocean trench. |
| human vs. speculative environment | major | A rescue party became hopelessly stranded deep down in an ocean trench. [underwater] |
| husband and wife | major | Rescue mission leader Bud Brigman was Lindsey's estranged husband. |
| love kindled by danger | major | Estranged spouses Bud and Lindsay were brought back together under the perils of being trapped on the bottom of the sea. |
| mistrust | major | The rescue team, who themselves became desperately stranded, divided into two factions: The main rescue party members led by Bud and the the Navy SEALs led by Hiram Coffey, who was suffering from psychosis. |
| nuclear weapons | major | The Navy SEALs recovered a nuclear warhead from the submarine and tried to detonate it at the bottom of an ocean trench. |
| the Cold War | major | Cold War tensions were running high. For example, the rescue team thought the Soviets might be interfering with the rescue operation. |
| working together under stress | major | A search and rescue team became themselves stranded deep in an ocean trench and had to work to overcome numerous obstacles in order to survive the catastrophe. |
| acute anxiety | minor | Navy SEAL commander Hiram Coffey fell into a psychosis and became fixated on detonating a nuclear warhead at the bottom of an ocean trench to stop what he thought was a Soviet threat. |