Twist

Downpours cause the Congo River to flood for weeks, and the river washes out dirt, silt, and debris into the ocean. 

Four days after Zanele departs for England, Conway calls Anthony. He is drunk and claims to have resigned from the Georges Lecointe. He tells Anthony that the company will find a new chief of mission to work with him. Anthony questions Conway about Zanele, and Conway says that he plans to leave for England to join her. 

Anthony commiserates with Conway, having dealt with alcohol addiction during his life. He suggests meeting for coffee or tea. Conway refuses, instead inviting Anthony to join him diving the next morning.

When Anthony meets Conway the next morning, he meets many of Conway’s friends. They are biologists and physicists, all interested in diving. Anthony listens as they debate academic topics like turbulence, and he finds himself jealous of Conway, as he has no friends. Conway clearly misses Zanele and the children, but when others ask if he will go to see her show, he tells them he cannot because of his job. Anthony is confused until he realizes that Conway was so drunk that he does not remember telling Anthony that he resigned.

After lunch, Anthony joins Conway and the others as they head out to the diving spot. When they arrive, Conway and another man grab two slabs of rock, preparing to perform a diving ritual. At this site, divers place grave stones to commemorate free divers who die around the world. Anthony watches as they prepare to dive with no gear, bringing as much air into their lungs as possible. 

They dive 25 meters down, disappearing from Anthony’s view. Conway remains underwater for five minutes, though on land he can hold his breath for up to eight minutes. Afterward, Conway tells Anthony about how it feels to be so deep underwater. He describes it as being like outer space, and sometimes, he needs to remind himself to come back up. 

Anthony pushes Conway for more information about Zanele, and Conway explains that they met in the US; Zanele has a theater scholarship, and he was working as an underwater welder. They split up, with Zanele returning to South Africa and Conway working different jobs around the world, before eventually reuniting. Anthony spends the rest of the day with Conway’s group as they dive. He doesn’t dive, but he swims.

That night, Anthony realizes that he left his bag at the café where he met Conway and his friends. When he returns, he sees Petra, one of Conway’s friends. She tells him about Conway’s mysterious life, hinting at some missing years in his past. She also tells Anthony about her own experiences underwater, including a time she went to impossible depths in a submersible. She was astonished by the mystery and beauty but disheartened to find plastic at such depths. When Anthony asks about Zanele, Petra tells him that Zanele does not care about Conway—her priority is to become famous.

As the Congo River floods worsen, more and more dirt and silt are ejected into the ocean. The buildup of sediment causes an avalanche of rocks and debris deep underwater, severing a cable.

On the morning that the cable break occurs, Anthony walks through Cape Town. He goes into a mall and notices that people seem unsettled, looking at their phones and whispering. He sees people lining up at the bank, and when he goes into a coffee shop to buy coffee, he discovers that they are only taking cash. A young woman tells Anthony that the internet is down, and no one can access it.

Anthony hears people theorizing about what happened, some suggesting a natural disaster, while others theorize a terrorist attack. Everyone seems lost, and Anthony joins a crowd outside an electronics store, watching the news on TV. All of western South Africa has lost connection. Realizing that this may mean a cable is broken, Anthony tries to call Conway but cannot get a signal.

Back at his hotel, Anthony rushes to check out, determined to get to the Georges Lecointe and find Conway before the ship departs. With the internet down, the front desk cannot charge him and let him check out. He begs them to let him write down his information and bill him later. The clerk eventually relents when he mentions that he works in cable repair and needs to leave to help restore everything.

Anthony rushes out and gets a taxi. Stuck in traffic, he notices a woman begging for money, walking down the side of the road. He realizes that because she is not as connected as everyone else, this day is like most others for her. She sits on the hood of a car, and the driver takes her through traffic, back to where she began.

At the port, Anthony is barred from entering; he doesn’t have the documents authorizing his access on his phone. He asks that the guard contact Conway. Anthony waits for hours for Conway to come get him, watching the busy activity around the port as the Georges Lecointe prepares to leave. He notices clouds in the distance, as though a storm is approaching. When Conway finally comes, he tells Anthony that a cable snapped off the coast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Anthony wants to go aboard, but Conway tells him it will be days before they can leave. They need to identify the right cable, supply the ship with the right equipment, and wait out the storm. Conway reveals that he does not have space for Anthony yet and warns him that once he is on the ship, he cannot get off. This does not deter Anthony, who remains adamant. When Anthony asks Conway what happens if he cannot fix the cable, Conway admits that all of Africa will slow down, and if another cable breaks, it will shut down completely.

Conway finally allows Anthony to board the ship, where he will stay throughout the storm. He warns Anthony that there will be no alcohol on the ship, which Anthony looks forward to, wanting to curb his drinking. Conway’s deputy shows Anthony to a small cabin and explains that Anthony will not have access to the ship’s satellite internet until Conway signs off on it.

Anthony is unbothered by his small room, used to it from his childhood. His childhood was dominated by tragedy, his mother having depression that his father would not acknowledge. When she died, Anthony saw his father cry for the first time.

For the first three days on the Georges Lecointe, Anthony suffers from severe seasickness as the storm rocks the boat. In the midst of his misery, Conway asks one final time if he is sure he wants to come along. He warns Anthony that there will be no going back once they begin the journey. Anthony refuses to back down. When Anthony wakes on the fourth day, the storm is over, and he feels better. He looks out his porthole window and sees that the Georges Lecointe is out at sea.