Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Nemo takes Arronax into the submarine’s control room. Arronax recognizes some of the instruments in there, but many of them he does not. Nemo offers to explain the “soul of the Nautilus,” and Arronax listens eagerly. He explains that the ship runs on a special kind of electricity derived from a saltwater formula. The machines that pump oxygen into the vessel are powered by electricity, as is a clock that Nemo points out. There is a small but powerful sailboat on board the submarine. Nemo and Arronax walk back through the ship, past Conseil and Ned, who are eating ravenously. In the kitchen, Arronax sees that all the food is made with electricity, rather than gas.

In the engine room, Arronax views the machine that produces electricity. He comments that he now understands how the ship manages to move at its extraordinary speed, but still doesn’t understand the dexterity of its movement, or how it manages to survive the intense pressure of the deep sea. Nemo says he is happy to explain everything, seeing as Arronax will never leave the Nautilus again.